Showing posts with label baron von zeppelin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baron von zeppelin. Show all posts
2.17.2009
1.18.2009
&quarace
took3codenewhatevs
I just finished Dune. What a great book. Wish I'd read it way earlier. It's about all my favorite things. The more I read science fiction, the more I think about Quarace. I stopped working on Quarace because my ultimate aim for the project, the story of a great war, seemed dangerous to me. The way I wanted to tell the story only served to aestheticize war and politics ("Po-tee-weet?") which we all know is inherently a fascist pleasure. I am not a fascist.
The world of Quarace, though, is something I've contemplated since I was a freshman in high school. Ideas like that don't just go away, and to me Quarace is a real place that I've taken on the responsibility of illustrating. I think there are a great deal of stories that can happen there, between the conflicting interests of the local governments, rebels, AQR executives, Jastins, and any other latent factions on that world. Love, hate, and redemption are all happening there.
So eventually I'll start working on it again, probably after graduation, or at least after my thesis films are finished in April.
I just finished Dune. What a great book. Wish I'd read it way earlier. It's about all my favorite things. The more I read science fiction, the more I think about Quarace. I stopped working on Quarace because my ultimate aim for the project, the story of a great war, seemed dangerous to me. The way I wanted to tell the story only served to aestheticize war and politics ("Po-tee-weet?") which we all know is inherently a fascist pleasure. I am not a fascist.
The world of Quarace, though, is something I've contemplated since I was a freshman in high school. Ideas like that don't just go away, and to me Quarace is a real place that I've taken on the responsibility of illustrating. I think there are a great deal of stories that can happen there, between the conflicting interests of the local governments, rebels, AQR executives, Jastins, and any other latent factions on that world. Love, hate, and redemption are all happening there.
So eventually I'll start working on it again, probably after graduation, or at least after my thesis films are finished in April.
1.15.2009
1.14.2009
oh yeah that kid
Last year's final, a study for my film thesis.
FD from John Kersten on Vimeo.
I've also uploaded "Learning To Serve Yourself" to Vimeo, but not in the proper aspect ratio, i.e. not showable. I'm compressing it again overnight and it'll be up here soon enough.
FD from John Kersten on Vimeo.
I've also uploaded "Learning To Serve Yourself" to Vimeo, but not in the proper aspect ratio, i.e. not showable. I'm compressing it again overnight and it'll be up here soon enough.
11.02.2008
rough cut
Twilight (Rough cut) from John Kersten on Vimeo.
I recommend full-screen mode.
Looks way better on high-def but doesn't deserve to be shown that way yet.
There's way more I can do with this one but I don't yet have the footage to go with the text. I'm shooting more this week and in my spare time in the weeks to come.
11.01.2008
CARNIVORITARIANISM
We all know that meat is murder, i.e. there is no way to eat meat without, on some level, pwning an animal. Also, there's a factory farming industry. But anyway, the whole meat-eating issue is somewhat like the abortion issue- whether or not you can live with it.
So if you're against murder and therefore do not eat meat (and you had better not support the death penalty, either) there's a fundamental problem: there are other animals perfectly fine with eating you, dear reader. What are you going to do when you're in the middle of the jungle and then WHAM there's a tiger on you? If I were you, I would kill it and then eat it, which brings me to my point.
How about a diet where eating meat is allowed, but only the meat of carnivorous animals? For instance, it should be perfectly okay to eat shark or tiger meat. A bull or elephant certainly might kill me if provoked, but would never eat me- off limits.
And besides, you'd be the coolest kid on the block. Why offer $1 PBR like everyone else when you could offer shark burgers AND $1 PBR?
The problem, though, with a diet of lions, tigers, and bears comes back to that same issue- murder. Many of the world's carnivores are highly endangered (we killed them already, presumably without eating them. Oh my!) and eating them would mean killing them, which is certainly illegal.
I've got it! We could factory-farm grizzly bears. Anyone interested?
So if you're against murder and therefore do not eat meat (and you had better not support the death penalty, either) there's a fundamental problem: there are other animals perfectly fine with eating you, dear reader. What are you going to do when you're in the middle of the jungle and then WHAM there's a tiger on you? If I were you, I would kill it and then eat it, which brings me to my point.
How about a diet where eating meat is allowed, but only the meat of carnivorous animals? For instance, it should be perfectly okay to eat shark or tiger meat. A bull or elephant certainly might kill me if provoked, but would never eat me- off limits.
And besides, you'd be the coolest kid on the block. Why offer $1 PBR like everyone else when you could offer shark burgers AND $1 PBR?
