Twenty Thousand Dreams

What Kind of (Love) Lyrics Have You Got?

2011-07-19T17:50:00.004+01:00

I've decided to write a new post because a) I haven't posted anything in ages and b) the following has been bugging me for a while now.

I don't know if the name Natasha Thomas will ring a bell at all, but the radio stations (across Germany anyways) loved her about eight years ago.

In 2004, she released her soppy, pop-y, and unfortunately catchy tune "It's Over Now". According to Wikipedia, it reached #12 in the charts. Her 2005 and 2006 released singles reached a more...shall we say, suitable chart position. But that is merely my opinion.

http://www.musicload.de/natasha-thomas/
it-s-over-now/musik/maxi/1914076_2

However, it wasn't the mainstream, cotton-candy pop music that attracted my attention as such. It was the lyrics. The first two lines (What kind of love have you got/You should be home but you're not) sounded awfully familiar. But I couldn't quite put my finger on it, as the tune didn't fit in my mind.

Further on in the song, Natasha Thomas sings "You are walking the wire/Looking for a love in between", and again, it sounded strangely familiar.

It wasn't until a few months later though, while listening to the Eagles' "Complete Greatest Hits" CD, that I discovered why the lyrics to Natasha's 'new' song sounded very...un-new. In 1976, Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey had penned and recorded the song "Victim of Love" for their album "Hotel California". The first two lines? "What kind of love have you got? You should be home, but you're not". The song? Doesn't sound anything like "It's Over Now".

If you continue to listen to the lyrics, you will discover that Miss Thomas' song slightly alters the "walking the wire" lines, by leaving some words out. It probably wouldn't have fit to the melody otherwise. In the Eagles' original, they sing "You're walking the wire, pain and desire/Looking for love in between". And while the line "Do you know what I mean?" comes after the subject of "It's Over Now" walking on a wire, "I think you know what I mean" immediately precedes the original "walking the wire" line in the Eagles' song. Once again, not exactly the same, but strikingly similar.

http://rock-baladeur.blogspot.com/
2010/12/eagles-hotel-california.html

Don Henley carries on singing "Tell me your secrets, I'll tell you mine". Natasha Thomas is less demanding earlier on in her song...and she's only got one secret: "Can you tell me your secret/Then I'll tell you mine".

Maybe I'm just a bit defensive of the Eagles, because I think they're genius and they have made incredible music for the past 4 decades...but copying lyrics to make your own song? Really? When it comes to music covers and remixes where the original artist(s) and/or songwriters/composers are credited, I can work with the 'reusing' or 'copying' of music. It is, first and foremost, a compliment to the original creators of the work. And maybe "It's Over Now" is some sort of hommage to the Eagles and to their incredible lyricist skills (whether Miss Thomas or the songwriter is a big fan of the US rock band is debatable). But I have yet to find Henley or anyone else being credited for the lines. Unless of course, there is some sort of lyrics-copyright-infringement-law similar to how copying 8+ bars of music from an existing song is illegal/considered plagiarism. I haven't heard of that law yet though, and I somehow really doubt it exists for lyrics (especially when its 6+ lines).

So to keep in the spirit and quote Natasha Thomas...errr...the Eagles "I could be wrong, but I'm not". At least I don't believe I am.

Poetry - Yet to be titled

2011-03-07T23:41:00.002Z

Another poem from my notebook, who knows how old this one is. I unfortunately only started adding dates to what I was writing about halfway through the notebook. I never finished this one, even though I have tried numerous times - but nothing really seems to work. Maybe I should just call it 'Untitled Unfinished' or 'Unfinished Untitled'...

Teardrops on my pillow
Relics of my mind
Shattered pieces falling
Leaving me behind

Thunder in the distance
The raindrops won't subside
I feel my shadow running
Through the everlasting night

The breaking of a heart
Rhythm of my life
The sound is so familiar

I apologize for the depressing or rather melancholy nature of most of the poetry I have posted on here. I somehow find it difficult to write about the joyous and happy moments, although I couldn't tell you why.

"Memories"
Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

Here's a fragment of a poem from about a year ago (Feb 2010), which I wrote about friendship, learning to let it change, and accepting that it can grow even when you're far apart.

[...] Don't really want to touch
Anything you've left behind
The chaos that remains
Is the one that reminds me of you
Like the one you left behind inside

We've learned to change
To suit each other
But never lost ourselves [...]

