Byrn in' The Creative Heat

Left Out...

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:07:00 +0000

Well i guess its just the festive season. Nothing personal I hope. NONE OF THE STUDENTS CAME FOR CONSULTATION TODAY!!! I don't expect much and wouldn't blame them though. They've got 2 (I guess) assignments to be submit by tomorrow. Knowing that no one would come but still I went to the school trying my luck ^^ So, I stayed in the lab for about an hour shooting around and fixing my Macbook....

Good luck in your presentation tomorrow (that is, if you need it...) and hope you guys enjoy on your internship.

Winter Solstive Festival

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Well, I did not celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival (冬至) today. The family members decided to celebrate it earlier this time on the past weekend. Thank God my family members wasn't the "ultra - superstitious" type. We ( roughtly 30 of us) first had our dinner at the nearby restaurant at Selayang. Everyone have to eat double the portion as the food were ordered for 2 tables and the crowded family decided to sit in 1 big table instead of 2.

Green carrot soup

Name unknowned (pork + yam)

Lala clams

Fried fish

Mixed vege

Fried prawn

After the dinner we all head back to Uncle Chai's (have a flight to catch @ 11pm) place. Separated into groups where some of them are chit chatting and lazy bum mom is just resting at the couch.

Me on the other hand is hanging out at the kitchen with Aunt May while she's preparing the 汤圆... In case you are not familiar with the Chinese culture, 汤圆 is a desert made of glutinous rice ball symbolizing family unity and prosperity. The cooking method might be different for everyone depending on the taste preferred. I prefer mine to be this way ^^

First, heat up a pot of water until it's boiling.

Put in the 汤圆 into the boiling water, HAPILLY :)

Floating 汤圆 indicates that its ready to be serve.

Serve in small portion. (originally, the amount of 汤圆 should be equal to your age)

The soup is made of Pandan leaves + sugar + ginger (my favorite recipe)

Blended peanut with sugar as dipping. Some prefer to make this as the filling of 汤圆 as well.

Happy Winter Solstive Festival everyone!!!

HDR Part 1 - Photography

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:58:00 +0000

What is HDR?
In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wider dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight. *Adopted from Wikipedia…

In other words, HDR means combining a set of pictures with different exposure into one single image.

Image from Stuck In Customs

When do we need HDR?
Often with either a compact camera or a mobile phone, we encounter the above situation. You are standing below a bright sunny day and the interior of the subject is underexposed; you are standing inside a well lit building trying to capture the over expose sunlight on the outside. With the process of HDR and tone mapping, you will be able to combine several exposure shots into 1 image.

sample image from Adobe Photoshop CS4

HDR contains much more information in it compare to a JPG. Thus, any adjustment made to a HDR can be alter in a wider range.

Image above is processed into HDR with a stronger tone mapping setting. The intensity of the image in terms of contrast and luminosity can be adjusted beyond the usual image format. This technique is use widely for camera projection on sci-fi / fantasy concept imaging / movies.
*Noted that stronger setting will also bring up the noise intensity.

For additional information on HDR photography, visit Stuck In Custom

Part 2 – HDR in CGI (coming soon)
Part 3 – HDR in fFlms (coming soon)

One Day 1 Design by Chin Han

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:36:00 +0000

I've recently changed my wallpaper after using a blank black one for months. All thanks to a student of mine from AML1. He definitely have the motivation to design random stuffs (which i don't have). As title one day 1 design... Although he did not update everyday but still it was frequent. I browse through his blog the other day and saw this BURN effects he did. I like the way it was compose but i prefer the word to be spelled as BYRN!!! I was too lazy to make 1 for myself, so i drop him a message. He did it without complaining and I like it alot!!!

I hope the rest of the students can o the same too. Besides rushing assignments, do something that is not bound to any rules or criteria... I can assure you that the busy that you are having now, is nothing compare to the busy that you'll get in the future... Good luck!

Another Leng Lui No Longer Available...

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Just came back from Sitiawan for a wedding dinner. It was a short and relaxing trip (I don't have to drive =p). Heading out from Genting klang @ 10am.

Camwhore-ing (or whatever terms the youngsters are using)

Yeah... It was a long car ride...

Reach Sitiawan at about 1pm. We had our lunch at Grace home.
**remark: KENT IS NOT AN ALCOHOLIC. HE'S JUST POSING!

Grace prepared us an "apartment" which happens to be a semi-d... Exhausted from the ride... All getting tired...

see? talented poser!!! and he can sing!!! and he can act!!! and he is available!!!

Aaron on the other hand is upside down...

We all took a short nap and get ready for the dinner. Sze Wen and Alex well prepared...

Even Beidog know how to dress up!!! And he is good at soccer player!!! And he's the state volley ball player!!! And he's available!!!

We reach the restaurant at about 8pm. And here's the bride... Like mother, Like daughter. Both is not available anymore :(

And the then dinner starts. I can only show this non-halal dish for the whole dinner. We all had a full course meal without changing plates and bowl. Just imaging a bowl with shark fin soup + tom yam sea cucumber + prawn heads left over - And then we have to take our desert with cups>.<

Everyone stop eating and start gossiping and I grab some shots!!!

Comic inspired by Nicky Buoy in his previous post.

Got caught spying on them >.<

The main couple save the day with stunning vocal...

Lovely couple.

Joo is not available anymore, but Kent is!!! Grab fast while stock last!!

We then head back to the Semi-d and stay here for a night. Waking up at 9am, we had a quick breakfast and head back to KL...

