De serie Stargate SG-1 is gebaseerd op de film Stargate uit 1994 waarin de vondst van een grote metaal/stenen ring centraal staat. De ring, de stargate, bied je de mogelijkheid om in een fractie van een seconden van planeet naar planeet te reizen zonder daarvoor in een groot duur ruimteschip te hoeven stappen. De film en de TV series vertelden uiteindelijk het verhaal achter de stargates.

Het vierde hoofdstuk, of een nieuw verhaal?

Met Stargate Universe lassen de makers van de series het vierde hoofdstuk van het verhaal in en ze zetten meteen hoog in. Door de serie bijna compleet los te koppelen van de verhaallijnen uit SG-1 en Atlantis hopen de makers dat ze een nieuwe publiek zullen trekken dat meteen kan mee kijken, ook al hebben ze nog nooit van Stargate gehoord.

Helaas heeft dit plan, hoe goed bedacht ook, weinig kans op slagen. Alleen in de eerste aflevering van Stargate Universe zitten al een dozijn termen waarbij van de kijker verwacht wordt ze te kennen. Termen als stargate en wormhole zijn nog vrij makkelijk op te pikken als nieuwe kijker maar zodra er wordt begonnen over de Ancients, chevrons en zero point modules ben je elke nieuwe kijker vrijwel meteen kwijt.

In Stargate SG-1 en Atlantis werd de werking en het verleden van de stargates tot in detail uitgelegd. Beide series zijn in totaal ruim 16 jaar op TV geweest. Je kan een nieuw publiek simpelweg niet midden in zo’n lang verhaal gooien en verwachten dat ze het op een zelfde niveau zullen volgen als de fans die het al vanaf het begin volgen. Naar mijn mening is dit de grootste inschattingsfout geweest, maar absoluut niet één die de nieuwe serie minder goed maakt.

Volwassen

Met de pilot* van SG-U werd meteen al één ding duidelijk; de serie moet en zal volwassener worden. Alles, van de camera shots tot de verhaallijn is volwassener geworden ten opzichte van hoe Stargate SG-1 twaalf jaar geleden begon. Zo kregen we al vrij snel in de serie een ‘bedscene’ voor onze kiezen (hoewel er niet echt spraken was van een bed, eerder een bezemkast), iets wat zeer verrassend is voor de oudere fans omdat zoiets gewoon niet voorkwam in de vorige series. Afgezien van één half naakt scene in de pilot van SG-1 (er waren alleen borsten zichtbaar) werd er verder nooit echt naar seks verwezen.

Ook de aanwezigheid van bloed en geweld is in vrij grote mate omhoog gegaan. Waar de oude series vrij weinig bloederige scenes hadden wordt er in SG-U niet voor geschuwd om redelijke hoeveelheden bloed te laten zien. Het sterven van personages is overigens ook op de schop genomen en sterfscènes zijn nu meer aanwezig dan ooit in tegenstelling tot de vorige series waarbij de dood van personages vaak suggestief waren of volledig buiten beeld werden gelaten.

Over het algemeen hebben de makers van SG-U een goede beslissing genomen om de serie met de tijd mee te laten gaan. Hoewel de serie nu wel iets meer lijkt op andere sciencefiction series en niet meer zijn eigen stijl heeft doet dat absoluut niet af aan de kwaliteit van het verhaal. Stargate Universe is een sterk vervolg op zijn voorgangers en zal in ieder geval de oude garde goed weten te amuseren.

Robin

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That idea belonged to David Crane and Marta Kauffman and that idea would grow out to become the insanely popular TV sitcom Friends. The humorous adventures of Joey, Chandler, Ross, Monica, Rachel and Phoebe did not take very long to be liked by the American audience. New episodes kept being made, new seasons kept being ordered and ten years later the six unknown actors have become true moviestars. David Schwimmer for example played the role of Captain Sobel in the TV miniseries Band of Brothers. Matthew Perry made appearances in, among others, Beverly Hills 90210 and played the main character in The Whole Nine Yards alongside Bruce Willis (who later featured on Friends after a bet between Matt and Bruce).

