So there must be at least a few of you here who have seen 'Total Recall'? ....remember that scene where the receptionist is using a pen to pick colours from a palette and then painting her finger nails?
Behold.....that future is nigh!
RGB concept colour picker pen
Showing posts with label robert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label robert. Show all posts
15 September 2010
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2 September 2010
Azur and Asmar: A Prince's Quest
I saw this film last week, it's the kind of film i'd loved to have seen growing up along with other fantasy films like Labyrinth, Krull and The Thief of Baghdad. It's about two guys (one caucasian, the other middle-east asian) who grow up together under the same carer; who tells them stories of an old myth about the Djinn Fairy and how she promised to marry the person who freed her from her glass prison.
The boys become rivals from the get go, each claiming to to seek out the Djinn Fairy and free her. What follows is that journey....
This film is another from director Michel Ocelot, whom also made my previously reviewed film 'Kirikou and the Sorceress'. The style is very much the same, however, this film has been created in 3D and the use of bold colours with almost no shadows at all gives it a vectorised look.
I'd say that it probably wasn't a great film worthy of a dozen awards because it looks pretty good and the story is about average, but this is the kind of film that I would want to show my children. What I really love about Ocelot's work is the message that it carries, both this film and the Kirikou film contain an important (and simple to understand) moral message which the storyline ultimately drives towards, and I hope that he continues to make more films like this in the future.
They are French movies dubbed into English so unfortunately there are other works of his which are available only in the native tongue (without subs) and I hope that the various film councils and committees out there will be able to bring those works to us.
If any of you have access to the Sky Arts channels (they're free channels so should hopefully be on freeview, etc.) then keep an eye out as both 'Azur and Asmar' and 'Kirikou and the Sorceress' are often listed on rotation.
The boys become rivals from the get go, each claiming to to seek out the Djinn Fairy and free her. What follows is that journey....
This film is another from director Michel Ocelot, whom also made my previously reviewed film 'Kirikou and the Sorceress'. The style is very much the same, however, this film has been created in 3D and the use of bold colours with almost no shadows at all gives it a vectorised look.
I'd say that it probably wasn't a great film worthy of a dozen awards because it looks pretty good and the story is about average, but this is the kind of film that I would want to show my children. What I really love about Ocelot's work is the message that it carries, both this film and the Kirikou film contain an important (and simple to understand) moral message which the storyline ultimately drives towards, and I hope that he continues to make more films like this in the future.
They are French movies dubbed into English so unfortunately there are other works of his which are available only in the native tongue (without subs) and I hope that the various film councils and committees out there will be able to bring those works to us.
If any of you have access to the Sky Arts channels (they're free channels so should hopefully be on freeview, etc.) then keep an eye out as both 'Azur and Asmar' and 'Kirikou and the Sorceress' are often listed on rotation.
Photogram workshop
On sunday I went to the 'Noise Lab' in Manchester as a magazine group called 'One Five Eight' were holding a workshop on how to produce photograms, initially I thought I was going to be the only one who turned up as I was sat alone for a while composing my first experimental piece, but when I came out of the dark room after producing my first piece a few more people had arrived.
It was quite fun, there was a good mixture of people my age and also children getting involved and when I was talking with one of the team in the dark room she wasn't sure if there would be enough supplies to last the whole day....in other words it was quite a success.
Essentially we were all sat around a long table with all sorts of items in bowls at its center, marbles, toys, light bulbs, stationary, buttons, and more random things which we could just grab and compose our pieces with and then one-by-one we took our boards (steadily...trying not to wobble the items on top) into the dark room to develop the photogram.
I have done a little work in a dark room before, when I went to college first time around about 10 years ago we had the chance to take a short course from a given list and Photography was one of them. During my time at high school and also this college I had been refused the opportunity to study anything art related because the curriculum forbid both music and art to be studied together and I was forced to choose one....so I jumped at the chance to do some photography. It was a lot of fun taking photos and then developing our negatives into actual prints in a dark room.
Sunday's workshop reminded me of this.....
As we each put together our pieces we had to wait until the person currently in the dark room had finished before we could then do our own again, I had put together another wreckless piece whilst waiting for my turn again but because the wait was so long I decided to wipe the board clean and create something properly. At that moment when I was looking for things to use I spotted a toy lion and an image from a video game sprung to mind, so I decided to make a piece relative to that. I quite like how it turned out.
It was quite fun, there was a good mixture of people my age and also children getting involved and when I was talking with one of the team in the dark room she wasn't sure if there would be enough supplies to last the whole day....in other words it was quite a success.
Essentially we were all sat around a long table with all sorts of items in bowls at its center, marbles, toys, light bulbs, stationary, buttons, and more random things which we could just grab and compose our pieces with and then one-by-one we took our boards (steadily...trying not to wobble the items on top) into the dark room to develop the photogram.
I have done a little work in a dark room before, when I went to college first time around about 10 years ago we had the chance to take a short course from a given list and Photography was one of them. During my time at high school and also this college I had been refused the opportunity to study anything art related because the curriculum forbid both music and art to be studied together and I was forced to choose one....so I jumped at the chance to do some photography. It was a lot of fun taking photos and then developing our negatives into actual prints in a dark room.
Sunday's workshop reminded me of this.....
As we each put together our pieces we had to wait until the person currently in the dark room had finished before we could then do our own again, I had put together another wreckless piece whilst waiting for my turn again but because the wait was so long I decided to wipe the board clean and create something properly. At that moment when I was looking for things to use I spotted a toy lion and an image from a video game sprung to mind, so I decided to make a piece relative to that. I quite like how it turned out.