Foods and Clothes

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:21:00 +0000

Went to BBQ Plaza @ Time Square on Wednesday with Andy, Moon, Syen, Cornelius, Nicky Buoy, Cedric and Emily... It was my first time visiting the restaurant (sorry for being so outdated =p). My personal comment on the food - below average. I mean, all they do is prepare you a plate, raw food and that's it. You have to do all the cooking yourself and I don't see the enjoyment of that... The food is tasty but nothing special... Service wasn't bad but the waitress there has to learn how to communicate. Though it sounds really bad but I do enjoy myself hanging out with them...

the cooking plate

pork fat (sorry dear Muslims >.<)

the food

And today (drum roll)~~~ The arrival of my Threadless!!! Woo Hoo... Its my third time buying Threadless and still I got over excited everytime the package reaches me.

delivery via UPS

as usual the sticker

tadah!!! 10 piece!!!

Siao meh buy so many... I bought 4 for myself. 2 for Libra, 1 for nd, 1 for Moon, 2 for Syen. We share the same delivery cost ^^ Year end sale for Threadless... If you are interested, now is the best time to grab some ^^

Sparks and Sky

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Life has been very very boring for me. No outing like few weeks already. Staying home doing nothing... Once in a while I would take some pictures randomly around myself. Most of the picture sucks as the best light source were blocked by dark clouds lately. Its hard to see the moon and the sun lately due to non-stop downpour.

1 night at about 2 weeks ago, i went out midnight to get myself some supper. The metal door of my house has been rusty since I moved here. So, as usual the door stucked when i tried to open it. I then pull as hard as I could and BANG! the door opened. I also gave my parents a heart attack for making such noise in the middle of the night. So, the next day, dad decided to call someone up to had the door fixed. Lucky me i get to see some metal sparks that day ^^

Few days after that, I took a shot from the balcony. The sky that evening wasn't very attractive but my blood tells me i have to do a panoramic HDR. And so i did...

And on a fine afternoon where i can finally see a sun today. I grab my kit and went to the lookout point at my area >.<

含笑半步癫

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Something to share with you guys. Got this from my brother who went to Taiwan recently.

江南糖白虎

一朝被蛇咬
十年怕草蛇
含笑半步癫
我笑他人看不穿
他人笑我太疯癫

跳跳巧克力
一旦食用含笑半步癫，
谨记要走正路，
做正事，踏正步，
切不可走半步或要倒退噜。
请勿强忍笑意，
以免爆笑不可收拾

传说中的含笑半步癫，
是以蜂蜜，
川贝，
桔梗，
加上天山雪莲配制而成。
令人糖白虎改以跳跳巧克力取而代之，
不需冷藏，
也没有防腐剂，
除了生性猛烈之外，
味道还很好吃！
实在是居家旅行，
整人自娱，
必备良品！
注册失败绝无版权

Its taste like normal milk chocolate with popping candy. Nuthing much on the inside, but the packaging is attractive enough.

Putrajaya Midnight Trip

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:22:00 +0000

Went to Putrajaya last Sunday and took some shots there. Definitely not a very good shooting as its my first night shooting.

Nice bridge but no nice spot for me to take this shot.

Blurry due to hand held. Was just wondering why would a court house use "working" as the motto...

Couldn't get into this building. The inner part is alot more scenic than the exterior.

And before we leave, we stop the car on the roadside and fooling around at the middle of the highway.

At the same bridge, i took a 180" wide panoramic view of Putrajaya. Regretted that i didnt took a full 360"

I tried to post a 10,000pixel wide picture to the net, but it seems like all web photo album got limitation. so instead of posting a super long picture, i separate the pano into 2 and did the "polar-pano" effects.

Polar-panoramic #1

Polar-panoramic #2

That doesn't stop me from posting my pano!!! I've come up with an idea to separate the panorama into 14 pictures. Hope this works... (*warning: neck could be resulted in injury during this viewing)

Sorry for the massive file size and annoying viewing method. I'll try to get the solution in the coming future.

Air Painting

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:32:00 +0000

I've been busy... That's the only excuse i can come up with for not blogging in a while. Anyway, I'm working half day today... Had a rest and play some photography at home. I had 2 used lighter with me, which I've kept for years even after it depletes. There is a small compartment at the bottom of the lighter that act as a mini torch. That's why I kept it... Anyway... this is my first experiment with it...

random #1

random #2

byrn - i missed the 'y'

byrn - i messed the 'b' up this time

hot side ass, cold side ass

distorted heart shape (super gay)

flowers

oOo

needless to say it out load

angel? demon?

non-halal

doreamon after a car crash

my signature flipped

taco!!!

First day at work

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:59:00 +0000

Today is offcially my first day working in Luminous Entertainment. Nothing much though, just walking around in the office, listening to songs and stuff... Took sum shots of the office...

From the outside.

The location.

Location in general.

Once you step in, it'll be the waiting hall...

Haven't got the chance to hang up the clock.

Boss room located next to the hall.

Guess what this is.

And on the other side of the hall is a long walk way with suites.

Still have no idea where to hang this bloody thing.

On you left, the 2 in 1 kitchen + toilet.

On your right, the editing suite

Editing suite shot 2

Editing suite shot 3

Further down the hall way will be my room. I still haven't name it yet.

From the inside.

My room shot 2

Check out the machine. i7 8gig ram. Bluewindz creation.

One of the shelf in my room.

And the over-voltage light

Next to my room will be the meeting room (under construction)

And of course we did some safty preparation

Another 1 here.

And we screw up some too.

Coke as a replacement for Whiskey.

Getting to work (its about 3.30pm now)

Leaving at 4.30pm today on a rainy weather. The traffic isn't as bad as i thought though. So if you pass by the area at noon, make sure u call me for lunch, you pay! :)

Room Cleaning + Weekend Outing

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:42:00 +0000

Sometime last week, I really feel like stop blogging as it feels boring and I’m out of content to blog. Until this very moment, I feel like besides blogging, I don’t have anything else to do… What a boring life I have...

