Monday, 23 September 2013
"One Direction: This Is Us" Gives Fans Access to the Band Away From the Stage
Director Morgan Spurlock has made a career out of exposé-style documentaries that uncover the seedier side of seemingly mundane things. An excellent example is his debut film, "Super Size Me," where he showed exactly what happens when an average person consumes way too much McDonald's food. Making a film about an international boy-band phenomenon would seem to be way out of his usual comfort zone, but Spurlock proves equal to the task in "One Direction: This Is Us."
Spurlock gets unfettered access to band members Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik, both while they are performing and behind the scenes. In most concert documentaries such as this, it is the footage that shows the band or musician dealing with everyday life that is the most intriguing to watch. In this film, the concert footage is actually just as interesting, in large part because of the way Spurlock uses his camera to make the viewers feel as if they were actually there at the concert. He also uses 3D technology, which is not only a first for Spurlock, but a first for this type of documentary. Though some critics have dismissed the use of 3D in films as a ploy, it is actually used to great effect in this movie. Audience members will quite literally feel as if they could reach out and touch the band members as they sing and dance in unison.
Only the concert footage is in 3D, with the rest of the film centering on life for each of the members away from performing. There are some real, slice-of-life moments collected for the film, including one band member's unveiling of a new home that he bought for his mother. The teary-eyed mom might just make the audience members a little bit misty too. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a different band member buys a house for himself and frets over the best way to decorate and furnish the house, especially since he will hardly ever be home to enjoy it.
In fact, it almost seems like a miracle that the band was ever able to enjoy a moment of silence at home. The film follows them on an international tour that had a grueling schedule and pace. In just a few months, the boys traveled across five continents and a seemingly innumerable amount of countries. Spurlock uses one of his trademark infographics to show just how much of the globe the band will traverse before the tour is over. In a nod to the mostly female fan base of the band, the infographic turns into the band's "1D" nickname.
Despite the breakneck pace of the tour, the boys never complain and always seem happy to sign an autograph or pose for a picture with an adoring fan, even when they are obviously exhausted. They also work tirelessly on their choreography, spending hours perfecting their moves for the show. They may have been overnight sensations, but they have to continuously work hard in order to stay on top of an increasingly competitive heap.
There are some moments in the documentary that look a lot like archival footage of the mania seen in the heyday of the Beatles. Legions of adoring fans screaming and occasionally crying are shown as the seemingly normal lads soak it all in. A single wave or wink from any one of the boys is enough to send some of these young teen girls into a tizzy. This footage seems to be Spurlock's way of showing just how big this group has become all across the world.
One doesn't have to already be a fan of One Direction in order to enjoy the film. The opening scenes give a recap of the group's meteoric rise to the top, beginning with the fact that all of them auditioned separately for "The X-Factor," a talent show starring notoriously prickly judge Simon Cowell. In fact, Cowell is interviewed and takes credit for putting the boys together to form the future superstar group, which is signed to his record label. This provides a nice refresher course for parents bringing their kids to the film or novice fans who don't know the band's history.
"One Direction: This Is Us" is a nice look into the making of a musical juggernaut that peels back a few layers to show the story behind the performances. Director Spurlock does a thorough job recording all of the work and effort behind the scenes without forgetting to embrace the target audience, some of whom will surely swoon like the adoring fans in the film.
World's Top 5 Highest Paid TV Personalities
Televisions have become an inescapable part of the modern society and commonplace in business, homes, and institutions. It is also the main source for education, sports, weather, music, entertainment, advertising, and news. The wider popularity of small screen has also provided an opportunity to artists and performers to earn immense wealth, gain popularity, and enjoy celebrity status..
TV Personalities consist of actors, producers, writers, managers, reality TV judges, journalists, political analysts, chefs, VJs, sportscasters, talk show hosts, stars, reality show hosts, and game show hosts. The increased popularity of the television has also unveiled many personalities, ranging from reality show hosts to producers, television judges, talk show hosts, and small screen stars. They have also become household names, immensely wealthy, and enjoy celebrity status because of their small screen appearances, endorsements, and entertainment-related works.
Forbes "The Highest-Paid TV Personalities" list for June 2012-June 2013 include 10 personalities, whose earnings were highest during the same period. The top 5 highest paid small screen performers selected from Forbes list include:
Simon Cowell, with a net worth of $350 million and annual earnings of $95 million is the highest paid small screen personality. He is producer, talent judge, and British Music executive. He is known for his talent judge role in American Idol, The X Factor, Pop Idol, and Britain's Got Talent. He is also the owner of music publishing and television production house Syco.
