I just remembered that I captured a time-lapse of the entire 3+ days of "in-studio" shooting for the latest video.
The only parts missing are:
It usually takes me a bunch of tries to get anything right. Here are all the camera takes of the shot where I introduce the screen-used miniature of the ship in the FON video.
We shot it with the jib crane, pulling focus remotely and it took this many attempts to get the move + focus + performance right together. Now picture this for almost every scene/shot of the hosting segments :P
2021-05-21 20:11:08 +0000 UTC View PostUPDATE: I've swapped out the video for a Vimeo version here, while I prepare the general audience premiere on YouTube. If you are prompted for it:
PASSWORD: 98X92A34
Thank you for, uh, waiting. I'm very proud to bring you the most elaborate video I've ever made on the channel.
Hope you like it!
(Even *I* think I've gone too far.)
2021-05-16 16:57:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Greetings,
So, there's been no Godzilla attack. And I'm essentially done with the video in that it's finalized visually (barring a few last-minute tweaks I always have to make).
There's just a matter of hundreds of sound effects and dozens of music tracks to lay onto everything, as usual. And since this is the longest episode I've ever made on the channel, I expect this might take slightly longer than the remaining 3 days.
So in lieu of a completed video, I'd like to treat you to the next best thing: watching me do the grunt work to complete it and laughing at my anguish.
Please join me on the live stream on Thursday: https://youtu.be/Kp-JdHO0jDE
We've done a sound design stream before. I basically share my Pro Tools interface and sample irritating noises for hours; it's great. I was thinking I won't display the playback window of the actual video so that it's not spoiled, but... I'll poll you during the stream and if we collectively decide that we don't care about spoilers, I might show stuff...
Let's see what happens!
As always, if you aren't able to join live, the DVR'd playback will be available at the same link afterwards.
Last thing I'll say is... now that I'm finally getting to see what the heck I've been working on all these months in its assembled form, I'm actually getting excited. I'm almost... somewhat... sort of... proud of it?
Weird.
2021-04-28 00:56:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi friends,
I write to you from the computer chair with which I have become one. Putting together this video has tested every kind of stamina I have, but the finish line finally seems within reach.
The image shows the completed VFX/animation progress bar (representing all the scenes of this 40-minute video, in order) as it was during my last YouTube stream vs. right now.
I'm just about done with that left-most red scene, then I must tackle the remaining 4 pieces in the middle. One of them consists mostly of a photo slideshow, but the others require some proper CG. After that there's of course sound work and fixing various last-minute mistakes.
Still, I'm cautiously confident that unless something unforeseen happens, like a Gonzilla attack, the video will be completed in April!
Thank you as always for your patience and support.
2021-03-31 21:17:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi friends,
Been a while! I'm stuck in my edit bay fortress, chained to this extremely challenging project and I miss you guys. So let's do a livestream to catch up!
Sunday, Jan 31st, 3PM ET https://youtu.be/sVIdHKCjU94
On the agenda:
I figure since there's probably not a ton of Qs to ask me until the episode is out, I'm open to trying a bit of rapid-fire video analysis instead. Post in the comments below links to viral videos you're interested to hear my take on. Any other questions are welcome, too.
Thanks and I hope to see you soon!
2021-01-30 16:59:48 +0000 UTC View Post
Making the Mr. Flare Explains video in 4 days was a good exercise for me in not being too precious with things. I tried to use as much simple stock pics/footage as possible. Still, a couple of spots required original "assets".
Mr. Flare needed a phone so I threw together this minimal, sci-fi-ish CD brand phone in Blender, texturing the back with some nonsense words.
There was absolutely no reason to do the Goofy gag, but the voiceover reading kept making me laugh, so for a worthy visual, I drew a quick Goofy in Photoshop, in 3 pieces where the middle piece could be repeated.
And as perhaps my greatest artistic accomplishment to date, I took about 8 seconds to sketch a childish drawing of the missing "Johnny" character in the shot to illustrate who was being covered by the visual effect.
Someone took issue with the fact that the blue of the jacket is TOO blue compared with the relatively dark shade of the actual wardrobe in the film, but I actually disagree and fully stand by the objective fact that my drawing is magnificent.
