See what I did there? Because the trailer has that reverse thing going on...

While confusing, there might be just enough of a shred of coherent plot to get you wondering, "could this be good?" Take a look for yourself:

"Hunger games" fans will be delighted to see that Jennifer Lawrence is in this movie... What a timely trailer release eh, riding on her surge in popularity after the "Hunger games" did so well! In any case, the trailer above doesn't look bad. We'll probably be better able to tell in a second trailer how well this movie holds up, especially without the backward bit going on.

-Josh

Deviant art is a great place to look for amazing artwork whether you’re just browsing or looking for some inspiration. That’ s where I came across Liam Peters’ work. 

The pieces in his portfolio are diverse, but with a twist of darkness that seems to come through in more than a couple. What’s most interesting is the story that’s captured in each picture, like there is so much more than what’s there. Take a look at the rift colossus below for example.

The angle of the picture. The two persons ready to fight or flight at the foot of the colossus. What happened before? What happens after?

And what about “Dungeon Delve” Below?

If part of creating is synthesizing bits of images, ideas, writing, or whatever into something new, then why not replenish the well by taking a look at other people’s work. Especially if it’s as rich as the pictures above and below.

Check out Liam Peters’ portfolio and blog at http://liampeters.blogspot.ca/ 
He’s also posted that he does some freelance work. E-mail him for more.

- Josh

If you’ve ever visited the fallen city of Rapture, it’s likely that you succumbed to it’s inviting charm, eerie atmosphere and awe inspiring environment. Jared Potter, Director of the Bioshock Short below put it best when he wrote, “The story, the characters, the world created by the team at 2K and Irrational left an impression on me unlike any game I’ve ever played”. 

Ready to revisit Rapture?

“New Years End”, The Bioshock Short you’re about to watch, is as Jared put it “Not a parody, not a fake trailer mashup of other people’s work, but a truly original creation set within the world of the games”

Take a look for yourself:

Excellent. And what a perfect example of how creativity can inspire others to expand on an original work in a new and creative way, complimenting the original piece while having the potential to add new depth.

Visit the website of the short at: 
http://newyearsend.com/

and the facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/NewYearsEnd

Anyone who knows that stuff only really gets done when you push through being tired and keep on moving, also often times wonders what it feels like to have a guilt free rest. For those people, the phrase “and miles to go before I sleep” holds all too true.   

Poems can be a source of inspiration and motivation amongst many things. Some times, when there's something in a poem that really resonates with you, revisiting it might even be therapeutic. To say the least, I am very fond of Robert Frost's “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” which I find perfectly captures the feelings associated with being on the go and longing to stop and smell the roses.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
By: Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.


Those who might not know “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” might be more familiar with Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” from their school days, or even “Fire and Ice” as used in the Twilight Saga. Perhaps still you have written somewhere his “The Road Not Taken” to remind you of where you’ve been and where you’re going.

What Poems do you really enjoy? Write em down in the comments! be they works that motivate you, inspire or or simply resonate with you.

-Josh

Recently I happened upon “Coil”. I was searching the net when I came across their album entitled, “Musick to play in the dark”. I couldn’t resist. While I can’t recommend every entry in the album or each of those songs in it’s sequel, “Musick to play in the dark 2”, I can say that there are some interesting and wildly different tunes to listen to.

Some of it has a very “Out there” type feel, but that can be a good thing depending on what it is your creating if you’re using music to help get your juices flowing. 

Listen to Coil’s “Ether” below and tell me that you can’t conjure some otherworldly things.

What might you imagine is falling out of the sky with Coil’s “Tiny Golden Books”?

Or what strange things might inhabit the land in which the backdrop is Coil’s “Red Birds will fly out of the east and destroy paris”? Red Birds inhabit it you say?

As per Wiki, “Coil was an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982.” The discography as outlined there makes for a count of 13 to sift through for gems. 


-Josh

There is a brand new trailer for "Prometheus " out… and it looks great. In case you didn't know, prometheus is a prequel of sorts to "Alien".

Take a look:

I don't know about you, but that 2:32 sure turned into 7:36 quick on account of replay. They crammed a lot into that one. Was here something following the girl at 2:08? 

