Thursday, August 24, 2006
TEASER
bear animation on Vimeo
Have been pretty busy between working freelance and trying to get this shot tied down-- i knew it'd be a while until i would get it complete which is the way i wanted to present it, but i thought i owed it to everyone to show where it's at as of right now.
As far as critique, the one change i am going to make is a little bit of lip sync stuff arounf the "get outta here". Fast dialgoue can be tricky- and where i put the blink on the word "simple", i feel takes away from his expression and the sorta of "eureka" feeling i wanted, like, he's think "well isn't it obvious". I feel like taking the blink out, and closing the eyes before the accent on the I of "simple" and the overshooting them will give me a more truthful performance. so anyway, check it out and stay tuned!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
IT'S COMING!
IT'S COMING!!!!!
Hey everybody! The tie down is coming i promise-- this ones gonna take some time though! I'll do my best to post what and when i can but haven't had much to say yet. but believe me i will once i can show ya'll this tie down version! hang in there everybody and we'll see ya on the next post!
Hey everybody! The tie down is coming i promise-- this ones gonna take some time though! I'll do my best to post what and when i can but haven't had much to say yet. but believe me i will once i can show ya'll this tie down version! hang in there everybody and we'll see ya on the next post!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
What do "Lady in the Water" and Glen Keane have in common?
Man, all these new posts from me! What not working does for my blog is GREAT! Just have some ramblings i feeli like i wanna pour out on paper.
Saw Lady in the Water. I'm not gonna review it or anything, but in short i liked it quite a bit. There's always something i might have done a little differently but that's always true for any movie! I feel like it was one of the more straight forward films that M. Night has done. He sets it up, explains it, and then resolves it. no huge twist, which was nice for a change. I think we all kinda expect that now with his films. The thing that always amazes me is how misunderstood he is as a filmmaker... he's one of my favorite young guy directors so when people jus ignorantly say, "ahhh, he's that weirdo horror filmmaker right?" Naw man! His films have such emotion, and by the way they are thrillers not horror films. He always delves deep into a characters plight... anyway, i saw the film and was just thinking about how i'd love to see some different types of stories being told in animation. It also really made me miss working on features!
Well, as i walked out of the theater who did i see sitting with his daughter on a resturaunt patio? Yeah,ummmm, Glen Keane. Myfriend who was with me has heard me talk about all these guys so when i mentioned it even he was star struck. It was the weirdest thing-- i've sat next to Steve Martin in a screening room, talked to Mark Hamill, and even PeeWee Herman but no one makes me more nervous then someone like Glen. My knee's got weak, and i stopped being able to think of coherant things to say. I hate geeking out on the blog, but man, i haven't felt that way in a long time. My friend urged me to go interupt his dinner to say hi but i can't imagine how many strangers do that to him so i just kept walking. but it really made me think--
I am thankful that i am still able to do hand-drawn animation and make a living at it. All of my classmates, at least the ones who are animators, are not doing hand drawn but CG. even a lot of my co-workers have turned to it just out of necessity. and i have gotten to continue doing it, how lucky am i! but i have to admit, sometimes the projects i have to do can be a bit taxing to say the least. So walking out of that theater and then seeing a childhood hero just really made me long to really be apart of something i care deeply about. I don't care about fame as i'm sure Glen doesn't, but i do care about being apart of something that matters to me. Naturally my thoughts lead me to think about Disney doing hand drawn animation again. The cat's out of the bag, i mean we all know it's gonna be the Frog Princess, we all know they are building a new building where circle 7 is but who's gonna be apart of it? That's a road i can't go down, i can't worry about it. I have hope that my dream job will exist eventually-- So what DO Lady in the Water and Glen Keane have in common. I think they were reminders to me that so much is possible in animated filmmaking that we haven't even scratched yet, and that i so deeply want to be apart of scratching that new surface.
