#pack Drumline

[neverlostphotography]

The Pack Drumline 🥁

#photography #photo #neverlost photography #event photography #performance photography #AGT #Americas got talent #AGT superstars #AGT live #Drumline #pack Drumline

[bear-cubs-art-things]

me fitting everything (except a blanket and a pillow) into a backpack: I feel like I overpacked <:(

Everyone else walking in with backpacks and suitcases:

#YEAH ANYWAYS #packing is fun #everything managed to fit into my backpack somehow #also I could've used a suitcase. I forgot were traveling on one of those travel busses not a school bus #oh well #bear rambles #for context the drumline is going out of town for a competition

[ryttu3k]

"The question has never been: Can you build cities?

Ants do that.

The question has never been: Are you capable of considering your own existence and getting kind of depressed about it?

Any animal in captivity does that.

The question has never been: Can you use tools?

Crows do that. Otters do that. Apes do that. Good Lord, everybody does that.

The question has never been: Can you perform complex problem solving?

Dogs do that.

The question has never been: Can you experience love?

Nobody doesn’t.

The question has never been: Can you use language?

Parrots and dolphins and cuttlefish do that.

The question has never even been: Do you understand object permanence, can you recognize yourself in the mirror, do you bury your dead, do you bond emotionally with your young?

Elephants do all those things, and some humans definitely don’t.

The only question is this:

Do you have enough empathy and yearning and desperation to connect to others outside yourself and scream into the void in four-part harmony? Enough brainpower and fine motor control and aesthetic ideation to look at feathers and stones and stuff that comes out of a worm’s more unpleasant holes and see gowns, veils, platform heels? Enough sheer style and excess energy to do something that provides no direct, material benefit to your personal survival, that might even mark you out from the pack as shiny, glittery prey, to do it for no other reason than that it rocks?

Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything pulses to a beat laid down by the Big Bang. Everything feels the drumline of creation from star to sex to song. But can you make that rhythm? In order to create a pop band, the whole apparatus of civilization must be up and running and tapping its toe to the beat. Electricity, poetry, mathematics, sound amplification, textiles, arena architecture, efficient mimetic exchange, dramaturgy, industry, marketing, the bureaucratic classes, cultural critics, audiovisual transmission, special effects, music theory, symbology, metaphor, transportation, banking, enough leisure and excess calories to do anything beyond hunt, all of it, everything.

Can everyone else trust that, if you must declare war and wipe out half a quadrant, you’ll at least write a sad song about it?

Yes?

Well, even that is not quite enough.

Are you kind enough, on your little planet, not to shut that rhythm down? Not to crush underfoot the singers of songs and tellers of tales and wearers of silk? Because it’s monsters who do that. Who extinguish art. Who burn books. Who ban music. Who yell at anyone with ears to turn off that racket. Who cannot see outside themselves clearly enough to sing their truth to the heavens. Do you have enough goodness in your world to let the music play?

Do you have soul?"

- Space Opera, by Catherynne M Valente

#this part absolutely made me feel some sorta way #space opera #catherynne m valente #books #book quotes #eurovision #(it counts the book is literally eurovision in space)

[eluminium]

Useless Facts about ImpulseSV: the post

Welcome to “Useless Facts about Impulse”. The title says it all. I am Eluminium, that one fuck who decided to watch every single Impulse hermitcraft season and actually fucking did it, and I have a bunch of completely useless knowledge from it now. AND I SHALL SHARE IT WITH YOU SO YOU TOO MAY ALSO BE ENLIGHTENED! Also cuz i’m bored as shit (Btw i’ll probably keep adding onto this post as I remember or gain more useless knowledge) People who’ve blessed this post with more facts: @bucket-of-amethyst  @tsukinouta  LET THE FACTS BEGIN! First addition of facts: August 7th 2022

-Out of every single base Impulse has constructed on Hermitcraft, 3 and a half of them have featured water as a major design element. These would be the City of Atlantis (S5), iBay (S6), The Pyramid (S7), and the half is his “starter base” temple (S3).  (I count it as a half because he spent a considerable amount of time designing it but it isn’t his main base so to say.) -Impulse has two seasons of Hermitcraft that are the exact same lenght in terms of episodes, these being S3 and S4, both having 57 episodes. -Impulse’s longest season is S6 with 113 episodes, and his shortest is S8 with 35 episodes -Out of every base Impulse has built, only 2 of them do not feature his logo on the inside or outside in it’s final design. These are iBay (S6) and The Pyramid (S7)

-Impulse is shorter then Bdubs IRL. Bdubs claims to be 5′10 while Impulse claims to be 5′8. This makes fanon extremely hilarious

-In S4, the safe rooms Impulse and Tango constructed in the Wither Skeleton farm were called “The Sissy Room”, but only for one episode. After that it’s never mentioned again.

-Impulse’s wife (Ms. Impulse) has never touched Minecraft because she’s an interior designer and would most likely disappear off the face of the Earth if she ever let herself play the game. It hasn’t stopped Impulse from trying a few times though.

-Impulse has a habit of biting off more than he can chew. In 4 out of 7 seasons he’s been in there have been obvious projects that were never finished. These are in order: The roof of his and Tango’s shared Mega Base (S3), A fair amount of The City of Atlantis (S5), The missing farms on the Phinias Board (S7) and the interior of The Candy Factory (S8)

-Impulse’s current keyboard (At the time of writing) was custom made by his son

-In both S3 and S7, Impulse used the exact same floor desgin and armor stand gimmick for his Patreon Monument.

-One of the reasons Impulse and Skizzleman remain such close friends today was because he found a book on networking on Skizz’s bedroom floor when they were both looking to go to a new collage. They both went to the same Networking class after Impulse suggested it and have been glued together ever since. -They absolutely hated that networking class though

-Impulse has had 4 piercings in total. One in the tongue, one eyebrow one, one nipple, and one in the ear. Both the eyebrow one and the nipple one were taken out after they got caught on various zippers, and the ear one was something he did together with his drumline. None of them survived to the present day though.

-Impulse has sold enchanting related things in 4 out of 7 seasons (S4 S5 S6 S9)

-Impulse used to be completely bald and beardless until he grew out his hair and a beard for a No Shave November challange and people said it fit him. He hasn’t returned to baldness since that (At the time of writing) -Every since their introduction, Impulse always carries a totem on him. Although he has a resource pack that makes the totem invisible in first person so it won’t block up the screen as much.

-His Guardian Goodies shop building in S7 is an exact replica of a Guardian “shop” (everything was free) xB designed in S3

-Impulse has won every single “How to Kill” compitition, and with the exact same concept to boot. In “How to Kill a Doc” he made a bunch of traps that looked like the final blow but weren’t, instead having the killing strike be deliver by Impulse himself. In “How to Kill a Tango” he did the exact same thing, although the final blow should have been delt by a Magma Cube instead. Both of these killing machines also share similar surprises. Both involve fire charges (One from dispensers, one from a live Ghast), anvil launchers and TNT. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it i suppose?

-Impulse actually bought the “copyright rights” to the “i” brand from Iskall in S6 so he could keep iTrade open without confusion. Never got something similar from iJevin thought.

-When S6 updated to the villager update, Impulse managed to obtain a glitched Farmer Villager who never locked up his trades no matter how much you traded with him. Although he did lose a fair amount of villagers in iTrade too, so it was more a soul for a soul.

-The only season Impulse was part of that never had Elytras was ironically S3, the one with amplified terrain.

-The first time Impulse properly tested out the Elytra, it lagged so bad he died from fall damage by falling into Xisumas Guardian Farm. The elytra refused to open.

-Impulse and Tango has had an agreement since Impulse joined in S3 that they can take certain resources from each other’s storages and farms without asking before hand. They call this “Mi casa, Ti casa” or “My house, your house”.

