When "The Drifter" came out I was, well, a little disappointed. It had some great waves and some great parts, but as a whole it fell a little short. The second film to come out of Drifter Productions delivers a different feel. While "The Drifter" has a tough time figuring out what style it wants to fit in "Melali" blurs the line between two distinct styles, The Surf Industry Production and The Soulful Gaze*. To simplify that it mixes Poor Specimen with Woodshed, think "Stranger than Fiction" meets "Sprout." The cinematography captures the light, colors and action, thank you Todd Heater (same Director of Photography as "Sipping Jetstreams" and "Castles in the Sky") with amazing style. The surfing is top notch and takes the front seat unlike its predecessor, so what is the issue you might ask? With the action of Taylor Steele's early films with the artistic tendencies of Chris Malloy you think it might be a great surf flick, until you realize that your average show on Fuel TV is longer. I was a little hurt on that one. Couldn't you have at least thrown some bonus footage on the disc? With that said "Melali" is a fun little flick that adds some beautiful surf footage to your collection, go grab a copy.

* Adapted from Nick Carroll's "The Big Picture" article in Surfing Magazine Nov. 2007

So rather than doing actual work I did "research" instead. Here are a couple of videos that I thought were fun. The first one is about the surfboards that are coming out of Fletcher Chouinard Designs Surfboards. They have been around for awhile but they do have some great shapes coming out of the bays over there. Hoping to get my hand on one of their Farks to play around with in the mushy breaks over here on the Right Coast.

The second video is Mary O. having some fun in Ventura with a

So besides being a lazy morning yesterday I rose up to take a trip up to Cinnamon Rainbows in Hampton, NH. Drove up there with my pal Brian to check out some of the new gear up there and grab some things for winter. The cold water is quickly approaching so you need to be ready for it. So after hanging out there for a while I headed out to meet up with my old room mate who live in Cali now. Drank some beer had laughs it was a good night.

This morning started with the unbelievable lack of motivation to get out of bed. However, with some Maelstrom kayaks to be demo'd i needed to get on that. The guys from Charles River Canoe and Kayak hooked my dad, myself and my pal Brad up with some great demo boats for a morning of bouncing through the currents of Ipswich, MA. I totally dug the Vital they make. The other boat i demo'd, well lets not talk about it. Rudder. High volume. Not my style. But it was a fun morning. Then installed a rudder... yes... at work. It killed me a little on the inside. But it is done. And i will will replace the bulkhead on Monday, didn't feel like getting high of fumes this evening. To make a long story short if you are in Boston and need some nice water whips to run for a day stop by the Charles River shop, or take one home with you. You can check them out at
http://www.paddleboston.com/main.php

Odd title considering how horses kind of freak me out. But my beloved iBook is looking toward greener pastures. He has been working hard rendering and editing and finalizing projects for days. So while he worked hard over the past few days I had some time to wander around the domicile and take some pictures. Thought I would share them with you.

Although I am not really a winter person, I favor liquid water than the frozen counter part, I am undoubtedly a gear nerd. So after flipping through some magazines I came across an add for a ski company and all you saw was some wood and their logo. After some research I find out that Folsom Skis is a company based out of Boulder, CO making custom skis for all parts of the mountain. With a couple of awards under their belt they might be worth checking out if you are looking to get a new pair for the season that is app

So after a day of snowshoe training, no there is no snow it was a tech training, I found out some very exciting news. My brother and sister-in-law had their first child, a gorgeous baby boy. So while I was drinking some beer before hand I proceeded to celebrate with even more beer... and some how cider spiked with rum and some whiskey got in there as well.

However, I would like to share this with all of you. He and his mom are very healthy and doing well. I will be headed down in a little while to meet the little man. And welcome him to the world officially as his Uncle.

I am very excited.

http://crews.tv/blog/2010/10/12/af100-storm-gathers/

I came across this link while thumbing through Tweets on my phone this morning. It seems as if the economy is still staying low camera companies are putting their best people on design teams to make there products stand out from the others. Panasonic's new AG-AF100. Taking all the positive features of today's DSLR with a little edge, it was designed for video not stills. It will enable it's users to use cine lenses as opposed to compacts found out there for our DSLR's. Depth of field will be shallower than some of its competitors. And the list goes on and on.

I have used a number of Panasonic's, HVX 200's, DVX100 A's and B's, hell I stuff a consumer GS320 into a water housing for some shooting. The colors are great, usability is simple and price for quality isn't that bad either. So what are the cons of this new camera.

Well, for one making the HD switch can be a gamble as new technology is out ever day it seems. Waiting for the right camera could be a life long fantasy, but one that can use interchangeable lenses, be user friendly, do everything you need it to do with an estimated delivery date at the end of the year... all for 5,250$.

Wait... What?

I am a gear nerd as much as the next but here is where the cons start for me. I went to grad school for film and it's good thing I did now that I am working retail. (Thank you economy!) I work hard to keep my dreams of making flicks. But at 5,250$, damn that makes the DSLR's look so much better, with an even shallower depth of field, and the ability to process the footage on my 5 year old Ibook, it's seems as though the money might come into it. But the more I look at it the more I see why other cameras might work better I film sports mostly. I rugged camera with interchangeable lenses is what I need, and if I break something it is not as much of a hit on the wallet as this big boy is.

Does this mean I will shy away from it when the chance might fall upon me to stand behind it and capture some magic? Hell no! The pros list is definitely the longer of the two lists, and I can always make my name on the less expensive DSLR's and make that upgrade when time and money allow.

But the question I face myself with everyday is whether or not it is the camera that makes a great movie or the people surrounding it? I will have to go with the latter part of the question. So for now I need to shoot with what I have and make the movies I want to make because maybe someday I can make that amazing flick and people will love it and then I might be able to play around with all the new things coming out.

But we will see about that.

I lent out my copy of 180° South last night.

I know that I will get it back, it is in good hands.

It has been my mental getaway for the past couple months, however, and after manning a table at a health and benefits fair today, I could use a little getaway, even it is only on my couch. That hour plus of Jeff Johnson telling of his travels down to Patagonia really helps take you away from where you are. It makes you want to drop all that you are doing and go on an adventure.

The waves he surfs and the climbs he attempts really make you wonder... "How did he get to do this trip?"

The question you should be asking is not "how," or "why," but rather you should be asking yourself "Why haven't I?" Now I have traveled, with an old fashioned road trip out to Colorado and Wyoming and back, a week in the UK, numerous trips down to Florida or overnights to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Hell, I even did a month long stint in South Africa. And that was pretty life changing for me. But watching this movie and flipping through the book its just like...

"Why did he do this?"

"How did he make it happen?"

Those questions don't matter he did it, he filmed it, photographed it. He lived it and shared it with us.

Now I think to myself, "where am I headed next?"

I don't know. But I am going somewhere...somewhere that is not here.

So the question I ask you is...

"You in?"

Check it out at http://www.180south.com/index.html

With Halloween just around the corner and the craziness that becomes Salem this time, of year check out what is going on at the North Shore Art Throb. Maybe see if something is going on somewhere else. Check out their website to see what is going on in the art world around the North Shore, because it is better than watching television... and I do love me some TV.

Click here for a reason to get off the couch http://www.nsartthrob.com