Stories of Hobo Village

Technical Matters

2006-08-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

As part of my plan to ramp up production at Thinkerer Studios, I have been investigating video editing software. I am presently testing this shareware version:
AVS Video editor
It costs $40US. (Windows only, I think.) It goes beyond Windows Movie Maker (free in Windows). It works with most common formats, including. mov, so we can exchange edited and compressed vids across the Mac-Win barrier. It also offers some additional features effects not available in WMM.

I have also tried Pinnacle ($100). It would not show vid on my new machine and noted that my graphics card was too new to be qualified. It explained how I could degrade the performance of my system so that Pinnacle might work. This puts it in my “YOU KNOW YOU’RE STILL IN GEEKSVILLE WHEN…” box. I don’t open that box till I have to.

I am also testing Streamload, a place that offers off-site storage. So far, it seems cheap and workable. Slow on upload, But 25 G for 10/per month is a good price. You can get 5G free, with a limitation that you can only download 100MB in any month.

If I put stuff on Streamload, I can give someone else access to it. Thus, I could, for example, put a draft version online and let someone else do the final edit. The .avi files for a 6 min. vid could easily run 10 G. Not very practical to transfer A draft file in compressed form would probably be about 100 Megs. Practical for BBand.

Putting these things together means that we have wide range of collaborative options.

Publicity for the SL players.

2006-08-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

With Thinkerer Studios on the ground (next to Hobo Village), we are ready to start using it. The casting office asks that SL players contact Thinkerer Melville to get stills for their casting and publicity posters. TM already has stills of Zed Drebin and Absinthe. The stills will be set up as posters around the Thinkerer lot. In addition to stills, we would like to have a publicity blurb about the pictured avatar. For some suggestions or examples, visit the studio’s roof-top office and click on any posters you see there.

Who are the SL players? Tautology. Whoever has a poster up.

Note that I said avatars. I need to distinguish between an avatar and the person who operates it. A person can have multiple avatars and an avatar can be operated by more than one person. I have Sam the Sham, for example. I will put up a poster of Sam. I will probably not put up a poster of Thinkerer, because Thinkerer has other jobs. Similarly, Xenon has an avatar named Catherine of Argon. We will put up a poster of Catherine. Xenon is also working on Marta Stewpot. We will probably have a poster of Marta.

Sam the Sham is fully transferable. Thus, Sam may be operated by different people at different times. I working on other character AVs that will also be transferable.

At a later time I will be arranging for ways to present (market) skills of the people who contribute to the productions of Thinkerer Studios. Examples of contributions include operating avatars, camera work, vid editing, directing (audio and vid), audio editing, voice acting, and story development.

At present, these things will be used in story conferences. As we consider stories, we will have our resources (the AVs) in front of us. Later, some people may visit to look for talent. Eventually, people may even be willing to pay for such services. Of course, I usually underestimate the amount of time it will take for the Muggles to catch on. So don’t quit your day job.

At any rate, that is my main objective with Thinkerer Studios. Identify, develop, present, and market creative talent.

Shooting starts on VIEW!

2006-08-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

Kronos and I have started shooting on the “The View from Then.” We have an assistant who is interested in getting into this racket. He helped us keep track of things and (this time) got a bit part standing by the side of the road chatting with Thinkerer. (Thinkerer has no role in the story, but needs to appear in a shot from time to time to accommodate tagging. Well, it worked for Alfred Hitchcock.)

Since I have started to do scripted vids, I should make some distinctions. The vids I have been making are reasonably called ad hoc. Since I didn’t have actors or stories, I got vids of opportunity and did what I could to make them a little interesting. I expect to do more of these. I will probably call them Thinkerer’s Travels when I write my complete autobiography.

In praise of Ad Hoc vidding. The advantage of ad hoc vids is that you can do them with few resources and little skill. (You noticed!) Other people can look at them and say “I can do that.” Or even, “I can do better than that.” I hope that people not only say it, but do it.

That said, I don’t intend be limited to the ad hoc genre. I am most interested in using SL as a medium for telling stories (including educational and/or humorous stories). That leads to scripted vids, as illustrated by VIEW and the shot list in:
How to succeed in vidding when you don’t know what you’re doing.

As the link title suggests, I also intend to give people some guidance (mainly examples) in how to develop a story and turn it into a story vid. But I won’t talk about that. (If talking were waking, people would get farther.)

The View from Then

2006-07-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

Formerly Boy Fishing. Now has shooting schedule. I have changed plans on how to handle remote collaboration because of limitations of the blog format. David Laundra showed me how to do a shot list the way the big boys do. I decided that the communication on this could best be done in html. So I have posted the shot list on my website under the (new) section title:
How to succeed in vidding when you don’t know what you’re doing.
(My title. David knows what he is doing. But I want to speak to the intellectually dispossesed masses who know even less than I do.)

David is now set up on Skype, so he and I will use it for an audio conference on the shot list today and for talk during the shoot. I will then be able to set busy and turn off the bottom UI.

Over time, I will move all the blog material about Boy Fishing to my website. And put in a storyboard, even though it is too late to help this time. It will thus serve as an example of how we did a story in SL, going from story idea to shot list. Maybe some notes on the shooting. And a link to the final product.

This means that the page contents in the link above will change to an overview, but all the material there now will stay, reached by links from this page.

EEGG content plans

2006-07-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Xenon is developing the character of Marta Stewpot. Marta is modeled after Martha Stewart in appearance and demeanor. Examples can be found at:
Videos of Martha Stewart. If this search link has expired, you should be able to get it with a new search at CBS News.

I am developing a new character, Antonio Claun, as Marta’s assistant. My source for Tony is Harpo Marx. (The secret of creativity is drawing on good sources.) The av will look like a clown. And be transferable, because I don’t want to take vid and play Tony at the same time.

Tony is mischievous, irreverent, and authority-blind (not defiant, just can’t see the power of authority.) As her assistant on stage, he will contrast with her prim, authoritative, didactic performance.

Each vid will be a skit. The skit will open (voice over title) with Marta reprimanding Tony about something relevant to the topic and designed to elicit interest+ curiosity:
“Get that cleaver out of you head, Antonio. I do want them to see it until cover that topic.”

Tony will not speak. He may communicate with the audience by releasing cartoon bubbles, as I presently done by Pinky. I suppose he will wear an invisible thought bubbler.

The skit will end with some amusing use of the instructional content, as in Tony setting himself on fire.

The Mystery of the Big Pipe

2006-07-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is a quickie scenario to demo the use of the Treasure Hunt model. There is an oil rig in the water near Hobo Village. It has a big pipe running to shore just a pistol shot down the beach for Hobo Village. That is the setting for the story.

Characters: Barbara (last name TBD). She is about 16. Much like Nancy Drew, but more assertive. She is good looking but not beautiful. She dresses in ways that do not attract attention. Her actions will be much like Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew.

James (same surname as Barbara). He is her younger brother, about 14. To imagine his role, think Series of Unfortunate Events. Combine that with robin in the old Batman series. Add in what you would expect of these kids as older sister and younger brother.

Opening scene: James finds the pipe, calls in Barbara. They start to explore asking question about why it is here, what it is for, whether it is in use. (The treasure, at this point is a resolution to those questions.) The fly along the pipe, above and below the water. (The may find some clues here.) Soon they see in the distance a What-is -that? As they approach they see the platform and verify that the pipe comes from it.

Now they have a set of questions about the platform. They fly to the water level landing and climb the stairs. They investigate the platform. They note that the machinery is in operation, but wonder what it I doing. If it were pumping oil, the oil should be flowing through the pipe. But it is not.

This vid probably ends with the discovery that it is pumping wooden boxes. A conveyer belt carries them into another room, where they vanish. This vid probably ends with this discovery and the obvious question it raises.

I don’t know the final resolution of the story. Usually this pattern suggests some kind of misdirection (Doyle, “The Red Headed League”). But I leave plans for finishing it to the future. If people like the first episode, we might make more. And making more might depend on cooperation from the Lindens (who own the build).

I see Xenon as playing Barb. Maybe we can get Zed to debut as James. James will have the adult male voice, but needs a touch of adolescence. And maybe an occasional break. I can try but I am hoping Zed can do it.

I will want us to develop a more detailed scenario, with all the cue points specified. Then I will write a rough dialog script. We will have to work carefully on this, as it will have to carry the story. I will want to make a shot list, though not nearly as elaborate as the one for boy fishing.

Thinkerer Studios

2006-07-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

A ground breaking event. I just bought some land next Hobo Village (other side of the bridge). I will be setting up various activities related to our vid activities. Pictures of all our stars (current and prospective). Sets (such as the one for Marta). A Prop Box with most of the props used in the vids. Some way for people to get into the vids. I might post a notice:

Open casting call: Improvs. Show us what you got. If it looks good on vid, we put it on YouTube. Improvs start at (time).

Xenon note: this derives from your idea. See what else you can do with it.

The land will be available for sets by other people, after I figure out how to do it. I expect Xenon will tell me

EEGGs technical stuff

2006-07-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some technical plans, Xenon sent me in a note card. The content below is slightly revised as result of a Skype meeting I had with her.

Word of caution. Note cards are not always correctly handled if recipient is off-line. This may be a particular risk if the system goes down in the meantime. Best route for blog members: post it as a separate post. If you put it in a comment, you need to send e-mail to the people you want to see it. Comments from blog members do not produce any notification to other people. I you post a new item, I will see it (via RSS) within a few hours.

Goals (If you don’t know your goals, you won’t know when you’ve won.)

Learners will be able to:

- copy an object (Take copy, as in that command)
- find the object in inventory (Find by search, using the name of the object)
- bring the object out of inventory (Rez the object)
- Open contents of the package object (Using open command, not edit)
- copy/move contents to inventory (Using relevant command after open)
- find objects copied/moved to inventory (with search, again)
- wear a wearable object (using wear command)

Objectives of video
During the video, learners will:
- Observe the detailed user-system interactions for copying an object
- Observe the detailed user-system interactions for finding the object in inventory
- Observe the detailed user-system interactions for rezzing/bringing the object out of inventory
- Observe the detailed user-system interactions for opening contents of the package object
- Observe the detailed user-system interactions for copying/moving contents to inventory
- Observe the detailed user-system interactions for finding objects copied/moved to inventory
- Observe the detailed user-system interactions for wearing a wearable object

Notes. Observe is all we can say happened it the viewer watched the video. The expression detailed user-system interactions implies that we display a readable menu and illustrate the user action.

Concepts/Considerations/prerequisite skills:

> What is inventory and how to view by search.
SE: Open inventory is a prerequisite, but will be partly to thoroughly known by our prime audience. They met the operation during introduction. And they must bring with them (to SL) the more general concept of opening folder on the desk top. I favor brief mention of Inventory as folder and display of bottom bar with some action on the Inventory item.

> Concept of rezzing,
SE: Not clear what the concept is. Act of rez is in the objectives. Event will be in the vid. Once the object is rezzed, the relevant concept seems to be object rather than rez. Perhaps you mean conditions of rez, such as permissions and whether the system accepts your placement.
-
?? how to tell if you can rez an object by looking at the menu bar title (based on sim permissions)??
SE: I favor brief mention of restrictions as existing, no details. Advice to learner: If you get the EEGG at Hobo Village do you try-outs there. You can rez there and things will stay for a while.

