#but it does really highlight the ways in which the process of creation for the show WAS a process and was messy and flawed in totally

[sea-changed]

#hoohoohoo #this is what is so interesting abt band of brothers pop cultural role as an entertainment product that gets treated as a documentary #and more broadly the way authenticity is framed in the warshow genre #like saving private ryan being hailed as essentially a recreation of the combat experience #bc vets who watched it were troubled/re traumatized by the initial dday scene #like liebgott especially is sort of a microcosm of the rpf ethics of this mode of storytelling #and the places where the needs of the propaganda and the needs of the real live dead guys intersect and what that produces #(certainly not documentary truth) (@wrishwrosh)

Reconstructing Joe Liebgott

Ross McCall on finding Joe through the vets

"What was incredible was that, very early on they [Easy Company veterans] started attaching themselves to the likes of me. And they'd call me 'Joe'. You know? And they were sort of starting to lean on that a little bit, like I was their pal. [...] And these guys, they hadn't seen or heard from Joe in years, almost leaning on me for that, which was an immense pressure but also a complete and utter honor."

Band of Brothers Full Cast TV Guide Interview (2001)

Several decades ago one veteran phoned Liebgott's father to invite his son to a reunion, but the senior Liebgott reportedly replied, "You messed my Joey up," and hung up.

Chapter 4: The Wound from Mary Louise Robert's Sheer Misery

In reconstructing their wounding stories, then, many men did not possess a cohesive narrative. At the same time, connecting the dots was a vital need. [...] The wounding story was restorative as well as redemptive. The narrative moved from chaos to order, from misery to comfort. The idea was to make a fresh start. Nurse McBryde explained the logic: “to transform the dirty pulpy mess left by shell explosion into a clean area where what remained of the structures could be repaired.”

[cybernaght]

The fandom echo chamber: fanon, microanalysis and conspiracy brain 

As someone who has been in fandom spaces, on and off, for 20 years, I find some fascinating trends popping up in the last decade that I thought to be fandom-specific but clearly aren’t. So, I would like to do a little examination of where those things come from, how they are engaged with, and what it says about the way we consume media. This is a think piece, of sorts, with my brain being the main source. As such, we will spend some time down the memory lane of a fandom-focused millennial.

This is largely brought about by Good Omens. But it’s also not really about Good Omens at all.

Part one. Fanon.

The way we see characters in any story is always skewed by our very selves. This is a neutral statement, and it does not have a value judgement. It’s simply unavoidable. We recognise aspects of them, love aspects of them, and choose aspects of them to highlight based entirely on our own vision of the universe. 

Recognition comes into this. There is a reason so many protagonists of romance novels have a “blank slate” problem. Even when they do not, we love characters who are like us or versions of us that we would like to be. And when we say “we”, I also mean, “me”. 

(I remember very clearly this realisation hit me after a whole season of Doctor Who with writing which I hated utterly when I questioned why I still clung so incredibly hard to Clara Oswald as my favourite companion. Then I looked at myself in the mirror. Oh. Well. That would do it, wouldn’t it?)

Then, there is projection, and, again, this is a neutral statement. Projection exists, and it is completely normal and, dare I say it, valid way of engaging with — well, anything. Is the character queer? Trans? Neurodivergent? Are they in love? Do they like chocolate? Are they a cat person? Well, yes, if this is what the text says, but if the text does not say anything… You tell me. Please, do tell me. Because, in that moment of projection, they are yours. 

And then, there is fandom osmosis, and that is the most fascinating one of them all, the one that is not very easy to note while you are inside the echo chamber. It’s the way we collectively, consciously or not, make decisions on who or what the characters are, what their relationships are, and what happens to them.  

(Back when I was writing egregiously long Guardian recaps on this blog I actually asked if Shen Wei’s power being learning actually was stated anywhere in the canon of the show. Because I had no idea. I have read and reread dozen of fanfics where that is the case, and at some point through enough repetition, it became reality.)

We are all kind of making our own reality here, aren’t we? 

Back when things were happening in a much less centralised manner - in closed livejournal groups, and forums of all shapes and sizes - I don’t remember there being quite as much universally agreed upon fanon. Frankly, I don’t remember much of universally agreed upon anything. But now, everything is in one place: we have this, and we have AO3, and it’s wonderful, it really is so much easier to navigate, but it’s also one gigantic reality-shifting echo chamber, with blogs, reblogs, trends, and rituals. 

Accessibility plays its part, too. If you were, say, in Life on Mars (UK) fandom between seasons, and you wanted to post your speculation fic, you had to have had an account, and then find and gain access to one of the bigger groups (lifein1973 was my poison, but ymmv), and then, if you feel brave you may post it, but also, you may want to do so from your alt account if you wanted to keep yours separate, and then you would have to go through the whole process again. And I’m not saying that fan creations then were somehow inherently better for it than fan creations now (although Life on Mars Hiatus Era is perhaps a bad example - because some of the Speculation Fic there was breathtaking), but there is something to say about the ease of access that made the fandoms go through a big bang of sorts.

(I mean, come on, I can just come here and post this - and I am certain people will read it, and this blog is a pandemic cope baby about Chinese television for goodness sake.)

The canon transformations that happen in the fandom echo chamber truly are fascinating to witness as someone who is more or less a fandom butterfly. I get into something, float around for a bit, then get into something else and move on. I might come back eventually when the need arises, but I don’t sustain a hiatus mind-state. This means that when I float away and return, I find some very intriguing stuff.

Let’s actually look at Good Omens here. Season two aired, and I found it spectacular in its cosy and anguished way; deliberately and intelligently fanfic-y in its plot building; simple but subversive, and so very tender. (I will have to circle back to this eventually, because, truly, I love how deliberately it takes the tropes and shatters them - it’s glorious). And, to me - a person who read the book, watched the first season, hung around AO3 for a few weeks and moved on - absolutely on-point in terms of characterisation. 

So imagine my surprise when the fandom disagreed so vehemently that there are actual multi-tiered theories on how characters were not in possession of their senses. Nothing there, in my mind, ever contradicted any of the stated text, as it stood. This remained a strange little mystery until I did what I always do when I flutter close to an ongoing fandom.

I loaded AO3 and sorted the existing fic by popularity. And there it was, all there: the actual earth-shattering mutual devotion of the angel and the demon; willingness to Fall; openness and long heart-aching confession speeches. There was all of the fanon surrounding Aziraphale and Crowley, which, to me, read as out of character, and to one for whom they became the reality over the last four years, read as truth. 

Again, only neutral statements here. This is not a bad thing, and neither this is a good thing, this is just something that happens, after a while, especially when there are years for the fandom-born ideas to bounce around and stew. I can’t help but think that so much of what we see as real in spaces such as this one is a chimaera of the actual source and all the collective fan additions which had time and space to grow, change, develop, and inspire, reverberating over and over again, until the echoes fill the entirety of the space. 

Eventually, this chimaera becomes a reality. 

Part two. Microanalysis 

Here are my two suppositions on the matter:

1. Some writers really love breadcrumb storytelling. 

Russel T Davies, for instance, on his run of Doctor Who (and, if you are reading it much later - I do mean the original one), loved that technique for his seasonal arcs. What is a Bad Wolf? Who is Harold Saxon? Well, you can watch very very carefully, make a theory, and see it proven right or wrong by the end of the season. 

Naturally, mystery box writers are all about breadcrumb storytelling: your Losts and your Westworlds are all about giving you snippets to get your brain firing, almost challenging you to figure things out just ahead of the reveal. 

2. We, as humans, love breadcrumbs.

And why wouldn’t we? Breadcrumbs are delicious. They are, however, a seasoning, or a coating. They are not the meal. 

Too much metaphor?

Let’s unpack it and start from the beginning.

Pattern recognition colours every aspect of our lives, and it colours the way we view art to a great extent. I think we truly underestimate how much it’s influenced by our lived experiences.

If you are, broadly speaking, living somewhere in Western/North-Western Europe in the 14th century, and you see a painting in which there is a very very large figure surrounded by some smaller figures and holding really tiny figures, you may know absolutely nothing about who those figures are, but you know that the big figure is the Important One, and the small ones are Less Important Ones, and the tiny ones are In Their Care. You know where your reverence would lie, looking at this picture. And, I imagine, as someone living in the 14th century, you may be inspired to a sense of awe looking at this composition, because in the world you live in, this is how art works. 

If you, on the other hand, watch a piece of recorded media and see the eyes of two characters meet as the violins swell, you know what you are being told at that moment. You don’t have to have a film degree to feel a sort of way when you see a green-tinged pallet used, when cross-cuts use juxtaposing images, or notice where your focus is pulled in any given shot. This stuff - this recognition of patterns - has been trained into us by the simple fact that we live in this time, on this planet, and we have been doing so long enough to have engaged recorded media for a period of time. 

As humans, we notice things. Our brains flare up when they see something they recognise, and then we seek to find other similar details and form a bigger picture. This often happens unconsciously, but sometimes it does not. Sometimes we do it on purpose: finding breadcrumbs in stories is a little bit like solving a mystery. It allows us to stretch that brain muscle that puts two and two together. It makes us feel clever. 

So yes, we love breadcrumbs, and, frankly, quite a lot of storytelling takes advantage of this. It’s very useful for foreshadowing, creating thematic coherence, or introducing narrative parallels and complexity. It’s useful for nudging the viewer into one or the other emotional direction, or to cue them into what will happen in the next moment, or what exactly is the one important detail they should pay attention to.

Because this is something media does intentionally, and something we pick up both consciously and not, it is very hard to know when to stop. We don't really ever know when all of the breadcrumbs have been collected. It becomes very easy to get carried away. There is a very specific kind of pleasure in digging into content frame by frame, soundbite by soundbite, chasing that pleasure of finding. 

But it is almost never breadcrumbs all the way down. They are techniques to help us focus on the main event: the story. I truly believe those who make media want it to reach the widest possible audience, and that includes all of us who like to watch every single thing ever created with our Media Analysis Goggles on and those who are just here to enjoy the twists and turns of the story at the pace offered to them. And I think, sometimes in our chase to collect and understand every little clue we forget that media is not made to just cater for us.

