What makes a book “Summer reading”?

For a few years I was looking for a copy of the book Zoo. Yes, as in the one that was adapted into  a tv series (and last I saw was available on Netflix).  This was after I found a “one Shot’ at barnes & Nobles which may be 100-200 some odd pages.

For some reason I have been determined for some reason to read it in the summer, and THAT is the inspiration for this post.

I’m hoping not only find out “What”  but

• Why is a book dubbed ‘Summer reading’ or even further a ‘beach read’
• The books released during this season, WHY do they get scheduled to release at this time? (Is it also like Blockbuster movie season, is there one for books as well?)
• Does a certain Type (genre) come out more Maybe mysteries or thrillers during this time? Or Do the ones with actual Summer Vacation and Beach scenes come out at this time?
• How is a book ‘deemed’ a Summer or beach read?
• Are Beach read and Summer reading the same, or 2 different things?
• Where? Are the books a summer or beach read only because of the setting(s) and time in the book?

Will I be able to answer each of these questions? We shall see, if we dont answer them I will keep researching and surveying people until I get an answer. So this will be an ongoing post.

If you Bing What is Summer reading it gives you the definition of:

THe Difference between Green Screen and Blue Screens…which one do you need

NOTE; I researched this so there is some curated content and include credit

Blue screens are used in filming to make an actor look as if he/she is somewhere else. This can be less expensive than shooting on location, though blue screens are also used to superimpose very expensive CGI images into the film.

In photography and video making, a physical blue screen against which a shot is taken. The screen enables a second shot (usually a background) to be combined with the first image.  A blue screen may also be a green screen.- Source Blue Screen

BY CHARLES YEAGER

JANUARY 16, 2020

Filmmaking

Video Editing

Video Production

We’re going to learn about the differences between utilizing a blue screen and a green screen for chroma key compositing.

Just as filmmaking and cameras have advanced over the years, so has the use of blue screens and green screens. But is there any real difference between using a blue screen vs. a green screen? The answer is yes, and you’ll find out why in this article. If you’re looking to implement a green screen (or a blue screen) in your next project, check out our guide to green screen for every detail you need to know.

Let’s start by defining chroma key compositing and looking at why we use blue or green in the first place. Then, we’ll look at factors to consider before you choose a screen color for your next project.

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Defining Chroma Key

Chroma key compositing is the actual technique of layering two images together based on color hues. Every color has a chroma range, which is where the term chroma key comes from. The solid color background essentially acts like a matte for your footage. Later, in post-production, you can remove the solid color background to make it transparent, allowing for compositing.

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Color Origins

Why do we use blue and green colored screens? Because they’re the colors furthest from human skin tones. If you look at a color wheel, notice that blue and green sit on the opposite side of where skin tones usually are.

Blue and green are furthest away from human skin tones, making them the most logical to use as background.

With film, blue screens are used for a few reasons. First, the blue channel on film has the smallest grain, resulting in a cleaner matte along edges and a better quality image. Secondly, when the color blue is exposed onto black and white film using a blue light, the blue color shows up as bright white, which can be used with an optical printer to begin the compositing process. For more information about blue screens and the optical printing process, check out Mark Vargo’s fantastic article about working on the original Star Wars films and his Blue Screen 1980 short film.

When movies began shifting to a digital post-production process, it brought on the rise of the green screen. Several factors contributed to this, included the growing popularity of digital cameras. For one, most digital cameras capture twice as much green information as they do for red or blue colors. This is because the green channel is also used for luminance, which, in turn, makes green easier to key out in post-production. Green screens also require less light than blue screens because green reflects more light — again, because it has a brighter luminance. Requiring less light means it’s cheaper to use. Bright green is also a much less common color in costumes and wardrobe, creating fewer problems in post.

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Which to Use: Blue or Green?

So the answer is clear, right? Green screens are superior to blue screens. Well, the reality is that everything is project dependent. In most cases, a green screen will serve you better. But, this isn’t true in every case. Let’s explore the pros and cons of green screens vs blue screens.

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Green Screen: Pros and Cons

Let’s start with the pros for using a green screen. As mentioned prior, most digital cameras capture more information on the green channel. This results in a cleaner key around your subject, with fewer noise artifacts. Green screens also require less light, so they’re great if you’re on a budget. The spill from green screens can also make compositing subjects into a daytime scene easier, as green is brighter. This gives the composite a more natural appearance. Finally, a lot of digital keying effects and tools are set up to key out green by default. This can speed up your post-production workflow, requiring less fine-tuning for a clean key.

reen screens require less light and capture more information on the green channel.

