Shel Aedon Visit!! -and Week 3

Hey Guys!!

Just had an awesome weekend with Shel and Aedon who came up to do our first visit.

It was like HOME.

seeing them and getting to explore Oregon a little.

We picked out my Temp Oregon apartment....

and Went to Omsi Museum-Very Fun-Saw the Egyptian Exibit-

Building a Pyramid-- toured a submarine-Driving A submarine!!!!

Love In the Bunks

VERY Cool!

We snuggled up and watched a Movie almost every night to cap the evenings. ...very fun!

Shel's KNee is healing incredibly fast....and most strangers would never know she even had an accident.

She also did a little Property searching during the week since we are looking at leaving LA in a few years......and Portland is in our sights....We are looking for a home compound someday soon with a good ammount of LAND and some water near by......Put that one on our DREAM list

- and remember it.

so as they leave We look very forward to 19 days from now on our next visit....

Cant Wait....

In -WORK news-

Week 3

went VERY well......still struggling with timing aspects but getting better and better.

I was able to get a couple of good tests out and even got some nice comments from the crew about them.

That was incredibly cool guys....being recognized even in a tiny comment.... by these amazing Sorcerors of Animation feels Incredible.

So - I started the week on Runs which went well....very fun and I got to put away the 5 pound weight with wire wrapped all around the puppet and use these insanely cool contraptions that the Rigging department Hooks you up with....

All motions are on gears for severely small or large size increases of mass movements.....then the general posing is all thats left. Its a far more effecient and time saving to have that level of support for a puppet.

so after my Run work.....I got to do some acting that incorperated Running which was very FUN....and felt more like just having fun with awesome puppets.

After this cool test...and some awesome critiqes....I was actually told I am going to be ON SET....for my next test....this means NEW experience for myself.

I was called into this thing called EDITORIAL-SCARY!!! much darker than this pic-

thats the Directors -Editor- Animation supervisor.....and various Production people-you sit on the couch in a DARK room and the directors go over what they are looking for and how long the shot is going to be. We compare the Animatic and the On set frameing of the shot.

and then onto blocking the shot- Phase one of the animation pipeline.Blocking-

This means Posing of the puppet shot on any numbers you like - 2's or 6's whatever....with the actual camera movement- {Focus pull in my case} and then having all key Movements needed in the shot displayed. What I typically do on paper with my thumbnail drawings...

so

......starting this week-Monday- I'm on my FIRST REAL SHOT!!!

What??? so soon??? Feels way too soon to me...but..... Here we go.

INTO the POOL

.

On LINE- Back home ......Shel is getting ready to do 100% of the directing on the film and is getting our Intern {Justin Connoly} and his first shot.

He will be working on the montage sequence and will start with a simple shot to get his feet wet.

Shel and Justin set up the shot last week and he will animate a couple this Friday.

Otherwise shel is setting everything up and will be working on a bunch of needs on the film.

Tricks of the week-

Playing on the local monkey bars with Lady Aedon.

jriggity

Week 2--Relief sets in

Hey Guys!!

Week 2 is done....and Relief is setting in .....Deep Breath.....

- I am getting more comfortable In the Building and in my work....with every NEW animation I create .....I get better and more comfortable with the puppets and my place in the building....

I managed to get a walk animation done that I was pretty happy with and my supervisor Genuinely liked....I added some subtle acting to the start of the animation that tapped into my

own shyness....and it payed off.

This was a major moment in my week and was a MAJOR pressure lifter-

that allowed me to Trust more in the fact that I will be able to at some point Create work that will be on Par......

So ...I will continue my training for many weeks to come and next week I will be -Learning -testing - Running our {Hero}in character for the film.....

I am very excited about this new test and specifically how it relates to my very first animated sequence for the film.

EXCITING!!!......

I am also DREAMING

DREAMING

Dreaming about my very first Approved Shot.....Showing HUGE on that Big screen

and able to Hold up to the scrutiny-and Red Laser Pointer layed upon it....

and as they announce the Animator resposible for the shot- {THEY DO}

- I want feel good about it...

That is my very closest GOAL in my near future....cant wait.

I am getting more comfotable on 1's....but I am still moving the puppets a bitt to much{spacewise} in alot of cases than i Should.....

I am able to spot when I am doing this through playback but I still underestimate alot of the time- How many frames required and how small to move them.

its amazing how TINY the moves are at times

....I have never worked at such

tiny increments....and its gona take some time till i really got it.

LEARNING- THIS WEEK-

1.Stopmo Animators -NEED good Shoes-

WOW!! oUCH..... ha.

2.I learned this week somthing cool and that I would have never thought of doing.

Alot of the guys switch between 1's and 2's on {SPECIFIC BODY} parts.....to get away with the tiny stuff and saving time.

for instance...I was working some Acting with some very subtle movement before....our HERO walked away from the scene. One of the guys told me I could do the Body On 2's{since the movement was so tiny.......

