Category: Media

This is a container category for media reviews and related drivel.

Looking A Bit Dicey

I went into the weekend wanting to put my new toy through some more paces. My original plan was to drop duckies into a basin of water and catch that in slo-mo on the GoPro but that was a no-go. (I’ll revisit that idea later once I’m able to figure out workable logistics.)

Instead, I found a wide and shallow box top suitable for die-rolling, set up the camera, and threw some dice to see what kind of results I could get. My first setup used natural light, since the “bouncing duckies” test runs showed that the light tent could be a bit too bright. Unfortunately the natural light wasn’t enough so the video turned out a bit grainy. Not entirely unexpected, but also completely unsuitable.

Out comes the light tent! And in goes my entire D20 pouch contents:

Yes, the foreground is out of focus. The GoPro is very, very close to the action in this arrangement. Also note the lack of 20s and the presence of at least one 1.

Which was neat and all, but what really turned out great were a couple of my D6 test shots, one of which I kept & posted:

There’s a long pause between throws in the one-tenth-speed version. I really need a speed-ramping software rig.

It’s wild just watching those last couple of dice turn… and turn… and turn… and finally settle. This is what I came here for, yes indeed. And now I have a fairly good idea just how slow I can go. I started with 240 frames per second and took that down to 23.97 in the converter. (Speed-ramping tricks are for another day. And, yes, the second video could really use it. I know.)

Next time… the previously-promised duckies, I hope!

1 May, 2022
Timey-wimey Time

I’m absolutely digging this GoPro HERO9. I did another session outside, because I cannot get enough of watching clouds go ‘vroom’.

And yes, I learned how to “blur” out sections of video in Hitfilm Express for the neighbors’ sake.

I also wanted to play a bit with slow-motion video, and this afternoon I got that chance. I put together the light tent (as all advice I’ve read about doing 240fps video emphasized the need for good lighting), I gathered some handy duckies, Vyx had the bright idea of putting cling-wrap onto a small mixing bowl, and I found a pillow with a nice bit of “bounce” to it. The results are… modestly amusing:

We got some good hang time out of this method.

This was the 2nd pillow test, where I dropped a couple more ducks in more rapid succession instead of one at a time with pauses between.

My original plan was to do “speed ramping” in Hitfilm Express, but I learned today that the software is kind of… actually terrible at that. (Speed ramping is that moderately-overused “things are going fast then they slllloooooowwww doooooowwwnn and then go fast again” visual effect you see in a lot of action shows/movies lately.) So I just loaded up VirtualDub and said “yeah, take this 240fps thing and make it 30fps for me” and here we are.

Look, if nothing else I’ve found a fun new thing to do with duckies. Can’t go wrong, there.

24 April, 2022
Music In A Minute: Get To Know Me
I’ve done little mixes before, some of which may even still be playable in the old blog archives. (I resist calling this thing a “blog” but let’s be honest here for a moment.) My music tastes are well known if you know me at all: Old pop, older prog rock, random J-pop, some heavy metal and EDM and so on.

My library grows nonetheless, and in some odd directions on occasion. I’m glad that even at the half-century mark I’m still getting into new stuff. To give you a clearer picture, perhaps, here’s a brief sampling of what I’m listening to nowadays:

I should run these down so you can explore further if you’re so inclined…
- Public Service Broadcasting, “People, Come Dance” (from Bright Magic, 2021)
- Battle Tapes, “Valkyrie” (from Polygon, 2015)
- toconoma, “N°9” (from Newtown, 2017)
- Midnight Oil, “Gadigal Land” (from The Makarrata Project, 2020)
- The HU, “Sugaan Essena” (from the soundtrack to the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, 2020)
- Sparks, “Music That You Can Dance To” (title track of album, 1986)
- Assemblage 23, “Welcome, Apocalypse (Alpha Quadrant remix)” (from Mourn, 2020)
- Pet Shop Boys, “What are we gonna do about the rich?” (from Agenda EP, 2019)
- Garbage, “No Horses” (bonus track from No Gods No Masters special edition, 2021)
- KONGOS, “Keep Your Head” (from 1929, Pt. 1, 2019)
Of course, here I am the morning after assembling this mix and realizing I didn’t get any of the Sawano Hiroyuki “[nZk]” stuff in here, and that’s a grave oversight. There’s a stunning lack of Mono Inc and VNV Nation as well.

Decisions had to be made, couldn’t fit in everything, etc. Maybe next time.
11 March, 2022
Satisfactory: Solo v Cooperative

I’ve been back on my Satisfactory you-know-what since late last year with no sign of letting up, aided by the kick-off of a co-op savegame with my daughter, who saw me streaming the game one day and expressed some interest. As of last night our multiplayer savegame is at the furthest point along the tech progression I’ve ever been in the game, and today that makes me ponder the differences between the solo Satisfactory game experience and the cooperative.

So let’s talk about co-op play’s pros and cons. (Not to be mistaken for prose and cones.)
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28 February, 2022
In That Quiet Ordinary World

Let’s be clear: The following is of extremely limited amusement value. Laser-targeted, you might say, to a small handful of individuals on the planet.

And yet here we are.

With apologies to current and past members and fans of both Genesis and Duran Duran.

Thank you for your time and please enjoy the rest of your day.

12 February, 2022
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka

And now for something completely niche: For those of you who still follow this blog, for the subset of that group who are into anime & manga, for the subset of that group who are into yuri romance stories, for the subset of that group who are into the light novels associated with anime & manga… here you go.

Whoever “you” are, thank you for being here. I won’t be able to talk about the Regarding Saeki Sayaka light novels without spoiling a large part of the Bloom Into You manga/anime, so… consider yourself duly warned.
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10 February, 2022