My New Website Theme: As The Goals Change

I made some progress on the new WordPress theme for my website this week. I ran into a few snags, but got past some of them. I've changed my mind several times about what my goal was.

Changing Goals

While I over came many of the snags I ran into, I gave up on the search for solutions to the others. This caused me to rethink my goals several times.

At the start of the week I had planned to create a entirely new theme that incorporated a new look and support for mobile devices. As the week progressed, I saw that this was a difficult goal to meet.

I wanted to make the theme more flexible and dynamic. I decided that rather than trying to make everything flexible, I should just hard code the template files. It is a bit clunky to do it that way, but at least it works. I only really need to have a more flexible theme if other people want to use it, and I don't plan to do that.

I think I need to identify a series of versions that I want to do, so that I can start using what I've done. My new plan is:

• (release 1.80) Create a new theme that replicates the look of my current theme. In this theme I would keep the code simple and avoid any fancy dynamic features. In this theme I will include an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plug-in which isn't compatible with my existing SEO data.
• (release 1.90) Upgrade the new theme to be mobile device friendly.
• (release 2.00) Change the look of the theme.
• (release 2.01) Convert the old SEO data to work with the new SEO plug-in.
• (release 2.02) Upgrade the theme to make use of dynamic features.

Final Thought

Although I felt I make progress this week, and learned a few tricks, I'm not sure I can remember what I picked up if I want to go back and make more changes later.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Plans for Website Update

I have started to worked on changes to my website. I had a couple of goals. First to make the website more mobile friendly. Second to update the look of the website. I've made some progress.

I've had a website for my movies since 1999, and I haven't updated the look of my web page since 2009. Originally I used HTML for my site, then switched to PHP in 2009. I finally switched to WordPress in 2010.

In WordPress I tried a couple of themes (Kubrick and Core) before I decided to create my own theme. I tried to build one from scratch, but then decided to modify the Core theme. I didn't know about child themes at the time, so I just modified the original Core files. I added several special page types. I ended up with was a very rigid theme that is difficult to modify.

Over the last year or so I've read that more and more people access the internet through tablets and smart phones. Because the screen sizes are smaller, websites designed for a desk top don't look very nice on portable devices. My current theme is very hard to modify for different screen sizes.

Last week I installed a local server so I can experiment with different themes on my computer without making changes to my on-line website. I got it from a company called Bitnami (https://bitnami.com/stack/wordpress). It was quite easy to set up and work with I'm not sure how I can use it to test how the website will look on different devices though.

So far I have focussed on the technical aspects of a new theme design. I haven't given much thought as to what I want the theme to look like. I'll stick with my Dynamic Lethargy Films logo, but I'm not sure how I want the page laid out, or what color scheme to use.

My initial attempt was to create a child theme. I thought that would be easier to do, but after a little experimentation I decided to create a theme from scratch. I found a web page (http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/wordpress/wordpress_create_theme.htm) that provided the code for a very basic theme. I used that as a starting point.

I've managed to create a theme that can handle my current page set up. It still needs a lot of work. Several times the theme wouldn't work when I make some changes to the templates. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I was able to go back to earlier versions that did work.

I plan to work in small steps toward a theme I'm happy with. I'm not in a big rush to get it done.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"Felix" and The Exploration of Mars

I want to develop more back ground for my science fiction story "Felix". This isn't a serious proposal for Martian exploration, although I do think it is plausible.

I've found "Felix" a real struggle to write. Partly because it is a longer story than what I've done before. However, more recently I have started to wonder about how plausible the story is. As a fantasy/science fiction story, I don't believe that is essential, but if I diverge too far from realism, readers would lose interest.

Current Proposals

The proposals I've seen for travel to Mars seem to propose some variation of the Apollo Moon project, but on a larger scale. The main difference I see is proposals to send a cargo lander ahead with the supplies the astronauts will need. Robert Zubrin's Mars Direct mission has the first lander create the fuel for the return trip with resources on Mars. I think this idea makes sense, but I think that approach can be expanded.

A New Proposal

I think that robots could be used to create an industrial base on Mars to support the astronauts while they are on Mars and provide the resources for their return to Earth. I haven't come across this idea anywhere, but I'm sure that someone must have thought of it before.

I do not think the technology to send humans to Mars exists now or can be developed any time soon. However, I do believe that robotic technology is or soon will be capable of the tasks I foresee for them.

Using a robotic approach, the creation of a Martian base can begin in the next few years, if the project gets the money it needs. I see the project unfold as a series of robotic missions of different types, culminating with a human mission to Mars.

Scout Robots

The objective of the Scout Robots is to identify and evaluate locations for the base. I envision that several of these robots, maybe six, would be sent to different potential sites around Mars. They will conduct a survey of the area around the landing sites to see what resources and opportunities are available at each site.

What they would look for are:

·         A landing area for subsequent landings, such as a large flat plain,

·         A location for the base, such as a cave or tunnels,

·         Raw materials needed by the base, such as water and construction materials.

These scout robots would will need a high level of autonomy so they can do their work in a timely manner without detailed instructions from the Earth based controllers. Autonomy would allow them to explore caves which could be used for the base. The surveys could take several years to complete.

Once their missions are completed, and if the scout robots are still operational, they could be repurposed for further exploration.

Pathfinder Robot

Once a site for the base is selected, a single pathfinder robot would be sent to the base location. The objective of the pathfinder robot would be to act as a control tower to assist with subsequent landings.

The pathfinder robot would need the appropriate communication equipment, such as a landing beacon. It might not need to be mobile, although this could be valuable if the accuracy of the landing is too uncertain. It would be set up at a location where it can easily communicate with subsequent landers.

Prospector Robots

The objective of the prospector robots would be to do a more detailed exploration of the vicinity of the base to identify the various resources available. Each resource would be evaluated as to its potential as a source for the base.

They would look at the proximity of the source, the ease of transport, the quality of the materials, ease of extraction and other factors. Each robot would be sent in search of a specific resource, although each would have the capability of searches for other resources if one or more other prospector robots are damaged or destroyed.

One option would be to provide the prospector robots with the ability to mine and extract the raw materials.

Construction Robots

The objective of the construction robots would be to build the base and make it operational.