The biggest con of green screens is the amount of color spill. Because the color green is brighter than blue, it naturally bounces back more light. This light will have a green hue to it. (It acts like a giant, soft green light behind your subject.) This means subjects will have more color spill on them, and it can prove tricky to remove that color spill in post-production — especially when dealing with elements like hair, mesh, metallic reflections, or fine costume details. Green screens are also not ideal if you’re compositing your subject into a nighttime or dark scene. Again, this is because the subject will appear unnaturally bright because of the reflected light from the green screen.

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Blue Screen: Pros and Cons

The primary benefit of blue screens is that there’s considerably less color spill. This is because the color blue has a lower luminance value, so it doesn’t bounce back as much light. This helps a great deal when you have to film subjects with small details, as you’ll be able to retain that detail after the keying is completed. Along the same lines, it can be very difficult to key subjects with blonde hair on a green screen. The chroma key will often clip out too much of the hair. Blonde-haired subjects are much easier to key on a blue screen. Blue screens also work better for nighttime composites, since they reflect less light onto the subject.

The color blue has a lower luminance value, allowing less color spill on your subject. Image via Mark Vargo.

The biggest con of blue screens is that they require more light to properly expose than green screens. This can be problematic if you don’t have powerful lighting available, or a big enough budget to supply that kind of lighting. Another con of blue screens is that the color blue is much more common on clothing and costumes. Clothing like blue jeans or a blue-tinted business suit can be problematic, requiring a lot more work to key in post-production.

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Takeaways: Green Screen vs. Blue Screen

So what screen color should you choose? Like I mentioned earlier, it’s always going to be project dependent. But, here are a few factors to consider when you’re weighing your options.

4 Main Differences Between Green Screens and Blue Screens

• The use of digital cameras. When using a digital camera instead of film, you obtain better results from a green screen shoot because of the cleanness and luminescence of green over blue. Using green instead of blue results in less noise when keying out the footage.
• Color spill. While the green or blue screens will be removed during editing, some color will “spill” onto the subjects, especially around the edges. This can create a thin line around the person, or make areas like their hairline look odd. Depending on your shoot, color spill can be better or worse depending on the color of your screen. Blue screen tends to have less spill than green, and also happens to be easier to color correct than green.
• The prevalence of blue. Subjects and objects are more likely to be blue than green. For example, people are more likely to be wearing blue clothing than green clothing. You get better results when the background color is not heavily present in the subject you are filming (which is why red screens and yellow screens don’t exist).
• Lighting. Blue screens have a lower luminosity as compared to green screens. This means they are better suited to low-light shoots, but also makes them trickier to light. If you want the blue screen to key properly with the least amount of adjustments necessary you’ll need to set your camera to a higher f-stop than you would were you using a green screen. This also means it is more difficult to shoot a large scene on blue screen as opposed to green.

How blue Screens work

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/blue-screen.htm

Green screens or blue screens are used as backdrops in chroma key photography, which is a process that replaces a solid-colored background from behind the subject of a photo (or video) with a new background. When you watch the weather forecaster on TV standing in front of a map, or Spiderman climbing down a building, you, my friend, are seeing chroma key photography at work!

https://savageuniversal.com/blog/beginner-guide-to-green-screens/

Who has the best streaming service

I’ve been asked multiple times on Quora which streaming service is the best choice, or has the most original content and so on. So far I’ve only watched Netflix between last summer and 2019.  I’m judging this by a few factors, one in which is by looking through the eyes of a possible new subscriber, plus a few other factors.

1.  amount of ORIGINAL content  (series in which ALL types are considered yes including children’s)
2.  price
3. Ease of access
4.  trustworthy (well known) service
5.  customer service
6.  downloadable (you can download content to watch for when there is no wi-fi available)
7.  TBD- to be determined

Always Keep in mind unlike with Disk rentals that stay in their library until something happens to the disk, streaming services only keep their original shows and movies.   All the content that is NOT original, like when they get Godzilla, or the CW shows they have,  they are licensed to show. (basically they pay to show them for some length of time)

Whatever or shall I say however long the deal is, once it expires the movie or show will no longer be available on that service.  (Try calling or writing in and requesting titles)  They all get new content every month and as for originals I’d say at least 1-2 shows premier each month (that also counts for a show’s 2nd or more season)

Vudu

Price:  varies by movie or show  Rent/Buy and if you watch ON  Vudu.com or app.

HOW– App or better on the site as some movies are free but there are some ads…however the free movies and shows do not show that they are IN the app.

No KNOWN original content

Pay or rent movies and shows.

So far I have not needed to use Customer service of any sort.

