I Thought You Were Dead

All right, NOW I'm going to do it! I 'm going to get back onto daily entries, I just need to get back into the habit! I think the main reason I've been slipping lately is because Jess is still gone and the woman is pretty much my muse and motivation for pretty much everything in my life. With out her I'm pretty much uninspired and bored about nearly everything. It's a side effect of a happy marriage I didn't even realise was there until now. I guess I'm glad she took the break for that reason, It'll probably help me a good father.

However, there was one experience that helped. Jess has owned a copy of Final Fantasy IV for the DS for a long time, and now that I'm quite bored with her gone, I decided to give it a try. After I got past the opening hour, I suddenly got a really heady feeling of nostalgia. It took me back to the days of the PSX and FFVII. The story was okay, maybe it gets more complex later on, but it was worth picking up just for that brief sojourn into my younger life.

I have to work hard on my final project for school, so I may not have time for a full review this month. maybe a couple of Nancy Drews or something.

Movie of the day: Escape From New York. I knew I had to see this one at some point, just because I'm becoming a fan of John Carpenter and I've always loved Metal Gear Solid (which takes several massive and incredibly obvious cues from it.) It is pretty awesome, and what they did on a low budget and old technology is phenomenal (you know the part where Snake sees a wire frame image of the city through the screen of his glider? That ain't CG! It was a scale model of New York painted with luminescent paint and tape!), but it still shows it's age with how slow it's pace is and how aimless it can get, despite a simple premise. I also felt they wasted that psycho henchman, too. I do love the music, though! Carpenter was pretty darn talented when it came to composing, and this score really shows off how synth can still work without sounding goofy (along with Blade Runner and The Thing).

Song of the day: The Streets Of Whiterun by Jeremy Soule. those who have played Skyrim may think, "Man, I know this one by heart, it's like the third most recognizable song in the game (after Dovahkiin and the Battle Theme)!" Wrong. You have heard it in the background, so low that I bet you don't even know that it has a piano section! This is actually a fantastic piece, sad and wrenching, perfectly capturing a city struggling to get by. There's a lot to it that you can really miss on a casual listen, so give it a real try.

Remember, Boys And Girls: Don't Be A Dimwit!

Yes, don't be a dimwit and leave your blog for ages so you have all the more to catch up on when you do! Well, it certainly has been a busy week, but at least I have something to show for it! two things, even! Check it out!

Well, I'm On My Way

My stars, it certainly is going to be a busy week for me. Not only am I editing the Mewtwo Returns review but I need to put together a compositing project and get the preproduction on my BIG project to at least a decent standard by Monday! It always seems to be that way with work for me, feast or famine...

As for Jess, she's done great, and we just found out it's going to be a boy! Still not sure how I feel about that, we were kind of hoping for a girl, but it's still very exciting and it's not going to make us care for him any less. Still freakin' weird, though...

Movie of the day: The Sword In The Stone. I'd really almost hesitate to call this a "movie", it's only 75 minutes long and to be honest, there's really no scope to it despite the lofty setting and main characters. I'd prefer to call it a beautifully animated Disney TV special. The jokes and pacing are... okay for the time period but oh my, the character animation in particular is just stellar. Worth watching twice over for any student of the animation craft, and a nice little distraction for the rest of us.

Song of the day: Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard by Paul Simon. When most people think of Paul they usually think of maudlin folk songs with depressing messages, but what they tend to forget is that he also sang some pretty catchy and upbeat tunes! ...With depressing messages. Still a fun song, though.

Sketchbook Sunday, Part The Eleventh

Someone commented last time that maybe I should just do the Movie and Song of the day if I can't think of something to write. I guess that would help you to know that I'm still here, so I'll give it a try. That said, I actually do have some things to say today.

We've been on an efficiency kick after we finished cleaning up the bomb site that was left after the in-laws evacuated, so I decided to really get down to it and work on my end-of-month review. After eight straight hours I finally finished up the script! It's probably my most negative review so far (aside from FFVII:AC if course), but I'm still quite pleased with it, so I'll hype it up a bit. It's a  solo review of Mewtwo Returns. I'll give a release date when the titlecard is done, but it should be interesting!

Now, for some sketches.

Didn't Know What I Had To Do

I'm losing it. I really wanted to hold onto the daily blog thing, but it's surprisingly hard to come up with something interesting that I did every day. I guess I'm just a boring kind of guy. That plus the fact that I'm scripting two major projects means that I'm going to have to shift how often I post to every other day, and then just to update with something interesting I found. I'll still try to post daily, just no promises anymore.

That said, check out this freaking thing!



If I owned this, I would grind it to powder with how often I would use it. It is my absolute dream equipment, and it rekindles the excitement of filmmaking within me all over again. The instant I have a large enough budget for a $15,000 steadicam, this will arrive on my doorstep the day before it happens. It's the most beautiful piece of filmmaking perfection I have ever seen, and one day, it will be mine.

Movie of the day: Overboard. I could almost call this a guilty pleasure, but decent writing, a heartwarming yet sufficiently cynical story, Goldie Hawn at her prime and Kurt Freakin' Russell elevate it sufficiently into Watchable Chick Flick for me. I think Goldie is like Hugh Grant: at their best when playing complete jerks (at least at the beginning).

Song of the day: Stronger by The Sugababes. I have a real love/hate relationship with this group. Their first single, 'overload', was a really smart and different song that stood out amongst the manufactured stuff. "Freak Like Me" was also amazing, but I'll talk about that one later. Then, they started losing members and started producing the manufactured crap that they originally stood out from. Now I don't even think they have any of the same members. I do really love this song, downbeat and engrossing, yet with an optimistic message. I think it was their last good one.

When The Morning Comes

I keep forgetting that I don't have to write a long post every day. Short post, ho!

Today we mainly just entered into recovery mode after we saw the family-in-law off at 4 in the morning (lots of napping was involved in the afternoon). We have to sort out all the stuff they left us including two scooters and three bikes. I guess it'll eventually lead to some extra scratch but ugh, it's just tiresome.

Got some great ideas for my end-of-month review, hopefully I'll have a script done by the end of the week. I've been having no end of trouble with streaming, so I'll have to put the first impressions series and AMV heaven on the backburner until further notice once again. I'll figure something out...

Movie of the day: Second Hand Lions. There comes a time when you just want a nice little heartwarmer of a film to relax and enjoy in the good old-fashioned lazy afternoon kind of way. It's pretty harmless, but it maintains interest very well (especially in the fantasy sequences) and you can't go wrong with Robert Duvall and Michael Caine. The story behind the screenplay is quite intriguing too, check it out in the extras.

Song of the day: All Alone by Gorillaz. I love Gorillaz, they were the first band I ever bought an album from, and this song exemplifies one of the best things about them: how unconventional they can be especially for a pop band. I love how it seems like a dirty little headbobber and then suddenly just blooms into a sublime orchestral splash of sunshine for a second. I just wish that bridge could be a song on it's own.

Keep Believing, Keep Pretending

I apologise for not putting up my usual 'sketchbook sunday' post yesterday. It wasn't because I hadn't drawn anything, it's just that I haven't been able to reach the scanner for all the people in this ludicrously small apartment! It's not too bad, though, they're leaving tomorrow and it's really going to be quite sad, especially for Jess. They were a little piece of home and family that she always had around. Sure, we'll always have skype, but it's just a shame things didn't work out.

Two recent developments: my writer's block has been smashed with extreme prejudice when it comes to my independent end-of-year project (the one that counts for a ludicrous amount of my grade and is basically a self-financed short film). I'm working on the concept and a rough draft of the script, and soon I'll be filming a teaser for potential backers. That's right, this sucker's gonna be crowdfunded! More details as they come, but the ideas are coming at an awesome rate. Stay tuned and don't worry: I'm also working on a great video for the end of the month.

The other development? I think I'm getting a cold. Crap.

Movie of the day: The Muppet Movie. Yes, it's dated and corny, but it's so incomprehensibly charming and sincere that it's easier to bite your own finger off than to hate it. Most of the songs are actually really good, even today, and some of the jokes are just awesome (Steve Martin is a surprise scream). The ending song still gets me a little choked up. I'm not sure how a modern kid would handle it, but for those who remember the Muppets, it's pure childhood.

Song of the day: D.A.N.C.E by Justice. Catchy and mind-blowingly dancey, this is one of those you can't help bobbing your head to, and the production is just deliriously enthusiastic. Play it on a good day to make you feel even better. I love the funky retro vibe it gives without pandering or losing it's originality.

And I Ride And I Ride

Well, I made it through yesterday's bout of gloominess... Only to run into a whole new set of problems today. We had to set up a new fridge that was given to us because my sister-in-law is moving back to America, which we had to do in the first real rainfall of the year, then just as we had finished moving everything into place and caught our breath, we got a knock on the door and found out that, through no fault of theirs, that same family has to stay with us for four more days, starting today. We were actually somewhat prepared for this as we knew that they needed somewhere to stay, but we expected them tomorrow and only for the one day! Our apartment is already nastily tiny, I hope we can fit 2 adults and 4 children in here... As I said, it wasn't their fault, but man it's still tough. Despite that, I did manage to gett the next Nancy Drew video up and ready, though. Stil not sure what to do for next week.

