Assist live with storm chasing questions Monday 8/11

[ChristofferB]

I will be helping out with the promotion of "Into the storm" here in Sweden a bit next Monday through a Q&A-session about storm chasing. I am far from a expert in relation to you guys but I have made my portion of studies, been on a handful of chases over the last couple of years and through my websites gathered a lot of information - so back in Sweden I am one of the most experienced in the field.

I will be answering questions online and it will be through my point of view and through my experience but I may receive questions that are beyond me and that would still be nice to answer. So, if anyone would be kind enough to assist me live (for example over Skype) for this one hour (that would be around lunchtime for you) on August 11th, just in case I get a question I can't answer - I would be much obliged!

Thanks!

 

[Bob Schafer]

Why not use the Stormtrack chatroom? It's actually available 24/7.

 

[Rob H]

Yeah, is there a reason it needs to be Skype? Do it in the ST chat, multiple people can pop in and respond.

 

[Skip Talbot]

promotion of "Into the storm" here in Sweden ... I am far from a expert in relation to you guys

...but I may receive questions that are beyond me and that would still be nice to answer.

You got this. I have a feeling you not only know far more than the Swedish audiences going to see this movie, but probably a lot more than many of the producers and people who actually made the movie. These folks are going to see an exciting yet completely fictional depiction of storm chasing. They're more interested in special effects, action, and character drama than they are technical accuracy or meteorology. It would be fun to hear the questions and chat about them in the Stormtrack chat. I don't think you'll need our help though.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Why not use the Stormtrack chatroom? It's actually available 24/7.

Because no one uses it anymore.

 

[ChristofferB]

You got this. I have a feeling you not only know far more than the Swedish audiences going to see this movie, but probably a lot more than many of the producers and people who actually made the movie. These folks are going to see an exciting yet completely fictional depiction of storm chasing. They're more interested in special effects, action, and character drama than they are technical accuracy or meteorology. It would be fun to hear the questions and chat about them in the Stormtrack chat. I don't think you'll need our help though.

Thanks, Skip. I'm pretty sure I will be able to handle it but this is just in case (I like to be prepared). I will be answering questions about storm chasing and not storm meteorology etc (of which I have much to learn).

It seems now that people will be able to ask all week and I will only respond during that one hour so I think I will be able to ask a question or two in this thread in that case and use the chat on that hour, if needed. I didn't think about that one. But will people really be online during off-season?

Btw, writing this with a thunderstorm currently passing by outside my window in Stockholm at 6 am. We've had a great summer for thunderstorms. Nothing compared to US storms but it was nice to wake up by it and have my breakfast watching it!

 

[Shane Adams]

History has shown that members will flock to the ST chatroom for a pre-scheduled event, like there used to be in the past. A big name or a special event (such as yours) might actually draw a few folks from this seemingly-enormous - yet silent - membership group. Back in the day we would have "celebrity" guest chatters such as Tim Marshall, who always draws a big crowd. I'd suggest really pushing this on the forum and draw as much attention to it as you possibly can. Personally, I'd be happy to help but (1) I doubt you'll need it and (2) I won't be available on a Monday afternoon.

 

[Bob Schafer]

Well, I, for one at least, will make a point to be in the little-used chatroom on Monday, but what time will that be, exactly?

 

[Rob H]

Name the time, and I'll be there if its between 8:30am and probably 9:30pm. Stormtrack chat was pretty good up until a few months ago when a handful of people turned it into garbage chat.

 

[ChristofferB]

Thanks you guys, I really appreciate it! We'll see if I will need it or not.

So the time and date is: Monday August 11th (this Monday) at 1 pm (CDT).

Have any of you guys seen the movie yet? I don't really expect it to be great but I hope the storm scenes will be cool and somewhat "realistic".

 

[Rob H]

Thanks you guys, I really appreciate it! We'll see if I will need it or not.

So the time and date is: Monday August 11th (this Monday) at 1 pm (CDT).

Have any of you guys seen the movie yet? I don't really expect it to be great but I hope the storm scenes will be cool and somewhat "realistic".

Well it was at 10% "fresh" the other day, but it's up to 15% as the reviews are trickling in. I'm guessing it will end up 25-30% which is usually "bad, but not bad enough to be completely unwatchable or hilariously watchable".

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_storm_2014/

 

[Bob Schafer]

IMDB currently pegs it at 6.3/10 from 865 users. That's not too horrible. When I use IMDB to make a decision whether or not to watch a movie or buy a DVD I ignore everything less than 7.0. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106361/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

 

[Rob H]

If you convert IMDB scores to percentages, they're almost always ~20% off from the RT/Metacritic scores. I guess that's the bias factor for people that like a movie enough to go to IMDB and give a glowing review. The nice thing about RT/Metacritic is that they're not trying to defend something they love, they're just being paid to put a score on every movie that comes out. Either way, I think the consensus is that this isn't the worst movie ever, but it won't be winning any Oscars for acting, screenplay, or directing

 

[Skip Talbot]

IMDB currently pegs it at 6.3/10 from 865 users. That's not too horrible. When I use IMDB to make a decision whether or not to watch a movie or buy a DVD I ignore everything less than 7.0. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2106361/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Sorry to get off topic and maybe we should spin off an Into The Storm thread. I find the imdb ratings to be misleading sometimes. They're often skewed toward the targeted audience. If the movie doesn't appeal to you, why would you go see it and rate it? This causes more of a positive bias than I'd think you see if the movie were shown to a broad general audience. Then there's the skewing toward people who use imdb to rate movies. That demographic might have been more techno geek than it probably is now due to the site's popularity. That demographic is probably pretty close to much of the storm chasing community: (male, white, nerds?). So imdb says that Into The Storm is about equal to Twister in rating. I find that surprising. I'd expect the movie to fall short of Twister. Although it has amazing visuals, I've read that it's just an endless thrill ride that's otherwise flat. There's no challenging acting, characterization, humor, or wonder. Twister, on the other hand, while still having a good deal of thrill ride segments, had all of these things. It was a well rounded movie, despite being also full of cliches. It had a great original soundtrack, memorable characters and lines, great cast. Money doesn't make a good movie, but you'd expect Twister would have the potential to be much much more than Into The Storm due it's significantly larger budget. Critic reviews for Twister, while not great, are significantly better than Into The Storm. 58% on rotten vs 15%. I'd probably tend to side more toward those ratings. Then again the critics are skewed with their own biases: maybe a bit snobbish, nit picking the movie like it's a particular style of art but sometimes oblivious to how enjoyable and entertaining it actually is.

 

[ChristofferB]

It's fine with this thread going off topic since some have already volunteered to help out.

I was supposed to have watched the press viewing of the movie tonight but I mistook the time. It was 9.30 am and not 9.30 pm (which I thought). I was SO bummed out when I realized this... I still get free tickets but I was really looking forward to see this tonight. Well, well...