tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32660120391767337562024-02-21T23:39:27.807-08:00Michael Blackbourn - artist and authorParking spot for pixels and text from the brain of Michael Blackbourn.michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-80869490113628775672020-06-03T13:46:00.001-07:002020-06-03T13:46:49.253-07:00Roko's Catalyst has been published!Click on the image to head over the amazon!
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089LWL6L7">
<img alt="Qries" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71glASiQNbL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_.jpg"
width="300">
michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-58682172691228771212018-11-09T08:51:00.004-08:002018-11-09T08:51:51.749-08:00All my books are free on Amazon today!Go check them out!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://read.amazon.ca/kp/card?asin=B06XJ8S329&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_9PB5Bb5MX1FSJ" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://read.amazon.ca/kp/card?asin=B01DISRN0A&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_0QB5BbVASS57Z" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://read.amazon.ca/kp/card?asin=B01J34SUSW&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_HRB5Bb4ZDT376" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe>
michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-58471626034535729142018-11-05T23:53:00.000-08:002018-11-05T23:53:17.141-08:00Testing new covers for my Roko booksHere are the WIP covers. I think I'm satisfied with these....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf7aLVTxK0-mFAZBgT2-WA8ZZSzU7hKeK-ulGkcEfGONZXAXSOQ8xO66dip7cDpGafD3eASCjIY8KM11znpxFXaXI9n-56Lddn8JJNPPogUmB93LO6ldpuG6Tbc558zcgF3KSdR6R7H0/s1600/coverseriesB+examplespread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf7aLVTxK0-mFAZBgT2-WA8ZZSzU7hKeK-ulGkcEfGONZXAXSOQ8xO66dip7cDpGafD3eASCjIY8KM11znpxFXaXI9n-56Lddn8JJNPPogUmB93LO6ldpuG6Tbc558zcgF3KSdR6R7H0/s400/coverseriesB+examplespread.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-46154767591897528662018-02-18T16:39:00.001-08:002018-02-18T16:39:33.327-08:00Some new work online. Krypton and Toyota's Thin IceSome work I had a hand in went online recently. The first the the syfy Krypton TV show. I worked on a desgin of a cold icy environment and spaceship. Great to see it finally out.<br />
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The other is a spot we did for the Olympics. Toyota's Thin Ice. This one is particularly fun as Ashley Wagner was never near a frozen lake. The the frozen lake we did shoot was covered in a couple feet of snow. The magic of visual effects.<br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-20336170355688664992018-01-07T21:24:00.001-08:002018-01-07T21:24:54.951-08:00January update - paintingI'm going to try and post a little more regularly on here. I'm still making good progress on Roko 3. Only a few chapters left before editing starts. The worldbuilding on this one is pretty interesting and I dug out my acrylic paints to visually play around with what it might look like. I'm about halfway done this painting:<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Messing around with acrylics and the setting of my current WIP. Boats frozen into the ice. <a href="https://t.co/yyYfOxDzzI">pic.twitter.com/yyYfOxDzzI</a></p>— Michael Blackbourn (@mikeblackbourn) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeblackbourn/status/950113635526877184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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It's a ship, suspended over a crack in the ice of a frozen ocean of a flooded world. I have lots of details to add but I'm happy with the progress so far, considering I so rarely paint with real paints these days.<br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-38703139014713706662017-09-16T07:53:00.004-07:002017-09-16T07:54:45.093-07:00The Dabbing Mentos YetiSo a few months ago we wrapped up this commercial for Mentos, I was a co-director and visual effects supervisor for the work:<br />
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It's rocked up to ten million views on youtube. Which is pretty awesome. And even if the dabbing yeti isn't your thing, the fact that people were talking about it, sharing it, and even mocking or hating on it meant a lot of people saw it.<br />
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I hope we get to do more with these little critters.<br />
