Pale Blue Dot:An Unauthorized View

March 18 Tokyo Update

2011-03-18T20:07:00.020+09:00

Everybody I know wants to learn exactly how I am able to remain so positive, given the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and how close we are to it (a mere 150 miles).

It's actually quite simple: The radiation just isn't worth worrying about yet, at this point.

At the time of this writing I await the release of "Reactor Status Update 13" from the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, an information source I've relied upon, this week. (http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/). Why on earth anyone would seek out CNN or FOX's opinions over the JAIF's facts is quite beyond me. At a minimum, the western media is 12 to 18 hours behind the Japanese media. And the Japanese media are not freaking out. That's a fact.

Radiation, as many of us are no doubt coming to understand increasingly well, is measured in units called "microSeiverts per hour" at the perimeter of the Daiichi plant. (An understanding of what these figures (μSv= microseivert) mean can be found here). Up close to the reactor, of course, the radiation is measured in miliseiverts, an altogether different kettle of fish. But further away, the amount of radiation drops into the microseivert range, which is very encouraging.

The amount of reported radiation spiked dramatically on Tuesday evening, from nearly 500 mSv to over 6300 mSv, leading many to panic as a result. But since that time, the amount of radiation reported has dropped steadily and significantly, almost certainly as a direct result of the almost unbelievable efforts of the TEPCO "Fukushima 50" and the Self Defense Forces. In finance, the "trend is your friend", and the trend at this point is pointing to less radiation and more control.

Here is the raw data, as reported by the JAIF:

Date/Time -- microSeiverts of Radiation reported
3/15 @ 7pm -- 498 μSv/ hour
3/16 @ 8am -- 6308 μSv/ hour (the "Tuesday Peak")
3/16 @ 12:30 -- 3391 μSv/ hour
3/16 @ 7pm -- 1937 μSv/ hour
3/17 @ 9am -- 1472 μSv/ hour
3/17 @ 4pm -- 646.2 μSv/ hour
3/17 @ 10pm -- 646.2 μSv/ hour
3/17 @ 10pm -- 646.2 μSv/ hour

In comparison, the Fukushima Daini nuclear power station is radiating about 15 μSv per hour, so there is quite a ways to go to clear this up completely.

So, what do these numbers actually mean for Tokyo?

One way to judge the situation is to look at actual radiation monitoring equipment in the area, and make a determination about the reported information. If radiation were really leaking into the city of Tokyo, it would be detectable. Here is a list of streaming Tokyo/Chiba geiger counter sites I have found:

http://park18.wakwak.com/~weather/geiger_index.html
Location: Hino City, Western Tokyo

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geiger-counter-chiba
Location: North Chiba, Chiba Prefecture

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/%E3%82%AC%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AB%E3%82%A6%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BF

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geiger-counter-tokyo

Interpretation -- without exception, the above sites are currently giving readings that are within the normal range (between 10 and 20) of what is called "background radiation" -- the usual imperceptible cooking you get from the sun, planets, and the stars every day.

This makes the overreaction of many (primarily foreign) residents unwarranted simply on the strength of the only measurable data.

There is tons more I could write, but it's been a LONG week at work and I'm fine leaving things as they are at this point. This weekend should prove decisive with power restored to the reactor cooling systems and a host of unique water spraying vehicles becoming increasingly available. One way or the other, we'll turn a corner this weekend.

My money is on the humans.

2009 Round-up

2009-12-31T23:36:00.007+09:00

For the convenience and enjoyment (?) of those who've asked what I've been up to lately, here is a selection of a few exerpiental videos I've hacked together at in the later half of 2009. It's been a rare year in many ways, but was far from unproductive.

The process of producing a Pale Blue Dot episode involves, among other things, the consumption and digestion of a lot of media, in the ongoing search for the perfect bits. This sometimes leads to strange ideas, which can lead to the production of irrelevant side projects and one-off videos that tend to explore some aspect of audio-visual juxtaposition that I found interesting at the time. They're not masterpieces by any means, but they were enjoyable to create and contain some footage that may well survive into the next episode of PBD.

