Oh, I don't know...

2009-08-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

I have migrated to a brand new Wordpress blog!
Check it out - blog.paulhoppedesign.com

Paul

TRAVEL!!!

2009-06-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well I've done a lot of traveling in my time but I think these next two months will take the cake! This blog has been a good way for me to share with y'all my excursions etc. so I will try and keep it updated during my travels. I am currently packing for my visit to hawaii! I get to hang out with my brother mark (who lives there) and the rest of my family (minus laura). It should be a blast and I will keep you updated. I'll be there for 2 weeks.

peace!

Garage Voice LIVE!

2009-06-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sketch 0015

2009-03-02T19:29:00.001-08:00

CirclePATTERN_1
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

I made this a while ago. It is 100% wingdings! Check out the full res version of Flickr to see all the small little goodies!

Stylized Nature with a Broken Lens

2009-02-24T22:54:00.001-08:00

IMG_3796
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

Before I took my lens in for repair I took these nature-type shots to take advantage of the cool distortion effect caused by the malfunctioning lens. I also had some adjustment layer fun in photoshop.

Felted Wire Landscapes

2009-02-24T22:47:00.001-08:00

IMG_0249 - Version 2
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

My 50mm 1.4 lens is in for repairs so I decided to play with the macro function on my little PowerShot SD770. A few hours and couple color tweaks later my pipe-cleaner alarm clock has turned into fuzzy positive and negative space.

Pipe-Cleaner Fun

2009-02-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

I had the urge to make something with my hands the other night and pipe-cleaners were readily available. I was challenged by my roommate Sam to make a working alarm clock. I think got as close as possible. There are "gears" in the back and the hands turn smoothly around the face.

Paul

Jeremiah Mullins at Crossroads Corona

2009-01-31T12:05:00.001-08:00

IMG_3090 - Version 2
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

For some reason I have quite a few friends who are in bands. One of them asked me to come to this worship service / concert that they were playing at and take some pictures. It was a great excuse to use my new camera / lens combination in a live event setting for the first time. It was a learning experience but I think I got a few good ones.

Sketch 0014

2009-01-25T12:11:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0014
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

Some Hexagons

Sketch 0013

2009-01-23T21:32:00.001-08:00

Sketch 00013
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

Some Circles

Christmas in January

2009-01-14T14:12:00.001-08:00

IMG_2874 - Version 2
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

I just had the greatest Christmas weekend with my good friends! Check out the pictures on my new pro Flickr account!
Friends + 5d = Fun

Paul

Sketch 0012

2008-12-29T00:34:00.001-08:00

When I Grow Up
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

When I Grow Up...

I would like to use some version of this for my portfolio reel and maybe my website too.

Sketch 0011

2008-12-24T17:59:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0011
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

A lyrical excerpt from a Pedro The Lion song.

Sketch 0010

2008-12-24T00:23:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0010
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

Op-Art Storyboards? Who knows? (I sure don't.)

Sketch 0009

2008-12-24T00:19:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0009
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

This one was fun. Kinda like dancing sperm.

Huzzah for RadioLab!

Sketch 0008

2008-12-24T00:17:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0008
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

A logotype for me. There are parts of this that I really like and parts that I hate so... Whatever.

Sketch 0007

2008-12-18T19:05:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0007
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

And the final Thank You.

Sketch 0006

2008-12-18T19:04:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0006
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

Thank You #3

Sketch 0005

2008-12-18T12:01:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0005
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

Thank You # 2

Sketch 0004

2008-12-18T11:58:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0004
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

The first in a series of Thank You sketches.

Sketch 0003

2008-12-18T00:04:00.003-08:00

Sketch 0003
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

This one kinda goes along with number 0002.

Sketch 0002

2008-12-18T00:04:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0002
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

Sketch 0001

2008-12-18T00:00:00.001-08:00

Sketch 0001
Originally uploaded by Paul Hoppe

This first one sucks. But for me that's half the point of sketching. Getting all of the bad ideas out so I can get good ones more consistently.

Sketches?

2008-12-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

Alright, here's the deal: I am going to be trying to do more design/sketching so as to keep in practice and what a better place to document my digital sketches than in the digital domain of the internet!
I'm sure that I will hate doing this at first and most of the sketches will be crap but we'll see how it goes.