Not to mention it was also me and Jess' Two year anniversary today! Well, technically it's tomorrow as we got married in America on the 6th, but eh, whatever. Despite all that's been happening we still managed to have some fancy mexican and took a nice road trip. To those who follow my twitter, every year I mention that I'm not seeing the downside of marriage yet. Still not seeing it. It's awesome.

Movie of the day: Waking Life. This is a film done entirely in experimental rotoscoping, kind of like "A Scanner, Darkly" (by the same director) but way more out there. It's pretty much a treatise on philosophy and the power of dreams, and although it makes some interesting points, I felt like it said all it needed to say in the first half hour. It could have een a great short film, but it's stuck being a mediocre arthouse flick. I just find it bizarre that this director, Richard Linklater, not only directed this but also Dazed And Confused, Tape, Before Sunrise and... School Of Rock? Bad News Bears? You never know what he's going to do next.

Song of the day: The Passenger by Iggy Pop. This song was used in the trailer for Waking Life, and I thought it was awesome. May be a bit repetitive for some, but you can't deny the guy has a compelling and unique voice, even if he does look like Gollum.

Thumbs Down

Been a bit of a downer this last time period. Last night I decided to really get down to it and record not only the next Suede Played, but also a test run for my First Impressions series. Nancy Drew went fine, even though I'm not quite as pleased with this one as I was with the earlier ones (of course that probably means it'll be the most popular, that's just how critic's luck works). But as for streaming... ugh, I don't think I'll be able to do it after all. It feels like the internet in New Zealand is years behind any other first world country. My plan not only has a download cap (very few can afford unlimited downloads) and in terms of speed... well, let's just sum it up here. In the current state of the internet in my country I cannot afford a connection either fast enough to stream HD, or 'wide' enough to allow me to stream regularly without eating up my download limit. Live and learn, I suppose, but it is quite disheartening. I suppose I should get back to my scripted reviews, at least I know they'll upload.

Another downer is that Roger Ebert passed away, as I'm sure you all know. Since I didn't grow up in america, I wasn't as influenced by him as others, but I've seen the impact he had on so many filmmakers and entertainers I respect. I guess you could say I wish I had known him better than I did.

Well, now to try and make people laugh at pokemon! *sigh*...

Movie of the day: Ip Man: The Legend Is Born. Yet another depressing thing about the week. I spotted this in the video store, hearing great things about it and  some awesome reviews. Then, when I saw it, I was really, really underwhelmed. I had some decent kung fu, for sure, and the actors do their best but it was really dull, predictable and bordring on anti-japanese propanganda. I just didn't understand why people thought so highly of it... and then I looked it up on IMDB and realised that what I got was actually the second sequel to the one everyone was raving about, a prequel showing how he began! Well that was depressing.

Song of the day: Graveyard by Jason Hayes, Tracy W. Bush, Derek Duke, and Glenn Stafford. Completing this thoroughly depressing day, have one of the nicest dying soundtracks in videogames. Dying almost didn't seem so bad when the awesome music came on. Perfect serenity. Wish me luck that tomorrow won't be like this!

Believe In Me

Yep, It's back to the daily grind, learning a software I really don't have much interest in learning but kind of have to if I'm going to get an entry level job (although I'd prefer to work in production rather than post). Tonight I'll record a new Nancy Drew and start preparing for both the streams and the proper review at the end of the month. There have been so many times I've tried to organise my life, hopefully this time it'll work out. I need to decide in a day to release my weekly vids. I'm leaning towards Saturday, but maybe Friday would be a better choice since more people will be at work or school...?

I've been playing a few of those done-in-five-minutes art games. Check out Every Day The Same Dream and Freedom Bridge, but only if you don't mind feeling really depressed. Games can really draw you in through the simplest things.

Movie of the day: Le Voyage Dans La Lune. This is available to watch for free (it's public domain) and it's only a quarter of an hour long, so there's really no excuse to check it out. This is the masterpiece (or at least the signature piece) of Georges Melies, the man who pretty much invented special effects. It's a heady feeling of human accomplishment to watch a film that's over a hundred and ten years old. Not to mention it's still awesome in a campy overte top way. check out his other work too, you can just feel the enthusiasm he had for it in each picture.

Song of the day: Tonight, Tonight by Smashing Pumpkins. Yeah, this is partly because the music video is a tribute to the above film, but I've always really love this song anyway. When lush, vibrant strings are pulled off well in pop music it's a thing of beauty. Too bad it only happens about once a decade. Billy Corgan's vocals take some getting used to, but at least you can get used to them.

Here You Are, And There's Where You Want To Be

All right. OK. I have been screwing up my schedule long enough and now I need to start over. Let this day (ironically April Fools in America) mark a new beginning for the blog in which I take it more seriously and get it done promptly every day. Forward!

Keeping with this new resolution, I've decided to keep a stricter schedule and I'm even starting arrangements to put out videos weekly, even with my busy student life. The answer? Streaming! Well, in a sense. This is the idea: I do a streaming episode each week, then put it up on blip at the end of the week. That way my die hard fans can watch as I review live, and the casual fans can see it later. What are these streaming shows, you may ask? Well, the first is a first impressions series I'm calling (at the moment) 'Nani Desu ka?' where I watch the first episode of an old or new anime on crunchyroll and give my two cents on it as I watch it. I still need to ask crunchy roll permission to do so, but hopefully everything will work out. The other one is a reboot of an series that seems to have fallen by the wayside: AMV Heaven. This time, instead of editing together a proper review each time, it'll be in radio/VJ format, introducing them, watching them and giving my opinion.

So, here's my ideal schedule, hopefully beginning this week (maybe next):

First Friday of the month: Nancy Drew
Second: Nani Desu Ka?
Third: AMV Heaven
Fourth: Proper review

How does that sound? Think it'll fly? I guess we'll just have to see...

Movie of the day: Hugo. This is a very good movie, and it taught me and my wife quite a few amazing things that we really weren't aware of. It's amazingly intriguing, but unfortunately I can't quite tell you what's intriguing about it without spoiling major plot points. Let's just say anyone with a love of film owes it to themselves to see this. Also, did you know that automatons like the one in the movie really did exist? It's insane!

Song of the day: Start Over by Abandoned Pools. This was the last son played in the TV series Clone High, a show I can't say I was a huge fan of, but I did admire the concept and ideas it had. I also really liked this song. It's pretty standard college fare, but there's this maturity and darkness to the production that elevates it above regular pieces of the genre.

You Can't Handle The Truth

It's been very relaxed lately. Now that I finished the review I have a little downtime to a) prepare for the next one and b) catch up on the gaming I missed out on because I was sweating bullets rather than shooting them. That statement doesn't quite work, though, as I haven't been playing any shooting games, so... eh, just forget it.

As I said, I recently took advantage of the steam indie sale and got some games I'd been meaning to try while they were dirt cheap.

First is Recettear. There's something really charming about this game, maybe it stems from the fact that it ostensibly looks like something that was made in RPG maker. However, the assets are great, the concept and execution are staggeringly unique and wonderfully done, and it even has an intriguing story and very good voice acting (even if it isn't full voice acting). I guess you can expect no less from a Japanese indie game. I have only two complaints: The combat can get a little grind-y, and the picture stretches when I take it into full screen. Other than that. fully recommended. My wife has become obsessed with it.

Next is Thomas Was Alone. I can't give a full opinion yet, but so far, it's very much a triumph in game storytelling. Each rectangle has a distinct personality, but here's the thing: they somehow were able to convey that personality through their jump animation alone. It's insane. I very much want to see how it all comes together.

Lastly I got They Bleed Pixels. This one I can understand why people wouldn't dig it, but I love it simply because of the wonderful nostalgia it gives me. It reminds me of playing commander Keen over and over again. The art in particular has a real old-school adventure game feel to it, even though it's an action-platformer. It's also got this very consistent and appealing 'happy goth' style throughout and has gloriously satisfying combat. Lots of claret though, just a warning for the squeamish.

Movie of the day: A Few Good Men. Speaking of a warning for the squeamish: If you can get past the foul language in this movie, this is a wonderful courtroom drama with fantastic performances that show exactly why these actors were the cream of the crop at the time. I had no idea Tom Cruise was so good at shouting! There are lots of great subtle cues throughout the movie to look out for, and my goodness is it refreshing to see a romantic relationship begin in a movie, but not even get past the kissing stage. Isn't that more realistic? A relationship needs time to develop and you can use your imagination to guess how things will turn out without having the script ruin it for you. Very, very cool, just wish they were a bit more restrained in the language department.

Song of the Day: Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Very much in the vein of The Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind?", this is raw simplicity that somehow makes a compelling beauty. Still have no idea why they called it Maps, though. Or why the Black Eyed Peas felt the need to use it.

To Know The Unknown

Getting the video done in time was an intense experience, and because of that I missed a couple of days. Darn it. But, on the upside, MY REVIEW IS FINALLY UP!

I didn't have time to do a final pass for errors, so I acknowledge that there are some minor animation glitches in it. I'll reupload with improved video later.

So far, this seems like one of my best received reviews, which is odd considering I had such horrific writer's block for it. I struggled so hard with the script I eventually just started writing whatever came into my head and hoping it stuck. I guess I should do that more often! I was also pleased the opening went over well, making JW's head in 3D was a challenge as I had to reteach myself Maya.

