This is a cool assembly video of the Steam Controller. They even used portal music which is a neat touch. It's just pretty interesting to see the process it goes through. I think it's pretty well shot. Also it seems that it's entirely built by machines. The first pair of human hands to touch it seem to be the consumer themself! But anyways, that's all for now.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Week 33 Comments
This week was pretty good. I'm really glad shadowing is done for awhile because I got super sick of that fast and was frustrating that that was taking time away from work. What made me happy this week was the other day finding out that I had been accepted into the animation program at Villa Maria! I'm very happy about this as it was one of my favorite colleges I've seen. I'm still applying to a few other colleges though just so I have options and to see what I get into. I'm looking forward to finishing my Typeography and starting other projects like my documentary. Now the link of interest.
This is a cool assembly video of the Steam Controller. They even used portal music which is a neat touch. It's just pretty interesting to see the process it goes through. I think it's pretty well shot. Also it seems that it's entirely built by machines. The first pair of human hands to touch it seem to be the consumer themself! But anyways, that's all for now.
This is a cool assembly video of the Steam Controller. They even used portal music which is a neat touch. It's just pretty interesting to see the process it goes through. I think it's pretty well shot. Also it seems that it's entirely built by machines. The first pair of human hands to touch it seem to be the consumer themself! But anyways, that's all for now.
You may not be good enough
These videos where about the struggles of keeping you're projects up to your own standards. In the first video Simon explains how the toughest part of the film-making process is the different emotions you feel through out development. While filming you might think it sucks, but throughout the editing you might start to like it, but then later go back on your feelings. Many filmmakers never like their own work after a while, and focus on trying to get better and better from project to project. Their are also some directors who think their work is perfectly fine but don't have much improvement. But the ideal director to be is someone who sees the good and bad in their own work and decides how to move forward but still appreciate the work they have done. But its important to get through you're own low points. A good way to think outside the box is to think how you're work will effect other people and not just yourself. Simon challenges you to make a film for a specific person or purpose and it might just inspire you again. The second video is a visualization of the same message of how most creative people have good taste but because of this no when their projects aren't good because we compare it to the things we love. But the most important thing is to not quit and to make yourself work constantly and set deadlines for yourself to improve.
I really liked these two videos a lot. I can relate to this issue very well as I feel that probably my biggest character flaw I have is that I always get super ambitious about creating something and then completely lose all interest and stop before finishing anything. These videos gave some great advice about not being selfish and trying to do stuff to impress other people besides yourself.
I really liked these two videos a lot. I can relate to this issue very well as I feel that probably my biggest character flaw I have is that I always get super ambitious about creating something and then completely lose all interest and stop before finishing anything. These videos gave some great advice about not being selfish and trying to do stuff to impress other people besides yourself.
Lessons to learn from traditional animation
This article was about Jay Jackson's lessons you can learn from traditional animation. Jay was trained under Eric Larson who was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, the big time animators at Disney. Jay learned that when he first started animating, just how important the posture of bodies are. He was dissapointed at first when he saw Eric's crude drawings, but after seeing them in motion he discovered just how important these key poses are. Jay also learned how important of trying every possible conceivable pose is. It's important to get across to the audience the mood and motion of the character, so everything must be tested. Jay finishes by saying how important it is to spend half of you're time thumb nailing and planning and the other half animating. The more time you spend planning, the better you're animation will be.
I thought this article had some very useful information in it. But I thought there would be a few more points in it honestly. Most of the article is describing how he was critiqued and not a bunch of juicy tips. But still the information in here is very useful.
I thought this article had some very useful information in it. But I thought there would be a few more points in it honestly. Most of the article is describing how he was critiqued and not a bunch of juicy tips. But still the information in here is very useful.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Week 32 Comments
This week was quite busy. We didn't have a lot of time to work because we started doing shadowing this past week. I found it fun at first but it does get quite tire sum the more people we get. What frustrated me this week was probably not getting to work on projects as much as I could have. My Typography project is going smooth so far but I'm going to need to step up the work if I want to meet the deadline on time, I think I'll be good though. What made me happy this week was getting the hang of After Effects more. The more I use after effects the more I like it. It's one of those programs I can imagine myself using a lot in the future for everything. I'm going to try and do as much as I can with it going forward as well. I also finally settled on a documentary to do. I don't want to spoil it, but I wanted to do something kind of weird but interesting, but you'll see. I'm looking forward to working more on my typography and starting the documentary. My personal life is going ok right now. I got scheduled for a lot of work this week though so....yay. But anyways onto the link of interest.
Here's a very interesting interview between Todd Howard from Bethesda and Notch the creator of Minecraft. It's a really good listen to hear them talk about the video game industry. I'm personally into that kind of stuff but I'm sure everyone will enjoy listening to this. But that's all for this week.
Keys to creating complex transitions
This article/video was about how the video "Playground, Italy" was about to create such nice transitions. The creator Matty Brown (nice rapper name huh?) explains how transitions are important because they carry the video from A to B. He explains how it looks nice when similar looking shots are parred together in a row, and how its a challenge to par different looking shots together. It's important to judge transitions as an art form so they can elevate the story. One way to make transitions go together better is to make sure they line up and have similar lighting. This helps with continuity and is less strenuous on the viewers eyes. While editing in post, it's important to remember what shots line up with what. So when you move them around you can see what matches what best. Often times the motion is what helps the most with transitions. Sound is also very, very important. Even if your footage is bad, good sound can make all the difference in the world, tugging at your viewers heart strings. A very important thing to keep in mind is making sure the right sound goes with the right clip and not being lazy. If you just think the transistion is good enough your video can seem not complete and rushed.
I enjoyed this video quite a bit. I can relate to this a lot though because my PSA project was about almost precisely this technique. I tried to make almost all the shots match up with each other. I thought the information in this video was very helpful for anyone wanting to achieve a similar effect as well.
I enjoyed this video quite a bit. I can relate to this a lot though because my PSA project was about almost precisely this technique. I tried to make almost all the shots match up with each other. I thought the information in this video was very helpful for anyone wanting to achieve a similar effect as well.
5 ways mythic structure will help your writing
This article was about how the structure of Myths can help you write better stories. The first point made was on Patterns. Life and Nature are full of patterns everywhere. In the Beginning of the Lion King, we see all sorts of different animals but all of them move in the same way mostly, once we see Simba we understand his place in the world. The next point was about how epic myths have epic impact. This one is pretty self explanatory. The bigger the tale is, the more crazy huge events will happen as the story unfolds. The next point was how everybody always wants something. All characters in stories are almost always driven by something that they want. In "Crossing the Threshold" we relate to the characters motivation because we want to see him succeed in his quest. The next point is on how we can't always win. This can be used to help us empathize with our hero because we relate to their failures because all of us have messed up or where not good enough for something at least a few times. And the last point is the take away lesson. This is similar to the moral of stories where it is what we ultimately take away from a story. This is shown in movies like The Wrestler where the main character accept his fate on how people will only care about him in the ring.
I thought this article was very interesting. It's interesting to see how some story telling elements never change. I'll definitely keep these in mind the more I write this year.
I thought this article was very interesting. It's interesting to see how some story telling elements never change. I'll definitely keep these in mind the more I write this year.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Week 31 Comments
This week was overall good, but a little frustrating with the tutorials. I've fallen behind with them lately and hopefully I'll catch up soon. I'm really excited to get more down and dirty with after effects and I can't wait until I'm more comfortable with it. What made me happy this week was going on the field trip. I actually liked Daemon a lot better this time than last. I think it was because I got to see more of their animation program though. It looks like a pretty good fit for me and I'm defintally applying there. Me personally though, I'm not looking forward to this week. I have to work 4 days and on Thanksgiving. But at least I'm getting paid double. But anyways, Link of interest time.
Here's the trailer for the new Marvel Netflix show, Jessica Jones. So far it's been pretty good, but not as good as Daredevil yet. I like how Marvel is trying a lot of new themes lately with all their TV shows and movies. I think this coming year is going to be one of their most interesting years yet with Cival War and Doctor Strange. But anyways, that's all for now.
Here's the trailer for the new Marvel Netflix show, Jessica Jones. So far it's been pretty good, but not as good as Daredevil yet. I like how Marvel is trying a lot of new themes lately with all their TV shows and movies. I think this coming year is going to be one of their most interesting years yet with Cival War and Doctor Strange. But anyways, that's all for now.
The Tech of the Peanuts
This article was about the technology that went behind animating the new Peanuts movie. The director of the film Steve Martino said a lot during the production of the movie when in doubt go back to the comics. This is of course referencing the 2D look of the comics and cartoons and emulating that in the 3D movie. One way they did this was keeping the view of the characters limited to the way they originally looked by Charles Schultz. They would also have to occasionally sculpt a model specific to the camera or it could look off model. Another problem was facial expressions. This is of course making them look hand drawn but still 3D. To do this the animators had to create an entire new system for the lines to wrap around the face. So much work went into this that Autodesk put the feature into Maya afterwards. Another problem was that the characters would often go into extreme poses that the original model could not achieve. The solution was to model different meshes to fit the animation. Motion lines where also added on later to help give it the old animation look. Although it's a lot of work, Blue Sky ultimately achieved a look that looks almost exactly like the old 2D shorts but being done in 3D.
I liked this article. It was very interesting to see how they changed the rules to make their animation look like it was 2D. To me that's a very interesting concept and I respect how they did that process and how great it looks in the end.
I liked this article. It was very interesting to see how they changed the rules to make their animation look like it was 2D. To me that's a very interesting concept and I respect how they did that process and how great it looks in the end.
How to record great sound with a camera
This article/video was about how to record great natural sounds with a camera. Normally, finding great natural sounds are hard. But this video gave some great tips with how to get some great sounds. Ambient noise is really important and it can be broken down into a few parts. Transient sounds, Evolving sounds and speech. Transient sounds are short and impactfull sounds, like a glass breaking or footsteps. Evolving sounds are long sounds that change over time. Like the hum of a light bulb or the sound of the outdoors. Speech sound effects are just that, sounds that involve a voice. This could be anything from the sounds of children in a playground or a busy mall. Each types of these sounds can be tricky to record and must be done differently. A camera with a shotgun mic is good for this. Levels should be set at minus 10 db at the beginning. Sounds can seem like their further away if they're quieter, but even with that it will still sound very close to your ears. This can be changed depending on the way you record the sounds. For instance if you record it super close, it will sound impactful and strong. But recording from far away can make it sound less important and quieter of course. For transient sounds, shooting up close is better because your not worry about context and want a short sweet sound. Adding more evolving sounds will add more context to your film. The audience can really create a better image of the environment with the addition of more of theses sounds. Speech sound effects known as "walla" help us relate more to the film as we identify with human noises.
I thought this article was really great, and I learned a lot about recording sounds. I didn't think about before how a boom mic is good at recording sound effects. It's interesting the different techniques required to get good sounds, like standing far away from the noise or not.
I thought this article was really great, and I learned a lot about recording sounds. I didn't think about before how a boom mic is good at recording sound effects. It's interesting the different techniques required to get good sounds, like standing far away from the noise or not.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Week 30 Comments
This week was a work week and we got to take a Field Trip to Villa Maria again. I was happy to go there again because it's my favorite college that I've been to so far. I also got to see the Animation classes flour sack animations. I hope I didn't crush there hopes and dreams too much though. Nothing really frustrated me this week honestly, but some of the shots we had to get for the PSAs Joe and I are working on we're a little tough at points. I'm currently looking forward to finishing the PSAs and going on the next field trip.
