Archive for Entertainment

Article by Zhang Xinuye of Create Abundance

The pressure of being a producer and director is stressful but when you are a Hollywood mega director the pressure is immense, and these directors have found that turning to meditation has been very helpful in providing ways and tools to relax and relieve some of the stress they face daily.

Jane Campion

Jane Campion famous director one of her most famous is The Piano she meditates daily and says this about meditation “I have been addressing my own madness for some time with yoga and meditation – just becoming aware of it is a big job.” What kind of madness? “Everyday madness. The things you get into your head, going round and round. And believing your thoughts.”

David Lynch

David Lynch is the director of offbeat and dark movies and series like Twin Peaks in the 90s or Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, but this incredible director has been meditating for almost 50 years. A New York Times interview quotes Lynch as saying “Things like traumatic stress and anxiety and tension, sorrow, and depression and hate and bitter, selfish anger and fear start to lift away. And that’s a huge sense of freedom when that heavy weight of negativity begins to lift. So, it’s like gold flowing in from within and garbage going out. The things in life that used to almost kill you, stress you, depress you, make you sad, make you afraid — they have less and less power. You’re starting to glow with this from within.”

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese director, producer, and screenwriter of some of the most famous movies to come out of Hollywood like Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Hugo, Age of Innocence, Aviator and so many more puts his success down to meditation and says “The last few years I’ve been practicing meditation, and it’s difficult to describe the effect it’s had on my life. If I can only mention a few words: Calm. Clarity. Balance. And at times a recognition. It’s made a big difference.”

Author’s Bio: Zhang Xinyue is a great teacher and well-known spiritual leader who was born in China. She wrote and developed Create Abundance which is to promote a healthier and more helpful approach to life’s philosophical problems. Create Abundance by Zhang Xinyue is a unique and very effective self-help book for body-mind-spirit cultivation that has been successful in helping thousands of people. For more information visit Zhang Xinyue’s blog.

Blog provided by The Foam Factory

Having a special room for enjoying your favorite movies, television, and entertainment is a dream for many homeowners. However, building the perfect home theater requires dedication, resources, and knowledge of how to enhance your home viewing experience. Here are a few things you should focus on to build your home theater the right way.

 

Lighting

Natural light may be a good idea for your living room, but it can distract from your viewing experience in a home theater. Like a movie theater, you should aim for slightly dark (but not too dark) ambient lighting that draws your attention to the screen. Consider investing in multiple smaller lights to line your walls or ceiling. If you’ve chosen to place your home theater in a room with windows, you may also want to get some high-quality curtains.

Video

One of the most crucial parts of a home theater system is getting the best video components. You can start with a 4K TV, a Blu-ray player, and a streaming device if your TV is not a smart television. If you enjoy playing games on a big screen, you may also want to add a current-gen game system to your home theater as well. If you’d prefer the complete movie theater experience, you can also buy an HD projector and a projector screen.

Sound

Perfect sound for your home theater is not something that comes naturally from your TV. You’ll have to invest in getting the best sound products such as speakers, soundbars, or a surround sound system. One oft-neglected aspect of home theater sound is acoustic treatment. For the clearest home theater sound, you’ll need sound proofing foam to eliminate excess echoes and reverberations for the most immersive audio experience. This might mean installing acoustic foam panels on all of your walls, and calculating room modes to understand where to place your foam panels.

The Foam Factory has a great collection of acoustic foam products for all your home theater needs. Buy acoustic foam panels for adding sound absorption to your walls and get some isolation wedges to eliminate auxiliary vibrations from your loudspeakers. Contact The Foam Factory today for more information at 586-627-3626 or by email at info@foambymail.com.


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yahb3XoilOM

John Branca is a well-known entertainment lawyer and manager who has worked with various big-names artists, like Michael Jackson and Aerosmith. In an interview at Harvard, he discusses the effect the media has on someone like a celebrity and how bad press against artists can be fabricated.

