Cool stuff you've found on the web

[cowsmanaut]

Well, they created archives of actions done by people on black and white film for reference. They could work out the frames from the footage for some of that and there would be very similar actions. For others they would be blantant resuse of already animated scenes. Sometimes it's a cost thing, other times it's animator laziness. It still happens even now, and there were many things they missed even within those movies and later ones.. like the death of scar in lion king and the death of his wife in lion king 2. Exact same animation frame for frame. In games we copy animations from character to character, sometimes as a starting point and work off it, but other times it's just a matter of, that's good enough.. let's spend our money where we have to.

Ultimately though, all animation is a copy. Hardly ever will an animator start an animation without first finding or shooting reference footage... it's the kiss of death otherwise, for any major actions. The exception are walks and runs.. most of that can be done off the top of your head after you've done a few.. but most other things done on the spot can look akward, over acted, or robotic when done from the head alone.

[Jan]

Hardly ever will an animator start an animation without first finding or shooting reference footage...

I know that I'm getting off-topic but the technique of "rotoscoping" just came into my mind. I first saw this in "The Lord of the Rings" movie from the 1970s where it looked quite strange sometimes (especially when it was mixed with "normal" hand animation), but the recent attempts were pretty impressive, IMHO - like the "Waltz with Bashir" or the Czech "Alois Nebel" from 2011 (http://www.aloisnebel.cz/index.php?lang=en). It's very time consuming of course.

[Jan]

Do you enjoy Wallace and Gromit? Did you play The Incredible Machine? Then you must see this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 7GzApUGJ3o

[Gambit37]

^^ Very cool

I love the JJ Abrams (lens flare!) and Michael Bay (explosions!) parts of this spoof Titanic trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Jxj1mou03M

[Jan]

LOL. I enjoyed the huge explosions - it reminds me one episode of the Simpsons where a shopping trolley explodes violently after a wild ride downhill.

[Zyx]

Hardly ever will an animator start an animation without first finding or shooting reference footage... it's the kiss of death otherwise, for any major actions.

Hmm, I don't know if it classifies into your animation category, but several japanese animes are very creative and I don't think they use real footage, I think they design key frames by hand. Of course it's not necessarily a photorealistic move, but it yields artistic and interesting results.

[Gambit37]

"We rocket jumped all the way to school...IN BOILING LAVA." Best ever statement about dumbed down modern games, "If Quake was done today."
http://youtu.be/W1ZtBCpo0eU

(Now, I know Quake was not exactly a paragon of deep game design, but it at least was damn fun and didn't want to tell you what to do every 5 seconds...)

[Zyx]

If Quake was done today: very true, and funny!

[Jan]

I'm looking forward to watching "If Chaos Strikes Back was done today."

[Ameena]

Ahh, I've seen that vid a few times - never played Quake but I understand and agree with the gist of the video - it's not just FPS games that have had the dumbing-down treatment, after all .

[Gambit37]

Cat Alarm Clock -- this is brilliant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... aTagDSnclk

[Jan]

LOL, incredible! *poiing!* *poiiiiing!*

[ZalewaPL]

The Quake vid speaks the truth but its counter argument is done incorrectly. It's just one mess of speed run scenes that just confuse people who are unaware of how the game was really like. It's one way to play it but I wouldn't put "rocket jumping" and "single player experience" together. Besides Quake single player campaign had more prominent features, like actual difficulty and atmosphere ...

... and quad damaged rocket launcher.

[raixel]

Cat Alarm Clock -- this is brilliant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... aTagDSnclk

I have one of these. Its orange, 12 years old, (recently became)an insulin dependent diabetic, and has woken me up going "YOW! *pause* YOW! *pause* YOW! *pause* YOW!" at the side of my bed, starting at exactly 7:32 every morning and continuing until I get up. For 11 3/4 years. I didn't know when I took this tiny stray tabby home all those years ago that he came with a built in alarm clock and could make as much noise as a bar full of sailors on leave! I just wish he had come with a snooze button, too...

