Coney Island February 2008

Words can only hurt you if you read them.
Don't play their game.

- Derek Zoolander

Lyle Calls In Sick

Lyle Calls in Sick from Nicole Collins on Vimeo.


LYLE calls in sick at work to play Mario Kart with his friend MIKE, and accidentally outs himself to his boss DAVE via Facebook status.

Film Director Nicole Collins
Director of Photography Jeremy Juel
Screenplay Written by Nicole Collins

Cast

Lyle Zoumot as Lyle the employee
Michael Huehn as Mike the gamer
David Armes as David the boss

The nice thing about the "no edit" stipulation is the absence of procrastination between filming and the final product; you're already done! It is so tempting to fix some (mis)takes, sneak in a few establishing shots, create an instrumental score and apply color-correction.

Originally I was going to use the stop and record on my Flip Video Cam but my friend and protagonist Lyle introduced me to Jeremy and Mike who recently went in together on purchasing a Canon 5D Mark II video camera. It shoots in high definition. This is the first film to be recorded on their video camera.

Jeremy exported Lyle Calls In Sick using CS3 Adobe Premiere. I'd like to do some editing experiments with Premiere and Final Cut in the future.

"Say What The Story Demands"

In the wake of hiring freezes and record unemployment
This recent northshore Chicago college graduate
Moved back in with mom and pop in the northwest.
She tackles the causes of world poverty and injustice by day,
And serves triple grande soy no foam skinny lattes by night.


Multimedia Storytelling deliverable #1: Using 5 images, tell your story as an ACTION-IDEA with a beginning, middle and end in under 3 minutes.


Aristotles Poetics for Screenwriters by Michael Tierno

• Good writers serve their stories; bad writers serve their own agendas.
• The ACTION-IDEA, or "mission statement," is served to the audience to create emotions in them.
• Action is more important than the characters who partake in it.
• Just hearing a good ACTION-IDEA can impart a small feeling of catharsis.
• BUT a well-crafted story is needed to make an ACTION-IDEA cathartic.

Staying Put

I've made a couple bad decisions in the last couple days.

1. Yesterday: Caribbean Passion with fresh-squeezed orange juice (I forgot to substitute fruit for the orange sherbet! - or sherbeRt, whichever you're inclined to use). Doh. I do not need that much sugar before work!

2. Today: Quad Grande Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate... first: GROSS... and second: I can't even taste the rich chocolaty base that has tons of calories - what a waste... or the toffee nut syrup, whip cream and caramel - could taste the rock salt though.

On the other hand...

A good decision I made was
NOT TO MOVE TO PULLMAN
-although my favorite person is there.

Instead I'm staying put.

I am a media intern at World Vision US in Federal Way, barista at the Twin Lakes Starbucks - possibly transferring to Dash Point for more hours :), and a grad student taking Multimedia Storytelling during winter quarter at UW for a Masters of Communication in Digital Media (Thursday nights).

Tomorrow 8am I'm treking to Puyallup to take the GRE (Graduate Record Examination - a test commonly required for admission to graduate school), a four-hour and $140 commitment! Good thing Trinity International University owes me $150.

My WVUS HR mentor Grace is having a baby girl AVERY any day now! Congrats to her and her family - she will be missed as she is on leave. We had a work baby shower for her today.

Tami back temporarily from the Philippines & Maria back from Mexico called yesterday - I miss you both mucho and it was great to hear from you!

Twenty-two movies, 90 women, tens of millions of fans.

Common complaints about the new 007 films:

What’s with the realism?
Where’s R and the gadgets?
Daniel’s too short.

I grew up with Pierce Brosnan as my James Bond, and I'm excited to add Daniel Craig to that list, as I've been to the theatre twice now for Quantum of Solace. A little research is required for me to become acquainted with Timothy, Roger and Sean (and that random guy who was Bond for a day).

I watched Bond Girls are Forever (2002) today, compliments of Comcast On Demand, and was reminded why I am a fan of the new direction for 007 in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

Today I have identified my natural distaste for the way women are portrayed in most all of the original Bond movies as powerless sex objects. Being a fictional fantasy just for the sake of a man is a waste. Today’s Bond Women are sexy because they are sophisticated, intelligent, athletic, gorgeous and worthy adversaries of James.

Sean Connery and Roger Moore’s James Bond character behaved repulsively toward women. Sexually harassing his secretary, slapping women on the butt, dialoguing with women with cheesy sexual innuendos, and forcing or tricking them to be intimate with him. Condoning misogynistic or chauvinistic behavior by heroes in screenplays today is absolutely unheard of. Daniel Craig is the neo 007 agent, a reflection of the human rights progress made today in western society.


Some memorable Bond Girl names:

Honey Rider
Pussy Galore
Kissy Suzuki
Plenty O’Toole
Thumper
Mary Goodnight
Holly Goodhead
Octopussy
Xenia Onatopp


Click here for Bond Girls pics and bios

Fellow job-seekers: What do we do now?

Hiring freezes. Layoff increases.

A Chicago Associated Press writer is doing a piece on "recent grads, who moved back in with their parents and may be waiting tables." That's me! One of my coworkers at WVUS pitched me for it. Miss AP is interested in an in-person interview, but doesn't think she has the budget to fly to Seattle. I'm expecting a call next week.

In my life, the only thing suffering in the wake of our failing economy is my pride, as I am 22 with no dependents. My heart goes out to those who find themselves jobless while they are trying to provide for their families and loved ones. Can we, as a nation, tighten our belts and live with a little less? This Christmas season will be the first challenge.

I am thankful to God who has opened networking opportunities for me at WVUS, and a reliable part-time job at Sbux that provides for practical needs (health, savings). I pray that I can be a good steward of the things He has provided for me.

What's missing in our culture's literature lately: how to be productive when you're unemployed.

Jobless Rate at 14-Year High After October Losses

The American economy lost another 240,000 jobs in October, the government reported Friday, as cash-strapped consumers pulled back and businesses hunkered down, intensifying the distress gripping much of the country.

The unemployment rate spiked to 6.5 percent from 6.1 percent, the highest level since 1994. Many analysts now expect unemployment will reach 8 percent by the middle of next year.

Coupled with revisions to September’s data — which now show a loss of 284,000 jobs, down from an initial estimate of 159,000 — the economy has shed 1.2 million jobs since the beginning of the year. More than half the job losses have been in the last three months.

New York Times

"We're talking about innocent children!"

Jack Bauer said it himself.

Fox Television's 24: Redemption features a child soldier plot in it's season 7 premiere Nov. 23. The two hour event is available on DVD the following Tuesday, including a "Children of War" bonus featurette.

After sacrificing everything for his country, Jack Bauer (Sutherland) is wanted by the U.S. government and now stands to lose the only thing he has left: his freedom. Working as a missionary in Africa, Bauer is called upon to stop a ruthless warlord from drafting innocent children into his murderous militia. First, Bauer must confront his own torturous past and face an impossible decision that will change his life forever. A decision that will set the stage and raise the stakes for Season Seven, which debuts in January 2009.

Fox Television 23:Redemption

President Aide “It is his country.”
President Noah Daniels “But I’m paying for it”

President Noah Daniels “I don’t want those transactions traceable.”
President Aide “Burn the records and bury the ashes.”

President-elect Allison Taylor “Last time [General Benjamin] Juma made a power grab he ignited a tribal war that killed tens of thousands of civilians.”
Taylor Aide “But it isn’t our war.”

U.S. tax dollars continue to fund the use of child soldiers abroad
Bill to restrict military funding to governments using child soldiers still waiting for Senate vote

Click here to educate yourself