I apologize for the long delays between posts. I really do have lots of things going on and lots of things to show people. However right now I'd like to share with everyone the official blog for one of my classes, 3D Group Project. The idea with this class is that a group of about a dozen students (grads and undergrads) make a film from start to finish in 10 weeks (or less).
The film we are making is called Vita Magus and you can find the official blog with all the updates at http://vitamagusfilm.blogspot.com
So be sure to check it out! I should be posting more soon to how projects from past quarters and add some film reviews as well.
Showing posts with label 3D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3D. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2013
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Long time coming
So I have been neglecting my blog, I know. But I've always been wanting to post. I've just been too busy. even now, I should really keep working on my projects but I figured I had too many animations done and not posted that I really should do a massive update this week. And next week... FINALS! So you will see the final products of all the things I've been working on.
Also, someone gave me the idea to put tutorials online for various techniques. I might just do that, once I figure out what to post.
Regardless, let's start with my walk cycles. Yes, 2 of them. The first is just a basic study with a tail, which is designed to help us figure out secondary motion. If anyone out there things the tail or whatnot is automatically scripted to move, think again. While big production houses might be able to set that up, often these things are going to be hand done. Especially with students.
So... first the tail walk cycle:
Also, someone gave me the idea to put tutorials online for various techniques. I might just do that, once I figure out what to post.
Regardless, let's start with my walk cycles. Yes, 2 of them. The first is just a basic study with a tail, which is designed to help us figure out secondary motion. If anyone out there things the tail or whatnot is automatically scripted to move, think again. While big production houses might be able to set that up, often these things are going to be hand done. Especially with students.
So... first the tail walk cycle:
Next up is a walk cycle that uses attitude. It can portray anything at all, be it excited or sad or whatever. I decided to do an animation for a tough cowboy. But I'm not really into cowboys... unless their robot cowboys. So... here's a robot cowboy:
Now I bring to you a full character animation. Sure the last animation was a full body robot rig, but I bound his hands to his hips. This next animation focuses on controlling a character more, and acting. Here, we have to show a change of emotion, and a shift of weight.
Speaking of weight... the next animation is all about lifting them. Honestly, this animation isn't finished, I want to add a joke at the end, however it did satisfy the requirements of the assignment, which is to show a sense of weight and balance in a character, and use acting to make something look heavy. More importantly, we learned how to make a character look like they are holding something. We do this with Ik handles and locators, which can "attach" an object to another when used properly.
[Right now there is an error on Youtube, so I will upload this in due time.]
More?! Well yes, there is lots and lots more!! I have a project I will be uploaded parts of soon that involves a robot, a girl, and a junkyard. Right now I'm calling it Junk, and it is only 3 shots. In fact, it isn't even that. it is really only 1 fully animated shot and 2 shots still "in production". This is on purpose as it is to help students figure out how long it takes to make an animation in preparation for the senior project. I will be posting some of the work on this later, so please look forward to it.
Finally, I have a dialogue animation. It is not done yet, so what you see now is merely a Work In Progress (WIP) which is only on the second animation pass. This animation is going to be an entry in the 11 Second Club. This will be done and entered into the contest by the end of the month, which is coincidentally at the end of the quarter as well. In other words, this is my final project in this class. Here is my current WIP.
One last thing, I have been working on a new portfolio website, as well as a new portfolio, resume, demo reel, business cards, etc. for my other class, professional development. You can find my new site at DHixon.com, and I will be posting some things on here as well.
Well that's all for now, I have tons more work to do! I should have work from my finals up by next week. Don't forget to follow me on the 11 Second Club (look for my entry in the forums, under the name WeaklyAnimated).
Ta ta!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Sleep Comes After Death
So for anyone who is familiar with SCAD, you should know that students there are often so busy with work, they don't have the time in a day to do what needs to be done for their classes. That is why God invented night. It is normal - nay - required that SCAD students work overnight at least once a quarter, if not once a week... or more. Last quarter freaked me out a little because, while I did work all night once, I never went without sleep in a 24 hour period. However, this quarter I am paying for it. Already I have had to stay up working overnight 3 times in one week... twice in a row even. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I enjoy the work (for the most part). But sleep is something every SCAD student craves and rarely gets. For me to have to lose so much sleep so soon is a little crazy, and I can only think about what the next few weeks will bring. I suppose better time management is one option, but the reality of it is that I never should have taken 3 studio courses at the same time. Unfortunately, I have to in order to graduate in a timely manner. There is a reason students joke that SCAD stands for Sleep Comes After Death.
But for me it is more like a rite of passage. If I can get through this, I can handle anything anyone can throw at me. So far I've done well, and I will continue to do my best. I am thinking of declaring a minor even, so that I have more classes to help me fill out the ones I have left. Who knows, maybe I'll go for the MFA program too (which I am seriously considering), but we'll have to see what happens a year from now first. I will, however, keep that goal in mind in case I decide I want to do it.
That being said, I wanted to let everyone know that they blog will not only be about my art and animation, as well as my development in the art world and my take on all thinks animated, but will also involve shorter posts similar to this one to help me illustrate problem solving. This is actually a recommendation from one of my professors who urged us to use our blogs for showing how we can think and evaluate and solve the problems we run into in our art.
I should also have a walk cycle up soon, but it is a boring plain one that everyone in the world has on their demo reel already. Just wait till you see the one I do with "attitude".
Stay tuned!
But for me it is more like a rite of passage. If I can get through this, I can handle anything anyone can throw at me. So far I've done well, and I will continue to do my best. I am thinking of declaring a minor even, so that I have more classes to help me fill out the ones I have left. Who knows, maybe I'll go for the MFA program too (which I am seriously considering), but we'll have to see what happens a year from now first. I will, however, keep that goal in mind in case I decide I want to do it.
That being said, I wanted to let everyone know that they blog will not only be about my art and animation, as well as my development in the art world and my take on all thinks animated, but will also involve shorter posts similar to this one to help me illustrate problem solving. This is actually a recommendation from one of my professors who urged us to use our blogs for showing how we can think and evaluate and solve the problems we run into in our art.
I should also have a walk cycle up soon, but it is a boring plain one that everyone in the world has on their demo reel already. Just wait till you see the one I do with "attitude".
Stay tuned!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Basic 3D Animation tests
Yesterday I got to go to a talk from a Disney Interactive Director, and it was really inspiring. He knew most of my teachers, and couldn't say enough good things about SCAD and the advantages we have here. The day before I went to "AtlantAmation", a local film festival sponsored by SCAD, with many student films from SCAD. While some were better than others, I was also inspired to make my own short film. I may talk more about that later, but for now, I have several large projects looming over me.
Today, since I am knee deep in another quarter and already losing sleep over it, I will share with you 2 assignments I just completed. These are both very simple animations using Maya, and are standard animation training exercises which you will see lots of. The Bouncing Ball, and the Flour Sack. The purpose of the bouncing ball is to understand some of the most basic principles of animation, those being timing, squash, and stretch. If you look carefully, you'll see lots of bouncing ball animations online in every type of animation media out there, be it 2D or 3D. The Flour Sack animation is designed to help develop your ability to emote through a character with no face and limited motion. You are suppose to show a change in behavior or a reaction to an event or object through body language or pantomime. Again, there are lots of animations out there of flour sacks. I have a bouncing ball and a flour sack animation hand-drawn, which is posted on this site. Just look for them. Other than that, here are 2 new animations, this time in 3D!
Today, since I am knee deep in another quarter and already losing sleep over it, I will share with you 2 assignments I just completed. These are both very simple animations using Maya, and are standard animation training exercises which you will see lots of. The Bouncing Ball, and the Flour Sack. The purpose of the bouncing ball is to understand some of the most basic principles of animation, those being timing, squash, and stretch. If you look carefully, you'll see lots of bouncing ball animations online in every type of animation media out there, be it 2D or 3D. The Flour Sack animation is designed to help develop your ability to emote through a character with no face and limited motion. You are suppose to show a change in behavior or a reaction to an event or object through body language or pantomime. Again, there are lots of animations out there of flour sacks. I have a bouncing ball and a flour sack animation hand-drawn, which is posted on this site. Just look for them. Other than that, here are 2 new animations, this time in 3D!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Final Results
Well with the Winter quarter over, I have the final results of my classes. At least, that is, I have final projects. In all honesty I don't have as many this year as previous years, but I will be posting a little more in the near future from my Action Analysis class. It was all drawing, and a really great and fun class, but I have to get together from images first before I am willing to show them.
