So while I was poking around in old file archives, I found the source files and project files for my original daydream AMV. For the sake of nostalgia, I tried to open one of the AE files up, and sure enough it still worked. I wondered if it would be possible to upscale/remaster the video to at least 720p. The 3d character shots could just be re-rendered at a larger size, but upscaling Azumanga Daioh was a bit more of a challenge. For each shot, I had to decide whether I would crop in on the shot, or whether I would scale it to fit the 1280x720 size, and then re-create parts of the background/characters that were missing. After I fiddled with my upscale script for a long time to get everything looking as nice as possible, and then re-rendered and re-built the 3d comps. I finished the video...
And then realized that Azumanga Daioh BDs exist.
Well crap.
Oh well, enjoy this bit of nostalgia with me, will you?daydream | returnZephyrStar2018-04-18 | A little over ten years ago, I made an AMV called "daydream" which was the first video I ever uploaded to Youtube. This video was the very strange combination of an anime called Azumanga Daioh, and original 3D animation created with a character model I made in 2004 of Yotsuba, the main character of a manga called Yotsuba To! Kiyohiko Azuma is the manga author and artist behind both original works. When Yotsuba To! first came out, fans of the manga were eagerly awaiting an anime adaptation which never came. I grew tired of waiting, and decided to create an AMV in which the mischevious and precocious Yotusba invaded the dreams of the Azumanga Daioh characters. The AMV really unfolded organically, I had no idea when I started making how it would turn out or really even what I intended the story to be, if there was to be one. I actually animated a few test shots before I had even chosen a song. They were "Yotsuba swarm" shots, and "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service was a natural fit, the lyrics somewhat open to interpretation, and one of my favorite songs. I just thought the idea of Yotsuba trolling all the Azu Daioh characters seemed like a lot of fun. Once I decided on the end of the video, and to show that it was in fact Yotsuba having the dream, I still had no title. Koopiskeva is actually who suggested the title "daydream," which fit perfectly. I uploaded the original daydream to Youtube on October 7, 2007 despite finishing it earlier in the spring and submitting it to various conventions.
I never thought there would ever be a sequel, until I saw "Nichijou." In my opinion, Nichijou is the true spiritual successor to Azumanga Daioh. Created by Keiichi Arawi, it is a very dry and absurd comedy that made me laugh out loud many times throughout it's broadcast, and quickly grew to be one of my favorite manga/anime series of all time. I remember thinking specifically that Nichijou's Yuuko Aioi could easily somehow be a younger relative of Tomo Takino of Azumanga Daioh. Nichijou's Mai Minakami could easily be the younger and much wittier (and trollier... trollingest) sibling of Osaka (Ayumu Kasuga). I quickly started to visualize what both Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba To! characters might be like interacting with the characters and world of Nichijou. I also took a liking specifically to Kana Nakamura, the science teacher who is always trying to capture Nano. I see a lot of myself in her, and I wondered how she would deal with something like a swarm of Yotsubas filling the skies. I knew it had to be done.
So I came up with a new story. Azumanga Daioh and Yotusba To! were both released in the early 2000's and I wondered, what it would be like if those characters actually grew up? What if Yotsuba was now the same age as the kids in Nichijou? What if the Azu Daioh girls were now all young adults? In the original video, Tomo was the perfect character of the group to be super excited about an invasion of tiny green haired flying Yotusbas. What if now Tomo and Yotusba were partners in crime and had business in the Nicjijou world, and what if that business was a celebration, a one-time only concert? The animation and many of the scenarios in Nichijou held amazing potential to create another, even more nonsensical video, but one that would be truly unique. I started with the idea that Kana Nakamura had been secretly researching the appearance of the Yotsubas, since 2007, and would be trying to warn everyone of their imminent return. But, as with the first video, daydream return became very organic. As for the music, the choice was obvious. I knew it had to be a Postal Service track, and the perfect fit was "We Will Become Silhouettes." Once again lyrics open to interpretation, and somehow the idea just seemed to fit so well. I listened to the Postal Service album "Give Up" on loop for a few weeks before picking the track.
I started production on 7/27/2013. I had just saved enough money to buy a legitimate copy of 3D Studio Max 2013, and a copy of Adobe Production Premium CS 5.5, both of which I still use today. I decided that I would create new models from the ground up for Yotsuba and Tomo, and I designed them based upon drawings I did to get as close as possible to the art style of Nichijou as possible. I decided to introduce their ages as well, Yotsuba now 17 and Tomo now 27. I also decided to model the cardboard robot character Danbo from Yotsuba To! to accompany Tomo and Yotsuba on their mission.
Unicorn Song by Tommy Pettersen Free download at: soundcloud.com/#pettersent/unicornZephyrStar - Jovial MicrobialZephyrStar2017-12-21 | I am bad at releasing things. I made this video in 2016 for NDK's contest. There are not enough Moyashimon videos! Anime: Moyashimon Song: "I Am A Scientist" by the Dandy Warhols[CDVV] ZephyrStar - Maybe... Tomorrow?ZephyrStar2016-12-16 | I'm pretty bad at procrastinating sometimes. And being a perfectionist. This is a video I made in 2015 for Nan Desu Kan's AMV contest, and was a finalist! I feel it adequately reflects my procrastination. I love Barakamon, such a great slice of life show and reminds me a lot of Yotsuba To! ...if there were ever a Yotsuba anime, I would cast the VA for Naru as Yotsuba.
I had the idea for this vid ever since picking up the Yotsuba To! manga, which is by the same author who created Azumanga Daioh, Kiyohiko Azuma. The little green-haired girl is Yotsuba, who is quite mischevious and full of energy, and I felt that she fit perfectly into the idea of the Azu characters having weird dreams.
I started work on this thing back in 2004, and got sidetracked with school and a lot of other things, so I didn't have the time then to finish the vid like I wanted to. I finally got around to finishing it in time for Acen 2007. All said and done, the video probably took me a month and a half of hard work to finish. (omg winner best dance/upbeat Acen 2007)