I’ve also decided to issue myself another challenge: to watch every film that I haven’t seen on IMDB’s Top 250 Films list. So far I’ve only seen about 35%. I started this challenge today by watching Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window from 1954, which is currently number 16 on the list. I’ve seen references to it before, like on the Simpsons. And I saw the movie Disturbia last year, which has a pretty similar plot but is in a more modern setting.

I enjoyed Rear Window way more. Jimmy Stewart is an awesome actor full of these subtle mannerisms that add depth to the character he’s playing. I had just watched It’s a Wonderful Life last week and you can see how much his acting had improved since then. He seemed much more mature and more comfortable in the Hitchcock film. Hitchcock also does an excellent job at creating suspense. He uses off-camera sound really effectively, like the screaming and footsteps. I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but I’d recommend it.

Next in my viewing queue is Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo.

I’ve developed my technique, which involves the highest ISO setting and the lowest exposure setting. The photos aren’t as blurry, but they’re dark and ridiculously grainy. It takes quite a bit of post-processing just to make them look acceptable. And even so, I convert most of them to black and white to eliminate the colour grain.

I’m working out a plan for getting an SLR into shows, but then there’s the chance that I’ll be spotted and either kicked out or have the memory card erased and camera temporarily confiscated. I don’t really want that.

I’ve read some articles on doing this semi-professionally and they recommend getting in touch with a smaller local band and asking to tag along. This would allow me to get in closer with a better camera and would hopefully result in some better shots. I’ve also heard that you can offer the band to use the photos and this may cause them to “perform for the camera” a bit more.

If you know of any local Vancouver bands who wouldn’t mind getting some live photos taken, let me know.

• customization
• navigation
• ease of use
• modules/plugins
• implementation
• coding/programming level
• price

Here’s a short list of the CMSs I’ve been looking at:

1. Drupal
2. Joomla
3. Cushy CMS
4. Expression Engine
5. Light CMS
6. Wordpress
7. Frog CMS
8. Symphony

I’m not going to get into too many details right now, but I plan to make seperate posts reviewing each of these options throughout the week. I hope to conclude with a summary post comparing the CMSs and possibly rating them somehow. We’ll see how it goes.

So stay tuned.

So I guess here’s the customary “hello world” and I’ll try and get back on here soon.