January 31

I know I'm going to be busy all day so I'm posting an early, EARLY entry. This may be updated later on, who knows? So, I was traveling across the internets and came across some extremely disappointing news (for all you hip-hop heads out there). I blogged earlier this month about Lupe Fiasco releasing the first disc of his grand finale - LupE.N.D. - in June. Well, as of yesterday those plans are no more. This is from Mr. Fiasco himself:

"Due to circumstances beyond my control...the album roll out has changed radically...LUPE.N.D. has been postponed indefinitely!!!

As a matter of fact consider it cancelled until further notice!!!

Sorry Guys & Gals!!!!...the rumor mill and bitch ass cowards are going to have a field day with this one!!!...I'll just keep quiet about the actual reasoning so everybody can put their very special two cents in...

OK..so what now???

Actually an album is still coming in June...Thats Right!!!...Drum Roll Please...

"THE GREAT AMERICAN RAP ALBUM"

Yeah thats the new title...

want the tracklist?

ok...

1. Song #1
2. Song #2
3. Song #3
4. Song #4
5. Song #5
6. Song #6
7. Song #7
8. Song #8
9. Song #9
10. Song #10
11. The Greatest Rap Song Ever Made

No B.S.

See ya'll in June and again in December and again next June...

LupE.N.D. right after that...when the liberation comes!!!...

also JAPANESE CARTOON "IN THE JAWS OF THE LORDS OF DEATH" drops the same day as "THE GREAT AMERICAN RAP ALBUM"...Matthew Santos this spring...oh yeah...FNF UP!!!

I hate the music business...but I love music...Grammy's Here We Come!!"

So there you have it. Apparently we're getting a Lupe Fiasco album in June (which is still amazing), it's just not the one we were expecting. Hopefully this LupE.N.D. mess gets straightened out soon, considering I've been anticipating it since before the release of "The Cool." In the meantime, I'll be waiting patiently for "The Great American Rap Album" in the summer. And as for Japanese Cartoon...

Your paupers and peasants and princes and kings,
B

January 30

I'm at Joe's house right now. We've been hanging out and watching a lil' Pistons/Celtics action. It's not looking too good, but still a fun time. Kendrick Perkins is a punk. Today was basically spent over this way; Catching up, looking at pictures, seeing the badge and bulletproof vest. Haha. I asked if we could test it...he said no. We're about to head out again. See you folks later.

Love,
B

January 29

A lot of testing on After Effects again today. I have to thank Rhett again for filming me in front of the green monster for 6 seconds so I have a piece of random footage to work with. At 720p, it was plenty of time. Anyway, here are the photos from last night's Goldman's shoot. Finished up principle photography; Now it's in Rhett's hands to turn from nothing to A-MAZ-ING.















And that's about that. OH, WAIT!!! No it's not. Here's a bit of pretty cool news I got from Kyle Farthing yesterday. Some of you may remember the video we shot during the summer for As I Lay Dying at the Cornerstone Festival. If not, here it is:


As I Lay Dying - Forsaken (LIVE) from Kyle Farthing on Vimeo.

Well, it turns out that Kyle heard back from them a few days ago. Apparently, the band is going to be using the footage we shot (not sure how much) on their upcoming DVD. We're all going to be receiving credit. So, if it works out, I'll have my name (as well as Rhett and Kyle and Mike) on a nationally released DVD. I'm actually pretty excited. First real credit. Interesting, huh?

Some other big news from the day; My best friend, Mr. Joe Sollinger, completed his border patrol schooling/training earlier today (closing ceremonies were around 3 or 4pm). Technically, it's Officer Sollinger now. So, Officer Sollinger (and a friend) hit the road around 5pm and are driving straight through to Michigan. He should be back home sometime tomorrow afternoon. Now, Joe has been away since October (and briefly at Thanksgiving), so tomorrow will be the first time we've been able to actually get together in about 4 months. I'm excited to see him; Not only because he's been gone, but after this weekend he'll be moving to Port Huron to start his new career. Not far away at all, but not an 8 minute drive like it used to be. Needless to say I'm EXTREMELY proud of the guy. He finished college, worked to save money, and when an opportunity arose, he jumped at it, and now - not even a year after graduating - has a new career. Joe is one of the best people I know. It's a very general statement, yes; but whatever YOU consider a "good person" to be - in the highest regard - this is what Joe is. I mean this as a very high compliment. He's a genuinly good person (at a time where they're few and far between) and I'm truly, truly happy things are going so well for him. If anyone deserves it, it's him.

Well, I think that's about it for today. I'll be back tomorrow for some more blog-idy goodness.

