Media Production Blog

My Final Farewell and Resting Place...

2009-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Fans, and Fellow Bloggers. I am sad to announce that the Media Production Blog has failed and that after 8 years in the blogging trenches I have found a new passion in life which is online selling. However, I did not want this blog to go to a total waste so as a hobby of mine and a service to you I have created a directory/store of all the really neat movie props that I have found on Amazon.

I am not going to lie to you. If you buy an item, I will get a commission. But I am using the store mostly to index all the cool movie items that I might want to buy someday. I am going to keep updating it regardless if anything sells. So have a look and you might find something useful for your film. You can reach the site by clicking here. It is an Amazon A-Store so you do not have to worry about spyware or your info being taken. Here is the url in html form in case you don’t trust me.

http://astore.amazon.com/moviepropdatabase-20

Lastly I just want to say that the Media Production Blog was funnest 2 years of my life and I want to thank all of you for your kindness,your patron-ship and your friendship. Take Care and Good Luck with all of Your Endeavors...Blue Skelton

My New Amazon Blog

2009-03-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

My New Amazon Blog is a new blogging adventure. Allow me to introduce myself. I used to be a successful microblogger who exploited Google Trends and Google's (Then New) Blog Search Engine to make a substantial income. My skills are now common knowledge and I grew bored of the endeavor. My new interest is in Online Sales. I hope to conquer the World of Online Sales the same way in which I did blogging. I already have a fledgeling and semi-successful Amazon Store.

In the course of selling stuff on Amazon, I often find interesting and peculiar items in the listings. I created this blog to share with you many of the interesting and cool items that I find while trolling Amazon. The idea all started with the Hershey's Kiss Fondue Maker. This is My New Amazon Blog and you can find me there.

Thundercats, HO!

2008-12-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

Thundercats, Thundercats, THUNDER CATS HOOOOOOO! Yes that’s right. According to Mtv: “YouTube user WormyT has created a full-on trailer for a live-action “Thundercats” movie (based on the popular 1980s cartoon series) by compiling scenes from films featuring […] Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackmanand Vin Diesel. After applying what can only be significant amounts of Adobe editing magic, the results speak for themselves:

Despite my usual disdain (Schnarfff!) for bad remakes of childhood favorites. I am on board for a remake of the Thundercats. The show was campy but good to begin with and I don’t feel that they have anything to lose in making a Thundercat’s Film. In honor of the return of the Thundercats, I have created an online store dedicated to Thundercats merchandise. You can find it by clicking here.

Twilight Premiere

2008-11-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a fun video from the Twilight Premiere. I am a vampire junkie so even I was attracted to this new attempt to capture the teen pop world through vampirism. For my generation, it was Interview with the Vampire and The Lost Boys. Twilight isn’t as good as either film but it blows away The Lost Boys 2 and as old as I felt at the premiere, I think that the kids will really like it.

In the absence of the New Harry Potter Film (Thanks Warner Bros.) I decided that I would give Twilight a try. It was not a bad film. My day job got the professional review but I found a nice video for all of you to watch on Youtube. My blogger Alter-Ego acquired some keywords so I figured I would toss this video out there for you.

This was my first premiere in awhile and I am a bit out of my game. I didn’t get anywhere near the action this time. I am still horribly sick and have lost my touch at getting up close. Plus it was a mob. I haven’t seen anything that crazy since Episode 1. My real boss isn’t real happy that I didn’t land any interviews but what can you do. I think I gave him one of my better reviews and I have to say for a piece of Teen Pop it wasn’t half bad. I wouldn’t say it is as good as The Lost Boys or anything but I think that the kids will like it.

Twilight Premiered in Los Angeles last night and I found a cool blog with a lot of photos from the Twilight Premiere if you all want to check it out. Thanks again and it was nice to toss a quick post out there for all of you. Sorry it wasn’t a more exciting description of the premiere but I have to be honest, I am on a ton of meds and I was more interested in going to the Beach and In N Out. Hopefully the boss doesn't find out that I said that lol.

Zoid’s Assault Behind the Scenes

2008-09-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a behind the scenes glimpse at Zoids Assault which was just released earlier today. The game has received lackluster views but I will withhold judgment until I have actually played the game. Take a look at the Zoids and let me know what you think. It looks interesting to me although it might be a little bit behind the 360s capabilities.

The Plot of Zoid’s Assault is When war broke out between the world's two main superpowers, the Guylos Empire and the Republic of Helic, the effects rippled across the globe, dragging other nations into the fight. Two such nations were Maroll and Jamil.

