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MAKING A GREAT HERO

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-04-20T12:21:37-07:00

There are very few keys to making a great and memorable hero. Of course, it can be done in the traditional sense where he stands for truth, justice and is honorable in all things. Clark Kent in Smallville embodies all these characteristics and it makes for a great show. On the other hand, in today's world and for today's audience there is another way. Movies like Pitch Black show a hero character with a very different personality, and yet it still works.

Another recent movie presents a hero who, while not having the best or most honorable personality, is still very memorable. That movie is the comic book style action flick Jumper. Despite many bad reviews, I really enjoyed this film, and I believe I have figured out why. It's not because the hero is necessarily good. In fact, one reviewer describes him as, "...a jerk without one redeemable bone in his body." What makes this hero work for today's audience, which is surely a young audience, is that his power is something everyone would want to have.

Too many people who chose to hate the film, and it is certainly a choice how we react to external stimuli, allowed the character flaws of the hero, played by Hayden Christensen, to turn them against the movie. One reviewer even said that it had him rooting for the paper-thin, religious zealot, villain, even though he was an atheist. Now no movie is, of course, for everyone, but I think those who chose to be down on it may have missed something really cool that the movie presented. One reviewer, who I believe caught it, had this to say:

"All the things he does with his power is for himself, no one else. To me, the most meaningful scene in this film, is the few seconds when he watched the News of TV, saw a bunch of people get caught in flood, and then emotionlessly turned it off. He could have gone and saved those people, and become a stereo-type hero. But he didn't. He got superpower, he use it to enjoy life. It's that simple. But isn't it what we would all do, if we got his power?"

There is a freedom that is represented by what this character has. A freedom I believe most people long for in their own lives. I don't mean the specific acts of teleporting into a bank and robbing it. I am talking about a lifestyle. This lifestyle is portrayed so well in the movie that I suspect that those with whom is resonated like the film, and those who could not connect were unhappy with the presentation.

The anti-herioc character of Riddick, created by Vin Diesel and David Twohy in the movie Pitch Black, offers something similar. While his special ability has somewhat more limited use than that of the Jumper, I'm sure everyone remembers being afraid of the dark. It's very easy to connect to the idea of having the ability to see clearly in absolute darkness. Today we have electric lights enough to brightly illuminate any hour of the day, yet we still know how effective blackouts and power outages can be in horror movies. In that situation, one might recall a desire for the eyes of Riddick.

A character can stand for truth, justice, and honor with no special ability at all, and still be a very memorable lead. That's only one path to making a great hero, though. Sometimes, starting with a superpower that represents the greatest of wish fulfillment, or a doorway to wildest dreams, can lead to some great characters that audiences will never forget.

DOES PIRACY SPELL THEN END?

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-04-05T12:32:09-07:00

Every so often, in the world of digital content creation, the subject must naturally turn to piracy and the effects it has on the industry. While there are hordes of people willing to offer solutions, far too many of them seem to center of stamping it out, fighting against it. Some, particularly organizations hit hardest like the RIAA or MPAA, even desire or expect the government to step in and lay down the law.

It's unlikely anything will ever be done about it. Business models are simply going to have to change. Adapt or die. There's been a lot of talk on the net lately about why "free" is the future of business in the online world. There are also already plenty of examples of those who have adapted and proven that "free" can be turned into a very profitable venture.

Direct sales to end users is not the only way to turn a profit from one's work.

Have you ever notice that all of Google's services are, and always have been, free? Yet they are one of the largest companies in cyberspace even shelling out $1.6 billion to grow larger with the free site, Youtube.

All of the cartoons and content on Homestar Runner, the hard work of those artists, is, and has always been, available on their site totally free. Yet they have grown from a garage operation to a full size company with a staff of employees.

There are a number of online comics that have been free since their inception and they have grown into huge, profitable operations.

There are even plenty of indie musicians who earn good money from their work and art because they realize that good and popular bands have assets that can never be pirated. Selling records as a business became big in the middle of last century. Talented musicians have been getting rich from their work and art for over a thousand years before that. Business have to adapt.

People can scream and rave all they want about how politicians and the government or police should do something about it, but it simply isn't going to happen. More piracy happens outside of America than inside. The Pirate Bay, the largest warez site in the world, is an eastern european operation. Most are well aware of how rampant piracy is in Asia. Not all countries share, or have any interest in, our intellectual property laws. They don't care and it would do them no good whatsoever to start caring.

As a content creator myself, I am not in any way in support of piracy nor do I condone it. I wish it did not exist, but crying about it isn't going to solve anything. Screaming for the government to do something about it isn't going to solve anything. DRM and copy protection isn't going to solve anything. Adapting to new business models will solve everything.

