Forgot to mention yesterday that I'd been to see TransFormers at IMAX. Gotta say, fourth time, I'm still liking it. Obviously the sound was crystal clear this time, so there was no difficulty in understanding any of the robot dialogue. Even Frenzy's bizarre mutterings became clear (particularly when he beheads himself with one of his own razor discs and - quite obviously - says "Oh, shit..."). The robots looked awesome and, while I'd disagree that the fight scenes were blurry on the massive IMAX screen, that format in general is a very convincing argument against the juddery camerawork that has become de rigeur in Hollywood.
Did the extra 2 minutes add anything to the movie? Not really... Just another couple of gags and a few redundant scenes. Nothing that will be missed on the DVD release.
Did IMAX presentation add anything to the movie? Well... Yes and no. It's the same movie, warts and all... but the giant robots really were giant, and the detail on them was phenomenal. Seeing Bonecrusher's highway transformation on such a large screen was worth the entrance fee alone. I would urge anyone who liked the movie to catch its limited engagement in IMAX
Sunday, 7 October 2007
Saturday, 6 October 2007
First week, close
And so we begin again in our new office in a new location in west London. True to my predictions, I don't miss the old place, and I'm not remotely troubled by the differences between offices old and new. The layout kinda works, the air conditioning works (the leak turned out to be unrelated to the aircon, something on the roof was leaking and, supposedly, has now been fixed), the computers work, the network is there, the internet is there (albeit slower, because IS didn't think we needed the faster connection in the new office), and we continue to function almost seamlessly.
No-one has mentioned missing the old place, so I can only assume that they don't. The 'bistro bar' is actually pretty darned good, with quite a variety of food, so it doesn't seem as important that we can't pop out of the office to the dozens of different restaurants or food shops that Notting Hill had to offer. Transport is easier for some, and more difficult for others... My journey, in terms of travel time, is much the same... But I can get away with being later before I arrive at the office late.
My magazine going to press on Monday could be healthier... The brand new designer somehow got the idea she had till next Friday to finish, so there are ten bits of editorial untouched. Neither she nor the Editor saw fit to voice any concerns to me (y'know, being Production Manager and all), so I had no idea. On Monday, I'll be redistributing the work between team members so we can get it all done. Not the most auspicious of beginnings for a new member of staff.
Worse still, the ads are in a terrible state. In the morning, 23 ads were not properly booked onto the system, and there were 13 pages filled with free ads. Somehow the Sales team had convinced the Commercial Manager that they had record takings, and so were being encouraged to keep the 13 pages to see how well they could really do.
My counterpart's team has been having an interesting time. With one designer on holiday, our Junior has been filling in... and the Editor he worked with prefers him. He's easier to work with, doesn't whine constantly and, contrary to many of my expectations, is a far better designer by most standards. It's a shame he had to flunk a chance at promotion before he raised his game.
In other news, I was planning to go back to Kingston today, to return my TF Movie Strongarm for replacement. On the way home last night, by boss offered to drive me if I could put it off till next weekend... I didn't go today but, depending on how I feel, I may yet brave public transport tomorrow. Of course, the idea of spending about an hour and a half travelling for a transaction that will be completed (assuming Strongarm is still in stock) in seconds seems a little daft even to me...
To occupy myself instead, I've been painting like crazy on my TF Cybertron Sabrewulf. Robot mode is all but complete now - just need to let things dry to avoid mucking up what I've already done, then tidy up a bit. Once I'm completely happy, I'll put him back into wolf mode and complete that (mostly details on the forelegs) and see what gets damaged by the moving parts. I was even able to mix an excellent approximation of the darker metallic brown I came up with last time, so it looks nice and even. This is going to be one cool custom paintjob...
On the subject of custom painting of TransFormers, it seems that the UK market for customs isn't quite as big as the US market. On eBay today, I found a bunch of movie customs going for only a couple of quid more than one could buy the plain, box-fresh version in the shops. Compare and contrast to the results of similar auctions on the US site, where certain customs sold for several hundred dollars.
In my slack moments, I watched more of New Captain Scarlet season 2... and I'm mightily impressed. Not only has Ron Thornton's team outdone themselves in terms of the CG work (way beyond even the best of Babylon 5), but the stories are - by and large - grittier and more interesting, with fewer condescensions to the 'kiddie' audience. The opening episode has some moments that are not for the squeamish. There are a couple of episodes that - for no obvious reason - lacked the 'back-and-forth scene cuts with dramatic percussion', which I'm guessing was an oversight at the editing stage. I quite liked season one, but this new season is bloody amazing. Roll on season 3... and more CG re-imaginings of Gerry Anderson's puppet shows.
