Torley Lives

Second Life poses some unique hurdles to make video tutorials for. I want to share my experiences in hopes it'll benefit someone(s) who's interested in making SL vidtuts but has run into the same obstacles I have. And if you've never seen one of my vidtuts before, watch and learn something valuable in just a few minutes!

Way back (in 2006), I was using FRAPS to record my videos, which I originally heard of from BuhBuhCuh Fairchild (ex-Ben Linden). FRAPS continues to be a popular choice for "pure" machinima, but not for video tutorials. Why? Because it fails to capture special cursors (like those used in click actions), has no means of highlighting the regular cursor and clicks (as I've come to enjoy), and it can't capture "regular" applications like Firefox with the ease-of-use Camtasia Studio Screen Recorder can, which is why I switched.

But wait, that's where I ran into another problem: the TechSmith Lossless Codec is great… if you're capturing mostly flat areas of color. But throw in a lot of gradients, motion, and near-photorealistic scenes as Second Life often has, and that's where you run into a lot of problems: my capture often dropped to sub-10 FPS (Frames Per Second), which isn't acceptable for showing Second Life in motion.

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I often get asked to suggest music I enjoy. The following is some of what I've been listening to recently. It's mostly electronic, but if you're not into "that techno stuff", don't worry, don't be scared off: I love melody meshed with a memorable momentum of production, and it isn't boring robot music. (And hey, even Kraftwerk had a sense of humor.) My point being: listen, and if you like and want me to suggest more, let me know in the comments, 'kay?
 

Aril Brikha - "Winter" and "Bergain"


This guy's been known for "making techno that sounds like trance". Hmmm. What does that even mean? Heck if I know, labeling evils are near-meaningless to me, but what you should care about is he's got bouncy beats + bass underpinning a sparse weave of echoey chords and a lovely sensibility that makes you go, "If I was in the 80s in a Ferrari driving to the beach with mirrorshades attached to my face, I'd totally be bangin' my head to this!" Only not so obtrusively. A fine choice to photograph models to.

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Continuing from Part I, Ole Etzel has graciously uploaded his recording of the second part of my lecture @ Campus Hamburg. It's part of the "Games & Beyond Open Lecture Series". In this segment, I cover my love of expression through avatars, being resourceful, my ongoing fun with the SpaceNavigator 3D mouse, more video tutorial fun, and how I make my movies. I even use my avatar as a pointer. Pardon I don't have a text transcription for this one but if anyone does one, let me know in the comments and I'll post it up. Otherwise, enjoy!

• It never happened. Or did it?
• Androids used for slave labor have issues.
• Real animals make us feel better about ourselves.
• It's easier to believe a lie than dismiss the truth.
• When in Rome… well, we're all living in Rome.
• You, too, can change your personality like clothing.
• Horselover Fat is not a porn star's name.
• Superior mutants are sexy.
• Nazis are always evil, no matter what universe you're in.
• Telepaths are a complicated lot.
• Paranoia is ideal for for the adventurous.
• Sometimes, it's OK to go insane.
• Some memories are best left repressed.
• Words control people.