14 July 2010
Childhood impacts - Definative cartoons
I've always believed that the imagery, music and stories that you're subjected to in your early years are an major part of what goes into making up personality, and being a film fan since an early age i've always considered those things to be the original source that ignited my imagination and creativity.
I often like to think back and remember some of the things that I found exciting, inspiring or magical at the time and revisit them to see how I feel about them now. I might do a few posts relating to this on different themes, but my main reason for this post was that I have recently been reminiscing about the old Hanna/ Barbera and Warner Bros. cartoons that I used to watch as a kid and I wanted to narrow down some of my favourites.
Unfortunately they don't seem to show a great deal of the old classics thesedays which I think is a shame because the kids watching cartoons now will be missing out on some of the earliest and greatest animations.....then again, this may just be me being an old geezer.
Anyhoos, in the pursuit of trying to think which was my favourite cartoon I remembered numerous shorts of Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, the Donald Duck WWII propaganda cartoons and others. I also recall a favourite which featured a futuristic house with buttons everywhere to activate things....i'm sure Elmer Fudd or Sylvester was in it....
....But....
There are two cartoons in particular which have always remained with me, and I managed to find both on YouTube. I'm not surprised watching them again why I loved them so much, it makes perfect sense.
The first is a Popeye short called 'Big Bad Sinbad' from 1957, and as the title suggests it is themed around Sinbad the Sailor. I realise seeing it now why I liked it so much, i've always loved the old arabian Sinbad movies (,'Thief of Baghdad', etc.) and the cartoon captures the mood (in particular the music) perfectly.
The second is quite possibly my favourite cartoon of all time, it is a Tom & Jerry short from 1945 called 'Mouse in Manhattan' and in fact doesn't feature Tom hardly at all. Watching it again now I feel just as inspired and enchanted as I did all those years ago, and I realise that one of the reasons I love this cartoon so much is because i've always liked the look of New York in the 50s....the styles and sounds relating to films such as 'On the Town', 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.
Once scene in particular, the broken candlestick and the dancing with dolls, is one that will always stay with me.
I often like to think back and remember some of the things that I found exciting, inspiring or magical at the time and revisit them to see how I feel about them now. I might do a few posts relating to this on different themes, but my main reason for this post was that I have recently been reminiscing about the old Hanna/ Barbera and Warner Bros. cartoons that I used to watch as a kid and I wanted to narrow down some of my favourites.
Unfortunately they don't seem to show a great deal of the old classics thesedays which I think is a shame because the kids watching cartoons now will be missing out on some of the earliest and greatest animations.....then again, this may just be me being an old geezer.
Anyhoos, in the pursuit of trying to think which was my favourite cartoon I remembered numerous shorts of Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, the Donald Duck WWII propaganda cartoons and others. I also recall a favourite which featured a futuristic house with buttons everywhere to activate things....i'm sure Elmer Fudd or Sylvester was in it....
....But....
There are two cartoons in particular which have always remained with me, and I managed to find both on YouTube. I'm not surprised watching them again why I loved them so much, it makes perfect sense.
The first is a Popeye short called 'Big Bad Sinbad' from 1957, and as the title suggests it is themed around Sinbad the Sailor. I realise seeing it now why I liked it so much, i've always loved the old arabian Sinbad movies (,'Thief of Baghdad', etc.) and the cartoon captures the mood (in particular the music) perfectly.
The second is quite possibly my favourite cartoon of all time, it is a Tom & Jerry short from 1945 called 'Mouse in Manhattan' and in fact doesn't feature Tom hardly at all. Watching it again now I feel just as inspired and enchanted as I did all those years ago, and I realise that one of the reasons I love this cartoon so much is because i've always liked the look of New York in the 50s....the styles and sounds relating to films such as 'On the Town', 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.
Once scene in particular, the broken candlestick and the dancing with dolls, is one that will always stay with me.
23 June 2010
Work experience
Those of you who follow my random amusements on facebrick or twatter might have noticed that I was ever so slightly crapping myself about my interview yesterday regarding some work experience. It went alright....I didn't crap myself.
It's a studio in one of the old 'Cottonopolis' renovated mills in Ancoats going by the name of 'Studio Distract', they seem to focus mostly on 3D animated projects but claim not to specialise in any one medium and they also do film production and interactive work.
When I arrived the team were sat together on a sofa watching TV and the studio owner pulled up a bean bag for me to sit on, in fact they were actually in a production meeting watching back their footage to date (a 3D animation for kids) and he asked if I could just wait and watch until they had finished. It was a good 30-40 minutes that I was sat there but the experience of observing this process was good to see, they were playing through the sequence shot-by-shot and picking out elements that needed to be reworked or tweaked....right down to the very finest of details.
It was just like the presentation days really....
Once they'd finished this and made a list of things that needed to be done, the various tasks were distributed amongst the team members and then they were off. At which point I had my meeting with the owner, we basically talked about where i'm at and he decided that instead of just spending a week in the studio shadowing people on their current project it would be better for me to be on-call as I explained that i'll be free for most of the time until the 2nd year begins. So what they're going to do is let me know when there is something specific happening on particular days (such as video production, motion capture, animating, etc.) so that I can come in and get involved.....this way I can get a more varied experience into the different areas.
I'm particularly looking forward to seeing the process of motion capturing as this is something i've been trying to find out about recently with little luck, he was telling me about this new kind of sensory suit they use which means that you don't have to mess around with those blobs on all the joints.
I had picked up all my work from college before heading to the studio so he noticed the big folder that I was carrying and asked me if I wanted him to have a look at some stuff, I just showed him one of my work books and some mood boards telling him the process in which we've been working and I asked a few questions in relation to it to see how they as professionals do things....this was pretty interesting and he gave me some pointers which made a lot of sense to me.
So it went pretty well initially and i'm looking forward to getting involved.