The problem, though, with a diet of lions, tigers, and bears comes back to that same issue- murder. Many of the world's carnivores are highly endangered (we killed them already, presumably without eating them. Oh my!) and eating them would mean killing them, which is certainly illegal.
I've got it! We could factory-farm grizzly bears. Anyone interested?
10.31.2008
10.08.2008
9.29.2008
two cents
I don’t know where to begin with my feelings about the financial crisis, save to say that I’ve been quite distracted all week. This is very serious, and it makes me very angry. In a time like this, I feel it’s my duty as a citizen to throw politics aside and help in any way I can. But alas, I’m an artist- what can I possibly do?
Of course, it’s true that what I do still influences culture, but it’s a process acting slowly, and usually beneath the radar. That’s not what our country needs- we need swift, explicit action, and only a select few people are equipped to be effective this way. The rest of the country sits on the sidelines, hoping the men and women in Nancy Pelosi’s office make the right decision.
But we’ve still got a right to be angry! If I make bad art, it’s not as if anyone has to look at it. If a restaurant owner does a bad job, only a handful of people lose their jobs and the patrons find somewhere else to eat. The money-men do a bad job (Sub-prime lending? Are you stupid?), and now we’ve got to deal with the consequences.
It’s just another example of how life isn’t fair, but consider the following:
Criticism of a job poorly done is only valid on one condition- that we go to our own jobs and work very damned hard! Whether you’re a waitress, a salesman or a designer- just go out there and produce! Students, you’d better study like never before, for the same responsibility will fall on you before this is over. Now is when we must rise above expectations, even expectations of ourselves.
Our country is in a crisis but the people are far from powerless. It’s time to prove that there’s more to this country than money- NOW GET OUT THERE AND WORK!
Of course, it’s true that what I do still influences culture, but it’s a process acting slowly, and usually beneath the radar. That’s not what our country needs- we need swift, explicit action, and only a select few people are equipped to be effective this way. The rest of the country sits on the sidelines, hoping the men and women in Nancy Pelosi’s office make the right decision.
But we’ve still got a right to be angry! If I make bad art, it’s not as if anyone has to look at it. If a restaurant owner does a bad job, only a handful of people lose their jobs and the patrons find somewhere else to eat. The money-men do a bad job (Sub-prime lending? Are you stupid?), and now we’ve got to deal with the consequences.
It’s just another example of how life isn’t fair, but consider the following:
Criticism of a job poorly done is only valid on one condition- that we go to our own jobs and work very damned hard! Whether you’re a waitress, a salesman or a designer- just go out there and produce! Students, you’d better study like never before, for the same responsibility will fall on you before this is over. Now is when we must rise above expectations, even expectations of ourselves.
Our country is in a crisis but the people are far from powerless. It’s time to prove that there’s more to this country than money- NOW GET OUT THERE AND WORK!
9.03.2008
A Jastin
This is one of my aliens. I want them to be really demonlike for two reasons. First, if I get to create a whole planet including its ecosystem and politics, I get to put in what my friend Liz described as "fuck-off monsters." Second, the Jastins have a fundamental, unresolvable, very bloody conflict with human beings, leading the humans to believe that the Jastins are the scum of the universe. So they should be quite demonlike in their appearance. But don't worry, they're culturally sort of a cross between Buddhist monks and Native Americans.
8.17.2008
i can draw pictures too you know
A cookie? Me? Oh, that's too nice... no... no, I can't just take that, I'm not in this for the cookies. Okay, fine.
Also there's some new Quarace stuff up... you should look at that, too.
8.16.2008
Quarace
I've made a couple more posts on The Epic of Quarace... check it out. I tried to copy-paste them here but it's not working.
6.01.2008
here's a little theory for you to disregard completely
Television shows, almost always, are episodic. An episode starts and ends, has a beginning-middle-end, has a conflict and resolution. No two shows hold bearing on each other, save for maybe a loose character arc spanning many television seasons.
In the past decade, this has changed. Television shows are different than they used to be. Aside from the obvious changes in visual aesthetic (driven by the convenience of new technology) the viewer now gets a new kick from tuning into a show every week- plot. A season of a television series generally covers, from start to finish, a major phase in the lives of the characters on the show. Enthusiasm for this type of storytelling has increased since television series have begun to find popularity on DVD- the viewer can now tear through hours and hours of television in one sitting if the wish, amplifying the value which can be placed on larger-scale storylines.
The modern audience expects more of its entertainment- more depth, more character development. The sitcom can't just be funny anymore- the characters must have real depth, hopes and dreams. Their interactions must be intricate and ambiguous. As the look and feel of the television show becomes more cinematic, the audience demands that the writing follow suit. Even on sitcoms such as "The Office," drama goes hand-in-hand with the off-the-wall comedy we've always enjoyed.
