What kind of t.v. commercial would you like to make? Describe it. 2-23-11

I have spent many days writing commercials that I would love to make, one in particular was funny to me concerning some type of product that takes the consumer into a deep trance of peacefulness and tranquility, but the funny thing about it is that they zone out at the most inopportune times such as while driving a car, or catching a football during a championship game, or even when performing a root canal on a patient.  I always told myself I would make these commercials someday when I found the right product to market and I had the available actors and the right equipment.  I still haven't made the commercial yet but I still have the storyboards and scripts all written down and ready to go so that once I have all the proper credentials I can begin shooting this commercial of mine.  I always thought that maybe I would end up doing marketing campaigns or commercials for companies, honestly I would be alright with that as long as I was creating something original I could call my own.  I thought about making it for the super bowl this last year but I never got around to getting any professional actors and the camera that I have isn't exactly a professional one so I would hate to lose the contest due to my equipment not being up to par of what today's commercials can offer.  I believe I have the creativity to create great commercials but I think the thing I lack most is the professional equipment needed to get that message across to interested parties.  But once I have the means to make the commercials I want to make I believe that I will have commercials all over the television and the internet.

What would you do to entertain your family without spending any money? 2-22-11

Well what I already love doing to entertain my family that doesn't cost me or anyone any money is making movies.  I love just sitting around with my family and coming up with a silly little story that I get all the kids involved into helping me make, I have made several little movies with my kids and my cousins, nephews and nieces that we love showing off to the family.  The most recent one I made was with my two children, one day my father and I sat around and drew up a script about a bad poker player, a treasure hunter, and a crooked bartender. It was set to be a western so we got out our Halloween costumes and got all dressed up.  My dad played the crooked bartender and the kids tried to play the other roles of the bad poker player and the estranged treasure hunter.  Being so young it was hard to get them to act the correct scenes but after a while we had gotten all the shots we needed.  Everything was shot in a day and by Christmas I had made a DVD for everyone in the family to take home.  We ended up calling it "Spaghetti-O Western" which everyone thought was the perfect title for the film.  The time before that I had shot a hostage movie with my aunt and cousins that was funny as well.  I hope that sometime soon I can make more movies with my family, but that will have to wait until I finish up with school. But when that finally happens I think that we will be making many more movies due to how much the kids love acting and being on camera and pretending to be the heroes in their very own film.

What would you invent to make life better? 2-21-11

If I could invent something to make life better I would create a rewind button, there are just so many instances where someone wished they could take back what they just said, or turn back time to stop themselves from investing all their money into some scheme that leaves them bankrupt.  I know there have been several occasions that I wish I could rewind and start over.  I don't know anybody who doesn't wish for that at some point in there time.  Or maybe somebody close to them got into an accident, this way they could turn back time and stop them from going out that night or from going somewhere they shouldn't have.  Some people would say that it is just life and that things happen for a reason, but if we had the chance to change things for the better I would definitely try to do what I could.  It's just like in the movie "Groundhog Day".  Bill Murray kept reliving the same day over and over because there was something in his life that needed to change, and once he found out that this was his opportunity to really do something about his life he went all in and gave it his all.  That is what I would want, I would want to give someone the chance to make a better life for themselves, to go back in time to a place where they said they wish they could have changed this or that they wish they didn't say that.  I am sure there would be plenty of people taking advantage of this technology as well to benefit their lives which is probably a good thing that I just wish I could make it instead of being able to make it.

What has been the most fun activity at school so far? 2-20-11

The most fun I have had at school so far would have to be the class I took where we had to make a four part mini series that were five minutes long each.  Since I love filmmaking it was the perfect opportunity to really use my brain in coming up with a good idea for a show. It was also very fortuitous that I was friends with just about everyone in my group.  After a couple days of pre-planning we came up with an idea that we all thought was great, little did we know we had bitten off more than we could chew but it wasn't a problem and we solved the problem without any hassle.  Some of the most fun was scouting the locations where we wanted to shoot the series.  Even when it came down to finding the costumes for every person we had a great time.  And even though I couldn't act at all I still played a main role in the series.  I believe everyone had a great time working on the show and the teacher told us that out of all the groups in that class that our project was her favorite one.  She even asked us if she could use it as a demonstration for her classes in other semesters and of course we were glad to oblige, I wish there was a follow up class to that one because I had so much fun working in that class that I wish it never would have ended.  Although that class is over there have been times where my friends from that group and I would sit around and talk about making our own mini series, and who knows, maybe one day we will actually get to do that again.