During the war, Maroll's attacks on the neighboring Jamil were devastating, and even a decade after the war had ended, Jamil's economy and infrastructure hadn't fully recovered. Animosity, paranoia, and mutual mistrust between the two nations hindered their ability to find a common ground and complete their peace talks. For ten long years, the two nations found themselves in the middle of a cold war.

After a mysterious explosion at one of Maroll's military bases, two covert ops teams are sent into Jamil territory, their exact mission details never disclosed. Somehow, the events of the present are inextricably linked to the past--to the final days of the war, ten years ago...

We hope that you enjoyed this behind the scenes glimpse of Zoid’s assault which debuted on the 360 earlier today. If you would like to purchase the game you can click here or hang around the Media Production Blog for more exciting stuff.

Top 10 Old Movies

2008-07-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here is my long awaited list of my Top Ten Old Movies from My Top Ten. The only qualification for this list is that the movies be more than 20 years old approximately. As we all know, the best films were made back in the day with the exception of a few new films like the Departed or The Dark Knight. To introduce my Top Ten List I provided a trailer from the original film.

Top 10 Old Movies

1. Breakfast at Tiffany'sis one Film that you don’t want to miss. The movie is not as dark as the book but Aubrey Hephburn is so endearing as Holly Go Lightly that you don’t want to miss this film.

No film better utilizes Audrey Hepburn's flighty charm and svelte beauty than this romantic adaptation of Truman Capote's novella. Hepburn's urban sophisticate Holly Golightly, an enchanting neurotic living off the gifts of gentlemen, is a bewitching figure in designer dresses and costume jewelry. George Peppard is her upstairs neighbor, a struggling writer and "kept" man financed by a steely older woman (Patricia Neal). His growing friendship with the lonely Holly soon turns to love and threatens the delicate balance of both of their compromised lives.

Taking liberties with Capote's bittersweet story, director Blake Edwards and screenwriter George Axelrod turn New York into a city of lovers and create a poignant portrait of Holly, a frustrated romantic with a secret past and a hidden vulnerability. Composer Henry Mancini earned Oscars for the hit song "Moon River" and his tastefully romantic score.

The only sour note in the whole film is Mickey Rooney's demeaning performance as the apartment's Japanese manager, an offensively overdone stereotype even in 1961. The rest of the film has weathered the decades well. Edwards's elegant yet light touch, Axelrod's generous screenplay, and Hepburn's mix of knowing experience and naiveté combine to create one of the great screen romances and a refined slice of high society bohemian chic. --Sean Axmaker

2. Vertigo is another Head Trip that you do not want to miss. I just recently saw this film on VHS and wondered why it had taken me so long to see it. According to Amazon: This film wonderfully realized and brought to the screen by the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, is truly one of Hitchcock's very best, a masterpiece of the cinema. Jimmy Stewart gives perhaps his finest performance in this Hitchcock classic, as Stewart is able to express many emotions with just the look in his eyes, fear, longing, love, desperation, anger, and finally total despair. Stewart plays a detective forced to retire fom the police force because of his fear of heights (vertigo).

He later is hired by an old college chum who fears his wife may be possessed by a spirit of a long dead ancestor,and in danger perhaps even from herself. Stewart is asked to follow her to insure that no harm will befall her.

There are many plot twists and turns and for those who may not have seen this classic, I don't want to give away any more of the plot. This film was beautfully restored, but unfortunately released in letterbox form a few years ago. Now thankfully this edition is in widescreen where it can truly be appreciated. The cover art of this DVD edition gives us a glimpse into the magic of Stewart's performance. Not a great success originally at the box office, this film is now universally recognized as one of the finest films ever made.

3. The Shiningwas a spooky thriller that would have made old Al Hitchcock proud. There are probably old movies that are better than this one but I never hesitate to give Steve King some props and he deserves on the list. Plus it is a nice follow up to Vertigo.

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is less an adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling horror novel than a complete reimagining of it from the inside out. In King's book, the Overlook Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of its off-season caretaker and provokes him to murderous rage against his wife and young son. Kubrick's movie is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel's labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer, who's settled in for a long winter's hibernation.

As many have pointed out, King's protagonist goes mad, but Kubrick's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is Looney Tunes from the moment we meet him--all arching eyebrows and mischievous grin. (Both Nicholson and Shelley Duvall reach new levels of hysteria in their performances, driven to extremes by the director's fanatical demands for take after take after take.) The Shining is terrifying--but not in the way fans of the novel might expect.

