Everything coming together is always seemingly thr perfect feeling. Though its raining out i still press forward with the project. I must keep focus and not let this project keep slipping to the wayside.
The goose feathers arrived, bigger than projected! But that is a good thing. The journal should be arriving soon. It is then that I will give myself a quick practice in writing and then the title sequence will be shot. This title sequence will also sort of be a trailer for the series until more footage has been captured.
My maid just messaged me that the journal arrived... last notification I had on shoppee was it was still in China! Nice surprise.. she will pay for it and ill pay her once I get home.
So yeah The Thomas Chronicles are really taking shape and i need to stay on this positive track.
Yes AI Generated using a photo of me as i will be Thomas.
This week i am on summer break from film school. Sometimes I can fathom just the simple fact that I am 12 full months away from graduating wirh a college degree. Something that was never in my path of things to accomplish.
But during the weekend I started writing a full on professional pitch report for "The Thomas Chronicles". One of my biggest flaws is that I start something and well... thats the end. I never push forward and the idea falls off...
Now "The Thomas Chronicles" have been an idea in the making for a year. It may have been off and on but I am back at it writing more and researching even more to make it as historically accurate while also keeping it filmable as a one man crew.oh did i mention im also Thomas? I have been growing my beard for 7 months while only trimming it once but havent shaved it and I have been letting my hair grow longer. Additionallyi have been sewing clothing to make sure I have a wardrobe for filming so I can become Thomas.
My next path for this idea is I am planning to do a "Become Thomas" mini documentary followed by filming my title sequence that I plan to use for the opening of ever "entry" (episode if you havent been keeping up with my writing)
Once I have those two things filmed it should be time to move into production of the entries and learn how to push my own workon the social media platforms and hopefully gather a small following. Id probably predict October would be when i start filming entries because August school will be busy with my filipino farming mini documentary and September is the edit and produce followed by a trip to Cebu.
Suppose ill drive home now and I'll make tacos for dinner and then ill get back to typing for the night.
As I learn to talk about things, I realize i dont have anyone to really talk to as my thoughts become really dark and I feel so useless to everyone and everything.
I used the walk yesterday to try and clear my mind and the galeon realllllly helped. But then my number 1 stressor in life ruined the day and night and here I am taking a morning walk along SM Mall of Asia, and im still in the funk. Not 100% recovered from yesterday and having thoughts.
Its not SI kind of thoughts but like...i want to disappear kind of thoughts. Cut ties with people who claim they care and just go restart my life somewhere else.
My problem is, I love the Philippines, and also know that my money goes so much further here and that there are hospitals that accept my medical information.
Well I started this earlier during my walk and forgot to finish. Its now 130pm and we started our return trip to Bataan. On the NLEX now. Maybe ill write more later or in a few days haha🙂🙃🙂🙃
Still here in Manila. Took a walk from the condo to MOA. stopped to get some Gelato and look at the map to see whats best way to waterfront. Then I seen a cross over... when I started walking and turned the corner I was met with a blue entrance and the words
"Museo Del Galeón"
This was perfectly placed in my path today to help me visualize "The Thomas Chronicles" better.
I walked around the museum and took plenty of photos..the little exhibits were nice to learn about and the replica galeon was a very nice touch to be able to get a true feel for how small/big it was. In those days it was a medium and large ship. Today... you almost call it a boat... makes me want to reconstruct sections of the ship myself for filming purpose... but im not set for that type of CGI and VFX yet... id just stick to my fictional tale of Thomas living on a farm in Bataan.
Day 2 of waking up in Manila. Spending a week here to help a friend and her daughter as its her first big step in life. Shes starting university. So of course the friend is freaking out a bit but doing her best to not show it.
We had to transfer condos yesterday because the one we are in now wasnt available the first night. But we will be in this one until Thursday or friday...
Been in a rut and I use to just vent my frustration on here because barely anyone reads it but atleast I was able to vent it.
Beside school, I am also getting my creative juices flowing again for "The Thomas Chronicles"
Tomorrow I will be driving to Manila and staying for the week. I hope I am able to buy the few things I am planning.
1A nice leather bound journal possibly a few so I have extras. Maybe an old school style calligraphy pen and ink well heck the entire set if i can! But of course I would like to get a few. Then ive already talked to my wife and will remind her that I want to get a couple kilos of candle wax and wick because I do plan to make a few home made candles. The rest I am pretty sure I can find here in bataan like a clay mug or a wooden mug and the cooking dishes traditional filipinos would cook with... though im sure with some research I can verify that since Thomas was a cook on the ship... he might have had a cast iron skillet and maybe a decent pot so I will be able to justify a few extra things that wouldnt be pinoy specific but character specific.
Now. The important items are the cup/mug the pen and the journal. With those few items I can begin filming entry 1. Thst also means during my stay in Manila I should start building a music library for ambience and such.
I think ultimately, im going to bring this up with Jay, I want to build an old John boat or a sailing ships long boat as well as some oars so we can shoot a scene where we are along the coast line. For obvious reasons I would need to buy a goo gopro or dji osmos action camera.
