CAP Hollywood #3

Recently we finished our movie poster for the film. It is to the left of this blog post. I think that it came out really well. Aidan, Annaleigh, and I all worked on the poster and I came in to finish it Friday afternoon to finish it up. Our previous movie poster was lost but this one came out even better than the first. This week I once again helped in the editing process. Sarah and I came in for an hour and a half one day this week in order to do some editing on our film. I also worked on the movie poster and found the last piece of music for the film.This week we are hoping to finish up our film. We are close to finishing up with just a bit of editing left to do. There were some concerns in the beginning, but we are now certain that we will be able to finish this short film. This week as well I am hoping really just to assist in any editing we have left to wrap up. The film is really coming along, and I think that it is going to turn out very well. I hope to come in maybe for a half hour a few days this week since we can only stay till four. That way our film can have the right touches on it and can have nothing visibly wrong with it.

On an unrelated note baseball season is in full swing. Lets go O's.

Reflection Number 2 for CAP Hollywood

We got a lot done this week for CAP Hollywood. We got the end of our filming completed and managed to get some really good shots in the Northwest Branch. When we went out to the Northwest Branch we didn't really know if there would be a good place for us to film. Sadly I do not have any pictures of the place we found but I can describe it to you. First of all we went to the left of the waterfall area almost behind Trader Joe's. Then we hiked down to some large rocks where we originally planned to film. From there we saw a large cliff and hiked up to it for our climax. I won't say too much more because it would spoil the ending of our film.
At the moment we really have no issues with our film. It progressing very nicely. The only thing is one of the shots we recorded is suddenly missing so we may be getting that last shot this weekend or just going without it. Our plan is to film tomorrow and get the last shot. This week I have contributed a lot I think. I went out and helped us film on Wednesday, and I also helped my suggesting edits and finding a good sound effect for our monster scene. Our film is coming around because we sit behind Conor, who is making the edits, and we tell things that should be changed and the order of our film is put together. In this next week I hope that I will once again help with the edits and also work towards finding any other sound effects that we may need for this short film. I achieved all of the goals that I set out to achieve last week and hope to do it again. At this rate I definitely believe our film could be done by next week. I also will possibly consider editing next weekend.
Below I have images of nearby places to where we filmed in the Northwest Branch.

CAP Hollywood A.K.A. The Hole

For CAP Hollywood our film is progressing very nicely. We have most of our footage and we have edited it down in iMovie. I feel very confident that our short film will come out very well. This is because with iMovie things are much better and faster than Final Cut Pro. We have had a lot of success through filming and editing. We have been very productive with our time. One challenge we had was when our monster scene really did not work. It was horribly cheesy and stupid looking when we brought it into iMovie. We realized that we needed to re-shoot that particular scene. This was not a problem though and we will get it accomplished.
This week for our film I found both songs that we used for our film. I also helped to make a few edits on iMovie. I have been helping Conor go through the footage and chose out the shots that we want to use. Then I help him order them and he is the one who cuts them down to size and ads other effects. In addition to this I also gave a few ideas about what we could do for the movie poster. I was satisfied with all of the work I did this week because I feel like I got a lot acomplished.
This next week I hope to once again help edit. I will go to the editing suite and help Conor with ideas and ways we can edit the video to make it look better. In addition I will also help to find possibly sound effects and other things to enhance our short film. The thing is, we have most of the work besides editing done and two other group members our working on our poster.
Overall I am very happy with our short film .

Below is a song by Dr. Dog in the short film.

March Madness for UMD

March Madness began early this year with some key match ups in the Big East and ACC. In the Big East Georgetown lost of Syracuse in OT. In addition Maryland beat Duke and then lost by three to NC State. As a Maryland fan, I was really excited for the team knowing that they won a big game against Duke. In all truthfulness Maryland did not have a great season. They had a few incredibly sloppy games against FSU and Boston College. They also had two wins against Duke and beat NC State once.

Len dunks in a game against FSU

Maryland has increased their strength as this year has gone on. They have improved greatly. Alex Len gained 50 pounds of muscle which makes him an NBA prospect. Dez Wells improved over the season after facing allegations of sexual abuse before the season started. Wells played amazingly over the last two games and nobody could stop him on his drives. After a sluggish game against Duke, Alex Len woke up and played a much better game against NC State. The fact of the matter is, a team full of freshman and sophomores have somehow managed to be a contender for the NCAA tournament that starts in about a week. 