One can call it missing a forest for the trees. But I would hate to mix my metaphors, so let’s call it missing a schnitzel for the breadcrumbs. 

Part three. The Conspiracy Brain. 

If you are there with me, in the midst of the excited frenzy, chasing after all those delicious breadcrumbs, then patterns can grow, merge together, and become all-encompassing theories. Let’s call them conspiracy theories, even though this is not what they truly are.

So, why do we believe in conspiracy theories?

One, Because We Have Been Lied To. 

All conspiracies start with distrust.

If you are in fandom spaces - especially if you are in fandom spaces which revolve around a queer fictional couple - especially-especially if you have been in such spaces for a period of time, you have most certainly been lied to at one point or another. 

We don’t even have to talk about Sherlock - and let’s not do that - but do you remember Merlin? Because I remember Merlin. Specifically, I remember the publicity surrounding the first season, with its weaponised usage of “bromance” and assertions that this whole thing is a love story of sorts, and then the daunting realisation that this was all a stunt, deliberately orchestrated to gather viewership. 

And, because we were lied to in such a deliberate manner for such an extensive period of time, I genuinely believe that it forever altered our pattern recognition habits, because what was this if not encouragement to read into things? Now we are trained to read between the lines or see little cries for help where they might not be. Because we were told, over and over again, that we should.

(Yes, I think we are all existing in these spaces coloured by the trauma of queer-bating. I am, however, looking forward to a world where I can unlearn all of that.)

Two, Cognitive Dissonance.

The chain reaction works a bit like this: the world is wrong - it can’t possibly be wrong by coincidence - this must be on purpose - someone is responsible for it.

Being Lied To is a preamble, but cognitive dissonance is where it all originates. In so many cross-fandom theories I have noticed a four-step process:

A) this is not good

B) this author could not have made a mistake 

C) this must be done on purpose

D) here is why 

(Funny thing is, I have been on the receiving end of the small conspiracy spiral, and it is a very interesting experience. Not relevant to this conversation is the fact that a lot of my job revolves around storytelling. What is relevant is that my hobbies also revolve around storytelling. And one of them is DnD. Now, imagine my genuine shock when one of the players I am currently writing a campaign for noticed a small detail that did not make a logical sense within the complexity of the world, and latched on to it as something clearly indicating some kind of a secret subplot. Their thinking process also went a bit like this: this detail is not a good piece of writing — this DM knows how to tell stories well — this is obviously there on purpose. It was not there on purpose. I created a clumsy shorthand. I erred, in that pesky manner humans tend to. And, seeing this entire thought process recited to me directly in the moment, I felt somewhere between flattered and mortified.)

This whole line of thinking, I think, exists on a knife’s edge between veneration and brutal criticism, relentlessly dissecting everything “wrong”, with a reverent “but this is deliberate” attached to it like a vice, because it is preferable to a simple conclusion that the author let you down, in one way or another. 

Three, Intentionality 

I believe that there is no right or wrong way of engaging with stories, regardless of their medium, and assuming no one gets hurt in the process. While in a strictly academic way, there is a “correct” way of reading (and reading into) media, we here are largely not academics but consumers; consumption is subjective.

However, this all changes when intentionality is ascribed. 

The one I find particularly fascinating is the intentionality of “making it bad on purpose” because, as open-minded as I intend to always be, this just does not happen.

It certainly does not happen in long-form media. Even in the bread-crumb mystery box-type long-form media. 

When television programs underdeliver, they also underperform, and then they get cancelled.

If all the elements of Westworld Season 4 that did not sit together in a completely satisfactory way were written deliberately as some sort of deconstruction for the final season to explore, then it failed because that final season will now never come.

(There will likely never be a Secret Fourth Episode.)

And look, I am not here to refute your theories. Creativity is fun, and theorising is fantastic. 

But, perhaps, when the line of thought ventures into the “bad on purpose” territory, it could be recognised for what it is: disappointment and optimism, attempting to coexist in a single space. And I relate to that, I do, and I am sorry that there is even a need for this line of thinking. It’s always so incredibly disappointing that a creator you believed to be devoid of flaws makes something that does not hit in the way you hoped it would. It’s pretty heartbreaking. 

Unfortunately, people make mistakes. We are all fallible that way. 

Four, Wildfire.

Then, when the crumbs are found, a theory is crafted, and intentionality is ascribed, all that needs to happen is for it to catch on. And hey, what better place for it than this massive hollow funnel that we exist in, where thoughts, ideas and interpretations reverberate so much they become inextricable from the source material in collective consciousness. 

Conspiracy theories create alternate realities, very much like we all do here. 

So where are we now?

I am not here to tell you what is right and what is wrong; what is true, and what is not. We are all entitled to engage with anything we wish, in whichever way we wish to do it. This is not it, at all. 

All I am saying is… listen.

Do you hear that echo? 

I do. 

[theresattrpgforthat]

How do you know so many games to recommend? I feel like I’m always scrambling to find games on a certain topic, and itchio’s search function is tricky at best.

Hello friend! I have a few methods, and I think they all tie back to my pretty big obsession with games. Let's take a trip through my indie RPG journey, because this is kind of the result of approximately 5 years of interest.

DriveThru RPG

When I first got into TTRPGs, I didn't have a lot of money (let's be real, even right now I don't really have that much spending money) but I did have a little more time, so I combed the net for free tabletop games. I got acquainted with DriveThruRPG first, and I took everything I could that was free and put it into little folders on my computer. Since then I've realized that I can access my folders through the DriveThru App, so there's much less on my computer and more just waiting to be downloaded and perused.

I also get notifications from DriveThru about deals of the day, and occasionally I just browse the storefront to see if anything catches my eye. DriveThru's navigation system is not great either, but one of my friends does some of his own sifting and has directed me to some real gems. I learned about Pandora London, Swords of the Serpentine, and Savage Worlds this way.

Podcasts

I love TTRPG podcasts but I didn't want to listen to D&D podcasts. I found Fandible first, when I was looking for a play through of Changeling: The Lost. I walk to work and I also like to listen to podcasts when I clean my house, so I usually get through one episode a day. I usually look for podcasts that play in multiple systems, although you'll see a number of podcasts here that focus on just one non-D&D system. Here's a few that I recommend:

Fandible: Just a group of friends who love playing games together. All of them are GMs, and they all GM different games. Jesus is the most adventurous, and is constantly bringing new games to the table. I found Slugblaster, Numenera, and Unhallowed Metropolis through them!

Character Creation Cast: I started listening to CCC last year, thanks to a recommendation from a friend, but I fell in love quick. The hosts focus only on the character creation aspect of games, and they also spend time talking to other gamers about the parts of play that each guest feels is important. I found out about Descent into Midnight, Nova, and Blue Planet this way.

The Gauntlet Podcast: This Podcast no longer releases episodes but I learned so much about safe game play through this podcast. Once a month the hosts would sit down with guests and highlight a game of the month for each of them. Often they would talk about games that they adored even before those games made it to publication. I found out about Brinkwood, Apocalypse Keys, and Poutine through this podcast. I miss it so very much.

I would also recommend My First Dungeon, Party of One Podcast, The Eternity Archives, One Shot, and +1 Forward for exposure to many indie games.

Itch.io

I didn't interact much with Itch.io at first - I thought it was mostly for indie video games and generators - but when the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality came out I went feral. I sorted through each and every page of games in that bundle and put all of the TTRPGs into folders - which I am still refining to this day. As you can see, I get very excited whenever a big bundle comes out, as it gives me a lot of exposure to games that people have made.

I also sort through the most recent additions on Itch every one or two days. I usually categorize my folders via genre and rules system, but I'm currently in the process of curating folders for duet and epistolary games. If I think a tag will help me, I usually use https://itch.io/physical-games/tag-[tag] and then insert what I'm looking for in the [tag]. It doesn't get everything but it gets me started.

Often if a game was entered in a Game Jam, there's a tab that you can click to see other entries in that same Jam. So occasionally I'll browse Game Jams for other games that I might find interesting. And for games that I know that I'm personally passionate about, I have a Games that Intrigue Me folder to flip through for when I'm choosing which game to play, or if I want to spotlight a game that I've been itching to put on a rec post.

Other Avenues

I am actually subscribed to you on Youtube, along with a number of other great reviewers!

The Gaming Table is a wonderful Aussie creator who reviews copies of indie ttrpgs. She started a year ago and already has a truly delightful backlog. I recently listened to her review of Bluebeard's Bride and it was wonderful!

I found 11dragonkid when I was looking for Lancer content and was pleasantly surprised to find other ttrpg reviews for games such as ARC and Gubat Banwa.

I watch A.A. Voigt's and Talen Lee's (@talenlee) mini-essays about games and the pieces of those games that speak to them not just to learn about new games but also to learn about what makes those games matter. I found the videos on Capitalites and Girl By Moonlight very informative!

I also watch Dave Thaumvore for reviews for big-print games (Vaesen, Symbaroum), and Questing Beast for updates on what's happening in the OSR scene (Vaults of Vaarn, Mothership).

I'm also subscribed to a number of newsletters and RSS feeds! Bundle of Holding has a blog announcing new bundles, the Indie RPG Newsletter has some great indie rpg coverage in their monthly updates and associated links, and I have an RSS feed on Feedly for game musings on whatever blogs I can find.

In Conclusion...

Much of my TTRPG knowledge comes from constant osmosis. I talk to friends about games, spend a lot of time on Itch.io, and I'm also finding new games here on Tumblr. I have an RPG server where me and a bunch of my friends play pretty regularly, and I'm constantly introducing them to new games. We finished up our Monster Squad Arc a month or two ago, and we're currently getting geared up for a Galaxy Games arc - this time with games that other players are bringing to the table!

I started sorting games for my own enjoyment - I love having all of my little boxes that I can go back to when I am hankering for my own game. I started this blog because I found there were too many games that I was excited about and I was never going to get through all of them just gaming with my friends.

