Seriously

Like, seriously, it's Wednesday again. I turned in my graduation petition today, have a meeting with a grad counselor tomorrow, register for my last full semester of my college career on Friday. Folks, this just got real. Like, seriously. It's Wednesday again and it seems like it was just Wednesday and it feels like it was just the beginning of the semester. It's not. It's almost the end. Almost the end of college.

The weather today is strange. It's overcast and over-hot. It's SUPER warm, awkwardly warm. Normally I dig awkward warmness, but not today, today it's just plain awkward.

This last week, I revisted some CLASSIC videos from the college career. I shared a few, laughed at all, relived with the roommates. It was the best, is the best, will be the best. I'm going to embed them below for you, watch if you want. I know I will.

The paragraph above inspired me. I just created a YouTube channel specifically for these types of videos. Random? I guess. We'll see what happens. You never know.

Here's a classic, one of my favorites:

Mock Rock was last week. Mock Rock is a HUGE lipsync-type competition at Biola, involving big groups of people who dance choreographically, providing entertainment, laughter, and tears to the student body. Mock Rock is one of, if not THE, premier event at Biola, every year is IMMENSE. This year, I think my favorite was a group called Chicken Poc, with their Scooby Doo rendition. They were very creative, very talented, and very very. They rocked it. I think they should have taken the top prize.

Here's their performance:

The other groups did very well as well. Chakte Pakte, a Bollywood rendition, KILLED it. Indian music and dance is so rad.

Here's a picture of me in the crowd captured by who knows who. Like I said, Mock Rock is the PREMIER event.

And here's a recap from the Chimes:


Mock Rock 2012 from Chimes Multimedia on Vimeo.

Something else cool happened this week. Red Bull did this crazy deal and made this crazy video that was filmed mostly at Biola (which is cool in itself). Take a look!

Red Bull came, Red Bull conquered. Red Bull was the talk of the town at Biola University for the full 24 hours yesterday. Well done Red Bull, well done.

So this the end. I think. Yeah. It is. I'm excited for what's to come. I don't know what it looks like. We'll just have to see.

Enjoy your next week. Take a hike, see some sights you haven't seen before. There all sorts of stuff all sorts around us that all sorts haven't been seen by all sorts of people.

Donation

Life's a blur.

I gave blood today. A think a pint. I'm not sure. Giving blood is great because it's free. Our bodies replenish the amount you donate in 48 hours or so and the blood you gave away could potentially save someone's life. That's incredible. I gave blood in high school. Here's a picture:

It was a big deal. You know what is also funny? The quality of the blog at the time this picture was taken: 2008. Take a look. It's comical. http://emliv.blogspot.com/2008/10/blood.html

Spring break was last week. Easter. He is risen. Knockout. Sun. Rain. Jenn's 21st. Pismo Beach. Video:

PISMO :: A Portrait from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

This video was actually quite monumental. I've been telling people that it was a jumpstart. I've been in a little bit of a rut as of late as far as video production. I've heard over the years that, especially if your career is also your passion, you absolutely need to have other side projects to turn to, to keep your creativity fresh; an outlet to try new things, make mistakes without severe consequence.  This Pismo video was exactly that, I tried out a new filming technique, tried out editing in Adobe Premiere, and tried out color grading in Adobe After Effects. There were frustrations, joys, all that comes with trial and error, but I am STOKED about the result. Jumpstarted my passion for film. Success.

A video went viral this week. It's called A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE and it is absolutely 100% incredible. One of the best ads I've ever seen. Ever.

And that's the post! I know, a tad short, but hey, life's a blur. Craziness craziness craziness craziness. 

Enjoy the weather, it's beautiful.

