Human Ransom [02.10.07]

[trash180]

Soooo, it's like a crossover or something? Lonelygirl laff-a-lympics? Teaming up to fight the order?

Interesting that they figured out the order was watching so they made a phony video with Bree and Jonas talking about a trade...only to reveal...Tachyon! Tac fans rejoice and renew allegiance to the mother-brand (by which all spin-offs are indebted for their very existence and viewership).

It's just that all these things are what we see happen when a show is in decline and just floating creatively. Except they tell us that LG15 is still becoming the show it means to be. We haven't quite got to the point of LG15, yet it's doing all these things that we see shows do when all the ideas are gone? That's what's kinda troubling me about the whole thing. Maybe it's just the pace bugging me. I dunno. That really does have to be the hardest part of making this thing...knowing when to do something.

So, this is spotlight on fan-fic/newly canon Tachyon with a few other geek strokes thrown in. Now do I choose to enrich my lg15 experience by viewing the Tac and the Op Aphid videos, or not? I haven't decided.

Well, they'll probably take it down a notch, they'll do nothing with the story or the style for a while, then they'll go back to the old way, then try another new way, then try an old old way, then do another spin-off type show, then do nothing with the style or the story for a while then...

I dunno...it's not so bad?
Now my fireplace, that I could watch for hours...*trails off**

Hey Mork vs. the Fonz! I can't wait for that episode!

[curiousgeorge]

annam said:

<snip>

but there was something fun about watching a bunch of wannabe filmmakers and wannabe actors getting together in someone's apartment with cheap cameras to make something really new and exciting.

I felt that way the first time I heard The Clash. I know several out there are, uhm, wise enough to remember that time in musical history. There was Yes, Kansas, Floyd and then this bombast came at me like a ton of bricks. Wonderfully flawed "amateurs" but totally awesome. Their influence is still felt today...

I won't go as far as to say that the creators are as important as The Clash, but it is exciting to watch a new entertainment medium (not art form) develop. And by medium, I am also including the wonderfully whacky forums. The combo of the vids and the online interaction are what hold me in. I don't need to solve puzzles, I have these people here... Much better!

Rumsfield time:

Are we critical? Hell yes, at times. Over the top critical? Not so much IMHO. Does it get all negative here at times? Sometimes, but then Milo and FLW usually get us out of the rut. Yeah them! Is Slainte obviously an agent of the the Gaylien P.R. Dept? Most definitely. Are we, in our own way, fulfilling the promise of "interactivity"? Oh yes, albeit not in the way it was intended I think . Yeah US!

I personally LOVED this video, despite the many WTF moments in it. Others didn't. There you have it.

[lesbrent]

someone care to explain the plane, and the oil field purposes in this vid? And if Bree was in the elevator, how was she not hurt when the flash was "bowled" in there? And where was Jonas?

[curiousgeorge]

lesbrent said:

someone care to explain the plane, and the oil field purposes in this vid? And if Bree was in the elevator, how was she not hurt when the flash was "bowled" in there? And where was Jonas?

I was wondering about the repeated oil field shots also. Probably part of the next ARG event...

As for the flash bomb, that was just one of the many (unexplainable by any logic) WTF moments. I suspect Terrry's guess about video FPS game production is right on target with this one...

ETA: Les, Tachyon flew in from Fiji on that plane. I really just hated typing that last sentence it was so absurd .

[hyemew]

I kept wondering about the flash too, the door was on its way closing. That means the down button had been pressed and was engaged automatically. When the bomb went off the door would have been completely closed, meaning it would then begin its way down. From what it sounds like, the people inside a closed thing like that might have been killed by it, and even if not the smoke inhalation from being in an enclosed place like that would have been possibly lethal. Whatever the case they'd be stuck in it with no way for Bree to escape, unless she presses the door open button at the same time that the bomb went off and she ran out through the smoke and... I should stop trying to rationalize this. There's no way to make sense of it.

[milowent]

annam said:

okay, this is the first time i've ever posted anything here ... i came here when you guys jumped ship ...

thanks for sharing your thoughts. i have seen you lurking here, its nice to know you've felt it was worthwhile to read.

but there was something fun about watching a bunch of wannabe filmmakers and wannabe actors getting together in someone's apartment with cheap cameras to make something really new and exciting. i used to love just coming to this board and seeing the mysteries unravel, because i'm always too stupid to figure stuff out (i could never even guess the end of encyclopedia brown mysteries). there is this sense of all being a part of something really special, and a while ago that just kind of faded away.

