instagram photography - testing

http://instagr.am/p/LFeatiiUrb/
Am on the train on my way to dinner. Just finished working on my training shot for today. I am really slow with it but i think I am making some progress which makes me happy.

I don't really know how active I am going to be on the blog in the next week or so. I would like to work on getting better at Nuke and SilouhetteFX. Also, I already know that i have an urgent shot that i need to get ready by Wednesday. So might have to put in some OT on Monday and Tuesday depending how things go.

I think i will mobile blog from Malaysia when i attend the Anime Festival Asia Malaysia. :) Getting excited. k... time to get off the train. :)

p.s.  So it seems Instagram will allow you to easily share to your blogspot but it's only a link and no the photo itself... hmmmm... I don't like it.  Not using this function of Instagram again.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica KEY ANIMATION NOTE Vol.3 - cover

Sigh.... I saw this in Kinokuniya on Sunday and snapped a photo of it.  It made me sigh a little... I won't get my copy of vol.3 and vol.4 till after I return from Japan in July. In order to save on shipping, I decided to ship everything to Manami and I will pick it up from her when i see her in July.

Still... the savings are substantial so I will have to be patient. :)

I have been sick again... just returned to work from two days sick leave. Hopefully I can remain healthy for the rest of the year and hopefully I don't fall ill before I travel to Malaysia week after next.

Off to rest tonight... Looks like we might get a bit busy again at work. I have my August/September trip mostly planned already which is good because that's one big thing off my mind.

Now I will need to work in July's. :)

Mahou Shoujo Madoka portable - unboxing

Here's my picture heavy unboxing post for the Mahou Shoujo Madoka Portable Limited Edition Set w/Figma figure.  I got lucky and got this set at almost 50% off and it even came with the pre-order bonus even though when I ordered it, it had already been released.

Anyway, as usual, I am blogging pretty late at night again.  So will try and keep my comments to a minimum so that I can speed through this.

This is what the exterior of the specially designed box from Shaft looks like.



If you manage to get the set with the pre-order bonus, you'll get a piece of flim strip, a special custom theme set and a Weiss Schwarz special card..  The film is attached to a card that features Kyubey's face on the cover.



The password for the special custom theme set can be found printed on the inner face of the card.  I have mosaic-ed the password out.  You will find the piece of film on the opposite side of the card..  My piece of film is quite a nice piece.  I got a closeup of Madoka's face. :)


After you open the box, you find the following.



The contents are nice and snugly packed.  You find a little white box that will contain the Homu Homu handkerchief, the Kyubey pouch and the special clear card.  I'm not sure if everyone gets the same card or if they differ from box to box.

And the highlight of this boxset, at least for me, is the Figma figure of Madoka in her school uniform.  This version of Madoka can only be obtained if you buy this boxset and this is the biggest reason why I wanted this boxset.

Here is the link to the Good Smile Company's page with nice detailed photos of this particular figma.  Click me.

The following are the photos of the Blu-ray Disc with special footage and the PSP game.



I haven't had a chance to watch the Blu-ray disc yet.  Here is the link to the wiki page with more information on the game and the contents of the Blu-ray.  Click me.

The above video is a video of the game running on my first generation PSP.  It is a 2 to 3 min clip of the first section of the game and it doesn't show the battle gameplay, I didn't get that far.  The opening is exactly like the opening of the anime and the text reminded me of excerpts from the novel version of the anime.

You have to upgrade your firmware to the latest firmware to play it.  I haven't touched my PSP for a while, and it was on some ancient firmware and I had to upgrade it before it'll run the game.

There is a lot of story-telling in this game.  Loads of it will resemble a visual novel, which is typical of these kinds of games.  The Mai-Hime game was also like this.  What I do like about this game is that it is fully voiced and it has subtitles that you can turn on and off.  That's really helpful and useful for someone learning Japanese like me.

The quality of the video that I shot isn't fantastic unfortunately.  I used my phone to shoot it and there wasn't exactly tons of light when I shot the video too.  I shot it mostly because I wanted to show the extent of the voice acting, the subtitles and that they can be turned on and off. 

I fully intend to play this game.  So it looks like I may be leaving my Vita and NDS at home for a while. :)

Oh... if you want to get this set, you can try CDJapan or Amazon Japan.  They still have these limited boxsets.  Here is the direct link to the product page on CDJapan. Click me.