The first stage of construction would be to create an industrial plant, with equipment like 3D printers, that would any equipment needed for creation of the Mars Base. This could include additional robots. This would allow a substantial cost savings over building the robots on Earth and then sending them to Mars. Building robots on Mars would allow new designs to be sent to Mars electronically. It would also allow for the repair and upgrading of the robots already there. Once this capability has progressed far enough, the base will not need to rely on shipments from earth to continue to operate.

The second stage would be to create the extraction and fabrication facilities that will be used to build the base. This would include the structures and other machines that are needed.

The third stage would be to create the facilities for astronauts. These will include living quarters, farms to produce food and oxygen, and research laboratories. The farms would likely be some form of air tight green house. As the farms are established, the food would be sent back to Earth for testing to ensure it is safe to eat. The base would also start to produce the fuel that humans would need for a return trip to Earth.

Human Occupation

Once the Mars base has been fully established and operational, a human crew can then be sent from Earth. When they arrive, they will find a liveable base already available. They will need to bring fewer supplies, since the industrial base set up by the robots would provide most of their needs.

Challenges

The first major challenge for this project would be creation of the technology need for the various robots. Since this would be primarily a software system, the robots could be sent and start their work before they are fully autonomous.

For the most part, the robots would be about the same size as some of the robots that have already been sent. Therefore, the technology to get them to the surface of Mars already exists.

The technology to build the base is only in its early stages. This project could be added impetus to develop these technologies. These technologies will be needed later in the project, which allows more time for them to mature.

Finally, the technology to transport humans to Mars needs to be developed. This may be the greatest challenge.

The Story of "Felix"

Where does Felix, the robot in my story, fit into this? I see it as one of the scout robots. It has been repurposed after the selection of the base and has gone on to explore unknown areas of the planet.

How do I explain why other robots were not sent to search for Felix? I think the best explanation was that Felix has been sent to a site that was not chosen for the base. None of the other robots were close enough to make a search feasible. The human's transport is the first vehicle on Mars capable of the trip. An alternative is to have one of the other scout robots search, but it breaks down. The humans find it on their search.

Who are the astronauts in my story? I see the Mars base as a research facility with the researchers rotated periodically. This is similar to how the base at the South Pole operates. I had seen the two human characters in my story as researchers who plan to return to Earth rather than permanent colonists. One of them would have to have plans to return to Earth, but the other could see themselves as a permanent colonist. That could affect how he reacts to the revelation.

Does this plan seem reasonable to you?

My goal is to develop a plausible story about Mars exploration, so I need to know if the plan I've laid out would seem reasonable to most readers.

While I think this approach is reasonable, I know that there is a lot that I don't know about the possibilities and opportunities of the technologies needed. If you can suggest changes or other places to check, I would appreciate it.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"My Most Difficult Case" Now Available on Video on Demand

Well, it looks like my long journey with "My Most Difficult Case" is now over. I hope. I posted it with dailymotion.com's Open VOD service. In this post I look back at the long struggle to make this film, why I chose Video on Demand, the final touches to the film and promotion.

Release of "My Most Difficult Case"

"My Most Difficult Case" is now posted at:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2a70qu_my-most-difficult-case_shortfilms

The cost is $0.59 per view. There is a 30 second free preview.

Description: A judge faces a difficult choice with his latest case. He hardly listens to the lawyers as they try to influence his decision.

A Long Struggle

It has been a long struggle to finish "My Most Difficult Case". The first draft of the script is dated march 1991, and I based it on a story board I'd done before that. It wasn't until 2002 that I began to make the film. I had a version done on film in time for the 2004 $100 Film Festival. I was never happy with that version and planned to re-cut it before I tried to distribute it.

I had the original film scanned to digital video before I edited the movie, so I planned to use that. That dragged for a long time and it wasn't until 2010 that I finally got started. Vildo Sturam did a new edit of the video for me, then I started to make some of my own changes. I got stalled again when the person I hired to do the sound didn't follow through. Patrick Aull showed me how to do the sound myself and I made some progress after that.

The affair with the sound person left me with a bad feeling about the project, so I found it hard to work on it. It was only a few weeks ago that I decided to put this project behind me.

Why Video on Demand

I had hoped to distribute the film through Ouat media. They had done the distribution of "My Next Film", which I was quite happy with. When I talked to them in 2009, they said that it might be hard to market because it would be seen as an "old" movie. It doesn't look any newer 5 years later. That led me to consider other options for distribution, such as Video on Demand.

I get a share of the advertising on my YouTube videos, but the return is quite small. You need to have large numbers of views to get any substantial revenue. The kinds of movies I do are unlikely to generate that kind of volume.

I felt that it would be better to look at Video on Demand for my movies. I looked into Distrify and identified some other VoD services. Several years ago, I posted some of my films on DailyMotion, but hadn't followed up on it for a long time. A few weeks ago, they added a Video on Demand feature to their site, so I thought I'd try it out.

Since people have to pay, I expect that I would have much fewer views. But I believe I would get more revenue from those fewer views.

We shall see.

Final Touches

There is an old saying that no work of art is ever finished, merely abandoned. While I suspect that there is more I could do on the film, but decided to stop after a few changes I made this week.

I wasn't happy with the actor's voices. They all seemed too insubstantial. I played around with several audio adjustments to try to improve them. In the end I found a combination of compression, equalization and reverb gave me a sound I felt better about. I did a slightly different reverb for the judge because his voice is supposed to be his thoughts.

I did a small change to the video in one shot. In the shot of the jail cell at the end I could see the actor's face clearly before I wanted it recognized. A couple slight adjustments to the brightness and contrast gave me what I wanted. I had thought that higher contrast would give me what I wanted, but it turned out that I needed to use a lower contrast.

I added a few sound effects to the sound track. I felt that it needed more, but I couldn't see anywhere that I could justify additions.

Promotion

I will try to do some promotion of the film, although I have trouble imagining how to reach people who will like it. I am open to suggestions if you have them.

The Future

Now I can leave this film behind and move on to new projects.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Making Noises With "My Most Difficult Case"

I experimented with the sound for "My Most Difficult Case" this week. I was unsure just what to do with the sound and needed to get a better idea of my options.

There are two issues I want to address with the sound.