But yeah, finally! Phew, now that it's Good Friday I can finally catch up on some gaming I've been missing and take advantage of that Steam Indie sale! I got Recettear, They Bleed Pixels and Thomas Was Alone, and I'm enjoying them all thoroughly. Here's to a shorter interim before the next review!

Movie of the day: See above.

Song of the day: Here's To You by Joan Baez. I love it when a filmmaker finds a really obscure song and makes it prominent. A slow version of this song was in the closing credits of MGS4. I actually think I like the earlier version better, mainly because I find the vocalist more appealing.

Sketchbook Sunday, Part The Tenth

Only a couple of sketches today, so I can get back to editing. i raaly need to snap the schedule back, doing the blog the day after really isn't working out.

This was the first time I realised I could do clothing decoration, I didn't even attempt it before this   and now I can't stop. The wings are a total fluke, haven't been able to draw decent ones since.

This is a near textbook example of my favorite character design style. Not overtly attractive but still slick and cool, sharp yet curved lines and anime-ESQUE without looking like a ripoff. nose is a bit big, but maybe that just adds character.

Movie of the day: Legend Of The Drunken Master. It might not be the absolute best classic Jackie Chan kung fu movie, but it's a good starting point (It's where I started) and it has a surprisingly good dub with Jackie himself dubbing himself. All that and of course, spectacular choreography with no stunt doubles. can't ask for much more in a mindless beat 'em up.

Song of the day: Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing) by Benny Goodman. You'll recognise this song as soon as you hear it, and then you'll want to dance. Involuntarily. It's one of those songs that are timeless in their head-bobability, and now you know the title.

I Must Awake, My Life To Make

Constant editing makes Suede feel woozy. I worked on the review for the majority of the day, then as a small break we went to Jess's sisters to play board games. My favourite we played was one called "A Case Of Scruples" Where you had to prove to everyone else what you feel you would do in a random morally ambiguous situation. There's a lot more to it, but I'd love to see some producers from TGWTG play it! If you're interested, here's the wiki page. Now, back to the salt mines!

Movie of the day: Men In Black 3. As I mentioned before, I think the original MIB was one of my favourite blockbuster movies, just because everything seemed to click. Not so with this one. Although it was funny enough and there are some very fun scenes, I felt K was flanderised and I still can't get over that they took away his happy ending from the first one. K was meant to be training J to be his replacement, now they've been together 12 years? No wonder K's so warn out! I guess this is all from a fanboy perspective, but from a regular film-goers point of view, there was still one thing that really bugged me. They built up Boris as being this expanse of tentacles, but we never saw him in his true form until two seconds before it didn't even matter anymore! I guess I'm biased, but it really could have been better.

Song of the day: Son Of The Lonely Mountain by Liam Finn. One of the best things about the first Hobbit movie. Mister Finn (a New Zealand music icon) is certainly right: Pop music needs more anvil.

It Can Make You Wonder Why

Hard at work on editing the review. Can't really give much more info, sorry. I actually had to make a 3D object in Maya today for the review, it was interesting seeing both how much I remember and how much I forgot. On Tuesday, all will be revealed. Now, back to work!

Movie of the day: Igor. I really wanted to like this movie, the design and preproduction is just wonderful, and it's a real underdog of an animated film. It's just a shame the script needed a ton of work, the comic timing was way off in too many places, and it pandered too much to the kids, which is weird because some of the material is freakin' dark! It's as if they really wanted to make a more-for-grown-ups family film in the vein of Coraline, but got a ton of executive meddling. I guess all I see when I watch it is what it could have been, and when you actually prefer the status quo at the beginning over the happy ending, something's gone wrong. Awesome design, though.

Song of the day: Bein Green by Joe Raposo. Look up the Ray Charles studio version of this song, that's my personal favourite for the raw emotion that's poured into it. There are two songs from the muppets that can still get an emotional response from me. The first is the Rainbow Connection, the second is this one. Unlike Rainbow connection, which can sound a bit hippy toady, Green has a real timelessness to it that's always able to pick me up when I'm depressed about my lot in life.

I Want To Break Free

All right, yesterday I didn't do much that I can write about, so I'm not going to write much. I think you'll like the reason why, though: I'm on the home stretch on editing the pokemon 3 review! Yaaay! For that reason, I won't be writing much in my blog because that's all I'll be doing, and I can't really talk much about it. I will say that Nuke is getting maybe the tiniest bit better, even if not by much. Hope it continues like that.

Movie of the day: Lagaan. If you liked 3 Idiots and want another relatively easy-access Bollywood film, this is the only other one I've watched and enjoyed (so far). A three hour historical musical about cricket. And they make it intriguing and interesting! Only in India, I guess.

Song of the day: Black Or Free by DJ Mighty Mike. Ha! I bet you thought it was going to b another Queen song! Well, I guess it is... Kinda. It's a wonderfully precise mashup that won the guy an award! Check it out.

Aal Izz Well

Nuke is kicking my butt three ways from Sunday, it really really is. I'm actually starting to get pretty depressed about it, to be honest. I was able to learn After Effects at a pretty reasonable pace, Heck I was even able to get the absolute basics of Maya (a 3d modeling program) eventually, and I could tell I was improving. Nuke, though... If anything I feel like I'm moving backwards. It's doubly frustrating when you hear from the tutors that the best way to secure a job in the film industry is to know how to use it (rotoscoping is one of the most common entry-level positions). Darn it, I want to get out there and MAKE films! I know I have to understand all levels of production in order to be a good director, and I do! But I don't want to kill myself on a program I probably won't personally use my whole career! Sigh... despite that, all I can do is hope that it's like Magic: The Gathering, ludicrously confusing until this one 'click' moment where although you're nowhere near mastering it, you finally 'get' it. I really, really, hope this is the case...

Movie of the day: 3 Idiots. Luckily, my sucky day was alleviated somewhat by the pleasant surprisse that was this film! It's a Bollywood film... Wait, come back here! Look, I don't blame you in the slightest for giving this on a pass. Not only is it a Bollywood film, with all the stigma that that comes with, but it's a buddy comedy and the posters don't exactly do it any favours. the only hint that this is anything other than garbage is the fact that it is now the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time, and the most internationally well-received. Well, I saw it, and... Yeah, it's really darn good! Yes, it has the staples of the genre (song and dance numbers, awkward musical cues, melodrama, three-hour runtime) and it starts off looking really underwhelming, but... what can I say, despite all that it's really good! The staples are a lot less obnoxious than your average Indian production, the humor is genuinely good in places and it throws some really unexpected curveballs at you! I mean it, if you can see some of the twists coming in this film you are flippin' prophetic. The best part is the message, though. It may be a little trite, but the message this movie tries so hard to get across is one of universal appeal, one that needs to be heard by everyone every now and again. It's also quite an eye-opening insight into certain aspects of Indian life. If you want to give Bollywood a shot, this is the film to start on. It's even available on Youtube for free, legally, here (although you'll have to get the DVD for higher quality)! now there's no excuse! check it out if you have an afternoon free.

Song of the day: Time Of The Turning (Reprise) / The Weaver's Reel by Peter Gabriel. The Bollywood has put me in a world music mood! I always imagined this song to be the opening for the Avatar: The Last Airbender if I directed it and / or it didn't suck. Really dynamic, really heart pumping.

Release The Heater!

It's starting to get cold. This means it suddenly becomes easier to rip my own teeth out than get out of bed. This'll be an interesting challenge for my resolve to have a better schedule.

Took Jess to the midwife today and we heard the heartbeat. It's darn freaky, but strangely compelling at the same time. I guess it's the genetics talking. Jess is actually planning to take a vacation to the USA before she's grounded for a fair while, of which I am insanely jealous. But, career comes first I suppose.

We actually stopped by the library on the way home! My gosh, every time I remember to visit that place I'm reminded of how stupid I am for forgetting about it. The local library actually has a very decent manga selection as well as a good choice of trade paperbacks for american comics and a great variety to choose from. Not to mention the checkout system is now fully self service, so no more awkward looks from the librarian! It's become the library I always dreamed about as a kid: A Borders bookstore where everything's free! For more information please consult your local library.

Movie of the day: Clash Of The Titans. This is almost the definition of a guilty pleasure movie. The plot is paper thin, the characters are negligible, but gosh darn it if doesn't seem like the big budget equivalent of  kids making a home movie, throwing in every cool thing they can think of. I can even forgive the bald-faced affronts to real greco-roman mythology simply through the fact that you can tell, easily, that they didn't care and they just wanted ever so badly to make a ludicrously fun movie. I can't say it succeeds spectacularly well in that, but you can just tell when a cast and crew had a ton of fun on a project, and unlike Ocean's 12 or 13, they actually want to let the audience in on it too. Only major gripe I had with it was that Perseus made it very clear from the start that he wanted to face Hades without ANY help from the gods, yet he still accepts Zeus' help multiple times by the end. That and the fact that he seems to hold no real grudge against Zeus even though the guy raped his mother. It's like Mirror's Edge, Seriously flawed but charming enough to have fun with.

