Making a list of things that I need to do this weekend. Gotta pick up Yuki's 17th Birthday present tonight. I wonder if Josh and Michael will be in tonite, too. And I really really need to set some time aside to get new glasses.
I was actually able to build a working DVD from the Fleischer Cab Calloway trilogy that I had to fix the audio levels on. Previous attempts at making playable DVDs resulted in the usual problem of the audio unsyncing, but DVDstyler kept the clips in time. Nice, now I can add these to the OtakuHELL playlist.
Playing around with Toom Boom, and I'm pleased with the way it works. I wonder if there's an online sytle Oekaki for flipbook animation?
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Go Go 2:58 PM
104 degrees yesterday.
Came home from work hungry and decided to call Josh and Michael and see if they would have dinner with me. We went to The Island and Michael and Josh told me of the troubles with Rita.
Worked with DVD Styler and made some neat miniDVDs. Basicly DVDiso burned to CDR. And they played, to my surprise. Neat little program...
Came home from work hungry and decided to call Josh and Michael and see if they would have dinner with me. We went to The Island and Michael and Josh told me of the troubles with Rita.
Worked with DVD Styler and made some neat miniDVDs. Basicly DVDiso burned to CDR. And they played, to my surprise. Neat little program...
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The Ward-O-Matic: The Artful Bloggers 12:02 PM
The Ward-O-Matic: The Artful Bloggers: "Amid over at Cartoon Brew has mentioned recently that the summer of 2005 could go down as the animation artist's blog renaissance, and I would have to whole-heartedly agree with him on that. I've noticed an incredibly large influx of new blogs by artists, illustrators and animators, all showcasing their talents to a new audience. So, why is there a big wave suddenly? I've narrowed it down to four factors:"
Reclaim 8:26 AM
Got to unpacking while watching FIREFOX on SCIFI. Found both remotes at the bottom of the bag. Still haven't looked at all the photos I took or the audio for the HELLpodcast. Ended up moving boxes around my room. I need that loft. I need shelving. I need to make space to live in.
Lotsa crap needs to get done. Top of the list is to get myself to the Oculus and get new glasses. Gone through more then five years on the current nose clip and I'm just dragging my optical nerves on the whole event. Gotta go get gone.
Lotsa crap needs to get done. Top of the list is to get myself to the Oculus and get new glasses. Gone through more then five years on the current nose clip and I'm just dragging my optical nerves on the whole event. Gotta go get gone.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
12 Hour People 1:42 PM
Gone and back from Atlanta, skriting around Rita while we were gone. I'm still not unpacked or sure where the remotes for the Sony and the Pioneer are. Just finished returning the Grand Caravan rental. I thought I had enough time to drive to Frisco and pick up that Loft, but we're outta time. That and I really have no idea how to get to IKEA from here.
Tired, so very tired....
Tired, so very tired....
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Video Sketch Titler Sketch 12:22 PM
Got the Sony XV-T33 home and plugged it into the closest RCA Video input, powered it up and took it out on the road. It worked.
Not that there weren't some problems. Some of the colors weren't selectable, and the beat up surface pad worked against me. In fact the writing pad area was probably the worst part. It had taken so much abuse that sometimes it couldn't detect the pressure (and that's the input source, PRESSURE on the pad) and the pencil cursor wouldn't show up on screen.
Still, I was happy with what it could do. And I think I can use it in the OtakuHELL shows. But I may need to convince Bruce. His evaluation was that we may as well do all the writing-on-screen-crap before hand, which I could've done in computer with software. I wanted something that could interact with the video LIVE.
Any questions?
Not that there weren't some problems. Some of the colors weren't selectable, and the beat up surface pad worked against me. In fact the writing pad area was probably the worst part. It had taken so much abuse that sometimes it couldn't detect the pressure (and that's the input source, PRESSURE on the pad) and the pencil cursor wouldn't show up on screen.
Still, I was happy with what it could do. And I think I can use it in the OtakuHELL shows. But I may need to convince Bruce. His evaluation was that we may as well do all the writing-on-screen-crap before hand, which I could've done in computer with software. I wanted something that could interact with the video LIVE.
Any questions?
Dave Merrill's AnimeHELL 12:19 PM
We leave tonight. I still need to finish making DVDs for everybody, and pack. And there's buttons to slug through, too. Never enough time, always something that needs to be done...