2020-12-27 18:11:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! Here it is!
I think I need a lie-down now.
Once again, this emergency Christmas episode was made from scratch, just in the last 4.5 days because... well, I needed a little break from the *big* video and wanted to give you a little something before the year is out.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
2020-12-25 22:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostHey friends,
You haven't heard much from me while I've struggled to slay this colossal dragon of a project. I'm still in progress on it. I wish I could detail for you all the gains and setbacks that have happened, but it will have to wait until the video is actually out, as it stands now, some time at the end of January.
However!
To maintain my own sanity and to not completely fade from society's collective memory, I've decided to throw everything aside and make a last-second, ultra-fast video for Christmas (yes, this Christmas).
It struck me that a Twitter thread from last night makes for an ideal installment of 'Mr. Flare Explains'. So I've already written the script and recorded the voiceover. Now I just need to cobble the rest of it together in the next 3 days.
If you'd like to follow my moment-by-moment progress on this video speedrun, feel free to check in on Discord (you should automatically be a member of the 'Disillusion Industries' server if you're my Patron and have a Discord account). I'll be posting updates there and possibly streaming a bit as I work.
Otherwise, my next post should be the video itself!
Thank you as always for your amazing patience and generous support.
2020-12-21 23:31:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi! As mentioned before, I'm posting this to all levels for now, but will limit visibility just to tutorial folks later.
It's an easy-to-follow, but very detailed walkthrough for creating an authentic-looking film leader countdown from scratch, complete with an adjustable damaged film look without using any plugins or stock images/footage. A nice, vintage element, useful in many situations.
If it sounds too simple, don't worry. I manage to make it complicated! Along the way I cover various AE tips & tricks helpful for animation & motion graphics in general.
Hope you enjoy it!
(An AE project file of the finished product is also attached. Feel free to use it!)
Now back to work on the ~big video~ 😓
2020-11-07 01:35:15 +0000 UTC View Post
The online version of the Blender Conference took place yesterday. It was a collection of fun 2-minute video vignettes from talented CG artists, developers, and filmmakers around the world. Also for some reason Alan the intern 🤷🏻♂️
Check it out!
A link to the entire set of presentations (a 1h 39m video) is also there as a card.
2020-10-31 15:37:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
Well, it seems like many of you are already aware, but the new Discord server I posted about a little while ago is now functional.
If you're my patron of any tier (and have your Discord account connected in Patreon settings) you should automatically see the new "Disillusion Industries" server in your list on Discord. Feel free to pop in!
It's brand new so there are probably kinks to work out. Let me know if anything's amiss, but keep in mind I'm learning this as I go, so I might not be able to fix it right away.
Thanks!
UPDATE: If it’s not showing up for you, try removing the Discord integration here on your Patreon account, then adding it right back.
2020-10-17 23:24:00 +0000 UTC View Post
So... I'm pretty excited, and terrified of, the next video.
Excited because it's a cool topic that I'm very into and because it's a *type* of video many viewers have been asking to see (again) for quite a while. Terrified because, well... the script is currently around 36 pages! It's on track to be the longest video I've ever put out (not counting streams/tutorials).
Sammy & I spent a lot of time on research, but the more info we gathered, the more details emerged to still learn about. I'm not used to doing this level of straight-up "journalism".
I communicated with some interesting experts, gained access to fascinating artifacts, I might even be venturing out on location.
I'm also prepping a few crazy props. Can't show them yet, but they're right behind these stickers!
Anyway, there's still a lot left to do, but I really hope it'll be worth the wait. I'll keep you posted (at the 'production blog' pledge level).
In the interim, I'll release a nice, useful, general-purpose After Effects tutorial, which I'll make accessible to all patrons for a while, before switching it to just the tutorials pledge level.
Thank you as always for your patience and support!
2020-10-09 01:02:02 +0000 UTC View PostHey friends!
As you may know, an "Official Captain Disillusion Discord" has existed for a while. It's what's been integrated here with my Patreon, at some pledge levels, though I never quite figured out how to make good use of that integration.
