HOLIDAYS ARE COMING...

Off on holiday today to the mighty Cornwall. We're steaming along in our app development. We've bought books and come up with a shed-load of ideas - admittedly most of them have already been done alredy - but it's going well so far...

AND THEY'RE OFF...

So my iPhone development journey has begun.

Or it would be more true to say OUR iPhone journey has begun. I have secured a partner in good friend Paul Hurst (blog, twitter, flickr). Paul is like me in that he has a desire to develop for the iPhone and has absolutely no knowledge of how to do it. Magic.

Can two guys who don't know, get to the stage where they do know, and produce something interesting in the process? We shall see. It sure is going to be fun finding out anyway.

I'll keep you updated and, if we're successful, I'll be doing some tutorials because iPhone development tutorials are noticeably lacking.

In case you're thinking this is completely ludicrous (which maybe it kinda is), I DO have one thing going for me. I've managed to do this kind of stuff before. I've managed to learn Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and others to do what I do now. And while I wouldn't say I'm a master I think I'm doing ok considering.

Check out some of my vids at www.youtube.com/todayscctv

I'll keep y'all posted.

ONES TO WATCH-part one

Wondering what's coming up in the world of moviedom over the next 12 months? Well, here's a list of films to look out for:

DISTRICT 9

Aliens have landed on earth! But this isn't the usual sci-fi guns-blazing film you'd expect. These aliens are refugees, forced to live in slum-like conditions, and controlled by the shady organisation MNU. Set in South Africa, which heightens the sense of apartheid the movie engenders, and directed by new-comer Neill Blomkamp this promises to be a gritty and conflicted film.

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 04 September

THE INVENTION OF LYING

Gervais' conquest of the U.S. continues with his second movie. Set in a world where everyone tells the truth, Mark (Gervais) realises he can actually lie giving him untold power. Also starring Jennifer Garner and Rob Lowe.

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 02 October

SHUTTER ISLAND

The latest offering from Scorsese and his muse DiCaprio and a definite break from his modus operandi. Shutter Island is a maximum security mental institution in which DiCaprio and his partner (Mark Ruffalo) discover a secret.

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 09 October

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Seems to be the only animated Christmas film this year. Jim Carey takes the lead role as scrooge in what looks to be a visually appealing epic. Plus it's got Gary Oldman and Bob Hoskins in it. What's not to like?

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 06 November

2012

The latest offering from Roland Emmerich (Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day) isn't about the London Olympics! No, it's about the end of the world. Which will apparently happen in 2012. Hopefully after the olympics.

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 13 November

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

This animated retelling of a Roald Dahl classic features hand-made stop-motion techniques and a raft of star voices including: George Clooney, Billy Murray, Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and even Jarvis Cocker!

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 23 October

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS

The last film of the late Heath Ledger. He died half-way through, but his role was recast and the rest of his scenes were filmed by Johnny Deep, Jude Law and Colin Farrell in honour to him.

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 16 October

NINJA ASSASSIN

Awesome weapons. Awesome fight scenes. Lots of blood and explosions. Nuff said. Watch the trailer.

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 27 November

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Seems to be the year for gangster director's chaning lanes. Guy Ritchie's re-imagining of the Gentleman Detective sees Robert Downey Jr take the lead with Jude Law as faithful friend Watson. This looks to be the big hit of 2009.

TRAILER | SITE | UK RELEASE: 26 December

That's it for now folks.

Check back for part 2 soon and I'll let you know some of the biggies for 2010.

iPHONE APP

I have decided to learn how to program an iPhone app. Not something too intense like a game or anything. It won't be easy as I have very little programming knowledge (and NO knowledge of the languages iPhone uses).

Why am I doing then? Put simply, because it's cool.

I know, I know. That's not a good enough reason to do anything. And, if I'm honest, there's more to it than that. I love learning and challenging myself to do new things, and I can think of a few ways I could use this.

But the main reason is it's cool.

So, I'm going to be scouring the internet for tutorials, templates, tips and any other help I can procure to get me on the road. I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of mistakes, tears and tantrums. AND to be honest, there may not even by an app at the end.

But it's worth a shot.

So, I shall keep you posted with my progress and foibles as I get along.

Any links or help will be greatly appreciated.

Any ideas what the app could be?

ORIGINS

Very Cool illustration of how the alphabet we know today developed from an early eastern alphabet. When you consider the times we live in, with acts of atrocity, illegal wars and terrorist attacks, it all seems ridiculous when we look at it through the eyes of history.

We're all more connected than we think.

HILLSONG WEEK!

Wow! I was greeted today on the apple homepage by a great surprise. YES! Flight of the Conchords! But also a big emblem declaring Hillsong Week! How awesome is that?

It's great to see a church making waves in the music industry. Hillsong's new album Faith + Hope + Love currently stands at Number 2 in the iTunes album chart. What a massive achievement. For those of us that have been around long enough, we always hoped that some Christian Band would really break in to the industry. And many have (stateside at least). But this is a CHURCH! Doing a WORSHIP album. If we're honest I don't think any of us dared dream about that.

