JOURNAL: Alternababe (Sabrina )

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  • 4572 hits 2008-08-05 15:46:12 Last nite in a cram session, I finished my video "Colorful Nami." I exported, everything looked good, then I played the file & found out everything was interlaced. Come to find out, if you use Final Cut Pro, you have to de-interlace the master clips BEFORE you put them into the sequence. Seeing as how the sequence has about 1,000 different layers in it, that's not a high priority for me right now. Instead, I'm going to de-interlace in Quicktime & see how that looks. I REALLY don't want to re-do the entire sequence individually. Perhaps if I submit to a Con, but for the web, the converted progressive file should be fine.

    Now I'm off to add it to my videos, then to my gawd-awful lab. I so don't want to go today. It's super hot in Long Beach, and to get to my class I have to walk over a mile through the college parking lots with little to no shade. Plus the lab teacher is being a bitch & failing me....got to talk with her before class....I hate physics.... 
  • 4561 hits 2008-07-31 14:32:11 Wow, been busy lately. Seriously, during the day I can't find the time to make a quick phone call or even get my mail. It's been school -> chiropractor -> Mom's house -> school -> apartment. There's so much crap to do, and it all involves driving. Today I did a little workout by riding my bike to school again instead of driving. It makes me feel tired, sweaty, and shaky, but it burns calories, saves ga$, and helps the environment. I really want to get into shape, to I figure that on cool, cloudy days like today, I can get some exercise in. Sure it made me a few minutes late (it takes 30 minutes to get to class even though the apartment is only a mile away), but the professor doesn't take roll or even start the lecture right away, so no sweat. I think I understand the material a little better, because today at the end of class he gave a practice test. I did way better than I thought I would, but I need to study everything at the end of the chapter. Hopefully the library will have a copy of the textbook, otherwise I'll just take notes from the one in the LAC until it closes, then study those over the weekend.

    Everyone keeps asking what my weekend plans are. I tell them I plan to study, but I also want to do something fun, something just for me, something free. No idea what that will be. I need to go to the salon and get my hair fixed. Last nite I dyed it. I first tried purple, but the half a bottle that used to cover my hair when I last dyed it, at shoulder length, was in no way sufficient to cover my now twice as long hair. So after 30 minutes I washed it out. What color did stay turned my hair a dark, bluish gray color. I put it in a pony tail and flew to Sally's. They were having a special on a different brand of hair color, so I tried it. It turned my hair a bluish greenish shade of gray all over. It looks somewhat even, as though I dyed it a brite color a long time ago and it's started to fade. I need a cut & color BAD!!! It was a huge mess since my hair is so long, and the dye got all over me & the counter. After a good soak with cleaner, the stains on the counter are gone, and I managed to wipe the dye off my chest and shoulders. Haven't checked my back yet.....

    In other news, Final Cut finally downloaded and is up & running. Still don't have Avid yet, but I'm considering using the school's edit bays, if they'll let me. I have my project about Nami 60% completed. I'm kinda tired of it by now, and the effect isn't as spectacular as I imagined it would be. Still, the style is different from every other amv I've seen, so I'm proud of that. I'm trying out FCP's ability to do motion effects and color keying. They aren't as sophisticated as After Effects', but I want to learn the program so I'm using them anyway. Also, the render time is MUCH faster. I didn't notice until I re-did a comp in AE. OMG, It's no nice to not have to wait every time I make a cut. Even unrendered, FCP will still show a still frame so you get an idea what the cut will look like. Also, I can sync to music, which was a big problem in my last video.
    In Summertime Guilt, the posted version, the end is poorly edited. I used AE only to do the last part of the video, and with no ability to hear the audio, it cuts were really bad. I re-did the ending and other parts when I submitted to Fanime (using Eric's FCP), and now I can use that same technique for all my videos again. I'm a bit out of practice, and the timeline is different than iMovie, which I was used to. I'm learning about moving the clips back and forth, but the sync isn't as accurate yet. I hope to have it completed by the end of the week, but that depends how fast I can rotoscope, gather additional footage, and in some cases draw/color in photoshop. I have 1 picture of Nami I found on Deviantart that I want to use, but it wasn't colored, so I hand-colored it using the mouse. I might add shading, but my hand movements are very jerky & uncoordinated, so that wasn't going so hot.