The server was actually started by some very dedicated fans who kindly made me owner, but have really been doing all the work of maintaining and growing it. Whenever I visit to chat with members or do Q&As, I'm greeted warmly and made to feel at home (and treated to lovely tribute projects like this!).
But it has always felt like its own independent community, with its own aesthetic and wider interests. It's bigger than just little old me. There are channels in there named words I don't even know!
So I've decided to let it evolve into its ultimate form: a fan server. It will continue to exist and be run by the member who's been running it, VolcanicArts, as owner. Nothing else will be impacted, other than the server's name. And I'll still visit randomly and crack jokes.
But I am creating a brand new ~official~ CD Discord that will be integrated with this Patreon. My hope is that the new, smaller, gentler server, where I am SUPREME LEADER, will be more on-brand for me. I'll keep the general public invites limited and try to focus it more on communicating with you, the patrons.
LONG STORY SHORT:
If you have any questions/concerns/suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know.
2020-09-10 01:42:51 +0000 UTC View Post
I made this goofy over-the-top high tech CG tablet for a momentary gag in the "CD/Color" video, as a shoutout to the YT channel of a masked (even before it was trendy) Japanese illustrator whose streams I sometimes watch while editing.
It's modeled and rendered in Blender. I also drew the illustration of a "chibi" Captain D using Blender Grease Pencil, then artificially placed it inside the interface of Clip Studio Paint (the tool of choice for many manga artists). The swirly procedural background was added in After Effects.
Only now, while putting together this post, I noticed that I totally misaligned the UV map of the tablet's screen, so the image on the display is actually stretched and cut off at the top and bottom in the video!
Gah! There's always some glitch or imperfection that slips through! Oh well, I guess it's not that noticeable. And I fixed it for the attached render.
2020-09-04 00:10:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Since many of you patiently watched my stream working on the sound design for this episode, here's the complete mix without my pesky voice getting in the way!
The video is doing unexpectedly well, which I guess wouldn't have happened without putting in tons of time into all the details, which, in turn, would not have been possible without your generous support.
So once again, thank you all!
2020-08-19 23:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey friends,
Here is a brand new installment of the oft-requested 'CD /' series!
I enjoyed working on this one, but a few parts were real mind-benders to visualize.
Let me know what you think!
Thank you, as always, for your patience and support.
2020-08-17 19:43:44 +0000 UTC View Post
UPDATE: Starts in 10 mins!
Hey everybody,
The visuals on the next video are complete! Now I'm working on sound. I haven't tried this before, but I figure it could be interesting to stream my process of spotting sound effects (choosing and placing them) using Pro Tools.
If that vibes with you, come hang out this Tuesday, Aug 11, 3:00pm ET and watch the aural magic unfold. Featuring classic sounds like:
and maybe even an
As always, I'll be happy to chat with you and answer Qs along the way. I'll use a completely new streaming setup so we shouldn't have any more audio delay issues.
See you then!
2020-08-09 15:39:12 +0000 UTC View Post
I dunno about you guys, but I found this past month challenging for all sorts of reasons!
Continuing with the theme of not making the same type of episode back-to-back, the next video will be a "CD /". But I've been struggling with the script. The topic is a bit broad and juuuust outside my expertise, so I've been researching to get the details right without making the video too long. I definitely want to avoid another correction addendum!
But I've finally gotten the script to a good place. The red chair set it rebuilt and we're ready to shoot!
After this video comes out, I have a couple fun ideas for VFX tutorials - one a simple AE project, another more involved, using various software and even a physical crafting part. So look out for those if you are at the tutorials tier!
Beyond that, there's a collab on the horizon. It's a repeat guest - can you guess who? We filmed some rather random stuff right before the pandemic hit and are trying to make sense of all that footage now.
Sammy & I are also developing another story-centered episode. Let's hope I won't go another 5 shades grayer from the production of whatever that'll be!
----
Ooh, I just looked and the most recent video (Moon UFO) crossed 1M views! Thank you for being such a supportive audience.
I hope you're all managing to stay safe and positive. Kudos for reading to the end. Now let's resume googling Street View images of places we yearn to be able to visit some day.
