The Life and Times of Paul Geromini

You can watch this AMV here.

This AMV was submitted to Anime Boston 2022 (not a finalist), Connecticon 2022 (contest cancelled), and PopCult Anime Con 2022 (not a finalist).

I really like how this one turned out, despite its lack of critical success. Eyeshield 21 is a very memorable anime to me and I have used it briefly several times (see “April 15, 2019” and “I got fired...”), so it was finally time for the limelight. I am a huge Patriots fan (and by extension Tom Brady fan) so it made perfect sense to meld that fandom and Eyeshield 21. This AMV is basically a highlight video except instead of the live action highlights I just swapped them out for anime. If you are curious what it looks like without the anime you can see that here. I like how this AMV provides a good arc of Tom Brady’s career, and there are a ton of famous plays in here for the devoted Patriot fan. I do admit that its appeal is limited to anime fans who are also football fans, which is not exactly a huge pool to draw from, but I hope to please that narrow fandom.

Director’s commentary

00:00 Pretty famously Tom Brady was drafted with pick 199 (out of 254). It is cool that we have the draft video, despite the low quality. Because of contest rules against watermarks I hid the ESPN logo in the bottom right corner along with a bunch of other watermarks throughout.

00:06 I am not particularly happy with the image of Hiruma here, but I could not get a better one.

00:16 This is Robert Kraft (Patriots owner) speaking in The Brady 6 documentary.

00:24 The drum beat when Kraft pauses was entirely unintentionally. I dropped the music track in place and it lined up perfectly.

00:40 This is the score bug from Super Bowl 36. Interestingly FOX had a see through score bug at the time so I had to blacken it in parts to hide the live action footage. I wanted to carry the bug through this whole sequence, but the translucent nature of it made that very difficult so we just have it here once to set the stage.

01:47 This audio is from the Tom vs Time documentary.

01:56 As an aside Troy Brown is my favorite Patriot after Brady. This audio is from his catch in OT to beat the Dolphins in 2003. Watch the play here.

02:10 I had a lot of difficulty conveying Brady’s ACL tear in 2008. The news clippings seem the best solution, but it is awkward.

02:14 The audio switch from game audio to post game interview with Belichick is not great, but I really needed both so I lived with it.

03:08 – 03:28 The ending here is a little odd. It almost seems like two endings. I like both of them so I kept it as is.

03:18 I really like how well mixed the interview and Brady chants are. I went through a lot of chants to get the right one.

03:32 I had to hide the SI logo so I flipped the NFL logo on the right side to the left. It looks odd, but only if you notice it and I suspect most would not.

03:36 I am quite chuffed with how well I was able to integrate Hiruma’s picture into the bar at the bottom.

03:40 A bit of an inside joke at the end for the Eyeshield faithful.

You can watch it here. Submitted to Connecticon 2022 (contest cancelled), and PopCult Anime Con 2022 (not a finalist).

This was a fun one to do. Cats (the movie) enjoyed some well deserved internet infamy at the time of its release so it was fun to revisit those pre-COVID halcyon days. Trailers are especially fun to edit since they tend to be short and relatively straightforward. It is mostly an exercise in finding clips to sync to the audio. I also used all the title and end cards so my job was made even easier. Despite all that this one languished half done for a year or so. I was only motivated to finish it after I came back from Anime Boston 2022. I am glad I did because I am quite happy with how it turned out. That said, I think the Gundam trailer is better.

Director’s Commentary

00:12 – 00:20 I had just watched this video about how one editor used multiple layers to crossfade so I tried that strategy out a few times. I think the effect is good so I will keep this tool in my toolbox going forward.

00:54-00:17 This section is the strongest I feel in the AMV. I love the scream into actor introductions and each banana cat is well suited to their actor. Of the introductions, Ian McKellen is my favorite.

01:17-01:22 This was the hardest section to work with, since it has a character rapping and then getting their hand stuck in a trap. What I have here is fine, but not amazing.

01:25 – 01:46 Things get a little aimless here. I was not sure what should go here so this area feels indistinct and unmemorable.

02:15 As you can see, graphic design is my passion. It took me an hour or two to get just this and I felt that was enough time spent.

This was one of three submissions to ConnectiCon XVIII (2021) and one of two submissions to Anime Boston 2020, both in the action category. Sadly neither submission made it to the finals. You can watch it here.

You can thank the podcasters on Blank Check who, during their discussion of this film, speculated on how cool it would be to set this film to Toxic by Britney Spears. I agreed and thus you have the AMV you see before you.

I really like how this AMV came out, but it did underperform in the sense that it never became a finalist. Still I love the combination of the two and I had a great deal of fun making it.

Director’s Commentary:

0:14-0:16: I love the cut during the high note to show just how big this Ohmu is. I hope to use that trick more going forward.

1:25 – 1:37: I never really knew what to put here, so I went with the flashbacks from the movie.

