So I went with a couple of friends the other day to see Terminator Salvation.  We had planned on using the free passes we got from the I-Max to see it in that format, but the I-Max place had extended the showing of Star Trek another week.  So we had to settle for regular old 35mm.

 

I’m glad we did.

 

While I’m sure this latest ‘terminator’ movie would have looked awesome on such a giant screen, the movie overall is a bit of a strange bird.  I’m not sure it ever finds it way, decided just what it wants to be. 

 

First off, the effects in the movie are (for the most part) awesome.  However, and this is a big one, on the close up’s of some of the terminators . . . they look like they are being controlled by puppeteers.  They look very fake and forced . . . like some is just below the frame turning the torso.  At other times, I assume when they were CG, they move fluidly with a visual weight that is very believable.  The machines are very gritty, grimy, and have used parts of human made machines (or designs) to construct themselves.  They are at the same time familiar (recognizable parts) and strange menacing abominations.  Most of the CG is not noticeable as being so, blending into the shot convincingly. 

 

The sound design (by Cameron Frankley) is superb throughout the movie, conveying this post apocalyptic grit and harshness the helps reinforce the entire feeling of the flick.  The machines have this sound, this evil menacing screech . . . and the bigger the machine the deeper this recognizable ‘I’m a Sky-Net-run machine looking to kill you’ sound.  You can hear them before you see them, you know they are close, searching the area . . . and it sent shivers down my spine just hearing it.  I could go on, but I wont.  The sound design was superb and will definitely be a contender for an Oscar.  I’ll be getting this movie in Blu-ray simply for the sound design and visual effects.  Fact. 

 

The acting was pretty good.  All the key players here are believable, even though Christian Bale uses a little bit of his ‘big boy’ voice from the Batman movies.  There are several lines from the previous movies thrown in (I’ll be back, and the like), but unlike Star Trek (which is strewn with fan favorite catch phrases) these just seem to stick out and make you laugh at a serious time in the movie, breaking the moment. 

 

But all that could be forgiven, if the plot were . . . well if it didn’t have this identity crisis.  It’s like they took the world of the Terminator movies, and then wrote this story that took place in that world and had some of the same characters from that world . . . but didn’t have much to do with that story line of the previous movies.  Sure you get to see John Connor and the resistance, but the movie isn’t about them.  They’re in it, you get to learn a bit more about the resistance, but it’s like a side plot . . . a vehicle for this OTHER story line to move forward. 

 

To be honest, a good third of the movie is spent on ‘resistance’ type plot points . . . but you don’t get much info about them.  They’re just kind of there, doing their thing.  Oh, and John Connor needs to save his dad (who is a teenager) so he can later send him back . . . to be his dad.  Another third of the movie is spent on the story line of our protagonist, a convicted killer who is sentenced to death and then wakes up in ‘the future’ (all of which you learn in the first 5 minutes of the move, that’s the only ‘spoiler’ in this review).  He seems to just take a lot of stuff for granted and moves about doing his thing, though we get a reason for this later it’s never dealt with before hand.  Just kind of taken for granted (much like a certain underwater shooter we all know and love).  And the final third of the movie is just good old shootin’ and blowin’ things up ! 

 

It’s like the writers started writing one movie, had an idea for ANOTHER movie, and then decided to combine the two to save time and money while stripping both story lines down to the bare minimum.  The production values for this film are very high, while the plot is . . . well is not.  In the end I was glad I saw the movie but I don’t feel like I learned anything about the future of the Terminator story line that couldn’t have been summed up an a couple of paragraphs.  If you have a good home theatre system, this is a must rent.  If you are close to a movie theatre with a good projector and surround sound, and you just want a good shoot-em-up with awesome visuals . . . then this movie is for you !

 

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Not a lot going on here at the ol’ blog at the moment.  All the things I was wanting to write about, is just stuff that you can find somewhere else (how good the Star Trek movie is, that type of stuff). 

 

I could bore you about what I’m doing today, but you can just follow me on Twitter (DXEndar) if you want hourly updates. 

 

Instead I’ve decided to quote from a book the staff is reading called ‘it’ by Craig Groeschel, which is actually very good (I was a little skeptical about it at first).  And then put up some links to a few web sites that I have found very useful lately (mostly media and video sites).

 

First, a quote from the book from the chapter on Vision:

 

 “Vision […] it’s a little like greyhound dog racing.[…] To keep the greyhounds running in the right direction, a man in the press box controls a mechanical rabbit, keeping it just in front of those dogs so they never quite catch it.  They just chase it all the way around the track.  Well, one time at a track in Florida, the man in the press box got ready to start the mechanical rabbit.  All of the dogs were crouched in their cages.  When he pushed the start button, the rabbit took off and the dogs took chase.  But as the rabbit made the first turn, a short in the electrical system caused it to explode.”

 

“Suddenly the dogs didn’t know what to do.  There was no rabbit to chase, just a little piece of fur hanging on a wire.  With the rabbit gone, some of the bewildered dogs plopped down on the track with the tongues hanging out.  A couple of them tried to run through a fence and broke some ribs.  The rest of the dogs just sat on the track and howled at the people in the stands.  And not one dog finished the race.”

 

“Do you have anyone who is just plopped won in a pew with their tongue hanging out?  Do you know someone causing damage by running off in their own direction?  Do you have some members who are howling at the other people, creating problems by what they say, how they say it, what they disagree with?  If so, maybe it’s because they don’t have a mechanical rabbit to chase.  Without vision, people perish.  Dreams fade.  Youth groups loose their life.  Once-vibrant churches slowly die.  You need a clear vision that is constantly and enthusiastically cast.”