The first is that I find the voices sound weak to me. I think that may have been a result of the noise reduction I did. I tried a few things to process the sound to see if I could give the voices more body.

The other is the lack of environmental sound. There is no real background sound and there are several places where I think sound effects are needed. An example is when the prosecutor picks up some books and there is no sound. I left this until later.

I use Audacity for my audio work. I'm not sure how it compares to other audio programs, but the price (free) is right. It seems to have all the capabilities that I need.

Compression

My first test was to try out sound compression. Compression reduces the volume of the peaks while leaving the rest of the sound the same. I found this allows me to turn up the volume of the voices, which makes them sound stronger. I tried several different settings, but I couldn't tell the difference, so I just used the default settings.

The compression did increase the background noise, which hadn't been apparent before. The additional noise wasn't acceptable, so I reran the noise reduction and brought it under control, without a noticeable change in the voice quality.

Reverb

I've always though of reverb as something different from echo, but that didn't seem to be the case. I tried some different settings, but didn't learn much from that.

Then I found that the reverb effect had some presets for different types of rooms, such as big room, small room, bright room and dark room. I found that the big room and bright room settings made the voices sound weaker. That was the opposite of what I wanted. The small, dark room setting seemed to give more body to the voices.

Next Steps

To my ear, the combination of the effects I tested does bring me closer to the quality of sound I want. However, the effect isn't as strong as I'd like it to be. I want to see if there is anything else I can try. My copy of Audacity has something like 140 effects, and my copy of Premiere Pro (CS4) has about 80 audio effects. Apparently you can get more if you want them. I'm familiar with maybe a half dozen or so, but I have no idea what most of the rest do.

I'll need to do some more research. I could use some advice.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

A New Start For "My Most Difficult Case"

I got back to work on "My Most Difficult Case" this week. My goal was to get all the files organized, but I also started to make some changes to the movie.

Initially I tried to clean up the computer files and get rid of duplicates. That proved to be difficult, so I just sorted files into those I thought I would need to finish the project and those I didn't think I would need.

The video editing program links to all the input files, and so I had to re-link all the files. That was picky work.

I thought I had it all done, when I noticed a problem with one shot. I had done a overlay to cover up some pictures on the wall because I didn't have the rights to them. It turned out that I had a missing file. I went to the back up drives on the assumption that I had accidentally deleted the file when I got rid of duplicates. I spent a half day searching for the files, and couldn't find them. They weren't on the back up disk either, so I must have accidentally deleted them long ago. Finally I decided to recreate the files. It only took a fraction of the time I spent in my search.

I re-cut part of the movie. Years ago I had a professional video editor re-cut the movie and it turned out much better, so I kept most of his changes. One change I had left in was where he put  the murder scene. It had been at the front of the movie and he moved it to the end to be a flashback.

He recognized the actor from the way he walked and felt that would give away the end of the movie. I wanted to move it back to the start, but hadn't tried it until now. I felt that the vast majority of people who see the movie won't know the actor, so they wouldn't recognize him. I'll have another look at it before I decide to keep it or not.

I need to think through what to do next. There are a few tidy up edits that I think are optional. The main issue though, is the sound. I'm not very sure just what I want to do with the sound. As it stands, it is fairly bare boned. I'd also like to do something to build up the voices too. They sound tinny to me.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

The Scatter Shot Approach Doesn't Work for Me

In the past I've run into trouble when I try to do too many projects at the same time. I think I've fallen into that again. I need to pick one project to focus on.

"The Barrier"

I left "The Barrier" for now. I'll pick it up again when the new version of Xtranormal becomes available.

"My Most Difficult Case"

I started to work on "My Most Difficult Case" again. The files were very badly organized, so I tried to clean them up. To start I tried to get rid of duplicate files. I reduced the number of files from 42,109 to 21,789. I cut the number of folders from 716 to 265. The size of the files went from 324Gb to 187Gb.

There are still thousands of duplicates, but I'm not sure which I can get rid of. It also looks like I got rid of some files I should have kept. I generally hang on to all my intermediate files, so that it is easier to go back and fix mistakes. I got that habit when I worked in transportation planning. I think it is a good idea, but I need to document what I do better, so I can clean up the files later.

Triond and Wikinut

Some years ago I used to post articles on a couple of websites: Triond and Wikinut. I haven't posted new articles to either for a couple years now. I haven't had any payments from either of them for well over a year. I decided to cancel both accounts and repost my articles on my own site.

Wikinut doesn't seem to have a "close account" function. I found some discussion of that on some web posts. Someone said that they will close an account if you sent them a message and ask them to close the account. I sent a message, but they haven't responded yet.

There seems to be some problem with Triond. I can't log in at all. I did a search and found that people have been complaining about problems with Triond since July. I will try again later.

I'll likely wait for a while after I close these accounts before I start to report my articles on my website. I'd like to revise some of them. There are also a few that I think I just want to get rid of.

Website

I want to do some work on my website. In particular I want to set it up to be more iPhone/iPad friendly. I use WordPress for my website and use a theme that I created from another theme. It is a bit clunky and I can't see how I could easily modify it to be iPhone/iPad friendly.

I looked at some other themes, but I would need to make some major changes to any I choose. The last time I did a major revision, I set up an alternate website to test the new theme. I found that awkward to work with.

I wanted to see if it was possible to set up a site on my local computer and do the experimenting there. I found a couple of systems that seem to do the job: https://bitnami.com/stack/wordpress/installer and XAMPP https://www.apachefriends.org. I don't know much about either, so it is hard to decide.

Pick a Project

I think that I really need to get "My Most Difficult Case" over and done with. On the other hand I really want to redo my website. Maybe it will be easier to choose when I get up Monday morning.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"The Barrier" Version 0.6 Now On-line

I created a new version of "The Barrier" this week and posted it to YouTube. I made several changes to the first two scenes. Next week I plan to move on to a new project, or do some of the house work I've neglected.

