Reflection #3

At this point we have completed everything we can, and now just await the short clips from each groups final product. Then we will be able to use short clips to show which groups are up for which of the awards. I feel good although we have little time to finish this step in the process. There will be some cramming but we should be able to get it done in time for CAP Hollywood.

This week we will use clips from each film to edit them in with the categories they are nominated to. We will also be adding in text slides that tell the title of the film and the individual who is being nominated, as fits. Also, if possible and appropriate, we will add voice overs.

This week, we hope to complete each award clip so they are polished with clips from the films nominated. This means doing the texts and importing/editing the clips of each film. It is a lot of work but I believe it is possible.

Soooo Late

I was supposed to have updated you on my team's CAP Hollywood film awhile ago but I kept forgetting to actually write the blogpost. After reviewing our footage from filming without our cinematographer and director we decided to scrap the project. We have started working on some logistical inserts for the CAP Hollywood night.

Our group will be working on the introduction clips for each award. This week we've already gotten all the shots we will need. Now we must just edit them into appropriate length clips and add some special effects and voice overs.

By the end of the week I hope that at least half of the short clips are complete so there is not too much stress on what needs to be done in the home stretch of CAP Hollywood.

Top of the Sixth Reflection

With the recent absence of our Director and Cinematographer Peter B, our group has been disorganized and falling behind. But last thursday we were able to film for nearly two hours and get a number of the shots we needed. I think this was very good as we are not as pressed anymore but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. I'm concerned about the remaining filming that needs to be done and how difficult it may be to get it done. It was very good that we got the filming done that we did last week or we would be in a very deep hole.

It appears as though Peter will be rejoining us this week so our group should be back on track to completion. We were able to film over half of the shots we are going to need for our final production. All the shots that being on the baseball were necessary have been shot so filming the rest won't be so difficult to arrange.

I hope that by the end of this week, everything we have shot will be formed into a rough draft on final cut. Also, we should, by the end of the week, have arrangements to shoot the rest of the film.

Israel

On Thursday the 11th, I received an out of the blue email from a hockey coach in New York. To tell this story appropriately I must date back to this past summer. 

For a weekend in August, I went up to Pennsylvania for a hockey tryout. This team I was trying out for was an unusual one. The team was the USA National Maccabi Games team (AKA the US Jewish Olympic Team). The team I was trying out for consisted of Jewish hockey players ages 13-16. 

Unfortunately, after tryouts I was named to be a alternate on the team. But then, out of nowhere, I received this email informing me that I was appointed to the team.

Now, for three weeks in July, I am going to Israel with a team of Jewish hockey players my age to compete in the Maccabi Games (AKA the Jewish Olympics). For the first week, our team will be traveling around Israel visiting important places like Masada, the Dead Sea, Yad Vashem, and the Kotel (Western Wall). Then, for the next two weeks we will competing in the games. 

We will being playing Jewish hockey players from Canada, Israel, and France. This will be my first time in Israel, and my first time leaving North America. I am very excited for this opportunity to visit the famous locations in Israel but to represent my country on a international stage playing the game I love. 


If you'd like to help support my trip to Israel, please follow the link below. Any and all donations will be much appreciated. 

Sebastian Rubinstein's support for 19th World Maccabiah Games, Team USA


For more information on the Maccabi Games, you can click here.

Or you can watch this video:

 

Dog in Motion

As a hockey player offseason includes roller blading when ice is unavailable. In this post I'd like to reveal to you my dog, Nigel who is a big part of my life. He turns one on April 6th. This weekend when I went roller blading I brought along "Big Nige" and he ran along side me. I experimented taking pictures of him in full flight. He's fast.

A Sad, Sad Day

My hockey season ended today. Of course I knew this day was coming but like most unfortunate things, it still stings when it gets here.

It's cliche to say that teams are families. But playing travel hockey, taking bus trips, staying in hotels, and seeing each other four times a week, a hockey team truly becomes a tight group. A family. The end of the season means the dispanding of a great group of friends and families. Today we played our last game as a team, and there is nothing worse than the feeling of never getting that chance again.

The next couple weeks will no doubt be tough. Trying to accept the end of a great season and some how look ahead towards the future but it will not be easy.