-In 4 out of 7 seasons, Impulse has had at least one entire video that centers around either a request from xB, or featuring xB himself. (S3 S4 S5 S7)

-The “SV” in impulseSV could be read as “impulsive” but it actually stands for Impulse’s IRL initials

-Impulse was introduced to Minecraft via his son, who wanted to get into gaming. Impulse mostly played shooters but he didn’t want his kid to play those types of games at his age, so a coworker suggested Minecraft. Although his kid didn’t know anything about the game, so he had to hop on and learn too.

-Impulse plays Minecraft with an inverted mouse. This is because he got so used to flying helicopters in various shooters it made more sense to his brain that dragging the mouse down means up, and pushing it up means down.

-Impulse started out as a fan of Tango’s until he learned that he and Tango are pretty similar in age and in video style. So he e-mailed Tango about a collab and he accepted. Later they learned they lived incredibly close to each other and went out for some “sodas” (aka BEERS). The rest is history.

-The name Impulse along with the black and yellow colour scheme is something Impulse stole from his drumcore’s name and colour scheme. His favourite colour is actually purple.

-Impulse and Skizz live in the same neighbourhood (at the time of writing)

Second addition of facts 9th of August 2022

-Impulse has a dog (specifically a Border Collie) named Prim and a cat named Luna. Luna was a gift for his older daughter. Impulse wasn’t the biggest fan of cats until his wife got one, and he fell in love as well.

-He and Skizz have been best friends for over 25 years (at the time of writing)

-Impulse has a collage degree in computer information systems, because he was too spooked by a full on computer science degree.

-Despite being born in Iowa. Impulse has lived in Arizona since he was 5 years old.

-Impulse was born in 1981. Skizz is 2 years older. You do the math.

-Impulse ain’t no single child, he has a sister who once saved him from drowning. This was after he had colided with a boat on a Jetski as a kid.

-Impulse is a father of 3, his oldest is heading to collage (at the time of writing) and his youngest is 10.

-If any government or HOA people asks what Impulse’s new studio is (at the time of writing), it’s totally just a guest house. nothing else. nothing to see here.

-He met his wife in collage.

-His channel was originally made to be a sort of memory box of him and his son playing games together.

-His wife has a Etsy store where she sells custom made jewlery. It’s called Desert Medows Design (it’s actually pretty sick ngl)

-Impusle is a pretty big “sportsball” (aka Sports) fan and usually brings it up in streams. Not for long though considering he recognises that most people who watch him aren’t that into sportsball (his words not mine. honestly though it is pretty cool to listen to, could be just a me thing.)

Third addition of facts 12th of August 2022

-Impulse has a back injury that appearenly reappears to cause problems sometimes. He got it from playing Volleyball one time and messed up a muscle in his back when jumping. According to the man himself, when that pain flares back up it can leave him stranded on the couch with ice packs and heatpads for a fair while.

-According to Skizzleman, Impulse doesn’t handle blood very well. He got hit in the face with a pizza box once and the bleed he got from that made him serverly nauseous.

-Impulse has a slight gluten intolerance Fourth addition of facts 18th of August 2022

-Impulse has back teeth retainers.

-Impulse hates olives. Like “Will throw up” levels of hate. He shares this hatred with Tango.

(thats enough for now but i’ll probably add more as i think them up)

#el speaketh #dose of impulse #El's Impulsive Impulse Journey #impulsesv #hermitcraft season 3 #hermitcraft season 4 #hermitcraft season 5 #hermitcraft season 6 #hermitcraft season 7 #hermitcraft season 8 #hermitcraft season 9 #hermitblr #hermitcraft #i do not have a problem what are you talking about #Impuse list of facts

[mackeydoodledoo]

The Florals: Prologue

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x (Fem!)ReaderMC

Summary: You and your best friends are one of the most popular local bands. After a gig you meet the bartender, who has caught your eye and interest.

Chapter Warnings: None

A/n: Okay so, I know I had this story out here before but I deleted it. But, I’m going to give this series another shot.

Chapter Key: Italics = Thoughts, +*+ = Time Skip

Chapter Theme: Weekend - Clubhouse

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was really never a dream… For You, Pine, Rose, Poppy, Lark to form into a band. You called your band, “The Florals”. This was because your names are either a plant or a flower. Well, Pine is named after well… A pine tree. None of them had ever done band. The only thing you all did together was high school marching band. Pine and Rose were in color guard, Lark and Poppy were in the front ensemble, and you were in the battery of drumline; snare. However, you were the only one who did indoor drumline. However, all of your friends; Rose, Poppy, Lark and Pine came to every single one of your shows. So you didn't feel alone. You got to see one of your good ol' friends in the admin team. The both of you went to high school together as well.

"Hey," Lark called

You turn your head to look at them.

"You ready??" They ask as they get on their motorcycle

You nod as you pack your sticks, pad and Lark's launchpad and get into your Blue Chevrolet Camaro. Poppy packs her guitar and gets into her Mustang, Rose packs her bass and gets into her red jeep and Pine puts her backpack into her passenger side as she settles into her Chevrolet Colorado. Left to her by her parents after she moved out. You all followed each other to the Banks' Theatre. Roses' parents own a whole theater, performing theatre to be specific. They also installed two bars on each side of the theatre. It's a wide space. It looks more like a warehouse than a theatre but it's been remodeled to look like one.

+*+

That was your band’s first show. So it was kinda a chill night. But it was mostly your parents, family and family friends that night. So it wasn't all out than you all had hoped. But it was still nice to see them support you.

+*+

That was one year ago. It's The Florals first year anniversary. And we are thriving. No record label has recruited your band yet but you were all okay with that. Your friends decided to play for the fun of performing, 

"Already a year??" Pine asks

"Surprisingly so," Poppy replies

"Though this is the last show of the summer," You say, “So let’s make this final show the best one yet.”

You were were all of age to drink so you headed to the bar post show.

You, Lark, Poppy, Pine and Rose were in the middle of chatting and seating yourselves along the bar.

“Hey, the usual please,” You call out to the bartender 

“Your usuals?” The bartender asks 

The bartender turns around. Your expression of happiness drops to your mouth hanging agape, your eyes widening at the beauty.

“Sorry, I’m not familiar with your usuals,” She says, “I’m quite new to this place.”

“N-no worries,” Your mouth curves into a nervous smile, “Lark here drinks whiskey, Poppy one chair down drinks sangria, Rose in the next chair drinks rose wine, Pine in that last chair usually drinks a margarita.”

“And you?” She asks, turning her head over her shoulder to look at you as she’s grabbing some cups

“Whatever your favorite is,” You say, sighing into a smile

“Say less,” She smirks, turning her head back to face the back of the bar

You were too stunned to even move to look at your friends. The way her green eyes glistened in the bar lighting.

“Hey, you okay?” Lark asks you

You however, continued watching the bartender make the four drinks, noticing she hadn’t started on yours yet.

I mean... She’s making my friends’ drinks first, plus, it was a kind of packed night...

She wore what looked like a black shirt, a grey cardigan; the sleeves almost went over her hands. You didn’t know what it was about women wearing almost oversized sweaters and cardigans, but you found an absolute attraction to them. 

“I call this one, the Scarlet Witch,” The bartender brings your drink

Your head jolts up from sitting in the palms of your hands, realizing you were sitting on cloud 9 the entire time.

“Oh!″ You yelp, “Thanks.”

When the bartender walk off to tend to other patrons. You take a sip of the ‘smoky’ drink and  you look over to your friends; every single one of them staring at you dead in the eye.