Many net business are already adapting and seeing incredible returns in a new market catering to what people both want and expect on the net which is free content.

OUTSOURCING

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-04-01T07:12:09-07:00

Outsourcing animation, in order to save costs, has been a mainstay of the American animation industry for more than two decades now. Numerous countries, where labor is much cheaper than hiring homegrown talent, have seen the struggling animation industry through many trials over the years. Now, however, the tables have turned. With the U.S. dollar at the lowest it's been in 13 years, Chinese companies have begun outsourcing their animation to operations here in the U.S.

To that end, Studio ArtFX and Terrence Walker have been offered $438.00 American dollars to animate a 90 minute feature film for burgeoning Chinese technology firm Siu Kru Yu. Although the firm, which has specialized in IT since its inception, has never ventured into entertainment before, the team of managers in charge of the project seem confident that the script, penned by the bosses wife, will break them into the business with a bang. Company president Chien Lee Zhang, however, has chosen not to be personally involved in the project.

"My wife has wanted to write since she was a child." Spoke the aging CEO. "Even though she has never written a story before, I am certain that her script might find some viewers." Although turned down by numerous studios in China, the prospect of animating the film for a low cost in the U.S., with its steadily weakening dollar, has made company president Zhang's wife's dream a reality.

"This would not have been possibly if not for current economic circumstances." laughed Zhang. "Films take a long time to make. If the dollar continues to fall, it'll be like getting all that work done for free."

SO WHO REALLY CREATED IT?

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-03-29T09:50:19-07:00

I posted this in the Daz forums yesterday and it sparked an interesting debate, so I decided to repost it here:
(all images from Daz and Vue galleries)

There is much that can be said in praise of CG art where the creator did everything themselves, and I think we all know of certain CG sites where the type of art we do here is seriously looked down upon or even viciously attacked.

I used to be a professional artist (and all that implies). Human characters and rigs was my focus. I was very good at it and achieved photorealism on more than one occasion. I have modeled sub-D characters, NURB characters, and polygon characters. I have worked in video games, TV and film. For most of that time I knew very little, if anything, about the whole Poser world. What little I did hear, coming from "professional artists" was not good. Sadly, I believed it without ever having looked at the program for myself. These guys use Maya. They must be right, right?

The first time someone really tried to push me into Poser was quite a few years ago when I was at the now defunct EA Vegas, formerly known as Westwood Studios. He was an avid Poser user and did a lot of matte paintings for Threshold, on the Mortal Kombat movies and TV series. When you see those little people walking around in the matte paintings, those are Poser people.

So one day he said, "I can't imagine why you don't use Poser. It's perfect for what you do!" I replied, "Yeah, yeah..." Still he decided to show me just how quick and easy it was to populate a scene with characters walking and running around. He also showed me how much content, as far as human styles and costumes, there was available. Still I thought, "Maybe I use it for extras or background characters." On one of the Command & Conquer games there was a scene where Cain, the bad guy, is giving a speech to a bunch of soldiers. He did the crowd in Poser. It was easy.

That was a long time ago, so it must have been Poser 2 or 3. Over the years I saw Poser get better, but never gave it much more thought. Then something changed.

Around 2006 I was working on a movie, a low budget creature flick directed by the guy who designed the dragons for Reign of Fire. Because he had a name and had worked on quite a few big movies, he had connections. This allowed him to "borrow" sets for his film that we could never afford. Being an art director, he threw up some tarps, some lanterns and some good lighting and BOOM! New set. He did the same with costumes. He knew people and it helped. So did we have totally original stuff of our creation in the film? No, but it made our movie of less than $2 million look like it must have cost $20 million or more. That's when I gave Poser more serious consideration.

If there's one thing I never liked to model, it's generic, real world things, like, say, a Baretta 9mm pistol. I modeled one once. Did a great job too, near photoreal, but it took a lot of time and effort and had I known about this site back then I would have paid $20 for a pack of guns and moved on.

As I mentioned before, human characters was my focus and I had been modeling them for ages before I found about this site. When I saw the latest versions of Poser and then later found this site I was truly happy! Why should I continue to model human characters? There comes a point past which human characters are not getting any better. And that goes double for generic clothing like T-Shirts, jeans, underwear, bikinis and the like. They are everywhere here! If there's one thing I don't believe in, it's reinventing the wheel.

I mentioned in another thread how I paid nearly $50 for a mask on Turbo Squid. I was working on a scene where I needed it and at that point I had two choices. Pull out a card, pay the $50. Drop the mask in the scene and move on, OR drop everything I am doing and spend the time to model up and texture a mask to go on the wall in the background of my scene. Personally, I would rather spend m time focusing on my story, characters, good lighting etc.

