Media Production Blog

My Final Farewell and Resting Place...

2009-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Fans, and Fellow Bloggers. I am sad to announce that the Media Production Blog has failed and that after 8 years in the blogging trenches I have found a new passion in life which is online selling. However, I did not want this blog to go to a total waste so as a hobby of mine and a service to you I have created a directory/store of all the really neat movie props that I have found on Amazon.

I am not going to lie to you. If you buy an item, I will get a commission. But I am using the store mostly to index all the cool movie items that I might want to buy someday. I am going to keep updating it regardless if anything sells. So have a look and you might find something useful for your film. You can reach the site by clicking here. It is an Amazon A-Store so you do not have to worry about spyware or your info being taken. Here is the url in html form in case you don’t trust me.

http://astore.amazon.com/moviepropdatabase-20

Lastly I just want to say that the Media Production Blog was funnest 2 years of my life and I want to thank all of you for your kindness,your patron-ship and your friendship. Take Care and Good Luck with all of Your Endeavors...Blue Skelton

My New Amazon Blog

2009-03-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

My New Amazon Blog is a new blogging adventure. Allow me to introduce myself. I used to be a successful microblogger who exploited Google Trends and Google's (Then New) Blog Search Engine to make a substantial income. My skills are now common knowledge and I grew bored of the endeavor. My new interest is in Online Sales. I hope to conquer the World of Online Sales the same way in which I did blogging. I already have a fledgeling and semi-successful Amazon Store.

In the course of selling stuff on Amazon, I often find interesting and peculiar items in the listings. I created this blog to share with you many of the interesting and cool items that I find while trolling Amazon. The idea all started with the Hershey's Kiss Fondue Maker. This is My New Amazon Blog and you can find me there.

Thundercats, HO!

2008-12-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

Thundercats, Thundercats, THUNDER CATS HOOOOOOO! Yes that’s right. According to Mtv: “YouTube user WormyT has created a full-on trailer for a live-action “Thundercats” movie (based on the popular 1980s cartoon series) by compiling scenes from films featuring […] Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackmanand Vin Diesel. After applying what can only be significant amounts of Adobe editing magic, the results speak for themselves:

Despite my usual disdain (Schnarfff!) for bad remakes of childhood favorites. I am on board for a remake of the Thundercats. The show was campy but good to begin with and I don’t feel that they have anything to lose in making a Thundercat’s Film. In honor of the return of the Thundercats, I have created an online store dedicated to Thundercats merchandise. You can find it by clicking here.

Twilight Premiere

2008-11-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a fun video from the Twilight Premiere. I am a vampire junkie so even I was attracted to this new attempt to capture the teen pop world through vampirism. For my generation, it was Interview with the Vampire and The Lost Boys. Twilight isn’t as good as either film but it blows away The Lost Boys 2 and as old as I felt at the premiere, I think that the kids will really like it.

In the absence of the New Harry Potter Film (Thanks Warner Bros.) I decided that I would give Twilight a try. It was not a bad film. My day job got the professional review but I found a nice video for all of you to watch on Youtube. My blogger Alter-Ego acquired some keywords so I figured I would toss this video out there for you.

This was my first premiere in awhile and I am a bit out of my game. I didn’t get anywhere near the action this time. I am still horribly sick and have lost my touch at getting up close. Plus it was a mob. I haven’t seen anything that crazy since Episode 1. My real boss isn’t real happy that I didn’t land any interviews but what can you do. I think I gave him one of my better reviews and I have to say for a piece of Teen Pop it wasn’t half bad. I wouldn’t say it is as good as The Lost Boys or anything but I think that the kids will like it.

Twilight Premiered in Los Angeles last night and I found a cool blog with a lot of photos from the Twilight Premiere if you all want to check it out. Thanks again and it was nice to toss a quick post out there for all of you. Sorry it wasn’t a more exciting description of the premiere but I have to be honest, I am on a ton of meds and I was more interested in going to the Beach and In N Out. Hopefully the boss doesn't find out that I said that lol.

Zoid’s Assault Behind the Scenes

2008-09-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a behind the scenes glimpse at Zoids Assault which was just released earlier today. The game has received lackluster views but I will withhold judgment until I have actually played the game. Take a look at the Zoids and let me know what you think. It looks interesting to me although it might be a little bit behind the 360s capabilities.

The Plot of Zoid’s Assault is When war broke out between the world's two main superpowers, the Guylos Empire and the Republic of Helic, the effects rippled across the globe, dragging other nations into the fight. Two such nations were Maroll and Jamil.

During the war, Maroll's attacks on the neighboring Jamil were devastating, and even a decade after the war had ended, Jamil's economy and infrastructure hadn't fully recovered. Animosity, paranoia, and mutual mistrust between the two nations hindered their ability to find a common ground and complete their peace talks. For ten long years, the two nations found themselves in the middle of a cold war.

After a mysterious explosion at one of Maroll's military bases, two covert ops teams are sent into Jamil territory, their exact mission details never disclosed. Somehow, the events of the present are inextricably linked to the past--to the final days of the war, ten years ago...

We hope that you enjoyed this behind the scenes glimpse of Zoid’s assault which debuted on the 360 earlier today. If you would like to purchase the game you can click here or hang around the Media Production Blog for more exciting stuff.

Top 10 Old Movies

2008-07-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here is my long awaited list of my Top Ten Old Movies from My Top Ten. The only qualification for this list is that the movies be more than 20 years old approximately. As we all know, the best films were made back in the day with the exception of a few new films like the Departed or The Dark Knight. To introduce my Top Ten List I provided a trailer from the original film.

Top 10 Old Movies

1. Breakfast at Tiffany'sis one Film that you don’t want to miss. The movie is not as dark as the book but Aubrey Hephburn is so endearing as Holly Go Lightly that you don’t want to miss this film.

No film better utilizes Audrey Hepburn's flighty charm and svelte beauty than this romantic adaptation of Truman Capote's novella. Hepburn's urban sophisticate Holly Golightly, an enchanting neurotic living off the gifts of gentlemen, is a bewitching figure in designer dresses and costume jewelry. George Peppard is her upstairs neighbor, a struggling writer and "kept" man financed by a steely older woman (Patricia Neal). His growing friendship with the lonely Holly soon turns to love and threatens the delicate balance of both of their compromised lives.

Taking liberties with Capote's bittersweet story, director Blake Edwards and screenwriter George Axelrod turn New York into a city of lovers and create a poignant portrait of Holly, a frustrated romantic with a secret past and a hidden vulnerability. Composer Henry Mancini earned Oscars for the hit song "Moon River" and his tastefully romantic score.

The only sour note in the whole film is Mickey Rooney's demeaning performance as the apartment's Japanese manager, an offensively overdone stereotype even in 1961. The rest of the film has weathered the decades well. Edwards's elegant yet light touch, Axelrod's generous screenplay, and Hepburn's mix of knowing experience and naiveté combine to create one of the great screen romances and a refined slice of high society bohemian chic. --Sean Axmaker

2. Vertigo is another Head Trip that you do not want to miss. I just recently saw this film on VHS and wondered why it had taken me so long to see it. According to Amazon: This film wonderfully realized and brought to the screen by the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, is truly one of Hitchcock's very best, a masterpiece of the cinema. Jimmy Stewart gives perhaps his finest performance in this Hitchcock classic, as Stewart is able to express many emotions with just the look in his eyes, fear, longing, love, desperation, anger, and finally total despair. Stewart plays a detective forced to retire fom the police force because of his fear of heights (vertigo).

He later is hired by an old college chum who fears his wife may be possessed by a spirit of a long dead ancestor,and in danger perhaps even from herself. Stewart is asked to follow her to insure that no harm will befall her.

There are many plot twists and turns and for those who may not have seen this classic, I don't want to give away any more of the plot. This film was beautfully restored, but unfortunately released in letterbox form a few years ago. Now thankfully this edition is in widescreen where it can truly be appreciated. The cover art of this DVD edition gives us a glimpse into the magic of Stewart's performance. Not a great success originally at the box office, this film is now universally recognized as one of the finest films ever made.

3. The Shiningwas a spooky thriller that would have made old Al Hitchcock proud. There are probably old movies that are better than this one but I never hesitate to give Steve King some props and he deserves on the list. Plus it is a nice follow up to Vertigo.

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is less an adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling horror novel than a complete reimagining of it from the inside out. In King's book, the Overlook Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of its off-season caretaker and provokes him to murderous rage against his wife and young son. Kubrick's movie is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel's labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer, who's settled in for a long winter's hibernation.

As many have pointed out, King's protagonist goes mad, but Kubrick's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is Looney Tunes from the moment we meet him--all arching eyebrows and mischievous grin. (Both Nicholson and Shelley Duvall reach new levels of hysteria in their performances, driven to extremes by the director's fanatical demands for take after take after take.) The Shining is terrifying--but not in the way fans of the novel might expect.

When it was redone as a TV miniseries (reportedly because of King's dissatisfaction with the Kubrick film), the famous topiary-animal attack (which was deemed impossible to film in 1980) was there--but the deeper horror was lost. Kubrick's The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there's no place to hide... --Jim Emerson

4. Jack Nicholson plays another great psycho in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest This is another fine example of a great film that still wasn’t as good as the book but was still good. The casting of this film was perfect.

One of the key movies of the 1970s, when exciting, groundbreaking, personal films were still being made in Hollywood, Milos Forman's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest emphasized the humanistic story at the heart of Ken Kesey's more hallucinogenic novel. Jack Nicholson was born to play the part of Randle Patrick McMurphy, the rebellious inmate of a psychiatric hospital who fights back against the authorities' cold attitudes of institutional superiority, as personified by Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

It's the classic antiestablishment tale of one man asserting his individuality in the face of a repressive, conformist system--and it works on every level. Forman populates his film with memorably eccentric faces, and gets such freshly detailed and spontaneous work from his ensemble that the picture sometimes feels like a documentary.

Unlike a lot of films pitched at the "youth culture" of the 1970s, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest really hasn't dated a bit, because the qualities of human nature that Forman captures--playfulness, courage, inspiration, pride, stubbornness--are universal and timeless. The film swept the Academy Awards for 1976, winning in all the major categories (picture, director, actor, actress, screenplay) for the first time since Frank Capra's It Happened One Night in 1931. --Jim Emerson

5. Stanley Kubrick returns for the 5^th spot with Full Metal Jacketwhich quite possibly could be the best film of all time. At the very least, the opening is the best comedy routine that I have ever seen. The only thing holding it back is the sequence in which we hear “Bird is the Word” That song should be erased.

Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines and abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best.

Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence.

Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murderous half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart and savvy performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

6. Following the Marine Tradition, I wanted to bring you a movie starring the Imperial Space Marines. No I am not talking about gay Starship Troopers, I am talking Aliens here people which is quite possibly the greatest Slasher-Sci-Fi ever created. I wish more of these films would be made. The formula for AVP should be simple: Aliens + Space Marines + Predators = Greatest Film Ever!

The Alien Quadrilogy is a nine-disc boxed set devoted to the four Alien films. Although previously available on DVD as the Alien Legacy, here they have been repackaged with vastly more extras and with upgraded sound and picture. For anyone who hasn't been in hypersleep for the last 25 years, this series needs no introduction, though for the first time each film now comes in both original and "special edition" form.

Alien (1979) was so perfect it didn't need fixing, and Ridley Scott's 2003 director's cut is fiddling for the sake of fiddling. Watch it once, then return to the majestic, perfectly paced original. Conversely, the special edition of James Cameron's Aliens (1986) is the definitive version, though it's nice to finally have the theatrical cut on DVD for comparison. Most interesting is the alternative Alien 3 (1992). This isn't a "director's cut"--David Fincher refused to have any involvement with this release--but a 1991 work-print that runs 29 minutes longer than the theatrical version, and has now been restored, remastered, and finished off with (unfortunately) cheap new CGI. Still, it's truly fascinating, offering a different insight into a flawed masterpiece. The expanded opening is visually breathtaking, the central firestorm is much longer, and a subplot involving Paul McGann's character adds considerable depth to story. The ending is also subtly but significantly different. Alien: Resurrection (1997) always was a mess with a handful of brilliant scenes, and the special edition just makes it eight minutes longer.

The Alien Quadrilogy offers the first and fourth films with DTS soundtracks, the others having still fine Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. All four films sound fantastic, with much low-level detail revealed for the first time. Each is anamorphically enhanced at the correct original aspect ratio, and the prints and transfers are superlative. Every film offers a commentary track that lends insight into the creative process--though the Scott-only commentary and isolated music score from the first Alien DVD release are missing here.

