Bryce is going to burn....

for breaking my new Gromit figure.

K -> Sharpens pointy stick.

More Director Interviews

From the Globe article, with a quote from Steve "Spaz" Williams, the director of "The Wild":

The Wild is Williams's directorial debut, and it's reportedly almost as irreverent as the man himself. It follows the after-hours life of a group of animals at the New York Zoo. (Ask him about the fact it sounds a bit like a clone of Dreamworks's Madagascar, and Williams bristles -- "I saw the script of The Wild in 2001. I call Madagascar the short before the feature. There's quite a quality difference."

I wonder how well this film will do, given the story similarities to Mad... If the story's really good, then maybe it will do OK?

Pixar-Disney

I seem to be one of the minority who aren't all that jazzed about Disney buying Pixar. In spite of their amazing history that kick-started the modern animation industry, I don't really like where Disney corporate have taken things in recent times. I guess I'm a little worried that the unification will adversely affect how Pixar goes about doing things. If Mr. Lasseter is to head up Disney's global animation unit, then chances are that his influence on Pixar output here in the Bay Area will be weakened. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen, for everyone I know that has worked with him confirm all talk of his genius.

Hmpf. It's easy to see what Steve Jobs can take from this, but aside from securing distribution, what do Pixar really stand to gain?

Well, I guess it's up to those guys to assuage my fears through their film releases over the next couple of years...

Hoodwinked Comment

I normally disagree with the Amid Amidi on a lot of things, but he seems to be pretty much bang on with his rebuff of director Cory Edwards's post about his film.

Face

Doodle...

Look What I Got!

I've been eyeing this for some time, and finally broke down and bought him. The pose is from "The Wrong Trousers"

I first saw this particular figure just after I moved to SF, but failed to get hold of one. I completely forgot about it, until I saw it in a shop Downtown. They wanted something like $200 Dollars for it, which of course I balked at paying. After a bit of an internet rummage, I finally got it from Blighty at a fraction of the cost.

For anyone who is interested, the sculpts are approved by Aards, and made by a small French company called Leblon Delienne. My friend JSG informs me that these are the best figures you can get, so that makes me happy.


PS. Extra points to the first person to name both figures in the background...

Tahoe Last Weekend

Mr. J. Schleifer esq.

Demo Reel (Redux)

I'm sure you've already seen this by now, but the Spline Doctors have put up some cool demo reel tips.

Remember that although your reel needs to follow these principles, it also needs to stand out from the crowd!

K

Grrr....

~> (

Animation Quality

Question: Can the general public tell the difference between quality ("expensive") animation and, um, not-quality animation?

Please say yes...

: /

View from Work

It was pretty strange out there the other day!

A Footnote on Applying

Just wanted to mention this in addition to the stuff on showreels:

This may sound obvious, but when applying to a studio, be it games, TV or feature film, then applicants should make sure that they are familiar with their recent work. It's amazing how many times this doesn't happen, and hardly looks great if this comes to light at interview!

Also, the application letters that accompany showreels should be company specific, for then you can mention the work, why you like it and how excited you would be for the opportunity to work there. Making a good first impression is pretty important, so every little thing counts.

Hope this is at least a little useful. I need to step away from the lectern now - I can feel myself turning into my lecturer Dad.

Noooo!

Emilio's Website

My friend Emilio has finally got his act together and made himself into a formidable online exhibitionist.

Go and have a look HERE.

The Dreaded Reel

Drew asked me some reel-related questions, and although I am no recruiter, I thought I'd have a go, but reply with a blog post so that other people can have a read if they are interested.


- Are there any particulars that you try to pay attention to when you are animating? Any mental checklist that gets your work from poses to performance in an efficient manner?


This is a tough one to start off with, and I'm certainly no efficient worker!
Without resorting to the stock answers that you normally get to this question, I try to think like an animator, rather than a computer animator. It is my job to create an engaging performance, and at the end of the day that is more important than all the minutae that comes with creating work in this medium.

A lot of the time I think about the situation, it's staging, and the characters' places within that, and then go on intuition, (with all those"mental checklist" points floating around in my brain somewhere). The aformentioned checklist is a good thing to bring out when the motion doesn't look quite right though - lines of action, arcs, silhouettes, spacing, weight, whatever. All of these techniques can get you back on track, but for me the scary thing is just seeing when stuff is wrong in the first place, and for that you need a certain level of talent and preferably a good pairs of eyes to turn to for a quick chat about your work.


- Are there any common mistakes that directors or supe's you've worked with tend to point out in dailies? (i.e. too much action in the scene, character consistancy and motivation, clarity... etc.)


Hmmm, well that all depends on the show, I guess. The approach and directing styles of Madagascar/Hedge and Shrek couldn't be more different, with the former favouring big, broad actions and the latter featuring lots of very subtle, dramatic performance. The notes I get seek to secure footage with those characteristics in mind.

Specifically, I would say that I usually tend to over animate the face, particularly the brows, and that will often show up come review time. At least it's easier to reduce something than it is to add stuff, so I guess it's always good to err on the side of 'more'.


- Short film vs. collection of animation tests? which is more effective (granted that they are both executed skillfully) in getting the attention of recruiters and animation directors?

The short answer: Reel A (great anim tests), and Reel B (great little short film), I would go with B, every time.

I don't think that this matters at the end of the day, but personally I would far rather see a short than animation exercises. Feature animation is all about storytelling, so why not show you can create a structured narrative? Not only will you demonstrate that you can animate, but also that you can create complex performance in an empathetic and meaningful context.

It is always good to show to understand the importance of a shot within a picture, and creating a successful short that draws people in will certainly help to bring meaning to the place of one shot within a sequence of many. I believe a recruiter wouold more likely to seek out an applicant who's reel garnered a positive emotive response and matching this criteria.

Also, and it kind of sucks to say this, but even though you are creating animation, it certainly helps if what you see on screen is visually appealing. I know, I know, but people are swayed by nice lighting and modelling and characters. Just think how many 'Maya grey' recruiters see
though, and you certainly want to stand out from the crowd! At the very least a bit of colour can work wonders.

Oooh, and put effort into the DVD cases and inserts. This is where you can further show off your creativity, and maybe those drawing skills!


- Do recruiters look at life drawings and whatnot when evaluating a candidate?

I doubt it. I don't think that this is super important when trying to get a job as a computer animator. What is important is the visualisation skills that you get from drawing. I love drawing. I'm no good at it at all, but the important thing is that I am able to visualise my work (through
thumbnailing) before jumping onto the computer, and this is what counts.

The people looking to recruit for an animation position will be looking for animation talent, and not draughtsmanship. As mentioned above, why not put your drawings on your DVD boxes?


- How many dialogue tests are sufficient for a first-timer without a whole lot of experience? I'm sure that showing action as well as acting would be the best, but is there something studios are looking for that they are not seeing enough of? I've seen demo reels that are all dialogue with no action and just the opposite.


I don't think that there are any numbers for this sort of stuff. If, for example, you have a fabulous little film, but it doesn't have dialogue, then it won't really hurt you at all, for it is implied that you would certainly be able to step up and deliver good dialogue shots when the time comes because you can animate.


At the end of the day, you just have to do the best you can and see what happens. Try showing some people with experience for that will certainly help significantly, I am sure.

Phew! I'm off to sleep now. My DDR training has worn off...
ZZZzzz...

PDI People

Cassidy was having fun with his new wide-angle lens at work. Meet some of my talented chums...

Heh.

Link to the Flickr set.

Pics from the Penguins Wrap

Just found these, and thought that I would post them.

The cool cake from our wrap party.

Everyone signed each others' posters.