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Sketchamajigger 10:06 AM
I just got my Sony XV-T33 Sketch Titler off the UPS truck. It's cosmetically pretty beat up. The sketch area is very worn, marked up and has been stretched and worked up from the unit. The stylis has some marks on the metal and seems to be missing the end cap. I plugged it in and powered it up, but I need to hook it up to a video source and find out if it'll do anything at all. It has the smell of burnt out electronics to it, I hope I'm wrong...
Monday, September 19, 2005
Lucky 8:52 AM
Made over 500 buttons over the weekend. Didn't get out to get my glasses fixed. Still need to pack for trip. Money is low. Lots to do before we leave...
The Sony Sketch Titler shows up tomorrow, and I'm itching to play with it. It looks like it's small enough to take to the shows with a lo-res 8bit retro quality to the graphics. This could be fun, if it works and I can figure out how it works.
Busy making DVDs for Gavv, Dave and Surat. Funny how I've worked out a quick and dirty set up for cranking out the DVD from VHS. Got to get it all digital someday...
The Sony Sketch Titler shows up tomorrow, and I'm itching to play with it. It looks like it's small enough to take to the shows with a lo-res 8bit retro quality to the graphics. This could be fun, if it works and I can figure out how it works.
Busy making DVDs for Gavv, Dave and Surat. Funny how I've worked out a quick and dirty set up for cranking out the DVD from VHS. Got to get it all digital someday...
Friday, September 16, 2005
No coffee, thanks 1:34 PM
Today is one of those less then lucid days. My head is roiling with images and thoughts and tangents and theads that flare out unexpectedly. It's like an itch, but not the kind you skratch. Good thing it's a slow day, but too bad I'll be busy making buttons tonight instead of drawing...
Thursday, September 15, 2005
A Long Distance Dedication 3:19 PM
[perky] "Now we're up to our long distance dedication, and this one is about kids and pets, and a situation we can all understand, whether we have kids or pets or neither. It comes from a man in Cincinati Ohio, and here's what he writes.
'Dear Casey, This may seem to be a strange dedication request, but I am quite sincere and it will mean a lot if you play it. Recently there was a death in our family. He was a little dog named Snuggles, but he was most certainly a part of...' [despondent] let's go...start again"
"Coming out of the record, play the record, ok. Please..."
[perky] "That's the letter U and the numeral 2 . The four man band features Adam Clayton on bass, Larry Mullin on drums, Dave Evans, nicknamed The Edge on..."
[angry] "This is bullshit! Nobody cares! These guys are from England, and who gives a shit! It's a lot of wasted names that don't mean diddly shit!!!"
[seethingly quiet] "Emmm...too many... Come out of those goddamn up-tempo numbers, man, It's impossible to make those transitions. Then you gotta go into somebody dying! [raises voice] Goddamn it if we can't come out of slow records. I don't understand it, Why aren't we doing these instrumentals, too? Do we got 'em?"
[shouting] "Will somebody find the goddamn answer?"
"OK"
[livid] "I want a goddamn concerted effort to come out of a record, that isn't a... a fucking up-tempo record , every time I do a goddamn ...DEATH Dedication! This is the last goddamn time. I want somebody to use his fucking brain to not come out of a goddamn record that is a ... up-tempo, and I gotta talk about a fucking dog dying!!!"
[beside himself] "What is this... this is fucking ponderous, man..."
[perky]"This is American Top 40, right here on the radio you grew up with, Music Radio 138... Oh Fuck!"
'Dear Casey, This may seem to be a strange dedication request, but I am quite sincere and it will mean a lot if you play it. Recently there was a death in our family. He was a little dog named Snuggles, but he was most certainly a part of...' [despondent] let's go...start again"
"Coming out of the record, play the record, ok. Please..."
[perky] "That's the letter U and the numeral 2 . The four man band features Adam Clayton on bass, Larry Mullin on drums, Dave Evans, nicknamed The Edge on..."
[angry] "This is bullshit! Nobody cares! These guys are from England, and who gives a shit! It's a lot of wasted names that don't mean diddly shit!!!"
[seethingly quiet] "Emmm...too many... Come out of those goddamn up-tempo numbers, man, It's impossible to make those transitions. Then you gotta go into somebody dying! [raises voice] Goddamn it if we can't come out of slow records. I don't understand it, Why aren't we doing these instrumentals, too? Do we got 'em?"
[shouting] "Will somebody find the goddamn answer?"
"OK"
[livid] "I want a goddamn concerted effort to come out of a record, that isn't a... a fucking up-tempo record , every time I do a goddamn ...DEATH Dedication! This is the last goddamn time. I want somebody to use his fucking brain to not come out of a goddamn record that is a ... up-tempo, and I gotta talk about a fucking dog dying!!!"
[beside himself] "What is this... this is fucking ponderous, man..."
[perky]"This is American Top 40, right here on the radio you grew up with, Music Radio 138... Oh Fuck!"
Abandoned 12:18 PM
I see alot of Louisiana license plates these days. They've started to out number the Oklahoma plates. I wonder what we'll see when we drive to Atlanta next week. We'll be on the road by 1am and by this time next week we should be almost there...
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
BotCon '05 9:35 AM
BotCon '05 is in Frisco, TX this year! I would love to go. Problem is it's the same weekend as Anime Weekend Atlanta. And I'm already commited to that. Hell, I need to double check the reservation on the SUV we're taking to Georgia.
Yesterday the Ed schedule caught up with Ed. He came home and took a nap. In fact he was still sleeping when I went to bed.
The Sima Pro Ed/it 3 that I got on eBay just came in the mail. It looks like it'll work, gotta take it home and test it out before I post my 'feedback'. I still need to fix the short in my Sima Pro Ed/it 4.
Update: Crap, I just noticed that the Sima Pro Ed/it 3 doesn't have Svideo ports. DOH! Well, I guess that's what I get for $9.95...
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
InvisibleHelmet 8:35 AM
I need to find software to normalize the volume on the Archive videos. I did a test on Minnie the Moocher last night, and I'll burn the DVD and see the results today.
Update. It didn't work. The sound was better but still not loud enough. More tweaking and audio fiddling is in my future...
Update. It didn't work. The sound was better but still not loud enough. More tweaking and audio fiddling is in my future...
Monday, September 12, 2005
Green Planet Calamari 11:40 AM
Spent the weekend getting stupid drunk and going to a birthday party and somewhere between the hangovers I watched a few DVDs.
The last DVD I watched before passing out Sunday night was ADV's new GATCHAMAN Vol. One. If you bought Rhino Video's BATTLE OF THE PLANETS you've already seen the Tatsunoko version of the show. What about the new ADV dub? No Sandy Frank 7-Zark-7 and 1-Rover-1, and that's about it. It's the show, unedited in english, and no Casey Kasem and the names have been changed. 4 episodes for $11. And it's pretty pointless if you've got the Rhino Video DVDs. But hey, it's got that great Alex Ross painting on the packaging so maybe you'll buy it.
I also watched THE CALAMARI WRESTLER, which is played like a straight faced sports genre type story, except that the main character is a squid. It's funny in it's juxtaposition, but it's funnier when you're drunk. It's not BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL, but worth a rental at least.
The best DVD of the weekend was SAVE THE GREEN PLANET. A Korean film about a guy who thinks his boss is an alien. So he kidnaps his boss and chains him in his Jamie Gumb basement and I can't say much more without giving away the plot. SAVE THE GREEN PLANET is kinda like another Korean film called OLDBOY and there's a Film Noir quality to both films. This is a film I hope eveybody sees, even though there are parts of it that are very hard to watch.
I need another drink.
End of Review
Even though I don't have another OtakuHELL until Oni-Con I spent some time over the weekend making more DVDs for the show. And I started making Karaoke titles for the Gigantor theme, Speed Racer theme and EEP OPP ORK AH-AH with plans for more. I also spent a few hours on Toon Boom working on A LONG DISTANCE DEDICATION, which is taking shape.
Sunday was Josh's birthday, so I bought him breakfast at Main Steet Cafe, and we invited Bruce and Mundee along with Yuki and her friend Nadine. Saturday night we met at Pirana for Josh's birthday party and had a damn good time. We ate and drank and Josh liked the Skull and Crossbone polo shirt we got him. A good weekend.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Video Manipulation 10:41 AM
The performance end of my little video clip show will get another upgrade soon. The SIMA Video ED/IT 3 seems to be just what I was looking for. And I'm hoping to pick up a Video Titler from eBay over the next few months to add another element to OtakuHELL. Sure, a video titler isn't exactly a video paintbox, but it can be used in the same way to add more interaction with the video clips.
