Creative Soul, Logical Mind

New Website Update

2008-07-02T20:57:00.002-04:00

Please check out the completely redesigned DESCVERT.com 3.0, my website.

So Many Photos

2008-07-02T20:50:00.003-04:00

After almost 2 FULL YEARS of not posting even a single photo to my Flickr account, I have started a posting marathon that is well underway to make up for all the lost time. Somewhere along he line, I had forgotten that there was no limit to the amount of pictures I can upload at a time/per month, and so I'm uploading everything I can find. Soon, the site will be so full of pictures I'll need to find a better way of organizing them.

The first batch of photos were all from Senior Week and Graduation, but now that they are all posted, I have begun to post all the other stuff. First up, the Cherry Blossom pictures.

Many, many, many, many, many more to come so stay tuned.

Yay, a long overdue post!

2008-06-26T20:44:00.003-04:00

After many months of not using this space, I would like to inform anyone who reads this blog that my summer job came to an abrupt end as the guy in charge was fired for incompetance, I'll have more time to be bored and write stuff here. Have fun reading it.

Blender Modeling and Rigging Test

2008-01-07T17:13:00.002-05:00

This post is just to let everyone out there know how much I rule.

I'm hoping to choreograph something more complex and real in the near future.
Enjoy.

Nostalgia Trip

2007-12-26T10:16:00.002-05:00

For those of you whom I hung out with in high school, this might be a pleasant, if not very sarcastic, trip down memory lane. For the rest of you, it's a chance to take a gander at my early life and writing style.

http://descvert.deadjournal.com/

Brain go splat

2007-11-05T10:18:00.001-05:00

So, yeah, I can't draw to save my life. This, among other things, is causing me to tear my hair out. Figuratively, of course, as my long, luxurian, full-bodied hair is too perfect for me to tear out. Well, DUH! I'm lying; so sue me. I like the "I just woke up 2 minutes ago even though it's 5:00PM" hairdo accompanied by the black hoody, black jeans and sneakers so old they need duct tape to keep them on. The "slacker" look, in other words, which is not only easy to maintain (by doing nothing) but is yet another way in which I make sarcasm an integral part of my life. This way, I get to look like I'm a loser who does nothing with his life when in actuality, I am heavily involved with lots of organizations on campus, have at least one useful hobby, have a rich social life, go to college and work.
But despite all this, I still suck at drawing. I haven't given up hope, and still keep trying, but the fact remains I'll be lucky if I can get 2 decent drawings done.

Play on, play on, play on.... and face the audience

2007-10-24T08:54:00.002-04:00

A quick note to all those who play in a band: for the love of god, face the audience when you play. I understand that with electric instruments, it doesn't matter which way you face or even if you're on stage, but nobody wants to watch a band where 3 of the 5 members are facing the drummer when they play. I didn't come to a show to see musician's play for themselves; if I'd wanted that, I would have downloaded the music. I'm here to be entertained by them and they are there to entertain me and everyone else who paid to see them. By ignoring the audience, you limit the amount of energy you can project to your adoring fans and (most importantly for me) you become impossible to photograph!
Who wants to look at pictures of a bass player standing sideways with his face hidden behind his own head stock? Or what about a lead singer who is always looking down? The concert is a visual experience so make sure it looks good. Let loose, dance around the stage, do something entertaining, do just stand there singing or strumming.
I was photographing a battle of the bands last night and while most of the music was excellent, the performance itself was kinda boring. Two of the bands had wonderful stage presence which combined with first-rate music for a truly winning combination. The rest had good music too, but mostly stood around unmoving. When the drummer is the most active member of the band, you may want to reconsider showmanship.
Enough rambling, here's my advice as a photographer to the bands wanting to be photographed well: We can't do all the work. A good photographer will take advantage of any situation he or she is given, but you have to give them something. If the photographer can't get a shot of your face, guess who's face won't appear in any pictures? So play out! Take your axes in hand, assume the battle stance and prepare to charge the audience with everything you've got. That's how you get people to come to your shows, and that's how you let us get the magazine cover photos. Rolling Stone, here you come!

