Like Zadi mentions on today's episode, we're hosting a video mashup event with a chance to win an EPIC FU t-shirt! Here's how you can participate:
I just got into the office, and I'm waiting for episode 135 to finish capturing. I thought I'd pass the time by finishing my Nutter Butters and writing a quick post. The episode I'll be cutting today features Kent & Doug from Ask a Ninja, who I'm sure 99% of you have heard of. I just wrapped up their interview yesterday before heading home.
Changing subjects - everyone here at the EPIC FU headquarters seems pretty nervous lately over the way things seem to be falling apart all over the world. Yesterday, Rick and I were talking during lunch about the real sense of fear that is getting harder to pass off as hype... just then a handful of fighter jets passed about 200 feet overhead, which is not something that happens often in Beverly Hills, the timing was strange and I think we both thought for a second, "this is it!!!".
I know I've been wishing lately that I knew how to actually *grow* something. Anything.
Okay, Zadi just dashed out of her chair. Time for me to get to work.
Teaser 001 from mike ambs on Vimeo
Hey peoples. I'm so excited - this is my first post on the Epic Fu blog! I'm Mike, and I'm one of the lucky editors for the show. When I'm not working on FU-related-stuff, I'm usually locked up in my bedroom writing and editing "For Thousands of Miles." Which is a film about traveling... and other stuff... check the 20 second teaser from it above!
More editing stuff after the jump!
In this week's show we talked about Banned Books Week, a celebration of the freedom to read whatever the heck we want. According to the official website, the national event "was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstore and libraries." It's pretty insane to think that literary classics are still challenged til this day.
Starting next week we'll debut a longer, meatier, action-packed edition of the same EPIC FU you know and love. Because we'll be focusing on bringing you 9-10 minutes of kick ass content each and every episode, we're going to adjust our release schedule to once a week (Tuesdays @ 3pm PST).
Why the change? Lots of reasons! We're constantly trying out new things and figuring out what works best for the show. Differentiating between the Tuesday and Thursday episodes was a challenge, and we loved the richness of content that we achieve with longer episodes (e.g. the Jonathan Coulton episode). Not to mention, twice a week is somewhat of an awkward schedule - once a week just feels more natural and works better for viewers who rely on sensible schedules.
"Drive A isn't just entering the rock scene, they're kicking in the door." That's what it says on their website, and who's to argue? With rock legends like like Cheap Trick, Tommy Lee of Motley Crue and Don Henley of The Eagles singing their praises, it's difficult not to do a double take.
Our favorite or most visited links this week. We recommend:
annie t: ask.metafilter.com - "Amazing resource!"
daniel m: elbo.ws - "Find any downloadable mp3 on the web in seconds."
rick r: google notebook bookmarklet - "Because the Google Notebook add-on for Firefox 3 is buggy as hell and the bookmarklet works on non-Firefox browsers like Safari."
steve w: ReadWriteWeb - "A refreshing mix of new web tools and web business."
zadi d: twitt(url)y - "Just a great way to track what links people are talking about on Twitter."
Oh. My. God. All I have to say is that Doug Bresler is awesome. If you haven't seen Doug's work on Doogtoons, you should. And his latest work just proves that there is more creative genius in store for all of us.
The "new" music video is called Indiana Jones and is performed by L.B. Rayne. It's apparently a lost classic from 1984. It hits all the right 80s notes, and our friend Paul Dateh is in it as well. Read more about it on the Doogtoons blog. So glad that it was "found." ;-)
The sad truth is that many of us can't make it to the San Diego Comic Con this year. During the next few days our Twitter feeds will fill up with the mad-cap adventures our friends our having and there will be jealousy -- a lot of jealousy. The good news is that we don't have to sit around and act all mopey -- thanks to this wonderful invention called the internet, we can take things into our own hands and create our very own ALTERCON!!
Ready to ride the digital tubes? Lets GO!
Alright, some nitty gritty technical behind-the-scenes stuff! Here's a little bit about the lighting. We use a couple of Lowel Pro-lights with different colored gels on the show. Check the video for Steve's thoughts, and there is one more photo after the jump.
With The Dark Knight opening this weekend...which you all are going to LUV...I've got superheroes on the brain. So, I checked out some superhuman entertainment that you might want to check out too!
For every episode of EPIC FU that goes up, a master text document is created with all the show descriptions, keywords, and most importantly, links. Since we distribute the show to several different websites, this file comes in handy when it comes to uploading the actual episode: the accompanying information can be quickly copied and pasted from the master text document. We do this because we feel that it's important to give people a place to find the videos and artists we feature on the show- giving credit where credit is due!
On the show this week, we did a short segment highlighting a few web radio broadcasting tools. There are a lot of choices out there, but I like to focus on reliability and easy of use. There have been so many times that I've set up complicated applications designed for specific purposes that were potentially awesome and powerful, but turned out to the be a royal pain in the ass.
