As of last Sunday, I am no longer a swing voter. I finally made up my mind. It was a one issue decision, which I'm not sure I'll go into here, but I'm voting for the political equivalent of They Might Be Giants. (Hint: The Two ____s) Rock that vote, everybody!
Hola!
As I watched Episode IV:SE's audio commentary, George (Lucas) explained the "it's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs" line. I was surprised at the level of detail George is willing to think of about his universe. The problem is that, a parsec is a unit of distance, not time (as we all know). So apparently, George intended Han's boast as a reference to the prowess of the MF's navi-computer, not it's speed. (I think I even rember him saying something like, "I never got to explain that fully" making me think this was an early idea and not an SE afterthought.) So according to George, ships in the Star Wars universe are considered fast because of their navigation equipment. I remember people arguing over this slightly confusing line on the newsgroup, rec.arts.starwars, way back in the mid-nineties, and I don't recall this idea ever coming up. So I am amazed how George thinks these things through more than the obsessed fans!
There are three very cool DVDs just out today.
I think most people know that I'm a sucker for time-travel movies. (Except maybe TimeCop, which I haven't seen.) So when I heard this very low-budget independent film just opened with a complicated time-travel plot, I was intrigued! I saw "Primer," last night and will only say it's definitely worth checking out! I will add a warning, however, it is not for the geek-squeamish. If you don't care for things like engineering, Star Trek, or people standing around talking (Which The Godfather did very well, I might add!), this might not be one for you. It's playing now all over the Bay Area.
Cool! I just finished the last animated shot for Scene 5, this monster action sequence in the film that has a giant Robot chasing a Rambler. (More about what it looks like in my other blog.) I think it turned out pretty well, but there are a lot of other things left to do on that scene. Sound for one, and post-production 2D drawn effects. Stuff like that. But as far as the production animation goes, on to the next scene! If all goes to plan, it will be the Time Machine's big scene. (And the Brain-Washing machine's.) I've got to shoot this room with tile (the machine room) and I've got most of the logistics of the shots figured out. One thing I need to decide is how to light it. The big chase scene (Scene 5) has high contrast daylight, the next one after that is very dark, with a few spotlights. So I think I'll experiment, but I'm thinking this room will be moody, many shadows, but also many lights, lighter overall with a fluorescenty, soft quality to the lights. So, we'll see.
I don't know what that means. I just got the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" back from a friend who had borrowed it. It's a very introspective/artsy album for the Beach Boys. I like the sound and the vocals, plus the whole concept the album seems to have. 'Brain Wilson's words of advice' would be that concept, I suppose. His words are interesting, obviously written with a lot of heart, a lot of feeling behind his lyrics. I think this really comes through throughout the whole production, in the instrumentation, etc. "Hold on to your Ego" are the discarded alternative lyrics to "I Know There's An Answer" on a bonus track it this version. I suppose holding on to one's ego was not the answer, (this could of course, been tounge-in-cheek advice in the original version). Overall it's a solid listening experience, going through a range of one man's thoughts and feelings. I think it's always more interesting to everyone if an artist really does bear his soul. It seems to transcend the art, and makes you pay attention. It's like if you have a conversation with someone and all of the sudden they tell you something that is very personal, you have to pay attention!
I read this interesting article posted on Animated News. In it Andrew Stanton outlines five "don'ts" of Pixar animation:
