Welcome To Nick Loz Film & CGI Web Site

<body bgcolor="#999999" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" onload="preloadImages();"> <br> <br> <br> Click on one of the links below.<br>  <table id="Table_01" width="178" height="65" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img src="images/indexImage_01.gif" width="32" height="65" alt=""></td> <td><a href="film.html" target="_parent" onmouseover="changeImages('indexImage_02', 'images/indexImage_02-over.gif'); return true;" onmouseout="changeImages('indexImage_02', 'images/indexImage_02.gif'); return true;" onmousedown="changeImages('indexImage_02', 'images/indexImage_02-over.gif'); return true;" onmouseup="changeImages('indexImage_02', 'images/indexImage_02-over.gif'); return true;"><img name="indexImage_02" src="images/indexImage_02.gif" width="37" height="65" border="0" alt=""></a></td> <td><img src="images/indexImage_03.gif" width="33" height="65" alt=""></td> <td><a href="cg.html" target="_parent" onmouseover="changeImages('indexImage_04', 'images/indexImage_04-over.gif'); return true;" onmouseout="changeImages('indexImage_04', 'images/indexImage_04.gif'); return true;" onmousedown="changeImages('indexImage_04', 'images/indexImage_04-over.gif'); return true;" onmouseup="changeImages('indexImage_04', 'images/indexImage_04-over.gif'); return true;"><img name="indexImage_04" src="images/indexImage_04.gif" width="36" height="65" border="0" alt=""></a></td> <td><img src="images/indexImage_05.gif" width="40" height="65" alt=""></td> </tr> </table>  <p>Nicholas Loizides, AKA Nick Loz director, cinematographer and cgi artist, or digital artist.<br> <br> 2052 the movie<br> eye of simon the movie<br> broken boy soldier productions<br> dare to be great productions<br> 2K sports<br> <br> Nicholas Loizides Director/Cameraman</p> <p>Art has been a major focus for Nick since childhood in England - drawing and painting at an early age, he moved into still photography at age eighteen and found his life’s passion. The Sir John Cass School of Art and the Brighton Film & Video Workshop helped to refine Nick’s talents, and set his sights on Hollywood.</p> <p>Moving to California, Nick began working in television, which soon led to filmmaking. Working as director of photography on independent films, short films, TV shows and music videos, he vastly expanded his creative vision.<br> Nick has recently brought his photographic eye and cinematic sense to TV commercials, directing spots for Hyundai, GTE, Coca-Cola and Volvo - preferring the creative challenge and fast pace of shooting commercial spots.</p> <p>Nick’s unique talents in photography, steadicam, and computer graphic art in post production, combined with youthful enthusiasm, give him an advantage when approaching commercial projects that demand a fresh perspective.<br> <br> Nick Loizides, 3D Artist<br> <br> Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive.<br> I was involved in the asset creation of environments, props, texturing and lighting that were used for the CG game in the movie.<br> When I arrived at PLF, Stay Alive had just started filming. My first task was to model environments that I then textured and lit and FTPed them to Kent on location in New Orleans. The idea was to show the Director and production designer game concepts of the interiors and exteriors.<br> I then moved onto modeling, texturing additional sets and adding more details to the approved concept environments. And finally, I did some preliminary lighting.<br> <br> Tell us about modeling entire interiors and dealing with large amount of objects and big scenes.<br> Although this was a game played in the movie, the film makers wanted a better than “nex gen” look for the game. The great thing about this was I could put a lot more detail into the models. Things like, beveling everything, warped and bent wood and detailed chains hanging everywhere. A lot of objects I created by projecting the photo reference image onto a grid and then modeled and extruded off of that. This cut down the time to UV as I created geometry based on the image. I’m very happy with the results of this method.<br> Modeling and texturing was made easier for me because I had good photo references and images from the art department. It was a great challenge to study a photo of and interior, furniture, accessories, and recreate it in 3D. Of course, the scenes became really big and hard to move around. I made groups and layers of the room contents and turn them on or off when needed.<br> <br> What were the most challenging tasks you had to master?<br> I would say the pass-mixer, which is a PLF propriety shader system. It’s big and at first over whelming, but very useful when achieving a good render. Another challenge was lighting big scenes. We had so much stuff in the scene especially the exteriors with all the trees. I had to apply a lambert material to everything and light the scene that way. <br> <br> Which features of XSI did you find very useful?<br> I’m relatively new to XSI so my choices might seem a little simple. But, over other apps, the texture editor. It’s very easy to see where everything is and what it’s doing. Also, my favorite, the split edge loop tool, which was only just introduced to Maya 7, but XSI has had it for a long time. Just select the ] key and middle mouse click on an edge. I would be lost with out this cool tool.<br> In lighting, I like that you can see and tweak the light cone and fall off without going to the controls. Select the light and push the b key.<br> <br> Which areas should be improved? <br> The ambient default setting is too high. I always set it to zero. And, in the lighting controls, when you turn on shadows, the umbra default is set very high. I think it should be set lower and if you want to see into the shadows you can turn it up. I’d like to see a customizable right click menu. For example, if you’re modeling you could pick your most used tools. <br> When you use two monitors and have the Explorer  Render Tree open on the second monitor, have the render tree refresh automatically when you select an object. I always have to click refresh otherwise I inadvertently edit the wrong set of shaders.<br> Of course there might be ways to change all of these things, I just might not have found them yet…<br> <br> <br> Credits<br> Kent Seki - VFX Supervisor<br> VISUAL EFFECTS BY PIXEL LIBERATION FRONT<br> <br> Sean Cushing - Executive Producer <br> Tanissa Potrovitza - VFX Producer <br> <br> TECHNICAL DIRECTORS <br> Brad Friedman <br> Andy Jones <br> Marko Vukovic<br> <br> 3D ARTISTS <br> Glenn Burton <br> Keely Colcleugh <br> Tamir Diab <br> Mahito Mizobuchi <br> Ralph Knight <br> Nick Loizides <br> Scott McGinley <br> Michael Meyers <br> Eric Schoengarth <br> Raffaele Scaduto-Mendola <br> <br> ANIMATORS <br> Duane Floch - Animation Supervisor <br> Derek Fisher <br> Daniel Loeb <br> Daniel Robichaud <br> Mike Neely <br> Mike Werckle <br> <br> COMPOSITORS <br> Raul Moreno - 2D Compositing Supervisor <br> Tony Lupoi - 3D Compositing Supervisor <br> Brian Battles <br> Diana Hinek <br> Shant Jordan <br> Wenshan "Claire" Lin <br> Jeff Olm <br> James Payfer <br> Freddie Vaziri<br> <br> PRODUCTION STAFF <br> Beverly Abbott - Production Assistant <br> Sim Poo Lem - IT Assistant <br> Abby White - Office Manager<br> <br> INTERNS <br> Casey Hunt <br> Gary Kavanagh <br> Reza Rasoli<br> <br> <br> <br> Making of Stay Alive<br> Interview with members of the visual effects crew at Pixel Liberation Front about creating 140 shots for the horror movie Stay Alive.<br> March, 30th, 2006, by Raffael Dickreuter<br> <br> <br> Kent Seki, Visual Effects Supervisor</p> <p>Tell us about your role as VFX Supervisor of the film and what kind of work this involved from start to finish in the project<br> The Visual Effects Supervisor acts as a conduit for the director to help achieve his/her vision for the show. In the early stages, this involves listening and acting as a sounding board for the director. Then you work closely with the Visual Effects Producer to plan the Visual Effects. When photography begins, you represent the VFX department on-set to ensure the VFX for the shots are achievable. After principle photography ends, you oversee the final effects for the show.<br> In the case of Stay Alive, the VFX Producer was the very capable Gayle Busby. We worked together to plan the shooting of the VFX to fit within the shoot schedule and the budget. I was on set throughout the five-week shoot. Then, I went back to PLF and worked with our internal team of over 30 artists to complete 140 shots. In order to accomplish this task, each artist had a significant impact on the production. The project required everyone involved to wear several hats. Technical Directors Andy Jones and Brad Friedman refined the proprietary pass rendering pipeline that we began developing while working on “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.” We created over eight fully digital environments, fifteen characters, and over 100 props and effects for “Stay Alive.” Back at PLF, I was lucky enough to work with internal producer Tanissa Potrovitza. Meanwhile, Busby stayed with production and oversaw an additional 40 shots from Mark Dornfeld at Custom Film Effects (CFE). I can’t stress enough the value of working with good producers. They keep you on schedule, on budget, and organized. In the case of “Stay Alive,” both Busby and Potrovitza did a fantastic job. </p> <p></p> <p>Talk a bit about your on set supervision and what work and planning it did involve for the post production process<br> On-set I was responsible for making sure that we had everything we needed to successfully complete each VFX shot. This meant working with everyone from the Assistant Director (AD), the Director of Photography (DP), Props, Special Effects, Stunt, Hair and Makeup, and Wardrobe. It was a great experience. The majority of shots were screen comps which involved making sure we had a green screen up with tracking markers. In addition, you make sure and record as much data as possible about the shoot. This ranges from camera measurements to digital reference photographs. All this data can be extremely valuable when trying to recreate set conditions in CG well after a shoot has been completed.You always have to balance your anticipated needs in post-production with the immediate needs of the set and the Production’s need to stay on budget and on schedule. This involves the ability to quickly think on your feet and creatively solve problems efficiently. You also need the ability to negotiate with the various departments to try and make the VFX shots as painless as possible while taking the least amount of their time as well. </p> <p></p> <p>What creative decisions were made about the look of the game and characters to give a next-generation feeling?