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Post by nigel on Jun 7, 2005 4:27:15 GMT -5
I've heard a lot of tales about this. Some person I know bought a camcorda dead cheap so he sent the cheque off to the liquidator, they cashed it in, then phoned him saying the book value is xxxxx higher, we will be waiting for another cheque for xxxx. so they do turn the prices around so be careful.
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Post by nigel on May 11, 2005 11:36:01 GMT -5
New Owner's First Impressions "I bought an XL1... I've had it now for 24 hours, and have done several hours of tests, including comparisons with my PC7. These are my first impressions:
"Out of the box, the thing is huge. (Box itself is huge!) The XL1 is bigger than it looks in pictures. It's heavy, too. (Before purchasing it, I tried lugging a laptop computer around, crooked on end in my right hand by my head... this is a useful exercise.)
"Quality oozes from the XL1. As someone remarked once, this is probably the only DV format camcorder that actually looks like it might be as expensive as it costs! This thing easily looks and feels like four grand or better.
"I've summarized my findings below. However, I want to specifically address a few rather subjective issues.
"First, this thing absolutely smokes the PC7 in low-light work. (By low light, I mean any indoor scene lit by average ambient artificial light, or less.) The PC7 image gets filled with gain noise, the colors flatten out... but the XL1 shows absolutely no signs of gain noise, even at 12db gain. If you want to go to extremes, you can use slow shutter -- which actually makes the scene brighter than it is to your naked eye. (Slow shutter also strobes any camera movement or significant subject movement.) I can't emphasize enough the amazing quality of the XL1 in low light.
"The PC7 does a little better in regular (good) light. Compared to the XL1, however, it falls down in wider angle shots (can't render the detail), with complicated colors (oversaturates and confuses them), and doesn't have the exposure latitude of the XL1 (PC7 is more likely to have over and underexposed areas). The PC7 seems to do best with portrait type of images at medium focal length, even lighting. Meanwhile, the XL1 is totally unfazed by anything I throw at it: wide angle, telephoto, high contrast, low contrast, lots of colors, weak colors.
"The XL1 is certainly heavy and front heavy. My right arm was aching within an hour (new form of "memory effect"!). However, oddly enough, the more I used the XL1, the less I noticed the weight. I got used to using my left hand more for weight support, after using it intially just to fiddle with controls. I settled into a default shooting position with the iris stalk buried into my left palm, left thumb on the "push autofocus" one-touch button, left fingers curled under the lens. This left hand support took much of the pressure off my right hand and arm. After several hours, my right arm wasn't sore at all.
"The flip-down shoulder brace is just a brace for stability and doesn't take a significant percentage of the weight. I'm waiting for delivery on the optional shoulder pad that might actually carry some weight. Meanwhile, it has occurred to me that there is a major opportunity for a third-party to design a better brace/support for the XL1 -- perhaps one built on a wearable vest with a quick-release disengagement of the camera.
"Aside from the excellent image quality in all environments, my major positives include a push-button instant autofocus, which gives you the benefits of autofocus without the foibles (nervous hunting). It allows you to adjust the focus using autofocus when YOU want to adjust it (when subject is moving, etc.), while leaving things stable the rest of the time. The optical stabilizer and stereo mike are also excellent.
"The problems I found have been noted by various others. Several are significant, but none are crippling. To me, the biggest failings are the lack of positive focus indicator in the viewfinder (making manual focus much harder) and a less-than-convenient iris knob. But I can live with this stuff.
"The most significant subjective comment I will make is that the XL1 "wants" to be a pro camcorder, so entices the operator (me) in this direction. I feel myself really aspiring to be a better videographer when holding the XL1 -- and it gives me the tools to be one, if I choose. By contrast, the PC7 wants to be a point-and-shoot camcorder, and manages to dumb down my knowledge of videography and make me lazy as an operator. This is the best compliment I can pay the XL1: I can feel it pulling me ahead, making me better.