Congrats Officer Sollinger,
B

January 28

I just walked in from filming the second part of the commercial from last week. It was a pretty smooth shoot that ended in a great meal and some good conversation. Now, it wasn't a conversation that most people have everyday and it particularly revolved around beliefs; But those are good talks to have every once in a while - even if you don't see eye-to-eye. Anyway, I'll have more pictures to post in my next blog entry. Until then, I'll let you know that it was a fantastic day. That's about it. Just a genuinely good day. I'm smiling.

Love,
B

January 27

It seems that a lot of my friends are either becoming sick, are sick, or are desperately trying to achieve a level of un-sickness. I must be one of the lucky ones...for now. Met up with a couple friends at Panera Bread today. Had a good time catching up and snacking on an Asiago Roast Beef sandwhich. T'was delicious.


I then headed home to find a package waiting for me. Gina, a great friend of mine from California, had sent me an amazing shirt from To Die For. I believe this was the second part of the Christmas/birthday shipments - the first being Socks & Socks. I need to get on the phone and let her know I'm diggin' it. Guess I should do that now.

Keep it real,
B

January 26

I need a green screen. Some lights would be nice, too...but I do need a green screen. I'm just now realizing all of the possible applications. I'll be honest though, I'm still trying to collect other pieces of hardware (such as lights, microphones, etc.) and I'm not sure where a green screen ranks. It should be a pretty high priority, though. Damn you, AFTER EFFECTS!!! It's been giving me all sorts of crazy ideas. Well, I need to re-list my sister's Mac PowerBook on eBay. Probably should get to that. Then again, I may hold out until 9pm EST so as to possibly get that west coast crowd in the mix. Hmmm...decisions.

Watch The Fall,
B

January 25

Earlier this week the nominees for the 2009 Academy Awards were announced. There were a couple surprises - In Bruges and Robert Downey, Jr. - and a couple (HUGE) snubs - The Dark Knight not receiving a Best Picture or Best Director nod. Feel free to Google "2009 Academy Award nominees" to scan the entire list; to which you'll then run across a section that should look something like this:

Achievement in cinematography

• “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
• “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

There's one film missing from this list. It's one some of you may not have seen or heard of; But if you had, you'd understand where I'm coming from. The movie is called The Fall and is the second feature from Tarsem Singh. He's the man responsible for The Cell, the crime-fantasy from around 2000. Now if you visit imdb.com, you'll see 2006 next to the title. It hit the film festival curcuit around this time but wasn't nationally released until early 2008. Special "presented by" credits were given to Spike Jonze on this project, as well. Anyway, do yourself a favor and see this movie. It's not the best in terms of story or directing that I've ever laid eyes on, but the cinematography is flat-out breathtaking; Not to mention an amazing...AMAZING performance by then 5 or 6 year old Catinca Untaru. The cuteness level is a 17 on a 1-to-10 scale here, people. Here's a quick synopsis (taken from imdb):

Roy Walker (Lee Pace), an early 20th century Hollywood stuntman, lands in the hospital after performing a dangerous stunt to impress his girlfriend. Distraught and suicidal after losing her, the bedridden Roy befriends a fellow patient, a young girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru). He enchants her with vivid, fantastical tales about five heroes — an Indian, an ex-slave named Ota Benga, an Italian explosives expert, a masked bandit, and Charles Darwin — who unite to fight a common enemy, Governor Odious. Although Roy has genuine affection for Alexandria, he also has an ulterior motive...

Let me stop right there and just mention you see a lot of the film take place from Alexandria's highly vivid and imaginative point of view. It's like watching a painting come to life. Beautiful. Now this is a film you have to be "in the mood" for, so try holding off until you feel like it. But please...PLEASE watch The Fall and then let me know if you think the Academy missed one.

The Fall is beautiful,
B

January 24

I'm currently headed out the door and may not make it back in time to post before midnight; So I'll do it now. Paid off the credit card today. WOOO!!! The same time every month I feel both depressed and overjoyed knowing how much I charged, but that it's nothing to worry about anymore. Like, there goes $500 but I'm not in debt. Cool beans burrito. Speaking of food...I had pizza for lunch. Frozen. Not too bad, actually. I also continued the seemingly never-ending saga of After Effects tutorials. I guess that's that. OH, and the Pistons started their big lineup again last night..and lost by 21. Sad trombone.

Have a nice day,
B

January 23

Right off the bat, I'm really getting into After Effects.  I'm baring down and trying hard to not just go through a number of tutorials (like I had been doing before) but actually spending time learning each piece and applying that to my own tests.  Otherwise, all you're doing is color by numbers.  That's all to report today.  A lot of time spent in front of a computer again.  Haha.  Rhett can relate to this.

