Results tagged “videos”

I know I keep touting the experience of attending a Comic Con.

I can’t help it, because there are so many wonderful facets to these events that I feel they should be covered.

Meeting the creators of certain projects and learning what is going to be released from Hollywood next year is always fun, but Comic Cons can actually be a great place to learn facets of how the book / movie / comic book industries work. When it became obvious that people were looking for guidance in the book industry, publishers, editors and writers learned rather quickly that Comic Cons made a good place to go out and help people while also promoting what they were working on.

At the 2009 NY Comic Con, there were many such panels.

Here is one of them, on video: Writers on Writing!

This panel was moderated by Del Rey Books editor in chief Betsy Mitchell. It had nearly every aspect of writing represented—from novels to short stories to scripts to comic books to etc.—and each panelist speaks to what it means to being a professional writer. Some of the elements may surprise you. The breadth of knowledge gathered together on this panel, some of the writers New York Times bestselling authors, can be extremely helpful. They all discuss what it means to be a professional writer, how to hone prose, and how to develop characters within an interesting story, among many other things!

This is great for people who have aspirations to become a professional writer!

Here is the NY Comic Con Panel: Writers on Writing! Enjoy!

Part I of VIII:

Continue onward to watch the next seven parts of Writers on Writing!

As I wrote two days ago HERE when I featured Subterranean Press, I am an avid Dan Simmons fan. Ever since Hyperion, the man simply doesn’t have a bad book in his sci-fi/fantasy work. And whenever he comes out with a new novel I buy it on release day.

Luckily, two years in a row, Dan has visited Seattle on tour and held signing events at the fantastic University Bookstore where this time he spoke about his new book, Drood.

The premise of Drood is brilliant, in my opinion.

On June 9, 1865, author Charles Dickens was traveling by rail when, by human error, the train jumped the tracks. Many cars tumbled off, killing those within. Interestingly enough, the only first class car to not derail contained Dickens, who helped the wounded and dying as best he could until help arrived. For the next five years until his death on June 9, 1870—exactly five years after the accident—Dickens would be plagued by darkness and failing health, interested in death, the occult and hypnotism, only able to write half a novel in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and never staying in one place for very long.

Dan brings to the fore those final five years of Charles Dickens’ life in Drood!

And reveals the dark mysterious descent of arguably the 19th century’s greatest writer.

In the forthcoming seven videos, Dan gives a far more in depth look at the life of Charles Dickens and Drood. He then reads from the book and answers questions from the audience.

Here is A Speech, Reading and Q&A with Dan Simmons! Enjoy!

Part I of VII:

For the other six parts to Dan’s event, continue on!

I stumbled onto this video the other day of someone attempting to describe the plot of the Star Wars movies (episodes 4-6) without having actually seen one the entire way through. The accompanying animation treatment is really, really funny.

I feel kind of bad for the girl, now being chuckled at by Star Wars fanatics all over the Internet who can recite half the lines verbatim, but at the same time, I can’t help but find the whole thing endearing. She makes a valiant effort. Really. (Original here.)

I here there’s more videos like this out there? Pipe up if you know ‘em.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

It’s official. Comic Con New York is ten days away. That’s it. Ten Days. Two hundred and forty hours. Fourteen thousand and four hundred minutes. In other words, it’s right around the corner.

When we launched this site we said it would be like attending a Comic Con on the web: some serious discussion, some oddities and curiosities, the occasional costume. For those of us who contribute here, it’s a digital extension of who we are, of what we think about. So with the east coast’s largest biggest comic convention about to hit town, it should come as no surprise that it’s front and center in our hearts and minds.

Comic Con. Say it. Doesn’t it make you smile? A weekend devoted to comics, science fiction, fantasy, some really cool artwork, some costume donning, and toys, statues, and figurines. It’s as if, for one weekend, you can shut the door on the outside world without literally shutting the door and walk around in the world’s largest comics shop, with authors and illustrators at your fingertips, and just be there and no where else. Well, it makes me smile.

During the last Comic Con, we had a videographer and a platoon of Flip Cameras out in the crowd to film the event and try to bring the San Diego Comic Con to your home computers as literally as we could. We’ll be doing that again this time and trying to snag a few more author interviews while we’re at it*. The response from our previous efforts were pretty dog gone good and we were happy to bring the Con to the web in our own way.

If you haven’t seen a few of the videos, I’ve selected our most viewed for this post. Click on through to the other side and check them out. There’s going to be a whole new set coming down the pipes soon, but for now, these were our top 5 video hits:

If you haven’t checked out Baltimore: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire [view the book here], then you’re missing out on a good time. Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden created a slightly illustrated Gothic vampire story. As you’ll hear, it began as a graphic novel idea that brewed over into a novel collaboration.

