Thu, October 27
TV in Marathon Form—4:12 PM
"The New York Times" evaluates the practice of watching certain TV shows in giant chunks in their story "Lost" Weekend. I don't know what's sadder: their interview subjects who say things like "My DVR is my new girlfriend" and compare the Lost DVD box set to a stack of "Playboy" magazines – or the fact that I can completely identify with these statements.
TV shows fall short of movies in a lot of ways, but one way they're much better is time. There's a lot more time to spend with characters – more time for complex relationships, shifting motivations, and glorious, meticulously engineered story arcs (cf. Veronica Mars, season one). Thus, the best TV shows shouldn't be viewed as episodic snippets interrupted by a week of drudgery like sleep, work, and interacting with other people. (It's bad enough they have commercial breaks!) They're best enjoyed as giant, 22-hour mega stories. Of course, this is a pretty unwieldy time commitment, so a season must usually be broken up into smaller chunks.
From the start, I could only watch Alias in two-episode blocks on alternate Sundays, which is still the way I prefer to watch a lot of my favorite shows, like Without a Trace or NUMB3RS. Like Alan Cohen says in the article, the best feeling is to watch one episode with the knowledge that another is waiting in the wings. (There is a downside, though. When Arksie and I made a summer out of 6- to 8-episode Alias mini-marathons, I got hooked on the practice, and now I can't watch that show in blocks of less than six hours. It's one reason I'm still woefully behind on all things Bristow.)
Things have been busy at the onebee compound, so the weekend before last became a TiVo catch-up period by necessity. This begat a delightful new tradition: a marathon of marathons. I had mini-marathons (2-4 episodes) of Surface, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, NUMB3RS, Commander In Chief, Lost, and Threshold. What a joy!
Ignore TiVo for two or three weeks and then get in all your quality time in one uninterrupted, high-intensity weekend session. Name a girlfriend that will do that! (Wow, now that's really sad.)
0 comments with related links
Mon, October 24
Sulking is Not a Strategy
Yikes, the twists! Probst imposes two TribCons on the remaining members of Survivor: Guatemala. If you ask me, they should've had three, or even four! (Read more.)
4 comments with related links
Reinventing the Wheel—3:00 PM
(Har!) As I previously mentioned, the assignment this week is to render a wheel (tire and rim) and light it using image-based lighting. I decided a night scene would be more interesting – and a street scene would be downright imperative.
I took some pictures outside my building last night, created a panorama for the image-based light, and then used another shot for a background. Then I dropped in the tire, which I created in class on Thursday and fine-tuned over the weekend. The match isn't perfect, and there's no shadow – but this assignment is more about lighting than compositing.
The fun part is that with a simpler basic assignment, I was able to devote more time to details. I found a tire tread image online and modified it so that it would wrap around the tire surface, then added a TireCo logo for the side, along with printed information like the size of the tire and the recommended inflation pressure, etc. The shiny rim was kind of a key point in the assignment – you want a reflective surface to show off the environmental details that come from the image-based light. I also was able to design a CarCo logo for the center of the wheel cover, and I built a bump map to give it dimension and reflectivity. (Hopefully this will come in handy for the future – my guess is that the next few weeks will be spent building a car around this tire, and I'll already have a logo for the hood!)
0 comments with related links and photos
Fri, October 21
Image-Based Lighting—11:49 AM
A quickie: one thing we learned in class last night was the concept of image-based lighting. Basically, you apply an image (for example, a photograph of an environment) onto the inside of a big sphere that surrounds your scene. Think of a planetarium, with the stars projected all over the ceiling. Then you render the scene with that as your light source, and it's a quick way to place your rendered objects in an environment with similar lighting properties.
(By the way, I'm committed to a time when onebee is more than just Survivor and 3D graphics. But I do not know when that time will be.)
On a high-budget special effects movie, this photograph would be generated by taking a picture of a mirror ball, which allows the camera to capture a full 360-degree panorama in one shot, which can then be extracted with software to create the surrounding lighting environment. We just use a single picture and hope for the best.
Fiddling around with this, I got very lucky with a snapshot I took this morning in the corner of my office. (Next week's homework assignment is a car tire and rim – we worked on the rim last night which is what you see below.)
I'm particularly pleased with the backlight effect from the window. This is just dumb luck – you can see that the desk lamp doesn't really show up as part of the illumination; I think it's too small in relation to the total size of the scene. Clearly, some photographs lend themselves to image-based lighting better than others. I think my interest in 3D is going to be character animation, not compositing with live action footage. Otherwise I'd just invest in a mirror ball.