When it was redone as a TV miniseries (reportedly because of King's dissatisfaction with the Kubrick film), the famous topiary-animal attack (which was deemed impossible to film in 1980) was there--but the deeper horror was lost. Kubrick's The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there's no place to hide... --Jim Emerson

4. Jack Nicholson plays another great psycho in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest This is another fine example of a great film that still wasn’t as good as the book but was still good. The casting of this film was perfect.

One of the key movies of the 1970s, when exciting, groundbreaking, personal films were still being made in Hollywood, Milos Forman's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest emphasized the humanistic story at the heart of Ken Kesey's more hallucinogenic novel. Jack Nicholson was born to play the part of Randle Patrick McMurphy, the rebellious inmate of a psychiatric hospital who fights back against the authorities' cold attitudes of institutional superiority, as personified by Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

It's the classic antiestablishment tale of one man asserting his individuality in the face of a repressive, conformist system--and it works on every level. Forman populates his film with memorably eccentric faces, and gets such freshly detailed and spontaneous work from his ensemble that the picture sometimes feels like a documentary.

Unlike a lot of films pitched at the "youth culture" of the 1970s, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest really hasn't dated a bit, because the qualities of human nature that Forman captures--playfulness, courage, inspiration, pride, stubbornness--are universal and timeless. The film swept the Academy Awards for 1976, winning in all the major categories (picture, director, actor, actress, screenplay) for the first time since Frank Capra's It Happened One Night in 1931. --Jim Emerson

5. Stanley Kubrick returns for the 5^th spot with Full Metal Jacketwhich quite possibly could be the best film of all time. At the very least, the opening is the best comedy routine that I have ever seen. The only thing holding it back is the sequence in which we hear “Bird is the Word” That song should be erased.

Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines and abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best.

Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence.

Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murderous half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart and savvy performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

6. Following the Marine Tradition, I wanted to bring you a movie starring the Imperial Space Marines. No I am not talking about gay Starship Troopers, I am talking Aliens here people which is quite possibly the greatest Slasher-Sci-Fi ever created. I wish more of these films would be made. The formula for AVP should be simple: Aliens + Space Marines + Predators = Greatest Film Ever!

The Alien Quadrilogy is a nine-disc boxed set devoted to the four Alien films. Although previously available on DVD as the Alien Legacy, here they have been repackaged with vastly more extras and with upgraded sound and picture. For anyone who hasn't been in hypersleep for the last 25 years, this series needs no introduction, though for the first time each film now comes in both original and "special edition" form.

Alien (1979) was so perfect it didn't need fixing, and Ridley Scott's 2003 director's cut is fiddling for the sake of fiddling. Watch it once, then return to the majestic, perfectly paced original. Conversely, the special edition of James Cameron's Aliens (1986) is the definitive version, though it's nice to finally have the theatrical cut on DVD for comparison. Most interesting is the alternative Alien 3 (1992). This isn't a "director's cut"--David Fincher refused to have any involvement with this release--but a 1991 work-print that runs 29 minutes longer than the theatrical version, and has now been restored, remastered, and finished off with (unfortunately) cheap new CGI. Still, it's truly fascinating, offering a different insight into a flawed masterpiece. The expanded opening is visually breathtaking, the central firestorm is much longer, and a subplot involving Paul McGann's character adds considerable depth to story. The ending is also subtly but significantly different. Alien: Resurrection (1997) always was a mess with a handful of brilliant scenes, and the special edition just makes it eight minutes longer.

The Alien Quadrilogy offers the first and fourth films with DTS soundtracks, the others having still fine Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. All four films sound fantastic, with much low-level detail revealed for the first time. Each is anamorphically enhanced at the correct original aspect ratio, and the prints and transfers are superlative. Every film offers a commentary track that lends insight into the creative process--though the Scott-only commentary and isolated music score from the first Alien DVD release are missing here.

Each movie is complemented by a separate disc packed with hours of seriously detailed documentaries (all presented in full-screen with clips letterboxed), thousands of photos, production stills, and storyboards, giving a level of inside information for the dedicated buff only surpassed by the Lord of the Rings extended DVD sets. A ninth DVD compiles miscellaneous material, including an hourlong documentary and even all the extras from the old Alien laserdisc. "Exhaustive" hardly beings to describe the Alien Quadrilogy, a set that establishes the new DVD benchmark for retrospective releases and looks unlikely to be surpassed for some time. --Gary S. Dalkin

7. Following Aliens, we have another feel good movie that will make you cry as well. Stephen King returns with Stand By Me. This film should be a rite of passage for any male adolescent. This is the one movie besides The Lost Boys in which Kiefer Sutherland did not totally stink up the place.

