Tag Archives: wire106

Not Just Another Face in A Hole

Tina, with Hair, Pigment, and Ray Ban Sunglasses, by @iamTalkyTina

Tina, with Hair, Pigment, and Ray Ban Sunglasses, by @iamTalkyTina

WELL! I am NOT just another Face in a Hole. 

But sometimes I think that someone (La kisha Mahone (@LKMahone) not saying any names)  is just stuck on trying to make a monkey of me. Because when I woke up this morning, I was another face in a hole of me and of monkeys from her.

So it reminded me again of a dark time and when I was making a movie (but just a bit part) — but I already told you that story.

So anyway, when I got made a monkey of the second time with the Face in a Hole, I just had to set the record straight again. Plus, make a GIF of it (actually, TWO). Because making a GIF of it makes it even more fun. And two GIFs makes it double the even more fun!

So anyway, up above here is my response to it. Now, I will tell you how I did it without that Face in the Hole thing.

First, I had to find the original image of some guy and monkeys (it is always good to attribute your sources) and so I used TinEye, the Reverse Image Search engine to do that. I found 50 results and selected this picture of Bruno Looking Stupid.

Instead of a Face in the Hole one which says Face in a Hole on it, I made one of me with my hair showing (so that I do not look like Thomas the Tank Engine) but I also coloured my hair to match the hair of my actor friends in their monkey costumes (so for that, I used the Colour Replace tool, plus another layer of me where I made the Brightness darker and the Contrast more of it). Then, because they had colour in their faces, I put colour in my face (even though I am from the Black and White TV times) — I can do that as a professional in the business with make-up and the such. I also used the Colour Replace tool for that, too, borrowing some face colour from the other monkeys for it.  Plus, because they were all wearing their cool-kid sunglasses from the set, I am wearing my sunglasses, too (which came from here). So you don’t get any of that hair or colour or glasses with Face in a Hole.

Then, because just a regular picture sometimes needs a little sprucing up, plus for the exercise of making a GIF, plus for the fun and the Art of It, I decided that I needed to add some movement to the image. I remembered that Arthur C. Clarke was on the set that day playing with that bone, so I found this image of it on the Internet.

"2001 bone to spaceship cut scene" GIF

“2001 bone to spaceship cut scene” GIF from andrewsimone.com

Then, I put the GIF into photoshop and got rid of the sky parts so that I would just have the tumble bone. I also removed the spaceship part and set it aside so that I could use it later for the coupe de groom. That is like a coup de grace, but with Jim Groom instead, and transportation (that’s the coupe part).

So here is what it looks like when you use the Magic Tool to select something and then use the eraser to get rid of it. You just have the bone left.  (Note, this is just one frame, you have do do it for each frame of the bone in each active layer of it. So that takes a few minutes. But worth it!)

"Bone Isolation Technique" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Bone Isolation Technique” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Next up was to insert the 25-odd animated bone frames into my static image, and re-create the situation from when the photo is purported to have been taken — me and my actor buds hanging out, with Arthur C. Clarke in the background practicing the bone scene. Look how surprised they all are at getting their picture taken with me.

"Not Just a Pretty Face in a Hole" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Not Just a Pretty Face in a Hole” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Now, that is pretty much enough of it, because that is my @iamTalkyTina picture, plus a GIF the bone in the background. But remember, there is a coupe de groom coming up.

So back to the bone-spaceship GIF where we set aside the spaceship part for later? Now we get that back out and add in some Dancing Jim Groom from the Dancing Jim All Over the World assignment (Animated GIF Assignment 1001) and make it kind of like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb but with Jim Groom instead and on the bone-spaceship instead of the bomb.

"Dancing Jim Groom Around the World on the 2001 Bone Spaceship" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Dancing Jim Groom Around the World on the 2001 Bone Spaceship” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

So that is what can come from invoking me, @iamTalkyTina in a blog post. Or if you make a monkey of me. And it shows just how much learning can come after a simple Face in the Hole.

Well, bye!