Now you can get EPIC FU anywhere in yet another way:
Not only can you get two resolution versions, but you can set your favorites, search through shows, and share with friends. Awesome job by our partners at Revision3!
While you're there you can also get other Revision3 shows on your mobile device by clicking "All Shows." Ain't modern life grand? :)
If you didn't already know it's going to be an epic summer here at FU HQ. Expect to see more behind-the-scenes videos and photos on the blog soon. Lots of cool stuff in general coming down the pipeline! Send me questions!
The week before last Zadi and I flew to New York to meet up with the Diggnation crew and Revision3 team. They taped a live Diggnation and held a Digg meetup at a venue in Brooklyn, about 20 blocks from where we lived prior to moving to Los Angeles. To make the announcement about EPIC FU joining Revision3, we were super excited to appear on Diggnation as the first guests they've ever had on the show.
Our appearance is really quick and the audio levels on the mic were low, but we hit the stage at about the 35-minute mark in the show. Big thanks to Kevin and Alex for having us on the show, and a special thanks to the Revision3 team -- Damon Berger, David Prager, Sarah Lane, and of course Jim Louderback -- for getting us to New York to take part in the festivities!
This week's Artist of the Week is Anton Raphael Miriello, or Mr. A.R.M., the founder of The Secret Society of Odd Acquisition. A collector of all things odd and unusual, Mr. A.R.M.'s custom collection is nothing short of mesmerizing.
For anyone in the LA area who feels like getting out this Thursday night (4/17), let's hang!
Here's the event on Upcoming.org.
Our friends at MobLogic.tv are in town and we thought it would be fun to get together at the usual videoblogger gathering spot, Canter's Deli on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.
Moblogic will be doing interviews at the meetup, so if you're around let's make it a date. :)
The 2008 Webby nominations were announced today, and we're happy to report EPIC-FU was nominated in the Variety category of Online Film & Video. The 12th Annual Webby Awards celebrate the best of the web and have been called "the Oscars of the Internet."
It's incredible to think we stood out amongst the thousands of entries, and to be included in the same category as the NY Times, Danny Devito, our friends at GOOD Magazine and Revision3, and others is simply amazing.
The Webbys are a big deal to us, because they bring a lot of attention to an indie show like EPIC-FU. And we need all the attention we can get! Last year we managed to snag the People's Voice Award when the show was known as JETSET.
If you have a moment we would really appreciate if you registered on the People's Voice website and voted for us. We're up against some very popular competition, so every vote counts!
We've mentioned this on the show a couple times, and the response has been so great I had to blog about it. Last January, MIX member Michael Jahn created an interactive Google map to show where EPIC-FU viewers live around the world, and the project is still going strong. Anyone can add their location, and Michael even created a tutorial for those who aren't familiar how Google map markers work.
It's really amazing to see the global impact of the show. As of right now, almost 13,000 people have viewed the map. So if you haven't already, please add yourself and let the community know where you call home. Who knows.. you might find another FU'er in your hometown. Thanks again Michael!
If you scrub to about :53 you'll see that we're now forever stamped in Rick Rolling history. Later in the video you'll see Tim Shey from NNN who was Live Rick Rolled by Rocketboom. LOL.
Is it finally the death of the Rick Roll -- or does this now mean I'll start getting Rick Rolled by my mom? Ooh boy...
The Rickrolling phenomenon has reached epic status on the web, so in response we at EPIC-FU have declared the entire month of April as International Rickrolling Month. There's nothing like the feeling of rickrolling someone for the very first time, and the second, and third, and so on.
Read the official press release and watch Zadi's personal video statement about the announcement.
So here is the first in a series of future Epic-Fu wallpapers. Have an idea for one? Let me know and I'll see if I can mock one up! :)
As most of you probably know, we just launched the 100th episode of EPIC-FU! In celebration, the folks at Next New Networks created a video for Steve and Zadi. Check it out!
From the Next New Networks blog:
Marc Boxser from our team shot a tribute video featuring many of us from the New York office talking about our favorite EPIC FU moments of the past 100 episodes.
What is happening on March 4th, 2008? Download the hi-res version (53.8MB) and let us know what you think in the comments.
In this week's show and campfire discussion, we talk about 90dayjane.com. The 90 Day Jane blog was only a few days old before it was taken down by its owner. See, the blog documented the final ninety days of Jane's life before she commits suicide. She didn't know how she was going to do it, only that she was going to do it, and she was taking us along for the ride.
In the hundreds of emails we get each week, it's easy to miss the good things people write. I'm really glad we saw this, because it definitely touched us:
Epic-fu, Just wanted you all to know, that I thank you for making my tour in Iraq a little less unbearable. It's people like you, who pursue your dreams regardless of all the negativity that may suround you, that make this country worth fighting for. Zadi some of the things I seen from you outside Epic-fu are inspiration and showcase your creative genius. Peace
—Elroy
Thank you, Elroy. Please get home safe.
