Journal
Jan 30 2011
The film is almost done with only small tweaks like a model being too bright or dark. Spoke with Rabby for over an hour discussing the latest changes which are mostly around sfx. As I was making the shots more 'beautiful,' I uncover more texture problems with the main character. This time, there is no spec map for his nose. Some tweaks in Photoshop brought me to this new version. It's subtle but effective.
Jan 24 2011
Major crash on my main computer forced me to reformat my system. Luckily, all the files were either backed up on Dropbox or stored on external drives. The best setup seems to be storing files on the cloud with the output frames saved on an portable drive. Logmein has been critical for rendering files since I can access 4 computers to render at a time. Unfortunately, they aren't set up as a renderfarm.
Jan 20 2011
Serious rendering taking place. I opted not to render in high res or in HD quality yet since the low res still has some minor tweaks. Most passes are only taking 30 seconds on the dual quad core Xeon. The same passes take over 1:20 seconds through my other 6 core computer. Here's a fix of one background, the left is good, the right shows the lightning popsicle with the hazy box around it. That's a problem.
Another common problem, with spotlights showing up in shots. Maya 2011 has better render layer capabilities though so next time, lighting would be dependent on the layer rather than overall shot.
More random rendering problems. This is easily fixed with the collision problem being the main reason.
Jan 16 2011
Heard the sound efx and music for the first time and it's amazing! The question still holds though, what will I do with the voices? Option 1 is to use modify and create robot voices and the other option is using beeps ...As I continue rendering, I really start to see some problems, as seen in the green neon. I undercover the texture, a super low res image as the reason. Motivating students is always difficult and making sure they follow the ideal practices is an ongoing issue. Luckily, I was able to get this fixed quickly.
Dec 12 2011
Some shots and more environments are being deleted. The story along with saving precious modeling and texturing time has forced me cut whole scenes. In the meantime, I'm able to concentrate on other parts of the film. This is one of the new shots, which was done in only a couple days.
Dec 2 2011
Shots often have multiple light sets, 4 for the characters and one for the bg. This workflow is very fast to set up. Lighting an outdoor environment is quick with render layers.
Cleaning up the shadows here must be recorded to apply to other shots in the scene. The main character is still too dark.
Nov 27 2011
The spec map on his 'neck' is too bright and I had to make some changes. Student help is getting better though. As a separate model, it appers to be ok, but in shot, it's not and gets too much attention.
The new spec on the neck. The face has more white on it too, but still could use more. Chipped paint is also added to the mouth.
Simulating a cloudy day is difficult with dark shadow color, the changes are noted and will be addressed later. With over 80 shots, project management is really tested.
Nov 24 2011
Additional shots are added and environments will need to be created. It amazing the amount of work is required for a theme park environment even though it'll only be seen for 5 seconds.
Some parts of the models will be smoothed because of the close ups. This one has some texture problems, something that still plagues my projects.
Having ideal settings for a glow like this is not controlled by the main reference model, they have to be checked by shot to make sure the settings were updated. Sometimes they're not. Something very strange with Maya.
The rim lighting is a major addition to this film that was faked with the last one. Lighting color is also more controlled since I'm doing the work instead of a student. Still a bit dark though.
The main character gets lost when he's with his buddies. Lightening his face will help.
Nov 24 2011
Lighting is getting easier to set up. With rendering sped up with render layers, it's quick to light now. Shots are still being added.
Nov 19 2011
Flowers are also getting dirty and old. Most of the environments have these dirt maps. It's another time consuming process.
Nov 18 2011
Skinny gets dirty. All the characters have dual textures, one as clean and the other as dirty or aged. It's a huge task.
Oct 27 2011
A student assignment reappears. It's amazing how a 4 week intro to Maya class can produce work like this.
Oct 25 2011
Adding more detail to the film, and the addition to dialogue, I needed some robot cameras to fly around. This is the first version of Chris' design. I'd later modify to create another one.
the character made by Chris in another class is reintroduced to be the character that fires 'Jukebox' from his job
Oct 11 2011
The final character design ... but without the glasses ....
at the same time, I was testing out some auto rigs, and they were turning out ok so far ... I was able to rig a character in 1-2 hours without blendshapes ... so not bad!