Saw Lady in the Water. I'm not gonna review it or anything, but in short i liked it quite a bit. There's always something i might have done a little differently but that's always true for any movie! I feel like it was one of the more straight forward films that M. Night has done. He sets it up, explains it, and then resolves it. no huge twist, which was nice for a change. I think we all kinda expect that now with his films. The thing that always amazes me is how misunderstood he is as a filmmaker... he's one of my favorite young guy directors so when people jus ignorantly say, "ahhh, he's that weirdo horror filmmaker right?" Naw man! His films have such emotion, and by the way they are thrillers not horror films. He always delves deep into a characters plight... anyway, i saw the film and was just thinking about how i'd love to see some different types of stories being told in animation. It also really made me miss working on features!
Well, as i walked out of the theater who did i see sitting with his daughter on a resturaunt patio? Yeah,ummmm, Glen Keane. Myfriend who was with me has heard me talk about all these guys so when i mentioned it even he was star struck. It was the weirdest thing-- i've sat next to Steve Martin in a screening room, talked to Mark Hamill, and even PeeWee Herman but no one makes me more nervous then someone like Glen. My knee's got weak, and i stopped being able to think of coherant things to say. I hate geeking out on the blog, but man, i haven't felt that way in a long time. My friend urged me to go interupt his dinner to say hi but i can't imagine how many strangers do that to him so i just kept walking. but it really made me think--
I am thankful that i am still able to do hand-drawn animation and make a living at it. All of my classmates, at least the ones who are animators, are not doing hand drawn but CG. even a lot of my co-workers have turned to it just out of necessity. and i have gotten to continue doing it, how lucky am i! but i have to admit, sometimes the projects i have to do can be a bit taxing to say the least. So walking out of that theater and then seeing a childhood hero just really made me long to really be apart of something i care deeply about. I don't care about fame as i'm sure Glen doesn't, but i do care about being apart of something that matters to me. Naturally my thoughts lead me to think about Disney doing hand drawn animation again. The cat's out of the bag, i mean we all know it's gonna be the Frog Princess, we all know they are building a new building where circle 7 is but who's gonna be apart of it? That's a road i can't go down, i can't worry about it. I have hope that my dream job will exist eventually-- So what DO Lady in the Water and Glen Keane have in common. I think they were reminders to me that so much is possible in animated filmmaking that we haven't even scratched yet, and that i so deeply want to be apart of scratching that new surface.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Random nuggets of joy
I've had a lot of time to sit around and think about what i might not have covered in the last few posts on animating a shot, so i've come to a boiling point now and i think i'm ready to spew out some thoughts.
Here's a debateable topic: Animate with lightbox on or off? As with MANY things in the process of animating this is what i've learned, EVERYONE DOES IT DIFFERENTLY! James Baxter animates with it on, others like John Pomeroy animate with it off. not all the time i'm sure, but that's at least what i've witnessed these 2 do. and yet, they are both great. answer... it's up to you- it's good to know the pro's and cons for having it on all the time.
PRO'S:
easy to track spacing
helps with keeping volumes
helps keep a good context in your mind of where you are
CONS:
Sometimes your drawings can get kinda flat
you stop flipping
things start to become mechanical
Me, i animate with it on most of the time, but, i always have my lamp angled "just so",so i can focus on the drawing i have on the pegs a little better. Like i said, it's seems to me that everyone does it differently.
Spacing: Here's an interesting subject that i'll cover more once i delve into tie down more, but spacing is something i've discovered few animators understand even though it's the difference between weight and no weight, laugh or no laugh in a scene. It's very technical but once you understand it you can start using it artistically. The bottom line for me and spacing is mostly about "where to put what", meaning, where do i use half's and where do i use thirds. It'snot easily explained, but i'll say this. Anytime you are slowing in and slowing out i typically use a 3rd on the very last inbetween to the key drawings. however if a character is slowing down but not to a complete stop and then progresses to speed up i will just use halfs. confused-- don't worry about it, i'll explain more later.
