Ethereality News & Weblog

May 4, 2010

It’s a showdown! (Software for writers)

Filed under: Art & CG,Film/TV/Animation,My Life/Musings,Video Games,Writing — Rob @ 11:09 pm

WEBLOG
I recently researched into the writing software market to see what’s changed since the last time I checked, which was several years ago. I simply got tired of having all these different files of notes, character profiles, prose, screenplays…etc in various folders. To my surprise, the market seems to have grown quite large, with a lot of different software competing for your money.

The most popular type seems to be the “creative writing aid” software, where the software holds your hand and actually helps you develop your storyline, characters, conflicts, pacing, structure…etc. I personally think software like that are useless for people that actually know how to write and does not want to be lead by the nose by some writing software designer who has his own idea of what a good story entails. The worst of the bunch is Dramatica Pro (AKA Storyview), where you have to answer a ridiculous number of questions about your characters, their background, their personality traits, their motivations, their various psychological traits, and a bunch of other stuff that may or may not have any relevance to your story. Then the software’s story engine tells you how you can construct the conflicts between your characters and how they can become your plot points, themes, and so on. If I was the kind of person who couldn’t write my way out of a paper bag, has no original idea, and understood nothing about dramatic pacing, structure, character development, then maybe I’d try Dramatica Pro, but anyone who actually knows how to write would hate being told or prodded constantly about how and what to write.

Other software in that category includes Contour, WriteWay, Storybase, Master Storyteller, Story Weaver…etc. All of them get in your way if you know how or what you want to write. Contour is particularly laughable because it only allows you to create one character–the protagonist, and then you must tell the software how your protagonist is an orphan at the beginning of the story, then a wanderer, then a warrior, then a martyr at the end. And you also have to follow a rigid pattern of small and large defeats and triumphs in the structure of your story. I can’t think of anything worse for a writer than to force some clichéd Hollywood story structure onto any story idea, regardless of what it is. Rigid software like that are only marginally useful for those who want to write the most mainstream and predictable Hollywood movies. What about an ensemble cast, or if the timeline is played out in not in sequence (such as Pulp Fiction)? What if there’s no protagonist and the main character isn’t supposed to triumph or lose but simply is (such as American Psycho)?

I then stumble upon some software that were far more useful and flexible–ones that stay out of your way and lets you write the way you write and tell the story that you want to tell, while providing you with a flexible space to do it in. Scrivener and Storymill, Storyist…etc was like that, but they were for the Mac only, and I’m a PC guy. I was giving up by that point, until I came across the PC equivalent in WriteItNow and Liquid Story Binder XE. That was it. I had struck gold. From there on, I dug some more and unearthed a few other interesting software. I’ll get into more details below.

WriteItNow – Great balance of customizable GUI, useful features, and does not try to tell how or what to write at all. If simply gives you the creative space to organize your ideas, characters, notes, chapters, scenes, research…etc.

Liquid Story Binder XE – It’s very pretty and flexible, but can be intimidating and complex to figure out, since it gives you way too many different tools and options and organizational methods. While it allows customization of the GUI colors, it does not allow you change the document background color of the File List, which is very strange, as it allows you to change the background color of every other type of document. Many writers prefer to work on darker background so the screen isn’t so glaringly bright, and if you customize your GUI to be darker, the File List will stick out like a sore thumb, being totally white and glaring. And while the software allow you to add color coding to each entry of character or idea in the Outline, Builder…etc, you’d have to use four mouse-clicks to change the color, going from one menu to another to another and then confirm the color choice. Flexibility is useless if the ergonomics are horrible.

The Guide – It’s very bare-bone and simple, where you just have a left pane that lets add any page and order them as parent to child hierarchy, and the right pane is just a RTF word processor. So you can basically create your own categories of characters, plot lines, notes, chapters, scenes…etc. It allows for simple customization of font and background colors, so that’s a good thing. In general it’s perhaps a bit too simple and primitive, but in a pinch, it’s definitely better than having to navigate multiple Word or RTF files in a folder, or lots of different kinds of information in one file (which is what I do now–where I have one document that contains my character profiles, notes, premise, plot points…etc, and scrolling up and down to find stuff gets to be kind of annoying–thus the need for these types of software).

Storybook – Interesting software where you can look at your story in various views and get a good feel for the multiple story strands and overall structure. The big problem is that you cannot customize that glaringly white background and it’s just too fatiguing on the eyes, and this can’t even be changed by altering the OS desktop colors–that white is hard-coded into Storybook.

yWriter – Very similar to WriteItNow, and although it’s free, you can’t custom sort entries or customize GUI colors, which is absolutely unacceptable.

StoryBox – A very new software that’s not even at version 1.0 yet, but the creator is already charging people money for it so he could develop it further. You can’t customize document background color, which is a big no-no for me (and no, I’m not going to completely redo my operating system’s desktop theme just so I can have it carry over into my writing software). The character profile interview questions are lame too, even though you don’t have to answer them.

Writer’s Blocks – Basically they’re virtual index cards you can arrange however you want on the screen. It’s kind of redundant when other writing software already allow reordering of chapters, scenes, ideas, character profiles, notes…etc.

IdeaTracker – Allows you enter story ideas and assign a genre so you can find your ideas easily. Seemed like a good idea, but kind of useless when you can use any of the other writing software and create separate entries for notes and ideas, and you can simply have a saved project of just different story ideas and notes. The interface and navigation is also kind of clunky and unintuitive.

Power Structure / Power Writer – These two are similar–one is for creating and organizing ideas and story, and the other adds a word processor so you could execute the actual writing as well, and pulls back a bit on the story structuring features. They are halfway between the kind of software that tells you how and what to write, and the kind that simply provides a flexible space for you to write in. Power Structure/Writer provides a flexible space for you to organize your ideas, but they also have all these questions you can fill out, like what the goal at the beginning of an act is, and what you want accomplish by the end of the act, or what a character’s biggest failure, trauma, and success are, or what the opening hook of a scene is, and what has to happen by the end of the scene…etc. While these can be slightly annoying, they are actually not nearly as intrusive and are much more relevant to just about all kinds of story. Whether you want to deal with the “fill out these questions” format is a matter of taste, and I’m still debating if I want to deal with it or I’d rather stick to something like WriteItNow, where you are not prodded at all about how to write and what to consider. I should also mention that Power Structure is the most expensive of the bunch, costing double or more of the other software (which makes sense, since it does try to actively help you structure your story).

WriteWay – Similar to Power Structure, asking a lot of questions about your characters, their motivations, what the conflicts are in each scene, what needs to be accomplished in each scene…etc, but like Power Structure, they are mostly relevant and helpful questions, and you don’t have to answer them if you don’t want and simply use it as a organizational tool.

QuickStory - This ones kind of like Dramatica Pro lite, with a plot generating feature, but you can totally ignore it and just use it in the same way as The Guide, which is very bare-bone and primitive.

SuperNotecard – Mainly an organizer of ideas and factors that are involved in the ideas, but the naming convention of the categories are kind of odd and hard to relate to, and the way things are structured is a bit convoluted.

SceneWriter Pro – It boggled my mind that it couldn’t undo in the panes outside of the main document window. Lack of undo is one of the biggest sins in bad software design–BAD DESIGNER! No COOKIE!

PageFour – Similar to The Guide in how simple and bare-bone it is (though it’s slightly better), and it only allows the customization of the background color but not the font.

RoughDraft – It’s so primitive and clunky that it wasn’t even worth the trouble of trying.

YourOtherMind – A convoluted and ugly mess. I couldn’t stand it. No way would I write in something that was so cluttered and confusing and ugly looking.