[black-arcana]

NIGHTWISH Shares Full 45-Minute Documentary About Making Of 'Yesterwynde' Album

During the past months building up to the worldwide release of NIGHTWISH's newest opus, "Yesterwynde", on September 20, the group shared various episodes revealing further insights into the creation of this magnificent album, which closes off the trilogy started with "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" in 2015. From early demo playback sessions in hotel rooms all across the world during the "Human. :II: Nature." world tour to the remote rehearsal sessions in a cabin in Röskö, from Floor Jansen delivering stunning vocal performances at her home studio to the orchestral recordings at Abbey Road Studios, London, this 45-minute documentary directed by Ville Lipiäinen details the long way of transforming the ideas, stories and songs of Tuomas Holopainen into the opulent masterpiece that is "Yesterwynde". Check it out below.

NIGHTWISH's multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley comments: "'Yesterwynde' is full of secrets, but, if the stars are aligned, you may find some answers within..."

Holopainen previously said about the new NIGHTWISH LP: "'Yesterwynde' took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album. The new album was intensively worked on for three and a half years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process — and didn't want to. Along the way, 'Yesterwynde' became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making — compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on — were given more attention than ever before."

The result? There's a fascinating, but inexplicable feeling that NIGHTWISH has once again been able to find unprecedented nuances, spices and perspectives in their new works after a career of nine classic albums.

"'Yesterwynde' is an experience that takes time to digest," Holopainen explained. "The gravid ingredients of the songs are easily recognizable, but beneath the surface lies a large number of intriguing details and features."

He continued: "It's interesting – but not surprising – that 'Yesterwynde' has attracted quite a variety of opinions. Some have stated that it is the most 'band' record to date. For some it appears to be the heaviest and most ominous NIGHTWISH release. It has also been called our most progressive album. And the list goes on."

And what does Tuomas think of it himself?

"To me, 'Yesterwynde' sounds, tastes and feels strongly like the true essence of NIGHTWISH — enriched with new moods and flavors."

The lyrics of "Yesterwynde" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. "The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy — textually, it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors 'Endless Forms Most Beautiful' and 'Human. :II: Nature.'," Holopainen said. "At the same time, 'Yesterwynde' is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up."

"For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' — taken from the song 'Perfume Of The Timeless'," he continued. "Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young — mauled by a cave bear, for example — during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege."

What does the term "yesterwynde" mean? Tuomas said: "It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener."

Without taking anything away from the solid delivery of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Kai Hahto, bassist Jukka Koskinen and multi-instrumentalist/singer Troy Donockley, it might be worth highlighting one fact: the performance of the eloquent storyteller Floor Jansen is once again unparalleled. It is simply breathtaking how the singer is able to make songs fly with her performance.

"Floor's second child was born just over a month ago, and we hadn't rehearsed together at all... So it was a little nerve-wracking to go to Floor's home studio for vocal recordings," Tuomas said. "Well, what happened? We had booked twelve working days and after six days everything was completed in style. Floor's preparedness for the sessions was something extreme."

After the recordings and mixing process, there was one more working phase. Mastering. Could you possibly guess that no shortcuts were taken at this point either?

"The album was mastered seven times until we reached the finish line — one hundred percent satisfied,", stated Tuomas. "When the record was eventually finished, a three-year, extremely inspiring adventure had come to an end. I felt very, very happy."

NIGHTWISH's next steps are clear. And they are not the most common ones.

"NIGHTWISH will not go on a world tour this time," Tuomas said. "This was a decision made for personal reasons. But don't worry... Our contract with Nuclear Blast Records includes several albums, and there's plenty of motivation to create new music!"

"Yesterwynde" track listing:

01. Yesterwynde 02. An Ocean Of Strange Islands 03. The Antikythera Mechanism 04. The Day Of... 05. Perfume Of The Timeless 06. Sway 07. The Children Of 'Ata 08. Something Whispered Follow Me 09. Spider Silk 10. Hiraeth 11. The Weave 12. Lanternlight

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the previous year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.

In November 2022, Jansen revealed that she was "cancer free" after undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe (courtesy of Nuclear Blast)

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DC Cinematic Universe - Creature Commandos: Part VII

Chapter Seven: False Smiles

Before I say anything else, let me preface this by noting that I really like Gunn's interpretation of Batman villain Doctor Phosphorus AKA Alexander Sartorius. This is one of those fairly obscure DC characters that's always deserved more attention, as the gravitas of his origins has real potential for adaptation. This is a character that should be Firefly or even Two-Face level prominent in some ways, and deserves much more focus. And it's funny, because the character has gotten some usage, indirectly. I'll explain that in a little bit, but let's just say that Gunn does an excellent job with this character, and justifies his inclusion in this show.

Does he justify his inclusion in the Creature Commandos team? I mean...kinda?

I mean, OK, he's a spooky scary skeleton that sends shivers down your spine (and then radiation and melty death), sure, and that's a bit of a "monster" in the traditional sense. Plus, Gunn wanted to include a less-traditional monster, and used Phosphorus to do so. I think Gunn justifies the character's usage, but I question if the usage was necessary in the first place. Who is this character replacing? Well, in the original Creature Commandos...nobody? The Frankensteins replace Patchwork, Weasel replaces the Werewolf, Nina replaces Medusa, so Doctor Phosphorus replaces...Vincent Velcoro? I mean...OK? Not sure that fits, for a number of reasons, but yeah, I guess he replaces the vampire. But is this the best way to do that?

OK, let's start with Sartorius in the comic books, because Gunn does a pretty-damn straight adaptation of the character, to be fair. In the source material, Sartorius is a nuclear engineer, rather than an oncologist and radiologist. That was a big thing in the '70s for understandable reasons, so Gunn leaning away from this trend makes sense. Anyway, Sartorius gets backing from corrupt Gotham millionaire and mob boss, Rupert Thorne. Protests caused him to move the plant to an unsafe location, causing a meltdown that covered him in radioactive phosphorus, which was sandblasted into his skin. As a result, he mutated into a metahuman that was constantly on fire, as phosphorus does in air. Wanting revenge on Gotham, he became Doctor Phosphorus, and planned to...poison the water supply, because that's just what you do when you're a supervillain in Gotham, apparently.

Over the years, Phosphorus continues his ties with Rupert Thorne, and his ire for Batman. However, he also proceeds to lose his goddamn mind in the process, and is portrayed over the years with various degrees of sanity. He even changes color over the years, from the yellow flames as seen above to the green flames you're probably all familiar with by now. We'll get to the reasons for that in a few paragraphs here, but the takeaway is that, frankly, Gunn improved the character and made him a much more tragic Batman villain. By giving him a family to lose, he became a lot more fleshed out and sympathetic, and his episode (1.06, Priyatel Skelet) is genuinely my favorite character highlight in the series. Not that it's a perfect adaptation, and I have my issues with it, but it's an actual adaptation of the character, rather than the two indirect versions we've gotten before.

Now, I adore the take that Batman Beyond took on this idea, in the form of billionaire Warren Powers AKA Blight (sick-ass name). This is a character obviously visually inspired by Doctor Phosphorus, and arguably the actual reason for the color change from yellow to neon-acid green. After Blight's creation in 2000, nearly every appearance of Phosphorus is that bright radioactive green, and it really work for the design. God, how I love Blight. But outside of being a radioactive spooky skeleton man, he's...not Alex Sartorius. At all. If anything, it fuses the Phosphorus concept with Rupert Thorne, and very well, might I add. Watch Batman Beyond if you haven't already.

And hell, at least this version gets the skeleton part right. The Batman does not give the character that courtesy and tries...something unique.

Yeah, NObody on Tumblr seems to care about this version of the character, but The Batman adapted Phosphorus by transforming a completely different character: Firefly AKA Garfield Lynns. And I'm not gonna lie, it isn't the worst idea or execution. Called Phosphorus, dropping the six years of doctorate work from the character, Garfield Lynns was a recurring villain in the series until the last season episode White Heat, where he and his new girlfriend Blaze (why, yes, there are a stupid amount of cringe-worthy fire puns in this episode) steal a large amount of white phosphorus, which explodes in his face and turns him slowly into the lava-crack-man you see in the above video.

Like most versions of Sartorius, Phosphorus sees his sanity slip, and eventually is stopped when he tries to destroy and absorb a nuclear power plant. So, yeah, this is an interesting version of this villain, even if it eradicates Firefly from this universe and precludes the existence of Phosphorus at the same time. Not the first time the series did something like this, frankly, but I think it works! Is it an adaptation of Alex Sartorius, though? Well, no, obviously. Gunn mostly nails it with the actual character. Mostly.

Mostly.

Mostly.

Gunn, being Gunn, can't quite resist throwing the goofy into that episode, and camps up Phosphorus for a sequence in his flashback episode. Which, to be fair, actually isn't my problem with this sequence. Sure, I kinda see it as a desperate attempt for a viral moment that only kinda worked, and I'm not a huge fan of that. But no, it's actually the really weird choice to make him a crime boss using Thorne's fortune? Not only does that not fit the original character, but it also doesn't fit the character in the show? Like, why does Phosphorus suddenly channel his newfound insanity into running a criminal empire? HOW DOES HE EVEN DO THAT? It's an odd choice, is all I'm saying, and it doesn't seem authentic outside of needing to justify him being a criminal that faces Batman. And I just don't think that was necessary.

Then again, there are a few unnecessary things about Sartorius' portrayal in this series, even if I do like what Gunn did with the character. First of all, we didn't really need to kill his family to give him a motivation. It turns both his wife and son into people-in-refrigerators, which honestly sucks, and is a lazy trend in fiction in general, especially comic books. You should have that storyline sometimes, sure, but I'm not sure you actually needed it for Phosphorus, even if it did give us the very sweet-and-harrowing scenes with him and the family in Pokolistan. And alongside that...did we really need to kill Rupert Thorne? If this was a one-off series in its own setting, I'd be more OK with it, but we've now permanently killed off Rupert Thorne in any DCU media, and that's a waste of a class Gotham mob boss. In a Batman series or film, we had the opportunity to show the turnover in Gotham from traditional crime families to the crazier ones, and...that opportunity is now gone. Kill Lew Moxon or a new dude, not Rupert Thorne! Feels like a waste.

