Square TV Update- 2009 Act 1

Well, look what the cat drug in? 2009 already and boy has the site gone stale! I do admit it has been a while since I've updated the blog but I must explain... very good things have happened. A late congratulations to my partner in crime and buddy Editor Alan and his brand new baby boy, Simon who was born last Fall. Alan has taken the alter-ego of "Super Dad" and has being doing well with his better half, Wendi. Best wishes to the Kravit Family!

As for myself... I've been working and surfing. Times are tough with the sour economy and I plan to update the blog as often as possible as time permits. I still work the 9-5 and try my best to get out into this entertaining world as much as possible. Other than that... life is good in San Diego.

2009 is a time for new resolutions and new beginnings. Here's a list of things to look out for in the entertainment world in this very promising new year.

* New President.... new look:
President Elect Barack Obama takes office next week and it will change the face of politics and everything it affects.. which is everything. TV shows and film will have more African-American politicians casted as high ranking officials and this is a good thing. This will help erase negative stereotypes associated with African-Americans in entertainment. We've already seen this changing of the guard in the show 24 where actor Dennis Haysbert played President Palmer in the early part of the series who can be seen recently in Allstate Insurance commercials. We also saw another African American President in Heroes when actor Michael Dorn took the role of the President of the United States in the upcoming second half of the season this February.

* More Comic Movies!!!!
Transformers 2, Dragonball, G.I. Joe, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and of course... Watchmen. Nuff Said!



* Harry Potter is hotter.
The powers that be should consider standardizing calendars to show if it is a year that a Harry Potter movie comes out on. It would make soccer mom's lives a lot easier and would help Summer movie traffic.

* Recession Obsession
Not that it's a good thing to obsess about but this recession will affect the entertainment biz strongly. As if it hasn't already? Job cuts have effected major studios and this will greatly affect the production time of movies and tv shows. I was watching the Golden Globes the other day, and I even heard fashion analysts discussing how the recession has made actors dress more frugal and conservative in reflection to the financial times we live in. I just hope I don't see Megan Fox wearing Wal-Mart granny panties.



* Comic Con 2009
Need I say more?

Comic Con with solve everything.... I can't wait till Summer!!!

Til then... I'll be kicking it with 2 guys who's lives came up short... the dude from Prison Break and Tupac. R.I.P. you both.

The Def Leading the Blind

  To be 1080P or not to be 1080P... that is the question.  High definition media has hit us hard like a fast-ball in the face and it certainly isn't slowing down any time soon.  A strong percentage of Americans are switching to digital cable and high definition programming.  I personally have made that switch to the "high-def" world last year and I am not looking back.  More detail in image quality and color is the start of a digital art revolution and young filmmakers should be thankful for this medium transition.   

As a filmmaker, I've always tried my best to achieve that film quality look.  It's that 24 frames a second look produced by "Hollywood" cameras and I could only mimic it through cheap gimmicks and terrible low lighting used to create video noise to pass as film grain.  In recent years, companies like Panasonic and Canon have bridged that gap between part-time videographers and dedicated independent filmmakers with consumer standard video camcorders that have the bells and whistles that of industry standard equipment.

 In recent months, Canon has had the release of consumer grade camcorders like the HG10, HV20   (above) and the HR10.  These cameras boast high-definition capabilities for the price of under $1200 at most stores.  All of these cameras have an effect that produces recordings in 24 progressive frames a second and look impressively close to the industry standard videos produced at 24P.  If you don't know the difference go ahead and watch C-SPAN for a few minutes and study their digital camera footage.  After you are done watching, go ahead and watch the Food Network or a World Series of Poker Tour game and see how the video has a film-like look and almost looks like standard film used in feature films.  You might also need a little imagination to actually see it that way but it's strikingly similar.

It is truly a great time for young, up an coming filmmakers right now and the advent of high definition cameras with film-like image producing effects help out their cause.  These artists can now produce videos that have high production quality that won't break the bank.  With $1000, a good story and some imagination... almost anybody can start making their own feature film come alive.