While I seemed to have narrowed down my choices to just a couple, one thing was bothering me though–that they were tailored more towards the novelist, and I do just as much screenwriting as I do prose. I started to wonder if I could get both story organization and screenwriting in one software, as opposed to using something like WriteItNow and then writer the actual screenplay in something like Final Draft. Turned out there are software out there like that–in fact one of the oldest screenwriting software, Movie Magic Screenwriter, has recently implemented story organization features (probably trying to compete after software like Movie Outline combined both successfully, making it unnecessary to use two different software throughout the writing process). I wouldn’t be surprised if Final Draft follows suit as well. Montage is another one that combines both, but it’s for Mac only. Writer’s Café is a nice software that helps you get a visual overview of your story structure, and it also does screenplay formatting as well. I’m not too crazy about the way the GUI and navigation is designed though, although it’s usable and I could probably get used to it. Movie Outline seems to have the best integration of story organization and screenwriting features, although the ergonomics of the navigation and editing doesn’t feel all that good to me, and some of the story structure views take some learning to understand.
There are a bunch of others I looked at that I didn’t even bother trying to remember the names of since they didn’t come close to my needs. It really is ridiculous how many different software for writers are out there. I don’t know which one(s) I’ll end up with yet, as I’m still testing them. I’ll report back once I make a decision.

…

I recently gave away about four big boxes full of art supplies, because I just never use them anymore, having gotten so comfortable with digital tools, although I kept the acrylic paints, Pantone tri-tip marker set, and the better brushes, as they are useful for crafts projects. I also kept the expensive easel which can folded up and be rolled around–just in case I might want to paint traditional again in my old age or something. All the oil paints, oil mediums, watercolor, gouache, brushes, pen & ink, pastels, color pencils, charcoals, conte, mechanical pens, expensive projector/enlarger with tripod, kneaded erasers, blending stumps, art bin boxes, French curves, rulers–all given away–thousands of dollars worth of art supplies.

I actually still prefer traditional tools in some ways, such as the tactile and visceral qualities, the unpredictable expressiveness, the ability to splatter, drip, lay on thick impasto, and so on. But I haven’t had time to do any traditional painting or drawing for years now–my focus has shifted to multiple creative endeavors aimed to be put together as multimedia projects, where all the artwork are done digitally (just like any other modern day animation, game, or special effects studio), and all the music, writing, photography, editing…etc are software based. I don’t really think of myself as an “artist” these days–I haven’t for years now. Over the years I’ve gradually shed “the artist” identity and taken on the creator/writer/director/composer identity more and more, and although art will always be a part of my creative repertoire, it is no longer a main focus as it used to be. In a way, I sort of look at it like this:

-I don’t use outdated hardware multitrack recorders for my audio work and use DAW software instead.

-I don’t use film negatives or a darkroom for my photography–my setup is all digital.

-I don’t type out my writings on a typewriter–I use writing software.

-I teach a workshop online. I get freelance gigs online. I socialize online (all my friends and family live far away). I do my research and learning online–from science to history to home remedies to recipes. I keep up to date with various news online–from world news to industry-specific news. I shop online, including the things I enjoy for entertainment.

-So it only makes sense that all the visual aspects of my work are also done on the computer–the rest of my life already is anyway. And that’s why I gave away all my traditional art supplies. Sure, I’ll probably miss painting traditionally someday, but for the foreseeable future, my focus is on multimedia productions with emphasis on narratives.

…

I finally broke down and bought a Playstation 3. This is my first Playstation. I didn’t bother with the first generation because back then console games still had really rough graphics compared to PC games, and I was all about PC games back then. When PS2 came out, I was tempted, but I chose the Dreamcast and Xbox because there were exclusive games on them I just had to play (though eventually, the PS2 had just as many awesome exclusive games). Console games still had significantly inferior graphics compared to the PC at that time, but the gap was narrowing. I mean think about it–the PC pretty much was in HD resolution since ages ago–there was just no comparison. Although I could’ve bought a PS2 if I wanted to and still can, I just don’t have much desire currently to go back a generation now that I’ve gotten spoiled by this generation’s console graphics. When I play my Xbox360, I really don’t feel like I’m getting inferior graphics compared to my PC–they are so close that whatever differences just don’t matter anymore. Perhaps I’ll still get a PS2 so I can finally play Ico and Shadow of the Colossus or whatever PS2 exclusive games I’ve always wanted to play. Good thing they ported God of War 1 & 2 to PS3 though–I already ordered that collection. Objectively, I do think this generation of games is shaping up to be better than the previous generation, and it’s still going strong. I already don’t have enough time to play all the games I’m interested in for this generation, so it’s kind of pointless to try and catch up on the previous generation.

My main reason for getting the PS3 is the same as always with consoles–if I find the exclusive games attractive enough to really want to play, then I’ll take the plunge. It was that way with the N64, Dreamcast, Xbox, and Xbox360. Other consoles like the Gamecube and Wii might have a couple of games I really want to play, but not nearly enough of them for me to bother actually buying one. The only console I ever got just so I could play that one game I’m dying to play was the N64, for Conkur’s Bad Fur Day. For the PS3, there are already some awesome exclusives I just had to get my paws on–the Uncharted series, Killzone 2, God of War series, Demon’s Souls, and maybe Metal Gear Solid 4 and Heavenly Sword.

None of the games I ordered have arrived yet, so I just went for a spin in Sony’s Home, which is like Xbox Live/Marketplace, except it’s an actual 3D virtual world (sort of like Second Life). It was kind of neat for a little bit, but unless it does a whole lot more than just turning the lobby, purchasing, news…etc into a virtual 3D version, it’s really not worth wasting time in. Being able to decorate your own virtual apartment and avatar (which looks far better than Xbox360’s version, which looks like some primitive and dorky cartoon that’s not even aesthetically pleasing) is kind of nice, and judging by how much money Sony made from Home alone, many people are enjoying it as well, spending their hard-earned money on virtual furniture, clothing, accessories. Me, I really would much rather spend my money on real life counterparts–you know, things I can actually touch and use and take around with me. But that’s just me.

One thing I do like a lot more about the PS3 is how easy it is to copy media onto its hard drive using simply a USB flash drive. You cannot do this with the Xbox360–you can only rip music from discs, but not transfer files of any kind from the USB drive. It’s supposed to be some kind of security measure against pirating. Don’t know about you, but it pisses me off.

Ever since I got the 360 in the fall of 2009, I pretty much stopped gaming on the PC. I just got tired of upgrading to keep up with the resource-intensive PC games and dealing with broken games and update patches. I’ve never had any problems with console games, but PC games can be a nightmare since hardware compatibility is so unpredictable. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when I bought Mass Effect for the PC and it just didn’t run due to hardware incompatibility issues. I was so pissed off and it was after that I finally got a 360 and gave PC gaming the finger. After having been a loyal PC gamer for many years, I don’t miss it at all (until some amazing PC-only game comes out, that is). The upcoming The Secret World (from Ragnar Tornquist–the creator of The Longest Journey series–one of my favorites) might have tempted me back to the PC, but apparently it’ll be for the 360 as well, so I’m safe for now. I have no real interest in any other MMO out there since they are mostly just grinding and wasting time, without any of the exciting narrative and pacing of single player games, or the sheer action and strategy of FPS, shooters, or RTS games, not to mention significantly inferior graphics and a lot of assholes and morons to deal with. I hope The Secret World will be different, since I love the premise (I have a weak spot for supernatural thrillers. My own comic book series Enchanted from the 90’s was very similar to the premise of The Secret World) and the creator is someone whose career I follow.

…

Quickie movie/TV reviews:

Dexter (season four) - About half-way through season four of Dexter, I thought it was pretty interesting with the whole Trinity Killer plot, but the other domestic subplots weren’t all that interesting and felt like fillers instead of important aspects of the main story arc. I was hoping I’d be wrong and everything would play out beautifully in the end, and boy, it sure did. Everything more or less tied together and the season finale was such a shocker that I couldn’t believe what the writers had done. I can’t wait for season five–it’ll definitely be a very interesting season considering how season four ended. It was interesting to see John Lithgow play such a serious and evil character. My impression of him is mostly still from Third Rock From the Sun, so it was a bit weird seeing him not in a comedy.

