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Archive for the '3D/Animation' Category

Surface Season 2 and others…

Ok I just finished watching yet another of a great series of television shows that got canceled. Quality television is being destroyed by the new crap list of reality show filth that is polluting out televisions.

The show that has gotten me so outraged again was the 2006 cancellation of Surface after 15 episodes and a cliff hanger ending that left us fans begging for more. I feel like screaming at the executives of NBC and wring their necks until they at least finish the series off. I have watched this series 3 times now and each time I have trouble conceiving what pencil pushing MORON made the decision to not continue the show. This series had quality acting, a GREAT story, intellectual stimulating content, phenomenal characters and even a lovable CG seas monster named “NIM(rod)” the show had it all. So why did it get canceled after only one season?

The answer is simple the onslaught of the reality crap such as Americas Next Top Model, Bachelor, Big Brother giving people a glimmer of hope that they too could be on television disgusts me to know end. Have we become such a pathetic and brainless group of television viewers that we can’t even enjoy a plot based story any more. We are reduced to escaping our dreary lives by living through the filth blatantly scripted so called reality TV.

I for one HATE “reality” television shows I miss the good old days of TV in the 80’s when we had shows that we could enjoy even though we know that they could never happen. Lately there have been so many great shows that have been canceled after only 1 or two seasons that I am losing all faith in television. Threshold, Special Unit 2, Surface, Traveler, Drive and many other shows that never got a chance because the majority of the population that make up the rating are two busy dreaming about being the next no talent singer on “American Idol”.

I have also made an open offer to donate MY and MY companies time to help with production of Surface Season 2 if need be to help get this show back on the air. I am capable of putting together CG animation and Editing/Compositing Teams to complete post production for the show if the filming of episodes was completed and raw tapes handed over to us. Well that is my rant about television if you want to help try and get Surface back on the air visit these sites to help drive traffic and signatures into the hand of the people that can make it happen.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Surface/

http://www.tv.com/surface/show/32412/surface-season-2/topic/14502-228705/msgs.html

http://www.savesurface.com/phpBB2/index.php

Posted in 3D/Animation, Personal, Rants&Thoughts, Reviews | No Comments »

Working in 3D again

Well after a couple of years of web design and DVD production I am again working on a 3D project. Racerocks Digital is working on an upcoming television series and has asked me to help with modeling and preparation of the 3D cars that will be used in the series. Once aired I will post some images of the work and a video sample from the show.

It’s so good to be back into the CG scene again. I look forward to more work in the future. Web design will of course always be available through my company Mk2 Solutions. But my passion has been 3D for Television and Film. The show we have been working on with RaceRocks Digital is called Fringe by J. J. Abrams.

Posted in 3D/Animation, Business | No Comments »

Dragonlance(2008) Movie Review

Well the much anticipated release of Dragonlance - Dragons of Autumn Twilight was On Jan 15th. I have finally had a chance to see it. Here is my review of the film (no spoilers).

Casting - The major members of the party are the only ones that I will be rating.

Michael Rosenbaum - Tanthalas ‘Tanis’ Half-Elven (voice) Rating - 3/5
Kiefer Sutherland - Raistlin Majere (voice) - Rating 5/5
Lucy Lawless - Goldmoon (voice) - Rating 4/5
Fred Tatasciore - Flint Fireforge / Fewmaster Toede (voice) Flint Rating 1/5 Fewmaster Rating 4/5
Michelle Trachtenberg - Tika (voice) - Rating 3/5
Rino Romano - Caramon Majere (voice) - Rating 0/5 WTF Someone had a brain fart here.
Jason Marsden - Tasslehoff Burrfoot (voice) - Rating 3/5
Neil Ross - Fizban The Fabulous (voice) - Rating 2/5
Marc Worden - Sturm Brightblade (voice) - Rating 2/5
Phil LaMarr - Riverwind / Gilthanas (voice) - Rating 3/5

The Good

Finally there is a release of a movie based on a book that kept so true to the story. The unfortunate thing with this movie is that the rest of the production did not live up to the potential of the story. Here are the reasons for the previous statement.

The Bad

  1. Poor blend of 3D and traditional animation styles. This is a tricky method of producing a film and this one was just not done right. The stylized characters did not match the CG Draconians and Dragons in the film.
  2. Awkward animation, very jerky and not fluid. With todays technology including motion-capture and photo realistic rendering It’s disappointing that a story with such potential ended up looking the way this production did. It looked like animation from the 80’s reminiscent of the original LOTR Cartoon.
  3. Poor camera work and angles. This stems back to the poor blend of 2D and 3D animation techniques. With 3D techniques there is no limit to the work with the camera. Why this production did not make use of the available technology today is beyond me.
  4. Poor selection of music for the score, not much else I can say about that.
  5. Acting, with the list of actors in the movie I would have expected better voice acting. It seemed like the actors had no emotional bond with the characters. Very much like reading from a script and not living the part.

Overall I have to fail this movie considering the era of its release. If released in the 80’s this movie might have been acceptable but as an animator and artist myself I am extremely disappointed in the production quality of the film. I was hoping for so much more :(

Posted in 3D/Animation, Personal, Reviews | 7 Comments »

Top 80 things to do at animation studio

Top 80 Things to Do While Working at a CG Company…
Compiled by Unknown

1. Complain about what a fool your producer is.

2. Complain about how stupid your client is.

3. Toss around made-up words like “variance” and “multi bias” to confuse your producer and client; laugh about it behind their back.

