And a lil' breakdown, for those who are delighted by such things! Pretty standard stuff, though there are a few clever things in there.
Teague though, seriously though! I can't wait!
2 2014-05-22 10:31:36
Re: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
Waugh! So it only took us, like- what, a year? Two years? But! We have a thing! episode 5
3 2013-10-02 04:26:57
Re: Avatar's Fix for the ending of Dark Knight Rises (10 replies, posted in Pitches, Fixes, and Rewrites)
That was my feeling as well. I was hoping we were gonna get a delightful Monster's Inc ending, but then we turn around and see Batman and Catwomen chilling, and I actually felt kinda disappointed. Honestly, the most surprising part to me is that it's from the same guy who gave us the Inception ending.
4 2013-03-17 02:10:10
Re: "VHS Look" - Free AE setup for degrading the hell out of footage. (5 replies, posted in Creations)
Nice!
I've been going through snagging various VHS artifacts off of Internet Archive, and wondered if it'd be worth throwing it up somewhere for folks to snag? It's about 700mb- which probably says more about my compression than anything else.
5 2012-11-18 00:03:45
Re: Tears of Steel (12 replies, posted in Creations)
Well at any rate, I agree with ya! And I think your second hidden paragraph is probably the best summation of the film I've ever seen.
6 2012-11-14 07:26:31
Re: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
And another one! Man, I wish I could get these out faster than every four months- and the next one's gonna be just absurd (we have a good half-dozen major sequences. Might be worth seeing if they can be split up a bit). Still though, this is the funnest format I can think of working in; just wanna slide over to more shooting and less post!
7 2012-10-19 05:47:37
Topic: Tears of Steel (12 replies, posted in Creations)
So from February till October, I was living over in Amsterdam writing/directing a flick for the Blender Institute, and we finally threw it up on line.
Still too early for me to know how I really feel about it, but at least it's out there and released! We did the whole thing with open source software (Blender, Inkscape, and Gimp, mostly)- except for where we had to use a proprietary Sony 'black box' to convert the F-65 footage.
Oh- and the movie website. If you feel so inclined, we posted basically the entire process in the blog (the pre-release posts tend to be a bit more interesting)
8 2012-08-11 22:35:28
Topic: Lyrics, man. (4 replies, posted in Creations)
Do any folks here do music with lyrics?
My biggest struggle in life is that I suck at 'em. Which is indicative of a pretty good life, I guess, but it's a thing I probably fight with an hour a day almost every day for years.
I love melodies, I've actually gotten decent at guitar, I think I could even get my voice to an alright place, but the moment I try to put lyrics on it, everything falls apart. You have to be vague, but you still have to have them about something, otherwise it's a waste. They should be potent/relevant without sounding like they're trying too hard.
Is the problem that there's some Lyrical Uncanny Valley? Like, lyrics are usually expected to be inane. A thing you don't listen to. Dumb people have no problem writing lyrics, cause that's the baseline of what lyrics are supposed to be. And if they're not, they have to be these little nuggest of wisdom glowing on the other end of the spectrum? But what if you're not a genius, but also not totally dumb? Maybe it's just a classic example of my ability to criticise overpowering my ability to create.
Or maybe I'm just rejecting the idea of taking a melody and trying to reduce it to whatever concept the lyrics are about? That's kinda a disconnect there; melodies are emotion, and lyrics seem more intellectual (or- probably not, but that's my entire problem). The music in my head usually tends to have a lot more gravitas than whatever I'd be inclined to sing about.
Or maybe it's that I don't think in ways that translate into lyrics? "Why are you getting so upset about this? Let's break it down into its core axioms and identify the actual cause of our conflict, lalala" or "I'm afraid you're judging me for not wanting to go to your stupid party to throw my hands up in the air sometimes, so maybe I'll just go", or, vastly more frequently, bemoaning my personal tragedy of "Why do I suck all the rhino balls at lyrics? Baby?".
So I dunno. Does anyone have any thoughts/advice? Or any bands with lyrics that you just totally dig? I always feel a little thrill when I'm listening to an artist and suddenly realize, "oh man- this is a person who thinks a lot, and is still able to make music-for-the-masses." (or, just as fun, music not-for-the-masses-at-all-actually (or, even more impressive, music that seems like the second one but is actually the first one)). I've tried doing collaborations with people, and that can work, and be super cool, but I also wanna figure it out on my end.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to come across as an intellectual- I'm really not- but I do tend to overthink stuff, and I haven't figured out how to use it for good-not-evil in this case, yet.
9 2012-08-11 21:48:58
Re: Recommend some books (38 replies, posted in Off Topic)
I just finished my second Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash Guy) book- Cryptonomicon. 1,100+ pages of WW2 cyptology and undersea cable installation insanity. I enjoyed it, but it made me appreciate Snow Crash all the more. This is a guy who can write narratives that read like encyclopedias, just toning it back and having fun. Like the worst babysitter who was cajoled into teling a some hyperactive kids a bedtime story.
On a different note, 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith, has some of the most incredible and richest characters I've ever read (the fact that she wrote it when she was 24 makes me... sad). The plot itself isn't all that much to talk about, but it almost would have been distracting if it were. I guess that's not a glowing-sounding recommendation, but it's a pretty incredible book.