<br> One aspect of the visual effects that proved to be a formidable challenge became the look of the game itself. We wanted to achieve something that could be qualified as “next generation” but yet still believable. To achieve this directive, we incorporated well-known and used CG film techniques into game style scenarios. Since film benefits from rendering while most games rely on real-time graphics engines, we wanted to integrate the more time-expensive rendering assets into our faux gaming world. For example, we used 3D motion blur, ray-traced reflections and shadows, area lights, and volume lighting effects. All of these techniques are making their way into games now as the graphics cards and systems become more robust and real-time shaders gain sophistication. In addition, we wanted to go for a stylized look relying on a heavier application of ambient occlusion. We added cloth simulation and hair rendering. All of these techniques have been creeping into gaming gradually as gaming and feature film converge. In this way, the game itself could be considered groundbreaking. As far as the characters go, we initially decided to scan the actors. We scanned the actors on location in New Orleans with a Los Angeles based company called Eyetronics. Eyetronics utilizes a proprietary technique of shooting the subject with hundreds of digital photographs while projecting a grid on to them through the flash. The scanning process took about 20 minutes per actor. This data enable the artists at Eyetronics to photogrammetrically build virtual counterparts to the actors and the digital photographs are used to create texture maps that are then projected back on to the digital doubles. The interesting result was that the scans looked too much like the actors! We then had to manipulate the digital models to become less real and more “gamey.” Our modeling team led by Raul Moreno had to alter the proportions and facial features to look less like the actors and more like the “idealized” features found in today’s games. We stopped just short of what you see today and opted for a hybrid look which kept the characters a little more grounded in reality. We even altered the textures of the actors by combining them with high resolutiondigital pictures of people on the “Stay Alive” VFX team. All the characters were finished off with CG hair. Digital artist Ralph Knight became our own digital hair stylist, spending two months on hair alone for the hero characters. <br> <br> What was the approach to make it feel scary?<br> Ultimately, you take your cue from the director. For “Stay Alive,” Director Brent Bell and co-writer/producer Matt Peterman came in with a list of both movies and games that they found influential and interesting. As avid gamers, Brent and Matt proved to be a great litmus test for the success and believability of the game shots. Many times, we would want to go more cinematic with our shots, but the filmmakers kept us grounded in the gaming world. In addition, Brent and Matt came to the table with a definite idea of where they wanted the picture to go in terms of the effects and pacing. Toward the second half of the post production process, Producer McG added his energy and creativity to the mix for the final push to finish the shots.Visual effects are but one component of creating a mood. Our work is dependent on the editing, music, sound design and performances. We did, however, have moments to influence the horror aspect of the show. At one point, Producer McG gave us the edict to make some porcelain dolls more scary saying, “Find the most F%^*d up guy you know. Set him on fire, and put him on this!” We got the message and had 3D artist Mahito Mizobuchi remodel all of these dolls using his imagination to create a rather disturbing set of dolls.<br> <br> What were the challenging aspects of this production for PLF more well known for it's Previz work?<br> The single most challenging aspect of “Stay Alive” was creating a compelling narrativefrom the full-screen game shots. “Stay Alive” is based on a yet-to-be-created “next generation” computer game. The game footage had to not only hold up on its own, but more importantly, it had to propel the story forward, often becoming a key storytelling part of the picture. These weren’t just throw away game shots to get us to the next live-action sequence. Rather, the footage offered key clues to the mystery of Elizabeth Bathory, and the believability of the game had to be balanced with cinematic concerns in terms of keeping the audience interested even when no “real” characters were on screen. The first person perspective shots needed to be exciting while the actors’ virtual counterparts had to hold narrative weight. The biggest test came in the third act when Swink (Frankie Muniz) guides Hutch (Jon Foster) via cell phone through Malkus’ House while using the game as an exploration tool. The goal of this sequence is toseamlessly switch between game mode and live-action while keeping the pacing fast and interesting. <br> Working within a limited budget becomes a challenge in it of itself. There are always things that you want to improve, but you simply run out of money and time. We always try to go the extra mile for each job. For example, the production simply did not have the budget built in for facial animation. We recognized fairly early on that any next generation game would, of course, have facial animation. Animators like Daniel Loeb, Daniel Robichaud, and Brad Friedman took the challenge up themselves to add what we knew was a necessary feature. In the original description of the City of Dead Ghost Girl Chase, the budget alloted for five to ten girls. Duane Floch took that sequence and animated 37 different girls to really take those shots to the next level. Games today also feature a good amount of motion capture. Once again, the budget was not able to facilitate a mocap session. Marko Vukovic constructed a re targeting and blending system to take existing mocap that we had and blend that with key-frame animation. The team consistently impressed me with their ability to creatively address<br> budget and time constraints.<br> <br> <br> Tanissa Potrovitza, VFX Producer </p> <p>Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive. <br> I was Pixel Liberation Front’s VFX producer. We were the primary vendor handling about 140 shots, under the direction of Gayle Busby the studio’s VFX producer for the entire movie.Internally at PLF I was responsible for client interactions, managing budgets, scheduling meetings, and coordinating artist feedback. I worked directly with editorial and Pac Title in receiving shot counts and live-action plates. I handled the delivery of the shots both to editorial, as well as the final delivery of Cineons to EFilm. I scheduled DI and film out sessions and generally tried to assist the creative team with what ever they needed. Luckily I had a wonderful production assistant, Beverly Abbott, who helped me out a lot with the nitty gritty of it all.</p> <p><br> Tell us about what it involves to handle an entire production as VFX producer. <br> Of course each project is different, but in an ideal situation, a VFX producer would be involved from the pre-production of a project. From the get-go, they could work on breaking down the script and evaluating needs  what types of effects, cost estimates, timelines, etc. Once underway, the producer could remain on-set, or at least in close contact in order to make sure the VFX team gets what it needs, and if script or shooting changes occur, they are still within budget & available recourses. Otherwise the VFX producer would revise the budget and/or solicit additional vendors. Finally, once in post, the VFX producer oversees the project, while acting as the gateway between the studio/director and the artists. This includes getting feedback on shots, reconciling updated counts lists from editorial, and reorganizing personnel as effect requirements change from shot to shot. Depending on the production, many of these duties are split between a VFX supervisor and VFX producers. In the case of Stay Alive, PLF’s creative director Kent Seki was the VFX supervisor. He traveled to the sets, oversaw VFX shoots that needed green screen elements, tracking markers, etc., and shot tons of digital photos for our artists’ reference, which really helped later on when we had to design virtual sets and objects. Kent also personally jumped in to help many times  from meetings with the studio to final compositing  it was my first big project and he was an enormous help… thanks Kent!</p> <p><br> Tell us about organizing film out and screenings feedback. <br> I found the film outs to be very productive because they let us see our shots as they would be seen in the theater. This confirmed that we were going to have enough latitude for the DI artist to make adjustments to the shots without losing detail. We could also diagnose problems that might be less visible back at the office where we were limited to a standard video projector. It was also a great moral boost to see the shots on film; we would always leave the screening thinking, “Wow, that looks cool!” </p> <p><br> What were the most challenging tasks you had to master? <br> In general, there is a lot of pressure to keep things on schedule and on budget. It’s also very important to keep both the client and artists happy, which can be tricky at times. But I guess my most difficult task to do was to tell an artist that their shot had been cut from the movie. Everyone worked really long and hard on even the shortest of shots, so it sucked to have to be the bearer of bad news.<br> <br> Duane Floch, Animation Supervisor</p> <p>Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive<br> I was brought in as the animation supervisor on this project. I had a great team of 6-7 animators, and somewhere around 120 shots involving character animation to supervise. As for my responsibilities, any shot requiring character animation went through me first in the approval process. In addition to supervising the team I also had about 20 shots of my own- mostly involving creepy little girls chasing main characters. I'd discuss each of the shots with Kent Seki, our vfx supervisor, and together we would determine what needed further attention and what was ready to submit to the client. There was a great deal of collaboration between Kent and I in determining the style and feel of not only the character animation but the in-game camera animation as well. Successfully communicating those concepts to the team was very much a part of my job.</p> <p></p> <p>What animation choices were made to achieve a game like look for the animation?<br> The concept was to create a next generation gaming style. While much of that had to do with the look and feel of the environments and characters, we were determined to add as much detail to the character animation as possible in the time allotted. Where camera animation was concerned, we focused on the 1st and 3rd person perspective shots to give them a realistic game feel - if it didn't feel like you were actually playing the game, it was tweaked until it did.</p> <p></p> <p>What were the most challenging tasks you had to master?<br> I would say managing the 3 long shots that involved this gorgeous cemetery environment, two main characters and 37 of those creepy little girls!. There were a couple of other shots involving the girls in which I had to find that look you see alot of in horror films like The Grudge, that disturbing 12fps backwards walk in reverse thing.</p> <p></p> <p>Which features of XSI did you find very useful?<br> I love the animation mixer. It has saved me on any number of occasions - most specifically when I had to transfer a lot of complex animation to an updated rig half way through production.. Using the mixer we were able to get a lot of across the board consistency for walk and run cycles I'm also glad to see that reference models are coming into there own in terms of reliability! </p> <p><br> Which areas should be improved?<br> While I really like working in the fcurve editor, it is aggravating when you add a key to an existing curve and the surrounding key tangents are affected, even if they are locked! That's about the last thing you want to see happen after spending hours adjusting your animation.