My Computer Animations & Art

The Ophelia Diaries

2010-12-09T14:14:00.001-08:00

Please come watch my latest animation "The Ophelia Diaries" inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet. Happy holidays everyone!

Lazarus Interview

2010-07-20T09:26:00.001-07:00

Read my interview by City Weekly! We discuss not only my new graphic novel Lazarus but we also go in depth into my 3D and animation process. We get into some of my other interests, nanotechnology and painting as well. There are a lot of pictures to look at! Read it here.
And don't forget to pick your copy of Lazarus here.

Lazarus

2010-06-24T11:44:00.001-07:00

I am very pleased to share with you that my first graphic novel has been published and is on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. It's called Lazarus. There is a familiar theme in the story, nanotechnology and instead of the usual drawings you see in a graphic novel I illustrated Lazarus with 3 dimensional artwork.

You can watch the trailer and find out where to buy it at my newly redesigned webpage:
http://www.nanogirl.com/author.html

Three new animations

2010-03-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

I have three new animations that I made. To watch them click the titles: The Surrealist(I like this one a lot, it is very open and colorful), Dichotomy (this one is a little heavy and oooooooh scary) and finally Quest animation (this one's a little commercial). Enjoy! Let me know what you think.

My Heart is Von Neumann

2009-12-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

I have a brand new video that was inspired by a song I wrote and sang (this animation features the song as well). This work speaks of science and technology as man's helper rather than the often times feared capabilities that in reality could save us. Save of from disease, save us from hunger, save the earth from the demise it will one day face from the future fate of the sun. This is nothing technical, but rather an aesthetic viewpoint... I hope you enjoy it. Click here to see it.

New work for you to look at

2009-11-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hello gang, I've got some new work up for you. This work is not 3D, I wanted to show that I can do many types of graphic design, so for your consideration I have a new Typography page with images I created using type to generate a particular meaning. I also have a new Photography Manipulation page which is sort of self descriptive - I take photographs and modify them so they are more interesting. I hope you like the new stuff! Let me know which ones you really like and all your thoughts! Gina A few examples are below, but there are a lot more at the links above:

You can help me win : )

2009-08-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! My animation has been selected by Hewlett Packard as a semi finalist, but to make it as a finalist, I need your votes! You need to be registered at youtube (which is free) http://www.youtube.com/create_account then make sure you are signed in and go to http://www.youtube.com/hp - (to make sure you are signed in look at the very right top corner of this page to see your user name.) Then up at the top you will see a row of blue tabs, click the "view + vote" tab, you will see my video there among others. I am wearing a black dress with my blonde pony tail down the front of me, the video is called "Who Am I". Click this picture icon to see my video. It is a video about my being a computer animator. After my video pops up you will see on the right side of it that there is a thumbs up and a thumbs down, thumbs up is what you want to click to give me your vote. You are allowed to vote one time a day, all the way through (and including) Sunday. However you are not allowed to vote more than once a day as it is against the rules. But please feel free to spread the word to your friends and family as every vote counts! The prize is 40 thousand dollars and considering my current financial situation you can imagine this would be a wonderful prize indeed. Please vote for me every day and I thank you so kindly for it. Thank you, thank you, thank you so very much!!!

A few things...

2009-07-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

Lots of new stuff for you to see, some older (one from last year) and some new:

Self portrait (click here to go to the webpage for a higher quality version):

Supreme Council of Reigning Bots (click here to go to the webpage for higher a quality version):

Jones Soda (click here to see the animation):

Aquafina Flavor Splash (click here to see the animation):

And if you haven't already don't forget to watch The Offering in my post below, it is one of my most meaningful works to date. Gina

The Offering

2009-06-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

I just finished making a new animation, it took me two weeks to make. It is the true story of a great man. It is called "The Offering" come watch it here.

My New Edgar Allan Poe Animation

2009-04-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

My latest animation is of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, A Dream Within A Dream. I really enjoy when I get the chance to appease a childhood interest such as this newest animation as well as with my earlier Van Gogh Starry Night animation. It's really very meaningful when that happens, I hope it is meaningful to you as well. Click here to go to the webpage and download my animation, or if you need it quick and easy, you can watch it here on YouTube. I hope you like it!

Yes! My animation won.

2009-02-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

Check it out! My animation won, Click here to see. Initially public voting was going to determine the winner of this contest but it was compromised, so they decided to select the winner themselves, and they selected me! Thank you to all my friends and family who are endlessly supportive of all my artistic ventures. This just goes to show that if you keep trying and work hard you really can fulfill your dreams. I'm glad this animation won, because it was very meaningful to me, I hope it is to you as well.

Youtube features my Starry Night

2009-02-01T12:57:00.001-08:00

Youtube has selected my Starry Night animation to feature, it's had a lot of hits since! Click here to visit the youtube page, or click here to visit it on my site.

Memory

2009-01-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

I made three versions of this artwork, which one do you like the best? Click here to see all of them and find out.

My new Digital shop and more art news!

2009-01-08T01:26:00.000-08:00

I have my own new online shop (I'm so excited) with unique products featuring my digital artwork! My artwork is on t-shirts, ties, bags, mouse pads, postcards and more! Please check it out, I hope you like it!

make custom gifts at Zazzle

I made a lot of skateboard images (one will be on a upcoming skateboarding DVD art gallery), and my ever giving Dermal Display animation has made it onto a Japanese television show and a French documentary! I made a new animation for a Doritos challenge that I did not place in, but I like the results very much anyway. To art!

Rosie

2008-12-30T23:27:00.001-08:00

My latest. Rosie the Roboteer. Click here to be directed to my webpage about it. By the way, the contest is over, thank you to everyone who voted!!!

Update on this post - The Voting is now closed

2008-12-27T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! Hope you are having a very merry Christmas. Remember when you voted for my animation and I made it through that first round well now it's for the final round of voting! The winner will take home 20 thousand dollars! If I can win this, I will use it for my big project. Please use your previously created username and password (or register if you haven't already) to log into http://www.offzhook.com/ after you have logged in, click view and vote, then click on the Inspirations video by Gina Miller (http://www.offzhook.com/contestEntry.jsp?id=30) and check the purple box below the video. You can vote one time every day until the 29th, so if you could, I would of course be very, very thankful. Looks like I really could use your help right now too because I'm at zero percent. By the way, if after you check the purple box you go to a java script error page, click your back arrow to go back to the page and check it one more time, it looks like it will be checked after that. Happy holidays!!! If you need any help just email me. Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Gina
Update on this post - The Voting is now closed

The Wire

2008-11-16T01:03:00.000-08:00

A little animation for your amusement, click here to watch. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

P.S. A little Starry Night coverage.