Buying content that does what you need simply makes sense, and the prices on this site can't be beat. You think Stone Mason's prices are high? A few buildings cost hundreds of dollars on a "pro" site like 3D02. Speaking of which, who do you think is buying content off these super expensive pro sites? I asked a buddy of mine at Zoic about buying content and he said, "Hell yeah! All the time." The big guys buy content too. When you have a tight deadline on your TV show or movie and you need to flip a 2007 BMW 525, do you think they pay some guy thousands and give him months to model it? So while the "pro" artists on certain sites may sit around and bash Poser, they do plenty of content buying too, even in shows like CSI, BSG, Angel, X-men and many more.

You know what? I say let the pros talk while they spend $200 on a human model that looks no better than Victoria. Or worse, spend months to model something that doesn't come close. (Have you seen the digital stunt doubles in some recent movies?! PS3 games look better!) And if they want to say what we do isn't art, let them say it if it makes them feel better! Do you enjoy what you do? Do you love playing with the software and the content we have here? Does your art look the way you want it to look? Then who cares what anyone else has to say?

I'm going to make something cool in Poser now.

Why I Will NEVER Watch 10,000 B.C.

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-03-26T15:25:44-07:00

*** MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS ***

I had my suspicions, even from the trailers. I suspected this movie might just contain some very big turn-offs for me. Sadly, an article on Tractor Facts titled 10,000 B.C.: And a White Man Will Lead Them confirmed my worst fears. In that article it states:

"D'Leh - looking handsome above - fights killer ostriches, horse-whispers to a saber tooth, gets mystical about the moon, plants crops, and leads a legion of black men into liberating themselves (and pyramid slaves) from The Almighty. That last bit comes off as more than a little condescending, because, for some inexplicable reason, large villages of capable black warriors are unable to rise up until a white man shows them the way."

I have to say I am truly sick of this mentality from Hollywood. Since the dawn of film, Hollywood has depicted a world view where up until old honest Abe Lincoln came along, blacks are shown anywhere in the world, through all of human history, to be slaves. I won't even get into the mountains of archaeological or anthropological evidence that show that nothing could be further from the truth. Still, even classic writers like Shakespeare created dramatic stories which featured black characters in positions of power and influence in, of all places, Europe. Yet, in Hollywood the same backwards myth perpetuates.

That's only one aspect of Hollywood myth making that has irked me for some time now. Another reviewer, writing on Kaylow Media had this to say:

"Plus, the Pharaoh is depicted as a shrouded, hissing snake-like villain. It’s only after he’s killed by The World’s Most Improbable Spear Toss that we see that he’s an ordinary Caucasian white guy. Ruling ancient Egypt. In Africa."

If you go by what Hollywood shows, one would not even realize that Egypt is in Africa, let alone was ever an African kingdom. I think a simple look at Joel Freeman's Egypt photo gallery says all that need be said about how the ancient Egyptians saw themselves. Hollywood has never been known for anything resembling historical accuracy and there is a reason for this. Consider a movie like Troy. Greeks are not today, nor were they at any point in history, white like Brad Pitt and Sean Bean. When Hollywood creates, they create a Hollywood world.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't fault Hollywood for what they create, nor do I expect that they should do any different. I'm simply saying that I'm done watching it. Their works are simply not for me. This is, in fact, the whole matter. One must consider who the movies are made by and who they're made for. Think of it this way. In China, when they sit down to make the next great wuxia epic, do you think the creators sit down and think, "I want to make an epic movie and I want it to have a Chinese hero instead of a white guy."? Of course not! That would be ludicrous. It's all about who the movie is by and who it's for. The largest American movies are made for the largest majority of the population. That's both wise and financially sound. There's no reason to expect them to do any different.

What this means, though, is that for those of us who desire to see something different, or want a different experience, we have to make it! That's what it comes down to. Sitting around waiting for someone to make something for us, when they have no valid reason to, is folly. If we want to see a different story, then we must make that different story. If we want a different kind of hero, then we must create that hero. Some of the best movies, TV shows and anime done were made because the creator wanted to see something different and wasn't getting it anywhere else. So it is with any of us who want something different. No need to sit down and lament what someone else is making. Instead of spending two hours watching it, spend that two hours creating something for you.

Ye Olde Blog Archive

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-03-25T18:46:50-07:00

I decided to remove the link to the old blog archive from the main menu and it has now been replaced by the gallery. It's not a completely new gallery. Some of the images were on the previous incarnation of this site. A few are new. The link to the blog archive has now been made into a category in this blog. In fact, I have, up until now, been unaware of just how useful blog categories can be. I was schooled by my friend Bryan when he setup his blog to chronicle his Carnival Cruise voyages, even though I introduced him to Rapid Weaver, the web design tool I use for this site!

