Posts tagged what is this

I got to see some old family friends I hadn’t seen for a while and realized I pretty much based one of my characters off of one of their kids. We’re about the same age, so obviously the character couldn’t be based 100% on her appearance now…. But I’m pretty sure I spent a lot of the night accidentally oggling her.

Welp.

Because apparently, this is actually something that could start happening.

Digital Domain’s CEO, John Textor has been boasting about plans to get up to 30% of studio work from students.

“What’s interesting is the relationship between the digital studio and the college. 30% of the workforce at our digital studio down in Florida, is not only going to be free, its going to be [student] labor that’s actually paying us for the privilege of working on our films.”

This is a blow for a lot of my class, since Digital Domain’s Tradition Studios in Port St Lucie (Very close to Ringling!) was looking to hire something like 500 people around the time we graduate. Obviously, 30% doesn’t mean they won’t need new hires..but this sort of thing makes you wonder about the studio.

“We were able to persuade even the academic community, if we don’t do something to dramatically reduce costs in our industry, then we’re going to lose these industries .. we’re going to lose these jobs.

So, if 30% of our labor can be free, actually paying tuition, but by [the] Junior and Senior year at the college, [students are] working on real films, as part of the professional workflow, and [they] graduate with a resume that has five major films, [their] name in the credits, and more than just an internship level of experience, then that’s the perfect kind of trade off.”

A lot of people are asking how legal this could be. I know of a few laws that state that you can’t contribute to a film without minimum wage, at least.

However, I’m reminded of the College football model. Students who pay universities huge sums of money to play on their teams..while the school makes millions off of them. While it is what the students love, and some do go on to the pros, it is still worth noting that this is another instance where a student pays to have money made off of them.

I do not know how this applies to the creative field, and I doubt that Digital Domain will easily get away with this with out some legal loop holes and a damaged reputation with students. Obviously I don’t know my legal mumbo jumbo too well, but I know a lot of you are in, going into, or interested in the animation/entertainment field…just wondering what everyone else thinks. No need to freak out, no one knows how it ill end. Just wanting opinions. <:

Edit: I also feel that Digital Domain is not thinking about the amount of manpower needed to fix simple student mistakes. In my opinion, they are going to have the quality suffer, or spend about the same amount of money fixing things.

I’ve only played Kindgom Hearts a few times in whatever part of the game I walked into. So we’re embarking on a new game for now. I’m the only one who hasn’t played through it.

Things I remember:

• Sora is super kawaii desu.
• Riku is a scary manchild that ain’t afraid of no darkness.
• I fucking hate Kari.
• That one end scene where Kari is ten feet away and Sora can’t get to her, even though I saw him fly once.
• Dat hair
• Stupid looking sword that is more of a club than a blade, but is called a key blade
• I guess Disney characters are in it or something.

LET’S GET TO IT!

The game starts something like this, but with music:

It then embarks on a completely unnecessary music video sequence, though it is interesting to look at. I think it’s aged pretty well. Sora has a nice model. Sora stands on the shore while a strangely romantic Japanese song plays hastily over spotting Riku, who has even worse muscles than I remember. Suddenly, he’s underwater, out of water, etc. Oh look Snow white.

Training exercise commences, after we collectively decide to make the game “hard”. I guess this means choosing magic and losing defense..leaving up with a giant mickey head to club everything with. Neat.

Talk to some final fantasy characters as small children, back to training. Blah blah blah, super easy boss battle. Some giant thing with tentacle face that inexplicably stands on its toes and can only move its torso. Easy enough.

And then we’re subjected to the characters talking, which is an experience in itself. By that I mean it leaves you feeling something like this:

Riku’s speech is stunted, and every relationship is forced. I guess these guys are *~Best Friends Forever~* I can’t be the only one seriously creeped out by Riku, right? He has the body of a thirty year old man, the voice of a twenty year old, and is apparently what, fifteen?

Why does everyone on this beach island wear huge shoes, two layers of clothes and gloves? Where are you guys shopping? No manufacturer in their right mind would make something with that many fucking zippers.That is, unless there’s a Hot Topic on your island.

