James

[quote name='Sara'][font=helvetica]Excellent! Thank you, James.[/font][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Hrm, when I try to edit this setting, the system includes everything else on the page as well - like user names and stuff. Bah. Sorry about that. vBulletin is getting very old. :animesigh[/font]

[quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms] I was strictly talking about character animation, which, I can imagine, is the hardest to capture well. I agree that artistry is involved in both processes, but they're not the same. As for as my knowledge goes, tracking animation places sensors on the face to mimic movements, so the basic character animation is there. There's a huge difference between creating a CGI look for already existing movements, and creating both the character and his/her expressions. [/font][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]You're right that they put sensors on the face as well, but I don't think it's simply a case of creating a model and then having software animate it completely based on motion capture. I mean, it's very possible that the tech has evolved so much recently that this is the case - so you could very well be totally right with that. But my understanding of motion capture is that it's still a fairly basic tool. The animation team still has to do a lot of manual work to achieve a lifelike effect. I would say that the techniques are [i]different[/i], but I'm not sure that one is inherently more artistic than another. Also with Pixar's animation, there is an increasing amount of automation involved like I mentioned earlier. For instance, things like fur and hair aren't manually animated anymore - they're animated via the creation of specialised physics code. Of course, it still can take months to engineer a set of code for a particular character and their particular materials (from memory, it took a long time for them to create the routines that would animate Sully's fur in Monsters Inc.) Either way, I think some people almost equate Avatar's animation to something like pushing a button that says "Go". And that, obviously, doesn't reflect the enormous work that goes into any kind of great CGI.[/font]

[quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms] So to compare a program (if anything, let's applaud the people who engineered/created the program) that tracks human movements and animates them to people who pour thousands of hours into traditional/CG animation... yeah, I'm still iffy on that. [/font][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]I'd say similar levels of artistry are required for both. The movement tracking software doesn't design or create the characters themselves - it simply tracks human movement. As far as I know, it can't track extremely subtle movement very well yet (including facial expressions, for example). So an enormous amount of detailed animation had to be performed on those characters in order to achieve their realistic behaviour and "look". You'll also find that the "traditional" CG animation in Pixar's films also uses a number of semi-automated elements. Animating water, for example, isn't done by hand - it's done by developing complex simulation software. So both Avatar and its Pixar counterparts are on a pretty level playing field I'd say, except for the fact that Avatar's animation technology is significantly more advanced (trying to animate photo-realistic beings and environments and composite them with live action actors is always a more difficult task than generating a more comical/whimsical world without any live action elements).[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]And that kind of demonstrates why those images are only funny the [i]first[/i] thousand times you see them. After a while, they get old. And when posted in a semi-serious discussion, they're almost embarassing. One of the things I've noticed - in terms of criticism of Avatar - is that the film apparently uses "too much CGI" (and really, what is "too much"? What about all-CGI movies that are entirely animated?) What I find most interesting is that James Cameron's use of CGI in Avatar is characterized by some as betraying a kind of laziness as a film maker. And yet, every Pixar film is credited with its beautiful and expressive CGI. I think Avatar just serves to demonstrate that the line between animation and live action is blurring all the time and that, more and more, we're seeing a combination of live and synthetic actors. I'm not sure who it was (might have been Speilberg), but I do remember hearing a director talk about creating a CGI "actor" who could be used in multiple films. This actor would presumably be voiced by the same person, but could be used to play different roles in films. As much as I think there are problems with that idea, I also find it interesting to see just how integral animation has become. You could almost call Avatar an "animation" - and that certainly wouldn't be a criticism.[/font]

[quote name='Sara'][font=helvetica]Can you make it so that links are differentiated (without needing to mouseover) from normal text on the OB Classic skin? Because in my browser, at least, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Example]you can't tell whether or not something is a link.[/url][/font][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Yup, I will have a look and see if I can just edit that in the regular vB settings (I think it can be done there). :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='Rachmaninoff'][FONT="Trebuchet MS"]Do you mean besides the Indigo and pink horror known as Caramelldansen? :p[/FONT][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Haha, good point. Actually Des and I are working on some changes that will freshen up the site quite a bit. It won't involve any fundamental re-working of things, but it will make quite a big difference. I'm afraid that's the best we can do at the moment. And no, Pumpkin, you won't get banned simply for saying what you think. That's never been the case. I just want everybody to enjoy the service here and to make use of it. If you make it your own by being creative and using it to its full potential, that in turn will keep the site vibrant and alive. Just remember that the service is here for you - use it or don't use it. :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='Xyandar']I am surprised this is STILL up for discussion lol...[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]It's not really, we have already decided which way to go with the system. Petie and I are working to implement it, along with a batch of other changes. I've just left the thread open anyway, in case anyone wants to comment further.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'd recommend looking up lists of Chinese names on Google. You're bound to find something you like (there are even great "baby naming" sites for this). This way you can ensure you're choosing an appropriate name, but you'll also have plenty of options as well. I tend to do this myself if I want a character of a particular background and I can't think of a name off the top of my head.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]When Aaryanna's post goes up, will this lead to a landmark? I ask just because it might provide a good guide post for us to move further ahead.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]This may have already been answered, but I am wondering if you are planning to have a more centralized plot. I mean, will you have chapters or landmarks or anything? Or are you really going to just leave the general plotline open completely? The Auditions thread sets a scene but it doesn't really establish a plot spine, other than the fact that these different groups are perpetually in competition. I wanted to ask about that because if I sign-up it might help me decide on a character a bit more.[/font]

