Video Ideas Needed

Many of you know that I love to make home videos. Well I've come accross a good website that will pay me for the videos I make. Based on how many views videos get, I get money. Some people have made over $25,000 on thier videos.

After a bit of research, I've come to realize that the videos that get the most views are short and they are interesting or cool rather than funny or silly.

Take a look at some of the videos that have recieved the most money so far and then give me some ideas. What kind of short cool/interesting videos can I make to make my millions?

• This video alone has made more than $25,000 for having almost a perfect rating and over 5 million views!
• This guy just shows you how to make a paper bird. He's made over $3000 on it.
• Browse through this guys videos, every one of them is unique and has made $1000's of dollars. Apparantly he's figured out the trade that I want to learn.
• One more. This guy has made a ton of money on cool little videos as well.
  

Okay, so you've seen them. Notice that none of them are silly or funny. They all show something interesting that people would enjoy watching but they're short. So what've you got for me? Any ideas?

Be sure to leave a comment with your suggestions!

I Had Lunch with a Terrorist

There was a terrorist today at In-N-Out Burger. No he didn’t have bombs strapped to his chest and threaten to kill everyone in 10 blocks if his hamburger wasn’t delivered to Cuba in the next 10 hours, but he did incite terror in all the customers.

As I was waiting in line to order my food, a man came marching up to the front counter, cell-phone pressed to his ear and demanded to see a manager. “I need to see a manager NOW!” he yelled as the entire restaurant looked to see what was going on. “I want 911 called! This SOB just threatened me!” The girl taking my order just stared at him, dumbfounded and terrified. “This can’t wait! I was peacefully eating my meal and this SOB threatened me and harassed me to get out of my seat! I want 911 called!” And then to the man in question: “You’re going to JAIL you SOB!”

By this time the restaurant was in silent shock. This all took place right next to me. I was calmly trying to ignore the lunatic and order my meal. The girl taking the order was shaking as she tried unsuccessfully to press the right buttons. The ranting man continued to scream at the top of his lungs, use explicatives, and point fingers at the accused man who, by the way, never said a word or tried to defend himself. As a matter of fact, the accused man just stared at him the entire time with a look on his face that said “You’re loony!”

Finally, as I was filling my cup with soda, the onlookers started yelling back at the lunatic. “Take it outside!” “We don’t want to hear it!” “Leave the guy alone!” “Get out of here!” And so on.

As I started looking for a table to sit at, about six random men from different tables stood and approached the raving madman. They had decided to control the situation since no one else was doing it. They surrounded him and forced him outside. The raving man was suddenly scared when approached by these men. Suddenly he wasn’t the aggressor that he had made himself out to be. As all terrorists are, this man was truly a coward. As the mob took the man outside, the restaurant cheered.

In the end, the man accused had merely asked if the other man was finished eating and if he could take his table. The reports of the onlookers said that he was very polite and was never threatening.

Honestly, it was quite an amazing sight… but perhaps not for the reasons you’re thinking of. I thought it was amazing that when the time called for action, six random people stepped up to bat. These men were not in a group together. Some were there with their wives and children, some were there alone. But when they felt threatened, they answered the call to duty. These men were of the same caliber that saved and unknown number of lives by bringing down flight 93 on September 11, 2001.

Sadly, I was not among them. Upon reflection I realized that I stood there while other men took out the terrorist. Had I been on flight 93, would I have sat there in my seat while a group of men brought the plane down? I should have been among those six. They should have been seven.

What would you have done? What would you like to think you would have done? Are you a homeland protector a la flight 93? Or are you one who would look the other way and fill your soda cup?

Donner's Cut

I finally had the opportunity to see Richard Donner's version of Superman II (it was just released last November). If you even remotely liked the old Christopher Reeve Superman movies. You'll want to see this cut. Read on, let me explain why:

The background
Superman The Movie and Superman II were mostly filmed as one movie. Richard Donner directed them. When they were 70% done with filming part two, they ran out of budget and they focused on releasing part I instead. After Superman the Movie faired so well, Richard Donner was fired (another story in and of itself). They hired Richard Lester in his place. Lester went on to change huge parts of the script and reshot MOST of donners scenes. The version of Superman II that we all know was Lester's version.

And What's Changed???
Warner Brothers has finally catered to what Superman fans have been screaming for for years. They took all of Donner's old footage (remember he originally filmed 70% of the film) and even shot a couple of new scenes, added some great special effects and worked the pacing of the film.

