plus 2, MTV-quality YouTube videos - Baltimore Sun

MTV-quality YouTube videos - Baltimore Sun
Hagerty Announces The 2010 Hot List: A Decade in Review - Yahoo Finance
Poll: What We Want for Christmas - ABC News

MTV-quality YouTube videos - Baltimore Sun

Posted: 27 Dec 2009 12:24 AM PST

In the video, electro-pop singer Libby Picken spots a fancy purse on a bench, calmly scoops it up and struts down Howard Street for a few paces before dropping it into an unsuspecting stranger's hands.

Then she snatches a businessman's wallet, carelessly flings the cash on the sidewalk and flashes a devious grin, all while her song "Coquette" plays in the background. Her hot pink shirt and giant heart-shape earrings seem to jump right off the screen. The rest of the five-minute video is a montage of Picken stealing various objects but never keeping them.

The concept is unorthodox but engaging. Just as impressive is the quality - it was shot in high definition by a professional cameraman. Nearly every idea for the video, from the objects Picken nabs down to the shot composition, sprang from the mind of director Brian Morrison. The 28-year-old Odenton resident is making waves in the local music scene by shooting high-definition music videos for area bands that could easily air on MTV - if MTV still showed music videos. Instead, viewers watch them on YouTube.

"These kinds of music videos are usually reserved for major-label bands," Morrison said. "I want to give another level of appreciation to the songs. That's what I think the videos do."

From the sets to the cameras and crew, the average budget for a major-label music video can run in the tens of thousands of dollars. Since Morrison knows Baltimore bands don't have that kind of money, he figures out ways to keep the budget manageable. That typically means cramming as many shots as possible into one or two days and quickly moving from one site to another. He calls in favors from friends, works Craigslist for the cheapest props and edits the videos himself.

"The key is keeping a low profile and moving fast in order to cut costs," he said. "When you're doing stuff like this, you have to roll with the punches. You have to constantly adjust and improvise."

Morrison oversees every facet of his music videos, starting with the concept. The idea is the most important part, he said. Ideally, he wants to find the essence of the band and sensationalize it - without being patronizing or cliche. He met Picken, who sings with the dance group Lazerbitch, through his girlfriend. Picken watched an indie movie Morrison helped make, liked the cinematography and agreed to be the subject of his first music video.

Before Morrison started working up ideas for Picken's music video, he thought about her playful, free-spirited personality and took that to the extreme. He imagined her as someone who would steal things on a whim but never keep them or be consumed by them, and drew up a series of scenes based on the idea.

Near the end of the video, Picken strolls into The Windup Space, a lounge with live music in the Station North arts and entertainment district. Another band is on stage, but she grabs the microphone and starts singing her own song. Then she leads the audience outside the club, where they do a short choreographed dance sequence on North Avenue.

"You always hear that term, 'You stole the show,' " Morrison said. "I was like, 'Well, maybe she can steal the show.' "

Picken was thrilled with the finished product.

"I thought it was awesome," Picken said. "The way that Brian came up with the entire storyboard, I was so impressed. I can't even think of what I would have done for that video."

Morrison graduated from St. Mary's College with a degree in economics, but he has been obsessed with film since his senior year. After college, he worked at a production company that made low-budget local TV commercials for companies such as Eastern Motors, Bill's Carpet Fair and Antwerpen Automotive. There, he got a taste for putting together outrageous, tongue-in-cheek videos, using green screens and cheap special effects.

"It's totally outlandish," Morrison said. "You're creating a lot of environments that don't exist. ... Those little things teach you the fundamentals of how you can fudge things."

At an event at the Creative Alliance, Morrison met John Cooper, a cameraman who has shot for the Discovery Channel and the BBC, among others, and they began working together. Cooper uses a Red One camera, a versatile, high-tech camera that can shoot in high definition. That's a big reason why Morrison's videos look professional - they're shot by a professional with a high-quality camera.