My link of interest this week is the trailer to the Warcraft movie. I wasn't that excited for the Movie at first but I think this could be pretty good. The CGI is a little cartoony, which at first I didn't like but it does fit the style of the actual game and it's growing on me. Honestly this trailer kind of makes me want to play World of Warcraft which I haven't played sense I was like 12. But anyways, that's all for now.
My link of interest this week is the trailer to the Warcraft movie. I wasn't that excited for the Movie at first but I think this could be pretty good. The CGI is a little cartoony, which at first I didn't like but it does fit the style of the actual game and it's growing on me. Honestly this trailer kind of makes me want to play World of Warcraft which I haven't played sense I was like 12. But anyways, that's all for now.
Inside Jonas Rivera and Out
This article was an interview with Pixar Producer Jonas Rivera. The first question he is asked is why is Riley's Mom's head motion sadness. This is because they really wanted to show that Riley's main emotion pushing her forward is happiness. They aren't trying to say that her mom is depressed, rather that her sadness comes out a little more than other people. The next question that was asked is if Pixar discovered any thing interesting about the human brain while working on the film. He explained that big thing was that there's a lot of scientific debate on a lot of things that go on in the brain. One thing that took a lot of discussion was the idea of long term and short term memory. In the movie it is shown that short term is displayed in the control room along with core memories, and at the end of the day they are sent off into long term memory. But of course a few things were scrapped like knowledge and understanding. The next question was if he was iffy on if a few things would work with the narrative or not. He feared that there where too many ingredients a lot of the times. Also for the fact that Joy loves Riley but Riley doesn't even know joy exists. Also they needed to know if the islands would work or not, and if they should destroy them or not. The next question was how many things they had to change in the film to match the emotional levels of different cultures. They had to change brocolli to a bell pepper in Japan because that's what they find discusting. Also they changed Riley's Dad from thinking about hocky to soccer in European countries. And the last question he is asked is if he is excited or nervous on the next film they are working on. He explains that he is having the same conversations with fellow Pixar people and are already thinking of exciting new ideas.
I liked this article. Pixar really are masters or their craft and the people there really know what they are doing. I've seen Inside Out and I thought it was a great movie. I was kinda sad that Pixar kinda had a recent streak of okay movies, but I really think they're getting their groove back and I can't wait for even more great movies.
I liked this article. Pixar really are masters or their craft and the people there really know what they are doing. I've seen Inside Out and I thought it was a great movie. I was kinda sad that Pixar kinda had a recent streak of okay movies, but I really think they're getting their groove back and I can't wait for even more great movies.
Making Blood
This article/video was about the history of Blood used on stage and in film. They go over a few basic ways the blood was made. The first way is the Grand Guignol. This is using vegetable Glycerine and then colored with red, a little bit of yellow and a touch of blue. Next is the Kensington Gore. This way is 2 parts of golden syrup, 1 part water Red/Yellow/Blue food coloring, a bit of corn starch, and peppermint extract taste. And finally theres the Modern Dick Smith Recipe. This is 2 quartz corn syrup, 5 oz Red/Yellow/Blue food coloring. Non-dairy coffee creamer to thicken it, Liquid lethicin and peppermint extract to taste.
I thought this video was good but a bit too long for my taste. I mean theres a lot of info in it but I don't really want to sit through a 20 minute video. But I found the ways they make blood interesting and I'll try some of them maybe myself this year.
I thought this video was good but a bit too long for my taste. I mean theres a lot of info in it but I don't really want to sit through a 20 minute video. But I found the ways they make blood interesting and I'll try some of them maybe myself this year.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Week 29 Comments
This week flew by. What made me happy this week was getting to film the first PSA video Joe and I are working on. It's hard to believe but we got it all done in one day. We got some pretty good results that we will have to tweak a tiny bit in post, but I think that the final result will be very good. What frustrated me this week was forgetting to bring headphones in on friday, Sense I couldn't use them, I wasn't able to finish up my Quest project that day, and I ended up going to the Halloween party in the commons for half of the day, and getting an astonishing 4th place in musical chairs. I'm currently looking forward to editing my PSA Video and also filming the second video soon. Personally, work at Tim Hortons has become very excruciating. But it does pay ok so that's nice. I'm looking forward to Christmas where I can spend some save upped money (and some loaned money from the bank) on a brand new PC for editing videos, playing games and everything a shut in can dream for. But anyways, onto the link of interest.
This video is from of series of videos based on DidYouKnowGaming called DidYouKnowVoiceActing. I'm very much into Voice Acting and it's history and I love this series a lot. This one is on all the voice acting that was involved in last years Smash Bros game. It's really interesting to see all the different aspects that went into this game. But anyways, that's all for this week.
9 Compositing shot tips
This article/video was about different tips for composting shots in film. Rules of Thirds is a common one. This is where you line up points of interest on intersections on a grid. The next one is leading lines. This is where you have to parallel lines horizontal or vertical in a shot of your points of interest. This can create a nice effect. Next is is Diagonal lines. This effect is similar to the last but can create a sense of motion. The next one is framing. This is where you can create a frame within a frame. It can create an effect where maybe you don't want to reveal everything. Figure to the ground is where you create strong contrast between your subject and background. This can create a nice sense of depth. Fill the frame is how much of your subject is filling the entire frame. This can be very important and can adjust the aesthetic effect of your shot. Another effect is Center Dominant Eye. By placing the dominant eye in the very center of the shot, can give the illusion that it is following you. Patterns and repetition is also important as it can create a sense of chaos or order, depending on how you use it. Symmetry is also important as it is naturally nice looking for humans. This is to make everything look perfect basically. But it is important to note there really is no defined rules in cinematography and you should focus on what looks pleasing to you as an artist.
I enjoyed this article a lot more than the other one. It was short, informative and to the point. I can't wait to try a lot these techniques in my projects this year.
I enjoyed this article a lot more than the other one. It was short, informative and to the point. I can't wait to try a lot these techniques in my projects this year.
What type of animator should I be?
This article was an interview with ILM Animator Erik Morgansen on the different types of animators and which you should be. The first question he is asked is what type of work you should use when submitting your work to studios. He says for this you need to keep in mind what you're submitting for what the project you'd be working on is. If its for a How to Train Your Dragon movie, then you probably will want to submit some creature animation. You also should consider what is your relevant work and your best work. For video games, consider which type of games you'd be making. If it's Halo, you should submit sci-fy type work. Or if it's a Mario game, some squash and stretch work would be best. You should also decide on which type of studio it is. If it's an Animation studio you should focus on character animation. If it's an VFX Studio, then you should look into animation that involves physics and realistic animation. And if it's a boutique studio then you can focus on rigging, modeling, simulation and texturing skills.
The next question he was asked is on is where should you get started. He suggests looking into mentor-ships, as a way to improve your own work. Sometimes watching the best work, really gives you a lot of insight onto how to improve you're own. And having professionals critique your work really helps you strive to improve. He also talks about how he acts as a mentor. He explains that he gives his student a clear idea of what it is like to work in the industry. It's about knowing what directors want, what blocking is necessary and communicating with your team. He also says unless a student is really struggling, he is always hands-off, which helps students feel like their shots are their own.
The next question he is asked is what are some common mistakes students make when starting out. He explains that students struggle with getting variation in different parts of the body. To solve this. its important to think of the hierarchy in the body in characters and think on how certain parts effect others. Anticipation is also important, in so that it should match the movement. The last one is getting eye direction in shots. To solve this it's important to understand your character and what situation they are in.
The next question is what is the most gratifying part in being a mentor. He says that its easy for him to anticipate mistakes and help students with them. And its also gratifying for him to help students make a few changes and have them feel good about their work. It also makes him glad in his career and see younger people start out their careers in the field.
The next question was having humanity. It's important to pace yourself and make sure you can take criticism from other people. Confidence is really important and can make a tremendous difference.
His closing thoughts are make sure you know the fundamentals and work on it. Also enjoy your work, and people are bound to enjoy it too.
I thought this article was helpful, but unnecessarily long. A lot of this stuff is important but I was struggling to get through it all. But I'm sure die hard animators will enjoy this article.
The next question he was asked is on is where should you get started. He suggests looking into mentor-ships, as a way to improve your own work. Sometimes watching the best work, really gives you a lot of insight onto how to improve you're own. And having professionals critique your work really helps you strive to improve. He also talks about how he acts as a mentor. He explains that he gives his student a clear idea of what it is like to work in the industry. It's about knowing what directors want, what blocking is necessary and communicating with your team. He also says unless a student is really struggling, he is always hands-off, which helps students feel like their shots are their own.
The next question he is asked is what are some common mistakes students make when starting out. He explains that students struggle with getting variation in different parts of the body. To solve this. its important to think of the hierarchy in the body in characters and think on how certain parts effect others. Anticipation is also important, in so that it should match the movement. The last one is getting eye direction in shots. To solve this it's important to understand your character and what situation they are in.
The next question is what is the most gratifying part in being a mentor. He says that its easy for him to anticipate mistakes and help students with them. And its also gratifying for him to help students make a few changes and have them feel good about their work. It also makes him glad in his career and see younger people start out their careers in the field.
The next question was having humanity. It's important to pace yourself and make sure you can take criticism from other people. Confidence is really important and can make a tremendous difference.
His closing thoughts are make sure you know the fundamentals and work on it. Also enjoy your work, and people are bound to enjoy it too.
I thought this article was helpful, but unnecessarily long. A lot of this stuff is important but I was struggling to get through it all. But I'm sure die hard animators will enjoy this article.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Week 28 Comments
Work, Demos, Work, Demos can probably best describe this week. I was a little frustrated with the premiere demos a little bit. It's not hard to do what they are asking, but it can be confusing the way they word things. I was able to finish 3 of the 4 we have received though, and I'll try to finish the last one this weekend. Something that made me happy this week was getting two new puppies yesterday! They're Springer Spaniels and are a boy and girl. We kinda settled on the name Riley for the girl, but my family wants to name the boy Bruno, which I am strongly campaigning against. If any one can think of a name, shoot me out a suggestion. Here's pictures of them if you guys are interested. I'm looking forward to the fact that we're almost done with premiere demos and are getting started with After Effects soon.
And now, the link of interest... This is probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I think it's best to watch it blind, but it's just amazing the lengths this guy goes through to help out the small buisness. Anyways, that's all for now.
And now, the link of interest... This is probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I think it's best to watch it blind, but it's just amazing the lengths this guy goes through to help out the small buisness. Anyways, that's all for now.
Habits of people with great ideas
This article is about how people who thought of great ideas go about their life to get these. The first thing is that they look for inspiration in unexpected places. It's easy to look into your own area of study to look at what other people have done. But sometimes inspiration can come from completely different areas of career. For instance car designers may get inspiration from furniture designers. Another thing is making slow decisions. If you rush yourself to think of everything, your mind probably won't think of much at all. Smart people pace themselves so they can have all their ideas form naturally. Another thing is that they find Internal Motivation. People best work when they're doing creative work for themselves, and not getting pushed by a company or something. It's important to do what you love, and not push other foreign things onto yourself. Another thing is starting from scratch. It's very easy to take an already cool thing and try to improve upon it. But what works better is going back to basics and pretending that thing doesn't exist, and ask yourself what would be the best version of this possible. Another thing is taking risks. It's easy to stick to what works, but sometimes new and different is so much better. If you get caught in doing the same thing, over and over then it can become formulaic. Another thing is finding connections between experiences. Often times, creativity comes from connecting different things together. A lot of the times creative people feel guilty when explaining how they came up with something, because they really just merged a few established things into a more convenient package. And the last thing is being open to magic. Sometimes ideas don't have to form but are just waiting to be made. It's all about conjuring them up to fit the standard of reality.
