Ok. I am not a transformer fan. The first time JR asked me if i watched transformers before, last year, the first and only reaction i gave him was "step up or step down" (-_-")

Today, i watched transformers 2. I think it really sucks. I'm sorry, transformer fans, but I am entitled to my own opinions. Maybe transformers itself is nice. But the movie is horrible. IMO that is.

The plot is like super standard. Autobots VS decepticons (leprecon). Like good VS evil... so cliche. Like a children's movie... I wonder why don't they call it Autobot VS Manualbot. Sounds so much better!

The pace of the show is crazy. Its very fast. You concentrate on the speech/plot, u miss out the graphics (not to mention, hot babes). Vice versa. SW also correct(tum)ly pointed it out.

There was LOTs of image noise. Especially the night scene at the high school part. It was obviously digital, coz of noise at the dark areas. I strongly believe that extensive grading was done. aka film not shot well. Otherwise equipment must really suck, which I think its not the case. After it was printed to film, image noise appeared on the lighter parts. Inherent problems of image noise though. Essentially, there was significant image noise (dark/light parts) in like almost every frame.

Needless to say, CGI still has its limitations. A split second before the autobots transform, you can see the image is "flat" and unrealistic. Probably 2 or 3 frames long. But it happens so often that i can detect it. Its SOOO irritating. If I'm not wrong, anti aliasing during that part was not done properly or there were certain limitations. Sure, nothing is perfect in this world. Great job on the CGI overall though.

I liked the CGI shadows. Very smooth and very realistic. It takes into account the contours of the surface (and also texture). However, it was just clearly "Burnt in" - typical shadow algorithms i guess. Not sure if the word "algorithm is correct(tum)" maybe technique. The overburning in some parts leads to inconsistancy of black levels within the frame, which is evidently quite annoying.

Another reason to believe the film was shot digitally, (or shot in film but processed/digitised badly due to technical limitations) is the poor depth of field. The DOP made little or no attempt (more than the DOP to blame though) to increase the depth of field. Limited focus pulling in places where it would be good. Overall, shots were fairly "flat". The digital parts were worse.

To reduce the amount of detail they needed to reproduce for all the robots, they smartly added a motion blur to the movement. How very ingenious. Except that I saw through that one. HAHA.

The plot for the running to optimus(rectumus) prime was very draggy. Run here run there, you run, IRAN... yeah... actors dun get tired...

A little more emphasis should be placed on the robot-human relationship. The struggles and feelings, etc. (SEE I'M NOT COMMENTING ONLY ON TECHNICAL ASPECTS)

In terms of camera angles, some of the angles were quite nicely done, in that it portrays the "largeness" of the robots very clearly. This aspect was rather intricate. However, it is very very typical, very cliche and nothing interesting. VERY boring in fact.

The only thing that kept me awake throughout this whole movie is the LOUDNESS. I had to stuff tissue paper in my ear to keep out the high SPL. Even then, its like STILL SUPER LOUD. 2nd row from the front is not fun! :(

The transformations of the robots could be a little slower... So fast, can't see anything. Espeically the LARGE RECOMBINANT VACUUM CLEANER ROBOT towards the end. Then again, the lesser frames there are, the less to render.

I liked the 'action' behind the scene shots, where the people were on their headsets and stuff. SO COOL LAH! At least, that's my interests. Esepcially at crunch time. Things are so action packed. Just the stuff that I like. That's why I'm a comm spec anw =D

Camera movement was generally unstable. VERY disappointing. Steadicam operators need a kick in the butt. ITS TOTALLY ATROCIOUS! its called a STEADIcam for a reason, man.

You people put your fellow steadicam operators to SHAME.

HOW VERY RETARDED

There were certain 360 degrees shots whereby the camera revolves around the subjects. Boy, it can get very dizzy. I hate those shots because unlike typical MS or OS shots, you cant really focus on 1 of the subjects.

Oh yes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEANE! SPECIAL APPRECIATION TO KEANE LOOI FOR TREATING THE MOVIE (which otherwise I wouldn't have gone alone.)