"What?" You ask

"You're totally into her," Lark teases

"Shut up," You snarl

"I can read you well Bates," Lark continues to tease you, "you should totally ask her out."

"I literally just met her… the hell why would i ask her out already?!" You ask, trying to keep it low

The bartender giggles and turns around.

"Well asking me out is a bit of a stretch but I'm willing to take a walk," She answers

Your cheeks heat into a blush as you get up and grab your jacket as the bartender wipes her hands and comes out from the bar. She smiles while you nervously put on your jacket, oddly not breaking eye contact on her. The strawberry-blonde wraps her arm around yours and the both of you head out of the theatre for the evening walk.

“So uhh,” I start, “What’s a pretty woman like yourself working as a bartender?”

“Needed to make extra tips, saw an ad to work at this place, so I took it,” She explains, “You guys play really well for a local band.”

“Well, we’ve been doing music all of our lives, “You explain, “So, we actually formed this band out of an extra credit assignment for band class and I guess... It just really stuck with us. People were begging us to put on more gigs in the school.”

“Well, did you?” She asks

“Yeah,” You chuckle, “It was kinda difficult to perform in a band while still being in high school, but we somehow made it work.”

“And your hair... Is it real?” She asks

“Sure is,” You say, enthusiastically

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Wanda stop walking. You turn to her and notice how her eyes illuminated.

“Oh...Right... I forgot to mention my hair glows sometimes,” You say, “I don’t know why or how it does it but... It does.”

She chuckles, “My name’s Wanda, by the way.”

“Strelitzia, Strel for short,” You reply with your name

“Strelitzia?” Wanda asks

“It’s the scientific name for the Bird of Paradise plant,” You explain the meaning behind your name

“I like it,” She smiles

Wanda smiles and it feels like she’s tugging at my arm. 

Is she really into me already??? No… Not yet…Don’t get any ideas stupid

“Do you do anything else other than making drinks?” You ask

“I used to do some modeling stuff but... I stepped back for awhile, too stressful to keep up with he viewers’ expectations of women body.” Wanda says

“That’s honestly stupid,” You groan, “Society is always trying to control women. Not for it...”

“I have also done some forms of acting,” Wanda adds, “But, they’re not ‘silver screen’ material.”

“Really now?” You ask, “You ever thought about going back?”

“not right now, but maybe one day,” She says

The both of you continue making the round around the building, listening to the passing cars.

“Well, Strelitzia,” Wanda starts, “As much as I’ve enjoyed our little conversation, I have to go back and close up and for you to head back to your friends.”

Already?... Damn, I really wanted top get to know her… 

The both of you head back inside and your four friends are still there. You seat yourself next to them and slip back into their conversation as if you’ve never left. All the while catching a couple glimpses at Wanda. Sometimes the both of you even catch each other staring at one another. 

“Ladies, the theatre is closed now,” Wanda states

“Oh,” You say, checking your phone, “Shit we really did go and lose track of time...”

And with that, You and your friends pack their things, accept for your drum set, and take your leave. You take one last glance at Wanda and she puts on a  leather jacket. She looks over and catches you staring, she smiles. You snap out of your daze, but you couldn’t help but look over one more time. She winks at you before turning off the bar lights.

“Strel,” Lark calls

You turn to them.

“You coming or what?” Lark asks

You nod and catch up to her and try to catch one last last glance at Wanda however, she was gone. You begin following Lark to their motorcycle.

“You and that bartender huh?” Lark smiles

“Shut up,” You sigh, “And her name is Wanda by the way.”

“Wanda huh?” They ask, “Sounds like a witches name.”

“I mean, she did name a drink of hers ‘The Scarlet Witch’,” You say, “I’m not one to make assumptions Lark.”

You hop into your car as Lark gets on their motorcycle. The both of you follow each other home. When you all looked for places of your own, the places were coincidentally all within the block. You owned a warehouse studio apartment, across the street is a record shop Lark’s uncle owns; Lark lives just above it. Next to it was one of those tall houses one sees in the city; Pine and Rose room together and Poppy lives in an apartment complex next to it. 

Chapter 1

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #female reader #marvel #scarlet witch x fem!reader #scarlet witch #Elizabeth Olsen #girl band

[go-bwah]

if pack drumline wins this season was just publicity for the agt vegas show

#agt

[bandmafia]

"Marching band isn't that hard! You're just walking around! In [insert sport] we have to actually run around and throw things!"

You spent maybe 4 hours a day practicing something that will be shown off, again and again, in heats, quarters, periods, divisions, whatever.

We get one chance to show off a specific set of skills before we're sent back to the drawing board. We don't get heats or innings. If we mess something up we don't stop in the middle of the comp, take a 5 minute break on the sideboard, and devise a new strategy. If it happens it happens, and there's no going back. If we make even one mistake it could be difference between a 98 and a 99, and guess which one gets to move on to finals from prelims? And no, the band with 98 is not second place. Second place has a 98.971. The band with the 98 score is 7th.

Moreover, most of you are practicing on the field or in the gym. Where are we practicing? In the parking lot. In a rented space meant for horse racing. On the literal street. In a park.

If any of us get injured while playing, esp during a parade, we can't just step out like football players. Nosebleed? Angle your nose as far away from your uniform as much as possible and keep going. Stomach ache? Ignore it, play through the pain. Step in a gopher hole and twist your ankle? Limp your way to the end of the street. Trip over a hump and your foot looks the wrong way around? Hop on one foot and get over it. The most rest you're going to get is not playing for eight bars before guilt overtakes you and you start playing again.

Most schools with marching bands practice everyday for up to 5 hours. If not that, then it's all day weekends from 9 to 9. Sometimes it's both. Sometimes it's do school for 6 hours, do band for 5 hours, do homework for 3 hours, and sleep for zero hours. Then you finish homework on a Friday night/early Saturday morning, pack your bags, and go straight to an all-days.

Band warmups! Let's talk about those! Most bands run laps. Some make members do pushups. Sounds easy, right?

There is usually no break between warm-up and visual/sectional. Right after warm-up you're either running to the sidelines to put your instrument together and run up seven flights of stairs to get to the rehearsal space, or you're running to the front to get ready for fundamentals/field time. The water is right there, but the staff won't let you get it. You just ran 10 laps and now you need to carry your mellophone, your stand, your backpack, your case, and your music somewhere else. You just did 100 pushups and now you need to run to the truck on the other side of the street to get out the props and help drumline with unloading. You just did both laps and pushups and now you need to powerwalk backwards on your toes without falling over carrying a metal tube wrapped around you. The metal tube weighs almost more then you.

Carrying a football is easy. It's a leather or plastic thing that weighs maybe a package of grapes. If you hold it up to throw it you can keep it up there for probably forever. Carrying literally any instrument while keeping an angle is an actual pain. Try carrying a marching tuba on your shoulders with the bell facing up. Your back isn't allowed to curve to accommodate for the weight (it isn't healthy for your spine either) and you aren't allowed to fall over backwards because ow for you and your instrument. There's 30 pounds of metal worth nearly 5000$ resting on one shoulder. Your life value pales in comparison to that. Or how about we take a flute, at the opposite end of the weight scale. Light, 2 pounds at most and not even that. Seems easy right? Try carrying a horizontal stick with buttons at a 90 degree angle corresponding to both your face and the ground while lifting it 10 degrees higher and your fingers splayed out like a piano player.

"Well on the field we have to pay attention to the people around us so we know who to pass to and where to score!" Good for you! We have to pay attention to: - The drum major(s) - Other people around us - Our tone production - How loud we are - The band director - Our feet - What notes we're producing And we also have to remember where we're going (If I go right and I'm supposed to be going left, I will be the cause of a multi-million dollar pileup) and what note's we're playing (nobody wants to listen to a horrible band. Duh).