The biggest project I did was actually the scenes I did in Autodesk Maya 2012, which I posted earlier. However, I do have something else to show from that class which got me an even higher grade, and an A for the class (YAY!). That would be a character modeled in Maya using "edgelooping" to follow the flow of the muscles of the character to allow for better animation and rigging.
Originally my design was a lot more... conservative than this... and it was boring as a result (boring as in my teacher said it looked like a men's room sign and required I change it). So with some help from teachers and colleagues, I *ahem* enhanced it. This was supposed to be a modernization of Annie Oakley... and I did quite a bit of research on her. In the end, she should have an another layer of clothes at least. That and I didn't model a gun. So for now... screenshots of "Annie".
Oh... and if you are averse to nudity... 1) grow up... 2) avert your eyes. But really... no details or anything, but the clothes are removable (which means I should be able to make better clothes later) but some of these might be NSFW. Also, all of these are using the smooth preview so they are not renders, just screenshots.
The biggest project I did was actually the scenes I did in Autodesk Maya 2012, which I posted earlier. However, I do have something else to show from that class which got me an even higher grade, and an A for the class (YAY!). That would be a character modeled in Maya using "edgelooping" to follow the flow of the muscles of the character to allow for better animation and rigging.
Originally my design was a lot more... conservative than this... and it was boring as a result (boring as in my teacher said it looked like a men's room sign and required I change it). So with some help from teachers and colleagues, I *ahem* enhanced it. This was supposed to be a modernization of Annie Oakley... and I did quite a bit of research on her. In the end, she should have an another layer of clothes at least. That and I didn't model a gun. So for now... screenshots of "Annie".
Oh... and if you are averse to nudity... 1) grow up... 2) avert your eyes. But really... no details or anything, but the clothes are removable (which means I should be able to make better clothes later) but some of these might be NSFW. Also, all of these are using the smooth preview so they are not renders, just screenshots.
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| Overview Front Shot |
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| Upper Torso Shot |
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| Face with Edgeloops turned on |
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| Face without Edgloops |
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| Upper torso Dynamic Angle Shot |
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| Closeup of buckles around boots |
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| Closeup of medals on coat |
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| Closeup of gloved hand |
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| Closeup of ear |
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| Money Shot :P |
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| Back with Edgeloops (without coat) |
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| Back without Edgeloops (without coat) |
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| Front with Edgloops (without coat) |
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| Front comparison to character design sketch |
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| Side comparison to character design sketch |
So I made her body first, then duplicated the faces of her body to make the jacket in pieces and merged them together. I actually used a cloth dynamic in Maya to let the coat and skirt rest on her body better, but the coat is so tight it didn't move much. The gloves and boots are part of her body and don't come off. Her hair was made one "strand" at a time, with about 2 dozen modeled individually. The hat was modeled separately, as well as the buckles around her boots and the epaulettes and the medals. She was a LOT of fun to build, and I am working on fixing up her modeling a little, especially in her coat. Maybe I'll add an undershirt option as well. Her face isn't perfect either, so I will go back and tweak it some more till I have a better shape. But all said and done, I made this model in about a week, and it is my first character model ever! Pretty impressive for a first I think.
I will post more pictures later with better lighting and so forth, but I am having an issue where the coat is under "stress" (apparently a few vertices are poking through unnoticed...) which results in a funky artifact where the clothes are full of "banding"... Check it out...
So I'll be fixing that at some point and posting more images later. I'm pretty happy with it. And yes... I've noticed she has a large chest. Everyone keeps reminding me.
So next time I'll post some more on my Action Analysis class, as well as a review of Arriety. I also got a request from someone to compare GMU and SCAD, so I will be writing up a comparison, although I think it will end up being more about the differences between my experience, a typical public college, and a specialty school like SCAD.
Aloha!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Final rendered scene
Well I have finally been forced to stay up overnight this quarter. I was getting scared there and thought it wasn't going to happen. Of course it had to be the night before a big presentation. But I'll get through it, that's what Think Geek caffeine gum is for. :)
Well today I will share with you the final rendered scenes of my project for Digital Form, Space, and Lighting. All those objects I showed earlier, well now they are all put together, with lighting, camera effects, and even environment fog. Enjoy!
Well today I will share with you the final rendered scenes of my project for Digital Form, Space, and Lighting. All those objects I showed earlier, well now they are all put together, with lighting, camera effects, and even environment fog. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
More 3D goodies
Hello again!
I'd like to start off apologizing to anyone who has listened to 7th Row Center and figured out I had some bad information about The Secret World of Arrietty, and Studio Ghibli, and Hayao Miyazaki himself. I realized that Patrick Stewart was in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, not Tales of Earthsea. I was thinking about another fine British actor, Timothy Dalton, who played Ged/Sparrowhawk in the English language version. Also, Miyazaki did not direct Arrietty; it was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who was a key animator for several other Ghibli (and non-Ghibli) films, such as Spirited Away and Ponyo. Miyazaki has been credited as a writer and executive producer, so he was involved, just not as the director.
I'm sure I got more wrong, but if you have any questions, complaints, or comments, feel free to drop us a line at 7throwcenter.com, or on facebook, or reach me directly on this site or my facebook page, or find me on twitter at @WeaklyAnimated. I know I haven't been that active on any of these lately, but I want to make sure I get good grades first, everything else comes after that.
Now that THAT is out of the way, I have some more images for people to view. I have been working on modeling and texturing these models for a few weeks, in preparation for a scene focusing around the life and world of Harry Dresden, one of my favorite characters of literature. If you are unfamiliar with Harry Dresden, I HIGHLY recommend you check out the Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher, or the audio books narrated by James Marsters. So while I work on the lighting, take a look at the objects themselves.
I'd like to start off apologizing to anyone who has listened to 7th Row Center and figured out I had some bad information about The Secret World of Arrietty, and Studio Ghibli, and Hayao Miyazaki himself. I realized that Patrick Stewart was in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, not Tales of Earthsea. I was thinking about another fine British actor, Timothy Dalton, who played Ged/Sparrowhawk in the English language version. Also, Miyazaki did not direct Arrietty; it was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who was a key animator for several other Ghibli (and non-Ghibli) films, such as Spirited Away and Ponyo. Miyazaki has been credited as a writer and executive producer, so he was involved, just not as the director.
I'm sure I got more wrong, but if you have any questions, complaints, or comments, feel free to drop us a line at 7throwcenter.com, or on facebook, or reach me directly on this site or my facebook page, or find me on twitter at @WeaklyAnimated. I know I haven't been that active on any of these lately, but I want to make sure I get good grades first, everything else comes after that.
Now that THAT is out of the way, I have some more images for people to view. I have been working on modeling and texturing these models for a few weeks, in preparation for a scene focusing around the life and world of Harry Dresden, one of my favorite characters of literature. If you are unfamiliar with Harry Dresden, I HIGHLY recommend you check out the Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher, or the audio books narrated by James Marsters. So while I work on the lighting, take a look at the objects themselves.
For those with keen eyes, yes that is Discord from My Little Ponies. Don't ask. I still have more tweaking to do, but these are pretty much finished. The rest of the scene is all about lighting and camera work. Soon, I should have fully lit scenes using 3-point lighting for you to enjoy. Comments and feedback are welcome as always.
Cheerio!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
School in session
Well school is back in session, and things are looking up. Not only am I taking a 3D modeling and lighting class, but my wife and my cat have moved back in with me, thanks to a new job she got :D.