1:37 – 1:50: I never really liked this part underneath the forest. It seems long and not a lot happens. The strongest parts of the AMV come after this section.

2:53: I love the tank firing lining up with the music.

3:11-3:12: I needed an extra beep of the Ohmu feet advancing so I had to loop this clip which you can notice if you are paying a lot of attention.

This was one of three submissions to ConnectiCon XVIII (2021) and was a finalist in the FMV contest in the comedy category. You can watch it here.

Originally I wanted to take the comedy song “Wassup Holmes” and set it to Sherlock Hound, but after watching the anime I figured it was not going to work. I love the song, but I just could not find the clips in the anime to make it work. I therefore started to look for funny songs about detectives as I still wanted to make something. Luckily I found the Sherlock Holmes musical which fits nicely into the anime in an ironic fashion.

Overall, I am happy with how it turned out. It is not my favorite AMV, but it is humorous in parts and it was fun to make.

Director’s Commentary:

00:00 – 00:06: I like this intro, it helps set the stage for the tone of the whole AMV. I recall struggling a while to find what would work here.

00:25: I love the exploding flask scene. Just one of many with a great reaction from Watson.

00:42: I froze the face on this attacking guy because the lips flaps are distracting. It is noticeable if you look closely. I still think it was worth doing.

1:17 – 1:20: I never could get the timing on this right. You want Sherlock to hit the ground on the final beat, which I do achieve, but the preceding bumps our out of sync with the beat so it is a bit disjointed.

1:39: I love the cut to this person’s concerned face, but this clip could use a little more motion. Now a days I would add a subtle zoom in on the face.

2:06: The high note here timing up with the last of the trap spikes is probably the best section in this AMV.

Introduction

As a continuation of my series on reloading archaic cartridges I am going to discuss loading 11mm Chassepot ammo today. The Chassepot is a French breech-loading needle fire bolt action rifle from the 1860s. Although not as much of a revolution as the earlier Dreyse rifle it evolved from, it still represents an interesting bridge between muzzeloading rifles and bolt actions. It loads via the breech and fires a unique paper cartridge using a long thin “needle” to pierce the paper and hit a percussion cap igniting the main power charge. it fires a rather typical for the time 11mm bullet.

Obviously, given the age of this rifle and the unique ammo it uses, no commercial loadings are available. We must (literally) roll our own. As always you do this at your own risk. I am not an expert.

What You Need

1. A bullet mold. I went with Accurate 46-365C, which is a reproduction of the original bullet.
2. Black Powder FFg
3. A 7/16 inch diameter dowel
4. A 1/4 inch diameter dowel
5. Basic white glue
6. Cardboard (about 1/4 inch thick)
7. CCI Four-Wing Musket Caps, although I suspect any caps will do.
8. Some thick packing paper, like this.
9. Basic white printer paper (optional based on how you want to load)
10. Toothpicks for spreading glue

Pre-Loading Steps

1. Get your bullets either by buying a similar bullet or casting your own. Wikipedia says the original loading used a 386 grain bullet with an 11mm diameter.
   1. I used Lee Alox Bullet Lube to lube these as there is no lube groove.
2. Measure the length of your Chassepot chamber using the 1/4inch dowel.
   1. Close the bolt and put the dowel in until you feel it touching the exit point of the needle on the bolt. Mark the dowel at the muzzle end
   2. Open the bolt, put in the bullet you are using as far as it will go (you may need to use the dowel to push it in deep).
   3. Put your dowel back in and mark where it stops.
   4. You should now have two marks on your dowel that represent the overall length of the cartridge you are trying to make. Using the accurate bullet I got an overall length of 3.094 inches.
   5. Using a bullet you will be loading with mark on the dowel the maximum length of the cartridge, minus the length of your bullet (my bullet measured at almost exactly 1″). This represents the length of the powder charge. I got 2.059 inches.

The Loading Process

The loading process will take some time and it does require a bit of finesse. I based my process on these two posts and this video.

