September 2009 Archives
Yes, it has been that long since I last posted.. Around two weeks now! There have been quite a few items on my plate in the last couple weeks. A new compositing intern at DD that I'm responsible for, new shots to finish for the show, and new deadlines for the business. Let's start backward, shall we?
Many of you already know that I'm hyping up my brother's company, CoinApp, and their inaugural game, Max Blastonaut. While they're putting the finishing touches on the game, they've been chosen as one of six finalists in Microsoft's 2009 Dream Build Play competition! Their game will be show to the public for the first time at PAX in Seattle this weekend. If you're lucky enough to have a badge and some free time, check it out!
There's a full list and critique of the six finalists over on G4TV.
As I progress in my career, I often wonder where the time goes, and what I spend it on. After conversing with my brother, who also has a full career and barely enough time awake as it is to do all the things he does, I quickly wrote up my daily routine.
- up at 6:30am
- 6:45-7:45 gym
- 7:45-8 prep for work
- 8-8:15 commute
- 8:15am -7:15pm DD vfx
- 7:15-7:30 commute
- 7:30-8 dinner
- 8-8:30 or 9 relax with the spouse (or play games)
- 9-11:30 side business work (if I'm feeling lazy I'll play or relax some more)
I recently watched a Ted presentation of Dan Pink giving a talk about social science and motivation; autonomy, mastery, and purpose. He describes how the traditional risk and reward of dangling more money, more financial incentive, in front of employees, is a step in the wrong direction. It's very eye opening, and vital for the future of small business (and big business too!), especially my own. If you have 18 minutes to spare, be sure to check it out. This is only more apparent in visual effects, where there is a defined goal in mind, but the artist is reliant, to an extent, in their own technical proficiency. This technical proficiency comes with time, as does maturity and mastery, a vital requirement as you move up the ranks. Autonomy only gets more desirable with age, which is one of the reasons behind Industry Wages.
This year I didn't get a chance to select the five nominees for a SVE Emmy, but here they are!
Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series
Battlestar Galactica • Daybreak (Part 2) • Syfy
Fringe • Pilot • FOX
Ghost Whisperer • Ghost In The Machine • CBS
Heroes • The Second Coming/The Butterfly Effect • NBC
Sanctuary • Sanctuary For All • Syfy
Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special
Generation Kill • The Cradle Of Civilization • HBO
Into The Storm • HBO
Quite strange that there are only two nominees in the miniseries category. I guess there weren't enough entries to warrant more, or the group decided that these two were the only ones they felt were excellent enough. If you want to read who was nominated within these programs, head on over to the Emmy site and search via this link.
As many of you may know, there's a raging firestorm just northeast of Los Angeles in the Angeles National Forest. It's the worst it has ever been in 60 years. A VFXer was able to capture some timelapse of this event, check it out here. It's a crazy sight, and it is getting captured quite a bit in photography. Check out the rest of the pictures that people have put up on Flickr. It's also been extremely hot the past week, which has been hindering the firefighting. Luckily, the Santa Ana winds have not picked up, or this could have been far worse. So far around 140,000 acres have burned, with only 22% of it contained. They estimate it will be fully contained by September 15th. Check out this map of California to see how big this thing really is.
Two weeks ago I ended up getting a new cell phone! I retain the same cell plan, 20 bucks a month for 60 minutes, but I did add texting for $5 extra. I don't really talk all that much on my cell, or do anything else, but it's there as an emergency. I upgraded my phone to the Nokia 5610 Xpressmusic, which was free with a 2 year extension. Of course, I have changed my technology plans concerning phones, so I usually never upgrade as frequently as two years. It's a nice little slider phone. We'll see how long the slider lasts based on my usage.
Next Tuesday, our first batch of DD interns starts. I think we have about five or six in various artist professions, and another five or so in production and support services. Total, I think the count is 12, but don't know for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing how they progress during their time here!