There’s always going to be someone who disagrees with what you do or has an opinion on what you do. It will be hard for a celebrity, and sometimes you can’t always control what the media says about you. Thinking about the media is very important for a celebrity, so hiring the right people to control your image is very important. When asked what he does when one of his clients faces bad publicity, John Branca states that you need to convey who the artist really is, in contrast to what the media portrays him. John believes that before, the media would investigate the facts, but now there’s a rush to get legacy media and viewership, so now the information you see can be faulty. He believes that this is likely either because of laziness or the rush to be able to get content out before competitors like blogs and other sources.

When asked what he thinks about his clients that deserve the bad publicity, John stated that the artist and the art should be separated, and if he believes in the art, he will always be willing to represent the artist and help them with their career.

Article provided by Zhang Xinyue.

Stress can be complicated for a celebrity traveling across the world for tours and acting roles. Meditation has helped these celebrities to deal with their stress and to become healthier people.

Madonna:

Madonna tries to find Zen’s moments and her concert performances and high-intensity workouts to stay in top shape. According to an article published by the website Yahoo Health, Madonna likes to practice mind-body activities like Pilates yoga and follows an Ayurvedic diet, which is known for being an ancient approach that targets the connectedness of the mind, body, and people’s environment. In addition to the Ayurvedic diet, Madonna has stated that she likes to practice Transcendental Meditation to balance her mind-body connection.

Oprah Winfrey:

Oprah has developed a lot of meditation and wellness content for her readers, teamed up with spiritual gurus like Eckhart Tolle for her meditation podcasts, and credited meditation, saying that it has helped improve her life. From an article published on her website Oprah.com, Oprah described how “Meditation is about getting still enough to know the difference between the voice and you. It’s a heightened state of being that lets whatever you’re doing be your best life, from moment to astonishing moment.”

Katy Perry:

The famous singer Katy Perry has released more than nine No 1. Top songs in the last ten years, positioning herself as one of the world’s biggest pop stars. Living on the road can sometimes be stressful, so Perry learned how to practice Transcendental Meditation — and even taught it to her road crew. “I’m on a plane more than I am on ground, and this tool helps me find moments of peace — because I don’t have a whole lot of time — that extend my day so I can live my fullest capacity,” Perry said in an interview in 2016 with the David Lynch Foundation. “It gives me two days in one day!”

The tremendous spiritual tutor, Teacher Zhang Xinyue, was born and grew up in China. Zhang Xinyue is well known internationally as a body-mind-spirit tutor, author of the book Create Abundance 创造丰盛. She is a psychologist and a spiritual therapist.  Since 1999, Zhang Xinyue has devoted nearly two decades of her time and energy to the study and practice of body-mind-spirit cultivation. Visit Facebook page of Zhang Xinyue.

Advice for Directing Actors

Article by Herb Kimble .

Summary: Want to know how to be an “actor’s” director? Here are some tips.

Actors are a curious group of coworkers because they have to do a lot of unorthodox duties as part of their jobs. Training exercises, vocal and physical stretches and being in the moment are all par for their course. As a director, and in order to be effective, you need to know how to rein those people in and use their talents to your advantage.

Be Specific

If you watch directors as the movies portray them, they say things like “no, get angry! Get real angry!” That’s textbook for now not to direct. Angry is an emotion, you become angry for a reason. It’s better to use the context of the scene to better inform the actor. Actors have to know the script as part of their job, but you can help remind them of the key moments you want to accentuate.

Listen

Ideally, scenes play out and everything is great the first take. As the director, your goal is to watch and most importantly listen to what’s happening on set. The right take isn’t just about a good shot, you need to listen to the emotion and feel on set. Ask actors to run something back if it doesn’t feel right, or even if you want a different perspective.

Don’t Yell

A screaming director eventually becomes an authority figure stripped of authority. Put another way, if you have to yell more than once a day, then you have failed to capture the attention you require. In fact, try to contain your frustrations so that if you do need to yell then it will command better attention.

This article was written by Herb Kimble. Herb Kimble is an entrepreneur who has ran multiples companies, including sales & marketing companies. Most recently he has launched Urban Flix, a streaming network that specializes in multi-cultural content and CineFocus Productions, a film production company

What Does a TV Producer Do?