Over the last week, I finished the first scene of "The Barrier" that I've worked on over the last month. Then I did a new version of the second scene of the movie. Finally I combined them with the rest of the movie to create a new version (version 0.6) of "The Barrier".

http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/the-barrier/

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATcKnFAwlU0

Scene 1

I only made a few minor changes to the previous version of scene 1. I added some more cuts after the car passes the truck to give a more frenzied impression of what happens. Since I planned to use this version to replace part of the previous version of "The Barrier", I used the same artificial voice from before, rather than my own voice. That voice is a little slower than mine, so I had to extend the background shot a bit.

I am sure that there is a lot more that I can do with this scene to make it better. However, I decided to call it done for now. I plan to redo the entire movie with real actors for the voices, and will have another chance to revisit the scene then. It is easier to see opportunities for improvement when you've had time to create some distance.

Scene 2

In the records I keep for the movie, I call the second scene 1.5. It is a fairly simple scene, so I decided that as long as I planned to revise the movie on-line, it would be an easy addition.

In the original version of the scene a woman passes Arthur on the street. She smiles at him, but he is caught up in his own thoughts and doesn't notice her. Someone thought that she was a prostitute, which is not what I intended. I wanted to revise the scene so that people wouldn't see it that way.

I had the woman sit at a table outside a coffee shop with a third character that I added. The two women are talking, although I don't actually have them talk, just gesture at each other. When Arthur walks by, the woman glances at him, then turns back to smile at him. As in the original version, Arthur doesn't notice her.

Version 0.6

When I uploaded version 0.5, it took something like 14 hours to finish! I didn't want to do that this time, so I took advantage of YouTube's on-line video editor. I combined the first two scenes and a short piece of the third scene, and uploaded the combined video. Then I used the editor to cut off the first two scenes from version 0.5 and add in the revised scenes.

I never used the on-line editor before and I found it difficult to work with. It didn't seem to have precision I wanted, although, that could just be my inexperience. I wanted to cut at the end of the short piece of scene 3 that I uploaded.

I fiddled with the cut for a long time. I couldn't see any way to test it, except to create the whole movie, which took many hours to generate. Fortunately it turned out OK. I can see a slight glitch a few seconds into the third scene, but I think most people wouldn't notice it. If I had managed to cut out one or two frames more, it would have worked just fine.

I don't plan to do much in the way of promotion for this version. I want to save that for the "final" version I plan to do. I will leave this project until the new version of Xtranormal becomes available.

I have a bunch of unfinished projects I could work on next. "My Most Difficult Case" has been hanging over me for far too long. I would like to get it out of the way, so I can move on to other things with a clear conscience.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"The Barrier" Scene 1, and Xtranormal Updates 2014 October 12

I think the latest version of scene 1 only needs a few tweaks and then it is done. Xtranormal asked me (and many others) for feed back this week. It looks like they are nearer to a rerelease

"The Barrier"

I did another version of scene 1 of my transportation planning movie this week. I think it is very close to the final version.

It took Blender a long time to output the video. It is a big complex file and creates only about 3 frames a minute, so that a 4 second clip took over a half hour to create.

I made several changes for the new version:

• I added some interior lights to the car so you can see the inside of the car in the close ups of the driver.
• I modified the steering wheel; I had placed too high. I spent a long time fixing the steering wheel. It was joined to the car and I had to un-join it before I could do anything with it. I converted it into a child of the car and then moved it. It would have been easier for me if I had made it a child from the start. If nothing else, I am learning more tricks in Blender.
• I did two versions of each of the close up shots. In one I added a purple screen where the driver would sit, to make it easier to add the driver. I've noticed that when I composited the shots that the steering wheel pulses, which I will have to fix somehow.
• I changed the driver's expression at a couple of points. I think that helped convey what I wanted.

When I watched the final video, I could see several places where I wanted to make more changes.

• Near the end, where the car veers out of control, I think I need to cut back and forth between the cameras faster. I hadn't out put the video from Blender that I needed to do that.
• The truck currently has no writing on it, such as the name of the company. I did create some for the truck but didn't use it: "Arrogant Jerk - Transport Services - Why should we care about your junk?" It seemed too flippant. On the other hand, it would pass by too fast for people to read it, so it wouldn't make much difference.
• I'd like to improve the sound effects. The car sound, doesn't really sound like car to me. The tire squeals aren't continuous, so I'd like to do something to fix that.
• As I noted above, the steering wheel pulses in some of the close up shots. It is really distracting, so I really do need to fix it.

I had some positive feedback about my voice in the video I posted last week. I'm not a big fan of my own voice. Who is? It has me thinking I should do the voice rather than hire a professional. The one big advantage is that I work cheap.

The scene should be done soon, so I have started to think about what to do next. I would like to update the existing video on YouTube with the new scene. If I do that I want to redo the second scene as well, which won't be hard to do. There are a lot of other changes I want to make, but I'll leave them until Xtranormal is rereleased.

Of course I have other projects to work on, like "My Most Difficult Case" and "Felix". They are both projects that seem to drag on forever, so it would be nice to put them behind me.

Xtranormal

This week, Nawmal send me an e-mail about Xtranormal. They asked for feedback from former users about what they'd like to see when they rerelease it. I wrote a long note and sent it off. They didn't reply yet, but that might be a good sign, since it could mean they had a lot of responses. I am optimistic that a rerelease will be available soon.

Someone posted the letter on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=726158394131069&set=gm.646440082140320&type=1

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"The Barrier" Update 2014 October 5

I've added the driver and some sound effects to the demo video of the new scene 1 for "The Barrier" this week. It isn't done yet, but I managed to put together an early version of the scene that gives a good indication how the final version will look.

I added more trees and animated the river, but didn't add them to the demo video yet. The car needs to be developed a bit further, so I want to do that first.

Some people suggested that I should get actors to do the voices, rather than the robot voices I had. It looks like I would need to pay for the robot voices in the future, and I would prefer to give my money to a local actor.

I recorded my own voice and use it in place of the original robot voice. I included two versions of the driver speaking; one with my voice and one with the robot voice I used before. I'm not happy with my voice or my acting chops, but I think that a real voice does work better. If I get some actors with better voices than mine, then it would make a big difference.

I would like to start contacting actors to see what it might cost me. If you can suggest people I would like to hear about them.

I think I am close to the point where I am done with this project for now. Before I can redo the rest of the movie, I will need to wait until Xtranormal is rereleased, and I can get a licence.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"The Barrier" Scene 1 Progress 2014 September 28

The new scene really started to come together this week. I posted a test video that I think gives a good indication what the final version will look like.