Paul

Upcoming 8mm Wedding Shoot!

2008-12-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

As a direct result of my 8mm Oregon video (see previous post) I have been asked by the lovely Courtney Hollin Brodeur to film her wedding in June! I'm really excited about it and honored to be asked as her style is so cool!

Paul

Brookings, OR - Super8mm

2008-10-26T14:57:00.001-07:00

Brookings, OR - Super 8mm from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

I shot this footage while on vacation in Oregon last July. They were shot with my grandfathers 1965 Yashica Super-8 25 on KODAK EKTACHROME 64T Color Reversal Film. It features my brothers (David and Steven) and the beautiful Oregon Coast.

Quick Animation Test

2008-10-02T10:41:00.001-07:00

Quick Animation Test from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

Chemical Calesthenics - Motion Graphics Final

2008-10-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

The final project for my motion design class at Art Center. Click through to Vimeo to see it in HD.

Chemical Calisthenics from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

Tonight Show Open - Motion Graphics Project

2008-10-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

This video was the midterm project for my motion design class at Art Center. Click through to Vimeo to view it in HD.

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

The Denouement - Saddest Joke

2008-10-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

I did this video for Malachi and Sam Ward's band The Denouement for the recording of their debut album Low Tide.

The Denouement - Saddest Joke from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

Principles of Animation - Motion Graphics Project

2008-10-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

8 Principles of Animation from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

New Claymation Film

2008-04-23T23:05:00.001-07:00

We just finished our newest claymation film. It's called "The Restoration"
The Restoration - A Film by Sam Ward from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

Check out afilmbysamward.blogspot.com for some other cool stuff

Paul

APU Night of Champions Video

2008-04-12T12:19:00.001-07:00

I did this little intro for Azusa Pacific University's 2008 Night of Champions Event. It is based on Isaiah 30:21 and was created using Photoshop, After Effects, and Google Earth.

Paul

Happy Birthday Blog!

2008-02-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

So... I've been doing this for a year now and I have how many posts? Oh, well... happy birthday to all and to all a goodnight.

Paul

Video Sketch 007

2008-01-23T12:47:00.001-08:00

Fog/Night (Video Sketch 007) from Paul Hoppe on Vimeo.

Paul

A Christmasy Looping Thing

2008-01-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

Paul

I got a job!

2007-08-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Today APU called to inform me that I was officially hired. I am now the "Video Graphics Designer" with Media Services. There will be some logistical things to work out next week before my first day of work on the 3rd. I am very happy and I'm sure you will be hearing more about it from me soon.

Paul

Movie Poster Design

2007-08-06T17:23:00.001-07:00

This is one version of a design that I did as part of my interview for a job at BLT & Associates in Hollywood. I really really want this job!

Paul

Comic-Con 2007

2007-07-30T13:05:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I went North to San Francisco. This weekend I went south to San Diego for the biggest gathering of nerds on the planet. Comic-Con International 2007. It was a crazy 3 days.

Malachi is pretty excited!

Inside the San Diego Convention Center

6000 people gathered to hear about the new Get Smart movie from Warner Bros. If you look carefully you can see Steve Carrell and The Rock on the screens (click to enlarge).

Little Keiko in a large room.

LOTS of people and video monitors.

Lots of Legos!

Stormtroopers and Fett!

A small sample of the LucasArts display case.
Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and a ton of Awards.

At the Jim Henson Company presentation we got to see previews of new shows and a sample of a Muppet Improv show.

And finally Ray Harryhausen in person. (He's on the right)
The father of Special Effects is still going strong at 85! We got to watch 20 Million Miles to Earth while he (and some others) did live commentary.

Paul

Video Sketch 006

2007-07-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

Another AfterEffects tutorial that got out of hand.

Paul

Pictures from SFrisco

2007-07-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went with

and

to visit

in SFrisco.

Those were some trippy pictures.
These are some less trippy trip pictures.

You can click on them to see them up close.

Some girls on a bus.

We found a green screen.

One of the pillars in some famous park or something.

Lesson #43 in being cool. Stand like this.

A yellow house.

As you can see we are standing here.

I know we're cold but lets go that way.

Some other famous building with a Café-Bar in it.