Each movie is complemented by a separate disc packed with hours of seriously detailed documentaries (all presented in full-screen with clips letterboxed), thousands of photos, production stills, and storyboards, giving a level of inside information for the dedicated buff only surpassed by the Lord of the Rings extended DVD sets. A ninth DVD compiles miscellaneous material, including an hourlong documentary and even all the extras from the old Alien laserdisc. "Exhaustive" hardly beings to describe the Alien Quadrilogy, a set that establishes the new DVD benchmark for retrospective releases and looks unlikely to be surpassed for some time. --Gary S. Dalkin

7. Following Aliens, we have another feel good movie that will make you cry as well. Stephen King returns with Stand By Me. This film should be a rite of passage for any male adolescent. This is the one movie besides The Lost Boys in which Kiefer Sutherland did not totally stink up the place.

A sleeper hit when released in 1986, Stand by Me is based on Stephen King's novella "The Body" (from the book Different Seasons); but it's more about the joys and pains of boyhood friendship than a morbid fascination with corpses. It's about four boys ages 12 and 13 (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell) who take an overnight hike through the woods near their Oregon town to find the body of a boy who's been missing for days.

Their journey includes a variety of scary adventures (including a ferocious junkyard dog, a swamp full of leeches, and a treacherous leap from a train trestle), but it's also a time for personal revelations, quiet interludes, and the raucous comradeship of best friends. Set in the 1950s, the movie indulges an overabundance of anachronistic profanity and a kind of idealistic, golden-toned nostalgia (it's told in flashback as a story written by Wheaton's character as an adult, played by Richard Dreyfuss).

But it's delightfully entertaining from start to finish, thanks to the rapport among its young cast members and the timeless, universal themes of friendship, family, and the building of character and self-esteem. Kiefer Sutherland makes a memorable teenage villain, and look closely for John Cusack in a flashback scene as Wheaton's now-deceased and dearly missed brother. A genuine crowd-pleaser, this heartfelt movie led director Rob Reiner to even greater success with his next film, The Princess Bride. --Jeff Shannon

8. We follow Stand by Me with another Great Rob Reiner Film aforementioned… The Princess Brideis another rite of passage although this movie appeals to both boys and girls and is essential for anyone searching for their true love.

Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his skeptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story.

And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity...

The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. --Sam Sutherland

9. I wanted to get Stephen Spielberg on the list so I gave him E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrialwhich is another great film for kids. I was tempted to do Indiana Jones but George Lucas and I are finished. I will not whore my blog out with any affiliate links that will make him more money. As it is Spielberg owes me an apology for Indy 4. Still ET was one of the greatest films ever and it deserves on the list.

Steven Spielberg's 1982 hit about a stranded alien and his loving relationship with a fatherless boy (Henry Thomas) struck a chord with audiences everywhere, and it furthered Spielberg's reputation as a director of equally strong commercial sensibilities and classical leanings. Henry Thomas gives a strong, emotional performance as E.T.'s young friend, Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore make a solid impression as his siblings, and Dee Wallace is lively as the kids' mother. The special effects almost look a bit quaint now with all the computer advancements that have occurred since, but they also have more heart behind them than a lot of what we see today. --Tom Keogh

10. Seppuku brings a suicidal finish to My Top Ten List. Still this is a great Samurai film. If I had my way this whole list would consist of Asian Cinema but this list of Old Movies is intended to appeal to the mainstream. Seppuku is too good of movie to leave out though. Seppuku and Lady Snowblood are two of my favorites. I couldn’t find a poster or dvd for you but if you can find a copy I highly recommend it.

I hope that you have enjoyed My Top Ten list of Old Movies that have endeared themselves into my heart. Whether it is feel good movies like Full Metal Jacket or Aliens or Rites of Passage like Stand by Me and the Princess Bride these are films that should last for all times. They are the Beatles of the Cinema…

Blue Skelton Reviews Web Dosh

2008-05-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Although I still enjoy ProBlogger quite a bit. Web Dosh has become my favorite website about blogging because he doesn’t write a lot of fluff. Most people who write about blogging will never tell you the actual secrets of what they do. For example, I can say without ego that I am one of the best Article-Based SEO writers on the internet but I do not give up my secrets.

Don't look too closely for the secrets on this blog however because I just write this one for fun. I make most of my money niche-blogging. I am saying that because I don't want you to waste your time.

I am sure that Web Dosh does not cough up everything he has but he does provide useful content that can actually be used to help you blog more efficiently online. A lot of the SEO and Profesional blogging websites are filled with slush that will do nothing to help you promote or optimize your website.

The layout and organization is a blog but it throws in some personal touches that Mashable lacks. I enjoy the anime pictures used for the article writer. It gives it a personal touch that is unique to this blog.

His advertising is organized which is very nice. Then he provides a list of resources, articles and interactivity to keep the readers interested. All of Mashable’s ads just make me bored quicker. After the first few articles of Mashable, I am ready to move on whereas Dosh Dosh draws me further into his site.

Blue Skelton Reviews Mashable

2008-05-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Mashable is a website devoted to all the different Social Media Networks out there like Facebook, Myspace and all the other niche-media sites. The purpose of the site is to inform more than anything. The content isn’t as easily navigated in small portions as ProBlogger was but it does a fair job I think.

The content is good if you are looking for new social media networks but beyond that it is basically just a lot of fluff. I am only interested in Social Media for promotional, seo, and marketing purposes so if it isn’t a piece of brand new technology then it is not particularly interesting to me.

I really think that people have a very sad life if they are that obsessed with Social Media News. I am not saying that I don’t enjoy social media, I am addicted to YouTube. But this website doesn’t really do much for me although I think that it can be a great resource from time to time and I have nothing bad to say about it.

The colors make Mashable's 3 Column Layouts difficult for me to read. It feels convoluted to me for some reason. In my blogs: if I have a 3 column layout I refer the content not to be in the middle as this one is.

The navigation in this blog is straightforward enough but it is a bit “whorish” the sidebars are filled almost completely with ads. It would be a lot more effective if they broke up the ads more with some sort of content or interactivity like a poll. They also do not link to related posts inside their posts which is poor if you ask me.

And truthfully, I am getting board of the blog layout even though I am forced to use them. I prefer the blog/website hybrids like MovieWeb or Problogger that are becoming very popular these days.

Overall, this is a good quality website. The content isn’t always for me, but that does not mean that it is a bad site. I would recommend checking it out.

Problogger Review by Blue Skelton

2008-05-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

The ultimate goal of the Problogger website is to make money, but it does so in an informative manner. Darren Rowse earns the bulk of his money by discussing how bloggers make money. He then embeds affiliate links with the description or review. A person then clicks on that affiliate link and if that person signs up for a service, Darren then gets a cut. Along with advertising this makes for a lucrative blogging business.

Pro Blogger also provides a lot of informative information that is interesting to bloggers. Overall, I think that the content is excellent although it can be a bit fluffy at times. Upon further examination and by reading between the lines, you can learn everything you need to be a successful blogger.

I really like how the blog is laid out. It is divided up into individual sections as you scroll down. It feels like about 5 websites in one as you move down the page. The first section is a bit like a media source for bloggers with links to his vidcast, recent articles, subscription information and advertisers.

As we scroll down, we get a list of his best articles that I really feel helps transition us down the page towards the sitemap and blogging resources which are usually veiled methods of promoting Problogger Products or affiliate links.

This website is both informative and profitable and that is ultimately why it is one of the primary websites on Professional Blogging.

SEO Tools

2008-05-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post from SEO Ninja. Please check out his page for more exciting information on blogging and Search Engine Optimization. If you would like to be a guest blogger on the Media Production Blog, just email me and I will include a link (PR4) to your blog along with the post.

Here is a list of my favorite SEO Tools. In my opinion these are the only tools that you will ever need for article based search engine optimization. I will create a resource for SEO via Web Design at a later date. For now I thought that I would start small and simple.

SEO Tools

1. Google Keyword Suggestion is a great tool for helping you select keywords. You can either type in the topic you are writing about or the url to your website. I prefer to use the URL to my website. For example: The Keyword to this post is SEO Tools. The proper density for keyword usage varies but I would recommend repeating the keywords from your title in the first paragraph of your content.

2. Google Trends is a really great way to see what is hot this hour and is especially useful for news related topics and keywords. It also provides you with access to the top blogging, website, and news pages attached to that keyword. Studying how they have laid out their videos, alt tags, content, headers, and keywords can help you learn how to best optimize your website.

3. Google’s Blog Search is a great tool for bloggers. The Blog Search works the same as the image, video, or web search. If you can master the art of putting your content at the top of engine, you will maximize your traffic.

4. Google Analytics is another great tool for seeing where your traffic comes from and how successful your posts are.

5. Google Adwords also has some really cool options that can help you play around with the layout and content of your website to maximize your SEO.

6. Spy Fu is a great website for seeing the cost per click for various keywords.

7. My Search Engine Submission List has a lot of search engines with high page rank which is important. I recommend submitting you blog or website to the highest ranking directories as well as the ones who do not require a reciprocal link. Article-Based SEO can take you a long way but ultimately it is the links that you develop that will make or break your website’s page rank.

8. The Digital Points Forum is my favorite forum for SEO; It is a great website for webmasters and web publishers so I thought that I would toss it out there. Including your links in Forum posts can be another great way to bring traffic to your website. I have received thousands of visitors via IMDB which is an unlikely source of traffic.

SEO Link Building Tools

There are a lot of other great link building websites but there are my favorites. They are the ones have done the most good for me.

1. Creating a Popular Squidoo Lens is not only a good way to create links for your blog it can also bring a lot of traffic to your blog if optimize your lens.

2. Flickr: I like to upload graphics that pertain to my website or blog post and then link to that post in the description.

3. Blog Carnivals are a great way to receive links to your content. They work a lot like an online magazine.

4. Myspace and Facebook remain powerful marketing tools if you know how to leverage them right. I will do a post later on about how to use these for success.

Grand Theft Auto 4 Video

2008-04-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a great video of Grand Theft Auto 4. Just when I think that I am out, they drag me back in. For nearly 5 years now I have ruled Vice in GTA San Andreas but now finally it is time for me to go home and do what I do best. I will see all of you on the streets of Liberty City.

The newest installment of the 'Grand Theft Auto' came out Tuesday, drumming up unprecedented excitement among gamers. Industry experts talk to the AP about the game and its cast of characters.

Photos from the Speedracer Premiere

2008-04-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Christina Ricci and others from the Speedracer Premiere. I haven’t seen a premiere in over a year thanks to health concerns and I am really missing them. They are fun events to cover so I am going to have to be satisfied with just photos from them for awhile.

The Premiere took place in LONDON - APRIL 29: Rain soaked guests arrive at the UK Film Premiere of "Speed Racer" at the Empire Leicester Square on April 29, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images).

I am a big fan of the Speedracer: The Movie.

Speedracer News

Does Bob Dylan Deserve a Pulitzer?

2008-04-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Pulitzer Prize judges gave Bob Dylan an honorary award this year, but couldn't bring themselves to honor an editorial writer. Jon Friedman says it's an attempt to exploit Dylan's fame to convince the public they are still relevant.

I disagree with this video entirely. I smell a rat in this video and that rats name is Envy. This guy provides no line of reasoning for his editorial. Truthfully I think that he is just bitter that he didn’t win a Pulitzer and I wouldn’t expect him to either with fluffy, envious video editorials like this one.

Why can’t he just be happy for Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan isn’t perfect and he can be a bit hypocritical but he is quite possibly the greatest poet of our time. His music was an editorial of the 20^th century and I feel that he deserves this honor regardless of whether or not he was being exploited for his fame and frankly as someone who hopes to win a Pulitzer of his own someday I am offended by this video.

What do you all think? Does Bobby Deserve his prize? Is this guy jealous? Did I miss the point of this video entirely?

The Forbidden Kingdom Review

2008-04-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

A. O. Scott reviews "The Forbidden Kingdom," the first film to unite Jackie Chan and Jet Li. We want to thank Mr Scott for appearing on the Media Production and we cannot wait for this film.

For Kung Fu fans like me, The Forbidden Kingdom is the culmination of 20 years of dreaming. Jet Li vs. Jackie Chan choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping who as you all know is a God to all of us here at Blue Skelton Productions.

For those of you who love Kung Fu Movies, we do have a surprise recommendation for all of you. If you have not seen This Movie then there is something wrong with you and you need to remedy that immediately.

Related Pages

Forbidden Kingdom Movie Trailer

Forgetting Sarah Marshall Review

2008-04-18T16:36:00.001-07:00

Here is a review of the new movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall that has been taking the movie theater by storm. I have not had the chance to view the movie just yet but after watching this video, I think that I will give it whirl when it comes out on Red Box. With all the violent films like Shoot Em Up, that I have been watching lately, a nice chick flick might do me some good.

Following the disappointing performance of "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and the flop that was "Drillbit Taylor," AP movie critic Christy Lemire says Apatow is back in classic form with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Photofiddle

2008-04-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

That was a video commercial of Photofiddle. I saw Photofiddle on the Today Show and I thought that it was so cool that I would share it will all of you on the Media Production Blog. Photofiddle is for all of you fine artists out there. It is a service that allows you to create a work of art from any photograph.

