Donating a copy of the Dragonlance Chronicles to our studio library. In my search for images, I discovered that the first book was made into an animated movie, back in 2007. Can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it.
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I’m wondering if my sister is right… was I protecting myself from everyone? Is that why I’m avoiding posting anything personal on here or Twitter(identi.ca) or Facebook?
I’m learning!! I swear. Hmmm… what I feel is … I honestly just don’t want to waste people’s time with my “blah blah blah”ing and somehow the links I post somehow feel validated. Makes no sense really.
Words fail me… so maybe that’s why I link. I prefer the piccies.
Ok, there… I’m “blah blah blah”ing… and now you know what I mean.
Yet another reboot. Meaningless? Never. Initializing visual diary.
Did my bi-yearly check on Blender to see if a simplified customizable interface has been implemented yet. Looks like another open source movie is also in the works. This one’s called Durian… like the funky/stinky pod fruit**? No associate intended, I hope.
Blender has some training DVDs coming that look presented, assuming as much work was put into the DVDs as was put into this trailer. Venom’s Lab – Training DVD Teaser from Pablo Vazquez on Vimeo.
** I’ve had the durian fruit a few times. It STINKS… but tastes amazing.
District 9 was a significant film for me for a few different reasons.
- Efficient use of effects. It’s not just what you can do, but how you use it.
- Story with meaning. In a time where films rarely follow their core message… it’s refreshing to see an exception (including Pixar).
- I was almost lucky enough to work on it. Almost. :\
- Oh yeah, and it’s got aliens!
The film was directed by Neill Blomkamp, a Vancouver Film School graduate who is a VFX veteran from The Embassy, who directed the popular Citroen commercial.
Long story short, Neill was supposed to direct the Halo film, but that was put on hold (indefinitely?) and so Peter Jackson assisted Neill in turning his short film, “Alive in Jorberg“. into a feature film. District 9 was green lit with a budget of $30 million.
On September 29th I attended a Siggraph talk with Image Engine, where spoke on the making of District 9. Image Engine was one of a handful of studios in Vancouver that worked on the film. While Image Engine focused on the creation of the “prawn” characters, The Embassy was working on the large robot and little critters. Goldtooth Creative worked on some of the 3D user interfaces shots and WETA, since they were busy with Avatar, was only able to contribute to a few shot elements, including the mothership.
The original intention was to use prosthetic suits for the alien prawns w/ CG face overlays. Peter Muyzers recommended that Image Engine be allowed to create the creatures entirely in 3D. In the end, about 300 alien shots were created by Image Engine. The aliens were acted out by a grey suited actor and then replaced by a CG double, which was created in Maya. It was noted that the grey suit provided a great reference for lighting. Nuke was heavily used in the production as allowed for much of the CG lighting to be adjusted in real-time.
People at Goldtooth and Image Engine both noted how the use of the “Red One” camera sometimes produced warping of the frame during fast camera moves. This was often difficult for the tracking software and forced them to fully recreate the scenes in 3D in order to do touchups. The warping effect was referred to as the “rolling shutter“.
The 300 alien shots felt like a lot more. This and many of the other tricks, including filtering footage through VHS recorders, were testiment to Neill’s efficient use of FX. He understood that 3D is expensive and when some shots were pushed through the pipe, he was quoted saying that the cost was “a snowmobile or 2“. Like Fight Club, Neill used used FX to help tell a story, not a story to show off pretty effects. The crew at Image Engine expressed how much of a benefit it was to have someone directing that spoke their language.
I hope to see more movies like this and nearly everyone who’s seen it agrees. Would Neill be able to produce double the quality with 60 million? Anybody ready for a District 10? We’ll see.
FXGuide has a very detailed breakdown that includes before/after shots organized by studio.
Life likes to poke you in the ribs sometimes. Just when you get comfortable, it reminds you that you’re not happy being content. It reminds you that there’s still so much to explore, to experience, to share.
A piece of software that I’ve been meaning to dive into, recently knocked its price down to 50%, for a limited time. That’s a BIG discount, especially when you consider that the product is over $10k.
Buzz has all those great video tutorials, but not sure where to start. Going to send them an email to see if I can get some help. I would like to just get all the vids.
On top of that, District 9 was released, reminding me how entertaining and educational a movie can be. BLOW SHIT UP, HAVE FUN & DO IT FOR CHEAP!! Film only cost $30 million to make.
Sure glad I have a separate blog for my more personal ramblings. Just need to put more pictures in here.
