Fun with blending

Cockpits! Boobytraps!

ATTENTION:

Venture Brothers Season 2 Premieres Tonight!

10:30 PM, Cartoon Network

{that is all}

Promax/BDA 2006 - Thursday Rundown

I had noted on Wednesday that the How To Bug A Two-Inch Screen Session was rescheduled for 10 AM, so I made it to the conference at that time. This session was supposed to be about podcasting and the like, but it was not nearly as good as Broadband Design for Networks. The Two-Inch Screen session was mainly about extending existing brands and content from television into the world of the internet and mobile devices. Customer feedback and interaction was again an important theme. It is important to remove all barriers between the download and the consumer. A representative of Disney/ABC was there and talked about what they could and could not do with video podcasts. Most of it had to do with IDs and promos - and what Apple would permit in itunes. The IDs were okay, but promos appearing before the content started didn't fly. Participation in all possible forms of media was stressed, even magazines are still important. You have to be everywhere. A representative from FX discussed a short for the show Rescue Me that was released online. The short was aimed at bringing in new viewers and departed from the show's drama format to a more comedic angle. The was a special ad campaign to promote the short, and this included the purchase of time on video-on-demand channels. At one point, Stephanie Gibbons (the FX representative) said that Dennis Leary is "F'ed up." She may have been referring to his character on the show, or not, or both. Anyway, the ad campaign for the Rescue Me short included some guerilla advertising. Some "bootleg" behind the scenes footage was released on YouTube. FX teamed up with AOL as a broadband carrier. The splash page for the short included links to but Rescue Me merchandise as well as ad space. Next, Beth Higbee of Scripps Network talked about setting up a web tool so that Food Network viewers could download shopping lists for recipes to their cell phones. Dale Knopp of MobiTV talked about how people always have their cell phones with them, but don't always have their iPods. He also said that at the end of the day, creativity and story are the most important things. You have to be entertaining, not just advertising.

After my first morning session ended, I went down to the exhibition hall for an Autodesk Discreet Flame demonstration. To put it simply, a Flame makes Combustion look like a toy. It has a sophisticated and amazing 3D tracker. You can also bring 3D models (not renderings) directly in and composite them. You can pin them on an axis and track every 3D and 2D element to match the camera. You can bring in a 2D image, then subdivide it and play with the subdivisions in 3D space. Using this technique and also by extruding luminance values, the demonstrator made some great looking 3D mountains from a 2D hi res photo of mountains. The work being demoed was a Cartlon Draught ad by Animal Logic. It was really cool. They said that the final shot, where the camera comes tight in on one of the guys holding a beer glass, was shot in reverse (the camera started in on him and the widened out). It was just easier to shoot that way. The problem was that, after they reversed the footage to get it the way it should be, the bubbles in the beer went down instead of up. They had to composite a layer of bubbles to correct this. This is something any compositing program could probably do, but it was an interesting production point. For a lot of the large crowds, Massive was used to add digital extras. Massive was also used on Lord of the Rings. The ad itself was, coincidentally, filmed in the same spot as some of the Lord of the Rings battle scenes in New Zealand. I also saw a demonstration of Discreet Smoke which was cool. It also has a 3D tracker and compositor like tools, but it is an editor, not a compositor.

After the demo, I went to her Maya Angelou speak. This was probably the highlight of the conference for me. She came on stage and starting singing. First in Spanish, then in Hebrew, then French and English. She talked about how were are all composers, we all help someone. She read Langston Hughes' Daybreak in Alabama but I think she added her own words to parts of it. She said stories can tell the truth, and facts can obscure the truth. She said that the divorce of her parents was not sad, in fact "they did the nation a favor." She just received her 61st doctorate degree. She said that her grandmother was her composer and told her (prophetically) that she would teach the world. She said to attempt courage in small ways. "I have no modesty, it is a learned affectation." "I pray for humility." She said we should help lay the foundation. She told a number of stories and read another poem, this time her own A Brave and Startling Truth. She was presented with an award from Promax/BDA.