Thank god my apt doesnt have those little door stops or I'm sure I'd be hearing "YOW!, *poiiing*, YOW!, *poiiing*, YOW!, *poiiiing*"

[Ameena]

Ja'Ph' just linked me this on Skype...anyone looking forward to the Portal 2 map editor - it's on its way!

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/04/26/porta ... -announced

[Jan]

"The global vice index": http://images.businessweek.com/bloomber ... -index.pdf

It's yet another illustrious success of my country. :facepalm:

[ian_scho]

Wow Jan. Your country is not just first but very first!

[raixel]

Sweet! I'm moving to Jan's country!

Hm, screw Liberty City. I wanna see Grand Theft Auto: Czech Republic Edition!

[Jan]

Well, the good news is that high cannabis use -> relatively peaceful nation and safe country.

The alcohol issue is also not that bad because when compared to the Eastern Europe we drink almost solely beer and wine (highest beer consumption per capita in the World) so the health implications are not that serious (whereas in Eastern Europe they prefer "hard alcohol" like vodka and this is quite bad for health).

What worries me is smoking and hard drugs, but fortunately we're not the very first in these indicators.

But generally it doesn't make me feel too proud anyway.

[linflas]

weird, i haven't noticed those worrying stats when i visited Prague ! except smokers in restaurants, which is a pain when you want to have a good dinner.

[Jan]

weird, i haven't noticed those worrying stats when i visited Prague !

LOL, and what would you expect? Thousands of stoned people lying on the streets just because a certain research based on who-knows-what-kind-of "soft" data reported 2pp more of certain drug's users than elsewhere? No, really, the Czech Republic, and especially Prague of course, is very liberal in many things when compared to Western Europe / North America, but it simply has both pros and cons. It's not as liberal as it used to be at the beginning of 1990s when virtually anything was possible but it's still relatively very liberal and I know many Americans and Britons who moved into Prague during 1990s just because they liked the liberalism and most of them actually weren't disappointed.

except smokers in restaurants, which is a pain when you want to have a good dinner.

Yeah, that's annoying. Very uncivilised. And every "anti-smoking bill" passed by our parliament makes it even worse because always one stupid MP adds one sentence into the bill that turns it upside-down.

And it's always very funny (in a sad way) to see drunken British rugby players who go out of a Czech pub in which smoking is actually allowed to enjoy their cigarettes outside because they think it's proper. I always feel like a complete idiot.

when i visited Prague.

Tell me next time and we can go and check if the "liberal Prague" is not just a myth.

[raixel]

weird, i haven't noticed those worrying stats when i visited Prague !

LOL, and what would you expect? Thousands of stoned people lying on the streets just because a certain research based on who-knows-what-kind-of "soft" data reported 2pp more of certain drug's users than elsewhere? No, really, the Czech Republic, and especially Prague of course, is very liberal in many things when compared to Western Europe / North America, but it simply has both pros and cons. It's not as liberal as it used to be at the beginning of 1990s when virtually anything was possible but it's still relatively very liberal and I know many Americans and Britons who moved into Prague during 1990s just because they liked the liberalism and most of them actually weren't disappointed.

Well, personally my life's motto is kind of "Do what you want to, as long as what you are doing doesn't harm anyone else." So if someone wants to go to a prostitute or do drugs of any kind, that's their business as long as no ones getting hurt in the process (well, besides the person who is doing hard drugs, but since its your body, go for it. Just don't expect free help if you wreck your life).

If someone has a drug habit, but isnt stealing to support it, or a prostitute is doing it as a life choice, not being forced into it by a pimp, who am I to tell them to stop? It isn't hurting anyone, and although I may not like it or agree with it, I have no right to tell others what to do. I applaud countries that are smart enough to understand that. Unfortunately, mine hasn't seemed to get it yet.

So, the study was probably by some ultra-moral American type that thinks vice = crime/bad. But what they don't realize is in a liberal society where those kind of things aren't criminalized, although there will always be shady types, more people will feel comfortable say smoking weed. Or visiting a prostitute. So the numbers will naturally be higher, but it doesn't mean its bad.

except smokers in restaurants, which is a pain when you want to have a good dinner.

