The London 2012 Olympics

Chad Le Clos

On the 31st of July, A young South African swimmer beat arguably the best swimmer of all time in the 200-meter butterfly finals of the London 2012 Olympics. Chad Le Clos had watched video clips of Phelps swimming for two entire years over and over and practiced hard to beat Phelps. He actually won because of a miscalculation by Phelps who made his final stretch to touch the wall of the pool a tad bit early. He should have put in one more stroke and then stretched but Chad got it right. When he looked up to see if he had it, you couldn't miss just how much the 20 year old was overwhelmed to discover he had won.
The presentation of the medals was particularly moving. Chad was all smiles as he stood on the podium and stooped down to have the coveted gold medal placed around his neck. His parents were up in the terraces oozing with pride as his mother blew her 20 year old boy kisses and his father waved the South African flag with both hands.

Chad

After the silver and bronze were also awarded, the three stood still as Chad's national anthem was played. As the anthem played Chad's eyes welled up and soon the tears poured, in no time he was sobbing. He had made his parents proud and had brought honour to his country. He would go down in history as the young 20 year old who took the great 27 year old Michael Phelps on and beat him.

Chad during the playing of the South African national anthem.

It is truly a great honour first of all to be chosen from all the countrymen and women who have dedicated their lives to master your particular discipline to represent your country. It is an honour to compete with the best people on the planet and to come out on top... very few things come close to such an achievement. To put your country in the history books as having come out at the top. What an honour indeed. Can you blame Chad for breaking down really? I think I may have shed a little something myself. It is truly remarkable.

Usain Bold-Fastest Man on Earth

Many have achieved even greater things than Chad. Michael Phelps himself is probably the greatest Olympian of all time with a total of 19 medals, eight of which he took at the Beijing Olympics, and all eight were gold! Alexei Nemov competed in the 96' and 00' Olympics where he garnered a total of 16 medals. Who doesn't know the man whose name tells it all, Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth? He broke the world record in one Olympics and won gold then came back to the next Olympics and broke his own world record and won gold again and has now cemented his name as the fastest man on earth yet again at the London 2012 Olympics. And what about Joyner's success from the 80s? She is a five-time Olympic medalist. In her first Olympics in 1984, Flo-Jo captured the silver medal in the 200 meters. She really stepped it up at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, collecting gold medals in the 100, 200 and the 4x100 relay and silver in the 4x400 relay. And then there's Nadia Comaneci who became an international star during the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Comaneci holds the distinction of being the first gymnast to earn a 10 in Olympic competition. Incredibly, Comaneci was only 14 years old when she captured her first gold medal!

Yet, here is the unfortunate thing, how many of these people do you know?

Chad? Phelps? Alexei? Bolt? Florence Joyner? Nadia? These are men and women who have achieved, in competitive sport, things that we could never even dream of. Men and women who have brought pride to their countries and families and have etched their names in history as the greatest in their disciplines and yet, we don't even know them! If we walked passed them we would not even recognize them. If they stopped us to introduce themselves to us by name, it would not likely ring a bell. That is really unfortunate. Sure when you achieve great things like this you get money but that money runs out, you get fame but that fame is clearly limited. The next generation is eager to erase your name and replace it with its own. You'd think that after you are long gone and have died atleast your name would remain on the lips of those who remain behind, but if so relatively few know you while you are alive, what are the odds?

No wonder the wisest man on earth said life under the sun is meaningless. If you can work so hard to achieve so much and still be relatively unknown, how meaningless life must indeed be. I support those who pursue olympic gold medals and world records, they will realize much more wealth and fame than the average man ever will. It is certainly better than sitting around picking one's teeth. But when it's all said and done, what they get out of it will never equal what they put in.

On that rather depressing note (truly life is depressing when you ponder it, even Solomon got depressed considering all these things), Happy Olympics!

 "Only one life, t'will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."

Read More

Absalom

I have been fascinated by the life of David's son, Absalom as found in 2 Samuel and thought I'd share it here. So many things have struck me about this man.

The thing that amazes me most is just how much David, his father, King of Israel, loved him. David loved his son so much. This son who did nothing but wrong against his father. Absalom murdered his brother and plotted to and even briefly succeeded in overthrowing his father. Yet in spite of all this David loved him!

Absalom was a very handsome man. That is something that I never knew. He was very well built and lovely to behold. In fact, no one compared to him in the whole of Israel. The bible says that from the top of his head to the sole of his feet, no blemish could be found on him. He had long hair which appears to have been an admirable thing in a man at that time. These days all young men ever hear is 'cut your hair'.