I thought this article was informative and very relatable. It can be really challenging to think of new ideas in today's competitive market, but It's all about thinking outside the box when it really comes down to it.
I thought this article was informative and very relatable. It can be really challenging to think of new ideas in today's competitive market, but It's all about thinking outside the box when it really comes down to it.
Cool Marvel Titles
This Article was about how the titles for Marvel Movies are made. They are primarily made by Fede Ponce, who is a freelance artist. He also answered a few questions about his job. He first got started with this career with working on the Hitman movie for FOX. It was one of the first times a movie wanted to do a heavy CG trailer campaign. It was very popular at the time and started to become a new standard for film trailers. He also had quite a lot of time to work on these because sense movies take time, he would work on them 2 or 3 years before the movie came out. He would have to think through a lot of things though when making them. For instance different TV sizes and even phone screens. They also use software like Zbrush and Maya for making the titles, and then Maya again, Houdini and NUKE for Animating and Compostiting. For Thor: the Dark World, He had to design many different type interfaces for Marvel until they could design one that worked on multiple devices and Marvel liked. The Iron Man 3 title had similar requirements with it having it be red with the quality of metal. When they started working on it, they didn't have reference to go off of, so they had to design their own. But sometimes the titles don't see the light of day, as they had a cool Avengers title that had metal flowing together to form the logo. But they ended up going with a different one.
I thought this article was very interesting. You never really think about how much work goes into the titles of the movies, but It's definitely a lot. This article also got me more interested in CG as well.
I thought this article was very interesting. You never really think about how much work goes into the titles of the movies, but It's definitely a lot. This article also got me more interested in CG as well.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Week 27 Comments
This week we had a few work days to finish up the audio stories, and we finally started premiere demos. A lot of people are upset about us having to do premiere demos, but I am actually learning a lot of stuff I didn't know already, so I'm fine with it. What's frustrating to me though is the exercise we have to do. It's not tough to do the stuff but understanding what it's asking for you to do can be challenging. Like how my timeline looks different than how it should even though I followed all of the steps. But I'm sure I'll figure it out this week, so I'm not too worried. What made me happy this week was finishing my audio demo. It's pretty good in my opinion, but I didn't realize until I was turning it in of how long it is. It's about 4 minutes long, so hopefully it isn't too big of a deal, but I still think it came out good. I don't have that much of a doubt you guys will have a hard time figuring out the story though... Anyways, I'm looking forward to learning more about premiere and eventually learning After Effects soon. Now Link of Interest...
I know this is kinda self promotion and shameless but whatever. I'm not sure how many of you guys know this but me and Joe D have a podcast where we discuss Video Games and Movies. We've been a little short on content recently but we hope to get back on track soon. We mostly do it for fun sense we have next to no viewers. But you guys should check it out! In this one we discuss Metal Gear Solid V and Birdman. (Be warned there is some swearing) But anyways, that's all for now. Ta-tah.
I know this is kinda self promotion and shameless but whatever. I'm not sure how many of you guys know this but me and Joe D have a podcast where we discuss Video Games and Movies. We've been a little short on content recently but we hope to get back on track soon. We mostly do it for fun sense we have next to no viewers. But you guys should check it out! In this one we discuss Metal Gear Solid V and Birdman. (Be warned there is some swearing) But anyways, that's all for now. Ta-tah.
Using music to make dynamic films
This article was about how music can really push your films have a lot more emotion and depth. The video explains several examples in film where this is apparent. The first example is Forrest Gump, and how a lot of films incorporate Scores made specifically for the movie and other songs that fit the mood. Another few examples would be how in Pyscho, the famous shower scene is way less frightening without the score. And how in Pirates of the Caribbean, how the mood of Jack Sparrow overlooking the island from the ship can be changed with different music. Ways music effects movies has been around sense the silent age of film. Piano accompaniments had been part of theaters to make sure the theater wasn't silent and sometimes the pianists would even receive sheet music for the film. Minor chords sound unnerving which would be used for evil characters. Heroes get uplifting anthems, chase scenes have a fast tempo and sad scenes have slow music. While films have gotten bigger and bigger along with the music, the general music cues have remained the same. Sometimes certain instrument sounds we can associate with emotion. Like how in Psycho the screeching of the violin, we associate with stress and danger. Music can also create anticipation, like how in Jaws we hear the famous music before the shark even shows up. There are certain specific ways scores help a scene though. The first way is the music in the film having a theme for the setting. An example would be how in Westerns the music has a very specific sound. Another way is how certain dangers get reinforced through music. We may not see the danger, but the music reminds us its there. Another way is continuity. If a series of shots has the same music, we relate the shots together in our head. A good example of this would be training montages, like in Rocky. Another way is Cues, like in Citizen Kane certain music means a flash back is coming. And the last way is to fill silence. This is the hardest to do because the audience shouldn't notice it. It's usually ambient like music that fits the theme of the scene. And sometimes, no music can all can work just as well. Like in Saving Private Ryan, all we hear is the sounds of gun shots and explosions.
This was a very informative article. I am also a strong believer in music and sound effects helping film. In fact it's almost more important than you're visuals, because it's what people take in first. Very good article, and I hope to use it's advice soon.
This was a very informative article. I am also a strong believer in music and sound effects helping film. In fact it's almost more important than you're visuals, because it's what people take in first. Very good article, and I hope to use it's advice soon.
Disney Sketch to 3D
This article is about technology Disney is developing for kids. It's a Coloring book with an app component where what you draw on the paper, textures onto a 3D model in real-time. A few tests with older people showed it improved people's motivation to color more. Robert W. Sumner says that it is great that new technology like this can improves people's attitude to be more creative. To make this technology, 3D Artists had to first make custom models, and then create a way for the paper to be translated to the model. There are a few problems though. Some parts of the character simply can not be seen due to angles. Therefore the computer had to analyze what colors the person is using on other parts of the character and generate what it should look like there as well. I thought this article was very interesting. I wouldn't have that much of a use for this myself, but I can see younger kids enjoying this in the future. It's great that technology is really pushing creativity these days. The later you're born, the more cool options technology will give you to make art.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Week 26 Comments
This past week was mostly a work week, which is more than accepted. I'm honestly really ready to start working on the film stuff though, which seems to be coming up soon. Something that frustrated me this week was figuring out a few things in Photoshop but nothing too bad. Something that made me happy this week was seeing everyone's Photoshop creations on the wall. We really got some really good ones all around this year in my opinion, and I'm glad a lot of you liked my stuff. And like I said I'm looking forward to the film stuff. Personally though, I've been pretty busy in my life recently. When I'm not at school I'm probably at my Job or an after school thing. I barely have time to even play games anymore! But alas, as Jim Carey once said "That's the way the cookie crumbles". Now the link of interest.
This is the first video in Cinemassacre's Annual Monster Madness. Every October they do a Horror movie review each day leading up to Halloween. They do great reviews and discussions on the movies, and I found a lot of cool movies through the reviews throughout the years. But anyways, that's all for now. A fine October to everyone.
This is the first video in Cinemassacre's Annual Monster Madness. Every October they do a Horror movie review each day leading up to Halloween. They do great reviews and discussions on the movies, and I found a lot of cool movies through the reviews throughout the years. But anyways, that's all for now. A fine October to everyone.
Bad vs Good Action Scenes
This video was by Corridor Digital's Sam and Niko. They discuss the things that make a good action scene, and a bad one. Bad action scenes typical add nothing to the story, don't show a lot of the action with quick cuts and isn't well thought out. One thing that makes a GOOD action scene is showing all of the action. Another thing is showing all the action with wider shots that let you see what's happening, longer movement which adds to a scene without making it confusing. Another one is clear sense of space, which helps you understand why the character would make a decision given their surroundings. Another big one is showing the action and reaction in the same shot. All of these techniques cost time and money which is why you see them less and less, but they add so much to the scenes. Bad action scenes will resort to shaky cam, not showing the action, obscure movement, quick cuts. Although, implying movement isn't always bad. A nice effect in this would be in Saving Private Ryan, where we see only one of the characters view of a huge battle, where we can infer that even more violence is happening that we can't see. The best action scenes show an emotional arc for the character. Meaning we see how their reacting to a scene emotionally and see what the pay off is at the end. A good example of this is the last scene in The Matrix. Neo is told the whole film that he is the savior of humanity, but is starting to question that by this point. In this scene Neo needs to prove himself by getting some confidence. This is great because it gives us a reason to root for him during the scene. But with all this, it doesn't mean a huge spectacle of a scene can't be awesome. It just needs to balanced out with all of this. But without an emotional attachment to the characters, it means nothing.
I really enjoyed this video. I've always thought this exact thing myself as a movie-goer in recent years. Which is why when a movie with GREAT action scenes comes around like Mad Max Fury Road or Kingsman: The Secret Service, we all praise it. But the fact is most movies will always resort to the cheap tricks because of money. I really want to put all these awesome tricks into my own stuff this year, and hopefully I'll be able to pull it off half as well as some of the great action scenes of Film.
I really enjoyed this video. I've always thought this exact thing myself as a movie-goer in recent years. Which is why when a movie with GREAT action scenes comes around like Mad Max Fury Road or Kingsman: The Secret Service, we all praise it. But the fact is most movies will always resort to the cheap tricks because of money. I really want to put all these awesome tricks into my own stuff this year, and hopefully I'll be able to pull it off half as well as some of the great action scenes of Film.
Virtual Reality Films
This article was about how Virtual Reality can change films forever. Beyza Boyacioglu recalls her experience at the sundance with this. It begins with you watching Mongolian Yak herders while in the virtual reality environment. In the next scene, you can see the yak super up close. Then in the next scene was in a house where you can see a family eating a meal. This Virtual Reality film can also be viewed in an Oculus Rift, Samsung Galaxy Gear or other VR headsets. This is relatively new technology so while their isn't any off the shelf tech you can buy for capturing 360 degree 3D video, it's being developed right now. Such a layout requires multiple cameras covering all angles. So theirs no-one behind the camera, meaning the actors are by themselves. The videos are then "stitched" together making the 360 effect. Their is also multiple audio recorders on the device, so wherever you point your head you'll hear the correct audio. As of now though, the viewer is only limited to sight not movement so you can only stay in one spot. The point of these films is to immerse the viewer into the scene, making you feel like you're part of the movie. The author noted that the experience was great but we are yet to see if the potential of this technology is just a fad or not.
I liked this article, but I didn't like reading through the whole description of what the viewer experienced in the film. But never the less, I was very interested in all the Virtual Reality stuff. But while I think Virtual Reality movies are cool, I think it belongs mostly to games. Just because they are way more interactive and immerses the viewer even more into the virtual world. I personally don't think Virtual Reality is just a fad, I think it will be around for a long time and will be one of the biggest new inventions of the 21st Century. We haven't really had the technology until now, and as soon as some big name consumer products come out, it's going to explode in popularity. My personal favorite VR Experience right now would have to be Valve and HTC's Vive.