What is most important to you in a friend--loyalty, generosity, honesty--why? 2-19-11

I believe honesty is the most important trait in a friend, or even a person for that matter.  I can live without money or gifts but what I can't live without is honesty, to really be able to trust somebody is a very important thing in someone's life and without honesty there is really no way for you to have a happy life.  You can forgive people for being late, or for forgetting, but if the reason they couldn't make it was made up then that really damages a relationship with someone.  When it comes to lying it is an almost impossible web to get out of.  With every lie someone tells it is just another thing they have to remember, but when the truth, even though it may hurt, is a much simpler thing to remember, it just makes more sense to tell the truth.  I recently made a friend that I thought was being honest with me, in fact in the very beginning they said that honesty is the most important thing to them in a relationship.  But after a while several plans had been made and had to be canceled, they said it was due to issues at home or because something happened that wouldn't allow them to make it, or that they were sick.  But several days later I found out that they had just been blowing me off to hang out with other friends, now what hurt the most was that they had to lie to me about everything to make themselves feel better, I would have been more understanding about them wanting to hang out with someone else instead of me, but when it comes to being honest, it truely is something that everyone needs to have.

What are some nutritious foods that you like? 2-18-11

I was never a healthy food kind of guy, if my parents asked me to eat my vegetables I would always pout about it. I always had a high metabolism so I never worried about what I ate, because I was young and it didn't affect me.  But as I got older I started noticing I wasn't as energetic as I used to be, I thought it was because I was getting older but I believe now that it was because I didn't have a good diet.  I am still not a big fan of most vegetables, but as for health foods in general I feel like it has become a bigger part of my life.  The only real vegetables I enjoyed were cold, fresh cauliflower and peas with corn. I liked almost every type of fruit and now I try to keep only healthy foods as part of my diet.  A couple servings of broccoli and cauliflower as my veggies and maybe some oranges or apples for my fruit, all natural breads and water are parts of my diet as well.  After switching to healthier foods I noticed a big change in my attitude and my energy, I loved to run around and exercise, I was happier and I wanted to get out and enjoy life more than I had wanted to back when I ate pizza and drank dr. pepper.  I am glad I made the change to incorporate healthy foods into my life and it has definitely made me a better person all around.  My friends and family all notice that I am more outgoing and have much more energy and strength, and I don't believe I would have the drive to exercise if I never changed what I ate, sometimes as a snack I will have a can of mandarin oranges and a bottle of water.

What do you like to do in your free time? 2-17-11

What I enjoy doing most in my free time would have to be either writing a movie I want to shoot, or shooting a movie I just wrote.  I love it when an idea strikes me and I get so pumped about fleshing it out into a movie.  Sometimes it comes from a dream, or maybe while I am driving down the road I will see something that looks really cool or quirky that I would want to see made into a movie.  I believe I have at least one or two ideas every day that I write down and think about putting into a movie, some ideas never pan out and some make it into a new story that I start writing.  I don't know how many notebooks I have full of stories that I am currently writing in, I have so many unfinished stories that are always constantly being revised to make into a better movie.  My problem lately is I don't know any people around this area that would act with me and I don't know how much longer I will be living here, so I am hesitant to get into a project that I might have to cut short.  I wonder about the things that I put in my movies, what they represent about me and what people will think about when they see them, I always become excited when someone watches a movie I finished.  I always love getting feedback from people, even when it isn't good feedback, I feel it really helps me in becoming a better filmmaker, I hope one day to become a professional writer, producer, director, and editor of my own films.  But until that day comes I will always be spending my free time writing stories and finding people to help me film them.

