Model Citizen

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01/23/2007

Starting to sculpt

Well, I have'nt done a modelling post for a while, so I thought I'd do one on sculpting.
Now, first off, this is for people like me, not the experienced, but those who are thinking, hey, I'd like to give it a go, I wonder what you have to buy etc.

Myself, I started a couple of months ago. I'd taken O'Level Craft at school and loved it. Also I had a little play at my friends pottery when my mate Austin owned Spiral path Ceramics using earthenware clay.

However, I did'nt want to start thinking of buying a kiln and huge amounts of clay, so what do the pro's use?

Now, I must say that I had tried sculpting a few years ago, and bought a box of Sculpey. It turns out from comments I've read since that Sculpey is responsible for stopping a lot of people taking up this hobby. I did'nt get on with it very well and ended up using it for filling seams on resin models.


Model_Citizen

So, I was very interested to make a go of it this time. my first port of call was of course The Clubhouse where there is a forum dedicated to sculping, and this is intimidating, because these guys are the pro's. They do this for a living, and it shows.

Anyway, the clay to go for is called Super Sculpey (not Sculpey, as I'd bought years before).
Super Sculpey, it says:
Used by movie animation studios and professionals worldwide for prototypes, maquettes, and all kinds of dolls. Super Sculpey has a long track record as a superb clay for sculpting. The finest detail is achievable and added clay can be smoothed in seamlessly.
Polymer Clay is a highly versatile modelling material that is hardened by baking in the home oven. Once baked it is permanent and can be cut, sawn, glued, painted or added to and re-baked. It comes under the brand names of Fimo, Sculpey, Premo, and Creall-Therm to name those usually available in Britain. Polymer Clay is sold in a wide range of colours and these can be mixed together to make further colours. Most brands also produce a “transparent” or translucent clay which can be used on its own or mixed with colours to make delicate translucent pastel shades. There is also night-glow, various pearl and metallic clays and fluorescent clays. Doll makers are well provided for and all the manufacturers produce clays especially for dolls.

Now I had this info, the place I went to to buy it was: www.polymerclaypit where they do a good deal for a bulk purchase of Super Sculpey 8lb (3.6kg) - UK customers Colour: pink-beige £48.50



Now, as for what else you need this is what I was told. Because this pink/beige SS has an almost translucent quality to it, it's quite hard to see what's going on when your sculpting. So you also need to buy some Premo Sculpey in Black and White. What you do here is take a small slice of each and mix it in with the SS to get a flat grey media. Now because this is pretty tough on the wrists the pro's recommend also buying a Pasta Roller. I bought mine from Argos for about £12. The gears are a light metal and can't handle a huge amount of clay at once, so I found that if you make sausages and feed them through a bit at a time that's best.



One more thing to buy before you leave the shop, you might never need it, but some Super Clay Softener might come in handy if your clay should dry out over the years. just add a few drops and it will soften it again like magic.



Well, that's all the clay sorted out. I ordered mine in one big lump spending about £80. I know that sounds a lot but I reckon I've got a fair few years worth.

So, now you have the clay, what else do you need.
First, tools. The ultimate set of tools are dental instruments. I found a stall selling them at a local boot sale for 50p each and stocked up on a complete range. Also look out for loop knives, and a trusty scalpel. Other than that you can just make your own. Get some dowel, cut it into pencil lengths and just glue or drill things on the end. Guitar wire, paper clips, bits of wood all work great. i think the rule here is if you think it's what you need - try it.
The picture I've added also shows a palette knife, which is pretty useful. The green tools are rubbish, and the large double ended wooden handled tools are also not that good. i use them now and then, but the dental and loop tools are the workhorses.



What else....
Wire. For most things you need to make an armature. Dont be put off by this, as this can be as simple as a lump of clay with a wire sticking in it. But you will need some sort of flexible wire that can be bent with pliers. Other than that, a heat gun. Because SS is baked in the oven (I bake it for 30 mins at 150°, slightly longer and cooler than specified), when you've sculpted a bit and like it, just blast it on the lowest setting with your gun, let it cool and keep working. It really helps not to muck up what you've worked on, because SS is ultra sensitive. It will pick up every fingerprint if you let it, and is very malleable, so work and heat is a great way to work I've found.


Model_Citizen

Well, at time of writing I've finished 4 sculptures with a 5th almost done. My first two were Nibbler from Futurama and I also tried doing a female bust. Probably a bit adventurous for a first go, and they look a little rough, but you got to start somewhere. next I did Dr Zoidberg, again from Futurama. This went a little better, then I did Malfuntioning Eddie from the same show. I used some tin foil in this sculpture to pad out his stomach and save on using a really thick bit of clay.


