miscast

TMM 021: Overhead Rig & Procedural Art

Added 2022-02-27 11:42:47 +0000 UTC

Zane and I finished the overhead rig! This will be a major component to the new series Problem Solving as well as the next Arcane Ugly video.

The overhead rig will allow different making processes to be demonstrated clearly without my hands getting in the way.

I've had a few different overhead rig set ups filming Miscast Terrain videos but none lasted more than a couple of episodes before breaking so hopefully this will be the answer!

The build ended up costing a few hundred dollars in materials and labour even after using as much recycled materials as possible. Hopefully it's a worthwhile investment 🤞.

The adjustable telescoping rig uses a combination of an old light stand and a broken tripod head. The telescoping rig can go all the way to the table surface so I can do super macro shots.

I had to replace knobs with smaller milliput versions so the rig could be as small as possible.

The most important aspect of this set up is that it can hold the weight of my very heavy camera set up in its entirety, so it can be quickly unlatched from the tripod it's usually connected to and then immediately latched onto the overhead rig. Making this process as efficient as possible saves time in set up and editing but also means I will actually use this new tool if the process is painless.

I’m currently filming the first episode of Problem Solving which is all about modeling epoxies and I've picked up a bunch of variations outside of my usuals to experiment with. I'll be mixing them together at different ratios, trying to find their strengths and weaknesses, seeing if the hardeners are interchangeable etc. First Miscast episode with stunts too. Look out of that haha.

More art! After being so happy with the big art piece I made with Rachel I've primed five more canvases. I hope to work on them all at the same time and see what happens. I've also slowly been making this space a bit more habitable and efficient so I can start instantly painting whenever the urge strikes.

Rachel is working on another art piece for the new Arcane Ugly healing chapter, this will be transferred onto one the freshly primed canvas to be painted all over in the same way as our last piece.

Digitally I've been working on generative art to randomly generate cool spell sigils. Still early days but I've learned a lot in a short space of time. A discord suggestion was art for all the spells in Arcane Ugly and I totally agree.

My thought process was that if I make the process automatic, then in the long run it might make some weird ideas I couldn't have come up with using my brain. Also other people will be able to use it as well.

This is a gift I made for Rachel. Ever since moving to my studio, I've never had the tools to fix things around the house when a crisis happens. Rachel is a fantastic problem solver and is more than happy to fix things herself as well, so I figured I'd make her a toolbox of her own with my most frequently used tools. I said if there is something that we are lacking and we can't fix a problem, we'll buy that tool to add to it.