    In other news, I might be moving in with my 2 best girlfriends. I'm a little bummed that they renewed their lease at the current apartment, because the apartments across the street are bigger & cheaper. They keep saying that they are move expensive, but they aren't, because parking is included.

    I really want the big worries in my life to be straightened out. Passing physics is the proority right now, so it's what I'll focus on. Also, I want to join a band as a drummer to obtain a creative outlet.
     
  • 4558 hits 2008-07-28 16:30:29 Stress time. I got my report done (god only knows how well that went), took my test, and got to the chiropractor on time. I need to schedule a physical and get the mail.

    That's my list of boring chores. Personally, it's been choppy. There's a lot going on with my Mom & her abusive boyfriend, she even stayed over a couple nights. So I've been dealing with that. Physics hasn't been going so well, and I'm scared I'll get a C in it, or worse. I signed up for tutoring today.

    I've just been a little too hot and a little too sad lately. Also, I'm on a diet. So far, it seems to be going well. Less junk food. Fro-yo doesn't count, because it's healthy. The Nilla wafer banana pudding I made does count, so I'll eat it slowly. Turned out ok :) Yesterday, I pretty much just watched movies & tv on the couch. I finished my studying Saturday, so it was ok. I watched Spiderman 3, which wasn't as good as the 1st 2, but wasn't nearly as bad as everyone says. Also, I saw Blue Harvest, which was awesome. I was so bored I even watched the extra features.

    My friend Nikki should be back from her Dad's house today. I missed her this weekend, so we'll probably go hang out.

    There's a lot on my mind, but sometimes there's just no outlet; no one to tell it to, and you have to keep your deepest feeling and fears inside. And that's the hardest thing. 
  • 4544 hits 2008-07-19 01:08:28 Another day in the new apartment. It's nice & cool inside, as a welcome contrast to the brutal, skin-melting desert outside. Today I ventured onto campus to formally add physics, and also get my fingerprinting done for my new job.

    Never walk on the csulb campus in the summer. It's all parking lots, hot parking lots. The ticket is worth it not to be that hot. Anyway, the police only do fingerprinting monday thru thursday, so I missed it. I was sad. Then I walked for 30 minutes back to my car, and treated myself to chocolate-peanut butter-green apple yogurt with banana strawberry caramel oreo topping. It made me feel less sad :*)

    Then I basically bullshitted the rest of the day around here. I watched Mulan, threw away a chair my cats had apparently raped with their urine, and ate red vines while watching family guy. I want to start some activity, perhaps something that will help someone or something I can use to express myself creatively. I hope Victoria gets back to me on her friend's band. Must. drum.

    Also, I'm downloading Avid to practice. Guess how I'm going to do that ;) And I unpacked & set up some more of my figures. Now I realllllly need to get my butt back to my car and finish unloading it. Excess weight does lower gas mileage, after all. 
  • 4528 hits 2008-07-11 14:40:30 Today I went to the chiropractor. They asked why it took so long for me to seek treatment after my accident. I know I've been busy, but at that moment, I realized that the past month has been a blur. I don't really remember doing anything. I have vague recollection of sleeping on a friend's couch in an ungodly apartment, but other than that, it's pretty much a blur. I may have visited my friend for an entire Saturday at Irvine spectrum, and the idea of seeing a couple movies seems familiar to me. On the whole, however, it's been too long since I wrote in this journal. How else are my memories supposed to stick around? My brain isn't doing a good job.

    Last night, I saw Casino Royale with my boyfriend. The 60s one with Orson Welles & Peter Sellers, not the recent cinematic abortion starring cellphones. Also, I spent the day in LA learning the nuances of the metro. It wasn't fun. I really don't want to write the details, cuz I'd have to relive that day. The highlight was eating half a cheesecake afterward. And realizing that since I wasn't driving, I could get wasted on happy hour drinks after the interview. Simetimes, you need a drink.

    Now, I'm preparing to move into a new apartment. I'm sorta excited & sorta depressed. Change upsets me. Perhaps when I write again, it will be from my own computer for the first time in several months. It will be nice to have my own room again, living with equals instead of being a guest in someone's home, with all the problems that go with it. 
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