Screen Testing
We’re joined by Jenna Charlton to discuss David Fincher’s critically-acclaimed Mark Zuckerberg biopic which straddles a very fine line between hero worship and cautionary tale. We talk about the pre-Facebook internet days of Angelfire and MySpace, how the movie mostly gets its tech correct for a change, and our real-life experiences with the privilege which the film displays. We get a bit serious in the middle as we unpack the overt misogynism on-display in the movie, discuss the impact of Facebook’s push into the editorial and advertising spaces, and look at what happens when content...
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It's time for another long-overdue dive into technology in 90s movies, as we go deep into the "not as bad as you heard it was" Sandra Bullock thriller, The Net. We investigate whether Jack Devlin has the skills required to be an international spy, whether the film merited the little-known sequel and TV series which it received, and whether Angela should be briefer in her emails when she's being pursued. As usual, there are tangents upon tangents, as we uncover the secret behind Neil's unwritten novel, Dan's time spent working at the bleeding edge of the early days of the internet, and the time...
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Trying to sync your episode with an immovable calendar date? Doing two recordings in one week? Suffering with kidney stones as well? It’s no problem for your favourite (perhaps) test-focused movie buffs, who are here to talk about a sci-fi classic which has an unmentionable sequel, despite the fact that Neil keeps mentioning it. Dan and Neil are your guides on a trip through that most traditional of holiday tales, featuring a weird mix of American bravado and hubris. The explosions are almost as large as the plot conveniences, as they set out to answer all of the most important questions: Is...
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Where have the last two years gone? Neil and Dan reunite as they attempt to quantify the many things that have kept them away from their microphones, whilst also focusing on some of the bigger issues of today (virulent or otherwise). As well as the many subjects of births, deaths, marriages and bubbles, we attempt to put a positive spin on COVID, discuss the ever-evolving impact of Black Lives Matter on historical media, and there's a rundown of the mixed bag which is the current UK box office for 2020. Films and TV shows mentioned: Contagion Deep Blue Sea Brexit: The Uncivil War Doctor...
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We're back from a brief hiatus with - unbelievably - a film which actually deeply relates to testing! We're joined by Mark Tomlinson, who brings his own experiences of dealing with the National Transportation Safety Board, to discuss a film about a remarkable moment of true-life heroism, and the decisions that we make in the heat of the moment. The events of the movie give us a chance to get into in-depth discussions about the challenges of testing within regulated industries, developing risk mitigation strategies in life-critical environments, debugging/monitoring, and whether quality is a...
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Pop quiz, hotshot! You want to record a new podcast episode, but you also want a break from some of the darker plots that you've talked about recently. Plus, you're snowed-in at home. What do you do? Dan and Neil decide not to shoot the hostage, but to instead kick back with a discussion about Speed. In an episode recorded at the beginning of March (hence some timeline discrepancies and weird Oscar predictions), they find many parallels with Die Hard, and manage to work-in a surprising number of testing elements, including setting/reviewing acceptance criteria, pairing in the...
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We return a little later than planned, as we discuss one of the greatest thrillers of our time, getting into discussions about psychology, interviewing, misogyny and gender politics, and appropriate occasions for purchasing FBI-themed cakes. We also salvage the best bits of our failed Oscars announcement episode, highlighting a few nominations that we hope will win big, and staking our reputations on a few predictions of our own. Miscellaneous Links: YouTube trailers for films and TV shows mentioned: Twitters: Emails:...
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We begin 2018 with a discussion of Neil's favourite film of 2017, and a worrying early revelation about Dan's general problems with musicals. But we persevere, and discover not only a few musical gems in Dan's closet, but also a shared appreciation for some of the plot elements in La La Land. Things get a bit philosophical and introspective as we dig into how we motivate ourselves (and others) when we (or they) suffer setbacks, how we tell our own stories about the world around us, taking the opportunities that come your way, avoiding being paralysed by "what if", and a few of the many...
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As the year draws to a conclusion, Neil and Dan give a rundown of their favourite movies of the past 12 months, and highlight a few festive turkeys. The show notes are deliberately brief to avoid spoilers, but if you want to see the films which we discussed in YouTube trailer format, there are some playlists linked below. References: Thanks everyone for listening to us this year, and we'll see you on January 12th as (joy of joys) it's finally time for LA LA LAND! Twitters: Emails: screentestingpod@gmail.com Intro music: Outro music:
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In an episode recorded over the course of five hours, your hosts gather at Chez Neil for their own mini Christmas party, with a fine array of mince pies, cheeses and ales, as well as two of their favourite festive movies. The result? A fun and rambling journey which gets increasingly erratic as we continue. Both nursing sore throats and hangovers from previous nights' office parties, we nevertheless get to all of the important questions, such as why Hans Gruber owns a TARDIS on wheels, which of Macaulay Culkin's traps constitute appropriate force, whether the Nakatomi Corporation employees...
info_outlineIt's time to LET OFF SOME STEAM as we look at one of the finest examples of the 80s action movie genre. Arnie's on a mission to rescue his kidnapped daughter, while Neil and Dan are on a mission to constantly over-think every situation in the film.