But again, that's not to say that Gunn doesn't have a HELL of a lot of fun with the character. Upping the power and control his has, both mentally and physiologically, as well as making him a LOT more sadistic and creative, makes for some gory fun with this guy. That GIF above is one of the funniest dark deaths I've ever seen in superhero media, or even horror media. Phosphorus is responsible for a lot of the more enjoyable moments in the series, so I can forgive some of the choices I disagree with here.

Now, as for whether or not he should be in the Creature Commandos at all...to be fair, there is some precedence for the choice. Having appeared in a government-run version of the organization in an alternate timeline (Flashpoint), this is sort of a canonical member of the group, justifying his inclusion somewhat. Again, though, I'm not...entirely sure he's the best choice, especially because there's one I can think of that's better, in my opinion, and even one that has a reason to be used in this series. So, as usual, I'll present a traditional choice and a more creative choice. But I'll also address something in the middle here, so hang on tight.

The Purist Choice: Vincent Velcoro

Gunn noted that he considered using Vincent Velcoro at one point, but abandoned him in favor of other monsters. And...yeah, that's actually 100% fair. See, I could argue that this is a blank slate character that Gunn could do a lot with. I could argue that a vampire seems like a no-brainer when it comes to making a team of monsters, or that Velcoro is one of the original members and deserves recognition for that, but...I'm gonna be honest, not really. Fact of the matter is, Velcoro is kind of a boring character that even DC doesn't know what to do with. Originally, he's an insubordinate soldier who volunteers to be artificially turned into a vampire, but that's...Morbius. It's just Morbius the Living Vampire, but kinda worse? Fact is, it's not the best character. Recently, he's been reinvented into an actual vampire, and it's better, but I can't call him the most inspired character all the same.

I know, I know, the whole point of this section is to promote the best choices from a traditionalist sense, but...I think Gunn called it here. Velcoro just isn't a very interesting character, and if you're going to reinvent the character entirely, then...why even use him in the first place? Kinda like how I disagree with using Weasel for that exact reason. Velcoro just isn't the best choice. But, uh...if you were going to use a vampire, or even a kinda vampire, there is another option.

The Other Purist Choice: Nocturna (Natalia Knight)

The character of Nocturna has an interesting adaptation history. Introduced in the 1980s in Detective Comics, Natalia Knight was adopted by Gotham City gangster Charles Knight, and raised alongside her brother Anton. As an adult, she became an astronomer at Gotham City Observatory, and was one night hit with a radioactive laser (stop asking questions). This granted her both limited umbrakinesis and teleportation (using shadows as a medium), but also made her extremely photophobic and sensitive to light. She also obtained enhanced strength, depending on the writer and continuity. Unable to be an astronomer (for some goddamn reason), she joined her criminal foster brother in a life of crime, adopting the name Nocturna as a result. And yes, in case you're wondering, this is kind of a stupid origin story for an interesting character with potential.

Look, Nocturna's storyline is somewhat complicated, and involves her trying to adopt the Robin at the time, Jason Todd (yes, actually), as well as finding out Batman's secret identity (YES, ACTUALLY), and falling in love with Batman in the process (which is to be expected). She was sort of a new Catwoman, spiritually, acting as a love interest for Bruce and a criminal in the night for some reason. But then, Rebirth took her and made her an actual vampire, and I think that's a little bit better an idea, frankly. But there's more. Like I said, Nocturna's had an interesting history in adaptation, as Bruce Timm and the team behind Batman: The Animated Series REALLY wanted to use her...as a vampire. And that was a no-go for '90s kids TV, who really hated vampires and blood as a part of censorship (look up what Spider-Man: The Animated Series did to Morbius and his stupid-ass need for "PLASMAAAAAA"). So, Timm has ALWAYS wanted to use Nocturna. Enter the 2024 series Batman: Caped Crusader.

Caped Crusader, if you haven't seen it, is an incredibly unique series, and an excellent entry into the Batverse of animated adaptations. With a lot of unique takes and ideas, it also happens to adapt a lot of characters in unique ways, Natalia Knight being included. Ironically, this version of the character also isn't a vampire in the traditional sense, and is instead a young teenaged metahuman with the weakness to sunlight and enhanced strength, as well as the ability to drain the lifeforce from other human beings. So, an energy vampire like Colin Robinson, rather than a blood-drainer. Honestly, a smart way to approach this idea, and probably what Timm and co. should've done in the '90s. But she is an interesting character, and proves that you can adapt this character.

Now, would Nocturna be an actual vampire in my theoretical Creature Commandos series? I like Caped Crusader's approach in making her a non-traditional vampire, honestly, but I also like the idea of giving her that umbrakinesis and teleportation. Plus, her presence requires that missions for the team take place at night, which is a lot scarier for a team of monsters than acting in the broad daylight as they do in the series. I think Nocturna is a character with potential, and I also think you could reinvent the character a little bit to make her work. Sure, there are other actual vampires like the Mad Monk or Dala that you could use (I considered Andrew Bennett for a while there), but I think this is a character that could get some focus, and not overwhelm the other characters in order to make her work. Plus, why not throw another female character on this team?

But, uh...I'll be honest. She's not my primary choice. And you can see the GIF below, so you know exactly who I think the right choice is. And so, without further ado...

The Creative Choice: Clayface (???)

It is, quite frankly, ABSOLUTELY GODDAMN INSANE that Gunn used Clayface in this series, and didn't include him in the Creature Commandos as an actual member. I mean, he is literally in this series, as a villain, but Gunn doesn't use this character for the team. In fact, he seemingly kills this character, WHICH I'M GETTING REALLY SICK OF TYPING!!! It baffles me, because this character is an incredibly versatile choice, with both proven capability as a tragic character, if that's actually where you wanted to go, AND with recent popularity in multiple different avenues! Hell, in a move that will DEFINITELY NOT WORK I AM CALLING IT NOW, they're currently developing a movie centered around the character! It's not getting through pre-production, I swear this to you.

But OK, why use Clayface instead of Phosphorus? First of all, on basic blush, the two have a lot of similarities. They're Batman villains centered in Gotham City; they're both non-traditional monsters of some form; they both have the potential for a tragic backstory (if you try hard enough, but I'll get to that); you can get really creative with their powers; and hilariously, they're both voiced by Alan Tudyk. Yeah. They're basically the same character. But there's the more prominent question of which Clayface to use. Because, in case you didn't know, there's a whole Mud Pack of these guys, with something like 8 Clayfaces in comic book history, and a few more extras to accompany them with slightly different names, but similar abilities. If would be, frankly, A LOT to go into every Clayface in this post, I'll just say that, like Weasel, Clayface's identity is initially unknown in my approach, but will be revealed in the middle of the series as "Matt".

Matt Hagen is, of course, the most famous animated version of the character, thanks to Batman: The Animated Series. But his story was not terribly well-adapted from the comics, and he was actually combined with a separate character...but more on that later. The point is, Hagen is the identity provided to Clayface in this approach to the Creature Commandos, and that's revealed before his character-focused episode (an approach of Gunn's I do quite like). In his character-focused episode, we see his backstory as an explorer and diver, who is in debt and desperate for money, maybe even owing money as a salvager to a gangster like Rupert Thorne, or maybe even Roland Daggett from the animated series.

On a mission, he is somehow exposed to the protoplasm that will turn him into Clayface, and he will use his new abilities to gain the money to pay his debts, only to be embroiled in a life of crime. And throughout, you should feel pretty sorry for Matt, who eventually will get tired of his condition and seek a cure for it. And eventually...he gets it. Yeah. He gets cured of his condition...and then gets murdered by escaped serial killer and disgraced actor Basil Karlo, who wants his original name of Clayface back, as well as the powers Hagen gained from the protoplasm. I'm obviously obfuscating details here, but I desperately want this to be a twist that the series conceals. Additionally, I want Karlo to be the Clayface of this universe, and of this series. After all, Karlo is recently the most famous of Clayfaces, even if he's not been named in his most prominent appearance, in which he is voiced by none other...than Alan Tudyk.

Look, again, it is crazy that Clayface was in this series as a patsy, and also maybe killed off in the process. And that, unsurprisingly, is a problem I have with the story and villains of the show, which I'll get to in more detail in a few posts. Because, yeah...that's a whole conversation to be had. But in my opinion, not using Clayface as a member of the team is a wasted opportunity. The character even recently was included in Suicide Squad: Isekai, a series that I fundamentally disagree with one a whole different level, but that is another story (and post) entirely. He was also included (as Basil Karlo) in Batman: Caped Crusader, proving that the character still has potential for use. It's just...frustrating.

With all of that said, it's time to look at the final character in Gunn's Creature Commandos, and one of the most irritating story choices in the entire series. Next time: Nina Mazursky AKA Mermaid AKA Fishwoman in Refrigerator. Yeah. What the hell, Gunn.

See you next time (maybe, no pressure)!

Part One: Introduction and Adaptation Part Two: The Original Creature Commandos Part Three: Amanda Waller and Rick Flag, Sr. Part Four: The Frankensteins Part Five: G.I. Robot Part Six: Weasel Part Seven: Doctor Phosphorus Part Eight: Mermaid Part Nine: Circe Part Ten: The Princess and the Monster (soon)

[makingspiritualityreal]

Lessons from my Anime Phase

Many years ago, before I matured into my spiritual journey, this used to be an anime blog. I don't regret this phase of my life, even though I completely outgrew it, because I believe it taught me something important.

The content of a creation is more important than the form. There is anime (sadly not as many as you would think) that is a good piece of art. There are regular movies that suck. I'm still waiting for a movie as good at depicting the power of wishful thinking and self repression as Perfect Blue. These years taught me to look deep beyond the surface form and into the meaning of any creation.

Supressing one's emotions leads to serious repercussions. One of the reasons some people find anime so weird is because it is literally an outlet for the collective mentality and emotionality of Japanese societal pressure. It feels exaggerated, but it is a reaction to the external forced numbness and politeness the Japanese society is plagued with. If you don't deal with how you feel regularly and don't express it and process it, if you don't make friends with your demons, you keep bubbling like a cauldron. It leads to having a very edgy, very draining life, not being present with yourself. It leads to not being able to function and ultimately making simple things feel like the end of the world.

