Full Sail's EBMS Program: Training the Entertainment Leaders of Tomorrow

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am proud to tell you that I have completed my Graduate program at Full Sail University. CLASS OF 2012!!! I have created a presentation on my reflection of the Entertainment Business Master's of Science program over the past year. I would like to thank each of you for taking the journey with me and please take a look at the presentation by clicking on the following link.

Link to Presentation: http://youtu.be/ve4MZMKonQQ

In my theme of this blog, I like to give ratings and I definitely give the EBMS program 5 stars out of 5 for development and curriculum interaction provided for the student.

Thank you for your time and attention. This is KB and this has been Real to Reel.

Hasbro's Battleship

Well Ladies and Gentlemen,

I bring another special blog from Real to Reel. This particular blog will be somewhat sentimental to me because it will be my last blog post under the Entertainment Business Master’s of Science program with Full Sail University (Class of 2012!!!). I have achieved my goal of completing a Post Graduate program in my desired field of Entertainment. In this post, I will discuss a few current issues with the film industry that has caught my attention.

I recently viewed Hasbro’s Battleship film this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Being prior military, I naturally scanned the movie for flaws in continuity and poor portrayals of naval personnel, which I didn’t find. What I did find was a well-written script and overall well produced film based upon a popular board game. I actually forgot the film was centered on the board game until the closing scenes of the movie. This film was definitely one worth the price of admission.

I give Hasbro’s Battleship 4.75 stars out of 5 for great story development and effects. They did such a good job with Transformers and continued the successful method with this film.

I am noticing the latest films that have been released have been adaptations of various muses. We have seen our favorite superheroes and childhood fairytales come to the silver screen in more than one adaptation in recent years. There have also been film adaptations of popular video games and now we can add popular board games to that list, which I thought would stop with Dungeons and Dragons. Don’t even try to count the number of book turned film adaptations that we have witnessed in the past 18 months.

Honestly, I am not complaining about this method because I have been enjoying its results. What I am referencing the fact that we (the audience) need more originality because we are becoming accustomed to remakes. For example, how many of us have seen Spiderman, Batman, and Snow White unaccountable amounts? Yet we cannot wait for the new version (film) to premiere because of the new twist that Hollywood has put on the film. Being the film fanatic that I am, I simply feel that Tinsel town needs to hear my voice, as well as others, and know that we crave originality and for them to actually execute.

Thank you all for taking this journey through Full Sail University with me and faithfully reading my blog post. Although I have finished my program, I will continue to post on this blog weekly.

This is KB and this has been Real to Reel.

Marvel's Avengers: Heavy Hitting Blockbuster (In more ways than one!)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am back with another movie review post. This time I have the pleasure of discussing Marvel’s Avengers, which is currently in movie theaters. The film has already broken records after its opening weekend to become the biggest selling film during it opening weekend.

Marvel’s Avengers, in my opinion, was definitely NOT a waste of time or money. I make this statement with the up most confidence. It may even have been one of the best films that I have seen in the past few months. I was so intrigued by the previews for the film that I went to the midnight screening to see it before everyone else. From the beginning to the very end (an by the term “end” I mean the “continued” ending) I was lost in the world of Avengers. I could not believe that there were not any dreadfully slow parts to this film as there should not have been.  As a matter of fact, if you stepped out to go to the concession stand or the restroom you would have missed a piece of vital information.

As I sit here describing my thoughts and experiences of the film, I ponder whether I should give you (the reader) a basic overview on the storyline of the movie or just dive in and give you a full description of the film. So after quickly pondering about my decision, I think the basic overview will do for right now. Being that it is such a great film I do not want to spoil it for you (the reader).

The storyline to Marvel’s Avengers is the point where all the team members of the once defunct (before it ever actually started) Avenger’s program assemble. Those members being Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. For the die-hard Avenger fans, like myself, there are no references to the other original members such as Black Panther, Wasp, and Giant Man from the original comics. The Avengers face an ill-hearted Loki, Thor’s brother, whom wants to take over the world and rule it as his own. Loki and the Avengers face off in an epic battle over the fate of the Earth as cliche as it sounds.

I cannot state enough how eye-catching this movie is for the audience. The movie definitely sews all of the previously released character storylines together. It also leaves the audience wanting more and speculating about the remaining films within the Avengers franchise. I leave you with two points for this film. First of all, GO SEE THE FILM…SOON! Lastly, make sure you keep and eye out for the Hulk and his antics.

This film definitely gets 5 out of 5 stars for the completeness of the action, storyline, comedy, drama, and everything else that the film has to offer.

This is KB and this has been Real to Reel!