Unlike the others, Vudu at least offers a good amount of free options each month. I also like this one as when you add something to your wishlist, it will alert you when it is available for free (now if I could just keep up with my email I might get some of mine on there watched)

Not sure if content is downloadable I haven’t checked, or tried, but I have watched some free titles on here in the past. They also seem to get new movies in a reasonable amount of time (maybe amazon and these guys have the rights to new releases) Honestly between on demand and streaming, (and the fact there seems to be NO streaming guide that comes out at least once a month (sort of like a monthly TV guide) I don’t understand WHY HBO or the other movie channels don’t get the new releases as quickly as they used to (heck I think they would get them BEFORE it was out to buy or rent!)

a vudu account is good to have as if you PURCHASE a physical disk of a movie it is one of the streaming services that has the digital copy that comes along in the combo packaging.

Do you watch….. Yes, I do watch…..

a new peeve of mine is when I ask someone if they watch a certain show and the person says  “I don’t watch TV”

Lately I’ve run into this a lot when I post about a show or something having to do with a show on a network or cable station.

 

to start

A friend or 2 of mine… Had replied to a post or something on a show I watch but said ‘I don’t watch TV’ meanwhile one of these was about Gotham which airs on Fox network…just because he watches the show on a computer via subscription he (note sarcasm) doesn’t watch tv, (at least not on a literal  tv screen) yet it is made for the literal term, but watching network and cable shows via Hulu, amazon Netflix etc…. I can only respond with a quote from the ‘;90s cartoon the  Angry Beavers

 YOU ARE ALL SPOOTY LIARS!

 

I was recently ask on Quora Do you even watch TV in 2019.

my answer

I explained about writing this post! As well as I get “no I don’t watch Tv” (and the person sounding snotty or snobbish about it.)

Honey if you are Streaming or just watching something on station’s app or website.. YOU ARE WATCHING TV. Even if its on YouTube.

Wile yes there is a small fraction of people who do not own a tv (even a smart tv). If you have a screen, in this day and age that is a tv… Kindle Fire, Laptops, other tablets with internet and streaming capabilities, if you watch anything on a screen even if its no longer airing on Network or cable you are still watching ‘TV’ you are just streaming it.

‘TV’ is just a lot faster to say than are you streaming such and such show… Or do you watch this show is a lot quicker. Also it seems now with so many Streaming options (even the stations having their own streaming only series) people don’t seem to have a clue where many of the shows are Like the Christian Group trying to take Good Omens off of Netflix lmao!) Just like they were trying to get Lucifer off Network TV.

If you don’t want it on… don’t watch it… don’t let your kids watch it.. Don’t make the network take a series down just because you don’t approve of it. Not every one is Christian or some branch of it.

 

Its a screen you are watching, its a series made for ‘TV’ so to speak so you are watching TV. Even if its exclusive to Netflix or Hulu etc. ‘streaming’ series like House of cards and those of the like, it may not be on a TV network or that you are not watching it on a literal TV screen (and with so called Smart tvs being available… why are you watching on tiny phone, and tablet screens? Frankly if I can’t watch on the actual TV I use my laptop to stream Netflix. (Though I prefer watching on the TV screen which is larger than this screen.

Unless you absolutely  do not watch any form of dramas, comedies, cartoons 1/2 -1  hour episodic series formats be it on the boobtube, stream or download to a computer, tablet, or mobile screen… then

 

YOU WATCH ‘TV’…

 

your ass sounds stupid when you reply that you don’t watch tv when in fact we are having a conversation about the same show regardless of Me watching it on an actual Television and You via an alternative form. Even streaming shows if someone asks me if I watch something on Netflix I don’t ell them I don’t watch TV. First if I’m not sure how to see it, I’ll ask them what its on, which would mean I likely have not seen it. But I’m watching it on another form of screen I don’t say I don’t watch TV.

When I ask ….”Do You Watch __enter whatever show here_____  ….

answer yes or no  I don’t.   I didn’t F****in ask if you watch tv, and I don’t care how you watch it.

I asked if you watch a certain  show  I don’t care HOW you watch your entertainment, and  don’t make me pull teeth cause I ( will actually enjoy doing the literal sense)

If the answer is NO then tell me what you do watch (regardless how you watch.. doesn’t matter unless I saw it before you and don’t want to ruin things)

Likely, I think we need a new term… Like E.S. for episodic series (something with more pizazz that can cover meaning ‘t.v’ streaming, downloading etc being there’s so many ways to access ‘TV’ series now be it literal sense or not) ..even YouTube will have their own TV shows (or was it movies)now…  Those sites are trying to be like TV or radio stations which I can understand. Maybe people need to stop being so literal…(am I doing that?)  And learn that when someone asks If they watch a show…

saying I don’t watch TV… (which is a generic term at this point I even see streaming as tv after all you are watching a screen,  )  just because it’s not the literal Television doesn’t mean you ‘don’t watch TV’ …) 1. is not the answer and 2. Just makes you sound like some snob.