So things will be different, but better. I will still have all those late and sleepless nights doing homework, but this time I don't have to face it alone. I look forward to the classes, and have a lot of work to do already. I'll keep everyone posted.
Also, don't forget to check out the latest episode of 7th Row Center, now streaming.
So things will be different, but better. I will still have all those late and sleepless nights doing homework, but this time I don't have to face it alone. I look forward to the classes, and have a lot of work to do already. I'll keep everyone posted.
Also, don't forget to check out the latest episode of 7th Row Center, now streaming.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Great Metallic Balls
The cool thing is there are now 3 new excellent animations finished for my classes, all of which look better than I thought they'd turn out.
Also, I figured out why the bob-omb animation looked so bad. Apparently I uploaded the wrong file, although the final one still has compression issues, but it looks a zillion times better.
Besides the bob-omb animation, I have the others to show as well. Here is the flag waving pencil test:
This is the flag wave animation. It took me several hours to complete, and I had to essentially start over at one point when I suddenly realized what I was doing wrong. I kept drawing the various keys and inbetweens wrong, and it suddenly clicked, and I figured out how to make it work. This is the result. It is short, but fluid.
Next up is the Screen Design Z-Dept project, or as I all it... Marble Maze:
This animation is intended to loop. The point of the exercise is to show depth in a 2D screen. There are several ways to do this including scale, overlap, perspective, and more. I originally intended to draw this out in Photoshop and then bring it into After Effects and animate it there. However, after struggling to make it look the way I wanted to, I started modeling it in Maya, and decided it turned out so well, I'd just do the entire thing in Maya, and proceeded to do just that. I used Maya 2008 (and 2012 for rendering on campus), and only used basic shapes and methods, but with very effective rendering techniques. All the lights use Ray Tracing and shadows, the wood surfaces use many layers of textures to make it work, the rendering used mental ray, and Final Gathering, in order to get such effective colors and lighting etc. It took me about 12 hours or so to render the final version (and I had to render it twice... one scene once... cause they earlier ones didn't look good), but luckily I could use multiple computers on campus, and managed the entire thing in about 4 hours.
In other news, keep your ears open for the latest episode of 7thRowCenter, where we talk about the power of cheese. These movies are so bad, they are Gouda!
Till next time,
GUTEN TAG!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
SCAD so far
Well my first week of the fall quarter at SCAD is complete, and I must say I am enjoying all my classes! My first class is an introduction to 2D animation. I have done 2D animation before at GMU, where I used After Effects to animated a bouncy ball, a scrolling background, and even a walk cycle. Problem is, it taught me next to nothing about actual animation. The computer did almost all the work. I just told it what key frames to use and it did the rest. In the real world of animation, if you don't have a solid foundation in hand-drawn animation, you aren't going anywhere. This week, we've already drawn a swining pendulum. This was a simple timing exercise but it is essential for new animators to learn how to time an animation and how to make something flow smoothly. It wasn't as much work as I was expecting it to be, but I did have experience in animation, music, and timing before.
I've had a great time drawing it out, and once I grab a copy of the simple pencil test animation I did from the computer at school, I will post it here.
My next class is an introduction into screen design, aka making it look good. This is about the layout of objects on a screen, how to make a cinematic experience really work, and the rules of camera work and so on. We are studying movies and animations to get an idea of how to make a scene logically flow, as well as the tips and tricks film makers use to achieve the desired effect. Watching the opening scene of Laputa, Castle in the Sky, we learned in the first class how important these tools are, and how effective.
Finally, the history of animation class finishes my day. Literally.. all my classes are the same day, and give me almost no time between them. Nonetheless, I finish up with history of animation which is fascinating and has more to do with film and actors like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd than you'd expect.
I will be viewing the Lion King later, and will post something reviewing the new Stereoscopic version in theaters this week.
ADIOS!
I've had a great time drawing it out, and once I grab a copy of the simple pencil test animation I did from the computer at school, I will post it here.
My next class is an introduction into screen design, aka making it look good. This is about the layout of objects on a screen, how to make a cinematic experience really work, and the rules of camera work and so on. We are studying movies and animations to get an idea of how to make a scene logically flow, as well as the tips and tricks film makers use to achieve the desired effect. Watching the opening scene of Laputa, Castle in the Sky, we learned in the first class how important these tools are, and how effective.
Finally, the history of animation class finishes my day. Literally.. all my classes are the same day, and give me almost no time between them. Nonetheless, I finish up with history of animation which is fascinating and has more to do with film and actors like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd than you'd expect.
I will be viewing the Lion King later, and will post something reviewing the new Stereoscopic version in theaters this week.
ADIOS!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Hiatus halted
Greetings to everyone who has landed on my humble blog.
Recently, I have been busy with cleaning up my apartment, taking classes in Photography and Drawing, and spending time with family and friends as much as I can. That isn't to say that I am making an excuse. I really should just update my blog more often, and therefor I will be making no more excuses, and I will just update my blog.
From here on out, my posts will overall be shorter, but I plan to continue to do movie reviews at least once a week. I have a lot of things to talk about, and am anxious to get started again!
First I would like to get people used to who I am, and what I think about.
For one, I have a BA in Digital Art at George Mason University, I have a passion for animation and film, and I am currently attending SCAD for animation, and I hope to get an MA. I like to have and share my opinions with others, and I respect everyone's opinions as long as they are logically sound. I believe in skepticism and you should investigate things on your own, and not just listen to rumors. I am often proven wrong about things, and so I admit I am not always right, but I take these opportunities to learn and adapt my opinions.
Animation for me is a pure form of film as art. Of course I love traditional film, with sequential photographs synchronized to sound, but animation is taking the limitations of photography out of the picture. With animation, you are only limited by your skill and your imagination. Granted, budgets are a major part of this as well. Animation is all about being visually stunning, each and every element of the image being painstakingly crafted, so the overall visual field is a work of pure imagination and talent.
Animation is old, older than photography. The original attempt at animation date back thousands of years to cave drawings which depicted movement through multiple limbs in different positions. There has even recently been discovered a bowl in Iran that dates back 5,200 years that uses a form of animation called a zoetrope. Throughout the ages, people have tried to mimic movement in art, from Phantasmagoria to the Thaumatrope to the Phenakistoscope. Animation made it's mark in film 1900 with "The Enchanted Drawing", which depicted a man drawing a face, and then interacting with the face and other drawn objects. 6 years later, the same man, J. Stuart Blackton, created the first fully animated film with "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces". The oldest films date back to the 1880s, meaning that animation has been a part of cinema since the very beginning.
Today, animation is seen as something more for children than adults. True, there are the few adult animations like Heavy Metal and Fritz the Cat (among others), but the biggest industry for animation not solely aimed for children or families has been the Japanese Anime industry. Today, you are as likely to find an anime intended for an adult audience with an 18+ rating as you are to find one for a small child. Despite this, animation still suffers from an identification crisis. Adults don't watch "cartoons", and anime is for "fanboys" and "perverts". Luckily, this has not held back the animation industry, although it has had many rough times. Even Walt Disney himself grew tired of making animations, and focused on live-action films such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mary Poppins, and Davy Crockett.
For me, I like to explore animation not only for the innocence and whimsy they often portray, but also the art, the technical aspects, and the various themes. I embrace animations for older audiences, and find joy in truly family films.
I will talk more about all aspects of animation, while I continue on my quest to earn an MA and find my way into the animation industry.
Other topics I will cover include video games (or interactive media/interactive animation), 3d (or stereoscopic), theaters, film, and even IMAX. If you haven't read it yet, check out my explanation of IMAX using the search bar.