I’m going to cut down the amount of text and boost up the pictures in my blog content. I found very boring reading my own full-of-crappy-text-blog. I’ve also got myself a Canon 500D on Saturday :) Thanks to the generous + lovely + handsome student Andy who is willing to borrow me his kit lens, I save up few hundred bucks getting only the body…

I decided to remove the top portion of my pc table so that I can have more space for the keyboard and stuffs...

This is how it looks like now... Brighter, cleaner, spacious, and pro-er.

This is where all the boxes have moved to.

Playing around with my camera =p

And the magazines and books shifted from penthouse to 2nd floor...

Wood pieces will be kept on top of my cupboard for the time being.

Kent then call me around evening saying he wanted to come over for dinner. without proper plan (as usual) we hang out at the Rampai Business Area... again...

Out of Focus... Still need to learn alot about photography. Anyway, this is tasty. fried rice vermicelli (asam laksa noodle).

Peanut Butter Toast. Not so good...

Shiny Fan??? Blurry i guess... =p

Funny? Check out Kent's version.

Now this is what i call borned entertainer.

And he is a big fan of Threadless Tee :)

And then Han and Katrina join in. We smoke the same ciggie u see... brother!!!

Madam Ho close at 11pm. And so we moved to the RAKYAT's favourite OldTown Kopitiam.

And all of a sudden... SPLASH!

The cause? Amatuer trying to play with my Zippo...

End up having Ice water... =p

Oh and if u noticed, I've also subscribe to Nuffnang Ads. My lovely course rep Karin tell me that i can check who's reading my blog. so i subscribe it. Besides, MY NICKY BUOY is also using it as well =p

Mouse No More

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:13:00 +0000

I received a news letter from Wacom last night about their new Bamboo series. I tried to check out their presentation video but it was too laggy. So I ignored it. realizing that I’m super free, I went YouTube and check out some videos and stuff. I then search for “bamboo” and there are already videos of people giving review to it. Talking to Aaron at the same time about it, slowly, I fell in love with it. I called Startec@ Lowyat and check if they have the stock and price. They said they have it!!! Hooray. Without hesitation, I’ve decided to get the new tablet right away (tomorrow)!!!

Today, waking up at 1pm, I took a quick bath and rush to Lowyat. I reach there at about 2pm. Heading straight to the 2nd floor, I asked for the new Bamboo tablet. As usual they would come up with an awfully high price. I guess its just the sale person’s lack of knowledge. Without talking much we had our deal at Rm380 for the model CTH-460. Check out the specs and feature here.

I then head back to the school for class and I’m late!!! Stupid traffic lead me to a 2 hour crawl from Lowyat to the college. Setting up all the stuff and I start blowing water about the module. I manage to do a 90 minute class today. I actually found today’s class very interesting. Nothing can make me happier than seeing the students laugh out loud. Proness~~~

After the class I went dinner at TGI Friday, Wangsa Walk. Let’s talk about Wangsa Walk first. Well, I don’t know if because it’s still new, the whole area seems to be very quiet. It doesn’t seem to be a very good location for a mall. TGIF itself on the other hand seems to be having a great crowd. There were only a few tables with customers when I arrive. 30 minutes later, the place is full of people and there are even some queuing for tables. All TGIF has the same menu so I’m not going to talk about the food there. Servicing is convincing at the beginning… Until my food arrived… I can’t feel any heat on my Mac and Cheese on the inside. The cheese is not melting like it should be. They even forget about my Green Apple Slush. I asked for it for at least 3 times and the waiter keep coming up with excuses saying it was being prepared, the order was a bit full and stuff. I finished my meal and still it hasn’t arrived. The waiter then realize himself when he tries to clean up my table, my drink wasn’t there. He quickly gets me my drink and apologizes. I’m just too kind to make a complain I guess (actually I'm too hungry to talk, i even forget to take sum pics before i eat my food), but for the first time, I did not leave any tips for them.

i can only have a glass of water for myself... still coughing...

Macaroni and Cheese

I was trained from kid to NEVER WASTE FOOD!!!

On the other hand... 'someone' couldn't finish her dinner...

Reached home at about 9, Packed up my old Bamboo, unpack my new Bamboo and… Tah Dah~~~

I guess u also noticed that my mouse is gone. I don’t need a mouse. This Bamboo is actually a tablet plus a multi functional track pad. 1 finger click and drag, 2 fingers forward, scroll, right click and stuff… I’ve also tested the pen sensitivity on this, I feel the pressure range is bigger than my previous one… But anyway, I’ve only been using this for few hours. Need to spend more time on it before giving any final conclusion.

Life Being my Caps

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:15:00 +0000

I remember when I was a kid I wanted to be just like my elder brother. Although he was kind of a quiet person, everything that he does and talks just impress me… I was about 10 years old, when 1 day, he bought himself a cap and wore it. At that time, I wasn’t a big spender as my family wasn’t in a good financial status. Wanted a cap for myself so badly but as usual my parent would just ignore my wish. Few months later came Aunt May bringing some gift for me and both siblings. Aunt may, uncle Chai, and uncle Huat always brings the 3 of us to the mall during the weekend. And this time, Aunt May came with a black cap. I remember very clearly that the cap is with a big OKLAHOMA text in the front. I did not know what that was during that time but I like the cap. It was my first… I wonder where has the cap been… but ever since that, the evolution of cap head begins…

My second cap was erm~ I don't know how should i start it... Have a look... >.<

My third one was a blue Adidas with red stripes on it. I like that cap a lot because of the color and the brand. I had it on everyday, and every time even when I was heading to the school at Titiwangsa. It sticks with me for about 1 year and 1 day, I lost the cap one day. Im pretty sure someone steals it when I was hanging out in the table tennis court in Titiwangsa before school starts. I didn’t make a big fuss out of it as I had a few more caps at home and I was planning to get myself a new one.