Alrighty, that's it from me for today.  Off to bed. :)

mahou shoujo madoka portable - tease :P

I've finally have some time to try the game out.  I played it for a while on the train ride to the studio. :)

Am at work now and should really get serious and get started.

Hmmm... will try and write my unboxing post tonight and talk a little about the game.

The limited box set is still available at some places for those who want it. Some places are sold out of the limited box sets but the game itself is still available.

CDJapan lists this limited edition at 30% off which isn't a bad discount if you can't find it cheaper elsewhere.

K.. Gotta go... Will write a proper post on it later. :)

FictionJunction & Kajiura Yuki - Anime Expo 2012 (LA)

Wow!!!! The Americans are so lucky. I just read Kajiura Yuki's tweets and she announced that she and the 4 utahimes from FJ and the front band members will perform at this year's Anime Expo 2012 in Los Angeles.

This is the first time that FJ has travelled outside of Japan and with the front band members too.

Sigh... I wonder if they will ever come to Singapore and throw us a proper concert too.  Going to Japan to attend both FJ and Kalafina's Lives are very taxing on my finances and although I really do believe in trying to live life with as few regrets as possible, I'm not an impractical person either.

After Kajiura Yuki's Vol.9 Live (assuming I managed to get tickets), I will have to work hard and save hard.  I'm unlikely to travel again after I return from the Aug/Sept trip and will take on any weekend work if there is any to be done. 

That's it from me tonight, really tired and I have many things I need to do.  Tomorrow, I will also go back to the studio.  Unfortunately, it's not paid work.  I don't have time to do my training shot during the week and so I have to go back to the studio tomorrow to work on it before I fall too far behind.  Bye for now. :)

p.s.  hmmmm... it seems like Kalafina's lastest single "moonfesta" Limited version (CD+Blu-ray) and Regular version (CD only) are quite popular.  I just ordered my LE (CD+Blu-ray) copy from CD Japan and they only have 24 copies left that will ship on day of release.  And there are only 18 copies left for the Regular version.

Kalafina's 「moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～」 single - official announce

minna no uta

It's official.  :)  A few days ago, playasia.com leaked via email that Kalafina's song for Minna no Uta will get a singles release.  Now, it's official.  Sony Music also made the same announce yesterday on the Kalafina page.

More information is now available about the upcoming July 18th release.  We also have a track listing which also list a new B side song. Yay!!!! :)

There will be 3 versions as detailed in the playasia.com email.

Version 1 - Regular version (CD only)
1：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～
2：屋根の向こうに (yane no mukou ni)
3：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～ ～instrumental～

Version 2 - Limited version (CD+DVD)
1：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～　
2：屋根の向こうに (yane no mukou ni)
3：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～ 「みんなのうた」ver.
4：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～ 「みんなのうた」ver. ～instrumental～
特典映像(DVD):
moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～ビデオクリップ　　　(moonfesta video clip)

Version 3- Limited version (CD+Blu-ray)
1：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～　
2：屋根の向こうに
3：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～ 「みんなのうた」ver.
4：moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～ 「みんなのうた」ver. ～instrumental～
特典映像(Blu-ray)：
moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～ビデオクリップ   (moonfesta video clip)
moonfesta～ムーンフェスタ～「みんなのうた」ver.　(minna no uta version)

This is cool.  It looks like they will be including an extra video clip on the blu-ray.  That was one of the things I was kind of bummed about on the "to the beginning" release.  It's a blu-ray and it can hold way more info than a DVD can.  It seems like such a waste to just put one clip on it.  Also, people do pay more for the blu-ray and it would be kind of nice to include something other than just a high-definition version of the same thing on the DVD.

I'm not sure what these video clips are about.  I'm pretty sure that one of them will be a version of the song set to animated visuals alone from the budding animators who have been asked to create animation for this song.  That's probably the "minna no uta" version.  The other one may be a PV featuring the Kalafina vocalists.

Unfortunately,  I will leave Tokyo the day after the "to the beginning" Live.  So if there are any promotional events for "moonfesta", I will miss them by at least one day.  Although, even if I will be in Japan on the 18th, I still have to think of my two travel companions on this trip and making them go to a Kalafina promotional event may be a bit selfish of me. :)

I'm definitely ordering the blu-ray version of this release.  The CDJapan links aren't up yet {edit:  they are up now... have placed links above}.  The playasia.com links are up but I generally don't go to playasia for Kalafina / FictionJunction / Kajiura Yuki stuff.  Ever since the release of "magia" I've only shopped from CDJapan for Kalafina / FJ / Kajiura Yuki merchandise, especially when it comes to the release of their singles and albums.  I ordered quite soon after the release of the "magia" single and still missed the first press.  And in order to try and get "magia" as soon as possible, I had to order from CDJapan but by that time I had already missed the first press and hence didn't get my freebie even though I had ordered way in advance.  Since then, I do not recommend getting their albums from playasia if the first press freebie is important to you.  Also, with CDJapan, I know that I am contributing to Kalafina / FictionJunction's ranking on the Oricon charts but with playasia, I have no idea.

I'll put up the CDJapan links when the single is listed on their website.

For now, time to go.  I only just returned home, right before writing this post and I have several other things I need to settle... so that's it from me for now. :)

minna no uta - moonfesta - kalafina - single's release announced

I have to do this real quick. At work and merely taking a short break to relax before I concentrate again.

While checking my email, I received a notification from playasia that Kalafina's song for Minna no Uta, moonfesta, will have a singles release.  The single will be released on the 18th July. Yay!! :) I thought they might as Minna no Uta does release their songs for sale.

According to the email, there will be 3 versions.

1) regular version

2) limited version A

3) limited version B

I have no idea what the differences will be yet but I suspect that 1) will have no dvd/blu-ray, 2) will probably be CD + DVD and 3) will probably be blu-ray + CD.

Anywayz, I'll either write another post about it when the CDJapan direct page links are up or just update this post with the links.

Gotta go. :)

Anime Festival Asia - Malaysia - Kalafina's message

I'm at work. But for those who care... here is Kalafina's welcome message for AFA Malaysia. :)

I can't wait for June. :) Our tickets and accomodations have been settled. Kalafina here I come. :D

Anime Festival Asia - Malaysia - Anisong promo video

I'm going to try and do this quick... it's just past 2am and I'm really tired but first, here is the official AFAMY video promoting the anisong concerts... Kalafina's is right at the end.  Nothing new for us fans, it's just a snippet of the "to the beginning" PV.  I guess, them singing this song at the concert in June is pretty much a shoo-in.



Busy with work and trying to make preparations for 3 trips.  We booked our plane tickets to fly to KL, Malaysia tonight and I've also settle accommodations etc.  So when it comes to logistics for the trip... that's pretty much settled.  Happy. :)  Although our AFAMY trip's logistics are pretty much settled for now, we still have to work out all our schedules during that weekend in Malaysia.

I'm also confirmed to go on the trip to Tokyo in July. :)  :) :) Which means, yes, I am confirmed to see Kalafina's "to the beginning" live. :)  YES!!!! This would be cooler than AFAMY in some ways because it'll be just Kalafina goodness for 2 plus hours and with a live band too. :)  AFAMY should be fun too because the atmosphere should be similar to AFA11 but Kalafina will share the time that we have with the other artists.  So far it's with only two other artists so hopefully that means they'll sing a longer set than they did at AFA11.

As for the trip to Tokyo in July, we've got our plane tix booked but we'll still need to confirm our accommodations.  I hope to do that by tomorrow or day after.

I'm also still trying to make preparations for my August/September trip to Japan. SY has been very busy and as she is going to be my travel partner on this trip, I really have to grab her when I can so that we can make some decisions soon.  While I do have enough leave booked for the Kajiura Yuki 3 day live, I haven't yet received approval for the extended days.  I will have to get a verbal agreement tomorrow before I can buy those plane tickets

I hope to get at least the main logistics done by the end of the week.  That means plane tickets, accommodations and train tickets have to be booked for the August/September trip.  Gosh so much to do and work is going to heat up again!!

Speaking of work, we were given time to work on our training shot today and it was fun.  I'm glad that I finally have some time specifically given to me to work on some junior prep work. :)  It's not as pressurizing as doing an actual shot and it does give you some time to fiddle which I like.  I hope I'll have more time to work on it during the week but things are heating up again... so fingers crossed.