According to the press release: PhotoFiddle.com turns digital photographs into artwork in seconds, using 35 designs styles and templates, such as oil painting, photo collages, pop art - and even comic strips. The finished artwork can be professionally framed or stretched on canvas.

This sounds like an excellent resource for photographers and just about anyone. I have several photos that I wouldn’t mind having made into paintings. If you are a fine artist or amateur photographer then you might check out Photofiddle. It was something interesting that I thought that I would share with all of you. Here is the link to the Photofiddle Website. It has even achieved attention by Oprah so it has to be worth a gander.

Tribbles for Sale

2008-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Blue Skelton is here once again to offer you the most amazing pet you have ever seen… Tribbles. Tribbles are soft, cuddly, and easy to take care of. The nice thing about Tribbles is that you don’t have to worry about not feeding them after midnight.

Tribbles really don’t require much maintenance at all and they are very little trouble at all. You should definitely look into getting one for you house or apartment. I guarantee that you will love the Tribble so much that your home will be filled with thousands of Tribbles in no time.

More Tribbles on YouTube

Find Out What is in Indiana Jones's Bag

2008-04-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

It’s finally time to find out what was in Indiana Jone’s bag. A few weeks ago, I mentioned a really cool contest on one of my favorite web site's: The MovieSet. I am sure that all of you remember the “What’s in Indiana Jones’s bag. Well the results have been revealed and you can view them here. Verne Troyer aka Mini-Me has been good enough to provide the results.

Flickr Takes On YouTube

2008-04-09T15:13:00.001-07:00

With a hostile takeover by Microsoft Looming, Yahoo has decided to take on YouTube by expanding Flickr to include Home Videos. I agree with the commentator of this video, This service won’t save Yahoo. Why would I pay $20 to upload clips into Flickr when I can upload them into YouTube for free.

Then again Flickr has a large community and is the one area where Yahoo has topped Google. I really like Flickr a lot. With such a loyal fan base, Yahoo will no doubt make a profit but can it make Flickr as competitive with YouTube as it has for Picasa? I doubt it.

On a side-note, I recently applied to Yahoo’s Pay Per Click advertising. I signed up for the account with my blogger blog. I do silly things for my own amusement sometimes. I wanted to see if they would allow Yahoo Advertising on a Blogger Product. I would never of course use their advertising because as you all know: Google is very good to me. I would never do anything to risk incurring their wrath.

I have nothing against Yahoo either. Yahoo is kind of like Google’s autistic older brother. I make fun of the silly things he does sometimes but I did have a lot of good times with Yahoo back in the day. And I do feel sorry them. It sucks that they are going to get taken over by Microsoft. It sucks for me because the two corporations that I am most loyal to are now competitors. Hopefully I can remain neutral in their upcoming power struggle. A little competition never hurt anyone right (gulp).

A Ship Made Out of Popsicle Sticks

2008-04-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

Okay this has nothing to do with Media Production but I had to post it just for the fact that media was produced about it. Evidently, there is a guy sailing across the Atlantic in a Pirate Ship made of popsicle sticks. This sounds like a disaster of viral video proportions but this guy is serious. Here is some video of his voyage.

The 15-metre long boat, named "Thor", took captain Robert McDonald, his son and over 5000 schoolchildren four years to build. After visiting Britain, McDonald hopes to follow in the wake of the Vikings and cross the Atlantic, sailing to North America via Iceland and Greenland.

Behind the Scenes of 30 Rock with Tina Fey

2008-04-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Go behind the scenes of 30 Rock with the lovely Tina Fey. 30 Rock is quite possibly one of my favorite TV shows thanks in most to Alec Baldwin’s role on the show. He is fricking hilarious. The show's creator and star Tina Fey talks to The AP's Lauri Neff on set about what and who to look for as the show returns with new post-strike episodes. I am very glad that it has survived both obscurity and the strike.

For a long time, I was the only one of my friends who watched 30 Rock but now it has achieved the following that it so deserves and I hope that you enjoyed your behind the scenes glimpse with Tina Fey.

On the Set of the New James Bond Movie

2008-04-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here is an interview of James Bond himself straight off the set of the new James Bond Film. The interview takes place in the Desert of Antofagasto Chile. It was a lot of fun to go behind the scenes of Columbia Pictures new shoot of James Bond.

Production of the 22nd Bond film "Quantum of Solace" is underway in northern Chile. Star Daniel Craig, Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and director Marc Forster talk about stunts, explosions and plot points.

The Biggest Media Production Carnival Ever

2008-04-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the largest Media Production Carnival ever created by a man. I apologize for the late posting of this carnival but I have been ill and I have had to be hospitalized a couple of times. Everything is all right now and I hope that we will get the Media Production Carnival back on track.

Robyn J McCleary presents PUNK ROCK BAND posted at Contemporary Arts and Critics Reviews.

Kingsley Tagbo presents How To Find Affordable, Flexible Career Training Programs posted at HOW TO LEARN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING FAST OR GET A JOB EASILY.

Edith presents Free Live Call with Marketing Guru Seth Godin - Meatball Sundae (April 9th) Hosted by SFentrepreneur posted at San Francisco Bay Area Small Business Community That Connects You With Entrepreneurs Around You.

Joshua C. Karlin presents How Not to Ask for a Major Gift posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Kenton Newby presents Overcoming Common Excuses for Not Building Your Online Business posted at KentonNewby.com.

Jimmy Sansi presents Memo To Entrecard Users: Get A Clue posted at The Kaizen Business.

Don D. Morrison presents Get an online introduction & crude history to electronic sounds? Actually They?re GREAT! posted at dondmorrison.com.

Sabrina Jefferson presents How To Create Your Own Blog posted at Sabrina Jefferson.

Sarah Paine presents Is Your Site NeoPet Sticky? posted at Sarah Paine.

Joshua C. Karlin presents Better Than a Blogroll posted at Internet Business.

Marcus Hochstadt presents AWeber Secret posted at Marcus Hochstadt.

Mitesh presents User Generated Content - Creativity Explored posted at Invent Creativity.

Mattg presents Do You Get Twitter? posted at Matt Garrett, saying, "Twitter is really a fast growing community site and providing a good environemnt to interacting with people of same thinking or business line. So, go and get a twitter, now."

Advertising

Charles H. Green presents Fighting Cynicism posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Does hip snide advertising actually work? Or does representing people who use your products as, fundamentally, losers, actually devalue your brand and your product?"

Kenton Newby presents Simple Solutions For the Content Creation Roadblock Nearly All Online Business Owners Face posted at KentonNewby.com.

Silveral presents Celebrity Parties posted at Celebrity News, and Gossip.

Blogging

Nathan Deschamps presents Nathan Deschamps Playing Footbag (hacky sack tricks) posted at Nathan Deschamps Footbagger.

yko presents Backstory posted at Trailer Park Arias, saying, "This is s student blog from the Broadcasting and Electronic Communications department at San Francisco State University."

Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents How To Write Your First Paragraph posted at Rebecca Dean.

Film Production

Jean Mosher presents Blu-Ray Won the Format War posted at Always in Motion.

Lexi Sundell presents Hollywood Still Is Not Threatened posted at Energies of Creation, saying, "The misadventures of a newbie in video..."

Robert Phillips presents Where Have All the Good .coms Gone? posted at How to Create a DVD without Spending a Dime.

Marketing

Product Launch Formula 2.0 Jeff Walker presents How To Launch Your Product Even If You Only Have A Tiny List posted at Product Launch Formula 2.0 Jeff Walker Hands You The Insider Secrets To Successful Product Launches, saying, "You don't need to be a guru to have a successful product launch. Free non-guru product launch video case study shows you how."

Richard McLaughlin presents Choice Of Internet Marketing Methods posted at Cindy King.

Steven Chang presents 100 Ways To Ignite Your Opt-In Subscribers! posted at Passive Income Online.

Woody Maxim presents The Fear of Loss posted at Woody Maxim.

Stephen Dean presents 3 Quick Rules For Writing A “P.S.” posted at Stephen Dean's Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.

One of the Many Others

Natalie presents Celemony Melodyne to revolutionise how musicians work posted at I love technology, saying, "This is an article about new audio software technology from Celomony, which will revolutionise the way musicians and audio editors work."

Television

Raymond presents Review of House Flipping and Home Hunting Shows posted at Money Blue Book.

Alex M presents Moonlight TV Show posted at Videos and web TV.

Anne K presents Another Playing Lesson posted at Doug Kercher Golf.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
a media production carnival
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:

a media production carnival, blog carnival.

War Incorporated Movie Poster

2008-03-31T16:19:00.001-07:00

Here is the Movie Poster for War Incorporated. I just posted because I thought that it would be a cool way to segway to our Interview of Cobra Commander in the next GI Joe movie. You can find the link for that below.

I really like this poster from a graphic design perspective. The roll of money looks nice amidst the bullets and it kind of reminds me of the Lord of War for some reason.

Interview with Cobra Commander

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Cobra Commander Interview

2008-03-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here is an interview that Joseph Godon Levitt did for the upcoming GI Joe movie. Joe plays the Cobra Commander…Cobra!!! And Cobra Kai NO MERCY. Sorry to regress into childhood there but GI Joe was my favorite TV show this side of Voltron and the Smurfs when I was a Kid.

Postal vs. Indiana Jones What’s in that Bag Contest

2008-03-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

My favorite Website, Movieset is having a special contest to commemorate Postal’s ongoing and Shakespearian power struggle against Indiana Jones for domination of the box office. Who will win? Well that’s pretty obvious but what isn’t obvious is Movieset’s new contest: “What’s in that Bag.”

Unfortunately what is in the bag will remain a secret until April 13^th giving you plenty of time to enter their contest. If you are interested in participating in the contest you can enter by watching this video and then entering the contest. Or you can also click below...

The video is an exclusive scene featuring Verne Troyer (“Austin Powers”, soon to be seen in “POSTAL” and “The Love Guru”) as the world’s toughest, roughest archaeologist, Mini Indy.

Viewers can watch the hilarious clip and then immediately enter a contest to guess what hidden item of treasure is stashed inside Mini Indy’s satchel. Contest entries can be submitted until midnight April 13th. The answer will be revealed on MovieSet™ and Mini Indy will let the world know what’s inside bag – and a lucky contest entrant will win the exclusive one-of-a-kind prize.

The Road to Nod brings back Noir

2008-03-31T13:38:00.000-07:00

I just watched the trailer to The Road to Nod and wow I am very grateful to have found this film. The last noir film that I saw was Renaissance and that was more cyberpunk than noir. I am really looking forward to the chance to lose myself in the noir world that I inhabited in my youth. I have enclosed a link to the website at the end of the article if you would like to know more.

Writer/director M.A. Littler's THE ROAD TO NOD is a biblically-fuelled crime outing marked by stirring performances and breathtaking black and white cinematography. Former Dead Brothers instrumentalist Delaney Davidson plays Parrish, a recently-released ex-con planning a return to the business. After witnessing the execution of his former boss and mentor (played by legendary one-man band Reverend Beat-Man), Parrish finds himself on the run to the farthest reaches of civilization, followed by his myriad enemies and suspicious accomplices.

The film features Delaney Davidson, Chris Hughes, Rev. Beat-Man, Franz Dobler, Jeroen Visser, Alain Croubalian, Mischa De Haring, Manfred Peckl, Miron Zownir and Dominique Noiret.

The Road to Nod is a can’t miss film for me. It’s great to see pulp noir making a comeback and I highly suggest that you take a closer look at this film. You can find more information on this great film at the Slowboat Films Website. You can also check out there Myspace page by clicking here.

Public Relations: Male Pregnancy as a Means of Self Promotion

2008-03-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

In what is possibly the greatest PR stunt ever, a man has gotten himself pregnant. I thought that I had come up with some crazy means to self promote but this takes it to a whole new level.

Now I can honestly say that I have seen everything. A guy named Thomas Beatie has gotten pregnant. Yes that’s right pregnant. According to the Guardian: “An American married man, who used to be a woman before having gender reassignment surgery, has sparked shock and disbelief after claiming to be five months pregnant with a baby girl.”

Not only did he get pregnant, he wrote about it in a magazine. If this isn’t the greatest PR stunt that you have ever heard of, I challenge you to tell me a better one. I can’t believe that I slave every day to make a name for myself and this mofo makes himself famous by getting pregnant and writing about it. This guy will probably get a book deal next. But I can't be mad at him. It is a great story.

This stunt is absolutely ingenious and it has made me realize that the possibilities for public relations are endless and I just need to expand the horizons of my creativity and think even further outside of the box.

MC Blue Skelton vs. Super Mario Bros

2008-03-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a rare performance by Blue Skelton. He performs to a rap remix of the Super Mario Bros dungeon song. This is his first performance he did the Stray Cat Strut at the Hollywood Target. Is this a sign that the old Blue Skelton will return in a barrage of crazy and hopefully humorous stunts or is it just a flash in the pan.