APE 4

It's APRIL 4th. What on this planet?! Not only is time flying, but time is flying. I came to a realization the other day, April Fools Day to be exact. Exactly one year ago this week, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I, or as we're professionally known: Mawwiage Films, flew to Scotland for a weekend to film the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Ichikawa. This was the trip of a lifetime, a trip I will NEVER forget. And you know what's cool? Modern technology allowed us to film our experience. Modern technology allowed us to capture the ABSOLUTE ABSURDITY that was our weekend trip to Scotland. This video is a doozy and it never gets old. Very highly recommended. The emotions in this video are REAL, it's almost eerie (especially near the end when we have absolutely no idea what we're doing in a foreign country by ourselves).

MF in Scotland: The Documentary from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.





On March 31, something absolutely wonderful happened. My favorite band as a kid, Relient K, came to Biola University to play a show. I was stoked beyond words. Here was my facebook status following the concert:

If you know me well, you know that I don't hear lyrics. It's a weird phenomenon, hard to explain. But for some reason, there's one band, and one band only, that I know a whole lot of lyrics to. That band is Relient K. Relient K played at Biola University tonight and ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT. And it will be the first and probably last time I will have the privilege to SING and SCREAM lyrics with the band and fans, all while going APE in the PIT. An absolute BLAST of a show. I can honestly say, my childhood dreams have come true. Thank you, gentlemen.

Everything stated here is a fact. Relient K rocked Biola, absolutely rocked it. I must admit, I was a little worried. You see, Relient K has evolved quite a bit since their self-title album came out in 2000. Their sound has evolved throughout their career, and when Mmhmm dropped in 2004, I heard an inkling of what was to come, an inkling I wasn't particularly digging. Sure enough, the Apathetic EP came out in 2005 and I disappointed for the simple reason that the "fun, immature, punk" Relient K was old news and the "serious, mature, indie" Relient K was here to stay. Their music changed, for the better in a lot of ways, but the new stuff was simply not the Relient K I knew and loved.

So this same Relient K was scheduled to play at Biola and we were all wondering what their set list was going to be. Were they going to play old stuff? All new stuff? Combo meal? I wanted wanted wanted the old stuff, but was ever so nervous they weren't going to pull out the fun stuff. BUT, sure enough, the dudes pulled off a BRILLIANT set. Here's a picture of it for you:

PERFECT mix of old and new, super pumped. We went ape, got a gnarly pit going, getting our mosh on. SO FUN screaming those lyrics, never experienced anything like it and will never again. Once in a lifetime experience.

Two crazy things happened.

1. I have a good friend named Mr. Scott Weir that also goes to Biola. His father, Dr. Paul Weir, and my father, Mr. Ned Lott, were roommates at Biola back when they were students. From what Scott and I have heard, there was this band Toto that was popular when our dad's were in college, repping a song called "Africa" that topped the charts when our dad's were in college.  Now, Relient K has produced two cover albums, and on one of these cover albums, they cover Toto's "Africa." Do you know what this means? This means that Mr. Scott Weir and I are jamming to "Africa" while we were in college, just like our dad's jammed to "Africa" while they were in college. You know what's even crazier? Scott and I are going to be living under the same roof next semester. If that's not unbelievable, I don't know what is.

2. After the first two songs of the encore, the lead singer of Relient K, Matthew Thiessen (who is a BEAST of a lyricist) told us that his grandfather passed away this week and he would have given anything to be there with his family, but was commited to this show at Biola. Not only is this incredible dedication, but RK closed the night with Deathbed, an incredible 11 minute song that delves deep into the concept of death and our eternal meaning. Matt Thiessen performed this song BEAUTIFULLY, with emotion that can't be put into words. Straight from the heart. Take a listen, it's unreal.





And here are two pictures from the night, straight from the camera of Mr. Job Ang.

Excellent.

So that closes out the week. Next week is spring break. Which is wild. Animal Fiction has my name written all over it. 

Animal Fiction is a film I'm editing. Here's the trailer. It's going to be incredible. I'm pumped.

Animal Fiction - Official Trailer from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Enjoy your day. All of it. It's been beautiful here. I've gotten a little sunburned. 

Drink something with two ice cubes. Just two.