I have been struck by Absalom's love. It was love that drove him to kill his own half brother. Absalom's sister was Tamar. She was raped by Amnon, her half brother. Absalom found his sister (with whom he shared a mother) weeping and she explained to him what had happened. In those days, her life was pretty much over. No man would ever want to marry her. She had been disgraced. Absalom, spoke to her tenderly and invited her to live with him in his house. I was quite surprised at that account because I have always known this man in negative light. Absalom carried a grudge against his half brother Amnon for two entire years until finally an opportunity arose to take the life of his brother. He did not hesitate. After that incident, Absalom fled for fear of the punishment of this terrible crime.

Inorder to assassinate Amnon, Absalom with the permission of David, invited all his father's sons to a feast in the town where he lived. When Amnon was drunk, Absalom had his men kill him. All the princes were afraid and immediately fled back to their father's palace. They entered into it weeping. Imagine David, watching all his sons rush into his palace weeping, like scared children bringing back news that Amnon, his first born son, was dead. Yet inspite of this David loved Absalom and wished that he would return from exile. Even those who surrounded him in his palace could tell that David was not himself. He longed for his son.

Finally it was arranged, Absalom was assured that the King would not punish him. Absalom returned home. After two years he was allowed an audience with the King, his father David, who kissed him. The two year delay probably served to chastise Absalom or simply to show some form of disapproval for his actions and would have been longer had it not been for Absalom's efforts.

Absalom was an ambitious man. His ambition led to his death. He was obviously a brilliant man as well. Not long after his return, he conspired rather brilliantly to overthrow his father. His father David, ruled over a nation consisting of twelve tribes. Everytime men came from a particular tribe to seek an audience with the King, Absalom made sure that he met them first. Here is what the bible says:

In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”


Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

A brilliant man he was indeed! Absalom did this for four entire years. His plan was now ready for execution. He sent out his men to all the tribes of Israel telling them that when they heard the sound of trumpets they were to shout out that Absalom was King.

David his father had to run for his life. What sort of a man would do this to his own father? Well, in the end, David came up with an idea of his own were he sent his advisers to Absalom to pretend that they too had forsaken him. Absalom accepted them and even asked them, "Is this the love you show your friend?" Ironic isn't it? I'm sure in their hearts they responded, "Our sentiments exactly!"

Well eventually, this plan succeeded and Absalom was now the one on the run. David instructed those who were pursuing him not to harm him. But his more objective army commander who was leading the hunt for Absalom killed him as soon as he caught him. Absalom was on horse back and as he passed beneath some trees his long hair got caught up in the branches and he was left suspended in the air. When David's army commander reached him, he killed Absalom. And thus the hair that made him once famous was now the reason for his undoing.

As soon as his men returned, David asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" When he learnt the bad news, these were his words:

"O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!"

Yes. The most remarkable thing about Absalom's life was his father's love for him. I am convinced that the most remarkable thing about my life, is God's love for me. Like Absalom I have rebelled so many times but I am yet to be forsaken.

Read More

Psalm 151

Is not included in the canon of scripture we* embrace, i.e. the Protestant Canon, which comprises of only 150 Psalms. It will be interesting to know on the last day if it is authentic. This psalm is nicknamed Psalm 151, it is in fact a combination of two Psalms. One of these Hebrew psalms, known as “Psalm 151a”, is reflected in verses 1–5 of the Greek Psalm 151, while verses 6 onward are derived from the other Hebrew psalm, known as “Psalm 151b” (which is only partially preserved). The composer has brought the two Hebrew psalms together in a manner that significantly changes their meaning and structure, but the influence of the Hebrew originals is still readily apparent. The fact that it was found in the dead sea scrolls and was, therefore, originally written in Hebrew adds to its credibility.

*Protestants.


This Psalm is ascribed to David and is outside the number. When he slew Goliath in single combat.


[This Title is given in the Septuagint]



1 Little was I among my brethren:

younger brother in my father's house.



2 My hands, they made an instrument of music:

My fingers, they prepared a psaltery.



3 And who shall bring back tidings to my master?

The Lord Himself, Himself gives ear.



4 Himself sent forth His messenger:

And took me from among my father's sheep;

And with the oil of His annointing He annointed me.



5 Comely my brethren were and tall:

And yet they found not favour with the Lord.



6 But I, I sallied forth to meet the alien:

And he reviled me by all his idols.



7 But I drew forth the sword that was beside him:

I cut his head off with it,

And from the sons of Israel removed reproach.

Read More

Excellent Commercial!

I have huge interest in trivia and behind the scenes stuff and consequently in the directing and production aspects of movies. Here is a brilliant advert/commercial followed by an excellent review by John Moore which I found extremely interesting. Something I'd love to do, some day, is make a movie. Check out this young (under 25 I reckon) film maker's blog- Life, by John

This was a remarkable change of pace from the typical PSA. It was beautifully shot, well directed, and had a good bit of forethought in the story being told.


Things that appeal to me about it are the environment. In the home, a father evidently teaching his daughter something about vehicle safety. It's cozy, it's warm, it's a place we all want to be.


