I haven't put this thought down at all but it's been something I've contemplating on and off for a few weeks. Having posted a short version on Yume's board, I thought I'd expand on it, possible break it up into a two parter.
With this generation of consoles coming, promising us better visuals than ever and what not, my mind turns back. I've seen the stuff being promised to us and I've seen where people are intending to go. What I'm hoping is that there is someone out there willing to think outside the box. I'll be using Shenmue as my example here to discuss my ideas.
When I saw Shenmue and its sequel, my jaw dropped. Not only at how great it looked, but how we had towns mapped out, with people going about their daily business. The graphics were great, even now they hold up to scrutiny. That alone wasn't the charm though. We had these great graphics fleshing out what was a town full of inhabitants, going about their daily business as you went on your quest. You could spend your time just standing in one spot, watching the passers-by or follow someone as they first spent the morning gossiping with their friends, before going to buy groceries.
When you were inside your own home, you could go about the house, opening drawers and closets and mess with what was stored inside. Phone for local weather updates or call friends. Go outside to the dojo behind the house and spar with Fuku-san. In a shop, there were items you could buy, not always to progress in the storyline but just because you could buy those snacks or so you could feed that stray kitten. Or there was the inevitable wasting of time in the arcade, playing Space Harrier and Out Run, and wasting of money buying the capsule toys.
In all this, there were some regrets. Whilst you were living in a town, sometimes it felt quite empty. I think in Shenmue II this was more of a concern but people would slowly fade into view as you got close and it would always be a limited amount. When you were in your house, it was great opening a drawer which contained items you could explore and take items out. It was a shame when there so many that were just a pre-rendered image of jeans and shirts. In addition to this, there were drawers and closets times you were not able to interact with.
So with these few examples in mind, are we striving for more power and graphical flair only to end at the same place? With limitations enforced on what we can and can't do?
In Shenmue II, when you first head towards the fountain and see so many people there, how much more special would it be if we could see faint figures in the distance as we entered the zone, yet more abundant than ever? Walking down towards the arcade in Shenmue II again, how much more of a spectacle would it have been had we been able to see from the far entrance of the zone all the way to the arcade and see a large number of people mill about? How about being able to go into your house and mess and tinker with every little object, so you can rearrange it to be as you wish?
That would truly be amazing. Being able to see all the detail right to the horizon. I saw images of MotoGP '06 on the 360 and that really made me smile. It's a racing game, maybe not as much detail needed as lots of shops and signs and people, but the guys at Climax Racing might have it. Views right to the horizon, with objects on the road visible in the distance. I'd like to see more of it before I really judge it but it's certaintly a step in the right direction.
You can make characters look more "realistic" but how about going and doing the same for the world? This is what I feel made Shenmue seem more life like than any game I've seen and why I hold great hopes for Ryu Ga Gotoku doing the same. The world has people going about their daily routines, stopping to gossip, buy groceries and so on. Maybe we tend to see ourselves, as part of the larger world and until this is made fuller, more immersive and real then the aims for better physics and more polygons may end up falling short. This doesn't mean animating every blade of grass to bend with the wind, just making the whole thing feel solid and fully realised.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Don't Bother None
Nintendo have breathed life into an old dog but can it cope with all the gimmicks and new developments in the handheld field? Can our humble GBA compete with the dual screen, touchpad pretender? Can it be sexier than a PSP and do all the tricks it states?
This weekend I went and traded in my old GBA and in its stead I got myself a silver GBA Micro. Probably a crazy thing to do but the Micro for me just seemed perfect and simply irresistible. In looks alone it makes the PSP look like it's been hit with the ugly stick.
I got home and I endured a wait for it to fully charge, pouring over the literature in the box and the various additional things the shop gave me. The wait was well worthwhile, I was in for something sublime.
By the time it was ready it was dark out and I hadn't turned on any lights. I turned the Micro on anyway and I was blown away. The screen was clear and bright, it seemed as though Nintendo had finally produced a portable system. I had been playing Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga on my old GBA and was slightly worried about the text being squashed or small. If anything it's easier to read now without having to catch the light correctly. I went through quite a few games and I noted that all seemed to work perfectly, if anything they were enhanced by the screen, despite it being smaller it was clearer.
The controls are great now too. The d-pad and buttons are slightly soft, but it's not a problem as it's more of a feel issue and personally I've gotten used to it and don't even pay mind to it now. The way the shoulder buttons are set are also a great consideration. The buttons are set to be activated by pushing nearer the middle of the console, as opposed to being easier to push from the outside. This makes it a lot more comfortable when playing as more of your hand is supporting the console and your fingers are not set at odd angles.
The main thing about a handheld should be portability. How easy is it to take around and play on the go. It's all fine a company releasing a handheld but not many have seen me take it out and about. I've not taken my old Gameboys out much in the past just due to the size of them (and issues with lighting). Unless I was carrying a bag it wasn't always so easy to store in a pocket and well I rarely carry a bag. The DS and PSP fall into this category, although I'm not sure I'd really take a PSP with me at all.
With the Micro though, it's a true handheld. I can take it anywhere and not worry about the lighting or if I've got a bag or not. This fits easily into any pocket already reserved for something else. If that wasn't enough the neckstrap works a wonder also, or the keyring pouch. It is amazing, it's the first console that is portable and that you can take with you anywhere, even if it is only for a 5-10 minute blast, you are able. With the UMDs on the PSP I've found by the time you've fired it up and got a game loaded, it's time to shut down as you've reached your stop. The GBA SP was probably the closest thing to a portable console but it didn't find favour with me as it was such an odd shape and didn't give the comfort needed, plus the lack of in-built headphone socket soured me.
Basically what I am trying to say is that the GBA Micro, over any other handheld in the past, is truly a portable device. It'll fit anywhere and play anywhere, with the bonus that you can stick in any headphones you like without needing attachments. It's extraordinary and definitely something that'll win you over in an instant of seeing one. If anything my love has grown for it owning one over just playing with one in a shop or at a friend's place. Not only that, it has gotten me lots of attention whenever I've played on it in public. Seems my statement at the start regarding the PSP being ugly is shared by quite a lot of others.
Now onto step two. Bolster my GBA collection and look into some gimmicks. Namely, I intend to see if the Micro can out PSP a PSP with the Play Yan attachment.
This weekend I went and traded in my old GBA and in its stead I got myself a silver GBA Micro. Probably a crazy thing to do but the Micro for me just seemed perfect and simply irresistible. In looks alone it makes the PSP look like it's been hit with the ugly stick.
I got home and I endured a wait for it to fully charge, pouring over the literature in the box and the various additional things the shop gave me. The wait was well worthwhile, I was in for something sublime.
By the time it was ready it was dark out and I hadn't turned on any lights. I turned the Micro on anyway and I was blown away. The screen was clear and bright, it seemed as though Nintendo had finally produced a portable system. I had been playing Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga on my old GBA and was slightly worried about the text being squashed or small. If anything it's easier to read now without having to catch the light correctly. I went through quite a few games and I noted that all seemed to work perfectly, if anything they were enhanced by the screen, despite it being smaller it was clearer.
The controls are great now too. The d-pad and buttons are slightly soft, but it's not a problem as it's more of a feel issue and personally I've gotten used to it and don't even pay mind to it now. The way the shoulder buttons are set are also a great consideration. The buttons are set to be activated by pushing nearer the middle of the console, as opposed to being easier to push from the outside. This makes it a lot more comfortable when playing as more of your hand is supporting the console and your fingers are not set at odd angles.
The main thing about a handheld should be portability. How easy is it to take around and play on the go. It's all fine a company releasing a handheld but not many have seen me take it out and about. I've not taken my old Gameboys out much in the past just due to the size of them (and issues with lighting). Unless I was carrying a bag it wasn't always so easy to store in a pocket and well I rarely carry a bag. The DS and PSP fall into this category, although I'm not sure I'd really take a PSP with me at all.
With the Micro though, it's a true handheld. I can take it anywhere and not worry about the lighting or if I've got a bag or not. This fits easily into any pocket already reserved for something else. If that wasn't enough the neckstrap works a wonder also, or the keyring pouch. It is amazing, it's the first console that is portable and that you can take with you anywhere, even if it is only for a 5-10 minute blast, you are able. With the UMDs on the PSP I've found by the time you've fired it up and got a game loaded, it's time to shut down as you've reached your stop. The GBA SP was probably the closest thing to a portable console but it didn't find favour with me as it was such an odd shape and didn't give the comfort needed, plus the lack of in-built headphone socket soured me.
Basically what I am trying to say is that the GBA Micro, over any other handheld in the past, is truly a portable device. It'll fit anywhere and play anywhere, with the bonus that you can stick in any headphones you like without needing attachments. It's extraordinary and definitely something that'll win you over in an instant of seeing one. If anything my love has grown for it owning one over just playing with one in a shop or at a friend's place. Not only that, it has gotten me lots of attention whenever I've played on it in public. Seems my statement at the start regarding the PSP being ugly is shared by quite a lot of others.
Now onto step two. Bolster my GBA collection and look into some gimmicks. Namely, I intend to see if the Micro can out PSP a PSP with the Play Yan attachment.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
OP4 Yuugure no Aka
So I had my say on the whole process of our first fansub. It was an interesting process and good fun but it wasn't without mistakes. There were a few things I learnt that I hope we don't repeat again in future.
The thing that I noted when I started on this was how sort of possessive I got. As I said before the translation was done by Yume but in our QC (quality check) process we ended up doing some rewrites. This helped make me feel more instrumental in the project, when I could suggest something and have it acted upon. It was good that I could question any line and Yume would go ahead and check it out without any fuss, even if it was the tenth time I had queried that line in the last five minutes. He probably got sick of my constant questioning. Just a note, the idea of QC used here may differ wildly from your ideas so bear in mind my previous entry.
Anyhow with that said, you feel it becomes part of your work and as such I didn't want to put my name on it unless I was comfortable with the standard. It is probably laughable but I felt as though my name was a stamp of approval and I had to make sure everything was good enough for my perfectionist standard.
In keeping with this my first real annoyance and our first real problem was with the way we handled the iteration of scripts. At first we had scripts flying about all over and just as you make notes on what to discuss and change with Yume, he'd got further on in and also gone back and changed lines. So I was basically making new notes from new scripts each day. I think we finally got an understanding when I became frustrated and commented on how disrupting it was. Still when I was sent the final script, we were still working from slightly different versions, something I didn't find out until later on. There were a few problems that came about to this specifically which I'll raise later.
This is the first lesson then. Don't start work on QC until you have a script locked down in place.
So once you have a script locked down and distributed the exact same copy to both, the next step is to check for errors. We went about it raising questions as we went along. If something didn't fit we made a note. In the process of this we raised questions about spelling, grammar, sentence structures and all sorts. Something may just sound wrong out of context, so it helped me greatly to ask Yume for more explanation to help me. This leads to him to evaluate how close he is and whether or not he fully understood it. It also lead to me thinking about it in a different way and opening up other meanings he may not have got off the bat.
No matter what it was or how small, you have to raise a flag and go about working out why something is what it is. On the basis of not understanding why a sentence was structured like it was, trying to understand what was being said or just wanting to know other possible translations for a word, we came across errors in translation or alternative translations which may fit better. If not it helped to rework the current line to be clearer or more apt.