<br> Andy Jones, Chief Technology Officer</p> <p>Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive<br> My current title at PLF is “Chief Technology Officer.” Basically, it's the same job I had with my family, growing up, except now instead of an older sister who needs help printing last night's homework assignment, I have a building full of artists who need help printing shots for a feature film. On Stay Alive, that involved everything from choosing hardware for our computing infrastructure, to revamping our rendering pipeline, to overseeing technical aspects of how we model, animate, render and<br> composite. I also spent an embarrassingly long time doing some fluid simulation work. I suppose you could say that if PLF were the Ghostbusters, I would be an Egon Spengler. I say “an” Egon Spengler because Brad Friedman would also be Egon. And Marko Vukovic would be some sort of Peter Venkman/Egon Spengler hybrid. Honestly, I think my single biggest contribution to Stay Alive was finding Brad spouting some bit of Egon-worthy gibberish on the XSI mailing list and telling Kent to call him and try to lure him away from his last semester at NYU. It was really great having both him and Marko around, especially when a bunch of our character rigs somehow became possessed by the Keymaster.</p> <p> </p> <p>Which custom tools did you develop to improve the production process?<br> Going into Stay Alive, we were already using some custom tools I'd made for previous projects. Most notably, the backbone of our rendering strategy is a shader I wrote to allow us to control our pass setups with expressions instead of the slower, clunkier and less flexible material overrides applied to partitions. Technically, you can do the same thing without a custom shader, which is what we did on “Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow,” but it becomes a lot more difficult for the artist to do anything creative in the render tree without breaking it.<br> Due to the nature of this particular project (i.e., non-photo-realistic effects on a fairly limited budget), we focused most of our development time on revamping our existing pipeline to be as non-linear, automated and reliable as possible. In general, the less time you have budgeted for each shot, the more important it becomes to automate repetitive tasks, leaving as much time as possible for the creative stuff like animating, lighting and compositing. The bulk of the development we did that ended up getting used in this job was for some tools that enable us to automatically sort our assets into a full-blown pass setup, with multiple partitions per pass. For people who don't render with a lot of passes, this might not seem like a big deal, but it's not uncommon for us to have around 10 passes per layer of a shot, each with around 10 partitions. I'll skip the details, as Brad already gives them in his answer to this question. There were a couple of other tools I made directly in response to Stay Alive, that still haven't really hit our production floor yet. That's sort of how it goes with a lot of development, since there can be a certain degree of risk and/or overhead associated with implementing new technology in the middle of a show. The big example that comes to mind is a shader I made for rendering hair with framebuffers. For those who don't know what framebuffers are, they're basically a way to make mental ray render multiple passes (in the XSI sense) simultaneously. Pass Channels in XSI 5 are essentially just framebuffers wrapped up in a Happy Meal for mass consumption. Anyway, after doing a job with hair, we realized that it's highly desirable to break apart the hair render into separate passes that can be combined in a 2D application. We've actually found that to be true of pretty much everything (hence the 10 passes per shot layer), but in the case of hair, rendering additional passes without framebuffers is especially costly, since generating the hair geometry can sometimes take as long as the render itself.</p> <p><br> What were the most challenging tasks you had to master?<br> Fluid simulation, but I wouldn't really say I “mastered” it. “Mustered” is more like it. The handful of times I've had to do fluid simulation, it's often been for close-up shots, which, in my opinion, are still really hard to do well with simulation, even with great tools like RealFlow. No one ever asks me for the two spouts of blue and yellow liquid pouring into a glass and mixing around, like in the RealFlow tutorials. Instead, they always seem to want something that falls slightly out of the realm of what the existing tools are good at. In this case, the problem was that the shot started with a view of a deep pool of blood and ended with a close-up of blood flowing through the nooks of a small metal crest as it emerged from the pool. This is a tricky thing to do, because simulating a pool of blood with enough precision to give proper flow around a detailed object would have been prohibitively slow for us. The strategy I ended up using was to render a depth matte of a mesh from a high-resolution RealFlow simulation for just the close-up particles, combine it with a depth matte for the larger body of liquid in 2D, then use the result as a displacement map for a liquid surface in the final render. It worked pretty well for the special case I was dealing with, where you don't ever need to see the underside of the liquid. A bonus of this approach was that I could manually roto in changes to the simulation at the 2D phase, which was easier than trying to do modeling on a RealFlow mesh -- especially since I'm just about the worst modeler on the planet.</p> <p> </p> <p>Which features of XSI did you find useful for your tasks?<br> Ever since I discovered that it existed, I've been a fan of the FXTree, and it proved very useful for the little fluid simulation displacement technique I described above. One of my other favorite XSI features is the little connection icon that lets you drive parameters with sources like weight maps, and texture maps. A little rain cloud appears over my head whenever I don't see it next to a parameter. When combined with the FXTree, you can do some really amazing stuff with those little icons. For example, at one point I did a really cool particle test, where I pulled a difference key on adjacent frames of a sequence of plates of some rose petals burning and used it to emit smoke particles along the burning edge of the petals. There's also a scene in the movie where Swink, Frankie Muniz's character, is customizing his game character, in which Ralf Knight used a push deformer with a weightmap to dynamically animate the buff-ness of the character mesh. The effect was pretty much exactly what we needed, as it quickly starts to look ridiculous as Swink tries to make his character unreasonably strong.<br> I also have to mention BatchServe. I know some people have gotten burned by it in the past, but we've used it to render several shows now and it works pretty much flawlessly. There's a big disclaimer though, which is that I've had to make significant changes to the code to work around some bugs. The relevant code is just vbscript and php, though, so making changes isn't really such a big deal if you know what you're doing. Plus, while you're at it, you can add features. For example, in our customized render control script, we save huge amounts of networking overhead by syncing all our texture files to the local drive of the render machine. There are so many things XSI does right. I'm mentioning these because a lot of people don't use them as much as I do, but really I could go on for pages.</p> <p> </p> <p>Which areas of the software should be improved?<br> The FXTree is a really powerful tool, but it could be about twice as powerful and five times as useful with some additional development. I've whined about it for a while now, but we could really use a text tool in there for doing reticles. And the floating point support is pretty much non-existent in the current set of nodes. You can get HDR and OpenEXR images in, but that's about it. Even AfterEffects supports floating point compositing now, so it must be time to jump on the bandwagon.<br> Floating point support in the FXTree is just one part of a whole set of changes I'd like to see made to provide XSI with a consistent linear rendering workflow. People always say, “CG is linear,” and they're right, since most of the shading methods we all use (lambert, phong, etc.) are intended to represent idealized linear light. However, people are still picking colors and painting textures in PC gamma space, so the resulting renders are an intertwined mess of linear light data and PC gamma color data. What's missing from XSI, as I see it, is a convenient way to get color data into XSI in linear form, and a way to quickly view rendered results with gamma correction for a PC monitor, similar to the view lut capability available in most compositing packages. We've actually been in the process of developing most of the tools we need ourselves, and we're using them on our current project, but ultimately, there are things we'd like to do that will never be as elegant as they could be if Softimage implemented them directly.<br> Lastly, it should be possible to put clusters into partitions. I've seen countless tutorials on crazy methods to deal with avoiding cluster materials because they make pass setups difficult. Solving this problem is like trying to design a car without any wheels. There are ways to make it work, and I'll use them if I have to, but can we please just have some wheels already?</p> <p> </p> <p>Which direction should the software take in future developments?<br> For the most part, I'm pretty happy with the direction XSI is going in. I think the special projects guys, in particular, have done some really amazing stuff lately, with Face Robot. I attended a motion capture summit this fall with an assortment of really smart, knowledgeable people in the effects industry, and probably the biggest thing everyone unanimously agreed on was that facial motion capture is a really big unsolved problem in visual effects. I was very pleased to see Softimage stepping into the lead in this area.<br> As far as XSI goes, I'd really like to see Softimage take some time and re-evaluate their tools in the context of actual production pipelines to try to absorb some of the functionality that currently exists only as customizations and workarounds. Right now, a pipeline based exclusively around native XSI is a bit of a roller-coaster ride, with some really high peaks, but also some pretty low valleys and occasional broken rails. And even with customization, there are still some pretty low moments. Reference models and shape animation, for example. Personally, I'd rather see those problem areas ironed out than see more features added. I understand, though, that shiny new features are often what sells software, and what keeps users like me drooling about new releases.<br> <br> Marko Vukovic, Technical Director</p> <p>Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive<br> I had worked with Kent Seki in New York where we met on a project at Nickelodeon and then later we worked together at Psyop. I really enjoyed working with him and we had a good working relationship on previous projects. I mentioned to him a few months back that I was looking to get involved in feature work and he said that he had a VFX horror film in the works. It sounded very interesting. Plus I loved the idea of working on a CG horror flick!!! My role on the project was to try and make the mocap and animation pipeline a happy harmony, however I ended up being involved in many different aspects of the production including vfx supervising on set in New Orleans.</p> <p></p> <p>Tell us about the rigging process for the characters and what custom tools you developed<br> We basically used the tools already provided by softimage! Isner's biped rigs are great at getting setup quickly. I used the rig before on many projects and I was very familiar with the stengths and weaknesses. We slightly modified the rig, added some extra controls that the animators wanted, but for the most part the rig was left unchanged. I built a custom synoptic view for both the characters and the POV camera for in-game gameplay. I also wrote a bunch of scripts to make the rigging process faster and standardised. Naming convention was very important when it comes to automation, it just makes everything that much more efficient.