Imagining New Tomorrows

The 2007 FYI TeamIn late 2006, when Web video just stared to rear it's pretty little head, the notion of a reconfigured For Your Imagination that specialized in web video began to percolate. Long-time friend and big-thinker, Paul Kontonis, my crazy-talented-illustrator brother Randy Pollak and I had developed the For Your Imagination brand for several years before that and it made sense to evolve that brand into a business that would tackle video - the hottest trending vein of the Web. For Your Imagination has always been about creatively serving the needs of the market, and Paul had the drive and vision at that point to fully invest himself in making that vision come to light. I joined up with Paul a few months later to serve as For Your Imagination's Chief Creative Officer.

foryourimagination.comThree years later, For Your Imagination has continued to evolve and today stands as one of the premiere web-based, branded-entertainment-focused, video shops in New York, specializing in strategic development and syndication of those branded-entertainment videos. As that evolution has taken place, I've decided that in order to better exercise my talents and experience, it is time for me to move on. I'll still be consulting and designing, here and there for FYI and other design and Web related projects, and may find someplace soon to hang my daily hat. However in addition to these projects, I am looking to redouble my efforts, as a budding filmmaker.

In addition to my involvement developing, producing and packaging For Your Imagination's slate of over 20 web series over the pst three years, several particular milestones propel me on into the filmmaking future.

• Co-writing the award winning short, Vita's Garden with the always brilliant Kris Keeley
• Co-creating/writing and producing the multi-million-view web series Kyle Piccolo: Comic Shop Therapist with master storyteller Neil Turitz, mad comic-mastermind Eric Zuckerman and the inimitable John Cassaday.
• Completing the first draft of a feature screenplay based on my short story BodySwappers, Inc.
• The imminent release of love or..., a short film created with the gifted photographer and cinematographer Tom Concordia,
  and my fiancée, the multi-talented and beautiful Swati Argade.
• The pre-production, now underway, for a new short called The Duel, to be released in early 2010
• And all through this, the NYC Screenwriters Meetup continues to inspire me with every comment on every script we read

This post is both a brief notification to those reading about the changes afoot and a thank you, to those who have made my time at For Your Imagination such a rich, challenging and rewarding experience. And one more thank you to those that have encouraged and supported my new filmmaking pursuits along the way and who, along with me, can't wait to see what happens next...

RIP Blake Snyder 1957-2009

As a part of my self-syllabused screenwriting education I have been considering attending Blake Snyder's workshop in NYC in mid-August this year. Now that chance lost along with so much potential for education and who knows how many great screenplays guided down a sucessful road. Snyder passed away suddenly yesterday leaving his "Save the Cat!" books and methods as his legacy, a legacy that inspired, shaped and guides screenwriters everywhere, including the writing group I regularly attend.

Read a great tribute to Blake in the Examiner and check out Blake's site for more information about his screenwriting technique. And of course, keep Blake's memory alive by reading his books and writing great screenplays.

Like Quicktime VR but for Video

I still remember seeing Apple's immersive Quicktime VR technology for the first time in the mid ninties at MacWorld Boston. I stood in front of the display for an inordinately long time, mezmerized by the demos, using the mouse to navigate in 180 or 360 degrees of a still image. Very cool stuff.

Now, Yellowbird, a start-up in the Netherlands, is taking things to the next dimension. Here's a demo embedded below. I cannot wait to play with some more of this. I'd love to think that this is the future of storytelling but I thought that about Quicktime VR too and that really hasn't happened yet. Anyhoo, check it out.

[Via Techcrunch]

Hilarious Poetry

From Conan O’Brien's Tonight Show,  William Shatner's rendition of Sarah Palin's farewell speech - as beat poem. Priceless.

And the followup - Shatner reading Palin's Twitter stream...

Ninjas! Cards! iPhones!

OK iPhone game fans, it's time to shell out a whopping ninety-nine cents for hours and hours of card flicking amusement. The brilliant and talented Gregg Delcurla and his cohorts at Pint Sized Mobile have come up with a highly addictive game that involves both ninjas and cards (as the name would suggest.) Here's their basic description:

"Card Ninja features unique game play in which you flick cards at matching targets, balancing speed with accuracy as you try to improve your Ninja ranking. Card Ninja begins as a deceptively simple matching game with killer sound effects and a fast tempo. As you progress you are confronted by challenging matching combinations, dynamic targets and out of control wild cards. This addictive game will soon become a test of your peripheral vision, short-term memory and the key Ninja skill, your finger flicking speed. The only question is: Do you have the Nunchaks to meet the challenge? * Flick cards at targets, matching colors, symbols or both. * Earn bonuses for beating the timer. * Take care to hit targets and avoid causing chaos in the dojo kitchen. * Gather enough cards to progress to higher levels and earn a higher Ninja ranking. * “Good” wildcards offer card bonuses while ”Evil” wildcards can inflict extreme damage to your card count – learn their clues well and you may succeed. "

Visit their web site or head over to the iTunes store and grab the game for yourself.