To recap a great season - our team, the Northern Virginia Ice Dogs, finished with a 36-15-4 record, one win from a state championship, second in our league, and ranked nationally in the top 50. The team that stood in our way was the team ranked nationally #1 (rankings found in the right column). Last weekend we upset them with a 4-3 victory, becoming just the 4th team at our age group and level to beat them.

What a great year. There is no way I could've asked for a better group of guys to play with. This season will be remembered for a long time to come, no doubt.

The Oddities of the World

Last Friday was March 1st. In Maryland, March 1st marks the first day of spring sports. But to Maryland, March 1st in no way marks the beginning of spring. As high schools around the state eagerly hit the fields to start the new season, temperatures in the the 30s and 40s came too.

Now, I can understand some cold days at the beginning of March but on the 2nd, there were periods of snow flurries, or a sprinkling of snow. Three months of real winter brought nothing but a few two-hour delays and an early release. Then, somehow snow finds high schoolers on the fields during the 2nd day of spring sports.

Now, the biggest snow storm of the year is moving into town in the middle of the first week of March. Just when all hope was lost for a snowy winter, and everyone was ready to move on to shorts weather and outdoor sports.

I guess better late then never.

MAPHL 'Ship

On Friday February 22nd I attended the Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League Championship between the Gonzaga Purple Eagles and Calvert Hall Cardinals. Gonzaga won by a final score of 6-1 but that was not what I took from the game. Yes, the game was very good and there were many plays to marvel about throughout the game but what amazed me most was the crowd on hand.

(Photos courtesy of DCSportsFan.com)

About a half hour before the game, the lines to buy tickets filled the lobby of the ice rink and long before the teams took the ice, fans from both schools filled the arena. The stands were split between the yellow and red fans of Calvert Hall and Purple fans of Gonzaga. Throughout the pre-game ceremonies and warm-ups the student sections chanted, yelled, and shook the bleachers.

Never before have I seen a high school sporting event in this area fill a arena quite like this. Especially attending public school for most of my life, no games ever attracted attention like this. It was amazing to see the school pride on display from both sides throughout the game. My hopes are that in the future public schools catch on to the moving experience of school sporting events.

I realize that the crowd on hand was there to see the Championship game and the fact that Blair never reaches State Championships is depressing, but maybe one day, and if it comes, Blair better be ready.

A Sad Time of the Year

As we have reached mid-February with nothing more than a couple two-hour delays, I have come to the realization that another winter will pass with no snow. Also, winter coming to an end marks the end of the hockey season.

Last Thursday the Montgomery Blair hockey season came to a conclusion with a 8-1 playoff loss to the two-time defending state champion Washington County North Stars. It was an unfortunate end to a strong season for the Blazers.

In addition, my travel season most likely only has two weeks remaining. This weekend is the league playoffs and the following is the state championship series. Lossing in the state championship serious would in turn bring a conclusion to the season.

Another factor in the ending of hockey season is the coming of baseball season. With March 1st right around the corner the baseball team will hit the field first thing to start training for the soon to come season.

This time of year brings many changes to every day activities.

A recap of the Blazers final game of the year can be found here.

Silver Spring Swag

For those of you wondering what its like to live in such an awesome place as Silver Spring, MD, check out Max and my video. One thing is, we aren't always blessed with snow. Hope you enjoy :)

NHL is back

Wow, how great it is to say those words. Finally, the NHL will return to the ice this weekend after missing over half the season. All the NHL stars have begun to return from overseas and begin practicing with their teams again before everyone hits the ice this Saturday. What a day it will be for hockey fans everywhere. The season opens with numerous rivalry match-ups including a rematch of the high-scoring, intense, exciting playoff match-up between last years 4 and 5 seeds in the East, cross-state rivals, the Pittsburg Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. Saturday includes Montreal v Toronto, Boston v NY Rangers, and New Jersey v NY Islanders. Saturday will be a fun exciting day of hockey as the great sport returns.

The season has been abbreviated due to the time off and now only includes 48 games played between only same Conference teams. This means no East v West rematches of past Stanley Cup Finals. With a shortened season there's no time for slow starts, thankfully most players will come into the season in great shape after playing overseas with the absence of the NHL.

The greatest sport on earth is back and one thing the shorten season will do is make the whole season a playoff push meaning top level hockey with important games from now through the middle of July.

Nothing could've made any hockey fan in the world more happy than this great news. The NHL is back and it feels as though everything has been fixed.