NEW UNBOXINGS AVAILABLE!
Akame ga Kill! (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Flowers of Evil (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: January 2024 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Season 1 (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Parasyte -the maxim- (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: January 2024 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
SHIROBAKO (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
PHOTO UPDATES
As I have mentioned before in the Photos haul thread, I had to upgrade my phone because the previous one was on life support due to its battery inflation. While I could have gone for a slightly older phone I decided the jump in tech was more noticeable with last year's line-up so I decided to go with a Google Pixel 8 Pro after receiving a special deal related to it.
So what does this mean? Basically the photos will have a new look to them. The picture will look similar to the previous ones but with better resolution and detail. In addition due to the file size and resolution of the original assets I didn't want to use Adobe Illustrator for my optimisation because not only did it feel too blurry when I ran my tests but I also noticed the colour was slightly different, which was likely caused by the HDR to SDR conversion. It didn't help that the file sizes were too large and I didn't want to sacrifice too much on quality for the sake of it.
But I have found a solution, so not only have I been able to optimise the images I'm also able to keep them at a resolution that feels better as well for both the forums and my blog. So going forward, all 4:3 square photos on my blog will now go from 1368 x 1026 px (the original resolution was 3648 x 2736 px) over to 2040 x 1536 px (from 4080 x 3072 px i.e. 12MP). In addition, the widescreen photos will also move from 2052 x 1026 px (originally 3648 x 1824 px) over to 3840 x 2160px (from 8160 x 4590 px i.e. 50MP). In other words, roughly the same optimised file sizes but a higher resolution.
Now there are a lot of Asian Cinema and World Cinema titles that I have yet to add onto my blog (aka a delayed unboxing) that have had photos taken via the previous phone. I will probably keep it that way to help prove that I took the photos when they arrived rather than reshoot them, but I may redo the World Cinema ones since they're fairly recent. To recap why these are not instant blog posts it's because they are all pretty much blind purchases and I want to take a different approach with the write ups that go over each film so that they age better (in other words I will watch them first before I publish the unboxing post, as seen with the Category III films that 88 Films released).
The photos will still be shot during the day as I found that to be the best way to present them. I don't use lighting equipment or anything fancy and I prefer the simple approach that I have since it works well.
Akame ga Kill! (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Flowers of Evil (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: January 2024 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Season 1 (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
Parasyte -the maxim- (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: January 2024 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
SHIROBAKO (Collector's Edition Blu-ray)
Distributor: Anime Limited - Released: December 2023 - Ordered from: AllTheAnime Store
Unboxing link here
PHOTO UPDATES
As I have mentioned before in the Photos haul thread, I had to upgrade my phone because the previous one was on life support due to its battery inflation. While I could have gone for a slightly older phone I decided the jump in tech was more noticeable with last year's line-up so I decided to go with a Google Pixel 8 Pro after receiving a special deal related to it.
So what does this mean? Basically the photos will have a new look to them. The picture will look similar to the previous ones but with better resolution and detail. In addition due to the file size and resolution of the original assets I didn't want to use Adobe Illustrator for my optimisation because not only did it feel too blurry when I ran my tests but I also noticed the colour was slightly different, which was likely caused by the HDR to SDR conversion. It didn't help that the file sizes were too large and I didn't want to sacrifice too much on quality for the sake of it.
But I have found a solution, so not only have I been able to optimise the images I'm also able to keep them at a resolution that feels better as well for both the forums and my blog. So going forward, all 4:3 square photos on my blog will now go from 1368 x 1026 px (the original resolution was 3648 x 2736 px) over to 2040 x 1536 px (from 4080 x 3072 px i.e. 12MP). In addition, the widescreen photos will also move from 2052 x 1026 px (originally 3648 x 1824 px) over to 3840 x 2160px (from 8160 x 4590 px i.e. 50MP). In other words, roughly the same optimised file sizes but a higher resolution.
Now there are a lot of Asian Cinema and World Cinema titles that I have yet to add onto my blog (aka a delayed unboxing) that have had photos taken via the previous phone. I will probably keep it that way to help prove that I took the photos when they arrived rather than reshoot them, but I may redo the World Cinema ones since they're fairly recent. To recap why these are not instant blog posts it's because they are all pretty much blind purchases and I want to take a different approach with the write ups that go over each film so that they age better (in other words I will watch them first before I publish the unboxing post, as seen with the Category III films that 88 Films released).
The photos will still be shot during the day as I found that to be the best way to present them. I don't use lighting equipment or anything fancy and I prefer the simple approach that I have since it works well.