Oct 8 2011
I'm adding the changes to the film, which doesn't seem like much at first but it's getting more and more different. I chop out most of the scenes of the film of 'Jukebox' exploring the park and the pace is working much better. It's sad and a bit of a waste, but it's also a good learning process. The film is now cut to 6 minutes.
The final design of the last character. I wanted a female girl character and used one of Jared's models to start, but it didn't work out since his modeling was more difficult to edit than to make one new, from scratch. A fun and cute character designed totally for Chris ... great work!
Sept 23 2011
We're back on full force, but with only Chris working on the project with me. He's taken the modeling role more and with the story changed, I had to get some new characters made. I thought about changing 'Skinny' for a dino, but I later would scrap the whole idea anyway.
I figured to scrap this character since it'd be a total waste to lose 'Skinny,' a well designed main character.
So I had Chris model this character, from some sketches I made with a broken down version also. So there's a lot of time spent on modeling and rigging ...
August 7 2011
I could only hire Casey for the Summer and since he was a graphic designer, it was sometimes hard to get him to work on the film. I'm sure he wanted to relax this Summer. His graphics for the new opening, to answer all questions ... but also making the film longer and far more complex than it needed to be ....
This is working well, however, the black background is a bit tough to handle. To make sure the audience knew that the park was on an island in the sky, I went over and changed the image.
I also made some changes to the rendered image, almost simulating a photo taken in 1860. It turned out pretty well .... surprising myself.
Love the font, but this was later taken out and a major story point added.
In the original story, the jukebox becomes 'Skinny'
... but in this edit, they're rivals. The story would change again though ...
I had to make the energy crisis more obvious, so this slide was added. I love what Casey did with this paper but I later would add some graphics to really push it
Another good design, but it's hard to tell that 'Jukebox' is getting fired. I would also later change the overall design of this paper to suggest a leap in time.
May 24 2011
I had Casey continue creating more graphics and add more 'stuff' to the scenes as I try to kill some time thinking of how the story should now become ...
May 20 2011
The private screening went well but it raised a whole bunch of questions. So ... back to the drawing board and coming up with a new story ... I never thought I'd be saying that ... but first things ... making the main character more like a jukebox ...
and had Casey work on a busier park map ...
May 1 2011
After applying some particle effects, the shatter is done. Most was hand animated since the computer couldn't handle all the particle animation. There's probably over a 1000 pieces that were keyframed. The animation process took over 15 hours for me to create. Some of it was more tetious than fun though ... the glow is weak and having a lens flare only seems appropriate. I'm trying to get a copy of Flare to see how their compositing system can make things look prettier and faster too.
April 29 2011
The visual aids are finally in the shots ... this one has been reworked almost 3-4 times since it's not obvious what the sign is saying.
This is also working better. It's also time to commit to the shapes and smooth some elements
Attaching a light to the camera is a good idea and changing the decay type allows
for a brighter environment in the bg. Some of the basic props look too primitive.
Solid overall design. A bit small I feel though
Overall, a great look display by Chris
April 28 2011
Some of the glows are getting out of hand but with in the past, motion blur was set in Maya, this time it may be faster and give better results to do it in post.
There are no textures on his face. That's a problem
For some reason, the
cliff already looks broken
Chris' design for the junkboxx ride interior will set the standard in the design of the press for the film. It is well designed
A lot of the signs put into Maya but organizing them is difficult
April 26 2011
Lighting this much is succession has allowed me to learn some fast tips. Since the last film, the time spent lighting has dropped drastically through computing power and fewer lights. DD was lit by a student and this type of confusion led me to relight and was very confusing at times. There was no consistence the last film in lighting but this time, the results are much improved and faster overall.
Animating the light color, shadow color, depth and angle would be unnecessary if the files were set up by shots instead of scenes
The face and the computer chips isn't showing - with textures not properly linked ...
Depth maps are being keyed on the fly and this has been set at 4096 and the render time is almost the same as a 512 shadow map
The mascots could be improved but with only 20 seconds of screen time, it might not be worth it?
Chris' attempt at arcade cabinets shows some differences in each of our styles but they compliment each other
Chris' work on graphics has improved greatly. The empty battery is an exact ripoff of the Iphone. There'll need to be a change there though.
April 25 2011
Lighting and rendering is very responsive which means that this part of the pipeline is very quick than last project. However, automatic lighting would be the best results and would be automatic. This could mean faster lighting but more testing needs to be done. HDR also is required and a different renderer would be used.
