http://www.jonimmel.com/ en jonimmel@gmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-02-05T04:17:00+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/the-rise-of-phoenix/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/the-rise-of-phoenix/#When:04:17:00Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/013110-phoenix.jpg One of my favorite albums of 2009 was Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Apparently I wasn’t alone, as the album was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, and landing them on countless top 10 lists. They even managed to win a Grammy last Sunday for Best Alternative Album (The Grammy's are still a worthless award, but I'll save that for another post). The past year also saw the band break out from being relatively unknown in the US to headlining two sold out shows at New York's Central Park. I first heard them on the soundtrack to Sophia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation. The entire soundtrack was excellent, but the song that really stood out for me was Phoenix’s Too Young. I wasn’t able to see the band live till they released their second album, Alphabetical, in 2004. They played at a small bar in Louisville called ironically enough, the Phoenix Hill Tavern. The band played an energetic set to a less than sold out crowd. It was such a laid back affair that after the show, the band simply walked offstage and stuck around to watch patrons engage in post show karaoke in a separate section of the bar. It was puzzling to me how a band that wrote such catchy pop songs and put on such a fun live show couldn’t attain more commercial success. In 2006 I was able to see them again in Cincinnati while they were on tour in support of their third album, It’s Never Been Like That. They played at a slightly larger venue, the Southgate House. They were part of a Newport Cigarette sponsored tour where the only way to get tickets was to sign-up on Newport’s website. Phoenix performed another memorable show, despite a mostly apathetic crowd who seemed more interested in the free cigarette swag, than the actual music. It was again an intimate memorable show that left me looking forward to their next tour. This past spring Phoenix released their best album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Their first single, 1901, was released for free on their website and building off that buzz, Phoenix was asked to perform on Saturday Night Live. They became only the third band ever to be asked to perform three songs on the show (the other two were Coldplay and U2). They embarked on a US tour shortly their after and unfortunately I had to miss their first stop in Chicago. As their popularity continued to grow they came back to the US for another tour and I immediately purchased tickets for their Chicago stop. The show, booked at the 2,500 person capacity Riviera, quickly sold out and the show was moved to a venue that is roughly twice the size, the Aragon Ballroom. Even after moving to a larger venue the show sold out yet again. I was a bit apprehensive about the show. While I was excited to see one of my favorite live bands again, I wasn’t sure the show would be as enjoyable as their previous shows due to the size of the venue. Usually shows at larger venues result in inferior performances. Bands become bored and appear disinterested. People show up who are more interested in getting drunk than enjoying the music. You often end up so far away from the stage, you wonder if you are actually at a show or just hearing the bands music at a bar. Fortunately I was proven wrong as not only were the fans in Chicago great, but the band played an amazing show. As soon as the opening notes of the first song, Lisztomania, started I could tell it was going to be a great night. The band played an animated tight set, that resulted in the band and the crowd really feeding off each other’s energy. The show included lead singer Thomas Mars, making several forays into the audience, as well as performing a song from the top of a stack of speakers. You could see their sincere appreciation as all four members of Phoenix had huge smiles throughout the night. It was also nice to see the band hadn’t become jaded by their success as Mars thanked the crowd profusely after practically every song. Hopefully the band continues to have success as not only do they create great music and perform unforgettable shows, but you can tell they are genuinely nice guys. Videos from the Chicago show used with permission from J. Longstreet. The main photo is also from the Chicago show, and comes courtesy of Mattinthehat. Music, Personal 2010-02-05T04:17:00+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/the-dead-weather-treat-me-like-your-mother/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/the-dead-weather-treat-me-like-your-mother/#When:03:11:03Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/122809-dead-weather.jpgOver the past decade music videos have slowly died out, but there are still some creative videos being produced, albeit on smaller budgets. One video that caught my eye was for The Dead Weather's "Treat Me Like Your Mother". The video has a simple yet creative story, that is a bit of a mystery till about 3/4 of the way through the song. A minimal