Want to Start a Business? Start with the Business Plan: Part 2

In my last post, I expressed that I am currently taking a class in Business Plan Development and nearing the end of my Post-Graduate studies at Full Sail University. I also told of my desire to become a successful entrepreneur within the entertainment industry and wanting to develop the best possible business plan that I can for my company. In desiring to develop the best business plan for my company I researched two individuals, Mr. Nathan Furr and Mr. Paul Heyworth that emphasize the importance of developing a fully established business plan.

Mr. Furr caught my attention because he speaks about focusing primarily on developing a business model process for my company before focusing on the business plan itself. I found this piece of information to be very valuable because how else would I be able to create my business plan if I am not sure how my business will operate. So I began constructing my business model and its process of

operation to give me a better sense of my business. By doing this, it was very easy to develop my business plan.

Mr. Heyworth deals with the finance side of the business sector but endorses the importance of having a business plan just the same. He also expresses that having a business plan cannot be overlooked even if a person is not seeking finance and is important if only benefiting oneself. After reading this, I began to develop a business plan with every section from the executive summary to the budget to the fullest extent and as if my life depended upon it (just a statement). Mr. Heyworth also made the point about business plan giving possible investors the confidence to invest in my business. I find this very important because it relates the business plan to my business as a resume to myself. I wrote my business plan with an outline to give it an identity to be precisely and clearly recognized by the possible investors.

Lastly, after developing my business plan I believe that possible investors will be interested in the identity and originality of my company. They will be most interested in the Company’s mission, Industry Analysis & Trends, and the budget of the operation. Investors will want to have a clear understanding of my company through the company’s Mission. They will want to know that I have a clear understanding of the industry and how my company will fit within it from the Industry Analysis and Trends. Lastly, the investor will want to inquire about how their money will be spent and paid back via the budget of my business plan. I believe that the sections will be what the investor will desire to view most of all.

In conclusion, I have learned much more than I ever possible imagined. Not only have I learned persistent amounts of information for developing a business plan but gained a large amount of understanding for it as well. I feel confident about my company and myself from my business plan.

This has been Real to Reel and I’m KB bringing you another informative post.

Want to Start a Business? Start with the Business Plan.

So I am nearing the end of my Post-graduate studies at Full Sail University and I am currently studying “Business Plan Development”. Although I am fairly excited about nearing the end of my learning process, I am much more interested in developing my business plan to become a successful entrepreneur within the entertainment industry at this time. I have been reviewing “experts” takes on having a well-documented business plan for the past week and chose two established people to blog about this week; Mr. Nathan Furr and Mr. Paul Heyworth.

            I want to focus on their feelings on the importance of having business plans being that both have been in the realm of business for quite an extended period of time. In short, I want to know what simple fundamentals of business they carry around with themselves on a daily basis.

            I discovered Mr. Nathan Furr because I am an avid Forbes.com reader and came across his published blog about, you guessed it, “business plans”. Mr. Nathan Furr currently teaches entrepreneurship at BYU and received his doctorate from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program at Stanford University. In his blog, “Burn Your Business Plan!” Mr. Furr speaks strongly about having a business model process before having a business plan. According to (Furr, 2012), the business model process is more important because it recognizes all business aspects, which should be tested and learned, to become and stay successful.  After which should the business plan be produced to reflect the business structure derived from the business model process. He does not state that the business plan is useless but rather that it should be done after reflecting upon the important aspects of one’s business pros and cons.

            Mr. Paul Heyworth, Director of Business at Orvia Group Limited and Director of the Business Venture Group Limited, provides my second source on the importance of having a business plan. Mr. Heyworth has over 40 years of experience within the business industry with 32 years in the Financial Services Industry and 9 years in the Management Consulting Industry. He feels the “importance of business planning cannot be overlooked even if your business is not seeking finance” (Heyworth, 2009). Heyworth states that it is also useful to have a business plan even if it only benefits oneself. Also that a business plan should clearly recognize a businesses goals and targets because without them, how do you measure what has been achieved? Lastly, Mr. Heyworth conveys how a “business plan gives investors the confidence to invest in your business” (Heyworth, 2009). All of which are very important points to have an established business plan.

            In conclusion, these two experts have given me additional sense as to why I should development my business plan(s) as much as I can. My business plan and processes will give me the ins and outs, pros and cons, and plan of action to run the successful business that I desire.

This is KB and this has been Real to Reel. Now get planning!!!