The second lesson then is never be afraid to question anything, no matter how silly, small or insignificant it may seem.
When I was watching through the release we made, there was still quite a few errors that I saw. Not a great many but enough to irritate me as I wanted to be perfect. I think that's due to one main factor. We were striving for a release before Christmas Day so we didn't really watch the final encode to allow us that final pass. It shows as some of the things we would have picked up on are missed. You have a structure set in place and having deviated it highlights problems that arise. It's a one-off and I doubt we'll see something similar happening again but it's probably best we went through such a thing now rather than on a later release when we should have learnt.
I guess it's an obvious thing but that is the third lesson. Don't go skipping steps to rush a release out.
The way we worked our way through, it was very collaborative. We both made notes and consulted each other where we thought changes should be made. Where we had errors creep in, was when we made changes away from this collaborative process. This meant when we went back later there were things we made changes to but didn't note to the other. It is a lot faster to work solo when doing this and make changes as you go, without the need to justify things to the other. Some things can be cut and dried but even the most simplest things can turn out to be a problem.
I'm not so sure where I stand on this. As I say it's quite a bit faster solo but easier for errors to creep in. However, should everything be undertaken together and slow the process right down? Drawing things out can be just as bad as rushing things. Not sure what lesson to take from this but I'm sure this is something to work on as you go through more subbing.
So only a few things and it's probably common sense, but without a guideline in place it can all become muddled. I'm pretty sure for whatever we tackle next we'll be much more in tune with what is needed. Not only that, we'll probably be doing something which is shorter in length even if it is episodal. There is less stagnation and it's easier to manage and feel like progress is being made when you are getting continual releases. We'll see how it goes when Yume does decide on a new project and whether or not we get more people on board to help out.
The thing that I noted when I started on this was how sort of possessive I got. As I said before the translation was done by Yume but in our QC (quality check) process we ended up doing some rewrites. This helped make me feel more instrumental in the project, when I could suggest something and have it acted upon. It was good that I could question any line and Yume would go ahead and check it out without any fuss, even if it was the tenth time I had queried that line in the last five minutes. He probably got sick of my constant questioning. Just a note, the idea of QC used here may differ wildly from your ideas so bear in mind my previous entry.
Anyhow with that said, you feel it becomes part of your work and as such I didn't want to put my name on it unless I was comfortable with the standard. It is probably laughable but I felt as though my name was a stamp of approval and I had to make sure everything was good enough for my perfectionist standard.
In keeping with this my first real annoyance and our first real problem was with the way we handled the iteration of scripts. At first we had scripts flying about all over and just as you make notes on what to discuss and change with Yume, he'd got further on in and also gone back and changed lines. So I was basically making new notes from new scripts each day. I think we finally got an understanding when I became frustrated and commented on how disrupting it was. Still when I was sent the final script, we were still working from slightly different versions, something I didn't find out until later on. There were a few problems that came about to this specifically which I'll raise later.
This is the first lesson then. Don't start work on QC until you have a script locked down in place.
So once you have a script locked down and distributed the exact same copy to both, the next step is to check for errors. We went about it raising questions as we went along. If something didn't fit we made a note. In the process of this we raised questions about spelling, grammar, sentence structures and all sorts. Something may just sound wrong out of context, so it helped me greatly to ask Yume for more explanation to help me. This leads to him to evaluate how close he is and whether or not he fully understood it. It also lead to me thinking about it in a different way and opening up other meanings he may not have got off the bat.
No matter what it was or how small, you have to raise a flag and go about working out why something is what it is. On the basis of not understanding why a sentence was structured like it was, trying to understand what was being said or just wanting to know other possible translations for a word, we came across errors in translation or alternative translations which may fit better. If not it helped to rework the current line to be clearer or more apt.
The second lesson then is never be afraid to question anything, no matter how silly, small or insignificant it may seem.
When I was watching through the release we made, there was still quite a few errors that I saw. Not a great many but enough to irritate me as I wanted to be perfect. I think that's due to one main factor. We were striving for a release before Christmas Day so we didn't really watch the final encode to allow us that final pass. It shows as some of the things we would have picked up on are missed. You have a structure set in place and having deviated it highlights problems that arise. It's a one-off and I doubt we'll see something similar happening again but it's probably best we went through such a thing now rather than on a later release when we should have learnt.
I guess it's an obvious thing but that is the third lesson. Don't go skipping steps to rush a release out.
The way we worked our way through, it was very collaborative. We both made notes and consulted each other where we thought changes should be made. Where we had errors creep in, was when we made changes away from this collaborative process. This meant when we went back later there were things we made changes to but didn't note to the other. It is a lot faster to work solo when doing this and make changes as you go, without the need to justify things to the other. Some things can be cut and dried but even the most simplest things can turn out to be a problem.
I'm not so sure where I stand on this. As I say it's quite a bit faster solo but easier for errors to creep in. However, should everything be undertaken together and slow the process right down? Drawing things out can be just as bad as rushing things. Not sure what lesson to take from this but I'm sure this is something to work on as you go through more subbing.
So only a few things and it's probably common sense, but without a guideline in place it can all become muddled. I'm pretty sure for whatever we tackle next we'll be much more in tune with what is needed. Not only that, we'll probably be doing something which is shorter in length even if it is episodal. There is less stagnation and it's easier to manage and feel like progress is being made when you are getting continual releases. We'll see how it goes when Yume does decide on a new project and whether or not we get more people on board to help out.
Friday, December 30, 2005
OP4 Rewrite
I may end up eating some of my words by the end of this possibly long entry but so be it. I've had a very interesting time working as part of the Saigoyume Committee.
Yume has gone down the road of fansubbing and after having released a translation of a PV last month, he's released his first dorama. The script has been handled by him and I was drafted in to help with the quality check (QC).
Now in the past I have been critical of some subbers (fan and professional), possibly without fully understanding why I was reaching this conclusion and of the work involved. It's only the first I've been involved in so I expect my thoughts will change again. I'm still in the dark as to some of the processes going on but I at least now have a foundation on which to build on. It is probably best to explain some of this, so as to better inform everyone else.
To me it seemed to be quite guarded and closed up as to how the whole process works, so what I describe may be entirely different to how others operate. I'm willing to bet that what I've been through with Yume on this release is quite removed from a lot of others.
Let me outline a little more on this. I can only really see two phases to this. The first phase of this was for Yume to work on the translation and timing. We looked about for various methods to do this but in the end Yume found a program called Sabbu and used that to time and create the script.
The second phase was the QC which encompassed everything else. I suppose others would break it down further but that's how I've seen our work. I'll be more specific in this part.
The first concern was to ensure what we had was a good translation that would feel natural to an English speaker. Yume did a good job in most cases but there were some lines which were still arranged in a manner more befitting Japanese and others were tougher to translate. For some of these, we just rejigged the sentence around so words appeared at the end and others moved to the start. This meant the sentence was by and large the same but changed to flow. There were times that we were forced to make changes. Some of these were due to timing issues, others were due to words not translating into English easily. What sometimes takes a word in Japanese takes a whole sentence to portray in English. We had to construct sentences that captured the sentiment, that remained true even if it wasn't correct word for word.
I know for sure I've moaned, usually at companies that release anime, that changes have been made that didn't need to. I don't think my mind has changed any on this. Some things should be done for flow and general understanding but there doesn't need to be wholesale changes made to scripts. What would probably help if they released translation notes so we get a better understanding of the decisions they've made and why it was done. I believe this only goes to reflect better on the group translating. You get to see why they made such calls and the fury of not knowing why a change was made can be averted. Rationalising everything and showing the logic behind decisions, it still leaves you open for criticism but it allows for it to be constructive so you know where you made errors or where you could improve to those you are catering for. A lot more on this in another topic.
The second concern we had was checking for spelling and grammar. This is something that is usually rare on tracks by companies but is more common when it comes to fansubbers. It's not something I really concerned myself with too much unless it was really bad and noticeable. When it came to this, we had to become really picky. I ended up going back and looking up as many rules as I could to ensure it was a standard to which I would be happy to release. It may not be perfect down to the smallest rules, but good enough for people to read it and not notice anything unless they sat down with a fine comb.
It's a really gruelling process, especially as we had a 2 hour fansub as our first project (about 5-6 episodes of an anime). There's a lot more text to search and a lot more that can slip unnoticed. Still that was probably due to the way we initially started off with trying to QC. We hadn't a script locked down as a final translation, there were still lines being written and others being retranslated. The other problem may be the familiarity that happens, you sort of learn what is coming so rather than reading properly, you're skimming it. It would probably be best to sort out as much as you can and then give it whole to someone else who has not read it before to go through it in as much detail as possible.
So that's an overview of it all with some discussion mixed in. Quite an untidy piece so far but there are some key points there to take away. Possibly the most important thing to note from all the above is that the two of us had an entirely different focus on what we wanted from the script when we were at the QC process.
Yume can understand Japanese and his aim is to keep everything as close as possible to the original.
I don't understand Japanese and all I want is a script that reads well in English.
He understands my concerns and I understand his intent. Between the two of us during the QC, we tried to obtain a balance between both extremes. No matter how much we nitpick, we'll continuously bring up lines to "debate" and get clarified again and again, it wasn't uncommon for us to go over the same sentence for hours on end. We worked out lines many times over, picking the best bits each time to form new alternatives, before settling on one we both liked.
I'd be willing to say that other fansubbers out there don't really work in this manner. Once they have a translation done, it's pretty much locked down with checks for spelling and grammar rather than how sentences are constructed and fit in. I'm sure there is some work done but mainly by the translator in this respect. In essence, the translation is the final script.
I'm pretty sure Yume will agree that his translation was only a translation, it wasn't the final script despite his constant reworking of lines to fit better. It's probably odd that we consider the process of rewriting and editing as part of the QC process. If anything it's more fitting to be placed in as part of translation. Yet the importance of this aspect is immense as it can really make or break the sub.
To put it simply, the translation is your framework, the QC is where you construct and create. Without a firm frame, you're limited in what you can build and create. You must also not be afraid to remodelled the frame if you find it is not firm; there's no point in plastering over holes.
Well that's probably quite a dense and incomprehensible ramble but that is it straight up. I'd love to see how other people go about this process and how everything integrates. You only need to look at the various sites and the positions they ask for, it all seems very compartmentalised which is conveniant but it doesn't necessarily mean there's a lot of talk across all the positions. It is maybe due to the way that no-one was really willing to divulge how they go about it that led Yume to his methods. It could be inexperience of how we did it but that's something I'll save for another day. For now just an understanding of some of the basics is good, I can go about all the mistakes I've noticed and where I think we went wrong in another entry.
Yume has gone down the road of fansubbing and after having released a translation of a PV last month, he's released his first dorama. The script has been handled by him and I was drafted in to help with the quality check (QC).
Now in the past I have been critical of some subbers (fan and professional), possibly without fully understanding why I was reaching this conclusion and of the work involved. It's only the first I've been involved in so I expect my thoughts will change again. I'm still in the dark as to some of the processes going on but I at least now have a foundation on which to build on. It is probably best to explain some of this, so as to better inform everyone else.
To me it seemed to be quite guarded and closed up as to how the whole process works, so what I describe may be entirely different to how others operate. I'm willing to bet that what I've been through with Yume on this release is quite removed from a lot of others.
