I bought a bunch of after effects scripts yesterday. They are awesome. I paid $70, but that's not that bad considering how much I get out of them. I bought them at aescripts.com.
The most recent sequence is coming along well. I'm trying to incorporate more 3d elements, since everyone seems to like it a lot when the camera moves around. I'll have it posted on Monday.
My computer programmer roommate Victor was like, "Why didn't you just ask me to script these things for you?" But certainty and time are important. If I'd used him, I would have had to describe in detail what I wanted, and maybe I don't really know what I want in advance. I would have had to wait until his schedule permitted. And then there would be uncertainty about whether they worked and how well. Inevitably something goes wrong.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
D.C. phone home
The people in Washington, DC are not getting back to me. It's pretty depressing. I feel like I am stalking the entire transport expertise community of our nation's capitol. There's always tomorrow.
Reasons people are not getting back to me:
D.C. supplies of Five Hour Energy Drink are critically low.
Revenge for the Pens kicking The Caps out of the playoffs.
Everyone in D.C. afraid to admit they live in D.C., for fear of being labeled a "beltway insider."
Lewis Lehe's Place is also the name of an infamous D.C. leather bar.
President Obama planning his own documentary about congestion pricing and has issued a gag order on the subject.
In other news, I wrote a bunch of narration today and started planning the next segment, which includes video skits. It will be finished by next Sunday.
Reasons people are not getting back to me:
D.C. supplies of Five Hour Energy Drink are critically low.
Revenge for the Pens kicking The Caps out of the playoffs.
Everyone in D.C. afraid to admit they live in D.C., for fear of being labeled a "beltway insider."
Lewis Lehe's Place is also the name of an infamous D.C. leather bar.
President Obama planning his own documentary about congestion pricing and has issued a gag order on the subject.
In other news, I wrote a bunch of narration today and started planning the next segment, which includes video skits. It will be finished by next Sunday.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Goals for this week
Get interviews in D.C. for real this time.
Finish an overall outline of the movie.
Write narration and work plan for the next section.
Start working on next animation.
Finish an overall outline of the movie.
Write narration and work plan for the next section.
Start working on next animation.
New draft of engineer's explanation
What causes congestion? Engineer's perspective. Draft 2 from Lewis on Vimeo.
Some of the stock footage I acquired didn't work, so I used the free sample. I will get that worked out in the future. Also, teh audio is a little weird.
The biggest thing is that there need to be more visual elements in the piece. Like trees moving, different types of cars, different colors of cars, etc.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Frustrated
Animating the engineer's explanation is taking forever, and it's not really looking as good as I'd hoped. I can jazz it up, but again that's more time. Maybe future progress will be quicker, because now I am a lot better at recording audio and programming expressions. I hope so. I will have the second draft of the engineer's explanation up by tomorrow night, so help me DOT (department of transportation).
In other news, I'm not having any success getting interviews in Washington, DC. with economists or anyone. I am going to try the people at the new HOT lanes project. Maybe they will be more helpful. The trouble is that everyone in DC, vs. Los Angeles, seems to really require that the project is "official" somehow. I don't know how to get a stamp of authenticity, because I'm not associated with anything big. Oh well. If I just keep making cool animations to show people, and keep emailing, then it will succeed.
In other news, I'm not having any success getting interviews in Washington, DC. with economists or anyone. I am going to try the people at the new HOT lanes project. Maybe they will be more helpful. The trouble is that everyone in DC, vs. Los Angeles, seems to really require that the project is "official" somehow. I don't know how to get a stamp of authenticity, because I'm not associated with anything big. Oh well. If I just keep making cool animations to show people, and keep emailing, then it will succeed.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Snow
Unfortunately, the snow is ruining a lot of my plans right now. I want to film some outside segments.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Awful News Coverage of the Jobs Bill Catastrophe
If you don't know, here's the low down on the jobs bill catastrophe.
These are the facts, but the headlines are such:
After Rare Bipartisan Deal, Reid Slashes Jobs Bill (Fox News)
Senate Dems Ax Bipartisan Jobs Bill (ABC)
Senate Dems Pare Down Jobs Bill, Scrap Bipartisan Version (USA Today)
I'm starting to wonder if Republicans truly, deep down, have a moral compass. Do they feel a sense of right and wrong? After my senator, senator shelby, held up all Obama's appointments for several days because he wanted to get refueling tankers built in Mobile and an FBI center built in Alabama that will study improvised explosive devices, I'm really starting to wonder. When these people get up in the morning, do they wonder, "How can I help America?" I really can't imagine someone doing that, and then adding an estate tax extension into a jobs bill. I'm starting to wonder if Republicans--as a group--are crazy people or dishonest people, rather than people who believe different things about the economy or have different ideas of justice. From what I can see, they feel they are at a war with progressives in which literally anything done to hurt the center or the left is a victory, even if it hurts America. They feel they are on a team fighting another team. And their "team" isn't really defined by small-government ideals: paying doctors more money for Medicare patients means using more tax dollars, and is therefore larger government. Their team is defined as the type of people who are generally for lower taxes, e.g. rich people, old people, doctors, etc. And even if a measure grows the government, as long as it helps their team, then they are for it.
