August 17 , 2006

I've gotten a bunch of questions over the past few weeks, and I'll answer them all, that could be answered publicly. These aren't exactly how they were worded, but they're close enough

How many videos?

Atleast eight. I've put only four on a DVD and said it was done in the past. This one has more. I could put what I have on a disc and say its done, but I want quality.

How much more to do?

Enough - Just can't exactly focus all of my energy on it now.

What do you do after you make all the videos?

There's a lot more than just the videos. I have to author the DVD. What's that mean? Let's say I have all the videos done. I go into a program for a few days for DVD Authoring. I import all of the videos, and insert chapters into them. This will allow you to skip to different points in the video. Then I have to design the menu system, and make a button for every video for you to go to. After that I need to burn it to a DVD, and test it out, make sure it all worked out right. I find errors, and things that need to be tweeked. Perhaps it's audio, an ending, spelling, or authoring error. This is time consuming. After I get one that is good, I duplicate that disc lots of times, and store them onto a spindal for the next step which is the cases. I probably put too much effort into the cases, but presentation is everything. I then design the cases and how I want them to look. I print them out a few times to make sure I get them right and everything looks good. They're then all cut by hand and placed into the trays. I then design a label for the discs and put the labels onto the disc. They're then shipped out to all of the fans.

What after you're done with the DVD?

I'll probably go on tour, and Disney World. After that, I'll go back into the basement and start working on the next DVD which is also scheduled to be completed in 2006.

Will there be a Plus-44 song on the finished product? What about Blink-182?

More than likely no. If they do release their CD before this DVD, don't be surprised if I delay it to put a video by them on here. There is no current date for the Plus-44 album, and all I've heard is late October at the earliest. The only Plus-44 track I have access to is a demo. I put a demo on my first DVD and regret it ever since. As far as Blink, maybe. Wait and see. The Cure will not be on this DVD.

Why did you push the release date back? Do you need help? Do you need money?

Nope - It is all on me, and my creativity, which at times is slow. If you don't think this is the best one I've done, then the entire project was a failure. The money situation should be fine.

... what do you do with the videos you cut? Will they ever make it to anything?

Full videos that are cut are deleted. I do not want them ever being used. Clips from cut videos may be used again in the future, or for another reason. I have not regreted deleting any of the videos.

What kind of camera do you use?

A good one.

How many copies of the DVD do you make?

The first DVD I made, I only made like 10 copies of. The most recent, I made over 150 copies.

 

 

August 16 , 2006

So there hasn't been many updates. I'm sorry. I've been working hard, tweeking, trying to get them just right. I promised the best one, and that's what I'll deliver.

However, I'm not going to make it to September 5th. I've had to take a break here and there to get my head on right, and attend to some personal stuff. So september 5th isn't happening. Sorry. What I can promise, because its near completion, is something big, and unexpected. That is part of the reason why September 5th won't happen. You'll see what I mean. And.. I'll show you another video on the 5th, and I'll redo the Halo video so it loads quicker. I figured out a great way of compressing video, and its easy.

When will it be done? Very shortly. Don't forget, I'm close to having it done, and I'm just tweeking some of the videos. How close am I to being finished, I'm not sure. I'll also let you in on another surpise - This isn't the only DVD that will be released by me in 2006.

Don't rush it - it won't be good if you rush it.

August 7, 2006

There's the cover for it. And the title. It's called Thaumaturgic.

I am so excited about what's going to be on here. Amazing stuff. Guess you have to wait. I pormise, best one ever.

July 23, 2006

I've had lots of complaints about the video size, I'll work on it. that was just one of the tests I did. I can cut it down more, give me some time. I didn't put a high priority on it.

I showed a few of the videos to two people. From what I could tell, they loved each and every one, including the crappy videos. I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

Go Blackhawks!

July 20, 2006

Lots of people have been asking how the DVD is coming. I come with good stuff. Perhaps the DVD won't be delayed? Perhaps it will. I'm not sure. I hope not. It'll be close.

The good news though is, I have a preview for you. A whole friggin' video. Now, many people won't like this video. Sorry in advance. All of the videos are so unique, I want them to be a surprise. There is no other video that I've done that is like this one. That being said, I also chose this one because many people already had a good hunch it would happen, and were actually involved in the making. So I need to say thanks to the people who helped make it... Viper, Cartwright, Fishbulb, Ego, Macho Man, Nemasis, and Sarg. Couldn't have made this without ya.

Also, I'd like to apoligize if there was a part that happened that night that didn't make it. We worked on it for six long hours (or I did atleast) and I didn't sit through it all. I sat through maybe an hour and a half of footage. So there's lots of stuff left out.