Latest Transfer Status

2007-10-19T11:17:00.002-04:00

I had my interview/portfolio review for SVA on Monday (10/15/07). It was an interesting and painful experience. It started the night before when my printer broke so I couldn't get a copy of my resume and unofficial transcript. Then, my insomnia tag teamed with my nerves and I didn't get any sleep that night. Having no idea what to wear, I put on some casual cloths with a blazer and hoped for the best. The train parking lot was completely full, so I had to park about 4 blocks away and run to make the train on time.
Good fortune took over when, as it turns out, I had timed my trip perfectly and I got to SVA almost exactly 30 minutes before my interview which gave me all the time I needed to fill out the paperwork and try to relax. When I met the interviewer, my brain kicked into "Interview Mode" and I calmed down and used my mad interviewing skillz. I got answers to most of my questions and found out just about everything I could want to know about the school.
Then came the portfolio review and it all went to hell. Let me digress to explain how I prepared for this: I burned a CD with the photos, animations and renders that I wanted to present. I then put the portfolio onto a USB drive, my laptop and online. This way should any medium fail, I'd have 3 more to back it up. Paranoid, yes; but just wait. So I give the woman my disc and everything but the animations work. The computer is too slow for the animations to play correctly and so the one thing I really needed to show them is now dead. Not to worry! I still have the USB drive! ...which the computer can't accept as it only has one USB port and the mouse is in that. O.K. Don't panic, I can use the internet..... except the computer doesn't have Flash support. Last chance. I open up my laptop, only to find the data has been corrupted by the hard drive the school refuses to replace because they can successfully reformat it and therefore it can't be bad.
So, now I'm sitting in the admissions office of the one of the best animation schools in the country with nothing to show them and to make matters worse it looks like I'm an engineer who doesn't know anything about computers. "Interview Mode" is about to give up and be replaced by "Slam-your-head-into-the-desk-repeatedly Mode" and "You-fail at-life Mode."
Then, as if I couldn't feel any worse about myself I hear the final nails embed themselves in my coffin, "And, what drawings did you bring?" she asks.
My drawing ability makes xkcd look like it was made by Picasso so when I heard I needed drawings I lost all hope of ever getting in. However, as out of will power "Interview Mode" was still functioning, I told her that I didn't have any spectacular drawings as I focused more on 3D, and she (thankfully) said I could resubmit my portfolio at a later date and include the drawings in that.
After the closing formalities, I departed and wandered around for half an hour while I waited for my tour. As soon as I was out of sight, I phoned a friend for some drawing lessons later that week, then sat down to contemplate what had just happened. I felt like this dream had been completely destroyed. I had a portfolio probably worthy of their photography school, but I want to do computer art. The woman had not given any feedback on my work and I didn't notice and major change in behavior to indicate whether she liked my work or not.
I recovered my composure and went back for the tour and when I entered the building, she tapped me on the shoulder to compliment me on my eyeball animation (she thought it was cute). She said that I could re-submit my portfolio once I had the drawings which will give me a chance to fix up the renders and re-burn the disc for slower computers. Suddenly, I felt about 5000% better. I went on the tour as happy as expected, talked to a few students and admired the facilities. I was taken to the wrong animation building, but I'll go back later and correct this. I did, however, see the photography building and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!
So it seems like I might still have a chance of getting in, assuming I can get these drawings done. My friend Jen is teaching me to draw the way SVA teaches (she used to go there) and there is no way for me to repay her or thank her enough for her help. Because of her, I already have one presentable piece to show and have enough advice to possibly make the 2 more I still need. I am also polling teachers for letters of recommendation.
It is still very uncertain if I can get in to a school like SVA, but I will continue to try my best. I will be updating my website soon to include all the new material, so look forward to that. Let's hope for the best.

State of the iPod Address

2007-10-10T08:09:00.002-04:00

I'm returning my second Ipod Touch today. I have to say that despite how much I enjoy using and having this device, it's a hassle to have to get a new one every 1-2 weeks. The first one suffered from a manufacturing error that caused the screen to internally reflect light. This meant that all dark colors were washed out and impossible to view. This new one seemed fine until I noticed a single dead pixel. I figure if this one doesn't work out, I'll probably wait for the 16GB or 32GB iPhone and try again.
I see that face you're making. You're thinking, "Consumer whore! You're just giving into the Cult of Apple. You suck!" While this may be true,I can justify it by simply stating that I use my iPod every day and I haven't found a media player that's as easy to use and has the added functions that I will use constantly. Seeing how I got 7 movie clips, all my calendars and contacts, and 900 songs on the Touch with 10GB of space left, I can justify the extra money for the iPhone subscription only if the storage at least doubles (quadruples would of course be better). Depending on how things go, hacking is always an option.

