My Christmas Tradition

Shooting Christmas lights at Christmas eve night is becoming my new Christmas tradition. I did that last year and this year. I spend about three hours at center of Helsinki. I had to get back bit earlier because I forgot to take spare batteries. I started to get bit cold but battery running out was the reason I left early. I had another camera with me but I didn't want to shoot video with it. I wanted to shoot the whole video with same camera.

Here are couple shot I couldn't shoot to this week's video due battery running out.

Adding libraries to Spitfire Audio's wishlist

Spitfire Audio promised thermonuclear offerings as their ten year anniversary Christmas present on libraries on our wishlists. When I heard about this I added Albion V to my wishlist. It is one I really want. I checked other libraries to add just in case they went completely nuts on their offerings. I watched their videos and review videos made by other people.

I had really hard time finding what else I should put on the list. I assumed they are not giving instruments free and I have to pay something. Spitfire Audio's instruments are for real composers not hobbyists like me who want orchestral flavor to their music. Albion range is meant for people like me and it has two libraries which go too specific if you are not really into orchestral music and don't need special libraries. Albion IV is interesting but I am not sure if I would ever use it. Albion One, Albion II and Albion V should be enough for me.

Almost everything else feels like expensive flavor for really specific problem for people who make orchestral music and don't want to get those flavors from more modern instruments. I assume Evo Grid and Swarm libraries are very useful for someone who don't want any modern tools to give movement to their orchestral sounds. Both sound interesting as an idea of painting long evolving soundscape but with both I wonder why they don't have gate sequencer and effects of eDNA. I hope they are planning to release EDNA version of those samples. It should be time for EDNA02.

I don't know how possible that is from technology point of view but I would be really interested of eDNA evos and swarms. Evo Grids have nice sounds but they are too much of one trick ponies. Swarms are more playable but still very specific. I am sure both are really good if you need those in your tool palette. I would rather get those flavors from eDNA or Heavyocity's Novo range which both let you tweak sounds more.

I added only EDNA01 Earth next to Albion V to my wishlist. Solo instrument would have been nice and Trailer Giant was interesting but I thought those two will have to do for now. I don't want to get too much at one time and those two are only ones I really want. Others were more nice to have which could wait for next sale. They didn't went completely nuts with this sale. My choice was correct. I got my libraries for price I expected. Didn't have to wait too long for sale to get Albion V. I will use it on my next video.

How To The Public Transportation

I have nothing to do with these videos. I found them informative and funny enough to share here. And I didn't anything interesting to talk or show. It is darkest time of the year and everything is dark and cold. I wanted my own content to the post so picture below is taken by me few years ago before I started to make videos. It is topic related.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi review

This is spoiler review. You can find my spoiler free review from here.

Original plan was to make spoiler free review last week. It would have required me do shoot and edit during night and get very little sleep. Spoiler review makes more sense in long run. That is why spoiler review.

I know another camera looses focus few times. I don't know why it does that. There isn't anything interesting besides my head in shot. Next time I will use smaller aperture.

John Williams I am not

I saw interesting comic about making art. Guy says he wants to make art but doesn't know how to start. Other guy gives him pen and paper and makes the first guy to sit in front of paper with pen in his hand. Stephen King has said in interview amateurs wait for inspiration, professionals start writing. Or something like that. Those are best advises how to make art. I have applied Stephen King's wisdom since I read about it somewhere. I am not 100% if Stephen King has said that. It is good advise anyway.

You don't have to have inspiration. Just start doing something and see where it takes you. Most of my artistic work has started that way. In the way you find inspiration and more you do better you get. I almost got lazy today. I planned to make music but using old music for next video felt good idea when I got back from work. Original plan was to make music on Sunday like I usually do. I didn't have video then because I was lazy on Saturday.

I just opened Ableton Live. I had idea what I wanted to do. I wanted to have some sort of orchestral music because Star Wars have that kind of music and Spitfire Audio updated Albion One few days ago. I have used Albion One too little when considering how good and expensive it is. I want to change that. If for no other reason to give excuse to buy Albion 5 later.

I am no John Williams but I got something good enough to publish. Something better than my most used music. It was just that I started to do something and I will be better next time because I did new music for new video. The video will be bit longer and music might not carry the video. It doesn't have to carry it. It is there behind talking. It is good enough there.

Next week's video need something which can carry the video. It will be another Black Christmas video showing what Christmas lights look like when there are no people or snow. I still expect there will be no snow. It would be positive surprise if there was.

12th Zombiewalk Helsinki 2016

If I ever do "special edition" or "Director's cut" of my videos this will be it. I like the footage but I would cut this shorter. It is not bad video but I like to do it better. I might do that when I don't have footage for next video and I don't know what video to make. Zombiewalk Helsinki is annual event. I could always do better video of future events. I have several options for thumbnail. Picture below was the first one but I didn't use. I love her face but right side didn't work as well. One I used didn't have that problem.