We're on a Pier

At the SFMOMA there was an awesome light projection installation...

...but my camera was on manual focus and I didn't find out until later.

a pretty flower (in focus).

The drive home, complete with semi.

yeah!

Paul

Video Sketch 005

2007-07-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

380 photos taken every 15 steps while walking up and down a section of Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Paul

Video Sketch 004

2007-07-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

Here's another After Effects project. The tutorial had me animating the camera driving down a cartoon road around street signs. I adapted it to make it more my style. It was designed to loop and its kinda quick so you may have to watch it a few times.

Paul

The Fire

2007-07-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

Check out Malachi's new comic: "The Fire" over at A Film By Sam Ward
Paul

Video Sketch 003

2007-07-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

This was an After Effects tutorial that I found through a link on Motionogropher.com. It uses images exported from Google Earth to simulate a fall from space.

Paul

Balboa Island Pictures

2007-07-04T23:16:00.001-07:00

Paul

Video Sketch 002

2007-07-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

Paul

Job Interview #3

2007-06-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well this was my last "job" interview of the week. Tomorrow is the only day this week that I don't have an interview, and Friday I have the interview at Creative Circle. Today's interview was at The RTC Group in San Clemente. They publish trade magazines for the "Embedded Technology" industry. Embedded technology is basically any technology that is not in something like a personal computer. It includes the computer chips in everything from cell phones to military UAVs (Un-manned Aerial Vehicles). The job description itself was not really exciting but the description of the working environment and the values that the company holds to were very exciting. Imagine a company that is based in honesty and integrity with both the clients and the employees. A company where, even though the design isn't very interesting, they are committed to doing better design on every project than they did on the previous one. that may not sound very impressive when I say it, but during my interview I sat at the table with the Owner of the company, the Creative Director, and the rest of the design team for 1 hr. and 45 mins. and had them all look at my portfolio, ask me questions, and talk about the company. I could go on and on about everything I heard during my interview but the thing that will decide this job for me or not is that if they make me an offer it comes with the requirement that I relocate to a city that is a reasonable driving distance from their office within 60 days of the first day of work. They need someone to start work in 2 weeks (at the very latest). I'm really overwhelmed with possibilities/decisions right now so...

...I guess we just get to wait and see how things go.

Paul

Job Interview #2

2007-06-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

This interveiw was at a advertising and marketing company called Kelly Media Group, located in Upland. They specialize in taking television shows that do the "call the number at the bottom of your screen now and get your free (insert item)" thing. They help their clients buy television time, take all the calls that come in, and ship out whatever the people are ordering. They also mail advertisements and postcards and newsletters (read junk mail) for the same clients. Up until now they have been contracting out all of their design work (website, letters, mailers, etc.) to who knows where and paying a lot of money for it. Now they want to hire an in-house designer to do all of these things for them so that they can save money.

The interview itself went really well. They said that they have interviewed a lot of people for the position but my work was "by far the best [they've] seen". They also said that I should hear back from them sometime in the next week or so. So that's good. I am not thrilled with the client list (as it includes a large percentage of Televangelists) but the office is only 20-30 minutes away and the pay is pretty good. I guess we will see if they call me back.

(#3 up next)

Paul

Job Interview #1

2007-06-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

This one was at InCase Design Corp. in Irwindale. It was for a production artist position which basicaly means a job that uses design tools without actually getting to do anything creative. The office was really cool and the senior designer who was interviewing me was cool too. She looked at my resume/portfolio and said that I did not have enough production design experience for the position and that it would drive me crazy trying to do the job because it was to dry and technical for me. She also said that they are going to be hiring a new creative in a couple months and that because she liked me and my portfolio she would keep my information around for when they start interviewing for that position. Hopefully I will have a job already by then, but another possibility never hurts.

(job interview #2 comming soon)

Paul

Things are always changing.

2007-06-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have finally recieved the sad news from UCI that I am not on the roster for next fall. I was half expecting this and have already put my contingancy plan into action. I have 3 job interviews next week at various design and production jobs and an interview at Creative Circle, a creative staffing agency downtown. I have also sent out emails to my favorite motion graphics firms in LA hoping to get a portfolio review and some advice on starting a career in motion design. Hopefully one of these leads will turn into a something, I'll just have to wait and see. At this point I am planning on continuing to do more artwork in order to beef up my portfolio for applying to grad school again next year. So...