First up is a music video, created initially as a background video for a more complex Final Cut "Motion" project; it's set to Vangelis' track "Albedo 0.39". It's officially untitled, but currently lives on YouTube as "Albedo3":

Next up is a video stitched together from some BBC video ("British Isles, a Natural History") set to a Sphongle track called "Shpongolese Spoken Here." I'd been looking forward to the new Shpongle album for a while, but I initially detested "Shpongolese Spoken Here", especially what I felt to be its jarring and rather unmelodic beginning. Yet after a few listens, though, I began to appreciate what the track was about and the video magically clicked together in my imagination; I cut it together in a few hours and am quite pleased with the result. It baffles most, and bewilders the rest, but give it a shot. I could explain more, but what fun would that be? If nothing else, enjoy the BBC camera work, which is impeccable as usual.

With that out of the way, an update on Pale Blue Dot: Episode 2 will follow soon. To all who've waited -- thanks for hanging in there! Happy new year...

Soundtrack listing, and latest news

2009-03-09T21:44:00.008+09:00

It's been ages since I last posted -- indeed the world has changed pretty dramatically since July of last year. Yet to my surprise and delight, I continue to receive enthusiastic mails about PBD -- about five or so every month. They're always a blast to read, and I thank everyone for taking the time to share their thoughts despite my lack of project updates.

Several recent mails have asked about the soundtrack for Wanderers, so in this post I'd like to list the tracks more or less in order of their appearance, and maybe add a note or two about why I chose them. In keeping with the motif set by Cosmos, the vast majority of the music is by Vangelis, one of my favorite composers and musicians. I've made a special effort in PBD to dig a little deeper into his discography than many people have heard, and make appropriate use of some of his more obscure tracks; I am continually amazed at how varied, and useful, his music can be in documentary film making.

1.) "Memories of Blue" - Vangelis, "Oceanic" (titles)
2.) "Movement 4" - Vaneglis, "Soil Festivities" (introduction)
3.) "Piano Concerto in E major, Op 59 - 2 Adante" - Moritz Moszkowski
4.) "Rapsodia" - Vangelis, "Rapsodies"
5.) "Tin Oreotita Tis Parthenias So" - Vangelis, Rapsodies
6.) "Ignacio" - Vangelis, "Ignacio" (Sagan on the beach)
7.) "La Mer Recommencee" - Vangelis, "L'Apocalypse Des Animaux"
8.) "La Dande Du Feu" - Vangelis, "Odes"
9.) "Mouettes" - Vangelis, "Opera Sauvage"
10.) "Reve" - Vangelis, "Opera Sauvage"
11.) "Sword of Orion" - Vangelis, "Albedo 0.39"
12.) "La Mort Du Loup" - Vangelis, "L'Apocalypse Des Animaux"

One of the goals I had for choosing music was to approach, as closely as possible, the overall feel of Cosmos and some of the classic BBC series produced by Adrian Malone (the director of Cosmos), while avoiding any of the actual music used within the series itself unless absolutely necessary. Editing requirements forced me to use a bit from Vangelis' "Ignacio" because a clip used to bridge the introduction and chapter 1 of "Pale Blue Dot" called for a bit of the famous "Sagan on the beach" (from "Cosmos"), where he hinted at the image of earth as a "point of light". Careful observers correctly noticed that I added music to this originally silent scene, transforming it from a decidedly somber rumination into something quite a bit more inspirational. I'm very pleased with how it all turned out.

Google Video has kept track of the number of times PBD: Wanderers has been viewed, and I'm very pleased that it's been watched over 50,000 times. I've been incredibly slack in re-releasing a high(er) resolution version of the video, but because so many have asked I'll be releasing a torrent before too long.

