Tranquility Wifi
Nothing excites me more than that feeling of realisation that you can do something and it’s much simpler than you think. One such things I discovered last night. Using my phone’s 3G to connect my iPad online. And what’s more it’s wireless. My humble Galaxy Ace has under tether settings, something called Mobile AP, which believe it or not doesn’t stand for Anthony Pearson. Actually it stands for Access Point and it turns your phone into a mini wifi hotspot. I can even connect my walkman to it!
To prove it’s use, I am doing this entry at my local pub on my iPad, which only has wifi. The 3G access is from my phone. And here is a picture of my food. I did want to test it somewhere more remote like the top of Primrose Hill but it has been chucking it down all day.
This post was also done using the official WordPress app which I also have on my Android phone. I know what you’re thinking….why not just do the post from my phone. But all this typing would have much more fiddley. The app is great for posts and pages, but not so good for anything else like media management, CSS and plugins etc…
Uli Meyer Studios
Today I had the privilege of being given a personal tour round the animation studios of Uli Meyer, a local based artist here in Camden Town. He has worked with big animation companies such as Warner Brothers, Touchstone, Disney & Universal to name a few. But it is his collaborative work with the late Ronald Searle, creator of the infamous St. Trinians School, that appears not only to be a personal highlight of his career, but a heavy influence on it.
His studio (for an artist) is incredibly tidy and organised but there is no doubt who rules the office. The characters themselves! Sketches, models, huge ink drawings all portraying the most fantastic clan of animals, ghouls, misfits and eccentrics both good and evil. Each character, like Night At The Museum, is frozen still by the arrival of us real people, but when the office lights are out, I imagine they run riot like Gremlins.
The studio is large and certain areas dedicate themselves to specific tasks – video editing, modelling, computer graphics and sketch room. The hallway serves as a gallery and hung on the stairs is a picture I’ve seen before. I’m here to purchase it and am relieved that it’s not been snapped up before my arrival today. The picture shows a tramp finding a discarded heart in the dustbins. In the background a silhouette at the window is heavily quaffing a bottle of wine. Though there is no title on the frame, Uli’s eyes light up when he tells me the title. “It’s called Trashed“. The picture is part of a series of similarly themed pictures, by Uli, based on the universal theme of love. Other pictures from the series are also in the hallway and all feature a bright red heart, the only colour in these great ink drawings.
Do check out his blog which shows some of his amazing artwork, some completed, some in various stages of evolution! Now I can’t wait for the building works in my flat to complete so I can take this, my first ever piece of purchased art, home to hang on my wall.
Time Flies!
Anyone who doesn’t know, my flat is undergoing extensive repairs since a flood last November… and yes, it’s STILL going on. So I’ve been quite preoccupied with that on what feels like a full-time basis. I’ve also been doing lots of web-design favours for friends. So what I’m saying is basically it’s been a while since I last blogged. But before you get the violin out…no don’t… there have been some exciting stuff going on too. Like I’ve purchased a Zoom H4N for sound recording…more experiments from that anon…stay tuned viewers. Also a NAS drive, more or less my very own 3TB cloud, though it’s video streaming leaves a lot to be desired thanks to Seagates badly designed app. However, I’m not disheartened as knowing the geek community it won’t be long before someone releases a better one than Seagates miserable effort.
Anyhoo, here’s a video clip. Pretty basic….
…except that that was originally just a photo!
The flies are created using the png on the left with a particle system, whilst the clouds are used moving masking and a simple skew. Skew is better than simply moving the cloud layer as it allows the clouds at the top (and therefore nearer) to move quicker than the clouds at the bottom (the ones further away nearer the horizon) A simple technique yet very effective. Considered adding a lens flare but thought it might be overkill. Sometimes simple is best.
Laugh at others failure
Have been busy starting working on some new websites including one for a midwife. Have also started work on the prologue to the Twilight which is taking much longer than expected due to heavy rendering issues and the fact that my cats demand constant attention whilst I work. So progress is slow and I’ve nothing really to show you yet. So in the meantime, here’s another site I’ve found that is worth a chuckle or two. A huge collection of Photoshop disasters. Some of them can take a while to spot so hours of fun. Check it out
The Rubicon
The latest photo of the Rubicon rollercoaster. If you don’t know the history of the Twilight Ballrooms and the dreadful accident that happened involving this rollercoaster on Saturday 26th May 1973 then I suggest you visit the history section on the website, www.thetwilightballrooms.co.uk and brush up on your knowledge!
Seasons Greetings
Wishing you all a very wonderful Christmas holiday. This pic was taken in practical darkness using an 8 second exposure. The bright orange glow in the background is the light pollution from Eastbourne. Love the droplets of water on the bush on the left – very festive I thought! Click on the pic to enlarge.
Pre-production photo shoot
Had a marvellous few days in Eastbourne. Fought off the temptation to spend my time at tea dances and instead headed off across the South Downs taking in Beachy Head and a fab National Trust hamlet called Birling Gap which, for me, is the nearest thing in real life to Wits End I’ve seen so far.
The Downs were excellent, though you are reminded of it’s links with suicide (3rd highest suicide rate in the world). I met one of the chaplains, a group of volunteers who patrol that spot looking for lonely quiet individuals and offering to chat! Thought it best not to mention Wits End!
Now it’s back to the drawing board as I try and use the footage and photos I’ve taken to augment the project.
