Hero's Geek Movie

[Hero]

OK. So here’s the scoop. I am putting together a film, a yet to be named film project which covers the topic of ‘being a geek’.

Gotta type this and run. Busy day today...

Why Geek? Pretty much the term ‘Geek’ is now a badge of honour and no longer a term used by the popular crowd to use as a hurtful slur on others. Being a Geek is there along with being a boffin and a whizzkid with something to feel having credentials about.

For me being a geek is important to me and who I am. It is where the ‘Hero’ part of my name came from especially when I used it as my stagename during my stint in wrestling. In short, I was identified with as the real life Comic Book Guy (a Simpsons character) and the name stuck with me since. I feel my 24 year long journey as a Transfan has moulded me into the guy I am today and has granted me inner cultural capital.

I’ve spent some of this Saturday filming a 3 minute pilot for the movie with all sorts of things. I have no idea yet how I will structure the pilot or whether some of the footage will end up in the final draft of the movie. In making these films, more than enough footage is better than not enough.

What I ask of you guys in cyberspace is your assistance. If you consider yourself a geek or have a take on being a geek, film yourself maybe on a webcam or DV cam for a minute or longer and talk about it. You’ll get a chance to be in a film and look good being in it. What I am also looking for is background too, stuff like ‘geeky’ surroundings that would be interesting on camera and maybe to show off too. I am looking to collage everything into a spiked punchbowl of geeky beauty and make a film that aims to educate, entertain and inspire (I said that in my pitch).

As for a name for this film project, no idea yet like I said before but I am welcome to suggestions and will possibly put up a cross-posted poll to decide the winner.

Gotta post this and run. I would love to hear back from any of you. More updates to come.

[Hero]

Been working on a 3 minute pilot for this film with thanks to Paul Cannon making a contribution. The pilot itself is not a work of art and I've had frame and codec problems. Paul's stuff is awesome btw.

===KEN

[The Doctor]

Best of luck with it.

-Ralph

[Hero]

Thanks buddy.

===KEN

[Stomski]

Badge of honour?? How so exactly??

"Look at that guy?? He can't talk to strangers, but man is he good at D&D. My hero"

Hrm, I stand corrected.

[Nigel]

Good luck with it, Ken.

For general research/ideas, you may want to flick through the January issue of SFX (due out in the next couple of days, I had my subscription copy today). There's a one page piece titled "Hail to the Geek" about Barrack Obama, who is apparently "one of us"; he was referring to Spider-Man, Batman and Star Trek in his campaign, has been painted by Alex Ross, appeared in Savage Dragon and was able to name all the members of the Legion of Super Pets! A geek in the White House seems a pretty good case in point.

[Stomski]

To have knowledge/experience of geeky things does not class you as a geek. His ability to public speak I think automatically precludes him from being a geek by definition... The has social skills and charisma, not really classical geek traits are thay?

I think in order to objectively make an informed commentary on geekdom, the first thing Ken needs to do is try to figure out just what being a geek actually is... or maybe that's just the question that needs to be explored through this work.

[Nigel]

Careful, you're straying into stereotyping territory.

[Stomski]

To assume that someone falls into a stereotype (in this case the SPECIFIC character traits that DEFINE being a geek) due to them being in a certain job (e.g. in this case a good example would be being a Software Engineer here) or being from a certain place (i.e. racism) or whatever, is where things start to become ugly, unfair and people develop unjust prejudices instead of juding the individual on their own merits.

But to try to define the traits that define being a geek shouldn't be a problem, and neither is indentifying that someone has those traits and therefore falls into the set of people that is known as Geek.

It's assuming someone has those traits that is the problem!!

[The Doctor]

The word 'geek' derives from , ah, German I think. It was in a Doctor Who book: Interferance.

-Ralph

[Hero]

Been away for a bit and found my thread finally got posted in.

I see what you are saying Stom and taking it on board.

===KEN

[karla]

I'm not! Is being a nerd worse or better?
Good luck with it anyhow Ken

[Hero]

I am going to try. No-one said making a film was easy.

[Hero]

Fitting IN, 17 Minute Version

Hopefully this link will work. The film strayed a bit from its original concept .

The process took me 6 Weeks to do (wish I had longer) and had to re-edit stuff several times. There are a couple of sound glitches in this edit, so if you miss them that's a good thing. I've since made a much better edit on DVD.

I got the film bug, and itching to make stuff 10 times better. For me Fitting IN was a fun experience and importantley a learning curve.

===KEN

[Grand Moff Muffin]

The link takes me to a Facebook login page, Ken. As I'm not on Facebook (nor do I wish to join) I'm afraid I can go no further!

Let me know if you ever post it on YouTube, and if so I'll check it out.

Martin

[The Doctor]

I'm not on Facebook either, alas.

-Ralph

[Hero]

Not tested the Youtube stream yet. Hopefully this works. I had to chop into two parts obviously.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Absolutely brill, Ken - really well put together, good enough for TV in my opinion, and thought-provoking too. Have some karma.

Martin

[Hero]

Thanks Martin

===KEN