Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Did Major League Baseball provide enough 2010 Spring Training job opportunities for Arizona residents?

Arizona has had high unemployment for a couple of years so they probably love Major League Baseball coming to their state for spring training each year. How about Major League Baseball hire 6 bat boys per game. Three bat boys for each team, each bat boy covers 3 innings of the game. Isn't hiring many bat boys better than endangering the ballplayers when they have to stop a slide at the last possible moment to avoid a bat that is sitting in the base path?
During a 2010 spring training game between the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Angels, Luis Rodriguez, who was fighting for a roster position on the Indians and appeared to have suffered some type of injury, instead shook off the injury and kept on playing in the game.
The possible injury appears to have been caused by a bat left in the basepaths that prevented Rodriguez from sliding into home properly. Because Rogriguez could not slide, it gave the catcher a full on view of the batter turned baserunner who was now trying to advance to third on the throw home. If the catcher's throw to third base had been off just a bit he could easily have struck the baserunner in the jaw.

There literally could have been two injuries on the same play, both caused by one errant bat that was not immediately picked up after the hitter had tossed it to the ground to run out his double. If there had been no bat on the base path, the baserunner coming home could hae executed a proper slide into home. The dust kicked up by the slide plus the partially blocked field of vision the catcher would have experienced and the catcher might not have even bothered trying to throw to third at all.

On another note...
Besides baseball players risking injuries because of lack of bat boys, even the cameras appear to be left out in the sun without lens shades to deflect the sun rays from the lens. It sure looks like not enough of the local people have been hired to help out. Cameras without lens shades produce poor images like the image above. Cameras with the proper lens shade can produce an image like the one below.
As you can see from the two images above, the second image more closely approximates the proper contrast of the image, but it was the top image that what was repeatedly broadcast during a 2010 exhibition game between the Indians and the Dodgers. While all the other camera angles looked fine, this one particular angle looked all washed out. I have re-corrected this one particular camera angle to show how it could have looked if a lens shade had been provided.

Why doesn't Major League baseball hire young adults as bat boys and rovers for the camera crews and other baseball personnel? Multiply 10 hired positions per game by the six to eight games a day that are played and that would be 60 to 80 jobs per day in Arizona for the local community.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
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by Alessandro Machi at

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Maybe everything has been done before, but that doesn't mean new interpretations don't exist.


"Is the glass half empty or half full", is a philosophical question that has long been misunderstood. The most common perception of "Is the glass half empty or half full" has been that if you think the glass is half full, you are an optimist, and if you think the glass is half empty, you are a pessimist. This is wrong!

If you think the glass is half full, you might just be an overconfident, procrastinating, lazy individual who does not plan for the future properly.

If you think the glass is half empty, you might just be a hands on, competently aware individual who believes in having the necessary resources to weather future situations.
Another common mistake made about whether the glass is half empty or half full is the belief that each viewpoint is in opposition to the other one.
I thought the real reason people notice if the glass is half empty or half full is because they want more -Alessandro Machi

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

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Friday, March 26, 2010

I See Things most people don't seem to notice, take this video of a Portsmouth GoalKeeper who missed a simple kick and allowed a goal.


Please, watch this video of the Portsmouth goalkeeper missing the ball kicked by a Liver Pool player. Apparently this goalie is getting a huge flogging from soccer fans. While I do agree that of all the times to miss a simple bouncing ball, this is not one of them, there is something much more unacceptable going on here and it was not mentioned in the original yahoo article.

So, what did the article miss?
Why is the Liver Pool player who DID NOT kick the ball that skipped past the goalkeeper, tapping the goal bound ball just before it reaches the net? The ball was going to go into the net whether he touched it or not, but by touching it he gets credit for the goal.
Yes, the teammate in white pictured above is just about to steal a goal from the player who actually kicked the ball past the goalkeeper and I find that unacceptable.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

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Monday, March 22, 2010

The 2010 Lexus Hybrid "Milestones" Commercial gets my "Over Edited" Award.

Why does the first shot of the 2010 Lexus Hybrid "Milestone" commercial cut away well before the cars actually intertwine?

Why couldn't the shot of the last drop of gas (represented by one car) coming out of the nozzle have started much sooner, like when the drop (the car) was still in the nozzle?

The close up shot of the the last "drop" of gasoline leaving the nozzle is both unneeded, and if it was to have been used should have come after the wide shot, and been an overlap shot rather than edit on action.

The end shot of the 2010 Lexus Hybrid "Milestones" commercial is a fantastic shot but falls short because of the way it was used.