Getting older is awesome. I would never come back to my past. Every morning felt like torture. Sometimes, even if life is never perfect, it moves you on in simpler ways that allow for balance. Establishment of healthy routines does wonders for mental peace. The Universe putting you in an environment where you can do that, after years of having that taken away from you, feels blissful. With time comes perspective and you can see your life shaping up and taking you somewhere. That allows you to approach the rest of your life with the same philosophy. I can read this post another 10 years into the future, and think wow, my life got even better. But at least now I try to be relaxed about it and no to overthink how every tiny little thing can go and I don't try to control or micromanage the future, even if it's sometimes hard.

Youth is overrated. Very few people really get to enjoy being young and hot, and those that do, are probably on YouTube's most watched list now. Being young and hot only pays off if you happen to be an artist, you're in a good film, or you're lucky enough to be in a music video. With those things, you build a legacy you will have forever. But most young women spend their youth and beauty on dating guys they wish they could forget in their 30s. At least I can say I spent it on doing the right thing, refining myself, self development and spiritual growth, which I am really proud of. I was younger and "hotter" once, but paradoxically I feel like I'm becoming more beautiful. I had absolutely no benefits from being young. I had no good relationships and everyone irl always criticized me for breathing. I never felt attractive. My highlights were compliments from my online friends, because no one around me actually thought well of me in my physical life. I'm married now, but this is my first serious adult relationship. I didn't have any good relationships with anyone that really appreciated my looks or personality back then. So whatever has passed, hasn't really been used anyway. I was very insecure because I lived surrounded by unfair criticism from many people, who should have been supporting me but betrayed me. Maybe some people have fun in their youth, I honestly didn't. Moving away from all the people that made my youth something I'm glad to put behind me was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Being different growing up is hell for everybody, no matter what form it takes. Being an outcast is probably the number one debilitating thing that makes youth difficult. You have no role models, you have no support, you endure extra pressure. But over time, even those that are different end up finding their place, and they realise they were just different to people around them in their early environment, but they're not that different from the rest of the world, and there is a niche out there for everybody. Even if you have to create one yourself, someone will flock to it. Being yourself trumps compromising your authenticity every day.

[fmp1omarsviner]

Research [Overwatch Concepts and Character Sheets]

In this post I'll be looking at different concepts and character sheets of Overwatch characters, from the first game and the second one.

The first thing I'm looking at is this Sombra Movement and Expression study. It shows her basic expressions in a simple sketch style but definitely gets the message across that she is ego driven. Her movement sheet demonstrates her basic movements like her run, teleport and hack. I like that it showcases each of her abilities. The quality is very good, which isn't surprising because Blizzard is known to have good artists. I like that the faces aren't coloured, it allows you to see more detail without colour blending them together and it instead draws your eye to the movement sheet.

The next one I'm looking at is this OW 1 Mei skin art. I can tell it's from the OW 1 era because of the bee-keeper outfit on the left, it fits that era. I like how she is in similar poses but each skin still has a unique quirk to them, like how the bee-keeper skin has nothing in her hand and the fire-fighter skin does. There's a lot of different skins on this one sheet and even her weapons and Snowball have different designs, so it shows the care the creators have in making her skins unique.

This one is Lifeweaver's Motion Studies and this is from Overwatch 2. I really like how it keeps the same layout as the Sombra one, yet it is developed as the game improved. Lifeweaver's movements are very fluid and pretty to look at, especially shown with some of his abilities like his grab and pull or his flower platform. I like how the expressions are bigger bust artworks and even a halfbody, yet still keep the same 'unfinished' vibe that is on the Sombra one.

The last one I'm looking at is some concept art for an upcoming hero, codenamed Aqua. I love his design, I'll definitely play him when he comes out. The poses are simple but highlight key parts of his design and I like that he has a lot of blues on his outfit, made the focus from the extra brown and white parts. He definitely looks like a human and he doesn't suffer from the Overwatch same face syndrome that Freja, the most recent hero, has.

Overwatch has a LOT of characters. Over the years their movement and concept sheets have raised in quality and it's really interesting to see the behind the scenes of character creation process. Like, did you know Mercy was originally a black guy? Kinda wish they kept that. Either way, this was helpful to look at because I want to make some movement/expression sheets so I think I'll try to emulate OW's layout and how they portray it.

[aesthetinet]

Welcome to the Net...

Hey Net-Heads!

We are so happy to be coming to you today with our inaugural post on the blog. aesthetinet is a special place built by us, Aestheticaste, where we will reflect on various genres that have either been erased, been massively overhauled as a result, or been given brand new definitions as a result of the creation of the Internet.

This week, we’re talking about the book Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future by James Bridle, more specifically, the first chapter of the book “Chasm.” This chapter speaks about the dangers technology can pose when it is used in ways we are unaware of. This chapter speaks about how technology has helped shape the planet, our communities, and ourselves but how it has not transformed our understanding of the issues we face. Bridle goes on to say that It has only been helpful in that it allows us to stop thinking, but that technology also works to promote some of the greatest challenges we face today.

For these reasons, Bridle calls on us all to be critical of technology, not only of its use but also of who made it, who it was made for, and what its intentions are. Bridle then brings up the cloud, which was invented in the 1950s?! and notes that it began as an idea among the developers as a way to reduce the complexity of explaining how it worked. However, it became much more important as the internet grew, to the point that clouds are so big that they have become a resource that can do various processes. This brings us to the present, where the cloud is more of a business buzzword. It goes further than this, though, as we know, the cloud doesn’t really exist in the sky but rather in various warehouses in various countries owned and operated by various companies.

All this to say that from where the cloud began, it has moved far beyond to the point that the creators of the cloud might not even recognize it. This is a very interesting and important piece from the reading to highlight because it brings us into aesthetinet. From its conception, the idea of the cloud has gone through various hands and experienced change through time interaction with the internet. It went from being something that was used as a shorthand into a buzzword, into various ecological and moral crises.

Here is where we come in: Aestheticaste, is here to investigate some of your favourite aesthetics to see how, throughout time and exposure to the internet, they have changed aspects, transformed in nature, or been given completely different names. This reading, while not pertaining to aesthetics at all, touches on the capacity that technology, and therefore the internet, can change and distort. This is one of the scariest parts of technology to Bridle, as it allows the technology to hide its intentions and harms that may be present within, such as the clouds that have all of everyone's information that we don’t often think about for the reason of it being “in the cloud.”

The reading ends with a reflection on where the internet is now and where the world could be heading as a result, into a new dark age. Various factors such as the insistence on simplistic narratives, conspiracy theories, and post-factual politics, Bridle believes will bring in the new dark age. One where the value placed on knowledge is destroyed by the abundance of profitable commodities. This reading was very interesting as This decline can literally be observed on your devices every day, think about what the internet has done irreparable damage to the idea of News. While the internet provides many opportunities to see different sources of News, it does not care which ones hold the most variety but which will work for their algorithms.

You'll here from us again soon,

Aestheticaste

Link to the reading of the chapter can be found below:

James Bridle, New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future Chapter "Chasm"

[kwayarchive]

Last night I asked myself, “What does it mean to be an innovative artist in a collectivist society?”. By collectivist, I guess I mean places that either self-prescribe or are associated with homogeneity, with strong shared communal values and principles — where “sameness” is amplified over individuality and independence.

As a caveat, this is not at all to say that in these spaces individuality or independence doesn’t exist, or that sameness has replaced entirely these concepts manifesting in these spaces. I don’t want to make any strong assertions like that at all.

When I think of places that can be described as above, what first came to mind were parts of Eastern Asia — I.e. Japan, Korea, China, etc. So really, I asked myself, “how do artists in this part of the world cultivate individuality and personal identity within their work?”.

The first artists that come to mind with very clear and conspicuous personal styles — such that they are recognizable within these pieces and can be named very easily — are Japanese artists Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama.

Now some additional caveats. Yes, these are artists from only one country out of the few I listed but, despite their many obvious and may be not so obvious differences, I feel this region of the world shared similar social constructs and structures, which is why I’m allowing myself to even use just these two artists as an example. However, this id not to assert that these countries are entirely the same, not even in this particular aspect, only that there are parallels. Also, I won’t be doing any kind of visual analysis of these artists individual styles, so this won’t be a very in-depth investigation into this phenomenon I want to explore, but it will open the door to a larger conversation that should be given more depth. Finally, none of this is to say that “western” spaces and their preference for “individuality” (which may also be debatable) is ideal for cultivating personal identity. I think the west does a better job of selling the fantasy of individuality, which in turn may make it easier to cultivate personal identity more.

Anyways.

I highlight these two artists because they have cultivated styles of art that one would think is asynchronous with the values and principles regarding art and “good art making” in these spaces.

A friend of mine, an amazing painter with a proclivity for reflective surfaces and geometric shapes, who is originally from China, has similarly cultivated a style that would not be considered “orthodox” in artistic spaces there. In our studio class, we would often get glimpses of their stress, imposter syndrome, and self-imposed pressure to succeed and make “good art” that I’m sure was used in these spaces to diminish the value of their work — because it doesn’t “fit” an orthodox style of painting.

I guess all of this is to say, I’m making a conjecture here. Because although I can’t confirm if this is truly the case, it does come across that in spaces with strong ties to collectivist values/emphasis on tradition and “sameness”, that it’s much harder to cultivate personal identity. And even when there are clearly artists who have been able to do so, there are remnants of the values of tradition/orthodoxy that influence either the work itself, the process of creation, or the way in which the artist themselves view their personal style.

So when the tools for constructing personal identity are essentially discouraged, or at least renounced, in particular social environments, how do the artists in those spaces even come to create their own styles or techniques? What kinds of work must be done to break from the monotony of the rest of the group? To trust in the direction of your art as opposed to what the majority asks of you?

I’m sure with additional research into the aforementioned artists I will come to see how they grew into their practices, and crystallized their personal identity. But I also wonder if I’ll find that within their works are traces of these collectivist values and principles, but repackaged in new form.

Updates to come as I do more reading 🫡

[xsoldier]

I think a big issue is that this is EXACTLY why there are teams of people who do this — because the types of people who really like doing extensive research and are proficient at employing those skills often don't have overlapping skills focused on writing, or video editing, or communicating to an audience.