The person I was speaking to about Gotham, said no he doesn’t watch tv but did watch the show. Again as I said, you sound stupid (at least to me) saying that. Especially being as I didn’t ask how where etc you do so. Honestly I think those ‘smart phones’ are ‘smart’ cause they’ve sucked the brains out of your heads!

 

as I proposed … I think we need a new term and Would like to hear your suggestions for one.

as I pledged  E.S. for episodic Series but that for me is a bit bland and sounds so stupid if you ask so

What Episodic series shows do you watch?

Plus a bit long. Should it be what screen shows we watch? at this point at least half the country (ok world) would still say TV so shouldn’t people still get the phrase which at this point ‘Television’ is an umbrella term to cover the alternate ways of watch as well or am I wrong about that?  I mean it’s not like we have a Hologram projector to watch things on, or like in the book Ready Player one that I’ve read (twice now) they have a Virtual reality sim they do EVERYTHING in (school, work, play etc)

Think on that and I would love to hear your ideas.

If you liked this article or the blog itself why not the author your support?

 

On a side note…

There are still shows that I enjoy on the network stations. However there are shows and movies that I am interested in on streaming apps/sites as well. Sadly you can only subscribe to those by the month, instead of being able to do so for a day or a week. I mean for a Day have us pay like $5 (sometimes there’s only one show on a streaming service I am interested in at the time…like CBS’s all Access has one show, Hulu I think has 2–3 shows I want to see) Or sometimes you just need a subscription while away on vacation.

Some of my favorite long running shows are coming to an end on Network, so I shall see, maybe after 2020 there won’t be enough of shows worth watching, and may end up playing musical streaming services, switching up each month.

A how to guide, to writing a better review

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How to write a review

September 9, 2016 at 17:08PM

Posted by Kim Marie Ostrowski

I have been writing Entertainment reviews for years for friends and family and now this blog to share with everyone.

When writing a review there is certain criteria to follow. Some criteria can be used for all forms of reviews like Movies, TV, Gaming, as well as Books, Concerts and products! There is other information that works only with certain types of reviews as well. I hope to cover most, if not all of it here. And if you think of something I may have left out, please by all means, drop me a note of what it is so I may include it to help others.

I’ve read a few books that I couldn’t put down (the first 5 Harry Potter books you had to pry out of my hands) and sped my way through because I loved the book so much. This is a treat for any reader, and it’s true for reviewers too. I love to lose myself in a story, (some of my favorites for this are The Janet Evanovich Plum series, Yasmine Galenorn’s Otherworld series and J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series and most recently Ready Player One!) I usually gather my thoughts when I close the book. Or while Watching a movie or TV show I will take notes while watching so I won’t forget to mention a funny moment or anything else that captured my attention? Was it the characters, the story line, the topic, or the director or author’s voice? What techniques did they use? Why would I recommend this?

With stories like this, I often go back and re-read the book or re-watch the show at a later time.

Here I will help you to write better reviews or give you ideas to make some of yours a little different.

Do Batman V Superman’s Reviews Prove That Critics Are Snobs?

A bit late in publishing, but its not so much about the movie itself but more the question.

 

I thought the same, and as I’ve read a few that sounded snobby, these are the reason I decided to start writing my own reviews.

These people are probably forced to see something that they are just not interested in and therefore the reason they blast the movie. I agree with the article that they sound like they just want to cover movies that are more artfully made etc. This is one reason I think critics should not have to go to college unless they are going to specifically cover those sort of movies.  Another reason is they usually always compare it to another movie they don’t seem to include a short plot and some other information and most importantly I don’t think they ever mention Why they did or didn’t like it.

I find any critic, pro or novice blogger when they write a review  they should always include a pros and cons list …so to speak. Write what your over all feelings about the movie is. (I make notes while I watch and why sometimes sounds like a play by play…I want to include my reactions to some of the movie.. also write what you do like about it (all of the reasons) and why the same goes for why you didn’t.  also include how you think it could have been improved on.