</p> <p></p> <p>Tell us about how you used rigid bodies to create a ragdoll<br> This was fun. I started playing around with rigid bodies to test how stable they were and if it was possible to use them for character animation. At first I wasn't planning on using it on the characters but I quickly realized that I could hook up isners rig to RBD and have the simulation drive the character. There was one shot in particlular in the opening sequence where Loomis character gets thrown over the banister and is hung by his neck.... the rigid bodies proved to be a very efficient way to generate a performance that would have been too difficult / time consuming to generate. It was very easy to get several performances out of the RBD just be tweaking gravity or mass. I ended up blending two different simulations using the animation mixer and added some additional keyframe animation to fix certain intersecting issues.... overall the RBD got me 80 % there without ANY animation!!!<br> By plotting the RBD I was able to edit the anim curves using the animation mixer, a fantastic tool for re-timing and cutting together different animation clips. Who said you can't direct dynamic simulations???</p> <p></p> <p>Talk about using Realflow to create blood like fluids<br> Real slow.... honestly to be fair, real flow is a fantastic liquids simulator. One day when machines become faster it might even be realistic to use it in production. We got good results in the end but it was a VERY slow process. It would usually take a day to just simulate the particles, it looked great after it was done but then if you wanted to tweak some setting you have to wait another day for it to process... not ideal but it works.. Setting up several version overnight became the standard.</p> <p></p> <p>What were the most challenging tasks you had to master?<br> Dealing with mocap data. The tricky thing about mocap is that the data is never accurate to human anatomy. The sensors that the performers wear live above the skin so you have to compensate for that offset on your 3d model. Plus those suits are totally goofy looking. Once the mocap was working the next task, and this was Kent's main concern, was to be able to blend mocap and animation data. This proved to be a tricky task. We needed a way to have the characters driven by mocap data but also have the flexibility to animate on top of the mocap. The animation mixer played an important role here. I could speed up or slow down animation, disable certain joints or even animate on top of mocap!!! The rig I built for the characters allowed us to bake out the mocap with the animation on top. It was basically a retargeting and offset rig. In the opening sequence where loomis goes over the banister I blended several different animations and RBD simulations together to get the action, once this primary animation was in place Brad helped to setup the cloth simulation.</p> <p></p> <p>Which features of XSI did you find very useful?<br> Scripting, scripting and scripting!!!! Envelope painting, smoothing and weight editing, rig standards for biped characters. Also relaxing the mesh was a huge time saver for texture mapping.</p> <p></p> <p>Which areas should be improved?<br> Ascii format of scene files would be the best feature for 6.0... Retargeting tools which are currently missing in XSI for mocap, reference models, reference materials, refrence preferences and any setting in XSI should have the ability to be overriden or inherited... this way a TD could setup scene settings that everyone else in the pipeline inherits including geometry, materials, preferences etc. More buffers for the render region would be a nice addition.<br> <br> Brad Friedman, Technical Director</p> <p>Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive<br> Originally, I was hired on with the hope that I would be able to help out with the rendering process on Stay Alive. However, by the end of the production, I was serving as a technical director across the character, finalling and rendering areas of production. I also spent some time modeling and texturing. For this job, I had to switch hit between being a specialist TD and being a generalist, on a daily basis.</p> <p></p> <p>What were the most challenging tasks you had to master?<br> Well for starters, getting my footing in a professional environment was very challenging. It was jarring to be thrown from an educational environment into production. Figuring out how to deal with my superiors and colleagues was a daunting task. There I was, fresh out of school. There they were, veterans. FILM VETERANS! Who was I to work with them? Who was I to tell them anything at all? In school I was used to being the 'fix it guy.' But professionally, I had no idea where I stood. Also, working my way into someone else's idea of how to render was confusing at first. The pass system at PLF, is very different from how most people are taught to use mental ray. I had to wrap my head around what they were doing and why, before I could really work with it and start to innovate with it.</p> <p><br> What custom tools did you develop to improve the production process?<br> Andy Jones and I have put our heads together on quite a lot of tools and ideas since I've been at PLF. I'm sure his responses to similar questions will overlap my own. Generally, Andy and I play a lot of devils advocate for one another. When we both agree on something, Kent will do us the favor of playing devils advocate for both of us. To the outsider, I'll bet we look like we're about to explode into an all out brawl on a regular basis. However, when we're done, we usually have a thoroughly vetted design concept thats better for having gone through the process. Then, Andy codes the hard parts and I take the credit. Its a perfect symbiotic relationship. I guess the first major pipeline development I contributed to PLF was very simple, and yet in retrospect, its rather profound. I suggested we use some open source software called Subversion (http://subversion.tigris.org/) to manage our XSI workgroup. That way, the workgroup would live locally but be version-able. This allows computers to go off <br> site easily and avoids the nightmare of the corrupt network bound workgroup, that takes everyone down simultaneously. Ever since that day, we've been using it. Andy and I can develop directly into our local workgroup and test thoroughly before committing our changes to the rest of the production. Deployment is almost automatic. I can't imagine how it would be to work without it at this point. In the middle of the production process on Stay Alive it became rather apparent that the pass system we were using, while powerful, was also a burden to maintain and implement across the production. Simply adding TDs to the render pipeline was not going to make it go anywhere near as fast as it needed to be. Therefore, I drew up a design based on some techniques I had been using in the development of my custom rigging tools. The design was for a more automated system, based on the existing one. Without going into too much detail: our system depends on sorting the contents of our assets (models) by their material properties, such that an automatic system can then build passes just before we render our scenes. This involves encoding a substantial amount of meta data into the XSI scenes in a way that artists can understand and work with. By doing this, we pushed a huge amount of the work of setting up passes, back to the artists responsible for creating the assets. The actual development of this system involved a rather large amount of custom tool coding in Python. Andy and I tag-teamed the development and implementation of the system. <br> In my role as the main Character TD for the latter half of show, I developed a lot of little tools here and there to assist with complex character interactions and rendering solutions. None of them stand out as particularly worthy of note. Its just part of any TD's daily workload.</p> <p></p> <p>Tell us about creating all different hair styles for the characters<br> While I'm not directly responsible for creating the hair styles, I was heavily involved with the hair process for the show. We had a great artist, Ralf Knight, who did nothing but style hair for what seemed like months on end. He did a great job of coaxing the hairs into place with a combination of hair sculpting tools and modeling tools (while the hair was in stretchy mode). All of this was done in XSI 4.2, which had a more primitive hair sculpting tool set than 5.0 does. I honestly don't know how he stayed sane. Hair rendering in the show was done with a combination of the standard geometry hair shader in XSI, and some muhHair shading for select purposes. It was painful however. Hair rendering, in general, is a painful process. The balance of look, with processing power, and 32bit process memory limits, was enough to make me doubtful on occasion. But we made it work and I think it looks good.</p> <p></p> <p>Which features of XSI did you find very useful?<br> What's XSI? We made this movie in Microsoft paint. I like the paint bucket and the brush tool the best. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Syflex. We used Syflex exclusively for our cloth simulation on the show and its inclusion in XSI Advanced was a significant boon to our production. I am a big fan of the relax deformer. Seriously... the best deformer I've ever used. I can't begin to list all the things it has done for me on a regular basis. Reference models are amazing. Our entire pipeline is now based on reference models. It was a serious leap of faith to trust that they'd work for us. And in fact, they often didn't work. We had to work around a lot of problems and bugs. <br> We had to change a lot of standards and practices. However, the overall benefit did outweigh the extra frustration and lost time. Especially, when we got to the rendering portion of the show. We used the XSI pass system extensively, though not in the way it really was intended. It says a lot that the system was flexible enough to allow us to build our own system on top. Python was our scripting technology of choice. Its not perfect but it did preform admirably.</p> <p><br> Which areas should be improved?<br> I'm no stranger to the XSI mailing list and I don't shy away from criticism of the software. So, a lot of what I have to say is already known. For example, Andy and I evangelized a point of view of linear rendering workflow recently on the list and I feel strongly that XSI needs to transcend the issue and make a linear rendering pipe the standard, default way of working in XSI. All the gamma issues should be put out in the front of the UI rather than having them ignored and buried in the options and nodes. It's important and the current state of affairs should not be considered “good enough” as they are.<br> The Animation Mixer needs improvement IMHO. I think its light years beyond the other 3D programs out there. However, that doesn't mean its OK to let it linger. Nested compound clips need full support rather than the odd tacit support they currently have. Animating and editing FCurves within a clip should be just as easy as editing FCurves on the timeline, with full interactivity with the viewport and current object selection. Time should be spent making sure all clips of all types can easily be imported and exported from the Mixer (they currently don't all work). More effort should be put into animation filtering with the Mixer. Adding a layer of noise to a clip should be as simple as a few button clicks in a nice UI for your average animator.