Ezekiel Goes Super Saiyan!

Ray Roman Media (Stranger Things Animation)

This is my re-creation of the Stranger Things title sequence. When I first saw the title sequence for the Netflix series I loved it! For some reason yesterday I wanted to give it a shot and recreate it. Motion graphics and animating title sequences has always been something I've enjoyed. Following tutorials online and experimenting in After Effects is always a great way to expand your skill set, and something I need to do more often! Checkout this playlist of various works I've done over the years.

Week 15 of TBT for 52 Weeks - Music Video Animation

Week by week every Thursday I will reflect on previous experiences I've had creating videos over the years. In Week #15 of TBT for 52 Weeks I talk about music video animation.

Watch the original video for Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros "Home" (2009 Animation) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzEP9p0zCYA

Week 7 of TBT for 52 Weeks - Do It For the Love

In Week #7 of TBT for 52 Weeks I talk about "Motion City Soundtrack - Hangman (Experimental Lyric Video)". This video was created for fun, and posted to Instagram. Little did I know that the lead singer of the band Motion City Soundtrack would stumble upon my video and like and left a comment on it!

Week 6 of TBT for 52 Weeks - Animation

Week by week every Thursday I will reflect on previous experiences I've had creating videos over the years. In Week #6 of TBT for 52 Weeks I talk about "Channel ID for Invent On The Spot". This was created for a YouTube channel called “Invent On The Spot”. Learn more about what a Station ID is and how to create 2D animations using keyframes.

Ricoh THETA 360° Video/Review

For the past two months I've been experimenting with the Ricoh THETA M15 camera. It's a camera that captures both video and photographs in a 360° panoramic view. I love the possibilities this camera offers but I think there's a lot of improvements that needs to be done with the software and the technology surrounding the camera! Let's start with what's possible with the camera: 360 degree photography.

The 360 degree photographs you take with the THETA camera can be altered in various apps but one in particular that works for me is Roll World. As you can see in the video posted above -- I was able to animate or "warp" a photo from one perspective to another due to the 360° panoramic view captured by the camera. I've been experimenting with this the past couple months and creating short Instagram videos that can be seen at this playlist. From what I've seen on the internet I haven't seen many people editing their THETA videos, most people are just posting clips to Instagram, which is cool too but I see a bigger potential for the photos and videos captured by this camera.

Above is a 360° video that can be viewed on YouTube on a limited amount of phones and browsers such as your iPhone, and the Google Chrome browser. This is a problem! The photographs and videos can also be seen on the Ricoh THETA website if you choose to upload your files there but it's difficult to share the videos on social media websites like Facebook, and Twitter. Yes, the photos and animated videos you create can be uploaded to YouTube, and Instagram but that leaves no power for the viewer to scan the panoramic view you capture when uploading the 360° metadata video to YouTube unless they are viewing on YouTube on select phones, and browsers. Another big problem is the 360 degree panoramic videos can only be seen ON the YouTube app! Meaning, if you decide to upload and share your video to YouTube, and share the link on Facebook; viewers will not be able to scan the panoramic view you captured in the YouTube app that opens through Facebook. Users must only view the videos directly on the YouTube app that allows you to have a look around the scene. I don't know how well this works on the other phones that allow the video to playback because I've only tried watching a shared video over social media on an iPhone, and an LG smartphone and again the users cannot scan the panoramic video unless it's directly on the YouTube app -- which is terrible for sharing! I guess other apps. and social media platforms need to catch up with what this technology has to offer but until then it's going to be difficult to get users to go directly to your channel and watch your 360 degree videos unless they are hardcore YouTube fans or smart with searching, and finding your channel (I know it can be difficult for some people to use smartphones still).

Lastly, I think editing softwares need to catch up with the technology so those who utilize a 360° camera can have the ability to direct a scene and what exactly the viewers are seeing. This is somewhat possible using the Roll World app I mentioned earlier but you don't have absolute control to pan around the scene multiple times whenever you choose. Using the Roll World app can take time! For instance, I've spent up to two hours at times exporting videos from Roll World just to create the possibility for me to import and edit the videos in Final Cut Pro X. When exporting your videos from Roll World, no audio is saved to the video clips so later you will have to match the audio from the original video files. I think there's so many possibilities of directing the viewer from the videos you've captured but unfortunately it's not made easy as of yet, and there's only 2 options creative filmmakers have to do so. One, you could prepare the scene ahead of time and face the camera in the direction you want to lead the viewers from the start, and manually whip the camera in the directions you want to lead your viewer. Two, open the raw video in the Ricoh THETA app on your computer and scan around the scene in full screen mode while screen recording with Quicktime or whichever app you prefer to do so. The latter option is definitely possible but you will most likely capture the mouse cursor in your screen recording.

Thanks for taking the time to read this rant of mine, it's a bit difficult explaining the troubles of the current technology surrounding 360 degree video. I plan on creating a review of the THETA camera in a few weeks, so if you're interested stay tuned for that!

OCTOBER UPDATE:  As of late September Facebook has began supporting 360-degree video in the news feed for Android users. I've now uploaded my "360° Vacation In Texas" video to Facebook.com/RayRomanMedia and plan on uploading more videos as the support for other devices expands.

Experimental Videos for Instagram

It's been a couple weeks since I've made a blog post so I thought I should write a little somethin'. Whenever I get the chance (usually between projects) I create experimental videos to play with ideas, and continue to grow as a filmmaker. Below are a few clips I created specifically for Instagram because you're only allowed to post 15 seconds videos. My goal was to come up with something creative, and entertaining within the limitations of the application.

For more videos subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

Vine App

Are you on Vine? It seems to finally be catching on. Especially now that it's available for Android devices. I signed up a month after its release and have been addicted to it ever since. If you don't know what it is, it's basically "video Instagram". Back in March I wrote a blog post titled 'This is why I love Vine'. I write about what I like about only having 6 seconds, and what potential Vine could have if takes could be redone.

“What I like about only having 6 seconds is that it forces the user to use the time wisely for their video. Some people will use the 6 seconds creatively to tell a short story, while others might use it to post a clip of what they’re viewing at a concert. There really are no limitations besides the time you’re given and the way you piece together your video with in-camera editing.”

Here's some of my favorite Vines I've made so far. Follow me on Vine @RaymondRoman 

Citrucel, It Works!

Have you ever had one of those days..?

Are you gonna vacuum or what?