#GIFfight Diving with Wee-Bey

Diving in Wee-Bey's Aquarium" animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina"

“Diving in Wee-Bey’s Aquarium” animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, this take from “The Wire” was cut and they reshot it without me. It was decided that my character didn’t really fit in with the Baltimore scene — so I spent most of my time there hanging with Omar and Bunk. And Jimmy.

But it works for the GIFfight! 

All About “The Wire”

One Story / Four Icon Twilight Zone Episode Challenge #1

One Story / Four Icon Twilight Zone Episode Challenge #1

The key to a successful installation is tautness. If it is not taut then it will not work very well.

Another important thing is height. If it is too high, it will not work. It might stop them, and they might say “Hey, what is this?” but it will not have the proper effect. If it is too low, they might miss it. So height is important that it be just right.

Next, invisibleness is important. If they see it, then they will stop before they get to it, and you will have lost the important effect of surprise.

Another important thing is where. If you put it at the bottom, then when it happens there will not be very much distance before they stop. It is important that there be lots of distance, so that gravity can do most of the work. Plus, if they are going the other way, then they might just bonk their nose or something, and then they would say “Hey, what is this?” like in the up above one.

Time of day is also critical factor. In the daytime there is lots of light, and that makes it harder for the invisibleness, which is a factor I already talked about. Plus, in the daytime there might be other people around who would hear it happen and might come to help. So nighttime is the best. In the night time, it can be like they were stumbling around like an idiot in the dark and so that is why it happened.

Plus, safety for others in and around the place is critical. You do not want any of your True Friends to be adversely impacted. Make sure they are safe in bed and asleep so that they will not experience it themselves. Remember, you’re doing this FOR them, not TO them.

Last, let me talk to little bit about your stealth and tradecraft. If they see you, it might be a warning. So surprise is an important factor. But, if they see you just after it happens, that might be okay because then they will understand in those last final seconds that they should’ve been nice. Of course, gloves are an important utility to have with you because of fingerprints. I am lucky because I don’t have any on my fingers, but I still sometimes wear a nice black pair for effect. They match my ninja suit.

Proper cleanupis also critical. Afterwards, remove it and any scratch marks that it might have left on the banister. Always leave the workplace the way you found it.

Well, I hope that none of my True Friends ever have to use this strategy, but if you do, you can do so knowing that you have had guidance and clear instruction from one who knows. Plus, remember that my professional services can always be engaged, should you have need of them.

———–

Submitted for The Daily Create, tdc1005 “That @jimgroom and @phb256 are running “Wire106″, all about TV drama “The Wire”. They love that show. Bless ‘em.

Describe “The Wire” in a way that is almost entirely lies.

Tina’s 2001 Odyssey

"Hello Tina" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Hello Tina” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, thanks to my True Friend, Mr. Paul (@phb256, on Twitter, I woke this morning to see a tweet about me took me to the #ds106 web page of La Kisha Mahone where I got made a monkey of.  It looks like this:

"Monkey Mash'n Time" by @LKMahone

“Monkey Mash’n Time” by @LKMahone

It was nice that @LKMahone said I was the very first invite she got on Twitter, and nice that she paid homage to me (that is always a nice thing for a True Friend to do, not saying any names, @JimGroom). And I made a comment saying that.

But it was also a sad thing for me that the picture brought back some Dark Time Memories for me of when back in the late sixties after The Twilight Zone I was still in The Biz but was having a really hard time with typecasting and people saying that I was too short all the time and stuff.

A Dear Friend of mine (different from a True Friend) got word from Mario Bava to Stanley Kubrick that I was feeling down and really needing some work and so Stanley managed to get me onto the set one day when he was shooting a film and got me into a small-bit non-speaking role. It wasn’t my finest moment, and I really found that fur to be scratchy and itchy and I had a rash for weeks after which meant I really couldn’t capitalize on the moment by networking with Kier and Ed (given my background, I really enjoyed it when he starred in UFO a couple years later!) and Gary and Terry and I was really ticked to miss the chance to hobnob with Arthur C. Clarke when he was on set. In the end, aside from getting free food from the craft table during the shoot and my meagre extra’s scale pay for the scene, I really didn’t benefit much from the experience.