And then ANIMATE the HEAD on 1's.......Because the eyes follow the head....you can get away with it.....but you can use this techniqe on arms or other body parts too...

when you are moving the puppet.... at a hairs width or less.....you can get away with it on 2's

this was a cool tip....and Im looking forward to trying it out soon.

otherwise...

I am Counting down the DAYS till Shel And Aedon come up next Wednesday.

I will pick them up after work from our Portland Stopmotion Friends- Sven and Gretchen at Scarlet Star Studios-

they will be here till Sunday in our LAIKA temp housing....and will help me find an apartment on the weekend.

by the way Shel is walking and can now go Up stairs......so every day shes getting better and better.......shes looking very forward to taking our first Hikes in Portland and doing our first challenges in the GYM

....Shell be vaulting again before she knows it.

speaking of challenges-

Tricks of the week-

Nicky -My now 18 year old Boy- has posted his very First Stunt reel and it came out great.

Being here alone I have had time to look through some of my files and get them up on our blog and on youtube so Grandma could see us bouncing....

heres my Baby Aedon doing challenges that just melt DAD's heart as a little girl....shes gotten so BIG.

Big DiveRoll From the Workout Room-

2year old FIRE pole slide-

Aedons Amazing Baby Climbing skills-

Shel Testing the Hooks in the gyms early Construction

ShamusFrontHandspring-

If Anyone Did not think I was part Monkey before?

and heres some challenges we did before I left for Portland.

Robert - Parking space challenge-

Dad Dive To Back Flip.

Dad From the Top Rope-

And Untill we talk again I Bid you B Johnson!

1RST Week in the can!

Hey guys,

Here I am having completed my very first week as a LAIKA animator.......what can I say...... HUGE deep breath!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first 15 minutes in the building I got to sit down with a bunch of the LAIKA crew in the giant screening room and watch a bunch of the AMAZING shots being created for the new film.

This was the very first time I got to see the designs and characters for the new film...and I was Incredibly PLEASED....They are excellent and incredibly appealing. POWERFULL.

can you say INTIMIDATION.....FEAR...... OUTCLASSED.......and THRILLED to be there!!!!!!

This are how I felt through out the week.

This is going to be a Defining Artistic experience for me guys...

So before I talk about my week I have to say that the BIGGEST thing I have learned in my very short time here is ?

{NO MISTAKES ALLOWED} the animation has to be PERFECT guys ...100% PERFECT!!! Zero room for error....

I never realized how much imperfection I have allowed in my work until coming here....working on 2's give you so much breathing space between your frames....its so so forgiving in a sequence.

This was a very quick and Very hard HAMMER to my Psyche.

My first task was basically to just play with the puppet....do some pose tests in character......and just familiarize myself with how he moves-works. this went just fine....and was very fun.

One of my next tests during the week was to do a walk with the puppet across the stage in character.....on ones.... this was not easy at all....and I was felling very bad about my first showing....{especially since all the other staff has access to your work } YIKES!!

WEAKness....will not be hidden

I have never done a walk at this level of perfection before - on ones - and zero mistakes allowed.

after being critiqued by the animation supervisor I set out to do another Improving upon my mistakes from the first job.....This sounds simple enough but I was so full of fear of messing up that I just could not perform like I know I can...

after creating a sub par 2nd -walk....I decided the only way to deal with this fear is to GRAB a hold of it and BEAT it into submission. {Take charge}

I decided to stay late and do it again-It was much better....but still I need to do better....

A method for taking controll of the fear i was having was to Start BLOCKING all of my work out in advance....

This was INSANELY helpfull!!!!!!!!!!! I have never blocked out my work in stopmotion before....I always thumb nailed my work but Never Blocked.

After Blocking my walk....It gave me all the confidence to do a clean piece of work...Which I did

Pppfffeeeewwww!! Wipes the sweat from the brow.

so...

In finishing the week of work and getting my pass to the building....I spent all Saturday...{after a slept in ofcourse}-......Animating something just for FUN!! {Blocking Actually} I figured this could be a nice FUN reminder and practice session directly related to my first shots I am scheduled to do.

This was very theraputic....and I am excited to go in on Sunday and Put it together in animation form....

a piece of info that I did not know in FEATURE stopmotion film production....PROCESS

when given a shot for the film...the first thing you do -

1.Talk to Director-

2.If scene is complex or has elements that are unique- TEST animate them...

{cameras- particles-trees-leaves-certain specific motions - car bounces-bikes-u name it}

3. BLOCK Shot- {all posing- and camera}

4. Let Director-Supervisor give Approvals comment...

4. Rehearsal - {Animate entire Shot On 2's}

5. Let Director-Supervisor give Approvals comment...

6. LAUNCH- Animate Shot on 1's ALL the way...

8. Daily's Approval by Directors -Supervisors...

9. JUMP UP AND DOWN SCREAMING at the top of your LUNGS!!!!

That is the process and I cant wait till I get that first shot approved.

