Friday, October 21, 2011

The Last Trimester of my FEATURE adventure.

Hey Guys!

here is another cut in from the fight scene. This is Right after the first trip as flea has rushed Dober. I left some of the pauses longer to allow some editing room later.
In LAIKA news-

Allmost Holloween -Laika Created Pumpkin
and I am just a few months from returning to L.A.....Jeez Time has flown by!!

I am One shot from finishing my second BIG sequence on the film......It feels very amazing to think I have come so far from my first days here. The Sequences were just storyboard animatics when I first got here....and Now they are living breathing animations....ready for the BIG SCREEN.

I am SUPER comfortable at work now.....and do not feel much stress anymore other than my feet hurting and sometimes not living up to my personal expectations.

.......Monday will put the lid on my second finished sequence.......
and next week will be my Transition to my most exciting and Challenging animations yet.

What I am Calling -MY THESIS-
Putting all I have learned and all the experience gained from my time here into This Last Piece of the Film before I return home.

I am working with a Bully character in the film.....and will be creating some very Original movements to illustrate his actions and shots.

This will be the very Heaviest responsibility to the film I have felt.
My first 2 sequences are very cool and action packed....but this latest sequence is a Crowd favorite....and I am still in disbelief that I was assigned to it.

When we have had LAIKA screenings of the film people always laugh and REALLY enjoy the comedy in this bit......so I am starting to study certain movements

....and really How I am going to translate it to the characters personality.

HOMEWORK- I am cracking out the pencil -MAYA-Youtube- and My own Body in order to be as prepared as possible for the animations ahead.

I Get an awesome new set to work with....and have been watching it in the halls come together....with excitement....Under construction.

One of my other cool bit of news and secret desires on the film was to do a shot with The Hero on his bike......I am happy that my sequence has 2 cool shots with just that. Wooo Hooo!!!

Something about kids on Bikes is very cool to me......It reminds me of many of my own adventures as a kid running free through all the neighborhoods with my trusty Bike.

Goonie's adventures galore.

School Time-

I took note of some things I have been learning recently.....as my work gets cleaner and cleaner.....I am realizing that I am starting to get a softer hand in my work.

I notice that alot of the other animators keep their armatures very Loose. I have always preferred mine TIGHT....Especially in the legs and ankles. I want the puppet to stay where I put them.....

I am realizing that when they do have the looser armatures they are able to do Incredibly subtle movements....but when I have them loose I tend to Bump them out of place or am unable to GRAB the puppets like I have always done .

These guys animate with such a soft hand it seems like they are just Guiding the puppets into poses instead of PUTing them there...I am trying to incorporate more of this into my work.

It kind of like when I first was animating the puppets with clothing. Your clothes will chatter all over the place......so you have to be very smart about your contact points and How much deforming you do within a pose.

I can say one thing about My HARD handed style of animating
.......I get BIG shape changes In my puppets and what some of the guys call...BREAKING the puppet. I get them to really use all of the body like in real life...It has worked great for me so far in my action shots....and I hope to work in both ways as I get more experience down the line.

Over and Out!!

Jriggity

Friday, October 7, 2011

2 good weeks- And Films Ahead

Hey Guys!

Line shot of the week-

this is from the montage sequence{No real compositing work yet}.....Dober and Flea cross paths as they draw out their latest territories
....I cant wait to get back on the film ....me and shel got to talk about it some more this weekend...and I cant wait!!!

The family just came up for 5 days and Shamus went to check out some Portland colleges.

He is now 18 and that is 2 boys who are officially adults. Yowzers.....Hes looking to go to school up here....and I thinks hes found the one too....completely surrounded by forest- How cool is that.....there were Deer on the campus
.... Sweet!!

Shamus also got the LAIKA tour as did my Daughter Aedon for the second time....{very cool}.....and we had fun exploring in the rain of Portland....

Classic ARCADE room Downtown-
Powell's Bookstore-3 hours of fun

Sushi and Omsi museum.
Speaking of rain.....Its starting to change to more of what I expected of Portland and LAIKA

.....its been raining pretty much straight for a week....and its a more realistic view of what working and possibly living out here will be like....makes you think??


I feel like rainy days outside actually make it very easy to focus during the days in stopmotion.
Its an interesting thing....back in LA....I always have to force myself to stop motion animate during the day time. It feels unnatural in my body. Unfocused....and torn by the life in the world and sun in the sky.

At Night though....the house is quiet - the city is sleeping - I feel so in the zone and able to dial in.

So as far as working in stopmotion....Portland is perfect ..

Times a Flying...and I am still animating the weekends away in cg trying to get that new reel together....its so nice to sit down and animate on the computer now that I have the experience of a full time standing job....I forgot how nice Undo -easily adjustable poses and timing- and how just plain Comfortable it is ...ha!

rest those Dogs-ahhhhhh


Laika News-So In the last couple of weeks I have done 4 new shots.....and had some very interesting challenges.....as only stopmotion provides.

I animated some feet and earth reacting and cracking - cool

I got to animate a Big scary pair of hands.....attacking a character-

and a bunch of Physics based action shots tossing characters all over the place....

I am now at 34 approved shots deep....and stacking up the shots for my new reel...

I just now ended the week with a finished rehearsal and NEW Contender for my personal
BEST shot EVER award....It will be a very hard shoot{rigs galore}{and Ill be animating it sideways??}.....but if I can pull it off....it could be a big ole dose MAGIC.

talking Paranorman-

Every Friday we have weeklies at work. We get to watch all of the weeks finished and approved shots - sequences in the theater while sharing some drinks and conversation....they have a dollar lottery...and somebody always wins a free massage.

-Lately I have been making sure to get there because its such a Adrenalin shot right in the Vein...

looking into the future....We were talking about the other animated films we will be competing with when Paranormon releases...

and comparing strengths weaknesses-in our Forcast of How Paranormon is going to do financially..........and....... how this Incredible film will be received by the World Audience....???

There is Puss In boots -
October 2012- from Dreamworks-{This will probably be our nearest- biggest direct competetion} it has a BIG name and following -it releases in October - although I have to say....I wont be rushing out to see it....I really dislike the character designs that make up that universe....But I am sure It will make a bunch Of money....on the strength of the license.

Frankenweenie-


October 2012-from Disney-which I will be Sprinting out to see
....but not sure how mainstream audiences will respond? I have a feeling that kids will like the name and concept- but the black and white could hurt its chances on a HUGE $$ pull. It does have Disney Marketing though...so it has a great start there.

Brave-
June 2012-from PIXAR-I will be running out to see and I am feel confident that it will be fantastic-{Love the images I have seen and the subject matter is very appealing and cool}This one is a Guaranteed HIT- Gajillions will roll in and audiences will I am sure love it-

Ice Age Continental Drift-
July 2012-from Blue Sky - I am a fan of this series but am tired of it and I am sure I will wait till DVD....

PARANORMON-The Poster Will be out soon

Aug 2012- We think LAIKA's second film has a HUGE chance at success -

First off - Its FUNNY-and the story is solid -good start....

.......... the characters designs and technique are completely unique in feature animation - And that will make it Stand out Quite a bit In itself.....it ooozes quality and people should recognize that.

Because so much of the animated films out there FEEL the same visually ...this should be a Fresh taste.

its got a lot of COOL things in it- Animated Zombies = Coooooool!!!
and it manages to capture that Goonies-Monstersquad feel that I am so fond of from my childhood.
Kids on an adventure.

Did I mention its Funny. I have the Highest hopes that this film could be BIG and successfull at the Box office. I think the first trailers and teasers are coming in November....so Ill post them here when it releases....

jriggity