I guess they want to make a boat and go find Kairi’s original home. Scratch that, a raft. I already hope they all die out there, but I know they won’t even get it more than twenty feet off shore before they capsize.  Sigh.

Race Riku for no apparent reas- Oh. Never mind, Riku wants to race to use the Paopu fruit on Kairi. (Earlier, this fruit is described as entwining two people’s lives forever once they share it.) Kairi apparently has no qualms about this or the fact that she isn’t given any say and cheerfully calls for them to start the race.  Okay, maybe she wasn’t suppose to have heard. I can’t tell what with all this stunted voice acting and botox face. I’m really weirded out by the concept of the Paopu fruit.

Riku kicks Sora’s ass, of course.

Sora visits a cave that apparently he and Kairi drew portraits of each other in. He draws a Paopu fruit flying into her mouth like a shooting star. Come on, is anyone else getting weird vibes from that? What if she comes into the cave and sees it? That would be an awfully awkward conversation.

Whatever, some evil voice that’s been hangin’ in the cave engages in a conversation about darkness and being futile or some crap. Megan is commenting on how half of the dialogue makes no sense while a voice echos through the cave. So far, I agree. Oh okay back to happy island music.

This music is redundant. I suppose I’m spoiled by Zelda… The music loops tend to be longer than thirty seconds. This is already driving me nuts.

I might be getting some of this out of order, but that music makes everything a dull grating blur.

At some point we finally get to see some Disney characters, though! Looks like Mickey’s gone missing and left a note for the others to find. Oh, did I say Mickey? I meant THE KING. Yeah, it suits him, he’s a bad ass. Donald doesn’t want anyone to find out, but has the misfortune of flapping his beak right in front of Minnie and Daisy.

MINNIE WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU. She looks like she had plastic surgery and was purged of all intelligent thought. Everyone else looks pretty good…Minnie and Goofy have perma-smile sculpted into their rigs. Minnie is downright painful to look at.

Can we also take a moment to talk about Donald’s hat? The zipper on the end isn’t even attached to anything. But if we’re going to say it is, wouldn’t it just unzip the hat into thin strands of fabric? What could possibly be accomplished by a hat that has all of the abilities of an Orange peel.

Back to Kairi, who jokes they should leave all alone. She says Riku is acting strange. Kairi, you’re kind of a bitch. Riku was more excited than anyone, and you want to leave him behind?

Whatever.

Eventually, Donald and Goofy set sail in a gummi ship that is the best excuse for lazy modelling I have ever seen. Pluto apparently comes too, despite having only one shot where he sails to the right. I guess that was suppose to be him getting on the gummi ship. Mickey and Daisey wave goodbye without a lick of emotion. 

Then it’s night, Sora abandons his room int he middle of a storm to save the raft, which I guess no one took the time to properly stow. Why does Sora hop out of the ocean. Riku and Kairi have boats.

Sora finds Riku, who gives an impassioned and senseless speech about a door opening and not being afraid of the darkness. Sora is confused, of course, and some evil looking junk absorbs Riku. Up next is Kairi, who is in the cave. Before Sora can try to talk himself out of the really obsessive and weird drawing with the Paopu fruit, Kairi flies towards and through him. I remember this is important, but all I can think about is how I imagine having her fly through you would feel like walking though a spider web, and he should get grossed out.

Another boss battle with tentacle face McStandOnHisToesTooMuch, and Sora is sucked into space. Alrighty.

I keep coming across articles about people who suffer brain injuries and then become artistic.

No near death realization, no inspiration, just they suddenly wake up with the need to create. The same one that nags/graces the non brain injured variety of artists.

I find it kind of funny and a bit concerning that a main part of my personality can be triggered by brain injuries and has so many documented cases. (the concerning part only makes it more hilarious, making it 2x the amusing, actually.) 

Whatever man, I’m going to take my less than whole brain and get some sleep for a few hours…think I’ve been up almost exactly 25. Not my record but. Enough Tumblr spamming now, gotta thesis.