The love between the members of the family is clearly portrayed as the commercial begins, and the daughter's panic stricken face betrays so much affection for her father that you can't help but resonate with the character. This is excellent casting, and excellent direction. If one were to look back at preproduction of this ad, one would no doubt find detailed storyboards and animatics prepared well in advance.


But the brilliance is also in the simplicity of the shots. One of the reasons the elements are so bold and so plain for the viewer, so memorable in the midst of a variety of other commercials, is the economy of shots. Thomas Jefferson said, "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." The same applies to shots within a film as well.


The breakdown of the commercial:

1. 00:00 Key Turning.
2. 00:04 Foot on the gas.
3. 00:06 Family watches, entertained - trucking right.
4. 00:10 Driving happily - push in.
5. 00:14 Family laughter, mid shot - push in.
6. 00:17 A happy father, - truck right.
7. 00:20 Daughter laughing, - push in.
8. 00:22 Fearful driver, mid-shot - push in.
9. 00:28 Panicked daughter, close up - push in
10. 00:31 Yanking the wheel, close up - push in
11. 00:35 Family leaps into action - push in
12. 00:36 Daughter at his side
13. 00:43 Her Fingers interlock
14. 00:46 Wife grabs him
15. 00:48 Her Fingers interlock
16. 00:50 Impact Close-up
17. 00:50 Impact Wide
18. 00:58 Glitter Falls
19. 01:02 A Family Embrace


You might say, "That's 19 shots in an 88 second commercial. That's averaging a cut every 4.5 seconds... How is that economical?" Well, in this instance, we're going to examine the setups and angles, or shots and not the number of times a shot is edited in, or cuts. There is a lot we were able to learn in this very short period of time, and a lot of action taking place. Yet the reason we were able to remember it all so very clearly, is that we didn't cut to a new angle every time.


The setups are actually very simple throughout the short. Shots 1 and 2 are throwaway angles. That's why the content in the shot is very limited. A key turns, a foot presses the gas pedal. But even though they pass by in six seconds, we know he's starting a car. There is very little to see in the shot, other than the hand with the invisible key, and the foot on the invisible gas pedal. This way, all our attention is devoted to the actions, not the environment.


This is true with every shot in the film; the environments are simple and unassuming, familiar to the viewer, so that the characters become the focal point.


Shot 3 we move the camera past the driver, to see the family on the couch. Now we have clearly established the locations of the characters, and the mood of the family. If we were to cut to the father first, his dopey driving grin would look ridiculous. Instead, because we see the family giggling and watching with awe, when we cut to the father driving, we realize he is intentionally entertaining them. His actions no longer seem silly, but noble, in a way.


Shot 4, with the father driving, is a setup (angle, lighting, dolly track, etc) that will be reused several times, with only slight variation. The same is true of shot 5. In all, there were probably only about ten setups in the whole film, allowing a lot of time for the audience to really study out each of the environments, characters, actions, and arcs within the short.


Even in the longest shot in the short, the end embrace, the environment is very simple. There are no props, no background furniture. The wallpaper is patterned but the pattern is so out of focus, we can only really study the family. They are even lit more brightly than anything in the background. It's a perfect close.


An amateur director would probably have had an entirely new shot every 3-5 seconds, to keep it 'interesting'. Rather than focusing on characters and clearly defining their goals, he would have distracted the audience with 20 unique setups, brightly lit and filled with distracting background props. This would not only hurt the audience's understanding of the short, but it would have also been twice as time consuming to shoot.


On a shoot like this, every setup would take 45 minutes to an hour. When storyboarding even your short films, consider the cost of every shot on a professional feature film. Choose your shots very carefully, and focus on clarity of the action for the audience. Remember, we're here to serve the audience with a story; not confuse them with unnecessary information.


Keep it simple, make it bold.


~ In Christ, John.

Read More

Find The Man

Doctors have concluded that, if you find the man in 3 seconds, then the Right half of your brain is better developed than most people.


If you find the man between 3 seconds and one minute, then your right Half of the brain is developed normally.


If you find the man between one minute and 3 minutes, then the right Half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to Eat moreprotein.


If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the right half of your Brain is a mess, and the only advice is to look for more of these types of exercises to make that part of the brain stronger.


The man is really there. Keep looking!


I got it in about 20sec :-). You?

Read More

Air France Pictures Are Fake!

Ahhh! The pictures I put up in my last post are fake! Watch this 15 sec trailer and you'll see the scene from which the pictures where taken. Thanks Mike, for enlightening me...

Read More

Air France Plane Crash

Pictures, said to be taken by a passenger, who died with all the others, in the Air France Crash. The two were taken from inside the plane apparently, by an actor survived by a wife and two daughters. Word around the blogsphere is that they were taken with a camera phone and retrieved from the memory stick inside it. Kinda puts things into persective huh...

P.S: They could be fake, for all I know, but what you see is a glimpse of what probably went on in there.

Read More