Oh I got ideas... and id love if Jay and I could get the boat idea down pat and end up out there before sunrise along the coast, in period proper clothing and see how many people try to take our photos!
Ok I need to shower and sleep. Early day followed by a LONGGGGG day of driving and working so this is good for now.
What started off as a cooking show idea, died off, then revamped into a novel i am writing has now come back i to view as a possible web series. Small episodes of 18th century style life as an Ex-British Sailor living in the mountains of Bataan. Exploring the local land and possibly traveling around Luzon.
I am designing it to be short episodes because I want to make feasible projects that have meaning but also wont over complicate the process and die off quickly. So this morning I designed a title sequence and an AV Script (audio visual) of how my opening title sequence would look and sound. Now I am starting to design what we will refer to as Entries instead of episodes as The Thomas Chronicles are about entries into his journal that tell his story.
To kick things off I am thinking about doing a quick overview of a typical day in the life of type of story. Though the title sequence will set a precedence for what Thomas is doing, the first episode will open the audience up to his life a bit more. Each entry will explore something about his life.
So thinking about this is have some things I need to buy in order to start making content. And this is where things will drag out and the project may die off again but I need to find a way to keep the press.
So here we are May 1, 2026. I am designating each of my laptops as a different project to keep things in line.
on my MACAIR I don't do any social media except YouTube because it is my school computer and production computer.
I want to delve into the world of AI creation and see if I can truly make a product using only Free AI programs. there is a clean divide about AI too, well I feel like there is a clean divide as most people are either for or against the use of AI.
My idea is to us Chat GPT to create a story. then once I got the story polished, i will break it down into scenes and shot list. Using the shot list we will create prompts for Google Gemini to create images. This is where things can get tricky because free Gemini gives you 20 images daily. so you have to make sure you pay attention to your prompts because if you miss something you could lose 1 photo for that day. also any redo cost another image so you need to make sure you are writing your prompts appropriately to get the images you desire. Now you will be cautions on how AI can not guarantee the same character in every shot but I have found that if you create a character reference sheet you can get the same character in any shot. you can also change their clothes and such and position them in almost any natural human pose. of course there are limited factors. sexual themes are not tolerated and skimpy clothing will not be generated. so like putting a female in a bikini will cause the program to say error, i can not do that.
Once i get the storyboard images created then i can take those images into Meta AI and again with a properly formatted prompt i can create a 5 second video clip that is not always perfect but atleast Meta AI doesnt have a limit, at least i havent hit the limit for far. and you're in luck because once the clip is generated you can click the extend icon and get it out to be nine seconds long. i am not sure if there is a cap on how long the clip can be because i never go longer than 1 extension.
As for Lip Sync. this is where i am staying away from having conversations in the film. i am simply going to stick with a voice over film a narrator telling you what had happened as like a reflective state and your the main character. this way i dont add that head ach to my very first AI Film. for Music i can create a music prompt in Chat GPT for Suno AI to write a variety of musical selections from lyrics to no lyrics and basically in any style you want. so i can generate AI music to go along with my AI Film.
Finally i plan to personally edit down the film using DaVinci resolve (free version) myself just for editing practice as i am a film school student and can always use more practice. ok i need to get back to work i will post the story plot soon!
So through all my post... you know i am a film school student chasing a bachelor's degree in digital Cinematography. If you read back further youll know that I also collect action figures... though I havent bought any new ones in a few years. And... somewhere if between k owing both these details youd read where I want to do a stop motion animation film. Which is honestly very time consuming.... until I got to thinking.
AI... is making advancements. I am learning to embrace AI but to use AI to create everything I want.
During the process of film making you script write, storyboard, location scout, pitch, plan and shoot.... what i am looking at... is that storyboard portion. For school right now... they want 12-24 shots with a minimum of 6 shots that take you through the entire film, which is just a 2 to 5 minute short storyfilm... well... I have 39 shots for my short film...because I have thought of every shot that I want to really tell the story.
So.... what if... I took my action figures and posed them for each of those shots and then wrote AI prompts to give them the movement that is supposed to happen in the shot and then edit together all those shots to create my film? It wouldn't be a stop motion but it would be a film... and it allows me to integrate my action figures, AI, and storytelling.... also by using preplanned shots AI cant give me random characters each shot so I can keep consistent.
I need to do this for my short film Stored Memories while I go through the motion of actually preparing to shoot the real deal too...
I am confused as to what happened yesterday that stopped me from posting and forgetting about the post¿
I also didnt realize I slept so late this morning. But its 9am and I need to get my butt up and start finishing the weeks school working edited the footage last night.
Here is my self shot pitch video for Stored Memories
If I had an actor I could definitely tell the story 100% better. But anyways. I need to submit this today and I have a quiz i need to complete... actually two quizzes.. one in each class I have this month. So no time to waste. Gotta get moving.
So im not trying to read old post and continue a story or what not... so I might even up repeating myself sometimes... but repetition is good di ba?? Hahahaba
Woke this morning and went to Cabog-Cabog early to get the additional shots I need to bring my professional pitch video hopefully to the next level.
Once I got back home I pulled my chicken out of the freezer to defrost and bring to room temp. Ill marinade the chicken overnight so I can cook tomorrow.
I have decided that I will bake it in tbe oven instead of frying it because I want togo the healthier way. But this is making me wonder... what else should I get so I make the meal better. Was debating on getting some veggies and roasting them along with the chicken tomorrow. Debating on do I wanna make homemade mashed potatoes... or do I want to cube, season and bake the potatoes along side the chicken... I could grill but that a bit of extra work too... im thinking eill slice bell pepper, onion, garlic and maybe a few hot peppers, wrap them in aluminum foil with some butter so they can steam in the butter and juices...but im also thinking... maybe one of my boneless chicken breast I should wrap up in that foil as well to infuse the flavors... guess we will see!
Anyways. I have just a few hours to do all this before I have to goto families house for a dinner tonight. So im not cooking today.. Just preparing and place in the fridge for the night.
Last night I started writing another chapter to my Thomas Chronicles book. I dont want to rush my story but I do want to add depth.
Miguel is starting to see Thomas as a potential Allie in this quest to uncover.....
Oh shit... hahaha I was writing and soemtbing happened that I didnt post this yesterday... now its the 23rd!
Can't believe I havent posted yet this year! Haha well anyways. School has shifted into Production mode and that has my creative juices flowing becaue its all about script writing and then filming and such.
But because I am enjoying script writing. I decided to try my hand at writing a novel. Since arriving here in the Philippines, well technically before like back to 2022 time frame, I have had this fascination with 18th century. So... since living in the Philippines I have been creating this character named Thomas.
Thomas is a 41 year old British citizen who was a member of the Royal Navy. He stayed behind in the Philippines when the British departed in April 1764. This is where my story begins.
See Thomas was a creative and he observed things with great detail. You are introduced briefly to Thomas when he is found still sitting at a desk writing after the British has departed Manila by Miguel. The story follows Miguel as he starts to piece together observations that Thomas had made and has to battle between Morality and Service to the Crown.
A few chapters in Miguel will find the Thomas Chronicles which is a series of journal style entries Thomas makes of his journey, like a diary but more in depth. In here there is both recipes of foods he explores, places he has seen, and people he has met.
But most importantly are the observations that point to truth as corruption was being uncovered..
Just a little Historical Fiction I am writing to let my brain really explore!
Yesterday turned into a crap kind of day. In the morning I went out to Cabog-Cabog and filmed some footage on both BMPCC4K and SONY FX6. the goal was to be able to color match. I think i did rather well. Here is a youtube link:
Hmm first time trying to link section of Tumblr!
Anyways... the BMPCC4K is less sharp and it probably had something to do eith the lens. I also notice that, and I might have missed soemthing, but both cameras are supposedly full frame sensor size.. when both are placed at same focal length... FX6 Has a greater view and BMPCC4K feels a bit cropped in... knowing this you can probably tell which footage is which when and if you view the link.
During my drive to Angeles today I set up my photo to selfie video record and had my h1n recording external audio. I havent listened to the h1n audio but the phone audio wasnt bad..I was able to get both a week one and a new years even kick off message completed. So I need to set my alarm and get a morning exercise video knocked out. If possibly knock out two exercise videos... because I mean... I can use the old footage too....
Its just monday and that honestly felt good to knock out those little videos and have a plan in place to kick along with the exercise video tomorrow. I need to take a look at the motivational script because I might be able to film a morning walk and few stretches at the pier as my episode one exercise and then walk to the gym and knock out week twos. But again... I need to look at the script to ensure I am getting the footage need to get.
I think I want to change up the episode one workout anyways. Because I need it to be one of two things... a test to check your fitness level or a true beginner...
Ok... time to shower.. then check the scripts out... then drive to pick up the wife.
When I think about the days it seems like such a shorter period before the new year is here. But then I realize that i have an entire week before I release episode 1... there's more buts to come
But then I started thinking... crap tomorrow I lose my day to driving to Angeles. This makes me wonder... if I should take my BMPCC4K and set it up in the passenger seat to film my podcast style welcoming video.
Then I look at the fact that I have Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare my welcoming video, but I also need to shoot two workout videos. I suppose I can look at old footage and repurpose it..... but still I need to get some fresh footage. Maybe tonight when I drop the wife off to the night market I will go to Cabog-Cabog to film a welcoming video as well as some timelapse.. but depends on the clouds and time because ive been dropping her around 3-330.. sun sets around 530... so I mean its possible but we will see.
Anyways for now... im going to go make some oatmeal and coffee for breakfast and thrn possibly look at making some banana muffins.
Real tasker today: trying to color match BMPCC4K BRAW and Sony FX6 Cine-Tone. I am getting closer... but i really need to match filming maybe tomorrow so I am really starting at a baseline recorded format that is easier to color match.
Off the bat. The image out of the Sony FX6 really doesnt need much work to have that cinematic feel... but my BMPCC4K i have been recording in BRAW and well thats a flat image... when you try to color match you find that the BMPCC4K has a blue hue to the mountain ranges in my footage... where my Sony Zfx6 looks so much cleaner... so yeah I got some work to do.
Hoping for a quiet life. @j-a-smiths-blog - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