Contest Update and Tangerine Dreams

2008-10-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone, the voting for the contest is over (for now) and my inspirations animation made it into this week's finalist spot for the contest! This doesn't mean that my animation has won yet. What it means is that after 8 more weeks (and two more finalists chosen per week) there will be one more final round of voting (I believe near the end of December), so hang on to your passwords because when all the finalists are chosen I will go up against them one last time for that golden 20 thousand dollars, and of course it's you and your votes that decide if I will win. On that note I would like to thank all of you that voted and got me into this finalist round, it's truly amazing that I have your support and we both thank you so much. I'm a finalist, hooray!! I couldn't have done this without you. I'll let you know when the final round begins, and thank you so much!!!

The picture you see above "Tangerine Dreams" is unrelated to the most recent contest, but is a new contest entry for Unikeep, but don't worry, no voting or assistance is required!! Click here.

A favor to ask of you

2008-10-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, so we are not generating the kind of financial support we need for our big project, but you can help us by voting for an animation I made for a contest that will award the winner $20,000, which we really need for our project to continue forward. I was chosen as a finalist! But the only way I can win is by having the most votes from you!
You'll have to register, it's free by going here: http://www.offzhook.com/register.jsp (save or write down the username and password you made) after you are registered they will send you an email, click the link in the email, then you'll see a login page, go ahead and log in.
Now you will see a page that says what you can do now, it says "edit your profile, or add events", but you can just ignore that if you want to and go straight to my video page to watch it and vote (you can vote once a day!). My video is called Inspirations and is here - copy and paste this url into your browser or click this link: http://offzhook.com/contestEntry.jsp?id=30
To play the video, click the little arrow in the center of the video. If the video is broken up that is just because it is loading - let it play all weird like that the first time, then play it again, the second time it will play all the way through for you, without stopping. Make sure your volume is on.
Now to vote: right below the video (check the purple "Vote for this clip" click your mouse right into that empty box, so that it is now checked). Hooray, you have voted, thank you! Every vote adds up so please if you have a friend or other that would be willing to help, please spread the word! The voting is up until and including the day of the 27th, this week only. And don't forget, since they do allow you to vote every day this will really increase my odds. So please do, just login here http://offzhook.com/login.jsp?r=profileView.jsp every day to vote, and then go to my video page again, http://offzhook.com/contestEntry.jsp?id=30.
This contest is for and about a camera in which they requested "makeover" as the theme. I turned this idea into a "beauty is everywhere" concept in my animated video. I hope you like it and if by some miracle I get enough votes to win, thank you for helping Jim and I make our big project come to life! Love to all.

Completed book cover & six internal images

2008-10-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

Rembember my book cover posts? My first post on this topic was my first attempt at the cover, it was called Reverie. My second post on this topic churned out the final selection, click here. Now we have the actual book itself and the 6 images that I created for the stories inside. Click the pictures to enlarge. Click here to visit my webpage with larger resolution images and read more about it.

Also new, a Japanese television show is going to be airing the dermal display animation, isn't that he gift that keeps on giving! I'll let you know what it's like when I get my copy.

And the history channel show that featured the dermal display animation has preorders of the DVD available here. Happy creating everyone.

My animation is going to be on the History Channel this Thursday!

2008-08-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

My animation (the dermal display) is going to be on TV! And it's the History Channel too, one of my favorites. Watch the show called "The Works" (Tattoos episode) on the History Channel this Thursday! 10PM 9C. It's supposed to be in the later part of the episode. This is the first time having my work on a TV show! Click here for the shows url.

Also I am working on a project and I would really like to talk to you all about, but I can't discuss it online so if you are interested or remotely curious please send me an email and I will send you the information! And don't forget to let me know your blog handle so I know who you are : ) Looking forward to hearing from you. Click here to email me.

The postcard has returned! Sundance - second round

2008-07-31T23:40:00.000-07:00

click the image to enlarge
I received my self addressed post card today from the Sundance film festival for my Starry Night submission. This just means that they did indeed get my submission. There was no happy face on it like one from last year but if you look closely on the address side there is a big cut on it - perhaps that happened at the post office?
By the way this postcard didn't begin it's life as a postcard, it was a traditional open/close card from a stationary set I had long before I made the Starry Night animation, but how fitting right! So I cut the card in half and made it into a postcard - apparently it worked (as long as you are with in postal code regulation size you can do this).
Anyway, last year I think they informed submitters sometime in December if they were accepted or not. Either way, I'm glad you all seem to like it : )

Starry Night Goes to Sundance

2008-07-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

After I finished my Starry Night animation I wondered if the Sundance Film Festival was currently accepting submissions and they are! So I sent out a "USA shorts" category dvd yesterday! It wasn't' too difficult since I had done this last year and was familiar with the requirements, how to register, fill out the forms and make the dvd cover etc. Last time all I got back was a happy face on my self addressed return postcard and even if I don't get anything more than that this time, there is true gratification in chasing my dream, there really is. But you could wish me luck anyway : ) This picture is of my dvd package that I sent out (click to enlarge).

Starry Night

2008-06-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

My impression (yes, that is a pun) of Van Gogh's beautiful and very popular Starry Night painting - I began work on this new animation project on the 22nd. This was something I have wanted to do for sometime, but I have a lot of ideas that I want to pursue and I set them aside because there are bigger projects that I am working on. I tried to ignore this just the same, but there is a painting hanging above the bed and every night I see it, until finally I could resist no longer. Now that I am finished with the animation, the painting will speak to me in a different way. I worked very hard on this animation every day (and night), and I am so happy to have it completed. You will be able to see the actual development of the animation itself, in this piece ~ I'm calling it a "work in process animation". Oh, and when you see the first credit, it's not the end it's the middle and it's an indicator that you will be going backwards... come watch the full animation. I look forward to your thoughts.

Happy Summer Solstice

2008-06-21T23:57:00.000-07:00

A little Stonehenge for you. Be sure to wait a minute because the image will change in appearance and start over again. Now this isn't a technical representation, but I hope the meaning holds up well: Happy Summer to All : ) Click to enlarge.

A birthday gift for Jude

2008-06-19T03:05:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge:

Cryonic Event Covers

2008-06-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

In May I worked on covers for a booklet that was distributed at a cryonic finances event. What you see here are just two samples out of many versions, come see the rest here and let me know which one is your favorite!