Let me outline a little more on this. I can only really see two phases to this. The first phase of this was for Yume to work on the translation and timing. We looked about for various methods to do this but in the end Yume found a program called Sabbu and used that to time and create the script.
The second phase was the QC which encompassed everything else. I suppose others would break it down further but that's how I've seen our work. I'll be more specific in this part.
The first concern was to ensure what we had was a good translation that would feel natural to an English speaker. Yume did a good job in most cases but there were some lines which were still arranged in a manner more befitting Japanese and others were tougher to translate. For some of these, we just rejigged the sentence around so words appeared at the end and others moved to the start. This meant the sentence was by and large the same but changed to flow. There were times that we were forced to make changes. Some of these were due to timing issues, others were due to words not translating into English easily. What sometimes takes a word in Japanese takes a whole sentence to portray in English. We had to construct sentences that captured the sentiment, that remained true even if it wasn't correct word for word.
I know for sure I've moaned, usually at companies that release anime, that changes have been made that didn't need to. I don't think my mind has changed any on this. Some things should be done for flow and general understanding but there doesn't need to be wholesale changes made to scripts. What would probably help if they released translation notes so we get a better understanding of the decisions they've made and why it was done. I believe this only goes to reflect better on the group translating. You get to see why they made such calls and the fury of not knowing why a change was made can be averted. Rationalising everything and showing the logic behind decisions, it still leaves you open for criticism but it allows for it to be constructive so you know where you made errors or where you could improve to those you are catering for. A lot more on this in another topic.
The second concern we had was checking for spelling and grammar. This is something that is usually rare on tracks by companies but is more common when it comes to fansubbers. It's not something I really concerned myself with too much unless it was really bad and noticeable. When it came to this, we had to become really picky. I ended up going back and looking up as many rules as I could to ensure it was a standard to which I would be happy to release. It may not be perfect down to the smallest rules, but good enough for people to read it and not notice anything unless they sat down with a fine comb.
It's a really gruelling process, especially as we had a 2 hour fansub as our first project (about 5-6 episodes of an anime). There's a lot more text to search and a lot more that can slip unnoticed. Still that was probably due to the way we initially started off with trying to QC. We hadn't a script locked down as a final translation, there were still lines being written and others being retranslated. The other problem may be the familiarity that happens, you sort of learn what is coming so rather than reading properly, you're skimming it. It would probably be best to sort out as much as you can and then give it whole to someone else who has not read it before to go through it in as much detail as possible.
So that's an overview of it all with some discussion mixed in. Quite an untidy piece so far but there are some key points there to take away. Possibly the most important thing to note from all the above is that the two of us had an entirely different focus on what we wanted from the script when we were at the QC process.
Yume can understand Japanese and his aim is to keep everything as close as possible to the original.
I don't understand Japanese and all I want is a script that reads well in English.
He understands my concerns and I understand his intent. Between the two of us during the QC, we tried to obtain a balance between both extremes. No matter how much we nitpick, we'll continuously bring up lines to "debate" and get clarified again and again, it wasn't uncommon for us to go over the same sentence for hours on end. We worked out lines many times over, picking the best bits each time to form new alternatives, before settling on one we both liked.
I'd be willing to say that other fansubbers out there don't really work in this manner. Once they have a translation done, it's pretty much locked down with checks for spelling and grammar rather than how sentences are constructed and fit in. I'm sure there is some work done but mainly by the translator in this respect. In essence, the translation is the final script.
I'm pretty sure Yume will agree that his translation was only a translation, it wasn't the final script despite his constant reworking of lines to fit better. It's probably odd that we consider the process of rewriting and editing as part of the QC process. If anything it's more fitting to be placed in as part of translation. Yet the importance of this aspect is immense as it can really make or break the sub.
To put it simply, the translation is your framework, the QC is where you construct and create. Without a firm frame, you're limited in what you can build and create. You must also not be afraid to remodelled the frame if you find it is not firm; there's no point in plastering over holes.
Well that's probably quite a dense and incomprehensible ramble but that is it straight up. I'd love to see how other people go about this process and how everything integrates. You only need to look at the various sites and the positions they ask for, it all seems very compartmentalised which is conveniant but it doesn't necessarily mean there's a lot of talk across all the positions. It is maybe due to the way that no-one was really willing to divulge how they go about it that led Yume to his methods. It could be inexperience of how we did it but that's something I'll save for another day. For now just an understanding of some of the basics is good, I can go about all the mistakes I've noticed and where I think we went wrong in another entry.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Fairytale of New York
I often worry for the state of humanity and in particular the UK. More and more we seem to copy or be influenced by the USA. I may not openly admit this but there are some good things about them but it's often overshadowed by really silly things that take focus just due to sheer stupidity.
The thing that I've just read now makes me fearful, a big brouhaha over something I love; Christmas. What makes it sillier is it seems to stem from something attributed to Bush (no surprises there then). It's reported that the Christmas cards sent from the White House didn't make any specific reference to Christmas and people have decided to throw a hissy fit over this, despite the same occurance for the past 13 years and various Presidents that have been in office.
For me Christmas time has always been something a bit special. It may be due to the many great and funny memories I have of Christmas or it may be due to something sappier like the whole Christmas spirit and joy we're supposed to experience and embrace. Whatever it is, people seem to be intent on ruining it and diluting the whole season. To the point that people get fed up even before Christmas comes close. Reading something like this only makes your heart sink that there can be so much said about something that seems so minor.
The article makes note of the use of the term "Happy Holidays" but is this really necessary or a step too far towards being overly PC and overcompensating? The term itself is very American and I don't think I've heard people here in the UK use it. The thing is that it just reeks of people with too much free time on their hands.
I'm not Christian and I don't celebrate Christmas because of the birth of Jesus Christ but I do acknowledge it as I acknowledge there are many other celebrations taking place in this season. I could track back and look into why my family started celebrating Christmas but I'm not really sure why. However, we live in a predominatly Christian country where Christmas is one of the biggest celebrations of the year, it's difficult not to notice it or the whole story surrounding it. The thing is my religious belief is not really important here and I don't think anyone else's should be the important point here.
I believe Christmas has taken on a higher consciousness. Far beyond just the birth of Christ. It's now a period of time that gives rise to many celebrations. Be it Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus. To put that simply, Christmas is a period of time when some faiths have important celebrations and where we generally eat too much turkey and give presents all in the company of family and friends.
It all brings us together to share time with each other and just generally be jolly and merry. That fundamentally is what Christmas is about. The birth of Christ brought together people from all walks of life for what was a momentus event.
Regardless of faith, I'm sure this is a message that everyone can appreciate. Don't fight and struggle over little things, embrace the bigger picture. Don't draw arbitary lines in the snow that mean absolutely nothing. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, whatever it doesn't matter. What does is that you are greeting everyone and wishing them all the best in this season of celebration.
The thing that I've just read now makes me fearful, a big brouhaha over something I love; Christmas. What makes it sillier is it seems to stem from something attributed to Bush (no surprises there then). It's reported that the Christmas cards sent from the White House didn't make any specific reference to Christmas and people have decided to throw a hissy fit over this, despite the same occurance for the past 13 years and various Presidents that have been in office.
For me Christmas time has always been something a bit special. It may be due to the many great and funny memories I have of Christmas or it may be due to something sappier like the whole Christmas spirit and joy we're supposed to experience and embrace. Whatever it is, people seem to be intent on ruining it and diluting the whole season. To the point that people get fed up even before Christmas comes close. Reading something like this only makes your heart sink that there can be so much said about something that seems so minor.
The article makes note of the use of the term "Happy Holidays" but is this really necessary or a step too far towards being overly PC and overcompensating? The term itself is very American and I don't think I've heard people here in the UK use it. The thing is that it just reeks of people with too much free time on their hands.
I'm not Christian and I don't celebrate Christmas because of the birth of Jesus Christ but I do acknowledge it as I acknowledge there are many other celebrations taking place in this season. I could track back and look into why my family started celebrating Christmas but I'm not really sure why. However, we live in a predominatly Christian country where Christmas is one of the biggest celebrations of the year, it's difficult not to notice it or the whole story surrounding it. The thing is my religious belief is not really important here and I don't think anyone else's should be the important point here.
I believe Christmas has taken on a higher consciousness. Far beyond just the birth of Christ. It's now a period of time that gives rise to many celebrations. Be it Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus. To put that simply, Christmas is a period of time when some faiths have important celebrations and where we generally eat too much turkey and give presents all in the company of family and friends.
It all brings us together to share time with each other and just generally be jolly and merry. That fundamentally is what Christmas is about. The birth of Christ brought together people from all walks of life for what was a momentus event.
Regardless of faith, I'm sure this is a message that everyone can appreciate. Don't fight and struggle over little things, embrace the bigger picture. Don't draw arbitary lines in the snow that mean absolutely nothing. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, whatever it doesn't matter. What does is that you are greeting everyone and wishing them all the best in this season of celebration.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Antimatter
Each year we come nearer Christmas and bemoan the lack of snow. We all dream of a White Christmas and it rarely ever happens.
Back when I was younger, snow at Christmas was the norm; making snowmen and snowball fights, the whole shebang. This is not going into a post about global warming or down that line. What I'm more interested in ranting on is how the lack of snow has affected us. Namely, how as soon as there is any chance or hint of snow, we're seeing weather warnings and people abandoning their cars as well as all sense and reason.
In the past few days, we've apparently had a cold snap. Weather colder than the usual expected. I've seen images on the news reports of some of the chaos it's caused. What I'm so unsure of is how we've come to this situation.
We used to have snow, lots of it, inches deep. I never remember seeing or reading or hearing stories the likes of which I have done. Since when did people become such wusses? Has the lack of snow made people weak? What would happen if this becomes the norm once more and we enjoy more snow during the winter months, something more akin to the snowfall of the past?
On top of this, what happened to those knowing how to take part in snowball fights? I remember having to be alert at all times during snow, an attack could happen at any time. You could not trust anyone, from a little kid to an elderly lady with a zimmerframe. Yet when I try now to instigate anything, I get angry shouts and threats of calling the police.
I mean come on people, there is snow all about! What else do you expect to do with snow aside from screaming and abandoning all hope for fear of being snowed in your cars on the way home. Besides snowball fights are a much better way to spend time with the snow.
It seems like only mass hysteria and panic ensue from snow. We need training camps, teaching people how to cope with snow. Lock people up until they are finally indoctrinated and knowing how to cope. If that doesn't work, then snow down the back is our only recourse.
Back when I was younger, snow at Christmas was the norm; making snowmen and snowball fights, the whole shebang. This is not going into a post about global warming or down that line. What I'm more interested in ranting on is how the lack of snow has affected us. Namely, how as soon as there is any chance or hint of snow, we're seeing weather warnings and people abandoning their cars as well as all sense and reason.
In the past few days, we've apparently had a cold snap. Weather colder than the usual expected. I've seen images on the news reports of some of the chaos it's caused. What I'm so unsure of is how we've come to this situation.
We used to have snow, lots of it, inches deep. I never remember seeing or reading or hearing stories the likes of which I have done. Since when did people become such wusses? Has the lack of snow made people weak? What would happen if this becomes the norm once more and we enjoy more snow during the winter months, something more akin to the snowfall of the past?