Wish me luck going into week 2 guys...

SOOOooooo much to learn!!

jriggity

DREAM COME TRUE!! The Journey continues

Hey Guys,

I apologize on the delay of postings.....Our LIFE has been incredibly busy and Momentous.... with no further PAUSE..... I am so very proud and EXCITED to announce that I will be joining LAIKA as a professional Stopmotion animator on there latest film following {Coraline}

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This has been a DREAM of mine since I was a kid....to work on a FEATURE film...

....and not just a Feature animated film a FEATURE Stopmotion animated film ......jeeez..... Whoda thunk it guys!!!

Hard work and Passion-.......................................and an incredible WIFE -FAMILY.

You can do ANYTHING!!!!! Ive been telling my kids this since they were born...and its TRUE!!!

I have to share this too guys.......here was a pic I found in setting up my computer here ....This was another DREAM me and shel had

this was a computer sketch of the gym we wanted to make for the kids to grow up in....and POW.....we made it happen...I feel so Incredibly fortunate and excited about life!!....

so..........I am in Hillsboro, Oregon now .....and my very first day is tomoorow..... morning

I am planning on spending the day studying a bunch of Classic stopmotion films and mentally prepare for the time ahead.....

This was A huge decision for us in the Rasch Household.....when the offer came....My heart screamed GO FOR IT!!!! but at the same time it screamed NO FREAKING WAY I can leave my family for that long....

We really talked about it alot and really boiled it down to this is whats best for our Future as family-film makers- and life livers ....we WENT FOR IT!!

The Universe has been telling us its the right thing for a good while now.....and it was too hard to ignore...... The way we have worked it out is that Shel and Aedon will come up here in the summer after the kids are out of school {June}....and they will stay here for a couple months.

Otherwise we plan on visiting one way or another every 3 weeks or so....I'll go down or they will come up.....

so In the meantime I am going to be focusing completely on 1 thing- Becoming a STRONGER animator and learning how a feature film is made from the inside. I will be learning directly from the best guys in the world.... WOW...School is about to begin!!

This will serve me and Shel on our own FILM we plan on making in the future.

as for "LINE" this means my animation will go on Pause....but Shel will be directing our Animation Intern{?} in doing some very possible animation work for the film while I am gone to keep it moving.

Shel will also continue all of the puppet building , Miniiatures, Sets and Prop building the entire time I am gone. So In that way nothing will change on that end.

I ....in the meantime will also be doing alot of wire removal in the evenings....and setting up the 3D in after effects for output when I get back in town. There is alot of wire to remove in the Right and Left frames....so that will keep me busy for a while.

in NEW shots news....

I had to do many freelance gigs to pay some billz before leaving..... and I didnt have hardly any time to animate on the film. I did get about 4 shots done on the film in those last couple of weeks....and here is one of them that I tried to do somthing new.

I pulled out the Manfrotto geared head ......and decided to frame by frame track the flea as he droped down from fixing the antanna...

I am not too pleased with how it came out but....I learned alot in doing it.....My biggest thing is that I should have shot it on ones....Duuugh. ....

but thats why we do these things....

so...in family news....

Both of my boys in the last 2 weeks before I left made Demo reels for a possible stunt- mocap career... I have been doing stunt and mocap work since 1996 when they were still using Pingpong balls to capture performance......

the kids wanted to try and get in on it.....so alot of stunts have been a happening at the house.Its been incredibly Hard on Shel....since she just had the Family's first Knee surgery 2 weeks ago. She ended up completely severing her ACL dancing about 6 weeks ago....but luckily they can fix that kinda thing....and replaced it with a replacement achilles tendon. Shes ok.....and is actually starting to walk again.....so send her your POWERFULL healing vibes.

Ill post the boys reels here in one of the upcoming posts. And GUEST appearance on the Blog is the ACTUAL- B Johnson- Inventor of the Shopping Cart Challenge...One of my VERY Good Friends...and fellow artists.

Here are some clips...for now...{For Grandma AGAIN} AedonBalance- Roberts -ActionPacked GunDive Shamus PowerDrop Nickys Dive ring Challenge- Shamus Gun Grab Plant- RobertWallRide shoot-

Dads Dive ring Challenge- Shamus Front Flip In the backyard- Dads Wall SideFlip Nicky Spidey Slide AedonDad Seal Slide Challenge DadMultiFun Robert JamesBond Challenge Nicky CirclePark Challenge Dad Laugholympics LongJump Shamus WallRide Rhinocerous Aedon Parkour session Dad Backyard funflipages NickyTreePark

and in closing....I am going to be posting quite regularly on How this experience is going and How its going to benefit our future filmaking during my 9 months here.

so ....LOTS to learn....and Ill actually have time to share it...as life here will be much simpler.

Thanks for all your support guys!!!...stay tuned.

jriggity