Just a quick update to say that I'm now living in Cornwall, that my job is fun if a little crazy, and that after two months of nothing my flat finally has connection to the internet.
I could complain for hours about the way BT Openreach messed us around and failed to turn up twice... but there just isn't time to rant amongst all these glorious web-comics and videos of cats :)
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Friday, 10 February 2012
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...
New film now online: Bopper Wars - Special Edition
I was twelve when I "obtained" my first copy of Flash. It was Flash 5, and I'd never seen anything like it.
I was already interested and experimenting in animation (I had Wallace and Gromit to thank for that), but it wasn't until Flash that I think I realised it was what I wanted to do with myself; the ironic thing being that animating in Flash has almost nothing in common with the actual animation I went on to study.
I suddenly had the power to create anything! Anything! So what better way to use this new power than to recreate Star Wars using the small green bodiless aliens that were drawn all over my maths book!
Looking back, it's pretty clear I had no idea what I was doing. I couldn't even figure out the drawing tools, so I drew everything in MS-Paint (I hadn't yet discovered the wonders of Photoshop) and imported it. Badly. And the less said about timings the better. But without Bopper Wars, and all its massive failings, I may never have become an animator.
I went on to make The Bopperz Strike Back and Return of the Bop, and each was better than the last. Between those three films I think I learnt everything Flash 5 had to offer, with the exception of ActionScript.
The Phantom Bopper, on the other hand, was an abomination. Let us never speak of it again.
But, like George Lucas, as much as I loved my first ever film, looking back at it made me wince. Beyond its inherent awfulness, which was a big part of its charm, there were things missing that I wished I'd included. Laserblasts during the space "battle", for one. And stars. So, like George Lucas, I went back and changed things.
Bopper Wars is now available in both its original form (button on the left) and as a new Special Edition (button on the right). Scenes from the original survive intact, in all their pixelated glory, interspersed with new ones. If nothing else, it's quite a thrill to see my first attempts at animation alongside my latest! It's nice to see how far I've come.
Both versions are available here.
Like George Lucas, I consider the Special Edition to be the definitive version of Bopper Wars - Episode IV.
Y'know; until the Blu-Ray comes out...
I was twelve when I "obtained" my first copy of Flash. It was Flash 5, and I'd never seen anything like it.
I was already interested and experimenting in animation (I had Wallace and Gromit to thank for that), but it wasn't until Flash that I think I realised it was what I wanted to do with myself; the ironic thing being that animating in Flash has almost nothing in common with the actual animation I went on to study.
I suddenly had the power to create anything! Anything! So what better way to use this new power than to recreate Star Wars using the small green bodiless aliens that were drawn all over my maths book!
Looking back, it's pretty clear I had no idea what I was doing. I couldn't even figure out the drawing tools, so I drew everything in MS-Paint (I hadn't yet discovered the wonders of Photoshop) and imported it. Badly. And the less said about timings the better. But without Bopper Wars, and all its massive failings, I may never have become an animator.
I went on to make The Bopperz Strike Back and Return of the Bop, and each was better than the last. Between those three films I think I learnt everything Flash 5 had to offer, with the exception of ActionScript.
The Phantom Bopper, on the other hand, was an abomination. Let us never speak of it again.
But, like George Lucas, as much as I loved my first ever film, looking back at it made me wince. Beyond its inherent awfulness, which was a big part of its charm, there were things missing that I wished I'd included. Laserblasts during the space "battle", for one. And stars. So, like George Lucas, I went back and changed things.
Bopper Wars is now available in both its original form (button on the left) and as a new Special Edition (button on the right). Scenes from the original survive intact, in all their pixelated glory, interspersed with new ones. If nothing else, it's quite a thrill to see my first attempts at animation alongside my latest! It's nice to see how far I've come.
Both versions are available here.
Like George Lucas, I consider the Special Edition to be the definitive version of Bopper Wars - Episode IV.
Y'know; until the Blu-Ray comes out...
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Late Introductions
I'm one of those people - you know the ones - who will introduce people to each other after about five minutes of talking between them, not noticing the awkward looks and sharp jabs to the ribs.
(Also, the blog feed on my website thinks that the date is Tuesday the 30th of November, in the year -1. It has trouble dealing with less than two posts.)
