After about a week of vacation (as in - no laptop with me!) in Croatia, i'm now back and try to get everything sorted for the next hop over the pond. I had to come back early - hanging out in internet cafes every day wasn't that much of an option (yes, a lot of things happened unexpectedly while i was away) - and i hope the ones still there will have a blast without me!
Snorkeling, by the way, is amazing! As in really really amazing. Once you get over the freezing cold temperature of the water, it's not only very (very!) relaxing, but at the same time almost like watching a movie, except the screen is much much bigger. I must admit, i haven't seen fish in the ocean before, especially not hundreds (if not thousands) of them slowly gliding on in what i could best describe as a three-dimensional expressway - or searching for things to nibble on the rocky ground. But the cinematic feeling really rises when you watch someone else dive underwater. Pictures you only recognise from TV. I dunno. It's a bit like going to the zoo, but without the cages. The feeling of floating weightless and looking down to see nature perform her spiel is simply breathtaking though. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be to do the real thing.
Though - after i put on a wet-suit myself (later being told that it's actually an ice-west) i am not sure if i can warm up to the thought of having your area between your legs pressed against your womb so tightly that you cannot raise your arms anymore... And raise your arms you must, since you're swimming, right?
It needs some getting used to the taste of saltwater though, and it doesn't help to catch a cold when diving... Why do i always have to get sick on vacation anyway?
Thanks to Ingo and Mika for taking us to Croatia and thanks so so much to Hannah for actually making me come with you. It was one of the better decision i made recently! (now that last sentence sounds like it means a lot, right? Wow, language...)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Snorkeling, by the way, is amazing! As in really really amazing. Once you get over the freezing cold temperature of the water, it's not only very (very!) relaxing, but at the same time almost like watching a movie, except the screen is much much bigger. I must admit, i haven't seen fish in the ocean before, especially not hundreds (if not thousands) of them slowly gliding on in what i could best describe as a three-dimensional expressway - or searching for things to nibble on the rocky ground. But the cinematic feeling really rises when you watch someone else dive underwater. Pictures you only recognise from TV. I dunno. It's a bit like going to the zoo, but without the cages. The feeling of floating weightless and looking down to see nature perform her spiel is simply breathtaking though. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be to do the real thing.
Though - after i put on a wet-suit myself (later being told that it's actually an ice-west) i am not sure if i can warm up to the thought of having your area between your legs pressed against your womb so tightly that you cannot raise your arms anymore... And raise your arms you must, since you're swimming, right?
It needs some getting used to the taste of saltwater though, and it doesn't help to catch a cold when diving... Why do i always have to get sick on vacation anyway?
Thanks to Ingo and Mika for taking us to Croatia and thanks so so much to Hannah for actually making me come with you. It was one of the better decision i made recently! (now that last sentence sounds like it means a lot, right? Wow, language...)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
While the bad weather certainly doesn't help to make everyone happy here in Linz, i have to say that i am more than pleasantly surprised by this year's ars electronica festival. The artworks on exhibit are mostly stunning and very appealing. All the stuff in the O.K. and the "augmented sculpture" (to name a few) are stunning!
I was quite sceptical when i learned that a large amount of projects was centered around Second Life (which i actually don't fond so much) but i have to say that there are so many things that turned out well. I might write something up about that at some point, or maybe i won't.
One thing i have (and love) to point out though, which is truly amazing, is hannah's (and mika's) back-rub massage gamepad from the IC student exhibition - WHERE YOU CAN PLAY TEKKEN WHILE GIVING A MASSAGE!!!!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
I realise that the need to rest between projects gets considerably larger. Maybe it's just lack of pressure or a lack of concepts
(or both). It seems that once you reach a certain amount of versatility, so many different things come jumping at you and fight for your attention. I sometimes find it hard to make my way through all the different things that come next. It's the decisions that make it so hard, not so much the implementation.