Dad went to ClubMed Cherating and get me sum clothes and cap there. It wasn’t one of my favorite and I’m not going to talk much bout it. Sis went to Australia and get me a hard rock café cap when I was 15. I wear that cap a lot back then. Wonder where it is now~~~

And then there was the Formula 1 fever… I have 2 Formula 1 caps to start with. I had the Michael Schumacher #1 and the David Coulthard #3 cap. Dad bought it for me when he went to see the second Sepang race held in 2000.

I still had it with me. It’s still in a good condition but I never wear it anymore. The main reason that I stop wearing these 2 is because my bro’s ex-girl friend bought me another 1 from China during my diploma year of study.

I wear this everyday to the college. It’s by far the most comfortable cap for me as it had a long peak for shading and a deep crown preventing the cap from failing off when there’s strong wind.

Sadly I got to throw this cap away… The peak part that is made from paper card is cracking, deforming the shape of the cap. I get to take a picture of it before throwing it. Rest in peace…

It’s only been 2 years since I left the school and I’ve got 5 new caps. I guess they weren’t meant to be my soul mate. I first got myself a pure white QuickSilver cap. I like the cap for its simplicity and the whiteness.

It didn’t follow me for long though… During my dad’s tea shop opening day, one of his best friends asked me on the cap. I gave it to him without hesitation. I regretted when I find out that the store no longer have this design. I then get 2 “whatever” caps from Billabong which I never liked it at all.

I still wear the brown one because it seems a bit different from my other cap.

I totally ignore the white one. I hate it!!! Running kinda short of caps, I went to Armani Exchange and bought 1 that looks military.

So far, I like it because it goes easily with any of my shorts. The 2 latest caps were from my girl friend who bought it for me as a birthday gift. Both were from QuickSilver but I only wear the blue one a few times.

I like this one than the white one actually but it’s just too tight for me. I’m going to keep it safe in case my head grew smaller in the future…

And of course this is my cap of the season...

Well, you often see me in cap. One other major reason beside’s my brother’s influence is my hair. I’ve always have my mom’s dark, thick, curly hair which is hard to manage. I guess I’m going to get more caps and start wearing the old ones so that people wouldn’t feel bored with it…

Flu +Cough + Asthma + Hiccup

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:39:00 +0000

It was truly a disaster. I don’t know where should I start but everything is linked up and it turns out to be a big pile of mess…

Few days ago I was having mild running nose. I have sinus problems and flu, to me, is just an everyday routine. So I ignore it. The next morning I found very uneasy on my throat. It seems like I’m I’ll be having a sore throat soon. Flu is getting worst right now. Until I sneeze out a piece of flame with blood in it. This was my second time having it. I remember the first time I had it, I feel a lot better after getting it out. But this time, there are still a big piece in it that makes me feel very annoy. My throat gets very itchy and dry now. I started to cough. Every time when I cough, I’ll end up having hiccups for few days non stop.

So I started hiccup. My diaphragms seem to be weird compare to other people. Normally if one gets hiccup, it can be solve by just drinking sum water or holding their breath. Well I’ve tried all of these and it doesn’t seem to work well. Recently I found a good solution on curing hiccups. Get a lemon wedge, apply sugar on top of it and bite it. I don’t know how and why these works but it just works. But eventually the hiccups will return after a few hours.

Yesterday night, I ran out of lemon. Hiccup just wouldn’t stop. It’s the 3rd day of hiccups and I’ve had enough. My abs is feeling very tired and I had muscle pain all over my body due to the hiccups. I then call my family doctor to see if there’s any cure for this. Doctor says there are gas inside my body and its disturbing my respiration system. He advice me to drink 7 cups of water 1 shot and release all the gas by burping it out. It works!!! For the first time… the hiccups return at about midnight and again I gulp in more water this time. The hiccup is even worst now with my stomach full of liquid. Every time I hiccup, the pain feels like I’m having appendicitis all over my body.

So I guess sleeping is the only solution. Things get better at this point. My asthma attacks… Every time when I try to lie down on my bed, I had difficulties breathing. Asthma is a symptom where your bronchi (airways to the lung) become inflamed and swollen resulting in breathing difficulties. So, if I lie down, I couldn’t breath. If I sit up, I’ll have to go through the pain of hiccups through out the night. I can’t sit sleeping as my back is killing me for not lying down for more than 24 hours.

Baring the pain, I manage to stay awake until 10am where I finally can’t stand it anymore. I drive to the clinic and had my medication. 1 injection to my meaty ass and the pain is all gone. The doctor also gave me some gas to be inhale to cure the asthma. I’m feeling a lot better now. Had a good sleep since noon and got to get more rest now. The coughing medicine is making me dizzy…

Well at least I gain more information on asthma and hiccup. Will definitely do more precautions in case shit happens again.

Semester Break = Nightmare Start

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:03:00 +0000

I haven’t been updating the blog for quite some times. I’ve been surrounded by jobs since the semester break starts. I have been ignoring all the request to anything, rejecting all the trip proposal, and even works on Hari Raya (I realize it was Raya on the 2nd day of it…). Whenever a job came to me, I’ll work non stop until I get the job done. I will not have a complete sleep/ bath/ hangout/ mamak before everything is settled down. Guess its just the way I work. Well anyway, I know that no one is interested in the work I’ve done. I’ll just make this a short post on some of the jobs.

I’ve been thinking of a way to present this in a non-video format as they were all copyrighted to the respective clients. After trying a few methods, I decided that contact sheet screen shot should work the best. At least I don’t have go through the uploading a few hundred pictures.

