ReallyIsaac

It would seem that everything in visual media is coming out in 3D, these days. I know there are a few people #NotOkay with this trend, myself included, but that doesn’t seem to stop Hollywood from making movies in 3D. Even movies that weren’t even shot in 3D are converted over. Big failures to this process were Clash of the Titans, The Green Hornet and, in my opinion, Tron: Legacy. Granted, there were SOME parts in Tron: Legacy that were actually shot in 3D, but most of them weren’t even that great. 

But that’s not what this post is about! Sorry. But because 3D is taking over our theaters, it’s seems to be moving over to the gaming world too. I know that the PS3 had a firmware updated that now you were able to play 3D movies on your console, provided you had a 3D HDTV to go along with it. Now Nintendo has joined the game. But their push is: 3D without glasses. So Nintendo brings us the Nintendo 3DS!

When I first heard about the 3DS, I really didn’t care one way or another about it. I had the DSi-XL and was very happy with it. I had no intention of upgrading at that time. But when Gamestop was having the DS trade-in promotion I had to urge to trade mine in and get the 3DS. Of course when buying a system like that, you have to buy a game with it. Let me just say: horrible first release games.

They did have Street Fighter II in 3D, but I suck a fighting games. So I went with another button masher: LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars 3D. I’ll tell you this: I don’t hate it. I love the fact that you don’t need glasses and that you can adjust the intensity of 3D with the 3D slider. It’s a smaller screen than DSi-XL, so I’m sad about that, but if you’re used to the DSi or DS Lite it’s not that big of a difference. I do find it funny that they have a full menu icon about health concerns that may come up. Also: They warn that you don’t play the 3DS for more than six hours. 

The batter life isn’t that great when playing in full 3D mode. You might get a little over two hours of actual game play and about six hours in 2D mode. It is backwards compatible with most DS games. I’m just glad Pokemon Black is one of them. You will get some pixilation when playing DS games. Also, because the top screen in widescreen format, you’ll get full screen black bars on the side when playing. They have a full list of DS games that you can play on the 3DS at the Nintendo 3DS website.

They have other in system features that make interacting with other 3DS users pretty easy. If you’re familiar with Nintendo, you can create a Mii profile and avatar. With the Street Pass feature, you can exchange your Mii information with other 3DS without having to actually do anything. You can have you 3DS in your bag and when you’re passing by another user it will automatically send your profile info to them and their’s to you. Of course, you can put how much information you would like to share. With that, you’ll be able to see what they are playing and communicate with them. 

I’ve also seen the list of 3D games coming out within the year and off the top of my head, here are some of the title I’m looking forward to playing: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Starfox 64, Super Mario 3D & Mario Kart 3D. Sure these games aren’t “new” titles, but still. I would love to play Ocarina of Time and Starfox 64 in 3D!

Overall it’s a pretty cool devise. Things to look forward to are, soon you will be able to watch Netflix on your 3DS and exclusive downloadable 3D games. Again, you can visit the 3DS website to take a tour of the system and other games.

I can’t believe it’s been over ten (10) years since Pokemon Red and Blue were first released. I wanna say I got Red Version first, but it’s been so long, I really don’t remember. I just know at some point I owned both copies. At the time, I really didn’t know much about the series or what I was getting myself involved in. The animated show had been out for several months before the game was released, but I never saw it. 

So when I got the game, I was amazed by how open world it was for a fixed RPG. When I realized that the game continued after you completed the main story arc, I couldn’t put it down. There was one phrase that just stayed with me through every battle and every new quest: Gotta Catch’em All. For me, the game didn’t end ‘til I caught all one hundred and fifty one (151) Pokemon. 

Now because there were two versions of the game, it required the gamer to seek out other Pokemon players with the opposite game to trade and even battle. Looking back, I don’t think I ever got all 151 Pokemon. There was that last one you could only get through special out of game events. 

Then about year later, another version of the game was released titled: Pokemon Yellow. This version of the game was a copy of Red and Blue only it mirrored the show more, allowing the player to get Pikachu as his or her first Pokemon. Also Pikachu followed along with you outside his Pokeball through the entire journey. 

Let’s now fast-forward 10 years to March 6th 2011: Pokemon had expanded to 12 different versions taking place in 5 different regions, each with their own story arc and the discovery of over 649 different Pokemon. And now the latest version of the series: Pokemon Black and White. Not the most clever of names, but it was kind of overdue. They had gone from Red, Blue, Yellow, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Silver, Gold and even Crystal, just to name a few. 

When I heard Black and White was coming to the states, I went to the local Gamestop and pre-ordered a copy of Black, while a friend of mine got White. When you turn on the game, you are greeted with amazingly new graphics, but that same nostalgic feeling. The environments are simply stunning and the game play is very similar to its predecessors. They’ve added new in game features that make it easier for gamers to communicate with others over wifi and wireless connections. The story is pretty interesting, but familiar to the others. Now even though this isn’t a bad thing, it does feel like the same’ol games. 

