CaptainDisillusion

The Discord Stuff

Hello friends,

• If you use Discord and are annoyed, I'm sorry.
• If you don't know what Discord is and are weirded out by the recent notifications you may have received, I'm also sorry.

But fear not, it'll all be sorted out.

Discord is a text & voice chat platform. For a while now there has existed a Captain Disillusion Discord derver, started by a fan and spun up into a sizable community. I sometimes go on there to chat with viewers and do Q&As.

Pat...

New Video Early Access

I've done it. I've crawled out of the vast, scorching desert that was the creation of this episode. I may be dehydrated and I may be sunburned. But I. Am. Alive.

Please enjoy!

CG Cookie Live Chat!

At 2PM EST (in about 1.5 hrs) I'm going to be on a live video chat on the training website CGcookie.com, talking with one of their instructors about 3D animation, VFX and my videos in general. This was originally going to be something only available to their paying members, but I was just told it'll be free for everyone to view!

I'm not sure if the free version will stream at the link above or only simulcast on YouTube, but they'll tweet the YouTube link a few minutes prior. I'll retweet it so...

NEW VFX TUTORIAL - Put a Face On It

Hey,

Since this is a short one, and more of a project walkthrough than a step-by-step guide, and also because it's kind of fun, I thought I'd share it with most patrons.

Good? Terrible? Somewhere in-between?

Only your feedback can tell.

New Video Early Access

Hello! Here it is, fresh out of the kiln.

Quick D: Dancing Phantoms

Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Video in 6 Days

I'm playing catch-up and am almost back to regular schedule! The next video is a fairly simple Quick D, but as usual, I'm putting more effort into the details of it than is probably necessary.

Editing & VFX are time-consuming but at least it's just sitting and working at a computer. The shooting process is when the real organizational challenge happens. I try to keep track of everything with checklists and schedules, but sometimes the simplest things slip through the cracks.

You may ...

Achievement Unlocked

Well, you did it. You finally did it. You blew it up.

The Patreon goal, I mean. Thanks to the amazing continued support of long-time patrons and a recent influx of new folks, we crossed over the 10k benchmark!

I feel very proud! And weird! This is serious money and I am always hyper cognizant of making sure it's being put to appropriate use. Generally, it funds the following:

• My food/shelter
• Cat food
• Video equipment
• Software/web services
• Pr...
  2018-03-19 01:33:26 +0000 UTC View Post

Bonus Clip - Tom Scott Impression Workshop

I've received a few notes on the latest video about the inaccuracy of my Tom Scott impression and that's fair. But you should know I went into a lot of trouble to get it as accurate as possible. In fact, I was coached by the man himself!

New Video Early Access (hahaha)

Hello!

I'm finally done! I don't know what I was thinking trying to make this, but I sure am glad to be finished. And I really hope you enjoy it. To quote Dean Pelton from Community:

"What I'm about to show you is not the commercial you paid me to create. What I am about to show you is a glimpse into my mind and soul. Please hold your questions until the end. I know you will have a lot of them, but I'll understand if you'd rather I just leave."

A Month in Review

Week 1

I select the video topic and divide time between writing the script and psychologically psyching myself up for appearing on the H3 podcast.

Week 2

I travel to LA and appear on the H3 podcast. (If you were introduced to me there and decided to become a patron, welcome! And thank you so much for your support!). I spend 2 extra days in LA catching up with people I normally never get to visit.

Week 3

I land back home, directly into a puddle of f...

Away Mission

I'm traveling to Los Angeles for a couple of days, mainly to appear on the H3 Podcast! It's a livestream video podcast which you can watch tomorrow at 3PM PST on: https://m.twitch.tv/h3h3productions/

If you can't tune in, no worries. It'll likely also be available on YouTube the next day.

H3 seems to be really huge. How many of you are regular listeners?

Everyone's been asking whether I'll be "in ch...

New Video Early Access

Here's this month's video! I actually almost sort of nearly came close to somewhat having fun making it. Hope you enjoy.

Clip Origin Help

Hey everyone,

I'm doing a rather light-hearted episode about a "challenge" trend from last month. One of the videos I want to highlight has been passed around so much, I'm finding it hard to track down the original source...

Anyone want to give it a shot?

Thanks!

Episode Art: Holly Poster High Rez

The download link for the full-sized file is below (may need to be on the post page).

The image's native print size is 26 inches x 40 inches at 300 dpi (File size: 28.7MB)

Making "Creepy Holly" in Photoshop

Some videos by the creator of "Gateway to Sedona" feature a painting of a creepy nun which is actually kind of cool. To make the parody version with Holly for my video, I needed an picture to work from.

I usually just ask Lauren to send me a phone pic, but the poster needed to be large and look painterly, so I found some older DSLR photos. They were from our first attempt at the "Amazing Water Trick Debunk" video, which we shot 2 years prior to the one that ultimately came out!

2018-01-14 03:39:45 +0000 UTC View Post

Tech Update

My editing computer acted up for the first time since its inception 3 years ago. It's been starting in Safe Mode only. Having gone through every possible test/fix on my own and with Apple support, down to a clean install of the OS, everything pointed to a hardware issue. But today IT STARTED UP FINE. And kept starting up fine as if there was never any problem.

