Digital video
A few years ago I took a digital video class in college. I really liked the idea of recording and editing video but ran across a few problems. First problem was a few years ago, computers didn't have the performance to edit video that easily. Well, they could if you bought a very high performance computer but for me, my gaming pc still didn't have the power to edit anything at the time. Needless to say, I lost interest in video and ventured further with photography.
Now a few years later, I brought out my video camera again for some video projects with my friend Jeremy and making a few bike videos. With the new hard ware and faster processors, editing videos is much easier than before. Now I'm interested again with video to use in addition to photography.
Writing a script
I had a few ideas for a short movie but really don't know how to put it down on paper. After a while of researching on the Internet I found a few good resources about filming and writing scripts. Not sure just how far I could take my movie idea but it's small enough where a few friends could complete it and can budget for all of the funding myself.
Good script writing info
Screenwriting FAQ from DVXUser.com
Final Draft script software
Standards for scripts
Of course, the script writing is only the beginning. There's a movie to be made as well.
Rob
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Helicopters
There is a local rc flying field in my area that I used to visit years ago. I haven't been there in a long time but I was always interested in watching the helicopters fly around. Unlike a plane they move like dragonfly, up and down, every direction possible. While I wanted to fly one, they were very expensive and hard to fly without crashing.
Recently there has been a rush of flying simulators, basically they are like a flying video game but with more details. At many hobby shops they have a demo of this flying simulator running with a controller. It's a lot of fun to fly the plane without the worry of crashing. It really makes a great chance to gain skills in a virtual world.
While flying around the helicopter in the flying simulator I was interested just how different it was from flying a plane or driving a rc car. I started to check pricing for a rc helicopter but really didn't want to spend a lot of money, and didn't want something very hard to fly.
Based upon these requirement a dual rotor electronic helicopter would be the best choice. With a dual rotor, the helicopter is much easier to fly and stable, also with the small size you can fly this in doors. Hopefully with the lighter weight, it means less to break is you crash but not sure about this.
While I haven't bought one I'm considering the E-Flight Blade CX2 ready to fly kit.
Review of the E-Flight Blade CX2
BMX History
One of the most interesting BMX related web sites I've found is VintageBMX, a visual history of BMX bikes and images. It's a vast collection of BMX bikes from the begging to the present day. If you ever ridden BMX in the past, you could spend a few minutes just finding your favorite old rides.
My dream bike
Speaking of vintage BMX bikes. When I was younger I only had a handful of bikes, a Huffy "Stingray" style bike, then a hand me down Mongoose complete with Motomags, a Open Road that was surprising nice even with 4130 frame, then my last ridden bike, a S&M Challenger. While out of all of the bikes, I ridden the Open Road the most. I used to ride 30 miles a day or more, and this was on a little single speed bike.
Of course I always wanted a better bike and there was one bike that really caught my eye. It was the late 1980's Haro Master. This bike at the time was the high tech freestyle machine. Basically if you couldn't do a trick on this bike, it wasn't the bike's fault.
I really remember this exact bike in this green color because there was a guy down my street who owned one. Now this wasn't a big deal, I've ridden with people who had nice bikes before but this was different. Each time I would ride to my friends house I would pass the guy's house, with the garage open each time. And each time the Haro would be sitting there in the garage unused.
Now it's one thing if your a collector but if your young and just letting a top of the line bike sit and collect dust in your garage, it's another. Each time I rode by I kept thinking how I was riding my cheap bike so much more and how I would appreciate a nice bike like that. Also I kept wondering if the bike meant anything to the guy, if he didn't even like riding at all? Why buy something so expensive if you never actually ride it?
As time went one, I experienced this over and over, either with cars, motorcycles or anything else of high value. Some people just buy the most expensive item but really don't use it to the full value, or they just never had interest. While others make due with what they are given and use it to the full amount. It's something to consider when you think your car isn't nice enough or your house is so small. There are many others who love a car instead of walking or a place to sleep at night. Be thankful for what you have.
There is a local rc flying field in my area that I used to visit years ago. I haven't been there in a long time but I was always interested in watching the helicopters fly around. Unlike a plane they move like dragonfly, up and down, every direction possible. While I wanted to fly one, they were very expensive and hard to fly without crashing.
Recently there has been a rush of flying simulators, basically they are like a flying video game but with more details. At many hobby shops they have a demo of this flying simulator running with a controller. It's a lot of fun to fly the plane without the worry of crashing. It really makes a great chance to gain skills in a virtual world.
While flying around the helicopter in the flying simulator I was interested just how different it was from flying a plane or driving a rc car. I started to check pricing for a rc helicopter but really didn't want to spend a lot of money, and didn't want something very hard to fly.
Based upon these requirement a dual rotor electronic helicopter would be the best choice. With a dual rotor, the helicopter is much easier to fly and stable, also with the small size you can fly this in doors. Hopefully with the lighter weight, it means less to break is you crash but not sure about this.
While I haven't bought one I'm considering the E-Flight Blade CX2 ready to fly kit.