Also, marching band camps? This isn't the cushion-y, in a main cabin the forest hosted by Christian counselor Concert band camp we're talking about. This also not the 'training center for [sport] that our coach makes us go to every year'. This is all days. Every day. For weeks. In the summer. When it's 104F and climbing. This is the camp where everyone wakes up at 4:30am, makes it to the sports center at 5:45am cramming their lunch of oatmeal bars down their throat, and doing the exact. same. thing. for upwards of 12 hours. Sometimes, it's leave home at 5am and come back home at 9pm. At that point you are literally returning to marching band after home. And this happens every day for maybe 4-9 weeks.

Like I'm not saying it's a sport in this post specifically, but what I am saying is that marching band isn't easy. Watch DCI (marching band NFL). Watch WGI (DCI for guard). Marching while playing is one thing, running sideways while playing is another.

#band mafia #band kids #marching band #band #concert band #band kid thoughts #bandmafia

[saltymog]

Penumbral (Chapter 21 Teaser)

(To my handful of lovely Penumbral readers: I'd really been hoping to get the next chapter up this weekened, but life happened like the oh-so-hilarious joker it thinks it is and has been kicking my tail. In the meantime, here's a little appetizer for those of you who don't mind the mildest of chapter spoilers.)

One hour and two fish later, Gladio’s shout of triumph echoed through the caverns, emphasized by the sudden roar of the Regalia’s engine. Noctis perked up, momentarily distracted from the pain that had only very recently begun advancing from lone percussionist to a full-fledged drumline at the back of his skull. He’d never thought he would describe the sound his dad’s car made as “sweet,” but there was a first time for everything.

“Not yet,” Gladio called, releasing the ignition as quickly as it had fired up. “Couple more things to finish patching first, but we’re looking good for getting her healthy again by lunch. Should probably wait till dark before we blast outta here, though, in case there’s still Niffs lurking around outside.”

“Copy that,” Noctis acknowledged, smiling in relief. “I’ll start packing.”

Reeling in his line, he trailed the riverbank the short distance back to camp. Once there, he returned what few items they’d unloaded back to the trunk. As he wedged the last grocery bag into place, a sudden, stabbing pain lanced through his skull, starting in the front and burning straight through to the back…and then it was gone, almost as quickly as it had appeared. Blinking through blurred eyes, he swayed, catching himself on the fender.

Noctis pressed his knuckles against his forehead, taking deep breaths. Then he pushed himself back upright and started toward the pile of loose gravel and rock that he had designated as his fish cleaning station. Astrals, but that last one had felt like the receiving end of a haymaker from Titan himself.

He frowned, slowing. This was the third time Titan had popped into his thoughts since only last night…

Another wave of pain juddered through his head. He gasped and stumbled, his suddenly quaking legs nearly sending him to the ground. It faded, but he stayed hunched over, hands on his knees, letting himself simply breathe as the familiar aftershocks washed over him.

Familiar.

They were familiar…

The answer hit him at the same time as the agony. Titan…Titan was calling him. The god had been looking for him, and had found him.

And he was angry.

#ffxv fanfiction #penumbral

[sleepys-sunny-garden]

band post of the day:

some of drumline and i went to the nearby gas station during our lunch break. we returned with a 12pack of root beer, a four-pack of cinnamon rolls, a package of double-stuffed oreos, a bag of chips, and some coffee. not a single one of us bought something healthy, and BY GODS did we FEAST!! everyone else thought we were insane but it was quite fun lol

#alistair rambles #band camp saga

[jimbleswrites]

Nora, the Sole Survivor

Chapter 7: The First Step

The next morning was perfect for our trip, with clear skies on the horizon. Our bags packed, Moe and I finally set out for Drumlin diner. We waved goodbye to everyone as we passed the bridge, making our way back down to Concord. It would only take a half a day to make it there, and hopefully we could grab some loot and keep moving. I looked closer at my 10mm pistol as we walked past the cracked streets. It was in rough shape, still working but in need of repair. Surely using a 200 year old gun was not helping its condition.

“Looking at it isn’t going to magically fix it, you know.” Moe broke the silence.

I laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, but I’m not exactly a gunsmith. I wouldn’t even know how to fix it.” I looked closer at the slide lock, seeing a few chips. I only knew how to shoot because Nate and I had a few dates at the gun range. Nate normally handled the maintenance and cleaning.

Moe suddenly tapped my shoulder with something. I looked over to see the butt of his shotgun offered to me. “Trade me for a second, let me see.”

I swapped the weapons, now holding the sawed-off shotgun. It was heavier than I thought, clearly aged but well maintained. I only really had experience with pistols, but the care put into this was obvious. The metal was wiped down clean, and the wood had some sort of glue filling various cracks to hold it together. I noticed some notches scratched into the wooden stock, around 10 lines in a row under the Vault-Tec logo.

“Yup, it's the hammer. Probably sticking due to not being used for 200 years.” Moe was casually wiping down parts with a stained handkerchief as he continued to walk. He quickly put the hammer back in motion, removing the clip and firing the unloaded gun. A loud click, more audible than before, made Moe smile. He reassembled the pistol, holding it by the barrel to hand it back.

“You make it look so easy.” I complimented him as we swapped back. I slid the clip back in the gun, feeling less resistance than before. I was impressed with how quickly and efficiently he was able to clean this.

“I used to work at a weapon shop before I got run out of town by the bastard mayor.” Moe slipped the handkerchief back into his jacket. “When you’re around for 200 years, you learn a bit of everything.”

We finally came into Concord, seeing the aftermath of the battle. The bodies were still laying there, untouched. I guess this end of the commonwealth didn’t get too many visitors, but at least we got to claim any loose goods.

“I told Preston we’d take what we need and hide the rest in the museum for them to pick up.” I put my pistol in my pack pocket.

“Let’s go shopping then.” Moe nodded.

The next hour was spent sorting raider goods from the bodies we found. I started optimistic, but my mood fell as we continued to sort the goods. Not in the sense of loot, we managed to find ammo, spare weapons, some more leather armor, and some foodstuff among the dead. Even the power armor was mostly in one piece under the deathclaw’s body. But dragging the bodies out, rummaging through the pockets, seeing bullet wounds I caused. It left me with a pit in my stomach. Even if they were raiders, hellbent on killing and pillaging, I had killed so many people. I put spare goods in a chest in the museum, moved the bodies into a local bar so they weren’t in the street, rinse and repeat. We finally managed to finish, stopping to eat on the steps outside. I held a can of pork n’ beans in my hand, barely poking it as I stared at the bar.

“Looking for a drink instead?” Moe asked, pausing from his food. “I wouldn’t judge. It’s grisly work.”

“Everyone is so casual about death.” I stared forward, unblinking. “I think I’m not as adjusted as I thought I was.”

Moe stood up, standing and blocking my line of sight to the bar. “I’d be concerned if you didn’t have regrets. Means I'd be traveling with some psychopath.” He kneeled down, locking eyes with me. “You and I are from a very different time. I winced through a lot of the blood and gore at first, but that’s how the world is now.”

“I know.” I looked down, staring into my pork n’ beans can. “I’ll be fine, let’s get going.” I quickly gulped down the last of my cold beans, standing up.

Moe stood up too, awkwardly rubbing his neck. “Look, if you ever need to talk or whatever… I’m no therapist but…”

I lightly punched his shoulder, stopping his awkward ramble. “Thanks, Moe.”

Moe smiled, his black eyes softening. “Anytime, Nora.”