Dez Wells has come a long way
since the beginning of the season. 

If Maryland did make the tournament, they would be considered the ultimate Cinderella story. This team that started out the season after not making the tournament last year, and after recently losing hall of fame coach Garry Williams, has come forth and played their heart out in the last stretch of the season this year. The have overcome language barriers (Len did not speak any English when he came to UMD). They have also managed to make something of a desolate looking season. Maryland can look forward to the seasons to come. They have a very deep bench and many of the guys on the team are trusted. If they do not make the NCAA tournament this year they should not be too disappointed.

Overall I am excited for March Madness to begin. The bracket should be posted soon and the games will get underway. Best of luck to Maryland and most other teams besides Duke.

American League East Preview

Currently, the American League East is without a doubt the best league in baseball. While some baseball fans will tell you that the National League won the All Stars game last year or that it was not an American League East team that won the World Series. It does not matter. Here is why:

The Yankees

The Famed Yankees who could easily make their way to the World Series every year are gone. Obviously with an aging line up and a less than quality set of pitchers the Yankees seem to be depleted. However, to say that the Yankees are a bad team is just not the reality. As long as the Yankees still have deep pockets, they will still be a good team. Critics point out their injured starters and broken team. For the Yankees to be good this year, struggling to stay healthy will be key. If Alex Rodriguez and company stays healthy, they can look to have a good season.

The Red Sox

Despite a terrible season last year, even the Red Sox look much better. Some great acquirements were made in the off season will help this time who has to rebuild their once great empire. Allen Webster was a young pitcher in the minors last year. Acquired from the Dodgers, Webster is one of the top five prospects in the country. Webster will be started in AAA Pawtucket, but will most likely be moved up during the season. Players such as David Ortiz and Ryan Dempster will return for the 2013 season and should bring back some much needed leadership on the team. This year the Red Socks cannot afford to give up. They will need to find a groove and NOT play like last year's team. They will need the spark that they did not have last year.

The Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have always been known as the team that doesn't really fit into the great baseball that is played in the American League East. However, they have made the best trades in baseball during this off season. One acquisition that should really help the Blue Jays is right handed pitcher R.A. Dickey. Dickey was know last season as bringing life to the New York Mets. Obviously he is a huge loss for the Mets especially after throwing a no hitter last season. Dickey also won the Cy Young award last year. Jose Bautista is another player who should breath life into this team. Being injured most of last season, Bautista was severely missed on the Blue Jays last season. Their ERA went down by more than one run without him. Now that he is healthy and has players like Center fielder Colby  Rasmus to back him up, the Blue Jays might have a good season. They will look to make the playoffs this season. If they are to make the playoffs, they will need to work on their defensive game. They cannot depend on their pitchers too heavily.

The Orioles

After having a breakout season last year, the Orioles are looking to bring that same intensity back. Many of the players from last year with the exception of Mark Reynolds will be returning. Some of these players include Nick Markakis and other players such as Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, and J.J. Hardy who all one the Golden Glove in their positions last year. The Orioles also have a good pitching staff returning. This includes pitchers such as Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, Tsuyoshi Wada, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman, and Steve Johnson all of whom are fighting for some sort of role in this years Lineup. In addition Wei-Yin Chen and Jason Hammel will return to claim their starting roles after both having great seasons last year. General Manager Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter both are highly experienced and know what they are doing. Showalter has changed the entire team and caused them to make the playoffs during the previous season. Entering only his third full season as manager Showalter is what the causes the improbable Orioles to be good. The Orioles are the underdogs again this season. One fluke season cannot change this. They are also competing hard to make the playoffs. They must be consistent in their extra inning play. Without their extra inning play last year they would not have made the playoffs.

