More About the HBO Opening Sequence

As a response to my recent post about the opening sequence on HBO, I got the following message from Arco1.

I see you discovered the HBO behind-the-scenes video.

It was a very ambitious intro and was said to be the most expensive and innovative concept at the time, especially for cable TV. History sidebar - HBO was one of the first cable-only networks, and also one of the first to provide something more between movies than just a billboard with Oh God! You Devil starts in 17 minutes 08 seconds.

The original promo was full of amazing effects from start to finish. I remember first seeing it at a trade show, maybe National Assoc. of Broadcasters convention. More amazing is the amount of effort it took to do what can now be done on the desktop in a few hours.

I remember one thing that caught everyone's attention was the light-burst. Today, that moire light pattern is easy to construct in something like Adobe After Effects. Of course, having to construct a miniature physical city or physical "HBO" is no longer necessary either. Numerous add-ons can provide 3D solids or metallic text complete with light glints and shimmer.

The intro seems to be a part of HBO's legacy. I notice they sometimes use the swoop-through-the-city in part of their current bumpers.

How's that for historical perspective and technical perspective?

How To: HBO '80s Opening Sequence

If you grew up in the '80s and if you had HBO, then you will recall the opening introduction described below.

Remember that '80s HBO intro where the camera went from a city apartment, through Alec Baldwin's Beetlejuice model, and into space, where the HBO logo was full of lasers? It was pretty great, even when viewed through my home's fuzzy, accidental HBO reception with the knowledge that it would just be followed by another showing of Oh God! You Devil.

Have you ever wondered how that intro montage was created? There is a behind-the-scenes video that you will want to see. Check out more details at I Watch Stuff.com.

Happy Birthday Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop turns 20-years-old this year. Read the full article on eWeek.

Haiti Earthquake: 360° Video on CNN.com

Never underestimate the ability of video to tell a story or to put you into an environment. The world is watching the news of the earthquake from Haiti right now. Here is a video player on CNN's web site that gives you the ability to pan and turn the angle of your view as the truck that the camera is sitting on rolls down the street.

I apologize that the video automatically plays, but there doesn't seem to be a setting I can control to change this. Normally, I would just link to the video in that case. The content of the video is important enough AND the technology is cool enough that I posted it anyhow. Having a video simply autoplay is just too obnoxious.

Video removed.

Check out the full screen mode on CNN.com.

CONCRETE HUSTLE Lightsaber Duel

Just when I think I've seen the best fan-made lightsaber duel that's ever been published...