The next leg of the journey was more pleasant, with small talk and a sunset coming down as we came closer to the Drumlin diner. We each managed to get an extra day’s worth of food and a few leather armor pieces. I now had two shoulder covers and a harness across my chest for a bit of extra protection, with Moe grabbing some leg covers. Moe and I talked about the old diner pre-war, remembering the chain diner for their 24/7 hours and solid pancakes. Apparently this new post-war version was a small shop for people wasting the wastes, and Preston never really mentioned what exactly the issue was. We came up over a hill, seeing the tan building with a few of the neon lights flashing on and off.

“Seems quiet enough, but be careful.” Moe gripped his shotgun as he spoke.

“Fair enough.” I held my pistol in my hand as we walked closer. We walked forward, with no one around outside. We managed to go right up to the front of the building with no issues. The windows were broken out, with some boarded up with wooden planks and scrap metal. I looked inside to see an older woman behind the counter, wiping down a sword with a rag. I continued to the front door, pushing it open. A bell rang, and the woman looked up at us.

“Welcome to Trudy’s. Looking to trade?” She looked at me, then Moe. She raised an eyebrow on seeing Moe, but kept wiping down the sword.

“Hi, I was sent here by Preston. Of the Minutemen. He said you called for help?” I awkwardly explained.

“Really? Well shit, I thought y’all died out at Quincy! ‘Bout time you showed up.” Trudy waved us over to a seat on a barstool in front of her. We sat down as she continued to talk. “Yeah, I have a problem. There’s this asshole chem-pusher that got my boy hooked on Jet.” As if on queue, a lanky boy suddenly sat up from a booth, shivering. He turned to see us before immediately falling back onto the booth seat. “Patrick, my idiot son, kept ordering and ordering more, and now the dickhead keeps coming by asking for his money.” She slammed the sword down suddenly. “That bastard ain’t getting a single cap out of me, and I want y’all to take care of the problem.”

I guessed that Jet was some form of drug, and had no issue dealing with a drug dealer. But I wasn’t sure how Trudy expected us to deal with it. Moe spoke up before I did. “You want this guy dead or scared off?”

“Hell if I care, I just don’t want him coming here ever again.” Trudy waved to the empty booths. “He normally comes by at nightfall. You help me, and I’ll get y’all a discount on something.”

“Consider it done, ma’am.” Moe stood up, motioning me to follow. I followed to a booth next to an unboarded window where we could see outside. We sat down, in view of the front of the diner and Patrick. Patrick was shaking, jolting and mumbling under a thin blanket.

“Jet’s a fancy chem. And chem’s a fancy term for drugs.” Moe explained quietly. “Makes you think time is going slower than normal.”

I nodded. “So you wanna deal with this guy then? Since you know all about it?”

Moe looked forward, deep in thought. After a pause, he shook his head. “I think you should talk to him. Chem-pushers look for sales, not fights. If you can talk a big game, you could scare him off.”

“Not you?” I asked further. Something wasn’t right.

“I… did a lot of chems. Not recently, but I dealt with a lot in this long life of mine. Chems helped me forget bad times. I managed to get back on track, but it's a struggle.” Moe stared through the table, reliving some terrible years. “All that to say, I think I’m too close to the subject to deal with it.”

“Do… Do you mind if I ask how long ago that was?” I had a suspicion, and it was confirmed when Moe put his shotgun on the table, pointing to the notches on the stock I had noticed earlier.

“10 years sober. They stopped having meetings for that sort of thing, but the notches are my reminder.” Moe smiled soberly at his own joke.

Moe seemed a little off, so I nodded. “Alright, I’ll take point. You follow my lead.”

“You got it, boss.” Moe pulled the gun back into his hands, gently thumbing the notches.

There was a small wait as the sky grew darker. A light outside clicked on, illuminating the driveway outside. There was a quiet hum of a generator, the moans of Patrick, and sounds of shuffling as Trudy continued to sort her inventory. After an hour of waiting, I could hear people coming up from outside. They loudly laughed and stomped, not trying to hide at all. I stood up, with Moe immediately following me out the door. I looked to see two people. An older man in a newsboy cap, and a younger woman with blonde hair, sauntering up on the road. They reached the edge of the road lamp, barely stepping into the light.

“Whoa, whoa, easy there Vault Girl. This doesn't involve you.” The man talked with a grand accent, like he was in charge of the world.

“And you are?” Despite the insult, I tried to stay reasonable. I didn’t want to kill anyone if I didn’t have to.

“Wolfgang, and this is my partner Simone.” The woman beside him waved, a revolver clearly visible in her hand. “And this is a simple business dispute, got it? Trudy's sitting on a pile of goods that she owes me.”

“Because you sold chems to her son? Made him an addict?” I hated how casual he was about this.

“Yeah, yeah. I've heard it before. Look, he wanted a product, I sold him a product. And I expect to get paid for my product.” Wolfgang pulled out a revolver. “So either I get what I'm owed or I finally knock over this shitty outpost for all the profit I'm missing.”

I pointed my pistol back at him. “Counter-offer. You leave Trudy and Patrick alone or I make sure you never do business again.” Moe pointed his shotgun as well.

There was a moment of silence, where everyone was waiting for someone to make a move. Guns pointed in a stand-off, waiting for someone to chicken out or take a shot. I hoped Wolfgang would take off, but I was ready to shoot if I needed to. The wind whistled as no one moved.

Wolfgang suddenly twitched, firing his gun. I returned fire, with Moe firing as well. Simone fell without even firing a shot, with Wolfgang falling a moment later. I quickly checked on Moe, with luckily the shot hitting no one. I breathed out, with Moe cracking open his shotgun to reload. I slowly stepped over to Wolfgang, who was slowly reaching inside his jacket.

“Careful.” Moe warned, snapping the shotgun shut.

Wolfgang spit out some blood, before slowly revealing a grenade in his hand. I paused, still a few steps out from where he laid. “You step back, NOW!” His voice was tense, wavering with fear. I stepped back. He slowly crawled backwards, dragging himself away. “I’ll fucking kill everyone! Just step back!” He threatened us as he tried to escape. I didn’t know how far a grenade explosion went, but I wasn’t going to test it.

Moe stepped beside me. “You trust me, right?” He whispered quietly, eyes locked on the chem-pusher.

I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I nodded. I did trust him.

“Cover your ears.” Moe suddenly raised his gun, leveling it at Wolfgang. I realized what he meant and quickly covered my ears, with Wolfgang seemingly understanding and trying to throw the grenade. It was too late, with Moe firing and hitting the grenade, causing it to explode in Wolfgang’s face. The boom was deafening even through covered ears, and I luckily wasn’t looking directly at the bright explosion either. My ears rang a bit, but it seemed to die down after a minute.

“Sorry about that boss, but he was planning to toss it once he got free.” Moe brushed something off his jacket as he explained. “A lot of scummy types keep a grenade as a trump card. Usually throw ‘em while they make a dash.” I looked over, seeing the various giblets of Wolfgang and Simone laying in the road. Just a bloody mess of bodies laying in front of this shop.

Trudy opened the door, barely leaning out. “Serves the bastard right.” She yelled from the door, motioning us back inside. We walked back inside, leaving the mess out in the dark. “Y’all handled it, so here’s your reward.” She tossed something at me, which I caught without thinking. It was a sword, in its sheath with some Chinese words engraved on the handle.

“I’m afraid I ain't got much to spare, but that sword is in prime shape. Should get a decent price if y’all don’t want to keep it.” She smiled as she spoke. “Good to see the minutemen are back. I’ll have to let the caravans know as they come through. What’s your name?”

“Nora.” I smiled as I spoke. Despite the grisly nature of the world, helping people still felt good. This is something I could get behind. “Nora and Moe, of the Commonwealth Minutemen.”