Take Moviesandbox for example. There are already tons of different tools out that allow you to create your own films - easy and complex, cheap or expensive. In the beginning, Moviesandbox was designed to be a tool mainly for me, and i thought i could alos put in the little bit of extra effort to make it useable for other people as well. It turned out that it's not just a little bit of extra effort, but quite a lot of thought, planning and time that goes into building a system like this. And as usual when you work with cimputer graphics, you have to find a way to circumvent your technology from aging so rapidly. In the end, all you can do is try and find a niche spot where you can stay long enough so that after all the work you put into your toolchain, you can actually start using it to show why you made it in the first place.
But you always fear to loose the race when some other product - corporately developed - jumps in the market and does everything you do, only better. Thinking about where to position yourself (so that all the time implementing code and re-learning maths makes sense in a longer term) soon takes up more time than the actual implementation (one could argue that it's not so much the 'how', but the 'what' that's hard to determine).
It wouldn't be too exaggerated to say that i had hit a wall more than one time with the constant switching between working on tools, travelling around and talking about my findings and actually creating content to show why i'm doing what i'm doing. And for quite some time i could hardly show all of what i thought i'd see, because i just wasn't there yet.
It's not like i feel like i'm there now. But after a very very long time of development, i finally feel like it's within reach. But still, the questions remain - what to do next, where to focus, which path to take, so that the work you do isn't obsolete in a couple of months. And always remember - all i want is to make movies!
And where to move after November? Where to work, how to generate income? I guess it's time to break out of the 6 month i-don't-know-where-i'll-be-next cycle. The way things work right now is awesome in so many ways, but i don't know if it's stable enough to continue indefinetly.
On the more non-comtemplative side of things, i just had a wonderful couple of days in Leipzig at this year's Games Convention - an industry trade show with a dedicated art and family area and a machinima booth organised by Karin, Dirk and Ingo from the Animationsprojekt.
Not only did i get the chance to present Moviesandbox there to all the kids, teens and their parents (and realise what works and what doesn't) that crossed my way, but i also hung out with friends - new and old and sometimes unexpected. Remember Matt from Fountainhead entertainment? Right. Exactly!
And a couple of weeks before, i had the pleasure of hosting a bunch of new media performance artists for the (insert marketing adverbs here) perflab get together in Dresden. Kindly and wonderfully sponsored by the TMA Hellerau and the Medienkulturzentrum Dresden and amazingly organised by Anja Dietel (hundreds of hugs and kisses to you).
It went surprisingly well, albeit in a different direction than originally planned. Always keep in mind that you need at least two full days if you actually want to get stuff done. While Jonas made some progress incorporating the GameTrak in Blender (you get a plus for that!) during the evening, the rest of us were actually happy for the feedback and discussions we had during the day, the issues that were raised and that made us realise how important an event like this actually is. Looking forward to the next perflab then!
Dresden itself is an interesting city. It seems that there's everything here - a vivid music scene, clubs, punks, nature, art... but still some things are missing for me to really indulge. It seems like a city so rich in heritage doesn't do so well with blending all the new media stuff in. While the TMA and the CyNet art try to do their best to change that (with an emphasize on performative dance and sound), it seems like there isn't so much to take in here. From the (quite basic) impressions i have, Dresden is splintered into many small groups and scenes, each of them carefully trying to distinct themselves from the others. Be it Neustadt vs. Altstadt, Waldschlösschenbrücke vs. Kulturerbe or Theaterintendant vs. the rest of the world, everyone is busy trying to set himself apart. Or so it seems. You can see it in the architecture too...
Before, i've been travelling quite a bit - to cologne, to Ramsau and to Linz (ever so often) - you can see more of that on flickr, but i feel it should be mentioned...
Friday, August 31, 2007
(or both). It seems that once you reach a certain amount of versatility, so many different things come jumping at you and fight for your attention. I sometimes find it hard to make my way through all the different things that come next. It's the decisions that make it so hard, not so much the implementation.
Take Moviesandbox for example. There are already tons of different tools out that allow you to create your own films - easy and complex, cheap or expensive. In the beginning, Moviesandbox was designed to be a tool mainly for me, and i thought i could alos put in the little bit of extra effort to make it useable for other people as well. It turned out that it's not just a little bit of extra effort, but quite a lot of thought, planning and time that goes into building a system like this. And as usual when you work with cimputer graphics, you have to find a way to circumvent your technology from aging so rapidly. In the end, all you can do is try and find a niche spot where you can stay long enough so that after all the work you put into your toolchain, you can actually start using it to show why you made it in the first place.