I liked this article, but I didn't like reading through the whole description of what the viewer experienced in the film. But never the less, I was very interested in all the Virtual Reality stuff. But while I think Virtual Reality movies are cool, I think it belongs mostly to games. Just because they are way more interactive and immerses the viewer even more into the virtual world. I personally don't think Virtual Reality is just a fad, I think it will be around for a long time and will be one of the biggest new inventions of the 21st Century. We haven't really had the technology until now, and as soon as some big name consumer products come out, it's going to explode in popularity. My personal favorite VR Experience right now would have to be Valve and HTC's Vive.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Week 25 Comments
This week was a lot of working in Photoshop and some tests. I do like working in Photoshop a lot and I thought I knew the program pretty well before but I'm still learning new things all the time. Right now though I'm really getting anxious to start film. I know the Photoshop stuff is important, but I've never really done any short films or anything before. And I really just want to jump right in. I also am really excited to learn Adobe After Effects, as I don't have a good understanding of the program at all yet but I really, really, really want to learn. The only thing that frustrated me this week was maybe getting stuck a little bit in Photoshop a few times, that's all. Also I tried doing a video blog for the first time but I kinda quit halfway through because I think I'm faster at writing honestly. But I don't know maybe I'll try it next week. What made me happy this week was showing off some of my Photoshop stuff that some people liked. And now the link of interest.
My Link of Interest this week is a website called Code Academy. I know this won't interest everybody but I've decided that in my spare time I'm going to take up Coding. I've wanted to make games for years now, and I realized recently that programming was always the thing that stopped me from doing so. I mean you can always do tutorials but if you do those you only really know how to do super specific things, and don't get a general idea how to make games. So I'm using the website to learn JavaScript, and once I get a good understanding of that, I'm going to try and start getting to making games in Unity 3D. It's really easy for me to gain interest in something, and lose it rather quickly. So for this I'm really going to try to do. I honestly feel like an artist with no art sometimes. So yeah if any of you have an interest in learning to program. Here's a great website to get started. I also recommend checking out Code.org , but I think that's more for younger kids. Anyways, that's all for this week.
My Link of Interest this week is a website called Code Academy. I know this won't interest everybody but I've decided that in my spare time I'm going to take up Coding. I've wanted to make games for years now, and I realized recently that programming was always the thing that stopped me from doing so. I mean you can always do tutorials but if you do those you only really know how to do super specific things, and don't get a general idea how to make games. So I'm using the website to learn JavaScript, and once I get a good understanding of that, I'm going to try and start getting to making games in Unity 3D. It's really easy for me to gain interest in something, and lose it rather quickly. So for this I'm really going to try to do. I honestly feel like an artist with no art sometimes. So yeah if any of you have an interest in learning to program. Here's a great website to get started. I also recommend checking out Code.org , but I think that's more for younger kids. Anyways, that's all for this week.
Why Chuck Jones is basically a god
This Video is by Tony Zhou of everything frame of painting. It goes over the different techniques Chuck Jones used throughout his Animation Career at Looney Tunes, and why this makes him such a great director. The first technique Chuck used is a two part joke system with Assumptions, and then something completely unexpected happening. This is used constantly throughout Looney Tunes, Like for instance Roadrunner cartoons, where Wile E. Coyote has and elaborate trap that ultimately blows up in his face.
The next technique that Chuck Jones used was putting an emphasis on character. The main thing that he used to break down character was aspiration. For instance Daffy wants glory, Pepe le pew wants love and Wile wants the roadrunner. It doesn't matter how simple the desire is, in fact the simpler the more intriguing the character is. Another point piggybacking off this one is how the character moves. It's important to understand how your character thinks and how they will move to show that. You should be able to understand the character by the way they move. And when we understand our characters more, we are self can make assumptions about the character that will make jokes even funnier.
But with all this, there is a problem. You can fall into a formula and the cartoons can get old fast. But Chuck Jones had a solution to this, which he used the make his cartoons better which is Discipline. This is where he challenged himself to set limitations to the cartoons to see if he could overcome it with his creativity. Such as giving characters no mouths, faces, or even no dialogue. A good example of this would be Bugs Bunny. Bugs is only a smartass jerk when his is provoked. He is still a good character but won't take crap unless he has too. Another technique Chuck used was using the smallest facial changes to get laughs. In his earlier work he would go all out with crazy faces. But this technique works really well too in getting laughs. And the last point made is how Chuck said you need to study real life to get better work, because understanding of the real world can make animations so much better. He also encouraged reading because that's another way to bring new ideas to the head.
I really enjoyed this video as I have been a fan of Every Frame of Painting for while now. I really respect Tony a lot and his vast knowledge for how Films make you feel things and really the true art of film making. I think his analysis of Chuck Jones is perfect and would make Chuck himself proud. I also recommenced his videos on Jackie Chan, Edgar Wright and Akira Kurosawa as well.
The next technique that Chuck Jones used was putting an emphasis on character. The main thing that he used to break down character was aspiration. For instance Daffy wants glory, Pepe le pew wants love and Wile wants the roadrunner. It doesn't matter how simple the desire is, in fact the simpler the more intriguing the character is. Another point piggybacking off this one is how the character moves. It's important to understand how your character thinks and how they will move to show that. You should be able to understand the character by the way they move. And when we understand our characters more, we are self can make assumptions about the character that will make jokes even funnier.
But with all this, there is a problem. You can fall into a formula and the cartoons can get old fast. But Chuck Jones had a solution to this, which he used the make his cartoons better which is Discipline. This is where he challenged himself to set limitations to the cartoons to see if he could overcome it with his creativity. Such as giving characters no mouths, faces, or even no dialogue. A good example of this would be Bugs Bunny. Bugs is only a smartass jerk when his is provoked. He is still a good character but won't take crap unless he has too. Another technique Chuck used was using the smallest facial changes to get laughs. In his earlier work he would go all out with crazy faces. But this technique works really well too in getting laughs. And the last point made is how Chuck said you need to study real life to get better work, because understanding of the real world can make animations so much better. He also encouraged reading because that's another way to bring new ideas to the head.
I really enjoyed this video as I have been a fan of Every Frame of Painting for while now. I really respect Tony a lot and his vast knowledge for how Films make you feel things and really the true art of film making. I think his analysis of Chuck Jones is perfect and would make Chuck himself proud. I also recommenced his videos on Jackie Chan, Edgar Wright and Akira Kurosawa as well.
Ways to use props to get a more interesting film
This article/video was about how to use props to your advantage in movies to get a more interesting film. The first point the article makes is that a prop can convey a characters inner feelings. This is where a prop can symbolize what a character is feeling. And example of this would be the floating plastic bag in American Beauty, symbolizing the characters loneliness.
The next point is Character Nuance. This is when the prop makes you think, why does this person own this prop? And what does this add to their character? Two examples of this would be the Hamburger phone in Juno, which shows that the main character is eccentric.
Another example would be in Pulp Fiction how Jules has a Wallet that says "Bad Ass Motherfucker" because in the movie he is quite the staunch badass.
The next point is Metaphors and Motifs. This is where the prop can explain something complex but does it by showing, not telling. An example the article uses is the spinning top from inception not stopping, making you question if the movie ending is a dream or not.
The next point is related to motifs, being the passage of time. This one is pretty simple in the fact that the prop shows that time has passed. Such as a clock or maybe a rotting corpse.
The next point is the actor performing with a prop. This can just add a lot more life to your scene if your actor has something to work with. Such as hanging up a coat, or reading through something.
And the last point is transitions. This one means using a prop to transition to the next shot or scene. This can work really well if you pull it off right. An example would be a coat waving in front of the camera only to come back to a completely different scene.
I really liked this article and it really made me think about props a different way. I love how movies can make you associate props with them in different ways, and how they use them in cool ways. I definitely want to try this out as much as possible this year in my projects.
The next point is Character Nuance. This is when the prop makes you think, why does this person own this prop? And what does this add to their character? Two examples of this would be the Hamburger phone in Juno, which shows that the main character is eccentric.
Another example would be in Pulp Fiction how Jules has a Wallet that says "Bad Ass Motherfucker" because in the movie he is quite the staunch badass.
The next point is Metaphors and Motifs. This is where the prop can explain something complex but does it by showing, not telling. An example the article uses is the spinning top from inception not stopping, making you question if the movie ending is a dream or not.
The next point is related to motifs, being the passage of time. This one is pretty simple in the fact that the prop shows that time has passed. Such as a clock or maybe a rotting corpse.
The next point is the actor performing with a prop. This can just add a lot more life to your scene if your actor has something to work with. Such as hanging up a coat, or reading through something.
And the last point is transitions. This one means using a prop to transition to the next shot or scene. This can work really well if you pull it off right. An example would be a coat waving in front of the camera only to come back to a completely different scene.
I really liked this article and it really made me think about props a different way. I love how movies can make you associate props with them in different ways, and how they use them in cool ways. I definitely want to try this out as much as possible this year in my projects.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Week 24 Comments
Annnnd... we're back. It's going into the 3rd week of the new year now, and I can say that we're doing stuff a lot quicker than animation took. These past 2 weeks was mostly signing sheets, quizzes and Photoshop demos so far. Which is a little boring compared to what we'll be doing in a few months but it has to be done. Also I learned a few new things in Photoshop which is nice. What frustrated me the most this week was just simple things in Photoshop that took me a while to figure out. What made me happiest these past 2 weeks was seeing everybody from last year again. I've grown quite fond of this group over the year and I was very happy to see everyone after a few months break. I have a good feeling that we're all going to do great stuff this year. And I also was glad to see the 2 new people too, one of which I was already friends with. The thing I'm most excited about right now is learning Adobe After Effects, which is a program I don't know a lot about right now. But I'm very eager to learn. And now the first link of interest of the year!
This here is the behind the scenes featurette of my favorite movie of the year so far (Star Wars hasn't come out yet..) Mad Max Fury Road. I've always been a fan of behind the scenes videos in Movies, but this one is a must see. It really is amazing to see all the hard work that went into this movie. With all the practical effects, special effects and all the custom car modeling they did. And also the amazing directing work of George Miller. But anyways, that's all for this week. Time for another week in Digital Media..... or Animation Video Production sorry....
This here is the behind the scenes featurette of my favorite movie of the year so far (Star Wars hasn't come out yet..) Mad Max Fury Road. I've always been a fan of behind the scenes videos in Movies, but this one is a must see. It really is amazing to see all the hard work that went into this movie. With all the practical effects, special effects and all the custom car modeling they did. And also the amazing directing work of George Miller. But anyways, that's all for this week. Time for another week in Digital Media..... or Animation Video Production sorry....
How to avoid some Psychological Mistakes in Film
This Article/Video was about mistakes that filmmakers make frequently and how to fix them. Here are some of the mistakes he talks about.
Too much typing
When you only spend your time on a computer all day, you find yourself in a weird trance where you really only find yourself bored or distracted. Computers are great things but it's important to distance yourself with them to do other stuff like drawing, cutting scripts and also going outside *cue gasp*.
Only focusing on what would be popular
Just because you think something will sell well doesn't mean you'll get any good material out of it. It's important to make projects about something you truly care about, not something you think the mass majority of people will.
Not making enough narrative content
When it comes to writing, story is everything. Comedy and sketches are great, but its important to challenge yourself to really communicate with your audience through story. Because ultimately when you do this, that's where you will get your best material.
Worrying about failure
When you don't have self confidence in your own projects, that's when they will take the biggest toll. But if you don't worry about what other people will think, and just focus on what your vision is, you will have much more confidence and have better success.