This is actually a super great thread. I've finally started reading again, and was just in a bookstore this afternoon thinking, "I wish I had some recommendations". Neil Gaiman is my new happy place, so I think I'll have to snag 'Good Omens' tomorrow 
10 2012-08-11 21:35:54
Re: Doctor Who is awesome, yeah? (985 replies, posted in Off Topic)
I think Doctor Who fell into my "bedrest list"; one of the things I'll get around to once I'm paralyzed or something, and can finally catch up on all the media I haven't had time for. I got midway through season 4 (of the 'reboot'- or whatever it's called), and was loving it, but then life got in the way or something, cause I haven't finished it yet. It's that great rare balance of fun, drama, and irreverence. I also always appreciated that they were able to drift between overarching story curves, and just plain apeshit stuff, without having it feel too uncentered.
I really enjoyed David Tennant's Dr, so it's nice that there are a few of those waiting for me in the future, but I also really tended to enjoy Moffat's episode, so the idea of him being the lead writer on season 5 (is that true?) is a fun prospect. Don't have any Smith Opinions yet.
Reading over this post, I sound like one of 'those' people- but- this is a thread for that- so that's safe... right?
11 2012-07-21 13:22:28
Re: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
Mango goes fairly well! We just released a teaser a week ago. It'll definitely be a film, and it'll definitely be a bit bizarre, but I'm hopeful folks will enjoy it. Even if nothing else, it's been wild to be able to work in the same room with so many talented people (so much easier giving feedback in person than in email. Sooooo much easier.)
12 2012-07-19 17:56:40
Re: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
-and 4 months later-
... yeah. So it did get slowed down a bit. Working on Mango, and also finally geting Project London wrapped up are both good things, though!
The super cool news is that a huge chunk of the talented folks that worked on finishing all the PL sound are on board to do the audio- the bummer is that audio was never exactly the bottleneck. But! It's a start!
That to say; episode 3 is finally done! And with any luck ep 4 will be along pretty soon. One of the hard parts is trying to keep things going from across the ocean- there are a lot of little problems that could have been fixed with a day of pickups, but it's also probably nothing that couldn't be fixed with a ton of CG 
Ahhhh well.
13 2012-04-03 22:09:05
Re: Photograph your house exterior! (85 replies, posted in Off Topic)
Only because for once I actually have a pretty rad view! This is outside my bedroom window.
The view out the back is arguably cooler. The middle of each block in Amsterdam is a small community garden thing, and it's like a patchwork of overgrown vines and well maintained rosebushes and stuff like that.
14 2012-04-01 00:01:44
Re: Sad Max (209 replies, posted in Creations)
This is my go-to thing the next time somebody says, "I can't do a film because I don't have ___ lens" or "the kickstarter didn't pull through". This is such a perfect project for Teague I can't stand it. The premise! The fact that he gets to actually write a musical (heck, even edit the thing) through a persona- super great.
And oh- I've watched it 3 times, and only now realized your beard gets longer throughout the deal.
But yes! Very entertaining, great acting/writing- everything everybody's said. You should definitely do more stuff like this.
15 2012-03-18 00:51:58
Re: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
Hah! Thanks!
And I was going to! But then I thought, "Man! I can't just visit a forum to talk about my own stuff!" You have no idea how much I stress this! But I had to swing by the forum and comment on Teague's little masterpiece.
But yes! As you said! Episode 2! Kavonaghan!
I've been working on this whole thing for a few years, and a couple years ago I started trying to tell this side of it as a comic. I gave up on quickly, because the few perfectionist bones in my body are apparently in my hands, cause I spent hours per panel, which I eventually realized was too slow a pace for my taste (and since I came up with it right after high school it was derivative as hell). Filming turned out to be way faster- got it all in the can in a couple days, spent a few more on post, and bam!
But yeah! I've got a few more episodes worth filmed, and I'm just trying to wrap up post so I can keep releasing them from over the ocean.
16 2012-01-28 01:22:37
Re: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
ZAP! Yeah, Teague told me I should finally get off my butt and join, so I did. Wasn't expecting to see you here!
Whew. I finally did a thing last night I've been wanting to do for years. Made a TV table for a scene.
And what, you refuse to wonder, is playing on this TV?
17 2012-01-21 02:01:56
Re: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
Haha, awesome! Yeah, been working on it for a few months, off and on, though it's based on a story I'd been talking about off and on with my housemate for a few years now (he plays the Bearded Guy).
I'm heading over to Amsterdam midway through February, so I'm trying to see if I can get 2-3 episodes filmed before then... we'll see how it goes. Also gotta finish up a bunch of other stuff. And how is it already the 20th of January!?
18 2012-01-21 01:58:17
Re: Astrophotography (43 replies, posted in Creations)
Saniss! Those are gorgeous!
I wonder how easy a DIY equitorial tracking mount would be. Probably one of those things that seems easy in theory, but impossible to actually get to work. I'm thinking some sort of spinning platform (aligned to polaris?), that spins based on one of those clock-building kits, with a 1/24 gear ratio thing going on in there somewhere. That'd work, right?
I've got some shots I snagged during the Perseids meteor shower a year back- I should see if I copied em to this computer.
19 2012-01-18 10:32:56
Topic: Dynamo Webseries (35 replies, posted in Creations)
Hello! I hate looking like I'm joining a forum just to spam around my stuff, but! Teague told me to! And I've been a listener for a long time and wanting to join for a while now, so -
Here's a thing I've been working on! First episode of a show I'd love to work on over the next few years. Basically just wanted to be able to work on something that would let me experiment and remember how to hold a camera again.
Nice to be here!