#fallout 4 #writing #fanfic

[notmuchtoconceal]

the original RE2 had such a succinct and lively quality. while its age and limitations are undeniable, you can feel the sheer degree of human passion pouring through in every frame. it feels like the sort of thing everyone believed in and was excited to be a part of. it feels like they knew they were making a masterpiece and that's all it was. the game was famously scrapped 2/3rds of the way through production and started over with a new female lead and a totally redesigned police station, less contemporary than eerily anachronistic. you can feel the elegance of the revision, some elemental tautness stemming from its new origin.

the game feels both fresh and new as well as wise beyond its years. it's self-consciously about a younger generation, with claire being the little sister of the hero of the first game and leon being a rookie cop with a comically bad first day ultimately culminating in nuclear hellfire.

what i like about the attitude of the mainline RE games is how good they are at looking and convincing you they're stupid. nobody's really "taking them seriously" so it's like you're caught off guard when you find yourself immersed in the subtleties of the aesthetics or characterization. the games are very much using stock horror tropes and pastiche to aim for a hollywood pseudo-reality, but from a japanese lens which feels like a hall of mirrors for it's hard to tell what's aspirational and what's ironic.

the subtleties of the framing aside, the game ultimately feels so primally satisfying, for every line and action seems action-packed with pathos. you can see clearly how the game is borrowing from the 80's action shlock vocabulary, but what isn't as immediately noticeable are the ways the stiff, stylized movements and still, mask-like faces along with dialogue which sometimes feels howled or chanted eerily recalls greek drama, inducing a state of almost meditative suspension.

(the way the crude low polygonal models are synchronized with the music is almost ballet-like; so much of the feeling the game induces is ineffable for in its multi-media bombast, it cannot be isolated; as the sheer degree of limitation forced numerous and overlapping streams of effort to compensate, colliding in a visual-aural mosaic of pure will.)

taken with the tank controls necessary to navigate the often hitchcockian camera angles and general emphasis on highly restricted inventory and movement, there's not anything remotely comparable being made today, and these games are not only classics, but relics of a lost genre.

it all feels so typically and wonderfully human. the time they took. the range of materials from which they drew inspiration. the degree to which it was a truly collaborative effort which shaped the series as we know it.

it was so frustrating on my first experience, i almost threw the game at the wall for being nonsensical and cruel. controls didn't work that way. neither did cameras. i was so excited the first time i made it to the police station alive. nothing was harder than those first fifteen minutes. dying over and over, feeling such overwhelming helplessness. sanctuary was truly sanctuary. its peaks and crescendos are so organically woven into the structure of the design, it composes its own drumline.

if anyone can be persuaded to look at them seriously, they will only continue to grow in prestige and intrigue as we continue to age into an AI-based cash grab world where remakes can be churned out in a year, and a six year gap where massive changes in characterization may come about in real time are compressed to keep babyfaces on the go.

#resident evil 2 #shinji mikami #hideki kamiya

[keenawatchesagt]

pack drumline howling at us

#agt #ok... they didnt need to do all that.

[qveenpoppy]

finished agt before dinner. glad pack drumline made it, but naturally, i'm sad about preacher getting cut. but i hate the way they ran these semi-finals as a whole, so, yeah. like the whole gb thing fucked up the results, so i'm more mad/upset about that than i am about the results themselves

#agt

[theeverlastingshade]

Lahai- Sampha

It's become increasingly rare for musicians to take long stretches of time between releases. Sure, A-listers like Frank Ocean and Rihanna have kept people waiting for almost 8 years now, but the incessant demand for "content" that labels tend to opt for renders an exhausting level of engagement in a myriad of forms as the standard operating practice for most signed artists. While I've been craving new music from the idiosyncratic electronic soul singer-songwriter Sampha since his classic 2017 debut LP, Process, it feels like a minor blessing that he was able to take his time on his follow-up LP, Lahai, instead of being pressured to regurgitate what could easily have just been a pale imitation of what he achieved with Process. Lahai retains the rich, electronic soul stylings of Process with a heightened sonic overhaul that folds in elements of drum & bass, 2 step, and jazz into a  patchwork of sound that exudes a rich new perspective. It's an inspired, and expansive development that generally makes good on his strengths as an artist and the promise of his early work without ever sounding confined by it.

The biggest leap forward on Lahai is Sampha's skill as a producer. Lahai is densely packed with lush textures at every turn, marking a sharp shift from the spartan stylings of Process. Whether it's the rapid fire drumline and bass set against chirping 16 bit keys on opener "Stereo Colour Cloud" or the stirring string arrangements and swelling keys on "Spirit 2.0", there's a wealth of vibrant details to get lost in throughout the course of nearly every song. There are moments when Sampha himself sounds lost in the thick current of sound, struggling to be heard over the expansive drums and keys. While Sampha's voice would generally be served better with a little bit more breathing room, the sonic eclecticism on display never feels forced or overcooked. The airy minimalism of Process felt like a more natural pairing for Sampha's voice, but he can make denser arrangements work for him too. The warmth of the relatively more optimistic sounding music on Lahai complements the timbre of Sampha's voice superbly, and as on songs like "Only", the drums provide a propulsive edge that nudges Sampha towards inspired, newfound expressive possibilities. More often that not, the rich details that litter these songs amplify the potency of the sentiments that Sampha conveys without detracting too much from his singular tenor.

Whereas Process was an album steeped in grief and constructed in the wake of his mother's passing from cancer, Lahai was inspired by the birth of his daughter, which speaks volumes about the more upbeat approach this time around. Sampha sounds more assured and at ease throughout as he reflects on the passage of time and the new position that he finds himself in. The strongest moments on the album are those that bask in that glow, such as early highlight "Suspended", where the joy of fatherhood is palpable and practically oozing out of the speakers ("Suspended/I feel lifted from her love/I feel lifted from above)". "Can't Go Back" pulses with the propulsion of 2 step while its titular chimes echo the sentiment that parenthood marks a point of no return, while centerpiece "Jonathan L. Seagull" touches on the way we each uniquely process the same experiences "Even though we've been through the same/Doesn't always mean we feel the same/Doesn't always mean we heal the same". After a tumultuous period of time working through the death of his mother, Sampha returns on Lahai with a light touch and a more optimistic seeming outlook that's striking in its generosity. Lahai is easily the most immediate music that Sampha has released to date by any conceivable metric. While it's easy to lament the pivot from the haunting sparseness of Process, Sampha's versatility and open-hearted sensibilities throughout my result in some of the most well-realized music that I've listened to this year.

Essentials: "Suspended", "Spirit 2.0", "Jonathan L. Seagull"

[creativecourse]

