Category Archives: technique
Box labels
The approach to box labels is to import them as .ai (Adobe Illustrator) files and corner pin. To create mediatronics, a new comp with all the relevant .ai files… [transmission ends abruptly, 11-05-13]
Progress
Good lawd, what a ride. It’s November now and peddle to the metal. Today I am going to finish revisions on the team and tasks document. Roto artists are providing a constant flow of results. Money is definitely thinning out … Continue reading
Posted in budget, Daughter of God, research, story, technique, workflow
Tagged focus, hologram reshoot, joe, post, roto, storytelling
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How to finish DOG, step by step
October 18, 2012 Time for yet another revision. 1. update the current status for a subset of shots, let’s shoot for Red Hallway and Essentials, Act 1. We’ve committed to Red Hallway so it’s effectively Essentials. Cabin Window is already … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, organization, people, plan, practice, production and post, projects, protocol, real life, research, technique
Tagged bid, budget, contractor, cost, credit card, galactic pot healer, Jonathan Kelly, money, Philip K Dick, plan, planning, process, roto, shot, spreadsheet, task, tasks and team, time, vfx series
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What I want to be when I grow up…
That’s a question for little kids, right? I’ll be 50 next May! So what’s the point of asking this question now, isn’t it too late? Didn’t I squander my youth and if I haven’t grown up by now then chances … Continue reading
Posted in desire, health, ideas, practice, production and post, protocol, real life, research, technique, time
Tagged civilization, dennos museum center, DOG, flea, flower, fxphd, gaia, games, global, global life support, indy game, joe campbell, kids, life, life support, life's work, process, question, Ray Kurzweil, result, sandbox, singularity, sustainable, system
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Music to repair cars by
Ben Woody rocks. As a summer intern for Trickster Pictures, Ben rotoscoped for DOG with zen-like concentration and produced a slew of personal bliss projects for YouTube. Towards the end of July, he proposed making a time lapse of his … Continue reading
Posted in budget, hardware, people, plan, real life, research, software, story, technique, time
Tagged After Effects, ais clamps, auto body, ben woody, camille frixen, chapel pond, dan kelly, danny fox, deer, fauxgrass, gopro, maple grove, paint, precision collision, reagan frixen, tim mckay, time lapse
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August DOG plan
Looking at DOG and pushing for completion this fall, at least having most of the rigorous roto wrapped by end of August mid September. Ben’s going back to Western September 2. What can we accomplish together in the 3 weeks … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, plan, technique, workflow
Tagged dead birds, mask, red hallway, roto
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Prop and set injections
She’s approaching the boat, passing boutique shops. Haute and Tea Room. Haute was couture for ladies and now features clothing strewn every which way, stylish gowns half hanging through shattered windows, fluttering in the morning breeze. Tea Room sign has … Continue reading
Posts to post
I’ve been blogging in my mind for the last couple of months, here’s a sample of the topics I’d like elaborate on soonish. First, a crisis of confidence. Gosh, why blog at all? With the explosion of FB, a personal … Continue reading
Posted in Around Lake Michigan, hardware, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, software, story, technique, workflow
Tagged animation, ben woody, cows, doug michels, dragon frame, farm, flag of earth, h16, hello world, hobie, james allegro, james weston schaberg, Jeff Gibbs, nuclear power, patrick kelly, rosie, seti, shack
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Protected: Animation
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Posted in ideas, plan, production and post, Science Fiction Musical, story, technique
Tagged animation, ben woody, dragon, ideas
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Cutting glass
Ben and I do DOG daily (have you met Ben Woody?) but my early evenings and weekends are dedicated to acquiring old Hobie 16s cheap – usually with soft decks and other structural issues. This is long range planning for … Continue reading
Posted in Around Lake Michigan, budget, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, workflow
Tagged ben woody, deck, fiberglass, hobie, hull, rotozip
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Artist reference May 2012
Introduction x Daughter of God is a narrative short originally shot in 2006, now moving steadily through VFX towards a completion by summer of 2012. Though roto artists will be repairing some continuity and production gaffs, we are mostly adding … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, real life, research, software, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged assignment, cell, communication, compensation, completion, contractor, DOG, roto, team, text, VFX, workflow
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Progress on Gerry’s cabin
Gerry’s cabin or Act 2 is very close to it’s final iteration. The length was cut from 9:00 minutes to 8:15, 45 seconds. We lost some lag and tuned the performance by splitting several two shots. My first foray into … Continue reading
Gender based test screening