amount of special effects, help the video achieve a gritty realism. It goes without saying, but it also helps that the song is great. I was slightly surprised to see the video was directed by the talented young british filmmaker, Jonathan Glazer. If you haven't seen either of his feature films I highly recommend checking out both Sexy Beast and Birth. Film, Music 2009-12-29T03:11:03+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-heartland-film-festival-part-1/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-heartland-film-festival-part-1/#When:00:28:53Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/102109-main.jpg With the 2009 Heartland Film Festival halfway over I thought I would post some brief reviews of the films I’ve seen so far. There is still time to see the majority of these films so check out the schedule if you are looking for something to do over the next few days. These films are listed in my order of preference with the better films listed first. D Tour This documentary follows Indiana native Pat Spurgeon as he tours with his band, Rogue Wave, while waiting for a kidney donation. The viewer is given an up-close view at the rigors Pat undergoes on a daily basis including undergoing dialysis twice a day. The film has some unexpected twists and turns, and serves as a great film to advocate organ donation. It’s also a timely film with the current health care debate going on in our country. It goes without saying this film has an awesome soundtrack! Storm Storm follows an International Criminal Tribunal in Europe as a former army leader is tried for war crimes he allegedly committed. The acting is excellent, especially Anamaria Marinca, who is one of my favorite new actresses of the past few years. The thing that really stood out about Storm compared to other similar films was insight into how the bureaucracy of investigations like this affects everyone from the lawyers to the bit players like witness liaisons. Being Bucky Ever wonder what goes into being a college mascot? Well this is the film for you. This documentary follows seven students who all win the role of dressing up as Wisconsin’s Bucky the Badger for one school year. Follow the students from high pressure tryouts all the way through their national mascot competition (who knew they had one). This is a really fun light hearted film that just about anybody will enjoy, including kids. Big John Another interesting documentary that examines the close bond between Norwegian father/son duo John and Ole Klemetsen . The ups and downs of Ole’s boxing career are examined, along with John’s controversial management of his son. I would have liked to seen a more in depth look at what made John such a controversial figure in his own country. Entre Nos The dramatic true story of a Hispanic mother and her two children struggling to survive in the US after being abandoned by their husband/father. This film has some controversial scenes relating to abortion, showing the difficult decisions some women must make. Waking Sleeping Beauty It was cool to see this film so far in advance of its nationwide release in April 2010. The film gives a detailed behind-the-scenes look at Disney’s animation department in the 80’s and 90’s when it became mega-successful with films like Beauty & the Beast and The Little Mermaid. The film was a little hard to follow at the beginning when there were scenes with one person narrating and completely different person being shown on screen. I also had the feeling this film was holding back a bit, probably due to the fact that it is officially endorsed by Disney, so there's a limit of how much behind the scenes politics they could show. Film, Indianapolis 2009-10-22T00:28:53+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/avatar-sneak-preview/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/avatar-sneak-preview/#When:02:41:00Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/avatar.jpg I was lucky enough to receive tickets to the sneak preview of selected scenes from Avatar. For those who don't know, Avatar is directed by James Cameron. His last film was the highest grossing film of all time, Titanic. It was also released 12 years ago so there is a lot of anticipation for his next film. Avatar has been shrouded in mystery and will be the first film shown exclusively in IMAX 3D. The film also is supposedly using new technology to deliver a more impressive experience than other films released in 3D. The screening consisted of 4 to 5 scenes from the finished film. I'm not going to describe the scenes in detail, but I will say the special effects were impressive. The biggest improvement I saw was in the mouth movements of the computer generated characters. In the past computer generated characters looked realistic, but their mouth movements were never accurate with the voices and it always made it hard to buy into them interacting with real actors. The Avatar special effects team seems to have fixed this problem. Unfortunately the biggest disappointment for me was the 3D. The 3D was plagued by the same problems I've seen in the past, and it didn't look any better than other films I've seen in IMAX 3D. All of the action scenes were blurry and had sort of a shimmery reflection to them that made it hard to tell what