2010: The Year We Make...TV?

The television biz in Canada has just gots to start loosening up and happening again next year, right? New TV policy changes perhaps? Value for signal gets turfed and we see a return to pre-1999 Cancon rules? Too optimistic ya think? Probably.


I know I slacked off on the blog this year, whatever...it's become an ebb and flow kind of thing now I've decided. But along with Twitter (follow me at wcdixon), Uninflected Images remains a great place to make contact...not to mention share and sound off and sneer and smile with other like minds.

Thanks to McGrath, Henshaw, Walton, Epstein, Diane, Weinman, and all the other Canadian Writermafia types (see sidebar) for yet another year of entertaining and inspiring and provoking as you all continue to blaze the TV In Canada blogging/social networking trail.


And as for 2010 - what's going to happen? Something wonderful?




I wouldn't hold my breath - I always thought 2001: A Space Odyssey was kinda overrated and 2010: The Year We Make Contact a seriously dull turd. But what do I know, really...and hey, I'm always happy to be pleasantly surprised. So surprise me 2010.


Happy New Year.

Merry Holidays

Have a wonderful and safe holiday everyone...and now will hand the floor over to two of my industry blogging partners in crime with links to their wonderful Christmas Eve posts.

Denis McGrath hits a home run HERE with "A Visit From von Finckenstein", a hilarious riff on T'was The Night Before Christmas....and Jim Henshaw delivers some seasonal music cheer with "Christmas Concert 2009" at his place HERE.



Enjoy!

Yulelog III - The Director's Commentary

"As a filmmaker I've always been fascinated by how music influences a fertile imagination...."



I love this kinda stuff. Happy Holidays everyone.


H/T Myron Hyrak

Listless

I am not big on 'Best Of...' (year, decade, century) lists, but was encouraged to jot down my top TV shows of the 2000's (00's?). It's not a best of list as much as a recognition of certain programs/series I watched consistently. Some were even "appointment television", though in this day and age of DVD box sets and the internets, appointment TV is a term that will soon be parked in the What's that? section, beside the 'rotary dial phone' and 'VHS tape'.

So...on with the shows.


Arrested Development - the Bluth's
30 Rock - I like to go to there
Curb Your Enthusiasm - What? What?!
The Office UK - mock doc rock
South Park - ample parking day or night
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Whedon
Veronica Mars - Thomas
House - Laurie
Six Feet Under - death entertaining
Breaking Bad - meth entertaining
Lost - flashbacks and flash forwards
The Sopranos - The Chosen One
Law & Order or Law & Order: Criminal Intent - anytime comfort food


Jekyll and Life On Mars...brilliant but limited. Dexter burned bright but faded too fast for me. Firefly was great but didn't last long enough to count in my opinion. Really enjoy Mad Men, but not blinded by the love. I haven't yet got through all of Deadwood, The Shield, Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, or The Wire - all are excellent but I can't in good faith include though they certainly deserve mention. And if live NFL football, Leafs hockey, and PGA golf can be considered shows or programs...well, I watched a lot of that too. I'd also add The Daily Show and The Colbert Report but this didn't turn out to be that kind of list.

Doh! I said it: List!

Like Screwing Up Mashed Potatoes

I watched this last week and found it immensely entertaining. But then I watched it again today and decided it really is worth sharing. A review of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - a loonnnnng review...but stick with it. It's very funny and kinda surreal yet perceptive and educational even - it should be required viewing for every Film School student.

Part One is here:




Parts 2 - 7 can be found in the related videos to the above clip. Enjoy.


H/T Trevor Cunningham

Not, The *Naughty* List

Even though it looks bad...the beard, the packages, flying without a passport...this is one suspect Jack Bauer can't break with his 'interrogation' techniques.





H/T Jill Sampson

I'm Not Kidding About How Good I've Been

Still my favourite Xmas TV special of all time (though last years A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All now runs a close second), Pee Wee Herman's list for Santa is some holiday season Friday Fun.



Because it makes me smile.

Quintuple Lavender

"We'll fix it in post." -- the five most expensive words EVER!

This Hitler clip has been used a zillion times, but you gotta love it being used as the setting for the final production meeting of the TV series Cra$h & Burn's first season.




And if you play in the Canadian TV series sandbox, there's the added bonus of recognizing some of the names involved with the show. Big tip of hat to writers J. May and J. Beasley and editors G. Tucker and T. Seaborn...bang on good.

Also should mention clip was found on a new Facebook Group 'Overheard On Set'. Check it out. Funny!

Viral. Anti-Viral.