There was the ABC bargain house at Ghim Moh. Near the market there. They sell oreo at SGD $1.90 per box of 12 packets (now increase to $1.95 Sobs) This breaks down to each packet $0.16 and each biscuit about 5 cents! Cool right? Compare this to NTUC or even PRIME super mart. They sell it at $2.45... A whooping 55 cents more. I bought 20 boxes of those. I saved 11 dollars! 10 boxes weren't for me though. Ended up 2 boxes in my office @ BTI. (Its so crazy. I ate 2 boxes in 2 weeks)


This is the remainder which is @ my house ^^

I don't feel like blogging now. But I have to update everyone on this very interesting new english word. Its called "Trellavator", you know those things that you find at dobie god MRT station and changi airport? Yup. As coined by YH. I wonder how u can swap the two syllables... its actually quite difficult, even if you are tongue tied. Travellator.

By the way, if anybody has been to bishan library ,please try this out. Try snapping ur fingers (or any sudden sound) at one of the cubicles, just not too loud. Something like a sneeze/cough will work. you can hear the phasing - comb filtering. DAMN CLEAR. DAMN NICE.

Anyway, after his blunder, I decided to do a 3 in 1 suaning session. For Xiao wee too. We were eating at Suki Sushi and we were talking about xiao wee's air pistol. (not quoted word for word)
Me: You're in Air Pistol right?
XW: Yeah

Me: So you must shoot the target board which is at the end of the range right?
XW: Yeah. You must slot it down. There's a bracket.
Me: So don't need to use ASHIEVE (adhesive) tape to hold it down lah.
XW: (facepalm)

Me: How far is the range?
XW: ~10m
Me: So you need to wear glasses?
XW: Yes, if not how to see?

Me: Oh ok. I thought u could wear contact lenses. You know, those that you got from the OPTIMIST (Optometrist)
XW: (facepalm)

Me: So since it is so near, you can walk down the range to replace the target boards?
XW: Oh, don't need. There's the thing to wind it up.
Me: I see. I thought you needed to take the TRELLAVATOR down to the end to replace it.
YH: (facepalm)

D-popotamus left his footprint here...

My General Certificate of Education 'Advanced' Level Higher 3 Paper (Science Research - Coursework): National University of Singapore - Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Victoria Junior College attachment at Biopolis under Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Bioprocessing Technology Institute located at 20 Biopolis Way, Centros, Level 2 - Microbial Cells. Project C-type Lectins database

In short,

My GCE 'A' Levels H3 Paper (SR - CW): NAV attachment at Biopolis under A*Star's BTI located at 20 Biopolis Way, Centros, Level 2 - Microbial Cells. Project: CLEC database

Anyway... Things are pretty boring. Apart from observing the research scientists there for a while, i'm at the computer reading journals, chatting on MSN (SHHHHHH!!!) and reading my bio notes XD

Holland village food is really expensive. Never eat there. I paid $4.90 (Yes. Singapore Dollars Four and Cents Ninety) for a tiny plate of nasi lemak rice with curry veg and fried chicken thigh (WITHOUT the drumstick, mind you) It didn't really taste very nice either. Its comparable to the Hup Lee standard outside (where u can pay like $1.90 for it or something) Its at the Holland V food centre without air con!! Its like 3 dollars more!!! DAYLIGHT ROBBERY! I feel so cheated...


Anyway, here is my biopolis (BTI - Centros) access pass (temporary) 0281. Can go buy 4D... Its an old one anw...

Let me first sum up everything in one line: I have never worked with such an incompetent crew for a VERY VERY long time.


The last time I got even close to that was in MC_TV. One thing to note, these people there are called "professionals" because their PROFESSION is to do what they do, and not because what they do is 'professional'. At least, after I was posted to MC_ST and MC_TC, things were much better though. For 1, my primary experience is as a sound recordist and a post production sound engineer. Sure, I handle tracking too. But I feel that my forte is in Mixing and Mastering. Especially Mastering. It may be a good thing or otherwise, but my mind is calibrated to accept technical details, which is a plus when it comes to mastering. A single recording channel, for example a LDC can have close to 100 parameters. Say you're using a DM like X.200, paragraphic EQ will set u back like 12 params at least. Not to mention the DFX processing which will be like 20 params per FX. And for studio post production, typically 3 or 4 FX will be used. I'm excluding VGAs, by the way. They can be like 8 params per rack.