-------------------------------------------------------

When I was in my last year of college many years ago I won the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences "commercials" Internship scholarship contest and interned at Film Fair. It was at Film Fair where I was first exposed to the creative forces that come together whenever a broadcast commercial is created.

Before a commercial actually arrives at a production company, there is an ad agency that has to win the trust of a company, usually a corporation, that wants to promote a product or service on television or some other large media like radio or the internet. The agency is awarded the account by presenting the best ideas the among many competing ad agencies.

The ad agency that wins the trust, and the account of the company or corporation then puts out a call for bids from commercial production companies. The production companies may submit individual director's reels, or they may submit an overall company reel.

The ad agency tends to focus on the director they want to work with, and since the director is many times attached to an existing production company, that company is used for the production of the commercial.

Commercials' Production companies without a name director usually survive by offering speciality "services" to larger competitors with name directors. Smaller production companies can lose their bread and butter work should they try and bid on the whole job directly from the ad agency rather than accepting a much smaller piece of the pie from the production company that actually won the account.

A small production company that does not directly bid on large scale commercials is not considered direct competition by the larger production companies and can therefore be trusted to work on a specific portion of the commercial.

When the commercial is being shot, the ad agency hovers nearby observing the set up and execution of each scene. Many times the director is directing with one eye tied behind his or her back as they crook their head towards the assembled agency people to see whether they liked the last take or not.

In essence, commercial directors are on an ad agency leash of varying length. As the director's reputation grows, the ad agency's leash can get pretty long and imperceptible.

Designing and producing a major commercial for national broadcast involves intense planning as to how many different scenes should be shot and in what order they should be shot. If the agency does not shoot enough different angles and scenes, or runs behind schedule and scenes are never shot, the commercial may drag on when it is edited together.

However, if too many angles and scenes have been shot, a commercial may have so much excellent footage that when the commercial is edited together, it becomes a high energy, but unfortunately, over edited production.

Which brings me to this lexus hybrid commercial. If ever a commercial needed LESS editing, the 2010 Lexus Hybrid "Milestones" commercial from lexus would get my "over editing" award.

There is so much visual trickery that can go on in the world of high end commercial editing that I just can't tell if the shots were cut as short as they were because that was the final frame before the trick shot "falls apart", or if they just have forgotten the meaning of holding on a great shot.

To me, the opening shot is so magical that I felt cheated when the shot cuts away, and I felt cheated not in a good way. The opening shot should have gone on for at least another 3 to 5 seconds. It is just a major disrespect to put all of that time and energy into the actual creation of the opening shot and then cut it down so short that one begins to wonder if there was an accident, or if the opening shot is a fake.

This is the kind of commercial that if I had been the director or cinematographer, or ran the production company that helped create the footage, or was the stunt coordinator, I might have been disappointed at how choppy the final edited version came out.

Instead of cramming three commercials worth of shots into one 30 second commercial, how about just making three beautiful commercials with nice, long takes of the beautiful imagery that I am assuming exists in longer lengths than we are seeing.

The ending is disappointing to me as well. I would have reworked the ending and given much more of a final impact to the Lexus Hybrid Milestones commercials. I'm here if Lexus wants some additional advice. What I am basically saying is the commercial is visually awesome, but has not reached its true potential due to overediting.



If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...


info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Thursday, March 18, 2010

CSI Miami has a Chance to do the Right Thing, but will they?


This was truly a horrible way for this man to die. Robert Gary Jones was listening to his I-Pod with his ear buds while jogging on the beach and probably never heard the engine less plane gliding in for a crash landing. The Pilot alleges that oil spilling from the engine had landed on his windshield so he couldn't see what was directly in front of him. He crash landed his plane onto the beach and into the unsuspecting jogger, who leaves two very young children and his wife behind.

The deceased jogger apparently had an important job with Klaxo Smith Kline and it wouldn't take that much script savvy to create a CSI Miami script in which the plane crash may, or may not have been an accident.

For once I would like to call dibbs on behalf of the grief stricken family that has been left fatherless. If in fact CSI Miami does do a script "loosely based" on a "death by single engine plane killing a jogger", I would like the television show's producers to do something nice for the deceased's family like donate an equal amount of money to the family that the script will generate for the television show's writers and producers in perpetuity, including residual income every time the show airs as well.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Donald Trump Celebrity Apprentice messes up first episode big time.

