It’s funny. I’m the kind of web designer/developer that has to have some kind of background noise going when I’m in front of my computer. When I had my house I had a whole den with my computer, recliner and tv. The recliner is deadly though. Just one look and you’re snoring. But having the tv on while I was working was enough. Except of course for commercials. They just annoy the piss out of me.

But, now I’m in an apartment and the 3rd bedroom that I’m using for my “office” isn’t really big enough for all the stuff I used to have in my den. And that’s quite alright. I’ve found that I love listening to dvd’s while I’m working. I actually have 2 monitors connected to my computer. I use my 22″ while working and play dvd’s on a dinky 15″. The smaller monitor is over in the corner, where I can still see it, but it’s not a distraction. When I need a distraction, I actually just sit back in my chair and watch the dvd for a few minutes. As I said, the purpose of the dvd isn’t for watching: it’s to listen to. I’ve seen most of them so many times I can pretty much recite them line by line. The best part about them is I can rip them to my computer and then create playlists which means no commercials.    

When I’m working I try to pick videos that have a good soundtrack. I can tune out dialogue quite easily, but I get hooked on the music. Animal House (1978) is a great example. They have so much old rock ‘n roll that I can almost type to the beat. With so many snappy one-liners (“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”), I don’t have to tune out of the dialogue because there isn’t anything to follow. Great movie to work by. The Blues Brothers (1980) is another good one. It has good music and so many classic one-liners (“We’re on a mission from God”). This is one of those movies that I can pretty much recite word for word.

There I go again showing I’m stuck in the 80′s!

Of course there are others from the 70′s and 80′s like Caddyshack (1980), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Beetlejuice (1988). I must admit though that I’ve been getting rather hooked on Johnny Depp and work while playing several of his movies, too. Sweeney Todd (2007) has recently become a regularly played movie. Because it’s a musical, almost all of the dialogue is sung, making it a little bit easier to keep up with. Another of Depp’s would be Sleepy Hollow (1999), and let’s not forget Pirates of the Caribbean – Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Sleepy Hollow is ok, but I love listening to the sword fighting in PoC. My favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie to work by is, of course, Psycho (1961). Again, it’s a movie I’ve seen a bajillion times, but it’s that music that gets me in gear.

When I’ve had enough of my movies, I’ll log in to Hulu.com and watch some shows on there; right now my queue is full of the Alfred Hitchcock tv shows. Those I enjoy simply for his introductions and station breaks. Unfortunately though, when I choose to watch something on Hulu, I can’t fully concentrate on what I’m working on. Most of the time when I’m playing games or chatting or emailing I’ll have Hulu running.

Speaking of working…I’m in the process of redeveloping an existing online game, New Sovereignty. I have quite a bit of work left to do and I really should get back to it now. Maybe in a follow-up post I’ll provide a list of all the dvd’s I use while I’m working. Who knows? Maybe they’ll help you, too!