The Lepa job is basically a short animation for a documentary regarding to the custom of “Lepa Bajau” in Sipadan East Cost. I’ve actually done this before when I was in KRU a year ago. Although I did not do much back then, I still have a bit of idea on how the boat looks like.

Legasi 43 Karat is the name of the show. I think the show is about some diamond thingy… Not too sure as I’m not given a lot of information with it. Anyway the funny part of it is, I actually thought ‘karat’ means rust in the beginning of the job. Only realize that it means “carat” after being briefed about diamond…

BHPetrol Infinity 95 2x infomercial - Now this is a pain in the ass. I don’t want to go through all the details, but the heavy workload is killing me… Aaron did most of the graphics here and that definitely help out a whole bunch. To be frank my design sense is even lower than a chicken rice seller… Anyway, it’s about the new Ron95 petrol heat that is going on in the country… Some of you might have already seen this infomercial on tv broadcasting through NTV7. I haven’t got the chance to see it myself thought. Available in 3 languages.

Guinness 250yr celebration. I did not go to the concert. A lot of u did, I suppose. I think this video is presented on the walk way towards the concert area. Graphic fully supply Libra this time. I must say he really did a great job in the designs. It really helps me save up a lot of time animating this. As for the overall workload, I am not enjoying it at all. The worst part of this job is not only rushing to finish it. I actually have to do some heavy changes 20 hours before the show starts. Anyway, what over is over. I’ll have to live another 250years to do the Guinness 500yr celebration. TO ARTHUR!!!

I wonder if it’s just me or it applies to everyone in this field. When I first heard that there will be a job coming in, I will be super excited on it, wanted to start as soon as possible. Rendering is scary most of the time, hoping that there will be no mistakes after the preview. After the completion, regardless of what amendment, I will feel annoyed by the feedback most of the time. Carrying an unsatisfied emotion, I’ll complete the amendment just for more to come... 1 day before the dateline and still there will be changes, making my mood even worst. Few hours before dateline are usually the time where shit happens. They either told you to change some text or graphics without extending the dateline. (In this case extending the dateline is even worst…) The pressure will still come after weeks of submission. When the audience responded badly to the product, we are always the one to be blame. Is this only happening to me? Is this what’s going on in the country? Or is this just a human mindset? When will the so call ‘boss’ put their trust on us to provide them with a better result?

Resolution, Pixel Aspect Ratio, and Frame Rate

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:39:00 +0000

I’ve recently did a few jobs on different presentation platform. Some were broadcasted on the television, others are for launchings and different purposes. It is always important to know the purpose of the stuff that you are doing. The clients might want a specific file format of your delivery but often they will not mentioned about it. It’s all based on your logical knowledge on the industry on what format and size will they require. It is wise to decide on this at the very beginning of each and every project to prevent unnecessary workload.

Resolution, pixel aspect ratio, and frame rate is the fundamental of video editing formats.

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The display resolution of a digital television or display device typically refers to the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube (CRT) and flat panel or projection displays using fixed picture-element (pixel) arrays.

SDTV: 480i (NTSC, 720×480 split into two 240-line fields)
SDTV: 576i (PAL, 720×576 split into two 288-line fields)
EDTV: 480p (NTSC, 720×480)
EDTV: 576p (PAL, 720×576)
HDTV: 720p (1280×720)
HDTV: 1080i (1920×1080 split into two 540-line fields)
HDTV: 1080p (1920×1080 progressive scan)

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Pixel aspect ratio (often abbreviated PAR) is a mathematical ratio that describes how the width of pixels in a digital image compares to their height.

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Frame rate, or frame frequency, is the measurement of the frequency (rate) at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems. Frame rate is most often expressed in frames per second (FPS) and in progressive-scan monitors as hertz (Hz).

60i (actually 59.94, or 60 x 1000/1001 to be more precise; 60 interlaced fields = 29.97 frames) is the standard video field rate per second that has been used for NTSC television since 1941, whether from a broadcast signal, rented DVD, or home camcorder. (When NTSC color was introduced, the older rate of 60 fields per second was reduced by a factor of 1000/1001 to avoid interference between the chroma subcarrier and the broadcast sound carrier.)

50i (50 interlaced fields = 25 frames) is the standard video field rate per second for PAL and SECAM television.

30p, or 30-frame progressive, is a noninterlaced format and produces video at 30 frames per second. Progressive (noninterlaced) scanning mimics a film camera's frame-by-frame image capture and gives clarity for high speed subjects and a cinematic-like appearance. Shooting in 30p mode offers video with no interlace artifacts. The widescreen film process Todd-AO used this frame rate in 1954–1956. For video, this frame rate originated in the 1940s for recording current events or recording shows that were not shot in 24p film as well as TV commercials. However, this frame rate became popular in the 1980s, with the popularity of music videos.

The 24p frame rate is also a noninterlaced format, and is now widely adopted by those planning on transferring a video signal to film. But film- and video-makers turn to 24p for the "cine"-look even if their productions are not going to be transferred to film, simply because of the "look" of the frame rate. When transferred to NTSC television, the rate is effectively slowed to 23.976 frame/s, and when transferred to PAL or SECAM it is sped up to 25 frame/s. 35 mm movie cameras use a standard exposure rate of 24 frames per second, though many cameras offer rates of 23.976 frame/s for NTSC television and 25 frame/s for PAL/SECAM. The 24 frame/s rate became the de facto standard for sound motion pictures in the mid-1920s.

25p is a video format which runs twenty-five progressive frames per second. This framerate is derived from the PAL television standard of 50i (or 50 interlaced fields per second). While 25p captures only half the motion that normal 50i PAL registers, it yields a higher vertical resolution on moving subjects. It is also better suited to progressive-scan output (e.g. on LCD displays, computer monitors and projectors) because the interlacing is absent. Like 24p, 25p is often used to achieve "cine"-look.