> Moving v copying to inventory
SE: Need more detail. What is the distinction they need to understand?

> Mention no copy objects, show floating tab
SE: Can do as part of showing Free to copy. designation.

> Differentiate between wear and attach - mention in this vid, maybe cover attach in a follow up vid.
SE: We will need to mention this distinction at the menu choice point. And say the words that delight all learners, “We’ll skip attach for now. You can find out about it later.”

Comment from SE: This section represents things we need to think about. How we handle them depends on whether they are parent skills (prerequisites), sibling skills (may be useful along with), or child skills (what you can learn them next).

Next steps: Task Analysis for objectives

Zed, Teller of Tales

2006-07-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Now comes into our midst Zed Drebin, the Teller of Tales. He is a member of Starfleet, SLQ and will probably be working with us on a series of stories in the Galaxy System. I have in mind a “detective story” model, subset of the Treasure Hunt model I posted about earlier.

Zed already has some story elements in mind. He told them to the Starfleet people a few weeks ago. I hope he will tell them again here. I don’t think we can challenge a story like that yet. But notice that last word. Yet. One of my favorite words.

Stories: the treasure hunt model

2006-07-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

SQUIRE TRELAWNEY, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17__ and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof.

So begins one of the best known adventure stories in the English language. Awkward language. Strunk and White would see it as a horror story. But notice that opening. The birthmark of the treasure hunt model. The hook is in the first paragraph.

Why do I bring up the treasure hunt model here? (Choose one)
1. It fits well with the vid structure.
2. It works well for adventure, detective, mystery, and sci-fi stories.
3. I plan to work with Zed Drebin on a story that will use it.
4. It presents a model for educational presentations that I may use with Xenon Darrow.
5. All of the above.

Here is a quick summary of the treasure hunt model:
The story opens with something that evokes curiosity and suggests important things to come.
The story continues in short chapters, with each chapter resolving some issue and disclosing more things to be curious about. Except for the last chapter, when everything is resolved.

To work with this model, we need an overall scenario with a treasure, a set of clues that take you to the treasure, and a treasure (resolution) that will be worth the quest. In a detective story, this might be discover the murder or prevent the crime. In an adventure story, this might be to reach the treasure. In an educational context, the best widely available example would be Myth Busters.

And in the context of a blog about story vids, the resolution is set of vids that tell a story. And what does that have to do with education? Maybe that is one of those issues yet to be resolved.

Boy fishing, shot list, closure (10)

2006-07-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

Story objective: Show plot event: closure. Man jumps into car, showing decision and rejuvenation.
Location: Hobo village. Near bridge-out sign.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: Car is parked as he left it. Road obstacles are gone.
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot. has left the drum and is approaching car. Completes approach and jumps into car. Camera sees that he is barefoot (during jump). Once in car, turns it around and goes back the way he came. Dissolve to credits as he drives to distance.
Camera: View is probably from near the drum. Tagged. Follows man and car.
Notes: We need to be sure we get a good shot of the bare feet. If needed, I will pull a .jpg from the sequence and cut it back in for a more emphatic shot. We may do this shot out of sequence, right after Shot 2. So the Kronos car is still in place.
I an not sure we will use the car driving off. As I watch it (in my head), I am coming to like the image of a freeze (JPEG) as we see the jump and bare feet. Maybe zoom in on feet. Fade to white and roll credits. I think we should take the raw vid to leave both options. Then make final decision when we can look at it.
Audio; Suburban sounds. Wind. Car. Happy voices (like party) play over the credits.

No 10. Glance shots
Story objective: show back thinking, recall of bridge.
From near car, View of roard he came in on.
Time: 10 sec.

No. 10. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
View into car.

Boy fishing, shot list, close, 9

2006-07-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Story objective: Show plot event: resolution. Letter goes into burning drum.
Location: Hobo village. Near red boxcar.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is, except fire drum is visible.
Time: 10 sec.
Character:/action: No person. Letter falls into fire in drum.
SL special effects. One version of letter prop (Prop PT letter) has physics and temp rez. For realistic fall, multiple tries
Camera: looking into drum as letter falls.
Notes: Letter is dropped from above camera view. My tests show that if av stands at invisiguard, Av can drag PropPT letter to a point apparently above the drum and the letter will drop realistically. Letter may escape from drum during fall, but not in camera view.
Audio; Suburban sounds. Wind. Possibly crackling fire..

No 9. Glance shots
Story objective: None

No. 9. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
None

Boy fishing, shot list, resolution and closure (No 8)

2006-07-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Story objective: Show plot event: resolution. Man leaves letter to burn.
Location: Hobo village. Near red boxcar.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is, except fire drum is pressent.
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot, carrying letter, walks from bridge, past end of boxcar, toward car. About two pauses to show hesitation. Voice reads part of letter. Finally (with determination, no pause), he walks toward burning drum and holds it toward the drum. Stop mark is invisiguard. Will stop him at drum. Cut
Animation: TBD by David, drawing from anim used in Lip Flap.
Camera: View from near the burning drum. Tagged. Follow man (side view). Probably looking toward Hobo Village (and away from road).
Props: Invisiguard to keep man from walking into drum. I will place. Actor can set highlight transparent to see location.
Notes: May try to show hand empty. But not important. Be sure car is in place if the shot will show the where car was. SE remember to remove invisiguard along with drum.
Audio; Suburban sounds. Faint voice reading from the letter again.

No 8. Glance shots
Story objective: show intent
Look down into burning drum. (No av visible)
Time: 10 sec.

No. 8. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
Hobo village from near drum.

Boy fishing, shot list, Middle 7

2006-07-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

No: 7
Story objective: Show plot event: boy leaves bridge. Reverts to adult.
Location: Hobo village. Bridge. Near and on land.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is, except fire drum is visible.
Time: 30 sec.
Character:/action: Boy, approaching land. May have moved a few feet since last shot.
Costume: (after morph) As in shot 1, except that man is barefoot. (Not shown on camera till shot 10.)
Boy is still carrying the pole. Pauses as he steps off bridge, Morphs back into man. Pole is gone, replaced by letter in his right hand. Fish gone. Cut
New prop: Letter for wearing. Ready. Named: PropAt Letter
Camera: View from far side of bridge to show burning drum in background. Follow boy (tagged, side view).
Notes: This morph may be done with cut and dissolve because of changing attachments. After morph, camera does not see man’s feet until end of shot 10.
Audio; Waterfront sounds, merging into suburban sounds. Faint voice reading from the letter again.

No 7. Glance shots
Story objective: show back thinking, recall of bridge.
From end of bridge, look out over bridge and water (sun setting).
Time: 10 sec.

No. 7. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
Hobo village from morph point.

Planning for EEggs

2006-07-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Xenon and I talked about the EEgg project. Here are some summary thoughts I got from the discussion.

The Lindens may be willing to provide support. Xenon will contact them on that. I will write some of our plans as I would for a proposal, highlighting items of interest to Linden Labs and noting why we need support

Xenon is working on Marta Stewpot. That will include av appearance and clothing. Since Marta is a TV personality, she will need a variety of clothes. She may complain (as if off camera, but audible) about her wardrobe. That would be part of her perfectionism. Lindens: We need a costume budget.

Xenon is also working on Marta’s character and speech patterns. My main suggestion is, don’t be subtle. Subtle may work in an hour show, but it will go nowhere in 6 minutes. One characteristic that I recommend is that she jumps all over terms like noob, nuby, or other slang terms that are sometimes applied to recent arrivals. She considers these terms politically incorrect. We will need to give her an acceptable term. And it won’t end in “challenged.”

For educational purposes, we will need to specify learning objectives and current skills. People bring with them some preliminary skills. What will we assume and what will we teach? We probably ought to start with a list of all the skills needed early in SL. I am asking Xenon to start looking for such a list. Probably by asking Linden Labs. If they have no such list, that will point up a need for supporting our project: if we can’t find a list, we till have to make one. TBD.

Some of our demonstrations will require working with menus. I am inclined to display menus as textures on prims. One such prim might rise up out of the ground, or emerge thru the (phantom) wall of the set. Possibly to the monolith theme from 2001 (thus spake Z…) I have made some test versions and show readable results. Final versions, I will do with green screen, and make the green transparent. I may mark up the menus to show key points. I will probably include menus as objects in the EEgg.

Someone might walk on them in the vid. One point here is that people remember places more effectively than they remember words. I will explore the possibilities

For our first production, we are looking for things that a person could wear in an interesting way. I have already picked fire as the closing shot (Sam the Sham becomes burning man.) We might use the bracelights at Hobo City. We would like to find others, preferably free to copy or things we make ourselves. . Another budget item here. We might buy the full rights (copy/modify, transfer) to something we want in a vid.

Action Items Selby
Develop ways of presenting menus that are interesting on video.
Identify needed budget items: Props. Costume. Extras (performance fee).
Look for interesting (novel) things a person can wear.
Think of non-pejorative terms to apply to recent arrivals

Action Items Xenon
Continue working on Marta character.
Look for, ask for, list of relevant skills in SL. (what is taught nat the intro sites?)
See if Lindens are interested in giving budget. See what they want as request/proposal.
Identify needed budget items
Look for interesting (novel) things a person can wear.
Think of non-pejorative terms to apply to recent arrivals

Boy fishing, shot list, Middle 6

2006-07-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

No: 6
Story objective: Show plot event: time passes. Boy quits fishing, starts back.
Location: Hobo village. Bridge. Near area where all side-boards are missing.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is from shot 5, except that box is moved and boy sits on it.
Time: 30 sec.
Character:/action: Boy is seated on box, still fishing.. Boy leaves position, pauses (hesitation, reluctance) walks back toward land. Cut part way down the bridge.
New prop: several fish, on stringer, attached to boy’s hip. (I have to make these. No detail, no close-up. TBD)
Camera: View from off the side of the bridge, as before. Tagged. Follow boy as he starts back.
Notes: We need to work on details of stand up from box. Boy is likely to fall into water. Move farther back? Put up barrier? Cut out the fall? We will test. TBD.
Audio; Waterfront sounds (seagulls, boar horn, waves lapping).

No 6. Glance shots
Story objective: show forward thinking, return to reality.
Time: 10 sec.
View back to shore, end of red boxcar. (Be sure fire drum is still in place.)

No. 6. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
Hobo village from bridge on boy’s path.

Boy fishing, shot list, Middle 5

2006-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

No: 5
Story objective: Show plot event: start fishing.
Location: Hobo village. Bridge. Near area where all side-boards are missing.
Scene: There is an incidental box near the fishing mark. I will put up invisible board to keep boy from falling over.
Time: 40 sec.
Character:/action: Boy, just morphed. Position continuous with previous shot. Boy walks to invisible board. (It will serve as mark.) Boy stops and fishes. We keep shooting till we get a good shot of caught fish on bridge. Cut before fish flops into water.
Camera: View from off the side of the bridge (about like previous vid). Tagged (no visible Thinkerer.). Follows boy as he hits fish mark. View is just off frontal at fish mark.
POV alt view from behind boy at start mark. No tag. Fix camera and he walks to long shot.
Prop: Box near fish mark. I have and will place as needed.
Notes:
Audio: Waterfront sounds (seagulls, boat horn, waves lapping).