So, late as usual, I thought I'd better introduce myself.
Hi! I'm Matthew Hurd, and here's a list of things you probably don't need to know about me:
With that out of the way, hopefully now I can use this blog to actually talk about some of those things above. And hopefully my date counter knows what year it is.
Like I said: semi-competent.
Now I'll do what I always do after introductions have been made, and head for the kitchen.
(Also, the blog feed on my website thinks that the date is Tuesday the 30th of November, in the year -1. It has trouble dealing with less than two posts.)
So, late as usual, I thought I'd better introduce myself.
Hi! I'm Matthew Hurd, and here's a list of things you probably don't need to know about me:
- I have a degree in animation, but since finishing university I've had a varied career involving Flash design, web design, secret military work (really), freelance illustration, freelance animation, and working in a zoo. I'm also a semi-competent programmer, hence the website.
- I am about to start work as a graphic designer on yet another military contract (less secret this time) at a naval base in Cornwall - which is a little frightening as I start in just over a week and still have no idea where I'm going to live once I get there. Needless to say, I'm house / flat / room-hunting like a beast right now.
- I love film, books, comics, imported HBO television shows; anything involved in the creation of worlds and universes really - which I suppose ties back into the animation. I'm probably a little too knowledgable about Star Wars, and I found myself addicted to Bionicle at one point. Philip Reeve may currently be my favourite world-builder.
- I'm working on approximately fourteen-thousand worlds and universes of my own; be that in the form of short films, short stories, comics, long films, long stories, computer games, or at least one extensive television saga. Some of these may even get made!
- I love science - particularly evolutionary biology, and particularly not physical chemistry (sorry chemists). Learning something new about anything at all is always interesting and exciting!
- I'm an atheist and a humanist, I believe in the importance of rationalism, reason and critical thought, I'm liable to rant at length about homeopathy in the middle of pharmacies, and I'm a Sagittarius.
With that out of the way, hopefully now I can use this blog to actually talk about some of those things above. And hopefully my date counter knows what year it is.
Like I said: semi-competent.
Now I'll do what I always do after introductions have been made, and head for the kitchen.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Nerd Technologies in 2012
Hello, potential reader!
Welcome to the Nerd Technologies official blog - a blog with barely anything to do with Nerds and even less to do with Technology.
No, this is actually the news blog for www.NerdTechnologies.co.uk, a fledgling animation and design company. I say company - it's actually just me, a freelancer, but "company" sounds better and goes some way towards explaining the stupid name.
With that bait-and-switch out of the way, this is (hopefully) a big year for me. A lot's happening already and I hope I can build on it:
The blog (which also has a feed on the website) will be a place where I can keep the world up to date on the progress of these, and other, projects.
I can't promise that there won't also be posts about other things - this is a blog after all - but hopefully most of them will be animation or design related. Who knows, there may even be some about Nerds or Technologies!
So that's my mission statement. Hopefully there will be fairly regular updates, and this won't degenerate into an emo-diary like my last attempt at a blog...
Onwards to 2012!
Welcome to the Nerd Technologies official blog - a blog with barely anything to do with Nerds and even less to do with Technology.
No, this is actually the news blog for www.NerdTechnologies.co.uk, a fledgling animation and design company. I say company - it's actually just me, a freelancer, but "company" sounds better and goes some way towards explaining the stupid name.
With that bait-and-switch out of the way, this is (hopefully) a big year for me. A lot's happening already and I hope I can build on it:
- I have a fabulous new-look website.
- I've started this blog.
- I just joined Twitter (for business purposes, of course).
- I'm about to start a big new contract.
- I'm finally moving out of my parents' house!
- And hopefully, at some point over the next few months, I'll be able to tell you that Nerd Technologies has become an actual limited company.
The blog (which also has a feed on the website) will be a place where I can keep the world up to date on the progress of these, and other, projects.
I can't promise that there won't also be posts about other things - this is a blog after all - but hopefully most of them will be animation or design related. Who knows, there may even be some about Nerds or Technologies!
So that's my mission statement. Hopefully there will be fairly regular updates, and this won't degenerate into an emo-diary like my last attempt at a blog...
Onwards to 2012!
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