Paul

The Denouement w/ Garage Voice - Pictures

2007-05-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

Garage Voice...

...and The Denouement.

Paul

New Official Website

2007-05-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

I just got myself an official website for my design portfolio. You can see it in it's temporary state at www.paulhoppedesign.com

Paul

Hello Newsletter Visitors!

2007-05-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone who is visiting because of a tip-off from my family's newsletter. I'm glad you are here to look at my humble space on the Internet. I highly recommend a viewing of the pictures of my trip, and a visit to the blog for the film project that I am a part of A Film By Sam Ward. Also, If you leave any comments be sure to include your name so that I will know who you are. Thanks for visiting! Please enjoy your stay and come back again soon as I am always adding new (and hopefully interesting) stuff.

Paul

A New Housemate!

2007-05-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Her name is Eleanor and she is a little baby Siamese mix. In these pictures you can see her in the two moods she has displayed so far: Running/Climbing and Cuddling.

Paul

Blogs To See

2007-05-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Our claymation related blog is up and running now. A Film By Sam Ward contains news, pictures, comics, and other stuff dedicated to the world in which our claymation films exist. Go check it out!

Also, if you are into video games, UltraRobotNinja (a friend of mine) has just started a blog about all things gaming related. His first post is about his experiences and thoughts on the Halo 3 Beta (which I got to play with him last night). If you don't know what that means then this may not be the blog for you.

That's all for now.

Paul

A Chinese Whirlwind: Part 3

2007-05-15T20:22:00.001-07:00

The next day we got up early and drove 2.5 hours to a part of the Great Wall of China called Simetai. It was worth the drive for a couple of reasons. The first is that, being far away from the city means that there were no crowds and it was less touristy. The second is that the location we visited was the highest point on the Great Wall. We were met at Simetai by the pastor of my parents church in Thailand and his family. Their eldest son works with the British government in Beijing and speaks Chinese. He had also been to this place a few times and knew his way around. This allowed us to relax because we didn't have to worry about any of the details and we could just enjoy ourselves. Which we did.

Pictures anyone?

There it is

We got to ride this cable car about 2/3 of the way up.

On the wall

Out the window of a turret.
It's amazing how the wall just keeps winding off into the distant mountains.

A cranny in the turret

Steven up high

Steven enjoying the wind and wall

Anime Snapshot

A family on the wall

The next morning we got up really early and got a taxi back to the airport. From there we all flew to Bangkok and parted ways. I flew back to LAX through Taipei and my family flew straight back to Chiang Mai. So ended the Chinese Whirlwind and my trip to Asia.

Paul

A Chinese Whirlwind: Part 2

2007-05-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

The next morning we took a taxi to Tianamen Square and walked up through the Forbidden City. This sounds simple enough but took a long time and was very taxing on our feet. It was, however, amazing and worth the trip. So... lots of pictures...

Tianamen Square

The entrance to the Forbidden City

About to enter, Mao is looming.

Walking in (I really liked the lighting in this archway.)

Panorama of the second entrance. David's head is on the right.

Closer to the walls

An idea of the scale

Now we are inside (and we found the Starbucks)

Forbidden rooftops

Further towards the north of the walk we came to the gardens

Boys, Dragon, Goldfish

Pretty

And now we come out the north end and look back across the moat (not pictured) to see the wall that surrounds the city. If there was someone standing over by the trees then you would have a better idea of how huge the wall is. The small tree is about 20 feet tall.

One of my favorite parts of the day was seeing a bunch of men in the park standing around playing various games. These guys were playing Go, but some others were playing cards, chess, and dominoes. There was also lots silence followed by loud spurts of arguing and yelling about various rules and strategies. It was great.

Get ready for part 3!

Paul

A Chinese Whirlwind: Part 1

2007-05-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

We were not around for the third day of Songkran because we had to leave for China. We flew into Beijing, took a taxi about an hour to our hotel, and checked in before it got dark. Then we decided to try and walk to find a night market that my Mom had read about. So began our Chinese Whirlwind.

We never found the night market (read: Got lost and walked around for 3 hours) but we did walk through a cool park with some metal sculpture things, and see some cool lanterns hanging around. We did however find a "Snack Street" with some excellent (and some gross) food.

We ate and then walked back to the hotel.

(Part 2 coming up!)

Paul

Here Comes The Flood...

2007-05-01T22:37:00.001-07:00

The reason I chose to visit my family at this time of the year was because of Songkran (the Thai new year celebration). It is basically a 3+ day nation-wide water fight in which no one who steps outside is exempt. Chiang Mai is famous for being the best place in the country to celebrate it.

Here's how it works: Half of the city piles all their friends and relatives into the back of a pick-up with buckets and water guns and a giant trash-can full of water. Then they drive around town soaking everyone in sight. The other half of the city stands by the side of the road with hoses, buckets, and water guns soaking everyone in the trucks.

The first day I spent with Steven and his friends in the back of a truck. We were lucky to have a truck with a removable cover and benches in the bed.

I don't have any pictures from the second day as it was spent walking around downtown with David and his friends and I didn't dare take my camera with me. It was an amazing experience and very hard to describe. If you have ever been to a big concert with no seating you know what it is like to stand with people up against you on all sides making it very difficult to walk. Imagine that, except there are trucks full of people that are trying to drive through the middle of it and everyone is:
- Singing/shouting
- Somewhere between slightly and heavily drunk
- Throwing water on everyone else.

It was great.

Paul

P.S.
(OK I lied, I do have pictures from the second day but they were taken in the morning, while riding in the car with my dad. There weren't many people out and traffic was actually moving because most people were still sleeping off their hangovers.)

Back in action

2007-05-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not sure why I tend to post in bursts, but that's what seems to happen. Here we go again. These are from back in Thailand with David, Steven, and Sam.
(Click on the pictures to see the bigger versions.)

Paul

A new blog...

2007-04-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

a new blog has been started just for our claymation work!

afilmbysamward.blogspot.com

I just copy/pasted some song lyrics there for now but soon there will be actual stuff on it.

Paul

all the way home

2007-04-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, I'm home now and recovering from jet lag. Yesterday I slept for 17 hours and last night I slept 4. I have no sense of time or the date. As soon as I get my head screwed on straight I will begin the backlog of posts that have been gradually building.

Back from China

2007-04-18T00:41:00.000-07:00

I am now back in Bangkok and waiting for my plane to go to Taipei (and then on to LA). My family will leave from here and fly back to Chiang Mai about the same time. The Internet connection here is sketchy but I thought I would post anyway. China was great! We did a night food market thing the first night before going back to our hotel. Then the next day we went to Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City. Then yesterday we did the Great Wall, and this morning we flew out. It was quite the whirlwind tour but we did it. Well, more details on these things and the end of my Thailand stay when I return tomorrow nightish. (I return tomorrow night but may not actually post then)

This is not the perfect blog

2007-04-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

As I am sure you are already aware. This is not the perfect blog. I spell stuff incorrectly, my facts aren't always straight, I don't post everyday, and now I will begin posting out of order. Stuff is happening so fast now that I don't have time to write about what is going on as it happens. The last two days were very full and interesting and will take a while to write about. But now we are sitting in the Bangkok airport waiting for out plane to take us to Beijing, China. My external hard drive with all my pictures on it is packed away in my checked bag and I may not get be able to set it all up in the same place that I get Internet while we are in China. I may not get Internet there at all.

So... My blog will be confusing and the pictures of my last few days in Thailand, pictures of China, and all my videos may have to wait until I get back to California. I will try and write about things as I get the chance but it will probably be brief. Sorry. You will just have to deal with it.

YouTube vs. Thailand

2007-04-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so I really wanted to post videos of my trip as I have been taking a few of them. But I have been having problems with the Internet provider not allowing access to YouTube. I thought this was just a small problem and that it would be fixed sometime soon. Apparently not. A couple of weeks ago, somewhere on YouTube, a video (or a few, I'm not sure) was posted that makes fun of the King of Thailand. I don't know how serious the video is but... the Thai people love their king. YouTube would not let the country block individual videos because of some discrimination issues so the government decided to block the entire site. YouTube no longer exists in Thailand.

As this is the case I will have to wait until I get home to post the videos. Sorry for the delay.

More Goings On

2007-04-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Stuff here is happening pretty fast so I am a little behind. The other day my mother and I went to Wararot market (basically a collection of stores) to buy some stuff and I took these pictures.

Fabric Store

A Thai Silk Store

A Guy Smoking

A Bead Store

Kent Anderson Butler Presents: Little Sunshine

2007-04-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

ART NEWS FLASH!!!
My friend (and former professor) is having an art exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. He has been telling me about the work and I am really excited to see it installed. The reception is Monday, April 23 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. and he is doing an "Artist Talk" on Sunday, May 6 at 2:00 pm. Hope to see you there.

More information:
About Kent and his work...
www.kentandersonbutler.com
About the Museum and Kent's show...
www.pmcaonline.org/upcoming-exhibitions.html

Wouldn't it be just like me to...

2007-04-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

...get sick. Yes folks, the night before last it started out as a sore throat but then quickly escalated to a fever (with all the aches and pains that it so graciously provides). I spent that night tossing and turning in my bed deathly afraid of being splashed with cold water by a little girl (who laughed in between splashes) and with random parts of Wilco's "Heavy Metal Drummer" looping through my head.

Fevers do weird things to your brain.

But now I am getting better. The fever is gone and I now only have exhaustion and a sore throat to contend with. I took a couple of videos that I am planning on editing and posting soon. But for some reason the ISP at the house won't let me access YouTube. I can't even view the videos on my own blog. Hopefully by the time I finish editing the videos I will feel well enough to go to a place that has free wireless and I can upload them there.

It is David's birthday today and I think we are having some of his friends over for dinner or something like that.

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas

Mike's and Geocaching

2007-04-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was spent sitting around the house recovering from my trip. I ate some delicious mangoes and pineapple (the fruit here is amazing) and sat under the air conditioner.

Today however we had our first day out on the town. Mom and Dad had some errands to do in the morning for which we stayed home but when they got back we piled into the van and drove the 1o minutes into central Chiang Mai.

We ate lunch at Mike's (hailed by some as the best American food in town) and then walked down the street looking for the Geocache that we had looked up on the Internet that morning. What? you don't know what a Geocache is? Well, then you had better read this because I don't have time to explain it myself.

We found the cache with out too much trouble as it was in plain sight in a store (no I won't tell you which one). We were hoping for more of a challenge, but it wasn't to bad for our first one. Hopefully we can hide our own later.

oh yeah, pictures...

Mike's! (proud supporter of Comic Sans)

The GPS unit leading the way past a taxi parking lot and a building that is several hundred years old.

Detail shot of a really old wall (taken from the car as we were speeding past)

Steven navigating with the GPS unit

Sam, always happy to be photographed.

More stuff later!

A safe arrival

2007-04-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

I made it! After many hours of flying and waiting I have emerged victorious in my battle over the airport monster. The Internet monster, however, is another matter. The night I got here the odds were stacked against me as I tried desperately to find a connection. As you can see it was only a matter of time before I conquered that as well. (I have to make all this stuff sound dramatic or it is not as interesting to read)

Well, I had better introduce the family so that when I mention them later you will not be confused. First off we have Sam. Sam is my little foster Thai brother who my parents will be keeping until he is 2. Right now he is 7 months old, and very photogenic.

Next we have Steven. After being the youngest for 13 years he finally has a little sibling.

Then there is David. With the older siblings off to college in the States, he is now the oldest one around.

Next is Mom (LeaAnn). I don't know if the fact that I can't remember her age is a good or a bad thing.

And finally Dad (Bill). I'm not even tempted to ask him how old he is. (Why I chose age as the defining factoid that you should know about my family is beyond even my comprehension.)

There they are. Now you know. Everything. There. Is. To. Know...
Jet Lag...
brain...
shutting...
down...
writing...

getting...

stupid...

mosquito...

eating...

me...

goodnight.

Sitting in LAX

2007-04-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

As you can see I am sitting in LAX right now waiting to board my flight. This leg takes me from LA to Taipei in 13 hours and leaves at 1:15AM. Then there is a 3.5 hour layover before continuing on to Bangkok (which takes another 4 hours). Then I wait another 6 hours in Bangkok in order to take the 50min flight to Chiang Mai. So... there is lots of flying and waiting ahead of me. I'll see you on the other side.

