 |
This was posted in the forums and I think it’s worth linking to here. It does require a few tools but if you have the know-how, it might save you a few hundred bucks. More money for paper!
I hesitate to even tell you what to listen for because you’ll imagine that’s what you’re hearing. Oh well, that’s what makes it fun I suppose. The pig is running around and supposedly says, “Get the f-ck out.” But does he? I’ll let you be the judge.
 |
Sorry to be nitpicky, but Disney’s first “black princess” is from Louisiana. Can she really be a princess if she’s from a country with no monarchy or official royal titles? Is this an honorary title? Does it really matter?
 |
This was a controversial position when I was in animation school between the computer animation students and the traditional animation students. In that time, CG artists have gotten very sophisticated, working with more and more realistic human beings, objects, etc. But for me, it always falls apart in one significant area, movement. In school, there was a remarkable difference between traditionally trained animators and those who worked solely on the computer. And it wasn’t just in the final product. It was in the process and the approach.
When it came time to a walk cycle, the computer guys would strain at their monitors, trying to imagine in their heads how the feet move from one place to another, how the body moves up and down. The traditional guys would actually get up out of their chairs and walk around the room, sketch friends walking, and shooting video reference.
I think times have changed a little, with computers becoming more and more viable as actual training tools, and computer animators understanding the importance of analogue techniques, but my personal opinion as of now is that traditionally trained animators will out animate those trained solely on the computer. I think that traditional animators can more easily make the transition to the computer than vice versa.
And when the power goes out, we will always have our pencil and paper.
Do I sound like an 80-year-old man? Am I out of touch? Any thoughts?
Not animation, I know, but I also work in live action in both film and television. This is the pitch promo for the pilot for my new show about assistants in a salon. Enjoy.
 |
Of course, “hate” is such a strong word. Which is why it’s so appropriate in this case.
I have two Macs (an iMac and a Mac mini) and a dilapidated Windows laptop that is on the verge of being replaced with a Macbook Pro. I use both platforms all the time, sometimes simultaneously. OS X is a great operating system. I’ve been using Vista for awhile now and like it as well. Both do just about the same things about as well as the other.
So how to explain the brainwashed cult following for a product that is marginally better and marginally more expensive than the competition? Is it the small marketshare? Could be, but they are equally cultish about the iPod, which dominates the mp3 player market. And Apple isn’t exactly some smallish corner shop; it’s a multi-billion dollar corporation.
I don’t think it’s loyalty. I don’t think it’s simple preference. I don’t even think it’s religious-like devotion. The closest parallel I can find is political partisanship. Partisanship causes us to become outraged at our opponent’s behavior and dismissive at our own side’s similar behavior. We look for tiny minor differences to explain away our hypocrisy, but ultimately we are judging the same action by two different standards. It causes us to see our side’s every move and action as glorious, innovative, and good, while the other side’s actions are evil, manipulative, and illogical. Like defending Apple’s monopoly and anti-competitive practices while attacking Microsoft, like accusing every other company in the world of ripping off Apple, even when they release a product before Apple does, and defending Apple whenever Apple copies or rips off someone else.
The difference between politics and Apple-partisanship is that there is no actual opponent reacting from the other side. In politics, there are Democrats and Republicans (if you’re American). In tech, there is only the Apple cult, and virtually no Windows equivalent. You could point to a few anti-Apple fanatics, but I suspect that these people are mostly just reacting to the Apple cult itself. As Mac cultists are fond of pointing out, there are no Windows fanatics.
Apple makes great products, especially their hardware. But so do a lot of companies. In my opinion, the weirdly emotional commitment that some Mac users have to this company is ultimately a detriment, to both the user base and the company itself. Luckily, Apple has, for the most part, not let their supremely uncritical base allow them to become complacent. But I know more than a few people who would consider Macs but are turned off by the cult. And I can’t blame them for that.
 |
| happyfeet.gif |
First of all, congratulations to Happy Feet, the winner of the Oscar for best animated film. It would have been my second choice behind Monster House, were I given the privilege of voting.
I want to address, however, a much bigger issue regarding the Academy Awards ceremony. Yes, it is four hours long. Yes, speeches are a laundry list of pathetic thank you’s to agents, lawyers, and spouses. And yes, the host’s jokes often fall flat or are non-existent. And all I can say to that is, “more please.” Seriously, the Oscars could go on for another four hours and I’d be perfectly content.
Let’s get something straight. The Oscars are an INDUSTRY award. That’s why they don’t skip over short documentaries or sound editing awards for people that no one outside the industry has ever heard of, just to appease the viewing audience. These awards are for industry people, by industry people. And if you don’t like it, then don’t watch. There were Oscars before there were televisions, and they will go on whether there is a TV audience or not.
One of the reasons I don’t watch the ESPN awards, and would probably find them boring, is because I’m not that into sports and wouldn’t know a good manager from a bad one. I don’t blame the ESPN awards for this. Why would I? It’s not for me. So if watching the often overlooked and under-appreciated behind-the-scene guys finally getting some due recognition isn’t your thing, then just watch something else.
Finally, in the category of damned-if-they-do-and-damned-if-they-don’t, the Oscars simply can’t win when picking a host. If the host is too controversial, then everyone complains. And if the host is not controversial enough, then everyone complains. People have even complained this year because the theme was conserving the environment! You know you live in a society that simply makes shit up when conserving the environment is too controversial for the sensitive ears of the viewing public.
To end on a high note, congratulations again to Happy Feet and to The Danish Poet for your much deserved awards.