Hi Mum and Dad,
The semester is warming up. I am not taking any writing classes this fall but I did finish two plays from the summer. I dropped off the final drafts for both of them last week - its a real relief to have that off my back.
There are only 5 of us in my 3D animation class and we have ten second animation projects, which we must complete by the end of the semester.
Ten secs may not sound like much, but in 3D animation, that's a lifetime. This class will require tons of lab time outside regular class hours. To show how bad things are going to get, we have each been issued keys to the animation lab in the new building because its soon going to be our home. This because 3D animation is so visually complex; the systems take lots of time: anywhere between a day and a week, to chew and breakdown the maths and polygons of everything you model, texture, light and move. The breakdown from 3D to what can be seen on a 2D flat screen is called "rendering". The systems for this are called "render farms". The new lab will have two "render farms" to chew up all our data, but you will still need to take a nap or two before it gives you the finished piece.
I have finished up the storyboards for my 10 sec piece and will use this weekend to comb the net for sound effects for my animatic. We are using Maya, Photoshop, Soft image and 3D max, but Maya is our main interface. Daddy will love our new lab. It will be like a playground for him.
My other class is History of American Cinema, and I have a feeling this will be the worst class. History of film in general is a relatively new field. My professor insists on original research; meaning, we are going to dig up the original records for most of our sources. In a few weeks the class of 5 (Everybody else ran away to take other history classes) will be traveling to the Library of Congress to access the only surviving copies of some silent films from the 1800s. Tentatively, my paper will probably be on Race Relations and Film Exhibition in the Norfolk (Virginia capital) area from 1924 onwards. My professor has worked on and published the 1800s and he wants me to continue from where he left off. This means I will be spending a lot of time in Norfolk this semester.
My last class is also research but it won't be as tough, depending on how fast I can get the work it needs out of the way. It requires a lot of film viewing, which is fun.
So that's how the semester looks from here, at least. I don't know how its all going to work out but its pretty exciting to have the opportunity to do this stuff for real.
How is Ilorin? Elidel? Uncle and Aunty? How is Daddy's health? and Mummy's too? Funny we never ask about mummy's health. We all assume mummy is superwoman and unbreakable. All she needs is a little food and The Guardian Newspaper to keep going. WE CARE ABOUT YOU, MUMMY! and we pray for your good health too. Miss you both very much.
love bunmi.