St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

I made this today just for you Mom, I hope you like it and have a wonderful day today. Click the image to enlarge it. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Vista

2008-03-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

I have the Autodesk 2008 releases running on Vista. Both Max 2008 and Combustion 2008 are running without any compatibility issues on this latest version of Windows. I have had them on my system long enough that I feel confident in reporting this to you. I always like to wait a while after the release of a new operating system to switch over, this way a lot of the bugs can get worked out and patches get worked in seamlessly. This of course is not on my Boxx workstation, I am still running XP on that system as it is a 5 raid core and I have all kinds of complicated set ups and program relationships on it. But, on your average bear (of a computer) the 2008 releases are now capable of running on Vista (the tested system is a Sony Vaio VGN). As for the Boxx, it's running the same 2008 versions as the Vista system also without any problems, so the programs are cross compatible. ~Tip for Vista upgrades. If you upgraded or just got a Vista system and your browser crashes all the time, I tried many solutions and the only one that worked was to go to the Adobe website and download the latest flash player.

Mona Lisa Speaks

2008-01-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

In this animation I bring the Mona Lisa to life. She is going to address a very popular question. I also brought in some more of da Vinci's works to fill the space. I have two versions and would very much like to hear your preference and why. So please come back here to comment! Even if it's just after watching one. Click here to go to my website and watch the videos. : )

Heinz Again!

2008-01-04T15:11:00.000-08:00

click pic to enlarge
You may recall that back in August I had told you about the Heinz top this TV challenge - which you've probably also noticed advertized on recent Heinz ketchup bottles. I had made and submitted two animations for the contest but did not win. Well recently I received in my mailbox, a very small 2 inch tall ketchup bottle with my name on it - see the pic. They are running another contest that is the same as the first one. So I re-entered my previous entries. I don't think the end result will be any different for me, but since I already did the work the last time, there was no harm in giving it another shot. I have noticed that with a lot of these type of video contests they tend to go for the more average Joe with a hand held video camcorder. Appeasing to the every man. I don't see a lot of animations in the contests or many of them taking prizes. I don't know if they know that I really am - well not exactly an average Joe (unaverage Gina?), but that I am just one person doing all this work. They will pick 10 semi finalists in April and they will be whittled down from there. Either way, I like the bottle they sent me. But should I use it?

Cookies and Christmas Crumbs

2007-12-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is the name of my latest animation, which was created just for you this holiday season. Click here to watch (or take a bite out of) the video! Hope you like it.

Another animation presentation

2007-11-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Last week I gave another talk on animation at a very beautiful brand new school in California, The Williams Academy, in the photo I am pictured with Dr. Williams himself, founder of the school.

It really is a remarkable experience, especially when you see there is a real spark of interest in a child's face. And like my mother has said, "when you teach, you are also learning something". Indeed it provides an opportunity to formulate the best means of communicating your ideas and invites revelations in the process.

I concluded my talk with the message that YES, you really can achieve your dreams, it doesn't matter what your starting point is, all you have to do is figure out what you need to learn and learn it.
In my own journey, looking back I have come so far, my work started out small and this led to a sense of minor accomplishment which fueled the next, so on and so forth, each new project a little more ambitious than the next. At some point during this evolution I began to feel a real sense of freedom (freedom to create any vision). In the beginning I felt controlled by the program, but with the body of work created between here and there (especially with plots and storylines) I now feel that I control my programs. It's a beautiful thing, learning and expanding, no matter what the topic. The human mind is a brilliant ball of clay.

Pegasus (Or Taking Flight)

2007-10-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge.
You all may remember this icon of your childhood, in fact I found myself easily getting carried away with rainbows and other effects when developing the scene, I had to keep myself (or my inner child) reeled in. The end result I think still brings to mind the whimsy of youth while still appeasing the adult eye. At least I hope your eyes agree. Click here to read more about it and view the larger version. Have a nice weekend everyone.

Where I belong

2007-10-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, I just returned from a ten day trip. Visited family (NY), then attended a wonderful conference and visited more family (NC). It was an amazing time.
To be clear, while this video has some neat effects, I did NOT make it (scroll down further to see animations I've made), but I absoutely love and identify with the lyrics. It's called 'Where I Belong' by Honeyroot.
[Scroll down to view the lyrics]

Here are the lyrics:
I got no worries on my mind
Leaving all my cares behind
Don`t want no troubles at my door
I don`t need them anymore

`Coz I`m....
....moving on
To where I belong

I got no worries on my mind
Leaving all my cares behind
Don`t want no troubles at my door
I don`t need them anymore

`Coz I`m....
....moving on
To where I belong
`Coz I`m....
....moving on
To where I belong

Feel the sunshine breaking through
And all the grey sky`s turned to blue
I won`t let sorrow follow me
Just like a bird I`m flying free

`Coz I`m....
....moving on
To where I belong...
....where I belong...
'Coz I'm moving on
to where I belong
where I belong...
where I belong...
I got no worries on my mind
I got no worries on my mind
got no worries on my mind
just like a bird I`m flying free
got no worries on my mind
Just like a bird I`m flying free... (fade out)

Cisco

2007-09-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I've got three new videos for you to watch.

Cisco, the large networking company, has a Youtube channel set up in which they were requesting people to submit their technology concepts. We were allowed to submit up to three ideas.

Now these are more near term concepts than some of you may familiarize me with (this is because these ideas are ones that Cisco might implement).

Anyway, my first idea is called CPU @ Home - I give a little 'in person video intro' and then use animation to show you my idea of a home technology center. Visit this link at Youtube to watch.

My second idea is a Solar Powered laptop. I give a short and sweet description in this video (with just a splash of special effects): Click here to watch.

My third and final idea is just me in my backyard telling you about eye recognition for use in making computer passwords more convenient: Click here to watch.

These are all for the moment at Youtube. In a few weeks Cisco will pick a winning idea and award 10 thousand dollars. Either way it goes, it will be at that time that I upload these videos to my personal website. Hope you like them!

Update: I didn't win but I had a lot of fun!

Sundance Postcards

2007-09-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

In this photograph you see that my postcards that I self addressed and sent with my Sundance short film submissions have been returned to me. The top one was for my Odyssey animation and the second one, was for The Gift, which you can see someone at Sundance actually drew a little smiley face on! The Sundance Film Festival 2008 will be held January 17-27 in Park City Utah. If you don't hear anything more about my submissions, than neither did I! I woke up to a rainy day today, it's a nice change of pace. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

The Dermal display / Special video with author's narration

2007-08-31T23:37:00.000-07:00

Some of you may recall that in late 2005 I completed my collaboration with Robert A. Freitas Jr. on the Dermal Display animation, a concept he published in his book Nanomedicine. Freitas gave a presentation at the 6th Alcor conference on the topic of Nanomedicine and Medical Nanorobotics which featured a section on the Dermal Display animation and a really terrific verbal description of what is happening when you are watching it. I was fortunate enough to have been supplied the footage by Alcor which I merged with the animation and edited so that you can enjoy this special feature video.
Click here to go download it!