Practice humility
If you have a project that fails, so what? At least you actually made something that means something to you. When this happens just focus on how to make your next project better, and your improvement will show.
I also really enjoyed this article, much like the last one in many ways. It brings up many good points on mistakes that everyone makes when it comes to film, but really any form of entertainment.
I really enjoy these short articles on stuff to improve your own stuff, and I really hope that most of the articles we get this year are like these two.
Too much typing
When you only spend your time on a computer all day, you find yourself in a weird trance where you really only find yourself bored or distracted. Computers are great things but it's important to distance yourself with them to do other stuff like drawing, cutting scripts and also going outside *cue gasp*.
Only focusing on what would be popular
Just because you think something will sell well doesn't mean you'll get any good material out of it. It's important to make projects about something you truly care about, not something you think the mass majority of people will.
Not making enough narrative content
When it comes to writing, story is everything. Comedy and sketches are great, but its important to challenge yourself to really communicate with your audience through story. Because ultimately when you do this, that's where you will get your best material.
Worrying about failure
When you don't have self confidence in your own projects, that's when they will take the biggest toll. But if you don't worry about what other people will think, and just focus on what your vision is, you will have much more confidence and have better success.
Practice humility
If you have a project that fails, so what? At least you actually made something that means something to you. When this happens just focus on how to make your next project better, and your improvement will show.
I also really enjoyed this article, much like the last one in many ways. It brings up many good points on mistakes that everyone makes when it comes to film, but really any form of entertainment.
I really enjoy these short articles on stuff to improve your own stuff, and I really hope that most of the articles we get this year are like these two.
How to beat procrastination
This article was about Procrastination, which is when you postpone something more urgent because you don't want to work on it at the time. The article talks about 6 steps to help yourself deal with the problem.
Step back and look at everything you have to do
This is where you just take a minute to look at everything that needs to get done so you can focus on which things you want to work on, to get work done on a project consistently.
Make a list
Get a small notebook or something to carry around with you, this way you can stay constantly reminded that there is stuff to be done.
The Internet is not always your friend
Sometimes you can want to take a short break on some of your favorite websites, and you realize that way more time has passed than you thought. It's important to make sure you're getting work done, but at the same time you don't have to subject yourself to internal solitude. Set a timer for every 1-2 hours or so, to take a 15 minute internet break. This way you get work done, suicide free!
What's the most difficult thing on your list? Do that first!
Sometimes, supposed "easier" tasks can be much harder than anticipated. So try to dig in straight away to the tough stuff first. This way you can take a huge load off your shoulders once it's done. You also don't get discouraged because you know it's tough, unlike the parts you thought would be easy.
Don't skimp on pre-planning
Sometimes you underestimate how much thought before hand something needs. In my opinion, the best Films, Animation and Video Games, come from long extensive periods of pre-planning to make something absolutely perfect in your own eyes. So make sure you concentrate on complected stuff that will need long periods of planning.
Break it down
It's super easy to freeze up once you just started working on something because you have no idea where to start. It's happened to me and probably everyone as well. So when this happens it's important to relax and put everything you have to do on the table. This way you can focus on what you should do right now to get work done consistently
I really liked this article a lot. I struggle with this problem ALL of the time, even right now I'm working on a top secret project and I find myself not wanting to work on it because I don't know where to start. Procrastination is a big problem in my opinion. It can hinder people to never get something done because their not sure what to do. I also liked this article because it was short and and easy read but also very insightful. Those are the best articles to me and I hope to see more in the future.
Step back and look at everything you have to do
This is where you just take a minute to look at everything that needs to get done so you can focus on which things you want to work on, to get work done on a project consistently.
Make a list
Get a small notebook or something to carry around with you, this way you can stay constantly reminded that there is stuff to be done.
The Internet is not always your friend
Sometimes you can want to take a short break on some of your favorite websites, and you realize that way more time has passed than you thought. It's important to make sure you're getting work done, but at the same time you don't have to subject yourself to internal solitude. Set a timer for every 1-2 hours or so, to take a 15 minute internet break. This way you get work done, suicide free!
What's the most difficult thing on your list? Do that first!
Sometimes, supposed "easier" tasks can be much harder than anticipated. So try to dig in straight away to the tough stuff first. This way you can take a huge load off your shoulders once it's done. You also don't get discouraged because you know it's tough, unlike the parts you thought would be easy.
Don't skimp on pre-planning
Sometimes you underestimate how much thought before hand something needs. In my opinion, the best Films, Animation and Video Games, come from long extensive periods of pre-planning to make something absolutely perfect in your own eyes. So make sure you concentrate on complected stuff that will need long periods of planning.
Break it down
It's super easy to freeze up once you just started working on something because you have no idea where to start. It's happened to me and probably everyone as well. So when this happens it's important to relax and put everything you have to do on the table. This way you can focus on what you should do right now to get work done consistently
I really liked this article a lot. I struggle with this problem ALL of the time, even right now I'm working on a top secret project and I find myself not wanting to work on it because I don't know where to start. Procrastination is a big problem in my opinion. It can hinder people to never get something done because their not sure what to do. I also liked this article because it was short and and easy read but also very insightful. Those are the best articles to me and I hope to see more in the future.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Final Blog Post (2015)
1. Why did you take this class?
I took this class mainly because I have a strong interest in animation, because I would eventually like to work in that field for a career. I also am interested in film, but I don't think I'll be pursuing that much more than a hobby.
2. In general, what did you like the most about the class?
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the class. I liked being able to get assignments and working on them myself, with the addition of asking classmates and the instructor for help. I enjoy working with computers and animation a lot, so this class was a lot of fun for me. I'm also a big fan of the class critiques, as it's fun to see the reactions and response from the fellow class mates. I also enjoy watching other student's animations.
3. In general, what did you like the least about the class?
For the most part, I feel there was some projects we had too much time on, and other projects we had way to little time on. I had a blast working on the independent study, but I would have much rather had more time working on the Final Project. I also wasn't a fan of the early 3D lessons we had to do. I understand why we did them, but I wish we had more creative projects that we made concepts for like the Chicken Project and the 3D Short.
4. What was your favorite project?
It's a bit hard to choose because I have 2 in mind that stick out the most. But I'm going to have to say the Final Project. This was mostly because I feel it showed how much my art style has improved sense the beginning of the year. But a close second would have to be the 2D Short. This is because up until that point, I had never really done anything like it. I was proud of myself that I had actually made a decent animation with a story. Even though looking back on it, I know I could do it better now. But that's the point of the creative process really. To put your short comings behind you, and to become the best artist you can be in the future.
5. What was your least favorite project?
This would have to be the puppet animation. One of the things I learned this year is that I prefer frame by frame animation to puppet animation immensely. So I really didn't enjoy the puppet animation project. And building the puppet was a lot harder than I expected. I had previously used an animation program called Anime Studio Pro, which I still think has better puppet animation tools. But I much prefer Toon Boom Animate Pro because of it's frame by frame capabilities.
6. What was the overall effectiveness of the Instructor?
I thought Ms. Licata was a very good instructor. She made sure we knew what projects were coming up soon, and how much time we had to complete them. And she also helped us out when we had questions. She was always very nice and helpful too when assisting us.
7. What was the most valuable thing you learned in class?
The most valuable thing I learned in class was learning how working in an animation environment is like. We never really worked together as classmates on anything besides voice acting. But I still got a better Idea of how to get projects done on deadlines, how to learn new programs efficiently, and how to help others out with their problems in addition to yours.
8. Do you feel this class will help you reach your future academic or career goals?
I definitely feel that this class will help me reach my future goals. I wish to go into the animation/game development field for my career, and this was a big step towards getting ready for that. I learned what the environment of the class will be like for college, how to approach deadlines, and also the basics on 3D animation. I'm also looking at a few colleges currently, and apparently at Villa Maria we are offered a bonus if we attend this digital media class for their animation classes. This is a huge plus for me, which I am seriously considering attending there.
9. How could this class be improved?
Like I said earlier, more time on more important projects like the Final Project with less on ones like the Independent Study. Also I would like to see more creative projects in the 3D unit, but I understand if that's not possible. I would also like to see more class competitions, as they are very fun to compete against class mates.
10. Additional Comments
I would just like to say that a school year has never gone by so fast than this year. And Digital Media was a big reason of this. I'm really happy and honored that I was given an opportunity to take this class and I really feel it helped me become more prepared for my future career. I'm excited to take the video production section next year as well. In conclusion, I really enjoyed my time in this class this year, and I'm certain that I will pursue a career in this field after next year.
I took this class mainly because I have a strong interest in animation, because I would eventually like to work in that field for a career. I also am interested in film, but I don't think I'll be pursuing that much more than a hobby.
2. In general, what did you like the most about the class?
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the class. I liked being able to get assignments and working on them myself, with the addition of asking classmates and the instructor for help. I enjoy working with computers and animation a lot, so this class was a lot of fun for me. I'm also a big fan of the class critiques, as it's fun to see the reactions and response from the fellow class mates. I also enjoy watching other student's animations.
3. In general, what did you like the least about the class?
For the most part, I feel there was some projects we had too much time on, and other projects we had way to little time on. I had a blast working on the independent study, but I would have much rather had more time working on the Final Project. I also wasn't a fan of the early 3D lessons we had to do. I understand why we did them, but I wish we had more creative projects that we made concepts for like the Chicken Project and the 3D Short.
4. What was your favorite project?
It's a bit hard to choose because I have 2 in mind that stick out the most. But I'm going to have to say the Final Project. This was mostly because I feel it showed how much my art style has improved sense the beginning of the year. But a close second would have to be the 2D Short. This is because up until that point, I had never really done anything like it. I was proud of myself that I had actually made a decent animation with a story. Even though looking back on it, I know I could do it better now. But that's the point of the creative process really. To put your short comings behind you, and to become the best artist you can be in the future.
5. What was your least favorite project?
This would have to be the puppet animation. One of the things I learned this year is that I prefer frame by frame animation to puppet animation immensely. So I really didn't enjoy the puppet animation project. And building the puppet was a lot harder than I expected. I had previously used an animation program called Anime Studio Pro, which I still think has better puppet animation tools. But I much prefer Toon Boom Animate Pro because of it's frame by frame capabilities.
6. What was the overall effectiveness of the Instructor?
I thought Ms. Licata was a very good instructor. She made sure we knew what projects were coming up soon, and how much time we had to complete them. And she also helped us out when we had questions. She was always very nice and helpful too when assisting us.
7. What was the most valuable thing you learned in class?
The most valuable thing I learned in class was learning how working in an animation environment is like. We never really worked together as classmates on anything besides voice acting. But I still got a better Idea of how to get projects done on deadlines, how to learn new programs efficiently, and how to help others out with their problems in addition to yours.
8. Do you feel this class will help you reach your future academic or career goals?
I definitely feel that this class will help me reach my future goals. I wish to go into the animation/game development field for my career, and this was a big step towards getting ready for that. I learned what the environment of the class will be like for college, how to approach deadlines, and also the basics on 3D animation. I'm also looking at a few colleges currently, and apparently at Villa Maria we are offered a bonus if we attend this digital media class for their animation classes. This is a huge plus for me, which I am seriously considering attending there.
9. How could this class be improved?
Like I said earlier, more time on more important projects like the Final Project with less on ones like the Independent Study. Also I would like to see more creative projects in the 3D unit, but I understand if that's not possible. I would also like to see more class competitions, as they are very fun to compete against class mates.