Song of the day: Somebody To Love by Queen. Everybody hypes up Queen as these rock legends (which of course they are), but they always seem to ignore the phenomenal songwriting skill they had in standard pop as well. The beautiful lyricism and complexity of the harmonies and parts in this song make me wonder where they went in modern music. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of modern songs that I love to pieces but sheer creativity Queen brought can't be overstated.

As I Go Riding Merrily Along

It was a boring day yesterday, which you would think would make it easier to write a blog entry, but I have a weird OCD quirk (similar to the one that compels me to at least write an entry for each day, if not on each day) that causes me great discomfort if I don't provide some kind of meat in the entry. I went to school, got my soul sucked out of my eyeballs by a program I must learn but has a learning curve like a spiked balcony... What else? Oh wait, we did watch the final projects from the current Diploma of Animation and Digital Filmmaking, which is the course I took last year. You know how whenever you go up a level or a year in school, almost instantly it seems like the next generation are much stupider than you were? I call it the Crotchety Old Man syndrome, and usually it doesn't affect me all that much but man, there was maybe ONE project there out of six that was up to the standard of last year. One student did a music video (which wasn't even an option last year and oh my, now I see why) and not only the filmmaker in me but even the old AMV reviewer in me just screamed for mercy all the way through it. Not colour graded, uninteresting... heck they even committed the cardinal sin of music videos and didn't cut it to the beat! It looked like a sub-standard home movie montage! I don't know if they passed, but man, it was almost insulting. I hope things improve, right now all I can do is be glad I have a little les competition in the job market.

Huh, I guess I did have something to say after all. Yay!

Movie of the day: Men In Black. This is darn close to a perfect blockbuster. Fun, funny, touching, still relevant, ages very gracefully and moves at a wonderfully swift pace. The real revelation to me is Vincent D'Onofrio as Edgar. There is a character who does not fit into his skin in the best possible way. For a more in depth analysis in it that I agree with, check out Lindsay's review.  

Song of the day: Ring-A-Ding, Baby! by Icky. This isn't in fact a remix of the song by Frank Sinatra, but an electroswing remix of Jingle Jangle Jingle by Kay Kyser. I'm quite a fan of electroswing, I think the complex melodies of swing compliment the hard beats very well if done right, and I think this does it very well.

Sketchbook Sunday, Part The Ninth

Not much today, so I might leave the post jump-less. I'm living on the edge! I'm starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel, so here's a couple of really weird ones.

This one's pretty old, you can tell from the botched perspective on his eyes. I wanted to comeu with a really random superhero, so I thought of all the disabled super heroes, (Professor X, Daredevil etc) and came up with King Cobra, the double amputee avenger! He has no arms, you see... The guy below him is his archenemy, The Mongoose. I like his headpiece.

My attempt at a Space / Western design. I really like how it turned out, although I might have bitten off more than I can chew, as I've never been able to finish it right. I really like the shoulder pads.

Uh... yeah. I actually did this one today. I gave myself a challenge to draw the most ridiculous and impractical space helmet I could come up with. I think I succeeded! Man, it looks weird...

Movie of the day: Ben Hur. I feel ashamed, I honestly had no idea that this movie was about the Messiah. I just knew about the chariot race, and that was it. Well, technically it's more about the protagonist, but Christ figures pretty majorly into it. Man, as a film buff I really should know these things... That aside, this is pretty much THE epic picture. Everything is so big and breathtaking, from the sets to the costumes to the action beats (the chariot race is astounding. It deserves it's place in the public consciousness). The only thing I felt was underwhelming was the music, and that's only because there wasn't anything really hummable in it like in say LOTR or Spartacus. Aside from that, you can see clearly why this film won 11 oscars. Just prepare your posterior for a lot of sitting

Song of the day: Gotta Knock A Little Harder by Yoko Kanno Featuring Mai Yamane. I've aways been a fan of both Yoko Kanno and Yamane-san since Cowboy Bebop, and this song is one of their best works. I find it fascinating that Mai has absolutely no accent when she sings. I like the gospel vibe, it fit the movie well.

Close My Eyes And Drift Away

Oh, my. Well, this is awkward. You see, sometimes for one reason or another I can't write my blog on the day, so I write it first thing in the morning. Funny thing is, first thing in the morning today meant 11 am! Haven't slept in that far since high school! Good thing it's Sunday... So there'll be two blogs up today, one for yesterday and the usual sketchbook sunday. That way I can still say I'm keeping my resolution, as I'm still writing an entry for each day. OK!

Yesterday I worked hard on Pokemon 3, and made some real headway. You want to know the hardest part about animating the talking heads? My flipping nose! You see, when I turn my gaze to look at Linkara (which happens quite a bit) you'll notice one of my pupils goes behind my nose, as perspective dictates. In order to achieve this without any jarring colours or complicated rigs I have to create a new channel, copy my head on to it and crop it so that only the nose part is visible, so the eye goes behind it convincingly. this might not seem like much, but setting it up every time I change expression takes time, which adds up. I also put a release date in the official TGWTG schedule, so now I have to keep it: March 26. Look out for it!

Movie of the day: Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Or, as I like to call it, Stockholm Syndrome: The Musical. I know this is kind of untouchable as it's a good ol' fashioned musical where everyone completely ignores the plot for the fun singing and dancing, but man! It is so much a product of it's time. I freely admit that some of the songs are awesome and indeed toe-tapping, and the barn-raising sequence is one of the most dynamic sequences in an old-fashioned musical I've seen... It's just still a musical about guys kidnapping girls to marry and getting away with it with a slap on the wrist! Hey, maybe they should remake it as a horror musical a la Sweeney Todd!

Song of the day: Lazy Sunday by Small Faces. This is one of the oldest songs I remember, it was on an old CD my parents had (a 3 cd set of famous early 60's songs). I didn't even know it had an outro until I was 20! Wonderfully bouncy, gloriously optimistic and unashamedly lazy.

Life's A Happy Game

More freaking Nuke. Nuke day after day. I hate it. I can do stuff in it, but only with step by step instructions. I... guh, I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I'll just have to study up on the thing, it's just so maths-based it's nearly impossible for me to wrap my head around. Oh well,

Tomorrow I'm going to do a marathon editing session, see if I can get some real headway made on the pokemon review. I really do apologise for not releasing anything lately, but I'm currently in the middle of a real purging in my life: clearing the hard drive, sorting out the house... I'm going to bring the pain to apathy and make it go be indifferent somewhere else!

Mark Of The Ninja is awesome. Stealth done right in every possible respect (aside from the laughably paper-thin plot). Just thought I'd put it out there.

Movie of the day: The Fox And The Hound. This film intrigues me, I'd actually put it above Basil in terms of underappreciated Disney flicks. For one thing, it's a veritable cornucopia of future talent. Brad Bird, John Lasseter, Tim Burton, Don Bluth, Kurt Russel... Yeah, they all worked on this. Dang. The movie itself is pretty unusual in and of itself. At times it's clearly aimed squarely at kids, with cutesy humour and sentimentality coming out the ears. But THEN it goes and shows some really harsh and mature lessons, such as the nature of the world and acceptance that the things you love - including friendships - will eventually change, and not always for the better... In that respect I'd almost call it a perfect children's movie, entertaining them and encouraging them to enjoy themselves before offering a gentle but still freaking stern warning that it won't always be like this, but there's always hope. It also has one of the best and most intense action sequences I've seen in a Disney film at the end. Definitely worth a look, just be prepared to wade through some treacle.

Song of the day: Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John. Very much a one hit wonder over here in New Zealand (can't speak for the other countries), but I like how they took a relatively intense beat and somehow made it infuriatingly relaxing. Got to admire artists who can pull of contrasts like that.

Another Day

Not too much to report on today, just more blasted Nuke and it's complexities. I know that for a compositing software it's actually quite user friendly, but that's very, very relative. After 4 hours of having my butt kicked by a machine I went home and took care of Jess, who's now in her second trimester, meaning that although she's not nauseous or physically sick as much, she's a lot more exhausted. Had to get a huge lot of groceries in less than an hour this evening (long story). It was almost kind of exciting, like a mission I had to complete in a time limit. It was then I realised how truly dorky I am.

Thanks for the comments, I'll certainly look into doing the first impressions. I want to set up a schedule starting next month which will provide content most weeks. First impression one week, Suede Played next week, proper review week after, etc. Here's hoping it works!

Movie of the day: Spartacus. Man, this movie is depressing, but I suppose that's the point. This is meant to be a great classic, and I can certainly see elements of that. The first act is intriguing and engaging, and you really want to see what happens... and then it does and it's somewhat anticlimactic (this is something Kubrick would do again in Full Metal Jacket later). It's one of those movies where you have to be accepting of the slow pace, at least in the second half, buut the music's great. I still don't know how anyone took Kirk douglas seriously with that friggin' great hole in his face, though! I guess it was a different time...

Song of the day: Sagaba by Blue Scholars. That might sound like a somewhat pretentious name for a rap group, and I'd be lying if I said that the mc didn't give off an arrogant tone in places, but god points are made, there's no swearing and I always like it when a nice melody is used in a backing track without it encroaching upon the lyrics.