But you always fear to loose the race when some other product - corporately developed - jumps in the market and does everything you do, only better. Thinking about where to position yourself (so that all the time implementing code and re-learning maths makes sense in a longer term) soon takes up more time than the actual implementation (one could argue that it's not so much the 'how', but the 'what' that's hard to determine).
It wouldn't be too exaggerated to say that i had hit a wall more than one time with the constant switching between working on tools, travelling around and talking about my findings and actually creating content to show why i'm doing what i'm doing. And for quite some time i could hardly show all of what i thought i'd see, because i just wasn't there yet.
It's not like i feel like i'm there now. But after a very very long time of development, i finally feel like it's within reach. But still, the questions remain - what to do next, where to focus, which path to take, so that the work you do isn't obsolete in a couple of months. And always remember - all i want is to make movies!
And where to move after November? Where to work, how to generate income? I guess it's time to break out of the 6 month i-don't-know-where-i'll-be-next cycle. The way things work right now is awesome in so many ways, but i don't know if it's stable enough to continue indefinetly.
On the more non-comtemplative side of things, i just had a wonderful couple of days in Leipzig at this year's Games Convention - an industry trade show with a dedicated art and family area and a machinima booth organised by Karin, Dirk and Ingo from the Animationsprojekt.
Not only did i get the chance to present Moviesandbox there to all the kids, teens and their parents (and realise what works and what doesn't) that crossed my way, but i also hung out with friends - new and old and sometimes unexpected. Remember Matt from Fountainhead entertainment? Right. Exactly!
And a couple of weeks before, i had the pleasure of hosting a bunch of new media performance artists for the (insert marketing adverbs here) perflab get together in Dresden. Kindly and wonderfully sponsored by the TMA Hellerau and the Medienkulturzentrum Dresden and amazingly organised by Anja Dietel (hundreds of hugs and kisses to you).
It went surprisingly well, albeit in a different direction than originally planned. Always keep in mind that you need at least two full days if you actually want to get stuff done. While Jonas made some progress incorporating the GameTrak in Blender (you get a plus for that!) during the evening, the rest of us were actually happy for the feedback and discussions we had during the day, the issues that were raised and that made us realise how important an event like this actually is. Looking forward to the next perflab then!
Dresden itself is an interesting city. It seems that there's everything here - a vivid music scene, clubs, punks, nature, art... but still some things are missing for me to really indulge. It seems like a city so rich in heritage doesn't do so well with blending all the new media stuff in. While the TMA and the CyNet art try to do their best to change that (with an emphasize on performative dance and sound), it seems like there isn't so much to take in here. From the (quite basic) impressions i have, Dresden is splintered into many small groups and scenes, each of them carefully trying to distinct themselves from the others. Be it Neustadt vs. Altstadt, Waldschlösschenbrücke vs. Kulturerbe or Theaterintendant vs. the rest of the world, everyone is busy trying to set himself apart. Or so it seems. You can see it in the architecture too...
Before, i've been travelling quite a bit - to cologne, to Ramsau and to Linz (ever so often) - you can see more of that on flickr, but i feel it should be mentioned...
Friday, August 31, 2007
It seems that a couple of quick adjustments to w.bloggar now make it possible to blog in the usual way again. That basically means that i will return with an update very soon! But first i gotta get some sleep.
Hang in there...
(and have a look at the nice things in life)
(or the more disturbing things...)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Hang in there...
(and have a look at the nice things in life)
(or the more disturbing things...)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
a friend once told me that the soul always lags a bit behind when you're travelling and i feel it's a good way of describing the feeling when you're moving a lot. Fortunately though, i have a place to rest and call home now!
A bunch of wonderful people from Dresden host me for a six months residency in their lovely city.
Actually having a place to sleep that you can call your own feels good and fits right into the overall excitement that spring brings this year.