Related Pages

The Return of the Mix Tape

2008-03-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

I recently saw a mix-tape created by Dr. Dre earn a tidy sum of cash on EBAY and it brought back a few things from my childhood. I don’t know anyone who endured the foul audio device called the cassette tape that has not made a mix tape, at least once in their lives. Most of the time they were made in a lame attempt to impress one girl or another.

One of my mother’s ex-boyfriends once made me her a mix tape after he called her fat. The tape was as lame as he was. His last name was Butts and he had a face to match his name. As if Cyndi Lauper and Chicago would make my mom forgive him.

I hated the guy and I later enacted my revenge upon him by doing terrible things to his food after he was a patron of the restaurant that I worked at. I can think of several clichés to describe the horrors that I performed upon his food: Karma is a Bitch, Shit Happens, and don’t F’ with the hand that feeds you.

But I too am guilty of the terrible and horrendous crime of mixing an audio tape for a scorned lover. I used to make all kinds of mix tapes. I remember sitting in my room way back in the days before Radio Broadcasting was made obsolete by the IPOD waiting for just the right song to come on the radio.

After the death of the cassette, so perished my collection of audio tapes. The only tape that I have kept is a rare GWAR Bootleg. I don’t have a device to play it in but you never know. Maybe some day I will.

As it turns out there are whole communities dedicated to mix tapes. But despite the resurgence in popularity, I don’t foresee the cassette tape making much of a comeback. Cassette players weren’t built to last and that is probably a good thing for all of us. If I am going to enjoy vintage music, I will do it on vinyl. Records have great audio quality and it is a lot easier to find players due its popularity among DJs.

And yet there is something pathetically romantic about a mix-tape. Maybe I will toss some WAVs into Cakewalk later and make another pathetic attempt to win back the heart of my ex-girlfriend.

Top Ten DVD Releases in March and April

2008-03-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here are the Top Ten movies being released in March and April that I will pick up. Some of these movies, I have wanted to see since they came out in the theater and I am looking forward to their upcoming release. So without further ado here are the Top Ten DVDs being released in March and April…

New DVD Releases

1. Juno - For some reason, I find myself incredibly attracted to Ellen Page and I am interested in seeing the movie that was created by a blogger. It is a testament to what we all can accomplish if we put our minds to it.

2. I am Legend - I am a sucker for a good vampire or zombie movie and I am hoping that Big Willie Style will do me proud with this one. One man vs. a World of Vampires…Legendary.

3. Sweeney Todd - Can’t go wrong with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton unless you buy Sleepy Hollow of course.

4. There Will Be Blood - The title says it all.

5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- I have been a fan of Julian Schnabel’s ever since Basquiat and I am looking forward to seeing his latest.

6. AVP Requiem- I am hoping that Requiem can make up for AVP’s failure. I still can’t believe that AVP bombed, but it sucked. The First 5 Minutes of AVP Requiem looked excellent. Making a good AVP movie has a simple formula…

Aliens + Predators + Imperial Space Marines + 100 Million Dollar Budget = Best Sci Fi Movie ever.

7. No Country for Old Men - I heard it was good!

8. Dan in Real Life looks like a funny self-deprecating movie that a klutz like me would love. I can relate to Steve Carrell’s character in this film. “Just put it on my tab.”

9. Alvin and the Chipmunks - Chalk it up to Self Deprecation and an appreciation of Jason Lee.

10. 101 Dalmatians- Cruella Cruella Devile.

Those are the top ten dvd movies being released in April that I am super pumped up about. What movies are you all looking forward to? Send me a comment and let me know you care. I always love comments and they seem to have been on the downturn as of late. But then again I haven’t been blogging as much due to my health.

Freelance Writing Jobs

2008-03-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Having trouble finding a job in Freelance Writing? I understand your frustration. With all the scams on the internet it can be very difficult to find a job in Freelance and that is why I am going to share with you one of the websites that I use to find freelance writing jobs.

Get A Freelancer is the website that I most often use to freelance. Get a Freelancer focuses mainly on Technical and Technology writing positions but it does have a bit of copywriting as well. I write mostly SEO stuff on the side and this website has a lot of projects that would appeal to experienced bloggers and web-designers.

I hope that it is helpful. I was searching for jobs and I realized that this website might be useful to you as well so I decided that I should post the URL for you. Let me know if you have any good sites that you use to find freelance work.

Stars cry in ecstasy | Go Speedracer Go

2008-03-19T13:57:00.001-07:00

The Stars have a hard-on for Speedracer. Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci talk about 'Speed Racer' as theater owners get a sneak peek at ShoWest in Las Vegas. It's a live action movie, based on the 1960's animated TV series and directed by the Wachowski brothers of 'Matrix' fame.

I am looking forward to the film myself. I wasn’t a fan of Speedracer as a Kid. I think that you need Ritalin to fully enjoy the Speedracer Cartoon but I do like the look of the film. It looks like Mario Kart on Acid and that is never a bad thing.

Owen Wilson Returns to the Screen

2008-03-19T13:52:00.003-07:00

Here is a short video talking about Owen Wilson’s recent return to the screen. I am so glad to see Owen up and running again. I was one of the blogs who did not harp on his condition and I am glad to see that he is getting back in the business.

Owen Wilson is one of my favorite actors and I am very glad to see him doing well and getting back in the game. One of my favorite quotes from Batman Begins was:

“Why Do Fall”

“So that we can learn to pick ourselves back up.”

Welcome back Owen my man. It is good to have you back and I want you to know that we wish you the best of luck in your comeback.

Uncontrollable Hair Syndrome

2008-03-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a video blog that I made entitled Uncontrollable Hair Syndrome. This one is an outtake really. In the middle of shooting what I thought was going to be a hilarious video, I had a sharp pain to my head.

The inspiration to this post was a really cute blog post by Schlog that made itself popular on Google Trends. I don’t abuse the trends as often as I used to and I should probably get back to doing that more often.

Related Posts

Video Blog Directory

10 Ways to Make a Name for Yourself Blogging

2008-03-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

I read this post about people who give up on blogs. I want to dispute the fact that you can’t make a name for yourself in blogging overnight. I did it in a single weekend. On the weekend of the Vanessa Hudgen’s nude scandal, I not only became a B-List Blogger, I also became an SEO specialist. So, I wanted to show you some ways that you can make the chance of making a name for yourself in blogging overnight, less rare.

Ten Ways to Make a Name for Yourself Blogging

1. Abuse Google Trends whenever Possible.

2. Study SEO paying particular attention to keyword usage.

3. Create a Video Blog like this one. He’s most likely corporate but he’s got charisma and a professional opening. I am still working on supping up my video blogs. Right now they suck. My viral videos have done well but my video blogs are crap partially due to lack of experience and partially due to crappy equipment. My DV is in LA and my microphone is buried in a storage locker.

4. Create good viral videos. Viral Marketing is the only form of marketing that shows tangible results. For example: George Bush Tap-dancing earned about 4000 page-views which is a nice introduction to the Media Production Blog.

5. Become a content provider. Blogs that provide content like Movie Web or Reelz will rise to the top the pack the quickest. If you have a crappy-blogger blog like me, you have to work twice as hard to make it popular. Although there are a lot of advantages to having a blogger blog that is related to the second item on this list. Blogger blogs are actually very superior but are inferior in the layout.

6. If you know how to do something share that knowledge. Resource Blogging is among the most popular forms of blogging. If you can establish yourself as an expert in your field, you’re opinions and articles will become highly valued.

7. To a lesser extent, Blog Carnivals can be a great way to bring traffic to your blog and get high PR links. Plus the blog carnival community is amazing. I have never met nicer people.

8. Find new social networks early and become a regular contributor. The internet is extremely trendy and of if you jump on the social bandwagon early you can dominate that particular network. Look what Tila Tequila did on MySpace. She had no distinct talent beyond having the most friends on YouTube. Now she is a Star Personality with her own TV shows.

9. Master the Art of Public Relations. Hint: Last fall, rumors abounded that I was to appear on Oprah. I never went on Oprah but it did bring a lot of traffic. There is no level of Fame that you can’t achieve through good marketing and mostly PR.

10. Blog Dangerously.

Those were the strategies that I took towards making a name for myself blogging. I know that it is a small list and that there are probably more of them. Those are the 8 ways that I know to make the most noise on internet in order of effectiveness (for me). If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear your input.

Related Posts

Viral Marketing Tips

Blue Skelton’s Blogging School

My Blogging Advice

Videos that are really customized

2008-03-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Custom-made videos create exciting and so deer memorials. They want you to be able to relive every precious moment of your wedding day. Custom Made Video will create a customized, professionally edited video capturing everything from your vows, to the best man’s toast; from your first dance to the toss of the bouquet!

Custom videos do not have any borders, the only limits are your imagination. If it's free and endless- your movie will turn into sensation. It can be highly effective for business promotion. If you add your customized video, exploring your business to the 'about' section of your company's website, or instantly boost the personality of your website with a video spokesperson, you'll connect with your website viewers in a whole new way. This will create a unique catching impression of your website and your business presented within.

Video introduction is highly effective for advertisers, seeking high quality traffic to their website. They should just ensure their video is targeted at their highest converting demographic, and the promotion is on its way to success.

So as you can see, custom-made video production is laser-focused on you, your needs and ambitions. It stays with you at every stage of implementation, starting from your ideas and will, continuing with professional approach of skilled filmmakers to video shooting, editing, color correcting, mixing and scoring the piece, and finally, the main goal is your own impression, suggestions and thoughts about the video after the whole production process. All these steps are done just for one common aim: to ensure that the movie implements your vision with cutting-edge technology.

New Star Wars Clone Wars Poster

2008-03-15T14:15:00.001-07:00

Here is the Poster to Star Wars Clone Wars which came out a couple of days ago. It doesn’t look very exciting but I will leave that for all of you Jedi/Sith to Decide. I am a scorned super-fan so I have trouble making an unbiased judgment.

Truthfully, I don’t know why they are making a remake. The Clone Wars cartoon that was played on Cartoon Network was superior to the whole Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. The new star wars had 30 seconds of decent footage. The only scene that actually felt like Star Wars was at the end of the Prequel with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru staring at the Binary Suns holding Luke. The rest of Star Wars 1-3 was pure gratuitous, computer-generated dribble.

I still love Star Wars but I am ready for George to choose an apprentice and pass it on to people who have fresh vision. I am tired of the same old Star Wars plot. They reuse it in every story. Man goes to the dark side, then he is redeemed by a family member then he goes bad then he gets redeemed etc etc etc. into eternity.

The New Indiana Jones looks good so I am hoping that working with Spielberg will have a good influence on George and give us some of the amazing creativity that we saw from in the old days. I would do anything to feel the force, that Star Wars magic but I don’t think that this Clone Wars remake is going to do it. But nonetheless here is the new poster.

Blogging: Google’s Keyword Suggestion Tool is Your Best Friend

2008-03-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

Before I begin, I want to introduce to your best friend as a blogger. It's name is the Google Keyword Suggestion Tool. You should consult your best friend before every blog post either by entering your URL or the subject that your blog or blog article is about.

The Keyword Suggestion Tool will then give you a list of the most lucrative keywords for that subject/keyword and illustrate how much competition there is for the keywords. Later, I will illustrate how to incorporate these keywords into your blogs: title, post, headings, subheadings, and labels.

Move on to Lesson 2 in Blue Skelton’s Blogging School or return to the School’s homepage by clicking here

Chapter 27 Movie Trailer

2008-03-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the Movie Trailer for Chapter 27. It is actually the Japanese Trailer which makes even more special. My own life’s mythology is wrapped up around Beatles Music which is why I am so excited to see this film. Of course my own mythology is much different than that of Mark David Chapman’s.

While I love the Catcher in the Rye, I have never felt the desire to kill anyone. For me the music of the Beatles has provided a soundtrack to my life. Many important moments in my life coincide with various Beatle's songs. As for John flaking out, I grew up in an age where all celebrities sell out eventually so I don’t feel betrayed by them as Mark did.

And well let’s be honest, as interesting as the story that Chapter 27 tells, Mark David Chapman was a nut. He didn’t kill John Lennon because he was the "Catcher in the Rye" he killed John Lennon because he was crazy. Still this looks like an interesting film and I am looking forward to it. I am going to LA on business soon and I am hoping that my trip might coincide with the premiere but I have more research to do.

More Movie Trailers

Forbidden Kingdom Trailer

The Fall Movie Trailer

Righteous Kill Trailer

Film Production: New Entertainment Networking Site

2008-03-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone I found a great new site devoted to Entertainment Networking. It’s called www.entertainmentnetworkingevent.com. This is a really cool idea for a website. Here is what it is all about:

Every few months a group of Hollywood Professionals get together to socialize and network with their peers. There is no agenda really its just a party for people who work in Film Production to talk about the industry and have a good time.

