by: Daniel Punch
Computers and Internet
are not deadening our heads; they are inspiring
us to create!
The Internet is sometimes criticized (usually
by parents who think their kids need to be outdoors
more often) as leading people to be sitting in
front of their computers all day growing bulbous,
lethargic and (depending on who you talk to) stupid.
I think that the opposite can often be true. My
friends and I have recently been inspired to new
creative ventures through the time spent online.
I have long been a fan of movies, martial arts
movies in particular. It has been said that they’re
kind of like the modern musical with finely choreographed
dances (although in this case the ‘dance’
is a fight) showing fantastic physical ability,
timing, and grace. Recently I have found that
there are many online groups of people dedicated
to making their own martial arts films. Most of
these guys are really talented and I’ve seen
film fight scenes that are better than the majority
of the American made ‘martial arts’
movies. Where the commercial films focus on special
effects, from wirework (attaching wires to an
actor in order to allow them to do extraordinary
feats) to computer rendered effects (sometimes
even using a computer animated actor in fights
as seen in ‘The Matrix Reloaded’), these
independent groups get out there and make impressive
films through sheer physical exertion and amazing
ability.
It’s amazing what a bit (well, a lot really)
of hard work can do for you. These independent
action crews perform wall runs, flips, falls,
tumbles, and flying kicks without the use of wires
or special effects. There’s no insurance
to worry about or studios to get sued so they
try some pretty incredible and dangerous things.
My favorite stunt crews are ‘The Stunt People’
who can be visited at http://www.thestuntpeople.com,
and Zero Gravity Stunts who have their homepage
at http://www.zgstunts.com. There are also Jabronie
Pictures (http://www.jabroniepictures.com) and
VJ Films (some of whose videos can be found at
http://www.my5minutes.com/thumbnails.php?album=1115)
that are both worth a mention. These sites also
provide many links to other similar websites,
so your collection of independent short films
can be built up to a fearsome size quite quickly.
So, I’ll now get back to the original topic
of this article, that being the Internet as a
medium to inspire people to become active and
creative. These films got me pretty excited. I’d
never really thought about just trying to make
my own short martial arts film. The world’s
largest short film festival held in Australia
called ‘Tropfest’ provided a group of
friends and I with a valid excuse to behave silly
in front of a video camera. I’m not going
to lie; the film we produced was relatively low
quality. One of the fights we filmed was, well,
not bad! There was a decent amount of good mixed
in with the not so good, and I have great memories
of spraying false blood out of a hose that was
wound around a friend’s chest all over my
parent’s house when simulating a gunshot.
We had no flips and very few tumbles (I myself
having the gymnastic ability of a dead walrus)
but the point is we got in there and had a great
time with an entertaining outcome. We have plans
to make more movies and a few other film festivals
on the horizon that we may enter. Maybe one day
our films will be good…
The Internet has inspired us in other ways as
well. In the past I ran a webcomic that unfortunately
is now all but dead. However, it too was a lot
of fun while it lasted. A friend of mine is currently
setting up a web-based design company because
he realized just how easy the Internet makes it
to go into business for yourself, instead of working
your way through university through a variety
of often low paying and uninteresting casual job
positions. I currently waste too much time playing
other people’s games so my newest plan is
to learn Flash and make my own online games.
So, while I’m trying to inject some form
of gymnastic ability into my gargantuan frame
as I attempt to make short films with a decent
story, acting, camerawork and so on, why don’t
you find something that gets you excited and try
it out for yourself? If someone like me can do
it, then you can probably work it out with a just
a little bit of effort. You may never be as good
as the things that inspire you, but it’s
a lot of fun trying to emulate them or create
your own. Another positive point to mention is
that when you get stuck the Internet is full of
tutorials written by those in the know to get
you through your difficult spots. Even I can try
and learn from Tricks Tutorials (http://www.trickstutorials.com).
So, see the great possibilities in the Internet
and go and have fun broadening your horizons!
About The Author
Daniel Punch
M6.Net Web Helpers
http://www.m6.net
danielp@m6.net
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