Briefly, I will mention 3D and IMAX, as per requested. I feel 3D (stereoscopy) has a place in the future. It has been around since the 1800's as many early photographers wanted to explore depth in their work. I both like it and dislike it as it stands now. There are times when 3D is used correctly, and actually can add another element to the visual field, however it has been abused too much and turned into a gimmick. This of course hurts the reputation of 3D. When a film is made with a 3D camera, you usually get a decent 3D effect, however it seems that today there are more "3D" movies coming out that are only made 3D in post-production, which is an atrocity and usually is a gimmick to add $5 to your ticket. 3D can cause headaches, eye strain, and can even be bad for children's eyes. And yet, people still go to movies to see 3D films, and 3D has started to invade homes more than ever. I suspect it will be here to stay, even if it starts to lose money. I can only hope they perfect the technology, and stop making 2D films and then converting them into 3D! Either make your film 2D, or 3D, don't fake it! I can't blame anyone for getting turned off by 3D, with the massive price tag and gimmick factor it has lately been sporting.
As for IMAX, there is true IMAX format, and then there is IMAX brand name (also known as Digital IMAX). Now usually the IMAX brand name is at least good quality, large screen, etc. However, the films that come out in "IMAX" are for the most part not using the IMAX format film, which is a 70mm film format. Instead, they just show 4k or 2k (equivalent to 35mm) digital film on a large screen, like any other theater will do, and charge you more for it. While sometimes this is fine, and seeing things on a big screen is always impressive, often it is a waste of money. If you want to truly see IMAX, then the screen better be a square, not a rectangle. The IMAX format uses a 1.44:1 ratio, while typical films use 1.85:1 or 2.39:1 ratios. This means that IMAX format with a true IMAX quality image will be close to the standard television aspect ratio of 4:3 (1.33:1) and not widescreen at all. To top it off, the size difference of the screens are drastic. An IMAX brand screen can be any size at all, but they are typically not much larger than a large standard movie theater screen, while a true IMAX format screen can be from 52 feet tall and 72 feet wide to almost 120 feet wide and 100 feet tall!
"But wait, I saw Harry Potter/Batman/Transformers/Superman/Spiderman/etc. in IMAX and heard it was filmed in IMAX." Sure you did, and the pope wears a thong. Seriously though, what you usually run into with major films are either IMAX DMR (or "upconverted") films, or partially filmed in IMAX films. The first is a way to take movies like Apollo 13 and make it look better on a large IMAX screen through a complex upconverting process. This actually cannot add any more detail to the image when it is on a large IMAX screen, it only makes it not look as bad as it would had it not gone through that process. As for partially filmed in IMAX movies, usually only 1 or 2 scenes in a film will be made with an IMAX camera, in the IMAX format. The rest of the movie (about 95% of it) will be with a regular camera and probably upconverted as well. Any film that is made with only IMAX film will look far more crisp and detailed than the upconverted films, and will always fill an IMAX screen, while the others will not.
So it is my hope that the IMAX format starts to become more prevalent, and more IMAX format theaters open, rather than Digital IMAX. I enjoy seeing the big screens and seeing big movies on them, and I have never run into a Digital IMAX theater I didn't like, but is it worth the extra money? Probably not. It is not as gimmicky as 3D, unless you see a 3D IMAX movie. However, when it comes to home theaters, which is where most people end up watching movies anyways, IMAX filmed movies will look no better than any other HD movie.
So to sum up:
3D = bad, but with potential, but heading in the wrong direction to get any better anytime soon.
IMAX = be wary of what you are watching and where.
IMAX 3D = hole in your pocket.
Till next time! ADIOS!
Recently, I have been busy with cleaning up my apartment, taking classes in Photography and Drawing, and spending time with family and friends as much as I can. That isn't to say that I am making an excuse. I really should just update my blog more often, and therefor I will be making no more excuses, and I will just update my blog.
From here on out, my posts will overall be shorter, but I plan to continue to do movie reviews at least once a week. I have a lot of things to talk about, and am anxious to get started again!
First I would like to get people used to who I am, and what I think about.
For one, I have a BA in Digital Art at George Mason University, I have a passion for animation and film, and I am currently attending SCAD for animation, and I hope to get an MA. I like to have and share my opinions with others, and I respect everyone's opinions as long as they are logically sound. I believe in skepticism and you should investigate things on your own, and not just listen to rumors. I am often proven wrong about things, and so I admit I am not always right, but I take these opportunities to learn and adapt my opinions.
Animation for me is a pure form of film as art. Of course I love traditional film, with sequential photographs synchronized to sound, but animation is taking the limitations of photography out of the picture. With animation, you are only limited by your skill and your imagination. Granted, budgets are a major part of this as well. Animation is all about being visually stunning, each and every element of the image being painstakingly crafted, so the overall visual field is a work of pure imagination and talent.
Animation is old, older than photography. The original attempt at animation date back thousands of years to cave drawings which depicted movement through multiple limbs in different positions. There has even recently been discovered a bowl in Iran that dates back 5,200 years that uses a form of animation called a zoetrope. Throughout the ages, people have tried to mimic movement in art, from Phantasmagoria to the Thaumatrope to the Phenakistoscope. Animation made it's mark in film 1900 with "The Enchanted Drawing", which depicted a man drawing a face, and then interacting with the face and other drawn objects. 6 years later, the same man, J. Stuart Blackton, created the first fully animated film with "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces". The oldest films date back to the 1880s, meaning that animation has been a part of cinema since the very beginning.
Today, animation is seen as something more for children than adults. True, there are the few adult animations like Heavy Metal and Fritz the Cat (among others), but the biggest industry for animation not solely aimed for children or families has been the Japanese Anime industry. Today, you are as likely to find an anime intended for an adult audience with an 18+ rating as you are to find one for a small child. Despite this, animation still suffers from an identification crisis. Adults don't watch "cartoons", and anime is for "fanboys" and "perverts". Luckily, this has not held back the animation industry, although it has had many rough times. Even Walt Disney himself grew tired of making animations, and focused on live-action films such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mary Poppins, and Davy Crockett.
For me, I like to explore animation not only for the innocence and whimsy they often portray, but also the art, the technical aspects, and the various themes. I embrace animations for older audiences, and find joy in truly family films.
I will talk more about all aspects of animation, while I continue on my quest to earn an MA and find my way into the animation industry.
Other topics I will cover include video games (or interactive media/interactive animation), 3d (or stereoscopic), theaters, film, and even IMAX. If you haven't read it yet, check out my explanation of IMAX using the search bar.
Briefly, I will mention 3D and IMAX, as per requested. I feel 3D (stereoscopy) has a place in the future. It has been around since the 1800's as many early photographers wanted to explore depth in their work. I both like it and dislike it as it stands now. There are times when 3D is used correctly, and actually can add another element to the visual field, however it has been abused too much and turned into a gimmick. This of course hurts the reputation of 3D. When a film is made with a 3D camera, you usually get a decent 3D effect, however it seems that today there are more "3D" movies coming out that are only made 3D in post-production, which is an atrocity and usually is a gimmick to add $5 to your ticket. 3D can cause headaches, eye strain, and can even be bad for children's eyes. And yet, people still go to movies to see 3D films, and 3D has started to invade homes more than ever. I suspect it will be here to stay, even if it starts to lose money. I can only hope they perfect the technology, and stop making 2D films and then converting them into 3D! Either make your film 2D, or 3D, don't fake it! I can't blame anyone for getting turned off by 3D, with the massive price tag and gimmick factor it has lately been sporting.
"But wait, I saw Harry Potter/Batman/Transformers/Superman/Spiderman/etc. in IMAX and heard it was filmed in IMAX." Sure you did, and the pope wears a thong. Seriously though, what you usually run into with major films are either IMAX DMR (or "upconverted") films, or partially filmed in IMAX films. The first is a way to take movies like Apollo 13 and make it look better on a large IMAX screen through a complex upconverting process. This actually cannot add any more detail to the image when it is on a large IMAX screen, it only makes it not look as bad as it would had it not gone through that process. As for partially filmed in IMAX movies, usually only 1 or 2 scenes in a film will be made with an IMAX camera, in the IMAX format. The rest of the movie (about 95% of it) will be with a regular camera and probably upconverted as well. Any film that is made with only IMAX film will look far more crisp and detailed than the upconverted films, and will always fill an IMAX screen, while the others will not.
