Reasons for Neglect, and making up for it!!

Hello All!
It's almost the end of August, so I thought I'd post something. :) When I started this blog, it was mostly to let my excitement about Narnia out! Especially right around the release of Dawn Treader! :) I also wanted to post things like Character profiles and devotionals and quotes and things. I would love to get to these soon, so stay tuned!

Reasons for my neglect:

1. There hasn't been much Narnia news at all! Here's one of my Aslan's Country friends' interpretation of the situation:



We are stuck at where we were months ago... Waiting for Fox and Walden (or someone else) to decide to do another film! The last thing we heard was they wanted to do Magician's Nephew next. At this point, I don't care so much which one they do next, I just want another one! Actually I want four more!!!! :D

NarniaWeb and YouTube's Glumpuddle posted an analysis on the situation and possible routes the franchise could take. I thought it was really interesting, so I'm posting it here:



2. I'm producing a movie! Yep, you heard me. We've made two smaller-scale films before with friends: "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" in 2006 and "The Silver Chair" in 2008. (I can't believe I haven't posted on this blog about them yet!) Both were so much fun! Over the years, we've learned more techniques through short film projects and a film club our church hosted. Now, with the help of many adults and teens from our area, I am producing, "First Impressions," which is based on Pride and Prejudice. This is the other blog on my profile. (Check it out here.)

3. It's summer!!! And this means I'm busy. :) I have managed to dig up a few interesting articles and sites for you though.

First, Did you know you can download the Narnia font?!?! I just found out! It's the one they use for the official movie logo. Click here to check it out! I made the image below with the Narnia font. :)


Second, a Narnia Cookbook is coming out!! The writer of the "Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook" is now writing a Narnia version. Here is the article where she mentions her next book, but I saw it first on Facebook. Can't wait to see what's in it! :)


Third, I'm having fun hosting a contest on YouTube! You make a rules video, then people post their videos as video responses to your contest video, then you get to watch them all and decide who passes to the next round! It's pretty fun. I'm posting my most recent video below. (I've also been neglecting editing because of the film.... :/) You can always find my "Narnia Music Vids" on the sidebar of this blog. :)



Fourth, my sister found this cool site called "Wordle" which you can use to make pictures with words. Just click "Create" up at the top, then put in your blog url! You can customize the words, layout, and colors. :) Below is one I made by pasting in my blog's url. Try it! It's amazing! :)


Last, and certainly most exciting, I GOT TO GO TO THE NARNIA EXHIBITION IN PORTLAND!!!!!!! Yes. I know. It deserves its own post! :) I'll make a post for it when I upload our Narnia Nerds of the Northwest video that Hannah and I took while we were there. For now, let me recap the most exciting parts for me:

1. Getting to go there with the Dokupils was AWESOMENESS. It was so fun to be with my fellow Narnia freak, so we could oooh and aaah together! :)
   
2. Being allowed (after many phonecalls and talking to staff) to take pictures and video inside the exhibit!! Matthew (Aslan's Country boss) called Walden to get permission because we were going to write a report on our site. The OMSI people finally let us, and we got press passes. :)
3. Getting to see the ACTUAL props from the films!!! When we first walked in, we saw Edmund's flashlight from "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Skandar has touched it. I know that sounds weird. We're not weird Skandarfans, it's just awesome to think that that's the one they used in the films! After more costume displays, we spotted The Book of Incantations. Yup. The actual one!! We plopped down in front of that for about five minutes. :) Other original items: The White Witch's dress and crown, Susan's coronation crown, and the door and door frame from Tumnus' house!
4. Overall, it was just so amazing to get to go there. I would have been very sad if I couldn't have gone. If you have a chance to visit, I definitely recommend it. :)
   

You can read our report on Aslan's Country here. Hannah did an awesome job writing it, and Matthew made an amazing slideshow! :) Enjoy! And more coming soon!

Happy Birthday, Aslan's Country!

Today is a special day in the life of Aslan's Country.com! Exactly two years ago, Matthew (and friends) launched the site, which would soon become the third largest Narnia News Blog/Website in the world.

To the right is the "Coming Soon" page... I wasn't around then, but I do remember reading AC posts years ago... especially about the new Narnia film coming out and seeing pictures of the "Dawn Treader" being built! It was very exciting for me.

June 2010 (one year ago) the site looked like this:


This was about when I met Hannah Dokupil and we started talking. I wasn't on the team until October of last year. Things I remember in my experience with AC:

Writing my first couple posts about Carrie Underwood and Joe McElderry's song "There's a Place for Us." with the help of AslansLily.
Reporting more and more about contests, promotional events, prescreenings and movie clips!
Spending the whole of November 30 online with Hannah and AslansLily trying to snap pictures of stars from a lousy webcam during the red-carpet portion of the World Premiere in London!

Controversy, controversy! All Narnia fans will think differently on something... here's the post that took the longest for me to write, about the reactions to Liam Neeson's quote about Aslan.

Making a "Narnia Christmas Tribute" scrapbook for the cast and crew.

Reviews piled in, then award nominations!

Watching the Box Office Tracker slowly cross 400 million!