The series final episode aired on May 6th, 2004 and drew a mind blowing 52 million people to the TV screen in America alone. Of all the actors from Friends only Matt LeBlanc (Joey) stayed in his original role and started his own sitcom, following Joey’s life after splitting up with his friends from New York.

Of course there have been a few Friends wannabees in the years after the finale. However it has been proven quite difficult to live up to the standard Friends set in those ten years. New sitcoms have come and gone, all with their own magical ideas about what would make their new sitcom unique.

On September 19th, 2005 however, it became clear that the spiritual sequel to Friends didn’t have to be unique in it’s own way. The only thing that sequel needed was more of the same; the adventures of five friends in their late twenties living in modern New York City.

How I Met Your Mother

To me also known as Friends 2, How I Met Your Mother is one of the best and funniest TV shows I’ve ever seen. The story of the show is that of a father telling his children how he met their mother in the year 2030. Most of the show just takes place in 2005-2009 though with only tiny moments from 2030 here and there.

The writers of HIMYM are doing a fantastic job coming up with original characters, situations and jokes. However the character Barney Stinson (played by Neil Patrick Harris), has really boosted the shows popularity. Barney’s one liners and hilarious ways of scoring chicks have quickly captured the hearts of many viewers to the point where Neil already has a huge fan base after only four seasons. Various people are selling t-shirts with some of Barney’s most famous quotes on them.

I for one am a big big fan of How I Met Your Mother and hope that it will be at least as successful as Friends was back in its day. I hope very much that the show will continue for a good 10 seasons or even beyond that.

To the writers of the show: You’re doing a legendary job! Keep up the good work for years to come!

And of course, to keep with the spirit of the site, some backstage material and a blooper reel. Enjoy!

Behind the scenes footage (Couldn’t embed this, sorry!)

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It’s not surprising many people have gone out to write fan fiction about Half-Life. Many great writers out there have come up with endless ideas for the Half-Life universe. If you’re into the Half-Life series I’d like to point you to the Half-Life section of FanFiction.net.

So why would I mention this on my media blog? Because Half-Life fanfiction has since spread to much more then just writing. Youtube has a number Half-Life related videos, but I’d like to focus on two in particular that really stand out.

Escape From City 17

This particular video was made by The Purchase Brothers and has become insanely popular with over two million views in less then two months. The short film, which is supposed to be the first of three, is set during the events in Half-Life 2: Episode 2. With the city in chaos and the Citadel about the go sky high, the film follows a group of rebels trying to get out of the city.

The editing and special effects in this film are great and the acting, while not of Hollywood standards of course, is not to shabby either. Escape From City 17 is a good example of the things you can do with a green screen and some powerful editing software.

What’s in the Box?

This short-film was made by a Dutch duo. The film is set in a Half-Life 2 like environment. While the direct connection to Half-Life 2 is not made, there are a few things that point in the direction such as a gunship and Combine looking soldiers.

An air of mystery surrounds this film, as it is accompanied by a website that can only be opened with a code of sorts. Many people on Youtube have been trying to break the code and if you want to have a run at it go to whatsinthebox.nl. According to hints on the website something is going to happen regarding the box in November. Whether this is a sequel of sorts is unknown at this point.

So what kind of fan fiction do you prefer? Do you like written or visual fan fiction?

Robin

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The following Monday was the first of a three day event over in another ROC building in the center of Amsterdam. The event serving as a sort of informational meeting mixed with some fun team play events. My teacher and some hired help (including me and a classmate, though we didn’t get paid unless you count a 25 euro gift certificate as being paid) were responsible for everything audio visual. Everything from building the stage to operating the lights and sound installation was done by us. And, like with any event, the first day started with building.

Monday February 9th – Day 1

My day began at the ungodly hour of 4:30 AM. I didn’t have to be at school until 7:30 AM but I don’t like rushing in the morning like some people do. Do you know there are people out there who shower, dress, eat, watch the news, walk the dog and pack their bag in less then half an hour? I’d go crazy every single morning!