So it is my hope that the IMAX format starts to become more prevalent, and more IMAX format theaters open, rather than Digital IMAX. I enjoy seeing the big screens and seeing big movies on them, and I have never run into a Digital IMAX theater I didn't like, but is it worth the extra money? Probably not. It is not as gimmicky as 3D, unless you see a 3D IMAX movie. However, when it comes to home theaters, which is where most people end up watching movies anyways, IMAX filmed movies will look no better than any other HD movie.
So to sum up:
3D = bad, but with potential, but heading in the wrong direction to get any better anytime soon.
IMAX = be wary of what you are watching and where.
IMAX 3D = hole in your pocket.
Till next time! ADIOS!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Cha Cha Cha Cha Changes
Today is time for a BIG update!! In fact, there are LOTS of changes happening, both here in my blog and in real life, and I want to update you all on some of them.
First and foremost, I am changing the goal of this blog. Originally this was intended to be a way of documenting my weekly endeavors in animation, which I am still going to do, but after a while, I started adding reviews, and other content. Now I have decided that I am going to be updating about anything that I personally find interesting, with a focus toward animation and film, but not just animation. This means if I hear something cool about... say... a scientific discovery, even if it has nothing to do with animation, I may still blog about it. However, I will always prefer to talk about animation or the industry of animation. So if there is a choice between talking about a great scientific advancement and the latest Disney movie, I will talk about the movie first before I talk about anything not related to animation. I hope this isn't too confusing, but by blogging about more than just one of my interests is likely to result in more blog posts.
Second, I would like to make a few small announcements. To start off, I have moved from Virginia to Georgia, and have started to attend SCAD. I am in the first quarter already, and with my transfer credits, I am a sophomore, and should be able to make it to a Junior by the fall. I also should be able to focus on only animation classes starting in the fall as well. I have also broken the unemployment train. I have recently been employed part-time (since school is more than full-time as is) at the Disney Store. It is an awesome store, with great people, and is fun to work at, plus they are very helpful with giving me few hours so I can work around my school schedule. In order to make this big change in my life, (which is huge since I went from completely available and not at all busy to barely able to keep up with the massive amount of work I suddenly have), I have had to make some serious sacrifices. The biggest of these is that, in order to afford this, my wife is staying in Virginia, working at her current job, staying with family, while she looks for work down here and I attend classes here. It is hard to be so separated from her on a daily basis, but we are doing our best. I hope a job comes through soon, because we could really use it right now.
Third, I mentioned before that I do not update this blog that often. Originally it was meant to be a weekly update, but that has obviously not happened. SO... I am going to make this as daily as possible, keeping in mind that I am extremely busy at both school and work. I will continue to update about any art project I am working on, both for my class and on my own. I will NOT be blogging at all about my work, except to say that it is awesome and anyone who hasn't been to it should go. I will continue to make movie reviews as well, time permitting of course. I am very busy and I might not get to see a movie when it first comes out, or even after it is on disc, at least not for a while. But some movies are just too good (or bad) not to review.
Now that that is out of the way... let me actually put in some updated content.
I would like to thank everyone in Georgia who has welcomed me. I feel like I have found some good friends and family here already, and I hope that this will continue for the years to come. I would also like to say "Hi" to all my fellow classmates at SCAD, who work very hard. I promise not to write anything about anyone in particular, unless it is positive. No negative nanny here.
Right now, I am taking a Drawing II class, a Color Theory class, and a Public Speaking class. I have actually already taken Drawing II before, as well as Color Theory. However, I decided that I needed some practice with drawing again, so I willingly chose to not submit a portfolio to transfer out of the drawing class. I am enjoying it overall, even though it is difficult. I also found that my color theory classes (yes, plural) of the past were nothing like the color theory class I am taking now. There is a reason my credits didn't transfer. I have never taken a Public Speaking class before, so I expect to learn a lot from this one.
Currently, I am working on a drawing focusing on 2 point perspective. We are using both observed and imagined (added) elements to the image, and I think that, even though I have so much work to do on it, it is coming along nicely. I will probably be spending several more hours Monday and Tuesday working on this. I am also working on a painting focusing on different colors and small brushstrokes. My design is a little unusual, and not as nice as I would like it to be, but I will make the best out of it. Some of the other designs in class are awesome, and I think are going to look spectacular when they are done. I am actually almost done with this already, and should be finished in class Monday, so I can focus my time on my other projects instead. Finally, I am also working on a speech. I am actually behind in this, BUT I already have a good idea what I am going to write about, and I have a good template to work off of for designing the speech. I should be able to finish this Monday evening. In all, I am incredibly busy with school work, but I have it all planned out and I am confident it will work out. I wish I had some animation or comic news for you, but right now I am so busy with these "fundamentals" classes that I have no time to work on anything else right now. That being said, I have found renewed interest in Disney, as well as my own animation projects. I hope to make more progress on my own animation soon, time permitting of course.
In other news, I am planning to write a review for Disney's "Tangled" later this week. Personally, I think this is a fantastic movie. I can't give it a higher rating, and if you haven't seen it yet, go rent or buy it now! I also have plans to review another movie called "Waking Sleeping Beauty", which is a documentary about Disney's comeback with The Little Mermaid and on, as well as "Rock and Rule", a Canadian animation from the 80's that has been all but forgotten. I may do a review on "Rio", but right now I have not had the chance to see it yet. I am ALSO going to talk about another movie called "The Thief and the Cobbler", which has been known by many names, was many years in the making, has undergone many changes, and suffered from many production issues. The final release of this film is actually a fan edit release, known as the "Recobbled Edition", which used DVD footage, VHS footage, unfinished and test footage, and even storyboards in places where the animation wasn't finished or editing was needed. While the quality is understandably lacking (being a fan edit that using unfinished footage and finished footage from many different quality sources), the edit is the best version of the movie I have seen by far! That being said, it is very different from the original release which was released to DVD several years ago, so I will probably be doing a comparative review, talking about the differences between each edit, and where each one succeeds and fails. To give you an idea of the differences, the main character of the original Miramax release was voiced by Matthew Broderick, while in the new edit (which is apparently closer to what the original writer had in mind) that character never speaks at all. Good news is that Vincent Price is still the voice of Zig Zag.
Now it may take me a while to get to all of this, and I don't know what order I will do them in either just yet. Since I am also really getting into Disney, I may talk a bit about the history of Disney and the advances they have made. As for right now, I am going to head off. I have to finish painting a picture, and I need to rest after a long day at the Renn Faire, while recovering from my sun burns as well.
First and foremost, I am changing the goal of this blog. Originally this was intended to be a way of documenting my weekly endeavors in animation, which I am still going to do, but after a while, I started adding reviews, and other content. Now I have decided that I am going to be updating about anything that I personally find interesting, with a focus toward animation and film, but not just animation. This means if I hear something cool about... say... a scientific discovery, even if it has nothing to do with animation, I may still blog about it. However, I will always prefer to talk about animation or the industry of animation. So if there is a choice between talking about a great scientific advancement and the latest Disney movie, I will talk about the movie first before I talk about anything not related to animation. I hope this isn't too confusing, but by blogging about more than just one of my interests is likely to result in more blog posts.
Second, I would like to make a few small announcements. To start off, I have moved from Virginia to Georgia, and have started to attend SCAD. I am in the first quarter already, and with my transfer credits, I am a sophomore, and should be able to make it to a Junior by the fall. I also should be able to focus on only animation classes starting in the fall as well. I have also broken the unemployment train. I have recently been employed part-time (since school is more than full-time as is) at the Disney Store. It is an awesome store, with great people, and is fun to work at, plus they are very helpful with giving me few hours so I can work around my school schedule. In order to make this big change in my life, (which is huge since I went from completely available and not at all busy to barely able to keep up with the massive amount of work I suddenly have), I have had to make some serious sacrifices. The biggest of these is that, in order to afford this, my wife is staying in Virginia, working at her current job, staying with family, while she looks for work down here and I attend classes here. It is hard to be so separated from her on a daily basis, but we are doing our best. I hope a job comes through soon, because we could really use it right now.