Nice compilation of ads or videos HERE that took the internets by storm this past year. Most accomplished what they set out to do, like Volkswagon's 'Fun Theory' piano stairs...




...but some were of the epic fail variety.




I'm glad this campaign wasn't 'my idea'. Lucky for Microsoft they're already popular.

So Go And Hug A Tree

Cartman sings Pa-pa-pa-Pokerface...Friday Fun perfection.



(full length version HERE)


Because it makes me smile.

More Elves, Please?

Another semester done. Another room full of screenwriting students out the door with a half hour draft under their arm and their spirit not broken too badly I hope. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, or so I've been told. And as Neil Gaiman says more eloquently than I ever could with this advice for aspiring writers...it's just putting one word after another.



You're welcome.


H/T Trevor Cunningham

One Gift To Rule Us All

It's -34. Times are tough. Work is slow. The current CRTC hearing is just another series of repetitive presentations seemingly making no forward progress. Depressing much?! Take all that into consideration and even a Michael Bay ad can be a pick-me-up. Michael Bay + Victoria's Secret + explosions, that is.



A thousand short films could've been made with the budget of this 90 second spot...how's that for a fantasy!

Let's Make Apple Juice And Fax It To Each Other

Beyond trippy. Seriously. And a wee bit NSFW. But fun. Friday Fun.





Because it makes me smile.

Big Electric Kitty Music

I actually wanted to post Big Electric Cat (which I used as the soundtrack for my first student film way back when - seriously, listen to it...wicked), but embedding was disabled by request...so I'm Down, as also performed by Adrian Belew.

See belew.



Crazy busy week continues...but into home stretch.

Everybody Gots To Go...Sometime

Okay, it's not from Ya Ya's, but it still rocks.



Busy week. Back shortly.

Really? Oh. I See.

I always thought this song was called "Cloudbursting".



Still like it though. The video too. And what's in a title, anyway.

This Is Not A Challenge, This Is An Opportunity

When you make your living as a creative freelancer, you're constantly getting asked to work on spec, as in: "Could you do this for us and if we get any traction there will be some work/money in it for you down the road." The future employment, that's always the carrot dangled in front of your nose.

And when you're starting out, you do need to take on some of those freebies. Because you need to get noticed. Because you need to show what you've got. Because you need to start building professional relationships. But the problem so many of us face is that even after doing it successfully for years, decades even, you'll still get the "We've got no money, but could you whip something up?" calls.

The following are two Friday Fun examples of what you wish you could say instead of "Sure thing. I'll get right on it." They're from the worlds of advertising and graphic design, but they absolutely apply to screenwriting or making TV.

The first is a hilarious e-mail exchange between David Thorne and a prospective client. It's from Thorne's website 27b/6 .

An excerpt:

From: Simon Edhouse
Date: Tuesday 17 November 2009 4.10pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Logo Design

Anyone else would be able to see the opportunity I am presenting but not you. You have to be a f*cking smart arse about it. All I was asking for was a logo and a few pie charts which would have taken you a few f*cking hours.


From: David Thorne
Date: Tuesday 17 November 2009 4.25pm
To: Simon Edhouse
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Logo Design

Dear Simon

Actually, you were asking me to design a logotype which would have taken me a few hours and fifteen years experience. For free. With pie charts. Usually when people don't ask me to design them a logo, pie charts or website, I, in return, do not ask them to paint my apartment, drive me to the airport, represent me in court or whatever it is they do for a living. Unfortunately though, as your business model consists entirely of "Facebook is cool, I am going to make a website just like that", this non exchange of free services has no foundation as you offer nothing of which I wont ask for.

Regards, David.


Go read the rest of the transcript HERE, with pie charts and everything. Simply brilliant.



The other example is in the same vein and pretty self explanatory. And pretty funny.




Because they make me smile.


H/T Matt MacLennan H/T Jay Robertson

There Are Two Things I Know Are Going To Sell. The Sexy, And The Awful

Seriously seriously NSFW, but Louis CK thinks about the future...funniest thing I've seen in ages.



"I kinda don't think my career is going to keep going up. I think it's going to start declining."


H/T Rob Sheridan

NEMESIS!

Still jammed up, but here's some short film awesomesauce from Norway.



Good visual storytelling trumps any language barriers. And like Bonnie Tyler, we all need a hero.

Keep An Eye Out For Ya, Stingray!

I'm jammed up with writing and story editing and teaching, so only have time to put up a clip that should give hope to emerging filmmakers everywhere. As in, if this got made, maybe your 'avenging your sisters death at hands of crazed martial arts rapist' movie will get made someday too.



Undefeatable!