David's Blog

Now that I have new surroundings, I've decided to start modeling something different...my office. The Letterman Digital Arts Center (LDAC) is comprised of 4 buildings: A, B, C and D. I'm in building C.

I'm going to use the tag "Modeling LDAC Building C" for all my updates. Search for this tag to see all my updates on this project.

To get started, I went to work today to take some reference photos. Here are the photos.

I will use overhead aerial photos from Microsoft's Virtual Earth and Mapquest to get started with the main outline. Google Maps was too out of date to use, the building was still under construction and the resolution was not very good. Yahoo! Maps resolution was too low to be helpful.

I am using Maya 8 Unlimited for the modeling, and Adobe Photoshop CS2 for image manipulation.

Posted on March 31, 2007 7:00 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Next, I went to Muir Woods. This is my favorite place I've seen in San Francisco so far. It is unbelievable. The Redwood trees are ginormous and take away almost all sunlight. Even though it was a warm day, once we got into the woods it got very chilly...a drop of 10 degrees if I had to guess. The ground is covered in lush ferns with crystal clear creeks flowing between the Redwoods. It has to be seen to be believed.

I was in such a rush to leave my apartment that I forgot to bring my good camera. So the pictures I took are pretty lame because they come from my camera phone. The pictures are here.

Google has much better pictures from Conzelman Road and Muir Woods.

I'm definitely going to go back to Muir Woods. It will be high on my list of things to show people that come visit.

Posted on March 27, 2007 12:28 AM | Permalink| Comments (3)

This guy has it figured out! Hollywood uses Maya. You can get Hollywood 3D models on the internet. Copy and paste those models in Maya and you are on your way to making millions from your new film! It's easy and he shows you how...

Posted on March 16, 2007 8:53 PM | Permalink| Comments (4)

I was watching Lost tonight and I saw an ad for "Premonition" with Sandra Bullock. The ad had a quote from a critic: "Four Stars!" I paused my HD TiVo to see what critic gave this movie 4 stars. Thanks to HDTV, I could easily make out the fine print. The quote was attributed to Earl Dittman from Wireless Magazine.

A quick google of Earl Dittman lead me to several articles about Earl the "quote whore." He is used to give bad movies good quotes. I also did a search for Wireless Magazine, and I don't think it even exists!

Consider yourself warned! If you ever see a movie that gets a good review from Earl Dittman... stay away! I love Sandra Bullock...but Earl Dittman apparently loves "Premonition", so it has to suck!

Posted on March 14, 2007 11:40 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)

1. The theaters that do the screenings (regular movie theaters, not owned by LucasFilm) are near Skywalker Ranch, which is north of San Francisco near San Rafael, CA. Skywalker Ranch was the original HQ for LucasFilm, but ILM, LucasArts, and Licensing have moved to the Presidio. San Rafael is about a 30 minute drive from the Presidio and it requires you to cross the Golden Gate bridge. It is always free to leave San Francisco by bridge, but you have to pay a toll on the way back...$5 for the Golden Gate Bridge.
2. The screenings start at 9 a.m.!

This was my first time driving across the Golden Gate Bridge...very impressive. I took the photo above on my way back to San Francisco. You can see Sutro Tower in the background, the tallest structure in San Francisco.

I was reminded several times during my first week on the job of how to watch a movie screening...it is considered rude to get up when the credits start rolling. You should wait until all the credits are through to pay your respect to the people that made the movie...which I usually do anyway.

The movie screening this week was for Zodiac. It was interesting to watch because it is a true story and it takes place in and around San Francisco. I thought it was a good movie, but probably an hour too long (it is 2:40 total). It starts with a "bang" and then drags on for awhile.

Posted on March 5, 2007 12:08 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I was reading my email when all of the sudden the entire apartment started shaking. It lasted for about 5 seconds. My first thought was a car must have run into my building...but a building wouldn't shake for 5 seconds if it was hit by a car. I figured it must have been an earthquake. I jumped up and got in the door frame like I heard I was supposed to do. The quake was over by the time I got to the door frame. I checked the news and sure enough, the bay area was hit by a 4.2 magnitude earthquake!

It wasn't scary and it was over very quick...but it certainly is a bit unsettling in retrospect!

Posted on March 2, 2007 12:16 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)