The Chronology Protection Case > Likes and Comments

Jay Kensinger's low-budget 2002 movie, adapted from my 1995 award-nominated novelette, "The Chronology Protection Case" (Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrRiFZ...

Not sure why I missed this one but I just watched this. Excellent story, Paul. I know I should have read the actual short story first but I am ultimately a film fan anyway, first and foremost. By the way, there's about 10 seconds of audio missing...at the most interesting technical theory part! Grrr. Doesnt harm the overall story though and perhaps that audio is missing to protect the viewer from knowing too much?

This short film is a bit like a cross between Final Destination and Gregory Benford's Timescape.

I always thought that if anyone wants to make an argument for the existence of the the Divine, they should use Quantum Particle Entanglement as the ultimate "proof", together with the double slit experiment :) I mean, it so feels like we are being "toyed" with, lol.

Double slit is just bizarre, especially that it switches back under observation.

Bill wrote: "Double slit is just bizarre, especially that it switches back under observation."

I know...it always has me in shock and is why I think we are being toyed with! Scientists and physicists just accepts it.

Although there was one scientist recently who did a very complex experiment to "observe" inconspicuously. I'll try and find that article.

I'd love to see it.

Paul, am I correct in thinking this is the 'tweaked' version of the first film done based on your ‘95 story?

If this is so, how interesting to compare the two as I very much liked the first one.

I'll watch it soon & find out, thanks for posting.

Bill wrote: "I'd love to see it."

I second that emotion.

Seriously. I've always been ridiculously fascinated by that experiment. I read or saw a video somewhere a long time ago where they (theoretically, of course, not in actual application) split a photon or a group of them with a prism and one traveled down a length of say a light-year, while the other went a short distance.

When someone observed the one on the short path, for instance, even though the one on the longer path hadn't yet reached its destination, it went back and changed its answer to wave. Not sure if this makes sense, but it was basically saying that no matter how long the path was, you couldn't fool it.

I can never find that again, and I'm starting to think I dreamed it all up.

Space is concerned that he ‘dreamed it all up’

Space, no problem, you’re almost there.

Just remember that everything is energy, everything, Albert said so.

Matter is slowed up energy & speeded up matter is energy, which is everywhere, hey, no problem there, they are equal, and that’s what equation means.

Yet that’s not the end of it, Space & what a name by the way, quite the contrary it’s just the beginning, for energy itself is not one thing but two & this fact provides the dichotomy inherent to the universe itself & thereby why things must equal.

Energy, by definition is both positive & negative & both must be present or you’re not talking energy, the circuit being thus broken, as it were.

This outlook, of course, explains your dilemma, at least in my estimation & as I’ve already stated, I don’t even see it as such for the stream is the same & what changes is only your view of it.

Dimensions, after all, define reality, but each is only a different view of the same thing (like an equation) & nothing’s changed but your perception, a choice you (or anyone) makes.

Once you take the time to look, you thus get the image defined by Time, a frozen view but it’s not really changed, just your perception, as I’ve said.

It’s like being in a darkened room & switching on the light, boom, a different view but your reality has changed only because you view it differently & the room was there all along, it’s all about how you choose to perceive.

Except Time, you understand.

Time marches on whether the switch is thrown or not & this is because Time is everywhere because it’s energy & the stream you follow is real only because you’re stopping to look & humans call this living your life, your unique view of reality.

Now, if everything is energy, it’s everywhere, pulsating in never-ending interconnections (Oooooh, like strings) & your particles & waves become apparent only when you choose to look for them & this would explain why they ‘appear’ mystifying, but they’re not.

Time, being energy is, again by definition, everywhere, and so for humans it is the constant not speed per se, yet we view it in a very limited way, unless you have the proper hardware & backup to traverse the whole expanse of the flow that is & thus Time Travel.

It’s all in my books, Epic Fables of Time defined by way of the elusive Elastic Limit.

So, no problem, Space, just turn on the light & you’ll see.

Tej wrote: "Not sure why I missed this one but I just watched this. Excellent story, Paul. I know I should have read the actual short story first but I am ultimately a film fan anyway, first and foremost. By the way, there's about 10 seconds of audio missing...at the most interesting technical theory part! Grrr. Doesnt harm the overall story though and perhaps that audio is missing to protect the viewer from knowing too much?"

My lips are sealed about the missing seconds ... but I can say they won't be missing in new version, soon to be released, which also has a brand new extended ending.

Howard wrote: "Paul, am I correct in thinking this is the 'tweaked' version of the first film done based on your ‘95 story?

