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Monday, March 29, 2010

Back!

I'm going to post sketches.

Well, the paper is white, but I'm not going to scan, so woe to that.  I guess this camera likes adding its own mood to the image.  Back to work!

AVATAR

Thank you, James Cameron, for the wonderful experience.  In the same awe-inspiring way that Lucas' Star Wars created an exotic galaxy to be discovered, Avatar detailed just a fraction of a single life-supporting moon.


First off, the 3D.  I'd held off on watching any 3D films, save the new Terminator ride at Universal Studios, for Avatar, and it was well worth it.  The depth of vision really enhanced the illusion of a real world that our protagonists are visiting, and allowed my eyes to graze over and around the textures of every object, person, and even the beams of light piercing through the forest canopy.  At first glance the CG looks top-notch and is undoubtedly the best in the world at this moment.  The film really was "dream-like" and flying through the breathtaking view of the Hallelujah Mountains with its waterfalls evaporating into the wisps will not be topped anytime soon.  While great stylized animated films rest unchallenged on their golden thrones, the struggle for realistic computer graphics is a continuing struggle in which each successive film tops the next with a bigger budget and better equipment.  However, the lush landscape of Pandora has a magical quality that I feel will last.

With his having chosen to work on Avatar over Battle Angel first, I hope that James Cameron has learned enough about stereoscopic and computer graphics technology to have it be second nature.  Adapting Battle Angel Alita into the film Alita, I hope, will be both an exhibition of groundbreaking visuals and of a successful adaptation of a Japanese manga into a live action film.  Cameron has picked his title well, as Battle Angel Alita is less likely to suffer from whitewashing of the cast that film adaptations of Street Fighter, Dragonball, and Avatar: The Last Airbender have.  With his announcing of the plot of the first Alita to be based on the Motorball arc, I wonder though how Cameron will be able to faithfully adapt the work and present it to film audiences.

My only gripe with 3D (that is, excluding 3D gimmicks), is the jarring experience of having to refocus my eyes to see the 3D when my eye wanders too far from the area on screen that is in focus.  For video games that were presented in 3D at GDC this year, this was not so much a problem as the planes in the video feed were all in focus.  Watching someone play a baseball game, I could observe the entire field, and should be able to do so considering that it is essential information to the player.  With Avatar, however, whenever my eye strayed too far away from the protagonist to look at, say the bunker beds in the background, the 3D effect wore off.  It was so much more an experience in which my eyes were asked to be on rails than be in the world.

One particular shot in Avatar caught my eye.  In my notes here I wrote cliche, but reflecting upon it, I'll just regard it as another choice of shot.  The shot is sometime into the film when the army flies into the Hallelujahs, and we, from a distance, see the entire fleet flying amongst the mountains.  Where I would expect a cut, Cameron use a dramatic (I would call tacky) zoom into the ships to bring them closer to view.  It's exciting, and this is an exciting film, though I can't help to wonder if Cameron used this technique from documentary work.   It felt like a shot from a handheld (a very expensive one, I would imagine) , and director Kitamura would probably not approve.

Going into Avatar, I had read that Cameron took a scientific approach to making the film, creating and documenting the moon, Pandora, so that it would be as plausible as possible.  The final product, however, only gleaned on the science fiction, coming nowhere close to the original scriptment.  Given the length of the movie and the target audience, though, the cutting of geeky explanations was kinda necessary.

Lastly, Jenova Chen's "game" comment caught my eye.  The press, Ubisoft, and Cameron were both excited about presenting a video game and film that underwent production simultaneously.  However, sales failed to meet expectations despite the movie going on to become to highest grossing film of all time.  To quote Chen: "Avatar is good. But based on the emotion the film try to convey and its plot, I feel it would be more impactful if it's told through a game."

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The World and The Wired

I feel lost between the boundaries of The World and The Wired.