Learning from his blog, I will begin making better use of categories in the future, including adding a FAQ category to keep a tally of questions I am often emailed. I can also organize posts based on the different projects I am doing using categories, so those who are interested in a particular item, like Anigen, will be able to jump directly to the posts dealing with that subject. I'm not yet sure how I will work it all out, but it will probably be slowly implemented over time.

So from here on out, to get to the old blog archive, click here.

LIFE IN THE WAY OF ART

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-03-12T10:55:23-07:00

We've always heard about "life imitating art" by right now my thoughts turn to the matter of life getting in the way of art. I'm doing laundry right now. Lately it's become far more apparent just how much life can get in the way of the enthusiasm to really create something.

The day before yesterday I was exploring new Poser figures and morph targets and really got excited about all the new possibilities and how much better things could look. Like many success teachers mentioned, I was in the place where I couldn't wait to get up the next day and dive back into it. Ideas were flowing and I wanted to see what could really be done. I wanted to see how far I could take things. Unfortunately, when I got up the next day, I had to go grocery shopping. Well, I had to go if I wanted to eat that day anyway.

Of course that didn't stop me from eventually getting in there and playing. I mean, it was nearly lunch time when I got around to it, but after lunch I was able to get deeper into exploring. I got so deep that I really couldn't wait to get up and get back to it this morning. Of course, then I realized I had to do laundry. The building I live in doesn't offer washers and dryers in the rooms. I am not even sure washing machines existed when this place was built. There is a room on the other side of the building with washers and dryers and they are few, so one has to get in early. It's also wise to go back and check on your stuff now and again.

These are little things, I know, but they can be huge when it comes to breaking the flow and the excitement of creation. I guess the next interruption will be going to get my passport renewed. That will be worth it though. Then I can go somewhere in Asia and stay in a five star hotel like I did in China. Everything is done for me there. Life can never get in the way of art again! ;)

OVERTHINKING

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-03-04T21:50:51-08:00

It took me years to realize just how much I overthink things. Worse still, just when I realize it and start moving down another path, I fall back into the same old ways before long. Sadly, overthinking really boils down to one thing: Worrying too much about what other people think or say instead of making what you really want to make.

PJ Foley of The Foley Folio sent me an email the other day about the Nine Inch Nails Ghosts project. In this project, Reznor says, "This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as... something." When I read that, I remembered that that's how I used to do it! I used to enjoy it so much just creating in freedom, especially when I was a kid. I still did it, to a point, even up to creating Skeleton Man.

The funny thing is, I still do that sometimes. Unfortunately, I usually I create in freedom when I am testing out technology as opposed to testing out ideas. Oftentimes I go back and look at that stuff and see that it is better than what I create when I am seriously trying to make a show.

Trent Reznor goes on to say, "We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing." That's what I really want. To let my art decide the direction. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this path or method is for everyone, and I'm really not even recommending it. It's just something I miss. This isn't the only answer to overthinking, not by a long shot.

Overthinking can be overcome by getting your boards done and sticking to them, no matter how many other ideas you come up with. If you've been working on your project for years and the boards aren't done, you're probably overthinking. If you're a scriptwriting type and your script isn't done, ask yourself if you're overthinking. If you're working on your art and find yourself messing with individual pixels, you just might be overthinking. According to my spell checker, overthinking isn't even a word, so there's no excuse for doing it!

There are many ways out of the overthinking trap, and they all usually involve doing something, sometimes anything. Do a little side project to clear the mind and regain focus. Do something unrelated the project for a while. The bottom line is that if you're overthinking, you are more than likely talking yourself out of making the project you really want to make.

ALMOST THERE...

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-02-24T11:33:41-08:00

I am just about back in business, with everything up and running after my major computer crash experience. Of course, it will never be the same, but moving forward, one would expect things will be better! I've learned some things in getting back up to speed, things about following the trend. I am talking about a technological trend here. Software is always updating and some newer "better" version of something is always coming out, but does that mean it is the best thing for your project? We as indie creators don't necessarily benefit from using the same tools the studios use, no matter how good they may seem.

Rebuilding from scratch I saw a lot of flaws in where I had taken my system and my production pipeline. We've all heard the term "bloatware". There are some major software packages many of use that are guilty of that. They keep piling things on, adding new code and features when they should be rewriting and the program just bogs down over the years. Well, that's what I had done to my system. I had all this power and didn't see that it was stifling. When I first got the system, what was one of the first things I did? It was ANIGEN. Production was smooth and simple, using mostly tools that came with the system. I could create in freedom. If I had an idea, I could just do it.

