Video Game High School
VGHS is a web series created by Freddie Wong (FreddieW), Brandon Laatsch, and Matt Arnold. It revolves around a young man in the near future when gaming is the worlds biggest professional sport who gets to attend VGHS.
Its a great series because Freddie and Brandon always do great work, check out their YouTube Channel but whats more unique is how they got funding for the project. They started a kickstarter and raised $273,725 to date. WOW!
Whats really interesting is that this is becoming a trend with independent film and video game projects, creators are going directly to fans instead of having to go through a major production company. This allows for more creativity and versatility on the part of the creator and is opening doors for people who haven’t made it in the “industry”.
Watch the trailer below and then click the link below to visit their website and watch the first episode. I would also checkout the kickstarter page, it has some great stuff and might just inspire you to start your own project.
Watch Episode 1
Visit the KickStarter Page
SourceFed addresses the KickStarter phenomenon in the video below:
Video Puzzle by MysteryGuitarMan
A really cool video concept by one of my favorite YouTubers, MysteryGuitarMan (Joe Penna). In case you don’t know, Joe is a visual effects artist in SoCal who’s worked with major brands like McDonalds on ad campaigns and has been making YouTube videos for years and is one of the top 10 most subscribed channels.
Above is a recent video he made that just blew me away, its a simple video but was presented in a really cool way by splitting it into 4 pieces and showing it on 4 different constantly moving iPhones like a puzzle.
Check out his main channel: www.youtube.com/MysteryGuitarMan
Second Channel (Behind the scenes and vlogs): www.youtube.com/jp
Website: mysteryguitarman.com
Slingshot: New Kickstarter for Mobile Phone Video
I donated to this Kickstarter and ordered myself one because I think its a really great tool and stands out from the rest for a number of reasons.
- It serves as both a steadicam and mini tripod
- It unscrews giving you the ability to attach your mobile phone to a standard tripod
- It has a flexible build and will fit any phone
For me number 3 is a big deal because most tripod mounts out there are normally made specifically for the iPhone and cant fit other phones, now you might wonder, why is that a problem for you since you have an iPhone, well the issue is Apple changes the body of their phone every few years and I am tired of buying new accessories for each phone. Also for $14 this thing is a great deal.
Check it out on Kickstarter, they have a lot of material explaining the build, how it can fit a variety of phones and all the other features.
Google Makes Driving Easier
Google’s self driving car program has completed over 200,000 miles so they shot this special video taking a blind man on a ride to Taco Bell to showcase its potential. The program has been active since 2010, they are actively using the technology for Google Maps and are doing amazing research to be able to make this a reality for the public.
PC Mag’s Article:
Blind Driver’s Trip in Google’s Self-Driving Car Was Legal
This article elaborates on the programs and has statements from the police department that aided in the test drive and from the California Highway Patrol
SourceFed Coverage:
Also here is SourceFed’s coverage of it. SourceFed is a great news source on YouTube that was established by Philip DeFranco, they are new on the block but doing really well, I recommend you check them out.
Transformers VFX Reel from Digital Domain
Digital domain has a great breakdown for some of the VFX for Transformers 3. It shows step by step how real footage was manipulated and merged with VFX and overlaid with 3D animation. Its very interesting and insightful for editors/motion graphics people because it shows how the methods used are the same ones we know, just on a HUGE scale. For others its also very entertaining. Also if you browse their website you will find many amazing reels and finished work that will surely inspire you!
Via VideoCopilot.Net
Google Current – New App for Android & iOS
In case you didn’t know, Google released a new free App/Service called Google Current for Android and iOS. Its a news app that will show you articles from hundreds of publications in a uniform interface making it really easy to read. I have been using the app for 2 days and I’ll probably be doing most of my reading from the app from now on. Also its good to see Google succed at something after some recent flops (cough – Buzz and Google+ – cough).
Watch the video to get some details.
Knoxville Vlogs Series
I recently went to Knoxville, TN with my family to visit a friend, AbdelRahman Murphy who is the new Youth Director for the Muslim Community of Knoxville. Below is the vlog series I filmed while there. I vlogged our daily activities along with some previews of the lectures I will be posting soon on Salam Studios. Enjoy!
Congress Tries to Censor the Internet!
Review: Margin Call
I got a chance to watch an early screening of this movie and I thought the writing and acting was pheonominal. I was also very impressed by the rookie director J. C. Chandor, overall a great movie and very real diptiction of what Wall Street really is. Below is a review by Jonathan Crow that I really agree with.
Review by Jonathan Crow
The new movie “Margin Call,” which opens in select cities today, centers on a 24-hour period in a Lehman Brothers-like firm that finds itself on the wrong side of some very bad investments. First time writer-director J. C. Chandor could have made an overblown movie a la Oliver Stone, with clear good guys and villains squaring off in dramatic monologues against the backdrop of Hamptons mansions and private jets. Instead, Chandor, who is the son of a Wall Street stockbroker, offers a much quieter, and, one surmises, realistic, take. The film takes place in the sterile halls and boardrooms of a Manhattan office building. The conversations are tense and hushed. No one is an overt villain, with one exception: Everyone approaches the crisis, which could be ruinous to millions, with a completely amoral logic.
Also if you don’t wanna go to the theaters to watch this you can rent it now on YouTube: CLICK HERE!