1st of all, encyclopedia brown mysteries are difficult! the "1st battle of bull run" sword thing (one of the 1st E.C. mysteries), i still forgot the solution when reading it recently with my son!

yes, annam, it was new and exciting, and i think many of us agree that felt we were part of something very special. we are 5 months since the outing now, though, that's a long time in the internet world. i still think its something unique and special, but i'm not completely irrational about it.

.. when i come over here is a lot of complaining about whatever is going on. ... but they're stretching their boundaries, and that's a good thing.

sometimes too much complaining, sure. the cove represents a subset of the lg15 audience now that is not its mainstream demographic. but you seem to be in that subset, too, so please feel free to chime in like you did today when you disagree. i personally think that those of us who continue to post here, even when we are negative, wouldn't post at all if we'd given up hope and lost all pleasure from watching.

[Smashing]

So now we're criticizing the criticizing of the criticizing of the criticizing? Gimme a break. You want more positive critiques? Take it up with the Cree-ay-tohrs. I suppose I should use more smiley faces so you know I'm not angry
No music credit on this vid? Lgpedia says it's original. Awesome job, I say! The music was great. (how's that for positive?) The vid was cool too, the many WTF factors aside. Must every vid end with a pseudo-cliffhanger? We know they had to get home in order to post the video...
Oh, should I not mention that because it's critical? whatev'

[Terryfic]

smashing said:

• Releasing a drama in two minute segments: failure. I think this is the biggest problem with the whole endeavor. It's like releasing Harry Potter two pages at a time. It works with the vlog style, not so much with a drama. Some people are okay with it, but damn it takes patience, and I think this is where they lost a lot of their audience.

I think this quote really hit the nail on the head perfectly about why I don’t like, and haven’t liked many of the videos in the past. The fact that they can’t fit an entire scene in a single video anymore is a major problem. It isn’t just the patience of having to wait to see what comes next, it is more how disjointed the series becomes.

An action sequence like this normally works because it has narrative drama leading up to it, but all of that has been effectively stripped away from it because it was aired several days before. The emotional flow doesn’t occur when each scene is separated by days instead of seconds, especially when the following scene requires so much from the previous one.

As Smashing pointed out this worked back when the videos were self contained, but now it is disruptive. I’ve hated the cliff hangers for a long time and I think this is part of it. The videos need to become longer, resolve more and be more self contained. Like if the 3 videos where they went searching for Daniel and found the Cowboy had been one long video I think it would have been more satisfying to watch. This would break the 3 minute rule, but if it doesn’t look like a vlog the entire time I think they could get away with a length of up to 9 minutes (similar to the time between commercials on tv).

Action needs context. The context should be in the same video as the action so that the viewer still has it in their mind while they are watching the action. To separate the two results in boring expositional context and soulless emotionally empty action.

Oh, and the music was great. I have to credit Glenn with certainly being multitalented.

[slainte]

Smashing...ease up on the hyper-criticism if you don't mind. (I'm kidding d'uh) I'd like to join the side that says ayeah we bitch alot but for the most part the mere fact that we stay says that we still like it. I'd also like to extend my hand to Annan. I think she got "yelled at" in her first post and that was a little cruel. I couldn't do puzzles either, I still can't I do no posess any where near the sleuthing abiliitimany of you here. Nor do I qualify in any way as a critc. I'm just a "Joe".

I liked this vid but as I was watching I could almost hear people from the cove graoning and cringing. It was all right. It was a little predictable. I don't think it represents the best or the worst of the series by any means. As for this new writer guy - let's face it, they need the help; if it doesn't work out they will can him and find someone else but they NEED the help.

As for "the old days" they are gone. Fact. Not coming back. As Judge Reinhold said in Fast Times: "Learn it. Know it. Live it".

"Oobladee-ooblahda life goes on" eh Smashing?

There will be talking head vids and there will be action vids, there will be dumb artsy vids and tnow that Tachyon and OpAphid are on board there will be those whacky visuals vids. I kinda like the creepy scary vids like Cassie used to make

I thiink I know where HyeMew and Terry and others are coming from. i miss the nice Bree vids to. I think I have expounded on the young girl learning about life and love thing in threads past, I think most of us have in one way or the other.