What else to tell you... Nothing I guess. You should check out the video (75 MB) . OH! I suck at compressing stuff, and so does the program I use, so you get to wait for a super long time while it downloads.

July 16 , 2006

This will be quick, as it isn't great news, and I'm waiting for a video to render. Four videos are officially done and ready to go. They may need minor tweeking at the very end. Artwork has been started.

The bad news - I'm 50% sure that the DVD will be delayed, because the day I said it would be launched (I forget what it was now) is going to be the launch of something else that goes with it. This increases project size. One last thing, a lot of the bouns features got cut. They're going to something different. You'll see soon.

July 07 , 2006

So, lots to talk about. I haven't done anything this week - or so it seems. I cleaned my room, and I need that to get done for one video.

What is more fun, is a company I work with just got access to a high-def camera. I drooled on it. The camera is worth, I don't know what. It is a rental, as they may buy it. But I did play with it for a few shots. Good stuff. I want to get one, but that won't happen for a very long time, and I don't want it to. That technology is still just amazing to me. I'm fine with what we're at. There will be no HD version of this dvd - don't ask. I just thought it was interesting.

Also a few weeks ago, and I didn't write about it, I went to a special effects studio. Also very cool stuff. Lots of bright green, black, solid colors.. Good stuff. Very interesting. I didn't get to take home anything worth mentioning, but cool to know what's going on out there with people who have big dollars.

My goal for this weekend is to finish up another video, shoot a few shots, get a title, and start the artwork. In a way, I've already started the artwork, but I want to start making stuff I'll use. It's hard to make artwork without a title.

So I have big goals, and I need my energy. Good night, wish me luck, send me lots of monay.

July 02 , 2006

Three done! Sweet. When I finish up the fifth video, I'll start taking requests for copies. Hopefully by then, I'll have some art, and a title.

So what's it like? It's good stuff. It isn't like any of the others. It's a little bit different, but it will have a random feel to it. I can't say, "Expect three monekeys to drive up in a car, pay for gas.." It isn't like that. The stuff I'm keeping is more random sort of stuff. There's a lot of work going into it, and I'm super pleased with it. I know I said that I'd have something for you to check out a while ago, but I can't let you see. It would ruin the fun.

I need to get to bed. I'll talk to you fans later... That's right.. Fans. I didn't call you idiots like I usually do ;)

July 01 , 2006

BLAH BLAH BLAH - I haven't doen anything in a while. Sorry, work comes first. Have to pay for everything somehow.

I finished up another video, and am near completion with another.. so we have almost three videos done. I'm so excited where this is headed. I love how they're starting to turn out! Now let me get back to work, jerks.

June 05 , 2006

Video is shot at 29.97 frames per second. Sixty seconds in a minute, about two minutes, and thirty seconds in a video. That's a lot of frames, huh? Doing some Larry math, it comes out to be about 4,000 frames. In one video, I am basically redrawing each frame, and it is taking a very long time. I attached basically what I mean.

In the top right, and bottom left, the picture is what you'd expect out of a camera. You can see details, and all of that fun stuff. in the top left, and bottom right, is what I'm doing. There's no detail, only solid colors. As you can imagine, it takes a long time to do this. Take a look at the sticks and leaves on the ground, my face and shirt. It is basically all done over again.

There you go, another shot of what to expect.

June 04 , 2006

Time for a long overdue update. Not a whole lot has happened in the past two weeks for two weeks.

One video is 100% done. Two are 100% shot, and need to be finished being edited. The editing on these two videos are going to take a long time, one will take a while because there's over four hours of footage I need to go through. Not to thrilled about it, but it has to be done.

Also - need to thank MaryJo for hooking me up with a new tripod. I've already used it, and got some interesting shots.

Ok, another Q&A before I start editing.

How's the DVD coming?

Slow - may be delayed. I hope not

Can I be in it?

No. Go away.

Is it true you're doing car stunts?

What? Any car "stunts" on there will not be dangerous. What the heck are you thinking?

I saw you with your camera outside of your house.

That's great? Pretty sure this isn't a question.

Are you working on a different project other than this one?

I'm always working on different projects. That's why there were no updates. You shouldn't care about them though. They're not that great.

Can I see what you have done?

Ok - this was asked by myself because I'm surprised no one has asked this yet. No. But within the next few weeks, I will have a short video for you to check out to give you friggin' hope or something.

 

 

May 14, 2006

Ok - I'm changing directions with this. I have so many tools to use now, but I just don't know how to use them very well. This clashes with my idea of perfection. I look back at the best videos, and I see, the funnest videos are not the "perfect" ones. They're the ones with errors. Plus, I'm not having too much fun doing "perfection."