These events look like a blast and I can't wait to get back to LA (health willing) if you would like more information about the events you can find out more on their website by clicking here.

The Forbidden Kingdom Movie Trailer

2008-03-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

I just watched the movie trailer for The Forbidden Kingdom and I cannot wait to see Jackie Chan fight Jet Li. Now I know who would win in real life but regardless these are two of the greatest Kung Fu stars of our time. I wish that I could have been alive during Bruce Lee’s time but he passed away shortly before I was born.

According to the IMDB, the Forbidden Kingdom is about: "An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China."

I have posted the Forbidden Kingdom Trailer for all of you to see. I cannot wait to see this film. The kid reminds me of the monk who is always hitting on the girls in Inuyasha for some reason. I don’t know why I said that. The Forbidden Kingdom will be in Theaters on April 18^th of 2008 and I know that I will be there.

More Movie Trailers

The Fall Movie Trailer

Righteous Kill Trailer

Turn the River Trailer

YouTube Promotion Tips for Your Blog

2008-03-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hi, its great to back and I have some great tips on how to use YouTube to promote your blog. YouTube is probably one of the best ways that I have found to promote a blog. I found this out because last week to make a few viral videos and I am proud to say that one of my videos was a smashing success.

After I finished the project, I made my own video for fun. It won 11 honors last week in Canada although it didn’t do nearly as well as the professional ones. But I didn’t have their video editing software either. MACS are nice computers let me tell you. I hope that I can have one some day.

If you would like to see my video of George Bush Tap-dancing please click here. Please don’t pay any attention to the politics as I was looking to make a viral video much more than to make a statement.

Anyways, I learned a lot about viral marketing and especially how to promote your blog on YouTube. I have some great tips on how to promote your blog with YouTube that can read below.

YouTube Promotion Tips for Your Blog

The more original, timely or unique that the content you upload into YouTube the more successful your blog and your YouTube profile will be.
Embed the URL of your blog in your YouTube Profile.
Keep your YouTube profile niche-specific. Don’t post a lot of random videos in one profile. Make one profile per niche per blog.
Keywords Matter! I have not completely mastered the art of top placement as fully on YouTube as I have for Google but I am working on it. I have hit the jackpot twice and struck out 6 times so far. But as I discover the secrets, I will let you know. Still you should be thinking about what people are searching for as you write the titles and the description to your videos.
Create a Symbiotic Partnership between your YouTube Profile and you Weblog. Use your Blog to drive up the video views on YouTube and your YouTube profile as a portal from YouTube back to your blog.
Create a professional looking MySpace and Facebook Page to work in tandem with your YouTube Profile.
Post your videos as responses to more popular videos and attempt to divert some of their traffic towards your video.
If you are intentionally attempting to create a viral video make sure you write (Original) next to your name or this guy will steal the video from you.
Video Converters are very useful for making YouTube Videos.
Save your video in a High Quality Format otherwise your video will end up looking like crap like this Speedracer Trailer.
Google Trends is a good source of topics.
Social Bookmark the Video.
If you are shaky on your videos performance give your video a 5 star rating with another account and then disable the ratings. At least that way people will click on the link and judge your video for themselves.
If you do make a successful viral video, make a sequel that plays of the first one. Sadly my Barack Obama Boogie did not do as well as George.
Try to find content that Bloggers would like to embed into their blogs. That’s a surefire way to get a bunch of views.
Have a look at this bookon viral marketing.

Well that is all that I could think of as of right now but as I practice more with viral marketing and YouTube video creation, I will share with you what I have learned. Until then you can check out some of my other Blogging Articles in the…

Blue Skelton School of Blogging.

Top Ten Operation MySpace Artists

2008-03-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

That was a YouTube video from Operation Myspace which according to IGN is a live concert that:“ MySpace, in cooperation with the Department of Defense's Armed Forces Entertainment and America Supports You program, have announced the launch of Operation MySpace, a landmark concert event designed to bring troops serving in Kuwait a taste of home via the wonder of live music.”

Here is a list of the top ten artists who are performing for Operation Myspace. There is a lot of sexy female artists on the ticket but I have attempted to be impartial.

Top Ten Operation MySpace Artists

1. Pussycat Dolls

2. Disturbed

3. Carlos Mencia

4. Jessica Simpson

5. Filter

I could only come up with five operation myspace artists, I apologize. You are welcome to reorder the list is you like. I would love to hear your opinions on who the top artists of Operation Myspace is. Operation Myspace, live from Kuwait City, Kuwait, will kick off at 2 pm EST today, and will be hosted by comedian Carlos Mencia.

Related Websites

Myspace

Youtube

Anamorph Movie Trailer

2008-03-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the movie trailer to Anamorph which is a new film starring one of my favorite actors Willem Dafoe who I haven’t seen since Boondock Saints. Normally I might find a film like this campy but Willem Dafoe brings so much to any picture that I am intrigued by this one.

According to the IMD, Anamorph is a about: “A psychological thriller based on the concept of anamorphosis, a painting technique that manipulates the laws of perspective to create two competing images on a single canvas.”

It has been a good day for movie trailers. This film kind of reinforces the movie trailer to Tarsem Singh’s The Fall which I posted earlier today. We don’t have a release date for Anamorph yet but I will let you know when it comes out. Check out some more trailers below.

More Movie Trailers

The Eye Trailer

Righteous Kill Trailer

Bio Slime Trailer

Turn the River Trailer

Starship Troopers 3 Trailer

Powerizers

2008-03-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

Powerizers are the latest fad and I think that it is very possible that they could lead to my death.I hope that you enjoyed this Youtube Video of the Powerizers and let me know what you think. I think I am going to get one. I will post video of me using it providing it that I survive. I have already ordered mine from Amazon.

According to TrendBlogging: “PoweriZers, the latest extreme sport, exclusively distributed in the UK by Elron Enterprises Ltd, allow you to run at incredible speeds, jump to incredible heights and do cool tricks that you never thought possible.”

The real reason that I am buying a Powerizer is that I might be able to increase my acrobatic skills even further with one of these. It might be a valuable stunt tool for my film, Ninja Kai.

Part of me feels like I am getting too old for this sort of nonsense. Another part of me says push my stunt-man capabilities to the max. What do you think? I once did a handstand over the Labrea Tar Pits dressed in a Sylvester Costume. Maybe I’ll reprise that infamous Hollywood Stunt by using a Powerizer next time.

Related Pages

The Further Misadventures of one Blue Skelton

The Fall Movie Trailer

2008-03-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

This is the official movie trailer for The Fall and I must say wowza. How did I miss this movie coming down the pipe. The Fall is the latest film from Tarsem Singh who also made The Cell. His latest work looks absolutely amazing. I have never seen anything like it.

I love movies that play with reality blending fiction and fact and The Fall looks to be an amazing film. According the IMDB, The Fall is about: In a hospital a little girl with a broken collar bone meets a bedridden man who starts telling her a fantastical story which reflects his state of mind. As time goes by fiction and reality start to intertwine in this uplifting epic fantasy.

The Fall is set for release March 28, 2007. And I hope that you enjoyed this movie trailer as much as I have.

Turn the River Movie Trailer

2008-03-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Here is the movie trailer to Turn the River. I have a confession to make and that is that I only want to see this movie because Jean Grey from the X-Men is in it. I am madly in love with Jean Grey. Well to be fair I am in love with all the X-Girls that are above the age of 18.

According to the IMDB, Turn the River is about: A pool shark (Janssen) takes the ultimate gamble when she kidnaps her own son and flees her ex-husband.

More Movie Trailers

Sleepwalking Trailer

Lingerie Football League

2008-03-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here is some video from the Lingerie Football League that everyone is abuzz about. I watched some recently and I have to say that it was awesome. This is the only thing better than watching girls play football in G-Strings.

The LFL began as a gimmick for a PPV show during the Lingerie Bowl halftime a few years back. Not surprisingly the league was popular and kept on going. The went from 2 teams to 4 to now 8 teams after expanding this year.

Lingerie Football League Teams

Atlanta Steam
Chicago Bliss
Dallas Desire
Las Vegas Sin
Miami Caliente
Los Angeles Temptation
New York Euphoria
Phoenix Scorch
San Diego Seduction
Tampa Breeze

I hope that you enjoyed the video from the new Lingerie Football League as much as I did. If you wouldn’t mind social bookmarking it that would be great. If not no big deal either as long as you enjoyed the video.

Related Pages

Jessica Alba Shower Scene

Can Postal Bring Down Indiana Jones

2008-03-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

The new movie Postal is going to attempt to bring down Indiana Jones at the box office. Uwe Boll’s film which is being touted as the most outrageous movie that will come out this year has scheduled its North American release for Friday, May 23rd The same day as the Indiana Jones will embark on his final adventure (at least in my opinion). The Indiana Jones Trailer looked bloody brilliant.

The Postal Trailer looked excellent as well and it is nice to see the film come to the states after a year of touring film festivals and battling legal challenges over the films freedom to express itself. Postal’s opening scene is controversial if not scandalous but that is what the film is aiming for from my guess. The opening scene which was watched by nearly two million people on YouTube features a controversial 9/11 scene.

Some people have said the movie goes too far but I think that it’s just over the top. There shouldn’t be limits to our freedom of speech anyways with the possible exception of those serial killer type movies. Those are a bit disgusting; if you ask me, and I do not understand society’s fascination with killers.

I have to give Postal balls for taking on Indiana Jones. That sounds like box office suicide to me but where other movies shy away from a fight, Postal is going straight for the Knockout Punch. So you better watch out Dr. Jones! No Time for Love.

Postal Director/Producer Uwe Boll weighed in on his upcoming bout with Hollywood Heavyweights, Spielberg and Lucas:

"It's also a duel of two directors,” Uwe Boll says in his typical never-hold-back manner. “Spielberg gets sloppy. We saw that with WAR OF THE WORLDS and also in parts of JAWS, E.T. and MUNICH. My cameo in POSTAL as a Nazi Theme Park Owner easily outdoes Ben Kingsley performance in SCHINDLER’S LIST!"

Now if anyone from either the Spielberg or Lucas camp is reading this I want you know that I am just repeating what he said. Don’t shoot the messenger.

POSTAL Director/Producer Uwe Boll also had this to say about his film’s competition:

"On the INDIANA JONES weekend - May 23 - we will go out and destroy INDIANA JONES in the box office! We all know that Harrison Ford is older then my grandpa and his time is up – as Michael Moore would say!"

If you would like to see some photos and trailers for the film you can check out The Movie Set below. They have a lot of cool Postal Stuff there for you!

Fight Choreography: How Karate Works

2008-03-08T14:52:00.002-08:00

This is a video showing how karate works just in case you need a little bit of help when you are choreographing your next fight film. It’s brought to us by the How Things Work guy who was featured on Oprah. I think he’s pretty awesome. This video is pretty silly so I posted another video below that shows how Karate really works.

Fight Choreography is possibly one of the most difficult aspects of film production in my opinion. This summer I am going to do some fight choreography for my movie Ninja Kai and I am not looking forward to twirling a heavy piece of metal attached to a chain around my head. It has been 2 years since I have actively engaged in Martial Arts so this is going to be a fun experience. Here is that video of one of my favorite fight scenes of all time.

That was some excellent fight choreography and special effects from one of my favorite films Kung Fu Hustle by Stephen Chow.

Righteous Kill Movie Trailer

2008-03-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

This is the movie trailer for a movie that I am really looking forward to…Righteous Kill. The movie is a monumentuous occasion for Hollywood and fans of both Al Pacino and Robert Deniro. It might be the first time they have appeared together in a film since the Godfather.

They both starred in the excellent movie Heat but I don’t believe that they were ever actually on screen together. According to the IMDB: Righteous Kill is about Two Veteran New York City Detectives hunt a vigilante who may be one of their own. The film is in post production and is scheduled for release in September of 2008.

Righteous Kill has the potential to be a Righteous Movie

The Barack Obama Boogie

2008-03-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

Watch Barack Obama Boogie as he knocks the crap out of Hilary Clinton, John McCain and the whole God Damned Republican Party. This interesting video of Barack is the next chapter in the ongoing case study of George Bush the Tap Dancing President. Fried Features has responded with The Barack Boogie.

Before you start all the hate speech, you should read the case study, so you realize that I am not making a political statement here. I have caught a viral video out of the gates and I am studying it to improve my viral marketing skills.

Their George Bush Tap Dancing Video won honors in Canada and now we have the follow up video: The Barack Boogie. As soon as I get the data analyzed from this latest experiment, I will let you know.

I am Proud of this one Please Bookmark it!

What Do I do With My HD DVD Player

2008-03-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

Blu-Ray has won the DVD Wars and now HD DVD has gone the way of the Beta tape. Its sad to see a higher quality machine fail because one corporate conglomerate is stronger than the other. Here is a video giving some advice about what to do with your HD DVD.