Advanced Cinematography: Inside the Color Correction Bay Information Mastering cinematography takes years of trial and error, finding your style, and your visual rhythm. For over 30 years, Shane Hurlbut, ASC shaped his career in the industry, mastering his craft by expanding his knowledge of every format and even cross-training in different areas (such as lighting) to become a well-balanced cinematographer. Shane specifically designed the Advanced Cinematography Career Path to make you a better cinematographer. He personally curated an advanced curriculum that guides you through to the next level of your cinematic knowledge behind the camera. Buckle up, this course takes all that you’ve already learned but provides additional layers of time-tested experience to help you master and finesse your craft. On completion of the Advanced Cinematography Career Path, you’ll have the confidence necessary when you walk on set, understanding efficiency, how to lead a crew, the finer nuances of pre-production, production, and post-production, navigating professional relationships, and how to ultimately master your craft. What You’ll Learn In This Course? Module 1 — Advanced Leadership and Responsibilities How To Be a Leader In the Industry Director and DP Communication HA Podcast: Ep 15 Leadership and Attitudes in the Industry HA Podcast: Ep 24 Work Ethics and Leadership Motivating Your Filmmaking Team HA Podcast: Ep 27 Composure On Set HA Podcast: Ep 31 Communication is Key HA Podcast: Ep 21 Business Network and Crew Attitudes HA Podcast: Ep 19 Maintaining Work and Life Balance HA Podcast: Ep 48 Getting Focused HA Podcast: Ep 53 Be Prepared HA Podcast: Ep 47 Growing Pains HA Podcast: Ep 56 Filmmaking Family Relationships How To Lead Your Team In Tough Climates: Fathers and Daughters Module 2 — Advanced Cinematography Theory HA Podcast: Ep 51 Vocalizing Vision HA Podcast: Ep 36 The Art in Business HA Podcast: Ep 12 Camera: Formats Exposure and Focus HA Podcast: Ep 13 Setting Up Rules of Engagement for Your Characters HA Podcast: Ep 14 Mixing The Art and Science of Cinematography HA Podcast: Ep 25 Planning Your Coverage HA Podcast: Ep 33 Understanding Your Filmmaking Tools HA Podcast: Ep 55 Lighting Focused HA Podcast: Ep 11 Creating Depth, Mood, and Emotion with LIghting HA Podcast Ep 4: Lighting in Layers and Understanding Light Quality HA Podcast: Ep 2 Mastering Lighting and Facing Challenges On Set HA Podcast: Ep 34 Light Quality and Spectrum HA Podcast: Ep 49 The Devil is in the Details HA Podcast: Ep 35 Light Placement: On Set Efficiency HA Podcast: Ep 52 Breaking Free Module 3 — Advanced Cinematography Theory Case Studies How To Research Your Look: The Skulls Establishing The World: Terminator Salvation How To Light with Emotion: The Rat Pack How To Create and Unlit Natural Look: Crazy Beautiful How To Extend Dawn for Hours: Drumline How To Extend Sunset for Hours: Into the Blue How To Light Night Exteriors with Two Lights: We Are Marshall Module 4 — Advanced Cinematographer’s Prep HA Podcast: Ep 32 Your First Steps in Pre-Production Action Sequence Cinematography: How To Deliver Camera Emotion Pt 1 Action Sequence Cinematography: How To Blend Camera Styles: Pt 2 Action Sequence Cinematography: Deliberately Breaking The Rules: Pt 3 Action Sequence Cinematography: Logistics: Part 4 Module 5 — Advanced Blocking and Composition Using the Script to Pre-Visualize Your Blocking: Semi-Pro Using the Rehearsal to Refine the Shot List: Semi-Pro Understanding Camera Blocking and Breaking the Rules: Semi-Pro How To Increase Your Lighting Speed: Semi-Pro Understanding Light Placement with Multiple Actors: Semi-Pro How Light Placement Affects Emotion: Semi-Pro All The Prep for One-Shot: A Casa Tutti Bene Classic Hollywood Blocking vs Blocking for a One-Shot Composition Tells a Story What Does the Blocking Process Look Like? How To Light a 4-Minute One-Shot

How to Recreate Moonlight with Hard Shadows Lighting the Path of an Interior to Exterior One Take Frame Analysis Module 6 — Exposures and Ratios Training Your Eye Through the Use of False Color Pt 1 Training Your Eye Through the Use of False Color Pt 2 HA Podcast: Ep 44 Mastering Your Craft Module 7 — Inside the Color Correction Bay 03 DP and Colorist Relationship in the BAY HA Podcast: Ep 18 Color Grading & Workflows Module 8 — Deadfall Case Study Location Scouting: Walkthrough with the Director: Deadfall Camera Blocking and Setting Up the Scene: Deadfall Location Scouting: Theory and Production Design: Deadfall Location Scouting: My Cinematographers Scouting Toolkit How To Tech Scout a Location: Deadfall How Color Temperature Sets the Mood: Deadfall Know Where and Why to Place the Master Shot: Deadfall How To Balance Your Rooms Ambient Light: Deadfall How To Block a Scene with Actors: Deadfall Finessing and Shooting the Master Shot: Deadfall How To Compose and Light the Close Up: Deadfall Fine Tuning the Close-Up Lighting and Executing the Shot: Deadfall How To Extend Dusk for Hours: Deadfall Using Color Theory and Lighting to Recreate Dusk: Deadfall How To Mimic a Police Car Light: Deadfall How To Light Your Interior for Dusk: Deadfall How To Light and Lens a Two Shot: Deadfall How To Light the Reverse Angle: Deadfall How To Light the Close Up for Dramatic Impact: Deadfall 01 Cinematography: Day Interiors Vol II: Location Scout 02 Cinematography: Day Interiors Vol II: Technical Scout 03 Cinematography:Day Interiors Vol II: Actor Blocking and Rehearsal 04 Cinematography: Day Interiors Vol II: Setting Your Lights 05 Cinematography: Day Interiors Vol II: Perfecting Room Tone 06 Cinematography: Day Interiors Vol II: Shooting the Master 07 Cinematography: Day Interiors Vol II: Lighting the Close Up 08 Cinematography: Day Interiors Vol II: Lensing The Close-up Turning Around & Lighting Eli's Close-Up Module 9 — Into the Badlands Case Study How To Create Day Exterior Lighting on a Stage: Into The Badlands How To Diffuse Sunlight: Into The Badlands How To Replicate Early Morning Exterior Light: Into The Badlands How To Replicate Early Morning Interior Light: Into The Badlands How To Replicate Late Afternoon Light On Stage: Into The Badlands How To Replicate Midday Interior Light: Into The Badlands Matching Artificial Light with Natural Sunlight: Into The Badlands Challenges of Blocking Night Interiors: Into The Badlands How To Create Firelight and Lamplight Effects: Into The Badlands How To Illuminate Rain at Night: Into The Badlands How To Light Large Spaces: Into The Badlands How To Light Nightclub Environments: Into The Badlands How To Shape Light in a Forest: Into The Badlands Module 10 — Fathers and Daughters Case Study How To Keep Consistent Lighting in Day Interiors: Fathers and Daughters How To Light Large Day Interiors: Fathers and Daughters How To Light Night with Existing Street Lights: Fathers and Daughters How To Light with Practical Sources: Fathers and Daughters How To Replicate Late Afternoon Light On Stage: Fathers and Daughters Lighting For Emotion: Fathers and Daughters When To Sacrifice Lighting for the Performance: Fathers and Daughters How To Control Natural Light: Fathers and Daughters Module 11 — Swing Vote Case Study Night Interior Lighting In Small Spaces: Illumination Experience Master Class Night Interior Lighting In Small Spaces: Illumination Experience Master Class Part 2 Day Interior Lighting In Small Spaces: Illumination Experience Master Class Module 12 — Need for Speed Case Study 04 How to Light Urban Night Car Chases: Illumination Experience 05 How to shoot Car Commercials at night: Acura Module 13 — Lighting for Three Cameras How To Light for Three Cameras: Part 1 How To Light for Three Cameras: Part 2 How To Block and Light for Three Cameras: Fathers and Daughters Part 1