No 5. Glance shots
None

No. 5. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
Hobo village from fishing mark.
Water front area in front of boy.
Off-shore area from fishing mark.
Fish flopping on bridge.
Wide shot of boy fishing or boom shot down on boy fishing (from back)

Boy fishing, shot list, Middle 4

2006-07-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

No: 4
Story objective: Show plot event: move onto bridge. Take pole, morph into boy.
Location: Hobo village. Area between red boxcar and fishing pole on bridge.
Scene: As is, except that there will be a second fish pole, placed (and owned) by actor. And drum should still be in place in case its position is incidentally visible.
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot passing red boxcar. Position continuous with previous shot. Letter no longer in hand. Prot continues on bridge, stops at fish pole. Takes (owned) fish pole. Wears fish pole. Morphs into boy. Cut with boy standing.
AV: Typical boy, about 12. Blond will help. Kronos has AV
Costume: (for boy) Huck Finn appearance. Kronos has clothes and shape.
New prop: Fish pole. Prot places owned pole ahead of shot. Then takes it so it vanishes on camera
Camera: View from bridge Tagged. Following prot as he approaches camera (front view)
POV alt1: View from far side of bridge, with Hobo Village in background. Follow Prot tagged.
POV alt2: View from bridge. Tag the bridge near fish pole. Let Prot walk into close shot.
Notes: Check on need for box described in shot 5. We will probably do the morph at least twice. This will work well if the asset server is not too loaded. We may want to set the time of the show to avoid the heaviest loads.
Audio; Suburban sounds: Dog barking in distance, bird calls, merging into waterfront sounds (seagulls, boar horn, waves lapping). Voices in head fade as he walls onto bridge. Vanish completely when he morphs.

No 4. Glance shots
Story objective: Emphasize Prot noticing pole
Time: 15 sec.
Camera: From boxcar mark. Tag fish pole and zoom in on it.

No. 4. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
Hobo village from bridge. POV of man near fish pole.

Boy fishing, shot list, Middle 3

2006-07-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

Boy fishing, voices in head, speech script

2006-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here are my current ideas on the speech script. These are independent items, so they could be voiced independently and posted on the Laundra site. One mp3 file would be best.

The order here is not relevant. I will use (and reuse) the clips to arrange the audio track. These are all voices in the man’s head. He is recalling or imaging what the people (might) say. Note that these voices are prominent as he drives up. They diminish (volume down as at distance) and vanish as he goes on the bridge. The are not heard as he returns, except for the one about prompt reply, which is heard just before the letter toss.

Business voice (reading from letter): We believe this offer is a substantial advance in your career.

Business voice (reading from letter): We have been impressed by the work you have been doing in your current position.

Business voice (reading from letter): We will need a prompt reply.

Business voice (reading from letter): We hope you will find this an attractive offer.

Man’s voice (informal, worried): It’s a long commute. I wouldn’t get home till late.

Man’s voice (informal, worried): Maybe we could move closer.

Man’s voice (irritated): Damn! Why can’t they keep their hay on the truck?

Man’s voice (irritated): Damn! Why do they let those rock haulers on this raod?

Man’s voice (informal, worried): I’m still in the middle of the Benton project. Who could take over?

Man’s voice (informal, worried): Joe could take over. But I don’t think he’s really ready.

Man’s voice (informal, worried): Nobody around Saturday. Maybe I can get the project in shape for Joe to take over.

Man’s voice: (dragging from memory) I’ve been here before. (wistful, hint of regret) But it’s been a long time.

Wife’s voice (concerned): If we move there, we’ll be in a different school district.

Wife’s voice (concerned): If you commute you’d be an hour later. I’d have to feed the kids earlier.

Boy’s voice (probably done by female): When can you play catch with me, Dad?

Boy’s voice (probably done by female): When can we go fishing, Dad?

Teen girl’s voice (matter of fact): Dad, can you help me with an algebra problem now?

I think these will tell the story. But I am open to more suggestions. And I understand that actors work their own phrasing. Repeats with variation are fine.

Boy fishing, shot list, opening 2

2006-07-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

No: 2
Story objective: Show plot event, forced to stop at Hobo Village
Location: Calleta: Approach to bridge-out sign at Hobo village
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot, driving car, sees hay bales (or large rocks) blocking road. Stops. Cut after stop.
New prop: hay bales or large rocks to block road. I have both and will put them out as needed.
Camera: view from behind, Tagged. Following car
Alternative POV: view from far side of road. Including Hobo Village.
Notes: Car may drive up to the bridge-out sign to use it as stopping mark. Car will stop there if moving slowly. Mark car left wheel spots with invisiprims. Car (owned by actor) will be collected by cleaning routines. I can place car with tag to stay. Since Kronos has modified car, he will need to give me his version if (when) I have to place car.
I was going to use hay bales. but now think about using rocks and using the title “Sermons in Stones.”
Audio; Sound of car. Voices in head. Add frustration from prot about having to stop “with all I’ve got to do.” Indication that he remembers the place from earlier time and that he will get out to look around.

No 2. Glance shots
A. Story objective: Emphasize obstacles in road
Time: 15 sec.
Camera: On road, about where Prot’s eyes would be. Sees objects in the road.
Audio; Sound of car. Voices in head, described in earlier blog. Probably cursing object I nroad.
B. Story objective: Show Prot remembering bridge and Hobo Village.
Time: 15 sec.
Camera: In eye position. Looks to right at Hobo Village and bridge. Camera traces bridge outward toward fishing spot.
Note: check on need for box out on bridge, cited in shot 5.
Prop: Car, burning drum.
Audio: Voice in head: “I’ve been here before. But it’s been a long time”

No. 2. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
Close up of bridge out sign. (Still)
View of Hobo Village from road. As from moving car. Try in moving car with another driver.

NOTE: Get shot 10 here, with car still in place.

Boy fishing, shot list, opening 1

2006-07-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

No. 1
Story objective: Establish main character, Prot (temp name).
Establish conflict situation: job offer versus family and work responsibilities. Establish letter (visually). Establish story-telling mode: voices in head.
Location: Occulea road toward Calleta.
Lighting: Set to noon. Same till shot 6.
Time: 35 sec.
Character:/action: Prot, driving car toward CalletaAV: Man, about 38, average height and shape.
Costume: Casual. Appropriate for middle class man on Saturday driving to workplace to do extra work. TBD. Continue till shot 4.
Camera: view from behind, Tagged. Following car
Alternative POV: Moving scenery without car in shot.
Prop: car. Open convertible, not fancy. Available and useable.
Notes: May not be able to do this in one shot because of problems controlling car. May try transparent barrier to get more control on car. May use moving scenery shot. I may be able to get better control of the car with a different script I have found. May try to turn off car's script and attach it to me to get more control over motion.
Audio; Sound of car. Voices in head, described in earlier blog. These are not closely keyed to the action.

No 1. Glance shots
Story objective: Establish plot element: letter
Time: 15 sec.
Camera: Above. Shows letter on seat beside prot.
Prop: letter. Business letter. Available and useable
Notes: Timed to match voice reading the letter.
Audio; Sound of car. Voices in head, described in earlier blog.

No. 1. Cut-away shots
Objective: cover cuts. Allow timing adjustments.
Drivers POV of hands on steering wheel and the road ahead
Camera moves into road ahead, no car visible.

Boy fishing, story view

2006-07-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have decided that the shot list is too wordy to put in 3 posts (as I did before). So I will post each shot separately and put in an overview first.

No. 1
Story objective: Establish main character, Prot (temp name).
Establish conflict situation: job offer versus family and work responsibilities. Establish letter (visually). Establish story-telling mode: voices in head
No: 2
Story objective: Show plot event, forced to stop at Hobo Village
No: 3
Story objective: Show plot event: move from car toward bridge. Establish burning drum.
No: 4
Story objective: Show plot event: move onto bridge. Take pole, morph into boy.
No: 5
Story objective: Show plot event: start fishing
No: 6
Story objective: Show plot event: time passes. Boy quits fishing, starts back.
No: 7
Story objective: Show plot event: boy leaves bridge. Reverts to adult.
No: 8
Story objective: Show plot event: resolution. Man leaves letter to burn.
No: 9
Story objective: Show plot event: resolution. Letter goes into burning drum.
No: 10
Story objective: Show plot event: closure. Man jumps into car, showing decision and rejuvenation.

Revised shot list calls for costume specs, cut-away shots, glance shots, and alterative camera viewpoints. I added this last item because I realized that there is almost no cost to extra takes in SL. So we can consider alternative views and take them if they look promising. Don’t have to use them. Might cut between them.

Possible titles:
Sermons in Stones (stones block car)
The View from Then.
(We have a while yet before we fix the title.)

Selby’s action items:
Find clothes for man. (They are in my head. I just have to find something to match.)
Finalize methods of car control. (Have several, Just need to find best.)
Make string of fish for Huck
Post next version of shot list
Review shot list (separately) from POV of storyteller, director, cameraman, editor, and vierwer.
Review, write, and finalize script for voices in head.

David’s action items
Review Selby’s revised shot list.
Consider options on voices in head:

Man (David) does it all, talking to himself about letter, offer, attractiveness of offer, responsibilities to current job, concerns of wife and kids.

Man and wife (David and wife) do it. He is remembering or anticipating wife’s reaction. No necessarily dialog. Maybe separate (and separable) speeches. And not necessarily in logical order. They could be reused.

We get voices for each person (man, wife, letter, current supervisor, teen daughter, son just before voice change, about the age of our Huck.)

The lat one is stronger, but hard to cast. In the first two we have to make the words establish the age of the boy. (Maybe just mention his baseball team.)

Look this stuff over to see what Selby left out.

Cut-away shots and glance shots

2006-07-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Kronos: You’ve probably thought about this but since I didn’t see it in the blog entry I thought it might be worth mentioning how valuable cut away shots can be.

A cut away is a shot which does not include the actor or only a small detail of the actor. It might be a close up of an object or a shot of the scenery, something that relates to the story.

SE: No, I had not thought if it. I did pick up a related idea from the Lip Flap vid. The dialog mentions a missing shoe. The lady looks down and the camera shows the feet that she sees. I will call this a glance shot (maybe there is a standard name). This is a storyteller’s concept. It is used to help tell the story. I did put one of those in the shot list, a shot of the letter on the seat of the car. That was after I realized that the visual letter has a big role at the end and should be established visually at the beginning.

I see the value of both kinds of shots and will rework the shot list to include them in the schema I am using for shot lists in SL video work. I am taking the view that glance shots are important in telling the story, while cut-away shots are mainly to help the video editing by covering transitions. The can also help in time adjustments since you have some flexibility in the time the stay on the screen.

We will particularly want cut-away shots in shots 1 and 2 because the car is hard to control and we will need to cover its wanderings. We may also save ourselves time by using the driver’s POV of scenery passing. The timing on the first two scenes is driven by the time it takes for the voices in head to establish the story situation. So we don’t have to show the car all the time. I can fly down the road and collect the moving scenery.

As Kronos says, the shots are easy at the time of the shoot. And it you go back later, the scenery may have changed.

I will go back and edit my the existing posts, rather than post new versions. That way there is only one version, the most current.

Sunset Boulevard and LOD

2006-07-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Good line. And maybe suggestive. We will need a back story to give character to Marta. Perhaps she was a morning host on a local TV show in Peoria. She did shows in the Martha Stewart style. They replaced her with a show featuring weight loss pills, male enhancement, and Denture-Cream.