Semler is one hell of an inspiration entrepreneur. He took his father’s company and converted it into a democratic workplace. Workers vote for who their boss is. The company’s records are open to all employees to view (including the salaries of fellow coworkers). You get the idea.
They have finally made this talk available in a format that doesn’t require RealPlayer. That means I can finally share it!
If you are not inspired, then you must have already lost hope.
Here’s some informative reviews of some of his books:
http://positivesharing.com/2006/05/book-review-the-seven-day-weekend/
These links really helped me get this working.
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26337678
http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/how-to/how-to-stream-any-type-of-video-to-your-playstation-3-046182
http://tversity.com/support/faq/
In the end, my problem was with their software, but it also runs in a browser. That’s how I ended up getting mine to work.
If this is still not working then simply open a browser window and type the URL
http://ip:port/admin(whereipis the address of the machine on which the server is running, it can be localhost when the server and the GUI run on the same machine andportis the port on which the server is listening, this is by default 41952). This should open the GUI inside the browser, and you can now save this shortcut to the desktop and use it from now on to start the GUI.
When 2D feels this close to 3D… er… it is 2D isn’t it?
Patrick Smith, creator of VectorPark, has a new game called Windosill. Procedurally animated characters look over you as you move your little cloud puffing cart through physically dynamic worlds that blur the line between 2D & 3D.
If that didn’t make sense, just do yourself a favor and go checkout Windosill.
If that’s not enough, view some of his older toys at VectorPark.
In case anyone’s curious about how my dance classes are going. I’m having a ball. 😛 Knee slapper… eh?
I wonder often ‘What if?’ I had started sooner, though I don’t regret.
The next few weeks we are having a festival. Themed nights, once every week. Here’s a sample:
Dance Class from Jeremy Szabo on Vimeo.
Everything’s feeling right and I noticed that it stays that way, when my intentions are pure and proven. I takes a hell of a lot of balance and although I think I stumble sometimes, if I relax and just “do” instead of trying too hard to be perfect… it all goes smoothly… though life’s curveballs are a bit tricky.
oh yeah… and…
LOVE YOU, MOM!!!
Here’s some motivation for those of you thinking about doing some ballroom dance. Certainly inspires me.
Now for some killer West Coast Swing action.
The long and hard (couldn’t resist) debate is over. The patient wait for a console system has finally come to an end. I decided to get a PS3. Little Big Planet and Blu-Ray capabilities were big parts of my decision, not to mention that the system is actually QUIET. Last thing I wanted was something that sounded like a noisy PC.
I also got GTA4. Mmmm… Euphoria ragdolls. Going to stick to the sandbox games, for now. Wanted something I could jump in and out of, if time was short. The deal I picked up included a free copy of the collectors edition of Fallout 3. However, I’m seriously doubting I’ll have time to play that game anytime soon… so I might just sell it.
And it feels gOOOooOOood. 😛
Where am I now? I’ve just moved down from Vancouver, BC (aka “Hollywood North”) and am taking my sabbatical in Washington state… about 30 minutes south of Seattle.I’ve been down here for about 2 months now and am still building up momentum. Since I’m working almost entirely in a digital world, I have to fight for some sort of balance with reality. Dance, jogging, cooking, drawing, etc. Jogging is relatively new to me, but I must tell the skeptics out there there that I used to think running was ridiculous, but then I experienced what it was able to do for my mood. Was able to quit my depressive drinking and smoking in days, and feel better for it. Ok, I admit to taking 2-3 drags off a cigarette, here and there.
I do have a primary blog that I’ve been updating for the past few years, though I needed to pull myself away from it in order to gain some freedom in what I can say. You don’t know my name… but you kinda already know my address.
Before the end of the month I need to figure out my next move. I have enough money saved up for almost a year of freedom. I can use this time to veg-out, or I can do something constructive with it. Luckily, I’ve been keeping productive. At first I was plagued with too many unfinished projects, but since I’m now free from the cubical, I am able to see my life much clearer and have made great strides in simplifying things.
Friday night I saw Kevin Smith at “The Centre In Vancouver For Performing Arts”. What night. As usual, Kevin didn’t hold much back, except for some of the personal stories of Joey Adams.
He told us of his new found respect for Walter and Wayne Gretzky and mary jane. Both of which seemed to have made Kevin quite emotional.
The most memorable event was when an audience member, Torrey, asked Kevin if he could help him achieve one of the items on his list of “Things to do before I die.” Specifically, Torrey wanted to know what it would feel like to stand naked in front of a crowd. Kevin certainly used this opportunity to it’s fullest. Someone even caught clips of the event, though the highlight was watching semi-naked Torrey (wearing Kevin’s coat) dive across the stage floor to catch a box of peanut Glossets with his hat.