I am coming back simple now. Recreating my system has allowed me to organize things in such a way that nothing can stand in the way of an idea. I could imagine something and see on screen results in a matter of hours, with sound and music even! I am now getting back into posting on my blog regularly and have a lot of topics I want to discuss about the state of the industry and where we as independent creators can go from here. I also have some new animation under way and there will be a few surprises coming up pretty soon.

One of things I am wondering about, for those who are working on their own projects, if anyone is struggling to just see results, what is the one thing you think is keeping you from getting into a "just do it" mode? I have learned from much experience that oftentimes the main thing holding me back is me. My own thinking about a project or worry about what a project should be instead of truly doing what I love. Looking around at what everyone else is doing, what Hollywood is doing, or what the Japanese are doing, concerning myself with what's "popular" or "could sell". There's no such thing as should in nature.

It should be fun! If it isn't, ask yourself, are you truly doing your project or are you doing someone else's?

IS THE END NEAR?

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-02-21T22:47:39-08:00

I've been noticing an interesting trend in a lot of Hollywood motion pictures lately, most recently with the new Rambo film. While we have all known for a long time that shooting a film in Eastern Europe can lead to huge cost savings in production, now I am starting to see even visual FX, and sometimes the post production, being done in Eastern Europe! Considering the average salary in places like the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic or even China, how long before the cost effectiveness of employing the talent there becomes too big a temptation for our local producers.

Of course no FX house in Eastern Europe or Asia is going to be putting ILM out of business anytime soon, but for the more typical effects seen in most horror and action movies, they are proving to be more than up to the task. Recent films like Dragon Wars and The Host, show that they are quickly catching up in the area of creatures. The all Chinese Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie shows that overseas studios can even do an amazing job on a Pixar style CGI picture at 1/3 the cost. The human characters in that film looked like they were literally ripped right out of a Disney 2D film and given 3D life.

I first took notice of this phenomenon when I saw the comic book influenced Ultra Violet. That film was not only shot digitally in China, but the visual FX and post production were done there as well. Ultra Violet, though, was a highly stylized film where even the live action sets, costumes and wigs looked bright and plastic, like something out of a video game. As time went on, though, I became more and more surprised as I watched a good mainstream film and then see the visual FX credits full of names like Miroslav Ivanovitch, and the FX house is yet another new one I never heard of.

Were it not for the need for a quick turnaround and definite high speed English communication, I think most TV work would already all be overseas. Canada no longer holds the promise it once did as their wages are not only rising, our dollar has fallen dramatically. We all know George Lucas is currently in Singapore doing his new Star Wars TV series. I have also spoken to some studios in the Philippines which have made some very interesting claims about how much work, even on major pictures, is being done undercover there, where English is a lot more common.

So is the end near? Is it only a matter of time before it makes little sense to a producer to hire expensive American CG artists to do a project? Does the notion that, with a few summer blockbuster exceptions, CG seems to be getting worse in film mean the audience doesn't really care? Is it possible that, even at a slightly lower quality, overseas FX will become the accepted norm?

GO GO GO!

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-02-12T22:03:51-08:00

This is the reason you should always have your camera around! Earlier today I was standing around near Warner Bros. studios and lo and behold, this huge flatbed truck goes driving by and what do I see on the back of it? Yes. The Mach 5 from the live action Speed Racer film directed by the Wachowski brothers. In that very moment it hit me. I didn't have my iPhone on me.

The one time when I could have quickly snapped a piece of one of the very few cool things about living in Hollywood, and my iPhone was resting on it's charger in my room somewhere. I vow that from this day forth, I will not be found without my iPhone in my pocket, preferably set so that the camera pops up first when I turn it on!

TAKING NO PRISONERS

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-01-27T20:37:32-08:00

Warner Bros. and the creators of Superman Doomsday are at it again with Justice League: The New Frontier, an upcoming animated movie debuting February 26th on DVD and HD formats. This time it looks like they are raising the bar in every way. In this 1950's era origin story of the Justice League, it seems they are really pushing American animation to the limits of how serious and mature a show can be. It's still a show about superheroes in tights and yet it seems this one will play more real than many TV dramas.

The list of names in the voice cast alone makes it clear that they are not playing games with this movie, nor are they casting it aside as a "cartoon" and spending no time and effort on it. With well known screen actors voicing the main characters, they sound better than I could have ever hoped to see animation in english sound in my lifetime.

I was extremely impressed with Superman Doomsday and the level of writing that went into the characters and relationships in that tale. This time they have a much larger canvas to play with and because of the time period, they've opened the door to dealing with some serious issues which still need addressing today. These serious issues are not dealt with as one might expect of a cartoon. In this show, people die and there is blood.

While Beowulf, at the box office, may have done little to help advance the cause of more mature animation, Warner Brothers and D.C. seem to be showing that there is a market for it and that they are glad to make the content to serve that market. I hope this is yet another taste of greater things to come.