The End Result
A pheonominal movie! I was excited to see this cut but I had no idea it would be this good. I can whole-heartedly say that this version of Superman II is worlds better than the original. The pacing of the film is what struck me the most. Donner took the Zod story line and spliced it in with the Clark/Lois story line to make it look like it all happened at the same time. It made the movie move much faster and somehow it was more exciting than I was used to with the original. There was also a lot less camp. Lester tried to make funny and silly stuff happen throughout the movie. Donner's version removes all of that. The end result was a much more serious movie, a somewhat darker Lex Luthor and an overall more enjoyable movie.

Anything Surprising?
I was shocked at how much NEW footage there was! Donner really did film a LOT of this movie before the carpet was pulled out from under him. Many of the scenes are the ones that we're used to, but they're different angles, different takes, even different sets. But then there's completely differnet story lines as well. For example, in Donner's version Lois figures out Clark's secret in the first couple of minutes of the film. And there's a GREAT new scene with Lois trying to prove that she knows it's true!

Cons
There are a few plot holes, but they are minor things so I won't go into them. The only other con was that there were a few scenes that were added that were taken from screen tests and auditions. It's plainly obvious. There's even a scene in which Clark's glasses suddenly change size and shape.

The Last Word
Though it's overall the same stroy, it felt like watching an entirely new movie. It was great. You really should get this movie and watch it. In my mind, the Donner Cut is now the official Superman II. I doubt if I'll ever watch Lester's version again.

Trust me. Click here to buy it.

Predictions of the Future - Part 2

My favorite element of the science-fiction world is time travel, so I am intrigued by things of the future. Here are a few more things that we'll either have soon, or SHOULD have soon.

1. Cars that drive themselves - I heard recently that this is already being done somewhere in Europe. Special cars driving on special freeways can navigate themselves. Because they are computerized, cars can travel at high speeds only feet apart, bumper to bumper. If the car in front suddenly needs to stop, the computer knows about it and all the other cars (even miles behind) will slow as well. Pretty neat stuff.
2. Robots - We've all seen movies or episodes of the Twilight Zone which depict robots as servants. I've seen History and Discovery channel documentaries about robotics and their development. The technology is getting there. Soon we'll all have our own Bicentennial Man in our living room!
3. Sun-blocking Windshields - Okay this is something I've been thinking about for 12 years now (ever since I started driving). I want to see a window that is "tinted" only where the sun is. This, of course, means that the spot would move depending on where you are in the car. Basically it's a movable tinted 3-inch dot on your windshield and somehow it follows your gaze. Even the person in the driver's seat would see this tinted spot in a different place than you as the driver would see it. Is this making any sense at all?
4. Matrix-like Information Download - Very cool concept. Just insert the data and you suddenly have the knowledge. Is this truly in our future? Is it even a plausible invention?
5. Thumb-Scan Money AND Registering - We've all seen people pay for things on futuristic movies by scanning their thumb print. Well when are we going to actually make that a reality? Gone would be the days of check cards. But I'd want more than than. See, I keep my check register to the penny. I'd want the thumb-scan payment method to be instantaneous. The money is literally transfered at that exact moment. That way I don't have to jot down every purchase I make.
   

Well, that's all for today, but we'll see what the future holds... there may be more in store!

As always, feel free to leave comments.

Books Vs. Movies

This is my first attempt at what is known as a “blog response.” A bit long, but an interesting debate. My brother posted a blog about why movie versions of books are no good. Here are my responses to what he had to say: (Aaron’s words in normal print, my words in bold)

“I downloaded The Positronic Man, an audiobook by Isaac Asimov… Beware though, like with many books, don't bother with the movie. You may know the movie version of the book by the name of Bicentennial Man.

“OK, I know this is the part where someone -- most likely Jason -- is revolting. "But it's such a good movie!" And perhaps it is… I know that no movie can really do a book justice. After all, a book is too long to fit into movie format and all, but can't they at least try? It's one thing to cute a scene or two, or modify a little dialog to help brush over parts that weren't wholly conducive to the story, but to completely change the story, that's another matter."

This is where you’re wrong. As you’ve mentioned, by definition a feature length movie is the telling of a short story. There simply isn’t time in a movie to “do a book justice.” A TV mini series, on the other hand, is the novel format of a visual adaptation.

