sci-ficandy: stan lee says…

As we get closer and closer to the rebirth of our beloved Star Trek (two weeks and counting), I can detect the early stages of an illness, slowly brewing inside me.  But this particular viral strain does not manifest itself through elevated temperature, cold sweats or even a mild cough; no, the symptoms of this pesky bug can be far worse – in the past week alone, I’ve found myself dusting off a Phaser, replacing the batteries in an old Communicator toy and, believe it or not, actually watching episodes of Enterprise  (just to see if there were any good ones).   Try as I might, calls to 911 have proved fruitless – even the most skilled EMT on earth can’t do a thing for a patient exhibiting the signs of Star Trek Fever…

and the winner is…

Ladies, gentlemen and small, furry creatures from Alpha Centauri, we have a winner!  Thanks to everyone who contributed a name for my root beer float recipe.  Some of my favorites were Pan Galactica Gargle Blaster, The Pickled Fisheye, Daz Mojo, and Ambrojo.   For some reason, the majority of contestants thought they had to somehow make the name of the drink related to BSG, which I found very confusing since none of the ingredients include sheet metal, Tylium or naked Booomers.  On the other hand, I applaud those who recognized we were naming a root beer float based on the fact that it used caramel ice cream instead of the traditional vanilla (or, I should say, the one  guy who took that into consideration).  Still, try as I might, I couldn’t ignore the clever BSG-related names that you crazy, knuckle-headed Darth Mojo readers came up with!

NSFW: best root beer float ever (updated with contest!)

As I was lying in my hospital bed, mentally skirting the edge of another galaxy (thanks to the combination of two shots of Morpha, Vicodin and a muscle relaxant), I realized that it would be a big mistake for me to die without sharing with the world my own, personal recipie for the Best Root Beet Float ever.  So, dear readers, I now present you with my miracle drink and implore all of you to hunt down the ingredients and indulge…

how big was the colony?

Across the myriad of interwebs, i’ve seen a lot of comments from people wondering “just how frakkin’ big was the Colony?”  Truth be told, there may not be an exact figure.  See, Lightwave tends to choke if you expand the world into krazy amounts of kilometers.  The software still works, but it can get a little buggy on you when things get too big, so the CG model of the Cylon Colony was built to a scale far larger than the Galactica, but not quite as big as FX Supervisor Gary Hutzel imagined.  For the final shots, the size of ships next to The Colony had to be squeezed down to match his vision of the true enormity of the bad guys’ ultimate secret lair.  But don’t fret, here are a few images to give you the general idea, so click through for some high tech BSG action!

operation: operation

In about 6 hours I’ll be on the way to the hospital for my first-ever game of real-life Operation!  It’s minor surgery to fix my twisted back (loyal Darth Mojo readers will remember my car accident from a few months back) and I’m assured it’s all very routine, but of course the whole thing is scaring the felgercarb out of me; what if my nose suddenly buzzes and glows red?  

my god, it full of (the wrong) stars!

 

A few days ago, in the comments section, I revealed that the CGI stars as seen in that backgrounds of Battlestar Galactica  were, for the most part, random.  They are an accurate representation of what stars look like from Earth, but they were randomly placed.  This greatly shocked and disappointed a small legion of fans who had been analyzing these backgrounds for clues; by screen-capturing images of the stars and overlaying constellations, they had been hoping to pinpoint the exact location of The Fleet and how close they were to Earth.  The revelation that all their time had essentially been wasted because the visual effects team hadn’t actually planted any clues left them very cross indeed…

NSFW

Welcome to another edition of NSFW (that’s No Sci-Fi Wednesdays  for the uninitiated), my attempt at bringing you a weekly look at something that has nothing to do with spaceship (click here to see the inaugural post).  This week we have a picture of a pigeon I took at Union Station a few years ago.  Isn’t it lovely?  You can even click it for a larger version.  This post also marks a new milestone – it’s short. 

what did YOU think of the BSG finale?

I asked for comments in my previous post, but people have been holding back for fear of spoiling the show for folks in third world countries who may not see the finale for a while.  In that case, I am creating THIS post as an invitation – and a warning – to let the flood gates open and tell us what you really  think in as much detail as you like.  So take the kid gloves off, roll up your sleeves and spill the beans.  No holds barred!  I’ll even temporarily  switch off the comment approvals, so your thoughts will be shared with the world  immediately… so let’s hear it!  Click through, scroll down to the comments section and give us your review (I trust the above image will satisfy those who bitch about not being given fair warning when spoilers are ahead).