Bring Corruption To All That You Touch

This Nuke thing is seriously kicking my posterior three ways to Sunday. I'm starting to feel like I'm in a programming class rather than a filmmaking one. I'm not complaining, I know it's industry-standard technology and I need to know my way around it or at least understand it but at the same time I'm a filmmaker, not a code monkey, Jim! I'm going to have to start taking notes.

I've been thinking about how I can expand the Suede brand while still holding on to my meager schedule, and I was wondering if a First impressions series would be quite a good idea. I got the idea from Totalbiscuit's 'WTF is...' series. I'd livestream (or twitch) myself as I watch the first (and possibly the fifth?) episodes of new anime that comes up on Crunchyroll or so forth, then put it up on TGWTG. It'd be an impression from a relatively casual perspective, just from a person who absolutely loves anime and knows the tropes without bogging down the impressions with needless minutia. Think it's worth a shot?

Movie of the day: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. I wasn't really a fan of the original movies, but this was flippin' awesome. Yeah, there's a few plot holes and sometimes the characters are inconsistent (except in Tom Felton's character's case, where he's almost too consistant in his unparalleled jerkishness. You think he ever worries about being typecast?), but the scenes they pull off at the end are some of the some of most epic I've seen all year from an emotional as well as a visceral standpoint. I also like how they take advantage of the fact that everyone knows how it's going to end and give us just enough of a slow burn beforehand so we appreciate the awesomeness when it comes.

Song of the day: Take A Bow by Muse. Another cool song brought to my attention by Watchmen's ad campaign. It's hard to make complex and fast synthesizer melodies sound epic and cinematic, but this succeeds admirably.

We Killed Some Boredom, Didn't We?

Now today was a day I could get behind! We finally dug into Nuke today. It scared the crap out of me and has a very, very steep learning curve, but it also wasn't quite as intimidating as I remember it being when I opened it in the past. Best part about the whole thing is that I don't and can't have a copy of it on my home computer, so afternoons have freed up a bit! Speaking of freeing up, I also probably made the most progress towards finishing the next Pokemon review yet - And I didn't even touch the footage! This afternoon I got tired of my upturned nuclear reactor of a computer, and I purged it. I gave it an inquisition to rival the Vatican and those files which failed to withstand my piercing gaze were exiled with extreme prejudice  It felt soo gooood... There's something severely inspiring about a clean, fresh hard drive and an empty, inviting desktop. Lemme at that review! I'll Moiderise it!

Movie of the day: Death Note. This is the live action movies, not the anime. I say movies because come on, the first one might as well be called To Be Continued: The Movie. They got away with 90-minute episodes in Sherlock, why couldn't they have done the same with this? I definitely think this does a very admirable job of distilling the essence of the show. You can tell that they wanted to reach people who hadn't seen the show rather make it a 5-hour pander-fest, and I can respect that. I actually know a couple who hadn't seen the anime who really enjoyed the movies, so mission accomplished, I guess. I also like how we actually got a real final confrontation between L and Light, rather than what we got in the anime. All in all it's a good else-worlds story.

Song of the day: Shimi by Maximum The Hormone. Got into these guys after they did the second opening for Death Note, and this song pretty much sums up why they fascinate me so. Hannah Montana meets Rob Zombie in Tokyo. Now you have to try it.

I Noticed I Was Late

Man, I hate forgetting about my journal! Luckily not much happened.

Today we were introduced to the compositing module. Oh my. We'll be using Nuke, probably the most disgustingly user-unfriendly piece of software I've (subjectively) ever encountered. Maybe I'm spoiled, but man, if I could even get this thing to successfully track I'll consider it a major victory. We didn't actually dive into it today, we mainly spent the day just talking up how intimidating the bleeding thing is. Hopefully I can handle it, I figured out Maya all right. Otherwise not much occurred, just business as usual. At least, that's all I can say publicly...

Movie of the day: Stranger Than Fiction. I'm not even sure why I like this movie so much, it just kind of clicked with me. I liked seeing Will Farrell doing something other than gonzo comedy, I like advanced digital effects used to spice up mundane activities to make it dynamic and what can I say, I'm a sucker for Emma Thompson. I also really respect that it's a very tight, self-contained movie that knows exactly what it's trying to say. A lot of people don't like the ending; I'd say that's almost certainly the point. Watch the film to find out what I'm talking about.

Song of the day: A Day In The Life by The Beatles Considered on of the best songs in their impressive catalog I can certainly appreciate the sheer scale of it. I'd say it's comparable to Bohemian Rhapsody in just how much it tries to accomplish in the time it has. I particularly like the orchestration and the cute little musical cues they throw in, like having four descending notes that play when he sings "Found my way downstairs". Mainstream experimental done right.

Sketchbook Sunday, Part The Eighth (Con Edition)

Today will be a bit different, as I will be showing you not cans of my drawings, but pictures of the con we went to! There's still pics of Jess's commissions, too, so I'm justified in keeping the title.

Dream In Peace

I hurt. I'm completely exhausted from head to toe. I'll upload some pictures tomorrow when I scan my usual sketches but ugh, even a teeny tiny con like this one does take it out of you. At first it actually looked as if it would be a disaster: We were at the front of the hall, so everyone passed by us at first, no one was buying or commissioning anything, it looked like we would be severely in the red from what we spent to get there. Luckily though, It only lasted an hour or two, and then we began selling way more and getting lots of lovely commissions. Since I had to watch the stall with Jess, I wasn't able to go to the different events, but I was able to catch a bit of Dante Brasco (Kuzo, Jake Long, Rufio, Guy With Epic Name). He has almost a carbon copy of Jake Long's personality, it's kind of freaky actually. We were able to get one personal thing from the other stalls, Jess chose a Nyanko sensei plush from Natsume Yuujinchou and I got the first season of Batman: The Animated Series for $10! Awesome.

Total tally of people who recognised me as Suede: 2. One of those was my wife. Ugh. Need to get on with the well-known thing. Tune in tomorrow for pictures of where it took place, You may be surprised. Now for sleep!

Movie of the day: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. I obviously can't give all my thoughts in a quick capsule review, but most of them boil down to the fact that this movie is worth a watch. It's still a milestone in many ways, you can tell everybody on the team worked really hard on it (except for some of the voice actors), the premise is at least original and different for a sci fi flick and it's always nice to hear Ming-Na Wen speak. It also has an awesome end credit song that's almost worth everything you don't like in the film.

Song of the day: The Dream Within by Eliot Goldenthal. This song, as a matter of fact. Yeah, it has really hippy lyrics, but man, that chorus... it would make any movie seem epic. Just wonderful.

Sun, You've Got A Way To Fall...

The heat is ridiculous, it's only autumn, for pete's sake! Urgh... Today we presented the DVDs we worked on through the week, I put together a functional, no-frills menu system that received a functional, no-frills response but honestly, that's fine. I really have no interest in the DVD authoring side of the industry (probably just jinxed myself and caused the future me to work in a DVD authoring firm) and as long as I can put together a relatively professional looking DVD, I'll be fine. I was glad for what it taught me, though, now I can put commentaries and additional tracks on them! Hooray!

The con is tomorrow and both of us are incredibly nervous. Will we be well received? Will we make money? Will more than two people recognise me? Are we prepared enough? Welp, all that's left to do is find out. Report tomorrow!

Movie of the day: Witness For The Prosecution. Courtroom dramas are one of my absolute favourite genres and I don't even know why. It's the reason Phoenix Wright is one of my favourite series' of games, too, there's just something about the intrigue, mystery and the incredible ease in which twists can be revealed. This one is a very good example of a courtroom drama, with one of the most weirdly satisfying endings out there, mainly due to the fact that you think it's one of the worst endings ever, right until just before the credits. Can't expect much more from Agatha Christie! This is also good to see as a lesser-known Billy Wilder picture.

Song of the day: Way To Fall by Starsailor. Some of you may recognise this as the end credits song for Metal Gear Solid 3, and it's by far the best end song out of all the MGS's in my opinion (MGS4 being a close second), partly due to just how astoundingly on the nose it is with it's tone and lyrics (not to mention a flippin' sweet guitar solo!). The really weird thing was that it was discovered completely by accident; Hideo Kojima was recommended the new album by the band Stellastar, but he got the names mixed up and bought Love Is Here by Starsailor, where he found this song. You can't make this stuff up, folks!

I'm Going Where The Sun Keeps Shining

Today I was completely off my feet, didn't even have time for Skyrim. The horrors we lower middle class must endure... After a particularly busy day at school frantically trying to arrange DVD menus before crunch time, Jess and I set out to get every last detail ready for the con on Saturday (for us, friday for you guys). It seems simple on paper, we just had to go to the mall, grab some cotton balls and cellphone pendant chains, then go to the stationary store to get the drawings Jess was selling printed on high quality paper. This would all be fine and dandy, peachy keen, but it turns out everyone else in the entire city thought it would be fun to move their cars onto the road and stay there while we were trying to travel along it. All while the sun beat down on our not-even-a-little-bit air conditioned vehicle. We made it back in one piece (barely), so now all we have to worry about is whether we'll make our money back, it's actually quite scary. We invested a lot in this, I hope we'll a least break even...