Donald Trump Celebrity Apprentice missed an excellent opportunity in the first episode of the 2010 year to NOT FIRE anybody. In past seasons I recall that Donald Trump has actually fired more than one apprentice in the same episode. It seems to me that if Mr. Trump can fire more than one apprentice in the same episode, he could also do the reverse and not fire anybody if nobody really deserved it.

Mr. Trump basically admitted no one had really done badly on either team.

In the first episode of the 2010 season, the first task was performed relatively flawlessly by both groups. About the only mistake the losing side made was probably not charging enough for the charity burgers they were selling, and leaving some donors outside looking in.

However, the bottom line is there really were no screw ups in the first week. I'd rather Mr. Trump not have fired anybody since there was no obvious person to fire, and then just move on to week two. Trump spent several excruciating minutes trying to get the losing team to crack and blame someone for the loss. The problem was there really was nobody to blame and I actually grew uncomfortable watching Mr. Trump trying to force the group to come up with a human sacrifice.

I understand that Celebrity Apprentice gets alotted a certain amount of episodes and if Mr. Trump doesn't fire somebody every week the show would go over its scheduled run. However there was plenty of time and plenty of shows later on to possibly do a double firing if necessary.

I felt cheated that the show forced itself to follow the typical path when no one really "earned" a firing. But besides feeling cheated, the tone of what Mr. Trump did in the first episode reminiscent of the World War II Neremberg trials when the plea of "I was only following orders" was not deemed an acceptable defense for German officers. I understand the gravity of the show is not the same, but the "tone" of what Mr. Trump did was the same.

Mr. Trump came off sounding like he was just "following orders" and I think that is a dangerous, subliminal message to send to millions of viewers.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Alex LOGIC consulting services to the Rescue!

In the past few months, I have shared...
  • flaws regarding Canon's Image Browser software upgrade for Snow Leopard with Canon's corporate office,
  • a stat counting idea to Blog Tracker, (which was enthusiastically incorporated by Blog Tracker into their design and I thank them as the upgrade then benefited all blog tracker users including myself),
  • that KNBC streamline their page loading by not using high resolution images that were only displaying at a thumbnail size but slowing down the loading time for other portions of their web page,
  • with an online news station that their Moveable type software had a significant software glitch that resulted in cross over accessibility from one blogging account to other blogging accounts.
One neat result of doing this type of "consulting" was learning that M.T.E. means Middle Technology Evaluation. Perhaps I am an M.T.E.C, a Middle Technology Evaluation Consultant.

I don't bring this stuff up to be a braggart. I have come to realize that it is possible to do for others and come away with nothing in return simply because that is sometimes how the world works. Corporations generally don't ask their employees to give external credit even if a thank you is appropriate.
If you have a history of being a helpful person, you don't have to scream it out, but don't be shy about keeping a record of it somewhere, especially if you have helped a business or a corporation.
Eventually, you may require help yourself and if nobody has heard about you or what you are about, you may end up feeling like you were unfairly treated in life when the reality was you kept quiet about the good things you did for others.
Although I truly believe in the more you do for others, the more you get back, the internet does not necessarily work that way. Keep track of what you do that you believe to be righteous, because nobody else will.
One subset of being creative is noticing what works, and what doesn't, when attempting to use the internet tools being provided by others. Discovering four internet functions that could be improved and sharing those observations with M.T.E. (middleware technology evaluation) is one way I give back.

If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Friday, March 12, 2010

First it was Sour Patch Kids Bicycle Commercial, now its Vh1 One hit wonders number one songs.

This is now the second time in a week I am identifying a successful television production that has no simultaneous internet presence. First it was the Sour Patch Kids Bicycle television commercial, now it is VH1's one hit wonders, number one songs, 2010.

There is a VH1, one hit wonder, top one hundred show from 2009, but those are comprised of one hit wonder songs that were popular, but did not necessarily reach number one.

VH1 has come up with a clever variation on the one hit wonder theme. This one is a television special about one hit wonders that made it all the way to number one. For me it is definitely a revisit down memory lane. I find the show so emotive I kind of wish they could have used these songs in some kind of a back to the future movie.

Ironically, Hot Tub the movie is coming out in a couple of weeks and that movie goes back to the future so to speak and uses 80's music. Maybe someone could write a script about going back in time and they realize that all of these one hit wonders are not going to have their songs released because of a huge contract given to one of the biggest stars around. Either all these artists get their one hit of fame, or none of them do and the biggest star on the planet just gets a bit bigger.