Not so sure if i'll be much use with any of the 3D aspects although I think they use After Effects to animate so that could be interesting as i'm quite confident with this now. I am at the moment trying to learn the very basics of 3D though so it could be worthwhile seeing some of the process in action....hopefully if I can get my head around the basics then I may incorporate this into my 2nd year work....where appropriate.
It's a studio in one of the old 'Cottonopolis' renovated mills in Ancoats going by the name of 'Studio Distract', they seem to focus mostly on 3D animated projects but claim not to specialise in any one medium and they also do film production and interactive work.
When I arrived the team were sat together on a sofa watching TV and the studio owner pulled up a bean bag for me to sit on, in fact they were actually in a production meeting watching back their footage to date (a 3D animation for kids) and he asked if I could just wait and watch until they had finished. It was a good 30-40 minutes that I was sat there but the experience of observing this process was good to see, they were playing through the sequence shot-by-shot and picking out elements that needed to be reworked or tweaked....right down to the very finest of details.
It was just like the presentation days really....
Once they'd finished this and made a list of things that needed to be done, the various tasks were distributed amongst the team members and then they were off. At which point I had my meeting with the owner, we basically talked about where i'm at and he decided that instead of just spending a week in the studio shadowing people on their current project it would be better for me to be on-call as I explained that i'll be free for most of the time until the 2nd year begins. So what they're going to do is let me know when there is something specific happening on particular days (such as video production, motion capture, animating, etc.) so that I can come in and get involved.....this way I can get a more varied experience into the different areas.
I'm particularly looking forward to seeing the process of motion capturing as this is something i've been trying to find out about recently with little luck, he was telling me about this new kind of sensory suit they use which means that you don't have to mess around with those blobs on all the joints.
I had picked up all my work from college before heading to the studio so he noticed the big folder that I was carrying and asked me if I wanted him to have a look at some stuff, I just showed him one of my work books and some mood boards telling him the process in which we've been working and I asked a few questions in relation to it to see how they as professionals do things....this was pretty interesting and he gave me some pointers which made a lot of sense to me.
So it went pretty well initially and i'm looking forward to getting involved.
Not so sure if i'll be much use with any of the 3D aspects although I think they use After Effects to animate so that could be interesting as i'm quite confident with this now. I am at the moment trying to learn the very basics of 3D though so it could be worthwhile seeing some of the process in action....hopefully if I can get my head around the basics then I may incorporate this into my 2nd year work....where appropriate.
8 June 2010
Top-up failage
I've been having a little shufty around the video games courses offered by MMU and Salford University over the last few days, and i'm a bit concerned at this stage to be honest. I've e-mailed the course leader of the MMU course to ask for some general advice and offered a little bit of information regarding my situation that he might be able to comment on, the concern is regarding a top-up year.
Based on the information provided on both university's websites, it seems that whilst the first year of the 3 year course covers the general principles of design they also teach a basic grounding in programming. So i'm assuming that they wouldn't accept any foundation students bypassing this and going straight onto the 2nd year.....but i'm not sure which is why i've enquired about it.
I've been looking at some profiles of people on LinkedIn who work in games though and quite a few seem to have come through via other pathways, so it's still all out in the open.
The main concern is that the media courses seem to be focused more towards television broadcasting....a bit too detached from where i'm wanting to be.
Based on the information provided on both university's websites, it seems that whilst the first year of the 3 year course covers the general principles of design they also teach a basic grounding in programming. So i'm assuming that they wouldn't accept any foundation students bypassing this and going straight onto the 2nd year.....but i'm not sure which is why i've enquired about it.
I've been looking at some profiles of people on LinkedIn who work in games though and quite a few seem to have come through via other pathways, so it's still all out in the open.
The main concern is that the media courses seem to be focused more towards television broadcasting....a bit too detached from where i'm wanting to be.
The lone nut
Recently I setup a facebook group for Kung Fu film fans in my area of Greater Manchester, it's something that i've been planning on doing for a few years now. The aim is to get a proper group website organised but I am using facebook to rally numbers initially, if it takes off and quite a number of people join then i'm hoping that people will be encouraged to start up screenings and events. But at the moment the numbers aren't growing and no one is passing on the word.
It is quite de-motivating when you don't see the numbers change at all, and also when fans who do join the group don't tell others about it....i've started putting up adverts for it on places like Gumtree and i'm going to hit some of the martial arts film forums and plug it there also. Hopefully that will generate some numbers for it.
However, my brother showed me this video earlier on of why I should persist with it even if the numbers don't grow for a while.....because they will grow eventually.
Watch it, it's quite amazing how the trend catches on after the third person joins in.
oh, and if you know any peeps in the area who are into martial arts movies....do us a favour and tell 'em to join the group. ;)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128924747134055&ref=nf
It is quite de-motivating when you don't see the numbers change at all, and also when fans who do join the group don't tell others about it....i've started putting up adverts for it on places like Gumtree and i'm going to hit some of the martial arts film forums and plug it there also. Hopefully that will generate some numbers for it.
However, my brother showed me this video earlier on of why I should persist with it even if the numbers don't grow for a while.....because they will grow eventually.
Watch it, it's quite amazing how the trend catches on after the third person joins in.
oh, and if you know any peeps in the area who are into martial arts movies....do us a favour and tell 'em to join the group. ;)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128924747134055&ref=nf
1 June 2010
Manufactured Landscapes
I watched this docu-film yesterday called 'Manufactured Landscapes', it was basically a display of the work by a photographer called Edward Burtynsky who captures scenes affected by technology. Mainly in China.
It's quite an interesting to watch if you get the chance, but if you can't be bothered then i'll just post the intro to the film which is what I found amazing. It's just one continuous shot from one end of a factory to the other showing people working, but it goes on forever....it's like that factory from Indiana Jones which goes on for miles.
