Reel Expression

On Friday the SL herald posted an article about Gwyneth Llewelyn’s recent “my way or leave” blog post. You can read the article here. And even praised by SL’s most biased Reporter, Hamlet, at NWN.

Gwyn is and has always been an elitist cunt. There are two different types of elitist cunts in SL. 1. The content side - those who truly believe that content creators > everyone else but that only includes their cirlce of friends. 2. The self important (without reason) ones with their heads up the collected linden ass. These may seem simular but the first actually does contribute to the SL community.

I was going to post this on the comments of the SL herald, but I want to go into more detail so I chose to do it here.

Gwyn on Sculpties:
“You’ll have very high quality items from a handful of professional 3D modellers, and lots of junk (and copied material) from the rest of the residents.”

Incorrect. First off talented people do not create “junk.” “Talented amateurs,” is just a dirty word that talentless hacks throw around to make themseleves feel better. Talent is far more important in the process of creation than skill will ever be. People with talent have done really incredible things with the limited types of shapes. Only a person with their head so far up their ass would discount the type of creativity that’s already out there.

Skills are learned but talent can’t be. Maya and Blender are more difficult than the current tools, but have a lot more resourses for learning them. Yes it does take years of practice to be able to make a pixar film, but possibly a month to figure out the tools enough to make a chair for SL.

Some of you already know that I went to school for 3D modeling and animation - with the direction of visual effects for film. It was this program that straddled between the film department and the 3d department. We took beginning film classes along with 3d modeling and animation stuff. About 2 years into it and after my second editing class I switched majors to editing. I wasn’t absolutly terrible at 3d modeling, but I was competing against people who had a vast talent and skill for drawing. In the real world a person who was more focused on particle animation (me) wouldn’t be competing against the modelers, but in classes our grades were based on what rank our work was within the class. Everyone had started at the exact same skill level of the programs, but the inate talent very obviously shined through.

Now, I was damn good at particle animation - cgi effects like rain, water, snow, steam, fire, ect. A lot of it has to do with mathmatical equations and well, my first college degree of physics recieved at age 19 should tell you enough about that. It was challenging and yet fun, but it never compared to how it feels to edit. Now while my major technically shifted, I convinced the directors of the film department and 3d department to continue taking classes in each but to allow me to skip out on things that wasn’t of use on my path, like sound 2 - location sound recording. Getting educators to bend the “rules” for extremly determined students with specific goals is a lot easier then one would think.

During my years in the media world, I’ve seen enough to know that understanding the tools is not enough. From things like editors knowing Avid inside and out yet just not “get” how to tell a story. That working at a 3d factory like ILM where you work mostly off other’s conceptions doesn’t mean you can create from scratch something amazing. I saw more talent in projects from my first semester film class then some of the junk they show on tv - specifically a brilliant stop motion animation that was shot with a digi camera and cut tape to tape.

So yes, I know a lot about this subject of talent vs skill. Anyone at all can learn these tools, the point is is what you do with them. I do not believe for a second that just because someone has studied maya for years and years will make shoes better than Fally or hair better than Elika. Nor do I have any doubt in my mind that given enough determination and time that these “talented amateurs” would be able to utalise maya or blender to create even more fantastic things.

If this idea is true, where are all the proffessional character animators? You can use maya for animations and I’m in the process of switching over. But I never took single character animation class. Ever. I really wish I would have, but I didn’t. Why haven’t I been cast out yet? Why, after 3 years the top animators still mostly “amateurs?” Why are still most of the dances made by downloaded mocaps instead of the thousands of proffesional animators out there? A good RL friend of mine who’s a CGI supervisor working on the Harry Potter films here in London - funny how I met him kickboxing in SF while I was still a 3d student - tried out SL for about 5min and couldn’t stand it.

What is with this hate speech of talented amateurs anyways? An amateur work (especially in film) is one where the inate talent of the creator is not visable because of the lack of skill. Making a piece of art that is not junk doesn’t take years and years to learn, nor do you have to use the most powerful tools out there. It’s understanding the tools you have access to enough to let your talent shine through. For instance in Gwyn’s use of the word, movies such as Clerks and El Mariachi were created by talented amateurs, why is it such a bad thing then?