Ok, now go write it. (ha ha). Ok, I'll even contribute the ending. It's 10 years later and the big star, who our back to the future star was able to quell and let all of these other performers get their one number one hit, is now involved in a life threatening situation and in an ironic twist of fate, all the of one hit wonders who have moved on to other non music industry careers help save the celebrity just because of the work they now do.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...


info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

The Shin Soo Choo Solution. Solving how to keep Shin Soo Choo playing baseball in America uninterrupted by his South Korean military duty requirement.

I am a fan of major league baseball and a Shin Soo Choo fan. I also believe there is a solution to keep Shin Soo Choo playing baseball with the Cleveland Indians without forcing Mr. Choo to serve two years of military duty in South Korea before he reaches the age of 30.

A huge part of my media consulting services is offering ideas that solve problems. My solution should make every side happy in the ongoing drama involving Shin Soo Choo and whether Mr. Choo can continue to play baseball in america, without having to stop for two years to fulfill his military service requirement in South Korea.

In this instance, payment for my consulting services would not enough. I would need to know that if my solution works, that Shin Soo Choo and the Cleveland Indians can agree on a long term deal as well.

If I sold my solution to Choo's agent, Scott Boras, and Mr. Boras successfully used the idea to allow Mr. Choo to keep playing major league baseball uninterrupted, Mr. Boras could also use the success of the idea to extract millions more money from the Cleveland Indians.

As a fan of the game, a fan of Shin Soo Choo, and a fan of smaller market teams holding on to their talent, that would not be an acceptable outcome for me. Mr. Choo should be rewarded for being a fine major league baseball player, but right now Mr. Choo's future is clouded.
If no solution is reached, Mr. Choo's value could plummet if he returns to serve two years of military service in South Korea. What is needed is a measured, reasonable response by all parties that in kind benefits everybody, and I believe I have that solution.




If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Tough Times lead to local innovations, Semi Trucks that serve as Parked Billboards.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

At first glance, it's just an 18 wheeler parked at an angle. Well, that wasn't the real first glance. The image above is a strategically shot camera angle that shows the 18 wheeler in just the right perspective so that it just looks like an innocently parked 18 wheeler.

But it is not just an innocent looking 18 wheeler parked at an odd angle for no reason. There is actually a very important reason this innocent looking 18 wheeler is parked at an odd angle.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

At second glance, which was actually the first glance while I was driving and what motivated me to stop and shoot these photos, this innocent looking 18 wheeler actually has two huge, colorful sides that double as billboards.

Notice how both cars driving by in the picture below have their brake lights on. They have their brake lights on because they have slowed down to look at the side of the truck that has now become a temporary billboard.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

What is even more striking is everything around the billboard has a neutral color tone to it. The color from the billboard just pops off side of the truck. And when magic hour hits, the image jumps out that much more.

As spectacular and visually enhancing as the placement of the truck and the billboard found on both of its flanks is, one flaw is the cars have already driven by the supermarket parking space just as this sign comes into view. Most cars probably won't turn around and go back, at least not the first time they see the billboard. But by the third or fourth drive by, they might.

This is what enterprising businesses do in tough times, they figure out ways to stretch a dollar. This is also what I do, I notice these kinds of things.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...


info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Facebook to the rescue, Betty White on Saturday Night Live! What about Abe Vigoda?

Alex LOGIC is an Abe Vigoda and Betty White fan. When the facebook page for Betty White on Saturday Night Live appeared, I joined, and had already written three articles in support of Abe Vigoda, and then Betty White, as being hot properties.
Congratulations to the facebook group for pushing Betty White over the top, and congratulations to Saturday Night for taking notice.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...


info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Monday, March 8, 2010

OLD SPICE "I'm on a horse" commercial bringing down the house.

The man your man could smell like.
Wieden and Kennedy of "Just do it" Nike fame have struck gold again with this Old Spice "mansterpiece". Isaiah Mustafa stars in the commercial and is a former NFL football player.

As engaging and classically trained this over the top performance is, there are many other aspects to this commercial that make this commercial one of my all time favorites.
You can also check out "the making of" the Old Spice commercial with Leo LaPorte in the above youtube clip. Do you think the entire commercial was made in one take, or was it done with CGI? Leo Laporte interviews the ad agency executives in charge to find out.


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

Sunday, March 7, 2010

You can check out the actors who walked the red carpet at the Eastman Kodak


If you are planning on creating or broadcasting a commercial and want an objective, outsiders point of view about your commercial, contact Alessandro Machi about his consulting services at...

info at alexlogic.com

You can also view more
commercial critiques
by Alessandro Machi at

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