Article submitted by Herb Kimble.

Television producers are an integral part of a show. They tend to make important decisions regarding the overall level of production and activity that occurs on set. Different producers have different types of engagement that they are involved with. This article delves into the responsibilities that a TV producer must handle.

Anything and Everything

A television producer may provide financing for a show. Or, they may have to organize and communicate between different parties to ensure that everything is going to plan. Essentially, this type of producer must do anything and everything that he or she can, whether it be overseeing an entire show or managing live programs as they air. A TV producer can also be tasked with writing or approving scripts if needed.

Some of the duties that a producer must handle include fundraising, assessing projects, securing rights to material, seeking scripts, commissioning writers, and networking. This position requires both versatility and creativity. Those who thrive as producers also have excellent organization skills, and a head for numbers.

Coordinating as a Producer

Television producers also coordinate and supervise different aspects of a production, from the administrative to the creative side. Producers must make financial decisions and handle a variety of talents, contracts, agreements, and other administrative details. It’s a role that requires multi-tasking and a headstrong attitude when the situation gets out of hand. While most producers get a chance to plan and execute a film, they also deal with numerous troubles during the production phase.

Bio: Herb Kimble is an accomplished actor who co-founded CineFocus Productions. He was an entrepreneur who’s success has allowed him to launch the inclusive streaming service, Urban Flix from his Los Angeles studio

Chipmunks

Ross Bagdasarian Sr. spent $190 of his last $200 in 1958 to buy a state-of-the-art tape recorder that can playback at various speeds. He recorded “Christmas Don’t Be Late” with a fictitious group known as Chipmunks who sang with a high pitched obscure voice. The song later became the No. 1 Billboard chart, sold over four million copies and created the now famous three Chipmunks: Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Today, Chipmunks is a family owned business based in Montecito, California. Ross Bagdasarian Jr. with his wife now owns the right to the Chipmunks empire.

Over the years, Chipmunks popularity came in waves. However, Fox bought the three characters in 2007 and this resulted in creating three hit movies: Alvin and the Chipmunks, Squeakquel, and Chipwrecked. Besides the major movies, there are many other productions, a TV series, several movies on DVDs and other merchandize. The company is also exploring an idea to make a live show that can travel around the world.

The current owners are very involved with the business and tightly control the branding of Chipmunks. Once they refused a proposal to manufacture and market a sugary cereal using the brand name. The owners are also involved in several law suits to protect the brand from exploitation.

Written by: Omar Amanat

Summary: Video streaming services are becoming a huge part in everyday life. It’s up to you to decide which service is worth your investment.

Netflix and Amazon Prime are two of the largest players in the movie streaming market today. While both have their pros and cons, this guide is designed to help you cater to your interests and make your investment more worthwhile.

Streaming is the New “TV”

Needless to say, video streaming is now a major part of daily lives, pushing TV services in the depths of solidarity. The convenience of having movies and TV shows at your fingertips at any time of the day allow for users to access it whenever they want. This means no more recording shows, forgetting to watch your favorite series, or even have trouble with reception and service.

The Features

Before diving into the pros and cons, you can experience both services by signing up for a 30-day trial. This is strongly suggested and is also good way to play around with all the features.

Netflix recently changed its stars rating system to a “thumbs up/thumbs down” system. Previously, users were able to rate a show or movie from 1-5 stars. However, Netflix claimed the system was flawed – hence the drastic change. While this isn’t a dealbreaker, it’s worth mentioning as it can take a while to adjust to.

You’re probably already aware of all the basics of both services, but both allow for media streaming on Smart TVs, game consoles, computers and laptops, and mobile devices. Additionally, both streaming services are regularly updated with new shows and movies to watch – you can even check their official website to see what’s releasing.

This is where it gets interesting however. While both services offer unlimited streaming, the variety is significantly different. There are shows that are available exclusively for one network as opposed to the other. It’s recommended that you take a look at both sites and search for a specific genre that you mostly watch. Take a look at the variety of movies and shows that are available and go from there.