A sleeper hit when released in 1986, Stand by Me is based on Stephen King's novella "The Body" (from the book Different Seasons); but it's more about the joys and pains of boyhood friendship than a morbid fascination with corpses. It's about four boys ages 12 and 13 (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell) who take an overnight hike through the woods near their Oregon town to find the body of a boy who's been missing for days.

Their journey includes a variety of scary adventures (including a ferocious junkyard dog, a swamp full of leeches, and a treacherous leap from a train trestle), but it's also a time for personal revelations, quiet interludes, and the raucous comradeship of best friends. Set in the 1950s, the movie indulges an overabundance of anachronistic profanity and a kind of idealistic, golden-toned nostalgia (it's told in flashback as a story written by Wheaton's character as an adult, played by Richard Dreyfuss).

But it's delightfully entertaining from start to finish, thanks to the rapport among its young cast members and the timeless, universal themes of friendship, family, and the building of character and self-esteem. Kiefer Sutherland makes a memorable teenage villain, and look closely for John Cusack in a flashback scene as Wheaton's now-deceased and dearly missed brother. A genuine crowd-pleaser, this heartfelt movie led director Rob Reiner to even greater success with his next film, The Princess Bride. --Jeff Shannon

8. We follow Stand by Me with another Great Rob Reiner Film aforementioned… The Princess Brideis another rite of passage although this movie appeals to both boys and girls and is essential for anyone searching for their true love.

Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his skeptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story.

And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity...

The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. --Sam Sutherland

9. I wanted to get Stephen Spielberg on the list so I gave him E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrialwhich is another great film for kids. I was tempted to do Indiana Jones but George Lucas and I are finished. I will not whore my blog out with any affiliate links that will make him more money. As it is Spielberg owes me an apology for Indy 4. Still ET was one of the greatest films ever and it deserves on the list.

Steven Spielberg's 1982 hit about a stranded alien and his loving relationship with a fatherless boy (Henry Thomas) struck a chord with audiences everywhere, and it furthered Spielberg's reputation as a director of equally strong commercial sensibilities and classical leanings. Henry Thomas gives a strong, emotional performance as E.T.'s young friend, Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore make a solid impression as his siblings, and Dee Wallace is lively as the kids' mother. The special effects almost look a bit quaint now with all the computer advancements that have occurred since, but they also have more heart behind them than a lot of what we see today. --Tom Keogh

10. Seppuku brings a suicidal finish to My Top Ten List. Still this is a great Samurai film. If I had my way this whole list would consist of Asian Cinema but this list of Old Movies is intended to appeal to the mainstream. Seppuku is too good of movie to leave out though. Seppuku and Lady Snowblood are two of my favorites. I couldn’t find a poster or dvd for you but if you can find a copy I highly recommend it.

I hope that you have enjoyed My Top Ten list of Old Movies that have endeared themselves into my heart. Whether it is feel good movies like Full Metal Jacket or Aliens or Rites of Passage like Stand by Me and the Princess Bride these are films that should last for all times. They are the Beatles of the Cinema…

Blue Skelton Reviews Web Dosh

2008-05-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Although I still enjoy ProBlogger quite a bit. Web Dosh has become my favorite website about blogging because he doesn’t write a lot of fluff. Most people who write about blogging will never tell you the actual secrets of what they do. For example, I can say without ego that I am one of the best Article-Based SEO writers on the internet but I do not give up my secrets.

Don't look too closely for the secrets on this blog however because I just write this one for fun. I make most of my money niche-blogging. I am saying that because I don't want you to waste your time.

I am sure that Web Dosh does not cough up everything he has but he does provide useful content that can actually be used to help you blog more efficiently online. A lot of the SEO and Profesional blogging websites are filled with slush that will do nothing to help you promote or optimize your website.

The layout and organization is a blog but it throws in some personal touches that Mashable lacks. I enjoy the anime pictures used for the article writer. It gives it a personal touch that is unique to this blog.

His advertising is organized which is very nice. Then he provides a list of resources, articles and interactivity to keep the readers interested. All of Mashable’s ads just make me bored quicker. After the first few articles of Mashable, I am ready to move on whereas Dosh Dosh draws me further into his site.