If this is so, how interesting to compare the two as I very much liked the first one."

The tweaked version hasn't yet been released - as far as know :)

But, yeah, the 2002 and 2013 versions are both based on my 1995 story (novelette first published in Analog, and reprinted in a whole bunch of places, most recently in The Mammoth Book of Time Travel SF

More about The Chronology Protection Case short movie, 2013 cut with new, extended ending:

It will be up on iTunes, for sale at a low price, in September.

But ... for the members of this group, I can make review copies available at no charge. All we ask in return is that you write a review - as brief or lengthy as you - and post either on iTunes, IMDB, your own blog, or some or all of these.

If this is of interest, just contact me by Personal Message here on Goodreads, and I'll send you the link to review copy of the movie as soon as it's available in September.

Sorry to derail again, but I found it. Finally.

Clicky

Paul mentions the 'tweaked version hasn't yet been released' but also adds the '2002 and 2013 versions'

Paul, sorry but now I'm really confused.

If this new link isn't the tweaked version, how do the 2 versions you reference differ?

Just wondering.

What link do you have, Howard? The link at the start of this thread is for the 2002 version. And I may have also posted a link somewhere for the trailer to the 2013 version.

Paul, Can I take you up on the review offer for the latest 2013 version short movie please. I write many reviews on IMDB. I didnt know you had a remake in the pipeline.

Absolutely, Tej, and thanks - I'll send you the URL to the review copy as soon I have it, which should be in the next two weeks.

Great, I look forward to it!

In the meantime I have been revisiting some documentaries on Quantum physics and there are some really cool stuff I also found on youtube on not just Quantum entanglement but how the double slit experiment can also be thought of as time travel, even more so than quantum entanglement. This subject deserves it own thread elsewhere though, I'll start one in the relevant group section.

The Chronology Protection Case new cut with extended ending is still a few weeks away from release - I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here's a brand new review of Mark Shanahan's Edgar-nominated radio play of The Chronology Protection Case

Reviews By Martha's Bookshelf: Audible Book: The Chronology Protection Case http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/... "packs an active dilemma of time paradox"

At last! Jay Kensinger 's new, re-cut version of The Chronology Protection Case, with brand new extended ending written by him and me, is now available on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/chr...

PS - And see my post here on Aug 27, 2013 - review copies of the movie are available to members of this group - all we ask in return is that you post a review, of whatever length, on iTunes, IMDB, your blog. Contact me by private message, and I'll reply with the link.

I'm just about to read this short story as it is the next story in the The Mammoth Book of Time Travel SF. So far, it's been a great collection, so I have high expectations for this story. Perhaps I will watch the movie afterward and compare the two.

Great, John - I'd love to know what you think of both!

Paul wrote: "At last! Jay Kensinger 's new, re-cut version of The Chronology Protection Case, with brand new extended ending written by him and me, is now available on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/mov..."

Yay, I'll watch this shortly. Thank you for the review link, Paul.

Hold on...I'm really sorry but I have to ask you something and I will have to be brutally honest. Well brutal in a friendly way. Uh...that doesnt make sense does it.

Ah let me just say it. I just played the first five minutes. The quality of exposure and resolution is atrocious, worse than the original. The original was a low quality 240p to start with but I could still enjoy it and of course one can argue that its all about the story. Yes but at least give it a watchable presentation. The original just about made the cut in the lowest 240p resolution but at least contrast and detail was acceptable though pixelated with distance shots.

But here, I have to say it, is terrible!

I could only speculate that original source film has been lost?!? And that Jay had to work with the 240p youtube format which in turn got further degraded from downloading and re-editing.

As I love the original I will persevere but I am very diappointed in the low quality presentation. Its your story, Paul, I dont think you should accept this kind of presentation. What an earth happened to the original source? And I was hoping for those mysterious audio blanks to be filled in too!

I am sorry to post such a negatative point, but to be clear its not about your story which I love, its just about the quality of this film's dire presentation. I will continue to watch the re-edit and give my thoughts on that...I will try not let the picture quality affect my appreciation of the content itself.

The grainy quality is a deliberate artistic decision - to add to the surreal ambience of the story. Here is Jay's detailed explanation of how and why he did this - http://www.modvec.com/blog.html#STORY

I like it - see how you feel when you've seen the complete movie. But, whatever your ultimate opinion, you're of course entitled to it, and there will be no offense taken. (And I'm of course glad that you love my story, in any case :)

I could keep quiet but because you are a respected and acclaimed author, and the fact that this is a cracking story I do not wish to be ruined, I wont stay quiet ;)

Here is a sample of the original





And here are sample screenshots of the new version (same frame-ish)





Now these images are taken at a lower resolution because of Goodreads image holder limits. But they are scaled like for like. In all honesty, these images are not doing much for my argument, one has to see the videos get the idea but anyway.