I think maybe it's important that we just face up to the what it has become and where it is going; who the demo is and who matters. I think we need to do accept what is or else we are going to end up sounding like a bunch of old spinsters - which we come dangerously close to more often than you might like to think.

I'm stayin.

( Damn it I want another star or two. I get intimidated posting stuff in front of all you 3-4 star folks! Am I going to have to start posting things like "Hi! what's for dinner tonight?" or better yet "I agree" )

[hookedonmonics]

I agree.

and, for the record, I'm making chicken enchiladas for supper tonight. Not only am I a stay home mom, I'm a fat stay home mom, so I'm trying to force the family to eat a bit better with me. (I've lost about 20 pounds in 2007! woo hoo!!.......I miss chocolate.)



now, on topic- I liked the video, but not as much as some others. I'm just glad at this point there is action. It's been in action/suspense mode for a while now, and there's nothing more irritating than an action story with no action. I have to agree that these 2 minute blips is not the best way to tell this story. Whatever happened with the cowboy, anyway? Why do they drop EVERYTHING without resolution? sigh.

[frostbyte72]

Oh dear lord....I wish you lived near me so I could come over for dinner. That sounds so good.

p.s. now my tummy is growling.

thanks.

[harlequin]

Im sry but this just really bothered me (im big into military stuff)

The best known is the M84 Stun Grenade, commonly known as the "Flashbang", so called because it produces a blinding (1 million Candela) flash and deafening (170-180 dB SPL) blast. This grenade can be used to incapacitate people, generally without causing serious injury. Standard operating procedure for LAPD SWAT has officers deploy flashbangs close to the point of entry. This is because all attention will be directed towards the door once it has been breached, and deploying the flashbang close to this point heightens the chances that a suspect will be affected by the device.

The physiological processes through which this is made possible are quite simple. The flash of light momentarily activates all photosensitive cells in the retina, making vision impossible for approximately five seconds until the eye restores the retina to its original, unstimulated state. Subjects affected by flashbangs describe seeing a single frame for the five seconds (as if their vision was "paused") until it fades and normal sight returns. This is because the sensory cells which have been activated continue sending the same information to the brain until they are restored to their resting state, and the brain translates this continuous information into the same image. The incredibly loud blast emitted from the grenade contributes to its incapacitative properties by disturbing the fluid in the semicircular canals of the ear. The semicircular canals consist of three half circles of tubing, each oriented in one of the three planes of motion, that are filled with fluid. The walls of the tubes are lined with hair cells which use their small, hairlike cilia to detect the motion of the water. This establishes a person's sense of balance and movement through space. When a flashbang detonates, the fluid in the semicircular canals is disturbed, and with it the subject's sense of balance. The phenomenon is similar to spinning rapidly in one direction, and suddenly stopping. The sensation that the room is moving comes from the movement of the fluid in the inner ear.

Upon detonation, the fuse/grenade body assembly remains intact and produces no fragmentation. The body is a steel hexagonal tube with holes along the sides which allow a blast of light and sound to be emitted. This is done to prevent injury from shrapnel. However, injuries resulting from the concussive properties of the detonation sometimes occur. The filler consists of about 4.5 grams of a pyrotechnic metal-oxidant mix of magnesium and ammonium perchlorate.


keep in mind this is the effect of the grenade over the space of an entire room when detonated at the entrance of it (also assuming that the targets are behind cover and far away from said door)


now imagine that in a confined space where the sound and light would reflect off of the walls more often than in a larger room. Also the flash is caused by a chemical reaction causing the light at close proximities this can cause sever burns.

[Smashing]

nice work, harlequin. This is my favorite type of post: educational!....I'm such a nerd.

[wixy15]

Although not the style which made me love LG15, I honestly think this is the best put together video that has been made. I loved the music, and the way the shots were cut in time. The content is perhaps a bit duff, but I loved this video, if only for the proffesional look of it. LG15 has changed, and after a few months off, coming back to this is pretty mind boggling!

[wixy15]

milowent said:

that tackyon music got me pumped

Is it written for Tacky? I think it is top music, I'm trying to work out how to steal it...