I wonder how long it'd take to get to know everyone working here?!
....I realise now why everything has 'Made in China' written on it. WOW.
I just looked this up and it turns out it won a few awards, if you have access to the SKY Arts channel then it's currently doing the rounds on there....so have a ganders.
It's quite an interesting to watch if you get the chance, but if you can't be bothered then i'll just post the intro to the film which is what I found amazing. It's just one continuous shot from one end of a factory to the other showing people working, but it goes on forever....it's like that factory from Indiana Jones which goes on for miles.
I wonder how long it'd take to get to know everyone working here?!
....I realise now why everything has 'Made in China' written on it. WOW.
I just looked this up and it turns out it won a few awards, if you have access to the SKY Arts channel then it's currently doing the rounds on there....so have a ganders.
14 May 2010
No more MMU sessions
Just for those of you who didn't turn up to this weeks MMU lecture (all of you!), we have now finished our lectures at MMU.
"But Robert, according to my chart we have a speaker coming in from Factory Records next week...."
Oh yeah? ....well, in what felt like a disappointing repetition of last weeks general election we had a vote. Either we come in for the guest talk from Mr. Factory Records....or we stay home and get on with our assignments for Mike (which in translation = skyve). Of course I was screwed over again by my fellow students and I was one of only three people who voted to have the guest. Cheers.
So that's it....bye bye MMU.
"But Robert, according to my chart we have a speaker coming in from Factory Records next week...."
Oh yeah? ....well, in what felt like a disappointing repetition of last weeks general election we had a vote. Either we come in for the guest talk from Mr. Factory Records....or we stay home and get on with our assignments for Mike (which in translation = skyve). Of course I was screwed over again by my fellow students and I was one of only three people who voted to have the guest. Cheers.
So that's it....bye bye MMU.
6 May 2010
Twisted Nerve
I was a bit irritated about todays lecture with Richard Haynes, not regarding the guest himself because I found his talk very interesting and actually quite scary in way...because of how someone with skills like his could be out of work. In particular I found his point about the difference in frame rates at Cosgrove Hall and Aardman quite amazing....
....but I was irritated. Each pathway has had a guess speaker come in and talk about the different challenges they've faced over the years.....Animator, Photographer, Jeweller (took place at Northenden apparently), Graphics....and todays final speaker was a New Media Designer. Or rather....it was meant to be. It wasn't though....it was another animator.
I know that animation is a part of my pathway but this speaker was mainly concerned with animation using plasticine and models....not new media.
Still, I suppose this assignment for Mike will give some idea of the tribulations of a new media designer when I delve in there myself....but it would have been nice to have a guest speaker.
....but I was irritated. Each pathway has had a guess speaker come in and talk about the different challenges they've faced over the years.....Animator, Photographer, Jeweller (took place at Northenden apparently), Graphics....and todays final speaker was a New Media Designer. Or rather....it was meant to be. It wasn't though....it was another animator.
I know that animation is a part of my pathway but this speaker was mainly concerned with animation using plasticine and models....not new media.
Still, I suppose this assignment for Mike will give some idea of the tribulations of a new media designer when I delve in there myself....but it would have been nice to have a guest speaker.
2 May 2010
Doritos King of Ads
Well....if you were in on friday then you probably saw mine and Kitty's gutted faces when we found out that the deadline for the competition was at midday and not midnight as I could have sworn (in fact...I did swear) that i'd seen when I read the brief...twice!
So as you've probably gathered I missed the deadline, I would easily have been on track to submit for midnight but it turns out that when I got home the internet connection was down so I wouldn't have been able to submit it anyhoos.
Even though I didn't get to submit it, this quick project was fun and it has been a bit of stepping stone as it made me test my time planning skills. It's been a confidence booster.
After our infographics presentation on Thursday I made my video public on my vimeo account, I couldn't believe it when I logged on today to find that it has already recieved over 3,500 views! ....bonkers!
So as you've probably gathered I missed the deadline, I would easily have been on track to submit for midnight but it turns out that when I got home the internet connection was down so I wouldn't have been able to submit it anyhoos.
Even though I didn't get to submit it, this quick project was fun and it has been a bit of stepping stone as it made me test my time planning skills. It's been a confidence booster.
Doritos 'King of Ads' 2010 - unsubmitted piece from Robert Shaw on Vimeo.
After our infographics presentation on Thursday I made my video public on my vimeo account, I couldn't believe it when I logged on today to find that it has already recieved over 3,500 views! ....bonkers!
29 April 2010
Contextual studies sessions
Just a heads up for people considering a few weren't at todays guest lecture (which was a graphic designer by the way, a change from the scheduled jeweller) that next weeks session will be a New Media designer.....and also Dave Haslam (if he can be arsed coming in).
Please also note that due to a miscalculation in room bookings we will be having our lectures in room 101 probably until the end of the year now, this room is just to the right of the escalators when you climb the main stairs. It's pretty small, but the desks are actually parallel to the floor unlike those wonky ones upstairs.....
- Doritos update: Less than two days to go, i'm in pre-production but going for a very basic look so I should be animating tomorrow. At this point it's looking very unlikely that i'll do it in time.....
Please also note that due to a miscalculation in room bookings we will be having our lectures in room 101 probably until the end of the year now, this room is just to the right of the escalators when you climb the main stairs. It's pretty small, but the desks are actually parallel to the floor unlike those wonky ones upstairs.....
- Doritos update: Less than two days to go, i'm in pre-production but going for a very basic look so I should be animating tomorrow. At this point it's looking very unlikely that i'll do it in time.....