Click here to go to the original blog post for the Dermal Display animation.

Get the Alcor conference DVD (not the same as this footage and is the full conference).

Watch Alcor 6 conference clips.

Two New Heinz Animations

2007-08-27T21:05:00.001-07:00

Well technically these are not shiny out of the box new, one I made on the last day of June and the second a little over a week later. I really was feeling tired of contests but Heinz had one that not only would air the winner's commercial during the Emmy Awards, but would give out 57 thousand dollars as a grand prize! That's a very large cash prize, so I thought.......well......maybe one more contest. Late last night I saw that they had chosen the semi finalists, and I wasn't there. But that's okay, I tried my best and I like what I did. I hope you do as well, they were freshly uploaded to my website today, come watch them and read more about it at my Heinz page by clicking here. Have a nice week!

The top image: A still from my The Perfect Combination animation- a love story.

The second image: my Attack of the Edible Tomatoes animation- thank you Mom for this idea!

My first festival submissions ~ Sundance

2007-08-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

I submitted my very first entries into the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. First I'll provide a little background on Sundance. The Sundance film festival is the largest independent and pre eminent film festival in the US, famous for discovering the new and independent work of international film artists. You may have watched the associated Sundance network television channel which has a reputation for programming cutting edge movies and shorts.

Neither of my submissions are brand new, I've probably already shared them with you. My first entry is the 7 minute "Odyssey" fractal animation set to Mozart. http://www.nanogirl.com/personal/odyssey.htm I entered it in the US Short Film (experimental) category.
My second entry is the ode to my sister Julie, "The Gift" which I entered into the US Short film (narrative) category.
http://www.nanogirl.com/personal/thegift.htm

I feel Odyssey may be my best chance. Granted, this festival is the super duper big leagues (the name alone comes from the role Robert Redford played in the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". I'm being realistic about this, so I know that my chances are most likely slim (or lower - at least at this moment in time), still you never know if you don't try.

They don't communicate with you to tell you they received your submission but they did say you could include a self addressed postcard that would come back to me in 4 weeks. I used an Escher postcard for each and wrote "we got your flick" on the message section. As for finding out if the entries will screen I think they contact by email and/or phone.

The process itself has been a learning experience for me, how to go about it, what forms to fill out, the deadlines, the categories etc. We were also required to make a (movie - not data) DVD in the tall retail sized cases, so I made my own cover art to fit. I used images from my animations to make the cover for each one. You can see pictures of my DVD's in the above photo. They suggested that we make back up copies onto vhs tapes in case our DVD's failed to play for some reason. I called the camera shops and while they can transfer DVD to vhs, they send it out for three weeks, well that would have been past my deadline (which was the 20th for my particular early entry fee). Some how I found out that I could play my DVD on my television set and record it with the vhs at the same time. The quality isn't that great, but that's why it's a back up. So there was a lot to learn in all of this preparation.

In the future I will have longer and more content controlled work that could be higher qualified candidates for submission and submitting these two shorts, has educated me so that the next time might not be as confusing as if I entered cold. Seems like I am always doing something for the first time, but I feel good about that. It feels like growing. I'd like to thank my friends, my Mom and Jim for always supporting me in growth! Best wishes,

The Sundance Institute
http://www2.sundance.org/

2008 Sundance Film Festival
http://festival.sundance.org/

Last years festival
http://festival.sundance.org/2007/index.aspx

Sundance television network
http://www.sundancechannel.com/home/

Book Covers - yes, another one!

2007-08-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

I have been working on companion images to accompany short sci fi stories for a book over the past year or so and just recently finished the final cover selection that you see here.
You may remember my "Reverie" post, that was an earlier submission for the cover. I also have another 3rd version of the book cover that you can see at the webpage. Click here to see larger images, and the alternate version.

New book cover

2007-07-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Sometime in April I was asked if my Beyond Human image could be used for a new version (4th Edition) of an already released book, "Patent Searching Made Easy". Today I got a copy from FedEx. Here is the scan. Have a nice warm summer weekend!

Butterfrac!

2007-07-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

This image is a hybrid butterfly and fractal! To see the larger version of this image and read more about how it was made, click here. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Reverie

2007-07-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

I've got a little reverie for you, click here to see and read more about it.

The Future is Ours

2007-06-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

This image is one of five from my new "The Future is Ours" collection. To see them all click here. Come back and let me know which is your favorite! Have a nice summer weekend.

Blips

2007-06-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Just a couple blips of recent coverage of my work here:

I have apparently been listed as a Transhumanist Artist at Wikipedia.

My Dermal Display animation has been keeping up appearances:

Mentioned at Nanodot.
and-
Coverage at the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.

Oh and friends, I entered my "The Gift" animation into a monthly contest at the OurStage Website - if you sign up for free (no strings) at their website (click judge at the top) you can vote for my animation which is here. I need your votes to win! It's over at the end of the month. Thank you All! (This is a current contest for the month of June.)

Happy weekend!

Einstein

2007-06-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

This animation ought to brighten up your day! Einstein Dances!

Lilith

2007-05-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Meet Lilith. This is only one version of her, by clicking here you can see the second version and download both at higher quality. Which one do you like best? Gotta run now, I'm watching "On the Lot", I'm hoping it will be insightful in regards to filmmaking!

Vieux Hollywood

2007-05-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

I've got a lot of information for you about the creation of this new image at my website.
Click here to read about it. Have a lovely weekend!

Glow

2007-05-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a new image for you called Glow. There are actually two versions of this image. Click here to see both and read more about it.

E Speaks

2007-04-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun little tester piece. Einstein Speaks! Click here to watch.

Breaking it down for you

2007-04-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Boy did I get distracted today! I started on something else, and ended up with this. It's not long, and it doesn't have a plot but I was able to successfully work some new things. Anyhoo, enjoy, or get up and move! Click here to go to the website and watch.

My Demo Reel

2007-04-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished my very first demo reel. It is a collection of my best works thus far. I am very excited to hear your comments! Click here to read about it and download the video!

My Solar Tile Paint image featured on PBS Nova website

2007-04-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

My solar house image (from my solar tile paint animation of 2004) is featured on the "PBS Nova Saved by the Sun Is it time to Take Solar Energy Seriously?" coverage starting on 4.3.07, which is a companion web presence for a t.v.show that will air April 24th, 2007. A selection on the website called "New Ways to Catch Sun Rays" (top image) will bring you to my Gateway. By clicking the 'Launch Interactive' link you will bring up a window (bottom image), from there click the third thumbnail in from the right (selected in orange in the bottom image) to select my image and related write up.
Click here for the Nova credits page.