 

I think I've got all the vehicle movements done now. Although I might need to do some tweaks later.

I spent most of my time on the set up of the cameras. Most of the cameras were fairly easy, but a couple were more difficult. One of these is a point of view shot from the driver, while the other is a close up of the driver. I plan I need to have them to stay in the exact same position relative to the car and that turns out to be very finicky work.

The point of view camera is a bit easier because I can eyeball the position reasonably well. The close up camera is a real pain. I plan to composite in the driver and to make that easier, I need the camera settings to be very precise.

It is OK when the car moves in a straight line, but when it changes direction it becomes a night mare. I developed a formula to convert the relative coordinates of the camera to the coordinates after the car changes direction. The one I came up with was a bit too simplistic and I'll need to work on it some more.

I was quite happy how the sequence looks when I cut it all together. I can improve on the continuity though. I also wonder if I need to add more trees and maybe some ground cover to the set.

"The Barrier" is a movie about a transportation planner. You learn a bit more about it here: http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/the-barrier/

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

More Fiddling with "The Barrier" Animation - 2014 September 21

I made a little more progress on the new version of scene 1 for "The Barrier" this week. I have both a truck and a car for the scene now. I added a lot of trees and played around with the terrain a bit. I posted a test animation:

My first task Monday was to design and create the truck. In the current version of the movie, Arthur calls the truck a semi, but I decided it would be easier to do a cube van.  It was easier to do than the car and went fairly quickly.  When I imported it into the Gladstone set, it came out huge and I needed to scale it down. Later in the week, when I did some modifications later in the week, I did the rescale before the import. I did the same for the car. I did a test animation with both the car and truck.  I messed up the animation of the truck and it jumped around a bit, so it was hard to get at a good idea how it would look.

I made some changes to the truck Tuesday, including some headlights. I modified the car as well. I added a steering wheel and head lights  to the car.  I modified the car's front bumper as well. I pulled the revised vehicle both into the Gladstone set.  I had to fiddle with scale, but it wasn't as difficult.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I modified the set extensively. I trim out sections of the terrain that I didn't think I needed. I added hundreds of trees, I wanted to give some of them different colors, but I ran into trouble with that, so I just let them be. The terrain still has some open spaces, but the forest does look more realistic.  I added some rocks along the river and gravel along the side of the road. They didn't look very good. I will have to try something else. I modified the water so it would be move so it would looks like flowing water. All these additions to the set slows down the animation render quite a bit.

Thursday I revised the animation plan. I calculated the positions of the car and truck at key points on the time line. That proved to be slow tedious work, but I think I have it right now. It will come in handy when I start to work on the animation.

Friday I discovered that the car, the truck and the elements of the set were of different scales. The truck was easy to fix. The car wasn't so easy. After I rescaled it, the car looked too squashed down. I didn't want to rescale the height, because then the tires would look oval. Instead, I moved the top of the car up relative to the rest of the car. I think I might raise it up a little more. I was worried that the trees were out of scale, but when I did a test animation, they looked OK to me.

One thing I still don't really understand about Blender is how the co-ordinate system works. I had to work out how to convert the co-ordinate system for the roadway to the co-ordinate system for the whole set. I need to do that so I can use the time and positions of the car and truck for the animation. After some fiddling about, I came up with a couple of formulas to do the conversion.

Saturday I put more detail into the animation plan for what happens to the car after it avoids the truck.  I suspect that once I have everything set up, that I will need to make some further adjustments.

I am still not very sure how I will handle camera movement. Three of the five cameras I plan to use for the scene have track the car and will need to move during their shots. One idea I had was to link the camera to the car but I am not sure that will work. I'll have to experiment with that. My other idea is to set the first position of the camera relative to the car and then do the same for the end point. That should give it the same speed as the car and have it not move relative to the car.

One camera is a close up of the driver's seat and I expect that will be the most difficult. I plan to composite in the image of the driver, and if there is any relative movement, the shot won't work. On the other hand, the drivers point of view shouldn't be very hard.

Finally, I created a short test animation to see how it all looks. It isn't a shot I plan to use in the final scene. Please have a look at the test animation and let me know what you think of it.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

More Blender Animation for "The Barrier" - 2014 September 14

I continued to work on the revised opening scene for "The Barrier" this week. Progress has been slower than I hoped, but I enjoy most of the work, and I've learned quite a lot from what I've done so far.

In the opening scene, my hero, a young transportation planner drives down a road and is almost hit by a truck. In the scene in the current version of "The Barrier" this isn't very clear. I hope to get a much more impressive opening scene with Blender.

It took me most of the week to create the car for the scene. I wasn't happy with the first version I did, so I scraped it. I did learn a few tricks when I did it though that helped me when I did the new version. When I did the second version, I based it on a specific car. It didn't look much like it when I was done, but it did look more realistic. I don't want it to look too realistic though. After I got the initial version done, I added some seats. At first I made them a dark brown, but then decided a light tan would look better.

I gave the windows for the car a slight blue colour, a little reflectivity and a slight opaqueness. I thought that looked good, but then ran into a problem where the inside of the car was too dark to see anything. I made the windows more transparent and even deleted some of them. I lightened the colour of the seats, and moved the Sun so that it would better illuminate the interior. Finally I put a light inside the car. I was reluctant to do that because I was concerned that it would look wrong. However, it didn't look too bad.

I did some more animation tests, mostly to see how the car looked when I travelled down the road. One of the issues I have to solve is that car can fly up above or drop below the road unless I get the key frames right. That is finicky work. The river beside the road is static, so I did a test to see if I could animate it as well.

At the end of the week I started to work out the animation plan in more detail. I need to know where to put the car, the truck and the cameras for each key frame. I have the car worked out, but ran into trouble with the truck. I'll try again next week. I haven't done anything about the cameras yet. The ones that move need to stay in the same relative position to the car throughout the scene. I hope that I can find a way to link the cameras to the car, so they move when the car moves. I find it difficult to work with the co-ordinate system in Blender. It seems like each object has its own system.

I wanted to add new objects to the animation, so I searched for a video demonstration on-line. I've found that videos about most everything I need to learn about Blender are available on-line.