Now she is on our show. Not happy with the set (Hobo Village) and complaining at least once in each vid about the set, technical support, or personnel. Sam the Sham may work as an extra from time to time. And we will start with a set like the one I made for the first EEgg vid. The back screen will probably fall over in some vids to show Hobo Village. Scene contrast.

She will probably also complain about Thinkerer’s previous EEgg vid.

She is a bit of a perfectionist, but gets sympathy on that because her main concern is looking out for the interests of the viewer.

LOD. That’s learning on demand. We have VOD for video on demand. And POD, which, Creative Labs insists, stands for play on demand. So here is a slogan name for this kind on project. Ready when you are. School kids should be so lucky!

The main things we are looking for now are ideas for amusing attachments. Either existing attachments (free to copy), or ones I can make. I have a fire for the “wear fire” scene. What other available objects would make novel and amusing attachments?

Marta Stewpot, at your service!

2006-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

Xenon Darrow here, ready to assume my acting identity - Marta Stewpot! (I am ready for my close-up, Mr. Melville! - hmmmm, THAt was a little close to home!)

Regarding your comments on creating objectives prior to creating the video - that is one of the first principles of instructional systems design (ISD) - and it absolutely helps you define your module scope. Learners can only handle so much at a time - 3- 5 objectives in a module is a good rule to start with! Of course, all depends on how complicated the exercise..and other variables.

This is an exciting project to work on! Let's get this party started! :D

Xe

New Kid on the Blog

2006-07-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Xenon Darrow will be joining us on this blog. Xenon has been featured on my last 2 vids. Now she plans to take a big role in the Easter Egg product line. She will probably appear as Marta Stewpot, someone who could show us how to make picture frames out of old newspapers and coffee grounds. For the present, however, she will focus on building a fire under our EEggs.

First, I will review my vision for the EEggs line. This is for Xenon especially, but I hope for ideas from everybody. An EEgg is simply an object publicly available, free to copy, and offering something of interest or value to newcomers in SL. I have put some around Hobo village. The EEgg line of vids is intended to promote creative uses of SL by providing the relevant assets in an Easter Egg and using the vid to illustrate how to use them creatively.

My original vid in this line illustrates what I have in mind. The teaching objective was to give students the following abilities:
>>Copy a free-to-copy object.
>>Rez a copied object in a chosen location
>>Edit a rezed object into a preferred orientation and position.
>>Drop a texture (image) onto the object
>>Adjust the shape of the object and the texture positioning to display the image as desired.

I realize now that I tried to cover too much. I should have listed the objectives before doing the vid. Then I would have seen that this list is too long for a 6 min. vid. A more effective presentation, for example, would have been to do the copy-res-place objectives about three times. The first demo (take some fire, place it in the bandstand) was good. And was repeated at the end. That is a good pattern for learning and gives good closure at the end. But the instruction would have been more effective if I had repeated the pattern with two other examples, assuming that I could have found two other interesting examples.

The general pattern, then, is to pick some simple skill set that can produce a interesting result. Then design about three examples of how to produce that result. Any needed assets would be in the Easter Egg. The vid would open with Marta announcing what she is ging to show us, going to the Easter Egg (in Hobo Village), taking it, and rezzing it in some way that makes an interesting story.

My first candidate for the new Marta’s New Egg Show is to give the student these abilities:
>>Copy free-to-copy object. (Avoid assuming that the viewer has seen the previous vids.)
>>Attach a copied object to your av in some interesting way.
An example that I will probably use to close this show: Sam the Sham (see my latest vid) attaches fire to his back, then runs off the set and into the nearby water as if really on fire.

Xenon has installed Audacity and is able to make voice clips. She and I will work together on the script (probably using Skype). Then she will do Marta and I will do Sam. We will make a shot list and a tentative script for each shot. The reading time will probably drive the shot length. Then we will take the vid. If necessary, I will post the vid on YouTube as private. She can then voice her part while viewing the vid. I will do the same with my part.

It is not easy to match the timing on the vid to the timing on the audio. (For now, I am glad the lips don’t move.) I am still working on that.

Cut Aways -- Kronos

2006-07-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

[Here is a comment by Kronos It is much too important to be buried as a comment, so I am reposting it as a stand-alone. I will later post about how I am using it to revised the shot lists. --SE]

You’ve probably thought about this but since I didn’t see it in the blog entry I thought it might be worth mentioning how valuable cut away shots can be.

A cut away is a shot which does not include the actor or only a small detail of the actor. It might be a close up of an object or a shot of the scenery, something that relates to the story.

The value of the cut away is that it lets you change shots easily and can often save a sequence where you want to move from one take to another but to do so directly won’t work. The actor may be in a different position and a direct cut would be a jump cut where the position would suddenly change and be jarring to the viewer.

Student filmmakers usually don’t get it, don’t understand the value of having cut away shots until they get into the edit. For instance, the top of take 1 is excellent but then the actor flubs a line. The lines are fine in take 3 but there is no way to cut between them without a jump cut. If only there were a shot of the clock on the table by the bed, they could cut to that for a second or two and then come back to take 3 and no one would notice the switch.

Potential cut away shots for the Boy Fishing

CU of letter on the seat next to driver.
Drivers POV of hands on steering wheel and the road ahead
CU of fishing pole leaning against pier
CU of letter in hand
CU of fish flopping on pier
Characters POV of Hobo Village
Close shot on oil drum with fire
Wide shot of man standing on pier
Wide shot of boy fishing

These are just suggestions for possible cut away shots. There are an infinite number of such shots and the trick is just to remember to shoot them. Best to include suggested shots in the shot list so that the director will remember to include them. They are usually quick and easy to do and well worth the effort.

Having said that I should point out that I forgot to include any cut away shots in the Lip Flap shoot and there were places I could have used them. One short sequence was cut because I couldn’t make the angles match with a direct cut. It would have been easy to do if I’d included a few cut aways.

Boy fishing, shot list, resolution and closure

2006-07-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

No: 8
Story objective: Show plot event: resolution. Man leaves letter to burn.
Location: Hobo village. Near red boxcar.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is, except fire drum is visible.
Time: 30 sec.
Character:/action: Prot, carrying letter, walks from bridge, past end of boxcar, toward car. About two pauses to show hesitation. Voice reads part of letter. Finally (with determination, no pause), he walks toward burning drum and holds it toward the drum. Cut
Animation: TBD by David, drawing from anim used in Lip Flap.
Camera: View from near the burning drum. Tagged. Follow man (side view). Probably looking toward Hobo Village (and away from road).
Notes: May try to show hand empty. But not important. Be sure car is in place if the shot will show the where car was.
Audio; Suburban sounds. Faint voice reading from the letter again.

No: 9
Story objective: Show plot event: resolution. Letter goes into burning drum.
Location: Hobo village. Near red boxcar.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is, except fire drum is visible.
Time: 10 sec.
Character:/action: No person. Letter falls into fire in drum.
SL special effects. One version of letter prop has physics and temp rez. For realistic fall.
Camera: looking into drum as letter falls. .
Notes: Letter is dropped from above camera view. We may need to place something at drop point to let us find and repeat the correct drop point. I can modify the drum, so I will probably put a transparent, phantom stick in it.
Audio; Suburban sounds. Wind. Possibly crackling fire..

No: 10
Story objective: Show plot event: closure. Man jumps into car, showing decision and rejuvenation.
Location: Hobo village. Near bridge-out sign.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is, except car is parked as he left it.
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot. has left the drum and is approaching car. Completes approach and jumps into car. Camera sees that he is barefoot (preferably during jump). Once in car, turns it around and goes back the way he came. Dissolve to credits as he drives to distance.
Camera: View is probably from near the drum. Tagged. Follows man and car.
Notes: We need to be sure we get a good shot of the bare feet. If needed, I will pull a .jpg from the sequence and cut it back in for a more emphatic shot. We may do this shot out sequence, right after Shot 2. So the Kronos car is still in place. I an not sure we will use the car driving off. As I watch it (in my head), I am coming to like the image of a freeze (JPEG) as we see the jump and bare feet. Maybe zoom in on feet. Fade to white and roll credits. I think we should take the raw vid to leave those options. Then make final decision when we can look at it.
Audio; Suburban sounds. Wind. Car. Happy voices (like party) play over the credits.

I favor having the credits carry the professional names of professional actors (as voice-acting.)

Boy fishing, shot list, Middle

2006-07-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

No: 3
Story objective: Show plot event: move from car toward bridge. Establish burning drum.
Location: Hobo village. Area next to rail cars (where doors are open).
Scene: modified by adding drum (with fire) to right of prot as he walks to bridge.
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot standing near car and if he just go out. Walks by box cars. Stops to show curiosity at the 2 doors. Walks on toward bridge. Cut as he passes the red box car.
New prop: drum with fire. I have it and will place it for shoot.
Camera: view from side Tagged. Following prot (side view)
Notes:
Audio; Suburban sounds: Dog barking in distance, bird calls. Voices in head, but lower volume and less frequent.

No: 4
Story objective: Show plot event: move onto bridge. Take pole, morph into boy.
Location: Hobo village. Area between red car and fishing pole on bridge.
Scene: As is, except that drum is still visible in part of shot.
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot passing red box car. Position continuous with previous shot. Prot continues on bridge, stops at fish pole. Takes fish pole. Wears fish pole. Morphs into boy. Cut with boy standing.
New prop: Fish pole. (present, but prot may place his own, so it will vanish when he takes it.)
Camera: View from bridge Tagged. Following prot as he approaches camera (front view)
Notes: I think we can do this in one tagged shot, but we will need to test whether the tag will hold over the distance.
Audio; Suburban sounds: Dog barking in distance, bird calls, merging into waterfront sounds (seagulls, boar horn, waves lapping). Voices in head, fade as he walls onto bridge. Vanish completely when he morphs.

No: 5
Story objective: Show plot event: start fishing. .
Location: Hobo village. Bridge. Near area where all side-boards are missing.
Scene: As is, except I will put up invisible board to keep boy from falling over.
Time: 40 sec.
Character:/action: Boy, just morphed. Position continuous with previous shot. Boy walks to invisible board. (It will serve as mark.) Boy stops and catches fish. Cut here.
New prop: none
Camera: View from off the side of the bridge (about like previous vid. Tagged (no visible Thinkerer.). Follows boy as he hits fish mark. View is frontal at fish mark. Notes: Lets see whether the boy can sit and fish. If not, I will put out a box he can lean against.
Audio; Waterfront sounds (seagulls, boat horn, waves lapping).

No: 6
Story objective: Show plot event: time passes. Boy quits fishing, starts back.
Location: Hobo village. Bridge. Near area where all side-boards are missing.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is
Time: 30 sec.
Character:/action: Boy, fishing, as before. Position roughly continuous with previous shot. Boy leaves position, walks back toward land. Cut part way down the bridge.
New prop: several fish, on stringer, attached to boy’s hip. (I have to make these. No detail, no close-up.)
Camera: View from off the side of the bridge, as before. Tagged. Follow boy as he starts back.
Notes: none
Audio; Waterfront sounds (seagulls, boar horn, waves lapping).