Blue Skelton Reviews Mashable

2008-05-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Mashable is a website devoted to all the different Social Media Networks out there like Facebook, Myspace and all the other niche-media sites. The purpose of the site is to inform more than anything. The content isn’t as easily navigated in small portions as ProBlogger was but it does a fair job I think.

The content is good if you are looking for new social media networks but beyond that it is basically just a lot of fluff. I am only interested in Social Media for promotional, seo, and marketing purposes so if it isn’t a piece of brand new technology then it is not particularly interesting to me.

I really think that people have a very sad life if they are that obsessed with Social Media News. I am not saying that I don’t enjoy social media, I am addicted to YouTube. But this website doesn’t really do much for me although I think that it can be a great resource from time to time and I have nothing bad to say about it.

The colors make Mashable's 3 Column Layouts difficult for me to read. It feels convoluted to me for some reason. In my blogs: if I have a 3 column layout I refer the content not to be in the middle as this one is.

The navigation in this blog is straightforward enough but it is a bit “whorish” the sidebars are filled almost completely with ads. It would be a lot more effective if they broke up the ads more with some sort of content or interactivity like a poll. They also do not link to related posts inside their posts which is poor if you ask me.

And truthfully, I am getting board of the blog layout even though I am forced to use them. I prefer the blog/website hybrids like MovieWeb or Problogger that are becoming very popular these days.

Overall, this is a good quality website. The content isn’t always for me, but that does not mean that it is a bad site. I would recommend checking it out.

Problogger Review by Blue Skelton

2008-05-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

The ultimate goal of the Problogger website is to make money, but it does so in an informative manner. Darren Rowse earns the bulk of his money by discussing how bloggers make money. He then embeds affiliate links with the description or review. A person then clicks on that affiliate link and if that person signs up for a service, Darren then gets a cut. Along with advertising this makes for a lucrative blogging business.

Pro Blogger also provides a lot of informative information that is interesting to bloggers. Overall, I think that the content is excellent although it can be a bit fluffy at times. Upon further examination and by reading between the lines, you can learn everything you need to be a successful blogger.

I really like how the blog is laid out. It is divided up into individual sections as you scroll down. It feels like about 5 websites in one as you move down the page. The first section is a bit like a media source for bloggers with links to his vidcast, recent articles, subscription information and advertisers.

As we scroll down, we get a list of his best articles that I really feel helps transition us down the page towards the sitemap and blogging resources which are usually veiled methods of promoting Problogger Products or affiliate links.

This website is both informative and profitable and that is ultimately why it is one of the primary websites on Professional Blogging.

SEO Tools

2008-05-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post from SEO Ninja. Please check out his page for more exciting information on blogging and Search Engine Optimization. If you would like to be a guest blogger on the Media Production Blog, just email me and I will include a link (PR4) to your blog along with the post.

Here is a list of my favorite SEO Tools. In my opinion these are the only tools that you will ever need for article based search engine optimization. I will create a resource for SEO via Web Design at a later date. For now I thought that I would start small and simple.

SEO Tools

1. Google Keyword Suggestion is a great tool for helping you select keywords. You can either type in the topic you are writing about or the url to your website. I prefer to use the URL to my website. For example: The Keyword to this post is SEO Tools. The proper density for keyword usage varies but I would recommend repeating the keywords from your title in the first paragraph of your content.

2. Google Trends is a really great way to see what is hot this hour and is especially useful for news related topics and keywords. It also provides you with access to the top blogging, website, and news pages attached to that keyword. Studying how they have laid out their videos, alt tags, content, headers, and keywords can help you learn how to best optimize your website.

3. Google’s Blog Search is a great tool for bloggers. The Blog Search works the same as the image, video, or web search. If you can master the art of putting your content at the top of engine, you will maximize your traffic.

4. Google Analytics is another great tool for seeing where your traffic comes from and how successful your posts are.

5. Google Adwords also has some really cool options that can help you play around with the layout and content of your website to maximize your SEO.

6. Spy Fu is a great website for seeing the cost per click for various keywords.

7. My Search Engine Submission List has a lot of search engines with high page rank which is important. I recommend submitting you blog or website to the highest ranking directories as well as the ones who do not require a reciprocal link. Article-Based SEO can take you a long way but ultimately it is the links that you develop that will make or break your website’s page rank.

8. The Digital Points Forum is my favorite forum for SEO; It is a great website for webmasters and web publishers so I thought that I would toss it out there. Including your links in Forum posts can be another great way to bring traffic to your website. I have received thousands of visitors via IMDB which is an unlikely source of traffic.

