I haven't watched either Conan or Jay in years, but back in the ninties I absolutely loved Late Night with Conan O'Brien (back when Andy Richter was co-host). Haven't been keeping up with the present situation, but due to my former fondness for O'Brien, and never having cared much for the man with the world's largest chin, I'd side with the redheaded freckled one.
Mass Effect is another game I felt looked interesting, but have steered clear of because it looks time consuming. If I were still in high school or college with a bit of time to spare, then I'd probably get into it.
Both Perfect Dark (Xbox Live remake of the old N64 game) and Bioshock 2 are due out in Feburary, those will be my next two game purchases, and probably my last ones for a good long while. That Bioshock 2 collector's edition looks very nice, including a real vinyl soundtrack, an art book, and a set of posters. Extremely temping, until you see the steep price tag of $100. Guess I'll be buying the standard edition, while that extra stuff looks nice, I don't think it is worth an extra $40 over the games price. Pity, that stuff would have gone nicely with my Mr. Bubbles rag doll and my somethinginthesea.com Rise Rapture, Rise LP.
I am somewhat considering adapting my analogy Jorge's Famous Three Layered Cake (which I wrote as a post on this site) into an animated short. It is nice and short, so I think it would be a good test drive into the whole claymation thing for me. Plus, since it is mostly narration, the whole syncing process wouldn't be overwhelming for me.
Soooo, anybody have a good narrator voice who'd be willing to contribute to a project that will ultimately (if it is ever realized) become just another worthless youtube video?
Anybody able to do a good George Lucas impression... maybe with a slight Hispanic twist (there's a challenge for ya, not even sure what that'd sound like)?
dark_jedi said:
DAMN! I am shocked there is no talk of Dragon Age Origins,did anyone get this FANTASTIC game? I am having a great time with this one,sux that the DLC Return To Ostogar is delayed,was supposed to come out yesterday,and I see there is an Expansion coming out this March,very cool game,a must have.
We really don't talk much about video games on these forums at all. All sorts of great and crappy games that were discussion worthy have come out this year, but very few get mentioned here. Guess it just isn't the right crowd of folks here, or everyone has other places they prefer to hold their video games discussions at.
Last game I bought was Left 4 Dead 2, and I am still loving it to death. Other games I have had slight interest in lately, but have yet to play, are Borderlands and Modern Warfare 2 (never had any interest in Modern Warfare 2 until one of my old friends was telling me about it, and it actually sounds like fun).
I am kind of weary of games that suck away a lot of time. I have just recently dug Fallout 3 out of the whole I buried it in to protect myself from it and have been giving it more of my time (ever see the movie Jamanji? That is what Fallout 3 feels like to me). Just found the last of the twenty bobbleheads yesterday! I absolutely love that game, but it is so huge, overwhelming, and time consuming; I don't think I'd really be interested in ever playing another one of those kinds of games again. Something like Left 4 Dead were I can pick it up, play for an hour or so, then put down without feeling the need to pick it back up again as soon as possible is right up my alley.
Wow... words fail me. One thing is for sure, I shall try very hard to refrain from complimenting other people's posts from now on.
Oh, by the way Fink, this is a pretty amusing thread...
Mankind is a very puzzling thing. For as much evil as it does, I think it does just as much good. That whole crazy duality thing, which is something else animals don't muck around with.
Wow, another really well written post, courtesy of TheBoost.
Edit: Yours was far more concise, thought provoking, and to the point.
Hmm, that is interesting that they don't know what the moon is... why is that do you suppose?
When I see an ant build an elaborate machine in order to get to a piece of bread before some other colony does, then I will agree that ants are as smart (or as dumb) as people.
And when I see chimps start measuring their dicks and comparing sizes (though, to really impress me, they'll need to develop a system of measurements as well), then I will agree that they are as dumb (or as smart) as humans.