A Strange Visitor Brings Hope

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2008-01-04T14:55:20-08:00

That strange visitor I speak of is none other than Superman, strange visitor from another planet. What I mean by hope is what I saw in the direct to DVD movie Superman Doomsday an animated film based on The Death of Superman story arc from the comic series many years ago. The hope that this movie brings to American animation is that is shows that there is potential for well done, more mature animated content, and that American creators can do it as well as any foreign studios. Being 2D, the grunt work of animation is, of course, done overseas, this time in Korea, but I'm talking here about good character development, dialogue and awesome voice acting.

The movie brings back memories of the theatrically released Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, which proved that more serious and dark animation for older audiences can find viewers that crave it. You will note in the credits some names associated with that film are also present on Superman Doomsday. This movie also shows that there are still areas where animation shines, able to present things that, even in our CG effects laden world, would be impossible or far too expensive to do in a live action film. This has more city destruction than Armageddon, bigger military battles than Transformers and more super action that Superman Returns. It would cost over half a billion to attempt such a feat in live action. This is a movie made for animation and it was made well.

Still, with all the amazing visuals and explosions, they find the time to give the characters real lives. It's nothing like those cartoons where the characters have no life or thought outside of their current mission. Characters drink, break down and cry, sever relationships, basically do real human things. The voice cast features Adam Baldwin, Ann Heche, James Marsters and Ray Wise among others, like anime notable John DiMaggio. The actors play the characters very real in some scenes and make them very believable.

I could go on about this, but needless to say I was very impressed. I can only hope this leads to more such productions, not just from Warner Animation, but other studios as well. I also hope it leads to such quality being put into animation of all genres in the future.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I expect great things in 2008! How about you?

I MADE A MISTAKE...

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2007-12-22T14:25:31-08:00

About a month ago I suffered a major computer crash. I almost lost everything. In fact, for a while I had lost everything because I had to reformat my computer and reinstall the OS as if I just pulled it out of the box new. All of the software that I used, all of the 3D content that I had was kept, but it was saved only in the form of pre-installed zip files and packages. I had all the stuff, but I would have to start from scratch. I didn't see myself ever getting back to where I was, it took a year and a half to get there, but I moved forward installing software and content on an as needed basis.

Now this morning I awoke to my main external drive whining loudly. This is the drive to which I copied almost everything to survive the last crash. When I clicked on it, it appeared to be empty. I should have seen this coming. The clues were there. About two weeks ago I noticed video streaming from the drive started to stutter. I also noticed that, while listening to music from the drive, when I wrote to it at the same time, the music would stutter or stop altogether. These are things that never happened before, but I thought little of them.

I am starting to think there is a message from the Universe in all this. I was able to get the drive to show again, and will now begin the long and arduous process of backing up this 300 GB drive to DVD and any other drive where I might have spare room. This means I will have some time to think over the holidays. I can reassess my plans and my goals. I can make sure I am on the right path.

None of this means I won't continue to create. I always want to create. Life goes on... at iPhone Alchemy.

Zahur Manga on iPhone?

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2007-11-08T09:44:36-08:00

The Zahur universe is huge and to tell the entire story in animation would probably take far too many years. To that end, I envision a large chunk of the universe being crafted in a different domain. IN this case, I see it beautifully rendered on the screen of the iPhone. Thus enter iPhone Alchemy, a new site which is dedicated to original mobile manga, formatted particularly for the amazing touch screen of the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

There will most certainly be manga on other popular handheld devices like the Sony PSP, but until you see it on the iPhone screen it's hard to imagine why I am so excited by the possibilities. The quality and resolution of this little touch screen staggers the mind, and the rendering of color is beautiful. It's like it was made for full color manga.

The iPhone Alchemy site currently contains the free sample manga Heaven's Burden, a full color chapter of an original series exclusively on iPhone and iPod Touch. While there will be more to come for that series, look for Zahur manga to appear soon. The idea is to expand the Zahur story by having the manga cover other parts of the universe and events happening concurrent to the animated series. Other Zahur manga can even explore different time periods as the world of Zahur has a very large and diverse history with the rise and fall of great empires and worlds which setup the situation of the current show.

Needless to say, I not only think this will be huge, but I am extremely excited by the possibilities. Besides this is the most fun I have had in ages. It's like freedom. It's the ability to create without limits. It's also the opportunity to experiment, do anything, make anything and, of course, just draw beautiful images. More on this as it develops.

IN OTHER NEWS

I don't know if you've heard about the writer's strike, but the Hollywood industry is up in arms again because somebody wants more money. It's amazing to see these writers on the picket line for their four hour shift before they get into their Mercedes or BMW and drive off. Unfortunately, another major problem with the writer's strike, since I live near Warner Bros. is noise.