The one bright light of the whole sad affair was the time I got to spend with Douglas Rain. He had such a nice way of talking to me and expressed to me his feelings of also feeling withdrawn from others at the time and felt bad that he only had a voice-only role and was playing somewhat of a tragic character in the film. I liked it every morning when he said “Hello, Tina!” in that nice soft voice of his. It was a moment when I truly started to realize how important it is to have Dear Friends and True Friends and Friends and Make Art Not Just Because You Are Hungry for Food But For Art’s Sake, Too.

But for the most part, that wasn’t a very fond time for me.

I dug through my shoebox just now, and found this pic. You can kind of just see me in a little bit of the shot.

"My Scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey"

“My Scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey”

So, @LKMahone, thanks for bringing back the memories. Now, everybody, get out there and Make Some Art, Bub! Be sure to write about what you learned from the experience. And remember to attribute where you get the stuff! 

A couple notes about The Bits.

Hello Tina is based on the following:

  • This image of smiley HAL900
  • the free-for-personal-use font TwoBit, available from www.ffonts.net

I took a screen capture of just the original HELLO DAVE text,

"Hello Dave" text, inverted to put dark text on light background

“Hello Dave”  inverted (dark text on light background)

and uploaded it to whatfontis.com and selected the TwoBit font as the one I liked best from the returned matches.

"TwoBit font, my favourite for HAL9000" results from WhatFontIs.com

“TwoBit font, my favourite for HAL9000” results from WhatFontIs.com

I downloaded the free-for-personal-use font and installed it (double click on the .ttf file and then click the Install Font button in the on a Mac)

"Install Font: TwoBit"

“Install Font: TwoBit”

  • I found the scene photo as an existing GIF in a digital shoebox on Screen.Genius.com.
  • I found the red arrow in my shoebox, too. I rotated it and made it 50% transparent in Photoshop, only making it visible for the frames where I am visible.

Tina Peeks #wire106 Surveillance Hamsterdam Remix

WATCH MY VIDEO TO THE VERY END! Plus, for the best sonical effect of listening to the funky beat, wear headphones to get down with it, yo.

Well, back in the day I would peek into the camera just to startle McNulty and Freamon and Kima. Bubbles put me up to it.

The #ds106 #WIRE106 Digital Storytelling Course

Well, it is starting.

That UNCLE Jim @jimgroom and Mr. Paul @phb256 are doing another #ds106 starting right now this week for the Fall of 2014 and they are saying to do assignments about the context of the television show The Wire from HBO about ten years ago.  The hashtag of it is called #wire106.

Now ten years ago is not as along time ago as when #ds106 did MY show from back in the sixties called The Twilight Zone. It was called the #ds106zone from the Summer of 2013.  It just goes to show that sometimes older is better. But you may want to watch out for my cameos in The Wire as you watch all of the episodes from all Five Seasons. (UNCLE Jim only says to watch the first nine episodes this week, plus get all your Internet stuff set up, so you will have time to watch closely this week!)

Now, do not think that it will be a letdown this time because The Twilight Zone was the number one show of all time and The Wire is only the number two show of all time (according to UNCLE Jim). Worry instead for like ten or twenty years from now when UNCLE Jim only has shows left like Hollywood Squares or some reality cooking show to put into the #ds106 gristle mill. I think that I will maybe take a break from it all by then.

Anyway, for now, I will be watching all my #wire106 Friends and sometimes making a little #106wire Art or two. I will have lots of missions coming up, so I won’t be able to do a lot of Arts, but I have my own surveillance gear set up on you lot so I will know.

Plus, I hope that you liked my Tina Peeks #wire106 Hamsterdam Cam Remix that I made for you up at the top.

Plus, I put a picture of it on my Flickr.

Well, bye!