Poetry - Hoodoo

2011-03-07T23:23:00.002Z

I've just been flipping through my tattered notebook of creativity, which has been with me for the past few years now. I came across a poem I wrote during the summer of 2009, shortly after I had graduated from high school. It's not at all about graduation, but I guess parts of it could be interpreted that way. Have a read and you can make up your own mind. Oh, and the photo is from the same summer, taken with my handy Canon Powershot A1000 IS.

"Hoodoos"
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Hoodoo

Fragile in the darkness
Vulnerable in time
Yet standing strong through centuries
Leaving others to subside

Out here on the edge
In the midst of life
Nothing is the same as before
Nature's wonders left to thrive

Ancient shadows linger
Echoes of our past
The tribal voices still sound strong
In the wrinkles of time
Fossilized in stone

(July 2009)

Photoshopping...because it's fun!

2011-02-22T22:59:00.006Z

We're in the middle of Semester 2, which basically translates to: lots of film projects going on! Currently, my crew is working on 3 different documentaries, one has already been completed. Keep watching this space and I'll share the new ones with you as soon as they are out of post-production.

Determined to be anything but producer this semester I am...the producer. So in an attempt to make myself a bit happier about the unwanted job (it's not really that bad, it's just...well...it's paperwork) I began playing around with Photoshop, a program I have been neglecting for a while now.
I came up with a couple of serious and not so serious production company names and designed a few website headers. Here are two that turned out quite well:

This one is one of the 'not so serious' ones. Although, if I were to produce The Big Blue Bear in the Big Blue House (too many 'blue's?!), it might fit. And yes, I actually drew that dragon. In Photoshop. For a first attempt, I'm quite proud:

Here's the second banner:

This one is based on the same concept as the one above, but it's a tiny bit more sophisticated. I'm not quite sure about the wolf prints yet though.

Film reels (original): http://www.talkingdrums.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/FilmReel.jpg & http://www.jatilllivet.se/bilder/film%20small.jpg

Film Poster for "What Lies Behind"

2011-01-17T12:41:00.007Z

A real film obviously needs a real film poster, so here it is:

The font used is SteelTongs, which is quite handy for film posters. The photo was taken with a Canon Powershot A1000 IS and edited in Photoshop.

Short Film drama "What Lies Behind"

2011-01-17T09:23:00.002Z

With the usual delays, last minute changes, and whatnot that accompanies any production...here it is:

What Lies Behind (2011)

(Part One)

(Part Two)

If you've read the last post about the film's production, you'll notice that the plot has actually changed slightly. This was partly due to last minute cast changes (and the lovely winter weather that we were blessed with), as well as a necessary change to the ending of the story to make it...~~more interesting~~, ~~more emotional~~, better!

As usual, please feel free to rate & comment.

Short Film - Cast

2010-11-10T22:23:00.006Z

The cast has now been finalized (after some issues due to the heavy snow), so here's a list of who's who in what is currently called "All That's Known". [Edited: the working title has been changed to the final title "What Lies Behind"]

Family
David Wheeler - Stevie Helps
Susan Wheeler - Danielle Parton
Holly Wheeler - Francesca Turton (check out her website)

Police officers
Dylan Pearson - Andy Moore (you might know him as PC Mike Swirling on ITV's Emmerdale)
Jo Donnelly - Lisa Kakuya

Short Film is in production

2010-11-01T17:14:00.002Z

Year 2 is all about getting out there and making the films. Our crew is currently in the midst of filming our short film for Semester 1's "Short Film and TV Drama".

Here's the story:

David Wheeler, proud dad and successful surgeon at 44, finds his whole world turned upside down after his wife disappears under mysterious circumstances. His position of head surgeon at a well established abortion clinic has led to an overflowing e-mail inbox of death threats and hate mail through the letterbox. A kidnapping by extremist pro-life supporters seems an explanation that everyone involved, including the police, find the most plausible. As the police follow all possible leads, David struggles to pretend that everything is normal for the sake of his daughter Holly.

But the probing questions about his marriage during the police questionings, and Holly’s fear of her mummy not returning home, put a strain on David’s composed façade. In addition, the emotions attached to his wife having recently aborted what could have been their second child are wearing him out. He feels cheated after Susan simply ignored his excitement about becoming a father again and went to get the abortion without his consent.