Review of the E-Flight Blade CX2
BMX History
One of the most interesting BMX related web sites I've found is VintageBMX, a visual history of BMX bikes and images. It's a vast collection of BMX bikes from the begging to the present day. If you ever ridden BMX in the past, you could spend a few minutes just finding your favorite old rides.
My dream bike
Speaking of vintage BMX bikes. When I was younger I only had a handful of bikes, a Huffy "Stingray" style bike, then a hand me down Mongoose complete with Motomags, a Open Road that was surprising nice even with 4130 frame, then my last ridden bike, a S&M Challenger. While out of all of the bikes, I ridden the Open Road the most. I used to ride 30 miles a day or more, and this was on a little single speed bike.
Of course I always wanted a better bike and there was one bike that really caught my eye. It was the late 1980's Haro Master. This bike at the time was the high tech freestyle machine. Basically if you couldn't do a trick on this bike, it wasn't the bike's fault.
I really remember this exact bike in this green color because there was a guy down my street who owned one. Now this wasn't a big deal, I've ridden with people who had nice bikes before but this was different. Each time I would ride to my friends house I would pass the guy's house, with the garage open each time. And each time the Haro would be sitting there in the garage unused.
Now it's one thing if your a collector but if your young and just letting a top of the line bike sit and collect dust in your garage, it's another. Each time I rode by I kept thinking how I was riding my cheap bike so much more and how I would appreciate a nice bike like that. Also I kept wondering if the bike meant anything to the guy, if he didn't even like riding at all? Why buy something so expensive if you never actually ride it?
As time went one, I experienced this over and over, either with cars, motorcycles or anything else of high value. Some people just buy the most expensive item but really don't use it to the full value, or they just never had interest. While others make due with what they are given and use it to the full amount. It's something to consider when you think your car isn't nice enough or your house is so small. There are many others who love a car instead of walking or a place to sleep at night. Be thankful for what you have.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Haven't updated the blog in a while, I was working on my final projects for school and finally graduated. While relaxing I ended up breaking my collar bone while riding at a bmx park. Actually crashed on a small dirt jump but slammed into the next jump, causing the break.
My crash and an update
It looks painful but I was lucky and it was more of a shock than anything. The first week was tough, just sleeping was hard but now it's more annoying wearing the sling. Hopefully I get healed up quick and back to normal status.
BMX history
I've been a fan of BMX bikes for a while. They were my first bike and did lots of riding when I was younger. I stopped riding around 1996 when it was harder and harder to find places to ride. Also I didn't know anyone who rode then, just myself, everyone was doing the car thing or just not interested in bikes.
So recently I been riding my mountain bike and found a few friends who started a street ride. I got to ride around San Jose, like we used to do when I was younger with my friends. Nothing much but riding around and having fun. Here's a short video I made of the ride.
After this ride, we ended up going to Pleasanton BMX park for the next ride. This was a lot of fun but I did more filming than actual riding. Here's another video of Pleasanton.
RC cars
Since I need to get some rest I bought a remote control truck. It's a Team Losi LST2, a nitro gas powered truck. It's really big 1/8 scale and tough but I have some issues with the truck starting. With nitro engines it's very picky on the jetting of the gas and other issues. So after a few hours of wondering why it won't start I found out that from the factory it's set incorrectly.
Finally I got it started but now it won't hold an idle. Researching on the Internet this seems like a common problem with nitro cars and basic learning experience. Hopefully I can get the truck running this weekend.
RAD the movie
If you never seen RAD it's a classic bmx movie from the 80's. Nothing is really special about this film but it's the bmx version of Thrashin that was a film all amount skateboarding. Recently I found the full version on the Internet and it's fun to rewatch the movie.
My crash and an update
It looks painful but I was lucky and it was more of a shock than anything. The first week was tough, just sleeping was hard but now it's more annoying wearing the sling. Hopefully I get healed up quick and back to normal status.
BMX history
I've been a fan of BMX bikes for a while. They were my first bike and did lots of riding when I was younger. I stopped riding around 1996 when it was harder and harder to find places to ride. Also I didn't know anyone who rode then, just myself, everyone was doing the car thing or just not interested in bikes.
So recently I been riding my mountain bike and found a few friends who started a street ride. I got to ride around San Jose, like we used to do when I was younger with my friends. Nothing much but riding around and having fun. Here's a short video I made of the ride.
After this ride, we ended up going to Pleasanton BMX park for the next ride. This was a lot of fun but I did more filming than actual riding. Here's another video of Pleasanton.
RC cars
Since I need to get some rest I bought a remote control truck. It's a Team Losi LST2, a nitro gas powered truck. It's really big 1/8 scale and tough but I have some issues with the truck starting. With nitro engines it's very picky on the jetting of the gas and other issues. So after a few hours of wondering why it won't start I found out that from the factory it's set incorrectly.
Finally I got it started but now it won't hold an idle. Researching on the Internet this seems like a common problem with nitro cars and basic learning experience. Hopefully I can get the truck running this weekend.
RAD the movie
If you never seen RAD it's a classic bmx movie from the 80's. Nothing is really special about this film but it's the bmx version of Thrashin that was a film all amount skateboarding. Recently I found the full version on the Internet and it's fun to rewatch the movie.
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