In other news, work on Pale Blue Dot episode 2 continues, although at a pace far slower than I would have preferred. Work and life commitments have regrettably pulled a lot of my attention away from my video projects, but the delay is merely that. With any luck and a bit more buckling down, I hope to have some good news to share in the near future.

Until next time, thanks for your continued interest in this project. Questions, comments, and offers of assistance in any way are gladly welcomed.

"Bloodlines"

2008-07-08T00:13:00.004+09:00

Basically, a really sped-up version of PBD1 "Wanderers" with the nebula zoom from "Vision" (originally by some genius at the European Space Agency) thrown in for good measure, semi-synchronized and set to what some allege to be music. (myself included!)

So, where is it?

2008-07-07T17:46:00.020+09:00

Exactly a year ago I posted the finished version of "Wanderers" on Google Video, and I must say, the response has been very satisfying, if suitably muted. Thanks to everyone who took the time to watch the whole thing, as well as to comment, mail, or in some way let me know that you thought the video wasn't too shabby. I'm glad so many found it enjoyable.

As I may have said before, episode two is indeed in development. But as that was said late last year, with no update since, it's fair to wonder where things are at the moment, and maybe even to expect a word or two from me explaining the delay. I'm sorry I am not a more disciplined blogger, but that's reality at the moment.

At this point, it's only fair to admit that episode two is some months off -- mostly because I have completely ditched the PC as a video editing platform and have switched to Final Cut Studio on the Mac. I'm learning it quickly, but need a bit more practice with a few features to really get a better handle on it. This was a hard and painful decision to make for an old ex-PC partisan such as myself (my last apple was an Apple IIgs), and it required a lot of time and energy to have so successfully prevented myself from making this decision some years earlier. Switching to the Mac and recouping this needless loss of energy has taken some time.

Let it be said that while I still find the Mac incredibly annoying occasionally, Final Cut Studio 6.2 is so superior to what I was using before on the PC, it somewhat compensates. The straw that broke the camel's back, however, were the unproductive months I spent in "hard drive failure purgatory" that segued tragically and inevitably into "Microsoft Vista hell." After all that, even a Mac seemed downright inviting, and I'm happy to report that it was. I still use the PC, but the Mac has moved front and center a lot more quickly that I had thought it would...

Now, this is not to say that I haven't been doing anything video-wise in the meantime. In order to learn the new system, I started a series of prototypical "concept videos" using some powerful contemporary psytrance tracks and a few others a bit harder to classify. I've done two videos so far on the new system, and based on early reaction I don't expect they're going to be everyone's cup of tea. But they were fun to make and I learned a lot making them. They've been on YouTube for a little while, I'll post them here, shortly.

As the year went on and as the weather got nicer, I began focusing a bit more on my photography and videography, which will be of use in future projects. I picked up a few terabytes of RAID storage, implemented a solid backup system, and for the most part have completely retooled during the downtime. It's nice to be back.

As far as actual project work, I'm still sifting through what the internet has to offer in terms of images and videos, and am collecting a lot of candidate content (and a very few sound effects) although actual editing probably won't begin until August at the earliest. That should ensure a release of the finished episode within the year.

Lastly, a few have asked if there is another high-resolution version of Wanderers available. The demise of Stage6 left us high and dry. If someone has an especially good suggestion about where "Wanderers" might best be posted, I'd love to hear it. Mail it on to lang.kasranov@gmail.com, especially if you can view it from anywhere on earth.

get your ass to mars

2007-10-18T01:51:00.000+09:00

The original version of the excellent (if a bit dry) Maas MER video can be found here.

September update

2007-09-13T15:25:00.000+09:00

It's been a little while since I updated this, although that doesn't mean nothing's been going on. I've got three newsworthy items to discuss.

First , I wanted to advise everyone that PBD Episode Two is indeed coming, and work on it is well underway. I've gotten a fair number of mails and comments about this, and wanted everyone to know "Wanderers" was not a one-off thing. The series will continue!