It occurs that separate test screenings for men and women would be good. I am especially interested in what women think about the Christina character, if they relate to her as a more elegant cut emerges. Is she despised by … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, production and post, real life, research, technique
Tagged character, Christina, DOG, Faisal Azam, feedback, intense, itch, Laura Peterson, men, test, test screening, women
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Interns and the last test of Version 1.0 2012
Trickster Pictures has two interns through the TBAISD Career-Tech Center’s Film and New Media Program – Cameron and Micah. They’ve been learning how to rotoscope using both After Effects and Mocha and will hopefully be able to contribute to DOG’s … Continue reading
Go Go Go Again
Budgeting for the completion of DOG distills down to a simple formula… Tasks / Team = Duration Each task describes a specific change to some shot, a shot defined as the IN point to OUT point of any edit. A … Continue reading
Posted in budget, Daughter of God, people, plan, real life, research, technique, time, workflow
Tagged budget, calculation, guess, intern, interns, predict, productivity, projection, schedule, shot, task
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Roto ramping up
April 2, 2012 I’ve identified the Essential tasks and have assembled a core roto team – this week is the shakedown cruise. I’ve got two interns and two contractors and am interested to see how much progress we make this … Continue reading
Posted in budget, Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, software, technique, time, workflow
Tagged ae, After Effects, artist, clock, contractor, DOG, essentials, mask, nuke, rate, roto, task, vector, workflow
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Artist reference version 1.1
Introduction DOG was originally shot in 2006 and was revived in the summer of 2011. The objective is to have a festival launch by summer of 2012. If you’re inclined to read this blog, you’ll notice that I have an … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, production and post, real life, research, software, technique, time, workflow
Tagged artists, guidance, protocol, roto, rules
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What’s essential?
In theory, we could loose the intro to Joe, though that fucks up the ending with the surveillance of C and G, unless we introduce the interface on laptop with G, which has to stay anyway. Then the inference is … Continue reading
Posted in budget, Daughter of God, plan, production and post, real life, research, software, technique, time, workflow
Tagged calibrate, clock, code, director, essential, ftp, lingo, post, programming, pulling hair, roto, text, time, video
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Here we go again
That’s a delightfully ambigious post title for a critical topic – the schedule for completion. Am I reluctant to jinx myself with another prediction of imminent closure? Indeed I am! No more optimistic announcements, just the facts, ma’am. Last night … Continue reading
Posted in budget, Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, technique, time, workflow
Tagged ball park, budget, calculate, completion, cost estimate, data, estimate, expertise, guess, measure, prediction, productive, productivity, project, projection, rates, roto, schedule, scope of work, spreadsheet, time, VFX
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Testing V 1.0 2012 script revisions
I’m now cutting a rough test of the script revisions, with some basic effects and visualizations. So far so good. Having tried with the narrator voice, it’s too heavy and preachy. Interwoven with other audio it’s doable. The shortwave audio … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, research, story, technique
Tagged backstory, editorial, flashback, inventory, rough cut, story, surveillance, taoism, taoist, trope, VFX
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DOG – script revisions
The plan is to revise the DOG script based around existing live action and VFX elements, adding new elements only when absolutely needed. It’s faster to rewrite than it is to edit. Unfortunately, Final Draft doesn’t have a very robust … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, plan, production and post, real life, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged Daughter of God, deletion, DOG, inventory, notes, rationale, revision, script, technical, VFX
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And so, DOG
Recent posts explore the motivations behind finishing / not finishing Daughter of God. Dedicating an hour to daily introspection makes sense, meanwhile the urge to edit builds. If finishing is really so important, why don’t I just finish? Rather than … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, plan, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, time
Tagged completion, episodal, length, notes, review, strategy
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Inventory end within sight
I’m pushing mid September with this shifting milestone, and it’s all good. Since combing through my journals from 2006-2009, I’ve discovered more material scattered hither and yon throughout the full archive. I’ve not included analog storage like notebooks in my … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, plan, production and post, real life, research, technique, time, workflow
Tagged extension, inventory, journal, milestone, milestone missed, momentum, motivation, plan, practice, protocol, timeline
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Another DOG milestone… missed!