On top of this, what happened to those knowing how to take part in snowball fights? I remember having to be alert at all times during snow, an attack could happen at any time. You could not trust anyone, from a little kid to an elderly lady with a zimmerframe. Yet when I try now to instigate anything, I get angry shouts and threats of calling the police.
I mean come on people, there is snow all about! What else do you expect to do with snow aside from screaming and abandoning all hope for fear of being snowed in your cars on the way home. Besides snowball fights are a much better way to spend time with the snow.
It seems like only mass hysteria and panic ensue from snow. We need training camps, teaching people how to cope with snow. Lock people up until they are finally indoctrinated and knowing how to cope. If that doesn't work, then snow down the back is our only recourse.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Pink 'Bermuda' Triangle
Having written a few entries which I've aborted, I've finally finished one to a standard I'm happy with.
It's quite odd when writing. Usually when posting on forums and discussion boards, I say that I have a rule to post quickly. If I've not finished a post about 5 minutes after starting, I tend to abort.
Now usually it's quite easy to do this but on longer debates it's quite a bit tougher. So this got me thinking, do I necessarily do this or is it just a fancy statement to throw at someone. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was ridiculous. So I tested it out to see.
I found that it's about right, my interest in a response wanes after about 5 minutes. The thing is 5 minutes is not exactly five minutes. I guess that makes my statement invalid but there's reason behind the madness.
I guess it's about 5 minutes of inactivity on a response, when you get to a point where you feel like you are making no real headway into your piece. You've spent more time watching TV, listening to a song, talking to someone on some Internet messenger service, or something along those lines.
Before you start, you've usually got an idea and a general gist of what you intend to write even before you hit reply. The moment where a flurry of ideas float around your head. Generally, I write off the top of my head. As I think, I type. It's spontaneous and you never quite know where you are heading. This is probably the worst thing you can do when writing but at the same time best.
If you get stuck, it's probably going to be an abort. If you've planned, you can get by with the structure set in place. However, with the structure it seems as though you're fixed on checkpoints. Less chance of meandering to some other point you hadn't thought of at the time and may not have done had you not gone with the flow.
Maybe I'm going over the top with this, maybe I've meandered too far and ended up making no real sense but heck I know meandering and randomness is brilliant. I was talking about this last weekend to a cousin, how one moment you're discussing what fine waffles a local coffee shop makes, then the next you are discussing the meaning of life. It's this randomness that makes it so, if you have an agenda set you'll not stray.
So what am I trying to say, what point am I trying to make? I'm not really trying to make any point. I'm not trying to say anything much either. All I know is that I've gone on and talked random stuff coming from the top of my head and not dried up for once and gone to play on my Dreamcast. It means I've finally finished a blog entry and not aborted midway, just because I didn't have some set agenda to tackle but felt like expressing crazy disjointed thoughts which seemingly flow.
Well looking at the time, it's taken me about 15 minutes to write this piece. So I guess the 5 minute lark doesn't quite hold up literally. However, I've not really had any inactivity to distract me. It probably helps nothing much is on TV and Pinkerton helps my ramblings along.
So to sum it up. Weezer are super great, there's not much on TV and I'm good at rambling on. In fact, I'm amazing and I rock.
It's quite odd when writing. Usually when posting on forums and discussion boards, I say that I have a rule to post quickly. If I've not finished a post about 5 minutes after starting, I tend to abort.
Now usually it's quite easy to do this but on longer debates it's quite a bit tougher. So this got me thinking, do I necessarily do this or is it just a fancy statement to throw at someone. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was ridiculous. So I tested it out to see.
I found that it's about right, my interest in a response wanes after about 5 minutes. The thing is 5 minutes is not exactly five minutes. I guess that makes my statement invalid but there's reason behind the madness.
I guess it's about 5 minutes of inactivity on a response, when you get to a point where you feel like you are making no real headway into your piece. You've spent more time watching TV, listening to a song, talking to someone on some Internet messenger service, or something along those lines.
Before you start, you've usually got an idea and a general gist of what you intend to write even before you hit reply. The moment where a flurry of ideas float around your head. Generally, I write off the top of my head. As I think, I type. It's spontaneous and you never quite know where you are heading. This is probably the worst thing you can do when writing but at the same time best.
If you get stuck, it's probably going to be an abort. If you've planned, you can get by with the structure set in place. However, with the structure it seems as though you're fixed on checkpoints. Less chance of meandering to some other point you hadn't thought of at the time and may not have done had you not gone with the flow.
Maybe I'm going over the top with this, maybe I've meandered too far and ended up making no real sense but heck I know meandering and randomness is brilliant. I was talking about this last weekend to a cousin, how one moment you're discussing what fine waffles a local coffee shop makes, then the next you are discussing the meaning of life. It's this randomness that makes it so, if you have an agenda set you'll not stray.
So what am I trying to say, what point am I trying to make? I'm not really trying to make any point. I'm not trying to say anything much either. All I know is that I've gone on and talked random stuff coming from the top of my head and not dried up for once and gone to play on my Dreamcast. It means I've finally finished a blog entry and not aborted midway, just because I didn't have some set agenda to tackle but felt like expressing crazy disjointed thoughts which seemingly flow.
Well looking at the time, it's taken me about 15 minutes to write this piece. So I guess the 5 minute lark doesn't quite hold up literally. However, I've not really had any inactivity to distract me. It probably helps nothing much is on TV and Pinkerton helps my ramblings along.
So to sum it up. Weezer are super great, there's not much on TV and I'm good at rambling on. In fact, I'm amazing and I rock.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Underground
Thanks to Yume, I became aware of one groups ambition to legalise fansubbing. International Anime Distribution (IAD) opened up their site, blog and forums stating their plans. The forums have had quite a lot of nonsense posted by irate posters who don't get it.
I had a good discussion back on PSOQuest forums a while ago which unfortunately I did not back-up. There were lots of good points made but when it came down to looking at law, it was quite simple. Fansubs are illegal, whether you like it or not, that's the short and tall of it. Since I've not got a copy of all my research, there is a very nice article about it on ANN. I think people see a few facts and misinterpret it or read up on something that doesn't relate entirely and that accounts for the reputation that it falls into a "grey area" which makes fansubbing fine.
With that said, I don't really want to concentrate too much more on the legality of fansubbing. I'll just make doubly sure, it's not legal so there is nothing to discuss. I am more interested in what IAD are attempting and the response that has been giving by some of the posters on the IAD forums.
IAD's plan seems akin to iTunes. With iTunes it was, there's definitely a market for downloading tracks as mp3s or whatnot and there is a userbase that will support a legal method of doing so. IAD see something similar here and are trying to create a market. One thing that iTunes had in its favour was the iPod. You have a product that is generally thought of as a cool and a must-have. Combine that with a method of delivery which seemlessly integates and you have a reason for people to purchase as well as a good way for them to consume.
People will often point to a particular fansub group's work as being superior to the translation done by a company that has licenced it for DVD release. I've said it myself that companies should hire some of the better fansub groups out there to provide subtitles for the anime with their typical care and attention to detail. With that desire to flesh out a whole series and provide cultural and historical notes to allow better understanding and enjoyment rather than altering things to remove such a need.
It's getting licences of anime and then letting fansubbers do their thing as normal, the change coming in that we the viewers will help the fansubbers to pay for the licence. It's a bold step and one which could impact the fansubbing community but there are quite a few obstacles still in its way.
I think the most obvious thing is that it's likely we'll get quality subs we expect which will put some pressure on the major companies subbing and dubbing right now. Ideally it'll push up the quality across the board as each tries to outdo the other.
This is provided that IAD can get fansubbers on side. By and large the fansubbing community is respective of the work of the creators. Once an anime is licenced in the US, groups will usually drop a series. I can see some groups welcome this and look into joining the initiative. The aim of fansubbing is to allow us to see an anime in its original form as the creator intended; to drive anticipation and create a market for the anime.
If viewers are paying, they'll demand scheduled releases as quick as possible. People moan already at the speed of some groups and fansubbers would only be inundated by more people complaining as they would now feel they've invested something into the work. As opposed to the current model where fansubbers only need to answer to themselves as they are the ones investing time and effort. I would imagine this driving some groups insane and not wanting to partake in such a model.
As the scene grows more are drawn to fansubbing however you'll often find groups swarming around certain series. The popular ones can have more groups subbing than you know what to do with. The lesser known titles, well you'll be lucky to find even one group subbing. An obvious benefit of this means that rather than having to find a good company that will continue to sub throughout the lifespan of the series, you'll now only have one. On top of this, more groups will branch out to sub other lesser known titles. A big problem we may have is that a group of lesser quality may end up subbing a series we'd rather a better group did. It happens already, such as 4Kids dubbing One Piece.
The main problem that I see is the price in conjunction with the medium. When buying an anime on DVD you can pay anywhere from £10-20 for a new release. However, it comes on hard media. Paying something similar for a download only may not sit too well with everyone, there's something intangible about actually buying and owning an original output from a company. In addition, if the medium is going to be something like direct downloads or Bit Torrent, it has the very simple and easy possibility of people distributing it without having paid for it initially. It'll be in a ready-to-distribute format with a community that seems to be very divided by it all.
A possible way to build in some robustness to this model is by trying a similar idea out to the music market. Why not take advantage of PSP users? It currently seems to be the vogue thing to have so combining that with the fansubs and you may get a dedicated core of people using it as Apple have managed.
There's definitely some questions that still need sorting and it's still working out fansubbers, series and distribution but it's cetainly a bold step. If it can sort out price and distribution with good quality groups, it could be a great move to see regular releases as well as maybe seeing some of the lesser known series given more priority. However, there is a element of the community there that vehemently opposes this and IAD will need to overcome them by getting on the good side of as many quality subbers and distribution sites as possible. It'll definitely be a struggle.
I had a good discussion back on PSOQuest forums a while ago which unfortunately I did not back-up. There were lots of good points made but when it came down to looking at law, it was quite simple. Fansubs are illegal, whether you like it or not, that's the short and tall of it. Since I've not got a copy of all my research, there is a very nice article about it on ANN. I think people see a few facts and misinterpret it or read up on something that doesn't relate entirely and that accounts for the reputation that it falls into a "grey area" which makes fansubbing fine.
With that said, I don't really want to concentrate too much more on the legality of fansubbing. I'll just make doubly sure, it's not legal so there is nothing to discuss. I am more interested in what IAD are attempting and the response that has been giving by some of the posters on the IAD forums.
IAD's plan seems akin to iTunes. With iTunes it was, there's definitely a market for downloading tracks as mp3s or whatnot and there is a userbase that will support a legal method of doing so. IAD see something similar here and are trying to create a market. One thing that iTunes had in its favour was the iPod. You have a product that is generally thought of as a cool and a must-have. Combine that with a method of delivery which seemlessly integates and you have a reason for people to purchase as well as a good way for them to consume.
People will often point to a particular fansub group's work as being superior to the translation done by a company that has licenced it for DVD release. I've said it myself that companies should hire some of the better fansub groups out there to provide subtitles for the anime with their typical care and attention to detail. With that desire to flesh out a whole series and provide cultural and historical notes to allow better understanding and enjoyment rather than altering things to remove such a need.
It's getting licences of anime and then letting fansubbers do their thing as normal, the change coming in that we the viewers will help the fansubbers to pay for the licence. It's a bold step and one which could impact the fansubbing community but there are quite a few obstacles still in its way.