Well to begin with I was really sick. I think it was flu (no i don't have wings). I was having a runny nose the whole time. I reached home and took my temperature - 38.7... Woah... Very bad sore throat too and also badly congested lungs, full of phlegm... I reported for duty anyway. Things could have turned out really differently if I wasn't there (better or worse, i don't know). Anyway, I will be slaughtered if I didn't turn up, anyway. In either case, I hope none of the crew members, teachers or mr elfie catches the bug too. If they did, I'm really really sorry.

When I first attended the rehearsal, I was thinking to myself "Oh my god, this crew is not gonna make it". And so, the whole time, i was putting in about 30% of my full effort and concentration (given my sick state which degraded my performance by 1/2, so its technically 15% of my full potential)for the rehearsals. Seriously, I simply just gave up. I just wanted to go through the motion of completing the rehearsals and performance. Basically, this whole experience was in my terms a

"demoraliser"

for me. If for the guitar concert, I am seeing this, I believe the other concerts will have same (if not worse, unlikely better) performance. In fact, during the meeting on tuesday, some people had the cheek to say that Mr Elfie was doing sound! How absurd!

I guess, industry experience really lowers the threshold and tolerance for incompetency. Trust me, the only reason why I wasn't yelling at the top of my voice was becoz I had a very bad sore throat and I just gave up on the performance. If I was serious about it at all, everyone would have been screwed directly or sarcastically at least once, especially those in my working radius. Speaking of which, I really loathe people of that kind of attitude. Maybe the other crew members on stage do not know. But when on duty for lights, multitasking was going on - with patrick's (I hope I got the name of the guitar member correct) laptop. Ok fine. If you can concentrate on both, its fine. Just don't screw up. But I think the extra chatter was unnecessary especially the singing part. Chatting on MSN is crossing the line. Asking Stage how to use the webcam in the middle of the concert is way off. Nevermind the nonchalance, but the attitude is totally crappy. It reminds me of those rich kid, over reliant on maids that u see in the movies who need to be spoonfed everything. Its like people around them are seen as answers, servants, walking dictionaries and other similar demeaning words that you can think of. Frankly, if this was in MC, this kind of people would be fired right away, if they even made it through the interviews in the first place. I would rather not have people as mentioned to be in the crew itself.

The PT's sound system is totally retarded. Honestly. Even Mr Elfie agrees with me to a large extent. 4 pin XLR for monitor speakers? Not my cup of tea. Wiring is screwed up. So is GEQ, DSP and the VGAs. I wonder why a common standard cannot be in place. How retarded can the sound consultancy get?

I am in favour of EAW speakers partly because i'm certified (although it has expired, so i WAS certified) and it has smartpilot which i really loooove!!! I think Yamaha speakers are retarded. They have screwed up chassis designs and weird frequency response - no wonder yamaha EQ boxes are actually quite good. EV is still ok. JBL has inaccurate beamwidth technical specifications, but other than that, they're ok. Mackie has very versatile - so is behringer, but is quite limited in its range, and I don't think its very good for installation. 1 systems is ok for some outdoor applications. By the way, This is not referring to studio mons if you haven't realised.

Anyway, the school is obsessed with cheap yamahas. I don't know why. This is just so retarded. But too bad - for me, that is. Almost every piece of sound equipment is yamaha. WTF. Well, you can say it's my nightmare. Thing is, i'm more familiar with mackie systems. Yamaha's VCA is totally retarded. I prefer mackie's buses. If only all mackie faders were infinium, it would be really great...

To start of with, I wasn't really present for the 2nd rehearsal on wednesday, so I didn't really know what was going on. But i guess it was quite easy for me since the sound side wasn't really demanding in terms of quantity - managing 8 (actually 6) channels is a piece of cake.