was going on. This was especially true in scenes where the characters were close to the camera and were moving quickly. When I came home from the screening I watched the trailer again on my computer and immediately wished I would have been able to see the preview without the 3D. I'm interested to hear what other people thought of the 3D technology used in Avatar, and of the preview in general. Film, Technology 2009-09-03T02:41:00+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-indianapolis-international-film-festival-the-rock-afire-explosion/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-indianapolis-international-film-festival-the-rock-afire-explosion/#When:18:02:51Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/072509-main.jpg The Rock-afire Explosion is a documentary that chronicles not only the history of the Showbiz Pizza franchise, but also the resurgence of the chain’s popular robotic house band. Chris Thrash, an obsessed fan to put it mildly, tracks down the original creator of the robots, Aaron Fechter, and purchases an entire set of fully functioning characters so that he can have his own Rock-afire Explosion band. He sets the band up in a pull-barn behind his house where he can have the characters laid out in a similar fashion to how they were in the old Showbiz Pizza restaurants. Thrash eventually gets the idea to re-program the characters to play contemporary hit songs by User, Shakira, and MGMT. Thanks to hundreds of thousands of hits on YouTube, the Rock-afire Explosion has seen since seen a resurgence in popularity. I’m fairly sure the filmmakers intended the film to be a celebration of the Showbiz Pizza chain, but I couldn’t help but also feel a sense of sadness for most of the characters in the film. For fans like Chris Thrash, it seems like they are trying to re-capture the happiness and innocence of their youth by purchasing these animatronic characters. This isn’t unlike a more typical middle-aged adult who pines for his days when he was the highschool quarterback or she was a cheerleader. It’s just Thrash and his friends have a more quirky obsession. It did seem like some of that wonder for these collectors had dissipated because they now had to worry about fixing and maintaining their expensive investments, rather than simply enjoying the band as they did when they were young. For creator Aaron Fechter, what was once an extremely lucrative business that employed hundreds of people in the 80’s, has turned into an empty rundown warehouse full of scraps and random parts from old unsold Rock-afire Explosion bands. Fecter’s robots are still technically amazing, even though it’s been 20 years since they were originally created. He still seems to have trouble getting back on his feet, despite his obvious talent, and finding someone interested in investing in his business ideas. While on the surface the Rock-afire Explosion may seem like a light film that is played more for laughs, I found it to be much deeper. I think everyone can relate to Chris Thrash and his yearning for a time in his youth when life was more innocent, and it was natural to be awestruck by simple pleasures. Film, Indianapolis 2009-07-25T18:02:51+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-indianapolis-international-film-festival-the-tiger-next-door/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-indianapolis-international-film-festival-the-tiger-next-door/#When:18:06:40Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/072109-main.jpg The documentary, The Tiger Next Door, begins with a sobering fact. "Experts estimate that there are more tigers in private captivity in the USA than there are roaming wild in the world". The film then introduces the audience to Flat Rock, Indiana resident Dennis Hill, owner of many types of wildlife including over 24 tigers. The film follows Hill’s struggle with Indiana DNR officials to keep his tigers amid concerns over whether he can appropriately care for them. After an unexpected inspection by government officials reveals less than satisfactory conditions, Hill loses his license and is forced to give up his animals by the Indiana DNR. The most exciting scenes show Hill trying to find last minute, temporary homes for his tigers before a final inspection of his property. If he passes the inspection, he is allowed to keep some of his tigers, if he fails he loses all of his tigers for good. The film gives a balanced view of both sides of the argument. Hill’s calm and assuring personality makes it hard to believe that he has anything but his animal’s best interests in mind. At the same time you have to question whether the tigers are truly happy having to spend their entire lives in small cages isolated from one another. Questions are also raised throughout about the quality of homes that Hill sells his tigers too. Hill never makes it clear how much background checking he does to ensure that the buyers aren’t simply buying the tigers to slaughter for their meat and skins. Joe Taft of the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, is also featured throughout the film and provides a counter viewpoint to that of Dennis Hill. Taft’s facilities are clearly better funded and better equipped to provide a more fulfilling life to the captive tigers. Taft believes