Strangely enough, a plane is now a rectangle which changing the look and readibility of the sign
This environment needs a lot more signs ...
How is this environment lit?
Some lights don't need to be moved, which is nice
shadows seem too blue
Lighting changes from dark blue to almost yellow which works well here
The current verion of the power generators
changes the context of the story a bit from plugging in a power cord vs a gas cord
A major prop is created but is a bit vague. For International audiences, it will work with some additional indicators like arrows
April 24 2011
Lighting from top down seems to cast very dramatic shadows and with bump now applied, it's working. One problem was the file structure was changed twice from H: (most team members didn't have this letter) to C:/username (which is different from each user) to C:/dropbox (which is generic enough that all team members have) that the textures now link. Some students still have poor habits in file structure which makes me fixing their textures very boring, very fast.
The wood breaks the grain at a odd angle which means the UVs need to be reset to conform to their length rather than looking projected as it does here
Blue shadows brings a lot of life rather than the dull black shadows
April 23 2011
Lighting and rendering is being completed simultaneously. This makes lighting easier and rendering more logical too. However, the scenes are broken up in files instead of the shot which is different from the last film. This makes compositing very difficult.
A rare case when 2 people are working on the same file, this character should be tilted and looking dead but the changes weren't saved.
Still needs some bump on the cards
This card will be replaced with an ad instead
Credit cards, so much to texture!
April 18 2011
Rendering in layers and separating the lights between the foreground and background. For the most part, a directional light is working with spots on the foreground.
Added a bump to the paper ... but the neck diffuse is still too high
Always have to turn off the glow ...
Eyes need to have some light illumination
Fingers need some bump but this is too dark anyway
sc4 rendering is almost done but the last room has a ton of google models which is killing rendering time. Shadows are rough too
A fade out during the way would work well
Where is the light coming from? This is ghostly
April 17 2011
Running through scene lighting 1 day at a time is definitely crazy but is teaching me that the relationship editor is something that's used sparingly to speed up and stay sane. The layers break up the connection nicely.
Lighting from outside again keeps this room semi bright
Finding ways to add some lights ...
This works ... skylight towards the hallway
but seems like a fluorescent light
Looks ok now ...
Much better
Always looking at the light reflection from the floor
April 16 2011
This scene is the weakest in modeling and with all the glass, it has been the most difficult to light ...
Blinn for image maps doesn't seem to be working here
Added bounce lighting here but it's not working. Very flat lighting
The low poly models aren't really needed as the characters are rendering in 1-3 seconds ...
The
environments don't have electricity so it's difficult to give the scenes any color
Great interior lighting done by Brandon on the existing model. Scrapped
the idea of making the film b&w but still considering it
Always thinking having black video is a bad thing, so playing with the idea of skylights illuminating the environment
More skylight illumination on the left ...
compared to this ... nothing which is boring and dark
More skylight ... red with blue light looks awesome to me
Rendering without raytracing is speeding up testing by 1000x! 10 second renders compared to 5-10min renders ...
The ground definitely needs to be reworked
April 10 2011
Casey, a new hire begins producing some graphics. With limited Maya background, his work is limiting and production low.
April 6 2011
I texture some arcade cabinets to give the students some ideas. I had to reset some UVs to the cabinets too
April 3 2011
Lighting is good, with variations with blue sunlight but adding cloud reflections would be interesting
March 30 2011
Lighting the scenes now and it's interesting how much visibility affects rendering time. A 1.4 million polygon scene is taking 2:50 seconds. However when the visibility is turned off for objects not seen, but in front of the camera, the rendering time is 1 second. The same scene has a huge change in rendering, from 5:28 to 15 seconds! The coaster files seem to be bogging down the rendering and most of those were modified from Google's Sketchup.
Clouds need to be brighter ... diffuse or ambient ... although as image maps they work well
Added this scene ... but throws off the garbage collecting now though
March 29 2011
Michal's modeling becomes more advanced but her designs are exact duplicates of other references.
March 26 2011
Chris uses a previous model to further develop the environment of the park. The banner seems out of place right now as there is no indication of cloth in this world.
The clouds are not all the same color, something that will be addressed later however the planes seem to be a good alternative to fluids
The redesign looks a lot better but a song list inside the window seems appropriate
Great design on the floor I think by Michal
A rough of the display with added banners.