No-one has mentioned missing the old place, so I can only assume that they don't. The 'bistro bar' is actually pretty darned good, with quite a variety of food, so it doesn't seem as important that we can't pop out of the office to the dozens of different restaurants or food shops that Notting Hill had to offer. Transport is easier for some, and more difficult for others... My journey, in terms of travel time, is much the same... But I can get away with being later before I arrive at the office late.
My magazine going to press on Monday could be healthier... The brand new designer somehow got the idea she had till next Friday to finish, so there are ten bits of editorial untouched. Neither she nor the Editor saw fit to voice any concerns to me (y'know, being Production Manager and all), so I had no idea. On Monday, I'll be redistributing the work between team members so we can get it all done. Not the most auspicious of beginnings for a new member of staff.
Worse still, the ads are in a terrible state. In the morning, 23 ads were not properly booked onto the system, and there were 13 pages filled with free ads. Somehow the Sales team had convinced the Commercial Manager that they had record takings, and so were being encouraged to keep the 13 pages to see how well they could really do.
My counterpart's team has been having an interesting time. With one designer on holiday, our Junior has been filling in... and the Editor he worked with prefers him. He's easier to work with, doesn't whine constantly and, contrary to many of my expectations, is a far better designer by most standards. It's a shame he had to flunk a chance at promotion before he raised his game.
In other news, I was planning to go back to Kingston today, to return my TF Movie Strongarm for replacement. On the way home last night, by boss offered to drive me if I could put it off till next weekend... I didn't go today but, depending on how I feel, I may yet brave public transport tomorrow. Of course, the idea of spending about an hour and a half travelling for a transaction that will be completed (assuming Strongarm is still in stock) in seconds seems a little daft even to me...
To occupy myself instead, I've been painting like crazy on my TF Cybertron Sabrewulf. Robot mode is all but complete now - just need to let things dry to avoid mucking up what I've already done, then tidy up a bit. Once I'm completely happy, I'll put him back into wolf mode and complete that (mostly details on the forelegs) and see what gets damaged by the moving parts. I was even able to mix an excellent approximation of the darker metallic brown I came up with last time, so it looks nice and even. This is going to be one cool custom paintjob...
On the subject of custom painting of TransFormers, it seems that the UK market for customs isn't quite as big as the US market. On eBay today, I found a bunch of movie customs going for only a couple of quid more than one could buy the plain, box-fresh version in the shops. Compare and contrast to the results of similar auctions on the US site, where certain customs sold for several hundred dollars.
In my slack moments, I watched more of New Captain Scarlet season 2... and I'm mightily impressed. Not only has Ron Thornton's team outdone themselves in terms of the CG work (way beyond even the best of Babylon 5), but the stories are - by and large - grittier and more interesting, with fewer condescensions to the 'kiddie' audience. The opening episode has some moments that are not for the squeamish. There are a couple of episodes that - for no obvious reason - lacked the 'back-and-forth scene cuts with dramatic percussion', which I'm guessing was an oversight at the editing stage. I quite liked season one, but this new season is bloody amazing. Roll on season 3... and more CG re-imaginings of Gerry Anderson's puppet shows.
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Divers Alarums
So we're in our nice, shiny, new office. It all looks really great, but we quickly determined that some of the thinking that went into layout was decidedly squiffy, and didn't really take into account the needs of the department or the individual.
And then, three days in, we discover that the air conditioning isn't 'not working', it's 'not been switched on'. Sure, the little boxes on the wall were on (and on the lowest possible temperature setting)... but the power to the actual air conditioning system had not been activated.
Now it has... and our nice, shiny, new ceiling is leaking in Production. So a small section of our nice, shiny, new office is now cordoned off, with a couple of buckets catching the drips.
Amusingly, the site manager for the office build was escorted from the premises by the security guards today. Not quite sure how that happened, but apparently he's quite a big, imposing fellow, so I'm guessing someone from one of the other offices in our building took an instant dislike to him.
