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GO GET DIRGE OF CERBERUS RIGHT NOW - or whatever parts of it you can!
2006-02-28 09:53:22
So I've been keeping tabs on DoC for awhile now, slavering over the thought of non-Advent Children CG goodness in my hands (and Vincent...yes, he's my kind of guy: they don't have to be tall, but they do have to be dark and handsome. Plus, I love [attractive] long hair on men). Er hem...
Tabs, yes, carefully storing up all the trailers so that when Squeenix removes them from public view, I still have my copies (they did and I don't - they accidentally fell into my recycle bin and were tossed). Fortunately there's a new, utterly fantastic, trailer-ish music video set to Gackt's "Redemption" that's still available here: http://files.filefront.com/DIRGEofCERBERUSFINALavi/;4652778;;/fileinfo.html. Get it while it's hot! It contains a lot of new footage from the cut scenes and game play, but I'm concerned a little about what it may give away about DoC's plot (rather than only intrigue me, the video actually caused this worry, which is almost unheard of, for me). Please do not download it if you're at all fearful of spoilers!
A translation of the intro (which features Yuffie and Vincent) is as follows (thanks to dirgeofcerberus.net):
"Yuffie: Finished on this end. What about you?
Vincent: Done. But, Yuffie. Take a look at the Mako cannon.
Yuffie: There's nothing really... huh, what?
Vincent: Thought so.
Yuffie: W-wait! This isn't right! This shouldn't be possible. There's no way anyone could be up there, not like this!
Vincent: Yuffie, you go on ahead back to Cloud and others. Looks like I've still got work to do here.
Yuffie: Ho-hold on! Vincent... This looks bad. Get back here!"
That said, I was incredibly impressed by the soundtrack to the entire game, which includes another Gackt song, "Love Letter" I think it's titled. I was able to download the entire thing, MP3-style, and will certainly purchase it as soon as its available. The soundtrack is far more theatrical (overall) than a lot of FF OSTs, one could easily listen to it and never guess it came from a video game. Reminds me a little of the "Braveheart" because it has that kind of balance between orchestral music and action themes. I can't WAIT until I play the game so I can visualize what's going on - right now it's all kind of fuzzy - but this does not mean the soundtrack is impossible to appreciate unless you're familiar with the game.
Note: I never paid much attention to Gackt until now, but I really like "Redemption" and "Love Letter" isn't too bad, either. In fact, "Redemption" is probably awesome enough to get rave reviews by music lovers in general - aka the non-otaku kind. Check it out sans video here: http://mokkori60.free.fr/Gackt%20Redemption.mp3 . I just wish I understood the lyrics, because the song kind of goes over your head unless you can "get" what he's saying. There is a translation out there, but I forget where it is. Same place the MP3's were, I believe. ;)
My intentions to cosplay as Vincent at Anime Boston keep bothering me. His shoes are really pointy and I'll bet they're hard to walk in. That claw could be considered a weapon, too. I may test out Haji from Blood + instead, but that coffin/instrument case could be really, REALLY burdensome. I have an uncle who's a professional cellist, but he'd never let me turn one of his cello cases into a coffin. It would be a great place to store stuff, though. Hmm... I could dye my gray business suit black, cut it up a bit and dye my hair. HMMM... This has definate possibilities. Wait. THERE'S STILL A CLAW!! Argh! -
Uphill on a treadmill
2006-02-27 15:52:33
So school is now, really, really, underway. I DID manage to sit down and work on my AMV for a few hours last night, which accomplished only yet another version of a 4 second intro. Lucky me, I had fun with a tracke matte (my alpha layers are now working, there was indeed something horribly wrong with my previous Photoshop software!) and got a nifty effect that I must exploit further. It wasn't what I was going for, but it's on the right track (no pun intended).
Interesting item of note: for anyone wondering what kind of power/memory is required to run Premiere, I can do it fairly well on 700 MB with a 140 GB HD (or so). Yes, I run out of memory quick and cannot render, but generally the program doesn't crash. I can still work - just not render.
Photoshop CS2, however, theoretically a kinder, gentler program, is like a rabid raccoon in a garbage can. It not only knocks the lid off, plops inside and disturbes all the trash, it makes it impossible to do anything WITH that garbage can because of its new, disruptive, contents. Bottom line: I have an easier time with Premiere than CS2, which is saying A LOT. God...I have to upgrade my RAM again... $$*ching*$$ If this keeps up, I'm going to need an entirely new computer in another year or so. BLEH.
Total hours:
Pre-editing: 95
Editing: 68 -
AMV Hell - Redux
2006-02-24 10:06:29
I just made that up. I wanted to use "Redux" in the title of this entry and was momentarily at a complete loss. I like it so much, however, that it's going to stay there. It's just the perfect kind of parody and cheesiness AMV Hell exploits.
I've not worked on my AMV in over a week. I've not really touched my computer for six days straight, however, so I believe this gives me some kind of excuse. Busy schedule, etc. School's in full swing, taking up the 4 p.m. to midnight block of time twice a week and another eight hours on the weekend, all smack in front of a monitor that induces eye strain. Sitting down to perform recreational activities at my computer is quickly becoming a gut-wrenching thought. Just wait until summer, when I can't go outside and enjoy myself (myself being pretty outdoorsy when I'm not being indoorsy). Oh well.
