K. G. Singh | timotheories

Learning To Keep Pace (Cross Talk Ep. 14)

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Christmas drives me absolutely nuts dear readers. I have to run around at a breakneck pace in order to keep up with all of the events, people, and deadlines. And that doesn’t even factor in my day job or running timotheories dot com. Now to be fair, I’m not telling you this to ask for sympathy, because the fact of the matter is that we are all running around like idiots.

It’s the nature of the beast. Every year Christmas gets bigger and bigger, We want to tap into that nostalgia, fuel the fire of Christmas cheer, and be even more generous with our giving. It’s enough to make you sick. In fact, I bet dollars to doughnuts, that a large number of us are going to get sick just as the madness settles down and we are able to enjoy the day.

It’s Murphy’s Law. Anything that can happen will happen. But what if there is a happy medium my friends?

What if you don’t have to be the tortoise or the hare? What if I were to tell you that pacing does matter and that you can achieve it? Well you’d probably tell me that I’m nuts.

But here’s the thing, when it comes to art, we all know that old adage, about it imitating life, and the best films have incredibly tight pacing, no matter who you ask.

In case you don’t know what pacing means in film, I’m going to share a little quote with you from Wikipedia;

All time arts – music, dance, drama, film – are enormously concerned with pacing – with rhythm or tempo. As the film director translates events in a script into actions that make up scenes and sequences, that is, as the director shapes the actors’ performances and stages the other actions in front of the camera, one of his paramount concerns is pacing, making the action swell, subside, and swell again. The director does this to keep the scene from losing its energy and intensity. Later, after the shooting is over, the director, working with the film editor, will further control, construct, and perfect the pacing in the way he builds shots into scenes and sequences.

In order for life to flow properly, there needs to be proper transitions and rates of change. When you run a mile a minute for a month straight, life is gonna course correct you in turn. HARD.

This is probably one of my favourite topics when it comes to film; Chris and I are stoked to talk about it, and you can really see the passion between us flair up quick when we discuss the importance of pacing in a film. Both Andre and Singh backed out of this one, because they couldn’t handle the heat. It should be a good one. timotheories presents episode fourteen of Cross Talk.

And now I’m theoried out for the year my creative cuties. Check back over the next four days for a couple of Christmas themed movie and music reviews, some wisdom on the season, and a convenient update. Otherwise, please comment, subscribe, and share this video with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!

It’s Business Time (timotheories September 2016)

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Do you ever find that you’re drawn to certain kinds of music, films, and foods when the weather starts to turn? And I’m not talking about commercially viable options, but the obscure memories you’ve cultivated because they remind you of specific feelings?

I may have already written about this idea once this month, but September is usually my personal time of reflection, and when I begin to sing my own redemption song.

For instance, if I find that I’m out of balance I’ll begin to pick up certain good habits that I dropped – Whether it’s reading more, practicing good sleep hygiene or even maintaining an exercise routine, September is that time when timotheories is all about pulling up bootstraps and getting down to business. It’s business time after all, especially because I’m gearing up for the Superbowl of retail.

After all dear readers, this is the time of year when it starts to get cold, the hot beverages come out, and the covers go up to add an extra special layer of cloudlike warmth and comfort.

If you’re not sure what I’m eluding to, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered students. We’ve already had a post explaining why Alan Moore destroyed the superhero long before Hollywood got their hands on it, how art school changed my perspective on New Years, a preview of this month’s feature artist interview, and some other cool reviews. Oh and did I mention we summarized a summary on self-help books?

September is shaping up nicely. Time to give you an overview.

But we need to get the disclaimer out of the way, then we can dive right on in and go over the schedule.

*Disclaimer* As always, every week I purchase an album and movie one week ahead of the actual review release and while I have the best intentions, I don’t always get what I want… so if you follow me on instagram (@timotheories) you can actually see what’s coming.

timotheories summarized – September

Stimulating Sundays – (09/04) Ryan Andrade preview interview, (09/11) Ryan Andrade interview, (09/18) Cross Talk Ep. 9, (09/25) Megan Warkentin interview
Melodic Mondays – (09/05) Glass Animals, (09/12) Angel Olsen, (09/19) July Talk, (09/26) Beyonce
Theatrical Tuesdays – (09/06) The Jungle Book, (09/13) Love & Friendship, (09/20) Captain America: Civil War, (09/27) TMNT: Out Of The Shadows
Wisdom Wednesdays – (09/07) 1000 Self-Help Books Summarized, (09/14) Gary D. Chapman, (09/21) Exercise, (09/28) Brian Lee O’Malley
Timely Thursday – (09/01) Art School (Back to School), (09/08) timotheories September, (09/15) Harvest, (09/22) Nuit Blanche (Petite Nuit) (09/29) Artwork Update

The year of all killer, no filler continues friends! Nothing quite like laying it all on the line and getting right to the point. Without this strategy I wouldn’t be able to reinvigorate the weekly grind quite so easy.

Cross Talk continues to evolve of course. Now that we’ve got Singh on as a regular cast member, we’re going to begin the slow trek into a weekly format, but for now we’ll continue to release one episode a month. Episode 9 could be about death, personality, globalization or film snobs, you’ll just have to stay tuned in…

Surprise, surprise though, as I’ve decided to put together not one but TWO artist interviews for you folks this month. Ryan Andrade will be talking with me about balance, and then Megan Warkentin will get into exploration, which is why I wasn’t able to slot her in last month.