Third, I mentioned before that I do not update this blog that often. Originally it was meant to be a weekly update, but that has obviously not happened. SO... I am going to make this as daily as possible, keeping in mind that I am extremely busy at both school and work. I will continue to update about any art project I am working on, both for my class and on my own. I will NOT be blogging at all about my work, except to say that it is awesome and anyone who hasn't been to it should go. I will continue to make movie reviews as well, time permitting of course. I am very busy and I might not get to see a movie when it first comes out, or even after it is on disc, at least not for a while. But some movies are just too good (or bad) not to review.
Now that that is out of the way... let me actually put in some updated content.
I would like to thank everyone in Georgia who has welcomed me. I feel like I have found some good friends and family here already, and I hope that this will continue for the years to come. I would also like to say "Hi" to all my fellow classmates at SCAD, who work very hard. I promise not to write anything about anyone in particular, unless it is positive. No negative nanny here.
Right now, I am taking a Drawing II class, a Color Theory class, and a Public Speaking class. I have actually already taken Drawing II before, as well as Color Theory. However, I decided that I needed some practice with drawing again, so I willingly chose to not submit a portfolio to transfer out of the drawing class. I am enjoying it overall, even though it is difficult. I also found that my color theory classes (yes, plural) of the past were nothing like the color theory class I am taking now. There is a reason my credits didn't transfer. I have never taken a Public Speaking class before, so I expect to learn a lot from this one.
Currently, I am working on a drawing focusing on 2 point perspective. We are using both observed and imagined (added) elements to the image, and I think that, even though I have so much work to do on it, it is coming along nicely. I will probably be spending several more hours Monday and Tuesday working on this. I am also working on a painting focusing on different colors and small brushstrokes. My design is a little unusual, and not as nice as I would like it to be, but I will make the best out of it. Some of the other designs in class are awesome, and I think are going to look spectacular when they are done. I am actually almost done with this already, and should be finished in class Monday, so I can focus my time on my other projects instead. Finally, I am also working on a speech. I am actually behind in this, BUT I already have a good idea what I am going to write about, and I have a good template to work off of for designing the speech. I should be able to finish this Monday evening. In all, I am incredibly busy with school work, but I have it all planned out and I am confident it will work out. I wish I had some animation or comic news for you, but right now I am so busy with these "fundamentals" classes that I have no time to work on anything else right now. That being said, I have found renewed interest in Disney, as well as my own animation projects. I hope to make more progress on my own animation soon, time permitting of course.
In other news, I am planning to write a review for Disney's "Tangled" later this week. Personally, I think this is a fantastic movie. I can't give it a higher rating, and if you haven't seen it yet, go rent or buy it now! I also have plans to review another movie called "Waking Sleeping Beauty", which is a documentary about Disney's comeback with The Little Mermaid and on, as well as "Rock and Rule", a Canadian animation from the 80's that has been all but forgotten. I may do a review on "Rio", but right now I have not had the chance to see it yet. I am ALSO going to talk about another movie called "The Thief and the Cobbler", which has been known by many names, was many years in the making, has undergone many changes, and suffered from many production issues. The final release of this film is actually a fan edit release, known as the "Recobbled Edition", which used DVD footage, VHS footage, unfinished and test footage, and even storyboards in places where the animation wasn't finished or editing was needed. While the quality is understandably lacking (being a fan edit that using unfinished footage and finished footage from many different quality sources), the edit is the best version of the movie I have seen by far! That being said, it is very different from the original release which was released to DVD several years ago, so I will probably be doing a comparative review, talking about the differences between each edit, and where each one succeeds and fails. To give you an idea of the differences, the main character of the original Miramax release was voiced by Matthew Broderick, while in the new edit (which is apparently closer to what the original writer had in mind) that character never speaks at all. Good news is that Vincent Price is still the voice of Zig Zag.
Now it may take me a while to get to all of this, and I don't know what order I will do them in either just yet. Since I am also really getting into Disney, I may talk a bit about the history of Disney and the advances they have made. As for right now, I am going to head off. I have to finish painting a picture, and I need to rest after a long day at the Renn Faire, while recovering from my sun burns as well.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
DAVE School Visit
Well it's that time again! Time for me to come up with another excuse as to why I have nothing to show you all.
This week, it is simply that I have been too busy with work (as in trying to make money while unemployed), and research. The research here is actually more important than that of simply drawing and animating, which is why I have not finished anything this week. I have paid the DAVE school (that's "Digital Animation & Visual Effects School" for those who haven't heard) down in Orlando Florida, a little visit.
Upon checking into our hotel room, we called one of the DAVE school representatives, who happens to also be a 3rd block student, I'll go into blocks a little more later. He was kind enough to pick us up, drive us around town a little, give us a tour of the school, and answer some of our questions.
DAVE school is located on the back side of Universal Studios Orlando, on the premises. It is not inside the gate to the back of the park, but it is on their back lot. While they are on Universal's property, they are not owned by Universal but have a good relationship with them. Students get employee-like passes to let them into the back side of the park, where they can go on rides, enjoy the shows, or even eat in the staff cafeteria, which I am told has VERY reasonable prices. Fun aside, the school is currently in a sound stage which they converted for teaching classes. Despite this, it is decently equipped, with a mocap (motion capture) studio, green screen, small theater, and dozens of work stations. The front room is the entry where their receptionist can help with anything you need. Next to this is the guest lounge, where they show off all the movies, posters, toys, et al that they have made. They also have an impressive collection of student awards on display.
Upon entering the actual classrooms, we are confronted by an array of computer work stations, each one with 3 or 4 computers on it. They assign all 3rd and 4th block students a computer in each station, and they have to work together to complete their assignment. Again, I'll go into blocks shortly. Next to this, is a small theater where they show movies and such to students, and also give lectures. While it is nice to have it there, in their current location, it looks more like a temporary set up. I assume this will change in the near future. After the theater, there is a long hallway that is filled with past works they have done, including story boards, screen shots, character designs, etc. At the end of the hallway is the 1st and 2nd block classroom, where each student is assigned a computer, which all face a screen at the front of the class. This lets them see what the teacher is doing, so they can copy it on their own computer. All of the computers in this school are PCs, and while they recognize that both Macs and workstations are prevalent in the industry, they find it is more affordable and standardized to just use PCs in the classroom. They will even help a student build a PC, if they want one in their home.
Next door to this, is the mocap studio, which doubles as a green screen. Here, they have a full sized green screen room, where half the room is a green screen, complete with props and computers and monitors. They also have a series of mocap cameras in the room, about 20 I believe, to track movements of anyone wearing the mocap suit. This is the same mocap system that was used in Monster House and Polar Express.
Other than these main areas, they also have a small reference storage area, full of varous reference materials, props and toys all over the place, offices for faculty and staff, a small sound room, and a meeting room I could not see, cause there was a meeting in it at the time.
Now, the entire school lasts for only 1 year for each student (assuming they don't fail). Each year is split into 4 blocks, which are 3 months apiece. A student is assigned wither night or day classes, which stays that way for the entire year. Meaning the faculty have to change which times they teach classes every 3 months to accommodate the new recruits. In the first block, you are bombarded with information, most of which is 3D modeling. I understand that while the first few days might be typical for a class, it shortly becomes their hardest and most grueling block with the pure mass of data they require you to learn. This weeds out anyone that can't handle the workload right off, and anyone who is not serious about animation. It also gives student a good strong base to start with the 2nd block, which I understand to be mostly animation and mocap. I think 3rd block covers the more advanced features, like visual effects and green screen. And finally, 4th block is one big long class project. Students have very limited creativity in the class assignments. While they are encouraged to come in before or after class, and on weekends, to work on their own projects, so they can build their demo reel up and their skills, the class itself acts more like an actual animation studio, where the directors call the shots, and the animators have to make it happen. Therefore, we have to act like animators to make their vision come true. Students will have some limited creativity within each shot, but the majority of it is just to make the scene work the way it should.