But that is the way of the world. Everything in the world whether you are Youtubing, Blogging, or creating new DVD Products. The advice in this video was pretty boring. Do you have any more exciting advice to offer people trying to figure out what to do with their obsolete technology? At this point, I don’t think you could trade an HD DVD player for Crack. I am probably wrong on this point but it was a fun thing to say.

Jessica Alba Photos from The Eye Promotion

2008-03-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of Jessica Alba as she promoted her movie "The Eye." Let me tell you folks this girl looked good even prego. She is still the most beautiful celebrity in Hollywood of that I have no doubt. These photos are free for you use to embed into your site by clicking the embed button on the viewer but they are for US Syndication only so if you are outside the US hands off lol.

Related Pages

Jessica Alba Interview

The Eye Movie Trailer

Jessica Alba Shower Scene

Photos from the Sleepwalking Screening

2008-03-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from Overtures screening of their new film Sleepwalking. The screening was held at the Directors Guild of America on March 6. The event was attended by Adult film star Jenna Jameson (R) and ultimate fighter Tito Ortiz arrive at Overture Films' screening of "Sleepwalking" held at the Director's Guild of America on March 6, 2008 in Hollywood, California.

I hope that you enjoyed these photos from the Screening of Sleepwalking. It has been awhile since I posted any pictures from screenings and I have decided to make a better effort towards posting them.

Related Pages

Sleepwalking Trailer

Video of Charlize Theron from the Premiere

Viral Video Case Study George Bush Tap Dancing

2008-03-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

This is a case study of what I learned from the George Bush Dancing video. It definitely went viral although I don’t think that it will remain that way. Still it was nice to see it go viral so I could watch the process of viral marketing at work. The YouTube numbers are inaccurate because YouTube went down last night right after the video was uploaded. What we do know is that it in Canada it was the:

#5 - Most Discussed (Today) - News & Politics - Canada

#30 - Most Viewed (Today) - Canada

#2 - Most Viewed (Today) - News & Politics - Canada

#73 - Most Viewed (Today) - News & Politics

#8 - Most Viewed (This Week) - News & Politics - Canada

#5 - Top Favorites (Today) - News & Politics - Canada

#3 - Top Rated (Today) - News & Politics -- Canada

#20 - Top Rated (This Week) - News & Politics - Canada

Here are some of the tips and tactics I learned from watching the video. Not all of them are ethical and I wouldn’t use many of them but as I promised that I would be honest and tell you all everything so here we go.

Viral Video Tips and Tactics

1. Steal a possible viral video using a video converter early in the process and write the word “Original” next to it. This guy got all the credit for the videos when in fact all he did was rip off the video. It goes to show that: “There is no honor among thieves.” The creator of the video stole video from the Associated Press and Ripe Videos then stole his glory.

This was the most interesting portion of this experiment. I was surprised to see that there are entire groups of people out there making their living stealing viral and possible viral videos. Not a bad idea if you have the programming skills to make such a website and the server space.

You can combat this tactic by using duel You Tube Accounts. First post one Video with a Title and then about Ten Minutes Later... Post the same video on your duel account with (Original) after the same title.

2. Don’t ever use the words remix in your description unless you are remixing a popular video. Some glory hound will come along and write original next to it and steal your glory.

3. Save your video in a high quality format. This video was too choppy and pixilated. I had the same problem from time to time. My last video blog was ruined because I saved it in a lower quality.

4. Post your video as a response to related or high traffic video in an effort to divert some traffic and gain exposure.

5. Social Bookmark the Video

6. Ask your friends to embed the video in your blogs. The more people who watch the thing the more likely it will go viral.

7. After you get one hit make another video that plays off of the same theme like the sequel to George Bush Tapdancing: The Barack Obama Boogie

8. The AP is a good source of raw video that is fresh and has news buzz. I traced this video back to the source and found it at the AP site on YouTube. Now I personally would never recommend ripping off the AP as that is a bad idea. But this person did it successfully.

This has been a fascinating case study and I have enjoyed my glimpse into the world of Viral Video Marketing. Ultimately, I think that this video is going to die off due to the timeliness of the content matter and the poor quality of the video. But we will see. I will keep watch on both the original video and the rip-off. You can see the video that inspired this case study by clicking here.

George Bush Tap Dancing

2008-03-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a viral video of George Bush Tap Dancing. I usually don’t post funny videos but I had to in this case. I came across this video on YouTube of George Bush Tap Dancing. This is the funniest thing that I have seen in an awhile. Not only can he President with Dignitude, he can also dance. The part with the soldiers was a bit much though. My best friend served in Iraq so I am a little offended by that but other than that I thought it was hilarious.

I have to say that I am going to miss George W. Bush. He has been incredibly amusing despite his incredible incompetence. Unfortunately all of the Candidates running now are pretty dull. Obama is the only one with any charisma but I don’t expect that I would be as entertained by him as I am of George. Obama can probably dance better than George Bush though. We know he’d make a better president.

McCain did sing that lovely rendition of Bomb Bomb Bomb…Iran but that wasn’t as good as George Bush Tapdancing.

The Barack Obama Boogie

George Bush Tap Dancing Viral Video Case Study

I am Proud of this one Please Bookmark it!

Media Producers Carnival

2008-03-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well our Third Edition of our Carnival for Media Producers. It has been a smashing success with a bunch of high quality submissions. For fun, I think that we will start over Carnival for Media Producers off with a bit of Copywriting Tips since I will be starting a new Technical Writing Project soon and I had better be brushing up on my Copywriting. We do want to apologize for the late Carnival. I was in the hospital and then my CPU fried. What can you do except moan and groan right and go on with the carnival…

Copyrighting Carnival

Carol Bentley presents us Yesterdays blog-post was completely off-track posted at Carol Bentley. I have had those days myself. I had a very successful first day back however. I wrote an article on Anna Wilding’s new film that got a lot of attention. Still Carol gives us a great post on how to keep your blog post on topic which is very important these days. I miss the days when you could just ramble off topic about whatever you liked. But blogging has moved on and you should definitely listen to Carol.

Jimmy Sansi wrote a great post on article marketing called Grow Your List Of Publishers posted at The Kaizen Business. I need to do more article marketing myself. I have not integrated that into my Link Building Strategy as of yet. I need to.

Michel Fortin talks about a New Copywriting Software that is taking Flight posted at The Michel Fortin Blog. If you are in need of some new software solutions you might check out this interesting software.

Marketing Carnival

I thought that we would begin our Marketing Carnival with some inspiration from Steve Oliphant who presents Stop Gambling with Your Future and Start Making Money posted at Steve Oliphant's Musings. It’s a nice article if you need a pick me up on the way to fame and fortune.

Next we get an interesting post from Anna Farmery who asked us Are you a S.O.B? .....No, I mean a Social Object Brand! posted at The Engaging Brand. Well I have been called worse, I assure you of that much. But that’s okay, we are glad to have Anna Farmery on the Carnival.

Rebecca Suzanne Dean didn’t call us an SOB but she did tell us to Stop Thinking. Begin Testing! at Rebecca Dean. Little does she know that very little thought actually goes into what we do here.

Maybe it would help if we use Joshua C. Karlin’s New Productivity Tool posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Who Knows maybe we will listen to Mark Riffey who explains Why, even now, your business should have a toll-free number posted at Business is Personal.

We will definitely check out Jose DeJesus MD presents Technology - Renaming All those Files Your Camera Makes posted at Physician Entrepreneur. I can’t tell you how much time I spend renaming picture files and it would be nice to have some software that does it for us.

Kenton Newby gives us Five Reasons to Upgrade to the New Version of Camtasia - and Three Features That Seem to Be Missing posted at KentonNewby.com. My camera has crappy audio so at this point Windows Movie Maker is good enough for me but if you are looking for audio production software you might check this out. I use to use cakewalk but once I begin real work I have top of line software via my college.

Film Production Carnival

The next couple of articles were featured in our Film Junkie Carnival which is why I put near the bottom of the media producer’s carnival. Robert Phillips presents Are DVD Info Products Profitable? posted at How to Create a DVD without Spending a Dime and SarahSpy gives a funny glimpse at the new Smurf’s Film with But more importantly, what'll Smurfette's boobs look like in 3D? posted at SARAHSPY.

Well, that concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of a media production carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a media production carnival, blog carnival.

Where are the Film Junkies

2008-03-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

We have a tiny Carnival for Film Junkies this Week. We had 8 submissions but a most of them were about diets and mortgages. I really wish that people wouldn’t submit articles that obviously have nothing to do with film. It is a waste of both our time. My Media Production Carnival is gargantuan but we had to go with quality over quantity for film and film production this week.

We had some great submissions from some of my favorite bloggers so I can’t complain. I organized them alphabetically because I can’t choose between 3 of my favorite contributors.

Movie Carnival

Tamika Murray returns to the Production Blog with Growing Up Is Hard To Do In The Adventures Of Sebastian Cole. Tamika runs PJSandAMovie which is one of our favorite blogs to visit on a Friday night before we settle into our PJ’s and watch movies from Netflix.

Then our favorite Superblogger, Christina M Rau returns with Jump Your Lover posted at Livin' The Dream (One Loser At A Time). Last week she gave me some good advice on how I should have got the love of my life to marry me. Too bad I didn’t ask her advice beforehand. I hope your doing great Christina, I have been meaning to stop by your blog but I have been ill and my computer went out so now I am struggling to catch up.

Robert Phillips presents Are DVD Info Products Profitable? posted at How to Create a DVD without Spending a Dime. We are building up a collection of his great articles for future use when we get ready to distribute Ninja Kai.

I saved Sarah Spy for last because you would not have been able to stand up after her post. Sarah presents But more importantly, what'll Smurfette's boobs look like in 3D? posted at SARAHSPY. This was one of the best titles to a blog post that I have heard in quite some time and she gives us some footage from the upcoming Smurfs Movie.

That concludes this edition. I’m not sure what happened to all the contributors. Maybe they jumped ship and went over to my Media Production Carnival. But we were very grateful to have our lucky ladies Submit your blog article to the next edition of a carnival for film junkies by using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a carnival for film junkies, blog carnival.

Buddha Wild Monk in a Hut Rocks out NYC

2008-03-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

I am very happy to announce that one of my new good friends, Anna Wilding is screening her movie, “Buddha Wild Monk in a Hut” in New York, City on the 19^th of March. Anna is an accomplished actress who not only wrote the film, she also produced and directed it as well. I am very proud to be able to feature her film on the Production Blog.

Buddha Wild Monk in a Hut has been all the rage at the film fests and is one of 65 films to be accepted into the Kids FIRST Film Festival sponsored by the American Coalition for Quality Children’s Media. The group evaluates and rates the best movies available for children and young adults and it is backed by HBO, Fox, Paramount Vantage plus many more.

The film was also selected for the International Festival of Films on Tribal Art and Cultures held in India and screened at the SAG Foundation Screening Series, the Calgary Buddhist film series and many others.

As a Buddhist, it is nice to see a movie like this making such a rage. It looks like a lot of fun and I wish that I could attend the special screening being held at the Tibet House. We have more details from the film below.

The film gives us a glimpse into the cultural and monastic lives of missionary monks. It provides a mixture of both seriousness and humor that I see both in myself and the monks who are kind enough to teach me here in Kansas. Plus, a little bit of humor goes a long way in adding dramatic effect. Buddha Wild takes us on an exploration of the tenets of Buddhism, celibacy, politics, the role of women in Asian society as well as the everyday goings on of the monks.

Tickets to Buddha Wild at the Tibet House are 20.00 and can be purchased on line at www.tibethouse.org. Just to remind you the event takes place March 19^th so hurry and get your tickets. And I have a special treat for all of you: Anna Wilding herself will be giving a Q and A following the screening of Buddha Wild. I know I have a lot of NYC Film fans in my audience and I have a special favor to ask of all of you. Go see this movie and then come back and tell me everything about it.

I hope that you all get a chance to enjoy this marquee film from Carpe Diem Films and we want to thank Carpe Diem Films for the lovely pictures that accompanied this post. The pictures belong to them, so no stealing without permission kids. And we are also thankful for being introduced us to this intriguing film. I cannot wait to see it. If you are like me and can’t wait to see it either the film is available for purchase on Amazon by clicking here or you can also purchase it via the movies website at www.buddawild.com.

Related Pages:

Buddha Wild Movie Trailer

Video Blog: Regarding Starship Troopers 3

2008-03-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is my video blog where I talk about my disdain for the Trilogy of B-Rated crap called Starship Troopers 3. The book is one of the best War Novels of my time and Robert Heinlein one of my favorite authors. It is a shame that they have to disgrace him so terribly. As you can tell I do not have much regard for Starship Troopers.