Sherlock Holmes – Overall it was fairly enjoyable, but I thought Rachel McAdams was the wrong actress for the role–her vibe is too modern to me. I’m on the fence about Robert Downey Jr. Although I like him as an actor, I’m typically not thrilled about American actors trying to do the English accent. Very few American can pull it off, and Downey Jr. was struggling a bit in some scenes. He’s certainly not as good at it as Renée Zellweger, Gweneth Paltrow, or James Cromwell.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – A pretty silly premise with heavy-handed messages and ham-fisted execution, but it was entertaining, and I thought Baby’ Brent’s transformation into a hero was the most fun and interesting aspect of the movie. You just wanted to slap him silly in the beginning, but by the end you really want to hug him and give him a solid pat on the back.

March 27, 2010

My Zendrum videos (performance, mapping, techniques)

Filed under: Audio & Music,Film/TV/Animation,My Life/Musings,News,Video Games,Writing — Rob @ 6:48 pm

NEWS:
I promised before that I’d do some Zendrum videos, and I finally found a bit of free time to do them. Here are the first two–probably will do more in the future.

Short performance on the Zendrum LT:

Explanation of the mapping and how I play the Zendrum:

WEBLOG:
I don’t know about you guys, but when I watch movies or TV shows, one thing that has always irritated me to no end is the really cheap and illogical usage of misunderstandings between characters. For example, recently when I was watching the reboot of the V TV series, and I was so annoyed by the fact that the lead female character (Erica) couldn’t spend ten minutes to explain to her son why she wants him to stay away from the visitors, and this is after she’s already learned of the truth. What kind of mother does that? Why in the world would she not tell him the truth as soon as she found out? That kind of information is exactly what would save his life, yet the writers of the show decided she should withhold this information, which leads to his son getting even more involved with the visitors.

What annoys me about this kind of writing is that it’s a cheap way to create drama, and it’s cheap because most half-way intelligent people wouldn’t do it. We all know that the more we inform those we care about, the better protected they are, even if it’ll distress them. When choosing between potentially saving their lives by informing them of pending/potential danger and not wanting to distress them, there shouldn’t be any contest whatsoever. I could understand if there’s a legitimate reason where one character simply cannot tell the truth–whether it’s to protect those he cares about, out of shame, or for some greater good, but too often in movies and TV shows, the withholding of information or the refusal to explain oneself is totally arbitrary and a cheap gimmick to create tension and drama based on misunderstandings. Most of the time such actions are out of character as well. Next time you watch a movie or a TV show, pay attention–you’ll see this cheap trick being used by bad writers, and you’ll also notice that good writers don’t pull that shit. When good writers depict misunderstandings, there’s always a logical reason why it happened.

…

I finally got around to playing a bit of Left 4 Dead 2, and I have to say, I was kind of disappointed. It really felt more like a 1.5 update than a sequel. The addition of melee weapons really doesn’t add or change the game significantly, and the new enemies are kind of forgettable, except for maybe the spitter. The characters are also kind of flat, with the exception of Ellis, who’s probably my favorite survivor character so far. I haven’t played through all the campaigns yet–just the first one, so maybe my feeling will change.

February 25, 2010

Top Ten Ways to Be A Better Artist

Filed under: Art & CG,Audio & Music,Film/TV/Animation,My Life/Musings,News,Site News,Video Games,Writing — Rob @ 9:31 pm

NEWS:
I always get a lot of questions when I post photos of my music studio, so I finally added a page showing the design plans and construction photos of my studio, with explanations of why I made the choices I made.

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My Top Ten Ways to Be A Better Artist article has been published in the February 2010 issue of ImagineFX magazine. This was originally a more detailed version I posted at cgtalk, and ImagineFX contacted me and asked me if they could publish it. I had to edit the original down to fit their layout, so if you want to some of the missing details, read the original version.

It was quite a pleasure working with them this time around (they interviewed in their premiere issue, and I also did a paining tutorial for them as well. The editors were very understanding in my adamant request to be involved in the editorial process and have final say in the exact wording. I’m very adamant about this matter because in the past, I’ve had publications that tried to paraphrase me or shorten what I said in order to fit into their layout, resulting in technical mistakes, incorrect emphasis, incorrect context, or alteration of the tone for the worse. I vowed at some point to never be put through that again, so my currently condition in being interviewed or published is to be granted full participation in the final editing process. This might make me sound like a control freak, but that’s not really the case. I simply do no like being misrepresented, that’s all.

(EDIT: my previous mention of the mistakes was a misunderstanding. The scan someone sent me for some reason is not the same as what I just received in the mail from Future Publishing. I don’t know how someone got a hold of the pre-publication edit, but anyway, I’m very happy that the final edit is exactly as I had worked out with the editors.)

…

I recently did a Q&A session with Peter Lucky, and I thought some of his questions were quite interesting–different from the typical questions I get when I do interviews, so I decided to post them here.

Q: I’ve looked over a great deal of your website, including your really long bio. Reading it noticed how honest you are about yourself with other people. Not many are willing to do that, does this translate outside the internet in your everyday life?

A: Pretty much. I’ve always been a pretty candid person, and I don’t know why some of us are really withdrawn while some of us are really open. Perhaps it’s personality, or perhaps it’s outlook in life and also individual values. I believe in constantly striving to become a better person and redeeming past mistakes, so I see myself as a “work-in-progress,” which means I always have the chance to change anything I don’t like about myself, and also redeem myself. This leads me to never having to feel ashamed or overtly embarrassed about anything, because I know I can always improve and learn and change. I also believe that past mistakes are very important factors in our growth, because they are valuable lessons. I think sharing those lessons is a great way to give back to the world so others can maybe gain something from my mistakes, or at least feel like they are not alone in their struggles.

Q: I’ve seen the stunning amount of totally different careers you’ve done over the years, very few people will take the risks you do and prefer to stay with one thing most – if not all their lives. Were there any career decisions you made which you regret?

A: In some ways, I wish I had concentrated on music or film/writing, since they are the most potent to me emotionally, but because art was easier for me to find a job in, I stuck with art jobs even if they weren’t as emotionally involving to me. If I could go back in time, I’d have forced my parents into letting me take piano/music lessons and raised completely hell until they agreed. It’s the biggest regret of my life.

Q: You’ve said you’re a pretty optimistic person, what kept you going through the dark times you’ve had in your life?

A: I remind myself that I’m not terminally ill, am not living on the street, am not living in a country that’s constantly at war, was not born into some remote village in a very poor country with constant famine and disease…etc. Compared to many, I’m incredibly lucky. I also tell myself that tomorrow is a different day, and you can never tell what’s going to happen because life is full of surprises. Another thing I tell myself is that I’ve gone through very dark periods in the past, yet I survived them, and every single one of them felt like there would be no end to the suffering. They all eventually passed, and I’m stronger and better for having being tested, so this current dark period is no different. I’ll survive it and then sometime in the future I’ll be able to look back and think, “Yep, I survived that one as well.”

Q: You say everything you do is self-taught. This is something I relate to completely, most of what i’ve learned in creative pursuits are from my own initiative, research, experimenting, and mistakes. Even being in college now, I still learn most and best on my own. Having dropped out of college and not attending an arts school, did that ever put you at a disadvantage for employment? In the digital world, there have been endless debates about self-taught vs secondary education. From your experiences how has being self-taught affected you during job interviews? Have you ever been treated differently because of it?

A: Almost never. It’s all about your portfolio, resume, experience, and how you interact with people. In fact, most people are highly impressed that I’m self-taught. The only time I ever came across something different was this one art director who told me she preferred candidates that has a degree because it shows they can stick with something long-term until they achieved their goal. When I interview candidates as an art director, I don’t care about their education either, unless it was something unusual, like they never even finished high school. That’s when I get a bit concerned.