In September, Morrison began tossing around ideas for a music video for the song "Blow My Mind" by the Annapolis-based rock group the Cheaters. In the song, Cheaters frontman Jason Morton lusts after a wild, crazy woman, saying, "I want you to blow my mind, girl." Someone suggested filming the video in a strip club, but Morrison wanted to avoid typical rock cliches.

Instead, Morrison pictured a woman who was really crazy and carefree and lived in the moment. He cast Jenn Themelis, whom he had worked with on the indie film "One Down," for the role.

Morrison drew up scenes where Themelis kicked over a motorcycle, ran across a busy city street, and drove a vintage muscle car across train tracks, narrowly avoiding a locomotive.

"I was glad it wasn't just a music video where they wanted hot girls," Themelis said. "It had a story and everything. When he told me the outline of the story, I was like, 'I get to do all the crazy stuff? Yes!' "

The eventual goal, Morrison said, is to make a name for himself shooting music videos and, he hopes, movies.

"This is me making a run at it," Morrison said. "These two videos are a big deal for me. … Hopefully I can continue to make them and do more ambitious ones."

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Hagerty Announces The 2010 Hot List: A Decade in Review - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 03:01 AM PST

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- With the decade coming to a close, Hagerty, the leading insurer of collector cars, has expanded its annual Hot List of the "Collector Cars of Tomorrow." The 2010 Hot List: A Decade in Review presents Hagerty's top picks from 2000 to 2009 of the most influential cars of the past decade with the highest probability of becoming collector cars in the future.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091221/LA28751)

"Over the past decade and even the past year, the automotive industry has seen immense change. But one thing that has not wavered is America's passion for interesting and unique cars," said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty Insurance Agency. "Since our first Hot List in 2007, we've chosen cars that have peaked the interest of Americans and that we anticipate will be collectible in the future. This year we sifted through the good, the bad and the ugly of the past 10 years to present one new car from each year that you can bet your money on will be collectible 15 to 20 years from now."

For this year's Hot List: A Decade in Review, Hagerty reviewed mass produced cars from 2000 to 2009 with an MSRP of $100,000 or lower that valuation experts at the company predict will have collector appeal within the next 15 to 20 years. One car was selected from each year based on factors including how influential it was in the automotive industry, its "cool or unique factor" and its potential value in the collector car market.

Hagerty presents the Hagerty Hot List: A Decade in Review:

2000 BMW M Roadster – The four-cylinder Z3 was a bit of a snooze, but the M Roadster with 240 hp and a 0-60 time of around five seconds is a Gen-X Shelby Cobra. Quad chrome pipes out the back, fat tires, special side grilles and M badges identify this very special Z3. We believe in the years to come this car will be highly desired by collectors for its gracious curves and powerful engine.
2001 Corvette ZO6 – While the 2001 ZO6's 385 horsepower is less than the current base model Corvette, it did mark the return of the vaunted ZO6 for the first time since 1963. The enthusiast publications were shocked by GM's willingness to sell essentially a race-ready Corvette straight from the factory.
2002 Pontiac Firebird WS-6 "Ram-Air" – The Firebird burned bright in its last year— this was the most powerful Firebird ever produced (and with the death of Pontiac, almost certainly the last). GM claimed it was rated at 325 horsepower, but many Firebird enthusiasts claim they were underrated by up to 40 horsepower. Not bad considering the most powerful Mustang offered in 2002 had nearly 65 horsepower less.
2003 Mini Cooper S "JCW" – In 2003 the Detroit Auto Show awarded this Mini "North American Car of the Year". This car made our list not only because it was the first year the "John Cooper Works" Tuning Kit was available, but more importantly because anyone who drives one of these cars walks away with a silly grin. It just begs to be driven hard and often.
2004 Cadillac CTS-V – This is the Cadillac for the Corvette enthusiast who has to haul around kids and their gear. After decades of Cadillac catering exclusively to the to those buying their last or second to last cars, the new CTS-V with its 400 horsepower Z06 Corvette engine will surely earn the respect of car collectors down the road as the most memorable Caddy from this past decade.
2005 Acura NSX – The NSX was the first production car to feature an all-aluminum chassis, suspension and body, and was produced from 1990-2005 with very little changes throughout its 15 year run. The breakthrough design influenced other supercars including the McLaren F-1. It isn't uncommon to see an NSX on the auction bill at collector car auctions often selling for nearly what they cost new.
2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10 (viper powered pick-up) – Unlike any other Ram pick-up, this one was produced solely for the purpose of speed. With 500 horsepower and even more torque straight from the factory, these trucks would run less than a 14 second quarter-mile and easy modifications put them into the 12 second category.
2007 Ford Shelby Mustang GT 500 – Following the introduction of the fifth-generation Ford Mustang, the Shelby nameplate was revived in 2007 for the first time since 1970. This new high performance version of the Mustang as a way to pay tribute to the legendary Carroll Shelby. With its retro looks, 500 horsepower, and Shelby's autograph on the dash, this car introduced the younger generation to the glorious racing days of the 1960s.
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 - Mopar enthusiasts waited a long time for this much anticipated tribute to one of the icons of the muscle car era. When compared to all the retro inspired muscle cars of this decade, our vote is for the Challenger as it most closely resembles its first generation ancestor.
2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe – With the death of Pontiac announced toward the end of this decade, their last true sports car was the Solstice GXP. The convertible version sold respectably for several years, but this Coupe version was only produced for half a year. This rare model will certainly be desirable in the years to come.

