Quiet as we watch

I've been busy as hell the last few days with real world work, but as I stop to look around thinking I'm missing some (site related) interesting news item, I see that it really is quiet. I do believe many of us are watching the aftermath of Katrina. Every time I reload CNN.com I see another concerning 36pt headline. It's almost surreal what is happening down there, almost big budget Hollywood disaster movie like, but its not. Its real life. My heart goes out to everyone struggling in that horrible situation where they are just trying to survive after days without resources. I can't imagine the human stories that are taking place, both of courageous and desperate.

Kind of related to this, in an economic sense, I ended up being on TV last night on one of our local news channels (at 11:30PM EST). I was filling up my car when a reporter and camera man came up to me seeing if they could ask a few questions on my feelings about the insanely rising gas prices. Its funny, once you have a camera on you and a pretty girl with a microphone suddenly your brain spits out gibberish. As in the first question, "What did you think today when you saw your car needed gas" to which my reply was, "Time to fill up." Her disdain was a cue for more. "Ahhh, its going to be expensive.." ugg. I guess it worked out enough that they, reportedly, aired the whole interview even though I missed it. At least I heard I looked good...

Site related, the things I did pick up on was the news of OC3 Entertainment's FaceFX using Fonix VoiceIn Technology. OC3 provided the great (although not used by myself) lip-sync technology integrated in the Unreal Engine. The renown 'Who's On First' is a great example of this technology, now even better with Fonix's tech.

Also, if your checking out that clip at machinima.com. See the new top tutorial posted, 'Outlining - Telling The Story Over and Over'. Its a good read if you are just getting started in the pre-production process. Also see the news of the Movies Online Contest:

Lionhead Studios and Activision, Inc. announced today The MoviesTM Online, a community website where aspiring moviemakers can upload and share their motion pictures created with The MoviesTM on the internet! Located at www.themoviesgame.com, the site will launch a virtual film festival for aspiring film-makers when the game ships this fall. Members of the site will also find a host of competitions, Awards Ceremonies, a Prop Shop and additional downloads that will help extend their gaming experience with The Movies.

Might be something seriously worth checking out.