Letters from a brass watch man

Here's how scary the times are in the technology industry: Nobody, not even the visionary, congenitally optimistic smartypants who invent the technological future, has a clue about where we're going next.

The Twitter guys don't know how they're going to make money. AT&T... doesn't know how the ever-increasing universe of smart phone operating systems will consolidate. Yahoo... (still) doesn't know who it is. Even John Malone, the veteran innovator of the communications business, isn't sure how producers of content will get customers to pay them for their wares.

• Personally could not stop laughing during the bit with the table
• Some very nice character moments in this one

So here's what I've been working on like a feverish monkey these past three weeks:

Thus my post about anime openings a few weeks ago. See? There's a method to my madness after all.

Anyway, currently operating on about three hours of sleep. Managed to get to East Campus and back without getting myself killed, so yay me. In general, feel pretty justified in taking the night off. Have some more photos from the shoot up on Facebook, which an interested person should there be any can find here. Otherwise, g'night, everyone.

Zombie makeup, test 1 (on the back of my hand)

Zombie makeup, test 2

Spent most of today running around Cleveland getting background shots for my big final video project that I'm shooting this weekend (the above being a sample). On my to-do list for tomorrow on that:

• Need a shot of a large sign, of the kind one might find in a park somewhere. Preferably something that wouldn't be too hard for me to modify with Photoshop.
• Need to find some kind of wall. As in, a serious wall. At least ten feet tall, one-foot-thick concrete. Question is, where can I find something like that around Cleveland?
• Need some interior background shots. Not entirely sure where I want to get those, to be honest... or where I can get them. I may just have to go with some kind of placeholder, in the end...
• Oh, right. And makeup. That's pretty key.

• I noticed last night that SCP-701 is now one of the top-rated pages on that site. Not bad for my first time out of the box.
• I made this yesterday in Illustrator (which I recently bought). Pretty basic, I know, but, hey, it's something. Put it together so I could get it into the YouTube edit of this, which I'll hopefully get a chance to work on sometime soon here. Anyway, feedback on either of the links would be highly appreciated.
• Did I ever actually post the full list of the (overwhelming and unnecessary number of) photo albums from my Israel trip up here? Ehh. Not like most who read this aren't also watching me on Facebook, but all the same, what the heck -
  • Arrival
  • Tel Aviv and Jaffa
  • Clementines
  • Tel Tzuba, Part I
  • Tel Tzuba, Part II
  • Ein Gedi, Part I
  • Ein Gedi, Part II
  • Jerusalem New City, Part I
  • Jerusalem Old City, Part I
  • Jerusalem New City, Part II
  • Mount Herzl
  • Yad Vashem
  • Jerusalem Old City, Part II
  • The Road North
  • Yuvalim
  • Tiberias Bomb Shelter
  • Golan Heights, Part I
  • Golan Heights, Part II
  • Chavruta Tree
  • Tzvat I
  • Tzvat II
  • Gamla
  • Tzvat III
  • Tzvat IV (the Old Cemetery)
  • Tzvat V
  • Wrapping It Up
• Is that it? Well, that's all I can think of at the moment.

1. The 'promotional artwork' approach - this kind of title sequence basically says: "Hey, here are our characters, don't they look cool in this shot?" While all anime title sequences usually involve this kind of thinking to a certain extent, the key thing about this category is that there's really no attempt to clue the audience in on who the characters are or what the story is about. The visual spectacle is basically everything. Example. Another example.
2. The fake fight sequence - fake in that the fight sequence portrayed in the credits never actually takes place in the show. Again, the emphasis is on the characters looking cool, but there's usually some kind of information (even if buried) on what the central conflict of the story is - or - at the very least - why the characters are fighting. Example one. Example two (at least towards the end).
3. The atmospheric montage - While this variety of title sequence may contain reveal something about the characters and their relationships, the emphasis is mostly on the atmosphere of the show - sort of like trying to communicate a general sense of what the show is or what it's like to the viewer without providing much in the way of context or details. The music can play a pretty big role in these. Example one. Example two.
4. The thematic montage - This kind of title sequence really tends to focus on the show's story or on one of its major themes. The distinction between this and the atmospheric montage is slight - I guess I would define this kind as really containing at least some specific information about the show's story and/or the show's characters. Said information might not be apparent or make much sense to the viewer upon first watching, but it's there, and may make more sense as the viewer becomes more familiar with the show. From that point of view, come to think of it, you could see these kind of title sequences acting as a kind of "primer" for the show. Example one. Example two.
   
   (And yes, the characters still look cool. But again, one minute to sell a show to the audience. What else are they going to do?)

Requires Flash Player 9. You probably also need to click on the SWF above before it'll start taking keyboard input.

Just some noodling around I did in Flash earlier today. Just reminding myself how to do basic animation in ActionScript. Press the arrow keys to move the little guy around.

Speaking of said little guy - anyone have a name for him? Was thinking Watermelon Head myself.