50 Years of Manned Spaceflight

[fh1805]

This sequence has been made to commemorate the first successful manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin on 12th April 1961, and in expectation of the forthcoming retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet later this year. Format: HD 1920x1080, running time 2m08s, size 11MB. Thanks to Bill for hosting this on Beechbrook. Those with any interest in the movie industry will recognise the source of my inspiration.

As with all my work, I'm open to all comments (good, bad or indifferent) but especially those that could lead to further improvement in this, or future sequences.

regards,

Peter

[davegee]

Peter,

Marvellous work!

Your synchronisation to the music is first class.

I was waiting for the video clip which didn't arrive but that apart I loved it.

DG

[Lin Evans]

Hi Peter,

Very nice implementation of your idea! Works well indeed! HAL (and Dave) would be impressed - LOL

Best regards,

Lin

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Very good Peter, only critisism I have the first cube colour was indistinct on my monitor?

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[Ken Cox]

PETER

YOU REALLY NAILED THE SYNC'ING

OR AS YOU LIMEY'S WOULD SAY "you were spot on "

FULL SCREEN AND SMOOTH AT MY END

GREAT JOB

KEN

[Lin Evans]

LOL - Eric, did you see 2001 a Space Odyssey?

By the way - black and white are not considered "colours" ;-)

Best regards,

Lin

Very good Peter, only critisism I have the first cube colour was indistinct on my monitor?

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[fh1805]

I was waiting for the video clip which didn't arrive...

I had considered a different ending: exploding the purple cube to reveal a video of the Shuttle blasting off the pad. But I wanted the sequence to show a "logical" time period - from Gagarin's flight through to the retirement of the Shuttles. So the cube was the better option: ending with the shot of the Shuttle landing with the parachute deployed.

I also had a previous iteration that faded to black and then displayed a roll of honour of the two Shuttle crews that didn't make it home (STS-51-L "Challenger" and STS-107 "Columbia"). But on reflection that was failing to pay equal respects to Gus Grissom and the crew of Apollo that died in the fire on the launch pad during training - and to the various known and unknown Soviet cosmonauts that also perished during the "Space Race".

What I've ended up with has a nice beginning, middle and end - and fits the theme and title.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Lin/Eric/Ken,

Thanks for the comments. I'm glad you seem to have enjoyed it.

Lin,

I think HAL would regard it as another example of the boring behaviour of the human race.

Eric,

By first cube did you mean the black one or the one depicting the Mercury logo? The coloured cubes took their colours from the final Hubble image - to try and keep some colour harmony within the various elements of the images.

Ken,

These animation sequences aren't as "heavy" on the graphics as some folks might think. But it's always nice to know that it runs as I hoped it would on other folks's systems.

regards,

Peter

[Guest Yachtsman1]

LOL - Eric, did you see 2001 a Space Odyssey?

By the way - black and white are not considered "colours" ;-)

Best regards,

Lin

Hi Lin

Yes I did see 2001 ASO, one of the most boring films I've ever seen, or so I thought at the time, in fact we walked out half way through, maybe it would appear different now.

If the cube in the opening sequence was black, it was very indistinct, just a fuzzy outline.

Regards Eric.

Yachtsman1

[fh1805]

If the cube in the opening sequence was black, it was very indistinct, just a fuzzy outline.

It was, indeed, black - with a 2 pixel medium grey border to each face applied via PTE's Borders feature. All the other cubes also had the same grey border but were built of two colours - one a slightly paler shade. This seemed to give better definition to the shape of the cube - but I wasn't sure about trying a dark grey/black combination on the first cube. Maybe I should give that a go.

regards,

Peter

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Peter, it was the first cube that was indistinct, maybe I'm lost in translation, all I could see was a flickering outline, black on black isn't good on my monitor..

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

[fh1805]

Eric,

I didn't like simple black faces on my monitor: I couldn't be certain which face was which. That's why I added the grey borders. I've just tried a quick re-work using a "paler shade of black" on two of the faces and, for me, it doesn't work in the same way that the paler shades of the purple, green, yellow and aubergine do on the next four cubes. I'm sorry that you're not getting the best possible playback.

regards,

Peter

[Lakelandlass]

This sequence has been made to commemorate the first successful manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin on 12th April 1961, and in expectation of the forthcoming retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet later this year. Format: HD 1920x1080, running time 2m08s, size 11MB. Thanks to Bill for hosting this on Beechbrook. Those with any interest in the movie industry will recognise the source of my inspiration.

As with all my work, I'm open to all comments (good, bad or indifferent) but especially those that could lead to further improvement in this, or future sequences.

regards,

Peter

Peter - absolutely awesome work.

Maureen

[David Porter]

Peter,

It has all been said, but I must add my congratulations. Well done.

[fh1805]

Maureen,

Thanks. I don't know whether you ever saw my Rubik's Cube sequence. This one started out as an idea for a "Son of Rubik" sequence but I couldn't get a clear mental vision of what I was wanting to achieve. And without that mental vision, I cannot build a sequence. Then I remembered that I'd used the music in a menu sequence that never saw the light of day; and as I played the music once more a vision started to form in my mind. As I started work on the sequence, last Wednesday, I knew how I wanted to begin and had a feel of how I might want to finish: but I wasn't clear about what should go into the middle bit. As the build progressed through the "six days of creation", the form of the sequence slowly evolved. I'll take the credit for the production but I think that I was being directed and guided from elsewhere.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Thanks, Mick.

Peter

[Lakelandlass]

Maureen,

Thanks. I don't know whether you ever saw my Rubik's Cube sequence. This one started out as an idea for a "Son of Rubik" sequence but I couldn't get a clear mental vision of what I was wanting to achieve. And without that mental vision, I cannot build a sequence. Then I remembered that I'd used the music in a menu sequence that never saw the light of day; and as I played the music once more a vision started to form in my mind. As I started work on the sequence, last Wednesday, I knew how I wanted to begin and had a feel of how I might want to finish: but I wasn't clear about what should go into the middle bit. As the build progressed through the "six days of creation", the form of the sequence slowly evolved. I'll take the credit for the production but I think that I was being directed and guided from elsewhere.

regards,

Peter

Well, whoever guided you did it well. You must be well pleased.

Maureen

[Jean-Cyprien]

Nothing bad in your AV, Peter, just good ideas !

A good idea too to remember us this important date. 50 years already !Our hair wasn't white at the time !

Thank you Peter !

Now, the same with a video of the shuttle launch ? !!!

[colin hill]

Peter,

I enjoyed that immensely and a fitting tribute to the men and women who ventured into the unknown.

Space and space travel has always fascinated me and I loved your ideas, very well done. The black

cube was perfect on my screen.

I agree with Jean-Cyprien, a short video of the space launch will be fantastic.

Thanks for an excellent production.

Colin

[coopernatural]

This sequence has been made to commemorate the first successful manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin on 12th April 1961, and in expectation of the forthcoming retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet later this year. Format: HD 1920x1080, running time 2m08s, size 11MB. Thanks to Bill for hosting this on Beechbrook. Those with any interest in the movie industry will recognise the source of my inspiration.

As with all my work, I'm open to all comments (good, bad or indifferent) but especially those that could lead to further improvement in this, or future sequences.

regards,

Peter

The copyrighted music is from Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’ and

Inspiration is I’m guessing,from the 1959 Edward D. Wood Jr. ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’.

Compressing 50 years of human endeavour in manned spaceflight into 2 minutes and 8 seconds

with only a hand full of low res images,combined with a rotating,exploding panelled box is truly inspired.

Even Neil Armstrong fluffing his lines,doesn’t take the shine off this instant classic.

Incredible that anyone here could better Edward D. Wood Jr.

Davy

[fh1805]

Now, the same with a video of the shuttle launch ? !!!

...a short video of the space launch will be fantastic.

Jean-Cyprien/Colin,

Thank you both. See my post #7 above. I know the launch videos are spectacular sights but the launch is the beginning of something. I needed to end with the end of something so chose the Shuttle landing with parachute deployed. Although, thinking about it as I write this post, a launch video would convey the message that the exploration goes on. Interesting idea...

...Compressing 50 years of human endeavour in manned spaceflight into 2 minutes and 8 seconds

with only a hand full of low res images, combined with a rotating,exploding panelled box is truly inspired. ...instant classic.

Incredible that anyone here could better Edward D. Wood Jr.

Davy,

High praise indeed, thank you! I am not familiar with Edward D. Wood Jr. but perhaps I should find out more: my inspiration was Kubrik's "2001: A Space Odyssey". It's a film full of allegorical motifs and I tried to include one or two of my own in the sequence.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Davy,

Having now done some research into Edward D Wood Jr. and "Plan 9 from Outer Space" I'm not sure your comments were meant to be complimentary. That movie is touted as being one of the worst movies ever made.

Peter

[coopernatural]

Peter,

Please take this as intended. Just a little fun. I thought you were a bit of a movie buff and would ‘get it’ right away.

Plan 9 from Outer Space has achieved cult status and has also been dubbed ‘The ultimate cult flick’.

The classic Tim Burton film ‘Ed Wood’ which better highlights the life of the man,is in my top 10 best movies of all time.

Technically your AV is way beyond me and if I was to offer some criticism,it would be that the show could be doubled or even tripled in length.

Maybe there would be too much work involved in extending it,but like many fans of space travel,I think it would be well worth it.

So,ending this time on a serious note,well done and if you are up to it, please do an extended version.

Regards,

Davy

[fh1805]

Davy,

Thanks for the clarification!

Yes, the show could have much more material in it - Skylab, Mir, ISS, Chinese astronauts; and that would almost certainly double or even triple its length. You captured the essence of this project in your original post: "...Compressing 50 years of human endeavour in manned spaceflight into 2 minutes and 8 seconds..." The choice of music determined the duration: the choice of events (Gagarin and the retirement of the Shuttle) determined the beginning and end points (both in calendar terms and in the sequence). The middle had to be addressed with some savage editorial decisions.

To extend the show I would need at least one and probably two more pieces of music. If I find some more music that inspires me, I'll then consider an extended version.

However, sometimes it doesn't pay to mess around with something that works well. Just think back to the movies: how many sequels surpass or even match the original? The bane of the movie industry is this insane desire to squeeze every last cent of commercial profit out of the original concept. I don't want to fall into the same trap. Not that I do what I do for profit. I do it for the fun of it!

Now, time for me to step down off my soap-box. Once again, thanks for your praise of this sequence.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

To anyone who might be interested, I have prepared a short demonstration sequence of the technique I used to build the exploding cube. It can be downloaded from Dropbox here. I hope the included PDF file will explain things in sufficient details. My apologies to those for whom English is not their native language.

regards,

Peter