Model_Citizen


Model_Citizen

I'm almost done with Slurms Mackenzie, and then I might try something a bit more adventurous and realistic. The great thing about Futurama is I have loads of reference pics to copy, which you will need to work out your model.



Well, that's my lot from my own experience. If you nip on over to The Clubhouse you'll get heaps more advice and tutorials as well as tips on DDVD's and books to help you. I have'nt seen those so can't comment.



Last but not least a couple of links that might help and wet your appetite.

Concept Art 1
Concept Art 2

12:20 Posted in Scale Models | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this

01/17/2007

fennel DVDManager

fennel DVDManager



I've just found this free software for OSX on the Mac. it seems very easy to use and very quick.
A nice way to keep a database of your DVD's.

Description
fennel DVDManager (aka fsDM) is our next-generation DVDManager (sigh) for Mac OS X.
With its clean interface, DVDManager makes maintaining your DVD library as easy as Macintosh!
• Retrieve & Update your DVDs' details through online sites
• or Add & Edit them manually, yet quickly (just the core details!)
• Manage their life when lent to friends thanks to your Address Book
• Create box sets+wish list easily & Manage them intuitively
• Export a complete list of your DVD library, etc.
Quick, Simple, Easy & Fun! It's time to manage the workflow of your DVDs with Style.
License: Donationware
Current Version: 1.6.7
Requirements: Any Mac running Mac OS X v10.3 or later (Mac OS X v10.4.8 Tiger recommended)

fennel DVDManager

09:25 Posted in Home Cinema | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this

01/09/2007

Melody on DVD

Melody on DVD?



I watched this film as a kid in the 70's and loved it. Recently after the kids had been watching Oliver I decided to look it up and buy it. But what! It's completely unavailable on any format I could find.
So my next stop after searching Amazon was the IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base, where if it's available to but there'll be a link to it.

Here's it's listing:

Melody

And you can see there's nothing available for what many consider a wonderful film featuring the two young stars of Oliver:

Jack Wild


And

Mark Lester


Here's a quote from the site:

It's inexplicable to me how this film bombed when it came out. It's one of the most charming, realistic stories of adolescent first love ever put on film. Mark Lester and Jack Wild, teamed here for the first time since "Oliver!," three years earlier, make a good team all over again as the two best school friends who temporarily have a bust when Lester develops a crush on Hyde, as charming, winsome a young miss as you will ever see. And it's all told with charm and believability. I saw this film on TV almost two decades ago and wonder why it isn't available on video. It should be, since it's sure to charm the kids and parents alike. Charm without smarm is even more of a rarity today than it was in 1971. But "Melody" pulls it off brilliantly and understatedly. A true hidden treasure.

Oliver was a great film, but in my opinion Melody tops it. They seem to have nailed down school life in the 70's to a tee. And if you dont feel a touch of nostalgia for those carefree days after seeing it you're hard boiled.



Anyway, back to the DVD. On IMDB, though there's no link to buy, in one of the comments below there's a message that the whole film has been uploaded to Google Video!

The link for that is here:
Google

Now, though you can watch it on line, what about saving it to the desktop?

Here's a link that will do just that. You tell it the website address and it will download it to your desktop as an AVI file.


JAVAMOYA

So, after about 900MB has downloaded you have an AVI file, but how do you make this into a DVD?
The next bit is Mac only, if you want help to do this to PC try http://www.videohelp.com/


For OSX you can download this free programme:

FFMPEGX

Then it's just a case of choosing the AVI file as an input and a DVD quality Mpeg 2 as an output. You'll end up with 2 folders called AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS, you just put both of these (and yes the audio one is empty) into Toast or some other DVD writing software using the DVD option.

Hey presto you have a Melody DVD!

Hope that helps some, it took me about a week to work all this out.

11:31 Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this

01/08/2007

Dave's Trailer Page

Dave's Trailer Page

I've been using this site for years and thought it was worthy of a mention.

www.davestrailerpage.co.uk

Here's Dave's own introduction:

About the site 
This site began life way back when the now infamous World Trade Center Spider-Man teaser was released on the Apple website. Trying to provide a direct link to patrons of the DVDForums I gave up trying to post the lengthy Apple urls via the bulletin software in use at the time and set up an incredibly basic page (it would make the current site look like a dozen people ran it) on my personal ISP web space. This proved to be very popular so I eventually began updating the list of trailers each time Apple posted something of interest, and as they say, the rest is history...
...a server move, url change, and complete eradication of the teaser that started it all, and roughly four years online the site has grown and is still going strong. I have also purposely kept it basic, for both personal and professional reasons

10:59 Posted in Home Cinema | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this

2006 in Review

Here is a post by everyone's favourite AV Talk Uncle, Uncle Eric on the hi-lights and lo-lights of 2006. It's a great read for all those with any remote interest in Home Cinema:


From an installer's point of view, 2006 has been quite a year. The biggest stories this year have been the HD-DVD v Blu-ray saga and the rise and (price) fall of HD display devices.