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<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jn4sETCG4dE/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jn4sETCG4dE/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-18527789762917694802017-04-18T18:28:00.001-07:002017-04-19T08:31:55.583-07:00Promo for Krypton onlineI was the CG supervisor for a few sequences of this show. Looks great to see it all finished and the promo seems to tease a pretty good show. Good job to everyone involved.<br />
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See 00:56 and 00:59 for some of the work I was involved with. The small hovercraft ship.<br />
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EDIT: Looks like the promo was leaked and it has been taken down for now. As soon as an official link goes up I'll add it back here.<br />
<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-12576149610942991752017-03-13T08:20:00.003-07:002017-03-13T08:20:53.460-07:00New Short story Released! Cursor BlinkIt's a short tale about the dangers of communicating with a super intelligent AI. I tried to hilight the vast difference in scale between our thought processes and how quickly a machine intelligence might think.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvpLPrcpysH3g2fV0a8YLefVWxiOMFLVbb59elh_iYu_z-NCVGkc7T2YWzMoVRcPquyqwMvqC0zNm_e_BHLbLIZs-feiTwagR82TMlvfwgQQiiaZzkIRGPzwd59q8Fq116LrYhZBPT3k/s1600/cursorblink_cover_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvpLPrcpysH3g2fV0a8YLefVWxiOMFLVbb59elh_iYu_z-NCVGkc7T2YWzMoVRcPquyqwMvqC0zNm_e_BHLbLIZs-feiTwagR82TMlvfwgQQiiaZzkIRGPzwd59q8Fq116LrYhZBPT3k/s320/cursorblink_cover_final.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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It's loosely connected to my other Roko books and could be considered Roko Zero.<br />
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Check it out!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cursor-Blink-Roko-Book-0-ebook/dp/B06XJ8S329/">https://www.amazon.com/Cursor-Blink-Roko-Book-0-ebook/dp/B06XJ8S329/</a>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-8129874622659836382017-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:002017-02-09T08:23:04.263-08:00Stunning Behind-the-scenes look at our Nissan Snowmen commercialWow. Check this out. Here is the commercial we did for Nissan:
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<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/198760988?portrait=0" width="540" height="304" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/198760988">Nissan Rogue - Return of the Snowman</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/theembassyvfx">The Embassy</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
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And here is the making-of version. Shot in August in hot weather on a parking lot full of salt we transformed the footage into something to send chills down your spine. Fantastic work from everyone on the team, I'm very proud to have been a part of this.<br />
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<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/203166374">Nissan Return of the Snowman: Behind the Scenes</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/theembassyvfx">The Embassy</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-17173964051452210802017-01-01T13:04:00.001-08:002017-01-01T13:04:39.312-08:00Killer Nissan commercial I worked on.<p dir="ltr">The footage for this spot was shot in August in a parking lot with a little bit of Salt on the ground to stand in for snow.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We replaced most of the environment in every shot, added more cars, and created the snowmen.</p>
<p dir="ltr">One of the best commercials that Ive been fortunate enough to work on. The entire team did an amazing job.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">https://www.youtube.com/shared?</a><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">ci</a><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">=</a><a href="//https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=PJVe4O4uFp0">PJVe4O4uFp0</a></p>
michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-25716212993551181772016-12-15T20:39:00.001-08:002016-12-15T20:40:17.206-08:00Roko's Labyrinth - free to download Dec 16, 17, 18My SciFi novella Roko's Labyrinth is free on Amazon Kindle or Kindle Unlimited on December 16th, 17th, and 18th.<br />