Howard Stern is born in New York City, New York on January 12, 1954. He is a television host, author, radio personality, photographer, and actor. His net worth is valued at $500 million, and his annual earnings are $95 million, putting him in a tie with Cowell for the top spot on the Forbes list. He is popular for his late night television shows, reality show judge, home video releases, books, and pay-per-view events.
Glenn Beck has annual earnings of $90 million. He is radio and television host, author, political commentator, producer, and media personality. He is known for the Glenn Beck television and radio program, Mercury Radio Arts, and 6 bestselling books.
Oprah Winfrey has annual earnings of $77 million and whooping $2.9 billion net worth. She was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States on January 29, 1954. She media proprietor, television talk show hosts, producer, actress, and also a philanthropist. She is known as queen of entertainment and reached the zenith of fame through her "The Oprah Winfrey Show".
Dr. Phil McGraw, was born on September 1, 1950 in Vinita, Oklahoma, United States. He is a TV personality, psychologist, and Television show host. With his annual earnings of $72 million, he is ranked 4th on the Forbes. In the late 1990, he appeared in "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and that appearance made him widely popular and gained him celebrity status. In 2002, he launched his own television show, Dr. Phil, for advising on his guest's trouble.
The other Forbes highest paid television personalities with their annual earnings include Rush Limbaugh ($66 million), Donald Trump ($63 million), Ryan Seacrest ($61 million), Ellen DeGeneres ($56 million), and Judy Sheindlin ($47 million).
You can also visit richest tv personalities on the Celeb Worth TV personalities page to find out more about other small screen stars who have become richest and most popular TV celebrities.
How to Layer Ableton Samples to Achieve Depth
Layering Ableton samples is a great way to add stereo imaging, loudness (while maintaining headroom), and space for your drum samples without using external plugins such as reverbs and delays. While many people (myself once included) may think that layering samples is as straightforward as putting two samples on top of each other, this is far from the truth, (and often this can actually create unwanted phasing issues).
While the above technique may sometimes work for adding high and low kicks together, the purpose of this tutorial is not intended for kick drums, but for claps, snares, hi hats, and percussive drum samples. It is based on the general concept that you do not want all of your transients hitting at the same time (more on this later). In fact, with the below technique, you technically are not even layering your drums, as the sounds never play at the exact same time!
Use the Same Drum Sample at Various Pitches
The first process will show you how to create various "rooms" for your drums, without resorting to reverbs, which can often take up too much space in a mix, or make your drum sounds too soft. Below is a great technique to keep your drums dry, but make them hit a bit harder and find a space within your mix.
1. Create a new sampler instrument and drag your Ableton samples (use a clap for this example) into the zone area.
2. Change the number of voices to 1 in the bottom right section of the drum sampler.
3. Create a one bar midi clip. We will be drawing in our clap - place a midi note exactly on the 2nd and 4th 1/4 notes of the bar, at the root key of your sampler (meaning your sample will be unpitched here). Mine is set at C3.
4. Now the trick. Exit "Snap to Grid" mode by pressing command + 4. Draw another midi note slightly after and 4 steps above the note at 1.2. Do the same for the note at 1.4, but try a note two steps below, and slightly later. The purpose of removing the grid is so that you can create smaller delay times between your samples.
5. Press play and take a listen - it should sound great! Try experimenting with the distance in between each of the two notes, and the second note's pitch. The second note's pitch and timing has a huge affect on the overall tone, and "room" of the clap, and because the number of voices is set to "1″, it cuts off that first note, so there are no phasing issues. The transient is happening again, but at a different time, and in place of the decay of that first ableton sample. Try turning voices to 2 and see what that sounds like - not so nice to my ears. Listen to the phasing!
6. Once you've heard how altering the timings and pitches of the notes sound like, try adding a third note, but this time slightly before the 1.2 mark. In fact, you can move that original note so that it does not hit exactly on the 2nd and 4th beats at all (if, for instance, your kick drum sample is exactly on beat, this may be preferable, as the sounds will cut through more since they will not be hitting at the same time). Or, try adding an additional note even later.
You can drastically change your claps, hi hats, and percussion this way. Keep experimenting!