My Dad told me first thing in the morning one day that Perry Moore, the excecutive producer of the first three Narnia films, had died. I wrote this post about him.

We heard bittersweet news that Magician's Nephew would be made next. Here are my responses to this. We are still waiting for more news on that.

I posted my movie review after seeing it the day it came out.

I posted my "double dvd pack" review after buying it the day it came out.

Our April Fools day fun! We had the funniest story and the most serious story (which everyone believed!!)

Getting Turkish Delight at Christmas and Film Cells at Easter... :)

And just fun chats and conversations on Facebook with the AC staff! You know who you are.... :D

Our site today:

Here's our current stats on social media sites. Be a fan if you are on any of them! :)

Aslan's Country Fans on Facebook: 6,313
Aslan's Country Followers on Twitter: 2308
Aslan's Country Subscribers on YouTube: 172

And don't forget to follow Aslan's Country.com if you have a Blogger account!

Why is Aslan's Country special? This is taken from our website:

Why Aslan’s Country?
In C.S. Lewis’ book The Last Battle, the children travel to Aslan’s Country. While we don’t claim to be the real Aslan’s Country, we do hope you find it to be a place where you will not only find the latest Narnia news, but also where you will feel welcomed and enjoy yourself.
Our Mission Statement:
Our goal as Aslan’s Country is to provide current and accurate Narnia news; to unite Narnia fans in a common, safe, and enjoyable environment; to provide communication, dedication, and the willingness to work with others; and ultimately to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Our Commitment to an Ad-Free Website, and What It Means for Us Financially
As you browse the site, you’ll notice that we aren’t supported financially by advertisements. We believe that by not placing ads on our site, we improve our design and layout and make it easier to find the content you want and not make it distracting. However, this also means that we do not have a steady flow of income to pay the bills to keep Aslan’s Country online and serving you. If you feel led to, we would be so grateful to receive a donation from you—a way of saying “thank you” to the unpaid staff at Aslan’s Country. If you would like to make a donation, please email matthew@aslanscountry.com. Thank you so much for supporting the ongoing efforts at Aslan’s Country!

Happy Lately :)

Below are some Narnia-related things that have made me happy recently. Well, more than that. Excited. Giddy. That quivery inside feeling that C.S. Lewis would call Joy. Anyway… sorry this is rather long!!!!!!! :D

The Narnia Exhibition is coming to town!!! Well not really, but closer than it’s ever been. :D I got to write the story on Aslan’s Country that OMSI in Portland has been added to their schedule! I have been wanting to see the exhibition, of course, for a long time. Ever since we went on a trip across America last September and saw lots of things (including numerous museums), I have had a dream of starting the first-ever permanent Narnia Museum! Anyway, even if I never do, this will be super fun to see! I’m hoping to meet up with my friend Hannah (from Aslan’s Country) at the exhibition. Yay!

I hadn’t learned about this song until recently. It’s by Toby Mac, and it’s called “New World." It was included on the "Music Inspired by Narnia" CD, which was released right before LWW came out in theatres. Anyway, it’s not the song that brings me joy so much, it’s this video. Containing clips from both Disney Narnia movies (LWW and PC), it just completely sums up what Narnia is and what you go through when you watch those two films. It’s extremely well-edited and probably my favorite Narnia Music Video of all time. Enjoy!



Font: I just got this font called, “The King and Queen” (demonstration below), which just looks cool. I use it for my username on YouTube.

“Costume Chronicles.” Have you heard of that? I found this “webzine” the end of last year when they had a Jane Austen issue. (Jane Austen is my second favorite book/movie series by the way.) One of my friends alerted me to their current issue, which is about C.S. Lewis!! They only have one article on the clothes and costumes of Narnia, which is kind of odd. But I can’t complain because the rest is really good! The editor is a Christian, and the articles are commentaries on the books, movies, and characters of Narnia, often from a Christian viewpoint. I liked what the authors had to say. There is also an article about “Jack,” one about the film, “Shadowlands” (about C.S. Lewis), and one about “Til We Have Faces,” his strangest and most adult work of fiction. You can download and read it here.

A friend lent me his four-disc version of the LWW, so I finally got to see the extended edition of the LWW! It’s basically more traveling shots, and the battle is extended. One thing I really liked is the addition of more sad kids and mothers in the train station scene. It makes you feel for more kids in England, not just the four, and yet it makes the Pevensies more real, because you realize what they’re going through actually happened to a lot of kids. They didn’t put in any of the coronation dance, which I know they shot, since it’s in the trailer and the outtakes! The best thing was the “Complete Production Experience,” which was a full movie commentary with interviews and behind-the-scenes pictures and videos going on during the movie! There’s also a movie about C.S. Lewis, which I liked. :)