In this brief summary of the year, I'll try to pick out the highlights and lows, try to raise some worthwhile points and hopefully dispel a few myths along the way.

HD-DVD was first to the market with first generation players from Toshiba and some decent software. Unfortunately folks were soon moaning about how slow and glitchy these first machines were but loved the image quality which was a far cry from the blocky artefact riddled HD downloads people were used to seeing. Even D Theatre tapes, the previous pinnacle (albeit a backwards one) paled in comparison to a top notch HD-DVD pressing.

If Toshiba made a boo-boo by using weedy processors in their first generation machines, the Sony camps laughter was soon turning into tears. Delay after delay meant first to market Toshiba and the HD-DVD format were gaining an important foothold with Blu-ray nowhere near the horizon for months.



More tears followed when Samsung finally launched the first Blu-ray machines. Firstly they were twice the price of Toshiba's HD-DVD players, more importantly; picture quality expectations were not met. Samsungs sharpness processing was pushed so far to the max that images produced ringing/softness. Add poor mastering using the less effective MPEG2 compression codec and soon people were calling Sony's effort BLUR-RAY. Not a good start for what many deemed the format with the most to offer.

Splitting the two HD video formats meant inevitable comparisons with the on-going bitter war of the two high definition audio formats, SACD and DVD-A. Truth be told the downfall of both these audio formats should teach the Sony and Toshiba camps valuable lessons. Unless of course they have money (and pride) to burn.

If rumours are true one major hardware manufacturer is about to drop both formats altogether (Pioneer, Denon ????).
Add the fact that neither format is being supported enough via software (even Sony couldn't be bothered, go figure), all means the consumer has finally had enough of both SACD and DVD-A which all means DVD-A and SACD software sales (which were not exactly flying anyway) are grinding to a halt. I mentioned earlier this year that both formats were limping along. The prognosis now is even worse. I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel for either format and I fear both will probably die in the not too distant future!



There is no doubt this year AV has been mainly about V!
Flat panels are now being sold by the millions. LCD which has sold well for years in the smaller sizes gained a lot of ground in large size panel sales in 2006, much to the dismay I might add of anyone who values high image quality. 1080p is the key buzzword of all things video and LCD manufacturers were first to market with the biggest selling size sector (40-45"). LCD makers used 1080p as their Trojan horse and many who were spellbound by the 1080p hype are now kicking themselves when they see decently set up plasma with half the resolution.

Whilst 1080p 42" plasma's are around the corner, for those of you that are waiting, I suggest you go and buy a cheaper lower res panel now as, A) The current units will be at least half the price of the new 1080p 42" panels, and B) You really won't be able to see a whole heap of difference from an average seating distance. In fact the further you sit the less obvious the differences, especially on standard def material.

The projector market caught finally caught fire this year with the introduction of Sony's three chip SXRD beauty, the Ruby. It's not a perfect projector by any means, there is no perfect display device. But at a price of £6-7k, or $10k USD, it was embarrassing projectors at two or three times the price.

Upon release, the value for money this projector offered was without comparison. It was also the quietest projector many of us had ever heard, by a long way too!. Before 2006 was done and dusted, Sony had done it again with their new Pearl. Another three chip SXRD but this time at half the price of the Ruby!!!!.

In my humble opinion Sony did everyone a big favour with the Ruby and Pearl. These machines kicked projector (and many video processor) manufacturers in their rear ends so hard they changed pricing OVERNIGHT. Like everything electronic, mass production will always mean inevitable price reductions were eventually going to happen, but in 2006 Sony were responsible for an industry wide five years worth of price reductions concentrated into the space of (in some cases) 5 weeks. Infocus famously halved the price of their 777 three chipper within days!!!! Projector prices were decaying faster than children's teeth.

All this meant that 1080p projection is now within easy reach of even the most budget conscious.

There is an irony to all this. By bringing 1080p projection within reach of the much larger budget oriented marketplace, Sony may also have unwittingly saved HD-DVD (and Blu-ray) from the same fate that has befallen the high res audio formats because every 1080p PJ buyer wants to see what HD-DVD and Blu-ray will look like on their lovely new projectors!

It's a funny old world!


More good stuff to come this time from JVC as well as Sony. I will be receiving JVC's latest machine soon which (on paper anyway) offers big numbers in the contrast department.

Going back to HD video software, there is a lot of hype about the two main compression codec's, VC1 and MPEG2. Both have their supporters and whilst there are some sensible things being said by many, there is a lot of disinformation being spread about both codec's. We've all heard how crap MPEG2 is. It's not crap at all.
You just need far higher data rates to accomplish what VC1 is doing with lower bit rates.