that the tigers need extremely large areas to roam, and that they require the company of fellow animals. Throughout the majority of the film the two are filmed separately giving their opposing viewpoints. At the end of the film they finally appear on screen together where things get heated and some shocking allegations are made by both parties. The film makes it clear; there aren’t easy answers for the issue. On the one hand the tiger’s natural habitat is constantly shrinking and they are on the path to extinction. If the only alternative though is to live isolated in captivity in small cages, is it worth it? Film, Indianapolis 2009-07-21T18:06:40+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-indianapolis-international-film-festival-500-days-of-summer/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/2009-indianapolis-international-film-festival-500-days-of-summer/#When:03:13:17Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/071509-main.jpg The opening night film at the 2009 Indianapolis International Film Festival, 500 Days Of Summer, is more than your typical romantic comedy. By utilizing some whimsical twists and turns, it’s able to stand out from other films in the genre. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are perfectly cast as the main characters Tom and Summer, young professionals who have different outlooks on love and life. The story follows their ups and downs in a nonlinear fashion, which may seem odd for a romance, but doesn’t come across as overly convoluted. Despite the unique story structure, the film is still able to maintain a sense of authenticity that other romantic comedies fail to achieve. I found the outlook on love and life each characters had, were similar to feelings I had at one point or another in the past. The film also has a great soundtrack, favoring songs from lesser known groups like Doves and Spoon, while at the same time throwing in a few cheesy 80’s songs for laughs. 500 Days Of Summer does a great job of mixing happy and sad, bitter and sweet to create a convincing and satisfying story that is only enhanced by the risks the writers and director dared to take. Film, Indianapolis 2009-07-16T03:13:17+00:00 http://www.jonimmel.com/site/its-finally-finished/ http://www.jonimmel.com/site/its-finally-finished/#When:00:23:41Z http://www.jonimmel.com/images/blog/071409-main.jpgAfter contemplating starting a blog the past few years, and seriously working on the site the past 4 months, my site is finally ready to go. I've spent a lot of late nights trying to get this site up and I've missed several deadlines recently that I'd set for for myself. I put a lot of pressure on myself to create something that was good and at least somewhat unique, since I'd be the sole designer behind this site. The previous two versions of my site were straight portfolio sites. Initially I struggled with whether to keep a portfolio section on my site or ditch it. I also considered creating separate sites for my interests in design, film, and music. I eventually realized that I'd never have the time to maintain three sites let alone get them all actually created. Once I settled on creating one site, I focused on visually how I wanted my site to look. The two words that I ended up focusing on were big and bold. One of the biggest mistakes I see a lot of sites make today is using overly small fonts. Using small fonts was something that was necessary 10 years ago. Today we have larger monitors and higher resolutions, so designers can utilize larger font sizes to increase the readability on their site. With a blog site, I was able to use even larger font sizes than I would normally use on a client's site. From there I started creating wireframes. I like to sketch out my initial thoughts with a pen and paper, rather than jumping right onto the computer. The homepage wireframes were by far the most difficult part of the entire site for me. There are so many different plugins and widgets available that can pull in your information from sites like Flickr, Twitter, etc. that it was difficult to narrow down what would be the most useful/interesting to people visiting my site. I mocked up approximately 20 different homepage variations before I settled on one what you see now. The design phase actually came together very quickly. I used a very similar color palette to what I've used on the two previous versions of my site. The only difference was I substituted out yellow for a reddish-orange color. From there I went into coding. This was another part that took much longer than expected. I tried to do some new things I hadn't attempted on client projects, and they ended up taking much longer than expected. Fortunately I ended up getting just about everything working in the end, with just a minimal amount of help needed from friends. The hardest thing for me now will be consistently adding to the site. Writing isn't one of my strengths, but hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the it and it will improve over time. There are still a few things I'm tweaking and there will be a few more features added in the coming weeks, like a search function. If you come across any errors or have any questions let me know in the comments below. Design, Personal, Web 2009-07-15T00:23:41+00:00