28 April 2010
Doritos King of Ads
Just a heads up for anyone who is still interested in this thing, the deadline is midnight (or rather, a second before midnight....pedantic bleeder!) this Friday so if you're submitting something then you'd better get that zimmer cracking!
I tied up all my loose ends for certain other project last night at 3am so I only read the Doritos brief for the first time this morning, I really wish I would've done something proper for this a while ago because a few of us were viewing some of this years entries earlier on and there aren't actually all that many which really stand out. I'm still viewing the latest entries at the moment in their different categories but so far it seems that the vast majority of submissions haven't even bothered the read the brief....which is a bit of a shame considering that 30% of the marks come from sticking to the brief.
Kitty pointed this one out to me and I think all of us were agreed that this is the best one that we've seen so far, it's very creative and but i'm still not sure that it stuck to the brief. There must be some absolute crackers out there surely?
It also appears that a lot of people are going down the amateur video shoot feel in their living rooms to mimic the 2008 winning entry. Poor show old bean, poor show.
I'm going to try and produce something for it depending on how the week goes, I did some research today and also took into account the celebrity judges panel and what I think they might be looking for individually. I have one or two ideas so I will try to rack my brain and get one of those into order tomorrow, a 29 second storyboard shouldn't take too long.....which would leave me Thursday and Friday.
Will I do it? .....hmmmm.
I tied up all my loose ends for certain other project last night at 3am so I only read the Doritos brief for the first time this morning, I really wish I would've done something proper for this a while ago because a few of us were viewing some of this years entries earlier on and there aren't actually all that many which really stand out. I'm still viewing the latest entries at the moment in their different categories but so far it seems that the vast majority of submissions haven't even bothered the read the brief....which is a bit of a shame considering that 30% of the marks come from sticking to the brief.
Kitty pointed this one out to me and I think all of us were agreed that this is the best one that we've seen so far, it's very creative and but i'm still not sure that it stuck to the brief. There must be some absolute crackers out there surely?
It also appears that a lot of people are going down the amateur video shoot feel in their living rooms to mimic the 2008 winning entry. Poor show old bean, poor show.
I'm going to try and produce something for it depending on how the week goes, I did some research today and also took into account the celebrity judges panel and what I think they might be looking for individually. I have one or two ideas so I will try to rack my brain and get one of those into order tomorrow, a 29 second storyboard shouldn't take too long.....which would leave me Thursday and Friday.
Will I do it? .....hmmmm.
Presentation box
A little pre-presentation teaser for you. This is a box I made for my infographics brief, it's styled on the old 80s Atari game boxes to catch the eye of those who remember them.
Essentially the same imagery as my presentation board but displayed in a different way, allowing for a choice within different environments. And also introducing an interactive element for people to browse the product at their will.
Essentially the same imagery as my presentation board but displayed in a different way, allowing for a choice within different environments. And also introducing an interactive element for people to browse the product at their will.
22 April 2010
Guess who?
ok peeps, since all my project files were at home I didn't really have much to do today....well, apart from research for the new brief....or stuff for Mike....but lets face it, it's the transition period....we can't be arsed!
Anyhoos....I thought i'd have a bash at the air-brushing thing, i've not done it since our lecture with Stio. Peeps kept coming round seeing what I was doing and trying to guess whose face I was re-arranging.....so for those of you who weren't here today.....
"Can you guess what it is yet?"
Anyhoos....I thought i'd have a bash at the air-brushing thing, i've not done it since our lecture with Stio. Peeps kept coming round seeing what I was doing and trying to guess whose face I was re-arranging.....so for those of you who weren't here today.....
"Can you guess what it is yet?"
11 April 2010
Flash - Will it endure?
I've been hearing a lot about the forthcoming HTML 5 lately, and how it is supposedly going to retire Flash in terms of its career in web design. What makes me wonder is....will Flash still continue to be developed if only for the sake of animation and applet creation?
I remember back when Flash came onto the scene, we were on dial-up internet at the time and any website at all which used it didn't just take a long time to load (even images at that time took minutes to appear).....it completely crashed the computer. I hated it so much back then because browsing the internet was like playing russian roulette, trying to avoid the websites that may lead to another 15 minutes restarting the system. But as time went on and things improved we were able to see bits and bobs of it in action....I still remember the matrix-style animation which had everyone amazed with what could be done with it, especially when it became 3D towards the end.
And although it's been around 10 years since then, and technology has sky-rocketed into the age of gaming and social networking....Flash is something, in terms of web design, which still doesn't seem to have made it....with many web designers shunning it for its poor user accessability and choosing to keep their sites low key using languages such as Javascript, CSS and HTML to code them.
Whilst some sites can use Flash quite effectively and end up with a really stunning website, others still crowd their pages with it and even now it can still take a while to load them.
Even with plugins installed and updated every so often, I sometimes still come across flash websites which refuse to load. The deciding factor, however, may lie within portable media devices such as mobile internet technology and iPod/iPad gadgets where few (if any) flash websites will display at all.
....which is where HMTL 5 comes in.
HTML 5 is the latest version of the common web language which most people have at least a little bit of knowledge of, even this blog post has used it, I never imagined that the HTML short course that I took in the late 90s would still be of such use today. And yet what i'm hearing lately could very well help me to understand the other programming languages used in games development which i've never been able to get my head around.
Basically the new version of HMTL will apparently have the capability to be able to display Flash-like elements, but without the need of a dedicated plugin, meaning that designers could create flashy, creative, interactive websites without comprimising uesrs not having the ability to view them. It will also mean that these websites would be viewable on all mobile and iPod-like technology, all-in-all making Flash unnecessary in the world of web design.