For those of you who are actually interested in Starship Troopers 3 I have the movie trailer for you below and here is a plot synopsis from the IMDB: The war against the Bugs continues! A Federation starship crash-lands on the distant alien planet OM-1, stranding beloved leader Sky Marshal Anoke and several others, including comely but tough pilot Lola Beck. It's up to Colonel Johnny Rico, reluctant hero of the original Bug Invasion on Planet P, to lead a team of Troopers on a daring rescue mission. – Related Titles

Related Pages

Starship Troopers Movie Trailer

Bio Slime Movie Trailer

2008-03-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the trailer to the upcoming movie Bio Slime starring a bunch of people that I have never heard of. However Bio Slime looks like it could make for a good guilty pleasure and I am intrigued by the trailer.

According to the IMDB, Bio Slime is about: Seven misfits are trapped by a flesh eating slime creature. And no TV! Trapped in a room with only one door and no windows. Their cell phones do not work and no one outside of the building can hear their calls for help. The group of seven people is under siege as the shape shifting creature tries to seep inside. They are picked off one by one until it is obvious that they cannot out wait this predator. – Related Titles

More Movie Trailers

Starship Troopers 3

My Response to Starship Troopers 3

Status

2008-03-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I am extremely ill at the moment and without a computer. We will be back online tomorrow afternoon or monday at the latest. I apologize for the inconvenience and I promise all my pr people that I will type up more posts as well as post the blog carnivals

SEO Blog 1: Link Strategies

2008-02-27T22:59:00.000-08:00

When people think about Search Engine Optimization most people are only concerned with the number of high-ranking inbound links to their blog or website. But who you link to, is as important as who links to you. Find a few high ranking websites that are connected to your keywords.

The best means of accomplishing this is by creating a resource out of your sidebar links. If not you might just be giving links to the competition. However if you create a series of links that are useful to your audience. The reader will be more likely to view your blog as a resource rather than a doorway to somewhere else.

So as you develop your link strategies, it is important to link to a few high-ranking sites for your keywords. This helps Google know where to group you in the search engines. At least in my own limited experience linking to related blogs and websites is very beneficial. I have made it an important part of both my SEO and my Link Building Strategy.

Recommended SEO Resource: SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

Related SEO Blog Posts

Biggest List of Blog Directories Ever Created

Link-Building via Search Engine Submissions

Blue Skelton’s Blogging School

Starship Troopers 3 Marauders Movie Trailer

2008-02-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

I just saw the movie trailer for Starship Troopers 3 Marauders Movie Trailer. Robert Heinlein just rolled over in his grave for a Third Time. I swear to Christ I am going to punch someone if they don’t stop making Starship Troopers movies. I admit that I cried at the first film but I had also been hitting the gravity bong before the show. The Starship Troopers Movies are cheese-ball imitations of a gritty and hardcore book. I am sick of it.

The war against the Bugs continues! A Federation starship crash-lands on the distant alien planet OM-1, stranding beloved leader Sky Marshal Anoke and several others, including comely but tough pilot Lola Beck. It's up to Colonel Johnny Rico, reluctant hero of the original Bug Invasion on Planet P, to lead a team of troopers on a daring rescue mission.

Related Pages

My Video Response to Starship Troopers 3 Marauders

Production Blog Promotion February

2008-02-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have done a Production Blog promotion so I thought that it was about time to do one. For those of you who don’t already know, I am a huge fan of Production Blogs for movies and TV shows. I totally love them. Any film student should check out production diaries and the like. So here are my top 10 favorite production blogs this month.

Top Ten Production Blogs

Well that wraps up our Production Blog Promotion for February 2008. We found a great list this time and I hope that you will check out some of these great blogs. The Watchmen and Fundy My Short Production Blogs are two of my favorites and I hope that you will check them out.

The Production Blog’s Oscar Coverage

2008-02-25T00:30:00.001-08:00

Hey, I didn’t forget the Oscars. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about the Oscars this year but that does not mean that I would not have coverage of it. Check out what Viggo, Casey and Sid Ganis had to say about the Ceremony. No matter what I hope you enjoyed the Production Blogs Oscar Coverage. Sorry I couldn’t do more but I am prepping for a doc’s appointment tomorrow.

The Eye Movie Trailer

2008-02-25T00:29:00.001-08:00

Here is the movie trailer for Jessica Alba's new film The Eye. I am posting this trailer to supplement my new post showing pictures of Jessica at a promotional event and also the naked shower scene video that I have. Both of which, you can see below.

According to the IMDB, The Eye is about: Sydney, a young, blind violinist is given the chance to see for the first time since childhood through a miraculous corneal transplant. As Sydney adjusts to a dizzying new world of colors and shapes, she is haunted by frightening visions of death itself capturing the doomed and dragging them away from the world of the living. Terrorized and on the brink of insanity.

I hope that you enjoyed this movie trailer from The Eye if you would like to see Jessica Alba's shower scene or some photos she did for a promotional event I have them for you below.

Related Pages

Jessica Alba Shower Scene

Jessica Alba Eye Promo Photos

Jessica Alba Eye Interview

Blue Skelton’s Blogging School

2008-02-25T00:17:00.001-08:00

Hello and welcome to Blue Skelton’s School of Blogging. I know that this blog is primarily focused on Film, but I wanted to share with all of you what has made me so successful. This is a step by step guide on how to be successful blogging. I am not going to BS you with flowery language and false hopes either.

In my School for Blogging, I am going to tell it to you straight. Steve Pavlina says that 99/100 blogs will fail but I would guess that it is more like 999/1000. The truth is that blogging is a lot of fun. If you want to make a living blogging however, it is extremely hard work. Your changes of making it blogging are about as good as Columbus’s were of discovering the new world. And its about as easy as the contortionist stunt featured in my School Graphic Above.

"Blogging is a lot like contortionism actually. You have to bend yourself in painful ways to conform to a mold that will lead you to success. And as fun and fulfilling as a successful blogging career can be it is very painful getting there and it requires a lot of flexibility. So stretch your muscles and post often and most importantly pay attention to everything.

With my Blogging School, I cannot promise you success. All I can promise you is this: I will teach you everything that has made me successful as a blogger."

Blog Pre Production

Prologue: Google's Keyword Suggestion Tool is Your Best Friend

Lesson One: Decide What Your Blog is About (Keyword Tips)

Lesson Two: Choose a Host for Your Blog

Lesson Three: Create a Blog

Lesson Four: Link to the Right People

Lesson Five: Submit your Blog to the Major Search Engines.

Lesson Six: Submit to High Ranked/Non Reciprocal Blog Directories

Lesson Seven: Monetize Your Blog

Lesson Eight: Optimize Your Blog

Lesson Nine: Build Links

Blog Posting

Lesson One: Incorporate Graphic Design into your Blog and Posts

Lesson Two: Embed Video into Your Blog

Blog Promotion

Lesson One: Promote Your Blog With Youtube

Lesson Two: 10 Ways to Make a Name for Yourself Blogging

Blogging School Wrap-Up:

Thank you for attending my class. I hope that I was helpful to you. I have a lot more to add to this school and I will be hyperlinking all the blank text as I get it written. But I wanted to get this post out there before anyone else created a blogging school. So come back to class daily and I look forward to seeing you there.

Related Blogging Pages

Follow My Blog Advice

Media Production Tips and Tricks

Star Trek JJ Abrams Interview

2008-02-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

Here is an interview that JJ Abrams did about his new Star Trek Film. I saw the Star Trek Trailer ahead of his Godjira Flick and I thought that it looked amazing. And all tomfoolery aside…Cloverfield was the best monster film in 20 years.

Blogging: Search Engine Submission

2008-02-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

One of the first things you should do after getting your blog set up is to submit the URL to all of the major search engines. Being listed by the search engines is crucial to your sites success so you should work towards getting indexed as soon as possible.

One of the best ways to find search engines to submit your URL to is by clicking Search Engine Submit into Google. But I have placed the links to the major Search Engines Below as well as links to large lists of smaller search engines.

Note: You shouldn’t submit your URL to the search engine more than once ever six months. The Engines do not appreciate spam submissions and they could possibly penalize you for harassing them.

1. Google Search Engine Submission

2. Yahoo Search Engine Submission

3. MSN Search Engine Submission

4. DMOZ Submission

Search Engine Submission Services

There are a lot of services out there who will charge you to submit your URL to various search engines. Save your money. The only search engine that you should consider paying for inclusion to is Yahoo. I have heard that it isn’t a bad idea to bribe someone at the DMOZ for inclusion but good luck on that.

Free Search Engine Submission

Here are a few sites in which you submit your URL to several search engines at one time. I am not sure if they are worth your time but then again it is a good idea to get listed by as many good search engines as possible. Just remember there are a whole bunch of engines out there that Google considers to be bad neighborhoods. So make sure that the search engine has been around for awhile and has page-rank. Research is an important part of blogging and life.

You can find out if a website has page-rank by downloading the Google Toolbar. Don’t worry about them tracking you. All the major engines track your movement so you might as well reap the benefits from it.

Those are a couple of sites that I submitted to early one. But I really think that if you become successful on one of the major search engines that the little ones will eventually want to index you themselves. I am indexed by search engines that I have never even heard of let alone submitted to.

Related Search Engine Pages

The Biggest List of Blog Directories Ever Created

Media Production Tips and Tricks

Sleepwalking Movie Trailer

2008-02-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

Here is the movie trailer for the movie Sleepwalking starring the lovely Charlize Theron. I posted this trailer because I just posted some great photos from the screening of Sleepwalking that Happened Today. If you would like to see those pictures we have them for you right here. If not you can check below for more horror trailers.

Related Pages

Photos from the Sleepwalking Screening

Video of Charlize Theron at the Sleepwalking Premiere

Blogging: What is Your Blog About?

2008-02-24T22:14:00.000-08:00

"When I started blogging, I just jumped right in without any forethought and this has hurt me in a couple places despite the success of my blog. Had I shown more forethought, I could have planned things out better and potentially have made my blog even more successful."

Example: the first mistake that I made was the URL. I should have included more relevant keywords in my URL. I started this out as a personal blog and then before I knew it I had optimized for film and media production. I wish that I would have done my URL differently but that is okay because there are ways around it.

This brings me to the first step of blogging. The first thing that you should do (after deciding to create a blog) is to decide what you want to blog about. To do that: you must first decide whether you want to have a personal blog and blog about your life/whatever; or a commercial (niche) blog in which you blog about something for the purpose of making money.

If you would like to create a commercial blog, then I recommend that you spend some time planning before you jump right into blogging. I have tips for personal blogs further into the post, but I wanted to start with the topic of commercial blogs because they require more thought and planning.

Commercial Blogs

Choose a niche
Find related keywords for that niche
Cleverly incorporate your main keyword into your blog’s url.
Create description(s) for your blog incorporating your main keyword and a few related sub-keywords.
Create your USP and unleash it

1. Choosing a Niche for your Blog

This sounds easy but it is not. One of the hardest parts about choosing a niche is deciding how specific of a niche you would like to write about. There are pitfalls and benefits to both specific and large niches.

Large Niches

A large niche has a wider rang of possible subject matter but there is also a lot greater chance that you will languish in obscurity. The larger niches have a lot more competition than the smaller ones. Niches like gadgetry may be all but impossible to be successful in. Here is a bit of my experience on the matter:

I chose to write about media production (even though it’s highly competitive) because that is what I want to do for a living. Blogging about Media and Film Production afforded me the ability to write about the subject matter that I am studying and thus kill two birds with one stone.

Perez Skelton

Early on in my blog, I was optimized for Vanessa Hudgens and Britney Spears. Had I wanted to write paparazzi crap for the rest of my life, I could have earned a very comfortable living rather than slaving away for blogging minimum wage. Keep in mind that a blogger who makes minimum wage is a successful blogger. Most bloggers are make enough to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks if they are lucky (I am quoting someone here possibly Darren Rowse). I actually make a rudimentary living at it.

Despite cornering the market on Vanessa and Britney, I just couldn’t live with turning my blog pink and becoming Blue “Perez” Skelton. It worked for Perez and I am not dogging him. He is a blogger millionaire and he deserves all of his success.

So rather than make my blog more niche-specific, I chose to write about media production. That way, I could learn about the industry that I want to become a part of while earning money blogging. I make money by sharing with all of you what I know and have learned. You hopefully get something worthwhile from reading my blog. I have found that instructional or extremely funny blogs do extremely well in the blogosphere. I am not sure that I have achieved either quality but I am hoping to at least be mildly helpful by sharing my knowledge.

Small Niches

The main drawback of choosing a smaller niche is that your target audience is smaller. It may take you longer to develop a large audience for your blog. However, it does enable you to make contacts with other people in your niche. Plus, smaller niches are very conducive towards attracting a devoted and loyal audience. This is key to your blog’s success.

One of the key problems of my blog is that I am very inconsistent in my blogs subject matter. Some people come for film production resources, others behind the scenes footage, others for movie trailers, others for blogging advice, others for my occasional fun stunt and most are still remnants from my paparazzi days. Each visitor is only interested in one thing and they leave if they don’t find what they want.