Today, I spend more time peering though Windows into the depths of cyber-space than looking out through my window at the city outside.  And I see a billion people like myself looking around also at this massive pile of data.  This internet lets the minds of the world connect, not as fundamentally as the neural network of Pandora, but extensive at least throughout human beings.  And I feel this urge to 'upload' myself to this network.  Yet this is not possible.  All that can be seen are strands of thought, a silhouette of person.  Perhaps my expectations for this technology are too high.  An Avatar in today's sense is not a complete projection of a person's being though the wire.  While Jake Sully was able to 'soul exchange' into a Na'vi, I can only project a cross-section of myself here.  The Wired, on the hand, merges the real world with the internets through IPv7.  No boundaries.  No problems.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

An Alternate to Diary


Well, since I'm spending so much time on the computer anyway... I thought I'd take on a paperless version of my Diary. I've fallen so far behind on it! Lack of motivation, or the inconvenience of it all, I don't know, but here I am setting up a blog as an alternative. My friend Yさん has kept one up for years now, and I thought I'd give it a try, in addition to all of the other blogs that I keep on the internet. Though, splitting my life through all of these different strands feels... like I'm partially hiding my complete self from the internet. As if the internet were a sentient being. I just did some digging up into Blogs and Internet Diaries. It turned out Justin Hall, a USC IMD alumnus pioneered blogging, and kept it up for eleven years before stopping and turning his focus on his local world.

This is boring, personal information that followers of my work need not read. As an alternative, this stinks as I cannot draw in the side margins of the "diary" nor will i staple mementos to the pages. A couple more regrets and things to rant about, but that one is an interesting anecdote, which we'll leave for another time, eh? ;D

This reminds me of the Orwell Prize blog that was set up around George Orwell's diary. Some days he would just "log" the number of eggs laid by his chickens, but, most importantly he wrote something down. Always starting off with the weather, he wrote at least one thing about his day. Now I'm having second thoughts of expanding this to that language blog site Lang-8, where if I were to blog in Japanese, a native Japanese speaker would comment and correct my mistakes. That would be a great learning experience. Some people blog a lot. Others not so often...

This Lang-8 system looks like it would help me a lot in my studies as a supplement to daily class. Look out for my upcoming Lang-8 blog ;D.

Today (2009.12.28)
Yesterday I woke up late as usual, what with the terrible nightowl sleeping habits. Not as bad as some fellow college students, who go to sleep way past 3 and 4 a.m. Guh, was very annoyed at my father pestering me to finish the chicken soup that Grandma cooked for me. It was a great soup, however. Just remembered that I haven't drunk the swallows' nest drink yet. That stuff is mighty good for ya'.

Listening to: 大胆にいきましょう↑Heart & Soul↑ (Daitan ni Ikimashou) - Tamaki Nami

Friday, January 1, 2010

Cross Cultural Music

Isn't it just great when music is shared across borders?

A*Teens - Perfect Match
Tamaki Nami - Daitan ni Ikimashou (Heart & Soul)

There's Tamaki Nami's cover of A*Teens' catchy song.  I'd always thought "Daitan ni Ikimashou" felt different from her other music.  Especially with that -desu in the first line. Unforgettable. I would always have to readjust when my playlist goes from "Reason", "Realize", or "Believe" to he bouncy, light, full-stop-at-the-end-of-every-line "Daitan ni Ikimashou".

So I've been listening to "Upside Down" and sketching out the next two AnimeLA paintings.  No, no, none of the characters are going to be bouncing off the ceiling in a fit of love.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Another Blog.

I've just created another blog.  I have a terrible habit of starting and starting and starting and never finishing.  No, rather, I continue to set up finish lines but don't make any effort towards crossing them.

I'd created the blog for another purpose, but what the hell, I can't let snatching up that blog name go to waste.  So, I've canceled one project not even half an hour into it.  And then've started a new one.  One whose finish line is set... nowhere in sight.  Welcome to Grandpa's Violin.  Sometimes I wonder whether using Blogger over Wordpress is a good idea.  Anyway, I had intentions to make a diary blog but in my narcissism decided to scrap that.  "Grandpa's Violin" is the one Yuki Kajiura song that my dad recognizes.  Well, if you haven't heard it yet, please do so now.  I'll wait patiently.