Ahhhh, here's a frustrating one! KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID! Everyone in animation knows this K.I.S.S. things. I think this is the critique i've heard more from animators i respect than any other critique. As animators we kinda wanna impress, ya know? show all our amazing "skills" to qoute Napoleon... but it's really a matter or being confident enough NOT to do something fancy to linger on a pose. I have found that this for me is atough line to draw sometimes. You can go too far in any direction really.... "if i hold it back too much, it'll have no nuance. If i don't simplify enough my poses won't read." Unfortunately there is no answer-- it's case dependsant, but the answer for each scene revolves around what the point of the shot is. and believe me you guys, i'm preaching to myself! If the scene benefits from those eye darts your throwing in there, then great, but if it's distracting then take'em out no matter how well executed they are. Something i heard alot from Tony Derosa was "work within the pose". I used to get confused cuz his stuff would seem so boiled down to me-- and THAT'S the point! He boils things down to their essence and works within the poses. working within the pose can be anything the character does while in the pose (head shakes, blinks, slight breathing). Look at the stuff on Sher Kahn, Milt could drawing anything and move stuff like no one else, yet, that's the most subtle stuff he ever did! What used to impress me was stuff that moved brilliantly (good weight and such), but now what blows me away is subtle acting that makes you feel something. It's kind of scary really-
Okay, just had to get that off of my chest! I am hoping that the next post can be a continuation of the "tutorial series!". I just finished 2 jobs and actually have time to work on my own stuff. yeah!! take it easy all!
Here's a debateable topic: Animate with lightbox on or off? As with MANY things in the process of animating this is what i've learned, EVERYONE DOES IT DIFFERENTLY! James Baxter animates with it on, others like John Pomeroy animate with it off. not all the time i'm sure, but that's at least what i've witnessed these 2 do. and yet, they are both great. answer... it's up to you- it's good to know the pro's and cons for having it on all the time.
PRO'S:
easy to track spacing
helps with keeping volumes
helps keep a good context in your mind of where you are
CONS:
Sometimes your drawings can get kinda flat
you stop flipping
things start to become mechanical
Me, i animate with it on most of the time, but, i always have my lamp angled "just so",so i can focus on the drawing i have on the pegs a little better. Like i said, it's seems to me that everyone does it differently.
Spacing: Here's an interesting subject that i'll cover more once i delve into tie down more, but spacing is something i've discovered few animators understand even though it's the difference between weight and no weight, laugh or no laugh in a scene. It's very technical but once you understand it you can start using it artistically. The bottom line for me and spacing is mostly about "where to put what", meaning, where do i use half's and where do i use thirds. It'snot easily explained, but i'll say this. Anytime you are slowing in and slowing out i typically use a 3rd on the very last inbetween to the key drawings. however if a character is slowing down but not to a complete stop and then progresses to speed up i will just use halfs. confused-- don't worry about it, i'll explain more later.
Ahhhh, here's a frustrating one! KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID! Everyone in animation knows this K.I.S.S. things. I think this is the critique i've heard more from animators i respect than any other critique. As animators we kinda wanna impress, ya know? show all our amazing "skills" to qoute Napoleon... but it's really a matter or being confident enough NOT to do something fancy to linger on a pose. I have found that this for me is atough line to draw sometimes. You can go too far in any direction really.... "if i hold it back too much, it'll have no nuance. If i don't simplify enough my poses won't read." Unfortunately there is no answer-- it's case dependsant, but the answer for each scene revolves around what the point of the shot is. and believe me you guys, i'm preaching to myself! If the scene benefits from those eye darts your throwing in there, then great, but if it's distracting then take'em out no matter how well executed they are. Something i heard alot from Tony Derosa was "work within the pose". I used to get confused cuz his stuff would seem so boiled down to me-- and THAT'S the point! He boils things down to their essence and works within the poses. working within the pose can be anything the character does while in the pose (head shakes, blinks, slight breathing). Look at the stuff on Sher Kahn, Milt could drawing anything and move stuff like no one else, yet, that's the most subtle stuff he ever did! What used to impress me was stuff that moved brilliantly (good weight and such), but now what blows me away is subtle acting that makes you feel something. It's kind of scary really-
Okay, just had to get that off of my chest! I am hoping that the next post can be a continuation of the "tutorial series!". I just finished 2 jobs and actually have time to work on my own stuff. yeah!! take it easy all!
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