Do you think that maybe you are not giving the human race quite enough credit? Maybe people can be sons of bitches sometimes and treat each other like shit. But how many animals from how many different countries do you see taking off and running over to Haiti right now in order to help out the Haitian animals who were victims of the recent Earthquake? How many ants are sending bread crumbs over to Haiti to help out the local ants who lost everything they owned? Well, humans are doing these things. I am sorry, perhaps I am just being arrogant, but god or no god, accident or creation, I think things like that make the human race pretty damn special. We are beyond a doubt unique among the known creatures of our planet.
And Boost, I really liked that last post of yours. Well said.
Leonardo said:
... and because of the arrogant idea that man (as in Homo Sapiens Sapiens) is Special, is better than all the other animals when in fact he's just another animal, just as stupid or as clever as an ostrich or an ant.
LOL! I suppose it is the humbleness of the ostriches and ants that have made them decide against driving around in automobiles or studying their own anatomy in order to preform advanced surgeries on one another in order to save their lives? Yeah, that makes sense. Man, and I thought the Christians tended to make themselves sound like retards!
We actually did discuss this on these boards many years back, but I'd have no idea how to begin about searching for that thread. Especially since we have such a long history of going off on tangents, the name of the thread probably has nothing to do with that discussion at all.
I could make all sorts of arguments about how film and books are of a very different nature, and that adding modern special effects to a 20 year old movie is more like sewing a bright shinny brand new piece of fabric onto a old worn pair of pants as a patch, where it will stand out like a sore thumb, while adding and revising a few lines in a book is more like patching something with the same sort of cloth it was originally made from.
But actually, I find the revision of books extremely annoying in the exact same way I find the revision of films annoying. My annoyance on this matter doesn't stop with just the Star Wars films, I don't pick on them just to be picking on them. I actually prefer to experience all works in a way as close as possible to the original audience, books being no exception. So much so that I literally cringe every time I pick up my American printing of books like Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series and find words like "torch" replaced with "flashlight". (Honestly, Americans are not that dumb. I am sure they are perfectly capable of figuring out that Arther Dent is not actually using a burning stick in order to see while rummaging through the filing cabinet in the disused lavatory with the "Beware of the Leopard" sign on the door. Part of the charm of something like Douglas Adams books are how British they are, and by Americanizing them, we lose a bit of that.)
I can understand why Tolkien seriously revised that part of The Hobbit, and I don't really fault him for it. I feel it was done very seamlessly, and without really changing anything in the books overall storyline. But I still like to be able to read it the way it was first presented to the world. Which is why my lovely little hardcover copy of The Hobbit has a printed piece of paper containing the original chapter printed in very small font folded up and stuck behind the dust jacket.
C. S. Lewis also changed bits to his Narnia books over the years, most severe of which was the part in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where they rescue a castaway. Honestly, I much prefer the original version of that sequence, and regret that that version is doomed to exile in only the old tattered printings of that book. But again, I can forgive this, because the whole thing, exactly as it was originally written, is readily available to the world in the same sort of quality as the replacement. Anyone who wants to read the unaltered chapter of The Hobbit or the original bit from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader only has to do a quick web search in order to do so. If I am not mistaken, the recently published History of The Hobbit, contains the unaltered parts as well.
I have said many times on these forums before, I do not begrudge Lucas just for simply changing those parts, I begrudge him for changing those parts, then going way out of his way to ensure they are never seen again... or more recently, to ensure they are never seen again in enjoyable quality.
Had C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, or other authors who have revised their books after the first publication displayed the same attitude as George Lucas has on the situation, then I think I'd be pretty quick to feel the same way about them as I do about Lucas.
I think another reason why this isn't brought up as much, is because of The Hobbit's age, none of us here experienced reading it one way as a child, then forced to read only the altered version thereafter.
Thanks for the advice Ziz, I hadn't even thought about the issue of melting from the lights, or about the advantages a spare fridge might provide. And thanks for the the links and the software recommendations Octorox. I'll check those out.
The skeletons and the lighting techniques are two of the major things I want to do research on before starting, or committing to start. Also doing the voice track first is a very useful piece of advice. I was actually planning on doing it the other way around and syncing my actors voices to the animation; but now that you have got me thinking about it, that is sounding like a really bad idea and just asking for syncing issues.