Anyway, on thursday, the technical run was unproductive. They guitar people were very retarded. Apparently, when using line 6 amps, they have failed to take into consideration celestion's beamwidth. I reccommended that they send somebody up to find out if the amps could be heard from upstairs, but the frustrating response was "then too bad lah". I seriously cannot take this kind of nonchalant attitude. Its THEIR concert. My logic is: If this is your concert and you can don't care, so why should we care? This is not our concert anyway.

You see, some people don't really use their grey matter. Friday's rehearsal was completely screwed up. I'll just summarise everything. If I go into details, this post will stretch for 10000 words (4 zeros). The stage crew knew nuts about polar response. Let alone micing techniques. Do you know how frustrated I was? I wanted to run down and slap everyone across the face!!! (ok maybe not lah, I don't want to dirty my hand).

I can't really remember the order of events but I'll just say what comes to my mind. Guitar ensemble is too soft to be miced with just 2 overall microphones. XY or AB doesn't really make a difference. It doesnt help that the AT SGCs were cardoid. to a certain extent hypercardiod. Btw, all performances were full of feedback. Quoting J3 jian xiang(i hope i spelt correctly) "I hear the feedback ah, I know its the next performance already. Don't need to see one." (-_-")

Yeah ok. I could choose to let the volume remain low. The ensemble (yes. combined) is simply too soft! Evertime i up the gain, there's feedback. Thing is, I cannot just let the low volume remian low. I have to try some way to up it what... then eveytime mic posn change. I cannot memorise the levels. This is not a digital mixer. I can only programme the on/off.

People ought to realise that even though they are SHOTGUN condensers, the polar pickup is NOT shotgun in nature. ITS CARDOID and HYPER CARD at certain frequencies!!!!

THE SIDES OF THE CONDENSER HAS NICE LITTLE GROOVES. BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN THAT IT'S PICKUP GAIN IS THE HIGHEST AT THAT ANGLE!

Therefore, DO NOT mic, i reapeat, DO NOT mic using the sides!!! All you'll do is to make yourself look like a laughing stock for ppl who actually know their stuff...

Anyway, the cues for audio was mainly OK so I shall not talk about it. The small group performances using amps were easy, coz the amps weren't miced. For the vocals, its just the beta 58 As were alright except the pet peeve where people don't hold the mics correctly. I quote myself saying "please hold the microphones as close to your mouth as possible, better still, IN your mouth. Although this would be a hygiene problem"

The small group on the carpet was retarded. One of the mic clips drooped down and pointed at the carpet. I quote myself "Introducing the revolutionary technique of the CARPET REFLECTOR". Yea. Haha. (-_-")

The communication was really really bad so I gave up. So I really couldnt be bothered about communications during the actual concert - I told you. I gave up. I wanted to use Full Code (inc auth) but ended using Semi formal to no code at all. My experience as a communications specialist (Comms Spec) for 3 whole years has told me that this is one of the bottleneck of events.

The Guitar people were quite retarded to ask for drums to be miced. Our current equipement cannot mic drums optimally. I don't even want to try. We have no SM57s. We have no B5s. Those are the minimum requirements. Yes u can use the beta 58. Yes you can use shotgun condenser (but like wth u all buy us new ones after the event)

The crew has to learn that +48V must be removed before disconnecting microphones. I cannot stress this any further. Its a crime not to do so!!!

The guitar guy who did the slideshow was another idiot... He created the slideshow without informing us that there was sound (-_-") Stella's oversight in not playing it before hand was another cause of the problem... See lah, too much MSN... ... Eventually, when we realised that there WAS supposed to be sound output, we decided NOT to plug the laptop into the mixer anyway - on the pretext that we couldn't find that cable (although it was there). After all, it is guitar ensemble's fault that they didn't inform us that there was sound anyway... Besides, it would look as if we had technical problems if we had plugged in the sound halfway. Well, no reputation at stake or what crap, so who cares? We're not paid after all! They ought to learn the lesson the hard way.