Another thing that I have been shown with regards to HTML 5 is its abilities for games development, whole 3D games of the past having been re-created using just HTML! I think that this could very well mean another great surge in independant games development amongst individuals.
Although this is just the hype i've been given, whether it will eventually live up to this remains to be seen. But I do wonder what future Flash has in the next few years to come....
I don't think that it should be completely forgotten as its uses span more than just web design, if it were not for the effective use of Flash I wouldn't have had the success that I had in my Japanese studies recently.
I don't really know the ins and outs, but from what i'm hearing it's looking like a bright future for web design. But is it the end of the road for Flash?
I remember back when Flash came onto the scene, we were on dial-up internet at the time and any website at all which used it didn't just take a long time to load (even images at that time took minutes to appear).....it completely crashed the computer. I hated it so much back then because browsing the internet was like playing russian roulette, trying to avoid the websites that may lead to another 15 minutes restarting the system. But as time went on and things improved we were able to see bits and bobs of it in action....I still remember the matrix-style animation which had everyone amazed with what could be done with it, especially when it became 3D towards the end.
And although it's been around 10 years since then, and technology has sky-rocketed into the age of gaming and social networking....Flash is something, in terms of web design, which still doesn't seem to have made it....with many web designers shunning it for its poor user accessability and choosing to keep their sites low key using languages such as Javascript, CSS and HTML to code them.
Whilst some sites can use Flash quite effectively and end up with a really stunning website, others still crowd their pages with it and even now it can still take a while to load them.
Even with plugins installed and updated every so often, I sometimes still come across flash websites which refuse to load. The deciding factor, however, may lie within portable media devices such as mobile internet technology and iPod/iPad gadgets where few (if any) flash websites will display at all.
....which is where HMTL 5 comes in.
HTML 5 is the latest version of the common web language which most people have at least a little bit of knowledge of, even this blog post has used it, I never imagined that the HTML short course that I took in the late 90s would still be of such use today. And yet what i'm hearing lately could very well help me to understand the other programming languages used in games development which i've never been able to get my head around.
Basically the new version of HMTL will apparently have the capability to be able to display Flash-like elements, but without the need of a dedicated plugin, meaning that designers could create flashy, creative, interactive websites without comprimising uesrs not having the ability to view them. It will also mean that these websites would be viewable on all mobile and iPod-like technology, all-in-all making Flash unnecessary in the world of web design.
Another thing that I have been shown with regards to HTML 5 is its abilities for games development, whole 3D games of the past having been re-created using just HTML! I think that this could very well mean another great surge in independant games development amongst individuals.
Although this is just the hype i've been given, whether it will eventually live up to this remains to be seen. But I do wonder what future Flash has in the next few years to come....
I don't think that it should be completely forgotten as its uses span more than just web design, if it were not for the effective use of Flash I wouldn't have had the success that I had in my Japanese studies recently.
I don't really know the ins and outs, but from what i'm hearing it's looking like a bright future for web design. But is it the end of the road for Flash?
9 April 2010
New Dr Who - UNT - title sequence
As some peeps may be aware from the advertising all about the place, this Easter saw the arrival of the new Dr Who, Matt Smith, and from what i've been hearing since....it sounds like he is already a favourite of the experts.
I am not a die-hard fan myself and I have never seen any of the episodes from the 60s or 80s era, but in the mid-90s the BBC started showing re-runs of the 70s shows which spanned the era of both John Pertwee and the ever popular Tom Baker....so I watched these aswell as the movies with Peter Cushing which used to be on TV quite often.
When the new era came about with the introduction of (local lad!) Christopher Eccleston I watched the first few episodes to see what it was like and i've kept watching since, I was a bit dubious about David Tennant's portrayal at first but likened to it later on with the thought that it gave the character more depth.
I know a few hardcore Dr Who fans whom I wouldn't dare give my own opinion to.....they can get quite violent about their passion......and up until recently they had been telling me how David Tennant's portrayal was up there with the best of them. But it sounds like the creators have hit the right note with the latest Doctor because after only the pilot episode screened just last week they are telling me that Matt Smith's Dr Who portrayal is already the best ever.
I myself wasn't expecting much based on what i'd seen before watching it, but I was actually really impressed with the way they had wrote this particular episode to bring in the new Doctor.
But what I wasn't so sure of was the change in the opening title sequence.
The opening for the previous series was very modern and quirky, I thought it was ok and it fit the mood of the series fairly well.
And with the new sequence they have changed the typography to give it a feel of the original series....which again ties in with this new characters traditional image, the nice use of the letters to make up the tardis in the sequence is quite a nice feature. But i'm not sure about the sequence as a whole, the music seems to be lacking something which underwhelms the piece.....and the graphics look a bit too clean and perhaps not chaotic enough. What do you think?
My mam watched this with me and she actually thinks it's much better, purely because "there's no flashing in this one".
I am not a die-hard fan myself and I have never seen any of the episodes from the 60s or 80s era, but in the mid-90s the BBC started showing re-runs of the 70s shows which spanned the era of both John Pertwee and the ever popular Tom Baker....so I watched these aswell as the movies with Peter Cushing which used to be on TV quite often.
When the new era came about with the introduction of (local lad!) Christopher Eccleston I watched the first few episodes to see what it was like and i've kept watching since, I was a bit dubious about David Tennant's portrayal at first but likened to it later on with the thought that it gave the character more depth.
I know a few hardcore Dr Who fans whom I wouldn't dare give my own opinion to.....they can get quite violent about their passion......and up until recently they had been telling me how David Tennant's portrayal was up there with the best of them. But it sounds like the creators have hit the right note with the latest Doctor because after only the pilot episode screened just last week they are telling me that Matt Smith's Dr Who portrayal is already the best ever.