Best Features: Low-light images are amazing - no gain noise Beautiful, rich, sharp images in any light Push-button autofocus - great feature Excellent optical stabilizer Excellent stereo microphone Superb 16X telephoto zoom range (up to 633mm telephoto in 35mm terms!) Optional 3X wide zoom Good zoom rocker switch Large viewfinder with comfortable eyecup Integrated ND filter 16-bit, 48KHz audio recording Superb layout of controls - intuitive access to a hundred options "Standby" off button conserves power while saving settings (white balance, etc.) Looks awesome & original Quality construction - feels rock solid Conveys a seriousness of intent - professional feel - to the operator
Great Extras: 16x9 widescreen mode Frame movie mode (generates superb stills, interesting "dreamy" video) Simultaneous recording of 2 independent stereo tracks Separate level controls for 2 independent stereo tracks Slow shutter speed options (enables extreme low-light shooting) Zebra stripes Top-mounted auxiliary controls (for low angle shooting) Great, solid carrying handle Convenient headphone jack w/volume control
Problems: Camera is heavy & front-heavy (you get used to it - it feels worse, then better) No positive focus indicator in viewfinder (for manual focus) Mike picks up slight motor hum vibration through mount Slight audio hiss Auto white balance is poor (manual white balance works fine) AE shift function doesn't have viewfinder indicator (can be left on accidentally) Manual iris knob is inconveniently located and moves in click stops Camera shuts off too quickly to conserve power Viewfinder can be damaged by sun
Missing Features: No fold-out LCD monitor Would have preferred DVCAM playback capability No analog video input (S-Video or RCA composite) Viewfinder has near/far adjustment, but is not continuously variable between extremes
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Post by nigel on Jan 25, 2007 7:37:18 GMT -5
half a litre of latex £7 latex thicker £2 25kg casting plaster £20 plastercine 10kg £10
make your model with the plastercine, cover it in plaster, pull out the plastercine, then pour in the latex.
if you aint done this b4 start with something simple like half mask.
cost £39
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Post by nigel on Jul 21, 2005 17:07:28 GMT -5
Portfolio to get into special effects, you done any films or is it a hobby? post more pics looks cool. Who is ur supplier, i buy my stuff off www.hobbicraft.co.uk they seem to be the cheapest for latex, clay etc i could find.
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Post by nigel on Jul 21, 2005 4:57:59 GMT -5
I crapped myself when i saw the first one lol, looks mint, post any many as you want. they scaulpted out of clay? Just saw your paper clipping from Litherland im from Formby small world.
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Post by nigel on Aug 25, 2005 15:00:40 GMT -5
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Post by nigel on Jul 16, 2005 4:13:49 GMT -5
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Post by nigel on Jul 5, 2005 12:51:38 GMT -5
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Post by nigel on Jun 23, 2005 7:44:57 GMT -5
just ordered all my special effects stuff 30kgs of clay, soon as it comes ill be making my creatures, will post some pics. got the designs all set. Any one got any creature or pics of monsters they like never know i might use them. more here www.ngmfilms.com/respecialeffects.htm
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Post by nigel on May 13, 2005 8:38:20 GMT -5
DETAILING Eyes: When you see the eyes done on a good paintjob it can boggle your mind! Don’t let this discourage you. Its 70% technique. This will be where you want to break out those really small brushes. For realistic eyes you will want to start with a burgundy/rose color. You will want to fill the inside of the entire eye with this color. (Fig.2) (For anime type models you will want to use black.) After that has dried you will want to get out your ivory color. Fill in the eye without completely covering the first coat with your ivory.. (Fig.3) Now make a black circle where you want your model to be looking. (Fig. 4) (Center, left or right.) Now after you have chosen your eye color, fill in the black, again without covering the black completely. (Fig. 5) (Getting the idea?) Now to give your eyes some style! Take your original eye color and lighten it with some white. Using your extra small brush, make a criss cross across the colored part of the inner eye. (Fig. 6) Keep doing that till you are satisfied with your look. (Fig. 7) Keep in mind it doesn’t have