[quote name='Knuckles' Girl']Okay, I need to know if this is something that many people go through or if my husband and room mate are just lazy. I have 3 kids and there are 3 adults in the house but I am the only one who cleans the house day in and day out. And say I'm sick or something, it never gets done. So my question is this, does anyone else have a problem like this or are they just lazy? Just asking cause I'm at the end of my rope with it.[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]I don't have a problem like this, but you are right that they are just lazy. If I were faced with such a situation I'd get very grumpy very quickly, which would normally correct things. Haha. I'm not sure what strings you can pull to ensure that everybody else pulls their weight (at least as far as the adults go). But definitely, I would personally be encouraging the kids to get involved as much as possible. Luckily I've [i]mostly[/i] been around people who are pretty good with helping out, but I do sometimes get left holding the ball (especially if I travel with my two sisters, who only need to look at a room to fill it with giant mounds of crap). But usually this situation doesn't last long, because I make it very clear that they need to pitch in. Good luck. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm not sure why the word "occupation" is being used at all. It seems to me that the only real conflict relates to U.S. control of the airport (which, according to the article, is now settled by virtue of the fact that the U.S. is prioritizing aid flights). So the article almost seems to point out the fact that the original problem seems to have been resolved. [/font]

[quote name='John']Using a formula is one thing, but what we have here is the same method that highschoolers use to avoid getting caught for plagiarism in their essays. [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Yeah, I get that, I just think it's a generally weak criticism. If you classify Avatar as having plagiarized, say...Pocahontas, you would really have to include a number of other successful (and often solid) films within that description. I think it's kind of sad when people reduce the film to these kind of simplistic and sarcastic comparisons. Films like Star Wars and even Kill Bill could be lumped into this group if one were to be cynical (actually George Lucas talked about this very subject only recently). At least those films have largely escaped it (although SW didn't in its day) due to nostalgia and, in part, because in those cases people prefer to examine the whole experience and the interplay of different elements (many of which are not strictly script-based) in an effort to be fair to those films. In any case, I did think the story was pretty average...but I was also constantly entertained by what was a really visceral, unprecedented experience. That definitely counts for something, especially if you look up "Pandora depression". :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='Gavin'][CENTER][SIZE=1][IMG]http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/epic-fail-avatar-plot-fail.jpg[/IMG] [/SIZE][/CENTER] [SIZE=1] +1 for Matt Bateman [/SIZE][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Ironically, you could boil most movies down to the above formula. Some of the greatest movies of the last few decades have also been incredibly formulaic. (But Matt Bateman still gets kudos for that XD)[/font]

[quote name='Boo'][font=lucida fax]I know, but like you said, that's just the legal definition, formed by chaps in higher places. The definition would be a bunch different if for example the Swedish Piratpartiet would've decided about it. So on a topic about ethics, it doesn't really apply to my opinion. But you're perfectly right, naturally. It's silly though. Up until a bit more than a year ago, downloading was perfectly legal here in the Netherlands. It still would be, if the government had enough say in it, but the high court put a ban on it because it wasn't in line with the general European opinion on the matter.[/font] [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Well, the legality does still apply because you then have to ask if it's ethical to break the law - especially over something that, as I said, isn't exactly a basic element that we all need to survive. But I do take your point. In terms of the second paragraph though, I do differ a bit further. I don't think that downloading copyrighted material should be legal, because it can and does damage artists and businesses (and I'm not just talking about music, but also video games and film). There are very tangible links between piracy and lost revenue, which negative impacts all stakeholders. Having said that, I really do support ideas that bridge the gap, like free streaming (Hulu is a good example). Those sorts of services can strike a middle-ground between rampant piracy and exclusive publisher control.[/font]