What is your favorite month? Why? 2/16/11

My favorite month would have to be June, for one reason it is when my birthday is, another reason is because it is summer and all my friends are free to hang out whenever they want to. My folks also live right on the lake and it is the perfect time to get out on the lake and just enjoy every day. When we are out on the lake I love to just swim or dive off a big rock close to the house, this last summer I picked up wake boarding and it is very fun and exhilarating, I used to skateboard a lot and this is another sport that I can do that I really enjoy doing. It is also just about as painful when you crash, with skateboarding its the concrete or steel you worry about falling onto, but with wake boarding it is the waves that you crash into at over twenty five miles per hour that hurt you, and it really matters how you fall into them. I remember one time last summer when the waves were very choppy I caught the lip of the board and smacked straight onto my face and chest and it knocked the wind out of me, but once you have the hang of riding the wake board it is an amazing experience. Just being out on the lake in the warm weather with your friends is one of the best experiences you can have. I love just relaxing on the boat, listening to music and eating a lunch you packed back at the house while chatting with friends and fishing in the coves that you believe hide the biggest fish ever. Also this last summer my parents bought several kayaks and those are a fun way to just move about the lake without the need of a motor, and these are the reasons why June is my favorite month.

What is the best birthday present you ever received? 2/16/11

The best birthday present I have ever received would have to be my first Mac computer, it really opened up the windows to filmmaking for me, before I had a computer I could only edit my videos at school and that was only for forty five minutes everyday which was nowhere near enough for me. I would have to say that I quickly filled up the entire harddrive with movies I made with my friends which led me to putting them all on a dvd or an external hard drive for storage. I spent so many months on that computer I do not know how it survived as long as it did. I may have shut it off a total of three times in the four years of owning it, but it was the most fun I ever had with something. If I ever had any spare time I was coming up with new things to film with my friends so I could edit them and show them off to my family and friends. If I didn't get that computer I do not know where I would be today, maybe I would still be into filmmaking or maybe I would have found something entirely different to do with my life, but I am extremely glad I got into filmmaking because with my overactive imagination it is the perfect way to express myself artistically. I remember one video I made with my friends, we all came over to my house and spent the weekend making it, we completely adlibbed the script and just spent the day filming a story as we went along. After we finished filming I spent the next nineteen hours straight editing the video together and that video is still one of my favorites I ever made to this day.

What is your favorite holiday? What makes this holiday special? 2/15/11

My favorite holiday would have to be christmas because it is a time that I get to see my entire family for a while, we all live a ways away from each other and it is a good time for everyone to get together for the holidays. I really enjoy the cooking that we all get to do, since I also enjoy cooking I try to help as much as I can or even make my own dish. The conversations at the dinner table are also a lot of fun, I get to hear all about the things that have been happening in everyones life and I get to share the things that have been happening in mine as well. Also the presents are a lot of fun, there are still a few young kids in the family and they really enjoy putting out the cookies and milk for Santa and trying to go to sleep and once they wake up they are beyond excited to run to the tree to see what he has left them. Since there are several kids there we always make them wait in their rooms until they are all awake and ready to come down, it may seem cruel to them but it is much more fun when they all get to see it at the same time. I love getting a gift for someone and seeing how much they enjoy it, especially when they didn't ask for it in the first place. It is always the presents that they didn't ask for that they really enjoy that mean the most to them because that really means you need to know your family and what they like. It is just a great time to be with your family and also with the ones you love the most.