K... time to go... need sleep... night. :)

AFA Malaysia - i'm going :)

http://animefestival.my/kalafina.html

Short post... Kind of busy now.... Just wanted to declare how happy and excited i am. We secured our tickets for the Anime Festival Asia Malaysia today. :) so excited. :)

the middle section was all sold out even though jessie tried to buy it when online ticket sales open. :( AFA held a presales event at one of the malls in KL on Sunday which sold really well i think. Kind of really sucks for us overseas fans. :( still... I think we got something decently close to the stage in one of the wings. :)

Wow... I haven't been to Malaysia proper for something like 15 years. This should be interesting. :)

Japan again in July?

Hmmmmm... this came quite suddenly but it looks like i may be going to Japan in July. :) It's not confirmed yet but if i do manage to go, I will most likely be able to attend the Kalafina "to the beginning" Special Live on 16th July. :) I am trying not to get my hopes too high in case it falls through... I will know by the end of the week, i think, if the trip is a go. :)

The photo above is of the Mahou Shoujo Madoka figures i pre-ordered last year and the PSP Mahou Shoujo Madoka Portable limited edition (PSP) release that i managed to get at a v good price. I may do an unboxing of that tonight if i return home early enough from work. :)

For now... It is back to work. :)

Kalafina "to the beginning" - unboxing / comments

I got these last month and took these photos last month as well but I've not had the time to do a proper unboxing post.  While I usually end up abandoning quite a few of my planned unboxing posts on the figures that I sometimes ship in, I don't like missing an unboxing post when it comes to Kajiura Yuki, FictionJunction or Kalafina.  Yeah... I like them that much. :)

Okie dokie, let's cut to the chase.  I purchased a copy of the Limited Edition (Blu-ray) and the Anime Limited Edition.  It's been my usual practice to buy one the LE and the Anime LE copies only.  This time, as usual, I did not purchase the Regular Edition.  This time, because SME also released the LE (Blu-ray), I decided not to pick up the LE (DVD).  The photo shows two copies of each but my pockets don't run that deep and I'm not nuts enough to keep one copy mint and open one other copy.  The other two copies belong to Danielle and Jessie.  I just shipped their copies in with mine. :)

Unboxing

As these are first press releases, we also got the first press freebies.  They are usually not the most important thing to me but if I was going to pre-order, then it's nice to get some extra free stuff.  This time, we have credit card size calendars.  The ones with Kalafina came with the order of the LE single and the ones with the Fate/Zero picture comes with the order of the Anime LE.  The calender month starts from April of 2012 (the month that the singles were released) till March of 2013.




These calendar cards are quite nice and while they aren't very fancy, I actually like them better than the mousepads they gave out with the After Eden album and the After Eden Live Special Blu-ray release.  While mousepads are nice and all, because mousepads need to be made from a certain texture, the photos that are printed on them tend to be a bit soft and I if I had to chose, I prefer sharper photos.

The LE (Blu-ray) release is pretty standard for a two disc release.  This version comes with a mid-shot of Hikaru.  I'm thinking that Wakana and Keiko's are in the RE and the LE(DVD) but I don't know which one is in which.  I would have preferred to get Keiko's mid-shot of course since I like her best but my pockets don't run that deep and I'm not as obsessed a fan that I must have her mid-shot so I'm not going to purchase the RE and/or the LE(DVD) just to get it. :)



The Anime LE has a nicer packaging.  It's not the standard two disc packing.  It unfolds to reveal both discs.  The cardboard at the top of the packaging is doubled up so that it can hold the lyrics insert.  At full stretch, the back of the packaging also  reveals a nice picture of Saber, Archer and Rider.  I kind of wish the lyrics page used a different picture from the CD packaging because the lyrics page uses the same picture which is kind of a bummer.