Anyway, after I took my time preparing for what would be quite a long day, I got in the car and headed to school where I would meet with my teacher and my classmate. By 8:00 AM we were all in my teacher’s car, heading to an AV supply company who would be supplying all of the equipment for the event. After a short introduction we got in an already loaded truck and headed off to Amsterdam, hoping to arive there before 9:00 AM. Needless to say traffic around Amsterdam sucks at that time of day so we didn’t get there until about 10:00 AM or something.

We quickly got a move on and started building seeing as we were already late. While the more experienced guys started working on assembling the trus, I unloaded the speakers and dragged them and their standards to the right place. All in all work went pretty smooth and the entire stage + control booth was set up and ready to go around 4:00 PM.

Tuesday February 10th – Day 2

For the event that would be taking place today the attendees would be guided through the building and attend presentations in various classrooms about stuff so boring I don’t even want to know. These presentations did require a computer and beamer to be present though and setting those up was our job.

The event at the main stage started at 9:00 AM and the classroom presentations would start at 11:00 AM, meaning we had two hours to get everything set up. But as usual everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and we ended up with a rather primitive blueprint of the building which, on top of things, was marked incorrectly. It took some doing and a lot of talking to people to figure out in which classrooms exactly the equipment was supposed to go. But in the end all beamers were working at 11:00 AM and everyone was happy.

As for the rest of the day, we did absolutely nothing. The only time we were needed was when the stage was actually being used, which wasn’t even that much during the day. The entire crew spent more time on Solitaire that day then on anything productive.

By the time the entire thing ended, which was around 9:00 PM, we got started on turning things off and covering things up for the next day. I got home at about 10:00 PM.

Wednesday February 11th – Day 3

Just out of curiosity I asked my teacher how long we would be working today. He took a look at the schedule and told me that the event itself would be lasting until 9:00 PM, minus the breaking and packing of the equipment. We were in for another long day.

Since the morning part of the day was not really that busy and we didn’t need 6 people running around doing nothing, I requested to come in later. Luckily I was granted that wish, so on that last day I got to sleep in a bit at least. But even when I got there, things were still boring. For the biggest part of the day we just sat around again, doing nothing. At that point you’re glad when the entire thing is over because that’s when you actually get to do something.

As soon as the last guests left the building we started tearing down the truss, ripped apart the stage and threw everything (ever so gently) in their respective cases. All in all it cost us almost 2 hours to get everything loaded in the trucks at which point everyone was glad the day was over.

We said our goodbye’s and all headed to our respective homes. I reached mine at about 10:30 PM, at which point I was just about ready to fall asleep on the sidewalk.

All in all it was a very cool job and if there’s one thing I learned it’s that I am NOT going to go into the lighting business after I’m done with this study. As fun as the work is, the hours are hell and I do not want a job with hellish hours.

Robin

[View with PicLens]

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The funny thing about this story is that the entire thing was recorded, by accident or on purpose, who knows. Be advised before listening though, it’s a pretty intense audio clip and not exactly safe for work unless you’re allowed to swear a lot.

Download the audio clip here.

I’m kind of two sided on this entire thing and here’s why. I go to school to learn about stuff like backstage work particularly, so I understand how this guy must have thought “let me just check the light real quick, otherwise they have to redo the entire scene just because I screwed up a light”.

That right there is doing more then you’re hired to do. If the director thinks the view of the scene is bad because a light is busted or aimed wrong then he’ll tell you and THEN you can go fix it. Unless you are specifically told to get on the set to fix something you should be as far away from the damn thing as a possible. And according to the audio clip this guy walked right onto the set twice in a row, in my books you’re just dense if that happens. As if everyone on the set being in position to shoot isn’t enough indication for you to stay clear.

So does that justify how Bale reacted? No of course not, but it’s understandable. Acting isn’t an easy job. As much as we all like to bitch at people for bad acting, we couldn’t do it any better ourselves if we tried. So when you spent a week memorizing a scene and have to do it for real it would be nice if things could go right in one try. Can you imagine some dude ruining your scene twice in a row? I think I would be pissed too.

Anyway to make something good come from a bad situation someone took the above audio clip and used it to make a remix. It’s quite nicely done, you can download it here.