I myself wasn't expecting much based on what i'd seen before watching it, but I was actually really impressed with the way they had wrote this particular episode to bring in the new Doctor.
But what I wasn't so sure of was the change in the opening title sequence.
The opening for the previous series was very modern and quirky, I thought it was ok and it fit the mood of the series fairly well.
And with the new sequence they have changed the typography to give it a feel of the original series....which again ties in with this new characters traditional image, the nice use of the letters to make up the tardis in the sequence is quite a nice feature. But i'm not sure about the sequence as a whole, the music seems to be lacking something which underwhelms the piece.....and the graphics look a bit too clean and perhaps not chaotic enough. What do you think?
My mam watched this with me and she actually thinks it's much better, purely because "there's no flashing in this one".
21 March 2010
Enter the Matrix - Ahead of its time?
In 2003, following their amazing cult success 'The Matrix', the Wachowski brothers set out to write a sequel and in turn released the simultaneously filmed 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Matrix Revolutions' movies. Aswell as these they also produced a series of animated shorts to expand on the mythologies (,propaganda) and backstories of the matrix world including a CGI feature entitled 'Final Flight of the Osiris' which fills in a small part of the story that is told in the two main sequel movies. At least this is what many fans of the film series believe....
However, in fact this animated short actually plays an integral part of the story.
During the process of the writing their scripts for the films, the Wachowski brothers wanted to create an interactive experience and came up with the idea of producing not only the collection of animated shorts to bring depth to their story but also to make a video game that would see fans immersed into the experience of actually being able to be part of the story.
The result was a collection of three scripts, 'The Matrix Reloaded', 'The Matrix Revolutions' and also the video game 'Enter the Matrix'.
The game itself didn't do very well and critics slammed it for minor bugs and dated graphics, and so the game descended into a place where it quickly became forgotten about....
I always thought that this was a shame, and even now almost ten years later I still return to play the game on occasions. The reason being how it connects to the movies.
I'm sure that there are many fans of the film series out there who are completely oblivious to the game and are yet to have had the full experience, this is because it was not only the script that was split three ways...it was also the production of the film. As the storylines for the game and the first of the two film sequels run parallel to each other, up to 2 hours of movie footage was filmed especially for video game alone....and this is seen on neither movie or as extras on their respective DVDs. The only way to see it.....is to play the game, or rather 'Enter the Matrix'.
But these individual film scenes only serve as a realistic link to the films to emphasize the scenes in the game, it's actually how the game plays out in relation to the films storyline that makes it so immersive and various pieces of information that are left out of the films (to the imagination of the viewers) are explained in the game for a full picture of what is going down in the plot.....
Whilst the films carry the narrative of the main character, Neo, the game takes the route of characters Niobe and Ghost....whom have brief roles in the movies, yet through the game are shown to be vital to the plotline and the overall success of the fight.
Despite the harsh criticism that it recieved I, at a time when I was getting more excitement from video game narratives than that of film, found it to be one of the most engaging games that i'd played and thinking back now i'm still waiting for other filmmakers to take this route of intertwining their plotlines with games in order to create that interactivity with the fans. With the games industry now becoming much bigger than the film industry, this could very well be a trend that filmmakers will decide to follow.
However, in fact this animated short actually plays an integral part of the story.
During the process of the writing their scripts for the films, the Wachowski brothers wanted to create an interactive experience and came up with the idea of producing not only the collection of animated shorts to bring depth to their story but also to make a video game that would see fans immersed into the experience of actually being able to be part of the story.
The result was a collection of three scripts, 'The Matrix Reloaded', 'The Matrix Revolutions' and also the video game 'Enter the Matrix'.
The game itself didn't do very well and critics slammed it for minor bugs and dated graphics, and so the game descended into a place where it quickly became forgotten about....
I always thought that this was a shame, and even now almost ten years later I still return to play the game on occasions. The reason being how it connects to the movies.
I'm sure that there are many fans of the film series out there who are completely oblivious to the game and are yet to have had the full experience, this is because it was not only the script that was split three ways...it was also the production of the film. As the storylines for the game and the first of the two film sequels run parallel to each other, up to 2 hours of movie footage was filmed especially for video game alone....and this is seen on neither movie or as extras on their respective DVDs. The only way to see it.....is to play the game, or rather 'Enter the Matrix'.
But these individual film scenes only serve as a realistic link to the films to emphasize the scenes in the game, it's actually how the game plays out in relation to the films storyline that makes it so immersive and various pieces of information that are left out of the films (to the imagination of the viewers) are explained in the game for a full picture of what is going down in the plot.....
Whilst the films carry the narrative of the main character, Neo, the game takes the route of characters Niobe and Ghost....whom have brief roles in the movies, yet through the game are shown to be vital to the plotline and the overall success of the fight.
Despite the harsh criticism that it recieved I, at a time when I was getting more excitement from video game narratives than that of film, found it to be one of the most engaging games that i'd played and thinking back now i'm still waiting for other filmmakers to take this route of intertwining their plotlines with games in order to create that interactivity with the fans. With the games industry now becoming much bigger than the film industry, this could very well be a trend that filmmakers will decide to follow.
Lotto logo
I was watching the Lotto draw last night and noticed something that I found a bit odd.
The main logo for it which is seen on the website, betting slips and also the monitors throughout the programme has a font which is straight and moderately formal.....yet the CGIntro for the draw and also the graphic which displays the balls as they come out has a bulky rounded font which looks less formal.
This is the main font....
Yet the other font is nowhere to be seen on the website and I can't find any images of it on any of the major search engines, I did find a video on facetube though which can illustrate my point.....skip past all that crappy singing to about 5:10 and you can see the logo at this point.