Even with old Newspaper journalism, the writer is a different person from the editor, and they often aren't the core researchers. The misperception of the ubiquity of a one-off individual as the "face" of information presentation also being all of those things is because we get exposed to the EXTREME statistical outliers where that is the case in addition to the TV/media figurehead newsroom presentation shifting into YouTube "guy in his room" making it seem like that's a reality.

Some passionate person will deep dive on a thing they know about, and even while they start out not being able to pay a whole team of people to assist in a few passion projects where they happen to do those things well enough to catch algorithmic focus, when you never see the process and just the result through one central figure even as the process changes behind the scenes, this just further exacerbates this false perception.

Passion projects always entangle your personal interests into the narrative. This is why I like how Simon Whistler has a kajillion YouTube channels, but it's always clear that he's just the face of everything as factboy™ and it's his writers putting together various stories on topics for him to present, and his editors adding an additional layer of video flavor top of all of that. Everyone's doing what they're best at, but in a way that's visibly a collaborative process drawing intentionally explicit detail to it not being just the one dude with a "credits" list of Patreon supporters.

If your passion involves the ambition to make your video into a successful vessel for you to be the next whoever, it inevitably becomes an element of the reporting and often overshadows the topic itself.

Your work will always contain elements of what you bring to it personally, which is why people like Summoning Salt cover speedrunning, but it took him SEVEN YEARS to finally cover the game he does himself because there's a difference of interest in how to highlight his own SIGNIFICANT achievements objectively. You have to make sure that your interests are there to serve that work and not the other way around …and that's fundamentally at odds with how "content creation" works.

Not every attempt at research will give you a video worth making or a story worth writing, and ones that do will often drag you down a myriad of different paths and utterly dismantle what you initially intended to focus on, or balloon the scope into something that doesn't work for 99% of people.

This is why reinforcing the fact that the most successful and effective versions of these things are an interdependent cooperative effort of multiple people with varying skills, and NOT this image of an independently successful figurehead who does everything themselves.

The part that really worries me is that AI-generated summaries are going to flood the Internet with SO MUCH factually inaccurate oversimplification that research is going to become even more critically important at a time when people are far less apt at the due diligence necessary to dredge out the facts from an overwhelming sea of data — and will be more inclined to cut corners rather than build up a team of people to tackle that project together.

The trouble with the rise of the YouTube Video Essayist™ is that everybody wants to be the next Defunctland or Hbomberguy, but all the wannabes know is how to be an influencer, so the resulting video essays are always really about themselves. You'll get a forty-five-minute video with maybe fifteen minutes of actual, topical information padded out with half an hour of tedious theatrics about how hard it was to do research for the video and how nobody wanted to talk to them, and I'm just sitting here like "yeah, dude, it was hard because you don't know how to perform research, and nobody wanted to talk to you because your behaviour toward your prospective sources amounted to borderline harassment, and that's how it looks in your own version of events which has clearly been spun for optics – I can't even imagine how badly you must have gone about this in reality".

[aaliyahradebaugh448a]

Writing 1: Ephemeral/Site

In Walking the Line, Laurene Vaughan explores the idea that walking is much more than just a simple physical act of moving from one location to another. She argues that walking can serve as a powerful method of mapping and understanding the environment around us. Through walking, people engage with space in a deep and meaningful way, allowing them to connect emotionally and intellectually with the places they inhabit or pass through. Vaughan centers much of her discussion on the work of artist Richard Long, who treats walking itself as a form of artistic expression. Unlike traditional artists who use paint, pencil, or clay, Long’s medium is the landscape and the act of walking. He often goes on long walks through natural settings, leaving behind subtle, temporary marks like lines of stones or paths in the earth. Sometimes, he documents his journeys by photographing what he encounters or the traces he creates. Vaughan suggests that walking allows people to experience a place through all their senses—touch, sight, sound, smell, and even the feeling of the ground beneath their feet. This sensory engagement encourages a slower pace, which contrasts sharply with the hurried, often distracted ways we usually move through life. One phrase Vaughan uses that really stood out to me was when she said walking lets you “experience it through all our senses.” That simple line made me think about how walking invites mindfulness. It’s a way to slow down, notice small details, and become aware of the landscape’s texture and atmosphere. For my own research, this idea helped me grasp how people create their own paths, often called desire lines—informal trails that emerge naturally where sidewalks or official walkways are absent. These paths act as quiet, unspoken messages, revealing what people truly want or need from their surroundings. They show how human behavior shapes the environment, and in turn, how the environment influences human movement and experience.

Similarly, the documentary Rivers and Tides beautifully illustrates this concept through the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy. Throughout the film, Goldsworthy spends countless hours walking through natural settings—forests, riverbanks, hillsides—searching for the perfect spot or the ideal natural materials to create his art. Much like Richard Long, Goldsworthy does not try to dominate or manipulate nature. Instead, he collaborates with it, respecting its rhythms and cycles. He creates sculptures and arrangements out of natural elements like leaves, ice, rocks, and twigs. Importantly, Goldsworthy embraces the temporary nature of his work. He understands that his creations will eventually be reclaimed by the environment—washed away by rain, melted by the sun, or scattered by wind. This impermanence is not a flaw but an essential part of his artistic message. It parallels the fleeting nature of footsteps on a trail, which disappear over time yet leave an imprint on the experience of the walker. Watching Goldsworthy at work reminded me of Vaughan’s idea that walking is a form of learning and connecting with place. For Goldsworthy, walking is not just physical movement; it is an integral part of his creative process. Each step, each observation helps him forge a personal, almost spiritual connection with the land. His art becomes a dialogue between himself and nature, revealing the subtle beauty and constant change of the world around us.

Both Vaughan’s writing and the documentary highlight how walking can transform from a simple act of transportation into a rich experience of noticing, meaning-making, and creative expression. They challenged me to rethink walking as something powerful and profound. What seems like a basic activity can actually teach us a lot about the world, about our relationship to place, and about ourselves. Walking encourages us to slow down, to listen to the environment, and to respond thoughtfully, whether by creating art, forming desire lines, or simply becoming more aware of our surroundings. It made me realize that this everyday action holds the potential for discovery and insight if we are willing to pay attention. In a fast-paced world, walking reminds us to move gently and purposefully, reconnecting with the natural rhythms and spaces that shape our lives.

[testforce-insights]

AI Automation in Financial Services: Simplifying Complexity, Boosting Confidence

In today’s fast-paced digital economy, the financial services industry is under constant pressure to do more—with less time, fewer resources, and tighter regulations. And if you're in the middle of it, juggling innovation with compliance, you already know the struggle.

That’s where AI-powered automation is flipping the script. Especially when it comes to test automation and quality assurance, AI isn’t just a buzzword anymore—it’s the secret weapon for banks, insurance companies, and fintechs trying to stay agile

And at Provar, we’re helping financial teams do just that.

We're not just another automation tool—we're a Salesforce Automation solution built for teams who care about quality, compliance, and speed. So let’s break down what AI Automation in Financial Services really looks like today—and how it can transform the way your teams deliver.

Why Financial Services Need AI—Yesterday

Financial platforms aren’t like your average app. They’re packed with complex logic, integrated systems, sensitive data, and mountains of compliance needs.

Here’s what makes testing in financial services so tricky:

Multi-layered workflows — Think mortgage approvals, insurance claims, loan underwriting. All of these involve a lot of steps and stakeholders.

Frequent regulation updates — A single change in a policy rule or a compliance requirement can impact dozens of processes.

Tight security protocols — From encryption to user access, testing needs to consider cybersecurity at every step.

System integrations — CRMs, payment gateways, legacy systems, APIs—all have to talk to each other perfectly.

Testing all of that manually? Good luck. This is why automation is a no-brainer. And with AI added into the mix? You’re not just making things faster—you’re making them smarter.

How AI Takes Financial Testing to the Next Level

You’ve probably heard the term "AI-driven automation" thrown around a lot. But what does that actually mean when you're testing a Salesforce-powered banking application, or validating a loan approval flow in production?

Here’s how Provar’s AI automation capabilities help financial services teams work faster, reduce risk, and stay compliant:

🔍 Smarter Test Coverage: AI doesn’t just help create tests faster—it helps identify what actually needs to be tested. Imagine AI scanning your app, highlighting critical flows, and suggesting tests based on risk, user behavior, and past defects. That’s contextual intelligence at work.

🧠 Self-Healing Tests: One of the biggest pains in traditional testing? Your test cases break every time the UI changes. With Provar’s self-healing tests, AI automatically adapts your tests to UI updates—so you’re not stuck fixing scripts all day. ​ ⚙️ Continuous Testing in CI/CD: Thanks to CI/CD integration, you can run automated tests every time you push changes. That means bugs are caught early, releases stay on schedule, and your team doesn’t have to choose between speed and quality.

🔒 Compliance-Ready Validation: With financial apps, it's not enough that features work—they need to prove they’re working according to standards. Provar’s testing platform captures every test run, result, and change—making it easier to stay audit-ready.

Quick Glance: Traditional Testing vs. AI Automation

When it comes to test creation, traditional testing relies heavily on manual scripting, which can be time-consuming and repetitive. In contrast, Provar's AI-powered automation generates tests much faster, reducing the initial workload and speeding up the entire process.

Test maintenance is another major difference. Traditional methods often break when the UI changes, requiring high effort to fix. Provar’s automation tools offer self-healing capabilities, automatically adapting to UI updates, saving your team tons of time and frustration.

For compliance validation, traditional testing usually involves manual documentation, which is both tedious and prone to error. With Provar, automated reporting simplifies compliance checks and ensures you stay audit-ready with less effort.

Regression testing using traditional methods is typically slow and resource-intensive. AI automation enables continuous and scalable testing, so your releases remain stable without burning out your QA team.

And finally, team collaboration tends to be siloed in traditional environments, with testers, developers, and product teams often working separately. Provar supports a unified platform that enhances visibility and fosters cross-functional collaboration, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Real-World Use Case: Loan Processing at Speed

Let’s say you’re a bank rolling out a new automated loan approval system on Salesforce. There are a ton of rules behind the scenes—credit checks, document verification, fraud flags, decision trees.