[quote name='Boo']That's right. Stealing is bad. Especially if the product is ridiculous and stupid. However, by downloading something, I'm not actually stealing it. I'm making use of the web as an information bank at it's best.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]If I go and download a Hollywood movie from the 'net, I'm committing piracy. I mean, you can sort of spin that in any direction you want, but I'm pretty sure that is the legal definition of the act. As I said earlier though, I understand - and sympathise with - several of the arguments in favour of free downloads. My only issue with free downloads is if people use them exclusively and never purchase the actual product. That objection is a moral one though and not a legal one. If I were speaking from a legal perspective, I'd be saying just what I've said above - that piracy is piracy, no matter the intent.[/font] [quote name='Boo']You think it's unfair to download something you should buy in store. I think it's unfair to pay for something that may turn out really bad.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]I don't think that really reflects what I was actually saying. See my response to the previous quote. Having said that, you can judge something as "fair" or "unfair", but that doesn't change its legal definition. For instance, I might think it's unfair to pay $16AUD to go and see Avatar at the movies - and it probably [i]is[/i] unfair - but that doesn't mean I have the right to sneak in without paying. After all, nobody is going to fall over and die in the street if they don't get to see a movie or listen to music. So it's not like there's really any truly legitimate excuse for piracy, as there might be if you were stealing food or something vitally important. But as I said, I [i]do[/i] sympathise with a couple of the arguments that people make about it from an ethical standpoint. But I'm sure if I were ever prosecuted for downloading content, my ethical view would be totally irrelevant in a court. :P[/font] [quote name='Boo']Now it's the general belief that by downloading, you're destroying the market, but at least with my belief, I and many others get to see films and listen to music that we would have otherwise never bought. And often we will buy the product as well, as a result.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]And I think, ethically, that's fine. I do personally feel that sampling music or other content - with the intention to purchase - is worthwhile. But again, that doesn't change the objective legal definition. And that is also a separate issue from the people who are happy to have entire libraries of downloaded stuff without ever intending to purchase the actual item.[/font] [quote name='Boo']Besides, it's not like I'm handing down HIV in the process.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]No, but I don't think it's even worth comparing the two. Pointing to something unrelated doesn't change the nature of what we're discussing here. :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='Boo'][font=lucida fax]I forbid someone making a living producing crap.[/font][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]I think the point still remains, though, that even if a product is "crap" it doesn't really give anybody the right to steal it. Believe me, I understand the arguments that support downloading of music in some circumstances and I sympathize with some of them too. But sometimes I think people just make excuses for doing the wrong thing. [/font]

[quote name='Sara']Whoa, lots of hate in here.[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]*adds some love* ... Wait, that doesn't quite seem right when I read it out loud. Yeah, so, anyway, I do have a question relevant to this. I've read that James Cameron is interested in actually turning Avatar into a trilogy. As a result, various rumors have floated about as to what future films could be about. My feeling is that Avatar's story wraps up in a pretty succinct fashion. So my question to everybody here is, where do you think a sequel could go? Some rumors suggest that it could actually take place on different planets (I forget, was Pandora a planet or a moon? I'd heard that it was one of several moons linked to a much larger planet). I think that'd be fine, but it would be kind of sad to leave Jake and his friends behind completely. I just don't know what kind of follow-up story they could come up with. In any case, I'd have no objection to sequels, given how much I liked Avatar. But it does make me wonder where it could possibly go next.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I loved Avatar, personally. I can understand the criticisms about the plot, but I think for me it's a slightly deeper question. Right now I can only really compare it to a dessert. Let's say you have two desserts, one being a really complex souffle and another being a basic chocolate cake. The former is more complex and requires a lot more finesse to prepare, while the latter is very simple and has been done a million times before. With that said, you may find that you can appreciate the complexity and finesse of the souffle...but the chocolate cake's simplicity can also be appealing, especially if the individual ingredients are of a high quality. This analogy pretty much explains how I feel about Avatar. The story is definitely derivative (it certainly qualifies as a CGI Fern Gully), but I don't think the plot is [i]bad[/i] by any measure. I think one testament to how well the film was directed was the fact that I really wasn't sitting there worrying about plot at all while I was watching. I never became bored or disinterested. There were many extended scenes that involved very simple concepts (like Jake learning how to hunt or to find water in the forest). Those moments weren't full of major plot progression, admittedly, but they were filled with beautiful visual subtlety. I suppose you could argue something like "so the movie's only value is in its CGI" and you'd have a very solid point there. But even if a film's primary value is in its visual beauty...is that such a bad thing? Visual design is obviously a major integral part of any film. What I liked about the visuals, though, wasn't so much about how realistic they were. It was more to do with the imagination behind Pandora - the way the plants glowed at night or the different wildlife. And as I said earlier, any weaknesses in the plot were largely countered by generally strong performances on the part of the actors (and I include the CGI characters in that description). I think often a fairly simple story can be told well - and with Avatar, I think it was told well. So, for me, even though I can make objective and logical comments about where the movie is lacking... it doesn't change the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Maybe if I were analyzing the movie for a film class I'd give it a lower grade. But as an audience member in a cinema, it well and truly delivered. For me, that's what matters most. Also, as a side note, I adored District 9. But it's a completely different film than Avatar, save for the fact that there's a central conflict between humans and aliens. The two movies definitely gave me very different feelings as a viewer.[/font]