My original webpage with the new hi resolution pictures of the Nova pages at the bottom.

The Classics

2007-03-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm very proud of my latest animation which is a tribute to a couple of great legends. Hope you have as much fun watching it as I did making it! Click here to check it out! Looking forward to your comments. Gina

The Gift

2007-03-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

I just finished working on this animation today. I had to call and get my Mom's reaction, I was so glad I did. It touched her, and that was a gift, it touched me too to make this animation, another gift. And so I pass it on to you in hopes that it gives to you as well. Click here to watch the movie.

Happy Hearts Day 2007!

2007-02-07T01:41:00.000-08:00

I made an animated Valentine for you click here (or the heart) to watch! It's so much fun to be an animator and have all these holidays for inspiration!

~ Gina

Snow

2007-01-16T15:38:00.000-08:00

I wrote this yesterday~
(I might animate something with this at a later date)

Snow (or Snow Fall)

It was the first garden I had ever planted, it was my own, on my own land. When the storm came, it buried me and my garden. It was as if the garden had never even existed, I could only see the cold desolate snow that laid upon it. For years I just lay there, far removed from the rest of the world. Only to see the every now and again presence of someone coming to pluck what remained and leaving me behind.

As time rolled by another storm came, stronger and much more devastating than the last - this one threatened to take me away completely. I was thrown far away from the garden. When the storm was done reeking it's havoc, all was lost, I was alone and I awoke to find myself at a cross roads. I could stay here in the damage or I could leave.
After all those years of lying there in the snow, I finally rose up and chose to leave.

I could never return to that garden, I had to start all over again from the beginning, in a new place. I vowed to myself and to others who had suffered from the storm, to stay away from the cold this time. I would make my garden bigger and better than before, I would nurture it so that it bloomed the most beautiful flowers possible. I would water it every day and pull all the weeds out as they arose. And I did all of these things, and my garden flourished.
Years passed so quickly that I wasn't even aware of storms anymore, I was completely focused on the gifts growing in my garden and I was happy. My garden was so fruitful that I began uniting my garden with others, and we had strong and healthy mergers and moved forward together.

One day I was walking down the path to my garden, as I did every day, I noticed an ice patch, I turned to find that there was a chill there, that was not before, standing beside me, telling me to walk across it, so I tried and I continued on. The next day I walked down the path and there was even more ice, and again I was encouraged by these new journers upon the path, on the third day it became obviously slippery, and dangerous and again it was insisted that I walk on. I don't even think they thought about the ice at all. I don't think they saw my danger, but I recognized it.

I could feel the storm brewing, I didn't want to get caught up in it again, I thought about it, I looked at all the beauty that had been grown here in this new place, I felt proud, I felt success, I felt safe, I felt love I felt all things good. I had tried those few times, but I knew better now than to risk my own life and just surrender to the storm by walking down that frigid path. For this path, looked like the path that led to that storm that so destroyed my previous garden.

Perhaps the chill that tried to push me down that slippery path could make the trek, perhaps it was of no difference to them than the path they have walked, but I knew different for myself. I worked hard to grow my new garden, and I would not allow the snow to bury all that I had done, especially considering that I had others depending on me. Others like myself ate from this garden and shared it with me and help me grow it. And, there are others that I am expecting to come to my garden, and I want it to be the best it can be when that time comes.

I made a decision, that I would not walk down that path and accidentally slip, for if I can see the risk ahead of time, would it be an accident? I could not chance it, not one slip, not one snow fall.
So I built a new path so that I could enter my garden from a safe place, from a new direction and leave the icy path alone, so I would not fall and fail the garden that I had built up. I returned to my warm and sunny earth, and shared the gifts with those who helped me and held my hand all the way down the path and into the garden.

No need to follow a path just because it is there, or because it is expected of you, if you are sent down an icy path, you are not obligated by anyone to follow, it might be okay for them, but if it is not for you, follow your own path. You are obligated to yourself and you are more and your garden will flourish if you do so. This is the path of no regret.
And the garden, the garden is me.

Copyright Gina Miller 2007 all rights reserved, no portion of this material may be copied without permission from the author.

Artwork published in "Music Game Book"

2007-01-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

My Moby image has just been published in the newly released (12/30/06) book called "Music Game Book - A World History of 20th Century Music" which is available at Amazon.com. It's a very lovely book brimming with full color photos and interesting lay outs. It's quite unique in it's use of questions and page cutouts as a form of interactive quizzes, it's sort of a musical Trivial Pursuit in book format. I received my copy from Paris today (where it was published by Assouline), it has a very interesting cover (by the way the image on the front is supposed to look pixilated like that). The cover material itself is something in between a hard and soft cover, it's almost a hard cover but thin enough that it can bend and be flexible. I am assuming that we might be seeing more of these hybrid covers in the future. Best to all! Click the images to see larger versions of the book cover and the page my artwork is featured on.

Happy New Year 2007

2007-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

You talking to me?

2006-11-21T03:20:00.000-08:00

Here we have a small experimental animation that I worked on for a couple of days to determine how best to apply mouth motions, eye blinks and corresponding facial expressions to voice tracks. Come on over and take a look, it's a very small and quick download!

dandelion

2006-11-04T18:43:00.000-08:00

This piece was the most sequential animation that I have done. It was generated for the film2music competition in which registrants are asked to select a track from the composers cd and create a video to accompany it. Previous to this competition I had been busy producing "The Mark" for the aniboom contest. This meant that I had only a couple weeks to create and complete this one. As elaborate as a concept this piece was, the time line wasn't feasible but I crunched through nights without sleep to get it in on time. I just barely made it, but I made it!
So the prize for this one is not only money but meetings with a famous producer and agent! And this time, it's no sweat to vote, you don't have to sign up or register for anything, no typing at all, it's just one click and "send", okay so technically that's two clicks, but that's all just clicks!
Come watch dandelion here - an animation about hope and faith in ones future dreams. Thank you all!