The next session I went to was Visual Structure. It was presented by Bruce Block, feature film producer and USC film professor. At first and even by the end of the presentation, it didn't seem like important information, but the more I think about it now, the more it makes sense. He made a hypothetical storyboard, but instead of pictographs, it consisted of the key frames broken down in to their essential lines - horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. We all know already (or should) that horizontal lines are the most stable, while diagonal lines are the most intense. He showed how the overall feel of the progression of time could be obviously seen in showing each panel of the board in terms of these essential lines (be they a horizontal line representing the horizon or a diagonal representing perhaps a man trying to walk, hunched over in the face of intense wind and weather). You can graph the whole story in terms of intensity (of how each frame looks) against time. It is also a function of the principle of contrast (differences) and affinity (similarities). A horizontal line in one frame and the next (or the same frame) is affinity. Any difference across time or in a single frame is contrast. Line is only one element that can be used this way. 2D space and 3D space can also be used. 2D space is less intense, 3D space (or the illusion of it) is more intense, and the most intense is a combination of the two. The illusion of 3D space is a function of depth cues, one of which is size consistency. Track is a line made by an object as it moves (like implied line). Shape can also be used to determine contrast and affinity. He said that everything is either a circle, square or triangle, that the circle is least intense and the triangle the most. I felt this was a little subjective, but it was what he said. Color (hue, brightness, saturation etc.), Movement (object movement, camera movement, audience movement (i.e. point of attention)) and Curves can all have affinity or contrast. I made a graph of the basic idea behind this visual structure system. The story is the main graph at the top, showing what the story is supposed to be like. You can then graph out how the elements should have contrast of affinity at various points in time. As you can see, you don't just move from a less contrasting form (like 2D) to a more contrasting form (like a 2D and 3D combination) as the story becomes intense, you also switch back and forth rapidly to enhance the contrast. You can use these graphs before you start working (he claimed Kubrick and Hitchcock did) or after to figure out why something isn't working (the graphs won't match at some point in time). If you can find a book by Bruce Block, he can probably explain it better than I did. Contrast and affinity, that's the point.

Click here for large version of diagram


I was fairly hungry when I came out of that session, so I went into the exhibit hall next door to see if any of my cronies were hanging around and wanted to eat. The hall was very underpopulated, except that there were large tables full of food (catered by the hotel, I believe) crammed into the aisles between the booths. There were not a lot of people around, but there was Carlos and Lawrence, heaping food onto plates. I joined them in what turned out to be an awesome (and free!) feast. Soon, the exhibition hall filled as convention goers partook of free food.

The next session I went to was Fine Art, Illustration or Fascinating Brand Image. It showcased a lot of work that a more artistic quality than you run of the mill ID, promo or other piece. There were representatives from each of companies whose reels were shown, but they didn't say much that was enlightening. There was a lot of cool stuff, but not much info. Michael Waldron of Nailgun showed a cool piece called Zoom Room.

The last session of the day was Every Pixel Tells A Story. Rhonda showed up for the last little bit of the conference (leaving little Lily with husband David, presumably), and Lawrence and Carlos also came to the last session. Evan Shapiro of IFC said that story lets you dream, but someone always has to pay for art. He talked about and showed trailers for This Film Is Not Yet Rated, which looks cool my may just be a ploy (in my skeptical opinion) for viewer-ship. Coleen Conway of A&E spoke about her programing job and story. Andrew Blacker (I could have sworn his name was Mark) spoke next about story telling on the web. You have to touch upon what people identify with immediately. What engages, thrills and motivates them - which he said was anything about Britiney Spears ir Walmart. What does your audience care about? Don't tell it on the nose, don't be blunt, engage them with an idea. He again stressed the importance of user interaction. SEED CONTROL TO THE AUDIENCE. make mistakes. You don't cut as fast on the web as you might on TV or in film. Star power does not necessarily work on the web. Keep you content timely. Orrin Zucker, creator of Its Jerrytime!, spoke next. He said to find inspiration in unusual places and to change the context of story to change how it is perceived. These were two key factors in the creation of Its Jerrytime! with his brother, Jerry. Connect with the audience and deliver stories.

After that, I was pretty tired, so Rhonda, Carlos and I walked down eight avenue to Penn Station.