It’s just deliciously creepy enough to make it a joy to read once the sun goes down.

Anyway, Mignola and Golden spoke about the book in the video below for Bantam Dell. Check it out and then grab the book. You’ll be glad you did.

In the spirit of the “Yes We Can” feeling that’s running strong this morning, let’s take a look at three young filmmakers who can say, “Yes We Did!” I’m talking about Jessika Pilkes, Renee Baltsen, and Ben Cox, whose book trailers made them the finalists from this past year’s Teen Book Video Awards.

Every year Random House Kids books and the Kirkus Review team up to host and produce the Teen Book Video Awards. And what are these? Well, it asks students to create a trailer for a young adult book. But if you’re thinking that this means sitting through a lot of low value productions, think again. These entries are skillfully produced and edited to the point that you’d be forgiven if you thought the trailers were for films.

Now, if you read, or have read, much YA fiction, then you know that there is a high level of fantasy running through the uber-genre. To the best of my knowledge, there always has been. From the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm to Harry Potter and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books, the fantastical is ever present throughout. So it should come as no surprise that the three finalists in the Teen Book Video Awards are all for fantasy titles.

Check out the videos for the past year’s finalists (2008) below as well as an overview of the contest and quick interviews with each video writer/director.

Trailer for The Forest of Hands and Teeth conceived and directed by Jessika Pilkes:

[even more after the jump]

By now, you’ve heard David Heatley’s father sing and seen his animated music video.

Hopefully you’ve even read My Brain is Hanging Upside Down, David’s stunning debut.

If not, what are you waiting for?!? Seriously.

Perhaps a little more information about the man himself is in order.

Find out more after the jump…

2010 seems years ages away, doesn’t it?

Sadly, you’ll have to wait until then to get your hands on a hardcover copy of Body World by Dash Shaw. (Note: I have to wait, too. Sad, I know.)

But, that hasn’t stopped me from getting excited. And, it shouldn’t stop you either. After watching this video for the book here how could you not be?

That’s what I thought…

With Halloween around the corner, this is as good a time as any to make sure you understand just how zombies work — and how to deal with them. This remains one of my favorite viral videos, done by the makers of the popular “In Plain English” series on YouTube. “Consider heading to a Costco….” Classic.

Is there any better way to break up the day than a sing-along?

I thought not.

If you know The Ramones, you know the song. But, I’m sure that you’ve never heard or seen it like this before.

Indeed, it’s as if David Heatley’s graphic memoir, My Brain is Hanging Upside Down has literally come to life (And not in a creepy way. I promise.).

The video comes from Black Arrow, an independent studio created by Luca Dipierro and Rachel Bradley and was, of course, illustrated by David.

Enjoy!

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson visited the University Bookstore on September 16th to promote their new release, Paul of Dune—and here is some of that visit!

Brian and Kevin do not read from their books, usually, but instead like to talk to the fans about the Dune universe. They answered numerous questions and spent a great deal of time talking about working on Paul of Dune, where the series is going in the next few years, their work on a new collaboration titled Hellhole, and how the new film adaptation is progressing. The fans asked some very good questions as only fans can do.

There are six parts to the video:

• Part 1: Brian talks about how Dune Messiah was received and why he wrote a sequel to Dune.
• Part 2: Brian and Kevin talk about Princess Irulan and her role in Paul Atreides’s life.
• Part 3: Brian and Kevin talk about Jessica of Dune, Leto of Dune, and their writing schedule for the next few years.
• Part 4: Brian and Kevin talk about ending the Dune books with the Schools of Dune trilogy.
• Part 5: Brian talks about how Frank Herbert wanted to write a Butlerian Jihad book and elaborates on how the Dune 7 notes were found.
• Part 6: Brian and Kevin talk about the forthcoming Dune film adaptation from Paramount Pictures.

Brian and Kevin tour along the west coast with every release, leaving much of the world unable to hear these two writers speak about their work. We hope you enjoy these brief glimpses from a Dune signing!

Steven Erikson visited the University Bookstore on September 22nd to promote his new US release, Toll the Hounds—and here is some of that visit!

Steven spent most of the event reading from Toll the Hounds and two poems from Dust of Dreams. He then answered a number of questions from the crowd on a menagerie of different topics—from how he writes to where Malazan came from to why a cliffhanger ending is necessary for next year’s Dust of Dreams.