The computers are not the most advanced, and most are only running Windows XP. This is fine with me, since upgrading that many computers that often is expensive, and it is always smart to wait on the latest OS until all the bugs are out. It is my firm belief that Vista is not an OS, it is a Beta. 7 is the real OS, since it actually works the way it should, more or less.
Despite this tour, it appears the school has been in negotiations with Universal Studios about moving into a bigger building. While this will probably happen after my first block, it will be a big change for the better. They will be moving into a location very close by, still on the same property, with a new set up. Instead of horizontal, it will be vertical. It will have more space for computers, a theaters, and a better mocap and green screen room. I look forward to seeing this new facility, which promises to be a big positive change for them.
Another change they are seeking is to become accredited by the State of Florida. Right now, they are not accredited yet, which is always a draw back, especially for financing. There are no federal financing options or scholarships/grants for non-accredited schools. While they have turned in all the paperwork to the proper Florida officials, it is now up to the State to declare them accredited. This will also probably happen at around the same time, while I am in school. This is particularly good, because it means that I will be able to get scholarships and grants to help pay for all of this, since it is going to cost me a pretty penny to go to this school.
Overall, I was rather impressed with them. While they are not a perfect school, there are no perfect schools out there. DAVE school has flaws, but they know they do and work around them to make it the best experience for the students. Their faculty/staff are well connected with Hollywood directors and actors, and they can sometimes get big names to donate their talents to the students. If you want to see a perfect example of this, go to http://www.daveschool.com/movies/, and check out "Batman: New Times", which stars Adam West, Mark Hamill, and Dick Van Dyke. Also look at Antrho, which was made for a Hollywood film maker to try to pilot his idea for a film. With the boot camp style of teaching, this looks like a great opportunity to really learn what I need to know fast, and get a job doing what I have always wanted to do, making movies.
There is one big drawback though, it is located in Orlando Florida, which isn't the problem, but the fact that my wife will have to stay here in DC for at least a few months, if not the entire year, is a problem. I hope we can figure something out so she can find a good job down there, and perhaps get her into the school as well, but we will just have to wait and see, and try our hardest.
Well I am looking forward to going, although I am not at all happy about leaving my wife behind. That is all I will write for now, I have a lot to do, including more work, more drawing, and more research.
This week, it is simply that I have been too busy with work (as in trying to make money while unemployed), and research. The research here is actually more important than that of simply drawing and animating, which is why I have not finished anything this week. I have paid the DAVE school (that's "Digital Animation & Visual Effects School" for those who haven't heard) down in Orlando Florida, a little visit.
Upon checking into our hotel room, we called one of the DAVE school representatives, who happens to also be a 3rd block student, I'll go into blocks a little more later. He was kind enough to pick us up, drive us around town a little, give us a tour of the school, and answer some of our questions.
DAVE school is located on the back side of Universal Studios Orlando, on the premises. It is not inside the gate to the back of the park, but it is on their back lot. While they are on Universal's property, they are not owned by Universal but have a good relationship with them. Students get employee-like passes to let them into the back side of the park, where they can go on rides, enjoy the shows, or even eat in the staff cafeteria, which I am told has VERY reasonable prices. Fun aside, the school is currently in a sound stage which they converted for teaching classes. Despite this, it is decently equipped, with a mocap (motion capture) studio, green screen, small theater, and dozens of work stations. The front room is the entry where their receptionist can help with anything you need. Next to this is the guest lounge, where they show off all the movies, posters, toys, et al that they have made. They also have an impressive collection of student awards on display.
Upon entering the actual classrooms, we are confronted by an array of computer work stations, each one with 3 or 4 computers on it. They assign all 3rd and 4th block students a computer in each station, and they have to work together to complete their assignment. Again, I'll go into blocks shortly. Next to this, is a small theater where they show movies and such to students, and also give lectures. While it is nice to have it there, in their current location, it looks more like a temporary set up. I assume this will change in the near future. After the theater, there is a long hallway that is filled with past works they have done, including story boards, screen shots, character designs, etc. At the end of the hallway is the 1st and 2nd block classroom, where each student is assigned a computer, which all face a screen at the front of the class. This lets them see what the teacher is doing, so they can copy it on their own computer. All of the computers in this school are PCs, and while they recognize that both Macs and workstations are prevalent in the industry, they find it is more affordable and standardized to just use PCs in the classroom. They will even help a student build a PC, if they want one in their home.
Next door to this, is the mocap studio, which doubles as a green screen. Here, they have a full sized green screen room, where half the room is a green screen, complete with props and computers and monitors. They also have a series of mocap cameras in the room, about 20 I believe, to track movements of anyone wearing the mocap suit. This is the same mocap system that was used in Monster House and Polar Express.
Other than these main areas, they also have a small reference storage area, full of varous reference materials, props and toys all over the place, offices for faculty and staff, a small sound room, and a meeting room I could not see, cause there was a meeting in it at the time.
Now, the entire school lasts for only 1 year for each student (assuming they don't fail). Each year is split into 4 blocks, which are 3 months apiece. A student is assigned wither night or day classes, which stays that way for the entire year. Meaning the faculty have to change which times they teach classes every 3 months to accommodate the new recruits. In the first block, you are bombarded with information, most of which is 3D modeling. I understand that while the first few days might be typical for a class, it shortly becomes their hardest and most grueling block with the pure mass of data they require you to learn. This weeds out anyone that can't handle the workload right off, and anyone who is not serious about animation. It also gives student a good strong base to start with the 2nd block, which I understand to be mostly animation and mocap. I think 3rd block covers the more advanced features, like visual effects and green screen. And finally, 4th block is one big long class project. Students have very limited creativity in the class assignments. While they are encouraged to come in before or after class, and on weekends, to work on their own projects, so they can build their demo reel up and their skills, the class itself acts more like an actual animation studio, where the directors call the shots, and the animators have to make it happen. Therefore, we have to act like animators to make their vision come true. Students will have some limited creativity within each shot, but the majority of it is just to make the scene work the way it should.
The computers are not the most advanced, and most are only running Windows XP. This is fine with me, since upgrading that many computers that often is expensive, and it is always smart to wait on the latest OS until all the bugs are out. It is my firm belief that Vista is not an OS, it is a Beta. 7 is the real OS, since it actually works the way it should, more or less.
Despite this tour, it appears the school has been in negotiations with Universal Studios about moving into a bigger building. While this will probably happen after my first block, it will be a big change for the better. They will be moving into a location very close by, still on the same property, with a new set up. Instead of horizontal, it will be vertical. It will have more space for computers, a theaters, and a better mocap and green screen room. I look forward to seeing this new facility, which promises to be a big positive change for them.
Another change they are seeking is to become accredited by the State of Florida. Right now, they are not accredited yet, which is always a draw back, especially for financing. There are no federal financing options or scholarships/grants for non-accredited schools. While they have turned in all the paperwork to the proper Florida officials, it is now up to the State to declare them accredited. This will also probably happen at around the same time, while I am in school. This is particularly good, because it means that I will be able to get scholarships and grants to help pay for all of this, since it is going to cost me a pretty penny to go to this school.
Overall, I was rather impressed with them. While they are not a perfect school, there are no perfect schools out there. DAVE school has flaws, but they know they do and work around them to make it the best experience for the students. Their faculty/staff are well connected with Hollywood directors and actors, and they can sometimes get big names to donate their talents to the students. If you want to see a perfect example of this, go to http://www.daveschool.com/movies/, and check out "Batman: New Times", which stars Adam West, Mark Hamill, and Dick Van Dyke. Also look at Antrho, which was made for a Hollywood film maker to try to pilot his idea for a film. With the boot camp style of teaching, this looks like a great opportunity to really learn what I need to know fast, and get a job doing what I have always wanted to do, making movies.
There is one big drawback though, it is located in Orlando Florida, which isn't the problem, but the fact that my wife will have to stay here in DC for at least a few months, if not the entire year, is a problem. I hope we can figure something out so she can find a good job down there, and perhaps get her into the school as well, but we will just have to wait and see, and try our hardest.