MetroCAF

2007-09-28T19:39:00.002-04:00

On 9/27/07, I went to MetroCAF 2007. For those of you who aren't in the know, MetroCAF is the Metropolitan area division of SIGGRAPH; the nation-wide Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics. This can include any form of graphic art created on computers be it film processing, rotoscoping, digital art, animation, etc. Animation dominated the event with 29 of the 32 shorts shown. My personal favorites were (in order from best to least)

La La Land by Ronnarit Lueangwattanakij: A hilarious, dark and disturbing story about a cute monster who only understands his own happiness.
Cycle by Guy Bar'ely: A sad and touching short about a father and his daughter.
Scent by Pota Tseng: A beautifully animated and rendered description of how we perceive scents.
Fission by Kun-I chang: A colorful and powerful digitally edited film about a work of art trying to escape it's medium.
Big Shot by San Charoenchai: A very clever and funny story animated in several different styles about how the artist became inspired to become a movie director.
A Faery's Tale by Sylvia Apostol: Funny and very well made take on a popular children's story.
Simulacra by Tatchapon Lertwirojkul: Beautifully modeled and rendered story of a robot in an all metal world who discovers a real flower has still survived.
(Honerable Mention) The Kabob by Han Hu: Very cute story of beach critters fighting over food.

Movies like these are a real inspiration to watch and it's amazing to see the kind of stories these animators think of and how well they tell them. A few of the shorts shown (which I will not name) I believe were pretty bad. Maybe it's because I think like an engineer, but some of those shorts had no point to them.
Let me digress now to what I believe makes for a good story no matter what the medium:

A good plot: it should tell a story that is worth wishing you had though of.
Memorable characters: self explanatory.
Should mimic the real world in such a way as to make us think that it is either very real, or a complete departure from reality.

Some of these shorts had none of that. Others were missing crucial parts. One would have been alright were in not for the "voice-overs" which almost made my ears bleed.
This experience has given me both a major confidence boost and a kind of negative re-enforcement. On the one hand, I truly believe that with a masters in animation, I could do better than quite a few of these and possibly get in to one or more of these festivals. On the other hand, it looked like they turned down several submissions that were very interesting and cool in favor of artsy-fartsy crap.
It does seem like almost all of the artists and art professors I have spoken with, have this "enigmatic forms that should just be without purpose" kind of mentality. This, to me, is very annoying bordering on infuriating. Rather than focusing on them, I would like to mention the ones who have been of enormous help to me, instead of hindering me and telling me "it's too complex for you, you'll never understand it or succeed in doing it." My new animation professor, Daniel Durning has not only worked in the industry for many years and understands the business, he is knowledgeable in the software and loves to teach it. He is helping me learn some advanced technical skills. The other is Rob O'Neil from the Digital Arts Lab at Pratt who has been diligently answering my questions about my portfolio and what would be expected of me as an art student. A special thanks goes out to him.
While my confidence is still low, I feel that there is actually a chance that I can get into a good school. I am continuing to learn as much Blender as possible because the overall methods of animation can translate over to any 3D program. I am also trying to learn as much Maya as I can as every school and most industries (assuming the don't have their own proprietary software) use that as their standard program. Between learning as much as I can, working, class, applications, interviews and family life, let's see ho much stress can build up before my head explodes.

Update to "My life falls apart onto the pages of the Internet"

2007-09-20T14:42:00.002-04:00

I bought the 16GB iPod Touch. It's beautiful. It's worth every cent.
It gives me bragging rights which I will use liberally everywhere I go. Don't worry, those feeling are natural; it's perfectly normal to want me uncontrollably now.

