HIGHLIGHTS
This month, I finished the exterior shots for the Soyuz Flight sequence, and began work on repairing the shot of the train exterior from the opening sequence of the “Lunatics!” pilot.
I also installed a mini-split air-conditioner in the studio, which is very useful in this hot Summer!
PRODUCTION
Finished the Soyuz Flight pod-staging shot, and re-rendered the other exterior shots from S1E01-SF, to fix a broken texture for the Earth’s surface.
I started work on recovering the exterior train shot from S1E01-TR2.
This shot has a number of problems. Some elements were lost due to a linking mistake, although the animation for them is still included in the file. To recover that, I hope to re-add the elements and use ABX to copy the animation to the newly-created proxy.
In addition, though, the set and other elements were set up at an incorrect scale (1 BU = 2.9 m, intead of 1 BU = 1 m). Scaling in Blender is not so simple, though, because some of the more complex elements, like animation and particle systems have unmarked units that don’t scale with the models.
SALES
Ran a 75% off coupon for my solar-system poster set on my Fediverse accounts. I sold 3 out of the 10 sets left. Which is a little underwhelming, considering the high discount. But then, they are the only sales I’ve made this year, so I’m happy to have made them.
OPERATIONS
I installed the 1.3 version of Inkscape, and started using the font categorization feature. This is a feature I’ve wanted to have for years. I think it will save me a lot of time and hassle.
CONSTRUCTION
I installed a new “mini-split” heat pump (cools and heats). This should be a lot more efficient than the portable duct-based air-conditioner that we replaced.
Video Worklog Summary
JULY 2023 Project Report (Music, No Commentary)
This month, I finished the pod-staging animation. I also needed to re-render the rest of the sequence to incorporate repairs I made to the set file (it had been missing a large texture file).
Started work on repairing the Western Kazakhstan Railway set and the exterior shot of the train that it is used for (S1E01-TR2).
Upgraded Inkscape 1.3, which includes a new feature I’ve been asking for for years: a method to organize installed fonts. This version now incorporates “Font Categories”, which is a folder system in the font menus. I proceeded to sort my fonts using it. This is going to be a big time-saver!
During an internet outage, I decided I really should have a way to write, preferably in Markdown format, without needing to be online. I can, of course use Kate (text editor) for this, but I’d like to see the formatted output while I’m working on it (not necessarily WYSIWYG — a preview window is fine).
So far, all the easy-to-install options on Debian/Ubuntu have trouble formatting real Markdown files in my collection, so I don’t know if I’ve found a good option yet (it’s also possible that my Markdown files are non-standard).
Installed outlets and a light on my workbench.
Put a new thermometer and hygrometer in the studio server closet.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- 00:00 Summary
- 00:15 “Lunatics!” – Soyuz Podstaging Animation (finished)
- 06:27 “Lunatics!” – Soyuz Launch Sequence Exteriors (S1E01-SF4, A-D)
- 07:24 “Lunatics!” – Train Exterior Shot (S1E01-TR2) & Railway Set Review/Scaling
- 09:35 Inkscape 1.3 Release (Upgrade from PPA)
- 09:50 Sorting Fonts with new “Font Categories” feature
- 11:28 Testing Offline Markdown Editor Options
- 12:52 Mini-Split Heat Pump (Air Conditioner) Installation in Studio
- 16:03 Electrical outlets and light for electronics workbench
- 17:01 Thermometer/Hygrometer for server closet
- 17:07 Music Credits / Project Support URLs