We went out to eat last night with Micheal and Josh and Mundee and Yuki and I ended up covering Ed. I got the chicken parmasian and could only eat half of it. By the time I got home I was working on a good heartburn. I drank some tonic water and went to bed and had some very active dreams. The one I remember involved me and my brother, Chad, at the Mall of America. Somehow we are involved with a murder, I suspect Chad is the murderer and he thinks it's me. And we have to escape the Mall, together, because we're brothers. I woke up thinking I needed to run to the door for safety. It's the kind of dreamlogic that makes sense even though it's senseless...
We went out to eat last night with Micheal and Josh and Mundee and Yuki and I ended up covering Ed. I got the chicken parmasian and could only eat half of it. By the time I got home I was working on a good heartburn. I drank some tonic water and went to bed and had some very active dreams. The one I remember involved me and my brother, Chad, at the Mall of America. Somehow we are involved with a murder, I suspect Chad is the murderer and he thinks it's me. And we have to escape the Mall, together, because we're brothers. I woke up thinking I needed to run to the door for safety. It's the kind of dreamlogic that makes sense even though it's senseless...
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Another SIMA for HELL 2:48 PM
I just bought another SIMA ED/IT on eBay for HELL. This one is not as functional as the old SIMA ED/IT, but it should be able to do what I need it to do for HELL. Which is to be a simple audio/video mixer, and a replacement for the shorted out SIMA deck. I should have it in time for Oni-Con in Houston...
AudioHELL 12:24 PM
I should send a note to Suzie at AnimeFEST and thank her for making the OtakuHELL show a success. I had two AV people manning the boards at the show and they did a great job. Dispite the audio problems. And I was the cause of the audio glitch.
There's a short in my SIMA Ed/It mixer, there was no right channel unless I'd held down or taped down my audio slider. Not good. So, now I need to open up the SIMA and figure out how to fix the short. Something I'm not really qualified to do. But maybe with some help from Josh I can...
There's a short in my SIMA Ed/It mixer, there was no right channel unless I'd held down or taped down my audio slider. Not good. So, now I need to open up the SIMA and figure out how to fix the short. Something I'm not really qualified to do. But maybe with some help from Josh I can...
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Different Rooms 4:24 PM
Found out that Ed's now on the day shift at the good ol Bank of America. 8am to 4pm or so. I wonder if he'll go to sleep before 4am?
It was broken when I got it... 2:25 PM
Picked up a SD card for the PVR on Sunday at Fry's. Played around with it some more, and discovered a few things.
The proprietary encoder that converts and uploads files to the PVR is crap. The ASF files that it creates aren't readable by any of the video players that normally read WMV files. Not even Windows Media Player. It comes back as a corrupt file. Yet the file will play on the PVR, admitedly a lousy pixelated lo-res video, but it reads it.
On the other hand, the ASF files created using the PVR's AV Recording function through the AV port look great, at least on SP setting and it's 2.5 inch screen. These ASF files are also, "corrupt" and unreadable or encodable. So, the external video recording ability is pretty much useless unless you plan to watch it on the PVR.
Bottom line? As a video device it's not very good, unless you want to have something cheap to give to your kid like a VideoNow that you could record to. I haven't played with it's voice recorder or MP3 or Photo functions so the jury is out on that...
The proprietary encoder that converts and uploads files to the PVR is crap. The ASF files that it creates aren't readable by any of the video players that normally read WMV files. Not even Windows Media Player. It comes back as a corrupt file. Yet the file will play on the PVR, admitedly a lousy pixelated lo-res video, but it reads it.
On the other hand, the ASF files created using the PVR's AV Recording function through the AV port look great, at least on SP setting and it's 2.5 inch screen. These ASF files are also, "corrupt" and unreadable or encodable. So, the external video recording ability is pretty much useless unless you plan to watch it on the PVR.
Bottom line? As a video device it's not very good, unless you want to have something cheap to give to your kid like a VideoNow that you could record to. I haven't played with it's voice recorder or MP3 or Photo functions so the jury is out on that...
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Wire for Wire 3:26 PM
Bought two twelve foot RCA audio cables, two twelve foot RCA audio and S video cables and a couple of six foot S video cables at Big Lots last night. Compared to the cost of similar cables at Fry's and Radio Shack I was getting a deal. These cables were worth easily 3 to 4 times more retail. It sux to be poor...