The Internet is another great development regarding television, since it places fewer constrictions on the content creators. No network television shows are yet produced for the internet as a primary outlet, though a few independent crews have found great success with web sitcoms, such as "The Burg" and "We Need Girlfriends". However, the freedoms of the internet will inevitably draw production to aim towards it as a primary venue. On the internet, there are no "time slots". Even if a show has a target length, the writers, directors, and editors need not compromise their artistic integrity for the sake of bringing in a show at exactly twenty-two minutes. There is no "primetime" for web viewing- any show can be watched and enjoyed by a given demographic (if marketed well) regardless of the time of day. Indeed, an episode may even be watched far after its initial broadcast.
The summation of these factors is this: since television programs now can be watched at any time, in either short intervals or long marathons, and produced for any desirable length, the emphasis on the division of episodes, or the definition of an episode, begins to dissolve as the greater storyline begins to take priority. Effectively, the show is being written and shot "as they go along". Writers may write a drawn-out, sixty-minute screwball comedy or choose to write twelve minutes of intense drama, and either of these may be published on the internet at any interval. All of these segments simply add to the larger story- actually "larger" is not an adequate word to describe these stories, since a 100-episode series (roughly four seasons, a short run for a successful american television series) is quite a long story.
Interest in stories this long has been rare since the advent of the novel in the mid-nineteenth century, replacing the traditional romances and epic poems. Of course, these stories are vastly different than the traditional epics, but it points out that the interest exists to be entertained in this way. I'm not sure what it really means.
In the past decade, this has changed. Television shows are different than they used to be. Aside from the obvious changes in visual aesthetic (driven by the convenience of new technology) the viewer now gets a new kick from tuning into a show every week- plot. A season of a television series generally covers, from start to finish, a major phase in the lives of the characters on the show. Enthusiasm for this type of storytelling has increased since television series have begun to find popularity on DVD- the viewer can now tear through hours and hours of television in one sitting if the wish, amplifying the value which can be placed on larger-scale storylines.
The modern audience expects more of its entertainment- more depth, more character development. The sitcom can't just be funny anymore- the characters must have real depth, hopes and dreams. Their interactions must be intricate and ambiguous. As the look and feel of the television show becomes more cinematic, the audience demands that the writing follow suit. Even on sitcoms such as "The Office," drama goes hand-in-hand with the off-the-wall comedy we've always enjoyed.
The Internet is another great development regarding television, since it places fewer constrictions on the content creators. No network television shows are yet produced for the internet as a primary outlet, though a few independent crews have found great success with web sitcoms, such as "The Burg" and "We Need Girlfriends". However, the freedoms of the internet will inevitably draw production to aim towards it as a primary venue. On the internet, there are no "time slots". Even if a show has a target length, the writers, directors, and editors need not compromise their artistic integrity for the sake of bringing in a show at exactly twenty-two minutes. There is no "primetime" for web viewing- any show can be watched and enjoyed by a given demographic (if marketed well) regardless of the time of day. Indeed, an episode may even be watched far after its initial broadcast.
The summation of these factors is this: since television programs now can be watched at any time, in either short intervals or long marathons, and produced for any desirable length, the emphasis on the division of episodes, or the definition of an episode, begins to dissolve as the greater storyline begins to take priority. Effectively, the show is being written and shot "as they go along". Writers may write a drawn-out, sixty-minute screwball comedy or choose to write twelve minutes of intense drama, and either of these may be published on the internet at any interval. All of these segments simply add to the larger story- actually "larger" is not an adequate word to describe these stories, since a 100-episode series (roughly four seasons, a short run for a successful american television series) is quite a long story.
Interest in stories this long has been rare since the advent of the novel in the mid-nineteenth century, replacing the traditional romances and epic poems. Of course, these stories are vastly different than the traditional epics, but it points out that the interest exists to be entertained in this way. I'm not sure what it really means.
5.30.2008
Oh well
The giant continent in the middle of the map looks like a smushed version of great britain. Quite fond of the big island northwest of it, though.
5.16.2008
Scopophelia (in HD!!!)
Scopophelia from John Kersten on Vimeo.
London: Feb. 10, Chinese New Year celebration in Chinatown. London's Chinatown is just south of Soho. Yeah.
This is edited down from about 40 minutes of footage, there's so much I couldn't put in. This is draft 3. I'm still not totally happy with it. I'm a way better editor than this. Look out for draft 4 this summer.
Penance
No matter which candidate wins this year's upcoming election, they will be of infinitely higher caliber than George W. Bush. Bush's flagrant arrogance and inarticulate public appearances have alienated other nations. When presented with challenges, Bush and his cabinet have failed at every turn.