<br> Shape animation, and how it works in a reference model world, needs to be examined and the problems need to be solved. Both animators and character TDs need to be able to author shapes and work with them back and forth and in parallel. Currently, this is very difficult to accomplish with reference models.<br> <br> Raul Moreno, 2D Compositing Supervisor / 3D Artist</p> <p>Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive<br> Initially I was responsible for the look of the characters for our "game". After this phase was finished I switched roles to the lead 2D compositor, finishing the live action effects shots. As Kent said earlier the characters looked to much like actors in the film, so I had to alter them subtly. We took digital photos of some of the people on the team and integrated them into the characters and modified the geometry. Needless to say there were many revisions for the characters, until we got the look we wanted.</p> <p><br> What were the most challenging tasks you had to master?<br> The Cemetery Sequence immediately comes to mind. A long tracking shot (1154 frames) that needed to be composited over a really nice matte painting that Casey Hunt did. It tracked very nicely until the actors walk in front of and push open an old wrought iron gate with ivy and many of other things hanging in from it, really making it impossible after this point to use any type of automated tracking software. After they walk through this gate we had to hand track. This meant about 450 frames had to be tracked by hand and there was enough eccentric movement in the camera to make it real tricky. It was very tough to lock the matte painting down. Reza Rasoli did most of the tracking. Reza got track very close and I picked up the shot after that.We spent much time on this shot, from Claire Lin having to Roto all the ivy, wrought iron, actors, etc. from the shot, Casey's matte painting, tracking, color correction and integration. It was by far the toughest shot for me on this project.</p> <p><br> Which features of XSI did you find very useful?<br> I really like the modeler in XSI. It's a joy, easy to use yet very powerful. I teach a class at Otis College here in Los Angeles where we focus on digital sets and environments using XSI. The students are able to produce some complex models in a very short time.</p> <p><br> Which areas should be improved?<br> The Texture/UV Editor could use some improvements and updates. A pelt tool would be a good start. The ability to change units. Feet w/ fractional inches, Feet w/ decimal inches, meters, etc.<br> The ability to change grid spacing with major lines every Nth grid line and change the color of them. A built in measuring tool. It would be nice to see the compositing environment develop a bit more. If you are familiar with Shake it takes very little time to pick up.<br> <br> Tamir Diab, 3D Artist</p> <p>Tell us about your involvement in the project and what your responsibilities were on Stay Alive<br> I was hired by PLF as a lighter but with more generalist responsibilties such as modeling, texturing, and some layout.</p> <p><br> What were the most challenging tasks you had to master?<br> The most challenging tasks I had to master would have to be the detail within the modeling phase. We had to model assets for the film from set and reference photos taken by Mr. Kent Seki and the PLF on-site crew. I needed to model a horse carriage that would closely resemble the one in the live plates. Details like rivets, and how metallic surfaces really work was fun to get into. I also needed to model the carriage in a way that would best the rigger and animator's needs. In other words, it had to look right but also be functional. I have to say that the rigger Marko Vukovic did an amazing job. Since I had been out of the modeling arena for some time, it was great to get input and share tricks from other PLF staff.</p> <p></p> <p>Which features of XSI did you find very useful?<br> I found the XSI modeling tools very useful and intuitive. The Carver tool written by Ralf Knight helped make the modeling process much easier. Especially while modeling symmetrical objects, thes tools literally cut time in half. Also, Marko Vukovic had a real handy extrude along curve tool that helped me with all the metal rods and window frames on the carriage. It was also extremely helpful while modeling chandeliers that were to be used in a home's interior.<br> <br> <br> nick loz</p> <p>Digital Artist</p> <p>Specializing in: Organic and industrial design Modeling, Hair-Fur, Texture and 3D Lighting</p> <p>Software experience listed at the bottom of this page</p> <p><br> CG EXPERIENCE:<br> Date - Job Title - Movie Name - Director</p> <p>2005 - Modeler, Texture, D3 Lighter - “STAY ALIVE” Feature - PLF / Spy Glass / Disney - Director: William Brent Bell</p> <p>2005 - Modeler - “SUPERMAN RETURNS” Feature  PLF - Warner - Director: Brian Singer</p> <p>2005 - Modeler, 3D Lighter - “MASARATI” Birdcage Promo - Motorola Director: Nick Loz</p> <p>2004 - Co-Art Director - “Dirk Derby”, TV Show - O Entertainment / Nicktoonz</p> <p>2004-2005 - Character Modeler, Blend Shapes, Hair/Fur - “THE BARNYARD” Feature - Omation Studios / Paramount Studios - Director:Steve Oedekerk</p> <p>2003-2004 - Character Modeler, Environment Modeler, Texture artist - “2052” Feature - (Work in progress) - Director: Nick Loz</p> <p><br> Commercial Directing-Cinematography:<br> I have been rep'ed by Ocean Park Pictures, Venice CA, for Commercial Directing and now by Zystar Films, Venice, CA, for car commercials as Director-Cameraman.<br> I have an extensive background in still photography, live action feature film cinematography, music video cinematography and production design.</p> <p>I think my 20 odd years experience in live action film making, lends itself very well to the world of photo-real CG</p> <p> </p> <p>DIRECTING EXPERIENCE:<br> Date - Job - Title - Job Name - Production</p> <p>2002 - Co Writer / Director - "IGORA the Film" Product Release For Schwarzkopf Co. - Soul Icon</p> <p>2002 - Director - "IN THE CAN" TV show. Three Film Parodies: "Godfather, Silence Of The Lambs & Scarface" - Baypost prods</p> <p>2001 - Director / Cameraman - BEACH BODY.com "You're closer than you think" Commercial - Baypost prods</p> <p>2000 - Director / Cameraman - HYUNDAI “Journey” Commercial - Red Navel Flmworx</p> <p>2000 - Director / Cameraman - LEVI'S "Alone in the field of blue" Commercial - Red Navel Flmworx</p> <p>2000 - Director / Cameraman - VOLVO “Something Special about you” Commercial - Dare To Be Great</p> <p>2000 - Director / Cameraman - COCA-COLA “Feel The Change” Commercial - Dare To Be Great</p> <p>1999 - Director / Cameraman - GTE "Help" Commercial - Dare To Be Great</p> <p>1999 - Co Director / Cameraman - 5 spec "Acme" Gadget: Commercials - Arch Productions</p> <p>1998 - Writer / Director - "ALL POINTS": Spec Trailer Indi-Film - Dare To Be Great</p> <p> </p> <p>SOFTWARE:<br> Softimage XSI 3.5 - 4.2<br> Primary software for 3D projects<br> Extensive experience with organic, blend shapes and industrial design modeling in subdivision and none subdivision surfaces.<br> Extensive experience in UV mapping and texturing - general knowledge of shaders.<br> Extensive experience in lighting - 20 years of real world lighting as a cinematographer.<br> General experience with hair and fur<br> Photoshop<br> Very high experience of the software in creating photo real images and textures . Have used since Photoshop 2.0<br> After FX</p> <p>Extensive experience with rotoscoping and compositing.<br> Final Cut Pro<br> Extensive experience in none linear editing.</p> <p><br> Other commonly used software used<br> Painter, DVD Studio Pro, Digital Performer, Go Live</p> <p>Macintosh and Windows fluent.</p> <p>I have also been involved in fine jewelry making from the age on sixteen, so my attention to detail is insane (when need be)<br> <br> <br> Art has been a major focus for Nick since childhood in England - drawing and painting at an early age, he moved into still photography at age eighteen and found his life’s passion. The Sir John Cass School of Art and the Brighton Film & Video Workshop helped to refine Nick’s talents, and set his sights on Hollywood.</p> <p>Moving to California, Nick began working in television, which soon led to filmmaking. Working as director of photography on independent films, short films, TV shows and music videos, he vastly expanded his creative vision.<br> Nick has recently brought his photographic eye and cinematic sense to TV commercials, directing spots for Hyundai, GTE, Coca-Cola and Volvo - preferring the creative challenge and fast pace of shooting commercial spots.</p> <p>Nick’s unique talents in photography, steadicam, and computer graphic art in post production, combined with youthful enthusiasm, give him an advantage when approaching commercial projects that demand a fresh perspective.</p> <p><br> Job Description COMMERCIALS as Director <br> Production Cos<br> Director-Cameraman Beach Body.com "You're closer than you think" Baypost prods<br> Director-Cameraman Volvo "There's something special about you" Dare To Be Great<br> Director-Cameraman Hyundai "Journey" Red Navel<br> Director-Cameraman Coca-Cola "Feel the Change" Dare To Be Great<br> Director-Cameraman GTE "Help" Dare To Be Great<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY LEVI'S "Alone in the field of blue" Red Navel<br> Job Description<br> FILM & TV as Director<br> Production Cos<br> Director/writer "2052" in production Dare To Be Great<br> Director/writer "IGORA the Film" For schwarzkopf Co. Sole Icon<br> Director "In The Can" TV show. Three Film Parodies:<br> "Godfather, Silence Of The Lambs & Scarface" Baypost prods &<br> Dare To Be Great<br> Job Description<br> FILMS as Cinematographer<br> Directors<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "THE GHOULS" CHAD FERRIN<br> 2nd UNIT DP "CURSE OF THE FORTY NINER" JOHN CARL BUECHLER<br> 2nd UNIT DP "LESSON OF THE ASSASSIN" Inddi Film JAMES DUDELSON<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "MAPLE" Short KAI SOREMEKUN<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "UNSPEAKABLE" Indi-Film CHAD FERRIN<br> DIRECTOR AND DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "ALL POINTS" Indie Film NICHOLAS LOIZIDES<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "THE AGENT THAT STOLE CHRISTMAS" Indi-Film TODD JEFFREY<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "AMERICAN ROULETTE" Indi-Film HAPPY HOUR<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "LYCANTHROPHOBIA" Indie Film HARRY VICTOR<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA" Indie Film GREG RUTLEDGE<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "DOUBLE EXPOSURE" Indie Film PAUL PRIVEN<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "80c TO PARADISE" Scene from Film GILLES WHEELER<br> Job Description<br> Music Videos<br> Directors<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "NEWS FORM THE WEST” DWIGHT MARCUS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "H2” DWIGHT MARCUS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY “MY EYES” DWIGHT MARCUS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY “UFO” DWIGHT MARCUS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY “E PLURIBUS PLURIBUS” DWIGHT MARCUS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY “HEAT OF THE HEART” DWIGHT MARCUS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY “TIME IT TAKES A LEAF TO FALL” DWIGHT MARCUS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "THE MESSENGER" Music Video<br> DAVID ARKENSTONE</p> <p>TIMOTHY FIELDING<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "HEAVEN" Music Video MARC BRICKMAN<br> DP STEADICAM OPERATOR "EVERYTHINGS GONNA BE ALRIGHT" Music Video PGA PRODS<br> DP STEADICAM OPERATOR "ROAMIN" Music Video PGA PRODS<br> DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY "GRAMPA" (JULI) Music Video DOROTHY VITALE</p> <p>HISTORY</p> <p>You can contact Nicholas by clicking </p> <p>ADDED EXPERIENCE</p> <p>Advanced skill in computer art and photographic manipulation. Also: *Non linear editing *Digital sound, editing & manipulation.