- Unemployment is high.
- The Senate was going to pass a bill to create jobs.
- The main parts of the bill were (1) tax credits for job creation and (2) additional highway construction.
- The tax credit was designed by Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
- Republicans added two provisions: (3) cut the estate tax (death tax...inheritance tax) to 0 percent for one year and extend research and development tax credits. (4) pay doctors more money when they see Medicare patients.
- (3) and (4) do not create jobs...except maybe (3) creates jobs for scientists and engineers, a group for whom there is almost no unemployment.
- (3) and (4) cost $41 billion.
- The final bill cost about $85 billion.
- Sen. Harry Reid threw out the bill and replaced it with a bill that has only (1) and (2) and only costs $15 billion.
- $15 billion will not create many jobs.
These are the facts, but the headlines are such:
After Rare Bipartisan Deal, Reid Slashes Jobs Bill (Fox News)
Senate Dems Ax Bipartisan Jobs Bill (ABC)
Senate Dems Pare Down Jobs Bill, Scrap Bipartisan Version (USA Today)
I'm starting to wonder if Republicans truly, deep down, have a moral compass. Do they feel a sense of right and wrong? After my senator, senator shelby, held up all Obama's appointments for several days because he wanted to get refueling tankers built in Mobile and an FBI center built in Alabama that will study improvised explosive devices, I'm really starting to wonder. When these people get up in the morning, do they wonder, "How can I help America?" I really can't imagine someone doing that, and then adding an estate tax extension into a jobs bill. I'm starting to wonder if Republicans--as a group--are crazy people or dishonest people, rather than people who believe different things about the economy or have different ideas of justice. From what I can see, they feel they are at a war with progressives in which literally anything done to hurt the center or the left is a victory, even if it hurts America. They feel they are on a team fighting another team. And their "team" isn't really defined by small-government ideals: paying doctors more money for Medicare patients means using more tax dollars, and is therefore larger government. Their team is defined as the type of people who are generally for lower taxes, e.g. rich people, old people, doctors, etc. And even if a measure grows the government, as long as it helps their team, then they are for it.
My graph of the sitmulus
You can read the accompanying article on Blog of the Allies. The column is way backlogged for the pitt news, because of the snow storm.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Today
Today I rewrote some narration. This week has been all about outlining.
It starts with an explanation of why traffic happens. That's the "engineers explanation." Then it goes into an economist's explanation. The central question will be, "How do we choose which cars to push off the road?"
The economist's explanation will consider:
(1) a lottery
(2) regulation
(3) volunteerism.
But it turns out none of the three work. So, it's left up to the price system.
That is the structure of the first 12 minutes of the movie.
Issues:
I want to have the information unfold as a dialogue. I have been listening to RadioLab and also This American Life. Both those shows always present information as a two-person dialogue, where one person is skeptical and questioning, while their partner is expository.
But I only have myself right now. I'll get two narrators in the future.
The central format might be an infomercial. It would be a campy infomercial. The humor would be that it's set up with two people talking in a home about congestion pricing as if it's a household product. Queue black-and-white shots of someone banging the steering wheel in traffic. Queue sweater tied over shoulders. Queue unexpected visitors dropping in.
Or it could be the get-rich-quick type of infomercial, where there's this sleazy dude explaining everything about congestion pricing.
It starts with an explanation of why traffic happens. That's the "engineers explanation." Then it goes into an economist's explanation. The central question will be, "How do we choose which cars to push off the road?"
The economist's explanation will consider:
(1) a lottery
(2) regulation
(3) volunteerism.
But it turns out none of the three work. So, it's left up to the price system.
That is the structure of the first 12 minutes of the movie.
Issues:
I want to have the information unfold as a dialogue. I have been listening to RadioLab and also This American Life. Both those shows always present information as a two-person dialogue, where one person is skeptical and questioning, while their partner is expository.
But I only have myself right now. I'll get two narrators in the future.
The central format might be an infomercial. It would be a campy infomercial. The humor would be that it's set up with two people talking in a home about congestion pricing as if it's a household product. Queue black-and-white shots of someone banging the steering wheel in traffic. Queue sweater tied over shoulders. Queue unexpected visitors dropping in.
Or it could be the get-rich-quick type of infomercial, where there's this sleazy dude explaining everything about congestion pricing.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Goals
My friend Rob came to visit and left this morning. Now it's back to the grindstone. The animations are coming along really well.
I am buying a flatscreen monitor. I'll have the two monitor setup, which is great for after effects. I wonder if my roommates will mind me having two monitors on the kitchen table. I'll have to take the monitor away when I'm not using it.
The best place to buy this flatscreen monitor is the goodwill computer shop on the south side, from what I can tell.
I am buying a flatscreen monitor. I'll have the two monitor setup, which is great for after effects. I wonder if my roommates will mind me having two monitors on the kitchen table. I'll have to take the monitor away when I'm not using it.
The best place to buy this flatscreen monitor is the goodwill computer shop on the south side, from what I can tell.
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