This is the final stages of the visual animation production for the pilot episode of "Lunatics!" (not counting credits and other on-screen text elements).

00:00 Titlecard

A 10-minute overview of the production and development work I did for "Lunatics!" and related projects in 2021.

Happy New Year!

Screencast logs of April, sorted out by project:

38.6 hrs on "Lunatics!" Production: mainly the "LA-Launch" and "SF-SoyuzFlight" sequences, and then constructing a new whole-episode animatic.

25.3 hrs on Anansi Blender Extensions add-on (ABX): this month, I extensively modified the "Copy NLA" feature which has now become "Copy Animation"; and I expanded the "L.Ink Compos" feature into "Ink/Paint Config", with options for handling transparency, billboard objects, and fixing the sky background compositing.

15.1 hrs on Lib-Ray media format: setting up unit and functional tests and creating a small test article video to use in more tests. Also came up with a plan for how to integrate visual testing (I had some visual testing working a long time back, but I got the test code muddled up with the application code pretty badly -- a lot of my current reorganization is just trying to sort that out).

3.0 hrs on collecting the codes for automating the robotics on a Primera Bravo II disk publisher that I purchased recently. I put this under a new project "Bunsen", which is very experimental right now, but I might be writing about it -- it's a studio utility to run disk burning on my file server through a web interface from my workstation. It's sort of a learning project, but I also hope to put it to use publishing short runs of M-Disc DVDs or other optical disk archives.

Testing parameter ranges and texture development for animated cloud effect used in the timelapse sequences in the "Lunatics!" pilot episode.

This is topical summary of my worklog screencasts for the entire process of creating the Sky Rig for the "timelapse" sequences in the "Lunatics!" pilot. This includes a lot of missteps, but doesn't include research or tutorial training time, although I had to do some of that.

Set to CC By licensed music by Kressof from the album "Turn". (No voiceover).

I plan to record an instructional screencast on how to use the rig and sky model.

I'm starting to assemble the components into a new animatic. I've created the Audacity sound stems, Ardour audio mixes, and Kdenlive video edits for each sequence, and started replacing shots with updated GL renders showing newer character animation.

There is still more to do, obviously, but it's coming together!

This is the first "Worklog" video that is mostly production work, so I can post it. I've found making these worklog screencasts is a useful motivational and analysis tool.

This one shows what it's really like to start learning a new piece of software -- a lot of poking at things and having read manuals, search the web, etc.

I spend quite awhile trying to figure out how to "keyframe an effect", which is what it would be called in Kdenlive. But in Ardour, what I was looking for is how to control a "fader" (which is a type of "processor"), how to add a "plugin", and how to control it with "control points" on an "automation lane", which is edited using "automation mode 'touch'".

In May 2026, I got to the end of the animation for our pilot episode, "No Children in Space", and started assembling the episode. This makes the visual side of the project nearly complete (I was still working on a few items at the end of the month and may go through another iteration). The focus will shift to completing the audio side of the project, now.

00:00 Titlecard

At the end of May, I was still working on a 3rd assembly edit with all the corrections mentioned above.

Music:

by Awezoom (also credited as "Victor Vergara" on Libre.fm)

00:00 "Ancient Stories 2 - The Green Valley"

From "Dreams in My Mind", Jamendo #86613 / CC By-SA 3.0

In April 2026, I worked almost entirely on the character animation and interior shots for the Soyuz Flight sequence in our pilot episode, "No Children in Space" of "Lunatics!"

00:11 Basic Ink & Paint Prep for SF Sequence

Music:

from "Fake Plastic World" by "Avastar"

The main activity in March 2026 was to recreate broken shots for the Train sequence, and then complete compositing and assembly of shots for the whole sequence. This also included improvements to the railway set and re-renders that that required.

At the end of March, I also started work on recreating and updating interior action shots in the Soyuz Flight sequence at the end of the episode.

00:00 Titlecard

Still very much work-in-progress on the SF-1 animation at the end of the month. There are also still some minor issues with TR (there is some missing lipsync animation still to fix).

The Music is most of the album "Ambient Pills" by Zero Page

00:00 Ambient Voyager