Monday, November 13, 2006

Aquarium of the Pacific ~Autumn Festival~ November 4-5, 2006



I've been backed up on getting these videos out. Yami, Joe, and myself have been kept very busy. Besides time, I've been having difficulty figuring out music to go with each video. There really isn't much in the way of music for paperfolding. So some vids sit on the shelf, ready to be rolled out as soon as I figure out a theme. And most all of these need music; since I take 10-20 second clips, the natural audio just would come out incomplete and choppy.

I skipped ahead to the most recent festival we've done: The Aquarium of the Pacific, from the previous weekend. I believe it's my 4th or 5th time; with Yami and Joe, it's our third. If you want to see what we did in 2004 and 2005, just click away.

I took too much film footage. Since editing is so time-consuming, I took the easy way out and included most all of it....which makes for a very long video. YouTube only allows for a 10 minute maximum on videos; so I had to upload it to my LiveDigital.com account. The music choice is mostly because of the length of the video. Since I used Jaws music to bumper the previous two videos, and since it's an Aquarium setting we're dealing with here, I included it again, along with another John Williams classic score.

The one thing I'm excited about is David Brill's wedge flexicube. It is awesome! My first one, I had to apply some glue, as I used paper that was a bit thick, and it didn't hold together well. But the rest (and I've made several, because I like experimenting with color combinations and paper-type; plus, I know I'll be giving them away to friends) came out great! I purchased a copy for Joe Hamamoto as well. (He loves the David Brill double star flexicube). You can get a copy here, at the BOS website.

As usual, many of the most exciting moments are when the camera's not running. My cicada boomerang glider generates a lot of interest. It never fails. People always want to fold it after I toss it around. I know it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye; but I must say, it's highly entertaining to watch paperplanes whacking unsuspecting passersby....or seeing them duck for cover. Not when I throw it, but when other people throw their planes, and they don't quite have the hang of how to make it come back, yet.

As always, Joe was well-stocked on his free giveaways. One of these days, when I get a better camera that takes longer clips, I'll let you hear some of his humor. Yami's as well. They are extremely entertaining and highly popular with everyone.

My own favorite giveaways remain Arai's spinning top. I've learned to do Yami's method of stacking several sheets together, to expedite my time. I'll fold about 4 or 5 layers together and do the base; then separate the sheets for the last several steps to fold the top. The sacrifice on neatness is minimal, when I do this. Great model, and I can probably churn 'em out in 3 minutes, tops.



More photos here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very well done! I enjoyed that very much. Which flapping butterfly model was the one featured? Also, was it a dollar bill model? Looks great when you animate it. That and the boomerang glider piqued my interest the most. Thanks again for putting the video together. It looks like everyone was having a great time!

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

It's credited in the video at the end. It's Robert Neale, and yes from a dollar. Diagrams with John Andrisan's modifications can be found at the POP website. You can find the glider there as well. Takes practice to throw it. If you're right-handed, slightly curve the rear elevator of the right wing upward. The amount that you blunt the tip affects the weight. In Arnstein's diagram, I think he has it shown as having the tip go past the bottom layer; but lately, I've been folding it about a centimeter shy of the edge of the bottom layer; so a bit longer body, shorter head.

Thanks for the visit and the comment.

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

Oh, also on the glider: the weight of the paper also affects how far you can fling it. Regular copy paper actually works really well, as you can make it go far and still come back.

Anonymous said...

Great video, Word!