I’ve overrun the rescheduled inventory deadline, after only getting in about 30 hours in the last 6 days. What else was I doing? Some M3 business on Wednesday, the usual training, eating, sleeping, maintaining social ties, fixing things… Below is … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged a unit, Alan Watts, Ann Loeding, b unit, canada, eiji sumi, Faisal Azam, Final Cut Pro, inventory, milestone, objective, plan, prickles and goo, projection, test screening, tight, wide
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DOG notes August 1-15, 2011
As I dive back in, there will inevitably be tangential ideas and inspiration. These I’ll write down for later review, deep storage… edit (tools) image placeholder or describe what’s seen new script index cards image cards qualities humor / backstory … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, plan, production and post, research, story, technique
Tagged adr, notes, to do, variation, versions, VFX
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3 flavors of DOG
Let’s talk 3 versions. There’s a working 3:30 minute core, ready to get sleeky. The 2011 approach to the final cut is to cut to the core and add back in. Story support – what’s worth adding to deepen, reveal … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, plan, production and post, research, story, technique, time
Tagged festival, flavors, grail, length, motion graphics, short, sweet spot
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ECL interviews DK – 3:30 milestone
A transcription of pro tem Producer El Carne Loco’s interview with Director Dan Kelly regarding Daughter of God’s first milestone completion in 2011. ECL: Regarding the 3 minute version, what do you feel was accomplished, did it meet your expectations? … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged blonde, dan kelly, director, el carne loco, Faisal Azam
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DOG resurrection
She’s back! Daughter of God is in the house. 3:30 minutes The first objective was to post a micro version of the story (~3:00 minutes) by Wednesday 8/10. Between Sunday 8/7 and Wednesday 8/10 I was able to dedicate 11 … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged accelerated narrative, creative direction, dan kelly, director, DOG, dramedy, edit, editorial, el carne loco, Faisal Azam, producer, recap, sleek, uncle joe, vision
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DOG post-production meeting
After updating the archive’s catalog the last couple of days, (40 terrabytes worth), I was finally ready to crack the DOG project this morning. Upon reviewing the major sequences, I had a series of epiphanies. Inventory Cataloging the possibilities will … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged 3 movies, deliverable, DOG, edit, editorial, epiphany, Faisal Azam, inventory, milestone, nyc, production, script, sfx, story
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The aesthetic and what’s next?
So we’ve pre-released the sfx reel and shared a little history. Now what? There are 4 sheets of newsprint in the backroom covered with to dos, here’s the jist. Two archival and non trivial projects are in the queue for … Continue reading
Posted in budget, Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, SFX reel, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged avenues, constant vigilance, good enough, kiss, perfection rejection, serving story
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V 0.9 Trickster Pictures SFX reel
This is for my extended inner circle of creatives, both producers that might have a micro budget and/or good things to trade and artists that might have a wild idea or fancy getting hired to help. Please upgrade your browser … Continue reading
Canyon Princess
Premise “Up on the canyon edge, there’s a ship that sails the sky. They say it carries a thousand ghosts who once ate black gold and lived as gods. Big waters brought it here before my grandmother was born. We … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, projects, real life, research, SFX reel, story, technique, workflow
Tagged aleister crowley, bricks, color correction, cruise ship, Daughter of God, Dave Crowley, kiss, roto, san juan, tracking
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Uturnpike’s drift
Premise Mysterious rows of snow covered cars snake into the distance. What happened here? Was a neutron bomb exploded nearby? Were the drivers raptured away by the returning Messiah? Why are the cars bumper to bumper in both directions? Unturnpike … Continue reading
Posted in Daughter of God, people, plan, production and post, projects, real life, research, SFX reel, software, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged 3D, ae, cars, dan kelly, documentation, DOG, Jeff Gibbs, low level, mocha, patrick kelly, pennsylvania turnpike, planar tracker, the road, tracking, uturnpike, viggo mortensen
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Commando Kill
Premise CK is a black ops super warrior run amok. His self determined mission is to bring down technical civilization by crashing key elements of infrastructure. He’s forever skulking around power stations and military installations, tossing precise sabots with economy … Continue reading
Posted in people, production and post, real life, research, SFX reel, software, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged 3D, bear lake, blender, box truck, brad kinnan, catastrophe, character, chinese, cigar, city of milwaukee, clouds, commando kill, composite, concrete, epa, fire, halloween, hazard, industrial, infrastructure, live action, mandarin, manistee, missile, msu, no smoking, penske, rocket, ron brown and sons, roto, sabot, sabotage, signage, super warrior, translation, us 31, vector, vixia hf s100
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Climate Change and digressions