</p> <p>*Steadicamª operator.</p> <p>*Script, and Story Board work. *Model Design and Construction. *Prop Design and Construction *Inventing and Developing Devices for Camera and Technical Operation, i.e. for FX shots. *some Pyrotechnics experience.</p> <p>EDUCATION<br> 1993: STEADICAM:<br> Certified Operator. With Cinema Products.</p> <p>SADDLEBACK COLLEGE:<br> 1989 to 1990 Mission Viejo, California TV Production "Lifestyles" Channel 46, Orange County Weekly 30-minute video magazine show.</p> <p>1983: BRIGHTON FILM & VIDEO WORKSHOP:<br> University of Sussex, Brighton, England *Sound Recordist; Experience in 16mm Editing -Extensive work in 3/4 Video, Beata SP, Digi Beata D1.</p> <p>SIR JOHN CASS SCHOOL OF ART:<br> London, England Jewelry Enameling, Specializing in Antique Fine Jewelry, i.e.,Cartier, Faberge, Lalique, Tiffany.</p> <p>1978: H B. SMITH & SON Jewelers. Apprenticeship 5 years employment. Became self-employed 1981 and still design and own a fine art jewelry manufacturing company.</p> <p>REFERENCES PORTFOLIO: Available upon request.</p> <p>If you have comments or suggestions, email me at <br> <br> "IN THE CAN"<br> Hosted by Greg O'Rourke & Billy Forester.</p> <p>A TV film review show with a twist, (Saturday Night Live<br> meets Siskel & Ebert).</p> <p>Nicholas directed three of the show segments film parodies all shot on 35mm film to match the original visual style and aspect ratio.<br> The Godfather,</p> <p>Silence Of The Lambs,</p> <p>Scarface.</p> <p><br> "IGORA THE MOVIE"</p> <p>Co writer / Director: Nicholas Loizides.<br> A comedy film to introduce the new look of Schwarzkopf's legendary Igora hair products.</p> <p> </p> <p>"DREAMY" (in the works)</p> <p>Director: Nicholas Loizides.<br> Writen and staring Dana J. Ryan.</p> <p>A comedy about two women and their struggle of finding a decent man!</p> <p> </p> <p>"2052" </p> <p>Writer / Director: Nicholas Loizides.</p> <p><br> A film about reincarnation and time travel, using the new technology created with the introduction of "neural integration" in the year 2052.<br> <br> By the year 2052, using the technologies created with the birth of "neural integration", retrogressing into a past-life's body is achieved.</p> <p><br> 2003 AD. Adam sits in a Starbucks and observes everyone and everything around him. He knows nothing will ever be like this again. Even a simple cup of coffee, or the cup it’s in. The micro technology of the future will inhabit everything.</p> <p>He knows because he's been there...</p> <p>www.2052themovie.com</p> <p><br> "EYE OF SIMON"</p> <p>Writer / Director: Nicholas Loizides.</p> <p>Pursuer, rookie Agent Harris, FBI, watches the recovered documentary video taped chase of Pursued Cop killer, Simon Folger.<br> The chase, that started in New York went across the US and ended up in Los Angeles is concluded with Simon's fatal shooting. As Agent Harris views the "cat and mouse" chase he revisits those moment that are fast becoming his fading memories.<br> <br> <br> EYE OF SIMON<br> A screenplay by Nicholas Loizides<br> (All material copywrited and WGAw registered)<br> contact: TO NICKLOZ.COM</p> <p>INT. N.Y.C. - PARTY / CARTELLI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT - SIMON’S FLASHBACK</p> <p>Simon walks into a large building.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.)<br> It was a Saturday night. I remember I was in a pissed off mood cuz the market down the street had closed early. You see they sold this imported chocolate, smashing stuff, top class. And it made me bloody late to this huge banquet honoring this rather dodgy New York underground organization. It was wall to wall hoods and the like. The music was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think. The drugs and liquor were flowing, it was like bloody Mardi Gras.</p> <p>Simon moves through the crowd dodging back and forth around crazy people laughing, drinking and dancing. He moves up on two clean shaven suits.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT’D)<br> Quite frankly, I couldn’t care less about the whole affair. The only reason I was there was because I was working for these Two questionable ex-cops. QUINTEN and MCCARTHY. These two geezers always dressed like they were ritzy business men or something.</p> <p>The two men turn to face Simon.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT’D)<br> Anyway, they now own the territory they helped to clean up donkey's years ago.</p> <p>QUINTEN<br> Simon. You enjoying the party?</p> <p>SIMON<br> Sure.</p> <p>MC CARTHY<br> We have a small job for you.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.)<br> I was pretty skint after the divorce and for a buck or two I’d run around town doing these odd, “jobs”. Cushy number, really.</p> <p>Quinten pulls an envelope from his inside pocket.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT’D)<br> I kept my mouth shut and did what they asked, as long as I wasn’t duffing up anyone, I’d do anything they’d throw at me.</p> <p>He hands the envelope to Simon.</p> <p>QUINTEN<br> It’s an easy one. Take the envelope to this address. Make sure a guy called Cartelli receives it.</p> <p>MC CARTHY<br> Personally, right.</p> <p>QUINTEN<br> You’ve met him before.<br> (beat)<br> He’s a little jumpy, so be straight.</p> <p>SIMON<br> What happened to Dan?</p> <p>There’s tension in the air.</p> <p>QUINTEN<br> Who said anything about Dan?</p> <p>SIMON<br> No, I was just wondering--</p> <p>QUINTEN<br> Don’t worry about Dan?</p> <p>SIMON<br> I thought--</p> <p>MC CARTHY<br> He’s just sick.</p> <p>QUINTEN<br> I said, it’s not a hard job. Just make sure Cartelli gets the envelope. Okay?</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.)<br> It was never talked about, but the word out on the street, was that Cartelli was this really mean geezer-crazy hit-man. He wasn’t scared of anyone, cuz he had ties right up to the top.<br> (beat)<br> But the job wasn’t hard. Just deliver an envelope. Right?</p> <p>QUINTEN<br> Here’s fifty for the run.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.)<br> Fifty bucks was a little high, but like I said. I needed the dosh.</p> <p>SIMON (CONT’D)<br> Tar very much, guv.</p> <p>Simon puts the envelope away.</p> <p>MC CARTHY<br> Good. Now, go have a drink on your way out.</p> <p>McCarthy pats Simon on the back.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.)<br> Now that was really wired.</p> <p>Simon turns back and smiles nervously.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT’D)<br> In the two years I’ve worked for these fucks, they never, ever, made physical contact with me or anybody, for that matter. A pat on the back by anyone else, no problem. But this friendly gesture made me real nervous, especially delivering an envelope to a dodgy fuck like Cartelli.</p> <p>Simon looks around as he walks out. Everyone is having a great time.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT’D)<br> But I figured maybe they were all pissed up and in a good mood.</p> <p>Simon leaves.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> And twenty minutes later I was standing outside Cartelli's Apartment.</p> <p>The door opens and BRUNO CARTELLI, a big built Italian man, rough, rude, aggressive and very suspicious stands in the doorway.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> I knew when he opened the door it would all go pear-shaped. He was built like a brick shit-house, yeah he could definitely do some damage. And at that precise moment in time I realized, I should've had that bevvy on the way out of the bar before coming over.</p> <p>SIMON (CONT'D)<br> You don't know me.</p> <p>CARTELLI<br> So why the fuck are you standing here, then?</p> <p>Simon leans in to Cartelli.</p> <p>SIMON<br> My name is Simon. Quinten and McCarthy sent me. Simon.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> Well, he thinks for a moment, grunts then lets me in. So far so good. Right?</p> <p>Cartelli shuts the door behind Simon and locks it, CLUNK.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> Wrong. </p> <p>CARTELLI<br> Where's the usual guy?</p> <p>SIMON<br> He ain't working tonight. I was sent instead. All I have to do is give you an envelope. </p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> We don't exactly hit it off, in fact I was getting a really bad feeling about the thing. Stop me if I'm wrong.</p> <p>Cartelli doesn't respond right away then sniggers and pushes Simon up against the wall.</p> <p>CARTELLI<br> I only deal with Dan, and you don't even know his name!</p> <p>SIMON<br> I don't want any aggro mate, all right? And I do know Dan.</p> <p>Cartelli glares at Simon.</p> <p>SIMON (CONT'D) <br> Honest! What do you want me to say?</p> <p>CARTELLI<br> Nothing! If you knew Dan, you'd have said Dan in the beginning. But you didn't...</p> <p>SIMON<br> I'll call McCarthy right now, Okay? And you can speak to him yourself.</p> <p>Simon reaches for his cell phone.<br> Cartelli explodes. <br> He pulls out a gun and sticks it in Simon's face.</p> <p>SIMON (CONT'D)<br> What the fuck are you doing you stupid tosser! I was just getting my--</p> <p>CARTELLI<br> You're making all the right moves for a dead man!</p> <p>He grabs Simon by the throat and shoves the gun into his gut.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.)<br> He went ape-shit on me, totally ballistic. So I nutted him.</p> <p>Simon head butts Cartelli and goes for he gun.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> But that didn't help much, it just made him even more pissed off. And then I'm not sure what happened next-- </p> <p>Simon and Cartelli struggle-the whole thing is a blur.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> --except my military training kicked in and then it was good-night Vienna for him.</p> <p>The gun goes off and Cartelli drops to the floor.<br> Simon looks at the blood on his hand.<br> He backs out of the room.</p> <p>SIMON (V.O.) (CONT'D)<br> I was going to go to the cops but bollocks-to-that after seeing the news. They where all his old mates. I had to get out of the city real sharpish.</p> <p>Simon grabs his stuff on the way out of his apartment. We see the same khaki backpack he stored the parachute in that he used in Denver. "US ARMY" is written on the side.</p> <p>SIMON (CONT'D)<br> I had no idea Cartelli was playing both sides of the fence.</p> <p>Sweat beads down Simons brow as he wraps up his story. </p> <p>SIMON (CONT'D)<br> I had to run, I had to...</p> <p>www,eyeofsimon.com</p> <p>Currently seeking financing. For information please click here<br> <br> Hollywood Camera<br> Tech Support<br> AIRPORT X-RAY ALERT<br> <br> This information is presented as an alert to travelers carrying unprocessed film. A new FAA-certifiedexplosive detection system is being used in more than 50 international airports to examine (x-ray) luggage. The InVision CTX-5000SP, produced by InVision Technologies, Inc., employs conventional x-ray and cat scan technology. The system pre-scans baggage to evaluate it for any potential threat (explosive), then scans further using a focused, more intense narrow width beam if suspicious materials are detected. This concentrated high energy beam (1cm wide / 100 - 300 mR in power) is causing fog damage unprocessed photographic films. By comparison, older, conventional x-ray inspection units produced less than 1mR of energy and after "many" passes through these systems, unprocessed films could exhibit a radiation caused effect. Systems employing this new technology start with an initial inspection at lower x-ray intensity. If anything is deemed suspicious about the shape, size or content of objects in the luggage, it automatically triggers additional scanning with the CTX-5000SP machine.