Posts

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Bye-bye Blick

After 15 years as Infographic Designer and Web Developer, it’s time for me to leave Ringier and the Blick Newsroom behind.

April first, 2024, I will start a new chapter in my professional life as a healthcare Data Manager.

But it wouldn’t be much of a sendoff without some sort of visual representation, would it? That’s why I’ve created this faux comic book cover to commemorate the historic transition.

«The Data Manager»

As it turns out, AI did most of the work. Artificial Intelligence, not AL, that is.

The cover is – obviously – a pastiche of the iconic panel in the «Spider-Man, no more» storyline originally published in Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #50 in 1967:

Panel from The Amazing Spider-Man #50, Marvel Comics 1967

My gratitude goes to all my colleagues for sharing countless moments of triumph and struggle, tears and excitement, frustration and joy, insight and challenge, and above all, laughter in my far too many years in the newsroom. I wish you all the best.

Addendum

Probably my last entry on the Blick homepage in my last week: The tried and tested Lottery-Winnings-Calculator:

Screenshot blick.ch (2024-02-28)
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Aurora – Special Edition

Inspired by Adobe Photoshop’s new generative AI capabilities, I gave my SAE thesis project back from 2007 the «Special Edition» treatment and made some minor changes I wasn’t able do the first time around when I was attending the digital film and animation school.

Especially one scene at the end never was as bombastic as I’d planned it to be. After some upscaling and with the help of some generative AI-magic the frame was extended and new details were added.

For dramatic effect I tried to generate some smoke-simulation in Blender but I was quickly reminded of the fact that one doesn’t just start up a 3D-software after years of absence without browsing through a handful of tutorials.

After hours of struggling and rendering, the first results were less than underwhelming and I went the old-school FX way of simulating smoke: Capturing footage of some milk dripped in water did the job just fine. When I cropped, enhanced and flipped some of the footage I had taken inside my kitchen cupboard earlier, there was no going back to Blender – for now.

Making of the smoke clouds

It’s been 16 years since the original version of Aurora – a fictitious trailer, my very own homage to high concept disaster movies à la Independence Day but it hasn’t lost an ounce of its soul, enthusiasm and – admittedly – cringiness:

I give you: Aurora – Special Edition:

Aurora – Special Edition

Maybe the next version will finally get its own soundtrack without all the copyright issues…

In the meantime, here’s the original version and some bonus content:

The original version from 2007
Some outtakes for good measure
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Moogerly

Exploring the movie universe through graphs

After more than a year of planning, research, and development, I’m excited to share my newest app: Moogerly.com.

The Moogerly platform is aimed at fans of cinema, data, and visualization, allowing them to explore the movie universe through interactive graphs. It provides a unique way to visualize your favorite titles, cast, and crew, and shows how they fit into the interconnected world of film, TV shows, and trivia.

With its continually evolving features, Moogerly is an exciting platform for movie enthusiasts to dive into the world of cinema and TV. The website offers a growing range of predefined sets to browse through. You can also create your own sets by selecting movies and persons of your choice.

Moogerly is a personal project created by the maker of rafenew.world, who aims to bring together data, design, and storytelling while learning new things and improving his skills.

The website’s user-friendly interface allows you to navigate through various predefined sets or create your own visualizations. Whether you’re interested in exploring the filmography of your favorite actor or tracing the connections between different movies, Moogerly provides an engaging experience for movie lovers.

Moogerly utilizes data and technology from «The Movie Database» (TMDB). This ensures that you have access to accurate and up-to-date information about movies, cast members, crew details, and more. The website is continually being developed to enhance its features and provide an immersive experience for users.

Join Moogerly‘s growing community of movie enthusiasts and embark on a journey through the fascinating world of cinema. Start exploring today at www.moogerly.com.

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Photo Gallery

Some of my pictures taken with the Canon EOS 70D, Sony FX30 and the iPhone (15 Pro or 10XR).

Chicago 2024

Chicago S Wacker W Monroe, 2024-03-30
Chicago – DuSable Bridge, 2024-03-30
Chicago – Sears Tower (Willis Tower), 2024-03-30
Chicago – Chicago River, 2024-03-30
Chicago – Board of Trade Building, 2024-03-30
Chicago – Portillo’s, 2024-03-31
Chicago – Navy Pier, 2024-03-31
Chicago – John Hancock Center, 2024-03-31

Nature

Eidechse, 2024-05-26
Eidechse, 2024-05-26
Plan Bee, 2024-05-11
Winter Wonderland, 2023-12-03
Biotope, 2023-10-05
Schmetterdings, 2023-10-01
Leaf, 2023-03-31
Dragonflies, 2021-06-13
I want you to photograph me like one of your French girls, 2021-06-08
Fly, 2021-06-08
Beetle, 2021-05-30
Comet Neowise, 2020-07-20

Food

Mac and Cheese with vegetables, 2024-02-15
Dish, 2023-06-04
Dish, 2023-04-08
Dish, 2023-02-04
Dish, 2023-01-29
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Oppenheimer

Rating: 4
Storytelling🐷🐷🐷🐷
Characters🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Acting🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Drama, Baby!🐷🐷🐷🐷
Fun🐷🐷🐷
Humour🐷
Visuals🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Music and Sound🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Originality🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Entertainment value🐷🐷🐷🐷
Production value🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Satisfaction🐷🐷🐷🐷
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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Rating: 5

Is «Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One» a perfect movie? What can I say? I think it is!

Even with a runtime of over two and a half hours and a dreaded «Part One» in the title the movie delivers throughout. The interesting question would be: Why do we still have to rely on «poor» old Tom Cruise do deliver some solid, no-BS entertainment? I’m not feeling like trying to answer that question here but again, after the sequel to Top Gun last year he (almost) singlehandedly brings back everything a movie fan trained in the eighties and nineties loves about films.

Without the need for any kind of nostalgic fan service the movie stands out with perfect pacing, solid storytelling, a bombastic classical score and – most importantly – breathtaking action even with some car chasing scenes on top – something I’ve learned to hate over the years (I’m looking at you, Indy 5).

Good job! Great job! And – surprisingly – containing the funniest scene I’ve watched in years in an action film, nay, in a movie, full stop.

Go see it – no questions asked – even you, Corinne, no matter what you think about Tom Cruise. You thank me later.

Storytelling🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Characters🐷🐷🐷🐷
Acting🐷🐷🐷🐷
Drama, Baby!🐷🐷🐷🐷
Fun🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Humour🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Visuals🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Music and Sound🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Originality🐷🐷🐷🐷
Entertainment value🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Production value🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Satisfaction🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Rating: 3.5
Storytelling🐷🐷
Characters🐷🐷
Acting🐷🐷🐷
Drama, Baby!🐷🐷
Fun🐷🐷🐷
Humour🐷🐷🐷
Visuals🐷🐷🐷🐷
Music and Sound🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Originality🐷🐷
Entertainment value🐷🐷🐷
Production value🐷🐷🐷🐷
Satisfaction🐷🐷🐷
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The Flash

Rating: 3.5
Storytelling🐷🐷🐷
Characters🐷🐷🐷
Acting🐷🐷🐷
Drama, Baby!🐷🐷🐷🐷
Fun🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷
Humour🐷🐷🐷🐷
Visuals🐷🐷
Music and Sound🐷🐷🐷🐷
Originality🐷🐷🐷🐷
Entertainment value🐷🐷🐷🐷
Production value🐷🐷🐷
Satisfaction🐷🐷🐷🐷