to be perfect because the pupil will mostly cover it. Do another black circle for your pupil. (Fig. 8) If you want you can put a small dot of white on the pupil to give it a light source. (Fig. 9) Finally, take a very thin red wash and slightly redden the ivory part of the eye. You can do it heavier for monsters or victims. (Fig. 10) Metals For metal there are a couple of techniques. I haven’t found a metallic paint that I am completely happy with yet. I find that Testors oil based metallics work best so far. This means you will need paint thinner to clean up. The first thing you will want to do is base coat your surface black. For newer looking swords, shields, etc., you don’t need a base coat. Just apply your metallic. For older looking items you will want to drybrush the metallic over your black base coat. The thicker your drybrushing, the newer your metal item will look. This is the same technique you will want to use on zippers and buttons. Teeth and Nails With teeth I use a light caramel color for a base coat. Then depending on how fine the teeth on your model are, I either drybrush ivory over them or brush it on without covering the crevices. With claws I just use ivory with out a base coat. To age or dirty them up I trace the part of the nail that touches the flesh with a black/brown and then immediately Use my water /alcohol to thin it and drag it over the rest of the nail. I must stress that you must do this quickly before the black/brown dries. You should have a dark ring at the top of the nail that blends into the rest of the nail. If you feel you have completely screwed up and want to start over. If you have screwed up (F.U.B.A.R.) and want to strip your model and try again. (Or if you can get a model on the cheap because someone else has screwed up.) The best way to strip your model is (don’t laugh it works) get a zip-lock baggie that your model will fit inside and spray in Easy Off oven cleaner on it. Let it set at least over night. Then remove it from the bag (use gloves) and take an old toothbrush and clean out the nooks and crannies being careful to not get it in your eyes or on a surface you don’t want to ruin. Then wash, rinse. (No need to repeat.). This will not work if some poor, unfortunate slob used standard car model oil based paints. Try not to use oil-based paint thinner as this will severely limit the shelf life of your model. Finishing. Now that your painting is done its time to put the finishing touches that will really bring your model to life. The first thing you will want to do is coat your model with a flat lacquer. I can’t stress flat enough here. You don’t want a glossy figure unless it is supposed to look wet. (Creature from the Black Lagoon for example.) Keep in mind this is a necessary process to protect your paint from peeling easily. You don’t want to put it on too thick and have it start running and ruining all your hard work thus far. Be careful, sometimes the lacquer will come out very heavy and fast! When you first spray your model try not to scream when it looks really glossy. It will dry flat. (Trust me here.) Let it dry and again if you didn’t cover everything, wait for it to dry (around a ½ hour.) and then re-spray it. Your model is almost done! This is where you use a couple of magic tricks that will really floor you. Get out your small bottle of high gloss lacquer. Keep in mind you will have to use oil based thinner to clean your brush. For eyes use a small pointed brush and you will want to gloss the eyes, teeth, claws, fingernails, leather, metallics, lips on females, etc… You definitely want to do this after you have sprayed your flat lacquer because it will flatten your gloss. (Again, not good!) Now finally, if you need to add blood (my favorite part! Hee hee!!) . There are a couple of techniques you can use here. You can put it on thick and let it drip. You can smear it down with your brush. And the most fun, you take your brush dip it in your “blood” and using an airbrush (without paint in it) or a can of computer duster and blow spurts on the brush holding it in front of your model. This will give you a splatter effect. Before you try this on your model, practice on a piece of paper to make sure you get the desired effect. The cool thing about the Tamiya clear red is it acts very much like blood. If it is pooled up it is dark. If it is light it looks like they were smeared against blood. (Such as if a knuckle punched an already bloody nose.) For the lighter smeared effect you will just drybrush your “blood” on to the knuckle or what have you. That’s it! I hope this helps you. I have spent a lot of time and money learning to do this.