The Mark

2006-10-12T01:10:00.000-07:00

My newest animation, The Mark is now a contender in the "Drama" category at the 25 thousand dollar Aniboom competition. My original footage is in hi definition, this means it has a wide screen, and since the Aniboom site has square windows for animation viewing, my footage has been squished together to fit, making things appear sort of skinny and tall. Here's what I recommend, watch the video (the large sized one) at my webpage here (where you can also read a whole lot about this animation), after you watch it then go to the Aniboom site and rate it. Do this by going here and clicking the farthest right boom ball (by the "your vote"), they will ask you to register, but it's super easy to do! After that you can now rate it (click the ball again) and it will work, you will see a thank you window as proof! Or you can do this in reverse by just going to the Aniboom.com front page and clicking the blue login button up in the top right corner, here you will be able to register, you can then go to my "The Mark" page and vote right away the first time. I hope you enjoy the animation and that it gives you meaning, it was very cathartic to make. And I thank you my dear friends and family for your votes and your support! Turn up your volume!
P.S. My Odyssey fractal animation is also in this contest, in the "Expeirimental" category and you can vote for it here! Thank you, thank you!

A is for Atom

2006-09-16T21:05:00.000-07:00


"Animated classic presenting what an atom is, how energy is released from certain kinds of atoms, the peacetime uses of atomic energy and the byproducts of nuclear fission." Animation in public domain and available at Internet Archive. 1953.

Corriere del Ticino

2006-09-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

New coverage of my Dermal Display animation and the topic of nanotechnology on page two of the Italian Corriere del Ticino newspaper. Too bad I don't know what it says! Click image to enlarge.

New License

2006-08-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

I went in for a new license today and someone said that they thought the animating was really getting to me, I don't know why?

Okay so I made this! It is my computer generated 3 dimensional anime self. I had the most fun creating the background!

Hershey contest update: I went to the website last night and it appears as though they had selected their five and my animation wasn't there. No sweat, I'm on to the next thing already! I actually entered it last minute anyways, so it was an honor to be in the top ten.

Hope

2006-08-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

This image is called Hope and in it's symbolism represents my own hope that we as a society continue to learn and grow. Click here to read a lot more about the symbols in this image and to view the high resolution version.
On a side note, a while back I entered the Hershey's Take Five Taste and Believe Film contest and they sent me an email stating that I am one of the top ten! The next step will be to see if I make it to the top five, from there they pick the winner. Keep your fingers crossed for me, I'll let you know what happens!

Zenith

2006-08-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here is another fractal animation for you. This one demonstrates the infinite nature of the fractal by zooming into one base Mandelbrot. Click here to go to the webpage.
By the way my last fractal animation Odyssey received a response from Benoit Mandelbrot himself, he expressed regret that it hadn't been released early enough to have possibly been shown in an exhibit currently going on in Madrid for which he was going to attend. It was very exciting to hear from him since without his mathematical calculations my fractals would not exist.

Odyssey

2006-08-18T23:29:00.000-07:00

I have been seeing fractals for days, in my eyes, in my sleep and in my heart. I made a seven minute fractal animation that you can click here to read about and download. I am a little crushed that the quality had to be compromised so that it could be small enough to upload, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I had a fabulous time creating this little Odyssey. Literally, I would get up to dance! G`

Another Neuroticfish!

2006-08-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Yes! I've made two images in two days! So this is my third submission for that Neuroticfish album cover contest. I used a fractal program to generate the main image, I won't go into all of the boring math calculations but it was a lot of fun to see the end results. I then made the fish and fonts with an image editing program and layered them on top of the fractal. You will really want to look at this image on a larger scale to see all the fractal detail, to see much bigger versions of this and all the album covers I made please click here, you will be redirected to a webpage with high resolution links.
You can also see some of my earlier fractal work by visiting here.

Ascension

2006-08-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

Another still image for you. The webpage is here. It's really a metaphor of our evolving mind, although in the context of this image could be taken literally too!

One more album cover submission

2006-08-10T02:22:00.000-07:00

Here is the second submission that I made today for the Neuroticfish competition, the same one as in the below post. By the way who ever wins gets the artwork on the sleeve and a credit on the inside of the cover. If I don't win, I am thankful for the motivation and I am happy with the end results, I especially like this one. The most difficult aspect of this piece was all those little letters in the silhouette, but I like the concept so it was worth it! It came to me when I was waiting for another version of my silhouette to render for a different concept, I got bored and continued working on this for what I thought would be the backdrop for my initial idea but then this became the final version and I never returned to the previous concept. Sometimes the best ideas happen when you least expect them.

Neuroticfish submission

2006-08-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to contain myself from uncontrollable laughter while writing the header of this post, it sounds peculiar I know. I made this image today as a submission for an album cover contest for the band Neuroticfish. See it makes sense!

Gnarls Barkley

2006-08-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the Gnarls Barkley video "Crazy", not only is it an interesting and at some point in our lives relatable anthem but the cgi work is fantastic. It uses the mirror effect through out and seemingly effortless blending from frame to frame. The end results leave you in the psychologist couch answering ink blot questions, in spite of that, I am very fond of this piece.
The animation work was done by the Telly award winning BL:ND of Santa Monica California and directed by Robert Hales. I can't tell what programs they are using from the info provided on their website but from the studio pictures I can see a dark image that could resemble one of my programs. Hard to tell, but it does look like they have a very healthy render farm, that would be nice!
You can also see Gnarls Barkley singing "Crazy" at the 2006 MTV music awards by clicking here, be prepared for the future, or is it the past? I love Chewbacca.

Lenticular

2006-08-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Lenticular was a experimental animation to see how many different forms a torus could make without using modifiers but by only changing the parameters while animating. This is the end result. I ran into a strange problem with the quicktime version so if you have any problems viewing it, please let me know. This and all of my animations however do take a while to load. Click here to watch the movie.

I gave an animation talk!

2006-08-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

So part of my away time from the blogsphere was not only due to tending to family matters but I also gave my first animation talk to a school of high school age students, it was about an hour long. I had so much fun! They were really excited about animation and asked lots of interesting questions. At the end of my talk I had a table set up with free CD demos of programs and animation magazines, they were all gone in two seconds. Some of the students hung around afterwards to ask questions and look at more of my work. What a wonderful experience. I was a little nervous right before I began but found that it came naturally since I know the content and am passionate about it, I really enjoyed presenting. You know one of the teachers came up to me afterwards and told my mom and I that I am a natural teacher, I didn't expect that. My mom told me that too, but she's biased. I really admire teachers and think that they and scientists/researchers should be the highest paid career tracks, they are our ushers into the future, but that's just my economic opinion.
Here are some photos of my talk and the sweet thank you card that some of the students signed and mailed to me! I will try to modify my power point presentation to make it web ready and upload it so that you can take a look at it some where down the line when I have more time. I had such a good time that I hope to give another talk some time in the future. Click the images to enlarge.