I still have a lot of work to do before I'm done with this video. I need to finish the car: I want to add head lights and a steering wheel. A rear view mirror would be nice, but I think I can skip that. I also would like to add some detail to the interior of the car.

The one major piece of work I have to do is create the truck. In the script I have it as a semi, but I think that would be too difficult to animate, so I think I will do some sort of van. That will be a bit trickier than the car. I don't think I will need the interior detail, which will help.

I'm not sure how much longer this scene will take me to complete. Every week I start with the thought that I'll get it done this week. It turns out to be wishful thinking.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"The Barrier" Test Animation 2014 September 6

My goal is to create a new version of the opening scene for my movie, "The Barrier". In the current version of the opening scene it isn't clear what happens. I completed a short test animation this week.

So far I've concentrated on building the set, but also did a test animation. I used Blender to build the set and do the animation. At one point I got very frustrated with Blender. It seems like I get something the way I want it, and then it stops working after I made some more changes. Late in the week I seemed to find a way around that and got a test animation done. You can watch it here:

I'm a long way from completion. I plan to add more trees and some vehicles. I may also add a yellow stripe down the center of the road or more detailed trees. I don't want the set to look too realistic because it would look odd when I combine it with the Xtranormal animation I used in the rest of the movie. I plan to shoot the scene from several different cameras and then cut them together in Premiere Pro.

"The Barrier" is the story about the struggles of a transportation planner when he tries to do what he thinks is right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-LOUNSEKac

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Sketchup, Blender and "The Barrier"

This week I tried out both Sketchup and Blender for a revised version of scene 1 of "The Barrier". Initially I thought Sketchup was the better choice, but then changed my mind.

I used Blender to do the backgrounds of the public meeting scene in "The Barrier" and had planned to use it to do a new version of scene 1. In the current version it is difficult to understand what happens, so I want to make it more obvious.

I found it difficult to learn how to use Blender, so I decided to see if I could find an easier alternative. I found some reviews on-line and they help me identify several other programs I could use. From what I read it looked like the best option was Sketchup. The reviews said it was easier to use, which was my primary goal. The reviews did note that the output quality isn't as good as Blender and it doesn't have the flexibility of Blender. I decided it sounded good enough.

After I installed Sketchup, I tried it out with some simple figures. I found it was easier to learn and I was able to get results quickly. I felt good about it and prepared to move on to work on the actual scene. Before I did, I checked the licence restrictions again. I had thought I could use the free version, but it turned out that I would have to buy the commercial licence. They cost about $600, so I decided to try Blender again.

I made good progress with Blender. I found that what I learned from Sketchup helped me work out how to get what I wanted from Blender. As a test, I created some terrain, a road, and some trees. I also made a short test animation where a vehicle drives down the road. It was actually just a block and not a car, but after all it was just a test.

I created the roadway for the scene 1 set, based on some calculations I'd done earlier. I found the roadway awkward to work with. I found it difficult to move around, and image. Sometimes, some of the roadway would vanish for no reason I could come up with.

The set is about a kilometre long. I think that I need to redesign the set somewhat, and maybe change the scale as well. I did some calculations and think I can cut the size down quite a bit.

At the end of the day, this exercise made me feel more confident about Blender.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Lessons From My Early Writing

This week I reread some of my earliest writing attempts from 40 years ago. I hadn't thought about them until the last few months. Although they were failures for the most part, they taught me some lessons.

In Stephen King's book "On Writing", he says he began to write when he was very young. It took him many years to become successful. I came away with the feeling that since I had not started that early, that it would be harder for me to get into writing.

Recently I found some stories and notes for stories that I had worked on when I was in junior and senior high school. While I did not start as early as Stephen King, I have certainly tried to write for many years.

While most of my writing at school was various types of essays, a couple teachers did give me opportunities to write short fiction. More importantly, I wrote stories outside of my school assignments. I also began to make short movies when I was in high school.

One story that I did finish was "The Sleeper in the Dark", an attempt to emulate Lovecraft. I posted that on my website at: http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/stories/the-sleeper-in-the-dark/

In high school I wanted to write a novel. I remembered that I tried twice, but when I looked at my old papers I found notes for several other attempts. None of these produced more than outlines or a few pages of text.

The first attempt I remember was to do something like "Lord of the Rings". Needless to say, that was a poor choice for a first book. I began with a time line of events, from which I would later extract information for the story. I worked on the time line when I had free time at school.

The problem I ran into was that there was nothing that happened in the time line that lent itself to being  the core of a plot. I started without any idea where the story would go and just drifted. In essence the character just existed, didn't change or develop and nothing important happened to him. I abandoned that project.

The other attempt I remember was a Doc Savage book. Since I had read a number of Doc Savage books, I felt I knew the characters and how the stories went.  I gave the story a title: "The Smiling Corpse".

I found four typed pages, comprising Chapter 1 and part of Chapter 2. When I converted it to a text file, they ran about 2,200 words. I don't remember if I had any kind of out line or notes. I didn't find any kind of notes for the story. I found an outline I did for "The Lost Oasis", although I'm not sure that I did that before or after I wrote "The Smiling Corpse".

When I reread it, I couldn't see where I was going with the story. I say that Doc was off in Hong Kong, but the story was set in New York. One thing that struck me was that the victim/smiling corpse was a poet, who was a friend of Doc's. I wouldn't think many people would associate Doc Savage with poetry.

I dropped this project because I didn't think that the dialogue I wrote was very good. I felt I needed to have a much better understanding of the characters if I was to see any improvement.

I liked the title "The Smiling Corpse" and reused it for a short movie I made a few years later. It was silent, so didn't have any dialogue.

Out of curiosity, I did a search on the title "The Smiling Corpse" and turned up several different books and a short movie with that title. One book was a detective story published in 1935 by Philip Wylie. Wylie co-wrote "When Worlds Collide". The main characters in the book are well know writers, so I think it was something of a satire.

I gave up on writing a novel for a few years. Then in the early 1980s I tried a story I called "Conan the Accountant". In some ways it was a repeat of my experience with "The Smiling Corpse". I didn't develop an outline, or plan, for the story and it drifted away from the original idea. I found 11 typed pages, with close to 5,700 words in total. I can't remember why I dropped that one, but when I reread it, I cringed at some of what I wrote.

