Big things for Bambi

Here's some cool news. Looks like Bambi's going beyond just physical special effects and is moving into digital special effects as well. According to matching posts at DeviantArt and BEArchive:

Please bear with me for just a bit for this new vid production because we're in the process of moving into our new studio and manufacturing complex! The studio facility will contain multiple sets and a dedicated green screen set which will allow us to greatly expand our special effects capabilities so that we can produce more diversified inflation & expansion content. And...our new prop manufacturing and R&D center will significantly improve prop design and production. This has been a year long undertaking that was temporarily delayed due to my surgeries and illnesses occurring in 2007.

Sounds like a major upgrade. Digital effects are a totally different realm but the technology is much closer to consumers than it ever was before. I have a little experience in it (and a few friends with lots of it) so I've always sort of kept a geeky interest. Seems like a natural evolution of the fetish, though -- if we've got homemade movies, why not homemade special effects movies?

At the same time, look at both Wonka films -- the first Violet scene was all physical effects and the second was all digital. Fans liked the first, but a deft blending of both techniques? That could pay dividends.

Inflatable BE from China

Props to The Process forum for turning up this one from a film called Millionaire Cop. Give it time to load -- China's answer to YouTube is halfway around the world. The BE scene resolves at around the four-minute mark.

Some things, like glasses being visual moviemaking shorthand for characters who are nerdy and uptight, are apparently universal. As for the rest, your guess is as good as mine.

Working on something

Had an idea, kicked it around with an old friend, and we gave it a mutual green light. We've already bought the most important part.

Should be fun. No ETA, though. But lest anyone think I'm no longer creating stuff...I am.

History of BE

Amazingly, someone wrote down a brief history of how the BE/inflation community got its start. The first stories I read were written by Dr. Enlarge; the first two people I met were Buster (who now runs BalloonBuddies.com) and Sievert (who retains a quiet dignity). I think we might actually meet face to face soon, after all these years. I have only done that with a handful of people in the community, by choice -- I met Dr. Enlarge, and I met Lucky and didn't realize I was meeting him at the time! -- but I've always wanted to meet Sievert, the one person who always felt like my brother from another mother. I'm a bit nervous.

I have always wondered what happened to ACotto; did he get bored? Did he get scared? Did he pass away? His creation of a common file archive really did establish the foundation and we really owe him a debt of gratitude.

New content: Taylor, Big Horse

Taylor has put up a new expansion clip called Age of Expansion. It's $12. It's worth it, I think. Keep in mind that I like the clothed stuff, so this scratches my itch. I also enjoyed the light tone and sense of humor going on -- doing both sexy and funny at the same time is often tricky, but I think they pulled it off. The actresses are pretty good at improv and running with the ad-libs. Also, by the end, you can tell they're having a lot of silly fun. While I was happy to see a new face on the scene, the first few clips they released didn't grab me but it looked like they were ramping up. I'm hoping this is the first of a second wave.

Also, now that I unexpectedly have a little more money in my pocket, I've commissioned a few clips from Big Horse on my favorite topics -- inflation, hourglass shapes, redheads -- and he delivered two cool images for the money. With his permission, I'm sharing them with everybody. I don't know what they're really called but I have been referring to them as "The Witch and the Hourglass" and "Boob Tube."



I will upload both images to the gallery at bodyinflation.org too, where many of Big Horse's pieces currently live. Enjoy!