These have been my notes, occasionally interjected with my memories and opinions. Promax/BDA was great and I am thankful, especially to Paul Lipsky, for having the opportunity to go. It was inspiring and it reconnected me to the TV people that I have sort of strayed from. I hope to go back as often as possible.

All of the awards given had a bust of Gandhi, and quoted him:

You must be the change you want to see in the world.

A drawing and a photo from my convention experience

"Manhasset Train Station"


"Carlos at Promax/BDA"

My notes from Thursday will be up as soon as I can type them. They include Maya Angelou, free food, visual structure, and an Autodesk Flame demonstration that blew my socks off.

Promax/BDA 2006 - Wednesday Rundown (Part 2)

After a short break in Outlook 2006, John Miller came on and introduced a strange video. It featured Megan Mullally and she went on about her lifelong dream to host Promax/BDA. John Miller was in the video, looking sinister (with an eyepatch) as the evil guy who wouldn't let her host, until she saved his life by knocking him out of the path of a speeding electric car. The video ended and Megan Mullally came out on stage. She sang and danced about hosting Promax. It was weird.

After that, Larry King and Mike Wallace came out on stage for a Q&A and to be presented with awards. They were asked a lot of questions and Larry King made fun of Mike Wallace for being older than him. Mike Wallace had a hard time hearing questions and was not as good at off the cuff responses. One interesting question asked by an audience member was if there was something that the public might not know about them. Larry King said he had an affinity for cowboy boots. Mike Wallace talked about a long, but ultimately successful struggle against depression (including an attempted or contemplated suicide 20 years ago). They were given awards for their long careers as interviewers and journalists.

To wrap up the Outlook 2006 session, Malcom Gladwell came on stage and talked about decision making. He told the story of how the Getty museum acquired a supposed ancient Greek Kuros statue that turned out to be fake. Originally, all of the scientists, geologists, archeologists and lawyers they hired to methodically examine it concluded that it was real after a long period of study. Experts on ancient greek art, however, were able to tell it as fake instantly upon seeing it. He went over what makes and expert an expert and how they are able to make accurate judgments so quickly.

I didn't stay until Malcom Gladwell finished because Lawrence called and said he was in the exhibition hall. I went down there and found him by the Apple demo area. He signed up for every Apple demo that day (Shake, etc.). We talked for a while and then I went out alone to find lunch.

I wanted to eat lunch quickly and get back for the Broadband Design for Networks session. I walked toward 8th Ave (thinking it would be less crowded than Times Square) looking for a hole-in-the-wall deli or pizza place. I decided I had walked far enough and turned and walked into Frankie and Johnny's Steakhouse (I'm not sure what I was thinking either). I went in thinking of ordering the $8 caesar salad, but it seemed a little fancy, so I ordered the $15 chicken caesar salad. The service was anything but quick. The waiter and bus-boy kept arguing in several languages. The bus-boy finally brought a plate (about 15 min) with a chicken cutlet, melted cheese and bacon. Perplexed, I informed the bus-boy and then the waiter that I ordered a salad. They took it back and brought my food 20 minutes later. By now the lunch crowd was gone and I was almost alone in the restaurant. I ate my salad, which was okay (but not worth $15), paid, and left going over the blunder that had been my lunch. I should have gone to McDonalds.