1. Make a powder tube
   1. Measure and cut out a 48mm by 80mm rectangle on your packing paper. This is based on the original cartridge diagram here.
   2. Use your 7/16 inch dowel to roll the paper into a tube. You want the tube to be 80mm tall. Ultimately we want a 12mm diameter tube. The 7/16 inch dowel + the width of my paper got me 12mm, but you may have to add duct tape to your dowel to increase the diameter of the resulting tube.
   3. Right before the two sides of the paper touch, glue the inner edge and complete the roll.
2. Create an end cap for the tube. The original design uses a paper star, but I deviated here as its very had to get the star in place correctly.
   1. Punch out some cardboard discs for the end cap. Ideally this will match the diameter of the tube (12mm), but I only had a 7/16 punch so I used that.
   2. Apply glue to the the wings of the percussion cap. You can either gently dip the cap into your glue or use a toothpick
   3. Glue the cap, wings down, onto the cardboard.
3. Apply a thin layer of glue to the inner bottom of the powder tube.
4. Put the tube over the end cap, gluing the end cap (with its percussion cap) to the bottom of the tube.
5. Using your measuring dowel, mark on the tube the maximum length it can be. This will be the total overall cartridge length minus the length of the bullet you are using.
6. Fill the tube with black powder up to your mark.
   1. The original loading was 86.4 grains. I have seen as low as 66 grains. I ended up with 75 grains FFg.
   2. Compact the powder as best you can. If you have a drop tube you can use that. I crushed the powder with a dowel. You may wish to drill a 1/2 inch diameter hole in a block of wood to hold your tube straight while you crush the powder. You do not want the tube to break.
   3. If you powder is compact, but you still have space remaining add a filler like cream of wheat or poly fill to take up the extra space.
7. Add another cardboard disc to top off the powder tube.
8. The original design calls for the remaining powder tube to be twisted close and the excess trimmed. I had difficulty twisting the paper I used so I cut most of the remainder off leaving just enough to glue closed the top.
9. Cut out a bullet wrap using the plain printer paper.
   1. I took the measurements from the original diagram
10. Put the bullet at one end up wrap (the shorter side facing up) and wrap the bullet in paper. You should get a cone of sorts. Glue the ends together
11. Combine the bullet with paper cone and the powder tube.
    1. The original diagram has these two parts tied together with the tie happening just under the cardboard disc you topped the tube off with. I had difficulty with this part as my string was either too big or too weak. I continue to investigate other options, but for now I just glued the edges of the cone to the tube

Alternatively, you can skip steps 8 through 11 and just cram a bullet in on top, folding the the top of the tube down to hold the bullet in place. This is the most expedient method, but you must be sure the bullet does not separate from the powder charge. Space between black powder and the bullet can be dangerous.

You now should have a cartridge that is the exact overall size you measured on your dowel. I recommend building a couple test cartridges without black powder (I used corn grits instead). If you get the length wrong the needle will not hit the cap. If you get the tube size wrong then the cartridge will not insert all the way.

Final Product

If you attempt to match the original design with the paper cone (steps 8-11) you should get something like this:

If you go with the expedient solution, you get something like this:

Shooting Results

I had mixed results. If I could get the round inserted and the bolt closed I got 100% ignition. Accuracy seems fair for a 150 year old rifle with a group of several inches at 50 yards. Occasionally not all the paper would clear the chamber and I would be left with some burnt crumbs, but usually nothing major.

That said, about 50% of my rounds fail to chamber. I usually end up with the bolt stuck with about a quarter of an inch to go. I suspect my cartridges are right on the edge of the correct size and as the chamber fouls I run out of space.

As a final note, if you are going to shoot your Chassepot I recommend replacing the bolt’s obturator and needle. If your rifle still has its obturator it has most likely hardened over the years and will be ineffective. Your needle may still work, but I would not risk having it break as I have heard they are prone to do. You can find replacement obturators and needles via Naah Tool Works.

Next Steps

I need to figure out why so many of my cartridges end up just a bit too long or too wide. To that end I need to figure out how to get more consistent paper tubes. I also want to experiment with some slightly smaller dowels and thinner paper to see if that helps.

You can follow the discussion at NorthEastShooters.

As tradition dictates, as a year passes I must reflect.

What Did I Learn This Year?

1. Reloading archaic cartridges. In the previous year I had reloaded some fairly modern cartridge to prove out the process (30-40 Krag, 45-70 Government, 7.35 Carcano). This year I loaded .577/450 Martini–Henry and 7.5mm 1882 Ordnance. The 7.5 is pretty straightforward, but the Martini-Henry was a step above that and I am very happy I was able to make a number of rounds that worked flawlessly.
2. WordPress. I am happy to move on from the old “GhandiBlog” to the sleek and modern wordpress platform. It is a little more pricey, but I have so much more control and way better tools.

What Am I Looking To Explore This Year?

1. I am looking to continue to grow my panel catalog. For the last two years I have run a panel at ConnectiCon (and this year for the first time at Arisia) on firearm history and federal law. I am looking to create and run more panels this year. Although, given the lack of conventions this year, that may prove to be difficult.
2. A new computer/VR. My old rig has been limping along for a few years now and I think it is time to take the plunge and upgrade it. I also would like to take the opportunity to get into VR, if only to play Half Life: Alyx.
3. Books. I have a healthy audiobook/podcast habit, but I am looking to start working down some of the physical books collecting dust on my bookshelves.
4. Oddball AMV ideas. I certainly cannot win any awards doing something conventional so I have to go for the weird angle.

What did I Fail at This Year?

1. The downstairs bathroom is still unfinished. I did tear out the carpet though.

Conclusion

Not a whole late has changed from last year. I am not sure if that is concerning or not. Part of me thinks that is fine as I am certainly enjoying the day to day, but the other part of me thinks that is concerning as I should be trying new things.