Here’s the two clips I found:
image by Andrea @ the-mugwump.com
Friday I was feeling pretty worn down and eventually I left work early, at 5pm. Saturday I had to take care of some stuff, and I’m sure it didn’t help my immune system any. Saturday and Sunday I felt like… icky ick. I called into work on Sunday night so, if needed, I give my body the rest it needed.
This morning, at 8:30am the fire alarm was going off. Not the ringing noise you would expect to hear, but the funky Start Trek siren when being targeted by the “Get out of bed boy!” aliens. So much for sleeping in.
I threw some clothes on, deactivated the alarm in my suite and then looked around my apartment thinking, “I have no idea if this is real. If it is real, then what should I grab?”
The solution was actually pretty simple. I grabbed my backup drives. 1TB worth of my work, personal records, 3D projects, demo reel, home movies, photos… etc. This stuff is irreplaceable. It also made me realize that I need to have an off-site backup. When I was about 15 years old, I learned the hard way when my dad’s apartment burned down. In this digital age, you have no excuse for not having backups. Especially considering you can get a 500GB drive for about $100.
I have other important stuff, but most of that is pretty fireproof and (more importantly) water proof.
Good news is, on the walk down the stairwell I ran into the firefighters. They said it was a false alarm that was due to the dust from the construction on the first floor. I went back upstairs, stripped and continued my sleep till 12:30pm.
My only regret: I had my video camera in hand, yet wasn’t recording. I’ve gotta make it a habit to always have it running.
I really have to find out what the little Lego USB camera playsets are called. What better way to get children creating creative content? Working with physical objects, so you’re not trapped behind a computer. Learning about animation, story telling and communication. Lego sets allow you to make almost anything you can think of.
There’s also Spiderman w/ The Peril of Doc Ock (alt ending).
Or maybe some Indiana Solo?
This entry was inspired by this Swedish Playmobil animation. Thanks Cecilia.
So, I started learning Ceroc about 3 weeks ago. It’s basically a modification of modern jive. It’s a hell of a lot of fun and easy to learn. Not intimidating for beginners (like me). However, after three classes, I was a little concerned with the footwork. There really isn’t any. This can be good or bad, depending how you look at it. It’s good, because it’s easier and you can makeup your own style. The focus in Ceroc is the moves. Notice that I capitalized it, that’s because it’s trademarked.
Here’s a video of Ceroc in action. Note: After about $25 and two two hour lessons, you could be doing this. Again, it’s easy and fun.
Anyhow, my goal was to learn more traditional dances styles. I’ve already spent too much of my life, on the dance floor, swinging my arms around like a fool. I’ve been trying to move that dancing to lower parts of my body. That’s what brings me to the private lessons. Last week I met up at one of Vancouver’s premier dance studios for a free consultation. The consultation included 15 minutes of lessons and a little chat about why I’m doing it, what I want to get out of it, etc.
This past Wednesday was my first official 45 minute private lesson. If you have not taking dance lessons before, I cannot stress what a difference it makes to have a little one on one time with a dance instructer (keep sly comments to yourself). You focus on the core steps and you have someone there to make sure you don’t learn incorrectly. Biggest problem I had with big classes, is there’s a lot of potential to learn it wrong, and there’s one thing that’s harding than learning… and that’s unlearning. If you are unsure about certain steps, they discourage you from practicing on your own. My teacher simply said, “You’ll know when you’re ready to practice certain steps on your own.” Again, don’t want to have to spend time unlearning incorrect form.
Today was my first dance party, which was preceded by a 45 minute group lesson. They really do stick to the basics, but this really helps in getting your muscles trained for autopilot. In the group class, it was similar to the style of Ceroc classes, where you’re constantly rotating partners. Anyhow… now the dance party!
So basically all the beginner and intermediate students get together for some dancing. Shy guys like myself are put in a situation where you must ask or be asked to dance. I didn’t shake with fear and I wasn’t pouring with sweat… well, yes I was, but it was the dancing, I swear! I want to get the most out of this, so I made sure I didn’t cower in a corner somewhere. Luckily, there were plenty of teachers there to come by and pull me onto the floor. I asked two people to dance, but I could swear that one of them dozed off while I went through my basic steps. Naw, everyone was pretty cool. Didn’t take too long before I could actually put a little sway into my waltz. I tried getting a little fancy with swing, but quickly noticed myself getting a little lost in the steps when I did. Stay focused! Baby steps, Jeremy.