In the 1990s I dropped the idea of writing to focus on film making. For some reason I film easier to do. Partly that was because the films I did were shorter, but I think that I am just more comfortable with film as a way to express myself.

In the last few years I have started to make more use of outlines and story plans in my writing. I feel that has helped me move beyond some of the problems that stopped me years ago. I really feel it is important to have a very strong idea how the story ends before you start to write. Too many of my ideas have failed because I had no idea how to end them.

I haven't come up with an approach I can use to create better dialogue and characters, but I think that my skills have improved. It is easy to get over confident, and I know that when I do, my writing suffers.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Cynical Idealism and "The Barrier"

In many of the scenes in "The Barrier", my hero, Arthur Macdonald comes across as a cynic, while in others he acts quite idealistic. I've come to think of his attitude as Cynical Idealism. I believe this must be a part of my own world view.

Initially, when he works on the development review project, Arthur talks as if he feels that the politicians and developers have self serving motives. For example, he seems to believe that the developer, Vincent Campbell, is interested only in his own good. Arthur accepts that Campbell has great influence over the politicians. He appears to accept that situation and even characterizes the work as playing a game.

With the traffic barrier project however, Arthur is more clearly idealistic in his approach. Repeated warnings from his boss do not cause him to give up on the project. He actively approaches other to recruit their support. He continues to look for ways to convince his boss to support the project.

One explanation for the contrast between the two projects may be the potential results of the two projects. The worst that can happen as a result of the development review project is that it will cost tax payers money. The worst that can happen with the traffic barrier is that people will die. This could be seen as a cognitive bias Arthur's part.

Later in the movie, Arthur acts more idealistically on the development review project. As the project unfolds, he tries harder to defeat Campbell's ambitions. Although, this could be seen as an emotional reaction to the abuse he gets from Campbell.

My first interpretation is that Arthur has an internal conflict between cynicism and idealism. While he has become a cynic at the intellectual level, he still remains an idealist at the emotional level. In this view, Arthur began as an idealist, but his experience has convinced him to adopt a cynical attitude. This transition is not complete, and in the end may never be fully realized.

My final interpretation is that, while Arthur has accepted a cynical view of people and their motives, he still thinks of them in idealistic terms. That means that he still believes that he can accomplish his idealistic goals despite the base motives of others. He feels that he can even count on those base motives in order to reach his goals. A clear example comes near the end when he hopes that self interest on the part of the mayor will help him defeat Campbell. This is what I call Cynical Idealism.

Arthur's mentor Ling Pang has an attitude similar to his Cynical Idealism. In her case though, she has allowed cynicism to play a larger role. That said, she still has a core sense of idealism that, at times, drives her forward.

Arthur's colleague Denis Kennedy is more purely an idealist. He becomes very angry when he sees Campbell act in a self serving way. In fact, Denis' idealism could be what pushes Arthur to become more idealistic later in the movie.

Arthur's boss Brandon Baker is more purely a cynic. He tires to discourage Arthur's idealism. Brandon is not a total cynic though, like when he back Arthur against Campbell  over the need for a traffic impact study. On the other hand, Brandon might just be going through the motions.

I can see the three other characters as representatives of Arthur's internal struggle. Brandon as the cynical side, Denis as the idealistic side and Ling as the attempt to integrate the two. This insight may help me add more depth to the characters and story when I prepare the final version of the movie.

You can watch the preliminary version of "The Barrier" here: http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/the-barrier/. When the final version becomes available, it will be found on the same page.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

When Evaluation Misleads

I don't agree that people can only succeed if they have an inborn talent. I believe that it is possible for anyone to be more successful. A recent article prompted me to give this idea more thought.

"Secrets of amazing teachers: What both sides of the education reform debate get wrong about autonomy and accountability" was posted on the Slate website. http://www.salon.com/2014/08/09/secrets_of_amazing_teachers_what_both_sides_of_the_education_reform_debate_get_wrong_about_autonomy_and_accountability/

While it is about teaching, I think many of the ideas in this article apply more broadly; for example: in my own field of transportation planning. In particular my interest was the use of tests and measurements to rate teachers.

Testing and Rating

Tests are often used to rate people on their abilities. Unfortunately, many people use a poor rating as an excuse to do nothing, or worse, to punish the person for their failure. I think our focus should be on how to improve people's performance. Tests should be used to identify opportunities for improvement. While someone may be poor at something now, there are ways that they can improve.

This seems very obvious to me, and I find it hard to understand why others would reject that view.

I suspect that when someone looks narrowly at their own immediate self interest, then an improvement in someone else's chances for success, is a threat to their own chances for success. People who have succeeded through luck or a privileged position are more likely to feel this way.

In contrast, when someone looks at the situation with a broader, societal, point of view, then they see how other people success can make society better. A world full of successful people is a better place than a world full of failures.

The 10,000 Rule

The 10,000 rule, which says that people need 10,000 hours of practice before they become top performers. This is often attributed to Malcolm Gladwell, although in his book he makes it clear he is just reporting what others have found.

What is often lost in the discussion is that 10,000 hours is an average; for particular individuals it can vary widely from the average. It can be as few as 4,000 hours for some people. While the length of time can vary, the important point is that it is not zero. If talent was all there was, then it would be unnecessary to put in any time. All who succeed do so because of the time they spend on learning and practicing. Some people may start with an advantage, due to genetics and life circumstance, but they still need that time to reach their potential.

Although I don't recall that Gladwell said so explicitly, but the 10,000 hours is not just any kind of practice. It is mentored practice. Their practice is directed by more experienced people who also encourage them,  point out areas where they can improve, and give them advice. It is the feedback they get that helps them learn and develop their skills.

There is a danger that people will assume that people's failure is a result of their unwillingness to "put in their 10,000 hours." I think this would be a mistake. In many of the stories in Gladwell book, what makes the difference is whether or not people have the opportunity to get mentored practice. Without a capable mentor to show the way, extra practice helps little.