Q: Moving onto lighter questions, you’ve mentioned your passion for gaming. I’m very passionate for gaming as well, what would be some of your favourite games?

A: Check the “About Me” and “goodies” sections of my site–I have a page called “Influences” that lists everything I love (movies, music, games, artists…etc).

Q: Games are becoming more like high-budget films at a break-neck pace. Do you think this is a good direction for the video game industry?

A: Yes and no. The visceral impact is impressive and can really make your jaws drop, but there’s also less experimentation and innovation because every product has to turn a AAA level profit. With that said, I’m sort of guilty of buying into the big-budget AAA titles and don’t pay nearly as much attention to indie games as I should. This is mostly because my time is precious so I try to only play games that are highly regarded and has made a splash in the industry, so unless an indie game has garnered that kind of attention, I usually stick to the big AAA titles.

Q: Working with Sony Pictures Spider-Man 3 and Surfs Up hopefully would have been an incredible (and presumably well paying) experience. Could you describe how that experience was for you?

A: It was very stressful since half-way through the projects they raised my fee to double, but giving me only a fraction of the time to finish them. At first I had 3 or more days to do each piece, but once they doubled my fee I was only given a day per piece, so I wasn’t sleeping much at all. But it really pushed me to be resourceful and clever and choose my battles carefully when executing the pieces. It’s to date the most challenging gigs I’ve had because the caliber of the work had to be top-notch Hollywood level, but done very quickly.

Q: Soon you’ll begin teaching on CG Society (unless classes start as soon as your full) and I imagine this will be a very exciting learning experience for both you and your students. When you’re finished, do you expect to continue doing this workshop – or offer something completely different?

A: I will repeat the workshop for as long as there’s popular demand. It would be a shame if the workshop only ran once, after I’ve spent well over a year working hard on it. As far as tackling other subjects or focus, it’s all up in the air. For now, I’ll have to make sure this workshop does everything I designed it to do, and I’ll find out after its first run. Also, as creative people, we often go through cycles of learning, assessing, practicing…etc. After working on the workshop for so long, I’m totally ready to start my next cycle, which is to produce a lot of new works and take my own works to the next level.


Q: I saw your house and studio, both were absolutely stunning and being the tech enthusiast I am – the studio is my favourite part. Right now my studio consists of a small bedroom. To me having a studio like yours would really make me think of how far I’d come to be able to even have something like this. What does having your studio make you think?

A: It was also a dream-come-true for me to finally be able to design a studio from the ground up and construct it myself to my own ideals. But even then, compromises were made, since we’re not exactly rich. I wish it could be just a bit bigger so I can have a bit more room to work with–such as maybe putting in an acoustic piano or an additional drum kit. I also wish I’d have the room/budget to do a full-blown room-in-a-room construction so that all structural noises would be eliminated (such as some guy upstairs stomping around or hammering away at something). Acoustically, I’m quite happy with the acoustic treatment, but computer noise is still a problem and I’m working towards a solution right now (building a custom isolation cabinet). But even with the compromises, it’s my little piece of heaven–I spend all of my time in the studio. While we may never be totally satisfied and there’s always that premium piece of gear we want, the truth is, at some point in your studio’s evolution, you’ll hit a point where you pretty much have everything you need to create anything you can imagine, and whatever other gear lust you have are only luxuries, not necessities. That’s where I am now–I’m not missing anything, but I still have gear lust and want to upgrade certain pieces of gear. Knowing this is a calming feeling–that it’s no longer about you missing the gear you need to achieve a particular effect–it’s now all about how creative you can get.

Q: When it comes to software, what would be the most challenging one you’ve learned? Would you like to share your experiences with it?

A: I would say that in general, 3D software are by far the hardest to work with and are the most technical. Music, photography, writing, video, 2D…etc all have complex software too, but they are by nature not nearly as technical. That is perhaps the one thing that really turns me off about 3D–the highly technical nature of it all. Very often I feel like the ROI (Return On Investment) with 3D is not worth it for me personally. The same time and energy spent in music, drawing/painting, photography, shooting video…etc will yield me more creative fulfillment and fun, not to mention less frustrations and technical hurdles to jump over.

Q: You say you enjoy watching films on DVD with your wife, do you watch any television shows as well? Currently airing or on DVD.

A: The “Influences” page on my site lists them.

Q: Is there anything out there in the way of technology or software that you wish would be invented?

A: I fantasize about this all the time. Hand-held medical scanner that can detect any disease and its location, and then treat it ASAP. Completely reliable data storage/backup solution that’s also practical and cost-effective (maybe solid-state drives when they come down in price). Much more advanced and intuitive sample/physical modeling hybrid solutions for realistic musical instrument emulations. Cameras with far superior high ISO and auto-focus performance that’s as quick and dynamic as the human eye, so you’d never fudge a shot again. The perfect headphone that can easily rival the most expensive reference studio monitor speakers, including authentic and visceral sub-bass reproduction. Teleportation devices so we don’t have to fly/drive long distance ever again. The list goes on and on and on.

WEBLOG:
I finally finished Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 a while ago. My opinion of it hasn’t changed–it’s still a big Michael Bay-esque roller coaster ride with relentless and over-the-top action, and it’s a lot of fun without a lot of subtlety or substance. The credit roll with the museum set pieces were a big surprise, and I thought it was one of the most clever and interesting credit roll ideas I’ve ever experienced–right up there with Portal‘s adorable and hilarious ending song.

I’m not sure which game I’ll focus on finishing next. I did start on Dragon Age: Origins, but so far it’s not as compelling as I had hoped–at least not in the way that Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect were.

…

I’m currently looking to get one of the room correction products on the market (IK Multimedia ARC System, KRK Ergo, JBL MSC1, Samson D-1500, dbx Drive Rack PX…etc). Even though my studio is fully treated acoustically, it still isn’t perfect, and the room correction products will be the icing on the cake. I would never use one of these products to act as substitute or replacement for proper acoustic treatment, but as that extra icing on the cake, I think these products can be quite helpful. Once I decide on which one and have done the measurements and corrections, I’ll report back on how it went.

…

I recently purchased two software that I really love. One is the Isone Pro, and the other is the J River Media Center 14. Isone Pro is a plugin that makes your headphones sound like you’re listening to speakers in a room, thus eliminating listening fatigue that’s caused by the drastic stereo imaging inherent in headphones (that uncomfortabler “in your head” sound, which is the most dramatic when there are instruments panned hard right and hard left). Isone Pro allows you to set the distance of the virtual speakers, the size of your head and ears, and type of speaker cabinets used. I’ve tried other similar crossfeed plugins and they don’t come anywhere close to how natural the Isone Pro sounds. Redline Monitor is one such plugin, and it costs three times more than Isone Pro (which only costs $27), and it doesn’t really work all that better than the free Headphone plugin that comes with Media Center 14. None of the other crossfeed plugins actually sound like the sound is coming from speakers in front of you, and Isone Pro is the only one I’ve heard that does it. I’m assuming hardware units like the SPL Phonitor probably does something similar, but hardware units like that cost well over a grand. $27 vs. a grand. You do the math.

Media Center 14 is by far one of the very best media librarian/player on the market. It allows extensive customizing, is very robust and feature-rich, and now has native VST hosting, which was the main reason I finally upgraded from Media Jukebox (the free version of Media Center) to a paid license. Now that Media Center can host VST’s (and you can freely change the order of the activated plugins), one of my favorite things in the world is to listen to music late at night in Media Center while studying spectrum analyzers (Voxengo SPAN, Stillwell Audio Schope, Nugen Visualizer…etc), with the Isone Pro engaged, and play around with EQ’s (Voxengo GlissEQ, Fabfilter Pro-Q, Blue Cat’s Parametric EQ, EasyQ…etc). It helps me understand how some of my favorite songs were mixed and mastered, and in turn will help me improve in my audio production skills.