10. Additional Comments
I would just like to say that a school year has never gone by so fast than this year. And Digital Media was a big reason of this. I'm really happy and honored that I was given an opportunity to take this class and I really feel it helped me become more prepared for my future career. I'm excited to take the video production section next year as well. In conclusion, I really enjoyed my time in this class this year, and I'm certain that I will pursue a career in this field after next year.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Final Project Reflection and Analysis
When we first got the script to the final project I immediately started of thinking ideas of how I could interpret the script. I went through a few ideas before I finally settled on the "thing" to be a physical character in the short. I thought it would also be funny to have a character that takes a beating throughout the entire animation, while the other unintentionally causes it with their stupidity.
I constantly thought of the animation principles while animating the final project. I used "squash and stretch" in the scene where the red guy is yelling "well obviously THATS not going to work!". This shows that he is really angry to the point his body is stretching and squashing because of how angry he is. I used "arcs" in the scene where the thing is slamming the red guy on the ground left and right. I used this technique there to show the whole motion of the slamming so you would get the full effect of the motion. I used exaggeration on the part of the animation where the characters become a different style of animation briefly. I exaggerated they eyes and head sized on the red character to show that he was amazed. And I made the green guys eyes and mouth huge to show that he was shocked. I used "anticipation" on the part where the thing has a folding chair and he is just holding it in the air. This prepares the audience to realize that the red guy is about to get hit by the chair. I also used "appeal" most predominantly on the green guy. His actions are very innocent and small but cause huge consequences. This creates the feeling of giving him appeal because he seems so stupid and innocent, while the red guy is just angry about the situation the whole time (though rightfully so).
There are many aspects of my Final Project I feel I did pretty well in. I think I dramatically improved in my visuals over the course of the class. While I do think Lemonade Stand is one of my better works, I feel compared to the visuals of my final project, the art has dramatically improved. For instance, in this animation I shaded the characters by giving them shadows for every frame. This made the animation look a lot better, and even though it took up a bit of extra time, it was very well worth it. Another aspect I improved on in the visuals is, instead of using black outlines for everything, I Made most of the outlines a darker shade of what ever color it is. This also helped out a lot by making everything more colorful and more pleasant to look at. I will definitely be doing these two techniques for now on in the future, as I think they add a whole lot more to my animations.
There where also a few things that I could improve on though. For starters as the animation goes on, it's apparent that there is less frame by frame animation and more key-framing. This is because I had to finish up to meet the deadline, and doing key-framing was much faster. I also got lazier with the lip sync as the animation went on. I even tried out right avoiding it. I should have done a better job on the parts where you see the mouths towards the end, as I was rushing it a bit. And I also should have included less scenes where you don't see the mouth. In the future I will try to make sure I have the right amount of time on everything. And also make sure I'm working whenever I can, and not forget about it when at home.
Overall though, I feel like I did a good job on this project. I feel it shines the most with the way the art looks compared to my earlier works. I want to get better at doing more "in-betweens" and "ease in's and ease outs" the most the though. I learned many things while working on the project as well. Like just how far shading and different colored lines can go to make the animation look. My strategy to get the project done on time worked fairly well. It is just a tiny bit apparent that I was rushed towards the end. Next time I'l definitely make sure I can have as much frame by frame animation as possible.
I constantly thought of the animation principles while animating the final project. I used "squash and stretch" in the scene where the red guy is yelling "well obviously THATS not going to work!". This shows that he is really angry to the point his body is stretching and squashing because of how angry he is. I used "arcs" in the scene where the thing is slamming the red guy on the ground left and right. I used this technique there to show the whole motion of the slamming so you would get the full effect of the motion. I used exaggeration on the part of the animation where the characters become a different style of animation briefly. I exaggerated they eyes and head sized on the red character to show that he was amazed. And I made the green guys eyes and mouth huge to show that he was shocked. I used "anticipation" on the part where the thing has a folding chair and he is just holding it in the air. This prepares the audience to realize that the red guy is about to get hit by the chair. I also used "appeal" most predominantly on the green guy. His actions are very innocent and small but cause huge consequences. This creates the feeling of giving him appeal because he seems so stupid and innocent, while the red guy is just angry about the situation the whole time (though rightfully so).
There are many aspects of my Final Project I feel I did pretty well in. I think I dramatically improved in my visuals over the course of the class. While I do think Lemonade Stand is one of my better works, I feel compared to the visuals of my final project, the art has dramatically improved. For instance, in this animation I shaded the characters by giving them shadows for every frame. This made the animation look a lot better, and even though it took up a bit of extra time, it was very well worth it. Another aspect I improved on in the visuals is, instead of using black outlines for everything, I Made most of the outlines a darker shade of what ever color it is. This also helped out a lot by making everything more colorful and more pleasant to look at. I will definitely be doing these two techniques for now on in the future, as I think they add a whole lot more to my animations.
There where also a few things that I could improve on though. For starters as the animation goes on, it's apparent that there is less frame by frame animation and more key-framing. This is because I had to finish up to meet the deadline, and doing key-framing was much faster. I also got lazier with the lip sync as the animation went on. I even tried out right avoiding it. I should have done a better job on the parts where you see the mouths towards the end, as I was rushing it a bit. And I also should have included less scenes where you don't see the mouth. In the future I will try to make sure I have the right amount of time on everything. And also make sure I'm working whenever I can, and not forget about it when at home.
Overall though, I feel like I did a good job on this project. I feel it shines the most with the way the art looks compared to my earlier works. I want to get better at doing more "in-betweens" and "ease in's and ease outs" the most the though. I learned many things while working on the project as well. Like just how far shading and different colored lines can go to make the animation look. My strategy to get the project done on time worked fairly well. It is just a tiny bit apparent that I was rushed towards the end. Next time I'l definitely make sure I can have as much frame by frame animation as possible.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Final Project References
For my Final Project I used many different sorts of references to animate it the best of my ability.
Images
For the short Anime portion of my video I used these two images so the style would look authentic. My animation style is probably the farthest thing from anime possible. So it was quite difficult to pull this part off, but at the same time very fun to do something different for a change
Some other references I used was the work of Jim Henson and his style for his puppets. I usually do animals whenever I animate, But I decided to do something different for this final project. I designed my characters to look similar to Jim Henson's work with big round noses and nice colors.
Videos
I used the style of Baman Pideran briefly when the green guy is doing a somersault towards the thing. I'm a big fan of the floppy and normal human skeleton defying animation style of the show. So I tried to incorporate it briefly in my Final Project.
Work By Other Artists
There are many Animators whose style I'm a fan of that I tried to incorporate.
John K is a pretty big inspiration of mine. I love his his exaggerated fast paced style, so I tried incorporating that a bit into my animation. I didn't go to overboard in the exaggerated style, but it still did inspire me to make some weird looking parts, like the zoom in's on the face.
Edgar Wright is another good example of a fast paced style. I was already a big fan of Edgar Wright and in this animation as well as many others I tried to incorporate his style slightly. This is a clip from one of my favorite movies of all time Hot Fuzz to show what I'm talking about. I used the same principles I discussed about John K as well with fast paced animation with many cuts.
Books
I used the Animators survival kit for the green guy's walk cycle towards the beginning of the animation. Every animator knows that walk cycles are tough. But The Animators Survival Kit is famous for it's insight on how to make a decent looking cycle. With the books help I was able to make it look alright for the few steps that he took.
Tutorials
I used a new technique in this animation where I decided to shade every drawing instead of just using flat colors. I feel this added to the animation tremendously, and I will definitely be doing this technique for now on in my Animations. Here's the tutorial I used to shade my Animation. The tutorial is done in Adobe Flash, even though we use Toon Boom Animate Pro. But I followed the rules and applied them to Animate Pro, even though it was in a different software.
Images
For the short Anime portion of my video I used these two images so the style would look authentic. My animation style is probably the farthest thing from anime possible. So it was quite difficult to pull this part off, but at the same time very fun to do something different for a change
Some other references I used was the work of Jim Henson and his style for his puppets. I usually do animals whenever I animate, But I decided to do something different for this final project. I designed my characters to look similar to Jim Henson's work with big round noses and nice colors.
Videos
I used the style of Baman Pideran briefly when the green guy is doing a somersault towards the thing. I'm a big fan of the floppy and normal human skeleton defying animation style of the show. So I tried to incorporate it briefly in my Final Project.
Work By Other Artists
There are many Animators whose style I'm a fan of that I tried to incorporate.
John K is a pretty big inspiration of mine. I love his his exaggerated fast paced style, so I tried incorporating that a bit into my animation. I didn't go to overboard in the exaggerated style, but it still did inspire me to make some weird looking parts, like the zoom in's on the face.
Edgar Wright is another good example of a fast paced style. I was already a big fan of Edgar Wright and in this animation as well as many others I tried to incorporate his style slightly. This is a clip from one of my favorite movies of all time Hot Fuzz to show what I'm talking about. I used the same principles I discussed about John K as well with fast paced animation with many cuts.
Books
I used the Animators survival kit for the green guy's walk cycle towards the beginning of the animation. Every animator knows that walk cycles are tough. But The Animators Survival Kit is famous for it's insight on how to make a decent looking cycle. With the books help I was able to make it look alright for the few steps that he took.
Tutorials
I used a new technique in this animation where I decided to shade every drawing instead of just using flat colors. I feel this added to the animation tremendously, and I will definitely be doing this technique for now on in my Animations. Here's the tutorial I used to shade my Animation. The tutorial is done in Adobe Flash, even though we use Toon Boom Animate Pro. But I followed the rules and applied them to Animate Pro, even though it was in a different software.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Week 23 Comments
This week was a straight work week and a stressful one at that. With having a substitute throughout the whole week, it was kinda stressful when I couldn't figure out big problems. But what really frustarted me this week was realizing I'm probably not going to get my Final Project completed on time. I really tried to go all out on this one at that was my downfall. It still not over yet, and if I work on it non stop tomorrow, maybe there's a chance. But I also couldn't sign out a tablet this weekend, so that didn't help either. As much as I had fun doing the Independent study, I really wish we cut that to work on the Final Project. But anyways, what made me happy this week was seeing Mad Max Fury Road on Friday. Not really Digital Media related, but that movie was still great. I'm still looking forward to summer vacation for the most part. Now link of interest time.
I've been meaning to use this as a link for a long time but here it is finally. This is Star Wars fan animation in an Anime style. The Animation in this short is astounding, and it was only done by one guy over the course of 4 years! That's some dedication right there. I'm not a huge anime guy, but the Animation in this, and my love for Star Wars made me use it as a link of interest. Enjoy it.
I've been meaning to use this as a link for a long time but here it is finally. This is Star Wars fan animation in an Anime style. The Animation in this short is astounding, and it was only done by one guy over the course of 4 years! That's some dedication right there. I'm not a huge anime guy, but the Animation in this, and my love for Star Wars made me use it as a link of interest. Enjoy it.
Anxiety and Filmmaking
This Article/Video was about the anxiety and struggles that go on during film making. Eli Roth talks about how he grew up in Boston away from Hollywood, and even though people told him that you need to be from there and know people, he pursued his dream. Joe Carnahan talks about how you should put relatable moments with your characters, so people can connect to them and remember them. James Cameron talks about how you can make the exact vision that you had in your head, but your movie can still fail due to a disconnect with yourself and the audience. David Fincher explains that if a movie works it's probably due to luck, or rather a series of good breaks during the film making process. Quentin Tarantino explains that he has many emotions that he wants the audience to feel. When there's funny stuff, he wants the audience to laugh. When there is exciting stuff, he wants the audience to be on the edge of their seat. And when there's shocking stuff, he wants the audience to be shocked. Peter Mullan talks about directors try to stay away from cliche's and mistakes. Directors are constantly searching for ways other directors messed up, so they can improve their selves. Peter Jackson explains that there's always stress when making a movie, but it's important to make sure whoever's paying for the movie get's their money back, so you can have a career. But also to provide an experience that the audience is happy they payed for.
