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Downstairs Theater was started by a cast of two sometime around the summer of 2005. The episodes started out focusing around reviews and editorials, for example showcasing websites. Later episodes gave the show a more technology oriented view, and even explored some retro topics. The show came to a close in late 2006 after eight episodes. During this time, the idea for a new show based on mini episodes was mentioned, but never surfaced.

Episodes

Downstairs Theater — Episode 1

In the first episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Louis Martinez (left) and Joe Farro (right) discuss AwfulPlasticSurgery.com, which is a website devoted to the good, bad and ugly of plastic surgery. This is followed by a lengthy discussion about Britney Spears’ pregnancy, her ever changing bust size, and her website.

On the topic of celebrity websites, we did some searching to find out if Jeff Goldblum had an official website, and were instead greeted with a website called Jeff Goldblum is Watching You Poop…

Next, we take a look at a couple of websites (GoogleGlobetrotting.com and PerlJam.net) which index Google Map links that point to famous landmarks and interesting locations such as the Las Vegas Strip, the White House, the Playboy Mansion, etc. We also neither confirm nor deny the existance of Area 51.

After that, we discuss the movies “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “War of the Worlds”. We also take a look at the online Star Wars fan film “Revelations”.

Louis then tells the sad tale of attempting to set up a Windows XP computer with just a Serial ATA drive, and the troubles that are faced when you don’t have a floppy drive installed in your computer.

Finally, the show is wrapped up with a neat way to make a creative, colorful background in Windows from just a few pixels.

Downstairs Theater — Episode 2

In the second episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Louis Martinez (left) and Joe Farro (right) take a look at a bunch of really bad knock off toys on the Bootleg Toys website.

We then follow the exploits of Alain Roberts, who is known as the French Spiderman. This man climbs up very tall buildings without any harnesses!

Next, we jump back in time to the Commodore 64 era, where we take a look at a website that has a huge collection of sprite rips available, as well as some animations and more.

After that, we tell you where to catch some professional wrestling action online.

We then take the sprite rips from the previous segment and show you how to turn them in to Messenger emoticons.

Finally, we present a Microwave Suprise!

Downstairs Theater — Episode 3

In the third episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Louis Martinez and Joe Farro take you on a trip down The Oregon Trail.

We then show you some insane photo manipulations on Worth1000.com.

Next, we go through an emotional moment, and take you to a bunch of cute pet websites.

Finally, Louis presents a tech tip on how to fix a Maxtor hard drive that plays a song.

Downstairs Theater — Episode 3.5

In this special episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Louis Martinez and Joe Farro discuss our favorite 80′s cartoons with special guest host Mario.

The cartoons discussed include Voltron, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe, The Transformers, MASK, Snorks, Care Bears, Cabbage Patch Kids, Garbage Pail Kids, M.U.S.C.L.E., Spinjas, Gummi Bears, Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers, The Smurfs, GoBots, Thundercats, Visionaries, Silverhawks, Jem and the Holograms, Dungeons and Dragons, Justice League, Pac Man, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon’s Lair, Laser Tag, Photon, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Captian Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Centurions, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-ra Princess of Power!

Downstairs Theater — Episode 4

In the fourth episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Joe Farro (left) and Louis Martinez (right) give you an interesting new way to entertain your cat.

We then highlight the program Astra32. Astra32 is program that allows you to identify all of the hardware in your computer, including motherboard models, devices with no drivers installed, etc.

Next, we take a look at a website that will help you find the lost match to those socks that you lose.

Finally, we put the English language to shame as we highlight the electric tennis racket, “King of Electric Mosquito-Hitting Racket”

After you’ve finished this episode, don’t forget to check out the full text from the back of the package!

Downstairs Theater — Episode 5

In the fifth episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Joe and Louis introduce you to two more cast members, Jess and Jen.

We then take you to the streets of New York and let you eavesdrop on people.

Next, we feature game makers Binary Zoo, and 3 of their free titles, Mono, Duo and Duotris.

After that, we show you a ton of wrecked exotic vehicles.

Finally, we show you the little singing boxes known as Cubees!

Downstairs Theater — Episode 6

In the sixth episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Joe, Louis and Jess teach you how to Podcast.

We then show you where you can buy back all of the luggage you’ve lost after flying.

Next, we feature the games Grow Cube and Tontie from EyezMaze.com

After that, we teach you how to generate pictures of terrain, no matter what platform you compute on.

Finally, after Joe has been attacked by another assasain ninja, he looks to Louis to help him find a bodyguard!

Downstairs Theater — Episode 7

In the seventh episode of Downstairs Theater, hosts Joe, Louis and Jess find the Mac guy, and help him ditch his fanboy ways.