So, the idea is now to play with the tools, and learn something, like I started out with. Every video, I learned one new thing. After I use that tool multiple times, I'll have a better understanding, and it'll help out making a better video. This is good.

You know what else is good? Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I thought I settled on a title, and some art Saturday night. Didn't happen. Wasn't pleased with it when I woke up. I'm not sure if I'm keeping the title, but the art is out the window. It sucks!

One person has fully approved of the first video. Although they hated the song, they felt it was good to put on the disc. I think it's almost there. A few more shots need to be gathered, and then its good to go. I have started another video, and it is going to have this awesome... well I'll surprise you. Attached for your viewing pleasure though, is a cropped frame from the video. Hopefully I don't cut this video. would be a shame. You'll be looking for this shot, and "Uh oh! It's not there!"

May 13, 2006

I’m not going to lie. Nothing has gotten done the past few days.

The weather by me has sucked, and I want to reshoot something. But I guess I could start shooting one of the indoor videos. Oh well, don’t care. Didn’t feel like working on it… Too disgusted by some new equipment I was reading about.

May 11, 2006

No shooting this past couple of days.

We did get the driveway blacktopped. I didn’t know that we were doing this. I’ll probably use that somehow in a video.

I’ve been watching a few different videos. There’s a couple of things that I see common in all of the ones I really like… Moving cameras. It is just impossible to fake camera movement. But the second you get a moving camera involved, you need someone moving it. Luckily I’ve had several offers to help out with the project. I’m looking into a couple of different options. One of them may be just building some tracks. The one I’d like to do is close to 400 bucks, and it isn’t really worth $400. I’ve used it before with a much heavier camera. Mine is a small camera, which is what it was built for, so I’m confident it’d produce great results.  But not worth it as of right now.

May 8, 2006

I got lots done this weekend. I've tuned up the camera, dusted off the equipment, used, shot and I'm ready. I did discover my tripod is completely messed up. One leg has fallen off, and it is all bent out of shape, so the shots are hard to get level. That's what I get for having a $20 tripod as one of my main pieces of equipment.

I have recieved many questions about the status, and many other things. One video is near completeion. Is it good? Maybe. It isn't done. I sat down to start editing it today, and thought it was garbage. Stuck with it, it isn't bad. Right now, its waiting for one of the reviewers to review it. There's a few shots I want to toss, and have to reshoot. Like I said earlier, I'm not putting garbage on this thing. I'd say that this video needs about four more hours of work, then it is done. Even then, I'm not sure it'll get used.

Here's a small list of the recent questions I've been getting.

What songs are you using?

I have a few set taht I want to do, but nothing is set. The only promise is AVA - The Adventure.

What's the title/theme?

Theme?! I'm not that good. I don't have a title yet.

If money is tight, why not sell it?

I don't feel like going through and making this a full time job, which is what it'd become. I didn't get into this for money. I got into this to PRACTICE video editing skills, and I'm not that good yet. Donations may be accepted.

How can I help?

Not sure. It's hard to get help because of how I do this. I work when I want to work.

That's it. I don't want to talk anymore.

May 5, 2006

So, yesterday was the last day for my finals. That means shooting starts today. I took the small break I wanted, and I'm ready. I'm so very ready to work on this project.

I have lots going on right now, and this is the project that is the most fun. That said, I really don't want to be infront of a camera anymore. The hard part isn't editing, its being infront of the camera. I don't know why this is. I originally thought it would be easy, but once you've done it a few times, it is hard to be infront of it. Because of this, odds are I won't spend as much time infront, and focus more on the editing side. This in combination with the desire to get a little more familiar with animation has me thinking that it will infact have a more animated feel to it. Of the videos I have plans for, three have been cut because they're just plain dumb. None of those had any sort of plans other than get infront, shoot, done. I have done that way too much and am going to stop.

Perhaps we'll see some 3-D stuff in there ;)

April 30, 2006

Not a lot has happened. School Finals this week. They end Thursday. Guess what's the first day of scheduled shooting. Saturday, I busted out the equipment, shot a few things, to make sure that it all works, and no hickups.

I have a very specific vision for this project. I have a goal, and I see it. It will go. What I'm afraid of is when I go for that perfection, will I miss my target date? Will I deliver on time? I did attempt shooting one scene and it became clear I wasn't going to get it just right. This isn't going to be easy - which is good for me. I haven't put a whole lot of effort into a project lately, and hopefully this can be the project I work at.