After the ups and downs of winter, it is refreshing to walk around with a smile on your face and feel good. Yes, i'm happy, can you tell?
Right now i'm on a bit of a roadtrip to Linz and Munich and Stuttgart where I'll present at FMX next Wednesday, together with long time friend and Machinima Pioneer Paul Marino. And lo and behold, even more friends will come (Ken, Jonas and aga) and everything looks like it's going to be a really nice week full of learning and discussion. If only i would know how to best present this whole Machinima idea to the argueably high-profile audience at fmx... Ideas are welcome...
Life is good to me right now. I used to be afraid of stuff going wrong especially at times when everything was nice and fluffy, but it seems like this anxiety is slowly moving away.
Of course i still kindof don't know what to do after the 6 months are over, but hey. I'm not to complain. If things go south, i can still go find a "real job", right?
The weather is awesome isn't it?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
A bunch of wonderful people from Dresden host me for a six months residency in their lovely city.
Actually having a place to sleep that you can call your own feels good and fits right into the overall excitement that spring brings this year.
After the ups and downs of winter, it is refreshing to walk around with a smile on your face and feel good. Yes, i'm happy, can you tell?
Right now i'm on a bit of a roadtrip to Linz and Munich and Stuttgart where I'll present at FMX next Wednesday, together with long time friend and Machinima Pioneer Paul Marino. And lo and behold, even more friends will come (Ken, Jonas and aga) and everything looks like it's going to be a really nice week full of learning and discussion. If only i would know how to best present this whole Machinima idea to the argueably high-profile audience at fmx... Ideas are welcome...
Life is good to me right now. I used to be afraid of stuff going wrong especially at times when everything was nice and fluffy, but it seems like this anxiety is slowly moving away.
Of course i still kindof don't know what to do after the 6 months are over, but hey. I'm not to complain. If things go south, i can still go find a "real job", right?
The weather is awesome isn't it?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
i seldomly post about nerd programming stuff here but tonight i feel like i want to. I just hit my first milestone on an Animation/Motioncapture tool i am working on for Moviesandbox. The basic idea is simple: You use two regular webcams to film yourself (or a wooden Mannequin in this case) from the front and side view and create keyframes on critical positions in the video.
You then use a very powerful algorithm to find the bones in the two simultaneously recorded videos - human reasoning.
Which basically means that you have to tell the software where the bones actually are in the picture - something that's really easy for the human eye/brain but rather hard for the machine. After finding the bones, the computer does the math (something it's really good at) and sends the rotations back to Unreal - and voila - the pose magically appears!
Note: In future versions, different colors will make it possible for the program to capture most bone rotations, but even then it will be necessary to adjust bones that are covered and not seen by the cameras.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
You then use a very powerful algorithm to find the bones in the two simultaneously recorded videos - human reasoning.
Which basically means that you have to tell the software where the bones actually are in the picture - something that's really easy for the human eye/brain but rather hard for the machine. After finding the bones, the computer does the math (something it's really good at) and sends the rotations back to Unreal - and voila - the pose magically appears!
Note: In future versions, different colors will make it possible for the program to capture most bone rotations, but even then it will be necessary to adjust bones that are covered and not seen by the cameras.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I just got back from the Laboral Gameworld exhibit (whose website is unfortunately rather basic) after missing my flight back and spending a wonderful day driving from Gijon to Bilbao to catch another one.
Thanks to all the wonderful and inspiring people that i met during the four days of setting up! Have some pictures and videos:
and a video of the Puppet installation "Anisandbox" - unfortunately without sound...
Plus, some pictures:
as you might notice, the overall quality of both the pictures and the video is really really bad. That is due to the fact that my camera is still not repaired and i had to use my laptop webcam for documentation.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Thanks to all the wonderful and inspiring people that i met during the four days of setting up! Have some pictures and videos:
and a video of the Puppet installation "Anisandbox" - unfortunately without sound...
Plus, some pictures:
as you might notice, the overall quality of both the pictures and the video is really really bad. That is due to the fact that my camera is still not repaired and i had to use my laptop webcam for documentation.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