I think the most obvious thing is that it's likely we'll get quality subs we expect which will put some pressure on the major companies subbing and dubbing right now. Ideally it'll push up the quality across the board as each tries to outdo the other.
This is provided that IAD can get fansubbers on side. By and large the fansubbing community is respective of the work of the creators. Once an anime is licenced in the US, groups will usually drop a series. I can see some groups welcome this and look into joining the initiative. The aim of fansubbing is to allow us to see an anime in its original form as the creator intended; to drive anticipation and create a market for the anime.
If viewers are paying, they'll demand scheduled releases as quick as possible. People moan already at the speed of some groups and fansubbers would only be inundated by more people complaining as they would now feel they've invested something into the work. As opposed to the current model where fansubbers only need to answer to themselves as they are the ones investing time and effort. I would imagine this driving some groups insane and not wanting to partake in such a model.
As the scene grows more are drawn to fansubbing however you'll often find groups swarming around certain series. The popular ones can have more groups subbing than you know what to do with. The lesser known titles, well you'll be lucky to find even one group subbing. An obvious benefit of this means that rather than having to find a good company that will continue to sub throughout the lifespan of the series, you'll now only have one. On top of this, more groups will branch out to sub other lesser known titles. A big problem we may have is that a group of lesser quality may end up subbing a series we'd rather a better group did. It happens already, such as 4Kids dubbing One Piece.
The main problem that I see is the price in conjunction with the medium. When buying an anime on DVD you can pay anywhere from £10-20 for a new release. However, it comes on hard media. Paying something similar for a download only may not sit too well with everyone, there's something intangible about actually buying and owning an original output from a company. In addition, if the medium is going to be something like direct downloads or Bit Torrent, it has the very simple and easy possibility of people distributing it without having paid for it initially. It'll be in a ready-to-distribute format with a community that seems to be very divided by it all.
A possible way to build in some robustness to this model is by trying a similar idea out to the music market. Why not take advantage of PSP users? It currently seems to be the vogue thing to have so combining that with the fansubs and you may get a dedicated core of people using it as Apple have managed.
There's definitely some questions that still need sorting and it's still working out fansubbers, series and distribution but it's cetainly a bold step. If it can sort out price and distribution with good quality groups, it could be a great move to see regular releases as well as maybe seeing some of the lesser known series given more priority. However, there is a element of the community there that vehemently opposes this and IAD will need to overcome them by getting on the good side of as many quality subbers and distribution sites as possible. It'll definitely be a struggle.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything
So there I was sitting and thinking about the pros and cons of various formations. Is 4-5-1 contributing to bad football matches this season and would changing to the traditional 4-4-2 make any changes? Is the quality of matches really that bad and boring or is the media making stuff up as they don't have anything to write about David Beckham?
Whilst debating this in my mind I came to an epiphany. Why think about 4-5-1 versus 4-4-2 when I could write about it? Why limit it to football formations when I could tackle the some of the toughest questions known to mankind?
Well having had a fair few rants to effectively train me up, I decided to embark on a great adventure, to hopefully provide definitive answers to some of the greatest questions posed by mankind.
The plan is, in addition to my usual rants, to tackle questions and slowly work my way up to tougher, more complex questions.
The first question: Daddy or Chips.
Whilst debating this in my mind I came to an epiphany. Why think about 4-5-1 versus 4-4-2 when I could write about it? Why limit it to football formations when I could tackle the some of the toughest questions known to mankind?
Well having had a fair few rants to effectively train me up, I decided to embark on a great adventure, to hopefully provide definitive answers to some of the greatest questions posed by mankind.
The plan is, in addition to my usual rants, to tackle questions and slowly work my way up to tougher, more complex questions.
The first question: Daddy or Chips.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
West Slang
So after having been thrown out of a pub for trying to make off with the publicians buxom wench and generally trying to plunder some booty, I'm ready for some more ranting. It all stems from what has been an infuriating few wednesdays but it holds for so much more than just this instance.
Each wednesday for a while, I've sat down to enjoy Lost on Channel 4. Each week I marvel at how a programme that's scheduled for an hour and five minutes can be so messed around.
The first complaint is the general time keeping. It's due to begin at 22:00 but generally starts 4-5 minutes late. Not a huge problem as it gives you a few minutes to get ready when you realise it's hit 22:00.
The main complaint I have is the way ad breaks are scheduled. After watching about nine minutes we get an ad break. Great because after nine minutes, I've lost all concentration and need 5 minutes of adverts to catch my second wind. The wednesday gone was particularly bad, we got an ad break after four minutes. Bloody marvellous.
In total, we have to endure 3 ad breaks in addition to seeing that the programme is sponsored. Surely being sponsored means there can be fewer ad breaks?
It's all become very silly and it only seems to be getting worse. It's getting to a point where our ad breaks will become punctuated by programming rather than programming punctuated by adverts.
We're already seeing the credits of a programme talked over, we also now see the credits forced into a smaller box to let the rest of the screen advertise the programme following as well as anything else they wish.
On top of this we have television channels which brand and show their logo in the top corner. Despite being engrossed in whatever programme I'm watching, I can still remember what channel I am viewing. I don't need the corner of the screen obstructing the show, especially when it blocks up text of said show.
It's all part of the supposed dumbing down of television. There's a case for catering for everyone but you don't need to think that everyone has the attention span of a goldfish and the intelligence to match. Every other show doesn't need to be the clone of some TV reality programme or prying into the private lives of celebrities.
It's a sorry state right now and I for one would like a return to the sensibilities of old.
Each wednesday for a while, I've sat down to enjoy Lost on Channel 4. Each week I marvel at how a programme that's scheduled for an hour and five minutes can be so messed around.
The first complaint is the general time keeping. It's due to begin at 22:00 but generally starts 4-5 minutes late. Not a huge problem as it gives you a few minutes to get ready when you realise it's hit 22:00.
The main complaint I have is the way ad breaks are scheduled. After watching about nine minutes we get an ad break. Great because after nine minutes, I've lost all concentration and need 5 minutes of adverts to catch my second wind. The wednesday gone was particularly bad, we got an ad break after four minutes. Bloody marvellous.
In total, we have to endure 3 ad breaks in addition to seeing that the programme is sponsored. Surely being sponsored means there can be fewer ad breaks?
It's all become very silly and it only seems to be getting worse. It's getting to a point where our ad breaks will become punctuated by programming rather than programming punctuated by adverts.
We're already seeing the credits of a programme talked over, we also now see the credits forced into a smaller box to let the rest of the screen advertise the programme following as well as anything else they wish.
On top of this we have television channels which brand and show their logo in the top corner. Despite being engrossed in whatever programme I'm watching, I can still remember what channel I am viewing. I don't need the corner of the screen obstructing the show, especially when it blocks up text of said show.
It's all part of the supposed dumbing down of television. There's a case for catering for everyone but you don't need to think that everyone has the attention span of a goldfish and the intelligence to match. Every other show doesn't need to be the clone of some TV reality programme or prying into the private lives of celebrities.
It's a sorry state right now and I for one would like a return to the sensibilities of old.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Avast me hearties 'n' grab ye Jolly Roger
Ahoy me hearties! I be swashbucklin' Buccanner Mad Dog Nat.
Arrr, some o' ye filthly landlubbers may know this day be "International Talk Like A Pirate Day".
Ye ought set sail fer international waters o' Ol' Chum Bucket's and Cap'n Slappy's interweb page fer untold booty to plunder. Ye who be from European seas can plunder Mad Cap'n Tom's interweb.
Ye scurvy dogs beware, keep away from me booty, lest ye be keelhauled.
Arrr, some o' ye filthly landlubbers may know this day be "International Talk Like A Pirate Day".
Ye ought set sail fer international waters o' Ol' Chum Bucket's and Cap'n Slappy's interweb page fer untold booty to plunder. Ye who be from European seas can plunder Mad Cap'n Tom's interweb.
Ye scurvy dogs beware, keep away from me booty, lest ye be keelhauled.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Little More Than Before [Slip Out]
The hottest news in gaming right now must surely be Nintendo finally unveiling the Revolution controller. If some other topic relating to gaming is currently on top of your agenda, then your agenda needs altering. What follows is largely straight off the top of my head as I think and right about this announcement.
Earlier today Nintendo (NCL) went ahead and showed us what they had been keeping back. Whether they really were scared of people copying their ideas or not, it had created an aura around what exactly they had in store for us. When I read an interview with Yuji Naka a little while back and his reaction to the controller I became very interested in what had been created. He mentioned nothing specific due to a non-disclosure agreement but it was going to match NCL's recent penchant for fresh new ideas to engage old and new gamers alike.
So whilst watching a stream of the press conference, the first real thought I had was just after Iwata referred to the controller as nunchucks (with the analogue plug-in). I thought "controller-chucks, yo" but not much else formed.
After the conference was over I sat back and thought about it all.
What are NCL playing at giving us what is effectively a remote control? How the heck will I be able to play Ocarina of Time on it? Not only that but how would I be able to play A Link to the Past with the four face buttons spread all over?
Well, remote controls are everywhere. You'll have one for your TV, DVD player, VCR, satellite/cable/Freeview, amplifier/stereo system and I'm only thinking of the living room. The controller will look right at home next to your TV remote, it probably looks nicer than any other remote you have.
The controller is another in step in NCL's new thinking of making things simpler for everyone, gamer and non-gamer alike. It has taken the ideas behind the DS and implemented them into a console setting. I'm a big fan of the DS and what NCL have set out to do with the machine. Take a conventional idea/design and tailor it for gaming. The move to the DS is simple as writing and drawing with a pen is so well ingrained into us.
This time round NCL have gone a few steps farther and really worked all aspects. The remote is ingrained into us with so many devices using it. You point at the device and click away. First they've removed the traditional IR and replacing it with an RF sensor, so like the Wavebird you can go into the next room and control the Revolution. They built on this idea by replacing the IR sensor into a motion detector. You can point at the screen and the movements made on the controller translate. Forget other promises, this is true analogue control.
They've thought about the promise of allowing us access to a back catalgoue of games from all generations of NCL consoles. From the outset you can see the NES influence and you have no worries about playing Super Mario Bros but what about those who want to play Super Mario World or even Mario 64?
That's where our plug-ins come in. So the bottom of the controller allows us to plug-in an extension that gives us an analogue stick that looks like the GC one and has two buttons on the top, similar to how we have the Z-button configuration but looking like naturally fitting the grip taken to hold the stick. We're not sure exactly how we'll be able to configure buttons about on the initial controller but it seems as if we may need a few more buttons.
The good news is that it was alluded to that there could be potential for more variations of the plug-in to customise the controller. Who knows we may have replicas of the pads of old which allows us to slot the controller into, we may even get arcade sticks which allows the controller to plug into. This is conservative thinking right now, as the scope is huge for what pads we may see. The possibility is there for games to come out with custom pads should it be required that plug into the controller that builds on top of the existing functionality.
With so much to think about I am still rambling on about possibilities. My mind is still up in the air as to what NCL have actually done and I'll definitely be making more posts about the controller with a more focused set of ideas. Even so I know two things for sure. One is that I absolutely love the scope this pad has and I really wish to try this out as soon as I can.
The second thing I know for sure is that we are truly seeing a revolution from NCL.