There are eight parts to the video:

• Part 1: Steven talking about his true poetic side and reading a poem from the Malazan series.
• Part 2: Steven reading a chapter excerpt from Toll the Hounds
• Part 3: Steven reading a chapter excerpt from Toll the Hounds
• Part 4: Steven reading the Chapter III poem from Dust of Dreams.
• Part 5: Steven talking about the impending cliffhanger at the end of the forthcoming novel, Dust of Dreams.
• Part 6: Steven talks about the origins of Malazan.
• Part 7: Steven speaks to how he stays on a yearly schedule—and a secret!
• Part 8: Steven talks about how he keeps track of such a large world—or doesn’t.

Steve is a wonderful speaker. If you ever get a chance to attend an event of his, do so. And if you haven’t already, pick up Gardens of the Moon, Book One of The Malazan Book of the Fallen!

Terry Brooks visited the University Bookstore on August 26th to promote his new book, The Gypsy Morph—and he was caught on video!

At the event, Terry spoke about his future works, answered questions from the audience, and read an excerpt from the forthcoming 2009 Magic Kingdom of Landover novel. There are five parts to the video:

• Part 1: Terry thanking Duane Wilkins, bookseller extraordinaire!
• Part 2: Terry talking about the Genesis of Shannara and reading from the forthcoming Magic Kingdom of Landover novel.
• Part 3: Terry reading from the forthcoming Magic Kingdom of Landover novel.
• Part 4: Terry reading from the forthcoming Magic Kingdom of Landover novel.
• Part 5: Terry speaking about his sister Laurie’s forthcoming book Selkie Girl and answering questions from the crowd.

We hope you enjoy the videos and the Magic Kingdom of Landover excerpt! There will be a few more videos uploaded this week—one from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Dune), another with Steven Erikson (Malazan)!

In my last post I promised you videos of the big release party from the Barnes & Nobel in Union Square, Manhattan (33 East 17th if you’re interested, heckuva store they’ve got there). Anyway, let it not be said that I am anything other than a man of my word.

In the first video, Christopher Paolini talks about Brisingr, fields a few questions from the audience before officially unveiling the latest addition to the Inheritance Cycle:

Christopher Paolini Reads from Brisingr after the jump…

Okay, not quite. But in what will go down as one of the most beloved fanvideos of the year, “batgremlin” has taken $3,000 and created an alternative 7-minute segment to replace the part of “Gremlins 2” where Gremlins break the 4th wall and take over the movie theater (or VCR, depending on what format you’re watching). Some phenomenal work here, and certainly whets the appetite for a proper Gremlins 3. C’mon Joe Dante — it’s about time you returned to feature filmmaking.

So Sue Moe’s awesome post on living in a Super Mario Bros world reminded me of one of my favorite YouTube viral videos of all time. Many of you have seen it, but it’s worth seeing again — I never tire of it. College students doing a spot-on live re-enactment of Super Mario Bros. for a talent show. One can only wonder what a Metroid skit would look like.

It should come as no surprise that we love the folks at New York Anime Festival. But why exactly?

Is it that they’ve created a great event for New York-area J-pop fans? Well, sure, there’s that.

Is it that we’re running a contest where you (yes, you!) could win passes to the big show? Well, we all appreciate their largesse, but it’s not why we love them so.

Is it because NYAF Conferece Manager Peter Tatara is a dashing young mover and shaker in the anime community (depsite being seemingly sartorially incapable of tying a necktie)? No, but all that’s true.

It’s because New York Anime Festival dares address the truly important controversies of this modern world:

Pirates or Ninjas?

[more from NYAF after the jump]

An update to our previous post anticipating — along with 9 million people, apparently — Fox’s new series, Fringe. Looks like they’ve got a winner on their hands. Or, at least, they’re quick out of the gates. Tuesday’s hour-and-a-half premiere scored the #1 Nielsen ranking for its time-slot beating 90210 redux (justice!). Via E! Online. Yes, E!

In case you missed it, the show’s trailer is above and Fox has the entire first episode of Fringe available for viewing on their site. You have to download a proprietary player to watch but in this Suvuduer’s humble opinion, it’s actually well worth it — lightweight download and high quality experience, even maximized to full-screen mode. Very watchable. Enjoy!

All I can say is that I’m really loving Hulu. Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m in the minority when I tell you that I don’t regularly buy DVDs and don’t TiVo stuff. What can I say — I’m both lazy and broke! But I do dig the huge amount of free TV and movie stuff over at Hulu.com, which is easily browsable and features a ton of killer stuff for lovers of horror, SF, fantasy, comic books, and overall geekdom. True, there’s a zillion “clips” that I can do without, and the episode lists are intentionally incomplete. But there’s no lack of things I’ve either not seen yet (must..finally…watch…Dr. Horrible) or old stuff that I haven’t seen in ages but need to see again (Night Gallery and Alfred Hitchcock Presents classic episodes).

Do you Hulu? What’s in your queue? And if you’ve never experienced Night Gallery — here’s a good place to start.