2020-07-01 03:35:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's a detailed look at the animation/effects in the Ian Hubert's Lazy Tutorials parody of the most recent episode!
There are some aspects I didn't really go into, like compositing, 'cause the video was getting a bit long, but hopefully what I did cover is interesting. Enjoy!
2020-06-15 16:08:18 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi friends,
I made a light-hearted new video to give you momentary respite from, you know, the world.
It guest-stars science writer Phil Plait, whom I've known for many years but never had a chance to properly collaborate with until now.
Please enjoy and tell me what you think.
As always, I'm very grateful for all your support!
2020-06-01 22:15:24 +0000 UTC View Post
UPDATE: You can now view the recording of the stream at the link
Hi friends!
I'm close to finishing the motion graphics on the next video, so I thought I'd give myself a productivity push (while simultaneously providing some ~content~) with a livestream.
But it'll be a 'lite' version of the usual stream -- no fancy visuals or monologuing, just me in somber solitude, sharing my screen as I toil away, barely acknowledging your presence. I'll try to answer a couple Qs in the chat as I see them, but no guarantees...
Feel free to just put me on in the background while doing your own stuff to temporarily feel what it's like to work in proximity to other people again.
Spoiler warning: obviously if you watch the process, you'll catch plenty of glimpses of the next episode's contents, so if you'd rather not have any of it spoiled, don't tune in!
Otherwise, see you at 4PM ET at the above link!
2020-05-22 04:31:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Now that I've had a few days to recover from the latest video and not think about it every waking moment, I figure it might be fun to do a little live screening, talk about the process, make fun of the imperfections and just do a general Q&A on life, the universe and everything. We need to catch up!
If you like, throw me some advance Qs in the comments here, so I can think of cool-sounding answers. Otherwise, just ask in the livechat on YouTube.
Hope to see you there tomorrow, Thursday, Apr 16th at 2:00PM EST!
And as always, if you can't make it, the recording will be available at the same link, usually within a few hours.
2020-04-15 15:01:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Haven't done one of these since way back on the "Amazing Water Trick" episode, but I think it's warranted for the latest video.
It's the entire thing in split-screen - VFX on top, no VFX on bottom.
During the "debunking" segments I try to display the main assets used in the graphics.
(best viewed on a mobile device vertically, or on a larger display in full-screen)
2020-04-11 21:43:19 +0000 UTC View Post
I was looking over the few pics I managed to grab during this strange project and they make it seem like I wasn't having any fun. But I don't remember being as gloomy as I look! I mean get a load of this guy!
For all the room transformation VFX, I needed to mark the walls with carefully spaced tracking markers so I could always tell what part of the background the camera was seeing, even in closeups. I also slapped some decals and gaffer's tape on the most sci-fi looking boxes I could find at Office Depot and cut a bunch of extra "players" out of foam board.
Looks a little boring... until you light it all dramatic-like:
Because the lighting had to gradually change throughout the video, I went to the trouble of connecting all the lights to a computer that controlled them like theater lighting, with preprogrammed cues. I was worried I'd need a lot of light to simulate the glow from the countdown on the wall, so I nailed together this whole array of LED lights.
But in the end I discovered that just one ARRI panel did the job so I didn't even end up using that Light Centipede!
I also had to create CG versions of the room and the props for later shots... in... 🎶Blender!
To keep the cinematography interesting for monologue scenes in an empty room, I sometimes use a jib (a small crane the camera can glide around on) but the one I've had for years is very cumbersome and low-tech. For this episode I decided to invest in a new one that's more versatile and easier to set up.
We got a TON of use out of it throughout the shoot.
Even when we weren't doing moving shots, I'd often park the camera on the jib so it could be swiftly repositioned for the next angle. During later shoot days, I'd even do it on my own, set up the shot with a ladder or appleboxes as my stand-in...
Then jump in and try to remember what lines I'm supposed to say.
Speaking of additional shooting days, I even had to return to grab a few shots on literally Christmas Eve. Here's me demonstrating my displeasure with that fact:
This setup with the smaller camera is actually for capturing the image for the lenticular 3D Captain Disillusion postcard I really made as a prop. I'll do a separate post about it.