Seriously though, I was listening to it while at Stevens yesterday and when people saw it they gave me this condescending look and said in a sarcastic tone something to the effect of, "Oh, what is that, an iPhone?" When I said, "No, it's an iPod touch," their eyes lit up and the sneer turned into a smile followed by, "Can I play with it?"
I only hope that this iPod gives me the years of joy my first iPod did and still does. I don't know how I'll ever commute without it again.
Go ahead and make fun of me, but if you see me with it, you know you'll be dying to try it out. Admit it, it's just too much fun to use.

Stage 1, Applications

2007-09-20T14:01:00.002-04:00

The 2 things I had hoped I would never have to go through again:
1. The Long Wait
2. The admissions essay or statement of intent
Number 1 is by far the worst. At first, you don't expect to hear anything from colleges, so you're just hoping in the back of your mind that you get in. As the months drag on, the anticipation grows and you begin dreading the sound the mail makes when it hits the floor each day. After months, nothing arrives and doubt sets in. If you'd made it in, you'd know by now right? Finally, one day it arrives. You pick it up gingerly, weighing it in your hands; is it the big/heavy Envelope of Acceptance or the puny Letter of Rejection. In some cases you can easily tell. In my case, it was obvious when I got accepted to Rutgers Engineering and RIT because of the giant folder filled to the brim with propaganda. Stevens, on the other hand, sent me a very thin envelope with a half crumpled letter on Stevens letterhead with only about 3 lines of text. They might as well have sent a Post-it.
I was not rejected from any of the schools I applied to (why, I have no idea), but even if I had, it probably would still have been a relief from the wait; at least initially. I haven't even submitted the applications yet and I'm already freaking out about getting rejected. The wait is going to be even more hellish this time around.
Number 2 is annoying and stressful in a different way. The first time I applied to schools, I had to write stupid essays like "Is technology good or bad, and why?" or "Why did you choose our school?" Now that I'm a transfer, I have to write statements of intent which I hate for several reasons:
1. I don't like talking about myself or my qualities, be they good or bad.
2. I have to write this in such a way that the schools see my good points and what I can do without seeming like I'm bragging or have a giant ego.
3. I'm a geek applying to an art school and I don't think I have anything to say that want to hear.
4. I'm not sure what I want to do there.
Number 4 is obviously the biggest problem. Without a goal or plan, I can't do anything. I am remedying this with a meeting with a counselor at SVA in a few weeks where I can find out if I stand a chance of getting in.
I am using these few weeks to build up a 3-D animation and photography portfolio and see what I can accomplish. Unfortunately, my animation portfolio is very weak because I have not been doing it for that long and my drawing skills are... well, missing. It's horrible to think that after 3.5 years of college, I might not be qualified to even be a freshman again. I suppose I shall see what happens in the near future and just try to figure things out as I go.
I'm open to any help and/or suggestions the world has to offer.

My life falls apart onto the pages of the Internet

2007-09-11T11:59:00.002-04:00

I want an iPod Touch. There, I said it. I wants one. It's sleek, sexy, and most importantly, it will comfortably hold my music for those long commutes to/from work/home/school. Plus it's sexy. The web browser will probably come in handy too although I can't imagine myself using it often. Plus, it's sexy.
I am kinda pissed that they won't let you add Calendar entries, only view them, but that isn't too bad of a downfall. Same with Notes which His Steve-ness (borrowed from Engadget, the best tech blog ever) has deemed unimportant for those who don't want a $2,000+ phone. Doesn't really matter though, I'll just wind up hacking it to pieces and putting whatever apps I want on it.
See, that's the kinda guy I am: I over analyze everything, I have to rationalize every action I take, and I suffer buyers remorse before I've even spent anything. "Because I want it," is not enough of a reason for me to do anything, and this philosophy needs to be changed. Why can't I get something just because I think it's cool? Why can't I do something just because it's fun? Why can't I just be happy?
I've spent so many years being who I am instead of who I want to be. Life demands drastic changes and if I don't make them now, I'll be miserable until I condemn myself to an early grave.
This Blog, at least for the time being, will openly document the most drastic change and the biggest risk of my life. Regardless of how tragically it will probably turn out, some good may at least come out of the experience and of sharing it with the world. I openly take any advice and comments the world would like to bestow upon me.
Wish me luck.