It’s Tuesday and I’ve been thinking of what to write after the G20 summit. First of all, the summit was useless, they spent over a billion dollars to come to the NON BINDING agreement that maybe they should save money because they’re in debt. My mother taught me that when I was 4. Next time, just do a teleconference, we have the technology.

Why am I writing this? Because all this happened on my front lawn so to speak and the more I read about it, the more questions I have.

See this police car on fire on Queen street?

Notice that number on the side? According to Wikipedia, that car number doesn’t exist. Police cruisers are 4 digit numbers, the first 2 are the division numbers the 3rd number is the zone number and the 4th number is the car number. There is no 7th division in Toronto. The only explanation I can find is that it’s a spare car. Alright then, makes sense for them to put every available car on the street but it is a spare, so to speak.

Next up is the second car on Queen street set on fire which DOES have a 4 digit number (3251) and the Star ran the story on who’s car it was and what happened. The story goes like this, Staff Sgt. Graham Queen was following the protesters in his cruiser when it was suddenly attacked by the black bloc. I’ll assume that’s exactly what happened but still, something is weird with this story. From the Globe and Mail:

Between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m., all Toronto police patrol cars carry two officers. It’s the norm in most cases during the day, too, with exceptions for units such as traffic services. The two-officer practice is more than policy: It was actually written into the police collective agreement in the 1970s. “We were required to double the number of officers in a car,”

It’s the norm in most cases during the day that there are 2 officer’s in the car. You’d think that a police cruiser trailing a group of protesters during the G20 summit where there are riot police everywhere would have 2 police officers in the car. Best case scenario, the Toronto Police were really stupid on this point.

How about we go back to Montebello Quebec where undercover Police were found in Black Bloc clothing, one holding a big rock. The police confirmed they were officers.

We had some evidence of that happening in Toronto as well. Check out who runs safely behind police lines dressed all in black with a hoodie, cap and possibly a black face mask of somekind at the the 45 second mark.

Here’s a picture of Waldo:

Also, another video of an undercover cop dressed in Black Bloc clothing (Che? Seriously?)

Now, if the black bloc shows up at a protest, there are only ever a small number of them. If you’re an undercover police officer the last thing you want is people looking at you. Why dress as the black bloc if you’re trying to blend into the crowd? There’s some more circumstantial evidence that perhaps the police were directly involved with the violence over here.

And even if we even give a pass to all this and say that the cars were not planted and that there were cops dressed in black bloc gear but weren’t involved with the violence, there still the fact that the number of people who were responsible for the violence was approximately 200 to 300. Over 900 people were arrested over the G20 summit! That’s at least 3 times the amount of people responsible were arrested and were innocent and placed in the detention centre which is being described as ‘illegal and immoral’ with people being fed only once in 35 hours, in unsanitary conditions and sexual harassment.

Amy Miller – Alternative Media Centre, Independent Journalist from Darren Puscas on Vimeo.

Oh and the law passed in secret by the provincial government granting the police the right to detain anyone who refused to show identification 5 metres from the blockade wall?

Vasey was held under the Public Works Protection Act and charged with refusing to comply with a request of a peace officer. His bail lawyer, Howard Morton, said that, as far as he knows, Vasey is the first to be arrested under the new regulation.

Vasey was held under the Public Works Protection Act and charged with refusing to comply with a request of a peace officer. His bail lawyer, Howard Morton, said that, as far as he knows, Vasey is the first to be arrested under the new regulation

Yeah, that one? The problem is that that law is total bullshit which means that people were arrested under a bogus law that was said to be legal by the authorities.

Please join me and other fellow Torontonians into calling for an inquiry of the disgrace that was this past weekend. Let’s hold those in charge accountable.

Over the weekend I finally got a chance to watch Pioneer One. It’s a half-hour drama television series with one notable exception: it’s not shown on TV. The series is available for free to download from Vodo via bittorrent networks and is being funded entirely by donations.

The series is the brainchild of the folks who produced The Lionshare which was also released on Vodo. What starts off as what seems to be a terrosist attack turns into something much stranger as a CCCP cold war relic returns to earth. And what’s in that capsule will dramatically change history. I’m not saying more than that, just watch the trailer.

PIONEER ONE “Pilot” Trailer from Pioneer One on Vimeo.