References:

Furr, N. (2012, February 24). Burn your business plan!. Retrieved from http://blogs.forbes.com/nathanfurr/

Furr, N. (2012). Retrieved from http://blogs.forbes.com/people/nathanfurr/

Heyworth, P. (2009). Expert view: Do I need a business plan?. Retrieved from http://www.lancashirebusinessview.co.uk/news-details.htm?news_id=212

Heyworth, P. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-heyworth/19/74b/a61

Weekly Review of John Carter: Disney's Newest Hero

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is KB and I’m back once again with another weekly Real to Reel post and review from on new movies currently in theaters. This past weekend I had the pleasure of viewing a delightful film from Disney called “John Carter”. This movie is clearly one of Disney’s successful installments of non-animated adventure films.

John Carter takes place in the 1800s and between the two worlds of Earth and Mars. Yes, I did say Earth and Mars! The movie opens up in 1881, post civil-war era with our protagonist, main character, John Carter walking through the streets of New York City. Apparently being followed, John Carter has sent an urgent telegram to his nephew, Ned, to “come see him at once”. By the time Ned reaches his uncle, it is revealed that it is too late because John Carter has passed away and left all his rightful belongings to his favorite nephew, Ned.

John Cater has left Ned a large estate and an even larger amount of monetary wealth. Yet of all that Ned acquires in his uncle’s will, it is John Carter’s journal that seems the most important. As Ned reads the journal, it takes him back 13 years to when John Carter’s adventure began. The adventures of John Carter begin in the year of 1868 in New Mexico. As Ned reads on, he learns of his uncle’s fight with the U.S. Union Soldiers and a tribe of Apache Indian bandits. Also of his exploration and findings of gold and a mysterious “Spider” figure.

The story takes a turn for the weird once he goes in description of his deportation from Earth to Mars (or Barsoom as it is called by the natives). John Carter awakens to find himself in a foreign land and realizes that he has supernatural abilities. Ned goes on to read about his uncle’s involvement with the natives and being caught inside of civil war within the planet.

John Cater is definitely an enjoyable movie for all to see. The movie has a well-written story, which includes action, adventurewww.imdb.com/title/tt0401729/, science fiction, and a love story. This has been one of the best films that I have seen for overall and would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in seeing a well-rounded movie over a warm bag of popcorn and a cold drink.

I will have to give this film a 4.75 out of 5 stars because it doesn’t leave of any indication that there will be a sequel when there should be one.

Once again (as I normally end) this has been Real to Reel and I am KB saying “Be Easy”! Now go see the movie! 

Review: Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance

Photo Courtesy of IMDb (2011)

                                                       

So as I have promised for the past week or so, I am returning with posts of my latest major film reviews. During this time of the 2012, there have been plenty of interesting movies to choose from for review. This time around, I chose Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance for my subject of review. I am very happy to do so for particular reasons that will become clear throughout this post.

First of all, I have to say that when I first heard during the end of 2011 that a sequel to Ghost Rider would be premiering; I was ecstatic. I began searching various Videos on Demand (VOD) websites such as www.Youtube.com and www.WorldStarHipHop.com to find trailers and sneak peeks for the film. So after patiently awaiting the sequel for one of my favorite films and comic book characters. I was awarded the opportunity to see Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance.

Check out the trailer of the movie for yourself by clicking on the hyperlink for the websites above.

I will be completely honest with my opinion and review of the movie to benefit those that have not had the opportunity to see it as of yet. Let me start off by informing any potential viewers of this film that it has totally separated itself (in storyline) of the first Ghost Rider film.  Although Nicolas Cage has returned to play the famed part of Johnny Blaze/ Ghost Rider, the movie gives no reference to the original Ghost Rider film. After viewing the introduction to Ghost Rider 2, the viewer will notice that it does not coincide with how the original Ghost Rider movie concluded.

Throughout the progression of the movie, I noticed that it focused more on the visual effects rather than the storyline. The movie also never focused on the main trait of the Ghost Rider character when faced with opposition. MY GOODNESS…the Ghost Rider never cast judgment and sucked the soul of anyone that deserved so! The Ghost Rider producers and writers must have overlooked this important aspect of the franchise. What were they thinking?!

In conclusion, for those that believe they will be viewing a continuation of the first film in Spirit of Vengeance; they will be disappointed. It seems as though there should have been another sequel between the two films to give them some sort of connection. I will state that the one eye-catching part of the film would be the backstory of the Ghost Rider character. This gave clarification to the origin of the Ghost Rider, which AGAIN, was the most entertaining part of the movie. It is imperative that I inform those interested in viewing this film to WAIT until this film comes to NETFLIX, Blockbuster, Redbox, or any other DVD/VOD rental service before standing in line and purchasing an overcharged ticket for this film.

So here is my rating for this film for those interested…2.75 out of 5 stars. I simply based this rating on the liking of the visual effects and backstory of the Ghost Rider.

Until next time, this is KB and this has been Real to Reel!