Movie of the day: Run Lola Run. I'm not sure I can wholeheartedly recommend this one, it's so experimental you may as well call it I Just Got Out Of Film School And Somehow Got A Huge Budget: The Movie, but at the same time there's certainly a charm to it, and at the very least you can never say there's a dull moment. It's strange actually: it works as a thinking movie, but also as a turn-your-brain-off-movie. I also helps you appreciate it if you're not in a hurry! Just don't expect it to be normal, and set your faces to "wha...?"

Song of the day: Everybody's Talking At Me by Harry Nilsson. This one get's a mention for being the song in my head as I waited in traffic. It's an awesome road trip song, but it takes a bit more of a mournful tone if you're stuck in one spot while you listen to it. It's also a great song to sing along to at full volume when you're alone in the car. There's something so oddly serene about it.

From Sundown To Sunset

Today was soul-destroying. though not through any kind of emotional or stress-related trauma. It was just horrifically hot today for no good reason, it had no precedence whatsoever. We get that sometimes in New Zealand, There aren't really 'seasons' so much as 'weeks'. Heck, sometimes we even change season from day to day. Today, though... I haven't felt such an oppressive blanket of damp heat for months, I just hope it doesn't last. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Crunch time for the con is coming, poor Jess is knocking herself out making keychains and the like. I'll show some pictures closer to the date.

I'm really enjoying Dawnguard so far, and I'm not even playing as a vampire lord! It's a really intriguing campaign with awesome locales. I had actually always wondered where souls go after you use a soul gem, and there you go! A hellish limbo dimension for all eternity. Well now I feel like a jerk. Thanks Bethesda.

Movie of the day: Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. Yes, yes, "too bad it wasn't really the 'last' crusade..." we all know it, but honestly I saw this one first and I loved it so much that the first indy was kind of underwhelming by comparison when I finally saw it. The trials at the end in particular are pure adventuring gold. Sean Connery, why did you leave us so soon?

Song of the day: California Soul by Marlena Shaw. I love how cinematic this song is. Motown stylings with a quirky yet soulful vocalist. You can't help but put images to the song when you hear it.

The Darkness Has Passed

Ugh, I absolutely hate leaving this blog to the last minute... but hey, sometimes it just happens that way.

It was actually pretty awesome yesterday, for the most part: You ever have that kind of  run of inspiration, where you suddenly get idea after idea after idea? That was pretty much me after getting the go ahead for adapting the concept for my short film. Fantastic, I haven't felt like that in a while. Don't worry, I'm still working hard at Pokemon 3, it's just been difficult lately because Jess and I are preparing for the one single nerd convention that my city holds, the Armageddon Expo. Here's some info:

http://armageddonexpo.com/nz/christchurch-ticketing-info/

She's selling homemade MLP merch and art commissions, if you're in the area, stop by and say hi!

That's this weekend, so after this week I begin hard core editing mode and bring you guys exactly what you want, hopefully before the end of that week.

In other news, I tried the demo for the new Yu-Gi-Oh game on the PSN, just to see if I could still play. I actually did fairly well, although I did make some bonehead moves due to forgetting that the battle system doesn't work like MTG. From a technical standpoint it's sound, except for one major fun-killing flaw. When  you place a trap card down, a dialog box pops up to ask if you want to activate it whenever an opportunity to do so occurs. This is fine, sensible and useful. HOWEVER, the default option is always 'yes'! This is really poor design! It ruins any kind of streamlining it would have because you want to just skim through the dialogue boxes until you get to the one you want, but having to press an extra button each time gets really annoying, really fast. I do like Yu-Gi-Oh (liked it before The Abridged Series, even!), but after being introduced to MTG it just seems sub-par and needlessly complex. Just my opinion!

Movie of the day: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. You know how Doug said that Kung Fu Panda was the ultimate Don't-judge-it-by-it's-cover movie? Although that is a good example, this one's mine. It looks stupid and kiddy and dumb and stupid and childish and stupid, but it has great heart, a unique focus (the life of the citizens of a small town just as much as the protagonist) and some of the most brutal and hilarious slapstick I've seen since Looney Tunes. It also has Mister. T voice acting. Watch it.

Song of the day: The Dragonborn Comes by Malukah. You might know this one from the recut of the live action Skyrim trailer all over youtube, but this is a cover done right, keeping the tone of the original while adding a new perspective. Plus it's two, two, two songs in one!

I've Been Flying, Ain't No Denyin'

Well, today was certainly interesting! School of course was same old same old, we began the main project for the DVD module, which was to develop a DVD to house the showreel we'll be making at the end of the year. So far, so boring, but I received a wake up call when something wasn't expecting to happen, happened!

One of the ideas I had for the BIG PROJECT at the end of the year, wherein we have to write, produce, and to an extent finance our own short film, was to do an adaptation of a famous creepypasta (no, not slenderman!) found on the well regarded horror site The SCP Foundation. I, almost jokingly, sent a PM to the author of said story asking him if he'd let me do a short film based on his concept. Well, not three hours later, I found that not only was he fine with it, but he's also a fan of Suede! What a boost to my confidence, I'll tell you what! Now I have a new lease not only on the end-of-year project, but on the upcoming videos! Let me at 'em! Thanks, Mathew!

Movie of the day: Spirited Away. This is one of the most intriguing movies I've ever watched, but not for the reason you might think. I mentioned this in the Girl Who Leapt Through Time review, but I really didn't like it when I saw it. The designs were ugly, the plot went nowhere. Then, almost out of nowhere, once I finished the movie I had an inexplicable and involuntary "Good Feeling" that would not go away. I just felt so nice whenever I thought of the film, even though I wasn't impressed by it when I saw it. It's a bizarre phenomenon, and if anyone cracks the formula, the movie world is their oyster. So Miyazaki, basically.

Song of the day: Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. Although it's oversaturation in movie trailers may have spoiled this one a bit, but if you listen to the whole thing in one sitting, it really is glorious. Take on the world!

Sketchbook Sunday, Part The Seventh

Well, it's Sunday, that means sketches, you know it, I know it, let's get on with it.

To See With Eyes Unclouded

Today was both productive and not productive, if that makes any sense. I spent most of the day either catching up on much needed sleep, planning for the week ahead and straining over the computer with my head in my hands trying desperately to over come my writer's block. You see, I'm going to try a new system now that I have a little bit of time and a rare opportunity: I'm going to start making my videos a month in advance and try to put out TWO videos a month! Don't get too excited, though, one of the two will be the next episode of the Suede Played series, but I really, really want to start getting videos out at a regular time, on a regular date. I'm seriously lagging behind in terms of organisation, and I want to be able to have that security of a schedule and a timeline.

You know, back in high school, I never would have thought I'd be desperately wanting a schedule in 7 years. It goes to show just how much your priorities change in that time. I just wish I'd forced myself to embrace that strict lifestyle. It may be more fun to just make up your own schedule on the fly, but believe me, it bites you back hard when you're furiously typing at 4am. Ending with fun is always, always better than beginning with it. Otherwise you end up writing in a stinking blog when you could be watching crunchyroll... Not that I don't love you guys! Hahahaha....

Movie of the day: Princess Mononoke. Probably the one Miyazaki film that skirts the razor's edge between PG-13 and R so hard there are scratches on the disc, this one is hardcore and can be pretty jarring to those who expect a Spirited Away or Ponyo level of whimsy. Decapitations, delimbings, parasitic worm monsters, lepers... If you can get past that shift in tone, it remains a wonderful film. I love how it is an environmental film at it's core, but it really shows both sides of the conflict in a sympathetic and also damning light equally.  Also interesting to see the clear inspiration for Xernias.

Song of the day: Suitor Attacks by Mikko Tarmia. This is perfect jogging music. Try it, you'll thank me. The arrangement is very good too, and nicely different to other pieces like it in it's genre.

I Don't Know Nothing Anymore

For those who follow me and have left an awesome comment that for some reason didn't show up on the blog, please do not feel like I have abandoned you or hold a personal grudge or taken out a jihad against you or anything. The reason can simply be attributed to Hanlon's Razor: I accidently pressed the delete button instead of the publish button. There you have it. I mistook the word "delete" for "publish". Twice. I have brought shame to the english language.

Aside from that, again, not much to report. Made a functional DVD menu in class and uttered variations of "whoop-de-doo" for the rest of the day. I worked on Pokemon 3 and Played dawnguard while Jessica did some commission work (I'm sure this has been mentioned MANY times, but how does glowing yellow eyes not raise a single eyebrow among the general populace? Are Skyrimians really that jaded, or is it more of an elephant in the room thing?) Maybe I should comment more on what's happening in the world or on the internet. I could comment on TGWTG videos or new Cracked articles or even world news! Yeah! That sounds great! Sounds awesome! Excellent!

Tomorrow!

Procrastination!

Movie of the day: Clueless. Yeah, yeah, THAT clueless. The Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd movie. I think I can only tolerate it now because of the nostalgia factor, but there are some very decent laughs, none of the characters are teeth-grindingly annoying, it's great to see the late Brittany Murphy as a character actress rather than a "pretty girl" scene dressing and the story is very nice and tight for a teen movie. That last point is probably due to the fact that the movie is a modern remake of the Jane Austen book, 'Emma', which actually helped introduce me to Austen's books (I'm not a huge fan, as my second chromosome remains proudly incomplete, thank you, but I do appreciate how smart she was and I enjoy the bbc miniseries once in a blue moon). Worth a curiosity peek.