SEO Link Building Tools

There are a lot of other great link building websites but there are my favorites. They are the ones have done the most good for me.

1. Creating a Popular Squidoo Lens is not only a good way to create links for your blog it can also bring a lot of traffic to your blog if optimize your lens.

2. Flickr: I like to upload graphics that pertain to my website or blog post and then link to that post in the description.

3. Blog Carnivals are a great way to receive links to your content. They work a lot like an online magazine.

4. Myspace and Facebook remain powerful marketing tools if you know how to leverage them right. I will do a post later on about how to use these for success.

Grand Theft Auto 4 Video

2008-04-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a great video of Grand Theft Auto 4. Just when I think that I am out, they drag me back in. For nearly 5 years now I have ruled Vice in GTA San Andreas but now finally it is time for me to go home and do what I do best. I will see all of you on the streets of Liberty City.

The newest installment of the 'Grand Theft Auto' came out Tuesday, drumming up unprecedented excitement among gamers. Industry experts talk to the AP about the game and its cast of characters.

Photos from the Speedracer Premiere

2008-04-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Christina Ricci and others from the Speedracer Premiere. I haven’t seen a premiere in over a year thanks to health concerns and I am really missing them. They are fun events to cover so I am going to have to be satisfied with just photos from them for awhile.

The Premiere took place in LONDON - APRIL 29: Rain soaked guests arrive at the UK Film Premiere of "Speed Racer" at the Empire Leicester Square on April 29, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images).

I am a big fan of the Speedracer: The Movie.

Speedracer News

Does Bob Dylan Deserve a Pulitzer?

2008-04-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Pulitzer Prize judges gave Bob Dylan an honorary award this year, but couldn't bring themselves to honor an editorial writer. Jon Friedman says it's an attempt to exploit Dylan's fame to convince the public they are still relevant.

I disagree with this video entirely. I smell a rat in this video and that rats name is Envy. This guy provides no line of reasoning for his editorial. Truthfully I think that he is just bitter that he didn’t win a Pulitzer and I wouldn’t expect him to either with fluffy, envious video editorials like this one.

Why can’t he just be happy for Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan isn’t perfect and he can be a bit hypocritical but he is quite possibly the greatest poet of our time. His music was an editorial of the 20^th century and I feel that he deserves this honor regardless of whether or not he was being exploited for his fame and frankly as someone who hopes to win a Pulitzer of his own someday I am offended by this video.

What do you all think? Does Bobby Deserve his prize? Is this guy jealous? Did I miss the point of this video entirely?

The Forbidden Kingdom Review

2008-04-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

A. O. Scott reviews "The Forbidden Kingdom," the first film to unite Jackie Chan and Jet Li. We want to thank Mr Scott for appearing on the Media Production and we cannot wait for this film.

For Kung Fu fans like me, The Forbidden Kingdom is the culmination of 20 years of dreaming. Jet Li vs. Jackie Chan choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping who as you all know is a God to all of us here at Blue Skelton Productions.

For those of you who love Kung Fu Movies, we do have a surprise recommendation for all of you. If you have not seen This Movie then there is something wrong with you and you need to remedy that immediately.

Related Pages

Forbidden Kingdom Movie Trailer

Forgetting Sarah Marshall Review

2008-04-18T16:36:00.001-07:00

Here is a review of the new movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall that has been taking the movie theater by storm. I have not had the chance to view the movie just yet but after watching this video, I think that I will give it whirl when it comes out on Red Box. With all the violent films like Shoot Em Up, that I have been watching lately, a nice chick flick might do me some good.

Following the disappointing performance of "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and the flop that was "Drillbit Taylor," AP movie critic Christy Lemire says Apatow is back in classic form with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Photofiddle

2008-04-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

That was a video commercial of Photofiddle. I saw Photofiddle on the Today Show and I thought that it was so cool that I would share it will all of you on the Media Production Blog. Photofiddle is for all of you fine artists out there. It is a service that allows you to create a work of art from any photograph.

According to the press release: PhotoFiddle.com turns digital photographs into artwork in seconds, using 35 designs styles and templates, such as oil painting, photo collages, pop art - and even comic strips. The finished artwork can be professionally framed or stretched on canvas.

This sounds like an excellent resource for photographers and just about anyone. I have several photos that I wouldn’t mind having made into paintings. If you are a fine artist or amateur photographer then you might check out Photofiddle. It was something interesting that I thought that I would share with all of you. Here is the link to the Photofiddle Website. It has even achieved attention by Oprah so it has to be worth a gander.