50p and 60p is a progressive format used in high-end HDTV systems. While it is not technically part of the ATSC or DVB broadcast standards, it is rapidly gaining ground in the areas of set-top boxes and video recordings.

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Here are some of the presets that can be found in adobe after effects.

Here you’ll noticed that I am using the PAL D1/DV square pixel preset. It comes with a resolution of 788*576 with 1:1 pixel aspect ratio. Most of the time broadcast stations in Malaysia will use the PAL D1/DV format which is 720*576 with 1.09 pixel aspect ratio. I personally found that besides square pixel, all other pixel format will give me a hard time estimating the actual size of the footage. By default, most softwares will show your video in square pixel format, resulted in a stretched preview. Both after effects and photoshop provides pixel aspect correction view. Below is a screen shot of a dv pal footage with pixel aspect correctioned view.

If you watch closely, you will see a distorted vertical line every few pixels. Although this wont be seen during the broadcasting but it would be hard for you to work in this condition sometimes. In other words, 788*576 1:1 is equal to 720*576 1.09. in other cases, 1920*1080 1:1 is equal to 1440*1080 1.33.

**ALWAYS WORK IN SQUARE PIXEL WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH GRAPHICAL TYPE ANIMATIONS.

**ALWAYS CHECK THE FRAME RATE THAT YOU ARE WORKING IN… CONVERTING FRAME RATE WILL RESULTING IN DROP FRAME AND (OR) AUDIO DELAY.

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PAL Countries
Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Ascension Island, Australia, Austria, Azores, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Botswana, Britain, Brunei, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, China (Peoples Republic), Christmas Island, Cook Island, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dubai, Easter Island, England, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Finland, France
Gambia, Gaza & West Bank, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Greenland, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madeira, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norfolk Island, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Sardinia, Scotland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tristian Da Cunah, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Vatican, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe.

NTSC Countries
Alaska, American Samoa, Antigua, Antilles (Dutch), Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, Burma, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Diego Garcia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Johnston Islands, Korea South, Leeward Islands, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Okinawa, Palau, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Surinam, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands.

New Blog Coming Up Soon...

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:02:00 +0000

Not updating the blog for quite sometimes. As titled, I'm currently busy getting ideas for a new blog. I don't think I can manage more than 1 blog at the same time. So, I'm figuring out how to link Blogs post's tags to a custom button. Headache... Anyway, thought of doing something funky but I guess it didn't turn out well and I end up using the design for my desktop wallpaper...

* Original size @ 3600px*1080px - 32minute render

On the other hand, all of my students should be in a holiday mode (full use of the study weeks to chill out)... We had a great semester and all the best on your exams. When you are in a holiday mode, I am here rushing my part of the assignment (marking it =.=), which is super boring.

Divided Into Groups

4 inches tall... about 500 copies of assignments. sigh =.=

This week free lance is a bit light weight... I am not supposed to do any free lance this week but shit happens... It'll always happen, I wonder why... Lucky for me, I'm not the alone... A group of student actually came up with a story for my assignment that speaks out my heart…

_____________________________________________

3D Modeling and Animation Final Aml1@09'

My Iphone 3gs!!!

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:53:00 +0000

1st August 2009. It was a usual weekend hangout. Once reach One Utama, I went collect my movie ticket, followed by a rush lunch at Esquire Kitchen. Its been long since I last had a meal here. It still tastes nice but I was unable to finish up the food. I was too greedy ordering more than I could eat up...

I then took 5 minutes walk around in Mac Asia before the movie starts. This is when the mighty god of Apple seduce me (once again). Not able to decide on the spot, I went to The Ice Aged cinema. I usually don’t like to watch cartoons in cinema. I remember there was once long ago I went to watch Toy Story. The cinema is full of kids and they were running around, screaming and shouting like circus. It really annoys me when someone talks or text in the cinema. Why can’t people just off their fucking phone when they were watching movie? Enough of complain, overall the movie was great. I enjoyed most of the part.

After the movie I went back to Mac Asia, decided to pay for the deposit of RM200. I am now 1 step closer to own another piece of “MAC”hine.

13th August 2009. Its almost 2 weeks and I still haven’t got any calls from Mac Asia. So I went to the store and double check on the order. It was first promised that my stuff will arrive within 1-2 weeks time. The store representative then made a call to HQ and told me that there were no feedback from the supplier yet and I can cancel my order if I wished to. I WANT MY PHONE! NOT MY DEPOSIT BACK!!! I then told the sale representative that I’ll give them 2 more weeks to get me my phone. Sad… What even sadder is the movie that I went watching later. “On his Majesty Secret Mission”. It’s the lamest and suckest movie of the year. I fell asleep twice + yawning countless time during the movie session…

15th August 2009. While I’m sleep enjoying my warm bed, a call came in. Its from Mac Asia informing me that my phone is here! I jump up from my bed, get bathed, and went to the store!!! I’ve also bought a Capsule Rebel protective case for it. Making sure everything was alright, I called Dave and asked for his help in solving some software matter. Jail break-ed, software loaded, full of games, ringtones… I’ll have to use this thing for a while before giving it a full review. As for now, I can definitely feel that its a lot faster compare to the Iphone 2g and Iphone 3g… Satisfied so far =p

The box is like super tiny...

S is definitely for Speed...

accessories

The phone is actually black but i bought a white protective casing

Nothing much has changed on the outside

22 + 24 is not 46!!!

