but I'm going to have to enter this fray. Jeez, it took me 3 days to read all of this! Welcome to the 3D Graphics Philosophy Forum! Awesome thread, guys & gals.
Okay, here goes:
Concerning Seinfeld: what he did was, when he answered the phone and the telemarketer began his pitch, Jerry said "I don't have time to listen to this right now. Give me your phone number at home and I'll call you later and we can talk about it. What? You don't like to be bothered at home about this stuff? Well, neither do I". And he hung up. (Not an exact translation, but pretty close). Here's what I do with telemarketers: Phone rings. I pick up, "Hello?" "Yes, is Brett there?" "May I ask who's calling?" "This is regarding so-and-so special offer" "I'm sorry, he works 2 jobs. Try again around 3 a.m." Since by law in the US they cannot call after 9 p.m., they are stuck, and will simply hang up and usually leave you alone.
Here's a good tip for those annoying automated menu systems that you always seem to get caught up in on the phone: Either don't press any buttons, thereby making the computer think you are on a rotary phone and patching you directly to a "real" person, -or- repeatedly press zero as soon as you hear the "press 1 for whatever" line. You will almost always get a person a lot faster that way. Try it.
Jens,
Regarding "nature" programming, have you not seen the "Discovery Channel" or "Nature" or "Nova" or "National Geographic Presents" or a myriad of other nature-based programming that is available? I know you are in "a remote location", so maybe this programming is not available to you, but there is a lot of good nature-based, documentary-style, very informative programming out there.
There is a quote that I'm not quite sure who to attribute to regarding cinema: Movies work as long as they provide a "temporary suspension of disbelief". In other words, as long as you can lose yourself and your worries and concerns in a good story, the medium works. This can also be applied to CG, be it images or animation. If you can temporarily look at an image and imagine that place/time, the image works. You aren't looking at the models, how they were made and lit and textured, but just at the image in itself. This is when it "works" for you. Just as you can watch a film and not see actors wearing makeup, acting on a set that's constructed of cardboard and lit with studio lights, you can actually care for them and their welfare and if it's done well, you might even shed a tear for these "people". Are they real? No, they are characters being portrayed by actors.
Did anyone (everyone) see "Saving Private Ryan"? This film exemplifies what I'm getting at. You find yourself literally involved in this war. You care about the welfare of it's characters. You might even shed a tear. This is the "temporary suspension of disbelief". I believe it is a necessary and beautiful thing. And it doesn't have to be film. Almost all art uses this same concept, from theater to orchestra to painting to CG. Think about it.
Brett
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