I wondered if it might have been a possible delay of a changing over of fonts to this new bubbly version, but then thinking about it I remember having seen this font months ago. So I ruled that out.
My only conclusion is that the BBC have possibly pulled the funding on a re-branding of the game in the middle of its design process (which wouldn't surprise me in the slightest considering the recent turn of events).....otherwise, it just seems...odd.
Have a ganders next time its on and see what I mean....
The main logo for it which is seen on the website, betting slips and also the monitors throughout the programme has a font which is straight and moderately formal.....yet the CGIntro for the draw and also the graphic which displays the balls as they come out has a bulky rounded font which looks less formal.
This is the main font....
Yet the other font is nowhere to be seen on the website and I can't find any images of it on any of the major search engines, I did find a video on facetube though which can illustrate my point.....skip past all that crappy singing to about 5:10 and you can see the logo at this point.
I wondered if it might have been a possible delay of a changing over of fonts to this new bubbly version, but then thinking about it I remember having seen this font months ago. So I ruled that out.
My only conclusion is that the BBC have possibly pulled the funding on a re-branding of the game in the middle of its design process (which wouldn't surprise me in the slightest considering the recent turn of events).....otherwise, it just seems...odd.
Have a ganders next time its on and see what I mean....
20 March 2010
Barry Purves - A follow-up
The talk from Barry was brilliant as he outlined some very basic elements and techniques that are often overlooked, but of which can be key factors to a films success. This is particularly true in regards to his reference toward 'King Kong' (1933) where the title character fights a T-Rex, however, from the few times that I personally have seen this film I always felt more of a connection to the character during the built-up tension that leads to the breaking of the T-Rex's jaw....rather than the comedy aftermath which Barry described.
I was also quite surprised to see the amount of hands that raised when he asked how many of us had actually even heard of Buster Keaton, although this reminded me of a recent discussion that I started a while ago in relation to Laurel and Hardy. I don't recall having seen any Laurel and Hardy been shown on television for almost 10 years, so other than the word of mouth between parents and their children there is really no exposure to the legends of old like Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton for the new generation to be inspired by.
The early slapstick comedians will always remain a source of inspiration for me as I not only grew up watching them, but because Buster Keaton in particular is the idol of one of my idols; Jackie Chan. Throughout his career he has always been very inventive with his surroundings and it's clear to see from some of his films where he takes his inspiration from.....I found this video that someone has put together showing some of the similarities.
In particular, make sure to get a look at Charlie Chaplin's amazing moment getting sucked into a machine at around 1:23.
I couldn't find any videos of it but Jackie also replicated the famous Buster Keaton scene where the front of a house falls on top of him, with only the accurately sized hole of the top window saving him from being flattened.
It was a shame that Barry didn't get to show us some of his own animated works, but when I checked his website later on in the day I was pleasantly surprised to see that he has an interest in the Japanese bunraku theatrical puppetry and that some of his works have been displayed alongside the legendary Kihachiro Kawamoto. Of course I had never heard of this name either.....until the Cornerhouse put on a few of his films a few years back, they were quite inspirational with their use of mixed media, and maybe it's because i'm into kung fu movies....but his film 'To Shoot without Shooting' was brilliant and if anyone is interested in doing the puppet thing one day then i'd seriously consider giving it a watch.
In relation to his but also in relation to Barry's lecture which mainly dealt with giving life to inanimate objects and telling stories from different perspectives, it would have been interesting to see if he has seen Takeshi Kitano's 'Dolls'.
I have mentioned this previously in a blog post listing it as my Film of the Decade, and i'm sure that Barry would love it as it is a clear example of what he was trying to get across.
It begins as a Japanese Bunraku play with puppets.....but the main bulk of the movie gives life to the puppet play through live action. Watch it!!
I was also quite surprised to see the amount of hands that raised when he asked how many of us had actually even heard of Buster Keaton, although this reminded me of a recent discussion that I started a while ago in relation to Laurel and Hardy. I don't recall having seen any Laurel and Hardy been shown on television for almost 10 years, so other than the word of mouth between parents and their children there is really no exposure to the legends of old like Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton for the new generation to be inspired by.
The early slapstick comedians will always remain a source of inspiration for me as I not only grew up watching them, but because Buster Keaton in particular is the idol of one of my idols; Jackie Chan. Throughout his career he has always been very inventive with his surroundings and it's clear to see from some of his films where he takes his inspiration from.....I found this video that someone has put together showing some of the similarities.
In particular, make sure to get a look at Charlie Chaplin's amazing moment getting sucked into a machine at around 1:23.
I couldn't find any videos of it but Jackie also replicated the famous Buster Keaton scene where the front of a house falls on top of him, with only the accurately sized hole of the top window saving him from being flattened.
It was a shame that Barry didn't get to show us some of his own animated works, but when I checked his website later on in the day I was pleasantly surprised to see that he has an interest in the Japanese bunraku theatrical puppetry and that some of his works have been displayed alongside the legendary Kihachiro Kawamoto. Of course I had never heard of this name either.....until the Cornerhouse put on a few of his films a few years back, they were quite inspirational with their use of mixed media, and maybe it's because i'm into kung fu movies....but his film 'To Shoot without Shooting' was brilliant and if anyone is interested in doing the puppet thing one day then i'd seriously consider giving it a watch.
In relation to his but also in relation to Barry's lecture which mainly dealt with giving life to inanimate objects and telling stories from different perspectives, it would have been interesting to see if he has seen Takeshi Kitano's 'Dolls'.
I have mentioned this previously in a blog post listing it as my Film of the Decade, and i'm sure that Barry would love it as it is a clear example of what he was trying to get across.
It begins as a Japanese Bunraku play with puppets.....but the main bulk of the movie gives life to the puppet play through live action. Watch it!!
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