This article was very informative, and interesting to hear all the different things that each director talks about. It was also cool to listen to a bunch of directors I'm a fan of like Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher and Martin Scorsese.
This article was very informative, and interesting to hear all the different things that each director talks about. It was also cool to listen to a bunch of directors I'm a fan of like Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher and Martin Scorsese.
Do's and Don'ts for your Demo Reels
This article was about things you should put on your resume, and things you shouldn't. The first thing you should do is only show your best work. Even if you like something that you did a long time ago, you need to be completely honest with yourself and only use it if it's good. It's helpful to get a second opinion from a friend when you do this as well. Next, something you shouldn't do is have a 5-10 minute demo reel. This is way to long, and will probably bore who ever is watching it. Only using your best work should help on keeping the demo reel 1-2 minutes long, which is ideal. The next thing you should do is to start and end on the best examples of work you have. This will help leave a first good impression, and also leave the viewer on a good note at the end. But also you should make sure the work in the middle is still good. The next thing you shouldn't do is edit in a bunch of titles, music and transitions into your demo reel. It is important nothing is distracting from your work. Clarity is important. The next thing you should do is keep in mind the order of what each clip is. Of course each example of animation isn't telling a story, but you defiantly need to keep in mind the rhythm of your reel. If you just showed of something big, maybe slow it down with more calm animation. And the last thing that you should do, is include a portfolio with your demo reel. Most animation studios, also welcome this as an option. It's good to see what other works you might have done such as Still art, Short films or Storyboards.
I could have sworn we did an article exactly like this in the past, but I think this article brought some useful stuff to my attention. I'm glad to hear that Studios are looking to see other work as well. Because if I ever want to get a job in animation, I could show them some of the stuff I'll do in the Film portion of Digital Media next year.
I could have sworn we did an article exactly like this in the past, but I think this article brought some useful stuff to my attention. I'm glad to hear that Studios are looking to see other work as well. Because if I ever want to get a job in animation, I could show them some of the stuff I'll do in the Film portion of Digital Media next year.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Week 22 Comments
This week was a work week with a few other things that we're squeezed in. We started to discuss the our portfolio and resumes. I'm happy to start working on a website, but I still need to get started on the resume. There were also interviews this week, which I was happy to find out a person I know from school will be joining us next year. What made me happy this week was getting that online test done. I was a little nervous knowing that we needed to pass one of the two, and the second one was a lot harder. But thankfully I passed this test, so I don't have to worry too much about it next year. What frustrated me this week was not getting a whole lot done on my Final Project. The deadline for the final project is approaching fast, and I don't feel I've made too much progress. I wanted to focus on it looking as good as possible, but that might be my downfall. But hopefully I'll have it done on time, and have look as sexy as possible. A lot of Final stuff is starting to approach us, which has me a bit nervous but I think I'll be able to pull through it. I'm excited for finishing all the final stuff, and also the summer vacation. Now onto the link of interest.
I know a tweet for the link of interest is kinda pushing it, but the blog it links to is included in that as well. Basically Universal Parks announced that they are partnering with Nintendo to make new attractions at the park. Which means they are basically making a Nintendo Land. This makes me very happy because this will probably take the cake from Disney for being the Happiest place on earth, at least in my book. The possibilities are endless. Mario Kart races? F-Zero roller coaster? KOOPA TROOPA THEMED SUPER SUNDAES?!? The sky's the limit on this one. I probably won't get to go for a long time though, because I'm actually going to Universal and Disney this year ironically. Which I'm still really excited for, but with this news I'll be probably be crying myself to sleep in my hotel room every night because I couldn't get a picture with Mario yet. But anyways that's all for this week.
Nintendo + Universal Parks & Resorts = New Theme Park Attractions! Visit http://t.co/4D6ChB9hER to get details. pic.twitter.com/wZxBobjyRs
— Universal Orlando (@UniversalORL) May 7, 2015
I know a tweet for the link of interest is kinda pushing it, but the blog it links to is included in that as well. Basically Universal Parks announced that they are partnering with Nintendo to make new attractions at the park. Which means they are basically making a Nintendo Land. This makes me very happy because this will probably take the cake from Disney for being the Happiest place on earth, at least in my book. The possibilities are endless. Mario Kart races? F-Zero roller coaster? KOOPA TROOPA THEMED SUPER SUNDAES?!? The sky's the limit on this one. I probably won't get to go for a long time though, because I'm actually going to Universal and Disney this year ironically. Which I'm still really excited for, but with this news I'll be probably be crying myself to sleep in my hotel room every night because I couldn't get a picture with Mario yet. But anyways that's all for this week.
The Science of the Avengers
This article/video was about how scientifically accurate certain things would be in The Avengers. The video starts out talking about Iron Man's suit. When it starts off his suit is pretty bulky and heavy which isn't very optimal for cruisin in the skys. But when he makes his less bulky shiny suit, that suit would be even heavier to fly. They also mention how Tony Stark invents a new element to power his suit and himself. This is actually pretty scientifically sound, as many elements on the periodic table were made by scientists. Next they talk about Captain America and Black Widow. They have super healing and super strength. This is probably done by more powerful white blood cells, which can repair damage to their bodies faster. They then discuss Captain America's shield. His shield is made from a fictional element called Vibranium which can with-stain an infinite amount of heat and pressure. So how's it do that you must be asking. Well when Thor's hammer hits Cap's sheild, you see a bright light but nothing happens. This must mean that the Vibranium converts energy to light.
I thought this article answers some good questions but overall is a bit pointless. Most of these things are just the way they are because it's a comic book movie and not everything has to make sense. But I still think the stuff it did cover, did shed some good light on how maybe it did work.
I thought this article answers some good questions but overall is a bit pointless. Most of these things are just the way they are because it's a comic book movie and not everything has to make sense. But I still think the stuff it did cover, did shed some good light on how maybe it did work.
Making Dragons
This article was about how the Pixomondo Animation team brought the dragons to life in HBO's Game of Thrones. Senior animator Florian Friedmann was the main talent to make this possible. He had previously worked on projects like Hugo, Hunger Games and Star Trek Into Darkness. But 2012 on wards, Florian left his biggest mark with his work on the dragons of Game of Thrones which he recited many rewards for. But animating them through out the seasons has proved not to be an easy task in the slightest. For starters the rigs get more complicated as the dragons grow older. To start out they were just small things crawling around with not much detail. But when season two came out they started to fly, which made the rigs vastly more complicated. And by season three, their chests had grown so controls for the chest muscles had to be made. Now the rigs have gotten so complex there's over 400 controls for them. Down to the horns onto their head, and their individual fingers. Also all the dragons have the same basic rig, but small changes in their proportions and textures are made. To study how the dragons would fly, the animators studied bats and watched how they flew through the air and crawled on the ground. To hide the fact that dragons looked weird walking, often times they would hide it with the wings so the animation didn't look weird. The animators also wanted to show the dragons have feelings, but still at their cores are lizards. So they made sure they look reptilian, and not too soft faced like humans. They also make a point that animators don't have to do everything. Multiple simulation tests are done to make subtle movements seem more realistic. The animators are looking forward to the future seasons, for what cool things they will get to animate next.
I thought this article was very interesting. I think it's cool how the dragons get older and bigger through out the show. I'm also even more intrigued to watch Game of Thrones now, which I've been meaning to watch. But overall, very fascinating article.
I thought this article was very interesting. I think it's cool how the dragons get older and bigger through out the show. I'm also even more intrigued to watch Game of Thrones now, which I've been meaning to watch. But overall, very fascinating article.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Week 21 Comments
This week was another work week which is always welcome. We did get to watch everyone's independent studies as well. I'm glad everyone enjoyed my Stop-motion, and I enjoyed your guy's stuff as well. What made me happy this week was getting more work done on my Final Project. I really want to make this one look as nice as possible. I'm even shading every frame which is proving itself to be a tedious task, but I know it will make the animation look so much better in the end. I still don't have that much done yet, because the way I work is by finishing every shot to completion before I move onto the next. It may sound pretty unorthodox to a lot of you, but it works well for me, and it's what I'm used to. What made me frustrated this week was not being able to sign a tablet out, so I could work on my animation over the weekend. Like I said, I want to get more work done. And because I didn't sign out a form I wasn't able to work on it this weekend. But hopefully that will be fixed by the next weekend. I'm looking forward to getting my Final Short done and enjoying summer break once that comes in a few weeks. Anyways, onto the link of interest.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival
I'm sure at least 5 people have already used this but I'm doing it anyways. This is the Kickstarter for the upcoming game Yooka Laylee. It's made from a bunch of ex-Rareware employees. This game is considered to be the Spiritual Successor to Banjo Kazooie, which..... well we know how that turned out. It was funded in less than an hour, and already smashed it's way through all the stretch goals, which means it's probably got more stretch goals on the way. I'm very intrigued by the game, but I do have some fears as well. I really hope it finds it's own identity than just being a Banjo Kazooie wannabe. It's ok to be inspired by things, but there's a difference between being inspired and copying. I know it's made by Ex- Rare employees, but it that really an excuse for not making original ideas? But other than that, I'm sure the game will be fun to play. I mean it's definitely in the right hands. That's it for this week. Happy 21st blog!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival
I'm sure at least 5 people have already used this but I'm doing it anyways. This is the Kickstarter for the upcoming game Yooka Laylee. It's made from a bunch of ex-Rareware employees. This game is considered to be the Spiritual Successor to Banjo Kazooie, which..... well we know how that turned out. It was funded in less than an hour, and already smashed it's way through all the stretch goals, which means it's probably got more stretch goals on the way. I'm very intrigued by the game, but I do have some fears as well. I really hope it finds it's own identity than just being a Banjo Kazooie wannabe. It's ok to be inspired by things, but there's a difference between being inspired and copying. I know it's made by Ex- Rare employees, but it that really an excuse for not making original ideas? But other than that, I'm sure the game will be fun to play. I mean it's definitely in the right hands. That's it for this week. Happy 21st blog!
How 3D Printing has helped out stopmotion
This is a shorter article by Anya Jaremko Greenwold (ever thought of using a pen name Anya?) about how many techniques help make Stop-Motion animations immensely. The first point is about Costume design. Usually, animated characters only don a few outfits. But starting with Coraline, Lakia used Costume Design to show the passage of time. This means that knitting was used a lot to help make the characters some sick threads. The next point is about how 3D Printing has helped out a lot. With 3D Printing, many different objects that are similar can be used to create more realistic animations. With color printing, more detailed textures can be produce to. Next is how armatures come into play. Armatures are more advanced than ever now. The metal skeletons now are composed of more pieces than ever to add more precise, realistic looking movements. With an average skeleton being made up of about 1.5 million pieces, compared to an older puppet like Jack Skellington that only had about 800 pieces. The Article then closed off by talking about Lakia's next Animation that will take place in Japan.