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:46:00 +0000

There are alot of things that I would like to have but finance is always holding me back. Last week, I finally let my inner Demon leak out. First, I have to calculate the piling coins I've been ignoring for the past few year. Turns out bad, only RM130 was collected. I then sold my PSP at RM450 =( Its still not enough. And when you thought that I will give up at this very moment, I then seek for assistance from my MASTER(card) and won the transaction war!! :)

So, What have i get for my self last week? A BRAND NEW 24" WIDE SCREEN HDMI LCD!!! I've always wanted a 24". The reason i get 22" few year ago was because of the price. I remember when i bought my 22" it was RM999. And this new monitor is pricing at RM750. Im satisfy with the quality for the price I've paid.

Setting up a dual screen workstation gives me more space while working on screen. Just so you know, 22"+24" is not equal to 46". Below is a diagrame that could help you calculate your own screen size. Simple math, (x*x)+(y*y)=(z*z). This is the correct calculation on the size. Its 41"

I've also spend some time setting up the software layout and stuff for the pass few days.

Autodesk 3Ds Max set-up

Adobe After Effects set-up

Well of course I Bought this not only for working purposes. In fact the main reason I set this up is to entertain myself :)

Playing SPORE on the 24" and Facebook on the 22"

Best of all - Watching 3 pornography + porn site at the same time :>

I Spend alot of money in gadgets and stuff that I've always wanted. I was told by my students that the RM800 chair is not a good deal. Well, so far my ass isn't complaining to me that I spent too much time sitting. It's definitely feeling very comfortable there... Let's see if my eye'll complain this time...

** Coming up next... S is for Sexy, Speed, and Stylish...

FML

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:43:00 +0000

I've got nothing to post lately. Its been more than a week and there's still nothing much happening. I have pictures of food, clouds and other random stuff. But i kinda get bored posting food stuff. It's getting more and more commercialize to me. If you guys noticed there's are not ads in my blog. I wouldn't want to earn money from you guys vising my blog. Probably the reason for me to blog is that, I enjoy sharing some part of my life with my friends...

http://www.fmylife.com/

I personally don't like to read a lot. Until Poku send me this link. I used to release my tension by drumming or listen to music. But since Kent is away to the States, we've stop playing music. Every time i feel heavy, this is the link that I'll visit. Go have a look and you'll eventually feel like your life is much more better.

Things I've Missed Part 2 - Redemption

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:22:00 +0000

24.07.09 Friday - I had class in the morning. i very short session just to cover up last week's lesson. I canceled the rest of my class today just to make sure I've got enough time to do the changes of the current job if there's any amendments. I'm suppose meet up with my boss later to pass him the files. I found out there's some mistakes I've made, rushed home, did some correction and drove to Rampai OldTown Cafe waiting for him. Starving at this moment, so i ordered some food for myself. This 'some' food is like ALOT of food... Its been like ages since I had a proper meal. I can't remember the name of all the foods though... (Some of the picture were taken on weekdays while I'm working at OldTown Cafe)

seriously checking my mail for amendments

too much caffeine this week... need lemon water to neutralise things

this bun taste good!

prawn noodle

trying hard to keep my eye open after a overnight work

files to be submitted

its call curry potato toast i guess... :)

nasi lemak!!!

After passing the disks, I rush to MPSelayang to pay my parking ticket. I was pretty pissed of this. I usually bank in cheque at night but the cheque deposit machine is offline the other day. So, instead i went to the bank at morning. In god speed, I was manage to settle everything within 2 minutes. And when i was back to my car, i saw a officer writing parking tickets to another car below the shades of trees. I thought i was safe. When i start driving, a paper was clipped on my viper and guess what, JACKPOT!!! At the moment all i can think of is: I've been working non stop for weeks and i deserve my pay. And now the government want a piece of it too. I pay taxes too. I then realise from my parent that they usually hide themself before you leave the car and once u do so, they'll do the job. Fucking desparate as you can see... Even pissed when i reach MPS to pay my fine. The whole road to MPS is full of trees and decorates. Its like riding to heaven. When i reach, MPS looks as grand as a 5 star hotel. They use the citizens money to build a 5 star office... What's the purpose? I queue for my turn and then...

me: nak buat rayuan
officer: (silent for at least 5 minute)
printing machine: jiek jiek jiek jiek
officer: bayar sana...
at this point the fine has reduced to 50% which is RM30
me: nak tanya, saya baru parking 1 minute dah kena saman dah. Kalau macam tu, Nak bayar ticket macam mana?
officer: kalau bayar dalam masa 10 minute lepas kena saman, boleh buat rayuan.
me: ... (walked away speechless)

sitting here doing the so call 'rayuan'

10:24 banked in

10:26 parking ticket.

Seriously i don't need 2 minute to walk from the bank to my car. MPS is definitely trying their best to get your money!!!

during the payment, boss called. Before this i send him a message saying that i need a rest tonight. I'm dying here. Will start working tomorrow (Saturday). He started talking in a bossy tone. At this moment i feel like im not being appreciated. So i replied with my point as well. I've been working for 2 week non stop on this project. Amendments is definitely more than 10 because everyday is dateline ever since i took this job. After arguing for 10 minutes or so, he decided not to talk about it anymore and hang up. moment later, he text me saying "get some rest tonight, start working tomorrow". I was wondering... Why cant he let me rest abit before i get mad and tired? Still mad at this time but i just ignore the message as I didn't want my emotion to take control of me.

From MPSelayang, I drive to IKEA just to walk around and get myself released. I actually had the decision in mind that i will definitely buy "that" office chair today! But just to make sure i dont regret, I rounded twice in the showroom. I've bought the chair and a shoe rack for mom.