What is something you are optimistic about? 2/15/11

I am optimistic about my future, I believe that eventually I will find myself in the film industry in some manner, whether it is as a camera operator or running my own production company I plan on being in that industry for my future. I realize it is a tough market to get into and even harder to be successful in it, but I feel that my perserverance and my imagination will take me far in my career choice. I constantly think about writing and shooting movies on a daily basis and whenever I have the free time I like to get my camera and props out and think about what kind of movies I would like to make, I am also constantly working with friends on projects and really enjoy the time I put into them. I have seen a lot of people who disregard their own shortcomings and get shot down repeatedly, but I believe that I know what my faults are and I am constantly working on fixing them every day I can. Being a perfectionist I am never happy with the final product I put out, I always find something I would change or fix which is my I make so many final copies of one video, I just keep fixing them until I can put it out without too much worry. It is always fun to watch friends and family members watch my movies, I feel like I really have a future with filmmaking. This last summer I made a short film with my children in the form of a spaghetti western. It was probably the most fun I had making a movie because I got my kids involved in it. I like to think that they enjoyed it too. I would love to make more movies with my kids as often as I could.

What is the best advice you ever received? 2/14/11

The best advice I have ever received was probably from my mom who told me "It is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you react to it." which basically boils down to meaning that whenever something bad happens or something unexpected comes your way, to not lose your cool and keep a level head. That has pretty much been my philosophy for the past several years since she has told me that. I have had many times in my life where a normal person would scream or cry or yell or fight when something happened but I just remember that how you react to something that really defines you as a person. I like to think of myself as a level headed individual who is really laid back and always having a sunny disposition but the truth is sometimes I feel like pulling my hair out or screaming at something, but I just remember that it is ninety percent how you react to something that really defines the outcome of a situation. So I maintain my composure and continue on with what I am doing as if it doesn't bother me at all and eventually I work my way through the issues and I emerge victorious where others would have given up a long time ago. There have been other times I have been given good advice but this one has really stuck with me throughout my years when I nedded it the most and I am glad I got that advice when I did. It has been pretty inspirational to me and it has shown in many projects and activities I have done. It has given me some real tenacity when it comes to finishing projects or jobs and maintaining my composure.

What is your favorite book and why? 2/14/11

My favorite book would have to be "Redwall" by the late Brian Jacques, about a week ago I heard that Brain had passed away here recently which was suprisingly sad to me, I had not realized it at the time but I had grown up reading his Redwall series since I was probably twelve years old. I remember the first time I read one of his books it completely blew me away how engrossed I became in the stories he created. Currently I own fifteen of his books and now I am making it a point to own every copy he put out in the series. But what made Redwall the book so special to me was because it was the first of the series. The story follows woodland creatures such as mice, badgers and rabbits living in a peaceful abbey that was helped built by a mouse by the name of Martin the warrior, the hardships that Martin went through shaped him into a mouse that stood for all things good and he would lay down his life to protect those things. Many years after he passed the story began with a young mouse named Matthias who eventually rose to take on the great role left behind by Martin and protect the abbey from evil creatures of the world such as rats, snakes, and other nasty creatures. The story took me back to a time of medieval chivalry when things were much simpler and happier and I loved every chance I got to read one of his books, some of my happiest memories were when I found out a new book of his was about to be released. I was even a subscriber to the Redwall Club, it was a readers club and every member was sent a package every six months with recipes and bookmarks and games that were in the redwall world.

What is your favourite room in your home and why? 2/13/11

My favorite room I ever had was in the old house I used to own several years ago, it was my computer, prop and green screen room. This room was where I would prepare for a movie, write a movie, shoot a movie and edit my movie. It has always been a dream of mine to have my own studio to do this sort of work and that was the closest I have come to it so far. I remember having all of my prop weapons in one closet and all the costumes in the closet next to that one, one whole wall was painted green so that I could shoot green screen videos in front of it, and in the other corner was my desk and computer with all my camera gear and software where I would spend so many hours editing my videos that I would shoot with my friends every weekend. After I moved out of that house and sold it I have not had a room quite like that one since then, I have come close several times but they were not really my own room, either I was renting it or just staying there for a while. I have been in rooms but they never had the feeling of my old house with that room. It makes me consider buying either a studio apartment or just getting a new house with several bedrooms in it because there is nothing like owning a room where you can do all the work you want to do. Hopefully someday soon I will have a professional studio to call my own where I can make any movies my imagination can come up with. So that is my favorite room and the reasoning behind why it is.