So, anyone have advice on getting a decent recording without owning a ton of expensive audio equipment? I don't really have a budget for this thing, it is really just for kicks, so buying a lot of expensive stuff isn't really an option.
Thanks for the tips and comments. Keep them coming.
Nanner Split said:
Now if only Rick Warren's shenanigans in Uganda would get more publicity.
His "shenanigans in Uganda"? I am pretty tired right now, and did little more than skim the article, but from what I read it seems he merely refused to speak out against it because he ddn't feel it was his place to do so, while at the same time admitting that he didn't agree with the policy. Does that really constitute as a "shenanigan"? Kind of interesting to hear of a well known American pastor (especially one of the annoyingly lovey dovey variety as Rick Warren) not feeling the need to denounce something as awful as that as downright wrong, it certainly says a lot about him. But from the way you worded it, I was half expecting to read that he was going to Uganda, passing out machettes, and preaching that it is a Christians duty to rid the world of homosexuals.
And yeah, Pat Robertson is a piece o' shit.
I know there are quite a few film students on these boards, so I am wondering if any of you could recommend me a good book on making claymation shorts?
I have a bunch of short scripts I have written over the years, and just last week got the bright idea of perhaps bringing some of them to life via clay animation. I know the basic principals of making claymation, but I'd like to get my hands on some sort of guide detailing the tools and tricks of the trade.
It is Faceman's destiny!
I think they should get Katee Sackoff to play Faceman...
Ric, I got that picture off a website that specialized in clothing for plus sized women. I think I used the search terms "swimsuit" and "XXL" in google's image search. Maybe you can find the same picture and contact the company that runs the website and find out who the model was. Hope this helps.
As for your hair, when in doubt: Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Doing this once a day ought to keep your hair in fairly good shape.
bkev said:
C3PX said:
hot.like.C3PX is beginning to feel that he and his advice are not being taken seriously.
C3PX said:This is going to be sorta my blog thread where I talk about my mundane life as a young Canadian female college student.
I'VE BEEN LIED TO AGAIN. C3, you're a biscuit.
I know this is a joke thread but try to be consistent.
I was actually having fun at another forum member in that second quote, the original hot.like.Fire, who, from what I gathered was a young Canadian college student (or maybe she was just in HS). She started her hot.like.Fire thread to make fun of internet blogs, and I started this one making fun of her making fun of internet blogs. It is all very complicated. Now even more so that Ric Ollie has made a thread making fun of this one.
.
Hmm, I feel like my blog/advice thread has had the thunder stolen from it, but then again, this is kind of how my thread started so I can't complain.
Until further notice, hot.like.C3PX will not be dispensing any more advice. Things have just gotten too silly and hot.like.C3PX is beginning to feel that he and his advice are not being taken seriously.
Sincerely,
Staff
Dear Ric,
Allow me to clarify, my services are good but they are not free.
Sincerely,
hot.like.C3PX
Dear Fink,
The spoon will do in a pinch, you'll just have to use more muscle.
Sincerely,
hot.like.C3PX
Wow, I wrote that in 2007, kind of disappointing to see it hasn't reached wide spread use, but it is exciting that it is starting to be used on these boards again. Thanks Ric, this is very exciting. Maybe by 2015 it will reach wider usage. I'd love to see the word pop up in urban dictionary...
And yes, bel***m is an extremely offensive word (for those, like myself, who choose to be offended by it), and I'd rather not see it used on this boards.
Dear Ric Olie,
The best things in life are free, but my services are not one of them.
Sincerely,
hot.like.C3PX
Dear Fink,
CUT IT OFF, QUICK! BEFORE IT SPREADS!
Sincerely,
hot.like.C3PX
Dear "Posting in Pottersville" from the planet of Naboo,
I hadn't noticed this. I will have my staff research the matter and get back to you.
Sincerely,
hot.like.C3PX