While helping the Mac guy, we reveal to him that he’s not using a real Mac, but instead, a Windows PC made to look and function just like one, using FlyAKiteOSX.

Next, we take a trip back in time to see where alot of your favorite FPS titles spawned from, Castle Wolfenstein.

There’s lots of other fun and adventure in this episode!

Downstairs Theater — Episode 8

Note, downloadable video is not letter-boxed in this fashion. In this very special, 50 minute episode, the entire cast and crew of Downstairs Theater (Joe, Louis, Jen, Jess, Lance and Benny) travel to the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington to cover the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX ’06)! In this episode, you’ll see:

Interviews: Ryan Rucinski – Obsidian Entertainment (Neverwinter Nights II) Justin A. Ziran – Wizards of the Coast (Magic the Gathering Online) Chris Larkin – RedOctane (Guitar Hero II) Mike Mika – Foundation 9 Entertainment Chris Charla – Foundation 9 Entertainment (Brooktown High) Lewis Mohr – ArenaNet (Guild Wars) Tom Fulp – The Behemoth (Castle Crashers) John Cox – Mythic Entertainment (Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning)

You’ll also see gameplay footage from some of the games mentioned above, as well as interviews with people that attended the event, footage from the Pitch Your Game Idea talk, and much much more!

WARNING: This episode has been unedited for language content. It contains strong language.

Downstairs Theater — Daz Studio Project — Part 1

Purpose

In this project, we’ll create a background image from a 3D rendered image that we’ll create ourselves. To create the image, we’ll utilize DAZ Studio, a free, easy to use, and yet powerful rendering system. The follow up to this video is available, and is titled: “Part 2 – Finding and using other content”.

About Daz Studio

Daz Studio is “Tellware”. Essentially tell your friends about it, and it’s yours to use. It allows you to create pretty amazing artwork in a few simple steps…mainly:

1 – Add a figure(s) to a scene. Note that this is typically a person, but can also be an animal. 2 – Add props to the figure(s). This can be clothing, weapons, environments, etc. 3 – Pose the figure, place the camera, add lighting if you wish 4 – Render your scene

This first project will go over these steps to create the image. Future segments regarding this project will demonstrate how to animate the figures, import more props from other sites, and more advanced techniques.

Requirements for this project

To do this project, you’ll need Daz Studio. To acquire it:

1. Navigate to www.daz3d.com 2. Find the link for Daz Studio, follow it 3. Follow the “Download for free” link. This will probably lead you to a sign up page. 4. Once you’ve downloaded Daz Studio, find the Content pack that should be available with it 5. Download the content pack, and if you wish while your at it, find Victoria and Michael Models, and download these as well. 6. Install all downloaded content

Note: Signing up on their site gives you access to their download area. They have both free and premium content on their site. By signing up, it gives you access to both simultaneously through the same system. You actually go through their site and “purchase” Daz Studio…for free. It shows up in the download cart, and then allows you to download it.

Once you’ve completed grabbing the software, head over to watch the video and see how easy it is to use!

Credits

This was a fairly straight forward tutorial. I would like to think TiffT785 for providing some great artwork at the intro. This artwork shows what can be done when someone spends time, has alot of skill, and adds in other art tools such as Photoshop to do post work. For a look at what the potential of this software is, or for just some really great artwork, View her site, and while there check out the other galleries on Renderosity.

Poser 6, a much more powerful tool than DAZ Studio, is available for sale, however it costs from 100 to 250 dollars to purchase.

Narrator – Joe Farro Victoria Model – Daz Studios Hair for Victoria Intro – Digitalbabes2.com Images for intro – TiffT785 ( View her site! )

(Actual final result rending from this tutorial)

Episode Notes

  • If you have problems posing your figures, make sure you hit “undo” and then go to the scene tab. Select the figure itself in the tree, then go back to the content tab and select your pose.
  • Starting out the program may look slightly different. It retains any view port customizations that you perform, of which I did several before I realized I’d be doing a tutorial with it.
  • The hair and figure from the intro are something I’ll cover later. For now, its fair to know that the hair is available on www.digitalbabes2.com and the clothing/figure are available for free off of the Daz website.
  • Victoria and Michael are the names of free models that DAZ is famous for. The Victoria model used in this demo is an LE version, the full is currently up on their site for free. These models have a very high polygon count and are extremely customizable.
  • If you get lost in the video, or want a webpage that has step by step to follow along with, please check out the excellent tutorial at: http://www.tuitzone.com/DazTut.html. It is along the same lines as my video tutorial, and even goes into deeper details on a few items such as texture colors.
  • Please feel free to send feedback to me, of what you’d like to see more of, less of, etc. Even requests, as this was done to help the community.
  • Nothing in this tutorial requires a purchase of any type. The main thing was to keep the entire thing free.
  • Part 2 of this video is available and is titled: “Part 2 – Finding and using other content”.