The Rays

The Rays look the least poised to win out of any team in the American League East. After a sloppy season last year they will need to strengthen before they can hope to do anything this year. The Rays have averaged 92 wins over the past five seasons, and cannot be counted out for this one. The Rays missed the playoffs last season by only a few games. They also posted the best pitching in baseball. This is what kept the team alive last year. Yunel Escobar was picked up during the off season and should help the Rays in the shortstop position. In addition award winning outfielder Wil Myers was also picked up and may possibly be brought up to the majors during some time this season. The Rays will most likely be good this year. To win a World Series they will need to improve their offense.

The O's Pitchers

The Orioles look to have a promising season this year with starting out the preseason at 7-2. Their record is currently one of the best in baseball. While the preseason is not able to tell us too much about the regular season, it can give us a glimpse of players who may be exceptional during the regular season.

Adam Jones made sure
Gausman had enough
donuts.

Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy are two top prospects for the Baltimore Orioles. Bundy was a minor league pitcher last year who only allowed one hit in his first nine appearances during AAA ball in Norfolk. The Orioles called him up as a reliever during one of their games against the New York Yankees last season where he allowed no hits. Kevin Gausman is a rookie who was acquired during the offseason. He is also a pitcher, and will most likely give the Orioles minor league depth this year. He was drafted by the Dodgers in 2009 and the Rockies in 2010, but decided to stay in high school and then go to college. He played at LSU and helped them to have a few well played seasons.  Pictured left Gausman has a ritual of eating donuts before a game and between every inning. The Orioles bullpen was what kept the time alive last season and with this two rookies, the team looks to have another strong bullpen.

Chen

Hammel

Also this season the Orioles have many competing for starting roles. Jair Jurrjens looks to make the squad after coming off of surgery on his shoulder. Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, Tsuyoshi Wada, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman, and Steve Johnson are all fighting for some sort of role in this years Lineup. In addition Wei-Yin Chen and Jason Hammel will return to claim their starting roles after both having great seasons last year. Last season Hammel was injured halfway through the season and was not able to return until the end. This season he will look to play an entire season after his breakout last year. Troy Patton, Jim Johnson, Pedro Strop, Luis Ayala, Darron O'Day, will return to their roles in the bullpen. Jim Johnson looks to have another great season coming off the best season as a closer in his career. Ayala, O'Day, and Strop all had great roles in the 6th, 7th, and                           8th innings last year.

Overall, it appears that the Orioles bullpen and starting pitchers will be much higher than most other teams. Last year the Orioles management were constantly bringing up and down pitchers from the minors to the majors. What the new pitchers need to figure out is that minors does not mean you will play there all season. It most likely means that you may be there for a few games and always be ready to be called up. Let's hope that the Orioles have another great season! Go O's.

Driving

I went to the DMV after the half day on Friday. I went to get my learners permit. I had only been to the DMV once before on the previous Saturday when the wait time was 2 hours and then the hour long process would occur. After my experience at the DMV, I would like to say that I really dislike the DMV. I am not saying that I dislike the people who work at the DMV. They were friendly and fairly efficient. It was not anybody's fault that the wait time is so long. It's just that a lot of people need to go to the DMV. Overall, the DMV just sucks. I mean to say that being there is incredibly long, boring, and painful due to sitting in the uncomfortable benches. All of these things make up the interesting atmosphere that is the DMV.The DMV has some very nice people that worked to help me get my permit at the front desk. In between these nice and helpful people there was one person who really seemed like he/she did not want to be there.

This person will go unnamed mostly because I do not know his/her name, and I will also not name the gender because lots of people probably interact with this person every day. Anyways, I went into the test taking room and she told me I could use computer number two. So far so good. After I finished my test, I got up and began to walk to her desk, unsure of what to do next. The person said "go put your chair away.. goddddd." As you can imagine I was a little bit upset because nobody likes to be talked badly about. Here is a word of advice, when you feel the urge to treat somebody disrespectfully either do not do it or do it quietly. Yes, I could hear her. Then she congrats very sarcastically. Oh well, everyone else was really great.

Today I went driving for the first time. It was kind of hard and I did not crash so I think it was a successful venture. By the way when I am driving, I would recommend staying away. I am frightened by oncoming vehicles. Overall, driving is not all that. I am starting to think that my trip to the DMV could have been a waste. Oh well, time will tell.

While this is unrelated I am a Maryland Fan.

GO BLAZER BASKETBALL!
GO TERPS!