All you need is love,

B

January 22 [B]

I'm not sure if it's the same on everybody's computer, but on mine, the pictures I post always seem to have the right most section cut-off due to...something. So, if you want to see the entire picture, just click on it and you'll be taken to my Flickr account that houses said image (in all of it's rectangular glory).

Thanks,
B

January 22 [A]

Just to let you know, the January 21 post has been updated so as to resemble an actual blog entry.

That said, on to today...or rather, yesterday. I was out last night with Rhett and Josh filming a commercial for Goldman's. As always, we had the classic hurry up and wait atmosphere; But all in all it was pretty productive. Setting up and tearing down took up the majority of our time - especially trying to get a 12' x 24' green screen evenly lit in a very small space (credit to: Rhett, Josh, Downy's wrinkle free spray, a lot of boxes, weights, and many-a-lights). There were a few times Josh had to visit the fuse box due to a sudden power outage, but no biggie. The day ended in some Arby's, some NBA Live, and a nice, warm bed. Mmmm. The second part/finale of the commercial should be shot sometime next week. I'll try go get photos on that day, too.

Oh, also, last night the Detroit Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors in a blowout. This is significant because it's the first time they started their "new" traditional lineup of Rodney Stuckey (PG), Allen Iverson (SG), Tayshaun Prince (SF), Amir Johnson (PF), and Rasheed Wallace (C). Rip came off the bench along with Bynum, McDyess, and Maxiell (who had a monster game along with Tay). Now, I think A.I. should be our 6th man and not Rip, but either way, I'm happy our team finally woke up and realized we're not built for a small lineup. Kudos, but about damn time.

(Credit photo to: Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News)
Respect to Rip for taking his new role in stride.

Much, MUCH love,
B

January 21

That's a hell of a picture, huh. Anyway, to make this an official blog post with some new insight, here's a bit of news that came through the wire earlier today:

Lupe Fiasco will be releasing "Everywhere" - the FIRST disc of his 3 CD finale - sometime in June of this year. The full project is LupE.N.D. or "Everywhere," "Nowhere," and "Down Here." Also, for all of you Lupe Fiasco fans such as myself, here's another bit o' new (albeit older news). Donnell, I remember texting you about this earlier; But to everyone else, check out a group called Japanese Cartoon. They're a British-post punk band who are headed by lead singer Percival Fats. The 3 songs that have been released thus far are called "ARMY," "Firing Squad," and "Heirplanes." Did I mention that Percival Fats' vocals are eerily similar to Lupe's? Now, a message from the band was released stating that Mr. Wasalu and Mr. Fats are, in fact, 2 different people and while Lupe finances and produces the band, he's not part of it. I don't know...you be the judge.

G'night,
B

January 20

At this time, on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Barack Obama was just sworn in as 44th President of the United States of America.

January 19

Well, let me just say that YouTube is TRRRBLE. What a waste of time. Oh well, good ol' Vimeo came through in the clutch. Again, everything about the picture - the over-exposure due to a face escaping the viewfinder or the ever-present dark vignette around the frame - is perfect for me. All I did was add a couple slight fades and cut for some sort of "flow." No color correction. No added effects. The picture is as it was uploaded. Due to encoding parameters, the video is a tad bit dumbed-down, but it's obviously not a big deal considering the type of film used. Again, it's a lot to do about nothing; Just felt inspired to share some of this footage. So, for your viewing pleasure:


Vintage Montage from BJ Frost on Vimeo.

OH, and Happy Birthday to Jessica Glockner TODAY!!! WOOO!!! January Birthdays are cool, eh? That's right they are.

One love,
B

January 18

I was working on a video project that involved footage from (I believe) one of the first domestic, color, reel-to-reel video cameras manufactured; Way before Hi-8 or DV tapes were used. Now some people will look at said footage and just see really old, jumpy moving pictures. Nothing special. I think it's gorgeous. Everything from the uncontrolled over-exposure to the soft halo-vignette effect on almost every frame; You can't help but feel taken back. And, no matter how much you work on it, you can't mimic the exact look of real, old-reel footage (get it?). I've seen some amazing attempts to do such - in movies, TV, etc. - but nothing beats the actual thing. Maybe it's just me; Who knows? Regardless, I was feeling really inspired and made a short, 3-minute montage. It's nothing special. I tried to put it together with some sort of "flow"...but considering the clips were all over the place (literally), I just made due. I only cross-faded a couple times. Everything else is either the footage as was captured or cuts by me. It's currently being uploaded on YouTube and I'll post it here as soon as it finishes.

Oh, and the Super Bowl is going to be the Arizona Cardinals (WHAT!?!?!?) vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. Go figure.

Keep on keepin' on,
B