No: 7
Story objective: Show plot event: boy leaves bridge. Reverts to adult.
Location: Hobo village. Bridge. Near and on land.
Lighting: Set to sunset. Continues to end.
Scene: As is, except fire drum is visible.
Time: 30 sec.
Character:/action: Boy, approaching land. May have moved a a few feet since last shot. Boy is still carrying the pole. Pauses as he steps off bridge, Morphs back into man. Pole is gone, replaced by letter in his right hand. Fish gone. Cut
New prop: Letter. Ready.
Camera: View from other side of bridge to show burning drum. Tagged. Follow boy (side view). Note: after morph, camera does not see man’s feet until end of shot 10l.
Notes: This morph may be done with cut and dissolve because of changing attachments.
Audio; Waterfront sounds, merging into suburban sounds. Faint voice reading from the letter again.

Boy fishing, shot list, opening

2006-07-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

No: 1
Story objective: Establish main character, Prot (temp name).
Establish conflict situation: job offer versus family and work responsibilities
Establish story-telling mode: voices in head.
Location: Occulea road toward Calleta.
Lighting: Set to noon. Same till shot 6.
Time: 35 sec.
Character:/action: Prot, driving car toward Calleta
Camera: view from behind, Tagged. Following car
Prop: car. Available and useable
Notes: May not be able to do this in one shot because of problems controlling car. May try transparent barrier to get more control on car. Maybe I should cut in a close-up of the letter, to establish it visually. Would be timed to match voice reading the letter.
Audio; Sound of car. Voices in head, described in earlier blog. These are not closely keyed to the action.

No: 1.1
Story objective: Establish plot element: letter
Location: Occulea road toward Calleta.
Lighting: Set to noon.
Time: 8 sec.
Character:/action: Prot, driving car as in shot 1
Camera: Above. Shows letter on seat beside prot.
Prop: letter. Available and useable
Notes: Would be timed to match voice reading the letter. May be at end of shot 1 or cut into it. Audio; Sound of car. Voices in head, described in earlier blog. Voice of letter keyed here.

No: 2
Story objective: Show plot event, forced to stop at Hobo Village
Location: Calleta: Approach to bridge-out sign at Hobo village
Time: 20 sec.
Character:/action: Prot, driving car, sees hay bales (or large rocks) blocking road. Stops. Cut after stop.
New prop: hay bales or large rocks to block road. I have both and will put them out as needed .
Camera: view from behind, Tagged. Following car
Notes: Car may drive up to the bridge-out sign to use it as stopping mark. Car will stop there if moving slowly. I was going to use hay bales. but think about using rocks and using the title “Sermons on Stones.” Some people will wonder where they heard that phrase.
Audio; Sound of car. Voices in head. Add frustration from prot about having to stop “with all I’ve got to do.” Indication that he remembers the place (or a place like it) from childhood and that he will get out to look around.

Future animation plans

2006-07-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Robin Linden just posted a blog on thin subject: Notes From Second Life Views: Part I

Discussion Notes: Physical Avatar
- in world poser
- expressive puppeteering

When implemented, the project would give users a much easier way to control the Av. Facial expressions are on the agenda, although they present difficult issues.

Tech Notes: Avatar’s Guide

2006-07-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

My latest vid, “Here Be Dragons,” includes a new gimmick, so I’ll explain it here. I got some good raw vid of dragon. And my dragons stories seem to be popular. So I wanted to make it into a finished vid. But I didn’t want to reuse the same (newsman) treatment. So I used and idea from Douglas Adams. (The secret of creativity is to draw on good sources.)

The result is the Avatar’s Guide to Reality, as introduced in the vid. I expect it will be a recurring character. Let’s me break up the narrative. Also fits in well with SL. I am making an object with the same image. I will carry it in later vids. I will also make it into an Easter Egg, with audio clips from the vid, an audio player script, and a note card with instructions on how to put you own clips in it. I will leave that somewhere in Hobo Village. One of the interesting things about doing these vids is that the audience can later visit the set and take a copy of the props.

I read the guide script myself (using standard voice projection and pompous enunciation), then use Audacity to drop the frequency from F to D and reshape to fft to boost the low and high frequencies. The sound I am trying for is the one you get from movie projectors when they show and instructional movie in class.

Boy Fishing, last bits

2006-06-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

We are closing in on the Boy Fishing.

Fire drum. I have one from Zander’s build. I think we can adjust it to suit.

Car: still need to test.

Voices in the head. Here are my ideas on the script. These are independent items, so they could be voiced independently and sent to me via e-mail. They are short enough to send in .wav format, but I can handle .mp3 or most others.

The order here is not relevant. I will use (and reuse) the clips to arrange the audio track. These are all voices in the man’s head. He is recalling or imaging what the people (might) say. Note that these voices are prominent as he drives up. They diminish (volume down as at distance) and vanish as he goes on the bridge. The are not heard as he returns, except for the one about prompt reply, which is heard just before the letter toss.

Business voice (reading from letter): We believe this offer is a substantial advance in your career.

Business voice (reading from letter): We have been impressed by the work you have been doing in your current position.

Business voice (reading from letter): We will need a prompt reply.

Business voice (reading from letter): We hope you will find this an attractive offer.

(I think I can do the business voice.)

Man’s voice (informal, worried): It’s a long commute. I wouldn’t get home till late.

Man’s voice (informal, worried): Maybe we could move closer.

Man’s voice (irritated): Damn! Why do they have to put hay bales in my way?

Man’s voice (informal, worried): I’m still in the middle of the Benton project. Who could take over?

(I an hoping Kronos will do the man's voice)

Wife’s voice (concerned): Will we have to pull the kids out of their school?

Wife’s voice (concerned): You’d be an hour later. I’d have to feed the kids earlier.

Small boy’s voice (probably done by female): When can you play catch with me, Daddy?

Teen girl’s voice (matter of fact): Dad, can you help me with an algebra problem now?

(I am hoping Kronos has students who can do these voices, with screen credit, of course. If not, I will try to get help from TCU students.)

I think these will tell the story. But I am open to more suggestions. And I understand that actors work their own phrasing.

Boy Fishing, Props

2006-06-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

I have been working on props and prop use for the Boy Fishing. Here’s where I am so far.

Car. I have two cars and know where to find several more. The script calls for an open car. It needs to be sufficiently well controlled so that driver can bring it smoothly down the road and park on the mark. If parking on mark is a problem, I can put up a transparent wall. Driver sets highlight transparent and drives into wall. I have not determined that the cars I have will meet the well-controlled test. But I will keep trying.

I will soon post a vid showing some cars. These are driven by michael64 Gibb. I think he has a brown truck that meets the control criterion. We can’t use that truck in this story, but scripts can be moved if we can get the permissions.

Hay bales. I have that; I will put out copies (phantom) when we need them.

Letter1. I think we need to establish this early, so we need a version the man can carry. I made one with envelope jpeg on both sides (for close up). Attached to hand, looks plausible. No script. You just attach from inventory (right click). I think this is in his hand as he walks up to fishing rod. Is replaced by rod. Reappears in his hand as walks off bridge. (Pause. Dissolve cut to cover attach.)

Letter2. We also need a letter to throw on the fire. I made this as a physical, plastic, and temporary version of Letter1. Physical plastic makes it fall realistically. Temporary makes it convenient to work with. Physical things can fall through surfaces. Temporary will last about 2 min. ( I am told.)

Throw gesture. I have a (common) gesture called pointyou that looks plausible with letter in hand. I can send if Kronos doe not have.

Fire drum. I think I need to rework one of the existing drums to be short (cut off). I would like a clear shot of the letter falling in.

Pail. For boy to carry fish in. Haven’t found one. I may make one. Not essential.

I think that's all we need. I will send prop letters to Kronos for test. I am using he convention: PropAt means prop to be attached. PropPT means prop physical and temporary.

Boy Fishing

2006-06-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

I think we are ready to start planning on this story. The title, by the way is just a working title. It telegraphs too much of the story for us to use it in the vid.

Here is my (revised) thinking: Main character is 35 year old male, married, two children. He is giving too much attention to career and career advancement. His family knows that but he does not. He is a sympathetic character. (Change from my previous idea.) His crisis now is that he has received a job offer that will eat up even more of his time. He will have less time for his family (maybe more commuting time) and he will leave his current employer in something of a lurch. But the offer is a big step up.

Open: We see him driving along the road that will pass HV. As he approaches the RR station, his way is blocked by bales of hay in the road. He parks and gets out of the car. (We do not see him jump, SL style, out of the car.) During this time, we convey the above background by voices in head.

(Note: I have checked out two free cars and doubt that they will work for us. We need to find out more about cars. I suppose I might be willing to do a vid about cars if somebody wanted to give us what we need.)

He (Kronos, this is your character. What is his name?) looks around. Head voices remind him that he has been here before. He moves past the boxcars, HV side. Passes a drum with fire (establishes it). He walks with some conflict. Head voices tell him he is wasting time. Should be doing something useful. As he walks onto the bridge, head voices pause, then resume more softly. He takes the fishing pole and attaches it. Shows it clearly. Then changes avatar in to Huck Finn. (I don’t really mean Huck Finn, just the type. He is Everyboy.) Huck is still holding pole, for continuity

Head voices get faint and fall silent as he walks to rail gap where he will fish. (I will put up a transparent bar. Kronos can see it by using highlight transparent. Kronos can just walk into it. It will stop him.) We see him catch one fish. Maybe we see him sit, if that will work with the pole. Cut. Set to sundown. Dissolve to the sundown view. He stands up. Picks up pail (if we have one), detaches pole, walks toward land. As he crosses to land he stops. Morphs back into man. We cover the morph with a dissolve. He may look just a little younger. He is barefoot, but camera does not see that yet.

The head voices are silent. He walks toward burning drum. Head voice mentions job offer. He tosses paper into the drum. (Need gesture here.) He walks back to car. Camera picks up bare feet. He jumps into car. Drives back the way he came. Fade to white.

I think that will stand by itself. Just one vid. How about it, Kronos?

Stories: Tech Notes

2006-06-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Stories. I mean the kind of things we are planning to do with Lady in White and Boy Fishing. A story has an opening, main character, character development in the middle, and closure. Character development means you get to know the character and the character changes. And you don’t do stories in one try. At least I don’t. None of the vids I have done so far qualify as stories.

The Bridges vid is potentially an introduction to stories. And I don’t figure we’ve done it in one try. I figure that after we do some of the stories, we’ll go back and redo the introduction.

Now about those takes and retakes. I assume that the first take is rehearsal. I assume that I post it, we look at it and see how we could do it better. After we think we have enough improvements, we do it again. Since I have the original clips, I will generally be able to reuse any content we like. I can re-cut the original and we need. That will work only if the scenery has not changed and we are using stored avatars.

Similar comments apply to audio. I can use audio done by someone else. In whole or in parts. I suspect I can use audio in any likely format, but we would want to do a test with some things. I know I can use .mp3 and .wav. After the first post, someone else could make new audio for the whole thing or for particular scenes. I’m hoping that Kronos will do voice acting for us. Maybe some of his students will also be interested.

I don’t think these stories will work well with just my voice-over. Other devices I think we could use:

>Stream of thought: from the head of the character (not necessarily done by the person who performs the avatar.)
>Head voices: Second person voices in the head of the character. These need to be done in appropriate voice (child, wife, parent. Etc.).
>Letter: read by plausible reader (sender or recipient).
>Narrative from character: essentially what I have been doing, but with a different voice. And done better than I do it.