0 comments with related links
Thu, October 20
A Model Ship—5:06 PM
The homework assignment for this week's Maya class was to render a sailboat. Originally, I had begun a big, beautiful sailboat based on some designs that I found online, but that became unwieldy when trying to shape the hull without losing its smoothness.
Just as I was wondering how it would ever come together, inspiration struck in the form of the final segment of Monday's Colbert Report. So I decided to model Stephen's model ship. Still quite a challenge, but at least it has a much simpler hull design!
I'm pleased with the results, although of course I'd have liked to add more detail if I had more time. I ended up spending a lot more time on the lighting than I expected to; I learned a lot and I got some impressive results, but this meant I didn't have as much time for creating detailed textures for the ropes or the sails.
1 comment with related links and photos
Mon, October 17
Vote or Die
In Probst's world, Survivor is a two-party system, and Danni is Jim Jeffords. Also: ticks, crocodiles, and monkeys. It's, like, a jungle out there! (Read more.)
0 comments with related links
The Colbert Report - Tonight!—11:21 AM
Don't forget, people! The Colbert Report debuts tonight, right after The Daily Show. I'm familiar with the dangers of the expectation game, but this time I can't help myself. The unfortunate result is that I'll be crestfallen if the awesomeness of this show fails to leave me prone on the floor in a puddle of my own tears and vomit.
Still, chances are that it will! I'm putting tarps down!
3 comments with related links
Thu, October 13
Trailers for Girls
Before In Her Shoes started, the movie companies wanted to show my largely female audience a few things they'd cooked up for them. (Read more.)
0 comments with related links
A Room of One's Own—1:24 PM
At last, my room is finished. Some readers felt that the in-progress rendering from earlier this week seemed a little spare, giving the feeling of an interrogation room. So, I added another lamp (one of those ugly dorm floor lamps, but it was easier to render than something pretty), and I added some art to the walls.
Also, there are new baseboards and carpet where it was previously just bare grey concrete. So, hopefully it feels warmer and more welcoming now. I rendered a few different angles, because the choices are literally limitless which makes it very hard to pick just one.
Finally, to prove I wasn't making it up when I said there was a bomb under the table:
0 comments with related links and photos
Wed, October 12
Let iPod be iPod—11:07 AM
I think the new video iPod is a very stupid move for Apple. I think there will always be some psycho geek-freaks who want to have the newest thing and they'll buy one. But I think most people have no use for a video player the size of an iPod: the screen is too small, and too sensitive to glare and scratching; you can't watch an iPod while doing something else (e.g., jogging), the way you can listen to one; managing the files will be a pain. It's not that it wouldn't be fun to watch Dharma & Greg at the park, but I don't think a significant number of real people feel strongly enough about that to buy a new iPod to do it.
And, obviously I don't know anything, but I'm willing to bet that Apple's market research data is unreliable on this. If you walk through a mall and ask people if they would buy a video iPod, they'll say, "Sure! Where is it? I'll buy it right now!" Everyone expects a video iPod to come out, and they just assume they'll need it. Put those same survey respondents in front of an actual video iPod for $400 or whatever and their enthusiasm will fade pretty fast. "I already have an iPod, and I don't really watch that many videos."
Expect Apple's stock price to go insane after this announcement, which the rumor mills have been chanting about for literally years. Then, six months from now when Apple has hundreds of thousands of unsold video iPods on their hands, watch it hit the floor faster than Tara Reid at an open bar.
I agree with Josh. (Admittedly, when do I not?) To paraphrase his smart and lively post, he says we already have a screen we like watching our videos on: our home TV. Why not make it easier to watch computer-based videos there? Home theatre is a booming industry, and increasing the communication between TV, computer, and stereo plays right into Apple's long term "digital hub" concept. A video-enabled AirPort and an iTunes Video Store would be excellent, but a video iPod? Not really necessary. It has always seemed like it will be the next thing to happen, but nobody stops to think about whether it should. (Not even Apple, trying to beat their competitors to market instead of doing what they usually do – responding to what the market really needs.)
It's no accident that the way technology has evolved, we have different devices that do different things. It might be fun to dream about an all-in-one cell phone/iPod/TiVo/garage door opener/toaster. But practically, it makes a lot more sense to have each of those things separately. You can arrange them how you like; others in your household can use one while you use another; you can upgrade them separately. Who wants to buy a new iPod just because the toaster is on the fritz?