4. Challenge coworkers to “Wrestle for Rendering Time”.

5. Complain about ILM.

6. Send your reel to ILM.

7. Complain about how little money you make.

8. Insist that “TD” stands for “Top Dog”.

9. Stop by company owner’s office every morning, announce “Employee 17 reporting for duty!”

10. Wait.

11. Start renders on other people’s machines

12. Play your favorite AIFF file of Herve Villachez on other people’s machines.

13. Shake your head, repeat “Sounds like carpal tunnel to me”.

14. Hack your neighbor’s .CSHRC, deny it was you when you’re accused of it.

15. Change your least favorite person’s login icon to a picture of Don Knotts

16. Constantly insist that CD stands for Carnal Desire.

17. Insist that you worked on T2.

18. Taunt your mouse.

19. Call 7-Eleven, insist they deliver.

20. Slowly ramp down a co-workers gamma to black over the course of the day.

21. Insist that your business card be printed with job title “Digital Stud”

22. Write top 50 lists.

23. Learn every line from every Monty Python movie, prove your knowledge.

24. Throw fruit.

25. Mail nasty letters to the boss from through someone elses e-mail account.

26. Carry around a suction cup gun so you go around shooting all the monitor screens.

27. Go to someone elses office, lean their phone receiver’s ear piece against the screen until the colors are permanently shifted.

28. On the night before delivery, change the paths for the texture directories on someone elses’ project.

29. Play Network Doom.

30. Wait.

31. Repeatedly peer over cubicle wall, shriek “Peek-a-Boo!!!”

32. When boss brings around visitors to your area, hide under desk and make kitten noises.

33. Shout “Eureka!!” every time you press the Enter key.

34. Refuse to enter your machine in the render que for religious reasons.

35. Bring candied apples to yearly review.

36. Leave tunafish sandwich in desk drawer, sniff suspiciously at anyone that stops by your desk.

37. Secretly replace office coffee brand with Folger’s Crystals.

38. “Sacrifice” doughnut to “Voltar, 5 Headed god of Vertex Shading”.

39. Leer at office receptionist, propose private session of “motion capture”.

40. When watching TV or movies with co-workers, claim to have done an internship at that company. Drop names.

41. Claim to have written your own programming language, but it was stolen by “that damn Bill Gates”.

42. Do Tai Chi while standing on top of desk.

43. Scooch around office rug to build up static electricity, then demand $5 or you’ll zap the Reality Engine.

44. Wear flowing black cape, only work at night

45. Flip eyelids inside out, run down the hallway screaming “THE GAMMA RAYS!!! AAAAAAAAA!!!”

46. When ever someone asks you “How’d you do that?”, answer them, “I learned this demonology from Doug Henning, master illusionist!”

47. Be a devoted fan of “Babylon 5″.

48. Wait.

49. Drink Jolt and eat Skittles all day, act like “Cornholio”.

50. Before critique, replace animation reel with episode of “Baywatch”, see if they notice.

51. Blare porno soundtrack music from your stereo, claim it’s “inspiring”.

52. Create super heros with the qualities of your profession called, “Mouse Ass and Gamma Head”.

53. Tell everyone you were in Toy Story, “I played the cowboy”.

54. Program someone else’s machine to say “I love you” in the low baritone voice of Barry White every time he clicks on the mouse.

55. Go around the office and “mark your territory”.

56. Wear scuba suit and carry frisbee around office, claim to be “TRON”, here to save the users.

57. Roll up your pants and roll down your socks. Say you’re just pretending, then walk in circles repeatedly.

58. While in the bathroom, start singing that spider song. When you get to “climbs up the water spout”, yell “Ooooowwwwwww! I think she just laid her eggs!”

59. When you know someone is standing behind you or looking at you, start picking your nose and sing “Some of these things are not like the other…” Then suddenly turn their way and show them that it’s the truth.

60. Squirt Krazy Glue on coworkers mouse, watch the zanyness that ensues.

61. Watch “Showgirls” in the editing room, argue that it’s for reference.

62. Every day at lunch, stand atop your desk and slowly ungilate as you play “air guitar” to the sounds of Enya and the sound track to Jurassic Park.

63. Have toilet paper dispenser installed in your office. Tell people “It’s in case of System Failure”

64. Use your office as a garage to store your Gardening Equipment.

65. Wait.

66. Rent Advertisment space on the front of your desk to Kraft. Your desk would read, “…It’s the Cheesiest!”

67. Tell your producer that if he wants you to work faster, you must be spanked.

68. Throw a dart at a world map and wherever the dart lands, send e-mail to that country all day trying to make “net” friends.

69. Have a blatantly re-touched photo on your desk of you and Steven Spielberg baking cookies together.

70. Remove all your clothing, claim that you must be as one with your SGI.

71. Hide video recording of project night before due date, force producers to solve a series of fiendish puzzles to find it.

72. Make co-workers mouse ultra sensitive so the arrow on the screen moves at supersonic speeds and is too fast to be visible to the human eye.

73. Wait.

74. Use 3d digitizer to encode your butt. Try to sneak this model into all company projects.

75. Dress like Oliver Twist, ask boss for more coal.

76. Sit in bathroom stall and bellow “CORE DUMP!!!”

77. Giggle whenever anybody says “Unix”

78. Sneak in to someones empty office, smear honey on the telephone’s receiver, go back to your office and when the other person returns to his office, call him and try to speak to him about a serious topic like the environment or ask him if he’s seen your jar of honey.

79. Dream about that ever-elusive 79th thing to do.

80. One word: Lambada!

Posted in 3D/Animation, Computers, Humour/Jokes | No Comments »

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