</p> <p>The silver halide content of film and the metal container it may be packaged in are sufficient to trigger a high intensity x-ray scan. Conventional precautions such as wrapping unprocessed film in lead-lined containers will also trigger use of the CTX-5000SP. These high intensity rays will penetrate the lead lining and fog the film. So far, the CTX-5000SP is not typically used to inspect carry-on luggage, but the FAA has indicated that this practice is subject to change in the future.</p> <p>Tests conducted by the Photo Industry Marketing Association (PIMA) indicate that the CTX-5000SP will cause significant fogging of all unprocessed color negative films with an ISO speed of 100 or higher with the film sustains a direct hit by the machine’s high intensity x-ray beam. The orientation of the fog stripe is dependent upon the orientation of the film relative to the x-ray beam. The density of the fog stripe depends upon the film speed; the faster the film the more dense the stripe. Additionally, whether this stripe is seen in the photographic print may depend upon the scene content. Busy scenes with flowers, foliage, etc. may tend to obscure or lessen the x-ray effects.</p> <p>A sample of unexposed 16mm film that has been scanned by the CTX-5000SP runs adjacent to this column and is presented here to give the reader some idea of its appearance and severity. This particular piece of film is Kodak VISION 320T Color Negative Film (7277).</p> <p>Kodak suggests a number of common sense precautions: Never ship unprocessed film as checked luggage with commercial airlines. If you plan to hand-carry unprocessed film on an airplane at an international airport, contact the airline security office well in advance of your flight time and see if they will agree to conduct a manual inspection. Bring a light-tight changing bag in case it is needed.</p> <p>The Kodak Professional Motion Imaging division can deliver motion picture film to most parts of the world safely and will provide information about the locations of motion picture film processing laboratories.</p> <p>Check the policies of commercial package and mail carriers and reputable courier services regarding x-ray scanning in the cities where you will be receiving and shipping unprocessed film. Kodak can assist in making arrangements.</p> <p>Be cautious with short-ends and other film purchased from re-sellers. Ask about the source of the film, and consider shooting a test before you use it in production. Explore this website for additional practical information or call 1-800-621-FILM (3456) with questions regarding this alert.</p> <p>Curtasy worning provided by © Eastman Kodak Company, 1994-1998.<br> <br> <br> Wanted Entertainment<br> "CURSE OF THE FORTY NINER" Directed by John Carl Buechler.</p> <p><br> Legend has it that JEREMIAH STONE was the meanest man who ever lived. They say he died more than one hundred and fifty years ago. Now the Ghost of the Forty-niner haunts the simple hill folk of Suttersville County.</p> <p>When a group of young people, NICK, CARRIE, TORI, ROXANE, AXL, and HAYDEN travel through the haunted hills of Suttersville they find more than they bargained for.</p> <p>Seeking the lost gold of the fabled Forty-niner, the kids succeed only in resurrecting the evil spirit of Jeremiah Stone. Now the legendary ghost has become a virtually unstoppable, flesh and bloodkilling machine.</p> <p>The Forty-niner is after them!</p> <p>One by one they are stalked and killed until OLD NELLIE, a reclusive mountain woman tells them how to destroy the deadly creature.</p> <p>In the pulse-pounding fiery conclusion, the last remaining survivors manage to push old Jeremiah Stone back to the hell that spawned him.</p> <p>--Or do they?<br> <br> Sheriff Murphy - John Phillip Law. BIO</p> <p>Old Man Prichard - Richard Lynch. BIO</p> <p>Reverend Sutter - Jeff Conaway<br> BIO</p> <p>Jeremiah Stone - Vernon Wells.BIO</p> <p>Aunt Nelly - Karen Black. BIO</p> <p>Claire Berman - Carrie Bradac. BIO</p> <p>Nick Berman - Sean Hines. BIO</p> <p>Tori - Sangie<br> Axl - Steve Wastell. BIO</p> <p>Hayden - Rich Majeske. BIO</p> <p>Rox Ann - Elina Madison. BIO</p> <p>Eve - Alexandra Ford. </p> <p>The 49er - Bradford H. Arden</p> <p>Caleb - Martin Kove. BIO</p> <p>Jared - Shadrach Smith</p> <p>Bertie - Skye Myers</p> <p>Zeb - Michael Elwell</p> <p>Lilly - Kelsey Wedeem</p> <p><br> Directed by - John Carl Buechler</p> <p>Executive Producer - Peter Lupus</p> <p>Produced by - Peter Lupus III </p> <p>Produced by - Michael G. Valenzuela</p> <p>Written by - Antonio Olivas</p> <p>Director of Photography - James LeGoy</p> <p>Composer - Pierpaolo Tiano</p> <p>Unit Production Manager - Maloosse Frootan</p> <p>Production Supervisor - Erica J. Spano</p> <p>Location Manager -Stephen Dell</p> <p><br> 1st A.D. -Charity Madison</p> <p>2nd A.D. - Jesse Place</p> <p>Stunt Coordinator - Nick Plantico</p> <p>Stunt Utility - Kenneth "Chip" Mofford </p> <p>Pyro Technician -Jeff Marsh</p> <p>Special Effects - Bob Gleason</p> <p>Special Effects - Eddie Ross</p> <p>Weapons Provided By - Mike Tristano</p> <p>Armorer - Mike Tristano</p> <p>Assistant Armorer - Torrance Hall</p> <p>Animals By - Jungle Exotics</p> <p>Script Supervisor - Jill S. Ferguson</p> <p>Script Supervisor - Sandy Schklair</p> <p>Script Supervisor - Connie Peterson</p> <p>Key Set P.A. - Josh Hottel</p> <p><br> Production Assistants -</p> <p>Alexa Kroemer</p> <p>Jessica Shannon</p> <p>Shannon Rogers</p> <p>Davis Powers</p> <p>Joanne Yarrow</p> <p>Summer Wesson</p> <p>Carlos Reza</p> <p>Todd Leonardo</p> <p>Joanne Granai</p> <p>Steffen Schlachtenhaufen</p> <p><br> Steady-Cam Operator - Craig Fikse</p> <p>2nd Unit D.P. - Nicholas Loizides</p> <p>B-Camera Operator. - Takura Ishizoka</p> <p>A-Camera 1st A.C. - Jarrod Oswald</p> <p>B-Camera 1st A.C. - Joe Solari</p> <p>A-Camera 2nd A.C - Andreas Burgess</p> <p>B-Camera 2nd A.C. - Peter Dephillippis</p> <p>Loader - Peter Ozarowski</p> <p>Loader - Suzy Dietz</p> <p>Loader - Alexis Li</p> <p>Loader - Gayle Hilary</p> <p>Camera Intern - Christian Peterson</p> <p>Video Assist - Enrique Avelar</p> <p>Gaffer - William "Cool Breeze" Ballard</p> <p>Best Boy Electric - Sean "Fingers" Hourihan </p> <p><br> Electric -</p> <p>Eric "The Dude" Schmidt</p> <p>Electric - Leo Ibanez</p> <p>Electric - Jesse Penic</p> <p>Electric - William Hall</p> <p>Electric - Tim Herman</p> <p>Electric - Chris "Eraserhead" Buckakjian</p> <p>Key Grip - Jim "Slim Jim" Ballard</p> <p>Dolly Grip - Jamie "Nutsitch" Lind</p> <p>Best Boy Grip - Jason " Milk Man" Kelly</p> <p><br> Grips -</p> <p>Paul "Paulie" Armstrong</p> <p>Andrew All</p> <p>John P. Van Valkenburgh</p> <p>Joel Potter</p> <p><br> Associate Producers -</p> <p>William Ballard</p> <p>Vernon Wells</p> <p>John Phillp Law</p> <p>Martin Kove</p> <p><br> Financial Advisor - Norman Kahn</p> <p>Assistant Advisor - Gregory McDonald</p> <p>Mixing Supervisor - Doug Andorka</p> <p>Sound Mixer - Marcus Ricaud</p> <p>Sound Mixer - John Salcedo</p> <p>Boom Operator - Brad Bryan</p> <p>Boom Operator - Christina Salcedo</p> <p>Production Designer - Mark Harper</p> <p>Art Director - Chris Larsen </p> <p>Lead Man - Bryan Gilbert</p> <p>Art Coordinator - Linnea Pattillo</p> <p>Art Intern - Dan Holman</p> <p>Property Master - "Flash" </p> <p>Property Assistant - Charmaine Camvel</p> <p>Key Set Dresser - Brian Renn</p> <p>Assistant Set Dressers -</p> <p>John Travers</p> <p>Ryan Walters</p> <p>Key Make-Up/Hair - Karen McDonald</p> <p>Make-up/Hair - Erica Pierce</p> <p>Special Effects Make up - Magical Media Industries</p> <p>Designer Supervisor - John Carl Buechler</p> <p>Set/Shop Supervisor - Robert Pentigraft</p> <p>Production Controller - Lynn Buechler</p> <p>Set Technician - Molly Tissavary</p> <p>Lab Technician - Brad Hardin </p> <p>Costume Designer - Lisa Norcia</p> <p>Wardrobe Supervisor - Susan Avitan</p> <p>Set Costumer - Marvelyn A. Harrison</p> <p>Still Photographer - Peter "Hopper" Stone</p> <p>Additional Stills - Lynne McAfee</p> <p>Sketch Artist - Armando Norte</p> <p>Visual Effects - Bo Opfer</p> <p>Graphic Artist - Glenn Suhy</p> <p>Transportation Capt. - Lon Sunders</p> <p><br> Drivers -</p> <p>Kenneth "Chip" Mefford</p> <p>Chad "Shaggy" McKnight</p> <p>Jimmy Turner</p> <p>Tim May</p> <p>Manny Centeno</p> <p><br> Supervising Medic - Ambrose Hawk</p> <p>Head Security - Toby Duree</p> <p><br> Guards - </p> <p>Mark Walker</p> <p>Larry "Napster" Green </p> <p><br> Catering - Avant Garde Catering</p> <p>Craft Service - Snack Time</p> <p>Casting Director - Patricia Rose</p> <p>Sound Designer - Steve Tushar</p> <p>Foley Artist - Pierre Martin</p> <p><br> Sound Cutters -</p> <p>Todd Shoemaker</p> <p>Alex Woodson </p> <p>Re-recording Mixer - Doug Anorka</p> <p>Editor - Michael Valenzuela</p> <p><br> Assistant Editor -</p> <p>Shelly Franks</p> <p>David Wallus</p> <p>Behind the Scenes Robert Vassallo<br> editor</p> <p>Telecine Colorist Paul Mcveith</p> <p><br> Videographer -</p> <p>Ray Verduzco</p> <p>Dennis Yang</p> <p><br> Editorial Facilities - Post Master Productions</p> <p></p> <p>Special Thanks</p> <p></p> <p>Sharon Lupus</p> <p>Cale Hildenbrand</p> <p>A&P Towing - Art Petrucci</p> <p>Acey Decy Lighting - MarK Cross</p> <p>Agua Dulce Movie Ranch - William Fix</p> <p>Avon Rent-A-Car - Julie Lawson</p> <p>Chapman/Leonard Studio </p> <p>Cinerep International, Inc</p> <p><br> Crest National -</p> <p>Jennifer Clatselter</p> <p>Peter Dana</p> <p>Discreet Logic - Maureen Higgins</p> <p>Deck Hand Video - Frank Carlos</p> <p>Hollywood Camera - John Poppus</p> <p>Hollywood Showlights - Errol Sack</p> <p>Hollywood Stage Design - Mark Lindauer </p> <p>Sable Ranch - Derek Hunt </p> <p>New Media Hollywood - Chris Speer </p> <p>Polsa Rosa Ranch - Jeff Morton</p> <p>SlingShot</p> <p>Logo Mart</p> <p>Motion Picture Costume</p> <p>Northridge Equipment Rentals</p> <p>Star Waggons</p> <p>Feature This</p> <p>Roger Gorge Rentals<br> <br> Zystar Films<br> A lifetime fascination with film and cars led executive producer Meryl Wallis to hit the ground running in 1989, producing elegant automotive running footage with director Jeff Long and cinematographer Ed Barger, for clients including Lexus, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Volvo and others. </p> <p>Through the nineties we called on the additional talents of various directors and DP's to expand into commercial spots, high-end promotional films and music videos. Award-winning directors Bob Celecia and Mark Kohl embody exceptional talent in the categories of real people, food, healthcare, celebrities and comedy, all with exquisite cinematic style. Up and comer Nicholas Loizides brings a fresh creative approach and youthful spirit, while veteran Virgil Harper adds a unique combination of photographic discipline and seasoned experience. Michael Werk collaborates with us on projects that demand extraordinary skill and awe-inspiring visual images.</p> <p>Put all this creative talent together with a killer production team, an amazing support staff, and an executive producer who insists on putting all the money on the screen, and you have the essence of Zystar Films. Our directors have shot commercials for Acura, Honda, Ford, Titleist, Kellogg's, Intel, McDonald’s, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Burger King, Nikon, GMC, Toyota, AT&T, Nissan, Carrow’s, Sprint, Mercedes, and many others, and we provide full production services from concept through post.</p> <p>Beyond commercial spot production, in recent years Zystar Films has created expansive alliances and is developing projects in the arenas of feature film, television, cross-marketing, and Internet content. See "TV/Film" for more details!