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The story is set in a broken world, a post-AI time when the struggle for who will control the future, the machines or humankind will be decided by an unlikely hero.<br />
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The Kindle app works on all devices and it's a great help to indie authors to climb the Amazon charts with free downloads. Please grab a copy and tell your friends. Or I'll tell Santa on you.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rokos-Labyrinth-Michael-Blackbourn-ebook/dp/B01J34SUSW/">https://www.amazon.com/Rokos-Labyrinth-Michael-Blackbourn-ebook/dp/B01J34SUSW/</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-8sPVYvSRZdztl7LvdUF_V6kz8YNI5lF33yZxAinQ1-GED-byr6zQObQEAS4oFTxBxrsBk7vNumlc3yc8bmf3wXC6CjqtPj5fR6e6u8yGti2BsIn2N-wg1c4RZCpiVopQQD2TXyoCWo/s1600/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-8sPVYvSRZdztl7LvdUF_V6kz8YNI5lF33yZxAinQ1-GED-byr6zQObQEAS4oFTxBxrsBk7vNumlc3yc8bmf3wXC6CjqtPj5fR6e6u8yGti2BsIn2N-wg1c4RZCpiVopQQD2TXyoCWo/s320/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-76873870128712662382016-12-06T08:41:00.006-08:002016-12-06T08:45:06.492-08:00Winter wonderland<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_g6sSN3ZMYnsRLC7HsDUtLB2Ns7-SoYU5UBT2pepNFZyRowFvYJL5G2MUGlXbcj_UvJ8KMc_Myebk6KRIVA7L28PTk5aYqnjXIFTzdfDA-zhSlujAwSYM50SY3GbJ7wnqVzMN9aChPI/s1600/IMG_20161205_091957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_g6sSN3ZMYnsRLC7HsDUtLB2Ns7-SoYU5UBT2pepNFZyRowFvYJL5G2MUGlXbcj_UvJ8KMc_Myebk6KRIVA7L28PTk5aYqnjXIFTzdfDA-zhSlujAwSYM50SY3GbJ7wnqVzMN9aChPI/s320/IMG_20161205_091957.jpg" width="320" /></a>The other morning I shot a couple great pics with my cell phone while waiting for road crews to plow and salt<br />
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I had to wait a short walk from a beach and so I out I went to the shoreline and shot the snow blanketed seascape.<br />
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I really like how the contrast of the snow against the shoreline and dark wood of the trees came through. Especially considering these are color photographs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDAheEk68I2BVcYyDD8vr2FgfW8t6ShUop2EihymqrRR_BZKZ3HRki2ZQHdg3qyahNEAndERHis6SaREnKUcq6GoXhSg0HgNjfcpKwORQjFbEcOkdWEs6zv53E2qynfFQ44bETHvAUCY/s1600/IMG_20161205_092007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDAheEk68I2BVcYyDD8vr2FgfW8t6ShUop2EihymqrRR_BZKZ3HRki2ZQHdg3qyahNEAndERHis6SaREnKUcq6GoXhSg0HgNjfcpKwORQjFbEcOkdWEs6zv53E2qynfFQ44bETHvAUCY/s400/IMG_20161205_092007.jpg" width="400" /></a>The following morning had already melted the snow from the rocks, making this particular view a fleeting one that I was lucky to capture.michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-9995594444523997792016-11-29T08:25:00.001-08:002016-11-29T08:25:21.977-08:00BMW filmsSo over the summer I was fortunate enough to work on the new BMW short film by Neill Blomkamp.<br />
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It features a helicopter that gets a rough treatment by an concrete overpass as Clive Owen takes it for a spin. For the sequence we created a CG helicopter and digital doubles of two of the actors, one of them the bearded version of The Punisher from Daredevil,.<br />
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Check it out, it's a fun ride from start to finish!<br />
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<a href="http://bmwfilms.com/film" target="_blank">http://bmwfilms.com/film</a><br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-25824528118530729602016-08-03T10:19:00.002-07:002016-08-03T10:19:56.564-07:00Great review of Roko's BasiliskGreat review of Roko's Basilisk. Captures why I wrote it, to tell a ghost story for gen-internet. One that, should we create advanced AI, could be true!<br />
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Summoning your own savior is not for the faint of heart.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZvubGjgTBMktw4CjYKaqJO8JgsZOxKvZkEyaJt9iw9a-rxYkZCk7osg08P9SxkYkBETPwU_8dxFZk7d-l5fYawlsulNYx19Pj86OfMkEXugJC52ofEQdHm-GFiImG6Wn2GkyZUQezKM/s1600/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZZvubGjgTBMktw4CjYKaqJO8JgsZOxKvZkEyaJt9iw9a-rxYkZCk7osg08P9SxkYkBETPwU_8dxFZk7d-l5fYawlsulNYx19Pj86OfMkEXugJC52ofEQdHm-GFiImG6Wn2GkyZUQezKM/s320/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://intothedragonscave.blogspot.ca/2016/08/rokos-basilisk-random-encounters-16.html">https://intothedragonscave.blogspot.ca/2016/08/rokos-basilisk-random-encounters-16.html</a>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-54295362171248910572016-07-25T23:22:00.000-07:002016-07-26T06:25:49.572-07:00Short story cover reveal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here they are... The covers for my pair of short stories / novellas about Roko Kasun, a genius AI programmer and the consequences he faces by being the architect of a super-intelligent machine mind.</div>