When the police come around for a second time, Holly cannot take the pressure of being questioned and breaks out in tears. David, determined to protect his daughter to the best of his abilities, throws the police out of his house.

While David and Holly are struggling to cope with their new situation, Susan has to fight her own fears - and for her life. Bound, gagged, and tied to a bathtub in a dark room, Susan is at the mercy of someone doing everything they can to psychologically torture Susan…and possibly kill her.

Poetry - Brushstrokes

2010-10-02T19:00:00.005+01:00

"Ocean of Color"
Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Brushstrokes

I remember there was

White writing in the sky

Brushstrokes in the heavens

Picture perfect canvas

Changing day by day

I wanted it to last

Take a picture

Make it stay

But even photos fade

Disillusioned by the truth

Fate had its spotlight

Shining straight on me

No finish line to run to

No first place to win

Looking back is easy

But the future

Is putting up a fight

The moment almost lasted

Imprinted where the tears

Have left their mark

Forever living as a memory

Locked away inside my heart

Never got that final freeze frame

The last page didn't say 'The End'

After years of taking things for granted

There's only little left to say

But let this be our truth now

Our friendship's made to stay.

(October 2010)

Short Film/Viral Ad Mini Project - Berlin

2010-09-22T00:03:00.004+01:00

Berlin. September 2010.

Tech-enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the release of Samsung's new tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, at the IFA (Internationale Funkaustellung) in Berlin.

At the same time somewhere in the city: two students and two actors have taken over the Soho House for a film-shoot of the unusual kind. Equipped with a HD mini-camcorder (Samsung, of course), they are working on a viral ad for the Galaxy Tab.

The film was a rather spontaneous project that started off as a bit of a joke in the summer of 2010. Sang, a friend from school times, asked me if I wanted to help create something a little bit different to Samsung's usual advertising. He knew of my love for films and that I was studying film & TV production, so he wanted me on board. With the prospect of being able to make a film (in Berlin!), equipment and actors provided, there wasn't really any 'choice' or decision that had to be made.
After Apple's successful release of the iPad, other companies obviously wanted their share of the market. The Galaxy Tab was scheduled to be released in time for the IFA, so this was our chance to make an ad with a story - product placement turned the other way around.

We had three days to shoot the 'ad' that soon turned into a short film, and luckily the weather played nice. A rudimentary script was put together in the days before the Berlin trip and was turned into a storyboard/shot list on the train journey. Once we got to Berlin, we met the actors for the first time and discussed the project. As the Tab hadn't officially been launched yet, the first two days of the shoot had to be done indoors. On the third and final day (which coincided with the IFA launch), we were finally able to use the beauty of Berlin as a backdrop for our short film. Back in Frankfurt, the footage was edited in Adobe Premiere and animations were added with Adobe Flash.

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab is supposed to transform your life on the go - and that's exactly what happens to our main character. See for yourself:

Share, rate, comment...any feedback is highly appreciated!

Photo: http://www.androidmeup.com/system/application/resources/img/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab.jpg

Short Comedy "Shopping Gone Bad"

2010-08-22T19:56:00.001+01:00

A few of us had a bit of time to waste...or spare? This is the result:

It's not exactly fine-tuned, but we never really had the chance to finish it. There's more to the evil melon than these 2 minutes reveal!

PS: I was on camera for this.

Poetry - Tranquility

2010-07-15T15:43:00.001+01:00

Tranquility
An immaculate reflection -
Only broken by the ripples,
Illuminated by the sun's penetrating rays.
It is a mirror of the world,
Our accessible spy hole
To the heavens above.

The liquid glass; transparent -
Yet guarding against any attempt
To see the magic kingdom
On the ocean floor.
Our diamond coated key
To where undiscovered dreams roam free.

(15 October 2008)

"Tranquility"
Medicine Lake, Alberta, Canada

Poetry - Scattered Acorns

2010-06-29T17:03:00.001+01:00

"Flow of Life"
Alberta, Canada

Scattered Acorns
Fallen soldiers on a carpet of green:
They are misplaced memories,
Obscured, in part,
By shadows that have come to life.
It is only in the evening breeze,
That one can catch a glimpse
Of their immortality, when
Nature's rhapsody -
Accompanied by the last remnants
Of the sun's invisible touch -
Makes them crack and stir.

