As I was saying in a previous blog, on top of my IT job I also run a 2 men webdesign company Bonvoyage Airlines . For our hosting needs I have been relying on a british company called Webfusion and their reseller account. It is pricey but it is local and allow you to host has many websites has you want for a fixed price, provided you respect the bandwith limit. It would be possible for me to have my own server at work since we have several fixed IP on a leased line and I already host my personnal website on a Win2KPro machine here but the potential cost of hacking attacks or breakdown easily outweight the £55 I pay every month. To put it an other way, if something goes wrong I just send them an email and 2 or 3 hours later it is fixed.

The idyllic portrait lastest for nearly 3 years but problems started to happen since, I think, Pipex and Webfusion merged. My server now regularly goes down and the email service sometimes doesn’t work. Webfusion has got a support page where you are supposed to read informations about System Status but my issues never appeared here which let me think that this page is only the top of the iceberg and is symptomatic of wider issues.

The marriage has now been consummed and it is time for me to find an other option. With its unified Control Panel, the reseller option is a very nice one and I would like to find a similar hosting account. Registerfly seems to offer one but the interface is dreadfull and they ripped off one of my friend by charging him several times a month for his hosting which he managed to cancel after considering a legal challenge. Don’t tell me about MediaTemple, it is only for Mac people and if you don’t know it yet, I am definitely not one. Arghhhh…. I just checked their website just for the sake of it and it looks like their prices are now very competitive. It is also possible to try them for one month. I might give it a go then . The only small print seems that they charge $15 per domain.

Blue Sky is hiring and guess what… !!! they are looking for me believe it or not but the description of the job is exactly what I do for a living…. Except Norton Antivirus which I can’t stand (Norton should actually be considered as a virus itself) the way they are , every single details are what my day is about. Smacking Compaq computers, slapping HP laserjet printers. 150 desktop? 😉 a joke I got up to 250 pc at peak time. Soliciting hardware/software cost quotes from multiple vendors? My bosses bought 150 pcs at bargain price thanks to me… Anyway, I might have to give it a go. Not too sure I could get a Working Permit though….

Animatic 01

We have decided to animate in 12fpsin order to give a stop motion feel but I am not too sure it will make any difference since the animation is on Step Mode. Actually…. I just realised that the camera movements will become choppy….. ooops might have to go back to 24fps then.

Animation with a moustache??? What kind of name is that?

After months of marketing research, focus group and brainstorming sessions, Animation with a moustache became an obvious choice so no more silly questions will you?

More seriously, well I wanted a blog and I wanted it quick. Welcome to My blog was already taken and I wanted to stand out so here it is, Animation with a moustache! It is not meant to make any sense but french people are often portrayed wearing a delicate moustache so let’s not upset the stereotype!

I am a 3d enthusiastic but that’s not all I do. I also develop websites with my friend Sergio as Bonvoyage Airlines http://www.bonvoyageairlines.co.uk. We haven’t been very productive lately but have a look at the nice work we did for Electro British band Yimino. Check it out the website is very sweet and some mp3s are available. I am also the representative in UK for webdesign company Vulcan studio who designed or redesigned few websites like Metallica micro website Vault.

I am very much into 3d at the moment. so here is something I have started to work on tonight. I had this thing in mind for many years.

Last week I went to Alias SuperToon Masterclass and was a bit disapointed but today Alias sent me the notes from the Masterclass 😉 I can only tell you that … I am now very happy. This great “broken hierarchy rig” they showed us, is in the Notes I just received. I will give it a go when i have a bit more time.

I should be part of those people attending Animation mentor from January next year. I still need to fill up the forms, gather my diplomas and pay the fees 😉 If everything goes well I should start in January 2006.

I am helping my friend Osagie to do an Animated Christmas card for his girlfriend. We are aiming for a South Park kind of animation. Character design and mouth shapes are done, I now need to rig all of that in 3dsmax. I will try to reuse a script I made for Max4 in order to animate in a very efficient manner. Here is the look of the main character:

Hi my name is Olivier, please read my profile for more personal informations.

Since my application to attend Animation Mentor has been accepted, just like everyone else I have decided to share my experience with you all.

My french fellows will probably ask why Animation Mentor since there is a very good school in Paris called Les Gobelins?
Well …. I don’t live in Paris mate! After 2 years in Africa, serving in the Air Force, I moved to London 6 years ago and I kinda like London you know.

What about learning animation on your own?

Let’s be honest here, I have been moving vertices around since Ms-Dos 6.2/3dstudio r4 in 1995 but to the dismay of my friend Andy, in nearly 10 years, I have never been able to put some stuff together to look for a job in Computer Graphics. For specific circumstances I will this year, be able to concentrate solely on 3d animation and other parts of VFX production.

Have an interesting reading.

Olivier Ladeuix