How do you make sure:

Every approval path works across different loan types?

Sensitive data is secure at each step?

A small tweak in one rule doesn’t break the whole system?

This is where Provar comes in. Our tool helps you:

Generate reusable tests for every loan scenario

Automatically validate workflows across Salesforce, APIs, and third-party services

Run daily regression tests to ensure updates don’t cause downstream chaos

Get clear logs and reports for internal audits or external regulators

The result? More confident releases. Happier compliance teams. Faster innovation.

Benefits You Can Actually Measure

Still wondering if AI Automation in Financial Services is worth the investment? Let’s talk numbers.

Teams using Provar in financial environments report:

60–70% reduction in test cycle time

50% fewer post-release issues

Up to 80% test coverage of critical user flows

Auditable reports that satisfy regulators (and make internal reviews easier)

And because Provar is purpose-built for Salesforce environments, it integrates cleanly with what you already use—no clunky workarounds or bolt-on frameworks.

Where Do You Start? You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. Many successful teams begin by automating just one area—like test case creation or regression testing. Then, as the benefits become obvious, they scale up.

Some practical first steps with Provar:

Use AI-assisted test creation for your most-used user flows

Set up automated smoke tests in your CI/CD pipeline

Enable self-healing tests to cut down on maintenance

Start generating reports for compliance audits

Once you see the ROI, it becomes a no-brainer to expand coverage and scale testing further.

The Future of Financial QA is AI-First

Here’s the truth: financial services don’t have time for flaky tests, release delays, or reactive QA anymore. Your users expect seamless experiences. Your stakeholders expect compliance. Your developers need agility.

With AI automation, and with the right partner like Provar, you can have it all.

And we’re not just helping you automate tasks—we’re helping you transform how testing fits into your development lifecycle. From smarter coverage to real-time insights, we’re making it possible to test like tomorrow—today.

Final Thoughts: Provar Makes AI Automation Real

Let’s wrap this up. AI Automation in Financial Services isn’t a futuristic idea. It’s already reshaping how banks, insurance firms, and fintech players approach testing and delivery. And with the complexity of modern systems only growing, doing things “the old way” isn’t just inefficient—it’s risky.

That’s why Provar, your trusted Salesforce Automation platform, is leading the way. We help financial teams automate smarter, scale faster, and release with more confidence than ever. Our platform brings AI-driven testing, seamless integration, and enterprise-grade compliance into one streamlined solution.

Ready to simplify the complex? Let’s talk. Book a demo or connect with our team today—and see how Provar can help you achieve quality without compromise.

[arvale-artist]

🤖Jaybot7 had a tumblr blog.

Looks oddly barren. Especially compared to 🤖Jaybot7's blog. But when I take a closer look at the layout, it almost looks like it's made for a mobile view... but I'm using a standard computer, I'm on desktop view. I wonder if it looks like this because it was designed for Pocket PCs? Could be that it isn't even supposed to look like this, images don't appear unless you click on them, so I wonder how 'broken' the layout is on a modern screen? If what I state isn't complete nonsense, that is. Also looks like a lot of these posts are previews, for the lack of a better term. With the full thing being linked in the post title (which are all broken sadly). A lot of the posts seem to have been made with cross-posting tools of a sort.

This tumblr blog has been abandoned (like so many of his socials) for many, many years. The most recent post is from Feburary 2010. A decade and a half, damn...

I've been aware of it for quite some time, but I was unsure if this is perhaps crossing a line. There's a tendency on the internet to dig up old online activity from people to publicly humiliate, shame or make fun of them, no matter how outdated these things are comapred to the current human being. But that's not the reason why I'm digging through 🤖Jaybot7 tumblr blog like a cockroach, it's kinda the opposite honestly. I wanted to learn more about Arvale and I think it's interesting to read through some more casual developer commentary. Since this blog seems to have been made with the intent of 🤖Jaybot7 to keep in touch with his audience and anyone interested in Arvale, I hope I'm not... doing something wrong here.

All the more sad to see that despite around 780 posts, none of them have any notes currently. And if they do, they are from me. I was hoping to see commentary from other Arvale fans and possibly get in touch with them, but alas...

Bah! Enough sad talk! Here are some of my favourite highlights:

Fucking superb! 👍What a great start.

Cool to see yet another fellow creative being crazy in their own way. And yet, this is probably one of the more normal ways to start/ work on a project then the things I've and others have done.

HELL YEAH BABYYY

Honestly really refreshing to see an artist being proud and happily rambling about the thing they're working on. So often I see other artists, friends and strangers, just de-hyping and belittling their own work and struggling with confidence. I was like this too. A lot.

Now I'm like this:

Grrraahh!! That being said, why are all these posts previews!! The links are all dead, I wanna hear more about the creation process and experiences but I cannnnnnnn't... LUCKILY I recognize the text here from an old blog post on his blog, along with other tumblr posts. So I'm probably not missing out on too much... I think.

YOU!!!!!!!!

1). THAT WAS MY FAVOURITE TOWN ON ENTOQUE YOU JERK!! (Not actually mad, I'm joking.)

2). Sakyra... So implementing her was fun. Getting to know her as a character was also fun! (Video thumbnail from my Arvale Treasure of Memories Gameplay where we get to meet her).

Yeagh. It really is just like that sometimes. I've had multiple experiences like this too... coming up with a name for your project is so hard and it CANNOT suck!!! aaaaaaa

Hhhhhhah! When the determination to work on the project is just too great! I know it too well. No matter if you're half asleep, running on a joke of a meal or your family is begrudgingly telling you to stop and fed up with your bullshit. <- Examples from PERSONAL experience.

Oh yeah? Well I got your Arvale music stuck in my head for years. I'm not complaining though.

HELL YEEEAAAA H THAT'S THE WAY!! IT DOES KICK ASS!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodness gracious...?

Amazing. The only reason this hasn't happened to me (yet) is because my computer's keyboard can be pulled out/extended from underneath the table. Why? I need space for my fuckass huge drawing tablet.

*nervous laughter* the things I did and continue to do in order to have more time to work on Ar- t. Art.

*spying the empty instant ramen soup bowl and potato chip bag on my desk* ...nnnnyeeaahh. Making Arvale stuff with junk food...

I have NEVER heard anyone use the term »dog-ass« tired. I am incorporating it into my vocabulary nonetheless.

Interesting wisdom...

... 👉👈 What if there was another artist commending your music (and more)... Would that be another wonderful surprise? 👉👈

[georgedunmorefmpyr2]

Technical and Cinematography Research

Roger Deakon - BladeRunner, Dune.

The cinematography in Blade Runner 2049 by Roger Deakins, is something that I find to be one of the most visually interesting aspects of the film with its dystopian appearance. I've divided up the sections which I have found to play an important role in its appearance.

The Lighting and Colour makes strong use of bold, striking colours like deep oranges in the Las Vegas scenes or like a "cold" blue and grey in the city which I think best shows how different the environments are. I noticed a lot with the lighting is that they intentionally make it so that shadows and silhouettes are used often to make characters look small or alone which I think really aims to highlight the films themes of isolation.

The next big area I think the film does really well is Camera Movement. Deakins' shots are very precise and balanced, he uses wide shots to show the massive scale of the world and the characters often appear tiny compared to their surroundings. I think this is to kind of represent how overpowering society and its creations have become over the average person. I think with how the film makes use of Slow and smooth camera movements, it helps to create a calm but eerie atmosphere leading viewers to be expecting a sudden change.

Although the film uses lots of CGI, I found online from looking at set images, that they worked hard to keep it grounded with real lighting and sets when possible. This makes the world feel believable and immersive. He even won an Oscar for his work, showing how important his cinematography was to the film’s success.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storyboarding - Pixar

Disney is famous for its storyboarding process, which has played a key role in how its films are planned and brought to life. Storyboarding pretty much is when artists draw a series of panels (like a comic strip) to show the flow of a film/scene before it’s animated. Disney didn’t invent storyboarding but they were one of the first studios to fully develop and use it as a standard part of filmmaking.

So I wanted to find out what makes Disney's storyboarding so special. I found that back in the 1930s was when Disney first began using full storyboards during the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the first full length animated feature film). They placed storyboard panels on walls so the entire story could be reviewed, revised and improved visually before any animation began, as back then it was all hand drawn. Disney embaraces collaboration with its storyboarding as it is a team effort. Artists, directors, writers and animators all give feedback during storyboard meetings to ensure the best possible outcome. This is essential to shaping the timing, emotion and structure of each scene early in the process.

I found that Disneys storyboards often pay close attention to character expressions. These boards are not just about action, they're about how the characters feel which ultimately I think is a core part to helping animators bring believable characters to life.

Pretty much, once storyboards are done, Disney creates a rough version of the film using the drawings, temporary voices and sound effects (You used to be able to find them in the extras menus on DVDs). I then found out that this is called a story reel or animatic. Its a really good way that helps the team see how the story flows which makes it easier to fix pacing or tone problems before full animation starts.

I watched this video from the early 2000s which helped give a really good insight into everything I have spoken about

Here are some other sources I used:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MoScow

So this is just a short section which I thought to include which I've kind of already done but I did see it was on my to do list. The MoSCoW method is a four step approach to prioritizing which project requirements provide the best return on investment. MoSCoW stands for Must have, Should have, Could have and Will not have.

M:

House Model

House TEXTURED

House Renders

S:

Terrain

Grass

Trees

Pathway

Cinematic for Camera Render

C:

Vines on House

Moving Grass and Trees and Wind

W:

A car Model

A gun Model

A Pigeon Model

Source:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is the difference between cutscenes in games - film or tv shots?

Cutscenes in games and shots in films or TV shows are similar in that they both tell parts of a story visually, but they’re used differently and here's house:

Game Cutscenes usually happen between moments of gameplay. Players watch them, but don’t control what’s happening. They’re used to give context, move the story forward, or show something important the player can't do themselves. Wheras with Films/TV every scene is part of the main story, the viewer never interacts they just watch the story unfold from start to finish. I find that with Game Cutscenes, they are often used as rewards after big moments of gameplay or to introduce new gameplay objectives. They help the player understand what to do next. Whereas films/TV, scenes are designed to keep the story flowing. They don’t need to pause for interaction or gameplay.

