Dark_Respite

[ QUOTE ]
Actually, you'd both be right. Multiple pronunciations ftt! (for the tie )

Now to actually watch the video!

[/ QUOTE ]



Have fun watching it...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*cracks her knuckles*

And once again, the intrepid videographer will rise to the call. Any particular footage you'd like shot? And if so, where would you like it displayed (and in what format)?

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

So far, so interesting!

Word of advice re: formatting - before putting it in here, paste your story into Wordpad to lose all the Microsoft code. That tends to work for me.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

You're welcome... I just hope folks actually get something out of all of it.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[ QUOTE ]
You pronounced your name wrong, "Respite" is pronounced "ree spite."

Wow, she really does talk fast! I'm just a Kansas boy, how'm I s'posed to follow these city slicker speak!

Referenced Time to Start video on YouTube. (The original Blue Man version is out there, too, but I'm too lazy to hunt it down now.)

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.yourdictionary.com/respite

Think again... I is an English major. It is not pronounced to rhyme with "despite". So I am saying it right.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I couldn't find it (and I was busy last night uploading the HeroCon 2008 panel I did onto my YouTube channel)... however, I was only looking on MY computer. It may be saved on JOHN'S computer.

(Also, I don't always use a consistent naming convention for my demofiles, so I have to open all the ones I think it might be and search the text files for the GM.)

*has the bright idea of copying all the likely files onto her jump drive and searching them while on lunch break at work*

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[ QUOTE ]
<QR>

Did anyone else notice LightHouse left just as another Rikti invasion started? Coincidence? I *think* NOT!

LH is returning to the Rikti homeworld. The invasion is a ploy to distract attention from the necessary travel channel used to get LH back home.

RagManX

[/ QUOTE ]

And when he returns, it will not be as "Lighthouse," but as "The O Hi Slug."

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you can now watch me making a fool of myself at HeroCon 2008, doing my presentation of "Making Movies in CITY OF HEROES"!

For those who want it as one long file, you can get it from the Videos page off the SAMURAIKO PRODUCTIONS website, as usual.

For those who want to watch it on YouTube, the presentation is broken into six parts:

Part I: Introduction
Part II: How'd She Do That?
Part III: The Art of Demoediting
Part IV: Putting It All Together
Part V: Wrapping Things Up
Part VI: Last Minute Stuff

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Hmmmm...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

*******

Status Reports
Star Strider Force
Name: Agent Andrea Blake
Global Contact: @Samuraiko
Reporting on Assignment: Rikti Incursion, Atlas Park 11/16/08
Level of Alien Threat [High][Medium][low]: Medium

Report Details:

You'd think the Rikti would have learned by now... but no. They keep trying, and we keep pushing them back. Maybe they think it'd be demoralizing to kill as many inexperienced heroes as possible, to cut down our forces and keep us from strengthening our side. But whatever the reason, their most recent assault in Atlas Park was unsuccessful.

This is not to say our side did not face losses. Every few moments, I would hear the all-too-familiar sound of the Emergency Medical Teleport System transporting one of my comrades to the hospital for emergency treatment. And in other cases, it was necessary to employ my talents to bring them back to life. But we did not yield. We will not yield.

No matter what.

Analysis of Current Situation:

The randomness of the Rikti encounters seems to indicate either a softening up process, or a testing of our readiness. One day, we might have several invasions in quick succession, with the Rikti hitting multiple zones at once. Another day, it might be hours between attacks. I've been told by other Star Patrol agents in the field that of every zone in the city, the Rikti tend to hit Talos Island the hardest. One would think that Peregrine Island, with its Portal tech, would be their preferred battleground, but no.

And they're hitting harder, too - it used to be that they would hold back their trump cards, those damn Heavy Assault Suits, until it became necessary to turn the tide of battle in their favour. Now it's become an opening gambit to have them teleport in and rain death down on us. I've also even seen them start diverting their dropships' flight paths to overfly us, which has proven to be deadly when fighting from the high ground in some place like Talos or Kings Row.

Suggestion of Action:

I've spoken to Agent Sorina Tavarisch (our group's resident expert on the Rikti, as well as our liaison to Vanguard), and while she's also at a loss on how to stop them coming in, she has issued standing orders to all Star Patrol agents to capture whatever Rikti tech we can and turn it over to Vanguard for study. She hopes that with Gaussian's help, Vanguard can find a way to turn the Rikti's technology against them. (Of course, she's more than a little cynical about the fact that Crey will certainly try to get their hands on it.)

Tavarisch is also trying to coordinate with technology experts from other registered SuperGroups to find a way to crack the Rikti computer programming. She hopes to eventually find a way to jam their communication signals. If we can sever their communications links, we might be able to stop them from summoning reinforcements mid-combat.

This won't be without risk, though - the Rikti aren't going to give up their secrets so easily... and I wonder how many more lives must be lost before we find a way to bring this bloody stalemate to an end.

Agent Andrea Blake, Leader, Star Patrol

I should. When I get home from work, I will see.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[ QUOTE ]
Wow nice Start

Any of you(S2,DarkS) have any words for a person who can never get more then 10 lines before writers block.

Signed: NogardT

[/ QUOTE ]

I actually have a document file with 999 writer's prompts - various and sundry phrases to help start me thinking.

But what KEEPS me writing?

If I hit a pause point, I ask "why?" about something in the story. (For example, "why is Tava sad when she talks about Vanguard?" or "why would Posi care that Tava lied?" or "why does Synapse want to see Posi get involved with a woman?") Explaining gets things moving again.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Nope, I just happened to be in the section reviewing something else and I saw your story pop up. Would you rather I'd waited?