I also recently watched the “Prince Caspian” cast & director commentary, which I own, but just never watched! It was very insightful and entertaining. :) I was surprised how many crew members and family members played extras! A couple parts made me laugh out loud! For example, the scene entitled, “Edmund Saves the Day” is the one where Edmund stabs the ice wall with the White Witch in it. At the end Georgie (Lucy) quoted part of the script, “Two boys. Two kings. Two failures.” Skandar (Edmund) responded, “And on the other hand, Edmund saves the day!!” Hahaha… One part I thought was interesting was that Anna (Susan) and Ben (Caspian) were glad the archery scene where Susan and Caspian are flirting was cut out. They said that, besides it being a happy scene in the middle of this intense preparing-for-battle section, it played up the romance too much; It added yet another scene developing this relationship that wasn’t even in the book. Anna said that! I was so proud. I totally agree! :)

I’ve been having fun being on YouTube and connecting with other Narniacs who make Narnia Music Videos. I wanted to get a cooler background, so I found one I liked that someone else made, then used it as a template and imported my own pictures, cropped them, and colorized them, using Photoshop. It was really fun! The sides I made fade from green to purple and on them I typed lines from the Chronicles. On the left side is the first couple sentences of each book, and on the right side are all of the last lines of each book! It was very fun to make. :D Click here to see it on YouTube. :)


I’m pretty sure It’s legal to make a digital copy of a DVD you own to put on your ipod. Well I downloaded the “Magic DVD Ripper,” which someone mentioned on YouTube, and ripped the three Narnia films!! This makes it a lot easier to make music videos (because before I had all of these trailers and film clips and stuff I’d taken from online). So this opens up wide possibilities. :D The “I’m Reading a Book” video was the first one I put online that I edited from the digital copy.

Well, I haven’t played it recently, but I really enjoy playing this tetris game on “Spareoom.net”. You use the arrow keys to direct the pieces. There’s a lot of other Narnia games online. Maybe I’ll do a blog post on “The Games of Narnia” someday. :)


Have you ever seen the movie, “Swan Princess”? It’s loosely based on the ballet “Swan Lake,” and it has animation and songs like an old Disney film. Anyway, there’s this cute song called “This is My Idea,” where Prince Derek and Princess Odette are lamenting having to marry each other when they grow up, and all of the sudden they realize they love each other. Someone on YouTube edited a video to this song using Edmund and Lucy as they grow up in LWW and PC. It’s really cute!



And here’s a couple of pictures that I like. They're all from different places and made by different people. This first one is by my friend Nicky. It's awesome. :)






















(look at the necklace!)



Wow, those pictures were random. Yep! But they are joyful!!! :)
That’s all. Have a nice day! :)

My Narnia Music Videos

I don't know if you've noticed the YouTube widget I added on my sidebar. :) Well those are Narnia Music Videos that I have made. I really enjoy editing footage from the movies to songs that fit! It's my favorite "hobby," you could say. Anyway, for a time I was all of the sudden getting all of these ideas for music videos, and I made a lot of them! Some of them are still on my list-to-edit. :)

I have mentioned a couple of my videos in my post about Kelley's birthday. Also you can see my list of official music videos here: Music Videos of Narnia.

My sister's birthday was yesterday, and I wanted to make her a music video that she would love. I used the song, "I'm Reading a Book" by Julian Smith. LOL! If you haven't seen the original, you can see it here. Here's my Dawn Treader version. When I started editing, I didn't know how it would turn out, but I kept finding perfect clips to use!

I was also inspired to do a number of Christian music videos. Go to YT to read the descriptions. I'll just embed the videos below. :)

And I entered two Narnia YouTube contests with these two videos below. The first one I had lots of fun using effects on my Adobe Premiere Pro. The second one I had fun using clips from all three movies. :)

I also did two fun videos. One about Edmund to a song by David Archuleta, and one about all of the Boys to a "High School Musical" song. Hahaha...

Last but not least, I had fun making two short "search-stories" using a YouTube program. One is for Aslan's Country, the other is called "Thank You for Narnia." :)

I've done a couple more, but they were blocked temporarily. I'm going to try to fix them. :) And there will probably be lots more coming! :) So if you're on YouTube, keep an eye on my channel! NarniaMusicVids

Thanks for watching!

New Headers!

I'd like to thank RJ for making me some new headers!! I really like her work, so I asked her if she would make a blog header for me, and she made several! I'm going to use them for my next couple of headers. To see an archive of all the blog headers I have had, click here. :)

RJ makes Narnia graphics (don't ask me how) using pictures from the Narnia movies and lyrics from songs that fit perfectly! You can see them all in her album on Facebook. Here are some of my favorites:

Lucy and Aslan from VDT. Lyrics from "Invisible" by Disciple

Edmund and Aslan from LWW. Lyrics from "At Your Feet" by Casting Crowns

Tumnus and Lucy from LWW. Lyrics from "You Decide" by Fireflight

Dragon Eustace and Aslan from VDT.  Lyrics from "Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus)" by Chris Rice

Picture from PC, in VDT film. Lyrics from "All The Memories" by The Classic Crime

Lucy and Edmund from VDT. Lyrics from "May It Be" by Enya

Caspian/EdmundLucy/Drinian/Narrowhaven townspeople - VDT. Lyrics from "Do You Hear The People Sing" from Les Miserables: The Musical

 Liliandil from VDT. 

Drinian and Edmund from VDT. hahaha....

And last but not least....

 

Eustace from VDT.