26 February 2011

Slowly making progress



I've been slowly working on an animation based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft.I have the street scene done and I'm working on the main room. I still have a second room and stairway and hallway to do before even starting the two characters... plus a monster. This will be one of those 5 years all by myself projects I'm thinking. Finding free models for some of the stuff helps a lot, but they need to be modified and textured for my needs so it still takes a long time.

16 February 2011

The Twelve - remastered 1270 doc


I've been working hard on re-mastering and updating my 2006 documentary "1270". It will now be called "The Twelve", be in 16:9 format for today's screens and have about 40 redone or completely new graphic animations throughout. I might try and get a new interview in there, but that seems unlikely given the time constraints and difficulty getting someone here to be interviewed, but well see how it goes. As this nears completion, I'll be taking the old version off you-tube and the new version will be the only one available and it will also be for sale on amazon. Many people asked about buying copies over the years, now they will be able to. The film is basically the same style and feeling, but just updated graphics and nicer looking video quality. Some info will be updated as well.

If you want to be ind=formed on when you can get the new version, send me an email and I'll put you on a list to be the first to know!

04 February 2011

Unlaunch'd Voices.... launched


The play "Unlaunch'd Voices",a one man show about Walt Whitman is now for sale at Amazon.com. I did the cover, the author is Michael Z. Keamy from boston who was also in several film projects of mine and the voice of "Nostro-dumbass

buy a copy now!

03 February 2011

Apple TV


I was lucky enough to receive an Apple TV recently as a gift. It’s one of those pieces of tech I’ve been pretty curious about but even with the lower price it got not too long ago, it’s hasn’t been exactly on my list of «must haves». I should say, it still isn’t but it is a lot more useful than I would have guessed. The basic concept for those of you who aren't aware, is to get content from the computer or online (or with Apple, your ipod or ipad) easily on to the TV screen.

The good:
Really works well, fast and has a nice interface. Takes nothing to install it and gives you access to Netflix, I-tunes rentals etc. I find I-tunes rentals far too costly for what you are getting but it’s available. The new «airplay» feature on iOS devices is pretty cool. A great way to show stuff on the TV without having to make a DVD or some other time consuming method.

The bad:
Missing the ability to browse the internet is a ridiculous omission in my opinion. Even many new TV sets can do it. If Apple wants people to use their device over anything else, it will need one. Apps are apparently coming for the device and that’s a good thing, it will give it more functionality and will personalize the device according to the needs of the user. «Airplay» is lacking a few features it really needs to succeed in a big way. Many apps show TV shows (such as tou.tv here in Québec) would profit from being able to use this feature. As of now, only the sound is transferred over, not very helpful. It would be amazing if you could see your game on the ipod/ipad on the tv but I’ve been told there are certain technical problems that make that difficult to accomplish. Still.. it’s something that would turn Apple TV into something much more than a «hobby» for Apple overnight.