Earlier today Nintendo (NCL) went ahead and showed us what they had been keeping back. Whether they really were scared of people copying their ideas or not, it had created an aura around what exactly they had in store for us. When I read an interview with Yuji Naka a little while back and his reaction to the controller I became very interested in what had been created. He mentioned nothing specific due to a non-disclosure agreement but it was going to match NCL's recent penchant for fresh new ideas to engage old and new gamers alike.
So whilst watching a stream of the press conference, the first real thought I had was just after Iwata referred to the controller as nunchucks (with the analogue plug-in). I thought "controller-chucks, yo" but not much else formed.
After the conference was over I sat back and thought about it all.
What are NCL playing at giving us what is effectively a remote control? How the heck will I be able to play Ocarina of Time on it? Not only that but how would I be able to play A Link to the Past with the four face buttons spread all over?
Well, remote controls are everywhere. You'll have one for your TV, DVD player, VCR, satellite/cable/Freeview, amplifier/stereo system and I'm only thinking of the living room. The controller will look right at home next to your TV remote, it probably looks nicer than any other remote you have.
The controller is another in step in NCL's new thinking of making things simpler for everyone, gamer and non-gamer alike. It has taken the ideas behind the DS and implemented them into a console setting. I'm a big fan of the DS and what NCL have set out to do with the machine. Take a conventional idea/design and tailor it for gaming. The move to the DS is simple as writing and drawing with a pen is so well ingrained into us.
This time round NCL have gone a few steps farther and really worked all aspects. The remote is ingrained into us with so many devices using it. You point at the device and click away. First they've removed the traditional IR and replacing it with an RF sensor, so like the Wavebird you can go into the next room and control the Revolution. They built on this idea by replacing the IR sensor into a motion detector. You can point at the screen and the movements made on the controller translate. Forget other promises, this is true analogue control.
They've thought about the promise of allowing us access to a back catalgoue of games from all generations of NCL consoles. From the outset you can see the NES influence and you have no worries about playing Super Mario Bros but what about those who want to play Super Mario World or even Mario 64?
That's where our plug-ins come in. So the bottom of the controller allows us to plug-in an extension that gives us an analogue stick that looks like the GC one and has two buttons on the top, similar to how we have the Z-button configuration but looking like naturally fitting the grip taken to hold the stick. We're not sure exactly how we'll be able to configure buttons about on the initial controller but it seems as if we may need a few more buttons.
The good news is that it was alluded to that there could be potential for more variations of the plug-in to customise the controller. Who knows we may have replicas of the pads of old which allows us to slot the controller into, we may even get arcade sticks which allows the controller to plug into. This is conservative thinking right now, as the scope is huge for what pads we may see. The possibility is there for games to come out with custom pads should it be required that plug into the controller that builds on top of the existing functionality.
With so much to think about I am still rambling on about possibilities. My mind is still up in the air as to what NCL have actually done and I'll definitely be making more posts about the controller with a more focused set of ideas. Even so I know two things for sure. One is that I absolutely love the scope this pad has and I really wish to try this out as soon as I can.
The second thing I know for sure is that we are truly seeing a revolution from NCL.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Changes
Last week I commented on the slump in cinema receipts. This started turning cogs in my head and as I looked towards the future of home cinema, I thought about a similar situation.
Once upon a time, when I was young and you were younger, coin-ops ruled the video game market. Games would come out in the arcade and you would marvel at them. Some time later you would see a port made to a home console, which was vastly inferior.
I guess it was sometime during the 16-bit era when we first started to see ports of games which were arcade perfect. There was a boost in power in the arcades but with the new consoles, it was diminishing returns in terms of power. We're at a point when current consoles are used as the basis of the new boards.
Home consoles were able to produce experiences that could rival or match the arcade machines. Light guns became common, as did steering wheels. It's not far-fetched to produce one-off peripherals for games. We saw it with Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast, whereas with the Dance Mat we have seen more than one game take advantage of it. The same can be said of the bongos released with Donkey Konga on the Gamecube and the Eye Toy on the PS2.
Looking at it now, the arcades have definitely taken a back seat to home gaming. We still get the big games released in the arcades but it's definitely left to the biggest games that have traditionally remained draws to the arcade, namely racers, shoot-em-ups and beat-em-ups.
So now we look at the movies. Cinemas have long been the focal point yet we're seeing drops in attendance attributed to DVDs. With DVDs we are now able to experience movies in a way VHS could not manage. It gives us crisp image quality (arguably better than the cinema) and Dolby Surround/DTS sound (not to mention the extra features that are so popular now).
Whilst we've been able to reproduce cinema experiences in the past, technology has caught up and made it a lot easy for anyone to do, argubly easier than recreation of the arcade experience at home.
All TVs are usually showing off the ability to produce Dolby/DTS sound out of the box, negating any extra peripherals. Our TVs are also becoming larger and larger whilst being slim enough to hang on our walls. On top of this we are now on the verge of HDTV taking off and either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, further pushing the envelope.
Maybe cinema can look at the way the arcade market has sort to distinguish itself aside from the big games. We have cabinets which contain technology that is not currently viable in the home or seek to further enhance the experience. For example, F-Zero makes use of a cabinet that rocks you about as you play. Outrun 2 SP also has a cabinet that reacts to your driving rocking you about.
More cinemas therefore should start to embrace digital projectors. I love the picture that we currently get in cinema and I am a big fan of analogue technologies. However, it may help draw in audiences who are as big on going to the movies. Picture quality would improve and the consistency from cinema to cinema would be constant. It'd be a noticeable and tangible change, bringing it more into line with the clarity offered by DVD.
Aside from the actual movie itself, how about making the seating that more comfortable and luxurious. Why not make sitting in a cinema seat, an armchair away from home?
There's probably a whole lot more similarities here and lessons that could be applied. Who knows the cross over of ideas may work both ways.
Once upon a time, when I was young and you were younger, coin-ops ruled the video game market. Games would come out in the arcade and you would marvel at them. Some time later you would see a port made to a home console, which was vastly inferior.
I guess it was sometime during the 16-bit era when we first started to see ports of games which were arcade perfect. There was a boost in power in the arcades but with the new consoles, it was diminishing returns in terms of power. We're at a point when current consoles are used as the basis of the new boards.
Home consoles were able to produce experiences that could rival or match the arcade machines. Light guns became common, as did steering wheels. It's not far-fetched to produce one-off peripherals for games. We saw it with Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast, whereas with the Dance Mat we have seen more than one game take advantage of it. The same can be said of the bongos released with Donkey Konga on the Gamecube and the Eye Toy on the PS2.
Looking at it now, the arcades have definitely taken a back seat to home gaming. We still get the big games released in the arcades but it's definitely left to the biggest games that have traditionally remained draws to the arcade, namely racers, shoot-em-ups and beat-em-ups.
So now we look at the movies. Cinemas have long been the focal point yet we're seeing drops in attendance attributed to DVDs. With DVDs we are now able to experience movies in a way VHS could not manage. It gives us crisp image quality (arguably better than the cinema) and Dolby Surround/DTS sound (not to mention the extra features that are so popular now).
Whilst we've been able to reproduce cinema experiences in the past, technology has caught up and made it a lot easy for anyone to do, argubly easier than recreation of the arcade experience at home.
All TVs are usually showing off the ability to produce Dolby/DTS sound out of the box, negating any extra peripherals. Our TVs are also becoming larger and larger whilst being slim enough to hang on our walls. On top of this we are now on the verge of HDTV taking off and either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, further pushing the envelope.
Maybe cinema can look at the way the arcade market has sort to distinguish itself aside from the big games. We have cabinets which contain technology that is not currently viable in the home or seek to further enhance the experience. For example, F-Zero makes use of a cabinet that rocks you about as you play. Outrun 2 SP also has a cabinet that reacts to your driving rocking you about.
More cinemas therefore should start to embrace digital projectors. I love the picture that we currently get in cinema and I am a big fan of analogue technologies. However, it may help draw in audiences who are as big on going to the movies. Picture quality would improve and the consistency from cinema to cinema would be constant. It'd be a noticeable and tangible change, bringing it more into line with the clarity offered by DVD.
Aside from the actual movie itself, how about making the seating that more comfortable and luxurious. Why not make sitting in a cinema seat, an armchair away from home?
There's probably a whole lot more similarities here and lessons that could be applied. Who knows the cross over of ideas may work both ways.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Oh, I'm a lumberjack, and I'm okay...
Dentists are very purple. The most purple you can get out of all doctor types. You probably have no idea what I am talking about and that will be because you've never seen the Doctor Spectrum.
The Doctor Spectrum is quite a hidden thing and until recently, well I had often dismissed it for myth. Now unless you are in a doctor-type job, you will never see it. When you are sworn in as a doctor and the initiation rituals conducted, you are shown the spectrum and then told the rules of it. The first two rules should be familiar to you all as they were stolen and used in the script of the movie "Fight Club".
Rule 1. You do not talk about the Doctor Spectrum.
Rule 2. You DO NOT talk about the Doctor Spectrum.
Anywho, recently I spoke to a disgruntled doctor who was upset that his girlfriend was the subject of many a joke by colleagues. As you might guess, his girlfriend was a dentist. In order to get his own back, he wanted to break the rules and let this key information be spread about so that he might get his own back.
This doctor was a brave man. He fought tooth and nail to escape and bring to me this spectrum I am about to show you. Alas he was not a smart man as now the whole world will have more ammunition to berate dentists with, his girlfriend included.
It is a spectrum based on the colour spectrum. It categorises doctors on how cool they are in relation to colour. Purple, as we know, is uncool and becomes one extreme of the scale. Red is super cool, and becomes the other extreme.
For the sake of this post (it ruins the format more in its original form), I have simplified it to show some key doctor-types rather than the multitude on the original. I shall go on to sum up the book that accompanies it.
(click on the image to see the full size)
So now you may ask why this is. Why have doctors come to this consensus? In part it is due to laziness on the part of the community of doctors and the time constraints they are placed under.
Basically, the community see dentists as scaremongers who have two main motives. Firstly, they want to try and sell more toothbrushes. Contrary to popular belief, dentists get commission from each brush sold.
On top of this they love gadgets. The more brushes sold, the greater the excuse to produce newer hi-tech ones with bristels running in as many directions as possible on a 180° face. The tongue scraper is the newest fascination. If you continue to buy a new toothbrush every 3 months, well they'll start to become more fancy and incorporate iPods and mobile phones all in one small brush head.
Secondly, and probably more importantly to dentists is that they can practice DIY as they work. You are told whatever it takes for them to get you to drill your teeth.
So we've established that they are dirty cheaters, it's time to join hands and dismiss some myths.
Myth: Toothbrushes should be changed every three months.
Now it is assumed this is on the recommendation of brushing 2-3 times a day. Don't be a chump. You don't need to brush that many times a day. Brush once a day and extend the life of your toothbrush. You can get away with changing it once every 9 months. Let's face it, brushing at night sorts you out for the time you are asleep, the morning after and the rest of the day.
It's not as if you've eaten a few meals whilst sleeping so there is no real need to brush again but to waste time. All you need to do is buy a box of tic-tacs. Brush at night, then pop a tic-tac or two in the morning.
Myth: You should visit the dentist regularly.
Don't be silly. You should only go when you mouth aches beyond belief. The only reason they want people to go in regular is so that there is a constant supply of victims. It's an excuse to drag you in so that they can pretend they are Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and go to town in your mouth with their drill.