Today, I did a search for new music. I haven't exactly been expanding my music collection the past year, so I want to see what I can do. I've got some good stuff I like, but I'm not sure others will. In the past, I underestimated how powerful of an influence the music is in the project. It was originally intended to be an extra thing, but people really like it. And watching it myself, the music maybe as important as the video.

April 25, 2006

For as much that has been going on, and as much work I’ve done, there needs to be a report, or at least a minor check in. I’m on my break at school as I write this so I’ll make it short.

My workstation is back online, upgrades went smoothly, and almost everything is done. Still a few minor things need to be tweaked out.

The biggest news is I’ve set a target release date – September 5, 2006. I’ve gotten ideas for two more videos. I’ve got lots of ideas, but I need to start shooting soon. September is sooner than I think. However, I have stopped myself from shooting period, until school is 100% done, because if I don’t, I will fail which is a real possibility with my current grades.

What else to tell you….  This will be the biggest, and best DVD I’ve done. I promise that. No title for it yet. I’ve thought of a few, but I’m going to hold out on a true title for a while. I gotta get to class.

If anyone has questions, contact me in the forum.

April 20, 2006

I hope to have at least the starting of a video this weekend. It'll be a busy one, so I'm not sure. I do think I will get started this weekend though out of excitement. You spend a nice amount of change on a few toys, you want to use it, see what it can do. I'll be up really late Friday night toying around with everything, getting it just right, running through trainings. And that's how I come up with some good stuff.

Not much else to tell you.

April 19, 2006

I got the amount in damages. The whole new system is going to be near $750 bucks. I put down a little down payment on the equipment that I ordered because I ordered so much. I was really disappointed in myself when I got this news. Why didn’t I check system requirements? I’m well past the point of no return, so it must be done. Plus the upgrades will help when I do real work.

I cut grass today. This may not seem like it is a noteworthy thing, but this is very important. When I cut grass, I have a lot of time to think. I’ll think about anything. Although I didn’t think much about the actual production of this DVD, it did help my clear my mind. Today, I also added the blog section to Gasik.com. Not sure how much good this will do.

People have been asking what I’m doing for this one- what songs, etc. As most of you know, my favorite band broke up over a year ago. One of the members started Angels and Airwaves. Their first single is called “The Adventure.” I heard it about five months ago. From the first listening, I know what I want to do for the video, the shots, theme, etc. This one is planned out. That’s all I’ll say in terms of what will be used.

April 17, 2006

Today, in name of the progress of the DVD, I watched some training. I did a little chit chat with an editor and producer about the advantages of perhaps switching to a mac based editing system or even running avid. After ruling out these options because of cost, I decided to stick with my current system.

I did some research on upgrading it and it's going to cost me $500 roughly. It's a killer as it is coming out of my own pocket.. It isn't like the previous DVD's that were all edited on trial versions of software. I can't do that anymore. This has to be done.

Last night I came up with another idea for a video, and killed a different idea as it was stupid and it isn't what I'm going for. It would just be, "Point, shoot, Done." I'm going away from that. I'm trying to create a more technical piece this time. I also talked to a buddy of mine, who is willing to help me work on it - mostly just catching errors.

Oh, and I put the batteries in the charger this morning.....

April 14, 2006

Over the past two years, Larry has created short DVD’s with music for everyone. Starting on his still camera, he’s moved up to a camcorder. As time progressed, the audience has grown from a few close friends, to being wildly popular (if that’s what you want to call it) across North America. The demand has been high for the next one, and the weather has changed….

Well I’m announcing it. The next DVD is in preproduction. I have lots of fresh ideas for it, but these ideas are just rolling around in my head. I haven’t exactly thought about any of these in detail, and where I’d go with them, but I have them. That’s why it is in Preproduction. My hope is that with some planning, it will become organized, and be the best work I’ve done, both entertaining and from a technical aspect.

I have ideas for about 11 different videos right now, and a few bonus features. As most of you know, I was not at all happy with Elegant Toilet Dreams. It just didn’t have a good feel to it. ETD had about 15 videos, and half were cut because they were just that bad. I will not be afraid to cut videos again. If I feel it overall isn’t complete, I will add more.

Scheduled shooting starts sometime early May, when school will take a break for me and I can dedicate more time to it. All I’ve done lately is maybe 10 minutes here, and ten minutes there. In fact, this announcement is being written during a small break at work. I do not want to pin myself at all for time and work on this as who knows what adventures will arise in the upcoming months. However, do not expect the DVD to be completed by September. That’s just insane. I do not have a set title, but the overall project name will be “The Number Four.” That will NOT be the official name of the product.

That’s all I want to tell everyone now. I’ll leave you guessing as to what shows up on it.