Use Different Drum Samples With Drum Racks
If you've downloaded any of the Samples From Mars Ableton samples, such as the LinnDrum Library or CR-78 pack, we've given you many different pitches of drums so that you don't have to re-pitch the samples within Ableton. The reason we've done this is because we have re-pitched the sounds in the analog world, using either a tape machine, SP-1200, or both. Often this sound is preferable than pitching something digitally in Ableton.
With Drum Racks, you can also use different samples entirely, using the above concepts to create radically different Ableton samples. With drum racks, you additionally have the ability to pan each of the chains / notes, so you can create great stereo image drums which won't collapse in mono.
1. Create a new Drum Racks instrument and drag 2 - 3 different claps and/or snares into the corresponding zone area of 2 - 3 different drum pads.
2. Set each of these drum pads to the same "Choke" group.
3. Repeat steps 3 - 6 as listed above.
Visit my website to see images, they really help explain this concept much better!
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Student Bodies Horror Movie Review
We enter upon a serene, town where all is quiet on Halloween and Friday the 13th. Nevertheless, on Jaime Lee Curtis' birthday, an incessantly-breathing killer wearing green rubber gloves pertains to a residence to murder the baby sitter. First, he terrorizes her with a series of call, and afterwards freaks her out even more by slobbering through the phone. The baby sitter's boyfriend comes over for some action, and both are dispatched utilizing the awesome tool of selection... a paperclip!
A funeral is held for the two teens at Lamab High School. When 2 children choose to elope to have sex in an automobile, they are eliminated by a different weapon horse head bookend! The student body is now scared; the awesome is knocking off all kids having sex. In the words of one lady, "Oh, no. he can erase the entire senior course!" The authorities believe the one responsible is Toby, an innocent virgin who is asked by the college principal, Mr. Dumpkin, to seek psychiatric therapy. Nevertheless, as the body count rises, Toby's future seems bleak.
As presumed, the plot gets totally lost early on in favor of a non-stop string of verbal, visual, and audible gags. Remarkably, nonetheless, I thought many of the gags struck, thinking about the target. Paradoxically enough, Paramount was mainly responsible for trying to duplicate every Halloween rip-off you can possibly imagine, with the Friday The 13th franchise business being a significant moneymaker. It appears odd that the same studio would have made Student Bodies, but they obviously didn't give a damn about this movie from the beginning.
Apparently, director Michael Ritchie saw prospective in Student Bodies, however something went terribly wrong. Ritchie's name is nowhere in the credits. Rather, Rose was given the director's credit and the producer is Alan Smithee, the notorious pseudonym indicating that someone desires their name off the job. What happened? When you view the film, the jokes gradually decrease in numbers, and the ending lands like a huge thud. After doing some research, my theory is that Richie either left or was fired throughout manufacturing, and Rose took it upon himself to finish the picture. Regardless, Student Bodies reveals numerous indicators of post-production tinkering and anomalies, every little thing from bad calling to an ending that feels frantically tacked-on.
Technically speaking, it's not an excellent film. Student Bodies simply provides a collection of jokes and very little more, but a minimum of it's true to its purpose. The killer has an awesome choice of wielding of weapons, knives, and machetes, and opts instead for paperclips, eggplants, and horse head bookends. Similar to a lot of slasher films, all the adolescent characters are absolutely nothing more than horny targets. These unknown stars all play it totally straight, which only contributes to the movie's dreadful nature.
Some of the jokes are definitely immature and crude. When the Breather gets into the female locker room, he chooses to flog the dolphin; and when the senior prom queen gets killed, her guy wishes to make love one last time. There are even anti-PC gags including a blind motorist and paralyzed vehicle driver fighting over the only handicapped parking spot. The very best laughs originate from on-screen character oversights. Nevertheless, the genuine highlight is a statement interrupting the motion picture, with a studio manufacturer stating that while the film includes no nudity, sex, or graphic violence the manufacturers are still choosing an R-rating because they are the "most" profitable when it concerns a movie going public. Then the R-rated logo design flashes on the screen. Say what you want, however I think its brilliant!
All of the efficiencies are dreadful, though I think it was intentional. Few of the actors at work here appeared in anything ever once again. In fact, the only one of any known origin is Richard Belzer, who offers the voice to The Breather. The most memorable character and almost all various other Student Bodies evaluations will inform you the exact same thing is a comedian understood just as The Stick. Couple of know who he truly is, though he's gotten popular for this hilarious duty.
I like to include Student Bodies in my unique list of films that will make you laugh, no matter what. For anyone who likes slasher horror movies of the late '70s and early '80s, it's a no brainer that you need to watch this movie.
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