Luckily, I got to Broadband Design for Networks just as it was starting. It was an interesting panel of industry professionals, including Fred Seibert of Frederator Studios. User created content was something they said was of crucial importance. There is a culture of fear among advertisers due to audience fragmentation and technological change. They also said people still watch regular old TV and TV advertising, which I had taken as granted. They said scripted drama was coming back. Word of mouth is a strong tool for reaching niches. People still want stories. Stories can be in station/channel IDs that are 5 seconds long. Since the platforms are not linear, these can be 5 seconds, 2 minutes, or however long they have to be depending on what they are and the platform. Kids don't know that a TV show is 30 minutes long, to them, it can be 2 minutes and still be a show. They said that advertisers don't know what they want. Fred Seibert has a podcast called VOD Cars, it is the most viewed automotive video podcast on the internet. They have and average of 300,000 viewers per episode. Most episodes consist of amateur footage sent in by viewers of their cars. Lamborghini gave them over $1 million worth of footage to use as they please, so Fred used this high quality footage to make a high quality episode. Lamborghini got to 300,000 eyeballs for free, and Fred looked good for having some high quality footage. In another episode, a viewer sent in footage of a Corvette blowing up in an unofficial race. GM liked it so much, they bought a block (Fred did not elaborate on "block"). Advertising is the way Fred makes money, his content is freely downloadable. On Fred's other podcasts, artists get exposure (and sales) and Fred gets content. They said that Nielson might soon (or is) measuring integrated impact of media outlets. Alan Schulman, chief creative officer of Brand New World, said that there will never be an algorithm or formula for, we need stories, not science. There is a tension between art and science. Online, you have to be exciting and you have to be the MOST exciting or you viewer will click over to the competition.

Vocabulary:

Metrics: Measures used to indicate progress or achievement.

Mobisode: a media industry term for a broadcast television episode specially made for viewing on a mobile telephone screen and usually of short duration.

I went to the State of Design session for a few minutes, but they were just showing promos and that bored me.

I went to Live What You Love, a session featuring entrepreneurs Bob and Melinda Blanchard. The said that with ingenuity and innovation, you can love your work. It is a matter of will. Never say no to a great idea. At the same time, you can't completely throw practicality out the door (although using your life savings to open a restaurant in a Caribbean island seems somewhat impractical to me, which is what they did). You need to determine the ingredients you need and the steps you need to take to use them. Their three steps were reflect (what excites you?), ask (even ask yourself out loud), and then act. Act on your big ideas. Manage and replace fear with facts. Do not let fear stop you. It is okay to fail if you pick yourself up again.

I then went down to the Animation Evolution session, by Blue Sky director Carlos Saldanha. He showed a lot of his work from Joe's Apartment, Ice Age, Robots, and Ice Age 2. It was mildly interesting, but I was tired and decided to go home.

Walking back to Penn, I observed the way people walk (I have been reading Richard Williams' Animation Survival Kit). Earlier in the day, some people had a definite snap in the side to side motion of their heads as they walked. Later in the day, there was a lot less snap. I guess people were tired.

Promax/BDA 2006 - Wednesday Rundown (Part 1)

Today I attended the Promax/BDA conference in Manhattan. Paul was kind enough to get passes for all interested parties at no cost. It started yesterday, but today was the first day that I attended. I got up at six and took the LIRR to Penn. I bought a $4 Metrocard, but it was nice this morning, so I walked from Penn to the Marriot Marquis at Times Square. I didn't bring a map (how unusual) so I consulted a subway map for relative position. A man in a watermelon suit handed me a stick of gum in Times Square. I easily found the Marriot Marquis (after all, its a big giant building) and went it. Unlike the Promax/BDA website, there was clear and easy to understand signage in the hotel about what was where and how to get there.

I went to the registration booth and assumed it would be a hassle to get my creds (credentials). My name came up in the computer right away, so that was easy. I got my ID badge with its holder and a cool messenger bag full of loot that I have yet to rummage through. Free loot is always fun at conferences, except that you have to carry it around all day.

The first session I went to was Outlook 2006, where a panel of interesting professionals gave insights into what is coming down the pipe soon. The session was hosted by John Miller, Chief Marketing Officer of NBC. He was interesting. He spoke of marketing to the Millennial generation (9 to 28 year olds), and how they pass information about media along by word of mouth to an average of six people at a time. Marketing to Millennials involves using the funny, the entertaining, the scary and the freaky. Materials must be easy for them to disseminate (free is good). TV promos also still work well (the fact that TV advertising is alive and kicking was a theme I found in a number of presentations). Social networking is also important, as it provides personal validation, it is a non-threatening portal to the world, it keeps Millennials engaged in their social circles, and it harnesses their psychological motivators.