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Anyway I remember this being discussed in my Science, Technology, and Ethics course in college two years ago. The professor was convinced the scans bordered on indecent exposure/pornography and in her words: "Sexual perverts who like little children will get jobs at these airline security places just so they can get off." [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Your professor actually said that? Don't the Universities over there screen people to stop that kind of blatant stupidity getting through? :P Anyway, I will say the obvious: there are many, many professions that could (and do) attract pedophiles. If we take your professor's reasoning to its natural conclusion, children won't be able to interact with adults on any level anywhere in society because there's a risk of pedophilia. In terms of these scanners specifically, I think my biggest issue with them is that they will add massive inefficiency to airports. I'm prepared to go through the security hurdles if it keeps everybody safe - but if they start adding full body scanners, I imagine airports across America will move a lot slower. I just don't know what the right balance is though. You can always do more for security, but you also have to try to keep things moving. These scanners would only really be very useful if you could have a lot of people just walking through them, rather than needing to take individual people aside to be scanned. But who knows, I suppose it's at least important that people are looking carefully at security rather than brushing it off.[/font] [quote]ow if the engineers were particularly clever they would devise genitalia recognition software to run on the machine[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]I think we have our first signature quote of 2010.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Since I don't download TV or movies off the Internet, I can only really compare it to music downloading. In the past, I used to download tracks from file sharing software and this was obviously illegal. However, if I liked a songs I'd put together a list and then go and buy the actual CDs. Usually I'd actually replace the original MP3s with ones I'd made myself, due to the better quality. These days I use iTunes and Beatport almost exclusively, so I haven't downloaded a "free" song in several years. Yes, it costs money, but it's relatively cheap compared to CDs and it's possible to find 99% of the content I want. In terms of anime, I obviously can't tell you to go and download stuff illegally. I would just say that if you do download shows that aren't yet available in the U.S., I personally think you have an obligation to purchase them once they're available. m00g, you say that anime is overpriced - how so? How much does it cost in America? Here in Australia, I've found that most anime DVDs are comparable in price to live action movies or other western animated series. I guess you could argue that DVDs themselves are overpriced, but I'm not really sure how credible that is.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Hi andrewan, welcome to OB! I've just moved your post into this introductions thread. I hope you enjoy the place. If you need help with anything, feel free to ask any time. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'd personally like to see a zombie RPG, but something, well...[i]good[/i]. I'm sure there have been some reasonable ones here over the years, but I have only really noticed the larger-than-lifes ones which don't seem to have much of a unified plot. I'd like to see something a bit like 28 Days Later - with elements of sci-fi and some poetic license, but grounded in reality. It would be interesting to see what ideas people would come up with in that situation. But yeah, I don't really have a preference for a certain type of RPG mostly. For me it really just depends if the Auditions thread grabs my interest in general.[/font]

[quote=Allamorph][font=Calibri] I mostly was getting the impression that there was actual opposition, where the worst I was seeing was disinterest, and yeah, the alignment thing pretty well got rid of that. But that's what happens when people bat ideas around and express concerns and reservations, you know.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Yep. This is why it's pretty cool when people come together and constructively work out a solution. I think the system we've all come up with is pretty good. And Petie, I'm really happy that people can choose to hide their rep. Wherever it's possible I like to let people opt-out of this sort of stuff, because I can see that it would be annoying for some people. Also, I've just sent Petie a sample and it looks like we can get this to work the way we're envisioning. Hopefully it won't take too long to put everything together.[/font]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Calibri]I agree. Wait. Who compromised, again? I missed something.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]You definitely missed something. Petie said the following: [b]Rep Ability:[/b] All options open to all [b]Rep Format:[/b] Good vs. Evil [b]Anonymous Rep:[/b] TBA (See note below) [b]Rep Comments:[/b] No We've had varying points of view on each of the above items. But by holding a vote and then discussing these options in more detail, we've so far been able to come up with a system that will suit most people. So at this point we've reached a pretty good compromise between those who want a rep system of [i]some[/i] kind and those who don't want one, on the basis of it being a popularity contest (the Good vs. Evil thing addresses that). The only other thing I'd really like to see - but I'm not sure if it's possible - is the ability for users to disable or "hide" their rep. This could be a good opt-out for people who just aren't interested at all (a bit like displaying post counts). But again, that may not be too easy to do, because right now I don't think we can control it via the Admin CP. In terms of when it'll be up and running, I think we need to decide if rep will be anonymous (as Petie said). And then we need to actually implement the system. So it'll spend a bit of time under development, but hopefully not too long.[/font]