I have to say that while the quality of the series isn’t on par with something that spends more than a million dollars per episode, they do really get a lot of bang for their ($6,000) buck and they have a very interesting premise which I hesitate to call science fiction. There are parts that are a bit slow and some of the acting is lackluster. That said, I’m far more interested after watching the first episode of Pioneer One than I ever was after watching the premiere of V.

The other reason I’m keeping my eye on this is that it’s a really interesting experiment in media financing and distribution. Can you truly create a sustainable television series outside of the studio system and deliver it for free? I honestly don’t see how they’re going to make money from this, cast and crew are probably not being paid, but that may not be the point.

My hat is off to these guys for attempting this and getting some pretty great results. Click here to download and donate.

Have you seen Pioneer One? What did you think of the pilot and the distribution methods?

Ah yes, another week of awesome filmmaking links!

Monitor your Canon HDSLR Wirelessly
A clever setup lets you monitor and control your Canon remotely.

More Free Plug-ins for Final Cut Pro from Idustrial Revolution
5 new free plug-ins for Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, Motion and Adobe After Effects called Freebie Pack1 were updated and made available this week from Idustrial Revolution.

The LOVELY Post Flow
The post flow from the indie pic “What’s Up Lovely”

Do you want your video to look like film?
What is film look? Do I need it and why? How do I get it?

Maverick Attitude To Indie Filmmaking
Being a maverick filmmaker is cool so long as you understand what it takes to succeed in the movie business.

When your screenplay is written, the next step is to read what you wrote. I like to use checklists to figure out what needs to be improved and what I’ve nailed. Here’s a general checklist you can use to gauge your script:

Plot

• Does the script make yourself ask “what comes next”, is it a page turner?
• Are the stakes realistic for the setting?
• Is the journey compelling?
• does the protag make a decision that leads to an action?

First 10 pages

• Has the setting been clearly established?
• Does the screenplay open on a gripping event?
• Is the story already in progress?
• Is it clear who the protagonist is and what their desire is?
• What’s at stake, what will they win or lose?
• Has the antagonist been presented or foreshadowed?

Characters

• Are they unique?
• Does each character must serve a purpose?
• What is the protagonists goal?
• What are the character’s conscious and unconscious desires
• What are their secrets and fears?
• For better or worse, how do they change in the end?
• Do the characters have distinctive physical and emotional traits?
• Will an audience identify and empathize with them?
• Do they have specific attitudes towards each other?
• Is there a strong antagonist?
• Do all the characters have clear motivations?

Structure

• What is the unique hook?
• What is the inciting incident and does it take place in the middle of Act 1?
• What is the central conflict?
• Is the scene progression natural and logical?
• Are there payoffs to the setups?
• Are there unexpected events?
• Is there a dramatic clock ticking?
• Is there a clear subtext?
• What are the 2 turning points and do they take place roughly 1/4 and 3/4 into the script?
• Does the screenplay have a thrilling climax and satisfying resolution?

Genre

• Is the screenplay set in the correct genre?
• Does the screenplay stick to it’s genre?

Dialogue

• Dialogue should not be interchangable between characters
• Is your exposition reduced to a minimum?
• Are your sentences informal, with contractions, slang and so on?
• Are the characters speaking in subtext or is the dialogue too “on the nose?”

Action paragraphs

• Is it written in present tense?
• Are the slugs as brief as possible?
• Does the screenplay describe setting and atmosphere but not internal feelings or back-story?

Other

• Is the screenplay conveyed visually instead of with dialogue?
• Are there no voice overs?
• Are there no flashbacks?
• Is the screenplay written with correct formatting?
• Are there no written directions in the text?

What else would you add to this checklist?

Yes, I missed a week of links! So today you get a list of the last two weeks of fascinating film stuff! For links on demand, just follow me on Twitter!

Filmmaking Tools You Can Use Today
A list of useful, no-fluff filmmaking tools.

The Hidden Tools of Comedy
Six tools to help you create a comedy.

Affordable Apogee HDMI adapters for Apple Display Port
Display port to HDMI converter for $65.

A Real 3D Budget
DocumentaryTelevision.com breaks down the cost of shooting 42 minutes of documentary in high-quality 3D.

No Budget Film Making (or Buy Your Own Damn Camera)
Making your film for almost no budget.

DIY shoulder rig for DSLR video, with clever focus puller
Cool custom-made shoulder rig for DSLR camera’s.

Got any cool links? Leave them in the comments!