The key word here is efficiency.
And efficiency = $$$$$$

Broadcasters (many US based companies currently use MPEG2) find VC1 ultra attractive. Not only can they improve current quality with the same data rates, they can sneak in more worthless programming under the radar and up their charges on the pretence of offering more channels for the same (crap) quality. See my thread here for what's currently happening with HD broadcasting in the USA,

Av Talk, Register to view


How does the AV fan compare projector performance if he doesn't have the time or inclination to visit and view every dealer/projector on his shortlist? Help (or confusion) is on the way. THX is about to instigate a certification for good video quality which will be bought up by various projector manufacturers wanting to increase their prices by paying for their THX certification (that was tongue in cheek as the cost is not huge per projector). How seriously should one take THX certification? With a pinch of salt and a little pepper IMHO.

Sitting in front of my THX certified computer speakers how can I take them seriously anymore?


One of the low points of the year has been the HDMI kafuffle.
HDMI 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, handshaking and other issues, you name it. Full-on high res audio formats via HDMI will be a while yet but most manufacturers have got video nearly there. One of my gripes about this format is the connection itself. Give me a nice secure bullet proof DVI connection any day (but make it small like HDMI)



Streaming from network attached storage (NAS) devices has grown considerably. There is an abundance of cheap front end machines out there from the likes of Snazzio, Roku, Squeezebox and so on that will do most jobs. Storage is now so cheap that for under a grand we can have most of our media stored away in the loft forever and let the NAS whir away out of sight in a spare corner. This trend will continue to escalate and it will be interesting to see how high end systems like Kaleidescape deal with the new HD video formats. Their on-going lawsuit with the DVD forum (you need to crack DVD before you store it right?) has made them pretty well known in the industry. The only way forward for the company (certainly for their higher end offerings) is to offer a similar system with HD-DVD and Blu-ray.

http://www.kaleidescape.com


There are some new screen technologies also on the way but I think I'll let them surface before we start to speculate.

Happy new year everyone and happy AV'ing!

10:15 Posted in Home Cinema | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this

01/03/2007

Alias

Alias.



Everyone and his dog has now heard of JJ Abrams, creator of Lost. That show about those people on that Island etc, etc. But what about his previous show Alias? What's all that about. it's got some saucy woman in it that looks different every time you see her, it's a sort of spy thing, and you can find reviews on the net saying it's the best girl power show since Buffy and Xena....so what is it all about?

Well, Buffy and Xena had never rocked my boat, and reading a review of Alias comparing it to those shows was one of the biggest turn off's going. But I kept reading about it and curiosity was getting the better of me. Fortunatley, top AV Talk mod Squirrel God had been in the same boat and trod this path before me asking just how good the show was.
I sent SG an e-mail and he sold me on the idea of the show.

So, after finally finishing all 5 series on DVD, what is the lo-down on this show?

First, thankfully, it's nothing like Xena or Buffy. The only similarity I can see is there all female leads. Also, it's not a story about a scantily clad woman prancing around every episode, although Jennifer garner does sometimes go for a skimpy costume, it's all part of the story....and that is....



Without giving too much away, the original pilot episode showed us a twenty something Sydney Bristow (Garner) being proposed to by her fiance. Sydney has a secret though, she has been recruited by a special branch of the CIA whilst in college after matching a certain profile, and worked her way up inside a dummy bank to be one of the best field operator's there is.

Unfortunatley Sydney does the unforgivable and tells her fiance the secret, who is later murdered to seal the security breach. Sydney is devestated and on a leave of absence discovers another terrible truth. The CIA branch she works at, SD6, is not CIA, butr in fact the very enemy she's been working at defeating.
Yep, all this in the pilot! So she turns herself into the real CIA where her contact Michael Vaugn each week gives her counter missions as she goes back to work for the bad guys as a double agent.

Things seem to move along quite nicely in this fashion for a while, you enjoy the action/espionage, you enjoy the office banter as you meet Marshall Fleetman the geekiest tech guy ever who brings a lot of humour to the show and is all the better for it, and you enjoy Sydneys Friends type home life with Will and Francie.



And then JJ throws you a curve ball and you come across Milo Rimbaldi, the 15th Century techno prophet.

That's as much as I'm telling you. If you've seen Alias, then you know how good it is, if you've not then you have a treat in store, with a heroine that you warm to very quickly and a great supporting cast that you almost want to cheer every episode in the way the characters for Happy Days were cheered when they appeared each week, and even the baddies are so likeable. the DVD's are currently a great bargain especially as you cannow buy the complete series in a Rimbaldi Artifact boxset.

16:45 Posted in Home Cinema | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this