Recently I just created a new film. We took about an hour filming it and a couple more hours editing it. It ended up being 17 minutes long. That’s 1/8 of an entire feature film. Can you imagine how hard it would be to tell the story of an ENTIRE novel in only 2 hours or less? So can’t they at least try? No. They really can’t.

"Pulling the plug, or assisted suicide is a violation of the Fist Law of Robotics (as was pointed out in the beginning of the movie). No robot may allow a human to come to harm through an action of their own, or through inaction. That means, that a robot can not assist in suicide. In fact, a robot couldn't even stand by and allow a human assist in suicide."

But we’re talking about evolved robots here. In the movie version, these robots have become more human and less susceptible to the “laws.”

"This is why you have to stay true to the book. The book had it right. It's like lieing. Once you tell a lie, you have to tell another to cover up the first lie, then another and another. Once you deviate from the book, you have to deviate further and further to maintain cohesion, but then, you're no longer telling the story of the book. Now if they just admitted that this is not the book, they could go a lot further, but when they try to stay true to the book, but deviate as the same time (lie to the audience), then you create lies upon lies, and inconsistencies start to develop."

No, no, no. They never professed this to be the movie version of the book. If anything they said “BASED on a story by Isaac Asmov.” It was just a few of the ideas that some writer liked and then wrote his own version. How did the book have “it” right? What is “it”? YOUR conceptions of what the movie should have been?

You know, some movies just don’t translate well to film. Perhaps this was one of them and the writer knew it. He then added in his own elements to the story that he felt would gather a wider audience. Remember, in the end it’s about money and not so much about “staying true.”

I read the Da Vinci Code. Great book. I then saw the movie. Mediocre movie. But it had nothing to do with whether or not it stayed true to the book. In my opinion it was for that very reason that the movie wasn’t that great: the director tried too hard to stay true to the book… and that made it boring. It just wasn’t a story that was interesting enough for the big screen.

I’ve said this to people countless times: you CANNOT compare a movie to a book. They are different forms of entertainment. I LOVE to read and I LOVE movies but I never compare the two because, as Aaron was, I may just be disappointed. Why allow that? Why not just enjoy the movie for what it is and the book for what it is? Why do they have to be the same? I’d personally rather have more variety.

The Time Machine was a great book. The 2004 movie was a great movie. They basically had NOTHING in common but who cares? They were both good.

I agree with Aaron on one point: you WILL be disappointed if you compare a movie to its book version. So don’t do it. Do you LIKE being disappointed? Just enjoy both for what they are.

Please feel free to post a comment.

Predictions of the Future - Part 1

We have so many technologies in our day that it’s easy to see what is to come. You’d think they’d have this stuff out there already.

Either way, I have compiled a list of things that I am looking forward to in the future!

1. Video phones – with cell-phones having video capabilities already, why can’t we just talk to each other via video rather than merely sound?
2. Cloaking technology – I just saw an article in Popular Mechanics about turning things invisible. Very cool stuff. It’s amazing that we’re that far already.
3. Larger virtual storage – Just 10 years ago or so it was unheard of to have 20 megabytes of storage space on your computer. “What are you going to do with all that space?” people would ask. Well, with the way things are going, I’m sure my cell-phone will soon hold 10 petabytes.
4. Brain Phones – Cell phones get smaller and thinner every year. Bluetooth allows you to wear your cell phone on your ear. Soon those will get smaller and smaller until all people have to wear is something the size of an earring. From there it will become an invisible (see number 2) ear implant. You’ll be able to dial and answer based on a series of voice commands. Then eventually it’ll just be controlled by thought. (Which brings up a good point: people always say that aliens are telepathic. On the contrary, I think they’ve merely mastered the cell-phone technology)
5. Brain Wave Alarm Clocks – There’s nothing worse than your alarm clock going off in the morning. You’re dead tired and you wish you could sleep longer. I want to see an alarm clock that taps into your specific brain waves and literally wakes you up. You suddenly arise at the specified hour, not because you heard some blaring noise, but because your body suddenly feels rested and awake. I’d pay some serious money for something like that.
   

For fear of writing too much, I’ll stop there… but there’s more where that came from. Be on the lookout for part two of this series!

As always, feel free to leave comments.

P.s. Wanna see some really cool futuristic gadgets that really DO exist? Check this out!