Contradictions for Sale

So here's a wee bit of a "huh?" moment.

I'm editing firearms. Weapons. Instruments of mankind's worst intentions. Bringers of chaos, fear, and suffering.

As I'm doing this, I'm listening to some of the absolute calmest music I own.

Not terribly profound, I know, but it was a weird little contradiction I noticed tonight. Work continues. I'd like to post something substantial here, maybe a new screenshot or two, but I don't know which one(s) to choose. Plus I don't really think many people are reading this anyway so why bother. People will probably be checking this out more often once the episode actually comes out. and by then who the hell cares about a screenshot?

Blegh.

I should go read. Go visit my buddy Ramon's website. He's redesigned his logo and layout (I think) and is working on a "Gun" inspired piece now.

Clickety Clack.

The Promise of What's to Come

Well... this has indeed been a very interesting week.

Injuries, nagging health issues, and life decisions are flying overhead like the swarm of a thousand cicadas. I managed to complete another sequence in Gun but it is feeling like it's taking forever. So much so that I tire of writing about it. Still for those who care, it should be obvious that I have in no way shape or form given up or stopped production.

I hope to cap off yet another scene over this weekend, which may be an ambitious hope, especially in the wake of all the other stuff I'm dealing with at the moment. Still it would be another large step toward completion.

The way I'm seeing things now, I may actually include a scene selector in this one. Not entirely necessary, and kind of a pain to go back and include it, but this episode is so damn long, I'd like to give viewers some sort of option. I'll keep thinking about it while I edit.

In the meantime I have to raise some cash in order to improve production, because things are getting crazy here. I'm working on an old system, and it's taking a beating when I edit these massive .FLA files. What a glorious day it will be when I can produce an episode of Gun with brand-new, shiny, speedy hardware. Glorious indeed.

In the meantime, I gotta laugh to keep from crying. I think this video should do the trick nicely. it's in spanish, but still funny no matter what your native tongue is. Enjoy, and have a stress-free weekend (unlike mine!). Cheers.

lol.

Lesson Learned and Musing

Today I realized something valuable about editing in FBF with Flash, which I hadn't really considered until tonight. Editing the frames in a rough, uncolored format makes FBF work easier.

It's funny too, because I've done it before, but I never really thought about it. Tonight it just hit me as I worked on another short FBF sequence in the next episode of Gun. Much easier to edit and manipulate single parts of a moving image when there's no color fills getting in the way. I'm sure many other animators already know and utilize this tactic, but it's a first for me, so there you go.

Another day, another lesson learned.

Additionally, this episode of Gun... it's an absolute MONSTER. I'm actually considering splitting it into THREE parts, but I doubt I will. I have a hard enough time splitting it into two. I think part two will round out somewhere around 12-15 MB when the .swf file is published. Yikes.

I can't promise it will be worth it, but I can say with certainty that I think and hope it will be.

Also, while skating today, I bailed and rolled over onto my neck, in full backflip fashion. I mean like full body weight on my neck. It was pretty funny to see I'm sure, but oddly didn't really hurt much.

Best part - didn't spill my soda.

Therapy, Labors and Radiohead

Fuck.

Yeah i said it. I always say it. It's like a recurring theme for me. Today my fuckin elbow was absolutely killing me for a long while. I have no idea why the shit wont heal, but I'm trying to convince myself that I won't need physical therapy, despite the fact that it seems to be exactly what I'm headed for at this rate. Should be fun handling that with no fucking health insurance. lovely.

At least I finally got some more work on this episode done today. Not alot, but progress is progress. I don't think motherfuckers realize just how much work this shit really is. It normally takes an entire team of artists, animators, and designers of all different talents to put together one 22-minute episode of a cartoon. and that shit can take weeks.

So imagine me going it alone. doing EVERYTHING alone. Screenplay, direction, sound, art, animation, production, technical details - EVERYTHING. It's an insane amount of work.

I heard the new Radiohead album "In Rainbows" today too, which they basically gave away about a week ago on their website. I dunno if it's still available, but i got it, and its pretty good. Not as remarkable on first listen as Hail to the Thief was, but good. I have to re-listen and judge again.

And now i'm off to wrap up tonight's animation work, and go read my new book, since a certain someone ruthlessly bullied me into buying it :)

Bed awaits. Sayonara.

Currently Reading: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

The Need For Vicodin

I went skating today. In between dodging crackheads and weaving around kissing couples, I managed to bash my knee pretty good, and crush my thumb, resulting in an attractive black fingernail. goodie goodie. Not to mention my hyperextended arm isn't getting any better.

Shit.

Anyway, the best way to get past it? I say pop a couple vicodin and get to work. Gun is going well. Still doing lots of planning and working on many fronts. There's gonna be alot of new stuff happening once episode 2 drops. That's part of the reason it's been taking so long. So much planning involved, it's really b-a-n-a-n-a-s.

Speaking of bananas... there's a bit of a running joke ongoing on myspace lately. suffice it to say...

we've been going APESHIT!!! hahahahaha.

Fred, out. (click that monstrosity below to visit Gun on Myspace!)



Currently Listening to: Brother Ali - Shadows on the Sun

Abuse among the monotony

Today featured alot more Gun work. Including a juicy little frame-by-frame piece that's sure not to please anyone. Still it was fun to work on and I'm learning alot everyday about this FBF stuff, which is great. But it's a pain in the ass for nothing because no one will give a shit once the episode hits the web anyway.

wow that self-deprecating tone isn't going to win anybody over, now is it?

In other more lighthearted news, my friends and I, in our complete and total boredom, randomly decided to abuse the hell out of another friend's myspace page. I would post a link to it, but I'm not completely heartless here. Suffice it to say some funny and embarrassing pics were posted (due in no small part to photoshop, hahaha!)

I'm out.

The First One

Well this is the first of many I'm hoping. There is no update here really, just making sure everything is integrated nicely. I'll be updating it soon though, and then there will be lots of good stuff to read about and ponder. .. or maybe not.

bye.