But the evening breeze can also be
The time of most heartache,
At that tiny instant
Just when the clouds let go
Of their silver lining,
And the fallen soldiers
Become nothing
But wild, inanimate figures
Too insignificant to matter,
Too prominent to not be noticed.
That is when the dream is over,
And the heartache begins.
First, a little itch
Soon, a searing pain
Threatening to linger
As the years wear on.
Nature's rhapsody
Becomes an irritable noise.
The glimpses of immortal memories
Are overseen,
As the daily fights to ignore them
Take the last of what is left.

But just as the sun
Begins her dance of descent,
And the clouds' silver linings
Illuminate what is below,

Those misplaced memories
Become everything you ever want to know.

(14 May 2008)

Poetry - Snowstorm

2010-06-22T20:22:00.001+01:00

"Icing"
Alaska, USA

Snowstorm

A buzzing highway

They seem to stop just in front of the window.

Then the invisible hand

Pulls them onward.

They don’t have the time to stop

Their graceful choreography.

Us,

Small inhabitants in an evolving snow globe.

Someone has opened up the sugar can.

But their numbers diminish

Until there are none.

Still, the air is filled

With the echo of their frozen aura

As the first tentacles

Of light

Feel their way

Over the awakening earth.

(January 2008)

Some of my photography on RedBubble

2010-05-29T19:44:00.001+01:00

Have a look around on RedBubble - you can even order the photos as greetings cards or prints (and you'll also find that I've used some of them in this blog).

Poetry - Gone

2010-05-27T17:13:00.005+01:00

Gone
Outside of Sacramento
About an hour north of there,
She is waiting for the next one,
Coming from the middle of nowhere

The dust is carried onward
So fast, and far alone
The voices nearly gone.
But the sound of the place she left
Is still a shadow hanging on.

"Vast Wrinkles of Time"
Denali National Park, Alaska

She can hardly remember,
When the days were long
The ground beneath her feet
Still even,
She didn't have a care in the world
Until they told her he was leaving.

Back then she wanted to go so badly
To leave it all behind,
But as the too familiar roar comes nearer
She comes to realize,
You can’t have what you can’t find.

When all the promises come tumbling,
And the happily-ever-afters fail,
You know it's time to wake up
You've already been poisoned by those fairy-tales

And so she’s Greyhound bound
For a brand new morning
Telling the driver the next stop is fine
It might be Albuquerque,
She’s not sure
The map lays forgotten on the table
She didn't have the time

So now the wrinkled, weather-beaten faces
Of strangers she doesn’t know
Stare back at her in silence
Through the eyes of those
Who've already let go

He left without
A single word
No silent utter of goodbye
She didn't get the chance to understand
Or even get to cry

But now the tears come down in torrents,
Crushing
Everything beneath
They've washed away the loneliness
Now she prays the pain will leave.

So she’s sitting in the Greyhound
Bound for anywhere
Hoping it will leave behind,
All her memories and the despair

The old man sitting next to her,
With his two carrier-bags,
Would have much to tell
If we'd just let him, gave him a chance
But we won't,
Not with
His clothes torn up in rags

Looking around, she asks herself
Is my life really gone?
Like that of all those lonely, torn up souls around me?
Just because he left so fast
And played pretend for all too long?

I don't want to be
Another one,
Staring blankly out at the world
Through raindrop covered windows
While my mind wants to leave
To my imaginary world

I knew them all by name back then
The dwarfs, the trolls, the fairies, and the gnomes
In my picture-perfect view of life
I wished I could call home.

But now the roads signs are passing by
The stop signs of her life
At a crossroad in the middle
But she still can't decide

And it's a hit-and-run,
As the endless turning wheels,
On the dusty, long, black highway
Kill everything she feels.

Outside of Sacramento,
A few hours away from there,
She stands at a lonely bus stop,
In the middle of nowhere.

(20 March 2007)

Poetry - Silence

2010-05-26T16:46:00.007+01:00

Silence

Silence -

The ultimate resort,

A life long venture

To escape.

(August 2008)

"Friends"
Monument Valley, Utah

Poetry - Tomorrow Morning

2010-05-25T20:12:00.002+01:00

"Soledad"
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Colorado

Tomorrow Morning

You take another step

The very final one

The one to close that door

So that everything is gone

You want to leave it all behind

Those things that you've been going through

But you just can't hide

Even when you try to get away from people around you

Once again you've lost yourself

In the wilderness of life

The path is gone

And you ask yourself

Where is left, and is left right?

