WEBLOG:I have contemplated a different kind of dual display setup (dual vertical rotation) for a while now for my studio, but wasn’t sure if it would technically work, since I’ve never seen anyone with that kind of setup. I finally went ahead and got a 2nd 24″ display (Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM) and tried it (with my other Samsung 24″, the 244T). After dealing with BSD (Blue Screen of Death) caused by Samsung’s Magic Rotation software for an entire afternoon, I finally gave up on Samsung’s software and used Nvidia’s display manager for the rotation settings, and BAM! It worked. I was singing and dancing with joy–a glorious moment–the kind of little thing in life that makes you feel so happy. Here’s how it looks:
The reason why I want dual vertical configuration is because when working with DAW sequencers, I find myself constantly scrolling/expanding the list of instruments in the track view–especially when the piece is orchestral and there are tons of instruments. It’s the same when doing any kind of MIDI editing work in the piano roll when I want a good overview of my chord voicing across all instruments in the orchestration, which usually spans just about all the existing octaves in the collective instrument ranges. With one display rotated to portrait mode, I get the vertical real estate, but then I’d have to scroll a lot horizontally–not being able to see more than a 8~10 measures at decent zoom level, which is just as annoying as not having enough vertical real estate. I could stack two displays top and bottom, but that would require a lot of work in practical placement, and would probably require additional purchase of some kind of display holder/arm accessory. So, the only logical option left is to put two vertical ones next to each other. I’m extremely happy with this setup, and the only complaint is sometimes I need to rotate one of them back to horizontal for watching a DVD or doing a horizontally oriented piece of artwork. Otherwise, I’m fine with using the portrait mode for everything else.
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FM (Frequency Modulation) Synthesis is a bit of a daunting subject for some synth heads, since it’s not nearly as intuitive as subtractive synthesis. I’ve now gotten a pretty good handle on subtractive synthesis, but I still haven’t really gotten my hands dirty in FM yet, and while searching for some info, I came across this very helpful explanation of FM synthesis (but you must already understand how subtractive synthesis works). I’ve yet to see a FM synthesis tutorial that explains it by using analogies from subtractive synthesis, and it’s far more effective than trying to explain carriers and modulators and stacks without any references to subtractive synthesis.
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Quickie Film/TV reviews:
Hellboy II: The Golden Army – This one had some pretty neat creature designs, with obvious efforts to take it closer to the kind of designs we saw in Pan’s Labyrinth, which is a smart move since Pan’s Labyrinth had the critics foaming at the mouth (though it didn’t do the same for me). I’m usually not a big fan of lighthearted bantering when I feel like it’s executed in a heavy-handed manner, where you can see the strings pulling the puppets, so to speak. HB2 had lots of those moments when you can tell the screenwriter is just trying too hard to make you like the characters. I think this is the difference between a really good writer and an OK one. With the really amazing writers, you never see the strings attached to the puppets–the characters are simply alive and have a will of their own, never resorting to clichéd dialogues or react with predictable gestures. I think Del Toro is a good director, but I’m not sure if his writing matches his directing ability.
Personally, when I used to read Hellboy back in the day, I never imagine him as much of a goof as in the film version. In the comics, he seemed more like a deadpan humor guy with a hard-boiled noir detective vibe (think Deckard from Bladerunner, but with more wisecracking), but in the films, he comes across as a bit too showy and with too much swagger, and quite a bit dumber than the comic book version, which is not particularly endearing.