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Definitely a good start. A really good start, actually. I think my only nitpick is grammatical, but I used to be an editor, so I'm a bit more sensitive to that kind of thing.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[ QUOTE ]
You couldn't have sent this in a PM to Lighthouse? Classy.

[/ QUOTE ]

To be fair, I'm not entirely certain he has access to PMs anymore, or at the very least to his work email address.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Best of luck, LH. Clear skies and safe landings wherever you end up.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Name: Agent Tavarisch
Global Contact: @Samuraiko
Level of Classification: 50
Origin: Technology
Super Rank & Super Group: Commander, Star Patrol

Name: Agent Blake
Global Contact: @Samuraiko
Level of Classification: 32
Origin: Science
Super Rank & Super Group: Leader, Star Patrol

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I'm hardly the last word on videos, but here's my take:

1) VERY cool song - to improve your hits to your video, list the song's title and artist both in your YouTube and tags (folks like me enjoy knowing who some of that cool music belongs to)

2) you've got the foundation for a very good video as far as a character tale goes, but you do need a) a lot more camera movement, b) a lot more shot variations, and c) more of a 'storyline'. Your character may be an assassin martial artist, but he's got to live somehow - you might show more about he makes his living on the streets, dealing with contacts, fighting others, watching people go by, that sort of thing. If you want to show him 'alone' (as you appear to be doing when he's doing kata in the base), have him leaning on a wall or sitting on the stairs in an alleyway, or crouching in different locations, not just that one shot of him backlit by the moon.

3) Your end credits font needs to be bigger - on YouTube they are SMALL!

4) Practice camera sweeps - yours (like everyone else who starts out) tend to be very jerky. Best place to practice - Atlas Park and Fort Darwin. You're high enough level you can pound on stuff without thinking, and you can focus more on how to swing the camera around or do zooms. It takes a while, but you'll get much better at it, and it pays off in the end.

5) Also more of a 'cinematography' thing - careful when doing closeups - you tend to get a lot of 'empty' space behind you, which detracts from your character. (You'd have to learn how to edit democode to drop the camera during your static shots, but it might be worth your time.)

6) Don't use Windows Movie Maker. UGH. If you've got access to Adobe Premiere (or Sony Vegas), use it. WMM sucks, especially once you start making longer videos with bigger files.

Don't get disheartened by all this - everything that's here is how you can improve. If there were no hope for you, I'd say so. (And trust me, I've seen BAD videos.) Keep at it, and don't forget to put your links in the Fan Videos thread so others can see.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Very spiffy!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Another awesome piece from HPS.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

"I'm sick of being on this aircraft carrier. Next time, you guys are gonna be on this aircraft carrier. I've been on this aircraft carrier for almost five years."

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[ QUOTE ]
Random question: Was the Midnighter Club map mouseovers fixed? Because when you enter the room with three doors, you can't tell which door goes to which zone exit/entrance.

With Mercedes Sheldon being specifically in the Steel Canyon side, knowing which door without having to try them all would be a good thing to have fixed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Easiest way to do that, if someone else hasn't already responded, is to click on her from your list of contacts so she shows up in your map/target. Then when you enter the door chamber, the correct door has the "48yds" marker next to it.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Re: using copyrighted material - there are some artists that don't really care (or can't be bothered to chase down every infraction), and others that DO (for example, Evanescence had EVERY video using one of their songs pulled from the animemusicvideos.org website). If Nightwish is one of the latter, then you're SOL apart from hosting it on your own server. Of course, should you receive a cease-and-desist notification, you'd still have to take it down.

Speaking ONLY for myself here, whenever I post a video up on YouTube, I always include the band's name in my video description and in the tags, I always put the band's name and title of the song in my end credits, and I always put the following disclaimer at the end of the description:

"ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS."

So far, so good.

That may not be enough for Facebook and MySpace - I don't know, I don't have accounts with either one.

You could TRY and contact Nightwish's agent to see if you can get permission to use the song - stranger things have happened. I contacted the band This Morn'Omina to ask permission to use some of their music in my videos, and was given permission so long as I a) credited the song and band in my end credits, and b) put a link to their website on either my site or the YouTube page with the video. (I haven't made it yet, but I will be.)

So what the hell, give it a shot and ask them - at this rate, you have nothing to lose.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[ QUOTE ]
First batch: Tava, Dewgirl, Ninja Bee, and Reverse Turkey

Sorry about the lack of costume on Dewgirl, that was Felicia's idea, I was gonna draw her in her original outfit

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you so much, I love it!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

It is Nightwish - the song is "The Poet and the Pendulum" off their newest CD, if memory serves.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Woot! I'll take one! Gimme a sec to get screenshots and bio.

Okay, screenshots at http://www.zazaza.net/cohuploads/TavaFullBodyFront.jpg and http://www.zazaza.net/cohuploads/TavaCloseUp.jpg

Bio...

"Theoretical physicist and gadgeteer, Sorina "Tava" Tavarisch is one of the new generation of scientists and superheroes taking part in the cooperative efforts of the United States and Russia. (Her older brother, Stefan, currently serves as Molotov Svobody, aka Freedom's Hammer, one of the Valiant Defenders, based in Moscow.) After Vanguard was formed, Sorina joined when she proved talented at field-adapting Rikti technology. Later, when the Freedom Corps branch known as Star Patrol was formed, she was recruited by Agent Joelle Wright to further their mission as a more 'hands-on' division.

Sorina serves as a Commander in the Star Patrol, and is their Vanguard liaison. As she is bilingual in English and Russian (with what she jokingly calls 'a minor in Rikti'), the others tease her by alling her "Comrade" instead of "Agent," as her name (Tavarisch) closely resembles the Russian word "tovarich" (comrade).

Sorina is currently seeing Dr. Raymond Keyes, aka Positron."

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite