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Up North
1580 posts
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Hello all,
As some of you might know I've been lucky enough to spend the last week in Shanghai taking part in the Chinese launch event for modo 401. Now I'm back at my desk and a bit jet-lagged, but before i start recording more videos I thought it would be nice to share my experience with you all, and it was some experience!
I only found out i was going a few days before I went, and after a long drive down to Manchester to get my Chinese Visa I was ready to go. I was invited to China by Ye Wei Zhong, the man behind Pikatoons. Pikatoons is a group of ten very cool artists who produce work for games and broadcast in China. They also create their own animations. Check this out "ALATOY FACTORY" . Pikatoons is also the modo reseller for China so I was really excited to met him.
So I met Zhong at the airport and later met up with fellow Luxologist immanuel who flew in from Japan. Unfortunately Immanuel's entry into the country wasn't that smooth. Due to the flu epidemics around the world the chinese government were carrying out checks on all incoming flights. They came onto my plane in fully body suits and masks checking everyone's temperature. I was ok, but immanuel was not so lucky and registered half a degree over the limit. He blamed it on a beer he had drunk earlier but he was still taken off the plane for more checks. He still claims that under the protective white suits they were wearing Autodesk T-shirts!
So the first day was the 401 launch event. It went really well. About 80 to 90 people turned up. An artist from Ubisoft gave a great demonstration of how he uses modo for modeling, baking and painting, and then i did my demo, which was a variation of the one's I did in London and Paris. It seemed to go down well, and i only made one mistake which was good going for me. There were loads of questions at the end and a prize draw. One lucky person won a free copy of modo! I met a load of people from the forums, good times! Here are some photos.
Now you might have noticed that in a lot of the photographs Immanuel and I are accompanied by a young lady. Her name is Kriss, and probably the most important person of the trip. Boy is she bright. She's studying for a masters degree in translation in Shanghai and Zhong had hired her to be our voices during the trip. These were the first demos I've done whilst being translated. It was unusual at first but once we got into it it worked really well. I can't thank her enough for the work she did, even if she was a little mean to Immanuel, but he deserved it.
Day two was a rest day so Zhong and Kriss gave us a guided tour of the city. First we went to Yuyuan garden which was amazing, full of old buildings and sculptures of dragons and ninjas. As you can see after the incident in the plane Immanuel was still being followed by the Chinese army.
This is probably a good time to introduce the other member of the team. He's accompanied us on many trips, and he and immanuel are very close, some would say unnaturally so! He's called Radar Robot and he just loved Shanghai.
Next we went to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center. One of the tallest buildings in the world. At the top there's a glass walkway, which includes a glass floor. I'm not good with heights but the view from the top were incredible.
Not only is Radar Robot a hit with the ladies he also knows a surprising amount about 5000 years of Chinese history. We talked for hours.
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7/10/2009 - 5:12 AM
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Up North
1580 posts
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So Monday and Tuesday it was back to work. We had client meetings, visited a number of schools and also did a presentation in our hotel to a large group of people from Industry and education. One school had an amazing exterior that was made to look like a computer keyboard. Zhong was never off the phone. I've honestly never seen someone have two conversations going at the same time on two phones. He was always doing deals.
Zhong did a great job of organizing everything and he really treated us like kings and to finish off the trip he organized a karaoke night. Now my only experience of karaoke is with my daughter using a playstation, but what a great night we had. We had a room of our own, as much food as we could eat and all the Pikatoons employees turned up, it was party time! I'm pretty sure they must practice a lot because they were really good at singing, but immanuel and I didn't let the side down as our renditions of "Delilah" and "Dancing Queen" got a standing ovation.
I just want to mention the food. Now on the whole the food was amazing, but there was one dish that I will always remember. Jellyfish. It actually tasted quite nice, quite crunchy, but coming from the North of England where my only contact with jellyfish is when they're washed up on the beach I found it odd to eat. But it's always good to find new sources of protein and as I can pick them up for nothing off the beach i know what my kids are eating this weekend.
So that's the trip. I spent the last day at the Pikatoons studio doing a day of training with Zhong's staff, and then off to the airport. I've been on many trips for Luxology over the last couple of months promoting 401 and each one has been very special, I'm a very lucky guy. Immanuel and I were talking during the trip about how amazing it is that 3D and modo in particular brings people together from all over the world in such a positive way and I still have to pinch myself when I find out that a video that I made two years ago had an effect on someone on the other side of the world. That reminds me I better make some more!
With Zhong's help modo is going to go big in China. he's the man!!
Andy
Message edited by Andrew Brown on 7/10/2009 - 6:38 AM
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7/10/2009 - 5:12 AM
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United Kingdom
629 posts
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Thanks for sharing Andy, looks like you had a great time!
I guess the laws about driving and using *two* mobile phones is quite laid back over there then!
:D
________________
www.pixsim.co.uk
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7/10/2009 - 6:29 AM
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Up North
1580 posts
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LOL
He was parked. But driving over there was fun. everyone has road rage.
Andy
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7/10/2009 - 6:35 AM
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Albuquerque NM, USA
167 posts
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That looks like a great time. :)
I wanna try some jelly fish.
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7/10/2009 - 7:21 AM
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290 posts
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LUCKY!! Man, I am jealous!
Great stuff guys. Thanks for sharing!
Message edited by Kotaro Fujita on 7/10/2009 - 8:20 AM
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7/10/2009 - 8:20 AM
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Norfolk, VA USA
150 posts
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WOW - thank you for sharing Andy. Glad you and Immanuel had such a great trip. I LMAO'd about the Autodesk shirts - too funny!!! And, yes, time to get busy with more training :-P Thank you again for sharing...
Later - Mike
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7/10/2009 - 8:32 AM
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Singapore
403 posts
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I am due to be in Shanghai next week but it was postponed to the week after next.
Darn, why wasn't my trip brought forward by a couple of weeks instead?
Anyway, glad you had a great time in Shanghai Andy.
And by the way, Jellyfish is part of cold dish (appetiser) served in a typical wedding reception here.
Happens to be my favourite too :-)
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7/10/2009 - 9:20 AM
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nyc
947 posts
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Yep, jellyfish are quite delicious. As are pig ears and nose, beef tendon, and lots of other delicious things which are commonly overlooked by Western appetites... Discovering new food is one of my favorite things about foreign travel...
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7/10/2009 - 9:39 AM
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Mountain View, CA
299 posts
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looks like you arrived on a good day. when I visited Shanghai it was completely socked in with low clouds for the first two days. The night sky during that time was amazing—all these multicolored bright shapes looming above. Once the clouds cleared we were floored by all the super-tall sky scrapers (all of which seem to have been landing pads for UFOs).
I can just make out my hotel there on the coast (the convention center building with the blue dome on it).
oh yes, the only time i had jellyfish was there. fantastic!
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7/10/2009 - 11:16 AM
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Charlotte, NC
1698 posts
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Very Cool!
Thank for sharing. Sounds like you had a great time.
Hard job you have there Andy!
Curt
When you're through learning, you're through.
http://www.curtthurston.com
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7/10/2009 - 12:28 PM
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335 posts
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Did you have a chanch to ride in a taxi over there? Are those taxi drivers crazy or what?
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7/10/2009 - 3:01 PM
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88 posts
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Thanks for posting this Andy! It was a great trip.
A big thank you to Zhong and the staff of Pikatoons for putting on such a great modo 401 event!
Yeah, Radar Robot and I are pretty close. We've been through a lot together...he's also a great cook!
About the airplane experience...my advice when flying to China, drink cold water and not alcohol on the plane. Anything to keep your body temperature down...
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7/10/2009 - 8:52 PM
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London, Blighty
269 posts
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I think the karaoke alone is good enough reason for Luxology to make you record your adventures on video camera.
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7/11/2009 - 3:35 AM
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Macau, SAR
2646 posts
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Nice pictures. Would be nice to know when are you guys planning a trip to Hong Kong, modo 501? Cheers.
http://www.mduque.com - My Avatar equals my wip.
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7/13/2009 - 9:59 PM
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Hong Kong
134 posts
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Hong Kong. That would be cool.
Lluis Tarrida
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7/13/2009 - 10:56 PM
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Macau, SAR
2646 posts
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Quote from lluistar :
Hong Kong. That would be cool.
I'm sure this will happen one day. It's only matter of time and I'll be there!
http://www.mduque.com - My Avatar equals my wip.
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7/13/2009 - 11:23 PM
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