Premise Climbing high above a menacing mega-weather system, the VIP passengers aboard the Execu-jet attempt an escape to gentler climes, anticipating warm backrubs and frosty cocktails. Hubris! Even the mighty kerosene sucking turbo engines cannot forever loft such a heavy … Continue reading
Posted in production and post, projects, real life, research, SFX reel, software, story, technique, time, workflow
Tagged activist arrogance, ae, After Effects, boondoggle, california, cherry capital, climate change, container ship, convenience, environment, environmental debt, excess, genarts, global life support, hollywood, jamaica lynn weston, james weston lynn, james weston schaberg, Jeff Gibbs, jet, jet flight, Jonathan Kelly, landing gear, life support system, lightning, local growers, patrick kelly, privilege, right livelihood, roto, sapphire plugin, stabilized, stabilized footage, strobe flash
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Documentation protocol
Documentation protocols under consideration, for collaborator review. The next step in getting the lads to blog. 1. Technical terms are bolded and either briefly defined on the first use or linked to a definition on our other project sites, wikipedia, … Continue reading
R and D for Science Fiction Musical
Gosh, it’s nearly midnight, but I’ve gotta write a report on the recently initiated R and D for the Trickster Pictures project, Science Fiction Musical. James Weston and I are making narrative dance projects by recruiting talent from Mykl Werth’s … Continue reading
Posted in budget, hardware, people, plan, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, workflow
Tagged Crystal Lake, dan kelly, erin louise hoagg, ice, james weston, panasonic hds-tm700, patrick kelly, tiffany ingalls, vixia hfs-10
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Training invitation
An invitation to get ready for future projects with the Michigan Movie Cooperative. Hi, Dan here. As some of you know, I’ve been training these past few months for film making and stage performance. The goal is to develop a … Continue reading
Posted in people, production and post, real life, research, technique
Tagged combat mime, josh kiel, mykl werth, parkour, tai chi, yoga
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Combat Mime
Digital and analog special effects, creative financing, and stunt training are some of the initiatives in play as we ramp up for future movie challenges. The ability to perform safe stunts is essential, whether choreographing a fight scene, simulating a … Continue reading
Posted in people, production and post, real life, research, technique
Tagged brooke bueby, combat mime, dan kelly, gertrude ekstatisch, james weston, jd martinez, joe cissel, josh kiel, patrick kelly
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Party theory
What is a party anyway and Why do I keep having them? These questions are surprisingly sticky, fraught with dangerous revelations and dark discoveries. With not a little trepidation I turn my attention to look, to document, to understand. Though … Continue reading
Posted in people, production and post, real life, research, story, technique, Uncategorized
Tagged apocalypse, beat, dragons, flow, party, partyest, partyst, phenomena, production, rhythm, sustainable civilizations, terrorist, trickster pictures, what, why
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Front row epiphany
It’s 4:00 am, and I’m up in the loft listening to the rain and the ghost furnace. The house has a hydronic heating system, but the furnace / boiler is toast and needs to be replaced. The wood stove is … Continue reading
Trickster fx reel
The lads and I are assembling a motion graphics and fx reel. Making a range of support services available to other Michigan film makers could be a lucrative niche. The idea is to repurpose elements from past and current projects … Continue reading
Posted in people, plan, production and post, real life, research, software, technique, workflow
Tagged choreograph, combat mime, commando kill, detroit, fight, fx, motion graphics, stage violence, weapons
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The clean shaven look
I did it. Redesign and radical simplification of http://ondesire.com has been implemented. There’s more to come but the major scaffolding is in place. Here’s the landing page. Pretty sparse eh? The idea is push some of the complexity deeper into … Continue reading
Posted in Around Lake Michigan, software, story, technique, workflow
Tagged blog, bounce rate, design, fred oeflein, landing page, movies, navigating, ondesire, overwhelm, structure, tamarack software, views
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I’ve cloned myself
Just over a year ago I started cloning myself. I am amazed to announce that the process is complete, pretty nearly. As long as I am alive and ever changing my clone is also a work in progress. Last night … Continue reading
Posted in Around Lake Michigan, Daughter of God, hardware, people, real life, technique, time, workflow
Tagged Archive, clone, cloning, conquistador, credit card, firewire, SATA, terrabyte
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Bounce rate rebounds
Jonathan, Luke, Steve and I were looking at analytics for ondesire.com last night. After posting the Premise page on Friday, bounce rate shot back up to 40%. The point of looking at bounce rate is to see how effective the … Continue reading
Posted in Around Lake Michigan, people, real life, story, technique
Tagged analytics, bounce rate, dan kelly, Jonathan Kelly, landing page cross post, lucas kelly, steve kelly
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Getting the lads to blog
This is mostly directed to Jonathan with a heads up for Patrick, the other 2 directors on the motion graphics reel. This is all issues we’ve discussed before, eg documenting lessons and process. The car renderings must be 3968×2288, not … Continue reading →