In terms of Length and Structure, Game Cutscenes are usually short so they don’t interrupt gameplay for too long. In story-heavy games like The Last of Us, they can be longer and more detailed. In games though it technically scenes are able to achieve quite unnatural or impossible angle for something seen in real life but nearly all of them generally stick to more typical camera movement conventions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Photography & Framing - For Renders

Lastly, this is just a section of research where I take a look into photography and framing, which I will be taking into account for when I am creating my own renders for my Model. Some of the areas I will be looking at are: Common Camera Shot naming conventions, The Golden Spiral, and Photography Rule of Thirds.

To start, the Photography Rule of Thirds divides an image into 9 grids, 3 vertical lines and 3 horizontal lines. You can then place the subject at the intersection of the lines or along a line for the most pleasing effect. For example, if you are shooting a sunset, you could place the horizon on either the top or bottom line.

Here is how this looks:

For my own renders, I will need to be ensuring that my focal points fit within the central section to ensure I draw the viewers attention to it.

Next, I had a look at the golden ratio/spiral. The golden ratio originates from the Fibonacci sequence (Each number is the sum of the previous number combined with the current).

To then create this golden spiral from this you need to:

Start with a golden rectangle – a rectangle where the ratio of the longer side to the shorter side is 1.618.

Divide the rectangle into a square and a smaller golden rectangle.

Repeat the process with each new golden rectangle, continually dividing and drawing squares.

In each square, draw a quarter-circle arc.

These arcs together form the spiral.

To then use this when taking a photo you start by positioning the subject at the tight end of the spiral (The main point of interest like a face, object, or detail). This is where the viewer’s attention will naturally settle. You then let the scene flow along the spiral path. The way I kind of thinking about it is like a winding path to show off a grand landscape or a collection of trees. Then the only other thing you have to think about really is how you use the space around the spiral to support the subject, trying to not overload the background or clutter the flow. I found that spiral works best when the viewer is guided gradually toward the subject.

Here are a couple of cool examples that I found:

Lastly, I wanted to look at the type of camera shots which will help in deciding what I am going to aim to do in my Renders.

Establishing Shot – A wide shot used at the beginning of a scene to show the setting and location.

Long Shot – Shows the subject from head to toe, often used to show action or context within a scene.

Medium Shot (Mid Shot) – Frames the subject from the waist up, commonly used in dialogue scenes.

Close-Up – Focuses on a character’s face or a specific object to highlight emotion or detail.

Extreme Close-Up – Zooms in on a very small part of the subject, like eyes or a hand, to create tension or highlight something important.

Over-the-Shoulder Shot – Taken from behind a character’s shoulder, often used in conversations to show perspective.

Point of View (POV) Shot – Shows what a character is looking at, placing the audience in their position.

High Angle Shot – The camera looks down on the subject, making them appear smaller or weaker.

Low Angle Shot – The camera looks up at the subject, often making them seem powerful or intimidating.

Tracking Shot (Dolly Shot) – The camera moves smoothly with the subject, often used to follow action.

Crane Shot – A shot taken from a crane, allowing sweeping movements and dramatic perspectives.

Handheld Shot – The camera is held by the operator, creating a shaky, realistic effect.

Tilt Shot – The camera tilts up or down to show something vertically.

Pan Shot – The camera rotates horizontally to follow movement or reveal something gradually.

Zoom Shot – The camera lens moves closer or further away from the subject without physically moving the camera.

I have created a little list here of the types of camera shots I want to use to make my renders with. I have selected them for specific areas of the house I want to show off.

Orphographic High Angle Wide Shot

Low Angle Front right corner shot (Shows the scale of the house)

Medium Angle back left shot

Close-up Shot of Windows

Close-up Shot of paintwork

Medium Front Shot (Shows the garage)

[mcad-creative-leadership]

Revolutionizing Creativity to Cultivate Transformative Leadership

The first brainstorming study, conducted in 1958, found that group participation inhibited creative thinking. Management set up sessions where workers got together to discuss and throw out ideas. In theory, dialogue without a specific agenda would encourage people to speculate freely and think “outside” the box. The effectiveness of brainstorming was quickly called into question. They found that individuals working alone were more productive and successful than those in a group. The belief was that this was how creative people, like artists and poets, came up with new and innovative things. However, there was plenty of backlash from executives. They argued that true creativity comes from individual minds, not collective ones—which highlights the meaning of the creative process. How has the creative process(es) changed since the late 1950’s? Does every artist have their own? How is one discovered?  ​ Alex Osborn, also known as the “founder of brainstorming,” hoped to solve all kinds of problems through creative thinking. He advocated training students in these techniques through new school programs. He reimagined education to emphasize creativity, which I really admire. It makes me wonder: What is the difference between creative process and creative thinking? Is there a distinction? If so, how is it determined? 

“Advertising is my day job,” he liked to tell people, “but imagination is my hobby.” — Alexander Osborn

Psychologist Carl Rogers saw creativity as an intellectual ability and a fundamental life force tied to human self-actualization and fulfilment. He was concerned about conformity in industrial society and the lack of meaningful work. The power of brainstorming enabled workers to feel ownership of what they created. Instead of simply punching a clock, they were contributing to the creation of something bigger. Now, Maslow’s view of the whole person, not just cognitive abilities, also saw creativity as tied to human excellence rather than just invention. He wanted to address deeper spiritual meaning with creativity.  ​ In essence, creativity was born from a balance between irrational and rational tendencies, and the concept of self-actualization was key to linking creativity to psychological health. It allowed people to reach their full potential and express themselves authentically. It was exciting to see that most postwar psychologists saw creativity as a generally positive personality trait, regardless of its application. 

“By becoming more creative, we can live better with ourselves and with each other… By becoming more creative, we may even find a way to bring permanent peace to all the world.” — Alexander Osborn

Creative exercises are inventive endeavours focused on building creative skills. They are multimodal and can expand creative thinking. I have made a personal worksheet on creative thinking, how it happens, and what individuals can do to harness their own. The worksheet describes idea formulation and explores both accidental and deliberate thinking processes.  ​ Both forms of creative thinking connect unrelated concepts and adapt objects for unique purposes. By practicing both forms, individuals can improve their mental flexibility. For example, if a team has been working in the same field for a long time, accidental or deliberate creative thinking can help them discover entirely new solutions to repetitive problems.  ​ With creative thinking exercises similar to the worksheet I have created, individuals can look forward to a work challenge more as an opportunity for growth rather than a test of delayed progress. It encourages communication, problem-solving and unity.

[beeseo-portfolio]

This was my first board of my Level 3 NCEA Painting portfolio where I explored the creative process. My biggest artist models for my works were: Justin Bower, Elena Calavera and Meredith Marsone. My other inspirations, aside from artist models, were Blue Period (a show exploring the pain of art) and Physical 100 (a Korean game show gathering the strongest 100 athletes in Korea). Blue Period explores art as it follows characters who are all in their final year of high school working towards getting into art school, but having to embrace impostor syndrome, perfectionism, and the pain of the creative process. Physical 100's main highlight for me was when the eliminated competitors destroyed a clay replica of their busts with a hammer, basically destroying years of their hard work of polishing their body to their best caliber.

The first board was all about setting down the foundation and beginning to gather ideas to explore the creative process, as seen with the bottom series with me focusing in on my hands using different media.

This was my second board where I made more explorations with composition and texture. In this piece and this board, I explore how the artist, laying down and defeated by the art, is one with their artwork. I intentionally left the piece in an "unfinished" state to show the process rather than the outcome. As artists, it is tempting to be a perfectionist and keep adding more and more into the artwork. But there is a point where we have to step away and call it "finished" to break the cycle. The process of creation is pain and the pain of creation causes a spiral. People oftentimes see the finished product and often forget that there is an entire process of hours and hours of work put meticulously into a piece. The amount of scrapped chicken scratched thumbnails, the number of sketches thrown into the bin, the number of hours spent painting the meticulous details that nobody will notice, the feeling of inadequacy of our skills not being good enough but not being able to tear away from the process... each step is part of the creative process and the final outcome will reflect the process, no matter how arduous the journey was. The artist themselves are the artwork with the top half being the artist and the bottom half being an art gallery scene with installation pieces. I used impasto on the paintbrush, pencil and eraser to stop the art from being just 2D and actually come out into the real world, further merging the line between artwork and artist.

This was my final board of my Level 3 NCEA Painting portfolio. I ended my board with an art gallery scene to close off the boards and as a way for me to step away from the creative process and call this done, though there is more to explore as I, as a person, develop and grow more which impacts how I approach my creative process.

Overall, the creative process is never truly complete even if the artist does call it finished. There are always things that the artist can look back on in the future and see how an idea could have been pushed further, or how the technique could have been different, or how the artist might have approached it. Circles as a motif show the cycle of the process of creation as it is never ending, and it is up to the artist to decide when to step away, whether it'd be giving up right after the sketch or stepping away after being a perfectionist about the small after effects. The artist and the art are one and the same, and trying to separate them is a futile effort. The artist pours themselves into an artwork even if they do not realize it: their thinking process, their emotions, their worldview, their personality, all of themselves into art. As the artist creates, the artist becomes their art.

The last time I had really worked with traditional art, especially acrylic painting, was the Magnolia painting done earlier in the year. While painting Magnolia I was feeling lost about how I should even go about my life, compared to my Level 3 NCEA Painting portfolio where I had more agency over my life and felt less lost about myself. This is even more so when comparing my Level 1 NCEA Visual Art portfolio to my Level 3 NCEA Painting portfolio-- the agency I had over my life then was abysmal in comparison to my final year of high school.

My compositions, in comparison to my Level 1 NCEA Visual Art board, are less crowded and allow for more negative space to be present within the pieces. This shows my growth as I begin to feel less cramped in my environment and as I get to gain more agency over my life.

The paint I used was all acrylic and the digital pieces were done using Procreate.

Further explanation of my Level 3 Painting portfolio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LPknkO48RHGQvd7bh4nMZshIRVuZyt8a/view?usp=sharing