I'd originally planned the title to be based off of my favourite song "Winter" but the theme was too general.  Everything from "handinhand" to "darknessofwinter" was taken.  What i could get was "throughwinter" or "thruwinter" or "middleofthewinter".  Now, Through Winter isn't such a bad name for a blog, but Grandpa's Violin--now that evoked some real emotion and antiquity.

I sure wish i had a Grandpa with a violin.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

December 25th, 2009  Yay Christmas!!  The year is also almost over.  Unfortunately, I've gotten sick over the past few days.  Not sure if it's poor sleeping habits, an infected tooth, or both.  I've come down with three dis-eases: a toothache, headache, and the chills;  they always seem to come together.  Anyway, here's what I've been slaving over.  Christmas cards!


These hand-made ones have been taking my time away from Anime LA convention preparation.  They take so long to make!  I've uploaded a couple at DeviantArt #2.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Winter Break preview

This winter break, I've decided to work on some fanart for Anime LA!  This will be my first time staying in an Aritst's Alley, and hopefully my first time cosplaying, so I'll be both nervous and excited!  Here's a sketch of Miku.  My plan is to have three paintings, one each of Hatsune Miku, Lal'c and Nono, and Ayanami Rei ready for the convention.  Time to get to work!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Figures Week 11?

Either Week 11 or 12, most likely eleven.  Anyway, on to the pictures.  Maybe some sketches coming up in a post.  I'll have to quickly fill the sketchbook up, and post the best scratching and scribbling i've done in my most recent.

Ugh, sorry about the bad lighting.



Figures Week 10

Week 10, the 4th of November 2009.  Is it just me or does the conte not go well with the paper?  Dangit i accidentally used flash on the first image.


Figures Week 13

Catching up on some old posts.  Stuff must be so unorganized now.  Week 15 was skipped for an Interactive Media showcase.  Awesome work being done by the students here.


Friday, November 27, 2009

Teaching Moral Character

I'm visiting a friend at UCLA this thanksgiving.  What?  USC students can't get along with UCLA students?  Anyway, she's gone to bed after claiming her one hour of sink/bathroom time, and we'll be getting up, not too early tomorrow to go Black Friday shopping!  Sadly, there are no awesome classic films being shown right now, and every girl wants to see New Moon.  Ugh, at least i was forced to watched Twilight last, Friday, was it by Cさん.  Terrible movie.  The awkwardness in the character interactions made it seem as if there was absolutely no script at all, or the actors couldn't perform.  Awkward.  I haven't read the book,but I've heard that it's just as terrible.  Terribly popular. 

Well, we had our student made, dorm-made thanksgiving dinner.  I washed the rice; what an accomplishment!  V-san was introduced, no, I was introduced to V-san, I don't know if it was Hさん's poor introduction, as she failed to mention my name, or the fact that the fact that I was a trojan that triggered no response from him.  Not even a "Hey, welcome to UCLA!"  Is it my face?  *Hさん's keyboard's s key is tricky.  What did I like?  Talked about video games again.  H?さん is a Neotokyo player.  I've finnaly found one.  Also an avid(if i have any idea how to use that word) MMORPG player.  No games for him in college though.  I brought my PS3 to school, but have only really been able to play recently, and just Assassins Creed II, with all the hype surrounding it's launch.  Ubisoft at USC, the Lineage trailer, got me excited enough about the game that I didn't wait for the delayed PC version.  I've loving the game, but the graphical capabilitie of the Playstation don't seem to be able to handle the field of vision well at all.  Is it just my system?  When the textures shift slightly, or objects appear before you as you close the distance between you and them, the "reality" of the game, the immersion that I expected (as i play with nearly no HUD), is broken.