For those of you that are writing reviews professionally for a paper or magazine (or a well known website) and getting paid under the table by studios or whatever to give great or bad reviews …

I am Shaming your ass right here!

as much as I could use the money… I cannot be bought and you can find that in my about page.. yes it says for products but it’s a blanket for any review I do.  I can understand in a way if you are given a movie to see you are not interested in, I know when that happens (like when friends force you into seeing a romantic comedy when you just broke up with someone) emotionally & mentally you clash and usually the more emotional side wins over. This is why I not only write some of my review during the movie but sleep on it, re-read it and think about the movie again and see if I still feel the same 1-2 days after I’ve seen the film.

I’d rather have an average joes eye for fx etc. I hope I don’t sound snooty in my reviews. As far as them mentioning the fast and furious films with the diversity etc.. That’s not what makes a movie or franchise good; , stand out ..yes.  I always wonder why people always have to look for some underlying agenda about a movie or show… for instance…Harry Potter’s Professor Umbridge could you say Nazi. I’m one who prefers to just read or watch what’s put in front of me as visual story telling. Entertainment was supposed take your mind off your reality.

As far as the comic superhero movies go, I find those that are not ‘fanboy’ ‘geek written are sometimes just as hyped as the rest of the media. Granted I haven’t read the comics so I just critique them as I do anything else I’d review. Yes maybe I compare them a little too much to how the characters look in the comics to the movies (especially Aquaman.. Sorry but Jason Mamoa does NOT look like the one in the comic however the guy that played him in Smallville (actor Alan Ritchson) looks like he jumped off the page

I do my best to not give into the hype of any of the movies,  yes there are usually a couple during the year I am pretty excited for. The only DC comics movie I was excited for was Suicide Squad (big fan of Jared Leto & I’ve also been watching Will Smith since the 90s as well while Jai Courtney is a new fave) sadly I have recently heard they are going back to reshoot scenes for SS as the jokes in the trailer were the only jokes in the movie. (and as I have been saying all along… someone needs to learn HOW to edit movie trailers!

1 joke 1 stunt a few seconds not to ruin it or the whole scene, as was my beef with Fast & Furious 6! Then there’s Man of Steel and it’s.. from what i counted 10-11 different trailers which basically all had the same scenes with the exception of one or 2 in it and therefore shows us pretty much the entire first half of the movie! If it weren’t for the 2nd half I would have been pissed but I should have asked for at least half my money back for the fact with all the trailers I already saw of it I saw the movie. If they hadn’t had so much in the trailers… I think I would have liked it more, it told a full story etc.

Batman vs Superman.. would have been the 3rd movie I was pretty excited to see this year but once the trailers started showing and the closer it came to the release the more and more the trailer was shown and the less enthusiastic I was about it. I’ll give you a couple reasons why

1. for a Superman movie it looked more like we were about to watch another batch of the dark knight Christian Bale movies
2. the amount of times they showed the trailer (actually this should be #1) after Fast & Furious 6 I have somewhat boycotted watching trailers so as to not ruin the movie for myself. Sadly It’s somewhat hard to do even if you don’t watch it you have to hear it EVERY… Commercial… BREAK.
3. batman is not going to help superman fly! I Love Henry Cavil as superman and I think maybe with another director (and or script writer) that a 3rd superman movie would be better. I can understand that a goody two shoes Superman won’t cut it, I know he’s more gritty and that’s fine to me but then I’m not a comic fan girl.  But honestly I don’t think I would see a goody goody Superman movie in the theater, especially after the last batch of Batman movies.
4.  I won’t even go on the topic of BATfleck… wasn’t crazy about him being Batman and as I said in my review of the movie he did not impress me at all as Batman, but as Bruce Wayne he was more believable, sort of like a favorite uncle.  Though it will definitely take at least one or 2 more movies of him as Batfleck  for me to fully decide what I think of him. (so glad to hear  he won’t be in next movie)
5.  I’ve heard more mixed reviews on this movie than any in my life.. (and I don’t read reviews before seeing a movie I am interested in, so I do not become biased.)

as for the  question if the boogyman has finally set in that we may now have superhero fatigue, I don’t think that is the case. My opinion is that maybe a superman sequel with Batman in it was not a good idea to ‘save’ face on the series.  I think it is the hype that killed the movie in reviews.  Even if it was the right idea to put them together than they went about the story wrong weather or not there was anything in there that had to do with the comics. They mentioned in it why we are bashing the movie when we should be asking questions about Aquaman holding his breath (really the blink and you miss scene of him) I saw but I was trying to take in the whole scene so something as small as seeing him holding his breath (if he really was) would escape.

inspired to write post due to this article. http://screenrant.com/critics-superheroes-reviews-batman-superman/

If you liked this article or the blog itself why not the author your support?