Tribbles for Sale

2008-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Blue Skelton is here once again to offer you the most amazing pet you have ever seen… Tribbles. Tribbles are soft, cuddly, and easy to take care of. The nice thing about Tribbles is that you don’t have to worry about not feeding them after midnight.

Tribbles really don’t require much maintenance at all and they are very little trouble at all. You should definitely look into getting one for you house or apartment. I guarantee that you will love the Tribble so much that your home will be filled with thousands of Tribbles in no time.

More Tribbles on YouTube

Find Out What is in Indiana Jones's Bag

2008-04-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

It’s finally time to find out what was in Indiana Jone’s bag. A few weeks ago, I mentioned a really cool contest on one of my favorite web site's: The MovieSet. I am sure that all of you remember the “What’s in Indiana Jones’s bag. Well the results have been revealed and you can view them here. Verne Troyer aka Mini-Me has been good enough to provide the results.

Flickr Takes On YouTube

2008-04-09T15:13:00.001-07:00

With a hostile takeover by Microsoft Looming, Yahoo has decided to take on YouTube by expanding Flickr to include Home Videos. I agree with the commentator of this video, This service won’t save Yahoo. Why would I pay $20 to upload clips into Flickr when I can upload them into YouTube for free.

Then again Flickr has a large community and is the one area where Yahoo has topped Google. I really like Flickr a lot. With such a loyal fan base, Yahoo will no doubt make a profit but can it make Flickr as competitive with YouTube as it has for Picasa? I doubt it.

On a side-note, I recently applied to Yahoo’s Pay Per Click advertising. I signed up for the account with my blogger blog. I do silly things for my own amusement sometimes. I wanted to see if they would allow Yahoo Advertising on a Blogger Product. I would never of course use their advertising because as you all know: Google is very good to me. I would never do anything to risk incurring their wrath.

I have nothing against Yahoo either. Yahoo is kind of like Google’s autistic older brother. I make fun of the silly things he does sometimes but I did have a lot of good times with Yahoo back in the day. And I do feel sorry them. It sucks that they are going to get taken over by Microsoft. It sucks for me because the two corporations that I am most loyal to are now competitors. Hopefully I can remain neutral in their upcoming power struggle. A little competition never hurt anyone right (gulp).

A Ship Made Out of Popsicle Sticks

2008-04-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

Okay this has nothing to do with Media Production but I had to post it just for the fact that media was produced about it. Evidently, there is a guy sailing across the Atlantic in a Pirate Ship made of popsicle sticks. This sounds like a disaster of viral video proportions but this guy is serious. Here is some video of his voyage.

The 15-metre long boat, named "Thor", took captain Robert McDonald, his son and over 5000 schoolchildren four years to build. After visiting Britain, McDonald hopes to follow in the wake of the Vikings and cross the Atlantic, sailing to North America via Iceland and Greenland.

Behind the Scenes of 30 Rock with Tina Fey

2008-04-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Go behind the scenes of 30 Rock with the lovely Tina Fey. 30 Rock is quite possibly one of my favorite TV shows thanks in most to Alec Baldwin’s role on the show. He is fricking hilarious. The show's creator and star Tina Fey talks to The AP's Lauri Neff on set about what and who to look for as the show returns with new post-strike episodes. I am very glad that it has survived both obscurity and the strike.

For a long time, I was the only one of my friends who watched 30 Rock but now it has achieved the following that it so deserves and I hope that you enjoyed your behind the scenes glimpse with Tina Fey.

On the Set of the New James Bond Movie

2008-04-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here is an interview of James Bond himself straight off the set of the new James Bond Film. The interview takes place in the Desert of Antofagasto Chile. It was a lot of fun to go behind the scenes of Columbia Pictures new shoot of James Bond.

Production of the 22nd Bond film "Quantum of Solace" is underway in northern Chile. Star Daniel Craig, Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and director Marc Forster talk about stunts, explosions and plot points.

The Biggest Media Production Carnival Ever

2008-04-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the largest Media Production Carnival ever created by a man. I apologize for the late posting of this carnival but I have been ill and I have had to be hospitalized a couple of times. Everything is all right now and I hope that we will get the Media Production Carnival back on track.

Robyn J McCleary presents PUNK ROCK BAND posted at Contemporary Arts and Critics Reviews.

