Bandit Website
I've been at Boomerang for two weeks now and am really enjoying working here. Everybody's been really friendly and I've had some exciting projects to work on. At the moment I'm mainly working on the Bandit website www.bandit247.com. The new series started last Thursday, so I've been busy editing and encoding video clips from the programme for the site. It's been hard work getting them all finished in time, but I'm really pleased with the results. For this week's videos I exported the video straight from Avid Xpress to Flash Video Format (FLV). This worked well and the quality looks really good for the web. Previously I'd been exporting to Quick Time Format and then FLV so the video had been compressed twice and was a bit more pixelated.
I've also been working on updating other areas of the bandit site. I'm currently working on a new, larger layout and some brand new site areas which should be ready soon.
Working at BoomerangI started my three month work placement with Boomerang on Monday. The timing was great as I was lucky enough to spend the first two days on a camera course, learning how to use the Sony Z1. It was a great to refresh my knowledge on how to operate a DV camera, and also an opportunity to learn about HDV; high definition footage captured on a standard DV format cassette. It also shoots in true 16x9 widescreen, unlike the Sony PD150 I had used previously.
It was the first time I had shot anything in high definition before, and it made me realise how critical it is that you get the focus spot on. Often what looked sharp on the camera's LCD, was out of focus on screen. I really enjoyed the training and am hoping I'll get an opportunity to put the knowledge to the test by shooting some footage for the Bandit website.
Ffi Ffi a'i Ffindiau
S4C have put the Ffi Ffi game Mei and me developed up on their website. It's a delivery game designed to introduce the characters of the tv programme whilst developing children's keyboard and memory skills. We had a lot of fun designing the game and I'm really pleased S4C have used it on their site.
Last Post from KLI can't believe we have to go home tomorrow. Our time here has passed all too quickly and I feel like there is still so much I would like to see and do, we haven't even had a chance to go up the Petronas Towers.
I have managed to pack a lot into our short time here though. Last weekend we went to Penang, an island off the north-west coast of Malaysia. We stayed at the Holiday Inn at Batu Ferringhi. It was great to get some fresh air by the sea and the beach was lovely although the sea was full of jellyfish so I didn't venture in. After a relaxing Saturday we visited some Buddhist Temples on Sunday in Georgetown and went up the train to the top of Penang Hill for a view of the island.
Yesterday was our last day at Lim Kok Wing and we managed to get the motion graphics for our documentary finished. I'm really pleased with them. I designed some 3D goggles using 3D studio max and integrated them with photos of our characters in Photoshop. Mei designed and animated a 3D biplane for the characatures of us to travel on. Ian and Sioned worked on the motion graphics using After Effects using some great celtic and batik textures for titles and transitions. I sat in on an After Effects class yesterday and produced a kaleidoscopic motion graphic sequence. Eugene was a great teacher and I was really happy with what I managed to achieve in such a short space of time.
Today is our last day with MYGO. We haven't had enough time to completely finish our SMS-TV Flash game, but MYGO are keen to complete the project themselves so it can be taken live. It would be fantastic if it does get broadcast on Malaysian TV. We had altered the game a bit last week. Originally we were going to have an animated host presenting the game, but decided to integrate video instead. I spent Friday filming Sioned and edited the footage on Monday into small clips of stock phrases used in the game. It was great fun and looked good integrated with the Flash game graphics.
I have had an incredible experience here in Malaysia. Everyone we have met has been friendly and welcoming, especially Eugene Foo who has taken us out for some great meals and helped us finish our motion graphic sequence on time. I'm going to miss the hot climate, lovely food and shopping at the chinese markets. I've learnt a lot from my experience here, both culturally and about the creative industries over here and I'm looking forward to bringing some new ideas back to Wales. It would be great if the contacts I have made here lead to future collaborations, especially if it involves another trip over here sometime soon.