Transition Tuesday

2007-04-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today I am leaving to visit my family in Thailand. I feel bad leaving Sam and Malachi to finish the film on their own but I am confident that they will do a good job. So as of now I will be mostly posting about my trip. Hopefully I can get some good pictures and video to show you all. I will also be emailing a bunch of people to tell/remind them of this blogs existence so that all can share in the insanity that will be my trip.

UPDATE!!!
Did I say insanity? That was stupid.

The cantina scenes are complete!

2007-04-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of working and shooting every night (and all day for the last 4 days) we have finally completed shooting and editing all of the scenes inside the cantina. This puts our official footage clock at 7:00 so far. Already it is more than double the length of the last film and we haven't even finished shooting. All we have left now are the scenes on the pirate ship which are the flashbacks that Stonefish experiences during the cantina scenes.

Stuff is happening.

2007-04-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Over the last week we have been working diligently on the movie and things are slowly but surely coming together. Yesterday we continued to film the interior of the cantina and started to work on the opening titles. This morning I finished the titles and we are now waiting for Sam to get here so that we can continue filming. The other day Sam and Malachi's parents (Bruce and Melissa) delivered the pirate ship set that they have been faithfully working on for the past 8 months (since August). I had not seen it yet and was dumbfounded by the craftsmanship and beauty of this genius piece of set building. (as soon as we put the final painting and set dressing I can post some pictures)

Sam is here now and we are discussing our plan of attack for the next few days. I am leaving to visit my family in Thailand on Tuesday and will not be back until the 20th of this month (a little less that two weeks). This leaves us with only 3 more days (including today) that I will be able to help with the filming. We have a lot of work to do in that time. The cantina scenes need to be completely shot and edited so that they can be given to Robbie for sound editing. The ship set needs to be be painted and dressed with props. The rest of the crew needs to be built. The backdrop system for the sky and horizon needs to be designed and constructed. And the end titles need to be added after the lighthouse scene. Plus I have packing and shopping to do before I leave.

The idea is that we will get everything ready to shoot the scenes on the ship before I leave. Then Sam and Malachi will shoot and edit those scenes while I am gone. The entire film needs to be turned in to the festival people by the 16th so... we'll see how it goes.

(new record for post length!)

Production Photos 6: Misc. Characters

2007-03-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Production Photos 5

2007-03-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

More pictures of the cantina in progress. These are from this weekend and show things coming along nicely.

Production Photos 4

2007-03-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

These are the beginning stages of the set for the interior of the cantina. The base is about 30" by 40" and the walls are between 12" and 20" tall. The set is designed so that the walls can be removed and shots can be made from any angle. I am pretty proud of the stairs.

The Storm After The Calm

2007-03-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

As most of you have noticed it has been a while since I had a post on this here interweb thingy. There is no excuse for lackadaisical behavior. Since I last posted I have been busy with many things, most (but not all) of which have been centered around my friend Stonefish.

In order to make up for the lack of posts in the past weeks I will be presenting you with a tsunami of posts today which hopefully will keep you satisfied until I can get back into the swing of regular posting.

Well, here it goes...

Construction has commenced

2007-03-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

This morning I started on the set for the interior of the cantina. before she went to work Brit.keiko helped me by taking me to Home Depot in her RAV4 to get the wood for the foundation. Since Sam and Malachi and I had already designed and measured most of it out last week all I had to do was figure out how to build it. Easy right?

Well its 2:30ish and I am taking a food break. Hopefully I can keep working for the rest of the day and make some more good progress.

I'll post some process pictures as soon as I take them.

Photos/Comments

2007-03-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoy the production photos that I have posted. I can promise that there will be many more to come. Also, please make some comments on any of these posts so far. I would love to know who is reading this (I have almost no idea) and what you like to see. All you have to do is click on the "Comments" link right below the post. I have changed the settings of this blog to allow for annomous comments so please post your name. Or, if you have a Gmail account you can sign in with it on the comments page and post that way.

Thanks for reading,

Paul

P.S.
Special thanks to Paul Ward for posting the first and only comment so far.