A full, low-resolution "sound sketch" exists of the 59-minute episode, although development has stalled for a bit due to some technical issues (see below). For what it's worth, I consider the contents of Episode Two to be among the strongest material in all of Pale Blue Dot, and I'm quite pleased with the way it ended up falling together. I'm very satisfied so far, and look forward to previewing this sound sketch to a select group of supporters and collaborators in the near future.

Second, as I mentioned above, I've been beset by a number of fairly nasty hardware issues that claimed the lives of both my primary editing PC, and one of my scratch drives. Naturally, everything was backed up on redundant disk arrays, and I needed to migrate my production environment onto a much faster PC anyway, but it still slowed everything down. It actually died while rendering a small video I made about the recent tragic I-35W Bridge collapse, and it took some doing to reconstitute that video from the bits I salvaged from the disk arrays. I am working on another short video now (about the Mars MER landers) to work the kinks out of this new system. So far, so good. I'll try to post it soon.

Lastly, just yesterday I noticed a fellow on YouTube decided to use five-minute nonstop chunk of "Wanderers" to make his own little video.

I've embedded it below. Not bad... definitely a totally different audio interpretation of the images and video I chose, but not inappropriate at all. In fact, it's an interesting synthesis and I'm pleased an entirely new audience will get to see my work (even if it's uncredited!) the video is even (at this moment) featured on the front page of YouTube!

That's all for now...

Higher-resolution version

2007-07-28T00:40:00.001+09:00

Some of you had requested an alternative to Google Video, and others had requested or wished aloud for a higher-resolution version of Wanderers to be made available, so I've uploaded it to Stage6.com. The file was about four times as large as the one Google Video got, and the video is indeed much more crisp, but the DivX compression seems to have caused a few (to me, annoying) sound glitches.

The Process

2007-07-15T00:01:00.001+09:00

I've been asked a couple times how this video was put together. It was actually a ton of work, as you might expect, but producing it fell into several fairly
discrete stages.

The precursor stage was, of course, dreaming the whole thing up. This happened in the summer of 2006 while I was washing dishes. Not a very interesting story.

The first actual step was to digitally remaster the audio I wanted to use. I wasn't able to buy a high quality copy of Sagan's narrated Pale Blue Dot on CD, the audio tape version was out of print, and the MP3's available for free online were tinny and lame-sounding. So I sought out and bought both the unabridged and abridged versions of the audiobook, used and on audio casette. I recordered the tapes that arrived in the mail, removing the tape hiss and whatnot (on my PC using software I bought a few years ago), and produced a new audio master from which to edit.

From there, I added a soundtrack that I felt carried the narrative in the direction Carl Sagan intended to take it, while editing out parts of the narrative that detracted from the overall flow of Sagan's argument. As eloquent and well-spoken as Carl Sagan was, even he needed a bit of editing.

After that, images obtained online and from other sources such as DVDs were added to the soundtrack, eventually producing a finished video that I think is a decent guess as to what sort of television program Pale Blue Dot might have made...

So, here it is...

2007-07-07T04:04:00.001+09:00

Episode One Release Date

2007-06-08T11:15:00.000+09:00

This is the official blog of the unofficial & unauthorized Pale Blue Dot Documentary Project.

This project aims to produce a "rough draft" of what an actual Pale Blue Dot television series might resemble if one were inclined to make it as a sort of "open source stitch-up" documentary, loosely patterned after the "look and feel" of Ascent of Man and Cosmos.

The first product of this experiment, Pale Blue Dot Episode One, "Wanderers" (running time about 40 minutes) will be released on Saturday, July 7th, 2007, on Google Video.

We'll spare you the exposition on the background, goals, and plans for this grand project until its known whether or not anyone cares to hear about any of it.

Thanks for stopping by and checking things out. Be sure to check back in July when the first episode is released.

Looking back at 'Vision'

2007-02-16T00:09:00.001+09:00