Related Links for this video

Downstairs Theater — Daz Studio Project — Part 2

Purpose

In part 2 of our project, we’ll show how to use content from various website such as renderosity.com, aerysoul.com, and others in Daz Studio. This video assumes only that you know as much as you learned in the first project, and that you have some basic knowledge of using folders and file structures. At the end of this video, you’ll know how to import hair, props, clothing, characters, lights, and other items into DAZ|Studio. In addition, some time is spent showing how to tweak some items to have them work properly, as well as going over how morph targets are used for such things as styling hair or ‘fitting’ clothing.

Using other content…some notes

Daz|Studio was created by the folks at Daz3d.com to have a free tool to do 3d rendering. They make money by selling items on their site such as models, animations, utilities, etc. To support the company, and get some great items for the tool, their site is a great place to start.

However, it’s also fun for the amateur to find some free stuff to play with. Daz graciously made their software compatible with Poser 4 and below objects…of which there are hundreds out there. At the bottom of this page is a list of links to help you find that content. This episode will help show you how to use it.

Not all content comes ‘ready made’. Some are addons, they require other content (free or otherwise). Some content may not have textures, or morph targets. You’ll find most of the stuff out there in the community however is very well made, with a lot of effort and detail put into it.

“Poser” is a 3d tool created by a company who’s name changes more than “the artist formerly known as Prince”. It’s a relatively inexpensive (for rendering software) package which can do some pretty advanced rending. As of this writing, version 6 of their software is out. DAZ is compatible with Poser 4′s content. When browsing sites looking for content, this is important to remember…you’ll find some content that was designed for “P5/P6″ which will cause Daz to throw a fit if you try to use it.

Requirements for this project

To do this project, you’ll need Daz Studio, and should know how to generally use it. See the first project if you have doubts/concerns/questions. All content used in this video is free (at the time of writing), and direct links are available in the Credits section on this page. Please note that many content sites require signing up before allowing you to download content.

Credits

Narrator – Joseph Farro Long Hair MK3 – Kozaburo www.digitalbabes2.com Elle Outfit – Creathena http://www.creathena.be/download5.htm Lighting – Valea http://www.renderosity.com/freestuff.ez?Form.Contrib=Valea&Topsectionid=0 Bodice / Gothic Prison http://www.aerysoul.com Victoria model: www.daz3d.com Daz Studio www.daz3d.com

Special Thanks Special thanks to those out there that put their hard work and time into making these models, and then sharing their creations.

Episode Notes (I’ll expand these as I get questions / feedback)

  • If you have problems posing your figures, make sure you hit “undo” and then go to the scene tab. Select the figure itself in the tree, then go back to the content tab and select your pose. (This is something that in this video I actually screw up a few times.
  • Please feel free to send feedback to me, of what you’d like to see more of, less of, etc. Even requests, as this was done to help the community.
  • Nothing in this tutorial requires a purchase of any type. The main thing was to keep the entire thing free.

(From the video tutorial – work in progress)

Related Links

Here I’ll list sites as they’re submitted, or as I find them, which provide free content. Please note, some of the following links may contain artistic nudity and may not be ‘work safe’. Site Name Link Notes Koz’s site http://www.digitalbabes2.com Some of the best transmapped hair on the net! Creathena (french) http://www.creathena.be/download5.htm French site, contains a few goodies if you dig around Renderosity http://www.renderosity.com/ Has TONS of content…hair, lights, props, outfits, figures, etc. Aery Soul http://www.aerysoul.com Great site with some excellent freebies Animotions http://www.animotions.com Hundreds of superhero figures Planit 3d http://www.planit3d.com/source/poser/poser.html Small but quality collection of characters, pose sets, etc. Morphography http://www.morphography.uk.vu/links_page.php TONS of 3d links, it’s where I start when trying to find new sites Daz3d http://www.daz3d.com Direct link to free models section. Also some figures (Vicky, Mike, Aiko) are free!

Downstairs Theater — Extra — April Fools Special

April Fools episode.

Downstairs Theater — Extra — Episode 6 Alternate Intro 1

Alternate intro.

Downstairs Theater — Extra — Episode 6 Alternate Intro 2

Alternate intro.

Downstairs Theater — Extra — Episode 7 Deleted Scene

Deleted scene.

Downstairs Theater — Extra — Guitar Hero 2 Interview

Interview.

Downstairs Theater — Extra — Neverwinter Nights 2 Interview

Interview.

Downstairs Theater — Extra — Warhammer Online Age of Reckoning Interview

Interview.

Downloads

http://www.archive.org/details/downstairstheater

External Links

http://www.downstairstheater.com/

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