3D glasses

you get invited to a movie.  you've heard it's good.  the previews seem promising.

you go in.  someone hands you 3D glasses at the door.  you put them on as you sit down, and the movie starts.

it's everything you hoped for and more.  the plot line is compelling.  the actors make you forget they're acting at all.  the music is so creative that it makes you squirm.  the effects make the movie pop.  and the new technology in the 3D glasses makes it seem just like real life.  in fact, by now, you've entirely forgotten that you're watching a movie.

halfway through the movie your 3D glasses fall off.  you reach to put them back on, but you are distracted--nothing about the movie is the same.  all of the lines are out of place, and the effects which had seemed so captivating before are nothing more than blurry smudges of mixed-up color.  you cannot even make out the expressions on the actors' faces, so it's impossible to tell how good the acting really is.  the music is just as expressive, but it accompanies nothing on the screen.

you put the glasses back on, but you cannot get the blurred double images out of your head.  you wonder how it had you so entranced before that you got so lost in it.  you try to enjoy the movie.  it's still a good movie, but the effect is gone.

slightly disenchanted, you step outside into the cold night air.  next time, you decide, you will just see the regular version of the movie rather than its 3D counterpart.  even if it's not the same effect, you decide that you'd prefer a movie that doesn't depend on optical illusions.

inspirations: stop-motion

these were part of the reason i'm trying this technique out, just to see how it goes.  i like especially the combination of different effects and skills in these--it's more than just a cartoon (though those are cool too, but i especially like this).

(just remembered--i think i've mentioned this ^ one before, but oh well)

inspirations: the piano guys

these two videos are super cool (in my mind) because it's not just your traditional way of playing an instrument exactly the way it's supposed to be, playing music someone wrote ages ago.  they took existing songs (and instruments) and innovated them to make them new and original.

side note: here's a cool quote from the movie Apollo 13: "I don't care what anything was designed to do. I care about what it can do."