Metrocon 2010

I don't know why, for some reason the right side of the video gets cut off. You can just click on it though, to watch it play in youtube....

I recently attended Metrocon for the first time, Florida's largest anime convention. Held in Tampa Bay's convention center, it was a mecca for all things cartoon, video game, anime, Japanese, and just nerd in general. I must say I left the event feeling perfectly charmed, like I'd finally stumbled home. The thing about it that I found most touching was looking into the faces of the people there that were there cosplaying. For those unaware, cosplay is defined by Urban Dictionary as "Literally "Costume Play." Dressing up and pretending to be a fictional character (usually a sci-fi, comic book, or anime character)." Looking in to the [real] eyes of these awesome, super flamboyantly costumed people, I realized, underneath their costumes, they are just like you or I. Most of these people lead quiet, unassuming lives. It was as if, for one weekend, all the shy, quiet nerds of the earth could come together and be loud crazy freaks. It was great to see so many people with such an interesting culture come together and celebrate. This is a sentiment I can truly appreciate; When you are that fucking weird, it's great to know that there are other people like you out there, that you are not alone....

Oil Spill Documentary

This is a rough outline of some ideas that I sent out to some friends, maybe someone smart will step up with good ideas to sculpt this in to more than just a generic project...

Focus
-The facts about the oil spill, timeline
-Follow Oil Spill through Florida
-Effects of the oil spill on a local community [Tampa bay]
-Effects on local Business
-Who is Profiting?

“Characters” [for interviews]
-Business Owner
-Beachfront property owner
-Person being compensated for losses
-Recent retiree to Clearwater area, [ruined retirement dreams]
-A child
-Homeless [person from opposite caste than Beachfront owners]
-Artist on the artist walk at pier 60?
-Charter Boat Captain?

Interview Questions
-How has this affected you personally? [Past]
-How do you think it will affect you? [Future]
-What do you think will happen to the oil?
-How do you think the recovery will go? How long?

Staff
-Mike Dunston - Camera, Editing, Music, Excel Spreadsheet Stuff, webmaster
-Drake Arnold - Camera, Edit, Music, Graphics/Animation, webmaster... graphs, charts
-David Arnold - Executive Producer... Project Guru, Camera Man, Business Master
-Dave Arnold III - Head of Research, webmaster... Facts Checker, Research Master
-Cory Cook - Sound and Lighting... Technical Wizardry,

Oil Spill to do list
-Dedicated website, either unique domain url or blog / tumblr
-Find Investors?
-Book ritz resort motel
-Set up more interviews
-Develop contact list
-Get film release forms / Clip Board Materials

Documentary Chronological Shot Sequence [Rough Draft]
Opening credits - start with chaotic news casts to build up a sense of the magnitude of disaster?
Pre Intro - People saying poignant things, enigmatic [at this point] because the movie hasn't been set up yet
Intro - Tell about oil spill, go over timeline of events so that viewers know exactly what events occurred and what is being discussed. Created using royalty free footage of the disaster from news and media outlets.
Interviews 1 - First session of interviews, people’s earliest responses, etc.
Filler 1 – Talk about economic impact local/state… tourism, etc. Who is gaining from this tragedy?
Interviews 2 – Peoples continued responses to the oil spill
Filler 2 - Talk about other stuff, Ecological Impact, Environment, animals, Mental and physical health of residents
Interviews 3 – Final session of interviews
Filler 3 – What people are doing to help, looking to the future.
Documentary Statement – We make some sort of point about what ever it is we are trying to say, whatever we have been building up to.
Closing Statements – One last powerful “quote” from each interviewee’s, [maybe same “quote” from the preintro, but now that it’s in context it makes sense]
End Credits

Contacts
-Jane?
-Susan?
-Markus – Local Artist
-Kendra Kelly- Directed an Enviornmental Non-profit group about the gulf
*** *** 2804
kckelly2@*******
-Adam Freeman Local news reporter for channel 10
***-***-7046
adfreeman@******

To be filmed
- Interview Footage
- Consecutive shots from same vantage points of beaches?
- Same shot from balcony of Ritz resort room 30
- Pier 60, Nightly local Artists walk on the pier…

Michael Brainstorm Session
-Try to find people in the process of getting compensation from BP as opposed to the way BP makes it seem easy peasy. Stipulations, rules and regulations are strict and show people struggling to get funds for months.
-BP executive yacht playboy dude gets replaced by Mississippi homeboy guy that wants to appease his fellow down south redneck boys
-Animal rescue services… call them …show people at the source, not what is glossed over by the major media outlets. Bursts of animals moving in shore, away from contaminated water, etc…
-One set of initial questions, establish most interesting “characters”. Their story will be the most interesting… follow up with making their story as a “character” part of the over all story
- Follow increments, as they hear more news, what the environmental and economic impact will be. What the general consensus about the people will be. How things are affected.
-Health issues, physical and emotional. Anxiety from local people who are effected by the day to day news. Physical health, carcinogenic, food supplies contaminated… basic health issues associated with toxic sludge washing up on your shore
-Dead and dying endangered sea Turtles… Turtle eggs relocated to avoid species loss
- Someone that just moved, life dream to retire from NY, NJ to Clearwater… their ironic, sad retirement story…
-Charter Boat Captains-craigslist ad-

Kill yourselves now, why wait?...

Even the greatest religions of the past are now no more than mythology. There is no purpose, no reason, nothing to cling to in this abysmal existence... There is no karma... You never get back what you've put in... May our ever expanding sun gobble us up all the sooner...