Bob Liodice, Pres. and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. spoke at Outlook 2006. He said that the Chief Marketing Officer was the most important person on "our" radar screens (our referring to the general populace of Promax/BDA members and attendees). The consumer has the ability to decide where and when they see advertising. Brand loyalties are shifting under the impact of new media and can not be taken for granted. He said one of the most important things I heard, which is that we (I and those like me) must continuously reinvent the total communications process. Not just once, not for the time being, but constantly changing, which is another important theme from the conference - change always occurs, but it is occurring more rapidly that before. His 4 core strategies were: brand building (core innovation and integrated marketing communications), a lifestyle approach, reinventing marketing accountability (metrics or measurement of success), and reinventing marketing approach. Some of that stuff might not be more than marketing mumbo jumbo, but innovation is the key.

Frank Dudley, VP of Marketing for Guideline spoke next. He talked about branded entertainment. There are 3 varieties: Product Placement, Brand Integration (the brand is part of the plot, like PEZ on Seinfeld), and Branded Content (where the sponsor is highly visible, probably something like Pepsi Presents so-and-so in concert or the Sprint celebrity golf tournament.) Important factors include screen time of the product, character usage of the product, importance of temporal occurrence in the program, and the reason for the appearance. New developments that are important are in-game advertising and advergaming (like games on a company's website). Scripted programming is still effective and desired by the market. Parents are more comfortable with traditional TV commercials over branded content, which they see as subliminal and therefore somewhat subversive. Parents with young children are the most concerned. They could grow up not being able to tell the difference between advertising and non-advertising in media (although maybe we should give them more credit, but the concern is understandable).

Dennis Swanson, President of Station Operations of Fox Television Stations Group was the next speaker. He said scheduling and careful control of when and where is crucial. He also talked about hiring well and the importance of getting good talented people.

Kyle Cooper (founder of both Prologue and Imaginary Forces) had some really interesting things to say about design and how it has been impacted by technology. He said that computers make designing much faster, but the design itself suffers and uniqueness is not as prevalent. Design and culture are not progressing and the foundations of design are being overlooked in favor of training people to use software. Individuality, uniqueness, story and communication should be more of a focus than technology.

The rest of the speakers were not as interesting, except for Nick Lowery (former NFL player) and Dr. John Eliot (Professor of Sports Ethics and Rice University, organizer of the National Center for Human Performance and author of Overachievement) talked about stress and how it can be good if you are lead to believe it will benefit you (in essence, you are conditioned to believe it is only bad). It is not stress that is bad, only the interpretation of it. Stress does not cause poor performance. You need to tap your mind in a different way.

Fire Hydrant

One of my few joys at work is sitting in my car and looking at the mourning doves after I park and before I leave. It seems to be the ideal environ for them. There are lots of trees and bushes for them to hide in. The gravel driveway proves them with the small pebble fragments to aid their digestion and the large grass areas provide food.

Birds of Pennsylvania

By B. H. Warren MD.

Thursday Night Beer-venture

Bummed out by work as usual, Ellen dragged (drug?) me out of the house yesterday to go to Croxley's. She wanted to go to Jones Beach and walk on the boardwalk, but it was getting late. We started to drive towards Croxley's (New Hyde Park) when Ellen, who was driving, said "Let's go to the beach", and she did what I recall to be a Dukes-of-Hazzard style 180 degree turn. Actually it was a 540 degree turn. And we went to the beach.

There were a lot of little bunnies hopping around in the bushes near the boardwalk and more of them were sleeping in bushes. We walked down the boardwalk as the sun set. And then the bugs attacked us. I did some free style break-dance moves to fend off the bugs. They seemed to take a liking to me and followed me down the boardwalk. I broke into a sprint to loose them, and it worked, but Ellen walked up and brought them back to me. We both had to run to get rid of them, but Ellen was wearing Traps, plastic/foam slip-ons that are not designed for sprinting on the boardwalk, so we didn't run for that long. Of course my back hurts today from sprinting.