Ideally, each vid (about six minutes) would be a story. A more extensive story might be told by a series of several vids. We still will want to have the story elements in each vid, but the closure needs to be forward-looking. Example: ending of the first Starfleet vid.

Starfleet Command SLQ, Rpt 1

2006-06-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

I posted another vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCUe0bZTQ70.
I don’t have much new in the SHEDIT part. The vid shows good work by zoom and tag. All I needed to know was that the shuttle was about to fly. I tagged it just before takeoff and got excellent follow. If you look close, you can see me standing uselessly on the ground while the system does the camera work.

On the writing side, I think I got some things I wanted. Frank fiction. Interesting opening. Forward teasers. Closure without ending the story. No near as good as I want. But as good as I can do now. Maybe next week…

The Pink Flamingo and the Purple Cow, More

2006-06-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Days of Whine and Roses (thanks, Kronos). I have been working on ways to show emotions in Pinky. I put in a particle script that emits hearts, flowers, and an emoticon. I put in an audio script that emits pitiful (I hope) whines. I put more (unused) emoticons in Pinky, so that feature can show additional emotions by changing the image list in the script. I am going to make thought balloons to give Pinky cognitive communication as well as emotion. I think I will rework the script so that the emissions are in a fixed (not random) sequence. Then I can write a sequence of thought balloons, as in a comic strip, to tell a story.

One episode I have in mind is: Pinky mourns that she ignores him. She won’t even give him the time of day. Then a clock appears near her. Pinky is thrilled. Floats a foot off the ground. Emits smiley faces, happy pictures, colorful particles, happy sounds. “She loves me!” Probably the next step is the slide down: “Well, at least she noticed me.” “Is the clock running?” “The clock is on the ground.” “She hates me.” “What did I do?” “How can I make it up to her?” “I think I’ll go out back and eat worms.”

This episode is in Phase 2, after Pinky gets up nerve enough to approach her.

One other thought: Maybe Kronos or one of his students would like to play voice actor for Pinky. I could put audio clips in rather than thought balloons.

The Pink Flamingo and the Purple Cow

2006-05-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Backstory: The Lindens left Zander a kiosk to offer info on giving a person some gift from SL. Hobo Village is an info hub, so that is reasonable. You can see the kiosk now across form the train station. I called it the Purple Cow. It is ugly.

What do you do with ugly? I checked with hobos in my head. No Problem. That’s what they said. Not the first ugly they have met. The did say that the would make fun of it. “A source of innocent merriment,” one of the hobos said.

So I got Zander to put it right there by the train stop. For God and everybody to see. My hobos had several ideas. The best was a reminder that I have a pink flamingo in my inventory. Now you know that a pink flamingo is the poster bird for cheesy lawn art. An ideal companion for the Purple Cow. Something that a hobo might easily find in the local trash dump.

So I rezzed it. And right away, I know the story. Pinky fell madly in love with Purp. Now I want to tell the story of Pinky trying eagerly to win the affections of Purp.

Initially, Pinky is too shy even to get close to Purp. He (yes, he) stands around looking at her from a distance. (Think Charlie Brown and the little red-haired girl.) He will go between hope and despair several times, as he thinks she may have noticed him and realizes it was something else

Initially, she is impassive. Eventually we run out of ideas for this phase. Then his eagerness brings out a “human” side of her. Giving us a new story line. She is first disdainful. Later she feels sorry for him. (“Happiness is a pat on the head.”) Eventually, she may fall in love with him. I am not sure about that. We may gather suggestions for alternative endings.

I think we will play out this story over several months. Each stage (equivalent to one panel in a comic strip) would remain posed for several days. I will take jpegs and post them on my website. Perhaps we will make a stop-motion vid when we are finished.

How do we show feelings? I talked with Zander yesterday and he suggested putting a heart on Pinky. I reworked that idea and put in a particle script, with images. Now a heart or some flowers float from Pinky about every 15 seconds. Later, we might aim the floating images at Purp. Zander will work on modifying new versions of Pinky to show emotion. I will be working with Zander to pick the emotions we need to show and to develop the mods. Conceptually, this is a straightforward step from cartooning. That does not mean it is easy. (All the easy things have already been done, anyway)

We may also use thought bubbles to tell the story. I have tried out thought bubbles generated by the particle system. The give an interesting effect. And they would give out several thoughts in the same setup. We can also put a thought bubble over a head. And put expressive sounds around. (Think R2D2.)

We can’t modify Purp, but we can make other objects associated with Purp. For example, that pat on the head would be done with cartoon hand and arm in appropriate color. Probably we could do it in 2D as texture on glass.

So there is my idea as it stands. Any suggestions?

Letters from the edge

2006-05-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

Letters from the edge
JohnHenry Holliday and I worked out a new device yesterday for the vids. I wanted to do a vid in his dentistry, but he has the information to talk about it. My first thought was audio, but he is not set up for that. The plan we worked out was letter format.

JH will provide me with a (fictional) letter written by Holliday in the early days of his practice in Dallas. The letter will mention several items in his dentistry office. I will visit his office and get clips of each item. We will want items that are historically informative and visually interesting. Probably Doctor Holliday, the AV, will act as guide here, within the limitations of AV movement.

I will read the letter over the clips. A letter conveniently establishes date and location. A letter from this time will naturally tell a story: “Here is what happened since I last wrote. Here is the situation now. Here are my hopes and expectations for the future.”

I will probably tie to the bridge for continuity of concept. Probably I find a letter on the bridge. Clearly not discarded, but brought to me by the bridge. As I open it, the scene will dissolve to the dentistry.

We might want to tell some of the other stories (or part of them) in letters. I could read or somebody else could read. This would avoid voice acting. I am not actor (and don’t even play one on TV.) Kronos can do voice acting, but I don’t know about the rest of us. So the letter device is another possibility.

Story Idea from Kronos

2006-05-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

As I watched the Kronos vid, wanted to incorporate the idea into a vid-story. Of course, this has nothing to do with Hobo Village, but we have creative control. So here is a beginning:

As it stands, this is a daydream scene. I don’t want to run it too close to the “Boy Fishing” story, and least for now. Here is a scenario I thin we could start with.

Dogs Don’t Dance
Scene: Ordinary living room. Big shaggy dog (avitar) lies on the couch. Owner (either sex) arrives. Dog greets. Owner gives brief greeting, but is obviously more interested in something else.

We now watch from over the dog’s (attentive) head: Owner rezes chair and does the dance with it. (Owner’s clothes might change to dance-appropriate, but that may be too much foreshadowing.) Owner leaves the room.

Dog hesitantly moves to chair. Movements as dog-like as possible. Dog gets chair animation and starts to dance. Dog changes to become more human like (two steps). Then, at end of dance, dog reverts to dog form. Cuts are about where Kronos put them in his clip.

Need an end, and not a downer. One element of ending is: owner puts food down, dog rushes to it. (Shows that being a dog is not a downer.) Another is some sign of change. My first thought is: Flashy collar appears on dancing dog. Flashy collar remains as dog goes to food. Camera on dog’s head, collar, and food. Hold close-up for cut to credits.

This needs a light touch. We are watching the dog’s daydream. We are saying that even dogs can daydream. I think we can do it.

I don’t know that we will need any voice-over here. The Kronos clip has music. I assume it is provided by the chair. We may have to think a little about copyright on the music. The lead here is the non-speaking dog. We may want some noises, but I can probably find them on the web. Mainly, we need somebody to be a dog and some routine animations for doglike movements.

How does this sound??

Tech notes: “Motion control” by Kronos

2006-05-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Kronos used a chair with animation to see if the motion repeats were precise enough to let him dissolve from one clip to another. In this case, he does, for example, one clip fully dressed. Then another with shirt off. A dissolve from 1 to 2, if the fit is good, will make the shirt vanish. Here is the vid: Kronos vid.

I think the results are as good as anyone needs. There are three cuts. I don’t think you could find any of them except by noticing that the clothing has changed. This is great editing. I think it means that we can use this method generally when a fixed object animates an av.

Show Notes on Easter Eggs

2006-05-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

I posted a new vid on YouTube. Title: Easter Eggs. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy_vGu3uMNQ

The vid is not closely related to the objectives of this blog. I have posted on the objectives in another blog.

On the technical side, the main find is that I tried a night vid (because it was about fire) and the results were satisfactory. I also built a set. That was partly because I needed it for the story and partly to see if I got any benefit from the new occlusion feature. I think I did see some increase in frame rate. I am not sure of the benefit, but I will probably use a set for indoor shots where possible.

The other item is a note to myself: If you have a lot to say, be sure to get enough vid to cover it.

Anyone for audio?

2006-05-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

As I looked at Anya’s suggestions, my tooth fairy reminded me of another item on my wish list.   Those vids will probably require introspective narration.  In a female voice.  Probably with appropriate emotion.
My tooth fairy is looking for a way to incorporate audio files from other people in the vid sound.  Here are the parts that I think I can handle:
Given an audio file (.wav or .mp3, probably others) of length to fit, I can put it in the audio track at the right place.
To help in preparation of the file, I can give the length (e.g.30 Sec.).  If cues are needed, I can send jpegs at given time points.  That probably would be in seconds, with some margin for error.    If we have cue critical vids, I can post a preliminary version on YouTube, with my narration.  Speaker could watch vid and do live voiceover for all or part of vid.  I could them make a new track, remake the vid and post version 2.
I could take down the first version if needed.  I would be inclined to leave it up. We are making sausage here and some of the steps will not be pretty.  But I am as interested in showing people how to make sausage as I am in a pretty result.   Give somebody a sausage and you just give them breakfast.  Show them how to make sausage and you can flood the market with sausage.  (A metaphor can get you in trouble if you follow it too long.)
The rest of the job is at the speakers place.  I use Audacity.  It is free, easy to learn, and powerful.  The one thing it does not do is export to mp3.  I have a Creative Laps Muvo.  Software that came with it transcodes from .wav to .mp3, so that’s how Ido it.  I think other mp3 players would have similar software, particularly if the have a recording capability.
I could work with a .wav file.  But some people might run into file size limits.  Since this is voice, we don’t need much fidelity, so we might get small enough files by cutting the sample rate.  There are various programs to transcode as we need, but I don’t know enough about them to offer suggestions.
I am sure we can solve all he problems, so let’s start thinking about voice over and voice acting the vids.  That will give us a reason to solve the problems.

A chat with my tooth fairy

2006-05-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have my tooth fairy handle my wish list.  That is a collection of things I wish for, but don’t expect to work for.   One of the top items in connection with this project is bypass audio with the actor.  I know that SL is working toward permissive audio inworld.  But I would probably wish for bypass (meaning outside the SL system) because inworld audio would appear on the sound track.

Bypass audio would work just like the FM ear pieces that news announcer wear so the producer can tell them what to say.  The actor(s) and I could coordinate the action off screen. I could off my UI, set busy, and have the whole screen.  All of us could concentrate on the action and capture, rather than the chat bar.

I have tried Audio messengers with Zander.  Yahoo did not work well.  MSN Messenger was adequate for communication.  The other good prospect is Skype.  I just now set up a Skype account (free).  If any one wants to use that route, you can look for me with my hotmail address.  Skype will allow conference calls, so it may be more useful in the long run.

I will keep Skype open only to people on my contact list.

If this works out, my tooth fairy will be relieved.