One last note.. Gwyn has been in SL about a month less then I have. How could she not see the extreme growth of the quality of content since we both started? Bloody hell just look at the evolution of prim hair. I remember when it came out and I *still* have my first purchases of it, thats some pretty scary stuff. I swear my inventory is like a walking musem, I never delete innovative stuff away. I don’t do the sex ball thing, but right before animations came out I purchased an early stroker sex bed, it’s bloody brilliant.

Gwyn on voice:
“Sorry, immersionists — you’re out of this game. It’s augmentism from now on that will dominate the shaping of the Metaverse.”

I really hate this atitude that if you don’t agree with someone’s vision of SL you should just leave. This type of eltitist intollerance just pisses me off. I don’t like the sheep and their whoring, but I’m not screaming at them to get out of “my” SL. I really hate gor. I’ll debate with them all I want to, but they have just as much of a right to make SL how they personally want it as I do. I can’t stand bling either, most of which is because I’m mildly epileptic and prone to seizures with strobing. But I’m never rude to people about it. I ask nicely for them to take it off or I cam away depending on how long they are going to be around me. I never say get the fuck out of SL because you may cause me to have a seizure and possibly hit my head on the desk and die. I’m highly opinionated but extremly tolerant.

Anyways… I disagree that most of SL will embrace voice so much that anyone who doesn’t will just have to leave. It’s a pretty unpopular “feature” for many different reasons. I personally won’t use it because I just don’t want to. I don’t want to have my headphones on the entire time I’m in SL. I don’t want to have to listen to just anyone. I can easily ignore the chat when I go places, but sound is not so easy. The reasons why I’m pissed off the most about the idea are: 1. Every mainland sim will get voice, but those of us with grandfathered sims will not only have to pay double our tier but also pay for the upgrade. You want me to pay how much for a service that doesn’t even bloody work to use a feature I don’t even want and prolly won’t even work correctly? Ha fuck you LL. 2. While I don’t really care all that much about missing out on things, as people who really want to talk to me will type it, there will be a stigma placed on those who choose not to. Most likely that they have something to hide and are probably gender bending. I’m a chick. Anyone who goes to SLCC this year will see that. (ps anyone who fancies a piss up at some pubs with hubbie and I instead of the lame ball on sat just let me know)

I do think it will cause a divide. But Americans are good at creating them aren’t we? Especially the “great divide” that is only getting worse between the “anti american dirty liberals” and “moral majority.” Many people, including myself, believe that will be the cause of the eventual fall of the US unless the intollerant hate mongering stops. But I digress. Yes it’ll cause a divide. Fuck there are so many divides and rifts in SL as it is. Content creators vs anti-content creators. Blind LL supporters and those of us who question. Speaking of which…

Gwyn on Project Open Letter:
“… once more, residents are congregating to push their Luddite views upon Linden Lab. (snip) Hopefully LL re-introduces the series of the First Look viewers again — letting us enjoy a better Second Life while the Luddites remain happy within Sony Home and its vastly superior static content.”

How can someone in SL be a Luddite? Attacking people who want to see SL be what it advertises to be by comparing them to textile workers during the industrial revolution who destroyed textile mills. If we are so against technology what the fuck are we doing in SL? Or even owning a computer for that matter? To me, Gwyn is the type of person who calls a dem anti-american and against the troops for using our constitutional rights to challenge the government. Talk about bloody ludicrious.

A letter that states that the residents love SL, want to see it succeed but are worried about the lack of communication about what is being done about the growing number of issues. How is that such a dirty thing? Oh wait yeah. Anyone who disagrees with Gwyn’s world, Gwyn’s imagination is wrong and should leave and go to Sony Home.

I personally didn’t sign POL for a number of different reasons. 1. It’ll do no good. And that was proven by the joke of a town hall, and the rushed release of voice, sculpties and age verification. 2. The issues were discussed on the second citizen forums. While I like many of the regs individually, as a group they are pure venom. So yeah, I’m biased. I at least admit it. 3. No mention was made on the fact that LL announced they will close logins to basic members when too many were logged in, but they never do. 4. Not a single question about anti-idle camping. 5. Stability, transactions, and building? If you are going to add 1 of the ways of content creation, you have to add them all.