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Both are 0.99$ on Amazon Kindle or free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. Click here for the link to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DISRN0A" target="_blank">Basilisk</a>. The link to Labyrinth is also now live: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01J34SUSW" target="_blank">Labyrinth</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSH49lxkGREXs8MOOdoLnAdN8JL-ckiscl4ZWxHRZz8P3qTw2lbXaN9MZH4h7f3OdmltOOI-c9It-6d-i9kRR9-kZFSqphuwZ_M4wivGO5Snk6K-ZVAWfGcSvd-Jv88kKHMgQ6-vYiTU/s1600/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSH49lxkGREXs8MOOdoLnAdN8JL-ckiscl4ZWxHRZz8P3qTw2lbXaN9MZH4h7f3OdmltOOI-c9It-6d-i9kRR9-kZFSqphuwZ_M4wivGO5Snk6K-ZVAWfGcSvd-Jv88kKHMgQ6-vYiTU/s320/roko_b_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMbLwz1thZuqbEHynF8Y4T0iArz2GkQkEKD8vNFKm79StP9xhAdZQjPzzGVAo76yVc6aqF5gEbQalKWEzs4jjeGdUjrBvF9fRRwzysLOFFfrp8Giaz_U3kBisjmTqqVylrgk4NokQN4Y/s1600/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMbLwz1thZuqbEHynF8Y4T0iArz2GkQkEKD8vNFKm79StP9xhAdZQjPzzGVAo76yVc6aqF5gEbQalKWEzs4jjeGdUjrBvF9fRRwzysLOFFfrp8Giaz_U3kBisjmTqqVylrgk4NokQN4Y/s320/roko_l_cover_v001_600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Each story is its own little twilight-zone style contained episode. You really don't need to read one, then the other. But you can. And you should!</div>
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Hit me up on twitter and let me know what you thought. <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeblackbourn" target="_blank">Take me to Michael's Twitter Page, Now!</a></div>
michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-2147115588636495582016-05-29T14:19:00.001-07:002016-05-29T14:21:15.058-07:00An amazing review of Roko's BasiliskAn amazing review of my short story Roko's Basilisk. Honestly I'm stunned by the praise.<br />
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Link to the blog post:<br />
<a href="http://www.otherworldsthanthese.co.uk/rokos-basilisk-review/">http://www.otherworldsthanthese.co.uk/rokos-basilisk-review/</a><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/otherworldsblog/status/737023376611520512">https://twitter.com/otherworldsblog/status/737023376611520512</a><br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-7757084337602673902016-03-22T22:10:00.002-07:002016-03-22T22:12:41.230-07:00MockingJay 2 VFX breakdownHere is the breakdowns (behind the scenes) for the work we did at The Embassy for MockingJay 2.<br />
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<a href="http://www.artofvfx.com/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-vfx-breakdown-by-the-embassy/">http://www.artofvfx.com/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-vfx-breakdown-by-the-embassy/</a>michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-79293894889143533082016-03-22T22:07:00.000-07:002016-03-22T22:07:13.527-07:00Work in progress coverThis is for a short story I'll be publishing soon. It's the first of (at least) 2 stories about the rise of AI, and how it effects the people close to the event.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mksj3TMFwzEjqmcdqn4fHOjeC0d4TCGTB8XNPDShDjKy4pAhMJKoGUYt0LWp6NO-9Y3TU0DoUpb5bo9f9SUSo5_yoMaGswz_2rTa5RkDSiS9HlfaMoMnvtDyj8Hm13FqQUPOmAJ0Wl0/s1600/IMG_20160322_210455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mksj3TMFwzEjqmcdqn4fHOjeC0d4TCGTB8XNPDShDjKy4pAhMJKoGUYt0LWp6NO-9Y3TU0DoUpb5bo9f9SUSo5_yoMaGswz_2rTa5RkDSiS9HlfaMoMnvtDyj8Hm13FqQUPOmAJ0Wl0/s320/IMG_20160322_210455.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-36095163185884991402016-02-06T09:58:00.001-08:002016-02-06T09:58:10.363-08:00Nissan Commercial for the SuperBowlHere is a Nissan Canada commercial we did for the Super Bowl.<br />