A note to cope with the pain in your mouth, stab your leg or hand. The pain you feel from that should mask the pain in your mouth. Whilst at the hospital a "cool" doctor may be able to prescribe you demerol or morphine or something.
Myth: The nurse is there to assist the dentist.
Well this is true in part. The nurses are there to help alright but not in the way you think. They are part of the smoke and mirrors act.
First, you'll notice the nurse in a short, tight skirt (for females you'll notice tight fitting hotpants on a male nurse). Then you'll get sweet talked by them to make it seem as if they are interested. You'll then notice they are very clumsy, constantly dropping their clipboard. The final act they carry out is to bend over, pushing their buttocks out in your direction mesmerising you. It is at this point the dentist grabs his drill and redecorates your mouth in a art-deco style. Beware.
Well hopefully that dispells some myths and shows dentists in their true light away from the sweet talking they do in front of you.
The Doctor Spectrum is quite a hidden thing and until recently, well I had often dismissed it for myth. Now unless you are in a doctor-type job, you will never see it. When you are sworn in as a doctor and the initiation rituals conducted, you are shown the spectrum and then told the rules of it. The first two rules should be familiar to you all as they were stolen and used in the script of the movie "Fight Club".
Rule 1. You do not talk about the Doctor Spectrum.
Rule 2. You DO NOT talk about the Doctor Spectrum.
Anywho, recently I spoke to a disgruntled doctor who was upset that his girlfriend was the subject of many a joke by colleagues. As you might guess, his girlfriend was a dentist. In order to get his own back, he wanted to break the rules and let this key information be spread about so that he might get his own back.
This doctor was a brave man. He fought tooth and nail to escape and bring to me this spectrum I am about to show you. Alas he was not a smart man as now the whole world will have more ammunition to berate dentists with, his girlfriend included.
It is a spectrum based on the colour spectrum. It categorises doctors on how cool they are in relation to colour. Purple, as we know, is uncool and becomes one extreme of the scale. Red is super cool, and becomes the other extreme.
For the sake of this post (it ruins the format more in its original form), I have simplified it to show some key doctor-types rather than the multitude on the original. I shall go on to sum up the book that accompanies it.
(click on the image to see the full size)So now you may ask why this is. Why have doctors come to this consensus? In part it is due to laziness on the part of the community of doctors and the time constraints they are placed under.
Basically, the community see dentists as scaremongers who have two main motives. Firstly, they want to try and sell more toothbrushes. Contrary to popular belief, dentists get commission from each brush sold.
On top of this they love gadgets. The more brushes sold, the greater the excuse to produce newer hi-tech ones with bristels running in as many directions as possible on a 180° face. The tongue scraper is the newest fascination. If you continue to buy a new toothbrush every 3 months, well they'll start to become more fancy and incorporate iPods and mobile phones all in one small brush head.
Secondly, and probably more importantly to dentists is that they can practice DIY as they work. You are told whatever it takes for them to get you to drill your teeth.
Dentist: Sir, I need to drill your tooth?
Patient: Why?
Dentist: There is a cavity in it.
Patient: If there is a hole in it, why do you wish to drill more?
Dentist: Erm... your logic has left me no choice. Sir, your tooth is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. It's stiff, bereft of life. It rests in peace. If you hadn't left it in your gum it'd be pushing up the daisies. Its metabolic processes are now history. It's off the twig. It's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisibile. This is an ex-tooth.
Patient: ...
Dentist: ...
Patient: Just drill the bloody thing if it'll make you stop quoting Monty Python at me.
Dentist does the happy dance.
So we've established that they are dirty cheaters, it's time to join hands and dismiss some myths.
Myth: Toothbrushes should be changed every three months.
Now it is assumed this is on the recommendation of brushing 2-3 times a day. Don't be a chump. You don't need to brush that many times a day. Brush once a day and extend the life of your toothbrush. You can get away with changing it once every 9 months. Let's face it, brushing at night sorts you out for the time you are asleep, the morning after and the rest of the day.
It's not as if you've eaten a few meals whilst sleeping so there is no real need to brush again but to waste time. All you need to do is buy a box of tic-tacs. Brush at night, then pop a tic-tac or two in the morning.
Myth: You should visit the dentist regularly.
Don't be silly. You should only go when you mouth aches beyond belief. The only reason they want people to go in regular is so that there is a constant supply of victims. It's an excuse to drag you in so that they can pretend they are Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and go to town in your mouth with their drill.
A note to cope with the pain in your mouth, stab your leg or hand. The pain you feel from that should mask the pain in your mouth. Whilst at the hospital a "cool" doctor may be able to prescribe you demerol or morphine or something.
Myth: The nurse is there to assist the dentist.
Well this is true in part. The nurses are there to help alright but not in the way you think. They are part of the smoke and mirrors act.
First, you'll notice the nurse in a short, tight skirt (for females you'll notice tight fitting hotpants on a male nurse). Then you'll get sweet talked by them to make it seem as if they are interested. You'll then notice they are very clumsy, constantly dropping their clipboard. The final act they carry out is to bend over, pushing their buttocks out in your direction mesmerising you. It is at this point the dentist grabs his drill and redecorates your mouth in a art-deco style. Beware.
Well hopefully that dispells some myths and shows dentists in their true light away from the sweet talking they do in front of you.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Ice Hockey Hair
What is up with haircuts?
Today I went to get my hair cut but I noticed an odd thing there during my time.
It seems only natural that the longer your hair gets, the longer it takes in the barbers to have it attended to. I would also think that people with the shortest hair would usually get their head shaved in the quickest amount of time. People with hair length in between would figure somewhere in between the time it takes long/short hair.
So why is it that people who are getting their hair cut really short take just as long, if not longer? Do the barbers feel they need to make up the lack of time spent talking about your next holiday and take longer to cut hair short?
It seems that to be able to get in and out of the barbers in the quickest possible time, you need shortish hair about 3 inches in length, to be able to get in and out within 5-10 minutes.
Today I went to get my hair cut but I noticed an odd thing there during my time.
It seems only natural that the longer your hair gets, the longer it takes in the barbers to have it attended to. I would also think that people with the shortest hair would usually get their head shaved in the quickest amount of time. People with hair length in between would figure somewhere in between the time it takes long/short hair.
So why is it that people who are getting their hair cut really short take just as long, if not longer? Do the barbers feel they need to make up the lack of time spent talking about your next holiday and take longer to cut hair short?
It seems that to be able to get in and out of the barbers in the quickest possible time, you need shortish hair about 3 inches in length, to be able to get in and out within 5-10 minutes.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Unlimited
So yet another summer slump has been reported. Although this time it's a little closer to my heart.
As described in the article on BBC News, the number of people visiting US cinemas during the summer has been the lowest since 1997. Many are saying they would rather watch a movie at home on DVD or TV than going to the cinema.
It is indeed a sad day when this is the concensus although I can understand why.
Cinemas vary in quality. You'll get some great ones in the West End but the further out of London you go, the worse they usually are. Screens aren't as big, seats are broken/ripped, sound and picture quality varies, some of the films you want to see aren't shown, prices can be hefty.
Then comes the actual movie. There will be people who fidget, constantly talk, mobile phones going off, people getting up and going to the toilets at key points and children crying.
Compare this to renting a movie. You get the movie for three days which you can watch when most convenient. You don't have to worry about people talking in the middle, fidgeting, going to the toilet or anything else. It's most likely a family member or friend so you can give them a good whack to sort their act out. Whilst you won't get a huge screen, you will get great quality from a DVD as well as most likely having a good surround system.
On top of this, there is not really a long delay once a movie has premiered. The major movies come out about six months after the cinema release and packed with tons of extras.
In fact it sounds as if there is no redeeming point for going to watch movies in a cinema. Yet there is so much to gain from it which far outweigh the annoyances.
Firstly, the sheer scale of the screen creates more of a spectacle. Whilst some movies work equally well on the small screen, it's always something else seeing it on a large screen. On top of this the sound can be turned upto 11 without the worry of plaster falling of your walls or your neighbours.
Secondly, and more importantly, you aren't going to be able to feel the buzz and hype around movies. One of my best experiences came after catching the midnight premiere of Star Wars Episode II. Whilst the movie may not have been the best, it was an electric atmosphere throughout. People dressed up as characters from the movie, Anthony Daniels (C3PO) coming out to talk before the start (I think Rick McCallum was there also). During the movie we had the audience going crazy at various sequences.
I grant you that this is not the case for every single movie, but there is always some level of buzz generated from everyone waiting for the movie to begin and then when it start, the reactions to scenes. You can get this at home but nowhere near the same scale as in a cinema.
It's been a masterstroke to have invested in a cinema pass. Now I'll go watch any and all movies on the big screen, not only because I can but because despite the minor annoyances (which are sometimes non-existant), you can certaintly have a lot more fun.
As described in the article on BBC News, the number of people visiting US cinemas during the summer has been the lowest since 1997. Many are saying they would rather watch a movie at home on DVD or TV than going to the cinema.
It is indeed a sad day when this is the concensus although I can understand why.
Cinemas vary in quality. You'll get some great ones in the West End but the further out of London you go, the worse they usually are. Screens aren't as big, seats are broken/ripped, sound and picture quality varies, some of the films you want to see aren't shown, prices can be hefty.
Then comes the actual movie. There will be people who fidget, constantly talk, mobile phones going off, people getting up and going to the toilets at key points and children crying.
Compare this to renting a movie. You get the movie for three days which you can watch when most convenient. You don't have to worry about people talking in the middle, fidgeting, going to the toilet or anything else. It's most likely a family member or friend so you can give them a good whack to sort their act out. Whilst you won't get a huge screen, you will get great quality from a DVD as well as most likely having a good surround system.
On top of this, there is not really a long delay once a movie has premiered. The major movies come out about six months after the cinema release and packed with tons of extras.
In fact it sounds as if there is no redeeming point for going to watch movies in a cinema. Yet there is so much to gain from it which far outweigh the annoyances.
Firstly, the sheer scale of the screen creates more of a spectacle. Whilst some movies work equally well on the small screen, it's always something else seeing it on a large screen. On top of this the sound can be turned upto 11 without the worry of plaster falling of your walls or your neighbours.
Secondly, and more importantly, you aren't going to be able to feel the buzz and hype around movies. One of my best experiences came after catching the midnight premiere of Star Wars Episode II. Whilst the movie may not have been the best, it was an electric atmosphere throughout. People dressed up as characters from the movie, Anthony Daniels (C3PO) coming out to talk before the start (I think Rick McCallum was there also). During the movie we had the audience going crazy at various sequences.
I grant you that this is not the case for every single movie, but there is always some level of buzz generated from everyone waiting for the movie to begin and then when it start, the reactions to scenes. You can get this at home but nowhere near the same scale as in a cinema.
It's been a masterstroke to have invested in a cinema pass. Now I'll go watch any and all movies on the big screen, not only because I can but because despite the minor annoyances (which are sometimes non-existant), you can certaintly have a lot more fun.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Fuhen
When I was in America a few months back I was able to watch TV once or twice. It seems UK TV has taken a lot of inspiration from there. We get ad breaks scheduled every 10-15 minutes now, we have graphics pop-up moments after a show has begun telling us what's next, as well as before and after the ad break and then again when the credits roll. We also get the credits shifted to a small screen in the corner or cut to get more ads and spam for shows about to be broadcasted.