The idea is very good but the overall execution is not. With all the models and props in this film, I often am reminded how much more time consuming this project is from the last.
The skull gets a texture update but is still weak in comparison to the amount of corrosion that could be added to it.
March 25 2011
Lighting scene 2 ...
Rendering is taking forever for some of these Google sketchup models by 5-10min per frame at low res.
Have to remove some of the lights based in certain models like in this house ...
May consider converting the coasters as planes to make rendering more manageable.
The discs aren't visible ... considering a different layout here ... seems like a car now too
but a power gauge is needed ... power or fuel?
Yellow lighting ... seems like it's working ... no dropoff used though
Need a red ring blinking here ... maybe consider a distorted image for low power
bee is a bit dark here
Bee is brighter ... will consider what to have in the bg though
Bee texturing is impressive ... but inconsistent with left and right sides different here
March 23 2011
More lighting notes ...
A bounce light will be needed to show off the facial expression ...
Too dark, the face's glass probably needs to be removed to show the eyes better.
Still waiting on the textures
...
Adding blue light and reconsidering the black shadows ...
Some models are amazing, others are lost like this lambert ...
Still needs a glow on the tv ... a luminesce map
Some issues with diffuse with the neck seemingly glowing compared to the face
lighting overall is much faster than last time and more simple in production with only 3 main lights and because of time, rendering scene 1 in one day is pretty impressive with good results.
March 20 2011
Began lighting scene by scene. Impressive first screens low depth maps (512) with basic rendering and close ups rendering at 3 seconds a frame.
March 18 2011
Having students come on towards the end makes it difficult for them to follow the file structure or understand the methods of their production. The floors are well modeled but aren't large enough to expand a horizon. As this project was moving along, there was less instruction and more production than the last project which made the students more useful.
The floor designs are looking more technical and futuristic, which is working better with the aesthetics. The glowing floors on the right end up being too dense and take very long to render. Although the primitives are simple, as they are duplicated and multipled, they slow down the frame rate in the display window.
The look of the solar adapter, which is seen for a whole 3 seconds.
March 10 2011
Hired a couple of new students to get the project completed faster. I would have hired more but more is not always better. The first prop designs by Michal are weak.
After a few discussions, she comes up with designs that match the park better. For the most part, the students are unable to develop a visual style.
March 7 2011
This project is incredibly larger than the last and very demanding on student help so I've hired another 2 students to work on this project and get a finished edit by May. The following is a rough of the arcade environment. After seeing the first version, I thought it was a bit too 'normal' when considering the creativity seen in most theme parks. This is one of the pavilions in the arcade and some of the units designed by our newest graphic designer, Casey. They are a bit primitive in design so we'll see what comes up next.
March 6 2011
We're moving along very fast. The scene 4 animatic is almost done, while the first 3, 5 and 6 are completed. There are only 2 more scenes left to block out. This is incredible efficiency when considering the animatics were first worked on 2 weeks ago. Ran into a major hurdle with the rig for skinny. Although the character is 95% complete with revisions from Kirk, it can still use some minor tweaks. While students are great to work with on these types of projects, there's still some minor elements that are developed that need to be adjusted. I can only wonder what type of work I could create with professionals, but motivating them would be a totally other beast.
Feb 28 2011
This was an interesting model to develop, as coming up with a way to make it appear skull-like through metal pieces is unique. It still needs work since it looks like a monkey skull from the front.
The pipeline is smoother now that props are being added as they are being seen in a particular shot. Since there's a lot of close ups of these plugs, it was necessary to add detail to them.
Feb 25 2011
The before and after with the diffuse changed. The eyes aren't being seen so I may have to revisit this model again.
Feb 24 2011
The diffuse was set too high, one common problem when dealing with metal and wood. This creates deeper colors but is more realistic than the default diffuse of .8. Glass was reevaluated and paper was given bump too for added detail.
Feb 16 2011
The film is being created, with the storyboards finalized and unnecessary shots removed. Since the last film, there has been a lot of changes in the pipeline and it shows. The 120 shots were broken up to 8 scenes and the first 2 are finished. The timing of the film is a lot faster than the last with shots averaging 2 seconds. You should almost never use ambient gray on the channel, or this happens (the glowing square paper).