As we get this week's show ready to upload, we didn't really have a place to leave in this blooper. But we can't help but keep giggling at it, so we figured we'd share it.
When things are going well with a shoot, Zadi can't keep a straight face. :) So I told her to make a serious face and she got into this whole evil-eye baby meme thing (embedded underneath) that was really funny. Here it is:
And here's the original:
Tonight we got this great email from Luke:
Hey to all at Epic-Fu. I just wanted you all to know that I as well with many others really love your show. I was a geek in hiding until I discovered you guys. I was always embaressed to do the things that I recently discovered alot of us do. Such as, coming up with creative ways to jazz up your myspace or listening to thesixtyone.com.
Without you guys, I might still be in hiding. But I am out and proud to be a geek. Keep up the great work.
Luke
Thanks, Luke! You made our night!
Last week we were at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and Zadi joined Tom and Molly on the CNET stage for Buzz Out Loud. They had 3 cameras going and a crane set up for the big sweeping shots -- it was really impressive. A huge thanks to the good folks there, and especially to Randall Bennett for hooking me up with a DV tape! ;)
Click the image to go to CNET's site and watch the video in their player!
You can subscribe to the Buzz Out Loud podcast here.
This fantastic mashup montage, "the many faces of zadi," was created by Patrick, who works as a video editor in The Netherlands. He writes:
Hi Epic-fu! My name is Patrick. i recently discoverd the show and i instantly loved it, in just the last 2 weeks i've watched almost all the episodes.
i work as a video editor for a tv station in The Netherlands (europe) and i hobby around alot, i love being creative and creating things
and because i love the show so much i put together a video for you guys. Consider it my Christmas present
What can we say??? Thank you SOOO much, Patrick. We loved this so much we are re-editing our end of the year special to include part of it. Our fans are the best!
Today's Q & A comes from numerous sources and is the most common inquiry we get. We always love to hear about cool projects, and in this two minute video I talk about the kind of things we look for and the best way to get your coolness in front of us.
EPIC-FU Blog - 12.14.07 from Rick Rey on Vimeo.
Hey it's my first video post on the blog! Just wanted to say hi and talk about what's going on with the show. Hit me up in the comments or email me if you have any questions!
Our good friend Chuck Olsen made a video compilation of last night's Epic-Fu Holiday Party set to Wham!'s Last Christmas. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs...
You can see some of the chatting going on with friends who joined in to attend the party virtually. Thanks for capturing the memories Chuck! Wish you all could have been here! :)
Last night we had an amazing get together with video peeps in Los Angeles. Originally our intention was to get a few friends together and shoot them doing interpretations of some of the craziest, weirdest, best comments we've gotten on EPIC-FU shows in 2007. Before we knew it, we had thirty people saying they wanted to come, so we said screw it, let's just throw a holiday party. We also shot lots of video. :)
Some of the attendees shown in this saved live stream (in no particular order):
Jeff Macpherson, Amanda Congdon, Mario Librandi, Sarah Atwood, Kent Nichols, Brian Lerner, Jarrod Gorbel, Barrett Garese, Beth McDonald, Amanda Walker, Angela Sauceda, Rick Rey, Bonny Pierzina, Lan Bui, Vu Bui, Tim Street, Paul Dateh, Doug Bresler, John Holden, and more... (I'm sure I'm forgetting people, but I will update this tomorrow if I remember who else has a show online...)
Anyway, check out this video. It shows a huge chunk of the party, especially as we were filming! Next year, we want YOU here!
Today's question comes from Rico who asks us:
"Which camcorder(s) do you use to record your footage? Do you use the same indoor and outdoor?"
We use the Sony A1U. Check the video for my opinion on it.
We get lots of mail about how to become an EPIC-FU correspondent. Here's a quick 50 second video with some answers, and there's more info here, too.
Outtakes from Rock Band review (EPIC-FU 12.11.07) from Rick Rey on Vimeo.
We'll also be using the blog to post outtakes and extended cuts from EPIC-FU. Check out these clips from this week's Rock Band review.
First videoblog post to the new EPIC-FU blog! I'm a little low energy because we've been up all night finishing up everything for the new blog. More to come! Post comments!
Hey guys! Welcome to the official EPIC-FU blog!
We've been up all night trying to get this thing up, and finally, yes finally we can breathe a little easier! (for now.) :)
We've been wanting to add a blog to accompany the show for quite some time now, but have been thinking of ways it can be different from all of the other blogs we see out there. We want it to be a little more personal, have it make a little more sense in relation to the show, and to push what we do here a little farther out onto the edge. Yes, you know we like that edge...