…

Quickie movie/TV reviews:

The Sopranos (season two~six) – I finally finished watching the entire series, and although I enjoyed some aspects of the show, I have to say that I feel it’s a bit overrated. While I appreciate the fact it broke new ground when it came out, I don’t really think it deserves the kind of rabid praise like “best TV show in the history of television.” For me personally, it’s important that a story contains some kind of transcendence, where the character(s) actually overcome some kind of obstacle and we see a metamorphosis happening–something is changed, and from that change comes a profound revelation of some kind, or at the very least an emotional catharsis. It doesn’t even have to have closure, but it must be cathartic, and intellectually we must have gained some valuable insight or understanding. With The Sopranos, we don’t really get any of that, or at least not the amount or intensity I had hoped for. In Goodfellas, we got a powerful and sobering closure when Henry looked into the camera and started speaking to us, the audience). In The Godfather, there was poetic and emotional catharsis–that operatic and visceral experience. In The Sopranos, we got a fucking anti-climatic riddle at the end that just wasn’t very satisfying (at least not in the way that we expected the ending to six long seasons to be). I have read all the different interpretations of the series finale, and whether the black silent screen meant it’s Tony getting whacked, or the audience getting whacked (no longer privileged to peek into their lives), it makes no difference–it just wasn’t emotionally satisfying. I so wished that someone in the show could’ve gotten out of that bleak world of violence and misery-maybe just packed up and drove away from it all to begin a new life, but no one did. Perhaps that was the message–that once you’re in that life, there’s no getting out, no transcendence, no redemption, no metamorphosis–just a dead end spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

In season 3, when the mash-up of Every Breath You Take and Peter Gunn played in the episode where the feds were tailing the Sopranos, I grinned like the Cheshire Cat. That was pretty damn clever.

…

Fantastic Mr. Fox – I was surprised by how well Anderson’s sense of rhythm for dialogue worked in perfect symphony with stop-motion animation. It was by far one of the most interesting and entertaining animated films I have seen in a long time, and I loved the fact that the film didn’t feel like it was aimed at children in any way. Often animated films aimed at adults can be a bit drab or pretentious, and this one really got the balance right in my opinion. Oh yeah, and no irritating and smug references to pop culture–thank God.

October 14, 2009

The creative ideal

Filed under: Audio & Music,Film/TV/Animation,Latest Works,My Life/Musings,Photography,Site News,Video Games,Writing — Rob @ 3:00 am

NEWS:
New Kitty Cat Diary entries:

It’s hard to believe that the Kitty Cat Diary has been going for eight years now. Elena and I always joked that once she hits forty, we’d probably put an end to the Kitty Cat Diary. She’s going to turn thirty-nine in just a few months, so I guess we only have about a year left before the Kitty Cat Diary will come to an end. Time sure flies!

WEBLOG:
Recently, I’ve been thinking hard about the next long-term project I’ll be dedicating a lot of time to, and while going through all the different IP’s I’ve created over the years and trying to narrow down to just one project to concentrate on, I started thinking about the ideal story I’d want to tell. Creative people all have different things they value most in artistic works–for some, it’s originality, or technique, or motivation–it’s different from person to person. I have lists of attributes I value the most too–be it for visual art, music, fiction, film, or design. When it comes to narrative stories, I have discovered over the years that these are the attributes I tend to respond to and care about the most:

-A conflict that is worthy of attention, where both sides have compelling motivations and reasons we can relate to and identify with. If only one side has compelling reasons while the other side is completely unrelatable, then we must be able to completely empathize with the one side that has compelling reasons for its actions/reactions.

-It must have emotional elements that draw us in. A completely intellectual story without emotional satisfaction tends to feel like cold and calculating experiments instead of stories we can care about.

-There has to be something profoundly moving about the story–be it a moral lesson, emotional catharsis, arduous triumph, selfless sacrifice, tragic loss, compassion, forgiveness, and so on.

-It has to have characters we are drawn to for any number of reasons–be it courage, intelligence, sense of humor, deep melancholy, devious wit, audacious ambition, ethereal beauty, and so on. If all the characters have no redeeming qualities (the UK version of The Office comes to mind), then I get bored of watching a bunch of people I’d never want to have the displeasure of meeting. I prefer stories that have characters with at least some admirable traits, as opposed to stories about characters I wouldn’t care if they lived or died. The only exception to this is comedies.

-It must have an appropriate, effective, and consistent tone that matches the premise and the heart of the story. Unexplained and sudden deviations without compelling and convincing creative reasons will always result in the ruin of an otherwise good piece of work. The Halo video game franchise is a good example of what I dislike. The little dward aliens that run around yelling in cartoony voices (in a harrowing war for the survival of the human race) is one of the most inexplicably horrific creative blunders I’ve ever seen in my life. No excuses could justify it. I’ve heard all the reasons about gameplay issues and how they had to make it obvious the little aliens will scatter if you kill one of the big aliens, or that they wanted to inject some humor into the game, and none of the excuses were compelling or convincing. The Bungie guys could’ve done a number of different things to convey what they needed to convey–hell, I can think of a handful of effective solution off the top of my head for that particular gameplay issue or using humor that actually is appropriate and fitting for the premise. But instead, they ruined the mood of the Halo premise with that one blight of a bad creative call.

-It must feel natural, regardless if the general tone is stylized, or how fantastic the premise is. I have a personal dislike for pretentious pomp, overacting, and overly contrived stylization that is formulated at the cost of an authentic and honest visceral experience. Even highly stylized films like Pulp Fiction feel very natural and honest because the execution has the appropriate tone for the premise.

-The storyteller has to be sincere. Storytelling borne of cynicism and apathy almost always feel smug and heartless.

-No rampant and forced sentimentality. Emotions must be fully justified, and must serve a meaningful purpose in the story, or contribute to the plot progression in a way that makes perfect sense. The old narrative wisdom of “Show, don’t tell,” is the key here.

-I’m a sucker for premises with fantastical elements like the supernatural, science fiction, fantasy, surrealism…etc. Though I love any great story–even ones that have zero fantastical elements, my guilty pleasure has always been sci-fi, fantasy, horror…etc.

I think based on those attributes, it’s pretty easy to see what my priorities are as a storyteller, and what to expect from the long-term project I’m going to be concentrating on in the near future. Thinking about each of those attributes also helped me define what I should strive for and mistakes I should avoid. I feel that at my age (turning 37 soon), I have lived enough to know exactly what I want and don’t want as both a person and a storyteller, but I’m still young enough to be adventurous and an idealist. I feel like I’m starting to run out of time, and if I don’t get something out there in the next few years, it would probably mean I’ve failed.