How To Block and Light for Three Cameras: Fathers and Daughters Part 2 Understanding Camera Placement: Fathers and Daughters Set Lighting for Three Cameras: Into The Badlands Module 14 — Advanced Color Theory How To Use Color Contrast with New Digital Cameras Using Color Temp to Create Depth and Dimension How To Communicate Your Vision to the Director with Color: Into The Badlands How To Create Color Contrast: Into The Badlands How To Create Emotional Impact with Color Temperature: Fathers and Daughters How To Light with Mixed Color Sources: The Ticket 01 Building Set Lights with Balanced Color Temperature Mixed Source Lighting: How To Light in Layers: Illumination Experience Master Class Module 15 — Advanced Camera Movement How to Plan Plot and Execute One Shot Sequences: Fathers and Daughters Part 1 How to Plan Plot and Execute One Shot Sequences: Fathers and Daughters Part 2 How To Use A MoVi For Narrative Storytelling: Fathers and Daughters Using A Dolly To Block A Scene: Fathers and Daughters What Handheld Camera Tells an Audience: Fathers and Daughters Aerial And Drone Photography: Into the Badlands Camera Movement To Enhance Character Development: Into the Badlands Module 16 — Advanced VFX Integration How To Integrate VFX Plates with Live Action: Into The Badlands How To Integrate VFX with Live Action: Terminator Salvation Module 17 — Choosing Your Lenses How To Test Your Lens Part 1 How To Test Your Lens Part 2 How Focal Lengths Assist Character Development: Into the Badlands Module 18 — Choosing Your Lens Diffusion Tiffen Digital Diffusion - 50mm Tiffen Digital Diffusion - 85mm Tiffen Black Soft Effects - 50mm Tiffen Black Soft Effects - 85mm Tiffen Black Satin - 50mm Tiffen Black Satin - 85mm Tiffen Black Glimmer - 50mm Tiffen Black Glimmer - 85mm Tiffen Black Pearlescent - 50mm Tiffen Black Pearlescent - 85mm Module 19 — Creative LUTs RED Dragon DSMC 1 LUTs: Neutral and Skin Tone: Into the Badlands RED Dragon DSMC 1 LUTs: Exterior Times of Day: Into the Badlands RED Dragon DSMC 1 LUTs: Interior Times of Day: Into the Badlands RED Gemini Atmospheric Times of Day LUTs: Rim of the World RED Gemini Day Exterior LUTs: Rim of the World RED Gemini Day Exterior LUTs: Resident Alien RED Gemini Night Exterior LUTs: Resident Alien RED Gemini Overcast Lighting LUTs: Resident Alien RED Gemini Skin Tone Film Look LUTs RED Weapon LUTs: Day Exteriors: Adventurers RED Weapon LUTs: Day Interiors: Adventurers RED Weapon LUTs: Night Urban Environments: Adventurers Arri Alexa LUTs: Day Interior and Exterior Arri Alexa LUTs: Interior Times Of Day More courses from the same author: Filmmakers Academy

[aestheticvoyage2023]

Day 273: Saturday September 30, 2023 - "Cheer Cheer Cheer for Iowa"

I was committed to a good day no matter what and walked into Kinnick Stadium with a Sparty headband, green pants, and an Iowa shirt for the black out game under lights, patting Kinnick statue for good luck and plenty to cheer for.

We set the plan for this day in motion back in 2017 when driving home, west to Denver, with Scott and D2, after we stormed the field, present for the shellacking the Hawkeyes delivered to #6 Ohio State. "When does Sparty next play in Iowa, because I want to do that again!" The answer? 2023. And so here we were, this time with my parents driving down to join the Sparty Party. As luck would have it, they booked it in under the lights for a Saturday night B1G matchup, giving us all day to hang out and have fun which included beers and obligatory Go Green Go White chants from the road fans at the SpoCo to get warmed up for a huge Everything burrito at Pancheros and a Mr Bean-esque adventure in the bathroom where untold things happened with their hand dryer; between the burrito and the bathroom, Pancheros may have become as memorable as the game. I didn't need to eat again the rest of the day (probably the weekend).

Scott scored us a great tailgate spot at the Swinger Pavillon, and after parking the truck in a local's yard, we joined the Iowa tailgate scene, full of drumlines, Busch Light, and lots of friendly Iowans. We had a great time up against the North End Zone, making friends amongst the welcoming old retrofitted RV that the owners got for $1.

Once inside the stadium, the dusky pregame was anything but twilight silence - AC/DCs back in black muscled into the air as the Hawkeyes marched in unison for the tunnel walk, finally storming out under Metallica's Enter Sandman. I had my seat, "alone" just above the tunnel next to the student athlete section where Id make friends with the Iowa fans all around me, including a couple of guys that came and joined me in my one empty seat. Lets pack it in. I yelled for the Hawkeyes, I yelled for the Spartans. I cried Kill Bubba Kill on big third downs, and proudly joined the "I" cheer representing my corner of the stadium.

And I thought about my buddy Shane. Five years ago this week, he passed in a car accident back home in Michigan. And as a big Iowa fan, I figured that Id wear it tonight for him, and cheer and have fun because I was still here and could, for him. I thought of him every time I screamed at the top of my lungs to add to that ruckus environment and I let his sister know that he was here, while lots of other Albion friends gathered for the Brits and our 20 year homecoming. I thought of him while I participated in the traditional Iowa wave, knowing what all he did to fundraise for kids, he would have really thought that was something. Especially tonight where in primetime everyone turned on their phone lights so that the kids could see. Incredible. Even the players and mascot participate. One of the most special traditions in all of college football. Iowa is a special place. And for that first half, I was totally ok, sitting in my place in the stadium by myself where, albeit somewhat buzzed and loud and obnoxious, I could also be alone with my thoughts and enjoy every special little bit.

At halftime, I went to venture out to the end end of the field to sit with D2 and Scott - when the Iowa Marching band came out and launched into a Metallica themed show! Unbelievable. What are the chances - after thinking of Shane so much and wearing the Iowa shirt and cheering for the Hawkeyes for him, the biggest Metallica fan I know - now the band launched into Master of Puppets. Thats incredible. I filmed it and sent it along to his sister in shock. The Hawkeye Metallica band came out on the field and turned it up to 11. I was beside myself. One of the best concert experiences I ever had, Shane took me to a Metallica concert at the Silverdome the summer we graduated from college. I am pretty sure that was one of the last times I ever saw him. It was hard not to be romantic about the feelings. Especially after four Busch Lights. But I decided, assuredly, that something special had just happened here, and that Shane was alive tonight in Iowa City with me. I was committed to having a good night no matter what and as I found my way up to D2 and Scott, it was pretty obvious that football was really secondary to this whole day. The chance to be alive, and cheer, and drink beer, and be with friends, and be with family, and to be out of the house, and be myself. I didn't really care who won. Kinnick sure is a special place.

It'd be a tight low scoring game, but you just got the sense in the 4th quarter that Sparty was about to break and sure enough after some very loud penalties down in front of us, they punted the ball away only to have it come right back, down the sideline, running right at us - a game winner punt return for a touchdown, which as a Spartan fan was of course a let down - but the trade off was seeing this special place, in primetime in front of the home fans, go bananas. Even D2 who is probably a mostly casual hawkeye squealed like he was pissing his pants as the marching band lit into the fight song, that you could barely hear over the Iowa fateful who had been waiting for a chance to blow up and celebrate. Even the guy up there that had been hassling my confused outfit couldnt help but give me a hug and a kiss he was so happy. Ah to love something that much. Shane would have loved it, and as I high fived Scott and D2, I imagined he was there too. The timelessness of sport - someday we'll all be gone, but this place, this game, this institution will still be here. Saturday night lights. Its more than a game.

We'd have a night cap at the Swinger Pavillon where the nice lady had kept the chicken tenders and cooler of beer for us before our long walk back to some guys yard to find the truck. My buffalohoodie smelled like spilt Busch Light and fall and I suppose that meant it was a successful day. Aside from 10 minutes in the Panchero's bathroom, I had had a good day, no matter what. A special day. With my family and friends, including one from a long time ago. It didn't matter who won, but even the game would give us something to talk about for years - and thats all you can really ask for.

Is this heaven? No, its Iowa.

Song: Metaliica - Crown of Barbed Wire

Quote: “When it is understood that one loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them, the essence of natural farming will be realized. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.” ― Masanobu Fukuoka