Converse Update

2006-07-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

Remember my Converse animation submission? Only about a week or so after I finished my animation (perhaps even before they received my CD and documentation) I started to notice that there were no longer any consumer created commercials airing on television. I also noticed that their gallery hasn't been updated since before I started working on mine. This might establish that I came in just a little too late on the timeline. I had resigned myself to the fact that it was a swell experience but I wouldn't hear anything back at this late date. I didn't win, just to make that clear before I continue on with the story.
I got this envelope in the mail. I didn't recognize the sender so I assumed it was junk mail, it turns out it was the umbrella company for Converse. I open it up, there is some art work, it opens up, there are some pictures of Converse shoes and I honestly thought it might just be an advertisement because I definitely have been a lifetime connoisseur of the ole Chuck Taylor. Wait a minute, "Shoe Gift Certificate", why am I?... "Thanks for contributing your time to Converse and enabling originality. As a token of our appreciation, we'd like to give you a free pair of Chuck Taylor shoes." Oh, there's my reward. I swear I'm not laughing.... believe me? They have tiny little squares of my options, they are all the solid color variety. I personally favor my more exotic cheetah, houndstooth, pinstripe, and silver variety but I could use a black replacement, I wear them all the time, they go with everything. Or maybe red would be lively? : ) -click image to enlarge-

Particle11

2006-06-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

This animation was so much fun to make. Click here to be redirected to the download page. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to your comments.

Blue

2006-06-12T02:02:00.000-07:00

I've got a new animation short for you. This was something that I had started quite a while ago but became distracted by other projects. Recently it began entering my consciousness so to aleviate, today I took a look at it and automatically began working. It was such a free and fluid project, no technicalities, no timelines, nothing to match the images up to, just my own drawings speaking their own beauty for beauty's sake. I sort of like that it's not 3D, that it's raw, it's simple, it's pure and yet really exudes a real dreamy mood. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed creating it. There is a riddle for you at the webpage, and watch for all of the moving parts, they are easily missed, can you spot them all? Click here to go to the animation!

ar·ti·fact

2006-06-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

Over the last week I worked on this animation for a Converse Competition. It is so fitting, I've always worn Converse it's the shoe preference of the non conformist. I've got them in classic black, cartoon comic print, cheetah print, shiney silver, red with yellow smiley faces on the sides, the whole nine yards. My mom always knows that it is me when she comes down the escalator at the airport, before she has even seen my face, because she knows my shoes! After I was finished with the actual animation it took two days to fill out all of the paper work. But I managed and as usual learned a lot from the experience. The papers and the DVD has been sent via snail mail. If I happen by good fortune to win a grand prize and appearance of the animation on a television commercial, I will definitely let you know. If not, I still had a great time. I'll keep you updated. Click here to go to the animation page. (update - got free shoes but didn't win)

Standing on the Shoulders of ... Nanobots?

2006-05-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

My animation work is mentioned in a rather interesting feature regarding nanotechnology and an interview with Jim Von Ehr of Zyvex. I've met Jim on several occasions at the nanotech conferences (very friendly and smart man) and have predicted that Zyvex could very well be one of the key players in the development of either breakthroughs or tools for the breakthroughs in the world of nanotechnology. The feature by Ken Sutherland can found on the front page of Expert Access. If it moves down a page try the direct link here.

Nano Design Showing Online

2006-04-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

The official invitation of the NANO Design Showing has been announced. This is a presentation of nanotechnology art where some of my work and other prevalent artists are being featured. Click here to read the invitation. Click here for a direct link to the exhibit .
The NANO Design Showing was also featured in the KurzweilAI newsletter and is on the current front page (a couple up from the Upcoming Events header). Direct link to Kurzweil release.

Happy Easter

2006-04-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made an animated Easter greeting for you, you can see it here. Hope it generates a giggle and I hope everyone has a lovely holiday.

We always remember our first...

2006-04-02T01:40:00.000-08:00

I spent most of the day installing and I got a lot accomplished but there is so much more to do. I did manage to squeeze a quick and simple flash animation out of my new workstation (first thing it ever produced!) which you can watch by clicking here!

More Boxx

2006-04-01T03:39:00.000-08:00

Here it is, dual monitors! And an earlier picture with my poochie (she was dreaming of all the Boxx possibilities to come).

Boxx

2006-03-31T23:52:00.000-08:00

I got it, I got it! I've been putting it together........ time to go hook up my dual monitor!

Tecknikart Magazine

2006-03-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

It's a little late but today I received my copy of the December issue of Tecknikart magazine featuring images from my Dermal Display animation. Click here to read (and see a larger image).

Cryonics magazine feature!

2006-03-25T16:58:00.000-08:00

Okay so I knew this was coming but I didn't want to lead on until I received a copy for myself. Alcor's publication "Cryonics" magazine has a special issue (Winter 2006) that just came out devoted to the relationship between nanotechnology and cryonics. They asked if they could do a feature on me regarding my interest in both of those topics and my art and animation work, in particular my Dermal Display animation. Click here to read the feature.

Snakie (or Mr. Snake)

2006-03-20T02:16:00.000-08:00

Still trying to determine if I am okay with using my current Sony Handicam and other resources for Television greenscreen work. Today I decided to try another green screen test run. The last two were so unsatisfactory that it would have taken me eons to manually animate points around my subject. This time instead of using my green screen I used a neon green poster board that I clipped to a closet door. I decided to use the poster board because the color was so much brighter than my actual green screen. I also took some good advice to heart and used a flood light on the poster board. For my subject I used a knitted snake puppet that I made a while back (there you go Lady K!). Remember that Mom! I had to find just the right position, and this was somewhat difficult, a matter of precision really, trying to keep the puppet close enough to the greenscreen to avoid creating shadows (which I knew would cause problems later), but on the other hand if the puppet was too far away from the green screen the light wouldn't be on him and he would be too dark. So there I am, one snake handed with the camera on it's tripod just far enough away that I have to stretch my free hand over the flood light cord as far as my legs and body can possibly stretch (what a sight that must have been, sorry no footage of that). I had the camera screen facing me so that I could make sure I didn't create a shadow or move myself accidentally into the shot. After I reached far enough to hit that little tiny record button on the other side of the camera I kept my eye on the screen and did my puppet movement and voice bit but I had to monitor so closely (and keep myself positioned so perfectly) that I am a little nervous as to how I am going to shoot movie length material of a subject(s) without a problem (which I will need to do for that big project I keep mentioning to you). I think I will have to run another human test with the new set up. Anyway when I was done I set up a composite scene in my program, imported the footage and applied a linear keyer to it, I dragged that tolerance bar and immediately I knew it was golden! I then had some grey residue left over from where the green was but when I moved the clean up bar, zap, all gone! This is how it should be! Okay, time to get up and dance! Then I made a background magazine image just to have something interesting to show you (since this was just an experimental piece) and fit with the footage you saw in the first Mr. Snake mini movie. Click here to go see the MOVIE!
My only remaining question here is, if I can get rid of the greenscreen with a human model, will I be able to render out to a quality (size & res) that is acceptable for television (with the cam)?