Anyways, I can't wait for this. 

-Josh  

My Acer laptop quit on me recently, so… I got a Macbook… and so far it's great!

That shiny app store has got me curious about all those interesting apps and has got me thinking, "Are there other ways to write beyond Microsoft Word?"

I had a iPad once. It wasn't my thing at the time. I got to try out "Pages" and it seemed pretty good. But what about apps like "OmmWriter"?

The app explains, "With multiple windows and applications all vying for out attention, we have sadly adapted our working habits to that of the computer and not the other way around."

It adds, "OmmWriter is a humble attempt to recapture what technology has snatched away from us today: our capacity to concentrate"

Sound promising? Well I bought it. 

… and can say that it is something worth experiencing. 

Once open, the app showcases an appealing and moody but not distracting background over which you can write on. The menu items are icons from which you can tweak some elements of the program to personalize your experience. 

The music selection is excellent and can compliment what you're writing but can be limited in feel. While it might not accent your horror writing without added imagination, it might say help get your feelings out in the open if you're journaling.

You can even tweak the sound the computer keys make after you hit them creating a surprisingly interesting experience.

You can only save as TXT, export as PDF or RTF though

So is a minimalist approach with added charm worth the $4.99? Yes. Though I can only recommend  it as a journaling tool and maybe as a place to just get to writing, but only in a limited genre range. Programs like "Pages" and "Word", while robust and with the potential to distract are otherwise too great not to use as one stop word processing. 

For Silent Hill Fans, March is the beginning of long awaited Silent Hill game drops which started with "Downpour" released just yesterday. On the horizon is the "Silent HIll HD Collection" and PSVita's "Silent Hill: Book of memories".

While nothing has come close in feel to the original Silent Hill trilogy (especially the masterpiece of Psychological Horror Video Gaming known as Silent Hill 2), the series continues, expanding into new territory and transforming into something different.

For those who want to relive the Silent Hill experience or for those who missed out on it, I can recommend an incredible Youtube series on the subject.
 
We're talking about over 2 hours of Youtube Silent Hill experience! (Exploring the storyline, revisiting clips, discussing plot holes and adding commentary)

To say, "These guys put in a lot of work" is an understatement. If you're a fan or are curious, check out the youtube clip below. For more, click through to youtube and follow the path of vids to completion. It will be some well spent free time.

2:14 is when the action begins. Thanks Mike for letting me know about this awesome vid series from the guys at TwinPerfectChannel.

-Josh

Have you heard of Peder? If you've watched some Breaking Bad, you might have noticed a particularly haunting tune in the background of when Walt was introduced to his "new lab". Check out the youtube clip of the song below. Skip to 3:05 for the part they used.

As per pederandasgerbaden.com, the website linked under Peder's myspace account,

"Peder began as a member of the producer collective the prunes and has worked with such names as beastie boys, the roots, dj vadim and malk de koijn"

He release an album entitled "And he just pointed to the sky" in 2007 and "Dirt and Gold" in 2010. 

I can definitely say that it's worth taking a listen to the samples by clicking through the cd images below to amazon.com

What do you think of the music? What does it remind you of? How could you work with it the next time you're creating?

- Josh

Their sound came to me as a suggestion for a substitute for Silent Hill soundtrack. Anyone who’s ventured through the creepy corridors of the Silent Hill series knows that the sound can be as offbeat as the strange forms that lurk in the halls within. But Portishead’s music, while comparable at times in feel, has its own unique flavour.

In the spirit of suggesting music to add to your creativity playlist, I would recommend you give them a listen.

* These videos were not made by me, but by talented video editors and video makers. the Hunter song is played with a cut version of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. For more on each youtube author's stuff, click through to Youtube.

Deep water really gets me thinking about some ideas for horror stories I have in the works.

I love that third youtube vid for "only you"

As per Wikipedia, Portishead formed in 1991 in Bristol, and was named after a nearby town of the same name. Their Albums include Dummy (1994), Portishead (1997), a live album at the Roseland ballroom NYC (1998) and Third (2008).

What other bands or songs do you have on your creativity playlists?