Music Videos

Both the LE (blu-ray) and the Anime LE comes with PVs on the discs.  The PV on the LE (blu-ray) is the music video for "to the beginning".  It's not very different from most of Kalafina's music videos as in the girls mostly stand there, pose and look very cool and beautiful.  The setting is rather nice and there are a few strangely coloured lights all around but it's mostly blue.  The white balance seems to be set on the key light on the girls because they seldom have too much blue spill on their faces from all the blue light in their surroundings.  This time, the girls try and look more dangerously femme fatale then their previous PVs and they do kind of look quite "killer" to me.  Not an award winning PV but not a terrible one either.  For some reason even though I have worked in this industry for a some time and even worked on set on one music video in the States, I have never been an MTV fan and rarely care about MTVs.  So while it's not exactly an earth shattering PV, it works for me because I really just want to see them sing the song and look cool.  Heh heh... I'm so easily satisfied sometimes. :)

The Anime LE's PV is essentially the "to the beginning" PV intercut with scenes from the Fate/Zero anime.  I was a little surprised to tell you the truth.  I thought it would be like the sort of edit ufotable did for Sprinter and Oblivous in Kara no Kyoukai.  I didn't expect to see any Kalafina in the PV at all and I didn't expect it to be the full length song.  It's all right.  Nothing spectacular but it does its job.

I'm glad I chose the LE(blu-ray) over the LE(dvd).  Now that I do own a PS3, it doesn't make sense for me to buy the dvd editions if the price difference isn't that big.  The visuals and color in the blu-ray are crisper and there is a great deal more detail in the dark areas, something that is inevitably lost in the compression required for dvds.  What I do wish they did was include something else in the blu-ray because blu-rays can hold so much data, it seems a littel wastful to just put one PV on it.

The Music

Since I got the CDs till now, I've listened to "to the beginning" the title song as well as the B-side song "manten" numerous times.  I must say that initially, I didn't really know what to think of "to the beginning".  While I really liked it that Keiko opened the song since it's actually somewhat unsual for her to open an anime OP/EP/insert song, I wasn't sure how I would feel about the song on the whole.  At that point in time, I had only listened to the preview and I remembered thinking that it may take a few listens before I knew exactly what I felt about the song.

When I first heard ripped opened the plastic wrap and played the CD, I must say that the song that I took to more quickly was actually "manten".  "manten" is the song version of "Let the Stars Fall Down", one of the pieces used in the soundtrack in Fate/Zero S1.  It really was very dramatic and darker than "to the beginning" which was something I was more used to when it comes to Kalafina. 

Also, "manten" is more soundtrack-like in tone and structure and I am a visual person.  And when I listen to music, I often imagine what kind of visuals I would use to match which part of the music.  Maybe that's why I love Kajiura's music so much, she some how manages to write music which makes me think visually.  I don't just listen to Kajiura's music, I imagine and visualize her music and I do it unconciously all the time.

Now that I've heard "to the beginning"'s full version, not just the preview version or the anime cut, I'm really rather liking it.  The part I like best, aside from Keiko's opening is the section that starts at about 2:15 with one line from Hikaru, then Keiko and then Wakana.  The song seems to change in tone at this point and then again at approximate 2:39 with Keiko's line "kanashimi dake kese wa shinai" and then again with Wakana's "kotowari sae kono te de" before reverting to the same tone in the beginning.  I really liked it that the song shifted gear so many times and yet some how made it work for me. 

I'm no expert when it comes to music.  It's not my industry and in some ways I'm glad that I don't work in the music industry nor do I play any instrument that well.  So really, I can't say if technically what Kajiura is doing is jarring or if she should do something else to make it smoother etc, etc.  All I can say is that once again this single is a big WIN for me.  While it did take me a little few listens to fully digest the title track, I have ended up really quite liking it.  After listening to both songs a lot, I have shifted my original position and now like "to the beginning" more than I like "manten" and I actually played "to the beginning" on loop for about half an hour on the train the other day.

I really enjoyed this single and once again Thanks for the music Kajiura Yuki and Kalafina. :)

If you wish to get these singles, I got them from CDJapan, here is the link to the LE(blu-ray) and the Anime LE.  Please do buy their CDs if you can afford it.  Both the music industry and the film/tv industry does depend on you buying the mechanising.  So while I understand not having enough money etc and I would be the last person to be judgemental about stuff like that, that said, if you can afford it and if you like the music, please do buy it.

Wow... I actually managed to finish writing two post in one night. :)  But it's almost 4am in Singapore right now... time to go catch some shut eye.  Good night all. :)  Will check thru for glaring mistakes tomorrow and may edit this post a bit .... depending... good night for now. :)