Feb 15 2011
The first look at the revised mascot character. A bit scary but there's a ton of models for the short film if you haven't already noticed.
Feb 14 2011
After some discussions, this is the first version of Skinny. Maybe a bit too white. The hip hop side of this character is held up through the afro which is now split.
Feb 10 2011
Intial design was to have LEDs all over but it appears to be rivets, and looks like a warrior.
Feb 9 2011
The entrance way has some more characters. We're also working on some 'futuristic' credit cards. Even though a lot of the modeling is split between a few students, they all have a similar design.
Feb 5 2011
The final edit by Kirk for Fatt
Jan 31 2011
More revisions to the bee. It seems a bit excessive to be rebuilding the bee considering the timeline but Chris is still playing things out. It also becomes obvious that preproduction is the most important in getting a main character modeled in the least amount of time.
Both eyes were good but I ended up asking Chris to go back to his first design. Both are just too scary and dark.
Jan 30 2011
The final edit by Kirk for Fattie. The model looks great!
Jan 24 2011
Junkbox gets a major texture update courtesy of Kirk. The quality of the student work from him in only one year is astonishing really! He's got some great ideas and after some conversations, edits will be made. The main issue is creating a character that's the audience can sympathize with, while not confusing them with the busyiness.
Jan 20 2011
At the same time the previous year, there were all sorts of problems with modeling to rigging to texturing. This time, this project is moving along very smoothly. Through this renaissance, I am able to concentrate more on the design of elements. This example was originally designed to be a building, but through some miscommunication, it will work better as a power supply for the outdoor light fixtures.
Jan 13 2011
On the plane back to work, I spend hours tweaking and changing the storyboards. The film gets chopped about 10 shots to finally equate 120. This is the most shots I'll be trying to complete and just to show how big this is, Junkbox will have more shots than the previous 2 short films combined! The film is designed to be only 6 minutes but with those many shots, it could be longer. This concern for creating a work for a presentation for May makes me a bit nervous. Nonetheless, the show must go on!
Jan 10 2011
Developing for the future can sometimes create some confusion in some elements created. Below is an example of a 'cash register' and its design could confuse the average person. This basic prop will appear for a very short period but needs to be recognizeable quickly. The credit card portion makes it easier to understand although adding a simple logo could make things even easier, it still needs something to verify the identity of the person.
Dec 9 2010
A simple backdrop to set up the preview screen. Testing rendering time on the new computer puts this in under 10 seconds with almost 1 mil polygons. I love technology and its advancements!
Dec 4 2010
The modeling process is using a 'broad stroke' process. These are some of the rough coaster cabins being created. About 5-6 are created along with the rides themselves. Maybe this project is getting larger than we can create?
Nov 14 2010
I make some minor tweaks to the bee by addding a double wing. Although he looks more like a dragonfly, this added toughness is needed for his role in the film.
Nov 12 2010
Texturing 'Junkbox' is under way. The color schemes are trying to suggest old metal and the flurescent lighting and other accents are trying to suggest that he's a jukebox.
Nov 11 2010
Brandon's on board making an arcade environment. His attention to detail is compelling. His designs seems rather flat though but still state of the art. Designing hypothetical futuristic design is difficult.
Nov 4 2010
The 'skinny' character is finished for modeling. This marks the first time myself and another student finished a model simultaneously. I modeled the head and added accents while Chris modeled most of the lower body. His pose and overall silouette was similar to Cheetor of Beach Machines, one of my personal favorite TV shows growing up.
Nov 4 2010
The bee was reworked, although missing the bee colors. This version commands attention and is ultra cool. He makes a great complimenting character. I threw in the old one just for comparision. You can also see the massive progress of student ability from just one year ago.
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Oct 28 2010
Progress is slow. I had Chris helping me with the development.
Sept 28 2010
That's not a typo, the project was on a standstill so I could concentrate on finishing Death to the Different. First thing I concentrated when I got back on the project was making a sleek, cool yet emotional face. This is the first attempt.
Aug 10 2010
Of all the invited 3D modelers, which accounted for about 6 new students, only 1 produces work of quality that I can use for the film. I'm wondering if money is the deciding factor for the lack of work or the lack of ambition. Either way, an impressive model by Matt Wilmirth which is a futuristic ferris wheel, a prop seen only in long shots of the park.