In other disastrous news, my next magazine - going to press on Monday - currently has 13 pages unsold, and 23 flatplanned ads not on the system. Sales blame Admin. Admin blames Sales. Bottom line: Accounts will be very pissed off when I put together the Stop List tomorrow with 13 pages worth of fillers and 23 free ads. I was assured this afternoon that there are good prospects for the remainder of the magazine... but prospects don't mean a thing. Prospects don't pay the bills and, by the end of the day, none of those prospects had turned into a sold advertisement.
This magazine, despite being one of the smallest, never quite manages to run smoothly... but it's been getting worse and worse. Sometimes I feel that I'm being a bit hard on this team, pointing out exactly how bad a state their magazine is in not only to their Commercial Manager, but to the Management Accountant as well... It's not something I've ever done to another team.
But then, I realise, no other team is quite this bad. No other team has presented me with this many unsold pages two days before press. No other team manages to have this many ads 'booked' but not properly entered into the booking system. I'm only feeling bad because I quite like them as people... but they're Salespeople, and I am acutely aware that me liking them just gives them an easier time manipulating me into doing things the way they want, and that has to stop.
I got badly stung a few months ago when, in good faith, I put together their flatplan based on their own, and most of it turned out to be little more than a fabrication. Did I get a grilling for that? Oh yes. Did I give them hell in return? You'd better believe it.
Since then, when I do the first draft, I'll take the Editorial content from the flatplan they draw up, but only place ads that are properly booked in, and warn them that I've done so. The second version of the flatplan will incorporate any ads that have made it onto the system since the first draft, ignoring any updates I've received that do not tally with the bookings. Again, I will warn them that this is so. By this time, invariably, we're getting closer to press day, and my Copy Controller needs to know what he should be chasing that's not yet properly booked, so the third version will incorporate ads that are not on the system, marked as such... And that's where it's just got silly this month.
I need to have a meeting with the Editor and the Sales Manager, because something just isn't working here.
And then, three days in, we discover that the air conditioning isn't 'not working', it's 'not been switched on'. Sure, the little boxes on the wall were on (and on the lowest possible temperature setting)... but the power to the actual air conditioning system had not been activated.
Now it has... and our nice, shiny, new ceiling is leaking in Production. So a small section of our nice, shiny, new office is now cordoned off, with a couple of buckets catching the drips.
Amusingly, the site manager for the office build was escorted from the premises by the security guards today. Not quite sure how that happened, but apparently he's quite a big, imposing fellow, so I'm guessing someone from one of the other offices in our building took an instant dislike to him.
In other disastrous news, my next magazine - going to press on Monday - currently has 13 pages unsold, and 23 flatplanned ads not on the system. Sales blame Admin. Admin blames Sales. Bottom line: Accounts will be very pissed off when I put together the Stop List tomorrow with 13 pages worth of fillers and 23 free ads. I was assured this afternoon that there are good prospects for the remainder of the magazine... but prospects don't mean a thing. Prospects don't pay the bills and, by the end of the day, none of those prospects had turned into a sold advertisement.
This magazine, despite being one of the smallest, never quite manages to run smoothly... but it's been getting worse and worse. Sometimes I feel that I'm being a bit hard on this team, pointing out exactly how bad a state their magazine is in not only to their Commercial Manager, but to the Management Accountant as well... It's not something I've ever done to another team.
But then, I realise, no other team is quite this bad. No other team has presented me with this many unsold pages two days before press. No other team manages to have this many ads 'booked' but not properly entered into the booking system. I'm only feeling bad because I quite like them as people... but they're Salespeople, and I am acutely aware that me liking them just gives them an easier time manipulating me into doing things the way they want, and that has to stop.
I got badly stung a few months ago when, in good faith, I put together their flatplan based on their own, and most of it turned out to be little more than a fabrication. Did I get a grilling for that? Oh yes. Did I give them hell in return? You'd better believe it.
Since then, when I do the first draft, I'll take the Editorial content from the flatplan they draw up, but only place ads that are properly booked in, and warn them that I've done so. The second version of the flatplan will incorporate any ads that have made it onto the system since the first draft, ignoring any updates I've received that do not tally with the bookings. Again, I will warn them that this is so. By this time, invariably, we're getting closer to press day, and my Copy Controller needs to know what he should be chasing that's not yet properly booked, so the third version will incorporate ads that are not on the system, marked as such... And that's where it's just got silly this month.
I need to have a meeting with the Editor and the Sales Manager, because something just isn't working here.
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