I'm very happy with my iPod, but its strength is its simplicity. It shouldn't store calendar items, contact information, or even a Solitaire game (as fun as that is). It shouldn't store photos and it damn well shouldn't store video. It's a shame, is all. Normally, Apple "gets it," but right now they're distracted by the extraordinary success of the iPod and they're failing to ignore the idiot fan chatter that demands video capacity next. Let PSP be PSP. Let iPod be iPod.
2 comments with related links
Tue, October 11
Can't Beat 'Em? Conmix 'Em!
Mixing the teams up pre-merge just because they're not producing compelling Tribal Council votes. It's been a Survivor tradition ever since Burnett hired Brett Buerck. (Read more.)
0 comments with related links
Chairs in a Room—3:37 PM
It turns out textures are part of the homework, so I put some in. The room is still quite spare, but I wanted to satisfy the basic requirements first and then I hope to go in and add pictures to the walls, carpet, etc. Anyway, just for fun, here's how it looks so far.
The laundromat out the window is totally a cheat – I just slapped a Google image on a flat plane and placed it back there to add some interest.
1 comment with related links
Free RyRen Vids!—10:38 AM
By now you may be aware of a little bit of Internet-based trickery executed by Rob McKittrick, the director of this weekend's gross-out screwball comedy Waiting. If not, you should watch the videos on his blog posts – some of the most entertaining work Luis Guzmán has done in the last decade. (You can skip through the long articles and just head for the video links.)
It's silly, but it's free Ryan Reynolds footage, people! RyRen... sigh.
0 comments with related links
Mon, October 10
The Last Week, The First Cut
As the fall premiere season draws to a close, networks dump their most worthless shows on us, and I start cutting away the fat. (Read more.)
3 comments with related links
Chairs!—11:46 AM
Get used to a lot of entries like this, although hopefully the content will be getting a little more exciting. Last month I began attending a class in 3D rendering for Maya at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood.
This week's homework assignment (due Thursday) is to render a simple room. Wall, window, chairs, table, light. So far, I've designed and built my chairs – which is no small feat. My first attempt was all out of proportion and would be very uncomfortable to sit in. These are nicer – clean, modern lines and a little tilt for comfort. Hopefully I'll have time before class to add textures (color, fabric, etc.), but it's not part of the assignment, so I'll need to focus on my table and wall first.
By the way, how fun that Thursday is "Maya Night!" – after learning Maya for three hours in the evening, I race home and watch Survivor: Guatemala – The Maya Empire on TiVo. Har.
5 comments with related links
Wed, October 5
Underway at Turner Field!—1:11 PM
I have to tell you, this once-a-year schedule with the baseball playoffs is timed out just about perfect. I get too busy/distracted/bored to watch every single Braves game over a whole year, but once each fall, that perfect storm of homesickness and nostalgia sets in and it's fun to watch the Bravos make their annual not-quite-successful attempt to get to the World Series.
And now, game one of the Braves-Astros NLDS grudge match. Bring it on!
(Yay! A strike!)
Update: Ugh. 10-5 Astros. I'm beginning to realize why I've been so fond of Stephenie on Survivor.
0 comments
Tue, October 4
Let's Get Physical
Amy twists her ankle, Lydia pulls at our heartstrings, and Danni takes a pole to the head – again, and again, and again. The Survivor infirmary would be overflowing – except they have a dirty mud pit where their infirmary should be. (Read more.)
1 comment with related links
Con-Fused—5:09 PM
My grammar question from July has been answered on the Vine, the advice column of the venerable Sars (of Tomato Nation and Television Without Pity fame). I'm in for some free pens, and I've been schooled on my usage of "cf." which has been mostly accurate, but sometimes strays from its specific intended purpose.
(You'll need to scroll down – a little past the halfway point.)
0 comments with related links
Jon Stewart Interview—1:52 PM
Jon Stewart in "The Guardian":
The difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is the difference between driving towards a brick wall and trying to avoid hitting a deer. The Democrats appear to try to avoid hitting things that might dart out in front of them. Whereas the Republicans clearly have plotted a road and if there's something in their way, they're just going to blow it up. Sometimes literally.
Most of the article is an overlong description of what The Daily Show is, but the above quote is classic Stewart: observant, gently witty analysis. Like his comparison between the mainstream media and a children's soccer team.
1 comment
Mon, October 3
Bizarro World
Which is more realistic – a female U.S. president, or a werewolf on a killing spree in Los Angeles? The answer may surprise you. (Read more.)
5 comments with related links
© onebee · all rights reserved