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Post by nigel on May 13, 2005 8:37:57 GMT -5
Painting
Materials for painting:
Primer: Any type. White is usually best although sometimes hard to find. Some people swear by Floquil brand. (Available at most model shops.) Paint: A water-based acrylic. I mainly use Ceramcoat by Delta. (Available at most craft stores) This paint comes in many colors and is fairly inexpensive, and comes in hundreds of different colors. ($1.00 to $2.00 a bottle) Lacquer: A small bottle of high gloss clear lacquer. (For glossing eyes, teeth, claws etc….) (I use Testors) You will need some paint thinner to clean your brushes. Spray can of flat lacquer. (I use Testors flat or dull coat.) Thinner: You will want a squeeze bottle. (Like the type dish soap is in.) Mix a 50/50 solution of alcohol and water. The alcohol will make drying faster.) (Here is a big trade secret that I am going to give you) For blood use: Tamiya brand clear red water based. (Available at model shops.) It looks so much like blood; people get squeamish when they see the stuff!
Brushes: Don’t get cheap when you are buying brushes! You are only as good as your tools. I use Sable hair brushes. They will be between $3.00 to $5.00 a piece. This will be your biggest expense but once you buy them you will only have to replace one or two at a time.
Nice to have but very costly: Airbrush. If you decide to get an airbrush get a good one. The brush alone will set you back at least $125.00 and up. Compressors will be more than that. A cheap one will give you more heartache and frustration than it is worth.
Researching your subject
You will want to do some research to get your model just right. There are many ways to do this depending on what you are painting. For example I have done a Pinhead model from the movie Hellraiser.
Primer
Before you primer your model make you’re your putty and seams are sanded smooth. Lay down some newspaper and set your model down usually lying flat. (Not standing up.) You want to keep your primer coat as thin as possible or you will start filling in your details. Spray from about 12 inches away from your model making sure it spray at different angles. You want to get primer everywhere. Primer is what holds the paint on the model. If you don’t get it everywhere let it dry before you try again. You don’t want your paint to run! Primer dries in about five minutes at a warm temperature. Flip and repeat. After it dries look it over. Many times you won’t see a part that needs to be sanded more until after you primer it. Sand it smooth and lightly re-primer your spot.
Painting.
Now I will try to explain a couple of techniques. This is the part where your model really starts coming to life.
Base coat: This will be your initial coat of paint.
Drybrushing: This is a process of dipping your brush in paint and running your brush over a piece of paper to only leave very little paint on the brush so you will not lay heavy paint on the surface. Drybrushing is a process of dark color (basecoat) to light color (drybrush coat). You will lightly run your brush across the surface of your model so you only add color to the raised part of the surface leaving the lower crevasses untouched.
Mixing colors: This is one part that you are on your own. Keep in mind you want to use the same colors when using paint for your basecoat and drybrush coat. You just want to darken or lighten them. This is why I will suggest buying the bigger bottles of white, black and brown. Take a flesh color for instance. What I do is take the final lighter flesh color and add brown to darken it for the basecoat. Some colors you will want to use black to darken it. For instance if I am doing fur or hair that will end up being brown, I will take the brown and darken it with black for the base coat. (I hope your not scratching your head wondering what the heck I’m talking about.) On the other hand, for wounds or the inside of mouths I use a wine colored red for the basecoat and then lighten it with white (making it pinkish) for my drybrush coat. (With wounds think of them as internal organs without the blood, and then lay the blood on top.) (See finishing.) If you find yourself scratching your head trying to figure out how to get a certain color, consider buying an artists color wheel (available at art or craft stores) to help you out.
A wash: A wash is when you take a dark color and your 50/50 mix making more water than paint. Colored water if you will. What you do on flesh for instance is take a black/brown mix added with a touch of your fleshtone and slop it on your flesh areas so the wash will lightly pool up in the crevices making them stand out more.
Now that you are armed with some terminology you are ready to slap the paint on. Keep in mind that it is very hard to cover up dark colors with a lighter color. For instance, when painting Devilman who is (sometimes) flesh colored with dark fur on his legs, I will do the flesh first and then do the fur being careful to not get dark color anywhere on the flesh that I don’t want to. If you happen to get your darker colors somewhere you don’t want to you can go over it with the lighter color. It will just take a few coats to cover it up setting you back in nothing but time.
