Here's me slippping in a technical/programming blog after a long while.
Of late I have been working on designing a really user friendly framework to invoke services while using OAut2.0. While I was at it I was introduced to this really nice tool. Check out Curlish - it shows the OAuth 2.0 dance in action; pretty neat!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Conflict and Struggle
I haven't blogged in a while. Didn't get a chance to go see Cinequest; looks like the Tamil movie Ko will be shown.
Anyways, I read this a while ago "Struggle is as important to the character as conflict is to the plot". Hmmmm pretty deep ah?
Anyways, I read this a while ago "Struggle is as important to the character as conflict is to the plot". Hmmmm pretty deep ah?
Monday, January 16, 2012
MI4 Sucks Big Time
I don't want this site to turn into a movie critique bs. However as almost all of my friends scorned when I asked them about MI4 I decided to experience it myself. I thought only MI3 had something of a plot in it. Anyways I watched MI4 in theater and it became clear why my friends hate it - there is no plot whatsoever. Even a college kid who has taken a screenwriting class could have done a better job. On top, all the reviews I find online give a totally wrong picture (they say MI4 is awesome) or is this just the power of Hollywood marketing at its best? The only review that echoes my feeling is this http://m.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/dec/22/mission-impossible-three-act-structure?cat=film&type=article
In fact Anne has not gone to the extent of pointing out all inconsistencies in the plot.
There are items that don't work as expected all through the movie and there are a whole bunch of those; once is ok may be twice is okay too but beyond that you start shifting in your chair. (The phone failing to self-destruct may be funny and you can accept it as a nice twist when Tom fails to clear the jump and gets his head bumped on the tower in Dubai but what is the deal with abort button failing in the end? Why did the suction glove fail for no reason and then get stuck to the window pane a floor or two above after Tom threw it off?) can the writer not introduce better conflicts? Why give away the real codes - the argument given is not strong enough.
Why is it needed to get the code from Anil if it is not going to be used at all? If the villain has the controls in his briefcase then why did he break in into the TV station after flying all the way from Dubai? By the way what became of all those baggages they brought to Mumbai? Why kill the wife and bring her back alive that too in resolution - is that to show the emotional dimension of Ethan? Really I don't see the need for the third act!
Having said all these I must admit that the visual effects were really good.
And yeah the starting credits suck big time - I hatted it! Plain black background might have worked much much better.
In fact Anne has not gone to the extent of pointing out all inconsistencies in the plot.
There are items that don't work as expected all through the movie and there are a whole bunch of those; once is ok may be twice is okay too but beyond that you start shifting in your chair. (The phone failing to self-destruct may be funny and you can accept it as a nice twist when Tom fails to clear the jump and gets his head bumped on the tower in Dubai but what is the deal with abort button failing in the end? Why did the suction glove fail for no reason and then get stuck to the window pane a floor or two above after Tom threw it off?) can the writer not introduce better conflicts? Why give away the real codes - the argument given is not strong enough.
Why is it needed to get the code from Anil if it is not going to be used at all? If the villain has the controls in his briefcase then why did he break in into the TV station after flying all the way from Dubai? By the way what became of all those baggages they brought to Mumbai? Why kill the wife and bring her back alive that too in resolution - is that to show the emotional dimension of Ethan? Really I don't see the need for the third act!
Having said all these I must admit that the visual effects were really good.
And yeah the starting credits suck big time - I hatted it! Plain black background might have worked much much better.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Special effects with iMovie 11
Happy New Year Guys!!
2011 just flew by!
Anyways I am sure most of you know about these sites if you have tried special effects using iMovie.
- http://www.footagecrate.com/ to download the royalty free video footage and
- http://soundbible.com/ for downloading audio clips
Go on try out some cool special effects...
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tips for story writing
A must read for any storyteller is Scene & Structure by Jack M. Bickham. I love this book - got to own it.
Make sure to include as many elements from below in each of your scenes and in your plot:
Another good book that I would like to own is Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld.
Check out http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/shortstory/ for good tips on story writing.
Make sure to include as many elements from below in each of your scenes and in your plot:
- Struggle
- Conflict
- Dissatisfaction
- Aspiration
- Choice
Another good book that I would like to own is Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld.
Check out http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/shortstory/ for good tips on story writing.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Writer's Digest Books
I found a wonderful book with very nice tips - Writer's Digest Handbook of Short Story Writing. After reading that I learnt that there are actiually two volumes! Volume 1 & 2 with ISBNs 0898790492 and 0898794633. (So looks like I have read only volume 1 and that itself is good. Since writing this I got hold of the second volume and it has a few good articles too.)
Anyways, there is an article about the various types of endings. Here are a few that I can remember:
Anyways, there is an article about the various types of endings. Here are a few that I can remember:
- Summation endings
- Ideological endings
- Antennae endings
- Anti-climax or bonus endings
- Reversal endings
- Gimmick endings
- Hoax endings (false villain or figure of good)
- Deception endings
- Unconventional use endings
- Irony endings
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Tips on comedy from Stephen Duncan
Stephen in his book GenreScreenwriting says that people laugh because they are setup to be familiar with the situation and expect a familiar solution or answer but instead they are hit with an unexpected answer. So incorporate familiarity and the unexpected to get the laughs.
The major collision in all successful comedy is the clash of childishness vs social responsibility. Usually the protagonist impersonates someone he is not, so the more he wants to come clean it becomes more hard.
Three storytelling approaches:
1. Teenage coming of age (American Pie)
2. Body switching (ex: Big, 13 going on 30 etc)
3. Role Switching (Wedding Crashers, What Women Want etc)
The major collision in all successful comedy is the clash of childishness vs social responsibility. Usually the protagonist impersonates someone he is not, so the more he wants to come clean it becomes more hard.
Three storytelling approaches:
1. Teenage coming of age (American Pie)
2. Body switching (ex: Big, 13 going on 30 etc)
3. Role Switching (Wedding Crashers, What Women Want etc)