Bush is not an evil man, although I wish I could speak as kindly for those working directly under him. When briefed on the probable failure of levees protecting New Orleans on the eve of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, he only sat in his chair instead of preparing for catastrophe. When planning war in the Middle East, he anticipated Arab complicity. When handed an immense budget surplus, he fought to reward those who could benefit the least. Before taking office, Bush's two trips to Mexico comprised his only experience outside of the United States.
His sin is that of ignorance. Due to his insular upbringing, he has not the eyes to see the needs of others, much less address these needs. His ignorance has led him to commit the crimes of perjury, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
These crimes are self-evident.
And what will happen to George Bush once he leaves office? He'll likely return to his ranch in Texas to enjoy a splendid retirement as most former presidents do. Does he deserve such luxury? A relaxing retirement in a country whose needs he blatantly neglected in the face of adversity? If a child is disrespectful to his grandmother, should he be rewarded with candy?
George Bush does not deserve to spend the rest of his days enjoying this country's luxuries, since he has so neglected its immediate needs. He deserves to be punished, in accordance with the degree of ignorance and slothfulness he displayed while serving a position of the utmost responsibility.
He should be banished from our country upon the inauguration of his successor- made to leave our country forevermore, with his citizenship and passport made null and void. Since he barely left his home country before becoming its president, all of his days after his presidency will be spent as a fugitive. His face is known around the world. Wherever he goes, he will be a scourge. What supervisor will hire him? What landlord will rent to him? And what government would be willing to embarrass itself by giving him shelter? Where he once was able to open doors by his father's name, now his own name will close them.
Only when repeatedly denied, due to the poor choices he has made, the right to the basic happiness and freedoms he has unknowingly fought to take away from so many people, will he understand. He will understand that there was only one nation which would tolerate his existence, and this nation had cast him away. While he was once surrounded by the elite, he will find himself alone.
Trial and imprisonment would grant him a bed and shelter by default. He is undeserving of these things.
Bush is not an evil man, although I wish I could speak as kindly for those working directly under him. When briefed on the probable failure of levees protecting New Orleans on the eve of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, he only sat in his chair instead of preparing for catastrophe. When planning war in the Middle East, he anticipated Arab complicity. When handed an immense budget surplus, he fought to reward those who could benefit the least. Before taking office, Bush's two trips to Mexico comprised his only experience outside of the United States.
His sin is that of ignorance. Due to his insular upbringing, he has not the eyes to see the needs of others, much less address these needs. His ignorance has led him to commit the crimes of perjury, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
These crimes are self-evident.
And what will happen to George Bush once he leaves office? He'll likely return to his ranch in Texas to enjoy a splendid retirement as most former presidents do. Does he deserve such luxury? A relaxing retirement in a country whose needs he blatantly neglected in the face of adversity? If a child is disrespectful to his grandmother, should he be rewarded with candy?
George Bush does not deserve to spend the rest of his days enjoying this country's luxuries, since he has so neglected its immediate needs. He deserves to be punished, in accordance with the degree of ignorance and slothfulness he displayed while serving a position of the utmost responsibility.
He should be banished from our country upon the inauguration of his successor- made to leave our country forevermore, with his citizenship and passport made null and void. Since he barely left his home country before becoming its president, all of his days after his presidency will be spent as a fugitive. His face is known around the world. Wherever he goes, he will be a scourge. What supervisor will hire him? What landlord will rent to him? And what government would be willing to embarrass itself by giving him shelter? Where he once was able to open doors by his father's name, now his own name will close them.
Only when repeatedly denied, due to the poor choices he has made, the right to the basic happiness and freedoms he has unknowingly fought to take away from so many people, will he understand. He will understand that there was only one nation which would tolerate his existence, and this nation had cast him away. While he was once surrounded by the elite, he will find himself alone.
Trial and imprisonment would grant him a bed and shelter by default. He is undeserving of these things.
4.14.2008
they live in a house with 20 other guys
Last night I had to explain to two swedish girls what fraternities were, and fraternities do not exist in any form outside of America. It was quite difficult. During this conversation, I realized that things such as Amercrombie, polo shirts, and baseball caps don't really exist here either.
I gave up after about five minutes. It was useless.
I gave up after about five minutes. It was useless.
3.17.2008
I just wet my trousers.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/17/apple_exploring_dual_sided_translucent_touch_screen_panels.html
I have envisioned this very machine ever since I heard about tablet PCs, and Apple is building it for me. Glad that's taken care of.
I have envisioned this very machine ever since I heard about tablet PCs, and Apple is building it for me. Glad that's taken care of.
3.12.2008
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