And of course I sound like a broken record, but I really do have something coming together for Just In Time Games, but we’re still not quite there yet.

And those are all of the theories I can come up with for now friends. Please leave some comments, to let us know what you want to see in coming months and subscribe to the blog too!

Tim!

Rebirth (timotheories August 2016)

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

I’m sure you’ve heard this expression once or twice before, dear readers, but I’m gonna throw it at you again, because it’s relevant for today’s topic.

A lot can change in a month.

You can be on top of the world one minute, and then you’re struggling for air the next. After all, nothing in life is certain, except for death and the occasional rebirth. It happens all the time in comic books after all.

And for one well considered reason or another, the comic book movie train won’t stop, so for all intents and purposes, it is a fantastic time to be a fan of the genre.

Which is why it’s important to talk about another kind of rebirth. Yeah, that’s right you sneaky monkeys, I’m gonna share what’s happening during the month of August on timotheories. We’ve already had a post about covering off the importance of professionalism in relation to your creative brand, a review of the excellent film Whiplash, and a review of Michael Kiwanuka’s soul album Love & Hate. But I know you’re already wondering what’s next.

So let us get the disclaimer out of the way, then we can dive right on in and go over the schedule.

Awesome sauce, let’s get to it then:

Stimulating Sundays – (08/07) Brad Fehr interview, (08/14) Comic Books, (08/21) Cross Talk Ep. 8, (08/28) Megan Warkentin interview
Melodic Mondays – (08/01) Michael Kiwanuka, (08/08) Jake Owens, (08/15) Descendents, (08/22) Wild Beasts, (08/29) Factor Floor
Theatrical Tuesdays – (08/02) Whiplash, (08/09) Batman: The Killing Joke, (08/16) Primer, (08/30) The Nice Guys
Wisdom Wednesdays – (08/03) Professionalism, (08/10) Your Wardrobe, (08/17) Neil Strauss, (08/24) Pinterest, (08/31) Watchmen
Timely Thursday – (08/04) timotheories August, (08/11) Happiness and Reflection, (08/18) Fringe Festival (08/25) Artwork Update

For starters, you definitely won’t want to miss episode eight of Cross Talk. Chris and I decided to bring K. G. Singh back as a regular staffer and this time we’ll chat about what distinguishes a re-watchable movie from a quality movie. Awesome sauce, as was already mentioned.

On top of that, I realized I initially promised an interview with Brad Fehr didn’t I? But instead I snuck in a nice teaser. Well don’t be alarmed, because the full length interview is coming out this Sunday AND I’ll even share another interview with grad student Megan Warkentin. Her interview will be all about exploration, or to put it another way, an excellent opportunity to consider opportunity.

Now it might seem like we’ve covered it all, but I think my next plan is to drop that Just In Time Games series into your lap, but we’re not quite there yet. We’ve got lots of test footage, and a decent amount of see games sampled, so the anticipation will continue to build. I know, I’m being a little flaky, but I promise it’ll be worth it.

And those are all of the theories I can come up with for now friends. Please leave some comments, to let us know what you want to see in coming months and subscribe to the blog too!

Tim!

Bad To The Bone (Cross Talk Ep. 7)

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Bad content abounds. Man, does it ever.

The funny thing about bad content is that sometimes people enjoy it even more than good content. Actually, maybe amusement is a better way of looking at it. People are amused by some obviously horrible things.

Filmdom is riff with examples of this too though, it’s not just a thing in music.

Well, give us some examples timotheories!

The Room, Troll 2, Road House, Showgirls, Batman &Robin, Battlefield Earth, Anaconda, Splice, and Howard The Duck are all poorly conceived movies. And that’s just a small sample of the options available to us. If we really started to dig into genre specific examples I could easily come up with 100s of films that don’t cut the mustard.

Which is why we decided to focus mostly on action movies in this week’s Cross Talk episode. And we didn’t want to just go on a rant about action without making a big deal out of it, so for the first time EVER, we are pleased to introduce K. G. Singh! Singh is our resident action movie expert; he practices martial arts and is a screenwriter to boot, so you know he has the goods to back up his claim.

Now you’re probably wondering what the topic is for today, if we called in an action expert. Ever heard the expression “that movie is so bad it’s good” dear readers? Well, we recognize that there is a difference between a bad movie versus a movie that is so bad that it becomes amazing. And so, Episode 7 of Cross Talk arrives at your digital door.

The challenge comes down to recognizing the elements of quality, intent, emotions, authenticity, and motivation. Of course subjective experience factors in too, which is why this is an episode you won’t want to miss! And if you have an interest in movies like Sharknado, Mortal Kombat, and RoboCop but don’t know where to slot them on the spectrum, all the better.

I’ve included a direct link to the full video for you here, but as always (and conveniently apt for today), the real action is just below for your convenience. Otherwise, please sit back and enjoy Episode 7 of Cross Talk!

I’m out of theories for now, but please check back tomorrow for an album about avalanches and wildflowers. It should be a good one! Please comment, subscribe, and share this with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!