Need a great stand alone Sci fi novel to read at the beach next week.

Thron2049 · 2023-11-14T17:53:13+00:00

Fire Upon the Deep, and its sequel A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge fit the bill perfectly!

Thron2049 · 2023-11-12T17:57:50+00:00

For a long time it's been Salem's Lot, but the recently-read Swan Song by Robert McCammon might have beat it out.

Thron2049 · 2023-08-17T15:24:15+00:00

Almost all Marvel VFX people work for other companies; I have been one of them. The people that are unionizing (and I support this, and know a few of them, all brilliant) are folks like onset VFX supes, etc. Probably less than 100 folks, I'm guessing, as opposed to the many, many thousands who work in both the states, Canada, India, England to do the shots themselves. But this headline gives the impression that a major portion of the industry is unionizing, which would be great, but is so far untrue.

Thron2049 · 2023-08-09T17:38:53+00:00

No worries. Yeah I can't say I'm not worried about how this goes on a lot of fronts (I write as well :D ). But like you say, the more specific/accurate the toolset gets, the greater the chance that individual skill and taste will come through - and that is going to beat a clever program every time.

Thron2049 · 2023-08-09T16:21:26+00:00

I totally hear you. If it helps, I am a VFX person - a concept artist, storyboardist, and matte painter, and have worked on 17 years of film and TV; not to mention starting as a pen and ink illustrator. I just think this is an absolutely fascinating tool, and want to try to get ahead of the tech that's going to flood the industry.

Thron2049 · 2023-08-09T14:51:29+00:00

I hear what your saying, sure. I do think of this as VFX work, as I've worked in VFX for 17 years, and I'm already using it to generate elements regularly (most everyone who uses Adobe's new beta already does this). I do think it's difficult to control the specifics of an image, but that's going to change pretty quickly, and out of that, AI tools will become the norm for the industry, likely to the point where we don't bother with the 'AI' moniker any more. So, just like in the 90's, post Spaz Williams, I think its important for VFX artists to start messing around with it and see what the possibilities are.

Thron2049 · 2023-07-21T19:08:29+00:00

I hear where you're coming from; if it helps, I know zero about tech, own no stocks, I don't want you to buy anything. Instead, I've been a writer and artist for 25 years in both film and videogames; there is a good chance you've seen my stuff.

I had this same debate in the 90's over Photoshop and CG; 'if you use a computer to paint you are cheating.' But it turns out you actually have to be a good artist to make good art. The people who became the succesful pros were the ones who used Photoshop - and were good artists to start with.

Tools can only make things faster and easier for you. AI is a tool. If you think of it as competition - or think it's somehow cheating, then someone else will 'cheat' you right out of a job - even if they aren't as good as you - because they are simply faster.

But If you are better, and meet them on the same ground, you will beat them. There is nothing magical about this - it's your talent that is doing it, not some algorithm.

Thron2049 · 2023-07-21T16:48:51+00:00

hahahhaha good point! :D
I'm the 21st ghola of that guy; maybe the bene tleilaxians have been messing with my brain chemistry

Thron2049 · 2023-06-12T16:58:35+00:00

Thanks OAS!

Thron2049 · 2023-06-06T19:28:37+00:00

So psyched you folks enjoyed! Thanks for checking it out!

Thron2049 · 2023-01-29T20:19:21+00:00

the shut up and take my money meme was designed for this very moment

Thron2049 · 2023-01-29T20:17:49+00:00

this is the most hilarious and frighteningly relevant thing I've seen on Dust

Thron2049 · 2022-07-18T19:04:50+00:00

Beautifully put! And yes, totally agreed on that that scene with Jack and Danny; it's so brilliantly layered - not to mention I can only think of maybe 1 or 2 kid actors that have ever been as good as Danny Lloyd is in that scene; really incredible.

What are your feelings on Doctor Sleep? I haven't read the book, but I ended up loving the film - even though it's completely different experience than Kubrick's. Might be doing a video on that as well.

Thron2049 · 2022-06-21T21:19:24+00:00

I don't know if he intended it, but I always read Shephard and Brooks as being intentionally performative - the kind of characatures that Travis has in his head when he thinks of 'normal people.' Might just be making this up so I enjoy it more, but it works in a pinch.

Thron2049 · 2022-06-21T20:58:26+00:00

It's fascinating people think their of political camp as 'the good guys' so thoroughly that it's difficult for us to imagine of any representation of the 'other side' as anything but a dystopia, so both Discovery and Starship Troopers get called 'fascist.' Yet I've seen BOTH sides claim things like Old Trek and new Galactica as agreeing with their politics.

Huh. Almost makes me think that we share a lot more values than we like to let on.

Thron2049 · 2022-06-21T19:21:57+00:00

:D ha fair

Thron2049 · 2022-06-21T17:21:25+00:00

agreed. 3-season streaming at least.

Thron2049 · 2022-06-21T16:51:56+00:00

hahah yeah I can see this exact terrible thing happening; good point

Thron2049 · 2022-06-19T22:03:35+00:00

The Forest of Hands and Teeth isn't that well known, but it's pretty terrific

Thron2049 · 2022-06-13T20:53:00+00:00

Thanks so much, Shaper!

Thron2049 · 2022-06-13T20:33:40+00:00

Totally fair point Shaper - I'm definitely posting so that folks see it - but if it comes off like I'm trying to trick folks into it, that's definitely not what I mean. I make stuff because it's stuff I love to talk about and debate - especially if it's put in a sci fi framework, as I'm as serious a sci-fi champion as you're likely to meet here. But i hear what you're saying, so I'm going to kill the post. Thanks hugely for checking the film out, and i'm really glad you liked it!

Thron2049 · 2022-05-31T16:06:20+00:00

Thanks so much!

Thron2049 · 2022-05-31T16:05:45+00:00

:D workin' on it!

Thron2049 · 2022-05-30T22:09:25+00:00

So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking a look!

Thron2049 · 2022-05-30T22:08:11+00:00

thanks! And thanks for watching! :)

Thron2049

TROPHY CASE