Lifeboat

2006-03-19T02:43:00.000-08:00

On March 15, 2006 KurzweilAI.net reported that Robert A. Freitas Jr., my collaborator on the Dermal Display animation was awarded the 2006 Guardian award (click here to be re-directed). Lifeboat contacted me to let me know as they included my work and link in their release. You can read it here.

Fast and the Furious

2006-03-04T00:54:00.000-08:00

There is a Boxx Tech workstation on the way and I can't wait!! But I'm going to have to... I'll keep you updated. I'm so excited.

Lassen County Times feature update

2006-02-28T02:08:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded the full original interview to my website which includes a lot of content that didn't appear in the Lassen County Times final feature. There are also pictures of my grandparents in Termo right in front of the windmill and trough that the goldfish swam in.
Click here to be redirected.

Plan 59

2006-02-24T23:11:00.000-08:00

Check out these nifty prints available at the Plan59 website. There is a whole lot of other swell fun to be investigated at Plan59 including a blog, retro interior design and photo gallery. Inspiration.

Happy Birthday Natasha!

2006-02-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Natasha!!! Thank you for my present, here is yours (above image), I put you where you want to be : ) hope you are warm enough.

and the puzzle parts (I don't know who that lady is, but I needed her coat).

Free Avatars

2006-02-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

In appreciation of my visitors I have created some free animated avatars for you, hope you like them.

Click here to visit the library.

Lassen County Times

2006-02-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

I made it in the Lassen County Times as a front page feature. Click here to be re-directed to the webpage where you can dowload a hi res version to read.

Butterflies and dragonflies

2006-02-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a compilation image of stills that I took from the completed video of a job in which I was commissioned by a producer (who is working on a movie called The Suit) to create animated looping butterflies and dragonflies. I was sent a copy of the finished movie on a disk which is very lovely and I will save for my portfolio but since my work over lays the producers work, to avoid any copyright issues I will refrain from showing the movie online. It has a commercial quality but with more of a historical background and a lot longer, so I am not exactly sure how it will be used. They already had the design and colors for the butterfly/dragonfly so I had to make a replica, I did this by importing their image into the 3D Max background and making an exact 3 d model with splines and then applying modifiers. This was another one of those good experiences where I learned something new.

Happy Hearts Day!

2006-02-14T04:50:00.000-08:00

I made a Valentine animation for you:
Click here to go to the webpage and
download the movie!

XOXOXOX

My Green Screen

2006-02-11T01:41:00.000-08:00

With the royal drums beating, the infamous green screen made it's way down the crowded street and finally bestowed it's presence upon my doorstep. The green screen arrived in a very thin box with different colors on each side, just like the green screen itself (top two images). Once I pulled it outside of the box I was pleasantly surprised to find it also came with it's own circular shaped carrying case (bottom left image), with handles! Dare I unzip? No time like the present. I pulled the zipper slowly, eyeing the edges with adoration when somewhere around three fourths of the way down it popped out with such a force that it busted fully open and every cell in my body, screamed in shock! You have no idea how big 5 X 7 really is when it shows itself with out warning. Or, just how big 5 X 7 really is. Anyway, of course I had to test it out right away. I broke out the camcorder and made a short test film. When I introduced it into my editing program I wanted to just be able to pick a keyer and select the color from within my scene to be excluded, there for clearing the way into transparency to show through to my 3 d image below. Using Discreet keyer it did that pretty well, but I noticed that some of the neck (and shirt collar) was also transparent in places. I could mask the neck, but I had some problems controling the layers and even with that figured out I'd have to animate each of those along the scene duration. I tried to use Linear keyer, but it actually left a lot of the original background color in. There are three variables, two of them on my end that could be improved upon, the lighting in my house is soft and warm which I can tell leaves my footage dark and difficult to differentiate colors from. I probably should look into a nice background light, I would need to find one that is portable and requires minimal space since I barely have any left! The second, is that my Sony Handycam has always had a yellow spottiness that I can not eliminate even by going through the manual and tweaking the settings. Yellow is the wrong color to have lingering around when you are trying to key green. The Handycam is a couple years old but I am waiting on a Hello Kitty Camcorder that actually has better specs if you can believe it. I'll see how that works out. The third variable is that my screen is not as bright as I had anticipated, and it is also a velvety texture as opposed to some of the shiney slick surfaces that I have seen in some of the others. I'm sure that this must be to avoid over exposure or shadowing, but it doesn't help with my dull lighting. Perhaps this type of screen is more geared towards photographers? I ended up masking out the whole thing with tiny little points for rotoscoping, but my problem is that there are a whole a lot of them (with less there were obvious and bad looking cut off sections). There are so many that I have to be careful with manually animating each one since the tedious visual work has given me a migraine. I can only do it in small chunks, which will take for ever. There must be a better way. Anyway, the funny part of the story is when I was trying to put the screen away, well it wasn't funny at the time. There were no instructions, so you have to figure out how to put it back into that tiny little circle on your own and it is not intuitive. You can't do it by yourself, hours were spent trying to twist the thing into it's original state. Mind you, as you are trying to figure out how to compact it, it also has a tendency to take you by surprise and pop fully open again, knocking things off tables, pushing you into the wall and spooking the dog etc. I went on the internet and discovered many others in the same predicament. I tried many variations and this is what I eventually came up with: stand in the center of the green screen, with the shortest dimensions between your head and your feet and the longest at your sides. Fold the sides together like a hot dog bun, all the while staying right behind it and at the center. Now, keep it in place while taking your arm and bending down to the floor and grabbing the bottom, pull that bottom flap up and all the way over the top, now the three parts can slide into each other. Hopefully this experience will help some one!

Immortality Institute film

2006-02-04T02:10:00.000-08:00

The final version of the Immortality Institute film is now available. My Dermal Display animation and Iamthefuture pieces are featured in the movie. Many of my co-collaborators and leaders in the field are interviewed in the film.
The movie is packed full of commentary on how to achieve life extension and the intriguing philosophical issues that coincide with it.
I would like to thank B.J. Klein for all of his hard work on this and many other wonderful projects from IMMInst.
Get your copy of Exploring Life Extension for free!
Click the image on the left to enlarge.