Google Analytics file tracking
iaian7 » code » txp John Einselen, 3.06.07Textile hack to make urchin tracking in Google Analytics dead simple. Ever want to see how many people are downloading a file? Here’s how to make Textile do the work for you.
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an7_mov
iaian7 » code » txp John Einselen, 28.05.07The an7_mov plugin allows Textpattern to easily interface with the QT embedded requirements in IE. Most of the settings (autoplay, loop, controller, etc.) can be setup in the plugin code as defaults, making repeated use of the tag throughout a site as simple as possible.
currently in beta
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Trailers
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 27.05.07Some highly anticipated news in the gaming community was finally released last week, as Blizzard announced the in-development StarCraft II. This might not mean much to me, but the trailer is truly something to behold. Blizzard knows their CG, as evidenced by the excellent animations done for the Warcraft teasers, and StarCraft II continues the trend. There are a of couple shots I had trouble believing were entirely CG… technology has come a long way; fluid simulations especially. (if you don’t feel like shouldering the hefty downloads listed above, you can watch the trailer on DailyMotion.com)
While we’re on the subject of video games, Assassin’s Creed has also been releasing some incredible trailers, most of which are rendered in-game. Think Kingdom of Heaven visuals mixed with Prince of Persia acrobatics, along with some top-notch motion blending and procedural animation. The Ubidays trailer can also be found on DailyMotion.com.
Back to films; the trailer for Fido is finally up on Apple.com. It’s the idyllic 1950’s, but coloured by post apocalyptic zombie life, and a genius sense of dark humour. Amongst the stars are Carrie-Anne Moss (Momento, the Chumscrubber) and Billy Connolly (Boondock Saints, Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events). I never thought I’d see a zombie comedy version of Lassie, but this may very well be it.
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Scratch that
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 22.05.07I should have known better than to be so optimistic. There have been three failed attempts to start the remote render, and just as many trashed FTP transfers. And yes, some of that was user error, thanks for asking. I’ll have it known I dislike Lightwave’s on-and-off support for files outside of the parent directory, and I also dislike folder caching in an FTP client. You update files, then can’t find them.
It’s 6:54 am… the current render hasn’t crashed yet… I’ve started a flat-shade-only backup render here in the studio… and I’m going home now.
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Fernage
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 22.05.07Gaaah, it’s 6 o’clock in the morning, it’s getting light outside, and I haven’t been home yet. Still at work, waiting on renders and trying to finalize a scene so I can send it off to the render farm. The good news; I think the lighting is getting closer.
Still not really liking it, especially as it must blend with some rather picky greenscreen footage. For now, I think it’ll work… there will be adjustments later anyway, to adapt for the colours and crushes added to the final comp.
Eventually, the ferns will be rigged with full dynamics, and react to wind currents in the shot. I did a proof of concept last month, and it turned out pretty well. A little tweaking, and they should look just as wind tossed as the real thing. But that’ll come with time…
It’s 6:15 now, and security asked me to move my car. I moved it… but the parking lots are all blocked, so they told me to take it to the far parking lot. After this 10 minute journey, I’m back at my desk to finish 5 minutes of work, and then I’m going home.
Watching the sun rise is not all its cracked up to be. Goodnight.
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Rotational Displacement
iaian7 » tutorials » lightwave John Einselen, 18.05.07
Lightwave includes a vortex distortion plugin, but unfortunately it’s a clumsy setup and especially difficult to use with other displacements. Here’s how to create the effect using nodes, and take it beyond the simple vortex.
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Sweet potatoes and Ginger
iaian7 » blog » recipes John Einselen, 13.05.07A great warm dish with a bit of spice. Cozy up with a mug of milk for a simple meal (adding provolone cheese on top), or sprinkle with sugar and use as a desert for larger gatherings. Can serve anywhere from 4 to 8.
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Sneak preview
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 13.05.07Things are getting even crazier at work as we have just two weeks left to finish some major projects. I haven’t had much luck keeping the blog updated, but thought I might take a break and post a rough comp of the current matte painting I’m working on.
Using some of the trees I did for a previous matte painting, I forested my naked cliffs the other week. Not surprisingly, that’s when I discovered I could no longer live with only 2.5Gb of RAM, and finally got to upgrade! 
After a break from the environment stuff to deal with the live action greenscreen footage, I’m back working on the clouds, atmosphere, and lighting.
While it might not be all that interesting, I’m trying to document some of the techniques being used in the sequence. One in particular is the Lightwave expressions used to blend between two camera paths; not something I’ve ever had to do before, but the result is great for mixing CG camera animation and 3D track information.
Wow!
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When I loved you
iaian7 » blog » poetry John Einselen, 12.05.07When I loved you, and you loved him,
and none of us could know,
the times to come, the waves to crash,
the stormy winds to blow…
When I loved you, and you loved him,
the world so sweetly calm,
the pain just starting, slowly building,
tuning for the dirge and psalm…
When I loved you, and you loved him,
and nothing could go on,
I had to resign, to thoughtless grief,
and find another song…
When you loved him, and I loved naught,
the quaking, beating drowned,
silent heart and muddled tears, and there I was,
laying dead upon the ground.
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Painful
iaian7 » blog » poetry John Einselen, 12.05.07An easy question,
simple,
soft,
and stinging.
They ask me,
interfere,
intrude,
and wonder.
Painful to remember,
recall,
relive,
and rekindle.
A single face,
loved,
lost,
and hated.
Yet it’s there,
still,
stubborn,
and silent.
Waiting for me,
waned,
withdrawn,
and remembered.
mediaboxAdvanced
The endurance that you and your coworkers have displayed is more than impressive, and quite humbling. Keep hanging on!