Aside from the continuous horn honking from passing traffic, today I awoke the sounds of drums and very loud foghorns. They are making this noise intentionally to shut down productions, still going inside Warner, which need to record audio. The sad thing is that also means that I can't record. While I don't rely on the WGA for my scripts, their actions can still have an affect on my little web show. It's not just me either. My friends are putting together a live action web series and the noise is hurting their plans as well.

I'm not certain what kind of delay this may cause for Zahur, but will keep you posted. Luckily someone called the police and got the drums and other racket stopped, but the passing traffic constantly honking is a bit more difficult to quell.

Is the Future Mobile?

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2007-11-02T16:24:13-07:00

There's been so much said about the coming of HDTV and a future filled with massive home theatre systems, but the reality has been that smaller screens, and I mean much smaller screens, have outpaced the larger in both sales and acceptance. In Japan, where widescreen HDTV sets were the standard years ago, there are already 78 million mobile users and they are quickly consuming a lot of media content on their handsets. Some report that there are trains full of people who are watching live broadcasts on their phones.

Other parts of the world may not be so far ahead, but the trend seems the same everywhere. Smaller is catching on. People want more content, faster and they want t take it with them where they go.

The growth of this market is staggering. Apple's iPhone sold a reported 700,000 units in its three day launch weekend and with its new lower price is well on its way to 2,000,000 units in circulation. Business Week said of Apple, "...the iPhone has the potential for adding a totally new, $10 billion-a-year business within just a few years."

There are over a billion cell phones sold each year, and most modern units include screens capable of playing games, showing video, reading ebooks and, in Japan, even manga, a $20 million industry which seems to triple each year. Major companies are scrambling to create content for this brave new mobile world. TOKYOPOP, who published my own World of Hartz manga, is already the leader in the mobile manga market in America, and it is a market that is growing rapidly.

Video sharing sites like Youtube are already striking deals with major mobile content providers to make their content available on the smaller screens. Youtube viewing comes standard on every iPhone. This could quickly grow larger than TV, and some companies are paying major money for good content licenses.

Where's it all going to go? Your guess is as good as mine. Only time will tell. I do remember, though, when I got my hands on my first Sony PSP, I had tons of ideas for creating exclusive manga or anime content for that little device. I even built a site for it. Less than a year later, an underground PSP manga market exploded. Who knows how big it will get on the iPhone.

MY, HOW FILMS CHANGE

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2007-10-28T14:34:56-07:00

I was watching the movie Jurassic Park yesterday, not realizing that it is now 15 years old, when it dawned on me. Movies have really changed in just that short time. I'm not talking about some odd motion that older movies were all better. I am talking just about the way they look. I also don't mean to imply that the CG suddenly looks dated. Special FX done right in any era, look good forever.

What I'm talking about here is just how used to these modern digital movies I have become. Even movies which are still shot on 35mm film stock are often immediately scanned into the computer and the rest of the work is done there. Even though they retain that film look, having originated on 35, they don't look like older movies. You know how a 60's movie looks different to us? Not talking FX, just the film itself, the color, the grain etc. Film stocks get better, processes improve, things change. I had no idea, though, that they change so quickly.

Jurassic Park really looks...I don't know the word... filmy. It's not grainy or dirty and scratched like an old film. it is still very clean, but it looks very different than our current films, even by the same director such as War of the Worlds. The color is different. It just looks more film like than the movie of today, even those that are still shot on 35mm.

Thinking of film, I also noticed, since ILM did the visual FX on Jurassic Park, that Lucas had changed the name of his company from LucasFilm LTD. to Lucas Digital LTD. Now, of course, I had always known that he changed the company name, but I never really thought about it until now. Film is no longer a part of his vocabulary. He doesn't used it anymore and doesn't see a need to. The name of his company had to be changed because film has no place in it. Seems simple, but for some reason it stuck me as profound. This is years before he actually made his first all digital movie too.

I wonder what the future holds for directors who have no desire to switch over. On the DVD Bug, William Friedkin talks about the end of film. He doesn't seem to have the problem with it that other younger directors have expressed. Seeing how different Jurassic Park looked from modern movies, though, I could almost understand the apprehension. Well.. almost.

I, of course, will never make anything on film. I have absolutely no reason to consider it. Even if I ever do a live action project, which isn't anywhere in my plans at the moment, it would still be shot digitally. It would probably be for the web and mobile markets before I ever consider any big screen too. That's just my view.

Moving Along

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2007-10-25T20:57:54-07:00
I wanted to keep this blog updated more than I have been lately. I wanted to show some kind of inside view of the life of a content creator. The last episode took a lot longer than I expected but the result was definitely worth it for me. I am very happy with it. I'm not, however, constantly plodding away at creating art and music for the show all day.