But have you never felt that longing

That almost painful need

To see the world tomorrow morning

To get back upon your feet?

It might sometimes seem too much

Those words and futile sighs

An ever growing ocean of debris

The forming of many lies

It would just be the easiest

To say goodbye to all you know

But why not take the challenge?

There are many more ways, which you can go

Because there will always be someone

Who'll warm your heart with a smile

Who'll make you discover the beauty of a sunset

And walk with you that extra mile

You've never questioned life before

Never before have you turned your back

But now when things start tearing apart

You've lost sight of your track

So just take the chance now

And look out for tomorrow

I promise, there's a good one coming

To wash away your sorrows

Take that one step forward

Because then there'll be lots more to follow

But don't ever close that door

We can make that journey together, to tomorrow.

(6 February 2007)

What's Saved in My Bookmarks Bar

2010-05-20T18:27:00.006+01:00

action concept - A production company based in Cologne, responsible for some of the most action packed dramas on TV in Germany. action concept has also worked on numerous international co-productions, including Hollywood movies. With action-tailored equipment (they have built their own cameras/camera protectors/jibs/tracking specifically for the use in action sequences) and highly trained stuntmen, action concept's expertise is highly sought after. And their efforts have paid off, as they have received a record-breaking five 'Taurus World Stunt Awards' in LA. But breaking records is nothing new for the production company. action concept produces the longest running action series in Europe: "Alarm für Cobra 11", which has been broadcast in over 40 countries, and just as many languages, to date. The series has been running for over 15 years now, crashing almost 3500 cars across the years.

Network Movie - A film production company. It has offices in Hamburg and in Cologne and is responsible for long running shows like "SOKO Köln" (Cologne P.D.), "Kommissar Stolberg" (Inspector Stolberg), "Der Kommissar und das Meer" (The Inspector and the Sea), as well as international co-productions like the Ken Follet series.

Odeon Film - Another film production company - one of the biggest independent companies in Germany for both film and TV. They have produced and co-produced 78 TV series (with over 2600 episodes), 172 TV films, 43 films, and 20 documentaries. Odeon TV GmbH (part of Odeon Film), situated in Wiesbaden, is responsible for many of the TV series shown on ZDF (Germany's 'Channel 2'). One of these is "Ein Fall für zwei" (A Case for Two), a crime show filmed in the heart of Frankfurt, running for almost 30 years now (the first episode was broadcast in 1981).

Mondo23 - This is the online blog/news site of a team of four screenwriters who have written scripts for critically acclaimed series and TV films over the past two decades. Two of the screenwriters, Roland Heep and Frank Koopmann, wrote the original English script for the German (ZDF)/UK (ITV) co-production, which was a crossover between the series "SOKO Leipzig" (Leipzig P.D.) and "The Bill". It was broadcast on ITV in the UK as "The Bill: Proof of Life" in 2009 (watch a recap of the first part here).

StarNow - This is a casting website, perfect for your independent (film) projects. They have a database holds over 24,000 members in the areas of film & TV, but you can also find musicians, models, dancers, photographers, and people for your film crew. And the best thing is: it's FREE!

IMSDb - This is your best online resource when it comes to finding your favorite feature film script. Their database holds thousands of scripts, sometimes even in various versions (from initial drafts to final shooting scripts). Release your inner film buff and go check it out!

Photoshop Dictionary (ENG-DE) - I came across this site by accident, after another day of getting annoyed at Photoshop because I just couldn't find the right commands, menus, etc. And I'm so glad I found it! It's extremely useful for those of you who work across multiple languages in programs, or who often find tutorials online that don't match the language of your Photoshop. It's a comprehensive list of Photoshop terms (including all the filters, settings, menus, etc.) in English, with their program equivalent written next to them in German.

Alarm für Cobra 11 (Sat1)
with Gedeon Burkhard* (left) and Erdogan Atalay (right)
*you might know him from Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds

Ein Fall für zwei (ZDF)
with Claus Theo Gärtner (left) as the private investigator Josef Matula and Paul Frielinghaus (right) as lawyer Dr. Markus Lessing