Yeah, that's annoying. Very uncivilised. And every "anti-smoking bill" passed by our parliament makes it even worse because always one stupid MP adds one sentence into the bill that turns it upside-down.

And it's always very funny (in a sad way) to see drunken British rugby players who go out of a Czech pub in which smoking is actually allowed to enjoy their cigarettes outside because they think it's proper. I always feel like a complete idiot.

Here in WA state about 4 years ago we banned smoking in every public building, and technically 25 feet in front of the entrance to any building but no one actually pays attention to that, because literally you couldnt walk down the sidewalk smoking if it was enfoced. Its one of the most restrictive smoking policies in the US, AFAIK. Even bars. Surprisingly I actually like it even though I smoke, cuz the smoke in bars used to be choking. Although standing out in the freezing rainy Seattle winter to have a smoke isn't fun, but hey. Its better than getting nauseated due to there being well over 5 cartons of cigarette smoke in the air.

[Jan]

I completely agree with everything you said. With the only exception that I don't smoke but drink beer and wine - not heavily of course but still somewhow above-average (*). Because it's basicallly the only way to survive here. When I was younger I used to smoke marihuana but these times are long long over.

Oh, I think I'm talking, am I not? You won't tell anyone, will you?

(*) And the average for the Czech Republic is... a tense moment... *looks into his spreadsheets* ... 144,4 litres of beer and 19,4 litres of wine per capita in 2010.

[raixel]

Hey, I smoked pot too back in the day. No biggie. Your secret is safe with me! *looks around at the teeming masses of the millions of internet denizens*

I still would too, but the stuffs gotten so strong its no longer fun to do, unless you have a tolerance. Compared to the stuff that was around like 10-15 years ago when I used to smoke it, you take one puff of this modern stuff and are so blasted you can't talk, think, or move for hours, with (at least for me) your mind running in circles like a mouse in a jar. I noticed that nowdays around here theres no more casual/occasional smokers, like I used to be. You either are a regular smoker, or you don't do it at all. Think its cuz of how much stronger its gotten. But hey, more power to 'em if someone wants to smoke.

Um. And is that per person, or total per capita for the entire country? Cuz if its per person, wow. But like you said, better than hard alcohol.

[Jan]

*looks around at the teeming masses of the millions of internet denizens*

What, there are also other people on The Internet?

total per capita for the entire country

Yes, it's total consumption divided by population of the country (i.e. something like 10 mil.), so it includes also babies etc.

The consumption of beer per capita rose from 155,2 l in 1990 to 163,5 l in 2005 and then dropped to 144,4 in 2010, whereas the consumption of wine rose steadily from 14,8 l per capita in 1990 to 19,4 l in 2010. There's also a change in the structure of beer consumed, from cheaper and lighter beers (10°) to stronger and more expensive ones (12°, "lagers").

[Jan]

To change the subject completely. This is brilliant:

http://esquire.ru/clock

"A clock machine". Very soothing yet practical.

[raixel]

Ok. I dont speak Russian, but I know the one that looks like it says "mockba" in English is Moscow, and the last one is Tokyo(I think). So, anyone who can read Cyrillic wanna tell me how this thing works? They have a flash for every minute? And the guys switch em? I unfortunately cant keep it going, cuz it buffers out after just a few secs.

[Jan]

Strange, it used to work but it doesn't now. Well, it was the "Standard Time" performance by Mark Formanek from Berlin (http://www.standard-time.com/), but it was running in your real local time.

Maybe it was illegal on that Russian web (what a surprise!) and they had to remove it. Dunno.

[raixel]

Ahh. I got it to work. And I also found where my time was! Very cool, although it kinda sucks when they're doing a big change theres guys milling all over it changing it for more than a minute. Like I watched it from 10:57-11:01, and they never really let it sit on 10:59 and 11, cuz the changes were too big. Oh well. Still cool. I dont envy those people running around like that constantly.

[linflas]

Do not give up : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448 <<< Archmaster ninja !