Kingsley Tagbo presents How To Find Affordable, Flexible Career Training Programs posted at HOW TO LEARN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING FAST OR GET A JOB EASILY.

Edith presents Free Live Call with Marketing Guru Seth Godin - Meatball Sundae (April 9th) Hosted by SFentrepreneur posted at San Francisco Bay Area Small Business Community That Connects You With Entrepreneurs Around You.

Joshua C. Karlin presents How Not to Ask for a Major Gift posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Kenton Newby presents Overcoming Common Excuses for Not Building Your Online Business posted at KentonNewby.com.

Jimmy Sansi presents Memo To Entrecard Users: Get A Clue posted at The Kaizen Business.

Don D. Morrison presents Get an online introduction & crude history to electronic sounds? Actually They?re GREAT! posted at dondmorrison.com.

Sabrina Jefferson presents How To Create Your Own Blog posted at Sabrina Jefferson.

Sarah Paine presents Is Your Site NeoPet Sticky? posted at Sarah Paine.

Joshua C. Karlin presents Better Than a Blogroll posted at Internet Business.

Marcus Hochstadt presents AWeber Secret posted at Marcus Hochstadt.

Mitesh presents User Generated Content - Creativity Explored posted at Invent Creativity.

Mattg presents Do You Get Twitter? posted at Matt Garrett, saying, "Twitter is really a fast growing community site and providing a good environemnt to interacting with people of same thinking or business line. So, go and get a twitter, now."

Advertising

Charles H. Green presents Fighting Cynicism posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Does hip snide advertising actually work? Or does representing people who use your products as, fundamentally, losers, actually devalue your brand and your product?"

Kenton Newby presents Simple Solutions For the Content Creation Roadblock Nearly All Online Business Owners Face posted at KentonNewby.com.

Silveral presents Celebrity Parties posted at Celebrity News, and Gossip.

Blogging

Nathan Deschamps presents Nathan Deschamps Playing Footbag (hacky sack tricks) posted at Nathan Deschamps Footbagger.

yko presents Backstory posted at Trailer Park Arias, saying, "This is s student blog from the Broadcasting and Electronic Communications department at San Francisco State University."

Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents How To Write Your First Paragraph posted at Rebecca Dean.

Film Production

Jean Mosher presents Blu-Ray Won the Format War posted at Always in Motion.

Lexi Sundell presents Hollywood Still Is Not Threatened posted at Energies of Creation, saying, "The misadventures of a newbie in video..."

Robert Phillips presents Where Have All the Good .coms Gone? posted at How to Create a DVD without Spending a Dime.

Marketing

Product Launch Formula 2.0 Jeff Walker presents How To Launch Your Product Even If You Only Have A Tiny List posted at Product Launch Formula 2.0 Jeff Walker Hands You The Insider Secrets To Successful Product Launches, saying, "You don't need to be a guru to have a successful product launch. Free non-guru product launch video case study shows you how."

Richard McLaughlin presents Choice Of Internet Marketing Methods posted at Cindy King.

Steven Chang presents 100 Ways To Ignite Your Opt-In Subscribers! posted at Passive Income Online.

Woody Maxim presents The Fear of Loss posted at Woody Maxim.

Stephen Dean presents 3 Quick Rules For Writing A “P.S.” posted at Stephen Dean's Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.

One of the Many Others

Natalie presents Celemony Melodyne to revolutionise how musicians work posted at I love technology, saying, "This is an article about new audio software technology from Celomony, which will revolutionise the way musicians and audio editors work."

Television

Raymond presents Review of House Flipping and Home Hunting Shows posted at Money Blue Book.

Alex M presents Moonlight TV Show posted at Videos and web TV.

Anne K presents Another Playing Lesson posted at Doug Kercher Golf.

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War Incorporated Movie Poster

2008-03-31T16:19:00.001-07:00

Here is the Movie Poster for War Incorporated. I just posted because I thought that it would be a cool way to segway to our Interview of Cobra Commander in the next GI Joe movie. You can find the link for that below.

I really like this poster from a graphic design perspective. The roll of money looks nice amidst the bullets and it kind of reminds me of the Lord of War for some reason.

Interview with Cobra Commander

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Cobra Commander Interview

2008-03-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Here is an interview that Joseph Godon Levitt did for the upcoming GI Joe movie. Joe plays the Cobra Commander…Cobra!!! And Cobra Kai NO MERCY. Sorry to regress into childhood there but GI Joe was my favorite TV show this side of Voltron and the Smurfs when I was a Kid.