Takeo Igarashi 12:15 PM
Takeo Igarashi: "Teddy is a sketch-based 3D modeling software. You can make interesting 3D models just by drawing freeform strokes. Teddy is written in Java (jdk1.1), and mainly designed for windows platforms."
A very good sculpting program. Easy 3D modeling and you can save them as OBJ files that can be opened by most 3D programs. This is something that I can use for animation and cartooning. I almost want to get the commercial program, if I could read it...
A very good sculpting program. Easy 3D modeling and you can save them as OBJ files that can be opened by most 3D programs. This is something that I can use for animation and cartooning. I almost want to get the commercial program, if I could read it...
Do It Yourself! Foam Latex Puppetmaking 11:57 AM
Animation Students! * Stop Motion Old Schoolers! * Puppet Enthusiasts! *
For three years, Kathi and her team of expert puppet makers created the main characters for MTV's 'Celebrity Deathmatch' at Zung Studio in New York City. Click here to take a look inside our shop and see the team in action! This claymation style, weekly, stop-motion animation tv series also featured a 300-member audience that Kathi made in her mom's garage."
With the Do It Yourself! Foam Latex Puppetmaking 101DVD...
You CAN do it yourself!
: "For three years, Kathi and her team of expert puppet makers created the main characters for MTV's 'Celebrity Deathmatch' at Zung Studio in New York City. Click here to take a look inside our shop and see the team in action! This claymation style, weekly, stop-motion animation tv series also featured a 300-member audience that Kathi made in her mom's garage."
A Proposal for a Copy Optimized DVD Audio Format || kuro5hin.org 11:57 AM
A Proposal for a Copy Optimized DVD Audio Format || kuro5hin.org: "A Call To Arms
I feel, and many musicians agree, that to copy music isn't wrong. What is an awful crime is that Music, the very heart and soul of our culture, has somehow become the property of a few huge, faceless corporations who use it only to serve their own greedy ends. We must work together to free this beautiful creature, our Music, from its chains."
Why stop there? Why not a Copy Optimized DVD Video Format?
I feel, and many musicians agree, that to copy music isn't wrong. What is an awful crime is that Music, the very heart and soul of our culture, has somehow become the property of a few huge, faceless corporations who use it only to serve their own greedy ends. We must work together to free this beautiful creature, our Music, from its chains."
Why stop there? Why not a Copy Optimized DVD Video Format?
Friday, September 02, 2005
Hell Logistics 1:06 PM
Still haven't found all the clip-on microphones or the Directors Series DVDs. Tonight will be the big push to get everything on disc and find all the missing VHS tapes, DVDs, whatever. And then comes the packing of all the gear, cables and black boxes. And there'll be a trip to the liquor store for hard cider and white russians. And maybe some gin and juice if I'm feeling ghetto enough.
Getting nervous about the show. That'll pass once I'm past setting up the gear....
Getting nervous about the show. That'll pass once I'm past setting up the gear....
Con Logistics 10:42 AM
I picked up Bob and Emily at the DFW Airport at 10am yesterday, brought them to the office and gave them my copies of Bruce and Mundee's car and house key and we sent them off in the 4Runner to sleep at Bruce and Mundee's house. The plan was that Bruce and Mundee would take Bob and Emily to the hotel in Dallas last night, then they would go to the con sometime this morning. This morning I find that Bob and Em didn't leave my copy of the keys behind, and I'll need to get into the house to feed the cats. So we'll need to figure that out.
Doug Smith crashed out at Bruce and Mundee's last night, he'll probably be going in with them this morning. Poor Yuki has school today and may be lost in the shuffle, but I'm told that Ms. Echo will be bringing Yuki to the con tonight.
So, I guess Yuki can't feed the cats...
Doug Smith crashed out at Bruce and Mundee's last night, he'll probably be going in with them this morning. Poor Yuki has school today and may be lost in the shuffle, but I'm told that Ms. Echo will be bringing Yuki to the con tonight.
So, I guess Yuki can't feed the cats...
Thursday, September 01, 2005
A Murder of Cows 1:37 PM
It's already Thursday. I'm so busy that time is sliping away. Too late in the week I realised that I was running low on button shells and placed an order for 2,500 more. We print the buttons at 20 per letter size 8.5x11 sheet of paper. If I do 40 sheets of 20 that's 800 1 inch buttons, almost a forth of the usual order of button shells. I plan to make that many just for AWA this month.
But first AnimeFEST!
But first AnimeFEST!
