Thursday 9 February 2012

Escapology....


Local news programme..complete with copper


You know I've been promissing those interested in my life before 3D some actual proof that I wasn't making up the fact I worked all over the world as an escape artist for a long time now over a decade in fact. (I only stopped due to a health problem that made it dangerous...well more dangerous.) So as I spent till 4am converting from old VHS one of the tapes of tv apearances I have to AVI here's a few screen grabs. I've lost count of how many people have asked about this over the years both in person and in interviews...so here yougo...better late than never..... Up till now not even close freinds in 3D knew much about this period of my life.


a thing with Tom o Connor


As this was long before the internet and back starting in 1987 for the 1st screen grab (I dont have a recording ofmy 1st time on TV aged 11), the only stuff about me as an escape artist online is what I have put there...ie next to nothing. Thus proving that things are infact still true even if you can't find out about them on the internet lol.


Last but one show Eammon Andrews ever did before he died.

Why am I converting them? Well the tapes are degrading fast and I want to have a record of all the things I achieved back then for my kids,and maybe one day decades for now... grandkids. Plus I'm also proud of what I managed to achieve back then. Maybe I'll stick one or two of the old tv spots up at some point..... but either way I'd sstill be embaressed to hell to see myself aged 14 onwards online lol.


Kids TV show called 'knock knock'


...Oh and here's a few of the hundreds of press clippings of mine I have from back in the day....many are missing though :(




So there you go...that should do you all for a while.

Additional:

Got to say the reaction to this has been off the scale lol. Now I realise its far more interesting to others than it is to me. So I'll answer the more common questions from today so I dont type them out a zillion times....
  • In the photos shown I range from about 14 or so to about 18 (I think)..I do have one from press cutting aged 11 but not showing that yet...if ever lol
  • Yes I still hold the world record, yes people have tried to break it and no its not in the guiness book anymore as they consider it 'unbreakable' (which is total and utter crap, as in practice I regulalry did 2.5 seconds lol).
  • Yes I can pick locks,no I wont open your cupboard , car , safe etc..... that you've lost the key to for you PMSL.
  • My talent was 1st spotted aged 2.....if you can call it that.
  • I was asked to write and published books and articles from age 14 that are apparently considered standards in the field (no I dont get royalties for them anymore....)
  • Yes I can 'still do that stuff' and part of my gear is in boxes in my office where it has been for long time. yes from time to time when no one is in the house I do get it out and have a go...no I will not show you.
  • No I will not go back to doing that....... its far to risky a feild for a guy with a wife and two kids to be taking those sort so risks every day....plus at 40 I'm a wee bit old and fat these days.
  • Yes I held a special explosives license from aged 17, which you have to have if your doing any escapes that are dicking around with high explosives...and yes I did do those. But I let that license lapse over 10 years ago.
  • No this is not the only thing I haven't made known in 3D up till now that I have done.

Now obviously I dont want this to take over from the art side as to be blunt I've been doing it far longer part of my life now. But I did promise rather a lot of people over the last decade or so to show some of this stuff.....just took me a decade to find the bloody time to actually do it thats all lol

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Tree's and Waterfalls


Waterfalls and all elements added...still a work in progress though ;)

Update to the 3d scene from the MOD302 '3D Digital Environments' course I'm giving at FXPHD this term, this is from week 5 (next week) and sort of a teaser. Unfortunately I can't show the animation I've ran a test render on, but I have to say that it looks very nice with those waterfalls added. Although it was sort of a cheat render as using a still for the scene elements so I can test the waterfall integration.


10 min cheats can be fun

Also as I had the elements lying around as a result of the above I knocked out in 10 mins the following crazy trees render....for shits and giggles. There is a rather obvious problem with the above shot if you can spot it and no its not the girls scale...any smaller and you'd not see her and think she was a branch lol

Sunday 5 February 2012

More Mattes


No waterfalls yet....(there will be two)

A couple of mattes, the 1st is a late work in progress for my next couple of FXPHD classes. Its been nightmare to do as I'm seriously pushing Vue way beyond what it is designed for. Although people in the class won't need to, as I'm the only bugger who has to be able to load it all into one scene so you guys know what your aiming for lol. The final scene will be split across 3-4 scene files and composite.


This is just begging for a caption lol


and the other a mess around..... its a full 3D matte thats got my old mate Joep Van der Steen in it comped from a photo from EUE lol. See now its either begging for a caption or something added on the left on that sand bank lol.