Song of the day: Legacy by The Gone Jackals. I need to end on something super manly after that really girly confession, so here's a song that still manages to pump up both my testosterone, my nostalgia, and my inner nerd all at the same time. This was the theme for ne of my favourite games of all time, Full Throttle. Being able to buy it on iTunes was the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

Everybody Got That?

Don't feel like typing. Not much happened anyway. DVD authoring class sucked out my fun, so I got some more from Dawnguard (love the armored huskies) and got started on the editing for Pokemon 3 now that there's FINALLY enough to go on. Gonna be hard to get back into the groove...

Yeaah, I got nothing, here's a video of Charizard coming back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFiArcht-yY

Awesome.

Movie of the day: Spaceballs. Now that everyone knows the "Hello my baby" gag from Aliens: Colonial Marines, make time to find out where it came from! There about a gajillion other golden moments in this movie, and it's a better story than the prequel trilogy, not that that's hard... Watch it before the J.J. Abrams movie comes out and jump on the bandwagon early.

Song of the day: Genesis Of Next by Globe. I Don't normally like yen minute long techno songs, but this one's melodic enough to hold my attention the whole time. Probably one of my all time favourite trance pieces.

Is It Bright Where You Are?

Welp, I promised yesterday and now I deliver! Here are the latest photos of my spawn!

Already it is a thumbsucker. Already it has brought shame to this family.

Yeah, actually seeing it on screen is quite a wake up call (if the original announcement wasn't enough of one) that there really is a living creature in there that I will have to love unconditionally. In some ways it's really strange, in other ways it's strangely awesome, but most of all it's downright terrifying. Despite that, I'm oddly serene about it, probably because there's really nothing I can do about it. Still amazing, though.

Otherwise, at school we're learning how to put DVD menus together. It's a three week module. Even my tutors think it's a waste of time. At least that means I'll have more time to edit. Huzzah! Ugh... 

Movie of the day: Basil, The Great Mouse Detective. I'm not sure if I agree with Doug that this is a huge unrecognised classic. I felt like the timing and pacing was off in places. However I will agree with him in that Ratigan is a great unrecognised Disney villain. The way he just seethes, the primal rage that he worked s hard to conceal bubbling a hai's width below the surface, is pure animated awesomeness, as is the final showdown. It's also always nice to hear the dulcet tones of Alan Young doing his inimitable brogue as well.

Song of the day: The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning by Smashing Pumpkins. Whatever your thoughts on the Watchmen movie, Ido appreciate it for bringing this otherwise obscure b-side (from the Batman and Robin soundtrack, of all places!) from a great band into a more deserving light. Depressing but with a triumphant and hopeful note in the middle, this can either sink you further into the depths of depression or help you out of it. I love songs like that. 

Can I Handle The Seasons Of My Wife?

Today was meant to be one of those days where not much happened. I was going to go to school, head home at 12 and then hopefully begin work editing Pokemon 3 (Linkara sent me the voice over, but not the video yet). Maybe a little Skyrim before bed, that kind of thing. This was denied me. Instead I got a call from my wonderful wife at about 11:40.

"William, could you please take me to the midwife's appointment today? It's no pressure, I'm able to drive myself, it would just be a really big help if you did, I'm not feeling so good..."

"sure, I guess. Where are you now?"

"...Outside in the car. Love you!"

The woman knows me too well. After the very long appointment with the midwife, we found we needed to get an ultrasound and another blood test, quick smart. However, we had to wait about an hour and a half before the appointments, and the house was very far away, so we decided to eat out. After a lot of indecision, we landed ourselves pretty much at random at a thai restaurant on a street corner. It was the BEST thai food I had ever had in my life. I mean, it was like all the regular thai I had eaten before today was really those cheeky waiters slipping me the plastic display dishes. Each bite was seriously like an explosion of new and unique flavours with every mouthful, these guys were freakin' surgeons with coconut and chili.  It was one of those meals which left you with a warm glow in the pit of your stomach, a once-in-a-decade chance discovery.

Of course, the day could only get worse from a high point like that. Luckily,'worse' in the case of that benchmark means 'awesome'. We got the ultrasound and found that the baby was doing great, and was now in the shape of a baby! Legs and everything! We have photos, but it'll have to wait till tomorrow as I can't be bothered hooking up the scanner just now. I just wish I could have chosen the pictures we could keep. Ultrasounds are awesome, but they can be pretty dang creepy too! You see, the image just cuts through the layers of sound like an x-ray, so the whole experience was basically "hey, I can see It's head! Awesome! There's the nose... Oh, and there's the little brain, too! And... the rib cage... and oh look I can see the heart... kidneys... eye sockets... *faint*" Seriously, one image made the baby's face look like the Decepticon logo if H.R Giger designed it. I really wish I could have shown you guys.

After that we got the blood test (which I love watching out of a healthy sense of hypocrisy , got some groceries, hired some videos from the greatest video store in the southern hemisphere, http://www.aliceinvideoland.co.nz/ , then we headed home at about 6:15. I may not have done what I was planning to do, but I sure am glad of it. Sleep mode activated.

Movie of the day: Sleeping Beauty. Yeah, it's a bit dated and the characters (apart from Maleficent and the fairies) are all very one-dimensional, but at the same time that's almost what I find appealing about it. It's pretty much THE STORY, distilled to it's purest form. The forces of light overcome the forces of darkness, I don't know there's always something primally satisfying about that plot if it's done with feeling. You know what else is primally satisfying? The most Freakin' sweet Dragon in the history of animation. In terms of visceral awesomeness, I'd even put it above Toothless. Just wish the wings were a bit bigger.

Song of the day: Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. I normally don't like Country/western stylings that often, and I've heard really trite and annoying covers of this song all my life, so I'd grown to resent it. Then the original came on the radio the other day and I decided to give it one more chance. This song (meaning the Fleetwood Mac version and NO others) is painfully personal. This woman put herself completely into this song, you can just feel it. The lyrics are heartfelt and poetic without resorting to cliches, and it has a very mature message. I apologize  Stevie Nicks. you are awesome.

Well, It's Too Late To Say You're Sorry

Well, I've finally got some free time now that we've moved on to the 'learning' part of the next module, but here's the strange thing... I really don't want it. I actually really wish I could have gotten you Pokemon 3 this month, but because of the completely unforeseeable incident of Linkara's illness, I simply wasn't able to. I didn't have time to get another video ready either, so I'm afraid I'll have to put out another Suede Played. It really bugs me, as I really don't want to fall into obscurity again and I hate disappointing you guys. However, once Linkara finally recovers I will work as fast as I can to get it done by the middle of the month. I'm sorry this had to happen but there really wasn't anything I could have done.

There really wasn't much else that happened today; I presented my project which was certainly in the top 3 in the class, which was a load off my mind and good reassurance that it turned out ok. After that I exhaled the breath I had held in for the last few days and blobbed like I had never blobbed before, which is one of those things which feels really awesome, but is very boring to hear about. It's like dreams in that way.

Movie of the day: Mary Poppins. Everything just kind of clicked with this movie, didn't it? There's just something about it, even the dreadful accent of Dick van Dyke becomes strangely charming on repeated viewings. It's sweet without being stupid, smart without being pretentious, quirky without being strange. It's one of those rare movies where the parents enjoy it just as much as the kids, not because of the jokes aimed at them, but because of how it instills that sense of childhood fun (and fear) within them. A really nice film to come back to.

Song of the day: About Her by Malcolm Mclaren. An obscure little piece from the Kill Bill volume 2 soundtrack, But it really packs an emotional punch, especially if you've scene it goes with. Quite impressive for what's essentially just a remix of "she's not there" by The Zombies (itself a fun little tune, if not very dramatic).  

Sketchbook Sunday, Part The Sixth

Well, I promised to show my finished product once it was done, so here it is!

I'm certainly not as pleased with it as I was with the typography, but it did turn out better than I thought it would. Still not sure whether to make it public. Maybe.

Sketches under the jump!

I Am The Last One!

DID IT! Ugh, it took all flippin' day! It's currently rendering for the third time now (the file got so complex for my poor widdle macbook pro that I had to render the whole dang thing in order to scrub through it accurately), so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to actually see it. However it is done, and the next module in my course involves learning a new piece of software, so that means I will finally get some time for editing. Impeccable timing, too, as Linkara says he'll have his footage done by tomorrow. Oh, it's going to be down to the wire again, isn't it... Up till 4 and all that... I'm not even that popular, what am I doing? Oh, that's right, sense of accomplishment and making people laugh. Keep forgetting.

Movie of the day: Dragonheart. This one's got my nostalgia behind it, but it's still one of the better 90's fantasies with an iconic score, and the main dragon is really well designed. It also has Pete Postlethwaite! I just wish it had two more things: A look at some of the other dragons and for it not to have a really stupid sequel that negates the whole point of the ending.

Song of the day: Lovely Day by Bill Withers. One of the best wake up songs ever. I'm still on a quest to find the one song that doesn't annoy me when it wakes me up, and this one came close. weary yet optimistic, warm fuzzies all round.