The first thing you will do is put your base coat on. You will want to cut your paint with your 50/50 mix. For brushing you will want to use about 1/6 to 1/3 of your 50/50 mix to your paint. (For airbrush it will be ½ water to ½ paint.) Be sure to fill in everything on your basecoat. Before you call your basecoat done, turn your model at different angles (especially upside down) looking to make sure your basecoat area is completely covered. You don’t want to see white dots on your finished product. When doing your bigger areas of your model, you should save any mixed colors in a baby jar or some other type of small container so you can do touch ups later. Trying to mix a color the same exact shade as before is very hard if not impossible.
After your basecoat is done, you will be ready to drybrush your model. I usually completely finish the flesh (basecoat and drybrushing) (or whatever I chose to start with) before I start on another part. (Fur or clothing.) I stick with and finish one color before moving on to another color. Keep in mind that you will want to drybrush the entire model (unless you are using an airbrush) When you use black you will want to very lightly use a medium to light gray color, (Or for a worn out leather look, use brown.) drybrushed over your black.
When you are done with the bigger sections of your model (everything but detailing) you will want to look your model over and see where you will need to touch up your model usually just using your drybrush color anywhere you may have gotten unwanted colors on a surface where you don’t want them.
Airbrushing
When airbrushing your model it will be the opposite of your drybrushing in that it will be a light to dark process. First you will want to lay on your lighter color. After that darken your initial color and brush in your crevices. This can look a little heavy so what I do is lightly fog over this with my initial color By fogging I mean spray it very lightly over the entire surface from about 12 inches away.
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Post by nigel on May 13, 2005 8:32:34 GMT -5
Model Building and painting tips.
Materials for building.
Must haves: Sandpaper. 160 to 400 grit, Needle files, X-Acto knife, good super glue such as Zap a Gap, an accelerant for your glue, putty. For putty I use either milliputt (Available at most craft or model stores.) For really fast setting putty Bondo works great. (Available at most auto parts stores.)
For resin kits: Coat hanger and wire cutters.
Nice to haves but a bit expensive. A dremel with assorted bits.
Buying your kit.
For your first kit I suggest you find a cheap vinyl model to do. If possible, take the kit out of the box and look it over making sure that all the pieces are there and that the detail on the model is good before you buy it. Some models (especially recasts. IE: Models that have been produced by one company and usually illegally copied by another. This is very common and is a hotly debated practice in modeling circles.) will lose detail if they are copied from a bad mold. Look and see how well the pieces will go together. I have done models that have fit together so poorly you practically have to re-sculpt them.
Building
When you first remove your model from the box check and make sure all the pieces are there and in one piece. With resin kits see how well the pieces fit together and make a mental note of what you will have to trim to make them fit properly. Resin kits will usually have a seam where the molds meet together. Either sand those down lightly without removing any details of the model or use a Dremel with a light grit sand wheel turned on your lowest setting. I can’t stress enough to be very careful with your Dremel because if you turn it up too fast you can do some real damage very quickly.