I’m about half way through and from what I’ve seen it’s getting very interesting. For the two days that I’ve had the game, I’ve hardly put it down. In fact, I’m playing as I’m writing this post. For those old Pokemon fans, I say this is a great game to pick up and dive right back in. For the people who want to see what all the talk is about, I recommend visiting the official site. Pokemon isn’t for everyone, but for me, I won’t stop ‘til I Catch’em all.

…see what I did there. I’m a nerd.

There’s been some talk around the proverbial water cooler that Apple is going to release a new Final Cut Pro updated. This would make it the 8th version of the software and word is, it’s getting a huge overhaul. In this article they talked about how Apple developers asked for Pro users for their feedback and they don’t mean people like me. They want people who know Final Cut in and out.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been working with FCP for just over five (5) years now, but there’s still so much I don’t know about the wonderful program.  So I’m interested to see where they take it. I am a bit concerned that when I do open the program, it will look and feel completely different. One of the great things about FCP is how user friendly it is. But I would like to believe they’re making this update to improve the editing experience. 

There’s still no word of whether they are just releasing Final Cut Pro 8 software or if they will be adding updates to the entire Final Cut Studio family. Because word about the 2011 Apple Keynote is still in the dark, we wont know anything for sure. I would suspect that they might hint to something at WWDC in June, but most forums say Apple will be talking about iPhone 5/iPad 2 related products. 

I would like to thank Jared Abrams for tweeting/blogging about the article. You can check out his site HERE.  

On February 9th, ABC premiered  Mr. Sunshine starring Matthew Perry, Allison Janney, Andrea Anders and Nate Torrence. Let me just say, I really enjoyed. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting something a little more. As you know, I’m a huge Aaron Sorkin fan. Because so much of Aaron’s crew was working on this show, I was expecting his style of writing. But there is only one Aaron Sorkin. Don’t get me wrong, I love this show! Its really funny, smart and Matthew Perry does an outstanding job of playing himself. 

Not to sound condescending, but in an interview with Matthew Perry on the Daily Show with John Steward, he clearly stated that he did the most self-serving thing a person could do: create a TV Show for themselves. Courteney Cox did it for Cougar Town. Matt Leblanc on the show Episodes - which he is actually playing himself - and I’m sure there are others doing the same.

Funny thought: Actors from Friends feel they should have shows about themselves. Also: I watch every single one of them! 

But I digress. Even though I was expecting Sorkin style of writing, I wasn’t really that disappointed with what I saw. The show was really funny. Matthew’s facial expression are really on point. He has a way about delivering dialogue without having to say really anything. Half of what makes great dialogue is reaction. Matthew must know this very well. 

The Pilot episode was pretty standard as far as pilots go. They had the “kind of” love interest, there was the best friend the lead secretly envies, the person who gets everyone in trouble and the one that needs looking out for and a lead that’s discovering something about themselves.  Granted, those aren’t set in stone staples for a TV sitcom, but for Mr. Sunshine it seems to work.

One thing for sure is they have a fan right here! I’ve already set my DVR to record all future episodes. You can watch it live on ABC Wednesday 9:30/8:30p C. If you missed the Pilot episode, you can downloaded it from iTunes for free.

Most of you know that I have this little channel on YouTube where I make sketches with my Bro, @Rescuethecows. Now this isn’t just a little project for me or something to pass the time. I like to view my work as the real deal. 

With that said, I’ve invested money into making this happen. I’ve purchased a new MacBook Pro to handle my editing needs. I’ve bought a Kodak Zi8 for vlogging and. most recently, I got myself a Canon EOS Rebel t2i. Now I do most of my editing in iMovie because, I’ll be honest with you, they really don’t require the fire power that Final Cut Studio provides. But now that I’m beginning to upgrade my equipment, I also want to “upgrade” the quality of the content I’m producing as well as the type of content I’m producing. 

Now don’t get me wrong, BareLove: Lunch Special will continue to be the flagship program on ReallyIsaac Studios, but I want to branch out, adding new programming to the channel. But obviously I can’t do this alone. Funding being the main issue, I try to find retailers that offer high-end equipment, but for affordable prices. 

Thanks to my brother, Santiago Guerra - who has a great podcast show called TheOpus, but I’ll get into that in another article - showed me a websites that focuses not only on the big business, but all the little guys as well. People who want to take video/film making to the next level: Jag35 is that company!

Jag35.com is like a candy store for to all those who love to make movies. But for me, Jag35 has moved up in the ranks to become my New Apple Store. Again, those who know me, know that I EL OH VE EE all things Apple. My entire work station, from editing (iMovie, Final Cut Studio) to writing documents (Pages, Keynote) is all done with Apple software. 

Jag35 offers a range of equipment from 35mm adapters for your video camera to shoulder rigs for your DSLR cameras. On their site, they have many product reviews as well as interviews with other people who’ve used their systems before and love it. 

All I can do is direct you to their site and have you look for yourself. I’ll be posting reviews on their products when I get my order. So be on the look out. Again, you can find all Jag35 products at www.jag35.com.