As an aside, if you want to evaluate teachers to separate the "good" from the "bad", you need to be aware that it can take a decade, or longer, for a teacher to gain 10,000 hours of experience. It could well take a decade before you can identify "bad" teachers with any confidence. Many teachers don't even stay that long in the profession.

More to Come?

I looked at this issue before, in my blog post "Transportation Planning and “Bad” Teachers". (See:  http://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/transportation-planning-and-bad-teachers/ )

I feel strongly about these issues and want to find ways to share my views more effectively. So far, I haven't come up with a way to do that in a story.

I am not finished with these thoughts and I want to dig deeper. Maybe that will bring some inspiration.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

"Felix" and "The Barrier"

I worked on both "Felix" and "The Barrier" this week. The "Felix" rewrite progressed well, but with "The Barrier" it just seemed like I spun my wheels. I still would call it a productive week though.

"Felix" Rewrite

I tried my new approach with "Felix" this week. I printed off the most recent version, then sat out in the back yard, went through the printout and made my revisions. I got about a quarter of the way through. I thought this approach worked and I felt positive about the revisions I made.

Later in the story I have some sections that I will likely have to completely replace. I may even need to add totally new material. That will take a bit longer. I think that I will need to go through the whole story at least one more time before I'm done this revision. It should be ready to share with other people then.

One of the problems I have noticed is some of the technology the astronauts use on Mars seems outdated. I can't mix 2020's technology with 1960's technology. For example, I gave the rover a considerable level of autonomy, but the astronaut's have to drive their own vehicle. I can fix much of that fairly easily, since the technology is mostly in the background. Unfortunately, some of it is tied to major plot points.

I thought it would be enjoyable to sit outside and listen to the birds as I worked. Unfortunately, we only seem to have crows and magpies around here, so not much in the way of  beautiful songs. The chattering of the squirrels sounded better, but after what they did to our garden, it's hard to feel too kindly toward them. I did find it more restful to be outside though.

"The Barrier"

I did some more research on one of the programs I want to use to do "The Barrier". I used up a lot of time, but I can't say I have much to show for it. I can say I did learn more about what it can do. I can't really get too far along with the new version until Xtranormal is rereleased.

I've given some thought to what I'll do with the movie when I get it done. My current plan is to use a site like http://distrify.com/ to distribute the movie. There are several sites that look similar, so I should do some more investigation before I sign up for one.

I believe that this is the first movie ever made specifically about transportation planning, so I need to promote it transportation planners. There might not be much of an audience beyond people who work in the field.

I've done some posts on a few LinkedIn transportation planning groups, but I think I need to look at other options. There are a number of transportation planning magazines, newsletters and journals. I don't think they would have movie reviewers, but I still think I should approach them.

I could use some contacts at these outlets. If you can help me I would appreciate it.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

Mid-Year Review of My Goals for 2014

At the start of this year I laid out my goals for 2014. With the year more than half gone now, I thought it was time to review and revise my goals. This year hasn't been as productive as last year.

"Felix"

I set the rewrite of "Felix" as my top priority for the year. I thought that would take me a couple of months. While I have done some work on it, I am nowhere near a completed rewrite.

I must admit that it isn't a very original idea. It began as a rewrite of a H. P. Lovecraft story. Although, as I worked on it, it did drift away from the original story. I don't want to do a bad imitation of Lovecraft.

I have been very erratic in my work habits, which I think is the main reason I make so little progress. I need to get into a writing routine. That is a mater of will power.

Sometimes I find it easier to write in long hand rather than on the computer. I'm not sure why, but it feels more creative.

"The Barrier" / Replace Xtranormal

The primary barrier to my work on "The Barrier" was the discontinuation of Xtranormal, the program I used to create it. Xtranormal does seem about to return, but hasn't been rereleased yet (see http://xtranormal.com/). I don't want to put much effort into the project until I know for sure that I can continue to use Xtranormal, or a compatible program.

I have done some work with Blender (see: http://www.blender.org/) to animate some scenes that I can't do very well in Xtranormal. There are a couple of scenes that I can do that way with out Xtranormal that I think would improve the movie and it may be worthwhile to do that to give me more of a final version of "The Barrier".

A movie about transportation planners does have a small audience, so I can't expect to redo it as a even a low budget movie. Best to stick with Xtranormal, if I can.

I will hold off on this project for now and see what develops.

"My Most Difficult Case"

I think I have left this project too long for any serious chance of getting a sale. Even when I contacted a distributor five years ago, they thought it was almost too old to get a sale. I'm inclined to do a quick fix up and post it on-line.

I'd like to try out one of those pay-per-view sites. I want to do that with the final version of "The Barrier", so I want to get my feet wet. "My Most Difficult Case" might be the film to try. Hopefully, I can avoid some missteps later with "The Barrier".

"Bright Freedom"

I have thought about this project from time to time, but I don't see that I'll do anything on it any time soon. It is hard to write a story where the protagonist is a woman and you've never been one.

"Pete's Plan"

I submitted this story to several Science Fiction magazines in 2013. I thought it was good enough to get published, but no one was interested. One person that read said that it seemed to be more of a treatment than a story. It is short, about 1,000 words, but it says all I want to say. I planned to submit it to other magazines, but held off on that.

As I've thought about it, I think it would be better to rewrite it as a first person narrative. It would force me to focus more on the hero and how he feels as he executes his plan. What I have now may be too detached from the character.

Other Projects

Over the year a number of other ideas have popped up in my head. I usually write up the idea for later. Sometimes I forget the idea before I get that done. I think some of these ideas have a lot of potential, but I don't want to delve into them until I get a few of my current projects put to bed.

One idea I've toyed with is another "transportation planning adventure" story. I've come up with some ideas and would like to move on with it. I plan to write it as a story, and if things work out, I would develop it into another movie like "The Barrier".

My Priorities

My first priority is to get back into a writing routine. Even an hour a day will help me accomplish something, if I keep it up consistently.

My second priority will be to finish off the rewrite of "Felix" and get some feedback.

My third priority will be to finish off "My Most Difficult Case", post it and promote it.

After that, it will depend on what happens with Xtranormal. If it is available, I would like to do a new version of "The Barrier". Otherwise I would work on the rewrites of "Bright Freedom" or "Pete's Plan".

I will also allow myself to go with the flow when the spirit moves me on other projects.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog