2013 NYCC Part 4

Part 4 of our infinite coverage of 2013 NYCC

2013 NYCC Part 3

Part 3 of our never ending 2013 NYCC coverage

2013 New York Comic Con Part 2

Check out part 2 of our never ending coverage of the 2013 NYCC.

Halloween ComicFest

Check out all the excitement of Halloween ComicFest at The Comicbook Depot in Wantagh.

The History of “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® 2000-2013 Part 3 of 5

Officers

Officers was an incomplete project that was conceived in the mid 1990s by David Rerecich and Bill Wikstrom.  It was a follow-up to Battles, Homophobia, and Kristmas, all stories that took place in their established Bellerose/Floral Park universe.  The early concept revolved around a typical day in the lives of Detective Bellerose and Captain Floral Park.  It was to include classic cop clichés such as donut jokes and dry cop banter.  Dave and Bill created and starred as two iconic police characters.  Bill played the dry talking, rough and tumble, Detective Bellerose. Dave was the quirky Captain Floral Park.  They filmed minor scenes but abandoned the project due to lack of focus in the script.

It was late 2003, Bill and Joseph were at Dave’s apartment watching old videos Dave and Bill created back in the mid-nineties.  Joseph was trying to come up with a concept that would cater to Matthew Swiatocha wanting to create a musical score to a movie.  As luck would have it outtakes from an abandoned Officers movie began playing.  Joseph inquired about the footage and what happened to the movie.  After hearing the story he proposed to complete the script for them.  He jotted down some quick notes and ran through some story ideas with them.  They dismissively agreed to his plot ideas not thinking he would actually write a script.  A few months later Joseph completed his script and sent it to Dave for review.  Dave shocked that Joseph was serious about finishing an Officers movie read through the script doing his best to tear it apart by making fun of all the static dialogue.  When Joseph received the revised version he thought it was brilliant, it was the comedic touch that his draft was missing.  The script was then sent to Bill who made additional alterations and afterwards the three collaborated together on one final draft before setting forth on production. 

An outtake still from the first attempt at an Officers movie and also used in the opening of the completed project.  Joseph wanted to confuse the audience by showing outtakes of the film in the opening title sequence instead of the traditional way by showing such sequences at the end of a movie.

Joseph wrote the plot in a simple format that was filmable but also called upon a plethora of characters.  Understanding he could not amass such a large cast all at once he modeled the story around a film noir mystery that would lead the main characters to different quirky people before solving the case.  The two main characters were David Rerecich returning to his role as Captain Floral Park and Bill Wikstrom playing the iconic Detective Bellerose . 

Bill Wikstrom was a typical Bellerose underachiever, a quick witted boy with a talent for the arts but never quite got his due in life.  His claim to fame was a stint as the lead singer of the band Endangered Feces.  He was also the lead singer and guitarist for the lesser known rock band Idiot Squad.  While Bill’s main distinction was in music he was also behind the creation of Detective Bellerose and would regularly collaborate with Dave on all his video ideas. 

Bill doing what he does best! Rocking out! 

With the script completed production began but it was riddled with delays and three scenes required reshoots.  The majority of the issues were scheduling conflicts and also a lack of a crew.  Joseph was directing and doing the cinematography at the same time.  He was accustomed to the double tasks while directing music videos but it allowed him to talk over the camera and give needed stage directions.  While filming a talkie it significantly limited his directing abilities during the shoot.  The length of the script was also difficult for the amateur actors to memorize which required close-ups for a majority of the takes so they could read the script while performing their dialogue.  The visual look of Officers became rather static with stiff acting while on a time crunch. 

A still from a much disputed take between Joseph and Dave's vision of the movie. 

The burden of comedy rested on the main characters who kept trying to add lib with mixed results while Joseph was trying to complete a page count during each scheduled shoot.  Tension rose on the set when Dave and Joseph disagreed with how some of the performances should be portrayed during the shooting.  Dave requested to edit the film to his preference of a 1970s style cop show and was performing the role accordingly.  Joseph had a grander noir spoof in mind which caused conflicts during certain takes.  Bill, who was left with the burden of carrying the film was handed much of the dry dialogue while doing his best to jazz it up with a variety of vocal inflections.  Officers took more than a year to shoot but was finally completed in 2005.

Two known cuts of the movie exist.  Dave’s version respectively known as Officers: The Adventures of Detective Bellerose and Captain Floral Park (the editors cut) is modeled after a classic 1970s cop show complete with 1970s style music, vintage commercials and a runtime of thirty minutes.  Joseph’s cut known simply as Officers is compiled of mostly videogame and some pop music.  The music track used for the film was supposed to be an ample track that would be replaced by a score created by Matthew Swiatocha.  Unfortunately Matthew dropped out of the project which left Joseph with an incomplete score. The runtime was going on about 45 minutes when Joseph was discussing his venture with his coworker Eileen at The Late Show with David Letterman.  She advised him to cut the work down to thirty minutes, Joseph decided to extend the piece to a full hour.  He added two different segments into the movie that consisted of Detective Bellerose and another character looking at one another with no actual conversation happening.  He also added a drawn out opening scene with clips that included miscellaneous takes and items off the cutting room floor.  These segments are what most people reference as their turnoff to Joseph’s cut of the movie.  Dave’s movie premiered  Christmas 2005 to a select circle of Dave’s friends and garnered positive feedback.  Joseph’s movie had no such premier and was not available for a mass audience to see until it was posted on YouTube years later. 

A still from Dave's version of Officers.

The reception of the two movie versions remain mixed.  Many appreciate Dave’s shorter running time but find his addition of commercials burdensome in rewatches.  With the exception of the staring scenes and long intro, Joseph received better praise for how he cut the scenes together.  Dave’s vanity prevented him from using certain takes in his version that involved him performing funnier antics.  Joseph had no such apprehension when cutting together Dave’s performance and thus demonstrated the actors in more powerful presentations.   With all of that many find it hard to justify a one hour amateur movie.  When comparing both versions of the movie to YouTube views, Joseph’s cut has a significantly higher count which makes his the winner on a commercial level but perhaps not at a critical level. 

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Coming off what Joseph perceived as the failure of Officers he decided to go back to his roots with a music video.  He wanted to up the ante and chose to adapt a popular story.  He selected the Twilight Zone episode A Passage for Trumpet about a drunk musician who has a near death experience and rediscovers his love of music.  Joseph included some dialogue at the beginning to add some additional context to the video.  He also decided to disregard his rule to use black and white in a video, the cardinal sin of the amateur filmmaker.  The story begins in color and after the character is hit by the car it shifts to black and white to show he’s been transported into another realm and also pay homage to its Twilight Zone origins. 

A still from the episode A Passage for Trumpet

Joseph casted “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® regulars Mike Cody, David Rerecich, Angelica McKessy and himself in the video.  The video also marked the first time Joseph created a shot list to work off of.  The choice to use actors accustomed to Joseph’s prior works coupled with a written script helped the shooting be one of the most efficient directorial jobs by Joseph.  Even the camera movements, though not as elaborately planned, were heavily influenced by Matthew Swiatocha. 

A still from While My Guitar Gently Weeps

When Joseph premiered the video it was met with outstandingly positive feedback.  Many praised it as “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® best work ever.  Dave exclaimed it was how Officers should have been made.  The video even went semi-viral on YouTube with a current count of almost 300,000 views. 

Written by

Steve Rogers,
Writer
Christmas Snow,
Writer
Joseph Ammendolea

Owner/President

“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®

ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5

2013 New York Comic Con Part 1

It's everyone's favorite time of year, our annual New York Comic Con coverage.  We're breaking down our video into several parts this year so stay tuned in the coming weeks to see all the NYCC action.

OPEN CASTING AUDITIONS

OPEN CASTING AUDITIONS

2 days only

Date and Time
7:30pm -- 10:00pm
Tuesday - October 15, 20113
Wednesday -- October 16, 2013

Location
Rollin Greens
24777 Jericho Turnpike
Bellerose, NY 11426

Summary
"I Like To Play With Toys" Productions® will be holding an open casting call for the upcoming feature film When the World Ends. A story about three so called men who refuse to grow up and the impact they have on the people around them. Anyone 21 and older can apply.

Characters Available
Tyler - Age 27-33 - A nice guy whose broken heart causes him to go along with the crowd
George -- Age 27-33 - An angry fast talking man whose ideas get the main characters into trouble
Joe -- Age 27-33 - An indifferent smart-aleck who sees the bigger picture of a situation
Jessica -- Age 27-33 - A reformed tomboy who's tough but also sensitive
Jeff -- Age 27-33 - A really good guy
Michelle -- Age 23-28 - A total bitch
Joanne -- Age 27-33 - A flirty red head that people enjoy talking to
Jessica's Mom -- Age 55-65 - An overbearing mother that has no time for nonsense

When you arrive to the location ask for Joseph or Fernando. Valid photo identification may be required to enter the premise. If you would like to send a resume and headshots prior to your audition, you may do so by emailing iliketoplaywithtoysproductions@yahoo.com.

Quick Update - New York Comic Con 2013

We don't have any crowd shots yes so check out this dudes pecks!

This is going to be a quick article as events are still unfolding. I just spent Thursday October 10, 2013 at the 2013 New York Comic Con.  It was a fun time but way too crowded.  Thursday is supposed to be the least crowded day and it was pure aisle congestion and anarchy.  Thursday also lacked the pizazz of the awesome panels that Friday, Saturday and Sunday promises as well as the really really hot chicks in costumes. 

This is just a picture to balance out the picture from above 

There was an awesomely free after party at the Hudson Terrace Salon located on 46^th and 11^th.  The after party was promoting some new free game called Hello Hero about a cactus that does stuff.  I enjoyed the free food and drinks as well as the pretty cool atmosphere.  Since nerds are docile creatures the overall scene was worry free and fun. There were no stresses about roid-raging Jersey Shore douchebags ruining the good time.  The music was even pumping at a proper decibel that did not make your ears bleed or cause you to have hearing problems after you left.  If this evenings after party was any indication of how Hudson Terrace Salon does its shindigs I’d recommend that everyone pay it a visit.  

Here is a poor quality picture of three lovely cosplayers from the after party.  

Here is an even worse picture of the Cactus from the video game that was the reason fro the awesome after party.

We don't really know what this is but it was taken during the after party.

Eight is Enough - IntraVenus style

The IntraVenus drummer kicks a beat to the theme song for Eight is Enough.

The History of “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® 2000-2013 Part 2 of 5

The Resurgence

2003 iMac

Two years had gone by without a single video being produced by "I Like To Play With Toys" Productions®.  The reason being was that Joseph did not have access to equipment required to make the quality videos he had grown accustomed to.  He focused on other creative endeavors.  In 2002 Joseph joined the band IntraVenus which was undergoing several shifts in members.  He also spent more time volunteering at the local theater group.  It wasn’t that he abandoned the production company; he just didn’t have the gear or outlet to work on video projects.  Joseph took a few film classes in college but they did not provide the same artistic freedom that he was allotted in high school. 

Swu performing drummer duties while Joseph was taking a potty break.

While collaborating with fellow IntraVenus band mate Matthew Swiatocha, he urged Joseph to look into getting a computer that allowed for decent video editing.  Joseph’s research escorted him to the latest iMac which came standard with iMovie.  iMovie is perceived as a simple editing tool but it was just what Joseph needed to create the videos he wanted.

One Step Away

The Chase Theory - One of the best indie bands in Florida

After attaining his new equipment Joseph proceeded to make a test video to get accustomed to the software.  The video consisted of a mash-up of old videos that he kept in stock.  He dubbed them to the song One Step Away by The Chase Theory.  The finished product wasn’t a classic like prior work but it did mean that “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® was back and ready to start churning out hits once again.  One Step Away was followed with reedits of the high school works that were so popular.  “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® still had yet to create new material.

Is She Really Going Out With Him

When someone recounts their greatest success they customarily claim to know it would somehow become monumental. There isn’t a soul who participated in the music video Is She Really Going Out With Him by Joe Jackson that would have ever predicted it going viral.  In everyone’s defense it was 2003 and YouTube had not been developed. 

A still of the directors small cameo in the video.

The video stemmed from Joseph and his friends gathered together one evening with nothing to do.  He decided to make a quick video to have some new content for editing.  The video concept was as simple as the song, a boy was singing about his ex-girlfriend being with another guy.  Joseph would have preferred to shoot many of the scenes indoors but didn’t have time for proper preproduction.  The “storyline shots” were taped at St Gregory the Great School and much like Photograph he filmed off of his memory.  They featured Mike Cody as the lead character, Liz Hausdorf on guitar, Anthony Ardezzone as the new boyfriend, and Bernadette Kahir as the girlfriend. The filming went quick but was coming up short in the editing room.  Thus additional band shots were filmed a few weeks later with the Renda Sisters helping out.  Mike became the lead singer in front of an all girl band.  Donna was on tambourine, Diana on drums, and Liz remained on guitar.  It was performed as silly as it was written.  Shooting wrapped, Joseph cut the video together and it was all but forgotten. 

Mike jamming out with his all girl rock band.  There were talks of them becoming a real rock and roll act but they could never decide on what shoes to wear during their performances. 

In wasn’t until 2006 when Joseph rediscovered the video and decided to post in on the “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® YouTube channel.  It was shared with a few friends on MySpace and forgotten about.  From there the video took on a life of its own and slowly began to grow in viewership.  The Joe Jackson fans really appreciated the videos silliness, they understood the humor and fun surrounding the video.  The video grew to over 350,000 views but sadly in 2009 Warner Music Group (WMG) and YouTube had a disagreement about music rights and pulled the ability to utilize WMG music on the website, thus the video was muted.  Even after being muted it still continued to garner views and has climbed to over 500,000 hits.  “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® does not consider the additional views after the video was muted as part of the videos virility. 

Trying to ascertain why the video was so successful has been a conundrum for the production company.  It has failed to achieve the same level of viral success with other videos.  This is in spite of more coherent works which had more time and better production value invested into the projects.  The only explanation from the peculiar incident is that a website that has The History of Dance as its most viewed video must be primarily used by people who are fans of the post Bob Sagat version of America’ Funniest Home Videos.

Senses

Senses is a lesser known video but was groundbreaking for “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®.  It marked the first time a video produced by the company was written, directed, and edited by someone other than Joseph. The story stemmed from an idea Matthew Swiatocha had.  He wanted to create a video and compose an original score around the compilation.  The concept was a man who wakes up outdoors and is confused about what occurred.  He gradually discovers he has heightened senses that eventually drive him to the brink of insanity and passes out, thus experiencing a continuous cycle or confusion and torment.  Matthew developed the entire concept from beginning to end and Joseph was the lead actor. 

Matthew Swiatocha was a super genius with degrees from the Ivy League schools Providence and Columbia.  Prior to teaming up with Joseph, his main strength was science.  Matt had invented a robotic arm while attaining degrees in both physics and engineering.  Coupled with his scientific mind was a true artist, Matt became a guitarist for the band IntraVenus and ushered the band into its most creatively successful period.  He was truly a gifted talent in both the hard sciences and the arts.  He challenged “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® to push beyond its typical functions into more fluid and creative enterprises.  Matthew was never happy with just getting it done; he was a perfectionist and held the team to higher standards. 

Swi is notoriously camera shy thus very few pictures of him exist.   He can always be identified but his tall thin stature, sports car and well used baseball cap.

The shoot was one of the smoothest ever for the company.  Matthew was a well organized director and had a well thought out story before shooting began.  The only problem that really occurred wasn’t discovered until after filming had wrapped.  Joseph was diagnosed with mononucleosis a few days later, which delayed editing of the video.   After Joseph recovered from his illness Matthew arrived and began to edit his video.  He spliced the takes together in under an hour and recorded the work onto a tape.  Matthew planned to record the musical arrangement based on the tape and would return to add the composition at a later date.  About a year went by and Matthew had not returned with his musical score.  It was unclear when he would return and the incomplete project was taking up needed computer space.  Joseph shuffled through his music library and played the song over different tracks that ran the same length of the video.  He decided on Say It Ain’t So by Weezer, the song’s melody matched the pace of the video.  The video was burned to DVD and tagged as completed.  It is unknown if Matthew ever completed the original score or if he is still trying to perfect it.

Pregnant Death

In much of the same vein as Senses, Pregnant Death was written and directed by Matt Leabo.  The video stemmed from an art project Matt was required to complete while attending the School of Visual Arts.  It needed to be loaded with symbolism, Matt proceeded to take the challenge head on and incorporate as much nonsensical imagery that he could conjure in order to demonstrate the ridiculously over analyzed artistic feats that people create.  The story was about an elderly woman who gets a visit from Death and during the visit Death goes into labor and has a baby.  Matt Leabo recruited Swiatocha to play Death and his grandmother as the elderly woman.  Joseph was called in to be the cinematographer.  Joseph brought Alison Glaser with him during the shoot as a spectator and she eventually ended up working on the project as a production assistant.  The shoot went smoothly enough and when completed Matt made a tape to tape edit of the video because he was under a project deadline.  Joseph took the footage and created his own version of the video and added the song Superstition by Stevie Wonder to give it a light hearted feel.  Leabo’s version was composed by Matthew Swiatocha and was an eerie, ominous, frightful video.  Sadly not many people got to see Leabo’s director’s cut which is believed to be lost. 

Anus

The first scripted talkie by “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® was a mock cologne commercial.  One evening Matthew Swiatocha and Matt Leabo pitched Joseph an idea to create a parody fragrance commercial that pokes fun at the continually pointless cologne commercials that are generated every year.  Leabo was the typical male model while Joseph played the elusive fashion designer Victor Von Vice, Swi would handle the voiceover work as well as being cinematographer and director. 

All the scenes opened with crotch shots zooming out to a large landscape of absurd homoerotic situations that were dubbed with illogical babble about what a man is.  The shoot was as seamless as ever.  Swiatocha had developed a smooth production process that was lacking in the earlier works.  With Swi’s input Joseph edited the piece together and while not as successful as prior projects it was a groundbreaking talkie that lead into one of the most ambitious enterprises “I Like To Play With Toys” Productions® would ever produce.

Written by

Steve Rogers,
Writer
Christmas Snow,
Writer
Joseph Ammendolea

Owner/President

“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®

ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5