its time to take a break

So, I was in 'Sweatbox' today. That's where we all get together with the directors and they critique our shots. Give notes, and send us back to our cubicles to fix em' up for tomorrow's sweatbox. And someone let it out of the bag all open and nonchalant like that I'm leaving. So that's it. The cat's out of the bag. I was going to wait until Monday to let everyone here know, but word spreads like wildfire in the animation department, and I have a feeling everyone already knows anyway.
I'll write a sappy nice little e-mail on Tuesday morning to let the one or two hermits who don't talk to anyone know I'm leaving and that's that.
This blog is going on a little hiatus along with my feature animation career. I'll be taking a little walk in the woods for the next two months or so. You can check it out here if you like. And then some time in August when I return, I'll get back to this blogeroo where, hopefully, it will all be different. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes...

it is time to get my head straight

I don't know where I'm going. Really. Things need some structure in my life. I need clarity. I think I'll go for a walk... well, after my shot is done.

like a long plane ride every day

I just realized as I was sitting here in my cubicle, staring at the screen inches from my face that I feel like I'm on one of those 14 hour flights half way around the world. I have a headache. The food at lunch was terrible and my plastic fork broke trying to cut the chicken. There's a low hum coming from the HVAC system above my head, very reminiscent of the hum of the jet engines of a 747. It's even got that little jet of air blowing at my bald spot... Not cold, mind you, but lukewarm. Like when your grandma laughs in your face while pinching your cheek. The fabric covering the walls of my cube and the color palate.... Dang, if it's not spot on to Delta's decor from a few years back. There's even the constant chatter of peeps seated around me muffled by all the fabric, but still making its way through the music in my headphones. And I think someone just farted.

phantastic phephect

Special thanks to the other half of pantasox for this one. My girl M sent me this today and I had to plop it up here. Especially after that last post on inspiration. NFB of Canada's new stop-mo film, Tutli-Putli Is looking beautiful. They've taken a beautifully creepy puppet and composited human eyes on it! It's true what they say. The eyes are the window to the soul, and you can really see it here. Eye animation like this would take some mad time and skill for an animator to pull this off in every shot... Of course, this is a tiny vid, and it's hard to tell with the quick cuts what it really looks like, but it's really looking promising. I have to admit tho, the creators were really hamming it up when it came to working on a stop-motion film.



movie poobies:
The Interpreter **- whatever thriller with whatever story and whatever acting.
Flightplan *** - Heh. It's kind of embarrassing giving this three stars, but there's something about Jodie Foster thrillers that just get me right here.
Divine Trash *** - Documenting the filth and fury of it all.
Idiocracy ** - I wanted to laugh, I really did. Maybe I didn't laugh because I have a brain.

serious animation tip no.2

good artists borrow, great artists steal
-VG

Well, I dunno' if it can really be summed up so simply. After all, Van Gogh was probably half way through the gates of looneyville when he muttered those words. But it is true that inspiration comes from all around you. Sometimes it's good to remember that. Take last night, for example. I was watching Spider Man 3 and I was inspired never to make a movie that costs over 300 million dollars because it will inevitably turn out crappy.

Learn from the greats. One of my early inspirations came as a kid watching Disney flics like The Rescuers and 101 Dalmatians. There is a lot to learn from the peeps of the past. You can find some amazing behind the scenes footage here of Glen Kean's 2-D animating insight and magic.

George Pal is best known for his special effects in movies like The Time Machine and War of the Worlds, but what blew my mind was the first time I saw the Puppetoons series of cartoons. Stop-Motion replacements taken to the extreme. Some of my favorite replacement animation is found in the short, Harbor Lights, and check out the Nazi influenced 'screwball' robots in "Tulips Shall Grow" below.


Of all the videos and all the films in all the world, Charles and Ray Eames' Powers of Ten is the most influential in my life. I remember when I was 7 or 8, going to the Field Museum in Chicago and watching this in one of those old kiosk displays and being completely enveloped in it. Never before had I felt so much a part of something bigger than myself, and at the same time, so tiny and insignificant. The Eames simple explanation of the powers of ten has been re-made and adapted countless times since, but the original still holds the power to impress.


This trailer from indie video game artist Arnt Jensen got me all excited again for games. I have no idea when or if this will ever be finished and released, but we can all hope...


Ok Go's music vid is just fun. And my fascination with all things pac has been quenched for this entry.


Anders Nilsen and his 'Big Questions' series of comics is one of those brain opening experiences where you look in to the abyss and realize it's much bigger than you thought. It's like, man... I swear I dropped a pebble in to this thing a week ago and it hit ground down there but today, it's endless! Nilsen blends quiet contemplative environments and humor perfectly.


One can learn a lot from trying to mimic nature. Sony's Qiro biped robot came closer than any before in behaving like a human, But it's still definitely a machine. It's interesting to see the drawbacks of these bots, and to dissect which parts of the movements look real and which look artificial. Okay, DISCUSS!


New York Stop-Mo dude, PEZ having some old school fun. And by the way, if you feel like playing any of these and are in the NY are, be sure to stop by Barcade for a glass of beer and some quarter arcades!

baaawrrr

Like many animators out there, when I first saw Jurassic Park back in 1993 it was one of the biggest influences in just how far this fancy new computer technology would take over our medium. And to this day, the first Jurassic Park film's effects are some of the best ever put on film. But I gotta' say, seeing something physical right in front if you can be even more amazing.