We got back in the car and decided to find the other Croxley's in Rockville Center because we were already on the South shore. Plus, the Rockville Center Croxley's has Franziskaner! Using a rudimentary map and my razor sharp memory, we found Croxley's in the middle of Rockville Center, along with about three-hundred other bars and restaurants crammed into a two block area. When we got there, there was a lot of loud and obnoxious music coming from Croxley's, so we went across the street to Waterzooi, a restaurant serving only Belgian food. They also have a large selection of Belgian beers. The staff and patrons didn't seem very Belgian to me, but what do I know. We had a tough time deciding on beers. The only Belgian beers I had had before were Stella and Hoegaarden. I decided to get an Orval, which was pretty good. Ellen couldn't decide on a beer, so she ordered a Frubee Banana beer, thinking as I did that they meant a hint of banana, like Paulaner. It was more like a banana liqueur, extremely fruity and sweet. She didn't like it so I offered to drink it. She was making funny faces so much that an employee came over and quickly stated that if she didn't like it, she didn't have to drink it. He snatched it up and took a few steps away. Turning, he asked what kind of beer she did like. She said she liked wheat beer so he brought a Hoegaarden. She was rather embarrassed to have sent a beer back, but it was more like they guy just took it. The rest of the meal was mostly uneventful. I had a steak (virtually the only thing on the menu that didn't have mussels or oysters in or on it) and Ellen had sea scallops. My steak came with frites (french fries) and the frites came with a blue cheese, as is the custom of France and Belgium. After the meal, I ordered another beer, a Blanche de Chambly. This was a most unremarkable beer, and I will have to note it so that I don't order it again. The bill was rather a shock, but then again not really. The service seemed very slow. They were not that busy, but our waitress took a long time in-between her appearances.

We proceeded to drive home on the Meadowbrook parkway, but because Ellen was listening to me, we accidently got on the Southern State and it took a long time to get home. That combined with slow service at the eatery resulted in us getting to my house rather late.

All in all, I'm not a great big fan of Rockville Center other than its beer selection.

Deer Sketch

Some memorial day weekend photos

Thunderbird Hearse

I even read books

I just finished John Steinbeck's Travel's With Charley, the closest thing to a novel that I have read since high school. I find myself lacking critical appraisal of the work other than neanderthal notions such as "I liked it" or "Yes, that is very true." The most I can give in response to reading it are observations, a fact that is altogether appropriate to such a book. While I was reading it it seemed like a travelogue without a narrative thread. You could have almost taken one section and moved it to another place in the book without any problem aside from geographic discontinuity. As I read through the last chapter though it became apparent that there was something building in the book. While the incidents external to him are almost interchangable, it is the way he feels about travel that takes a definite course as he crosses the country and comes home. This is where the "Yes, that is very true" part comes into play. I enjoyed his disclaimers about the objectivity of his experiences being tainted by one thing or another, be they prior knowledge or pressing needs to travel quickly. I'd like to take the trip myself someday. It will be different from his, or course, but he already made that point in the book. I wonder what kind of startling similarities I would find...

My father and I

Food Box: Go or No Go?

Eatery Review: The meat we found in the basement.

I came home from work today starving hungry, as all I'd eaten was a peanut butter sandwich and a granola bar. I search for food in the refrigerator, then in the cabinets. Finding only slack-jawed capers, I turned to the food room in the basement (a veritable warehouse of creamed mushroom soup and kitchen sponges). The only edible item there, other than four metric tons of brownie mix, was a single can of Treet, a 99¢ brick of mechanically separated goodness. This example was no less than four years old. Dave and I had a discussion as to the shelf life of SPAM-like products, and it was decided that the Treet would be opened, coated with brown sugar, baked, and then eaten.

I first took a bite of a raw slice, which tasted like watered down bologna, if you can fathom such a flavor (and texture). The rest was sliced and baked in the prescribed manner (which Dave allegedly learned from a vegetarian) and was excellent. The brown sugar formed a sticky candy coating and was very sweet. I ate mine plain and also with yellow mustard and horseradish whilst Dave had his with spicy mustard. I liked it better than SPAM.

December, 1989

My father, my brothers, my cousins and I snacking in the pantry at my cousin's house.

{Post No. 600}

Bumper Sticker

Click image for larger version.

News Flash

Brian performs massive updates to his flickr photo stream

Saludos Amigo!

Here's a happy fellow for you. My brother has been buying (on eBay) old phonograph players that were manufactured by my grandfather.