…

Electronic musicians are always striving for newer and better ways to control/perform their sounds, and the eigenharp is the latest invention in that quest:
eigenharp

I wish it was more like the Haken Continuum where the pitch control is totally continuous, instead of single pitched keys. One of the hardest things to do electronically is convincing legato and portamento, and I have to wonder why the guys behind the eigenharp didn’t address that. As it is, I’m not sure just how much better it performs compared to a nice keyboard with breath controller, pedals, pitch/mod wheels, and ribbon controller. It’s probably easier to play, but that alone does not justify the hefty price tag. You can find out more about the eigenharp from these links (video demonstrations):
http://www.eigenlabs.com/roadshow
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2009/10/06/first-look-the-eigenlabs-eigenharp

…

I recently finished playing Gears of War. While playing this game, I kept feeling like it’s a game designed by the kind poser whose idea of manliness is ridiculous macho posturing. Every single line of dialog was so drenched in testosterone that it’s just comical. I don’t know why they even bothered to pretend there’s a story, because there isn’t–it’s just a paper-thin premise used as an excuse to go shooting from point A to B to C to D and so on. I was also pissed off by the save system, where you have to endure the asshole game designer’s God-complex and do it his way–which means NO SAVES. The checkpoint system when used right can be a decent substitute for a flexible save system, but when it’s designed to test your patience and assume you like playing the same level over and over and over, it justifies the arrest of the asshole game designer, with no trial, and sent straight to the torture chamber. I can even tolerate it if the checkpoint system only restarted me at the location I died in, but noooo, that would make too much sense and be too humane. The asshole game designer makes you not only restart the location you died in, but all the previous locations from the beginning of the checkpoint. So let’s say if you already cleared a whole large room full of continuously spawning enemies and then go to the backyard and almost cleared that whole backyard, but unfortunately gets killed by the last remaining enemy, you’d have to–that’s right–restart at the fucking large room and clear that room all over again and then clear the fucking backyard. I know a gamer-hating asshole designer when I see one, and Cliffy B is definitely one gamer-hating mofo. With that said though, I really don’t mind it when he’s not testing my patience with gamer-hating save systems. I’ve been a big fan of the Unreal series since the very first one and have never skipped any of the Unreal games. Unreal 2 even had a good story and ending, so it’s not like they can’t make a game with a good story. Overall, Gears of War was an OK experience if you don’t mind some repetitiveness. Visually, the game’s nice, but not my cup of tea in terms of style.

The score for Gears of War by Kevin Riepl was disappointing. I’m a big fan of his hybrid styled scores for the Unreal series, but when he tries to do all orchestral stuff, it just isn’t very good (he reminds me of Brian Tyler in that regard).

I never would’ve bothered with the sequel had I not read that it’s much better–especially in terms of story and more varied environments. So I’m now playing Gears of War 2, and it really is much better than the first one. The story is now actually interesting, and you want to find out what happens next. The characters are also now more compelling, and you invest more in them emotionally. I guess Cliffy’s not so bad afterall.

Quick movie/TV reviews:
Rome – Elena and I enjoyed this TV series very much, although it got cut short in the second (and final) season due to budget problems. We would’ve loved to see the series play out according to the original plan the creators had. The high level of production quality is obvious, and it’s easy to see why the show had to end due to the unbearable cost of production. The writing, directing, acting, music…etc were all top-notch. If you like political intrigue, violence, sex, and lots of backstabbing, you probably would love this show. For us it got a little excessive at times because it depressed us seeing all the characters always being betrayed, distraught, in pain, depressed, or having lost all hope.

Quarantine – Elena and I were on the edge of our seats while watching this film and we really enjoyed it. It’s one of the most intense horror films I’ve seen in a while, taking the Blair Witch formula of fake documentary and really kicking it into high gear. I didn’t know anything about the film beforehand, and it was only afterward did I find out Quarantine was a shot-by-shot remake of a recent Spanish film called [REC]. I wonder if I should bother watching [REC] if the two films are so similar. I do find it tragic that really good foreign films have to be remade by Americans just because the general audience hates reading subtitles. This really isn’t a problem for countries that never had a thriving film industry, since they are so used to importing movies from countries with healthy film industries, and they are so used to subtitles that they don’t even think about it. Some people prefer dubbing, but the abysmal track record of dubbing has long given it a bad name. It would be much better to try to improve the quality of dubs or try to get American audiences to accept subtitles than remaking foreign films, but it’s never going to happen. Americans are so spoiled by having the largest film industry in the world that they would simply find something else to watch where they don’t have to exert themselves.

Frost/Nixon – I enjoyed this film, and it’s one of the better Ron Howard films I’ve seen–probably his best film since Apollo 13.

The Knowing – I have kept hoping that one day Alex Proyas would make another great film like Dark City, and I’m still waiting. The films he’s made since Dark City were…well, let’s just say the term “one-hit-wonder” could be applied to filmmakers as well, not just songwriters. The Knowing has an interesting premise, but it just wasn’t as compelling as it could have been, especially with such a promising premise. The spaceship design for the aliens was really good though–one of the best designs I’ve seen in a long time.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – I knew I wanted to see this film at the very least for the best digital effects Hollywood has yet produced, and while I hoped the story would be worth the time spent watching the effects, I was surprised by what a let down the film was. There was no essential theme, no emotional catharsis, no triumphs, no moral lessons, no complex dilemmas–just arbitrary smattering of events strung together had no deeper meaning or contributed to any tangible proof that they had compelling and lasting effects on any of the characters. The entire film was essentially a lot of hot air about nothing. All of the conflicts were contrived and meaningless, and gave no emotional or intellectual satisfaction whatsoever upon the film’s conclusion.

Out of the Blue – This film is an example where I felt the direction was too bland and didn’t do the premise justice. For a film about an insane man massacring over a dozen of his neighbors and eventually gets taken down by the special forces, it wasn’t nearly as harrowing as it should’ve been. I think overall the execution felt dated and lacks the edge that contemporary films of the same genre has.

The Proposition - I’ve heard good things about this film, and it didn’t quite live up to my expectations, especially after having seen a stream of excellent recent westerns. While I liked the character of Captain Stanley, I didn’t care for the rest of the characters or the story itself. Charlie’s moral dilemma never felt immediate to me, and I feel if the film had been concentrated on Caption Stanley’s moral dilemma, and perhaps centered the story around him trying to protect Mikey at the cost of his job, or even his own life, the story would’ve been far more poignant and meaningful.

This is England – It’s rare to see feature films that feel this genuine and sincere. It feels almost a little like if Larry Clark had directed American History X, but with England as the backdrop and with an English cast. Young Thomas Turgoose was very good as the main character, and I hope we’ll see him grow into a formidable actor.

Transporter 2 – Mindless entertainment. There’s no other reason to watch popcorn movies like this. I try to keep a balance diet of different types of films so I can be more well-rounded, and sometimes mindless fun isn’t so bad when you’re in the mood for it.

Infernal Affairs III – Totally unnecessary, and feels like they’re simply trying to milk the franchise while riding on the coattail of the previous films.

Dead Snow – Even as a mindless popcorn movie it fails. Really pointless and banal writing, no character development, no semblance of a plot, and feels like what happens when a bunch of horror film geeks lacking any talent whatsoever for writing and directing gets together with some equipment and decides to make a movie.

Factory Girl – The film itself is OK, but the subject matter is one that makes me roll my eyes. I’ve always had this strong dislike for people who I see as parasites–socialites, the sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll self-destructive narcissism, and fashionable fake-artist whose only real talent is media manipulation, without any redeeming qualities as human beings. That whole segment of the society is just a waste of oxygen. I didn’t know that Hayden Christensen was in the film,and when he showed up on screen playing Bob Dylan, my immediate reaction was, “Are you fucking kidding me? Someone actually thought this was a good idea?” The fact that Christensen actually thought he had the acting chops to pull it off shows how much he overestimated his own talent as an actor.

44 Minutes – It was pretty good for a made-for-TV movie. Not much really happens though–it’s just two heavily armed bank robbers shooting it out with the cops–that’s it–that’s the whole movie.

Quick and the Dead – I couldn’t make it past the first ten minutes. Very low-budget film with terrible writing and direction.

Bad Boys II – Well, it’s Michael Bay, so you know what you’re in for–cheesy dialogs, bombastic action, and about as shallow as dish water. I torture myself with films I know I wouldn’t like, or even would hate, simply because I want to experience both good an bad films so I never lose perspective on what the entire film industry is really like. I think people who only watch films they know they would enjoy end up having a very skewed impression of what the world of feature films is really like, and being so ignorant of other types of films can be detrimental to one’s development as a creative person. So for the sake of having a well-balance diet of good an bad films, I suffer.

Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans – It was an OK movie–about the same as the previous two. Although I love the premise and the mythology, the films themselves aren’t exactly great cinema.