Throughout the comments section I will post my own thoughts and answer your questions as best I can!

fat lady clears throat, fans hold breath

Well folks, it’s almost time – in a few short hours, the three-hour series finale of Battlestar Galactica  will rock the airwaves and we’ll all see how the saga wraps up.  Believe it or not, even *I* have avoided spoilers!  Yes, I essentially know what happens, but I purposely avoided reading the entire script or watching complete rough cuts so I might have at least a few surprises in store.  We’ve waited more than thirty years to see what sort of finish line the Galactica crosses and what fate has in store for Starbuck & Apollo… my gut tells me people will love the final episode, but please – after it’s all over, take a trip to my comments section and voice your opinion.  I think we’re all going to need to talk about it!  Above is a stirring image of a Viper I created recently, feel free to stare at it and cry for as long as you need to…

Viper redux: turning shinola into shit

Over the weekend I posted the above image of a Viper from the 1979 version of Battlestar Galactica; as most people are aware, when that show was produced there was no such thing as CGI, so all of the visual effects were created “old school,” meaning the Vipers were actual, physical models, photographed with real lights and a real camera.  Thirty years later, visual effects on the new BSG are created entirely with computers, but, despite all this fancy new technology, the goal of most artists is to still have it look  like good old-fashioned miniatures and cameras!  Of course, on the new series, there never was a real  Viper model, so we have nothing to compare the CGI version with to see if we “got it right.”  However, there is plenty of footage of physical Viper models in episodes from the original BSG, so I decided to see just how close I could make a “fake” Viper look like a “real” Viper…

and the real viper is… still grounded by technical difficulties (UPDATED)

2/5 – Problem solved!  Looks like my browser cache was full (thanks to reader Malitia9 for the heads up).  D’oh!  In any case, all the images are in place and I’m doing the write up as we speak.  Check back later tonight for the full post, probably around midnight Pacific time.

2/4 – For the love of Larson, I just spent over an hour preparing a whole slew of tasty, step-by-step images, detailing every last bit of the hi-tech process  in make a low-tech Viper, but WordPress STILL doesn’t want to play nice.  Every time I upload an image, it goes through the upload process, but it reports “complete but with errors on page,” the key error being the actual picture doesn’t show!  I just rebooted in the hopes that it was something on my end, but no dice.  I’ll hunt around and see if WordPress is actually acknowledging an issue, but you know what they say – good things come to those who wait!  I mean sure, I could do the write up without any images, but that would sort of be like going to a BBQ festival and being greeted by a sign saying “no animals were harmed in the making of this ferstival.”

In the meantime, let’s start a meaningful discussion in the comments section: if you were stranded on a desert island and you had to pick ONE character from Battlestar Galactica (original or new) to keep you company, who would you choose and why?

and the real viper is…

Ok folks, it’s 1:30 am and despite my best efforts, WordPress is not allowing me to upload any images!  Trust me, I’ve tried everything.  You’re all going to just have to hold on one more day for the full story.  Besides, today was uber-busy and the extra time will allow me to really put together a comprehensive look at the whole process.  It will be worth the wait. 

Oh frak it, the bottom one is fake :-)

will the real viper please stand up?

So, you think you’re a sharp-eyed DarthMojo reader?  Do you have what it takes to spot the difference between real and CGI?  In the above image, one Viper is a frame-grab from an episode of the original 1979 Battlestar Galactica  and the other is 100% computer generated.   Can you tell which is which?  Click the image to get the full-size picture, put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and give us your best guess in the comments section.  On Tuesday, we’ll reveal the answer and give you a glimpse into how we produced the forgery!  May the Lords of Kobol be with you…

getty moon

My friend Jin finally gave me a CD-ROM of a bunch of pictures we took high atop the Getty Center last summer, and this one turned out particularly tasty.   Late in the day, outside on the giftshop terrace, we noticed a crowd gathering and went to check out what all the fuss was.  We were greeted by the rare and breathtaking sight of a giant, amber moon, hanging over the purple dusk of the San Fernando Valley (click image for full, hi-res version).

twisted metal

 Today was a great day!  Until the day turned into night and someone decided they didn’t really  have to pay attention to traffic before pulling onto Burbank boulevard.  I wish I could tell you that the picture above is a prop car, or some amazingly realistic CGI creation, but no, it is my once gallant, graceful and gleaming gold Miata, now badly in need of a medic.

parting is such sweet sorrow

The mood was sullen and my vision misty the day my work recently wrapped on  Battlestar Galactica.   According to the date stamp, I created my very first scene for the show on May 12, 2004 (a shot of Starbuck, Apollo and Boomer approaching the Olympic Carrier for “33”).  It was quite literally a dream come true; not only had the impossible happened and my favorite show was coming back, but I was working on it.  Of course that was no accident – believe me, I wiggled and wormed and begged and pleaded to get that job.  But now that it was coming to an end, how did I feel?

introducing: NSFW

It’s a sadly accurate cliche that fans of science fiction (myself included) become so engrossed in our genre of choice that we often forget there’s an entire world to explore, right here on Earth.  To combat this plague of myopia, we’ve decided to launch begin a new series: NSFW (that’s short for No Sci-Fi Wednesdays).   Once a week we’ll ask you to holster your phaser, put down that tricorder and join us for a refreshing trip through inner space.  To start us off I’m going to unload my camera phone’s databank  storage card and share some of the inexplicable wonders I’ve seen around town recently…