Waterslide: SHEDIT notes

2006-05-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Waterslide: SHEDIT notes

More tradition: New Vid: The Watery Slide of Spritely Pixel.   Here are shoot and edit notes.  (By the way, Shedit is used for search convenience.)

Nothing really new in this.  Spritely’s flyover and slide shown the power of the zoom and tag feature.  I tagged Spritely before the fly and again before the slide.   I then let the system follow him.    It did a much better job than I could have done manually.

The other thing to note is that the audio of the waves was too weak to hear.  No problem.  I dropped in some waves on my voice-over.  I find that Audacity is helpful on that.  I am building up a library of relevant sounds in a project file.  I can then load the project file and copy in the sounds I need for the voice-over.

THE LADY IN WHITE, STORY DEVELOPMENT

2006-05-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Lady in White, Story Development
I like the arc.  And I like theme of unity.  See my non-fiction comments:  Being One.  A well known unity story is “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.”   Such stories probably need a lot of introspection by the protagonist.  Hard to do in SL.  So, of course, we should do it.

The clothes change is a great plan.  Tells that part of the story fast an without talk.  I think we could do two more vids showing those parts of her character.   I don’t think we would have a story if we stop there.  Missing: character development.  These will look like three people with the same name unless we tie them together with the transition.  It would be an interesting idea, however, to present the three arc point first.  Then think about the transition parts.  There could be more than one story for the same transition.  Maybe we would make several vids for the white to black and several more for the black to bright.  Or maybe other people would make some.

One advantage we have is that we are not presenting a finished product.  The theater has the same advantage, but its products are expensive, even off-Broadway.    We don’t have to get it right the first time.  It would be great if we get it right the last time.  But, as Huck Finn knows, the catching may be more important than the frying.

Yes. Hedges in the credits.  She will probably do the bright outfit also.    (Let’s not say red.  Let’s say bright and let her think about designs that convey the feel.  Maybe we’ll do a separate style show on emotional designs.)

My Character

2006-05-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks Thinkerer for the comments and thoughts on my character and the shooting session. Here's a shot of the lady in white when first appearing:

and here's a shot of a later scene with the merry widow outift:

Nonna Hedges, the fashion designer of both outfits, saw my blog and said she is planning to update the black outift to better suit :) (She must be included in credits!)

Although these are both medium shots, it would be much better to have some really close up shots as you suggested - because all my scene was done in very far away long shot and has no emotional impact at all.

So when we fitst meet her, the Lady in White has suffered a great loss - what that was is a mystery at this stage, but it affects her so deeply she has to don an outer shell of hardness - the vulnerability we see in scene 1 is cloaked in the black "merry widow" outfit. I am thinking that the two extremes (totally vulnerable followed by totally ice-queenish) could be followed up at the end with a final scene where we see her wearing red or colour - to suggest a full narrative arc in which she comes to know and love herself again - so it is a full journey of grief, self-loathing, and then self-acceptance. It may be that she was jilted in love, it may be that her lover abandoned her, but at this stage I am more interested in the suggestion of the arc and letting people wonder and fill in the gaps for themselves. What do you think? :)

BRIDGES: SHEDIT NOTES

2006-05-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

Bridges: Shedit notes
Starting a brand new tradition here.  (I like new traditions better than old ones.)  The Bridges vid is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYyiJEtb58Y.  New tradition:  When I post a vid, I will also post whatI learned in the Shoot and Edit job.  This may help other people who are thinking about shooting vids.
Opening: I wanted a special effect to make the scene look like a painting.  Couldn’t get it from the effects offered in Win MM.  Maybe they would do in a close up.  I clipped out a frame as .jpg and worked with it in the GIMP.  That has more effects, including the “Add Canvass” option.  I liked the result of that, so I put it at the opening.  Conveniently, I could adjust the display time as I needed.  (Timing on the first part was mainly to fit the voice over.
Lady in White. Now I know I should have done a zoom to medium here.   Get better view of crying anim, avoid seeing that her train partly falls through the bridge surface, focus more strongly on her as she stands by the post.  I also think, when we reshoot it for the episode, we will want it at sunset. I will also want to rework my voice over.  I think I sounded to much like a news promo:  “What is the poison you might be feeding your family at supper?  Tune in at ten for the details.”
Boy Fishing.   I liked what we did on this.  I did use zoom here.  (For newcomers, that is hold down alt, hold down left mouse key, move mouse.)  This time I could cut out what I learned.  The boy tried to get close to the edge and fell off.  I will make a transparent bar and place it as needed to stop the av on the mark.   I think I may make other transparent prims to use as stage marks.  Actor can turn on “highlight transparent”  to use them.
I didn’t want to talk while the boy was fishing, so I dropped in a boat horn and water lapping to fill the time.
Bobby Joe.  One problem with this scene was that the horse did not trot well in side view (as captures on vid).  There may have been a timing interaction with the frame rate and the animation.  I cut out the first side view trot and started as the horse exited center stage.  Next time I will avoid side views or use the side rails to screen the leg movements.
The cut also cut into my narration time, so I overlapped the scenes.  While the boy was standing I had an unseen horse trot by on the audio track.  I also used the dissolve-appear trick here.  With the camera still I dissolved from empty bridge to horse trotting.  I think it worked  adequately to show that this is imaginary.
When the horse reached the end of the bridge, I zoomed in on him.  The zoom attaches the viewpoint to the av, so when BJ jumped, the camera followed all the way down to the submerged boxcar.
I liked seeing the boxcar so much that I had to figure out how to use it without committing the story to the jump.  You can see how I handled that (without mentioning Schrödinger’s cat).  I followed BJ off the bridge to give more emphasis to the walk away than to the jump.  Jump is short but dramatic.  Walk away is calm, but lasts longer.
Close.  Return to picture and main theme is example of closure.  I generally want to end scenes that way.  I have not done it with the ad hoc vids.  But for the ones we will script, I will want to have an ending that ties to the opening.  And, except for the last episode, ties to the next episode.
----All life is art.  It is just that not all people appreciate art.---

The Lady in Black

2006-05-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

Lady in Black
Some comments from Anya’s blog:
I am creating the backstory for my character in Thinkerer’s narrative - the lady in white first appears dressed in wedding garm, caught in a private moment of grief on the Hobo bridge. Thinkerer suggested that our appearance and clothes should be suggestive of narrative, provocative for the viewer. So here, dressed in black is my outfit for a future scene: clothed in Nonna Hedges’ “The Merry Widow” costume (isn’t she just the most divine fashion designer - my favourite on Second Life!!). Does this suggest narrative? I mean, a private moment of grief, a public show of strength, resilience, and even a little haughtiness to hide the scars that wound her soul.
The picture is at:  http://anya.blogsome.com/
I like the lady in black.  Good reversal. We would use this dress near the end after she has clearly found her strength (so that it is not interpreted as escape from reality). She could be the lady in black right after the bridge scene.  As first she is mourning the loss of her groom.   (Not that he died.  That would force her into black.  Better that she is choosing to wear black.)  Later she is wearing elegant black as a sign of her victory over despair.

BRIDGES: CONCEPT

2006-05-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Bridges: Concept
I just posted “The Bridges of Hobo City.”   The broad concept is of a short-story anthology centering on the bridge.  The stories are told in vids.  Each story is made of 3 or 4 episode (vis) of 5-6 minutes each.  These specs will match a half-hour TV story rather well, so fit with what people are used to.  The vid I just posted is an introduction.  I expect that we will do it over later.  That vid has three stories.  I assume we will make more.  I assume there will be more players.  I am sure we will get more skilled.

I expect that we will make each vid stand alone, so that each can be posted separately. I will work out some tagging method so that people can access the parts of a story together.  Notice that I did not say who writes the stories or who does the camera work.  I assume that we will use the blog to exchange ideas.  The final shooting script will have to be worked out between the lead player and the camera-editor person.  Over time, we may have several camera-editor persons.

DOCTOR HOLLIDAY, DDS.

2006-05-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

Doctor Holliday, DDs.
I had a conversation the other day with Doctor John Henry Holliday, DDs.  On the bridge, of course.  A most interesting person.  And right in our time frame.  I am thinking about how he might work into a scenario.  He will have be the lead, of course.  He is too strong and too well-known to be otherwise.  And since he is best known for a shoot-out, I would prefer a reverse.  He does something kind.   Maybe medically helpful.  Maybe just insightful:

Luke:  I am looking for a great warrior.
Yoda:  Wars do not make one great.

This might work best with first person commentary by the famous dentist himself.  Maybe he would tell the story in voice over while the vid shows the action.

The Lady in White

2006-05-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Lady in White
Anya (who played the Lady in White in the introductory segment) is going to do the main scenario development for the story.  But I am imagining the title comes from a local legend that tells of a jilted bride who threw herself off the bridge years ago and is still seem sometimes at night walking on the bridge, looking for her lost lover.

What I think we might do with this is reverse it.  Maybe start with this story being told.  The bridge, however, remembers the true story.  Meaning flashbacks, I guess.  I don’t think we are up to distance dialogue yet.  But maybe we can handle monologue.  Stream of consciousness.  I have a feeling Anya could handle that and send me the file.  I could put in the audio strip I make.

She was not jilted.  She turned him down.  (Think of some reasons.  And not just that he was currently unfaithful.  Maybe not even something that shows him as  not bad, just wrong for her.)   She does not jump off the bridge.  She meets her crisis here and faces it down.  She goes on (married or unmarried?) to a successful life.  (I leave the hard parts to Anya.)  But, by the way, her name was Calleta.  Where have we heard that name before?   We probable close with a sign saying “Thank you for visiting Calleta.”

But this is just my idea.  I don’t mind if we dump it.  Ideas are easy.  It is the doing that gets tough

Some Blogging Basics

2006-05-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

Some  Blogging Basics
Readers:  Anyone can post a comment.   Blogspot sends me a note and I approve or reject it.  Only then does it appear.  I hate to require approval but if I don’t, we will get spammed.

To be a contributor, send me your e-mail address.   I will tell Blogspot and they will send you email.  You will need to register with Blogspot if you don’t already have an account with them (free).

If you are contributing, you may want to download a plug-in from Blogspot that lets you post directly from MS Word.  More convenient.

If you are following the conversation, you may want to set up a feed via RSS, Yahoo or other aggregator.  I use Yahoo because it gathers things in one place for me.  Also because it does not think my RSS feeds are different from my Reuters news feeds.  So when I go for my news or mail, I also see any updates to the blogs I follow.

BOY FISHING, Kronos comments

2006-05-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Kronos comments
Authorization for Kronos  to post is pending.

I see I don’t need to give Kronos stage direction.  Barefoot.  Yes!! Yes!! We don’t see his feet until near the end.

Burn paper in drum.  Great.  Just right. Unity with scene.

I thought he could use sit command to enter car.   We will see him jump in.  (Camera  will not catch earlier exit from car, so viewers will not see him jump out.

Might put top down on car.  But may be hard to get car to work with that.  But we might just make the car change (via dissolve) as he reaches it.

This exchange shows why collaboration is good.  Works best when combining inputs from different viewpoints.  Kronos is an actor.  He knows how to tell story in action.

Other item from Kronos
I've created a 'Huck Fin" version of my character, proportioned better for the smaller size.
(see attached).

Any thoughts on obtaining costume elements?  Maybe a straw hat, leather shoulder bag, suspenders, distressed tshirt and pants.  I thought you might have found someone interested in doing costumes or finding costume pieces. I've looked about a bit but have not had any luck so far.