District 9 – After all the hype and glowing reviews, I was disappointed. The basic premise recalls South Africa’s past turmoils, but beyond that, I really didn’t see anything special that transcended other typical sci-fi action films. Many are calling it the best sci-fi films of the last decade, and I sure would like some of whatever it is they are smoking.

September 26, 2009

Canon VIXIA HF11 AVCHD camcorder

Filed under: Art & CG,Books,Computers & Gadgets,Film/TV/Animation,My Life/Musings,Photography,Video Games,Writing — Rob @ 4:36 pm

Weblog:
Recently when I was making videos about the Zendrum, I realized I really needed a dedicated camcorder instead of using the video recording feature on the Fujifilm F30. We’ve always used our cameras’ video recording feature whenever we needed to record videos, and we’ve always been fine with the inherent limitations. But now that I need to shoot more demanding videos where I need to exercise a lot more control over the shooting process, it was time to bite the bullet and get a camcorder. I did a lot of research and debated about whether to go with standard definition or high-definition, and finally decided that since the entire market is obviously moving towards HD, it would be kind of stubborn to stay in the SD world. I did think about whether I would need to burn DVD’s to share with other people, or the extra space and processing power required to work with HD footage. In the end, I decided that HD would be doable and SD would be taking a step back in technology.

Other than shooting the typical travel and home movies, I will be uploading to Youtube some music-making gear reviews and demonstrations. I might try to shoot some live-action stuff with it too–perhaps a short-film, but it’s unlikely to happen when I’m in China, since I don’t really have an interest in working with local Chinese actors or shooting anything in the Chinese language (unless I happen to write a screenplay that takes place in China).

The HD camcorder I ended up getting was the Canon VIXIA HF11 AVCHD :
Canon HF11

I was surprised by how tiny the thing is. My last memory of consumer camcorders was when they seemed at least two or three times bigger:
tiny Canon HF11

I also got the Canon VL-5 optional light for it:
Canon HF11 with VL-5 optional light

Other accessories I got includes a Sandisk 32GB class 2 and a Toshiba 32GB class 4 SDHC memory cards, a Pisen BP819D battery/charger, and I’ll also be getting a Canon WD-H37C II 37mm Wide Angle Conversion Lens soon, since the wide end of the HF11 is laughably NOT wide.

The VL-5 is 3,000 kelvin degrees halogen light, so it’s warmer than neutral. I think Canon designed it that way because they think the typical ambient lighting used in various places are warm tungsten lights, so the fill light would need to match the ambient light temperature. The small LED light that’s built into the camcorder itself is very cool in temperature, likely deviating from the standard 5,00k even more than the VL-5 (though on the cooler side). The LED light isn’t very bright and casts everything in a cool, bluish hue, so the VL-5 is good purchase if you want a usable fill-light.

After testing it out for a couple of days, I pretty much figured out the optimal settings for most of the shooting situations I’d encounter. The Cine mode gives the best detail in highlights and shadows, but the image is flatter than the other modes. Setting the Image Effects to Vivid will help, but it’s still not as vibrant as I’d like. There also seems to a cap on the ISO when in Cine mode, since the exposure never goes up in Cine mode after reaching a certain threshold, so if a scene is dark, it’ll stay dark instead of automatically going up in exposure or going down in shutter speed. The lack of high-ISO noise like in the other modes also tells me there must be a limit of how high the ISO will go in Cine mode. I have the frame rate set to 50i since the PF25 that’s recommended to use with the Cine mode is way too sluggish.

I’d love to have shelled out the bucks for a professional grade HD camcorder so I can have deeper manual control down to the last detail, but like I said, I have no interest in shooting live-action stuff while I’m in China, so it would’ve been money wasted. For casual use, the HF11 is perfectly fine, if you know how to adapt it to various lighting situations. Luckily I have already accumulated a lot of technical knowledge from photography over the years, and the main foundation knowledge is the same from photography to video. As long as you have a firm grasp of the main concepts behind how aperture, shutter speed, ISO, metering, white balance…etc work together to contribute to the final output, you already know all the most important technical stuff.

One annoying thing about the HF11 is the ImageMixer 3 SE software that comes with it–it refuses to install because the serial number from the HF11 is rejected. I may have to end up paying for another AVCHD capable video editor, but I’d rather not since I already have Adobe Premiere CS3 (though it can’t import AVCHD, unless you play for a third-party solution).

Although I’m still busy working on the course material for the workshop, I’ll try to find some time to remake the Zendrum video with the HF11 and get it up on Youtube.

…

Speaking of the workshop, one thing I’ve noticed is that I tend to spend a lot of time creating content that are rarely, if ever, readily available in the instructional books and DVD’s, or even art school classes. I try to not spend too much time on topics that already have tons of readily available free and commercial resources, since that’s not the point of the workshop. The whole point of the workshop is to teach both essential foundations and also critical advanced knowledge and techniques that’s very hard to learn due to lack of resources, or would require many years of experience and gradual evolution as an artist to grasp. My goals is to make those highly difficult aspects easy to understand, so the students can shave off many years from their struggles.

Some of the topics in the workshop that have very little available resources elsewhere are advanced theories like the complexities and principles of stylization–for example, the anatomy of visual vocabulary, and the way they combine to describes different visual styles–from culturally influenced styles (anime, American comic books), house styles of prolific studios and intellectual properties (well known franchises, animation studios), to personal styles. Stylization is something that even pros often don’t get right, and while it’s often a matter of taste, there are very important universal rules that artists must observe in order to create styles that are effective and appropriate for any given intellectual property. A related topic is the matter of aesthetics, and it’s a topic rarely ever taught in detail in art schools or in commercial “How To” books and videos. In the workshop, I try to help students learn to dissect the mysteries of aesthetic concerns, and also look at examples of how an artist might evolve aesthetically, but not always for the better.

There are so many other things in the workshop spanning all topics (composition, lighting, color, surface polish, stylization, aesthetics…etc) that I purposely designed so the students can learn things that they would not be able to learn from elsewhere–things that are often overlooked, insufficiently explained, or maybe beyond the understanding or insight of other teachers and authors. I’m not saying that as an artist or teacher I know more than others–what I’m saying is that I just happened to have given a lot more thought to all the vital knowledge that are missing from the instructional materials out there. I’m sure some of the artists and teachers out there also know this stuff, but for some reason it just never occurred to them to teach those complex and difficult topics (maybe the fact they are difficult is the main reason).

Anyway, I’m getting closer to finishing the course material–maybe about a couple more months away, and I can’t wait to pass on all those critical knowledge and techniques to the next generation of aspiring artists.

…

Although there’s truth to the advice that you should surround yourself with excellent creative works in order to learn from and be influenced by the best, it’s also true that we often need to experience the polar-opposite to really understand why the masters are so great. The reason why is because often the masters are so skilled that you often cannot figure out why something they did worked so beautifully–there is no trace of the string on the puppet, or any evidence of clumsy tempering. It’s like watching master magicians–you try as hard you could but you can never figure out how the magic is done. But if a bad magician tries to perform the same tricks, as soon as he fumbles, we can see exactly where he failed, and we get a glimpse of the secret to the tricks themselves. That is what happens when we try to learn from inferior creative works, and by becoming familiar with the various telltale signs of inferior works, we gain a deeper understanding of how superior creative works differ. This is the main reason why I force myself to sit through films that I already know are horrible–I need to be well-versed in both excellent and egregious examples to be a more well-rounded creative person. Of course, I don’t purposely go and seek out horrible films–I simply sometimes watch them when they happen to fall on my lap (on TV, friends with bad taste, given to me…etc). Sometimes I would not be able to sit through the whole thing–maybe just the first fifteen to twenty minutes before I eject the DVD out of disgust. Sometimes, a film that is mostly well-made but contains some glaring artistic and technical faults would be the most educational, because you get to witness and compare in the same film what worked and what didn’t.

