Animation is about Possibilities and the Choices

We are all profoundly connected.

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Hey Stoopit !!!

Well thanks everyone at AM for making me feel like an idiot. yea, it's all yer fault. I've been cruising the campus and the work from the other students is so good that I just feel like a big poser. NOW I have to work even harder. Stupid bar always getting raised and all. But seroisly, I've been going to evey student website that I come accross and I've beem genuiny impressed with the caliber of artist partaking of this grand experiment. There are many working professionals out there. I paid off my first semester credit card so I'm ready for phase II.

I had a bouncing ball critique with my mentor, Jeremy Cantor, and he does something pretty special. He has us mail to him our Maya files so that he can crit our work both visually and technically. No room for pride here, the good doctor is checking up under the hood.

We've been focusing on bouncing balls for a couple of weeks and I think we're gonna stick with the principals surrounding them until we nail 'em.

Friday, April 22, 2005

Week 4- AM Update

It's been a long time since I've felt like taking my sketchbook out and did the deed. Bt AM changed all of that. They've taken all of the control away from the computer and put it back into my hands and the key to that feat was in the emphasis on the importance of posing. The keyframe is everything in terms of expression, acting, connecting to the audience, gesture, intention, and so much more. The finest actors of our day convey the subtlest of emotion with a glance, the deepest of desire with a minute nuance of expression. And that my good reader is all keyframing. Carlos Buena said that you need to know what you want before you start animating. That comes from observation and study. And what we want is good acting and the key pose is the way, the truth and the light. There is no time in animation for a game of cherade, where the audience tries to guess what we, the animators, are trying to say. The message has to be clear, with the sound off, in silhoette, and it has to grip the viewer. I want to affect people. I am affected.

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Sunday, April 17, 2005

Crit on static Stu

I received my critique from my mentor, Jeremy Cantor. He said that although my character was balanced and solid , he would like to see it more off-balance to make it more interesting. To make 'Stu' more commited to the action. I know he's right because everything that he said sounded familiar. Ironic.

Settling in...

The quality of people involved with AM is astounding. Thier work and industry stature far exceeds my expectations. I'm still trying to work around all of the bells and whistles on the AM site but I seem to have a pretty good handle on it now. Two of the unexpected discoveries is first, how valuable AM is as a networking tool (and potentially how effective it truly is) and within the ciriculum itself, that great acting and performance are not replaced by good software. It seems kind of obvious, but it's like the understanding that knowing how to swing a hammer, does not make you a carpenter. But you still need that hammer. An Animator is what you are. Maya is what you use. Passionate observation plus knowledge is how you breath life into your characters.

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Meeting with Carlos Baena

I was invited to meet with this guy in our Q&A section and what a friggin' blast it was. The technology allowed us to feel genuinly connected as we fired off questions and watched Carlos on the Web cams. The rest of us, about 20 I guess, chatted simultaneously while he 'monologued'. I was impressed at the passion and energy that Carlos exibited and I could tell that the other students were fully engaged. There was a heap o learning going on. I'm looking forward to future interactions when the studentswill be able to see each other during class. A true 'virtual classroom'. Oh, and who knows...we may even learn how to animate

Providence

I responded to a mass email from an old workmate and, long story short, my resume is in the hands of an Activision Producer whom I used to work for at the now defunked New World Computing/3DO. I was also just emailed a pdf of a script that a director friend of mine recieved partial financing for this week. This will the first full length feature that I storyboard. Up to now it's been all shorts and game cinematics, my bread and butter. This year is starting to shape up. I will be able to totally focus my attention on Animation Mentor and endeavors that directly relate to the tools used there in. I will continue to work my j.o.b. until those manifest. I won't have to do any laborous work on Thursday, so all day will be devoted to AM and surfing.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Week Numero Uno in Da Bag

My headhunter wants for me to interview for a CG position over an hour away. That won't work with AM so I started working a J.O.B. with my friend who is a master wallpaper hanger who can gaurantee me hard labor every week. Plenty of buckets of paste and staircases. Who needs a gym? So it's construction in the day and AM at night. My meeting with my mentor has been problematic with connection problems on the AM side. Postponed twice. The global meeting with the founders was also full of hiccups, but I'm confident that the AM techs will sort it out. This week has been for reserved for troubleshooting and reading assignments. We're reading he animators bible, The Illusion of Life. I'm in this for the long haul and no one said it would be easy. This is all cutting edge stuff and I'm honored to be a part of it. The lesson plans and videos all work fine so there's plenty to do. The chat areas are also in full swing and students are throwing up wonderful pieces. I'll try to post more frequently my good droogies.