Huck Finn is good as is.  But a little change in proportions might improve.  Clothing additions might be good.  Let’s wait on details, see if somebody wants to supply costumes.  I would like a pail he can carry in, then place beside him for the fish.

SCENARIO: BOY FISHING

2006-05-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Scenario:   Boy Fishing
Opening shot:  (Noon) Fancy car drives by.  Roar engine.  Squeal brakes. Car stops.  Backs up as if the driver owns the road.  Driver exits. Big business man. Blue suit.  Important. At least to himself.  Looks past box cars to bridge.  Walks rapidly to bridge.  Walks rapidly onto bridge.  Stops and fish pole.  Hesitates.  Takes and activates pole.  Morphs into boy.  Goes to rail gap, far end.  Stand at post ending rail gap.  Fishes.  Catches fish.  Sits on edge (if possible).  CUT.
Now twilight. Boy hesitantly starts back to land.  Fishing rod goes.  Boy steps off bridge.  Morphs back into business man.  But somehow younger.  Mentally, at least.  Jumps into car.    Leaves quietly.
Backstory:  Something makes him angry.   He drives out here without knowing why.
Front story: What made him angry is resolved by new perspective.  Or rather, old perspective that he had left behind years ago.  On the bridge.

Tech Notes: Setup

2006-05-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Tech Notes: Setup
Kronos asked me to describe tech side of this vid work. Here is a start:
Vid capture Fraps
Free version available. I use the registered version ($37).

Vid editing: Windows Movie Maker.
Free with Windows. Adequate for most purposes. I may need a better editor later.

Audio Capture and Editing. Audacity
I use Audacity rather than the built-in narration feature of Win Movie Maker. Audacity lets me build and edit the audio. I can cut out some sounds and mumbles. I can cut in sound effects. I use the sound effects for atmosphere and to fill those long pauses where I didn't know what to say. Free, open source.

Sound effects, source: FindSounds
You can search for sounds by name. Page shows the wave file and lets you play/download files. After download, I use Audacity to convert them the form required by SL.

Still Image editing. The Gimp
Free, open source. Win Movie lets me turn a selected frame into .jpg. I can edit that in the Gimp and put it back into the vid, specifying a run time.

Microphone
I am using a lapel mike that I got along with a Creative Web Cam. Seems to do the job.

Graphics board: NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5700

Storage: I am using a USB2 drive with 120GB. I easily filled my C: drive with 35GB of .avi files. Now I routinely transfer all new clips to the USB disk as soon as I get them.

Kronos sent me this link to a camera test he did. http://oncameraintensive.com/SL/SL_tst.mov

It shows interesting special effects. I have generally held to standard SL view over head of av. That’s because I am doing voice over (narrate scene or stream-of-consciousness) as coming from av. So the av is a character in the story. I am introducing some special effects from time to time.

In “Hard Out There” I opened with a wide swoop shot on the av. With av seated on beer case, the viewpoint comes loose. I could get the view that Hollywood could only get with a crane. The shot lets me say that TM is sitting there alone in the Village, then swoop in on TM. Feeling lonely, like somebody waiting for Godot. That’s the mood I want to establish. And to break. I don’t think I did it all that well. But I may get it right later,

The next vid, to be posted in a day or so, will illustrate zoom. I will post on that after it is out.

Spritely Pixel on Carriage.

2006-05-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Proposed shooting script.
Players: Spritely Pixel as Ashley Ravenal (of the Tennessee Ravenals); Kris Kaloche as Julie Hamilton. They are aged about 30, elegantly dressed.)

Opening shot: Side view of bridge. Just before carriage is positioned.

(Stage direction: SP will position carriage on bridge. Empty. TM will cut positioning activity and use a dissolve transition to next scene. Viewer will see carriage appear.)

Shot 2. Carriage alone. 30 seconds.

(Stage direction: SP and KK take positions side by side facing water and Hobo Village, where side boards are missing. TM will be getting view from HV side of bridge. TM will cut out positioning so the view shows them appearing.)

SP and KK stand motionless for about 15 sec. Then may use movement or animation to show an emotional moment. (for example, one turns away, they hold hands or embrace). They then sit in carriage.

Carriage moves slowly along bridge to land. About 45 sec. Stop near land. Hold 10 Sec. CUT

(Stage direction: remove carriage for TM to get 30 sec of same scene w/o carriage. )

The Bridges of Hobo Village

2006-05-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

Scenario. This episode will be an introduction to the bridge and the stories that float from it. It will be my first effort at conveying the mystery of the bridge. It probably will not be my last. The bridge is the star in this episode. I will do the first part with special effects and voice over. The general notion is that this is a painting. On the wall of a museum? No. This is a painting you can enter. You can walk around in this painting. You can meet other people. You can feel its past. This is a bridge to another world, a world of imagination.

That leads to why I used the plural. There are many bridges here. As many bridges as there are people to imagine them. As many bridges as there are happenings that someone can imagine.

Here is where the vid needs the SL players.

Shooting script. Players will appear on the bridge (TP in I hope.) Each player will suggest some happening by appearance, walking around, animations, or attachments. The suggestions will not be specific. Different viewers might see different suggestions (different bridges).

Each player will stay a short time, then vanish (TP out). Voice over will note some appearances and speculate about the meaning.

At first, there will be only one avatar, and intervals between. Then they will appear more frequently. Think summer shower. A few well separated drops, then increasing to crescendo. Crescendo at about 4 minutes of shooting. At crescendo, whole cast is on stage (on bridge). At 4 minutes, everybody stand still. I will do a dissolve to the same bridge empty, making everyone vanish.
We will do some last minute arrangements to sequence entries and exits. And to match people with time. We do not have to get it all in one take.

Suitable avitars should not break viewer expectations of what might appear on the bridge. Best choice: ordinary people who look as if they could have been on the bridge between 1850 and 1950. I would especially like to have someone in a business suit and someone who looks like Huck Finn. I have a script for them in a later episode. Please avoid animals and wings. Those would break mood. Ladies in Victorian dresses would be great. Also great, a lady with a bloody knife, and the lady on horseback, sidesaddle.

Carriage on the Bridge

2006-05-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

Scenario. Opening shot: Near the far end of the bridge. Near where the guard rails (GR) are missing on the HV side. Camera on HV side, looking at GR spot. An elegant carriage appears near the spot, empty. Headed toward land. Soon two figures appear standing at the GR spot. They are Ashley Ravenal (of the Tennessee Ravenals); and Julie Hamilton. They are about 30, elegantly dressed. Their relationship is ambiguous, but clearly affectionate.

Their position, near the GR spot is also ambiguous. Are they about to jump in a suicide pact? Are the just admiring the view (which is not HV in their time frame)? A little tension here, which will not be resolved in this scene. (Voice over will probably convey this.)

The figures get in the carriage. The carriage starts slowly toward the land. As it reaches the land, it vanishes. (Voice over will note that this is a view of the past. It may speculate about the back and front story with hints that other vids may tell the rest of the story.)

I think this will make an interesting scene, but will welcome suggestions on revisions. There is probably enough time for a little more action if we can think of some. The characters might hold hands and/or embrace (while standing). Julie might turn away as if crying. None of this will be explained. Until other episodes. (We are moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.)

We will also be interested in a whole story (or stories). Suggestions?

Spritely Pixel on Water Slide

2006-05-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Proposed shooting script. No scenario on this. This is part of my documentary series (Second Lives). Here it serves to show what a shooting script might look like. These documentaries will illustrate things that we might use in subsequent vids, if we have a story that can use them. The present theme is: people enjoy themselves is SL.

TM will take position. Waves arm to show camera rolling.

SP comes out of his house in swimming trunks. Pauses facing slide. Flies to water slide, holds in flight.

(CUT. TM will reposition near slide. TM waves arm to show camera rolling.)

SP flies to top of slide and lands. SP initiates slide (face forward.).

TM will drop to follow the action. TM will try to catch plunge, but may need a second take on this.

SP surfaces and swims to landing. Rises to landing, stands, climbs stairs, enters house. CUT

Spritely: We probably have time for about 1 min of additional interest. One or two other things around the house, maybe. Not the dragon, not the carriage. Those each rate separate vids. If the carriage is in the yard, I will casually get it in frame while vidding the slide.

I will cut this clip into an episode. I can make the establishing clip on my own.

Public Blog

2006-05-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

This blog is open for comment. SE will moderate to suppress spam. SL Players who want to add substantial comments may prefer to use the collaborative feature: You can post on this blog just as I do. To be an authorized poster, you need to get a Blogspot account and give me your ID code. I will then list you as authorized to post.

You can also contact me by e-mail: webmaster@thinkerer.org. Note that additional information about this project is posted under something completely different on my website. The website will carry permanent information, such as stills of the actors and links to current videos. There are also notes about the software I am using. It is just as the little bird told you. Cheap. Cheap.

Beer

2006-05-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

I did a little research into the status of Ballentine Beer, to see if there might be any problem with copyright infringement. Here is a site with details. Ballentine ale

I can’t find indications that Ballentine Beer is currently sold. I do find several instances like this:

12/04/04 The Marty Crane character on the TV sitcom Frasier is apparently often drinking Ballantine Beer. According to reliable sources, Alec Baldwin was seen drinking Ballantine on a cameo performance on "Casino" on 15 November 2004.....

It appears that Ballentine Beer has appeared publicly from time to time. I don’t know whether these were paid product placements, but they seem not to have offended the owners of the Ballentine copyright (Falstaff, I assume). I would expect that such use would be viewed as free advertising, rather than copyright violation.

The site above displays various logos and labels that were certainly under copyright in the past. If the Lindens are concerned, Orhalla could contact that webmaster to ask if there have been any objections to the use of these labels. (It is not an official site.)

On the other hand, the worst that could happen is a take-down order. The presence of this material on the web suggests that there would be no such objection.

Second Life Players

2006-05-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

SL Players are people who have a serious interest in participating in video-making in second life. The most likely form of participation is as an actor in a video episode. An episode is a single video of about 6 minutes.

Players may also contribute to episode scenarios and to shooting scripts for episodes. I am assuming that anyone acting in an episode will want to review the shooting script and see if it can be improved.

As a start SE will take the job of preparing episode scenarios and shooting scripts. SE will also handle the vid collection, editing, voicing, audio work, and publication on YouTube. So all we will need is stories, scripts, and acting. And whatever avatar and set modifications are needed for the story.

In the long run, we will also need full stories to integrate several episodes. But we can wait on that.

What shall we do while waiting? Elaborate what we can do in making vids. That’s what the episodes do. I will write some trial scenarios and post them here soon. None of the existing vids is a good example of an episode scenario. But I understand the power of yet. As in, “I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.”

As an aside, the blog title does not mean that we are limited to Hobo Village. I would prefer to start episodes at Hobo Village to give viewers a familiar anchor. I would prefer to stay with places that are in flying (and visual) distance of HV to help maintain a sense of place. And we would probably need a connection to HV to integrate an episode into a longer scenario.

What Stories of Hobo Village?

2006-05-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

The stories we will script here. This is a collaborative blog to develop stories (in video) about Hobo Village, a place in Second Life. In this case we refers to Selby Evans (aka Thinkerer Melville) and other interested participants in Second Life (known here as the SL Players).