So I'm time-machining my whole setup back onto the drive and hopefully the computer will continue to work.

I'm glad at least this...

Pixel Art Workflow

The new video had an excess of sequences about abstract, difficult-to-illustrate things. I always struggle with what to put on the screen to keep it interesting during those parts. For one particularly verbose section, I figured an old video game pixel art style would look refreshing.

Never tried it before, but I've seen people explain the general workflow. Basically, you draw at very low resolution and then blow up the image.

I made each character on a 64 x 64 px canvas in Photoshop usi...

New Video Sort of Early Access

Hi! Ok, there isn't technically enough time for you to watch it before it is made public, but still, here it is!

Thank you for your patience and enjoy!

End of Year Updates

Hello, boss-friends!

I've been sparse with posts, which usually happens when I'm consumed by editing a complex episode, but I wanted to give you a proper rundown on everything relevant I can think of, all at once. Strap in!

Next Video

I'm hard at work on completing a new video. I'm close. But it's also huge. 14 minutes! I worked through Christmas, but now it looks like I'm still going to miss the deadline by a couple of days. I really hate that it'll cross into the new year, feel...

Outtakes & Behind the Scenes - VFXcool BTTF

Please enjoy this brief compilation of bloopers and on-set footage from the episode.

I haven't attempted to drive stick-shift since!

Behind the Scenes Pics - VFXcool BTTF

Some parts of the video required us to leave the comfort of the red room and shoot on location. The farthest trip was upstate, near Universal Studios to film the epilogue with a real DeLorean! The header pic is me being instructed on how to drive manual transmission by the owner of the facility where the cars are stored. (I'll be posting a video to show just how bad I was at this.)

We used the Part 2 version of the car (with a Mr. Fusion reactor), but I also got to play around with this snazzy...

Music & Sound FX Track - VFXcool BTTF 2/2

Haven't done one of these in a while, but I thought it might be fun to show a version of the last episode with the dialogue removed. There are only sound effects and music.

It starts out simple, but as the video goes on, the sound design gets a bit more elaborate. Admittedly, I sometimes spend a little too much time on the sound design.

Anyway, if you're into this sort of thing, pop on some earbuds, crank it up and listen up for all the little intricacies!

-CD

New Video Early Access

Here it is! Some strangely-toned real-talk by yours truly at Skepticon AU.

Curious about your feedback. If you watch the whole thing, try to sum up your impression in one adjective!

I Come From A Land Down Under

(header pic courtesy of @el_sheenis on Twitter)

Hi patrons!

I've just returned from Sydney, where I spoke at Skepticon 2017. Things were pretty frantic leading up to the trip as I rushed to prepare & practice my presentation. Even on the plane. Even on the morning of my appearance!

But it went well and there were lots of other interesting speakers at the event. Here's a backstage pic of me with a few of them (Leigh Nicholson, Cara Santa Maria, Ketan Joshi and Ruth Elli...

Behind the Scenes: Ami Split-Screen Previz

Most of my ideas start out grander and more complicated than what ends up in the video. Technical limitations and schedule usually require trimming the concept down to something more approachable.

In the case of the motion control split-screen scene with Ami Yamato, I originally aimed for an elaborate sketch with a BTTF-style time travel premise. Since Ami was coming all the way from London, I threw together this rough animated storyboard (using my own voice and primitive mannequins) to make s...

New Video Early Access

Hello and welcome to this 4:00AM edition of early episode access. We have a special guest in this one, so everybody just be cool! You there, tuck in your shirt. Ok.

Her name is Ami Yamato, a sometimes confusing but always charming YouTuber (and a fellow creator here on Patreon). She lives in London, likes coffee and cool movies. And she was kind enough to collaborate with me in demonstrating another landmark VFX technique...

Destination Time

Friends!

My guest and I have been working around the clock on this monster of an episode. Like, literally we're pulling day AND night shifts. Despite that, it's landing us a bit past the month's deadline... We need just a few extra days. (Rather, *I* need them. I'm the slow one.)

Since the video is not Halloween-related, it's probably better to release it afterward anyway.

I made this little teaser for the channel with the official premiere date (November 5th). But of course YOU gu...

Collab

As you might've guessed, the next video (currently in red-hot post-production) will be the sequel to 'VFXcool: Back to the Future'. But what you *mightn't've* guessed is it will also feature a guest star.

Keep calm, it's not anyone associated with the movie!

But it is another talented YouTuber I've been interested to collaborate with. They're going to help me demonstrate a particular effects technique in a way that I wouldn't be able to do on my own.

Don't want to reveal yet with w...

Roads?

Well, I've just come back from one of the most exhausting yet exhilarating days of filming I've ever experienced. THAT'S ALL I'M GONNA SAY.

New Video Early Access

Hello! Here's the new video! It's coming to you a bit early because as subscribers to the production blog know, I experienced a lengthy power outage this month, a month during which it was crucial for me to actually get ahead of schedule to accommodate upcoming CD projects.

So I kind of blazed through this. Please excuse its somewhat sloppy graphics and scarce sound design of this episode. Even though it's a "Mr. Flare production" and is supposed to feel a bit rough around the edges, I still w...