 

This is so pertinent to what we are doing right now at church.  We are redefining the ways that we are presenting the vision of our church (not just Christianity, but DFA’s vision specifically).  I just thought it was a great example of how, when presented with a good clearly defined goal (a vision, a purpose) . . . the people wont just follow, but they will run towards it ! 

 

Anyways, it meant a lot to me.  Maybe it means more having read the previous chapters and such. 

 

Now onto some good web pages I’ve found lately . . .

 

This is blog (and site) designed to give you some basic understanding on simple videoing techniques (like color balance and lighting) for people or groups on a tight budget.  One post shows how to use those paper lanterns for soft defuse lighting on the cheep !

http://blogs.nightglass.com/lightsandcameras/

 

Image Vine is a media site designed specifically for “Christian Projector Media”.  As their description hints at, while they have high quality media . . . it’s a little on the bland side.  Perhaps ‘traditional’ would be a better word then ‘bland’.  It’s not bad stuff, we just usually go with more of a contemporary look and feel (abstract backgrounds), while they have more traditional backgrounds (crosses with a sunset).  Prices are reasonable, but most of the good media is sold in a pack with other media and not separately.

http://www.imagevine.com/

 

Most of my media I get from Worship House Media.  They actually have a large selection from many different publishers.  Most of what they have is more ‘contemporary’ rather then ‘traditional’ media.  They have motions (looping backgrounds used behind worship words or sermon notes), mini movies (short inspirational clips about various subjects), stills (just jpeg backgrounds) and sound tracks with words meant to be used as tracks to be sung with (a nice video background with, or with out, words while you sing).  Just about everything they sell is independent, though there are several publishers that offer a pack of media for a discount.  Not the cheapest place to get media on the internet, but their quality is always good.

http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/index.cfm

 

Worship Spot has a limited selection (compared to other sites that have thousands), but their prices just cant be beat (other then being free) !  Most backgrounds are $3.00 or less (compared to $8.00 at other places).  They also have a yearly rate, where you can download as much as you want for $150 a year.

http://www.worshipspot.com/index.php

 

http://www.stockxpert.com/ has some good stock photos starting at $1 for a small resolution picture.  Sometimes difficult to find just what you’re looking for, they do have a LOT of pictures.

 

http://www.typenow.net/ is a great place to find free fonts.  Many movie and game based fonts.  The only problem is looking through the massive amount of fonts to find something you want ! Not that I’m complaining, there’s just so many there.

 

http://churchmediadesign.tv/ is a site I use to frequent often but kept getting busy with projects.  They have some very good video pod casts with good links too !  Some of the software (such as After Effects) is a little out of our price range, but the info it good !

 

http://www.freecountdowns.net/ is a site for free count down videos (played before service or before an event starts).  While I love this site, sometimes you get what you pay for lol.

 

http://www.stufficanuse.com/  is a good site with links to other sites.  They appear to be redesigning the site some at the moment though, as some of the pages are now in different places.  Very cool though.

 

http://www.openresources.org/ a site where church’s post their used media.  Why spend all that time making it just to use it once and throw it away right ?  A great place to find theme centered media !

  

I have many more, but alas, it’s time for lunch.

 

If anyone else has a good listing of Media / Video / Lighting sites, send em’ my way !

  

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So Matt and Mel and little Morgan and baby Tyler are now moved into their new duplex in North Littlerock Arkansas.  I’ll spare you the details of the move, other then to say that we got it done just as it started to downpour.   

We christened their new home with the traditional playing of a board game, Nexus Ops to be exact (the game we ALWAYS play when we get together).  It’s a fun little game where you play as a different companies / factions vying for the resources of a small distant planet.  The different game pieces all glow under black light, so obviously I brought one for us to use.  I cant find the adapter to let me upload my pictures from my cell phone to the web, but when I find it I’ll post them.

 

I got back home on Thursday and spent the remainder of the day doing laundry and catching up on DVR’d shows (including LOST).  Today (Friday) I started rearranging the living room a bit and doing some major dusting, which meant that I’ve spent most of the day sneezing and now my face feels like it’s going to explode from sinus pressure . . . but other then that it’s been a pretty good vacation.

 

There were only a few mishaps at work while I was gone.  One particular incident involved someone deciding to rewire some a-v equipment to try to make something work at the last moment on Wednesday.  This is the kind of thing that makes me furious.  I make a decision (we cant do this becaue it’s the last minute, I’m on vacation, and my volunteers wont have time to do it for me) but then someone else decides to ‘help’ and rewire part of the sound system and then leave it for me to fix later.  I’m furious.  Furious enough that I wont be touching it until Sunday (when I am officially off of vacation) and hopefully I can fix it in an hour . . . otherwise we wont have any video on Sunday.  I don’t understand why people just think it’s ok to ask me something, and when they get an answer they don’t like, to shop around until they find someone to give them an answer that they DO like and then go with that one. 

 

Anyways, now that I’ve vented about that, I feel much better.

 

Other then the stupid person and the pressure in my head, life is very good.  I get to wake up tomorrow with nothing in particular to do.  No band practice, no work, just the day to do anything I like.  Hopefully Comcast will be happy all day long and allow me to stay online for longer then a few minutes at a time and I can actually play some multiplayer something and then go see the new Star Trek movie Saturday evening.

  

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So, Old Timers Day went well.  The combined sound system worked pretty well, a few issues plagued us all day long . . .  but it got done and we didn’t get rained on too badly.  All the equipment came back in working condition, so that’s a win in my book.   

The missions services today went very well.  The videos got done and everyone seamed to like them.  There are two of them, about 7 minutes each, and you can find them HERE and HERE.

 

Last, and more important, I am now (officially) on vacation !  Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be leaving for Arkansas to help Matt and Mel move to their new place.  Then I’ll head back and concentrate very intently on doing nothing in particular. 

 

See you on the other side !

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