Anyway, H?さん says that his approach would be improvement on existing ideas, basically, "I want to make an MMORPG, now what can I do differently to make it better."  Everyone asks, what kind of game do you want to make.  Yet, I hesitate to choose.  There are genres to be created.  I want to make a kind of game that you didn't even know existed.  My approach would be to build the framework from scratch.  I hope i don't give up after laying the *whatever those wooden, oh, piles?! (wiki...) yes, a PILE! I'm urprised I even remember the word.  Oh, and just looking up contruction on wikipedia, I realized the green material clad around the to-be Student Union isn't just and Orange texture placed in for the level design of the build.  It's an insulator.  I really though it was just temporary texture. -_-

So, what did I want to talk about?  Oh, we had chicken.  Yes, chicken, pre-cooked turkey was sold out ;_;  On the boring side, list of events.  I got off the bus at the right stop, after freaking out thiking i had gone all the way to Santa Monica,  Then I couldnt find the small Le Conte cross-section, walked down to Westwood.  The reliability of buses scares me.  Epecially after that close shave in Irvine.  Don't think the bus wa ever gonna come.  *Wow this paragraph is really boring, but I'm putting down some reasons to learn to drive.

Hum, any meaning to today's events?  I read Wolpaw's interview (VALVe, with the other writer, also) but maybe those thoughts should be posted to IMD?  He views the world through his (i'll dub) "current-project" filter, and everything that happens, experienced, sees, hears, is compared to work.  "How can this be used in my game?"  So, maybe I should turn on my filter right now.  I chose paper as my currect game project while sitting in the dining hall, Parkside, I believe.  Twyla Tharp says to keep your project a secret though, and they'll be more fun to do and FINISH.  I desperately need to finish, or even, start.  The star I'm reaching for is iPhone game.  Unfortunately, the concept suits 3D more, so maybe i should develop the other one.  Maybe

What I wanted to talk about in the post was my experience reading on MangaFox today.  One Piece.  Awesome.  Bleach, scanlators left a "watermark" and it was unreadable.  So I didn't read it.  Naruto, nudging forward a bit.  One Piece movie-prologue chapter?  Double-awesome, reminded me of tons of characters, which I'm sure One Piece alreasy has.  That nostalgia calls for some re-watching of One Piece, if not the entire series, whatever my sisters will.

This caught my eye.  *Oh and there's so many topics in the post I wont know how to tag this.
Well, I'd like to include an image with everpost, but the image might defame my blog, and I just had technical trouble, own no rights to the image (thought i posted Bae Doona), and, yeah.  *typing that out on the internets.

So, the title of the manga Need a Girl *translated from korean (여자친구만들고파!) caught my eye.  Hey typical manga for teenage boys, I wanted to see how this one would hit the demographic, and its portrayal of women, and the art (actually, "any short-haired girls?").  It's a little too straightforward on the perversion.  From the pages that I've read, lots of fanservice, fantasy, relations with classmates.  But what really caught my eye was the use of popular Chinese idioms, wise sayings, phrases your parents or teachers would recite into your brain in an effort to encourage better, healthier behavior.  At first, I had thought "The early bird gets the worm" would be the main theme of the chapter, but the idioms kept coming.  I'm not on my computer right now, so maybe I'll edit this post with the idioms in Chinese later.

But, these were four-character idioms that I learned in Chinese Culture class, coming right back at me.  I love it.  I love the idea of applying those timeless sayings to a situation in a manga.  However the schoolgirls are a tad bit too distracting. 

How would this be taken in a game?  Perhaps the interactivity would make the lesson stick, for the lack of a better term.  Mostly, a choose your own adventure/visual novel with moral elements.  Thoughts, thoughts?

P.S.  How many words have i written in the past hour?  Blog vs. Diary!  I'd rather not hurt my head over it, but my organizing self can't resist.  Perhaps a historian would like to do the dirty work and compile it later.  I don't feel obligated to have work done by others.  Now, those labels...

Friday, October 23, 2009

Figures Week 8

*cough cough* After a week of midterms, my hand churned out a whole bunch of useless drawings, the connections between my eyes and my brains fell apart...  Life goes on.  Here's Week 8. terrible.  Again with the left hand. I'm sick and tired of it, may be alternating from now on.


Figures Week 7

Hmm, Google's new image system is throwing the order of my pictures around, sorry. I'll just have to leave the thumbnails medium sized.  Here's Week 7, mostly with the left hand, whilst I coughed from a sore throat.






Figures Week 6

Silhouette exercises.  Then we switched into a left-hand exercise (and vice versa for left handers).