Of course, there are plenty of time when I am not creating at all, but I found that there are also times when I have the urge to create, but not necessarily for the show. I just have ideas that need to get on screen. This issue isn't just because of ideas though. It also has to do with time.

You see, I love to draw. I love to create images. There was a time where, because I was working on a show, I felt I always had to be working on that show. Sometimes, though, it can be late at night, and I have maybe an hour before I go to bed, and I want to draw. I often would find something else to do because it wouldn't advance the show. I now see this as a mistake.

Sometimes I jut had an urge to draw something that had nothing to do with the show. I used to put that out of my mind too. Lately though, I realize it is better to draw it, even if it serves no purpose. Well, there's no such thing as a drawing that serves no purpose. All drawing will at least improve my skill and be a matter of learning. So now, when I feel like drawing, even if it is completely unrelated to the episode at hand, I do it.

This can apply to animation as well, though it may be prudent to be a bit more careful here. I did animate a couple scenes which are not used in the second episode. They weren't really meant for it. They were more "to see if I could" type scenes. Then again, I also wrote music that is not used. Music is the thing I get to spend the least amount time on though, and since I have never really pulled out my new keyboard and wrote real music in Garage Band until this episode, there was some need to just explore and play. I can say that I will definitely be writing more serious score material for future episodes. There's so much ground the explore there.

The point of all this, though, was to say that from now on, when I create such images or even music not for the show, I will post them here on this blog. This is a part of the life of a creator.

On an unrelated note, I am currently listening to the score for Transformers, which is by Steve Jablonsky. I learned of this composer by his amazing musical work on the Katsuhiro Otomo film Steam Boy. Steve Jablonsky is, I believe, one of the Media Ventures guys, a group of film composers who work for, and sound a lot like, Hans Zimmer. This group includes NIck Glennie-Smith (The Rock), Harry Gregson Williams (Metal Gear Solid 2), Trevor Rabin (Con Air), John Powell, Klaus Badelt, Mark Macina and probably a few others I am forgetting. I knew them all well before I ever heard of Steve Jablonsky, and when I heard the score for Steam Boy, Steve Jablonsky quickly became my favorite of the group. After hearing Transformers, though, I really believe he is the best of the bunch.

Anyway, I will try to write here more often from now on. I will come back soon to fill you in a couple of interesting things that happened while working on episode 2.

A TIME OF RESTING

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2007-10-10T16:16:05-07:00
After getting the first episode online, I decided on a day, or so, of resting. Sure enough, in keeping with the idea of rest, someone from Warner Bros. handed me a DVD of the direct to video feature Rest Stop, starring Jaimie Alexander.

I knew I recognized her from something I had seen previously, but I could quite remember where. An imdb search revealed that I remembered her from Kyle XY a TV series I had seen on iTunes. Rest Stop is definitely a small movie, the kind I like actually, with very few characters and even fewer locations. Too many horror movies these days try to be too big with too much action.

I was not at all surprised to find it was written and directed by one of the writers and producers on the Warner Bros. series Supernatural. It could easily have been a part of that series. In fact, there was an episode in season 2 that was on the road in the same fashion. Being an unrated film, though, it is much more grisly that Supernatural, and that's saying a lot since that show can be pretty gruesome at times.

While resting, I am also slowly but surely visualizing the next episode. There's so much I want to do, but finally I feel that it is not beyond me anymore. There is a way to present it finally! There is a way to get that story told! And it is a way that works for the creator and not against.

The Life of a Creator

terrence@studioartfx.com — 2007-10-07T17:09:08-07:00
I don't yet know what this blog is going to be about. I don't know how often it is going to be updated. I more or less just wanted a place to write. I just wanted to talk about where I am and what I am doing. Thinking of my old blog, I can certainly say what this blog won't be about.

With The Legend of Zahur I am creating a world... a universe in which to place characters, stories and experiences. There's no such thing as a world built by a writer which is not based in beliefs and experiences. The shows and movies we watch, the dialogue and events in them, come from someplace inside a writer, from their life and experiences.

Right now I am experiencing something very tedious. I have a very large sound effects library on CD. In the past I pulled from them as needed, copying files to the computer for use in editing. Today, though, hard drive space is cheap and I can easily store all the sounds on the hard drive. After all, why go searching through a large library to find a sound and then capture it? And so I began the process of importing them into iTunes.

It took me more than two hours to get the first 20 discs imported. My task was to simply change the discs and hit the import button. Very tedious process. I am not even halfway done... barely a third. Anyway I decided to take a break and write this before I get back to it. I was hoping to have the first episode done today, but I would rather get this out of the way since it has to be done at some point.

I still don't know what this blog is going to be about.