Post Edit: in fact these images are doing injustice to my argument, the newer ones look better when smaller! So my advice is watch the new movie in a small window! Blow it up and my argument will come into fruition...once again...anyway

The original is far more detailed and clearer despite the fact that it is a lower resolution. The newer image is over exposed and more pixelated, in fact hugely so. Definitions of expressions and details are lost. Yes there is more contrast and the original has a muted look, that certainly needed addressing. But this is not a noir look if this was the intention. Noir is about light and shadows, not over exposures. Also, its clear he has zoomed in on the whole film to convert a 4:3 aspect ration into a 16:9 medium widescreen format. This means the top and bottom are cropped and the picture even more pixelated. That actually serves an artistic purpose but the result is blocky, not grainy. Furthermore, if one is to apply grain for artistic effect, you don't do so on a low res original (at least I assume that is the case). You end up with a messed up image.

I can see what Jay is striving for but he I speculate Jay has over processed the film. He might have got so carried with his digital toys that he has lost the balance, the bigger picture....or should that be the other way round? He looked at the bigger picture and lost the detail. The point is I am a photoshopper and video editor too (not as skilful as Jay, I am hands down positive about that!) but I know how easy it is to over process and lose sight of the fact that the image looked half an hour ago with fewer touches.

Converting to black and white is a fine move for artistic merits but not at the sacrifice of detail, light exposure, and facial expressions. The main protagonist is a very capable actor with some excellent nuanced expressions. But a lot of that is lost here.

As for grain, oh boy. I am personally not a fan of it. Spielberg uses it in every single film he has made and it annoys the heck out of me because I am a huge fan of his, so it hurts me more when I see his pictures ruined through these quirky self serving obsessions by master film makers. JJ Abrams at least admits he has an issue over using lens flare....good on him, I expect he will tone done on that for the Star Wars movies to come.

One thing that is perhaps better, is the soundtrack. There is a little more quality to it as opposed to what sounded like xylophone in the original...having said that, the xylophone did actually suit the mood!

I will return with more thoughts on the actual re-edit of the story itself :)

Folks, ignore my pettiness, just watch the movie, its good...I'm just arguing with Paul about the differences of the original and new version:)

The only reason I am spending time with these thoughts is because the story is great, the original short movie was great, and I am miffed about it being ruined.

Having said that, I will appreciate (well reluctantly!) that this could be a very marmite taste. Perhaps others LOVE this version and I expect many will tell me to shut up and stuff my post past my event horizon :)

I get what you're saying, Tej - but I think we'll have to let this reside as an example of different taste. To me, the original version - in color, sound track, etc - looks more clunky and amateuristic than the new black-and-white version (with the new extended ending - though the ending not pertinent to the overall look of the movie).

If I had my druthers, I'd prefer that Spielberg made a movie of my novelette, with all the trimmings. But as a small, quirky movie - which will be seen on Internet screens not in theaters - I like Jay's new version better than the original.

In any case, as long as we're clear that this was a deliberate artistic decision - and not a choice made because the original was lost :) - I'm ok with your view, much as I'd like it to be otherwise.

"The Chronology Protection Case" radio play is featured on http://www.audiobookbundle.com , running until Dec. 4 radio script by Mark Shanahan - starring Mark! - based on my novelette, and on Jay Kensinger's 2002 movie

Just learned 20 copies of "The Chronology Protection Case" movie have sold on iTunes since end of November https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/chr...

Forgot to mention that "The Chronology Protection Case" movie is now also on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NEH25KY/r... -and the price on both Amazon and iTunes has been permanently lowered by a buck.

If you're on Long Island in New York this coming weekend, and in the mood for a science fiction convention, "The Chronology Protection Case," with its new extended "10 Years After" ending, will be screened on Friday, August 13, at 7pm in the Sayville Room of the Clarion Hotel. I'll be on hand for discussion and q&a after the screening. More details here http://sched.co/44O6

Fabulous new reading of "The Chronology Protection Case" by Mikael Naramore on StarShipSofa http://www.starshipsofa.com/blog/2015... begins at 27:20

new, 5-star review of The Chronology Protection Case right here on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just a note to mention that The Chronology Protection Case is now book #1 in the five-book Phil D'Amato series -- see https://www.goodreads.com/series/5276...