Mic clips are another big issue in the performance theatre. There are like 20 microphones available. The number of mic clips? I don't know. About 10? (WTF!?!) This tells me alot. They were either spoilt- and thrown away- or lost. It is not possible for microphone manufacturers not to include the mic clips. I think the school will need to purchase more multi purpose mic clips although they really really suck.

The final senior ensemble piece before the encore was quite a disaster. Victoria. The 25th Anniversary theme song. Its so propagandaish... Anyway, I think the composition was quite ok. But there were lots of problems. Before the actual concert, I brought down 2 condensers to mic the piano stereo. However, because of LACK OF MIC CLIPS - LIKE WTF!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!, only the Beta 58A could be used. 1 of them. Well, what to do? Sigh.

The encore part was another problem. Halfway through the performance, 1 of the microphones dropped or hit something and that resulted in the crash and subsequently feedback. Luckily, the conductor was managed to get off his podium and pick it up after it dropped. It was the encore performance anyway, and it wasn't that important to the concert lah (-_-")...

Yup... that was all for the guitar concert.

25/5 edit:
Lei Xiao and Mr Elfie caught my bug... So sorry about it =(
Get well soon, nonetheless. I hope nobody else will fall ill...

Church last saturday was rather eventful because I went to the teen's zone for the 1st time, after tailing Julia, for her testimony. Anyway, I learnt about the GDOP, global day of prayer: http://www.gdop.sg/2009/

Youth GDOP Hall 10, Singapore Expo @ 3pm, 31 May 2009

BE THERE!!! (coz admission is free)

Those who are coming let me know PLEASE!! =D

Anyway, back to reality:

CCA Exco positions for my CCAs are out.

iComp

Pres: Fong Yi Han
Vice Pres: Me
Secretary/Treasurer: Pee Choon Hian
Video Head: Zhu Xi
Asst Video Head: Goh Ze Wei
IT Head: Timothy Tee

and for PA Crew

VJC 26th PA Crew

Pres: Tay Si Yun
Vice Pres: Pee Choon Hian
Technical Specialist: Me
Secretary: Lei Xiao
Treasurer: Huang Qin
Welfare Head: Lim Cheng Yee

Sigh...
Anyway, I don't want to spend too much time on CCA as well. But anyway, Good luck to the excos. I don't even know who is medsoc exco as of now, btw.

ME = D-popotamus
Time Spent On Earth (Years) = 17
Likes = Sleep, Food, GOOD music,
Loathes = Sister, O levels, Homework, Ee Ah Ho_g, being awoken from sleep
hotmail:__________
Pri Sch = Montfort Junior School
Pri Sch Classes = 1F'99, 2G'00, 3G'01, 4G'02, 5I'03, 6I'04
Pri Sch CCAs = Math Club, IT Club
Organization = Mensa, Singapore (Since 06)
Intelligence Quotient = 145 (Raven), 99.9%tile
Church = Living Sanctuary Brethren Church
Sec Sch = Catholic High School (Secondary) 公教中学
Sec Sch CCAs = iMedia (quitted), Nucleii (Formerly Known As IT Club)
Sec Sch CCA Positions = Nucleii Vice President, Treasurer, Head of Department (Programming)
Sec Sch Classes = 1-3'05, 2-3'06, 3-9'07, 4-9'08
Junior College = Victoria Junior College
Junior College Classes = 09S32
Junior College CCAs = iComp (Infocomm Club), PA Crew, Medical Society
Junior College CCA Positions = iComp Vice President, PA Crew Technical Specialist
Friendster = Friendster Profile
DISC Profile = C/S
MBTI Profile = ESTJ
1 Corinthians 10:13
2 Chronicles 7:14
Genesis 4:7
James1:17
James 1:12
Matthew 18:20
Matthew 19:26
Philippians 4:13
Psalms 50:15
Psalm 118:1
Psalm 118:5
Psalm 118:29 (different quote, same quotation)
Psalm 118:13
Psalm 118:17-19
Psalm 118:20
Psalm 118:21
Psalm 118:24
Psalm 119:105
Psalm 136:1
Romans 6:23