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It was a lot of fun to work on and the team did a great job with the rock monsters and mud monsters. I hope we get more work like this in the future.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-70212821665947379222016-02-02T08:18:00.002-08:002016-02-02T08:18:30.451-08:00UpdateI've been quiet on here for the last little while. It was a busy end of year 2015 and that took my focus off my writing for a bit. I'm getting back into my two short stories I've been trying to finish and will hopefully have them all finished in the next month or two. Everything takes longer than I usually.<br />
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The first of the two sorts is basically done. It's the second that needs another big pass of editing to polish it up.<br />
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I worked on three big projects at work in 2015. Mocking Jay part 2, Disney Playmation, and the 5th wave. I learned a lot on all three and still feel incredibly fortunate that my job is to create fantastic images that tell stories on the big screen (Or small screen in the case of Playmation). But we approach advertising weather its on the web or TV with the same passion we do with our film work.michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-45125363107560095062015-11-20T21:18:00.001-08:002015-11-20T21:19:04.876-08:00Fun GIF tweeted about my Mocking Jay 2 work<p dir="ltr">Check it out!</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/mikeblackbourn/status/667934539461718016">https://twitter.com/mikeblackbourn/status/667934539461718016</a></p>
michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-64881062345659526862015-07-21T13:44:00.003-07:002015-07-21T13:44:41.303-07:00Stash article on the work for Disney PlaymationGreat article on the spot I worked on for Disney Playmation with a cool behind the scenes video! Check it out.<br />
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Article:<br />
<a href="http://www.stashmedia.tv/?p=24545">http://www.stashmedia.tv/?p=24545</a><br />
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Video:<br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/131935624">https://vimeo.com/131935624</a><br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-368141119210794102015-07-18T14:31:00.002-07:002015-07-18T14:31:37.865-07:00LabyrinthSo I'm in the middle of writing a follow up to a short story I'm going to publish soon. The next in the series has a labyrinth as a theme, the location it takes place is set in a labyrinth like location... And there is even a question of whether a minotaur like foe lives at the core.<br />
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Interesting that I found there is a classicly haped labyrinth right near my house. I took my girls out to find it. Beautiful. It's pretty interesting walking the spiral that switches back on itself. A long path compressed into a small space.<br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-43949639488578206602015-06-13T21:51:00.002-07:002015-06-13T21:51:56.705-07:00Seeing your work in a bookstoreThis is an amazing feeling. Checking a local bookstore that carries your book and seeing it displayed prominently and with less copies nearby than the last time. Books are being sold. New readers are checking out the work for the first time.<br />
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Very cool<br />
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michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266012039176733756.post-13132460288940565152015-06-02T11:04:00.000-07:002015-06-02T12:08:34.294-07:00Disney Playmation Trailer - Marvel and Star Wars combo!Disney just launched the teaser trailer for their new line of interactive toys. <a href="http://www.playmation.com/">Playmation</a>.<br />
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I'm the CG supervisor that oversaw the creation of the 3d visual effects for the trailer at <a href="http://theembassyvfx.com/">The Embassy VFX</a>. It was a great project to work on and I'm proud of the result and the hard work our team put into creating the exciting visuals. The Star Wars shots are entirely 3d other than the actors on greenscreen, the Marvel sequences are built up on top of some great plate photography with lots of layers of CG characters and effects.<br />
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Check it out!<br />
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<br />michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10512163748522617483noreply@blogger.com2