Orbital Mechanics 101

I've created a brief tutorial on the basics of orbital mechanics, for non-technical viewers. It's intended for users of Kerbal Space Program, but it would be informative for anyone with an interest in spaceflight.

A trip to the Mun and Back!

Using KSP v0.15.2 I demonstrate a successful flight from Kerbin to its inner moon (which they call the Mun).

Each phase of the mission is explained in fair detail in the hope helping new players learn the basics.

The spacecraft is my own design, the smallest rocket I've devised for getting to the Mun and back. Write me a note if you'd like the spacecraft file!

Lunar Flight now available on Steam

Shovsoft's Lunar Flight is available on Steam, finally, and it's on sale for $7.99 until 4/17. If you enjoyed the old arcade game Lunar Lander, and would like to play it in 3D, this game might appeal to you. Here's their promo video:

I made a couple of tutorial videos during the beta period, like this one showing a simple hop to another base.

The Chase by Phillipe Gamer

The Chase from Philippe Gamer on Vimeo.

Just...wow. Makes me want to play some Trackmania 2!

The City of Samba

The City of Samba from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

This is a remarkable tilt-shift treatment of Rio de Janeiro. These people know how to put on a parade.

Eyes Wide Shut

A friend of mine once said an important difference between fantasy novels and our mundane reality is that our woods do not have giant, man-eating spiders in them. Eyes Wide Shut is about a man who learns there are, indeed, giant spiders lurking in our world.

This film is not for everyone. It builds with a kind of deliberate, glacial speed (this is Kubrick, after all)...and then takes the most incredible left turn, a plot twist that left me gasping and helpless to tear my eyes from the screen. I had come to this film expecting a self-indulgent swan-song, but what I got was nothing short of a masterpiece.

Buy it, rent it, see it on Netflix, or whatever. But see it.

Once you've seen it, here's a wonderful analysis of the film to savor. And another, slightly more esoteric, deconstruction which overreaches a bit, but still offers some clever insights.

Zoe Jakes performing to Beats Antique

The music, and the dance, are a perfect blend of the familiar and strange. I'd definitely go see these people perform live. And do check out their website!

Lost in Tokyo, a short film by Mark Bramley

I find this sort of thing endlessly fascinating. The music's great too.

Lost in Tokyo from Mark Bramley on Vimeo.

Nataraja Dance

Wow, this is the coolest thing I've seen in a while.

Biggest Teahupo'o Ever - Mesmerizing!

From the Metafilter post:

Teahupo'o was included on Transworld Surf's list of the' Top 10 Deadliest Waves' and is commonly referred to as the "heaviest wave in the world". The name 'Teahupo'o' loosely translates to English as “to sever the head” or "place of skulls"."

You can see the video directly from this page.

No Place Like Home

While filming in Space Engine for another video project, I was capturing this departure from Earth when a really great song was playing in Winamp. I found myself swept away by the majesty of it all and decided to make a standalone movie.

I hope you like it! It makes me feel sad and small, but also hopeful, and infinitely precious at the same time. And the soundtrack is one of the most powerful pieces of music I've heard in years.

PS That's all one long take, with me steering the camera with ridiculously delicate inputs.

Christine Sun Kim

This is filmmaker Todd Selby's portrait of hearing-impaired artist Christine Sun Kim, and explores her reclamation of sound, by means of converting it into a physical experience.

Todd Selby x Christine Sun Kim on Nowness.com.

Murmuration

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

A collection of starlings is called a Murmuration.

Android Dreams

Samuel Cockedey's time lapse photography of Tokyo, set to the soundtrack of Blade Runner.

android dreams from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo.

The Adventures of Bill and John, Episode II

I'm a flight simulator nut, so of course this tickles me. But it's one of the best machinima I've ever seen. The comedic timing is perfect.

Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon feat. Greta Svabo Bech

I just adore this song, especially where it goes bonkers in the middle.

Beats Antique offers their album "Collide" as a free download

This is seriously eclectic music, very sensual. Check it out! Thanks to Lotus for finding this treasure trove. Beats Antique website.

A Blender Explosion

I found an excellent tutorial for creating fireballs in Blender 2.59 by Zeitfreund(see his video). This is my elaboration of that idea, which I used also to learn some new features of Blender, namely rendering in distinct passes and compositing with Blenders video editing tools.

Another challenge I set for myself was using only freeware tools to make this animation.

LA Light -- A video by Colin Rich

"Los Angeles is the most beautiful city in the world, provided you see it at night, and from a great distance." -- Roman Polanski

This is the view of Los Angeles Koishi glimpses when she and Val descend from the Hollywood Hills, on their way to the Goth club.

LA Light from Colin Rich on Vimeo.

GTA IV: Inception

Someone made a great Inceptionesque machinima using GTA IV, which in my opinion is one of the greatest video games ever made. Enjoy!