Am I just imagining it, or are movie critics snobs? – Quora

Movie Critics: We Are NOT Snobs | Emanuel Levy

The Ratings Prove Yet Again Why Snobbish Critics Just Don ..

Critics are worthless snobs : unpopularopinion – reddit

12 Things Film Snobs Need to Stop Saying – The Odyssey Online

Game of Thrones or Risk

This is a post I originally wrote up on writedge so while this mostly remains the same as that I have updated it for my blog so this is a back issue of sorts yet ‘new at the same time

Peter Dinklage ,Lena Headey ,Emilia Clarke ,Kit Harington, Sophie Turner , Maisie Williams , Ian Glen, Aidan Gillen, Gwendoline Christie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau,Isaac Hempstead Wright, Nathalie Emmanuel ,  MORE

One of my must watch (live) tv series is Game of Thrones; an epic adventure, fantasy, ‘war games’ so to speak, which is based on the book series “A Song of Fire & ice” by George R.R. Martin.

The opening credits reminds me of the Risk board game, in which was mentioned in an article about the show. I had a bit of a laugh at that and was glad it wasn’t just me that noticed it) If you have paid attention through 4 seasons to Daenerys Targaryen; she is playing Risk or so seems to me. Think about it she’s capturing cities along the way as well as capturing hearts. She’s been fair; just, letting the slaves of these cities go free; most of which choose to be in her army. She is called Kalissi which means the Mother of Dragons in which she was given three dragon eggs as her wedding gift to Khal Drogo.

The first season I think would be safe to say, had people floored not to mention jaws dropping. By now it’s no spoiler to say, the death of main character Eddard ‘Ned’ Stark (played by Sean Bean) lord of Winterfell had jaws dropping. Once this happened we knew no one would be safe as he was one of the (most ?) beloved characters of the show if not the top one or heart of it. I love that it’s not just one story, (though yes it is) but it is like multiple stories within one, and as far as the show goes is easy to follow (I’m not so sure would be the same way for me with the books but I will eventually try).

The Stark family are noble and fair they are the protectors of the North and are represtented by the direwolves.

Besides the Stark Clan, Daenerys & her brother, her husband Drogo, and her dragons we also meet the Lannisters. This family, well frankly if you are part of it, you might want to find a new one! The sister Cercei is the biggest backstabber, Tyrion is a dwarf and therefore basically considered a bastard, a womanizer and drunk, & Jamie the ‘Golden son’ is the swoon worthy handsome one who is way too close to his sister! and hey are the cause of one of the youngest Stark  boys being badly injured.

Arya is the youngest (at least of the girls) and is a tom boy, very determined. Sansa is more the damsel in distress, and immediately starts crushing on Joffrey upon meeting him. Robb Stark is the eldest and I don’t think we see him much, Bran is the youngest of the boys and has second sight and though he cannot walk of his own accord sets out with friends on a journey. Then we have quiet & a bit innocent Jon Snow which to me becomes more likable as the series goes on (esp. in the fourth season).

I have not yet read the books so my hopes for who takes the iron throne would be Kalissi, Arya or Jon but mostly the Dragon mother! (as I was born the year of the Dragon so a little nepotism there) Also it may not matter in the books who takes the throne as being the author of the books has yet to write or finish the next book. the series will be back for its 8th season in the first half of 2019, and therefore will have veered off of whatever the story may be that George RR Martin writes (as I’m not sure if there is any communication between the creators of the show and the author, or what book(s) season 6 or 7 covered.

For those of you who haven’t started watching the series, by now you need to hurry and binge those first 7 seasons.

 

Season 4 I found to be the most exciting season so far. I have read in Entertainment weekly that the 4th season  had the shows highest ratings to that point and though I don’t want to see it end I can’t wait to see what happens throughout the rest of Westeros.

If you have watched every season but still have to catch up on the last few or on season 4, all I will say is don’t wait too long or it WILL be ruined! I will only say the last 2 episodes of season 4 were great! The 2nd to the last was epic and maybe a shocker or 2 for the finale!

Season 7 was absolutely epic especially the white army and the surprise that saddened me (and maybe many other fans as well)

So while I fear the last season I Can’t wait for the return

 

(in case the video does not show.)  Game of Thrones Season 1 Extras- Character profiles

Need to catch up? You can click this link --> Amazon.com Widgets to get a great deal on the Box set of the books series, or seasons 1-3 as well as order season 4.

In what way do you enjoy the series?