What basic steps did I learn? Foxtrot, waltz, cha-cha-cha, single & triple swing, ramba and tango. I’m happy to say that I didn’t step on any toes. I have some slick dance shoes that are basically black sneakers w/ dance bottoms. Love sliding around on them. Best sliding I’ve had since… well… since we used to poor bottled water on the ground to loosen up the rave goo.
Speaking of “rave”, I think one of the instructors used to “party”. We had some good talks about music and DJing. Speaking of DJing, I think I’m finally getting my gear and library shipped out to Vancouver.
But I digress.
I’m addicted. I couldn’t wipe the grin off of my face the whole night. I guess I did well, considering every one’s surprise when I said I had one lesson. Though, I’d hate to think what they expected a beginner to be like. OH… I know… I have rhythm. Yay me!
What do I really want to learn? Well, the thing I always loved about swing (other than the swinging) were the steps I saw… which I guess they call the “lindy hop”? Oh my goodness. So many different types of swing. Checkout the footwork and acrobatics.
My heart beateth.
I have a cellphone now. I have it through Koodo. I have no contract and I get charged by the second, not rounded up to the nearest minute. I won’t get into the plan details, but it’s just what I need. Already addicted to this text messaging. Though, I’ve learned my lesson in the past so I won’t be abusing it. The phone is slick. Boy, has technology updated since since I last owned a phone. I have an LG Keybo, which basically looks lke a normal phone, but flips open to a QWERTY keyboard.
I’m moving. Yup, I found my own apartment. My transit time to work has been cut by about 10 minutes and I’m right on top of the library. Everyone knows how I love the Vancouver Public Libarary system. I’m on the 5th floor, facing east. Yes, I finally have a balcony again. Picked up Apartment Therapy from the local interior design store, on Main St. Pretty inspiring stuff in there. They’ve also got a blog worth checking out.
Started taking dance lessons a few weeks back. I’ve been playing around with Ceroc, which is fun. It’s a simple and very chill atmosphere. Don’t even need proper dance shoes. On top of that, I started taking private lessons at one of Vancouver’s premiere dance studios. That place DOES require proper dance shoes, though I got some that are basically sneakers with dance soles. My teacher thought they were neat.
Oh why didn’t I start lessons sooner? Shy? Nervous of looking like a fool? Scared to dance all sweaty palmed with the ladies? Well, I just don’t care anymore… and that alone has cut down on the sweat factor. Teacher is graet and private lessons certainly help aleviate the stress. Though, group lessons and parties are part of the package, so I won’t be babied too much.
Last night I finally discovered the dance style that Cecilia was winning trophies for, back in Sweden. She used to always refer to it as “jive”, but it turns out it’s called “bugg” (pronounced “boog” in Swedish). It’s the fookin Jitterbug!! These steps are what drove me to go checkout swing in the first place! Oh my. Jeremy’s heart skipped a beat. I love that techy step and, in Sweden, they do this dance to a 4/4 beat.
Look at these Swedes rock it out in Halmstad.
Entering altered states of mind. A state of clarity. This is certainly one area that Buddhism has helped my life. How to focus the mind. When you discover just how focused you can be, you realize how noisy your head has always been. I blame the excessive amounts of TV and commercials (gotta blame something, no?) But seriously, our minds are too busy. There’s too many distractions and not enough time to give our minds rest. Even sleep isn’t restful anymore. We go to sleep thinking about our day, or worrying about the day to follow. I can’t tell you how refreshing my rests are now, ever since my late night snacks became a salad, my drinks became water and my mind rested with me focused on my breath.
I highly recommend How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan for a no B.S. summary of the practice. Thanks to Bob F. for that recommendation. Of course, the only real way to truly understand it, is to try it. One 10 minute sitting won’t cut it. If you’re looking for the Buddhist usage of meditation, then Turning the Mind Into an Ally is the book to run to. Both books are under 150 pages, but the second book is a much easier read.
Also, I mustn’t forget techno. 14 years old, laying in bed, with headphones on, entering the world of the grid. A world that would later have its doors thrown open even wider with the use of… other tools. Music prepared me. There’s something about that tribal rhythm that really balances out the mind.
The lead character artist at work told me that he doesn’t watch TV. I asked him how he spends hit time at home. He said he meditates 2-3 hours per night. Wow! Sitting in total silence, just focused on your mind. Most would consider this a waste of time, but if you met this guy, you would think otherwise. He’s always calm and collected.
At the very least, I would like to meditate about 30 minutes per night, and this would not include time the time needed for the sketchbook.
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