On the brighter side, I've gotten several glowing comments out of my graphic design instructor who is impressed that I've got the artistic talent to back up my dabblings in Adobe. It's very annoying that few people regard digital artists as equally creative and talented as their "real world" counterparts - or rather, you're only a "real" digital ARTIST if you are incredibly successful at it. Hey, look at all the people out there belonging to all those Art Associations and never selling one piece of art - they still get the title of "artist." Hrmph.
I wore my "got anime?" t-shirt to the first class, hehehehe. The instructor, after making predictable comments (including, "I love Ninja Scroll") pointed out that "got anime?" is kind of like saying "got graphics?" Riiiight. Too bad less than .3% of the population would ever extrapolate that. I think --> otaku <-- is what first jumps into the mind, or, more likely, --> weird, somewhat geeky 28-year-old woman who enjoys shocking people when they discover her "normal" exterior is just part and parcel of all the offbeat interior <--
I'd love to take a poll on this kind of thing. Who looks the part of an otaku (ok, let's just say non-mainsteam individual), who acts like an otaku (walking encyclopedia, obsessive, collects busty plastic figures etc.), who keeps their hobby tightly under wraps and who doesn't flaunt it, but will make reference to anime in casual conversations.
The last one is me. My favorite "out of the closet" moment came when I was at a Christmas dinner party a few months back and became engaged in conversation with a co-worker, who looks and acts like a very non-mainstream individual. Hehe, we got onto the subject of what we use computers for, I said "Watching movies and stuff," she said, "What kind?," I said, "Oh, mostly anime." Her jaw dropped, "OMG, no way! You're into anime??!! I've always been fascinated by it, but I don't know much about it." I then made some other comment affirming my otakuness and then realized the rest of the dinner table had fallen completely silent (this is a 10-foot long dinner table, crystal chandelier above). Everyone else was staring at me/us. I said, "What?!" and things shakily resumed normalcy. Classic. Then one of my more ignorant co-workers (who's a really nice person) said, "What's anime?" and we took it from there. Didn't get very far, because dessert arrived, but hey. At work the next day, the prevailing attitude towards me was, "I never would have guessed. What ELSE is she into?" Oh...lots of stuff. ^_^
My sister, a lifelong anime-hater (because of ignorance) just might attend one day of Anime Boston with me - she became intrigued by AMVs after watching me watch this year's VCAs, actually, and wants to see the AMV competition. I almost regret inviting her, because she's extremely mainstream and likes to make derogatory comments about anything and everything she doesn't like. There's going to be lots of the latter at the convention. -
What's the number for Poison Control?
2006-02-16 14:10:50
I just accidentally drank a mouthful of CVS-brand "Listerine." This is probably the cause of my writing about it my AMV journal. Hey, at least if I suddenly go into a coma and vanish from the Internet, there's hint as to how it happened.
Mmmm...tingly... Did you know that you can be charged with DUI if you've been drinking Listerine? Apparently hardcore alcoholics who can't get their hands on the real stuff will resort to mouthwash, among other pharmacuetical fixes. Such individuals can be charged with driving with an open container, as well. So let this be a lesson: do not drive with an open bottle of mouthwash in the backseat.
So let's see, back on track. I haven't touched my AMV (to work on it) the entire week. This is not good, but I've also been busy, so that's a decent excuse. Mmm...getting...too warm...
Oh yes, Part I of my theory on How to Beat the Odds of Newbie AMving. *rummages around* I can't seem to find it right now, so here goes nothin':
The advice, the best advice, you will ever get from an experienced (read, admired) AMV editor is that creating AMVs takes practice, practice, practice. All right, so that's hours in the saddle, right? Because someone can make five AMVs that take about 30 hours each, while someone else makes two that take 200 each, and the latter individual will certainly be more experience - saddle-wise. However, the former individual would have completed the whole AMV process five times and the latter only two, so you could say the 30-hour individual was more experienced, in this regard.
What all this means to newbie editors is that you shouldn't have a fatalistic attitude about your first AMV, because there's plenty of pompous individuals who've made several and call themselves "experienced" (or at least, not newbies), but whose work is utter rubbish. Be humble, learn as much as you can and be content knowing that you will be a better editor when you finish that first AMV than when you started.
Part II of How to Beat the Odds will be presented as soon as my vision stops blurring and I remember what Part II was. I think there may be a Part III, too, but...I'm just not sure right now.
My theory is important to me, because I need to justify the appalling time I've spent trying to make my first AMV. I keep telling myself that HEY, at least you've put more blood and sweat into this AMV than many other people do - newbie or otherwise - and will not let it see the light of day until it stops being an embarassment.
Oh drat, now some stupid teen is going to raid their parents' medicine cabinet and chug down Listerine to see if they can get some kind of high. Trust me, I've drunk liquor that tastes - and feels - far worse than Listerine, so you're not really getting the whole experience with mouthwash, ok boys and girls?
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I lied!
2006-02-15 11:05:53
Someday did not turn into now...then. ^_^
I think I mentioned my state of hysteria and utter despondancy (almost antonyms) about the messed-up exports I was getting out of Premiere. Good news! I am doing everything right, my computer was just doing everything wrong. #1, WMP was having a hard time playing the file smoothly, causing the audio to become out of sync and even the footage to look rougher than it actually is. A fresh restart of my computer solved this problem. #2, when I tried a different codec for exporting, I got better results overall. Odd thing is that the files won't play properly on VLC, I only get audio, which is usually my fail-safe back up for evaluating the performance of both audio and visual files. I wonder if it's the codec...hrm.
Tune in next time forPart I of Lauren's Theory on How to Beat the Odds of Newbie AMVing.
JOURNAL: DriftRoot (Lauren C.)
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