Vinyl
With a vinyl kit there is not usually any seams but you will most likely have excess vinyl to trim off. Vinyl needs to be heated to make cutting it easier. This can be very dangerous if not heated enough. When using your X-Acto knife always cut away from your body! If your vinyl is not heated enough it can be very hard to cut and lends itself to accidents. To heat your vinyl use a blow dryer or heat gun, or use hot boiling water in a pan (This is how I usually do it.) using tongs to remove your pieces. When cutting your vinyl model check your instructions very carefully to see what parts to remove and what parts to not remove. Many times you will want to leave a tongue of vinyl to join two pieces together. Once you have all your pieces trimmed put your pieces together to see how they fit before you glue them. I would advise filling your model with something. It adds weight to it and will keep it from warping. If your pieces happen to be warped you can heat them and shape it how you want it then run it under cold water to set it. Many people say to use liquid foam or some other type of foam to fill your model. I have personally had bad experiences with this. It is messy takes a long time to set and can expand your vinyl out of shape. I use newspaper! What I do is tear it into strips and pack it into the pieces with a pencil. The tighter the better! If you don’t plan on putting your model on a base you may want to add extra weight to the feet. You can use BB’s or lead weights that are used for balancing tires. When I do this I usually put a little Bondo over the top of the weights to keep them from rattling around. Now for the tricky part. When you glue your vinyl kit together it might be easier if you heat the parts up a little. You will have to find a balance when using your glue. You don’t want to use so much that it will show through on your kit. Be careful of this if you use an accelerant on your glue because it can run and make a serious mess! You will want to use enough or it will come apart later. You will need to make decisions on if you want to paint your kit in sub assemblies to make painting easier. (I only do this if it is absolutely necessary!) After you have your kit together you will want to fill any unwanted seams or gaps with putty. Keep in mind it is better to have a little too much putty on there than not enough. You can always sand it down but if you need more putty you will have to add more and wait for it to dry. (Bummer) After you are done sanding and everything is dry you will want to wash your kit with soap (dish soap) and water. This will wash away any mold separator (used to make separating the resin from the mold easier.) and any hand oils that might be on there. From here on out you will want to use latex gloves, (I find this too confining.) or wash your hands often. Let it dry, and you are ready to paint! (Yippee!!)
Resin
After you have sanded all the seem and excess resin off and have made sure your pieces will fit together with a minimal amount of gaps between your parts you will be ready to assemble them. With resin kits you will want to pin them. Pinning your model will make it very sturdy so when you drop it (You will) it will likely stay in one piece. This involves using a pin (I use coat hangers cut to fit with wire cutters). You will need a drill for this. (You can also use your Dremel with a drill bit in it.) Use a drill bit that is slightly bigger than your pin. You will need to drill a hole (not to deep, maybe a quarter to a half inch on both pieces) so when you put your pieces together the pin will go between them. Be careful not to drill all the way through your piece. If you do (This still happens to me occasionally) fill the hole with putty and sand it smooth. Test fit it to make sure they line up. If your pin holes don’t exactly line up don’t panic! You can just ream the holes out a bit larger to give them some room. When you are ready to glue, drop a drop or two in the holes and insert your pin in one side of your pieces then add some light glue to the pieces that will touch together. Hold them together for a minute or so till it dries. You can use an accelerant for your glue but be careful because it hardens instantly and if you use too much glue it can run and make quite a mess. After you have assembled your model you will want to putty all your gaps and sand the putty smooth. Wash your model with dish soap and water to remove all oils from the surface. Congratulations, you are ready to paint!
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Post by nigel on May 9, 2005 6:19:04 GMT -5
This is the spacecraft im working on for the film for the beginging scene in outer space. Ive sprayed it black, silver, grey, blue, white etc but im sticking with dark grey. SIZE 59" Length - 39" Width BEFORE PIC
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Post by nigel on May 9, 2005 6:11:13 GMT -5
I’ve been doing special effects since I was 12 years old, casting my hand, little glass bottles, making scabs etc. Although I painted warhammer figures and world war tanks I was more into models, the big ones 1:16 scale. Once we had to do a talk at school on a subject we are interested in, I brought in my terminator model everyone said it’s so cool can you paint me one. I painted a Eldar walker once from warhammer 40k game for my mate, while riding on bikes back to his house holding the model in one hand admiring the model in the other, a car come around the corner and nearly knocked him off his bike. I’ve also sold a couple to friends and on the internet.
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Post by nigel on Apr 28, 2005 10:09:25 GMT -5
Heh, I don't mean the takings on an opening weekend, but actual opening scenes.
Scenes like D-Day in Saving Private Ryan are non-eligible, as they didn't 'open' the film, if you catch my drift.
Over to you.
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