For those of you that are into RPG. I came across a character sheet for you to use someone made on DeviantArt

I am working on a Classic Cuts of the series however I am not sure when that will be finished

How to find a good book

With today being the OFFICIAL first day of the Summer (aka the Summer Solstice)

that means it’s reading season for those who are not normally able to get reading unless on the beach tanning, on vacation away (heck depending how long I like to take an extra book or 2 especially if I am half way through what I am currently reading plus depends on how much there is to do, and if in the country how far from a store I am.

When it comes to choosing ANY book, I don’t go by the current best selling or what others are talking about. I will however sometimes cave to a book when it seems all my friends are reading the same one at around the same time. This happened with the Graveyard book. After a time I received a copy as a gift and when reading I found to be a children’s book, however it could be read by anyone and was interesting.

I do agree that those who do not read at all are the ones who ask how to find a book to read. Here’s my way to choose as well as some recommendations (for a few different types of genres.)

How I choose to read a book

In store print or kindle version

1.  the cover or title catches my eye.
2. I read the plot (on back of physical book), if It sounds interesting and I have the money I’ll buy it then and there otherwise I add it to my list.
3. I flip through the book maybe read a paragraph or page depending on time
4.   I keep hearing about it to the point I get curious. (This doesn’t usually happen with best sellers usually once they are not being talked about is when I get interested. Hype seems to be a turn-off for me be it book, or movie.
5.  When I got a kindle i signed up for Bookbub and I think one other site. One of them I get recommendations on books I may be interested in. These are usually at a great price. I don’t think I’ve gotten an offer over $2.99 which to me no digital book should be more than $5 (or at most, no more than a quarter to half the price of the physical book) 

 

Already in my pile

• each year I do a reading challenge which I try to theme each year. This year is series (or can be all same author) either a couple of books from a series (if I don’t have the whole set) sometimes I just read one type of genre and so on.
•  my Mood    with the amount of books in my pile as is, I’m not exactly looking to buy any books aside from the few series I follow. If I can’t choose I sort of have a tie breaker
• I have a little trinket box filled with ‘reading challenge’ prompts Like:  Read a book with a letter, or Read a book by an Author 30 or younger. I pick maybe 3-5 of these out and choose from there.
• sometimes If I can’t decide from there I go on Random.org and type in the prompts and have it randomize and order and choose that way (sometimes best out of 3)

 

You could use the way i do it or you can

try one or all of these ideas  like Try a book Club, ask a friend or family member for a recommendation

Recommendations

You can find a list in my book nook of many of the books I’ve read since 2006! Anything in RED is recommended.

In the menu hoover on the Book nook and there are other pages with reviews and more Including the Book Archive which lists previous years’ reading challenges)

https://multiscreenmotivision.wordpress.com/the-book-nook/

https://betterhumans.coach.me/finding-good-books-a-how-to-guide-2fc8fbfd572f

Trailing on Trailers

So you may be wondering what I mean by that?

Due to being disappointed by certain movies in the past; This summer I am trying to ‘stay away’ from trailers at least in certain ways.

1. I will only watch the full trailer once

2. some movies I will only take peeks at it (like for Fast & Furious & Avengers Age of Ultron but not the whole trailer)

3. I will only watch 1 trailer, not every single one they put out.

4. also as much as I hate to, trying to avoid the casts on late night, however Avengers will be on Monday night on Jimmy Kimmel, Yes fully Assembled!

 

Why am I doing this?

They always have to stick the Best part or big surprise/reveal  in the trailers, (it may only be one or it may be all)  and that spoils the fun of the movie;  for me at least. I want to be surprised, I don’t want to see every single stunt or jaw dropping surprise in the trailer; if I’m going to the theater to see it. Depending on the theater and time or day one goes It can be almost $20 for the ticket alone. Why should I pay any amount of money when I see the entire movie in one trailer or a few?  With that said Man of Steel should pay me half of what I paid to see it. I saw it in 3D with a friend when it came out because I ‘love’ Henry Cavil and was quite excited a Brit got to play an american superhero. It made me proud to be his fan. But as I said they owe me (and anyone else who saw it) with all the variations of trailers they made, I saw the ENTIRE first half of the movie in the trailers. I sat annoyed as there was no surprise in that part. The end half which they didn’t include much of in the trailers, at least held more surprise and wonderment.