Robin

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Today was particularly fun day because today we got to build the stage for the very first time! Together with our teachers from light class we went up to the cafeteria to prepare the stage for a short performance by RED!. We basically had to put the lighting into the stage truss (the construction above the stage) and help out with guiding cables and making sure the stage was ready and safe for the performance.

When the stage is not in use there are generally a few lights on the truss, though not connected to anything. They are mostly there for the show of things and to keep the storage from getting to full. However the lights that are normally up there are generally not used with an actual performance. So before we could put the performance lights in we had to take those other lights out.

When the truss was empty we got together to have a quick look at the light plan. This a top view of the stage and the truss that displays which light is supposed to go where. In this case we were using the standard PAR Lights, MAC 250’s and MAC 300’s. The latter two also being known as Moving Heads since they can pretty much move in every direction and are programmable to even the tiniest little details using a light mixing table.

We spent about four hours getting the lights in position and securing all the cables to the truss. You don’t want to ruin a good stage by random cables dangling from the truss above you. So when all loose ends were literally tied up (or in this case taped down) we could start inspecting all the safety cables.
To make sure a light doesn’t just fall down on someone should it come loose one way or another, every light has to be secured to the truss with a special safety chain or cable. In the case of PAR lights the barn-doors (the flaps you sometimes see on these lights) have their own safety cable.

When we made sure everything was secured as it should be the more experienced light guys could start programming the lights. I watched along a little as they did, but there were so many buttons there that I quickly lost track of what the hell he was doing. In any case, programming those lights is a lot of work.

Before the performance could begin there was only one more thing that needed to be installed: sound. Luckily we were not responsible for providing the sound as RED! brought their own installation for that. We just had to help unload it from the truck and get it up to the stage.

Setting up the audio took the guys only fifteen minutes or so and fifteen minutes after that the show finaly started. Many of the school’s students had gathered in the cafeteria to watch and the good news was: all our lights worked!

It’s pretty cool to see something you’ve worked for hours on come to live like that. It’s to bad it doesn’t last, tomorrow we have to take the entire thing down again. It’s been a very educational experience though and I hope we have many more projects just like today.

Pictures & Videos!

Of course I did take some pictures and shot some video. What would the world be without camera’s in your phones these days, right? Hope you enjoy watching these as much as I enjoyed making them!

Oh and excuse the quality of the photos. It’s just a phone camera afterall.

[View with PicLens]

Videos

Robin

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During these lessons we also learn about rigging, how to hang lights into a stage rig and how to properly secure them so they don’t fall down on anyone’s head.

The fun thing is that with these lessons we’re actualy going to do some real stage work. Next week we will be the ones responsible for the preperation of the stage lights when the winners of yet another talent show come to our school to perform their ’singing’.

RED is the popgroup that was formed after the finale of this year’s Dutch version of Popstars. A fun fact is that two of the three group members are students on this very school, which does make the entire thing kind of special, eventhough they still can’t sing.

Their performance is next Tuesday and I will be sure to make some pictures of the construction and of the performance itself with the lights in action. And once I have a way of getting the pictures of my phone I’ll be sure to post them on here.

Robin

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So to kick off the weekend I thought I’d share some backstage footage of my favorite TV show. In this 10 minute video the actors and producers talk about how season 2 was shot and the problems they encountered while doing so. An interesting thing that came out of this video is that 90% of the season 2 footage was shot in Dallas, Texas. And just to compare, season 2 takes place in at least 5 different states and 2 different countries.

Enjoy the video!

Robin

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But in live TV shows you see them all the time if you pay attention. How many times have you seen news broadcasts going wrong because someone forgot to que up the right clip? It’s up to the anchor to keep a straight face and improvise to avoid just sitting there like an idiot.

While it may seem funny to us, the watching audiance, it’s a lot less funny for the person responsible for the blooper, especially in news broadcasts. It’s not uncommon for the director to throw a fit over something as small as a wrong tape being played and some people have actually lost their jobs over what seem to be innocent bloopers on live shows.

Collection of funny news bloopers.

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Robin

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