Production Photos 3

2007-03-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Production Photos 2: The Exterior of the Cantina

2007-03-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

Production Photos: The Beach

2007-03-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

well, maybe we wont be busy with those things.

2007-03-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

night has fallen and we have started to work on the scene that we set up last night. We did a lot of things today but most of them were not the things I said we were going to do. Sam made the wise observation that if we worked to hard during the day that when it came time to light and shoot the scene during the evening then we would be to tired to do it properly. So after the design work was done and the band practice was completed we:

- Ate lunch (Del Taco)
- Played cards (crazy 8's, memory, and speed)
- Watched movie trailers (Grindhouse)
- Joked about seeing a movie (Reno 911: Miami, or 300)
- Played scrabble (Malachi beat me with "PITY" on a 2x word score)

Now that it is dark, work has commenced on the scene. Malachi and I got the lights set up while Sam worked on putting finishing touches on the characters (Stonefish and Dio). Now that the lights are up there is nothing much for me and Malachi to do. So I am writing this while Malachi goes with Brit to get dinner. Sam is still working on the characters but when he is done we can shoot this thing and be done. Hopefully we will be done at a decent hour.

(wow a post of record length)

Before and During, After to follow

2007-03-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

These are some panoramics that I took of the Art Wedge. The first one is before the construction started and the second one is during the construction. Construction is now complete for this stage of the expansion, but I have yet to take a panoramic of the New Wedge.

I tried to make these pictures bigger but I think blogger has a maximum pixel width that isn't so compatible with these really long pictures.

Tomorrow, another busy day...

2007-03-10T00:52:00.000-08:00

Today we finished putting together the set for the lighthouse shot which will end up being the final shot in the film. Tomorrow night we will light and shoot it. But before that can happen Malachi and Sam have band practice and I have to finish some design work. Then we can finish planning the set for the interior of the cantina and go to Home Depot to get the wood so I can start building it. After it gets dark we can light and shoot the scene that we set up today. A lot of different things happening in a short ammount of time and it doesn't help that Malachi got sick last weekend and Sam and I are getting it this weekend. Fortunately "it" is only cold and not the flu that has been going around.

Shot two complete, fatigue sets in

2007-03-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

Last night (or early this morning) we completed the second shot for Stonefish. It took a while to make the set but we were all pretty happy with the results. It is an establishing shot of The Drunken Fish cantina that will only last something like 12 seconds. For the rest of this weekend we we are working on planning the interior of the cantina and building the set for the next shot which will take place after the interior of the cantina. We are tired and kind of grumpy. Sam however denies it. I don't know how much more work we will get done tonight, maybe none...

...maybe we will watch Science of Sleep.

Video Sketch 001

2007-03-01T15:04:00.001-08:00

Paul

And now we come to the payoff!

2007-02-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

For the next couple months shall be filled with claymating. I am helping Malachi and Sam with their newest claymation mastepiece and we will be very busy. Jordan has volunteered to be responsible for the burrito runs. Pictures and possibly video are soon to follow.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

2007-02-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

The rain was in the backyard!

2007-02-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

It came a long way and arrived safely yesterday.

P.G.K.

2007-02-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen I am proud to introduce P.G.K.

Cheese Bread

2007-02-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

I think I will go and get some cheese bread. It will go well with the leftover soup.

A Malachi Post

2007-02-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

Malachi just posted the new CD Design on his blog.

A Trip Into Town

2007-02-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

Despite getting lost, a failing soundsystem and some drunk crazies, The Denouement had another successful show tonight. This one was at the Universal Bar & Grill in Hollywood. Some red and blurry pictures:

After The Denouement was Scott Ryan and his band who did an excellent job as well.

P.S. Yes Jordan, we also got lost on the way back.

Triumph!

2007-02-10T00:44:00.000-08:00

The Denouement won first place in the Cal Poly Battle of the Bands, I took some pictures, some of them turned out alright.

The Denouement

2007-02-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

I am going to the Cal Poly Battle of the Bands at The Glass House tonight. The Denouement is playing first (at 7:45) and should be decent. They are also playing someplace in hollywood tomorrow night and I should be going to that too. Check the website for details. Pictures to follow.

Well... Here it is.

2007-02-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

I think I'm supposed to say "Hello World!" or something like that.