Oh and don’t let me get started on the amount of times that Fast and Furious 6 trailer was out (last year or the previous) let alone 7’s. Every single commercial break on any freaking channel I watched; So even if they do only show one of the best parts, it becomes mediocre and played out by the time you see the movie in the theater (on Demand or rental)

Then there’s that Mission Impossible:Rouge Nation  ‘so big’ stunt that was so hyped up and talked about with the plane dangle… it’s the beginning of the movie  and worthless to the overall story it’s not even a climactic stunt and being we saw it 5000 times before the movie came out it was a worthless payoff. If it happened in the middle or around the ending and not really have been in the trailer other than maybe afor 3-5 seconds (but certainly no more than 10)… THEN it would have been a payoff!

just tell us the plot and leave it at that let word of mouth help you cause hype like assume makes you look like an ass in the end!

I really think whoever (whatever the position) it is in charge to make the trailers for a movie,   needs to learn how to better edit what goes into their trailers. For instance, I will use the trailer from  Fast & Furious 6 as an example.

They showed the tank stunt and not just the tank coming out of the big trailer, they showed a lot more than they should have, like quite a bit of the over pass/highway scenes as well. It’s one thing to show the tank, but they shouldn’t have shown the rest of it.  Instead of showing the tank like they did, do a blink & you miss it showing of it about to explode out of the trailer, or a peek-a-boo of the turret coming out and then cut out. It’ leaves us hanging, and piques interest like, “what’s going to happen?”.    For those of us that would see the movie because we have always enjoyed the franchise before; we don’t need all that, as they say, “Less is more”.

Now because of that, I refuse to watch the whole trailer for part 7, (though I have seen a few bits in it, like is that a cast on the Rock?) Right now partially because I just about tear up every time I see what is supposed to be Paul Walker, which some may be him but others are CG renderings of his brothers faces with Paul’s visage over them. To see him in this movie I know will be the last time I get to see that 1000 watt smile and it saddens me deeply.

So to Hollywood editors who make the trailers (whoever you are..)  Please I beg of you to listen to my plea above and in summary to follow what I covered below.)

Either make ‘teasers’ or the actual trailers in the way of old like these for instance
*If you must include a stunt or big reveal just include one, and make it a blink and you miss it or just a few seconds longer. It still catches our attention  and adds more wonder to what is going on, plus showing an entire scene in a trailer (other than for comic con) you should be taking $5 off the price of the theater ticket! We don’t need to watch an entire scene; if some want the movie ruined for themselves, that’s what youtube is for (and their prerogative). I’ve found I’ve come to be numb when it comes to watching movies. There’s no surprise, not much emotion, let alone no gripping fear or panic of what may happen to a character. For Example in Fast & Furious 6  ‘Toretto’ jumping out of the car to save ‘Letty’:  had that whole sequence not been in the trailer, the audience would have gasped and held their breath; but it was overshown so No…we all were just “ho Hum, yawn”

 

* How many trailers should be made, and what length

When Man of Steel came out I counted, 10-11 different trailers!  Don’t make More than 3 trailers. That would be one for Cons reveal & and one for the previews, and  2- 30 second tv ads can come from (one being for when the actors do their press junkets. For instance, One can be shown 3-6 months head (or at superbowl) as a tease  and then when it’s almost time like a month before it comes out

• Now that we have the amount of them covered,  let’s cover the length of them.

-standard Trailers for Tv should be no longer than 30 seconds,

-Theater Previews no longer than 1 minute.

Choose a part of the one minute trailer to be shown as Tv & internet ads (or edit in a piece from the beginning, middle and something from the end that won’t ruin things) or you can make the one minute trailer from parts of the one from the…

Comic Con preview … If you want to show a 5 minute scene, fine; but don’t allow people to use cameras while it is playing. Also please don’t put every single bit we’re going to see the movie for, in that 5 minutes. Why? I’m going to be pissed and  get  my money back (as I have once before) from the movie and tell everyone on social media, in every group I’m in and so on “don’t bother, You’ve seen the whole movie in the trailer!”

Editing Trailers

How to make a better Trailer & still leave us wanting….

*Put 1 simple joke in the trailer,

*a quick stunt  (or better yet the beginning of a stunt then cut out & leave us hanging!~ so it will be a surprise especially. when the darn things get over played! And we will still be surprised.

• 30 seconds and no more than 2 trailers. (tv wise)

*a quick action shot

• one dialog shot

a dramatic reveal (say like a superhero uniform or the villain and that’s all)

 

I think I’d rather be disappointed by a movie (ahem Cloverleaf) that doesn’t show the monster in the trailer or much of anything for that matter (and did they really even unveil the whole creature?) the movie really had no story other than oh we’re all running because there’s a monster… that’s why it was bad!

Now my problem will be either just giving in or resisting to watch the most recent big Comic Tentpole attraction,  or I might make it the exception….

13-classic-horror-teasers-with-zero-footage-from-their-films/

 

So what are your thoughts? and a little more