I thought the title for this article was a little misleading because only one part was about 3D Printing. But never the less, I found this article very interesting. As a big fan of Stop-motion myself, I found these advancements they have very intriguing. I'm glad that technology is letting us move beyond clay, and involving more digital stuff to provide better results. I find 3D Printing very promising for not only serving practical reasons, but helping out more and more in the Arts as well.
I thought the title for this article was a little misleading because only one part was about 3D Printing. But never the less, I found this article very interesting. As a big fan of Stop-motion myself, I found these advancements they have very intriguing. I'm glad that technology is letting us move beyond clay, and involving more digital stuff to provide better results. I find 3D Printing very promising for not only serving practical reasons, but helping out more and more in the Arts as well.
Everything is Trash
This article by Charles Kenny was about how Disposable Animation is more prevalent than ever. In case you didn't know, disposable is something that's really only meant to be used once and then never again. In most cases, in a novelty fashion. Disposable Animation has always existed sense the very beginning. Like any form of anything, if someone can make a quick buck on something, some guy will exploit it. Like any other form of media Animation was bound to have this happen to it. A good example of something like this would be Van Buren or Hanna-Barbara cartoons. Cheaply made cartoons that don't look spectacular, but never the less come out much more frequently than well written big budget animations. And more frequently, means money coming in faster. But on the opposite end of the spectrum there is the animation giant himself Walt Disney. Disney wanted to create projects that take time but remain timeless throughout the decades, for multiple generations of people to enjoy. And while he was extremely successful at it, most people can't dream to be as successful as he was. Which is why fast made content is still being made today. Which brings us to now, the 21st century. The age of online content. The author of this article makes a point that the same quickly produce content is being made today on this new format, for the same reasons. And after all these years we still have people making content that's entertaining now, but probably won't stand the test of time. Charles finishes by saying that you really won't find anything truly spectacular on the internet, because people need to make money and that's how most of them will accomplish that.
While I agree that this point is as important now than ever, I have a big problem with this article. And that's how the author believes there's nothing worth while on the internet, and that its all just cheaply produce garbage compared to someone like Walt Disney, Some of the best Animation I have ever seen has come from the internet. And let's keep in mind that Walt Disney had a whole team of Animators so he could get his big movies done. And it's not like online outlets are making it any easier. YouTube's revenue system now goes by "Minutes Watched" while it used to go by "Amount of Views". This is horrible for Animators online because most people on the internet have very short attention spans. And also most big budget stuff get's more views than fast produced animations. Meaning it's much harder for them to get money. But i'd just like to say as a final point that all Animation should be respected no matter if it's cheaply made or not. Although cheaply made people still talk about TV shows like The Simpsons or Spongebob, which is vastly faster and cheaper to make than a huge Animation movie.
In the end, art is art. It should be respected for it's quality, not the means of which it took to make it.
While I agree that this point is as important now than ever, I have a big problem with this article. And that's how the author believes there's nothing worth while on the internet, and that its all just cheaply produce garbage compared to someone like Walt Disney, Some of the best Animation I have ever seen has come from the internet. And let's keep in mind that Walt Disney had a whole team of Animators so he could get his big movies done. And it's not like online outlets are making it any easier. YouTube's revenue system now goes by "Minutes Watched" while it used to go by "Amount of Views". This is horrible for Animators online because most people on the internet have very short attention spans. And also most big budget stuff get's more views than fast produced animations. Meaning it's much harder for them to get money. But i'd just like to say as a final point that all Animation should be respected no matter if it's cheaply made or not. Although cheaply made people still talk about TV shows like The Simpsons or Spongebob, which is vastly faster and cheaper to make than a huge Animation movie.
In the end, art is art. It should be respected for it's quality, not the means of which it took to make it.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Week 20 Comments
The big 2-0. Can't believe it's been 20 (actually more) weeks. This week I was able to finish my Stop-motion project. I'm happy with the results and can't wait to show it to those who haven't seen it yet. Unfortunately, every one keeps wanting to see it. So the shock value might go down for some people. What frustrated me this week was that I kept forgetting to bring ketchup to class. I needed ketchup for a certain reason in my project and it took me like 3 days to remember to bring it! I'm not too mad though but that's just the first thing that came to my mind about what frustrated me this week. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's Independent study and getting more work done on my final project. Now link of interest time.
I had to put this. I'm a big Star Wars fan and the Force Awakens has me beyond stoked to see it. I love what J.J Abrams is doing with it, and everything I've seen so far looks amazing! It was a toss up between having this, or the new Star Wars Battlefront trailer which I'm also excited for. But I had to go with this one just for how long I, and fans have been waiting for new movies. Anyways, I hope everyone finished their Independent studies on time. Good luck to anyone doing some last minute work!
I had to put this. I'm a big Star Wars fan and the Force Awakens has me beyond stoked to see it. I love what J.J Abrams is doing with it, and everything I've seen so far looks amazing! It was a toss up between having this, or the new Star Wars Battlefront trailer which I'm also excited for. But I had to go with this one just for how long I, and fans have been waiting for new movies. Anyways, I hope everyone finished their Independent studies on time. Good luck to anyone doing some last minute work!
Director Pro Tips
This article/video was about a few tips for becoming a better director. First is Clear direction. This of course is making sure you know exactly what you want to do, so you don't set the bar too high or too low. Next is don't always stick to the script. If something made sense to you when you were writing it, but doesn't make sense now don't feel obliged to stick to it. If it makes sense to change it for filming, change it. Next is study other styles to learn yours. Not everyone knows what their style is right away. So watching other peoples work can help you learn and add on to yours. Next is take your time and be efficient. If your work is rushed, its super easy to tell. Don't ever rush to finish. Pace your self, and make sure the end product will look great. Next is find a clear way to communicate your goal. This means to make sure you know what your goal in the end is,and find the best way to achieve that goal. Next is friends can make your life easier. No one likes filming alone, when you have friends they can help you out with other jobs you'd otherwise have to do. And they can also provide some entertainment during the stressful parts of film making. next is how view finders are helpful on set. View finders are lens like devices you can use to see what the shot will look like when you film it. They give you a better idea of what the camera will see, in comparison to just your naked eye. Next is spend your time wisely. If you waste all of your time, then all the production just goes to waste. Just pace yourself, and make sure work is getting done on schedule. Next is avoid fights on set. No one likes when things get ugly, especially when making movies. Try to avoid fights so work can get done and no one claws anyone's eyes out with a screwdriver. Next is stay hydrated. This might seem weird but if everyone is dying of thirst, not a whole lot of work will get done. Just make sure everyone is comfortable. Next is don't worry about gear. It doesn't matter if you don't have the latest and greatest equipment. Just make due with what you have and not just wish you had better equipment. Next is respect your actors and team. No one likes being unappreciated. Make sure everyone is happy to be a part of your production. Next is actors need motivation not just marks. This is basically to tell your actor what he's feeling to give him a better idea how to act for a scene. Next is respect your actors process. Everyone's acting style is different. So respect how you actor prepares for the role. And finally the last point is to get it done and move on. Once your done with your project, don't just wish you did things differently. Just move on to your next big project.
Wow jeez, I did not expect to write this much stuff. Anyways, I thought this was a good article and can help people on making great movies. I'll try to use as many of these tips as possible next year in video class. And even some of the tips here apply to Animation as well that I'll try to use.
Wow jeez, I did not expect to write this much stuff. Anyways, I thought this was a good article and can help people on making great movies. I'll try to use as many of these tips as possible next year in video class. And even some of the tips here apply to Animation as well that I'll try to use.
Hands-off Animating
This article/video is about Adobe's new program they are bringing to their CC service. In Adobe Character Animator, the program detects your face and tracks it through your webcam. It not only tracks your head movements, but also does auto lip sync and lets you assign certain actions to the character. You can also import your own characters through Photoshop or Illustrator. This tool is very useful for animators who want to make simple puppet animations without all the hassle of setting key-frames. I think this program seems useful for people who want to make short videos without wanting to do a bunch of key-framing. And also useful for people who animate in After Effects who maybe want to skip a few steps like Lip-Syncing. I was a bit worried that you would have to use preset characters, but I'm relieved you can import your own. I don't know if I'll use this ever, but it seems useful for a lot of people.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Week 19 Comments
This week was shorter because of the day off, but never the less was pretty worked filled. What made me happy this week was after I had my presentation done. I was kinda nervous because I didn't know if I had enough content in my presentation, But I think I pulled it off alright. I thought for the most part, everyone did a good job on their presentations too, so good thing we got through it guys eh? Nothing really frustrated me too much this week. I'm a bit worried about finishing my Stop-motion Project in time, but I think for the most part I'm on track for finishing in time pretty well. I'm looking forward to finishing my animation and also seeing everyone elses. Now, Link of Interest..
I promise that this will be the last GTA V video I ever use for this haha. The only reason I'm doing this is because that the game finally comes to PC tomorrow, which I've been waiting for the better part of two years for. The game has never looked this amazing before and I'm seriously stoked. But yeah that's all for this week. Let's hope we all finish our projects on time.
I promise that this will be the last GTA V video I ever use for this haha. The only reason I'm doing this is because that the game finally comes to PC tomorrow, which I've been waiting for the better part of two years for. The game has never looked this amazing before and I'm seriously stoked. But yeah that's all for this week. Let's hope we all finish our projects on time.
How movies control your mind
This Article/Video was about how movies can control the way your brain works to get a reaction out of you This study is called Neurocinema. The video explains how a study was done to see how a group of people's brain would react to movies. The participants where attached to an MRI and their eyes were tracked. During the study they watched the good the bad and the ugly. And the results showed that their brains reacted very similarly to each others, and their eyes tracked the same parts of the screen. Next they compared those results, to watching of other things like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Curb your Enthusiasm and footage of a dog running through a park. The results showed that more brain activity was used when the scene was more engaging. With The Good the bad and the Ugly scoring high along with Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but Curb your Enthusiasm and the video of the dog scoring much lower. The Video then ends with talking about how this information could be used in the future with maybe videos you are watching change based on what your brain activity would be like. This would be ideal for Horror movies and could promise a very interesting experience. I thought this article was very interesting. I think it's interesting that our brains react differently to what we are watching based on how engaging it is. Like I said earlier at the end they talk about how this could be cool for an interactive experience where the movie changes based how you watch it. I think this is true, but I feel like this goes even more for Video Games. Specifically Virtual Reality games just because It's so much more immersible and interactive. You would feel like you are really there, and the game could really mess with your head because it knows how you are thinking. But anyways, good article and I look forward to seeing if this goes anywhere in the future.
Careers>Jobs
This article is by Will Finn, a veteran animator. He writes about how you shouldn't want a job in animation, but a career. He explains how he always looked up to animators who had generations of work with primarily one company. For instance, the 9 old men at Disney. He finally got to fulfill this by being an animator on Fox and the Hound. But this didn't last long as his work was pretty meh even for a newbie, and was fired. He then got work with Don Bluth and worked on projects like Space Ace and Dragon's Lair. He then worked with FILMATION on projects like Chipmunk Adventure and The Gumi Bears. He then went back to Disney to work on stuff like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. And really after that he started jumping from Dreamworks to Disney back and forth. He finally stresses that it's best to be a freelance worker in animation, and each job is part of your even bigger career. I thought this article started out strong about the importance of freelancing, but then basically just turned into his filmography list. It's interesting to see all the projects Will Finn has done, but I thought that most of the article was kind of boring just to read the projects he's done. But I do think the importance of Freelancing is good to know, and that part of the article I thought was interesting.
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