Amongst all of the crazy one-liners, explosions and deaths, we study John Matrix's mission, his requirement-gathering skills, and bemoan his poor password security. On the other side of the fence, we look at villain Bennett's seeming love for his nemesis, discover the interesting real-life circumstances which led to some odd costuming, and we unleash our terrible Australian accents.
There are plenty of distractions along the way, as we draw repeated comparisons to the Bond franchise, get into knots over whether it's "Matrixes" or "Matrices", debate whether a rocket launcher is better than a door handle, analyse the weird musical adjectives of Creem magazine, make plans for a Christmas double-header episode, and give shouts-out to our mums.
References:
- CAST 2017
- Association for Software Testing
- Nods to Twitterers at CAST: Claire Moss, Carol Brands, Josh Gibbs, Griffin Jones, Michael Larsen
- WeTest New Zealand
- Wikipedia: The League of Gentlemen
- Twitter: BBC press office tweet to @DaveChannel
- YouTube: The League of Gentlemen - "Hello Dave"
- Netflix: The League of Gentlemen
- YouTube: Father Ted - Dougal wants to watch Aliens
- Bad Puns and Machine Guns podcast: Commando episode
- YouTube: Rick & Morty: Pickle Rick goes Commando
- YouTube: Deja View: Russia's Identical Remake of Commando (English shot comparison)
- YouTube: D-Day / День Д (Russian 2008 remake of Commando, no subtitles)
- Wikipedia: James Horner
- YouTube: James Horner: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan soundtrack
- YouTube: James Horner: Titanic soundtrack
- YouTube: Conan the Barbarian: Conan punching a camel
- Cover of Creem magazine
- YouTube: Boy George in The A-Team
- Dangerous Minds: Bennett lets off some steam about his Commando character's sexuality
- YouTube: Thunderball: Connery "She's just dead"
- YouTube: All of Arnold Schwarzenegger's puns from Batman & Robin
- YouTube: Q scene from Goldeneye (plaster cast rocket launcher, "that's my lunch")
- YouTube: Q scene from The World Is Not Enough ("never let them see you bleed")
- YouTube: Fast & Furious 6 - "Ride or Die"
- YouTube: Arnold Schwarzengger's recent message for President Trump and Neo-Nazis
- YouTube: The Simpsons: The Cartridge Family (Homer gets a gun)
- YouTube: Twins - "I'll be back"
- YouTube: The Running Man - "I'll be back"
- YouTube: Last Action Hero - "I'll be back"
- Wikipedia: Power Station
- Testers' Island Discs podcast submission form
Dan's testing soundtracks:
Commando scenes and one-liners from YouTube:
- "I was afraid you'd miss me"
- Opening montage (logging, ice-creams and deer, oh my)
- "Wrong"
- "If Matrix was here, he'd laugh too"
- "I'll be ready, John"
- "He's dead tired"
- Mall fight - the "meatbomb" and Tarzan swing
- "I LIED" / "I let him go"
- Motel room fight
- Gearing up on the beach
- Potting shed rampage
- "Let's party"
- "Shoot you between the balls" / "Let off some steam"
- "No chance"
YouTube trailers for films referenced:
- Doctor Who: The Empress of Mars
- The French Connection
- Get Carter
- The Parallax View
- Three Days of the Condor
- A View To A Kill
- Conan the Barbarian
- The Terminator
- 48 HRS
- Predator
- Aliens
- RoboCop
- Scream
- Trainspotting
- Pulp Fiction
- Reservoir Dogs
- Natural Born Killers
- Batman & Robin
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
- The Running Man
- Total Recall
- Die Hard 2
- Predator 2
- Predators
- The A-Team
- The Delta Force
- American Ninja
- Chopping Mall
- Johnny English
- Maggie
- Die Hard
- Beverly Hills Cop
- Mission Impossible II
- Face/Off
- The 6th Day
WE'LL BE BACK in two weeks' time, when Leigh Rathbone is our special guest to discuss the Jim Carrey comedy YES MAN, and his experiences with taking a similar approach to his testing career!
Twitters:
@ScreenTesting
@TheTestDoctor
@neilstudd
Emails:
screentestingpod@gmail.com
Intro music: James Horner - Commando Main Title
Outro music: Power Station - We Fight For Love