Hey all, great, short new interview with Marc here. He talks about why he decided to work on SuperFogeys, what makes SF different from other webcomics and hints at the future of his own webcomic, Spooky Doofus. Check it out!
whoop-de-doo
I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this past weekend and let me just get this out of the way first: I enjoyed the movie. It was a little long in parts, a little indulgent, but I’m pretty sure the same magic that was present in the Lord of the Rings films was there and I enjoyed my trip back to Middle Earth a great deal.
Why only “pretty sure?”
Because of the friggin’ 48fps. Because of HFR 3D. I hated it. If you saw it this past weekend in HFR and you liked it, turn away now. I’m probably gonna make you mad.
For those of you that don’t know, since the 1920′s movies have been filmed at 24 frames per second. That’s part of why movies look like movies in the first place. Even with the recent change to digital cinema, the standard is still 24fps. What once was a technical limitation has become an aesthetic that, until now, filmmakers have always strived for. The advantage of 24fps? A slightly dreamlike quality that does not mimic reality, but looks real to us all the same. The disadvantage? Fast motions are blurred and pans have what’s called a “jutter” effect–the stuttering that happens when a camera is moving through a scene.
48fps takes care of blurring (sort 0f) and jutter but–I would argue–destroys the particular reality of cinema. A movie ceases to be a movie.
You’ve all seen higher frame rate motion pictures. Video games run at speeds well above 48fps. Soap Operas and old BBC shows run just under. If you have a TV that can see it by turning on the TruMotion or “Smoothing” feature. Maybe you like that. Maybe you’re delusional.
The problem with 48fps is that it looks like something that’s trying desperately to be real and yet undoes it’s own reality in the attempt. Don’t believe people who say watching The Hobbit in HFR is like looking at it through a window. HFR is real in the same way the characters in The Polar Express look real–you know it really should look more real than it actually does, but you can’t put your finger on what it’s missing. It’s the Uncanny Valley of film presentation. Ever seen a Behind The Scenes video? Wanna see a whole movie that looks like that? I wish I hadn’t.
Personally, I can’t understand anyone looking at the HFR and actually preferring it. It was that off-putting to me. It’s the opposite of cinema. I expect scope and cinema when I go to the movies and HFR just makes everything look small and poorly cobbled together. Nothing in the images looks like they’re part of the same world–not the people, not the props, not the CGI. Nothing. Elements of the image are simply at odds with each other.
Nothing interacts properly. When movement doesn’t look sped up it looks stretched or out of focus. Reality is broken, constantly. Cinema tries to create its own reality and you buy into it because it sets its own rules. HFR tries to ape reality but fails because reality doesn’t look or move that way. If it did, I wouldn’t want to stab my eyes with rusty keys while watching it.
“But,” I hear those of you in need of glasses and therapy saying, “You’re getting more. More frames means more information–you’re getting more movie with greater clarity!” Sort of. The problem is your eyes truly do not know where to go because you’re getting so much information from the screen. Yes, for a minute, it’s kind of cool. Landscapes are beautiful. The detail can be incredible. But then, somebody moves. Who cares about clarity when all that information renders the image awful?
They say HFR is the future. James Cameron has already stated his intent to up the ante to 60fps for Avatar 2 & 3. I may be an old curmudgeon who will one day look as ridiculous as those who once declared the introduction of sound to be the death of cinema, but, darn it, this feels like the death of cinema. These are not images I want to see. 48fps took the magic right out of Middle Earth. Think about that. This is a movie with no less than three wizards in it and there was no magic. Magic can’t survive the transition to 48fps. Not for me, anyway.
I take it back. Go see The Hobbit in HFR 3D if you want to see for yourself. Make up your own mind about it. But, if you want to just see the movie and be transported back to Middle Earth? Skip HFR. I’m telling you. Just forget all about it. Unless you want to be on the edge of your seat waiting for the moment when Bilbo reveals he has a twin brother whose been sleeping with his wife (who needs a heart transplant), just go see the movie the only way it can be justifiably called “a movie”–in 24fps.
It’s that time of year again when SuperFogeys takes a bit of time off and you get to step in to fill the gap!
You guys really came out in a big way to support SF this year. From the last minute guest strips we needed over the summer to the Kickstarter, I want to thank everyone. Because of that, I want to put it out there that there shouldn’t be any sense of obligation attached to this year’s Guest Strippin’ Xmas (not that there really ever is). This should be fun and nothing more. Create the guest strips because you want to draw these characters and you want to see your name in (Christmas) lights and for no other reason.
Got that? Cool.
If you’d like to submit, here’s the specs and what you need to know:
• Submissions can be in either strip or page format. Valhalla years or SuperFogeys Origins–it’s up to you! (Just bear in mind that your stories won’t be canon.)
• Funny is good.
• Strips will run at 900 pixels across. Please send that size or larger. I can always scale down, but never up.
• Spy Gal naked is bad.
• Please include “SuperFogeys (copyright symbol) 2012 Brock Heasley” underneath the strip.
• email to: bwhheasley (at) gmail.com
• Include your name, name of your comic (if you have one) and website url (if you have one) and whatever biographical information you’d like to see posted with your strip. Promoting you is my thank you, so please make sure I have my facts straight!
• Deadline is Dec. 20th
Have at it, folks! Please ask any questions you have in the comments below.
Thanks!
Hey all, it’s go time. Just over 24 hours to go on the Kickstarter as I type this and we are sooooo close to the Spy Gal stretch goal. Only $226 to go as of this writing! C’mon, you want a sculpted Spy Gal, don’t you? I know I do.
As I’ve mentioned before, The SuperFogeys Sourcebook and Adventure Game is gonna be an amazing book that will appeal to gamers and just plain ol’ fans of the SuperFogeys alike. We’re really working hard to make this your go-to resource for an in-depth look at the SF universe. Case in point: the character pages. Here’s a look at Captain Spectacular’s:
How awesome does that look? Looks for every major SF character–and even a bunch of minor ones–to get the same treatment. It’s a great opportunity for me to reveal a bunch of details that there just isn’t room for in the strip. Big thanks to all of you who supported this book so far–I really think you’re gonna be pleased when you get it.
Want to back the project and get some cool stuff? Time is running out–go here!
Big update to the SuperFogeys Sourcebook and Adventure Game Kickstarter over the weekend–now I can show you the first miniatures. Check it out, Captain Spectacular and Dr. Rocket:
How great are those sculpts! Big kudos to sculptor Gene Van Horne for capturing ALL the detail of what up until now was just drawings on a screen. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to see these guys come to life. With Harvey! As of this writing, we just cleared 50% of the initial goal, so we’re well on our way to achieving some of the stretch goals. Spy Gal is the next figure up–but only if we can hit our next goal. After that? Well, we’ll do everybody if we can. It’s all up to you.
Some new reward levels were also added over the weekend. Want just the two initial figures and a pdf version of the book? Then you can be an Eco Hero for just $15 bucks. Want to get everything available so far and create a hero or villain with me who can be not only in the book, but is guaranteed to show up in at least two strips? Then you might want to consider the Interstellar Hero and Unrivaled Villain levels.
Also, by the time you read this there should be some NEW reward levels up that will nab you sketch cards and inked drawings by yours truly. Since I’m not exactly drawing SF anymore these days, this art will be very rare indeed. UPDATE – They’re there now!
Again, rewards are EXTREMELY limited. We’ve already sold out of a few of them! Act fast, if you can.
Much more to come. Keep your eye and on the SuperFogeys Kickstarter and leave a comment to make requests. Big thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!