I have really great friends and readers and so I have developed a loyal following. But my one-time user number is larger because I have an extremely broad-niche rather than having a smaller niche like film production or diy filmmaking.

If you do choose a smaller niche then it becomes increasingly more important that you branch out and network with other people in that niche whether through email or blog carnivals. Smaller Niches often have greater earning potential if you can believe it. This is especially true if they are presented in a way that is different than the rest of the blogs out there. WOOT is a good example of a unique blog a very specific niche (gadgets).

2. Find Keywords for Your Blog

After you have decided the subject matter for your blog, you should go to Google’s Keyword Tool and type the subject keyword that most fits your intended subject into the suggestion box.

3. Incorporate Your Primary Keyword into your URL:

Find a high paying keyword and incorporate it into your URL somehow. Example: Movie Marketing Madness = keywords, movie and marketing.

There has been some argument about whether it is important to include your keywords in the URL but in my experience, it is essential. Hyphenating the words is sometimes a trick used as well, example: www.indiana-jones-trailer.blogspot.com.

4. Find related Keywords for your Blog Description and Early Posts

After you have a URL in place: type the URL of your site into the website analyzer of the keyword suggestion tool and pick out some related keywords for your blog (the more desired the better). Incorporate those into your blog description and early blog posts.

5. Create Your USP and Unleash It

USP is a marketing term for Unique Selling Proposition and it basically stands for what sets your product (a blog in this case) apart from all of the others.

Think of M&M’s slogan “Melts in Your Mouth not in Your Hands” That was their unique selling proposition. Their chocolate doesn’t melt on your hands while other brands do.

Next I highly recommend you spend a little bit of time thinking about your target audience and you are going to market your blog to them. Think of how you can do things differently than the other bloggers. For instance my MO is to create large lists of resources to present my readers that build upon each other. I feel that is my one true contribution to the blogosphere. I have pushed the limits of resource blogging. A lot of people do it better but I was the front runner over the past few months with my DIY Film Equipment, my Media Production Tips and many others.

Once you find a way to be different from your competition, then it comes time to market those differences. Find a way to dazzle your readers with something they haven’t seen before. I try to use Microsoft Paint and Photoshop to make my own personal graphics.

Your other choice is to just do everything better than your competition and improve upon things that they lacking. Both methods work well but coming up with something new and awesome is surest way towards success. Once you have created your USP then you need to…

Personal Blogs

Personal Blogs are much harder to make money off of, unless you are a former Star Trek Actor (Will Wheaton, he’s great) or a Sex Blogger (girl who wrote the movie Juno) or some guy writing about his sex change operation.

However, many people write blogs for fun and fellowship. If this is the case then you don’t really need to do much planning beforehand. Just make your blog the way you want it.

However if you are blogging for fame and fortune, I recommend a lot of planning as to what you want your title to be. My personal weblog is This Wasted Monologue which is something I can optimize and still write whatever I want without being constrained to keywords. It is just a blog that I write bad fiction on to relax. I have fiction that I have worked hard on but TWM is more for relaxation purposes when the Media Production Blog and Life gets too heavy.

If you are going to try and monetize a personal blog, I recommend trying to use at least one keyword (cleverly) in the title of your blog and then optimize for that keyword similar to the way I optimized the word monologue.

What is Your Blog About Wrap-up:

Well that wraps up our first class of the Blue Skelton School of Blogging. I am starting my Blogging School as a means to share with all of you what has made me one of the top Media Production Blogs on the internet. Blogging is a simple process than anyone can follow as long as they know how it works. As I write more posts for my Blogging School I will link to them here. In the meantime: I have some media production tips and tricks that you can read below.

Blog School Related Posts

Media Production Tips and Resources

Movie Prop: Build Your Own Space Helmet

2008-02-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a great and funny video on how to build your own space helmet which is a follow up from our post below where Indy Mogul shows us how to build our own space suit. I tell you that I never get tired of watching Indy Mogul videos and I almost with that they made more per week.

Related Posts

Build You Own Space Suit

Blue Skelton’s DIY Film School

Charlize Theron Sleepwalking Video

2008-02-24T17:04:00.001-08:00

Here is a video of Charlize Theron Sleepwalking. She looks gorgeous even when she is asleep. Just kidding she attending the premiere of her new film Sleepwalking. I have the movie trailer and pictures from the premier as well if you would like to check them out.

Related Pages

Sleepwalking Photos

Sleepwalking Trailer

Movie Prop: Build Your Own Space Suit

2008-02-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest my video from my good friends over at Indy Mogul showing how to build your own spacesuit. I must say that I am impressed by their latest project. It’s not the highest quality but you know what: Space Suits are hard to come by and this is the best costume that I have found that an idiot-who-cant-sew like me could make. I have a costume guy but the problem is that he works 2 jobs so I am saving the most important costumes ie the Samurai‘s for him.

Related Pages

Build Your Own Space Helmet

Blue Skelton’s DIY Film School

Blindsight Movie Trailer

2008-02-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

Here is the movie trailer for the new film Blind Sight. Blind Sight is set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, "Blindsight" follows the gripping adventure of six Tibetan teenagers who set out to climb the 23,000-foot Lhakpa Ri on the north side of Mount Everest. The dangerous journey soon becomes a seemingly impossible challenge made all the more remarkable by the fact that the teenagers are blind.

www.discovernarnia.co.uk

2008-02-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

There is a new Narnia Website in town after “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis has been voted the Best Children's book of all time in a UK survey of over 4,000 parents. And now it has the endorsement of Blue Skelton as well. The Books of Narnia have been favorites of mine since I was just a small boy.

Tolkien and Lewis have both been strong influences on my life and I am always happy to see CS Lewis and his Narnia Chronicles get the recognition that they deserve. There are all kinds of games, competitions and goodies at the website and if you are fan or are from Narnia (as I am) then you are sure to love it.

And Now: “The Chronicles of Narnia have enchanted generations of readers and in May 2008 HarperCollins publish a host of official tie-in books in advance of the release of the eagerly awaited movie sequel to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe: Prince Caspian” (Disney and Walden Media).

If you would more information on the release of this exciting new tie in book series you can either visit this exciting website you can either click www.discovernarnia.co.uk or you can also click the banner below. We also have some Narnia Movie News that you can read here but it might be a bit dated at this point.

Brontie Will You Marry Me

2008-02-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

Brontie Will You Marry Me Welcome to the February 29, 2008 edition of a The Film Junkie Carnival. Sorry I didn’t get this bad boy posted last week. That was a little question that I decided to pop the question. She is the most wonderful beautiful girl in the whole time and I am hoping that she will finally say yes.

Brontie…Please Marry Me

Okay now that I am done pining, Our favorite super-blogger Christina M Rau gets the marquee spot. This is our Valentines Day post (by default) so we are going to make it all about the ladies. She was the first lady on the list so she gets the spot. Sorry guys you have to wait to the back of the carnival. This week Christina gives us The Net Meets Copy Cat. Christina runs the Livin' The Dream (One Loser At A Time) blog which is one of my new favorites.

That is the best part about Blog Carnivals, you get to meet a bunch of cool new friends. And we met some brand new friends this week as well along with some new faces.

Dot.Girlfriend (no, not my girlfriend) at DotGirlfriend.com gave us a list of great movies to watch with our significant others. The 10 Best Chick Flicks for a Sexy Movie Night is a great post because five of the movies are girl oriented and more importantly the other are boy oriented. I had no idea that girls liked Top Gun but it is definitely good to know.

Next we want to welcome Tamika M. Murray to the Film Junkie. She gives us a very interesting albeit a little sad article called Fight for What You Want, Before Night Falls and another great article about one of my favorite movies, There’s Life After the Darkness, in the Color Purple. We don’t usually allow multiple posts but its Tamika’s first night and we want to welcome her right. She operates the PJSandAMovie blog and be sure to give her some link love.

Edith is out last Valentine tonight. She Bring the Love Back from Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act. It’s been awhile since we have had a post from Edith and we were very grateful to have her back.

Andy Young presents Every Russian Bond Girl Ever posted at SiberianLight, saying, "Just a fun post about Russian Bond Girls from my Russia-blog." Now, I know what you are expecting me to say and they are not naked. It is too bad that they aren’t naked but I will forgive Andy because this is a family oriented blog (most of the time).

Scott Davis from ZombieChatter.com gives us the cast list for the GI Joe the Movie which is Slotted for 2009. I know that we are all as excited as he is to see that film. We also have another from post about the much better Animated version of Star Wars: The Clone Wars which is the animated version of the Star Wars II (not really).

Vaprak presents Movie Review: Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008) posted at The Critical Critics. Vaprak you get the top spot next week I promise buddy. The V-Day post kind of threw this one off-kilter.

Then we get a post from one of our other favorite bloggers S Andrew Swann who presents Plot vs Character: aka The Emotional Zombie posted at Off The Pink, saying, "I'm a novelist who occasionally writes about movies from a writer's perspective." This was a good one. Best thing that I have read in awhile but then again I am a Zombie Fanatic…

Daniel Lafleche presents Film Marketing Scorecard: BE KIND REWIND posted at The IPEX Blog, saying, "The best idea, not so hot execution. This post is a brief evaluation of the film Be Kind Rewind’s viral marketing campaign, focusing on the “sweding” aspect of the campaign and the inability of the campaign to totally capture the Internet imagination."

Mike Diamente presents Top 10 War Movies posted at Mike's Top 10 Lists, saying, "Cool list of the top 10 war movies of all time." This was a great post but I have to wrap things up as my internet time is over for tonight and I want to get the carnival posted. Still its excellent and you should totally check it out.

Brontie Marriage Proposal Wrap Up

Well If Brontie decides to marry me I will let you know. Leave a few comments and help me out. Brontie is an amazing girl and one of the happiest things to ever happen to me. She is only thing that warms this heart of mine. Tragically I am not that lucky and I will most likely end up like this guy.

blog carnivals coming in a couple of hours

2008-02-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

blog carnivals coming in a couple of hours...(hopefully) Tomorrow Morning if not

22 February 2007

Blue Skelton’s DIY Film School

2008-02-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

DIY Filmmaking is the latest trend that has taken the independent film industry by storm. Whether it is DIY Filmmaking tutorials from Indy Mogul or DIY Distribution from the Four-Eyed Monsters, it is that DIY Filmmaking is here to stay and I wanted to provide some video production resources that can help all of you in your DIY careers.

DIY Film Production Equipment

I made a list of the best DIY Film Production Equipment websites that contain some excellent alternatives to professional filmmaking equipment. The thing that is really important when considering whether or not to build your own equipment is: Is the time spent building the equipment cost-effective compared to purchasing used or new film equipment.

Fun DIY Film Books

Here is a list of DIY Film Books that have helped me on the path to becoming an independent filmmaker. What I really need is a DV or to get my microphone out of storage. My first 3 video blogs were terrible with my Digital Cam. I learned my lesson though and I am going to do my impression of Darren Rowse and get closer to the camera. I’ll have to show off my ugly mug but that is okay.

Rebel without a Crew

The DV Rebel's Guide

Make Your Own Damn Movie! (Troma)

1. The BBC provides a free Training and Development Course on film production that anyone can watch online. This is the most valuable filmmaking resource that I have found so far. The free online class covers everything from shooting video to post production. If you are like me and are just learning the basics of filmmaking this is a great resource that you can find by clicking here.

2. The Media College is the second place that I recommend for taking online video classes. Like the BBC, they have a large variety of tutorials on different topics. This is a very high quality website on filmmaking.

3. Videomaker has a lot of great articles which I have featured on the Production Blog. It isn’t as interactively exciting as the BBC Online Film School featured above but it is a valuable filmmaking resource that I want to make you all aware of. I have read several of their articles and I have never been disappointed.

4. Studio Daily is an online filmmaking publication that has a user friendly layout and provides a lot of interesting details on film production today along with some good tutorials for a variety of media production.

DIY Special Effects

Here is a list of very fun and very special effects. Most of these are pretty low budget so keep that in mind when you watch the videos.

I will add more cool stuff to Blue Skelton’s DIY Film School as I find them. However I feel that the books and free video tutorials are pretty cool and I am going to create a Squidoo Lens to supplement this film school.

Medium Production Video

2008-02-19T14:30:00.001-08:00

Here is some video from the Production of the hit TV show Medium starring Patricia Arquette. Some of my readers informed me that I haven’t been posting as much behind the scenes footage lately, so I apologize for the mistake and I hope that you can forgive me. If there is every anything you would like to see more of or have me write about, please let me know.

The Visitor Movie Trailer

2008-02-18T18:38:00.001-08:00

Here is the movie trailer for the new film, The Visitor. The Visitor is about actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his award winning directorial debut The Station Agent, Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) stars as Walter Vale, a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City. Through new found connections with virtual strangers, Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.