Basically it's a mass of things which just detract. I know what's coming next and if not I'll quickly bring up teletext. I also don't need an ad break every 10 minutes, especially if your show is being sponsored, surely that should mean you can ease up on the breaks.
There is one thing that I would like TV companies to take note of; the treatment of anime.
I'm sure there will be those who disagree and will say the US get a bum deal in regard to anime, however it is none existant on terrestrial TV aside from stuff like Pokemon and our choice on satellite/cable is not much better.
Once upon a time we had shows like Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Gundam Wing, Tenchi, Nadesico and Evangelion. Now we have Bedamon, Ultimate Muscle and some other random lame stuff.
The channel CNX was one of the best around, it introduced me to Cowboy Bebop (which was uncut/uncensored) and Outlaw Star as well as showing Asian cinema. Sci-Fi had Saiko Exciting, which was wacky and odd but ultimately cool as well as the late night showings of Nadesico and Eva. It showed a random old anime flick each week as well (which they increasingly relied upon).
Then the rot set in. CNX was slowly shunted by Toonami. With nothing new really being shown, Toonami slowly got more and more airtime to the point that the channel was relaunched as Toonami in the Kids section of the TV channel listings. Sci-Fi dropped their anime nights and moved good anime shows into stupid hours each day (5 or 6am).
I haven't seen any anime on the Sci-Fi listings for an age now and I've stopped checking. Toonami isn't any better, despite how it started, just happy to perpetuate the idea of anime being for kids.
If you look at the US and the equivalent, well it's quite shameful. The time slot reserved for Adult Swim shows Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and other good shows. Shows that would go a long way to catch new fans to the anime scene.
It is some consolation that Rapture is being relaunched in the coming months and they have anime on the schedule in amongst everything else. A channel that may be able the successor to CNX with more variety in shows to keep a constant audience so that it can grow and have a proper chance. Either way, I hope it goes a long way to represent the great anime that is being released and the fanbase as well as making other channels sit up and take note.
Basically it's a mass of things which just detract. I know what's coming next and if not I'll quickly bring up teletext. I also don't need an ad break every 10 minutes, especially if your show is being sponsored, surely that should mean you can ease up on the breaks.
There is one thing that I would like TV companies to take note of; the treatment of anime.
I'm sure there will be those who disagree and will say the US get a bum deal in regard to anime, however it is none existant on terrestrial TV aside from stuff like Pokemon and our choice on satellite/cable is not much better.
Once upon a time we had shows like Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Gundam Wing, Tenchi, Nadesico and Evangelion. Now we have Bedamon, Ultimate Muscle and some other random lame stuff.
The channel CNX was one of the best around, it introduced me to Cowboy Bebop (which was uncut/uncensored) and Outlaw Star as well as showing Asian cinema. Sci-Fi had Saiko Exciting, which was wacky and odd but ultimately cool as well as the late night showings of Nadesico and Eva. It showed a random old anime flick each week as well (which they increasingly relied upon).
Then the rot set in. CNX was slowly shunted by Toonami. With nothing new really being shown, Toonami slowly got more and more airtime to the point that the channel was relaunched as Toonami in the Kids section of the TV channel listings. Sci-Fi dropped their anime nights and moved good anime shows into stupid hours each day (5 or 6am).
I haven't seen any anime on the Sci-Fi listings for an age now and I've stopped checking. Toonami isn't any better, despite how it started, just happy to perpetuate the idea of anime being for kids.
If you look at the US and the equivalent, well it's quite shameful. The time slot reserved for Adult Swim shows Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and other good shows. Shows that would go a long way to catch new fans to the anime scene.
It is some consolation that Rapture is being relaunched in the coming months and they have anime on the schedule in amongst everything else. A channel that may be able the successor to CNX with more variety in shows to keep a constant audience so that it can grow and have a proper chance. Either way, I hope it goes a long way to represent the great anime that is being released and the fanbase as well as making other channels sit up and take note.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Sleepy Head
I'm not a huge fan of the Grand Theft Auto series of games but after the recent brouhaha, it does raise some important issues. Hilary Clinton waded into the whole debate by asking the FTC to look at the rating given to the game (GTA: San Andreas) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. I think that amongst other things Clinton said this is probably the only thing that had any sort of credibility.
The concern was all down to a recent mod released for the game called "Hot Coffee". Now why is it that this mod caused questioning of the rating given to the game?
In the UK, the game was given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification. The guidelines set out by the BBFC is quite certain and unambigious. Even without the guidelines, I'm sure most would agree that this is a game for adults and should be given ratings that match that assumption. This also matches the age of majority here in the UK (the age at which one is given the rights and responsibilities of an adult).
Now let's look over at the US, where this storm has raged.
Firstly, I'll concede the age of majority differs from state to state. This could make things more complex than it should be however it should not be a big thing, as I'll explain later.
The rating system for gaming is handled with the ESRB ratings which seems to be based on the MPAA ratings. It seems ambigious as to which section a game would belong. The difference between an M-rating (which the game received) and an AO-rating (Adults Only) doesn't seem as clear cut. The only difference seems to be the period of time an action lasts for.
Now the way it seems, is that regardless of age of majority, the game should have received an AO, due to the content that can be accessed using "Hot Coffee". So that would have meant an AO-rating that states that only persons of 18 or older should be allowed play as opposed to the M-rating which states persons of 17 or older should be allowed to play.
Whilst I'm not going to advocate Rockstar leaving in content that they should have removed, the whole problem could have been avoided had the US rating system been a good one or not one that tends to be a little to relaxed. Merge the ratings for M and AO, make it closer to what an 18-rating is like in the UK. That avoids most of your problems even if a little surprise comes out later on. Or move the M-rating to one that more resembles a 15 but gives enough room for AO to be used more frequently for questionable games.
Either way, the ESRB system needs to be re-evaluated. If we continue to have these types of problems, then it's only going to make the stigma attached to gaming worse. It's bad enough already with politicians and newspapers harping on about it ruining our society or turning people into mindless thugs, we don't need to compound it by making mistakes to give more ammo to the cannon.
The concern was all down to a recent mod released for the game called "Hot Coffee". Now why is it that this mod caused questioning of the rating given to the game?
In the UK, the game was given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification. The guidelines set out by the BBFC is quite certain and unambigious. Even without the guidelines, I'm sure most would agree that this is a game for adults and should be given ratings that match that assumption. This also matches the age of majority here in the UK (the age at which one is given the rights and responsibilities of an adult).
Now let's look over at the US, where this storm has raged.
Firstly, I'll concede the age of majority differs from state to state. This could make things more complex than it should be however it should not be a big thing, as I'll explain later.
The rating system for gaming is handled with the ESRB ratings which seems to be based on the MPAA ratings. It seems ambigious as to which section a game would belong. The difference between an M-rating (which the game received) and an AO-rating (Adults Only) doesn't seem as clear cut. The only difference seems to be the period of time an action lasts for.
Now the way it seems, is that regardless of age of majority, the game should have received an AO, due to the content that can be accessed using "Hot Coffee". So that would have meant an AO-rating that states that only persons of 18 or older should be allowed play as opposed to the M-rating which states persons of 17 or older should be allowed to play.
Whilst I'm not going to advocate Rockstar leaving in content that they should have removed, the whole problem could have been avoided had the US rating system been a good one or not one that tends to be a little to relaxed. Merge the ratings for M and AO, make it closer to what an 18-rating is like in the UK. That avoids most of your problems even if a little surprise comes out later on. Or move the M-rating to one that more resembles a 15 but gives enough room for AO to be used more frequently for questionable games.
Either way, the ESRB system needs to be re-evaluated. If we continue to have these types of problems, then it's only going to make the stigma attached to gaming worse. It's bad enough already with politicians and newspapers harping on about it ruining our society or turning people into mindless thugs, we don't need to compound it by making mistakes to give more ammo to the cannon.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Three days later...
I'm going to make a post similar to my last.
Hiroshima has had lots of press but let us not forget Nagasaki either.
Nagasaki suffered an equally tragic fate and we should take a moment to remember again.
Let us forget the controvesy and blame, we cannot change that. Instead let us focus on the lessons we should learn.
Hiroshima has had lots of press but let us not forget Nagasaki either.
Nagasaki suffered an equally tragic fate and we should take a moment to remember again.
Let us forget the controvesy and blame, we cannot change that. Instead let us focus on the lessons we should learn.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Lest we forget
As I begin to write this piece it is a little past the time of one of the gravest moments in our history.
At 08:15 on the 6th August 1945, Hiroshima witnessed a destructive power the likes of which had never been seen before. Three days later Nagasaki would be witness to the horror.
President Truman wrote about the atomic bomb in his diary:
My concern is did we actually learn lessons from the events? And if so, do we still remember?
With all the advances in technology we have had, our destructive power has grown, the world is compact yet there is conflict around. Reading the accounts of the Hibakusha (survivors of the bombings) and then seeing the reality, the difference is astounding. They have seen the effects, they lived through what went on and see the futility yet day in and day out we have some sort of war ongoing.
In school we are taught about the events but I'm not sure the actual impact of it is conveyed. It was not until I decided to read more about the events leading upto the marking of the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII that I learnt about the harrowing events and the extent of damage. More should be made to record the experiences and show them to people that this is what happened. In Japan, survivors go out and talk in schools and speak of what it was like (2). This is not something that should be confined to Japan, every person in every nation should be educated in this manner, so that they can learn and build towards a better future for all.
At the start I had a quote from Truman and his comparison of the bombs to biblical proportions and we have hibakusha talk of it being like a living hell.
The lessons we should learn/have learnt from Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not that we should never use atomic bombs again, it's that we should not take any arms up against others. As long as we do, then we've not learnt anything.
1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4724793.stm
2 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4735163.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/4729407.stm
At 08:15 on the 6th August 1945, Hiroshima witnessed a destructive power the likes of which had never been seen before. Three days later Nagasaki would be witness to the horror.
President Truman wrote about the atomic bomb in his diary:
"We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark." (1)Many things have been written concerning whose fault it was, the necessity of dropping the bombs and criticism aimed at various parties for not trying harder with other methods and it'll be a debate that will rage on.
My concern is did we actually learn lessons from the events? And if so, do we still remember?
With all the advances in technology we have had, our destructive power has grown, the world is compact yet there is conflict around. Reading the accounts of the Hibakusha (survivors of the bombings) and then seeing the reality, the difference is astounding. They have seen the effects, they lived through what went on and see the futility yet day in and day out we have some sort of war ongoing.
In school we are taught about the events but I'm not sure the actual impact of it is conveyed. It was not until I decided to read more about the events leading upto the marking of the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII that I learnt about the harrowing events and the extent of damage. More should be made to record the experiences and show them to people that this is what happened. In Japan, survivors go out and talk in schools and speak of what it was like (2). This is not something that should be confined to Japan, every person in every nation should be educated in this manner, so that they can learn and build towards a better future for all.
At the start I had a quote from Truman and his comparison of the bombs to biblical proportions and we have hibakusha talk of it being like a living hell.
The lessons we should learn/have learnt from Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not that we should never use atomic bombs again, it's that we should not take any arms up against others. As long as we do, then we've not learnt anything.
1 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4724793.stm
2 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4735163.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/4729407.stm
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