CaptainDisillusion

Production Art: Falling Ladder Recreation

Here's the cartoony rendition that was used to explain ThatHsppyFamily's falling ladder trick in the latest video. (Drawn in Photoshop, animated in AE)

New Video Early Access

I fear I've lost all sense of what constitutes a "quick D" episode. No matter. As long as they're good, right? Hope you enjoy!

Photoshoppin' Holly

Lauren, who plays Holly, is out of town, but I need to show a picture of the character for a joke in the upcoming episode. So she sent a quick selfie which I roughly photoshopped into the usual floating head look. It's being used as a small profile picture in a graphic projected out of my wrist communicator, so this should hold up.

A decent grasp of Photoshop is a prerequisite for anyone working in visual media. Trying to do VFX or animation without that is like endeavoring to write a novel be...

Onward!

So we hit the 4K goal before the weekend which is amazing. Thank. You. I haven't written anything 'till now because I spent the weekend filming the next episode. IT'S WHAT I DO NOW. The truth is, as the Patreon goal was being approached, I was gradually rearranging my life to match. My full time job conveniently ended several months ago (as work on a series tends to do) and I've been throttling freelance gigs down, the closer we got to the goal. Now I've come in for a soft landing to full-time ...

Behind the Scenes: "The Undebunkable" Episode

As a final #lategate post visible to all pledge levels, here's a behind-the-scenes featurette about the production of the video from June. Effort exerted, lessons learned, achievements unlocked. Enjoy!

TUTORIAL: Rigging the Ambiguous Cylinder for Animation

Visualizing an explanation of an illusion is often trickier than creating that illusion in the first place. Here I explain how I built and rigged a 3D model of the ambiguous cylinder that could transform over time, highlighting some useful Blender features along the way.

(and it's not too long or boring this time!)

July 2016 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

New Video Early Access

Here it is! Please enjoy and let me know what you think.

Production Art: Compass Rose

One part of the episode I'm completing now needed a graphic of one of those compasses you see on old-timey maps, so I whipped one up in Photoshop. If anyone needs it for something, feel free to use.

Next Up

Today I filmed the next episode. It'll be a Quick D with a detailed explanation of a cool video. No drama or over-the-top VFX this time ;) A breakdown of a complicated shot from the Undebunkable episode and a behind-the-scenes mini documentary about the Beakman episode are also in the works. PS: I'm getting kind of addicted to the lighting grid on the ceiling. I don't know how I ever got things done without it!

The Undebunkable - Music & Effects Track

For audiophiles...

Treats!

As promised, because of Late Gate, the various extras and posts this month will be visible to all patrons. But to hold ya over, here are a few goodies from May:

BEAKMALLUSION

Outtakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fE_njY63o4

Music & Effects Track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e...

New Episode Early Access

Please enjoy this strange and incredibly hard-to-make episode. It will go live for the rest of the world tomorrow.

Sorry that it was delayed. Stay tuned for some extras coming soon.

I better get on making this month's video too, huh!

We Are Beginning Our Descent

I'm finished with picture and working on sound now. Trying to keep my mind from unraveling.

Nemesis

I needed an "opposite" jacket for a character that figures in this episode and I found a strange purple one made of velour. "LEELA, IT'S REAL VELOUR..."

Also I just realized these are the colors of Darkwing Duck and Negaduck. But in my case, yellow is the good guy ;)

I'm over the hump with the toughest VFX in the video, but there are still a few to do.

June 2016 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

Virtual Set Bonanza

This episode involves some set destruction, so I've had to build a fairly detailed 3D recreation of the room that's rigged up with various animatable textures and simulations to control the amount of damage as needed.

Special Month

As $3+ folks already know, I'm a bit behind with the newest video. This is unprecedented! So I've promptly come up with this.

Now I must get back to rotoscoping. Rotoscoping as far as the eye could see!

Breaking the Vow

We were finally able to film yesterday. In stark contrast to the Beakman shoot, this was very long and arduous. Instead of a set full of crew and guest stars, it was just me and my beloved occasional camerawoman Emily, all by ourselves. From 8AM to 10PM we meticulously covered the hell out of this strange, strange episode, using dollies, sliders, cranes and green screens. It gets a bit dark and I hope the departure in tone will work.

Today I trimmed the nearly 2 hours of footage we capture...

Sci-fi Prison Cell

...made out of insulation sheets for a part in next episode. I'm SO behind, I don't know how I'm gonna get this done :((

100k Subs Plaque

It's nice to get this from Google while on the channel we're already nearing 200k :) in large part thanks to all of YOU!

TUTORIAL: Handheld Video - Part 3

In this 3rd and final section, we finish the process by building an artificial player interface, making an alteration to the end of the shot and getting everything to look sort of okay.

TUTORIAL: Handheld Video - Part 2

Diving deeper into the abyss of matte cleanup and color correction. Watch out for the giant octopi of despair.

TUTORIAL: Handheld Video - Part 1

The first of 3 half-hour tutorials showing step-by-step how to achieve that "holding a video" effect I frequently use.

Production Art: Space Bike

Here's another combo of elements from the Thermodynamics animation. Having the wheel rotating continuously and slowing down throughout the segment was actually an interesting animation challenge.

Ellie's Day Job - Pop Star

I used to edit and occasionally direct a web series about a group of teen friends who hang out at a music recording studio. Crystal, who plays Ellie in the Beakman episode, was one of the cast members. The show featured many music videos of the kids performing pop covers and original songs. Here's Crystal's original song.

Please excuse the overwhelmingly hyper-marketed and Disney-fied nature of this content. In fact, I would advise you to disable annotations ahead of time ;)

Music & Sound Effects Track of "Beakmallusion"

By [surprising] popular demand, here's a version of the latest episode with the dialogue muted and only the sound design remaining. Pop in your earbuds and crank it up for a maximum stereophonic experience.

Beakman Bloopers!

See if you can count how many times we say "sorry" to each other.

Production Art: Thermodynamics Alien

These drawings, made in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet, were used in the Thermodynamics animated segment of the Beakman episode. Just a few poses and blinks were enough to depict the alien pulling up in his UFO, attempting to use a dynamo on the spinning wheel, failing and showing his disappointment.

May 2016 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!