For those of you who say I'm getting carried away, don't worry. I still remember the days when we pinned all our hopes on delirious? who would consistently get in the charts for a week, (because every christian went out and bought it,) and then fall like a lead balloon the next week. It was criminal. Not just because of what we wanted, but because they were genuinely a great band. This may yet be, in practice, a similar event.

But, it could also be the beginnings of something new. Keep in mind, Hillsong United achieved the same position earlier this year. And both teams/bands achieve high chart positions in Australia regularly. Whatever you may think, it's a massive achievement. Credit must be given to an amazing team and an amazing church.

And the glory must be given to God. Without him it wouldn't happen. And it wouldn't matter.

QUOTE...

"No man is rich enough to buy back his past."

Oscar Wilde

WRITING...

Need to get back into writing. Have not done it for such a long time.

It is so easy to forget to do something when it is purely recreational.

Here's a genius:

Warning: Explicit language

LOOKING FOR LYNDA

Recently, I signed up to www.lynda.com to access some training in Final Cut Studio.

There are many good free tutorials out there, but sometimes you need something that goes a bit more in-depth and has a good structure. And that means paying for it.

Now, as a member, I've just received an email saying they are giving away tutorials for Final Cut Studio 3 away free to everyone.

What irony.

It is only an overview AND it is obviously only for Final Cut Studio 3, but it should give you a good handle on the tools and power of any version of the studio. Either way, it's free so it's definitely worth a look.

Quote...

The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.

Robert Bloch

AFTER EFFECTS TUTORIALS

PART ONE
I am an avid After Effects user. I've been using it for about a year now and I've found it to be a truly amazing and innovative program. I'm getting better everyday and I thought I'd share some of the tutorials that have got me to the stage I'm at now. These tutorials are only use the default plugins that come with after effects because that's all I have. The ones I've put here aren't about teaching you, bit by bit, how to do a cool effect. They're about teaching you techniques so you can generate your own.

So here goes:

1 - VideoCopilot Basic Training

Hosted by Andrew Kramer from videocopilot.net, this is a fantastic introduction to the main components of AE.

2 - VideoCopilot Set Extension

Staying with VideoCopilot this is a great tutorial for using motion-tracking and null objects in a real-world project.

3 - VideoCopilot 3D Stroke

One more from Kramer. This shows you the basics of creating a 3D environment, using depth of field, and, most importantly, gives you an expression for more control of CC Particle World.

4 - The MoGraph Blog - Mastering The Render Queue

Not the most exciting tutorial but, sooner or later, this will be one of the most helpful tutorials you will ever come across.

5 - Graymachine - Reverse Shatter

Great tutorial which shows a neat trick with illustrator and also, more importantly, a quick lesson in how illustrator and after effects combine.

6 - GreyScaleGorilla - How To Use Simple Shapes and Masks to Create an Entire Animation

Not the snappiest title I've ever come across. But if you're looking for a tutorial that demonstrates how a simple idea can really work, this is it.

Well, I think we'll leave it at 6 for now. I hope you find these tutorials as helpful as I have. Check around these sites for more great stuff too.

I'll have another couple of great tutorials coming your way soon!

QUOTE...

Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable. Let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.

Douglas Adams.

Humour is like creativity, in that it takes 2 previously disparate entities and fuses them together in a new and interesting way.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-DULL HINTS

WARNING: SPOLIERS

After a huge build-up and an extended wait, I finally got to see the sixth installment of the Harry Potter film franchise last night. As expected the cinema was packed and, as we arrived at 7:25 for a 7:30 showing, my wife and I were sat pretty near the front. We had a good view though, and we were at the end of a row so we didn't feel like we were watching a game of tennis during scenes with more than one person in. And so, with great anticipation, horrible popcorn, and 6 days of trailers I sat with great anticipation (I say I because my wife really only came for me. She's a fantastic wife, I know). 3 hours later I left the cinema with a wonderfully consuming feeling of... hmmm.

This isn't a bad film. Far from it. It is visually stunning. Well scripted, with a good balance between dark and funny. It has the most mature performances from the cast to date. And it's definitely the funniest film so far (and special mention must be made of Rupert Grint whose comic delivery was superb).

But saying all that, it was still a very subdued movie.

Don't get me wrong, I knew this would be a subdued film as, for the most part, it is a subdued book. It is, essentially, a Voldemort background story, and a setup for the big finale of Deathly Hallows.

However, in the book, you are rewarded for all your patience with an explosive ending, leaving you shocked, horrified, depressed, elated, satisfied and begging for more. In the last 100 or so pages we get Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Malfoy's internal battle, a ferocious battle between the Death Eaters and The Order and the biggest shock of all (which I'll not mention here). It's intense drama and action that leaves you stunned.

While the film has all the same stuff, it is delivered with all the passion and drama of over-cooked pasta. It still fills a hole but it's a bit wet and soft.

But, like the book, this is prequel to a larger event in Deathly Hallows 1 & 2. So perhaps all the atmosphere was meant to induce a sense of foreboding and hint at something bigger. All it produced was a sense of foreboredom.

Sill, it was alright.