I Should Have Seen You Were Trouble Right From The Start

And so the slog continues. I wasn't able to finish the project today, even after working about eight hours on it. I'll have to finish it off tomorrow, but darn it it's not coming out the way I wanted. Sure, it's serviceable enough, but it just doesn't look as professional as I would like. I think the reason was that I have the drive and the vision, I just didn't quite have the experience and know-how to pull off  what I had in mind just yet. It's the equivelant of "eyes bigger than your stomach" and I think it's one of the biggest banes of arts students everywhere, I think. I've met so many students at my school that have these genuinely good and epic ideas that do sound awesome, but they just can't comprehend that they don't have the capability to pull it off yet. THey want their pet projects realised NOW, dagnabbit! Trust me on this one: If you can pull off a small, tight and perfectly executed idea, it's worth a billion high-concept flops. That's my experience, anyway  Take it or leave it.

Hearthfire is strangely enjoyable, a lot more so than I thought it would be! I just hope I can get some more variety in decorating choices eventually.

Movie of the day: Shattered Glass. I reccomend this movie heartily for three reasons: One, it's a rarity in film in that Hayden Christiansen actually acts well in it, Two, it's one of the most realistic fictional portrayals of print journalism, and three, it captures perfectly on film the knotted feeling of being caught in a lie. I just find it fascinating for that. It's based on a fascinating true story too!

Song of the day: Do For Love by Tupac Shakur. I actually prefer the remix version of this song that has a backing by the late, great Nujabes found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrzDZ0imS2Y This is the only Tupac song I really like, not just because it's one of the only ones where he doesn't swear, but you can feel that he's really putting himself out there, and some of his concerns do resonate well, even if you haven't experienced those problems yourself. Don't like the guy, love this song.

I Don't Eat, I Don't Sleep...

Darn it, I can't believe I forgot to write an entry last night, I usually can't sleep until I do. Well, even if I can't say I did one a day, hopefully I can say I did one FOR each day. That's legit, right?

Things aren't going so great for the project, either. It's taking ages to do the simplest-looking things, I don't think it'll turn out the way I want it to turn out at all. Worst of all, crunch time is darn close, and I'm going to have to spend absolutely all my free time working on it today. Fun!

On the lighter side, how about that ps4 announcement, right? I'd almost be tempted to buy the thing (it'd make Let's Plays a lot easier), but there aren't any games I MUST have that have been announced yet, and NO reverse compatibility (none?) is a real deal breaker. We'll just have to see.

Movie of the day: The Thing. I can't stress enough that this is not for the squeamish. Unless you have a decent desensitization to horror, don't even try it. But if you can play Resident Evil 4, it's one of the best horror movies I've ever seen, even today. The only thing that's aged is Kurt Russel's hairdo. The sense of atmosphere is unique and powerful, and the monster is just as scared of the heroes as they are of it! You have fear both ways. This is 80's filmmaking at it's finest, just steer clear of the 2011 version that completely missed the point.

Song of the day: Under Your Spell by Desire. This song is hypnotic and dreamlike, 80's styling done exactly right... Except for that freaking spoken part. Take that out and it's an elegantly beautiful song.

And For A TIme, It Was Good...

...and then school happens. Once again, apologies for the short journal entry (you'll probably get the same for the next two days, unfortunately), but the project won't do itself and dang is it taking a while! How can a set of thin black lines take up so much render time?

I also have some bad news regarding Pokemon 3. Through no fault of his own, Linkara has fallen ill and can't record his lines for the time being. I obviously can't edit the film together without his lines, so if he doesn't recover pretty soon, the review won't be released this month. However, this also presents a nice little signal for you: as soon as Linkara says he feels better, the review should be released about a week after that. Sorry!

It's coming close to the time I have to prepare my big end of year project. Better start thinking of what to do...

Movie of the day: The Animatrix. Yeah, I know it's technically nine short films, get over yourself. This was the sequel The Matrix should have gotten. I especially like the history lesson, even if it was a bit ham-fisted in it's symbolism. It's always nice to hear good lore. That and two short films by Shinichiro Watanabe can't be wrong!

Song of the day: 1976 by RJD2. This guy's an instrumental hip-hop master. There are parts of this beat that cause me to bob my head completely involuntarily every time I hear it. Don't like the keyboard solo though. Good walking song.

Everybody Look What's Going Down

It's annoying to write these blog posts when I'm working darn hard on a couple of projects because I'm pretty much doing only that, and there's not much to report. However, I made the resolution and by golly I'm gonna stick to it! I'm still working on the Fringe opening on hardcore mode and I can't show you any WIPs soo... How bout them dodgers?

Oh! Oh wait! There is one thing I saw today that I'd like to share with you guys, just because it really made me think. I've always liked Totalbiscuit's videos, mainly because he has the same uncanny ability Spoony has to talk for ages without being boring, but this video he uploaded recently was a brilliant, simple and very sobering (while still dryly humourous) look at an aspect of gaming that isn't often looked at. Check it out.

That's all I got, folks. G'night.

Movie of the day: Bride Of Frankenstein. This is considered one of the few sequels to surpass the original. I don't think I agree with that, the acting is silier and more over the top and Frankenstein Jr. just doesn't look as creepy as he did in the first one. However, the actual bride herself is a very awesome creation with a distinct style to her (even if she's only onscreen for five minutes) and some of the effects are fantastic, holding up even today. Seriously!

Song of the day: Colorblind's Worth It by Mighty Mike. I'm using this song for my Fringe opening. I thought it fit the vibe of the show pretty well while still retaining some freshness and originality. Love some of the complex harmonies that occur in the mashup.

Beauty Lies Behind The Hills...

...and those hills are big. No sooner do I hand in my typography assignment (it was well received, by the way) then we are handed the major project of the motion graphics module. I have one week to put together the alternate opening to Fringe that I did the style frames for earlier in the year. This coupled with editing the next Pokemon review leads to a pretty daunting workload. However, I was able to finish the previous assignment early yet still be proud of it, maybe I can do the same this week. Details as they occur. Not much else happened today, but I was surprised to find that the Fish and Chip shop on our street has old arcade machines, including Street Fighter and Metal slug! too bad none of them work right...

Movie of the day: This Is Not A Film. Warning: This is also not an exciting film. In fact, at times it is downright boring. However the story behind it makes it worth at least a look. It's a documentary of sorts chronicling the daily life of an Iranian director who is about to be taken to prison and banned from making films for the next 20 years because his films spoke ill of the government. The film is a very intriguing slice of life that shows the oppression occurring in Iran and how it's affecting a man who just lives for making films. It was also smuggled out of Iran on a usb stick that was hidden inside a cake! You almost feel like a spy or a voyeur watching it.

Song of the day: Run Boy Run by Woodkid. This guy probably has the most hipster sounding stage name I've ever heard ("You ever heard of Woodkid? He's opening for Splitfinger and The Patch Muffins next Tuesday. No? I'm not surprised, he's pretty underground..."), but you can't argue with his output, no you can not. The video for this song was nominated for a grammy, and I can definitely see why, the thing's glorious. The song coupled with the sublime editing in the video resonate emotionally on a very primitive and basic level, and I really dig that. See it before he sells out (kidding).

Sketchbook Sunday, Part The Fifth

Sunday once again! As we all know, nothing ever happens on Sunday, so let's look at what I draw in my spare time for no reason!

Now, Where Was I?

I did it! I flippin' did it! Granted, it's not quite as polished as it could have been, but it is out of my sight. I'm still proud of it, though! Whatcha think?

Ugh, this month's going to be disgusting, I can feel it. First I half kill myself getting this done by Sunday (It's due on Monday, but I don't work on Sunday for both religious and health reasons), and now because Linkara is delayed in sending his footage to me for completely excusable reasons I'll probably really have to stretch myself to the limit to get it done in time. Oh well, at least I got a bit of Dragonborn time in there. Apocrypha is best daedric realm!

Otherwise, the day hasn't been terribly eventful, mainly due to the work mentioned above, but we were able to get some good eats on my parent's dime (yes, they were aware we were doing it)! I got a pork belly and hollandaise pizza. The taste was a bit confused, but pork belly never tastes 'bad', so it was still an enjoyable experience.

Movie of the day: Cinderella. We were house sitting for my parents and since they actually use the TV for TV(as in they have a cable), we always see what's on. First thing that was on: Cinderella III on Disney Junior. I remember the Nostalgia Chick said that it was the least horrible "disney sequel" and I'd have to agree after seeing it. Mostly it is schmaltzy and cringe-worthy, but there are a surprising amount of genuine laughs (Prince's Mother's portrait) and even some really good kick-butt moments ("bad kitty!"). I was pleasantly surprised, I really was! Then we switched over to the main Disney Channel and what should be on it but the original Cinderella! That one I can always recommend, if only for the outstanding villain. Lady Tremaine is just personal human evil personified.

Song of the day: Wish You Were Here By Pink Floyd. This came on the radio while I was driving to get the pizza, and as I listened to it (cranked up and singing along, of course) I was reminded as to just how good these guys were, especially in terms of lyrics. I normally don't even listen to lyrics, they just pass over, another instrument. But Floyd's are just so good, so well placed, eloquent and music-enhancing that I can't help but really listen to them and contemplate them. Rant over.