Its just outstanding...

can you feel the confort?

getting the pakage from the store

Fixing the chair was fun but i was really exausted at this time. Pizza for dinner and straight to the bed at 10am. When i woke up the next morning, it was already 12pm. I can definitely sleep for few hours more if it wasnt the job's call... Sinced Im already awake, might as well start working. Boss reach my house at 12pm. He wanted to do some correction himself. Im impressed this time. This is the first time he shows his technical skill of After Effects in front of me after knowing him for more than 5 years. We did some talking, laughing and working, ignoring yesterday's call, just to get the job done. He left at about 4pm and Im going back to work...

parts of the chair

before

after

im definitely posing like im enjoying it... rendering at the same time :(

Its Sunday night 8pm now and my job is consider done. Hope no more amendments and mistake again this time...

p/s" next week's class will finally be back to normal again! Thanks to all the students who gives full coorporation this week.

Things I've Missed Part 1

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:35:00 +0000

I got a job last Wednesday and have been working since that day, non stop! It’s almost a week now (and still not done yet), rendering the preview frame now, and looked away from my screen for awhile. For 1 short moment, my mind goes blanked… and slowly, feeling how comfortable is “peace”. And from there, I realize that I’ve missed a lot of stuff during the past 7 days…

I’ve missed the proper meal, proper rest, the 3000 hits of my blog, updating others’ blogs, groups discussions, Face book, Messenger, brother’s phone call, hanging out with friends, Harry Potter, Ice Age 3, games, schools, students, shaving, tennis, and most of all a relaxing weekend with ‘you’…

Out of no where a ‘ring’ sound snaps me up from day dreaming. The render has complete and I have to get back to work…

I just want to apologize to everyone that I’ve ignored this week. Sorry that I can’t make it to the ‘mamak’ session with DML1 as promised and definitely sorry for canceling the class…

--To be continued--

Am I Really Dying???

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:23:00 +0000

I've been working non stop these few weeks. Tiring but at the same time energetic. Never really had the chance to get out and hang around, not even some time to blog. I just woke up from a short nap, going to start working again soon. Feel kind of lazy so might as well update the blog abit.

Sometimes I wonder why i work so much. Come to think of it, I started as a lazy shit ever since I'm in kindergarten. I've been skipping classes since i was 5 years old, was a drop out during the primary school, and definitely not in the 'good boy list' in secondary school. My performance in the college is not outstanding as well. Wonder how am I able to end up as a educator + workaholic after graduate...

I've mentioned this before, I teach not because of money. I actually like teaching. Being able to see my students graduate or achieve something, makes me feel proud of them and myself at the same time. Now why do I still work extra in the industry? Perhaps the achievement of completing each and every challenge is way more satisfying than anything else.

Yesterday while while having my meeting with Aaron and Shawn, Shawn asked both of us if he is gaining weight. I tease him abit but at the same moment i was thinking, what makes both of them looks so healthy? Everyone's been saying that i had to eat more but the fact is, i eat quite alot and it's just impossible for me to gain weight!!! Shawn also mentioned that Jamie (Shawn's friend) says, I look like I'm going to die very soon... Spechless... But I guess life is not measured by how long you lived, its about how excited it is. Agree?

"If you are working for a living, why kill yourself working..." quote from movie series Weeds.

Thanks~~~

banana_skinned@msn.com (-byrn-) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:24:00 +0000

I did not went out this week. Job after job after job, which is a good sign for me =p. well, I've been handling a corporate video for SSF Sdn Bhd this week. No doubt, it was shitty. Well, the one in charge of this job happens to be one of my best friend, Dave. I think the main reason that this job gives me such a headache was because my friend got no experience in post and production before. Not to mentioned everything was in a rush and we barely got time do the pre-production. Which leads to a non stop material adding and editing. Dave actually tought that i was pissed of the way things work out. He apologise to me when i sounded at him the other day. Actually, i wasn't angry of him or the job, its just a form of me releasing all the pressure. I'm not going to be gay and apologize here.

Brothers mana ada overnight anger one~~~

But still, i feel like when it comes to job, someone has to be the lead. In this case, Dave doesnt seem to have the power to ordering me around. So, i made decision on most of the part in this video. Its hard when one tries to deal between money and friends. I didn't wanna choose to stand on either on the side, so, I've set up a self principal to avoide shits...

1. Never deal with a friend when it comes to business. Or in other words, when it comes to business, we have to ignore the friendship part!

2. Never deal with a family member.

3. Locked down the budget and jobscope before proceeding.

4. No payment, no product. Late payment, late product. Low budget, low quality. (this is to protect myself as well as controlling the quality of the job.)

Im not talking about design and video field only, infact this should be applied to every job if you don't wanna get bullied and complain right after that. To my students who are still studying, you might not agree with me. Well, this is something that I couldn't teach you verbally. Its all based on your own experience.

In here, I'd like to thank all my lecturer who have taught me to be who I am now. You taught me to be stronger even if its through harsh way. I understand now... Thanks to those that gives me an opportunity. You also gives me confident and hope at the same time. Specially thanks to:

Adam for being supportive all these times.
Yusri KRU for your short and straight to the point advices.
Kevin for giving me my first 'official' freelance job, even when we both started as strangers.
Mr Donne for the experience from the mistakes i've made.
Ms Teng Sok Hooi for guiding me, still...
Shawn for his job experience.

Thank you for joining in the MUD 07'

Thanks Kent for everything. All the best in U.S.

Thanks Kent and Dave for being my friends

Thanks Brendon bro and Nicole jie for all you gift and souvenirs

Thanks Ms Teng for the share and care that never ends.

Of course there are alot more to thank here other than this. "sorry if your name wasn't here" But I'm grateful for what I have. Even now that I'm teaching a whole bunch of monkey in the school, I will still thank you guys for listening and keeping me up to date on what's the trend...

Thank you all for reading!!!