May 18 2010
The bee character gets a bit of a 'remix.' The emotion on the face is more apparent although the positioning takes him away from being a bee. You can imagine he plays some awesome techno though.
May 15 2010
I announce during a newspaper interview that I'm working on a new film about an abandoned theme park. The environment moves away from the islands and water and to something students can have an interest to, theme parks! I put together a huge team to work on modeling in the summer. At the same time, I make a 4 day stop at DisneyWorld, to gather some ideas for the film.
Dec 10 2009
Kirk has his turn on adding to the model of 'Skinny.' Proportions are fixed to be the same as the drawings although there's some design issues in the legs and lack of emotion on the face, this is the best version we've created to date. The pace line screams speed!
Nov 8 2009
Kirk continued sculpting the environment, his ability to light is sensitive and impressive.
Nov 3 2009
More junk in a single's home. As someone living alone, you can imagine the types of things people collect and horde. This was the idea behind this character. It also makes you think about our garbage and where it ends up. There's a couple of fun items I personally enjoy, like the basketball and net.
Oct 27 2009
Some of the interior, a bunch of eclectic junk. Some gathered from sketchup's model library.
Oct 26 2009
Buddy is now fully rigged with blendshapes and is ready to be handed back to Tyler. Tyler will be doing some animation tests and some dialogue tests with the initial blend shapes. Buddy will be playing with some dolls, so his character will be more unconventional. Will need some basic human models for toys and a basic body with detailed head for father. Mom will be as a silhouette in 2D form. We picked up Chris this week, which should give a major boost to production time. He will be picking up on cave modeling/texturing where Jeremy left off.
Nov 21 2009
The texture work is being enhanced, especially the walls. Lots of unique additions from solar panels to tarp. For this film, it's going to be about the fine details.
Nov 12 2009
The beginning of the house, complete with aircraft parts and a satellite dish.
Oct 22 2009
During a random drive through the outback roads in Laos, there's huts that stick out of my mind. My dad was raised in these and I remember the mound of dirt that remained during a visit in 1993. Incredibly irrelevant for today's technology and advances, how amazing would it be to recreate them and bring them back to my world? These are some of the photos taken which I passed on to Kirk.
Oct 11 2009
The home is put back on ground. As a test, a lot of vegetation is added, the results are good and rendering time is ok. The Southeast Asian influence continues with the 'fish catching tool.' It's just so brilliantly efficient. If you're wondering what it is, it attacts bugs at night, and it's a way to feed the fish since the bugs drop into the water.
Oct 10 2009
Skinny gets a rebuild, since he doesn't appear like the drawings. The body is stretched out to throw out the proportions. The design is from paraplegics that I see on the TV.
Sept 29 2009
Kirk puts some final touches on the texturing of Fattie. The bolts look good as a texture and as a final model, this would be sufficient. The pose is very important and this works. However, the detail and appeal still looks weak to me though but will be revisited later. Why did I design a character like this? Probably from all the references I had looking outside while living in rural Missouri :)
Sept 28 2009
Kirk revisits the preproduciton process, as it helps speed up production. Trees are added, through some experimentation and the results are very promising.
Sept 25 2009
Still playing with the environment, after some trips to Phuket and seeing some of the 'thumb' islands, it starting to hold an influence. This ocean as an environment change, poses some problems to the story though.
Sept 20 2009
Junkbox gets a new name and the character is starting to be brought to life! Still some problems with the head, there's no appeal.
Sept 15 2009
An intial design texturing shows a rough character, similar to Winston in Winston's Shuttle. The character is given more details. The home continues to be refined.
Sept 8 2009
After running into the Summer months and personal changes, the film starts up again. Kirk Loehmann is brought in to create the texture work for the main characters and ramp up the environment. He is the first student who has a strong interest in environment design.
Apr 30 2009
After some heavy concept drawing (see Preproduction), the main characters are created. Chris modifies the helicopter robot to appear more 'friendly.'
Apr 10 2009
The home of the main character is developed over some experiences I have overseas from Christmas in Laos and Cambodia.
Mar 09 2009
Over a class project, Chris Northcutt creates a robot that stands above the crowd. I hire him on the spot.
February 2009
I brainstorm with an old friend, Josh Flowers who is working out in China over MSN Messenger about a story of a character who has to deal with an energy crisis and living life to the fullest. This starts up the film with the title "When the Jukebox Dies."