<br> <br> Jenny Elle. AKA jenny Loizides<br> ABOUT THE ARTIST<br> <br> Basically self taught, Jennifer Loizides a .K.a. jenni elle put her talent on the back burner until the children were grown with children of their own.</p> <p>She started painting when she came to live in California from England.</p> <p>Her work has been exhibited in different galleries around California and is in many homes all over the country, and also participates in many art shows through the year.</p> <p>She is a member of the Niguel Art Association which is a large art group, also Huntingdon Beach Art group, the prestigious Art A Fair of Laguna Beach, and is also a founding member of the Mission Viejo Fine Art Society.</p> <p>There are many facets to her art work, her love of flowers is obvious, shown in the note cards, Victorian mattes and larger paintings.</p> <p>Using an idea from the pages of a Victorian photo album, jenni paints watercolour images onto watercolour paper. which really enhances any cherished photos old or new, poem or love letter.</p> <p>They make wonderful centerpieces, and gifts, wedding, anniversary, mothers day and graduation, this treatment is especially good for the old sepia photos gently bathed in cottage garden flowers.</p> <p></p> <p> Posted on July 20, 2007 by: The Mad Gamer<br> You take the snap and look up. A quick check to your first receiver, a glance at your second, and before you can release the ball you are picking chucks of turf out of your helmet.<br> Like to drop back, scramble for half a minute, toss one up through the clouds, over the sun, and back down into the hands of your money receiver who always seems to be open? Eh, well then maybe this game isn’t for you, but if you want to learn the game of football and are willing to take your lumps along the way in doing so then read on.<br> When you first crack open the game, you MAY see a bright light shine down from the heavens … it’s quick though, so pay close attention. Start up the game and you are greeted by the 2k Sports All-Pro Football Logo. Once you press the button to continue you will notice that before you can really do anything at all you must first first create a team.<br> CREATE TEAM - SELECT ALL PROS<br> The team create option is loaded with customization and can be a lot of fun. First things first, you need to fill your roster of eleven pros. You will notice that you have three tiers of skill. You are allowed two gold level players, three silver level players, and six bronze for a total of eleven. Take your time here and browse them all thoroughly. If you are careful and do your research you can find some great value in the bronze and silver tiers.<br> If you don’t want to pick the pros for yourself there is a button that allows the computer to randomly generate them for you. Once your pros are all set the rest of your team will be filled out with random players by position and based on the type of criteria you set. For example you can set your receivers to be balanced, speed, or possession receivers.<br> We were a little disappointed at first with the limitations set when it came to loading up on all-pros. With so many great gold level players it would have been nice if 2K allowed for a few more on each team, maybe two for each side of the ball? Now, we say “at first” for a reason, and that is because once you start playing with your team and get familiar with what they can and can not do, you get over this pretty quickly. That said, it still would have been nice to have an option that could turn the games “handcuffs” off allowing a bunch of friends to get together and conduct an off line draft to fill out their online league rosters.<br> One last thing to note here is that there are no numeric ratings for players, instead the game focuses on special abilities called out in the form of icons located in the players bio such as rocket arm, 4th quarter comeback, soft hands, and speed burst. Additionally, only the pro players have bio cards, the computer generated teammates do not.<br> All of this may sound a bit confusing at first, but step back for a minute and ask yourself this … in real life how do teammates familiarize themselves with each other and get on the “same page”? Thats right Allen, “we are talking about practice”. How effective is my QB’s rocket arm? Can my reciever catch the deep ball? Will my O-line be able to block a killer pass rush? The best, and most realistic way, to get answers to these questions is to hit up practice mode (which we will get into later) early and often.<br> CREATE TEAM - TEAM DETAILS<br> Once your team is filled it is time to pick a logo, team name, location, and design your uniform. Pretty much everything from your teams socks and shoes up to their helmet is customizable, and despite what was said by 2K, our group here has been able to create NFL like teams very easily with the resources available in the game.<br> The Miami Flippers can be transformed into the Dolphins with very little work and after a few minutes of swapping out colors the New England Red Coats will bare a striking resemblance to that team with three Superbowl rings from Foxborough Massachusetts.<br> All in all though, it is just as fun to create your own team, and once we got the “wow we can make our favorite NFL team” feeling out of our systems that is exactly what we did. When you wield that much power in your hands why stop at pretending to be something when you can create something of your own and show it off instead.<br> The level of customization in the game is amazing. You may not notice it at first, but outside of the obvious things like the team logo on the field, you will see that the seats in the stadium as well as the fans clothing all update to reflect your new team colors.<br> GAME MODES<br> Alright, you have your players and your team is decked out in the city and stadium of your choice … are you ready for some football? Game modes are everything you would expect, as long as you aren’t expecting a franchise mode. There is a pretty in-depth practice mode, head to head, season, and best of all online head to head and league play! If you have always wanted to create a player, throw him on to your custom team, and bring that team online then give yourself a hug because your wait is finally over.<br> All-Pro Football is about customization online and you are going to love every minute of it. League Mode is truly a gift and will make you forget all about the games lack of a franchise mode. Simply put, once you and your friends are locked in to the weekly grind you will be too busy trash talking to miss ten seasons of computer drafts and lopsided victories.<br> <br> <br> By Mike Antonucci<br> Thursday, July 26th, 2007<br> It’s nice to have choices. It’s better to have good choices.</p> <p>The recently released “All-Pro Football 2K8′’ for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is an alternative to the brand-name “Madden NFL'’ games. In lieu of licenses for NFL teams and current players, “2K8′’ features all-time greats and not-so-greats, from Joe Montana and Gale Sayers to William “The Fridge'’ Perry and Brad Van Pelt.</p> <p>The concept is fun. Walter Payton, Ronnie Lott and Bart Starr  how’s that for your first three player selections? But the overall execution leaves too much to be desired. The graphics and animation are problematic; the controls are beset with hiccups, and the use of fictional, computer-generated players as teammates for the former pros is ungainly.</p> <p>Moreover, “2K8′’ includes O.J. Simpson, which makes the game obnoxious, if not plain wicked.</p> <p>Here’s the statement e-mailed by a “2K8′’ spokesman when I asked for the thinking behind the Simpson decision: “All-Pro Football 2K8 is a game that celebrates many of the great football legends in the history of the sport. Naturally, football players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame easily fit into this criteria. The game is about the achievements of these players when they played the game and despite Mr. Simpson’s off-field history, it is the achievements on the football field that made him one of the celebrated running backs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and it is these same achievements that are represented in All-Pro Football 2K8.'’</p> <p>Maybe, just maybe, there’s a marginal justification to be made based on Simpson’s football history. Ultimately, though, I lean strongly toward this analysis from Peter Roby, director of athletics and recreation at Northeastern University and former director of the school’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society:</p> <p>“I do take issue with O.J. being included because the game targets young kids,'’ Roby wrote via e-mail. “It is difficult for them to put context around difficult social issues. There are numerous players that the company could feature without the controversy that surrounds O.J. The question is, does the company want the controversy so they can sell more games?'’</p> <p>Indeed, “2K8′’ comes from 2K Sports, which is a subset of Take-Two Interactive Software, the publisher whose signature is controversy, a la “Grand Theft Auto'’ and “Manhunt.'’ That alone breeds cynicism about why Simpson was included.</p> <p>There also has been a flurry of attention given to game-play video that shows Simpson scoring a touchdown for the Assassins team, in a stadium that features the image of a giant cloaked figure who celebrates by making a stabbing motion with a knife. GameTrailers.com (part of the MTV Networks Entertainment Group) purposely generated that particular game sequence for<br> its Web site (that’s confirmed by both a GameTrailers spokeswoman and the 2K Sports spokesman).</p> <p>If nothing else, the hubbub over the video exemplifies how ugly the ramifications are of any association with Simpson. But that video sequence is not a reflection of the game’s basic format, and that’s important to emphasize. Gamers don’t have to pick Simpson for their team, and if they do, they can make him part of teams whose names don’t have a distasteful double meaning (the Americans, the Cyclones, the Knights, the Legends or many more). The stabbing animation isn’t explicitly linked to Simpson; I generated it by scoring a touchdown for the Assassins with a completely fictional player.</p> <p>The Simpson factor aside, “2K8′’ came up short in my test of the PS3 version for a long list of reasons: Famous players’ faces look grotesquely distorted instead of remotely photo-realistic (the accompanying Johnny Unitas screenshot is a case in point); the game animation has a conspicuous stiffness, with the players generally<br> moving like they’re on ice skates, and the controls are sluggish when initiating some kinds of movements (like rushing a linebacker after the snap) but jumpy in other situations (when you skid over the line of scrimmage before a snap). And that’s only a partial list of complaints.</p> <p>At 2K Sports, they quickly point to the detail of some of their graphics work  the almost tangible textures of the jerseys and helmets, for instance (also evident in the Unitas screenshot). That’s as good as they say, but it doesn’t compensate for the more fundamental problems.</p> <p>It couldn’t have been easy to get “2K8′’ off the ground. The game has “over 240′’ players from football history, and 2K Sports says licensing rights were obtained individually. “We also had some help from (talent management company) IMG in tracking a lot of these players<br> down,'’ noted the 2K spokesman, “but as you can imagine, it was a very long process.'’</p> <p>A well-placed industry veteran estimates that top stars received as much as $250,000, and that even third or fourth-tier players got $50,000.</p> <p>For that kind of investment, 2K Sports needs a game with far more polish. As disappointing as “2K8′’ is, the concept remains enticing and hints at tremendous potential for a “2K9.'’</p> </body>