Hagerty Insurance Agency, Inc. is the leading insurance agency for collector vehicles in the world and host to the largest network of collector car owners. Hagerty offers insurance for collector cars, motorcycles and motorcycle safety equipment, tractors, automotive tools and spare parts, and even "automobilia" (any historic or collectible item linked with motor vehicles). Hagerty also offers overseas shipping/touring insurance coverage, commercial coverage and club liability coverage. For more information, call (800) 922-4050 or visit www.hagerty.com.

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Poll: What We Want for Christmas - ABC News

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 11:36 AM PST

It's the little things people would like to have for the holidays this year: a job, peace on Earth, parole for the old man.

Or, let's say, $20 million.

Click here for a PDF with questions.

They're all there on the nation's wish list, this ABC News poll finds, alongside the new bikes, the cameras, the Kindles, Nooks and iPods, the "pair of boots" and warm coats, sewing machines, crock pots, laptops, cameras, vacuum cleaners, the "perfumes, always" – and the odder ones.

"A trolling motor for my boat."

"Sod for the back yard."

"A leg stretcher."

"A plasma cutter." (It's a metal cutting torch. We checked.)

"A barley smoker."

"A work permit."

"A supersonic jet."

"A submachine gun."

And what would you like for the holidays?

Combining answers, hopes for a car, truck, motorcycle or automotive accessory lead the list, mentioned by 10 percent of Americans – compared with a peak of 16 percent in 2005, perhaps indicating frugality in the current economy, Detroit's woes or a bit of both.

But there's far more flavor in the open-ended responses; just in the automotive category, for instance, we've got everything from "a new Crown Victoria" (bad news: since 2008 it's only been available for fleet sales) to "a Ferrari" (model unspecified, but it's a cool $397,000 for the top-of-the-line 599 GTB, loaded, with a custom paint job), a Dodge Viper, the obligatory Lexuses, Corvettes and Harleys and a "new Ford F-150 with silver chrome everywhere."

On the human side, how about "a husband, or a date," says an older woman in New Jersey, ready to negotiate. Forget the commitment; let's have "a sexy young man," says a 50-year-old North Carolinian. One woman wants her "marriage fixed." And those whose relationships did endure speak to the power of lifelong commitment; several widows and widowers alike ask, touchingly, for more time with their departed spouse.

The range of answers speaks to the hopes, dreams, priorities and personality types that make this country what it is. For everyone who wants a flat screen TV (and there are plenty), others go all gooey: "To be with my family. There isn't anything I need that you buy," says an 82-year-old Tennessee woman. And a 29-year-old dad in South Carolina just hopes that "my little boy gets what he wants."

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