So, for those of you who turn your noses up at what you consider inferior works of art–take a deep breath, and try and see if you can learn a few things from them. You might be surprised at how much you learn just by trying to analyze all the things that are wrong with bad works of art, and how exactly, down to the last tiny detail, you would’ve done things differently. The most valuable lessons you learn from bad works of art is to never repeat those same mistake in your own creative works.

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It’s been a while since I got motion-sick from playing a video game, but when I tried to play The Darkness recently, it really messed me up bad. Just seconds into the game and I can already feel it happening. I wish I knew what the exact causes are, and all games would have different settings to help alleviate the problem. Some games allow you to change the Field Of View for that reason, but it’s actually rare that a game has that option available.

I’ve tried a few different games recently but so far none really made me want to continue further, except maybe Assassins Creed, but mostly because it’s got one of the best presentation I’ve seen in a game. Far Cry 2 so far is really disappointing, especially compared to the first game, which is on my list of favorite games of all time. The premise just isn’t very interesting and the storytelling is so unremarkable that you just have no reason to want to go on. Mirror’s Edge was fun at first, but after a while it just feels repetitive, and some of the jumping puzzles are incredibly frustrating. The storytelling also moves forward in a way that’s not very compelling, not to mention the cinematics have some of the worst art direction I’ve ever seen in my life. I wonder how they decided on such an idiotic looking style–one that has nothing to do with the awesome visual style of the game itself. I also tried Grand Theft Auto IV, and as much as I wanted to love it, I just don’t think I’m the type to be able to fall in love with a sandbox styled game. There are just some sensibility issues I can’t agree with. While I had a ton of fun with GTA: Vice City years ago, I never finished that game either because there just wasn’t any motivation in terms of the narrative. I think the sandbox genre needs to figure out a more compelling way to propel the storytelling forward–perhaps usage of scripted events sprinkled within the sandbox environment itself. As it is, it feels more often like stupid mindless fun instead of engaging storytelling.

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I finished a couple of books recently. Here are some thoughts about them:

Inside Delta Force, by Eric Haney – I’ve heard all the negative opinions about Haney–that he embellished the truth, fabricated events, and made false claims–criticisms that came from his ex-squad mates and commanding officers who read or heard about his book. To make things worse, the TV show he helped co-create and write, The Unit, is a pretty unremarkable show because it contained some ridiculous situations that could never happen in real life (such as the season one finale)–which damages Haney’s reputation even more. So, even before reading the book, I already had some reservations, and I have to say, the book was quite good, with plenty of juicy detail that special forces enthusiasts like myself could chew on–from how they train inside the Kill Houses, how they train to do spy work, to how they take down terrorists in various environments like commercial airlines and trains. In the book, Haney didn’t exhibit any characteristics that you’d associate with the harsh criticism from his ex-squad mates and CO’s. But then again, most intelligent people know how to lie very well and pretend to be someone they’re not. Overall, I enjoyed the book more than I enjoyed Chuck Pfarrer’s Warrior Soul, since it was more detailed in the actual operations and more exciting as well.

Becoming A Synthesizer Wizard, by Simon Cann – I regret getting this book, and it’s not because it’s a bad book, but because I already own two similar books (How to Make a Noise and Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User) by the same author, and this one more or less feels redundant. I even contacted the author and asked him if I should get this book, considering I have his other books, and although he ultimately advised against it, the reasons he gave were never really about redundancy. I suppose from his perspective, the book contains enough unique information, but from my perspective, if you already have books that covers all the different synthesis techniques and how to operate some of the most prolific softsynths on the market, it’s pretty much pointless to get a book that focuses on software modular synthesizers, because you already know enough to be able to figure out any modular synth.

The book itself is good, and if you don’t already own books on synthesis, this would be a good book to get. But when push comes to shove, I would recommend Simon’s other book, How to Make a Noise, over this one, since it’s more in-depth on the stuff that really matter.

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Quickie movie reviews:

Clean, Shaven - A very poignant and moving film, without ever being sentimental or contrived. It’s an unflinching look at a schizophrenic man trying to find his daughter, and what happens when he finds her. Elena couldn’t watch the film with me because the Chinese subtitles were horribly wrong (sometimes I would translate an entire film for her, dialog by dialog as we watch, but not on that day), so I watched it by myself. I later described the story to her and just listening to me describing the ending brought tears to her eyes.

The Reader – I liked the film, and I enjoyed the multi-layered complexities dealing with personal and cultural guilt. Kate Winslet was excellent in the film–probably her best performance to date.

An American Haunting – The idea behind the story itself isn’t bad (repressed memory shown as supernatural events), but the execution was ineffective. I’ve seen horror films with similar ideas that were much better executed. Avoid this film unless you have nothing else to watch.

Aftershock: Earthquake In New York – This was a made-for-TV film, and it wasn’t great, but pretty good for what it is. If you like Jennifer Garner, then you might watch it just for her.

Traitor - A strong film that’s executed very well, but I wished some of the character relationship developments could’ve been more in-depth, so we get a deeper insight into the inner conflicts of the terrorists-in-training. That would’ve been a different film though, since this one at its core is still an action thriller.

The Strangers – Perfect example of technique over substance. If the screenplay didn’t depict such moronic main characters, the film would’ve been amazing, but since most of the audience has better common sense than both of the main characters, the film falls flat on its face. Instead of being scared, the audience laughs at (or gets angry at) the main characters they’re supposed to identify and empathize with. This is what happens when filmmakers underestimate the audience.

I believe that the audience in general wants to see intelligent, resourceful, and courageous protagonists, instead of idiotic, chicken-shit, fumbling morons. Watching fools get offed because they are too stupid to know any better is not all that entertaining, but watching smart and resourceful protagonists battling it out with the antagonists is very satisfying, and even educational if the protagonists devised solutions and strategies that are plausible and realistic.

Blood Rayne – I couldn’t force myself to watch more than the first twenty minutes before I had to eject the DVD. I often force myself to watch movies that I know are really bad just so I can remind myself what bad films are like, and also to see if I can gain some new insights into all the little and big things that bad filmmakers don’t do right, in order to remind myself to never commit those same mistakes. But sometimes when a film is so bad you just can’t make it all the way through.

The level crassness really has to be seen and heard to be believed–horrible dialog that completely mixed syntax and cadence without any knowledge of how modern and period dialogs differ, ridiculous and laughably dorky costume designs (Michelle Rodriguez’s costume made me laugh hysterically–it was the worst unintentionally bad costume design I’ve ever seen in my life), cringe-worthy acting and directing (it’s Uwe Boll after all), and to top it off, seeing Ben Kingsley embarrass himself by being in that film.

Pride and Glory – A pretty good film about police corruption. Some of the character motivations seem a bit forced, but it’s technically and artistically well-executed, and I thought the ending was satisfying.

The Apocalypse – Avoid this abomination by the Christian production and distribution company called Faith Films. It’s so bad that even the Christian community wants to disown it. I couldn’t finish this one either–it was just too painful.

Flood – A pretty entertaining disaster film overall, but it’s not as gripping as some of the other well-known films in the disaster genre.

Man On Wire – I thought this documentary was overrated. Most of the critics loved it, but I found it to be a bit too stylized for a documentary. Also, the progression of the film was too slow, without enough intrigue to make you want to keep on watching. The film’s climax was also disappointing–no video footage, only a few still photos with narrations. They probably should’ve just had him plan a whole new project and then filmed that instead, so they’d at least be able to film the actual climax.

White Noise: The Light- It’s a little heartbreaking to see Captain Tight Pants (you know who he is if you’re a Browncoat) in this film. He really tried his best, but the writing, directing, and editing were just such clichéd drivel that I wished more than ever that Firefly didn’t get canceled. At least he’d still have some dignity left as an intergalactic petty thief.

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