Most of the extra shooting was for green-screen stuff. There's something about filming yourself thrashing around on the floor over and over, on a bright backdrop, that eventually just gets you into a studly modeling mood. I guess in the end I didn't have that bad a time.
Well....... here it is.
I hope the extremely long wait hasn't lead you to expect something super mega over-the-top mind-blowing. But it is a slightly more ambitious episode than usual.
I tried my best to overcome the many tech challenges it involved. I hope the idea comes through and the "debunks" seem interesting.
Thank you to Samantha for co-writing the script and to Joey and Pawel for pitching in on the VFX. And thanks to all of you, as always, for the support.
Please enjoy!
2020-04-07 14:10:17 +0000 UTC View Post
My fellow inhabitants of Quarantine Planet 12,
I hope you are all doing okay, staying safe and sane. As you know, I've been practicing self-isolation preemptively, locked away, working on the video. I'm happy to report that the video is now in the sound design stage! That means it's only days away from being finished and posted for you, at long last!
DAYS.
Like, 2 days maybe. Don't quote me on that.
I want to thank you again for your patience. I know you're probably in need of amusement now more than ever and I hope I can provide a little bit of it because... well, that's pretty much my only marketable skill.
Speaking of which, if any of you, for any reason need to suspend your pledge during this difficult time, I completely understand. Please take care of yourself first. I'll still be here.
I'm thinking I'll make my next couple of posts open to the public, so that if you are hopping off, you won't miss out too much. Besides, lots of other less fortunate people out there could use a distraction at the moment...
My immediate plans are to do a livestream after the video is out, a sort of viewing/commentary session. A few behind-the-scenes things after that. And of course I'll quickly get on with the next vid (which shall not take as long, by golly!)
Hopefully we'll see the world slowly start to morph back to normal in the coming months. That'll be nice, right?...
Wash Your Extremities,
-CD
Hello, friends!
I'm doing something rarely dared: sharing the video of my TEDx Talk exclusively with you, long before it'll be released to the general public. You're literally the only people able to see it, other than the event organizers who produced it.
This is not a final edit, so please excuse the strange look (there is timecode and a weird picture-in-picture of auxiliary shots at the bottom of the screen). But I worked really hard on this 18-minute presentation and I hope you like it!
Why am I committing such a scandalous act?*
Well, because the main debunk video, the episode we've all been waiting for since 2 livestreams ago, has pushed past all limits of my stamina. Earlier this month, I told you that I'd release not only it, but a whole OTHER video before March...
Oh, how naive I was.
Despite putting in long hours every day, I just couldn't get through all the technical VFX challenges in time for the trip I have to now take, for this last week of the month. I'll return on March 2nd, and immediately resume the push to complete this accursed episode once and for all.
"Quality over quantity" is nice, but not when it keeps me from delivering stuff to you for such unreasonable stretches of time. I've learned a lot from this experience and I promise I won't get myself into this kind of situation in the future.
But for now... please enjoy my attempt at an Idea Worth Spreading™ at the link above!
*Not really scandalous. I have permission to share the talk with you exclusively. That said, please don't share or repost the video. It will be published eventually, on the official TED Talks YouTube channel!
2020-02-25 17:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, friends!
Patreon has made it so the first 140 characters of any post are publicly visible so I'm just gonna run out the limit with this text aaaand... there.
Ok, now that we're alone, I just wanted to let you know the next video is still in post-production. I'm so sorry that it's taking an eternity. As discussed in the last stream, since I filmed in Dec, I've been spending full-time shifts every single day working on the VFX, even recruiting help on a few shots.
I look forward to being done and publishing this episode more than anyone and I thank you for your continued patience.
Also wanted to mention that I'll still make a Feb video right after this! I'll just have to use all of my mental power to force myself to keep it... SIMPLE.
The pic above from one of the completed shots perfectly illustrates how I feel about the current project. Sometimes a thing you thought would be fairly easy explodes in your face, but you just have to calmly pull all the shards out and keep going.
Talk soon!