Well I am looking forward to going, although I am not at all happy about leaving my wife behind. That is all I will write for now, I have a lot to do, including more work, more drawing, and more research.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Avatar Review
Today, I would like to do a brief review of James Cameron's latest film, Avatar.
As most of you know, Avatar is a movie about an alien world inhabited by blue people who are fighting for their own world against humans. Well that is part of it at least. I never like to give away spoilers, although most people have seen this film already.
When I first heard about this movie, I was confused between this Avatar, and the TV series Avatar, The Last Airbender. The airbender tv series is a great animated show with a very different theme from Cameron's movie. Both were announced as movies at around the same time, and with he same name. They are even both due out this year, although one has been in theaters and the other is due out in a few months. Regardless, the confusion over the name used to be a very strong thing, and still affects a lot of people. Just doing a search for "Avatar" in Google Images, you will find the first several pages dedicated to the tv series, not the movie.
Luckily, M. Night Shamalan, the director of the airbender film, has decided to change the name to simply The Last Airbender, which hopefully will clear up any further confusion.
Now on to the film.
I felt that I needed to see this film twice in order to get a full idea of the story, characters, and effects. Both times, I saw this at an AMC "IMAX" 3D screen. This is a great experience, which I could go on about for hours, but I will keep this very brief. In order to summaries, I will split this into sections: story, characters, effects, IMAX 3D, and finally quality and overall.
Story:
I have heard many people say that this movie is just a reenactment of Disney's Pocahontas, or even Dune. However I have to respond that it is not the same, and despite the strong similarities, there is another view. All stories borrow from other stories. Whether they are movies, comics, books, or whatever, there are no original stories. So while this may borrow heavily from other titles, it is still a unique aspect, and a well delivered story. And indeed it was well delivered, closing any loose ends, bringing together all the important and even some subtle bits of information into a cohesive ending. They did an excellent job of giving this story life, and of making it enjoyable from beginning to end. The main themes are universal and well understood, with a strong message that has been repeated many times lately. Our planet is a living thing and we need to treat it better. I do like the aspect that the spiritual and natural ways of the Navi are actually measurable scientifically. By using special neural connections in their hair, they can interact with animals, plants, and event he planet itself in way we can only imagine. The connections between all these living things physically embody the ideals of many of the American tribes, and give us even better reason to believe that these beings are not just pointlessly spiritual, but that they are physically and mentally connected to every living thing.
I have heard others say that even though this movie is roughly 3 hours long, it does not feel like it. And I agree. After we saw this film for the last time, it was already after 10:30 at night, and I could have sworn it was only 9. This may be so in part to the story, and in part to the effects.
Characters:
The characters are well rounded, 3 dimensional characters with a lot of development. While the main character of Jake Sully starts off with a past, problems of his own, and even a family, the story quickly launches him into a world where we has no more family, no more goals, and just want to stick with what he does best, despite his lack of funds to allow him to be healed so he can fight again. The changes that happen to him so fast in his life lead to him being the character we all have to associate with. He knows little to nothing about Pandora, he has never piloted an "Avatar" before, and he open to learning just about anything. It is this openness, and his skills as a marine (combined with the only way he has been able to walk and run in years) that has lead him to really engage with the Avatar program. He must pilot a biologically grown Navi body. It is this same openness and warrior status that drive the Navi to teach him their ways, and accept him, eventually, as one of their own. That is all I will give away, since it is really the premise of the film, but I will say that many of these characters are strongly affected emotionally by the events and actions of the story. The heir to the clan is of course skeptical and only wants to protect his clan, his people and planet, his position, and his woman. But as he grows, eventually he too changes his views as events unfold. The female lead here, a Navi flying warrior, also grows. She is next to be the spiritual leader, and at first views Jake as an enemy, then as an annoyance, growing into curiosity, to a friend, and eventually lover, only to feel betrayed later on.
Even the character of the General in charge of the human forces is well designed. He has one goal in mind, to protect his people while they mine for resources. But in the end, his own tough attitude and power hungry ego gets the best of him as he wages an all out war not only against he Navi, but also against his people, and the man he once relied on for intel. Even the head of the company's operations is a conflicted characters, not wanted to hurt or attack the Navi, but not understanding their view and forced to look out for the company's best interest as he sees it.
I must say that these characters are all multifaceted, with a lot of development and emotional connections.
This film was presented in IMAX 3D. In the AMC screen I went to, this is not the IMAX format screen, but an IMAX brand screen. Therefore it is NOT the full sized IMAX screen and you may actually lose information due to this. What I mean is that some movies, like Dark Knight, and Transformers 2, use select scenes to fill an IMAX screen, and present an amazingly engaging scene. But the IMAX format for these traditional IMAX screen are very square, and very large, at a 1.44:1 ratio. In fact, the average traditional IMAX screen is 72 ft × 53 ft, while the largest is 117.2 ft × 96.5 ft. Typical films use 35mm film, while IMAX films use 70mm film. Regardless, the AMC IMAX screens are not even close to this. However, they are very impressive. One big disadvantage of the traditional IMAX screen is that any seat that is not in the ideal spot can be downright painful to watch a movie in. I have seen several films this way, where in one I was so far off to the side that I got very bad neck aches, and in another I was so far to the front I got awful eye and head aches as well. This screen is still very high quality, and does not have this problem no matter what seat you get. Luckily, it is a good experience in most seats. The IMAX quality is still there, although, like I said, not in IMAX format. This means it is not a 70mm film, not is it a 1.44:1 ratio screen, and is probably not as wide either. But I would still say that this is an excellent experience to see. These screens are high, high quality, and have sharp detailed images with no distortion, no noise, no dirt, nothing. A flawless presentation.
As most of you know, Avatar is a movie about an alien world inhabited by blue people who are fighting for their own world against humans. Well that is part of it at least. I never like to give away spoilers, although most people have seen this film already.
When I first heard about this movie, I was confused between this Avatar, and the TV series Avatar, The Last Airbender. The airbender tv series is a great animated show with a very different theme from Cameron's movie. Both were announced as movies at around the same time, and with he same name. They are even both due out this year, although one has been in theaters and the other is due out in a few months. Regardless, the confusion over the name used to be a very strong thing, and still affects a lot of people. Just doing a search for "Avatar" in Google Images, you will find the first several pages dedicated to the tv series, not the movie.
Luckily, M. Night Shamalan, the director of the airbender film, has decided to change the name to simply The Last Airbender, which hopefully will clear up any further confusion.
Now on to the film.
I felt that I needed to see this film twice in order to get a full idea of the story, characters, and effects. Both times, I saw this at an AMC "IMAX" 3D screen. This is a great experience, which I could go on about for hours, but I will keep this very brief. In order to summaries, I will split this into sections: story, characters, effects, IMAX 3D, and finally quality and overall.
Story:
I have heard many people say that this movie is just a reenactment of Disney's Pocahontas, or even Dune. However I have to respond that it is not the same, and despite the strong similarities, there is another view. All stories borrow from other stories. Whether they are movies, comics, books, or whatever, there are no original stories. So while this may borrow heavily from other titles, it is still a unique aspect, and a well delivered story. And indeed it was well delivered, closing any loose ends, bringing together all the important and even some subtle bits of information into a cohesive ending. They did an excellent job of giving this story life, and of making it enjoyable from beginning to end. The main themes are universal and well understood, with a strong message that has been repeated many times lately. Our planet is a living thing and we need to treat it better. I do like the aspect that the spiritual and natural ways of the Navi are actually measurable scientifically. By using special neural connections in their hair, they can interact with animals, plants, and event he planet itself in way we can only imagine. The connections between all these living things physically embody the ideals of many of the American tribes, and give us even better reason to believe that these beings are not just pointlessly spiritual, but that they are physically and mentally connected to every living thing.
I have heard others say that even though this movie is roughly 3 hours long, it does not feel like it. And I agree. After we saw this film for the last time, it was already after 10:30 at night, and I could have sworn it was only 9. This may be so in part to the story, and in part to the effects.
Characters:
The characters are well rounded, 3 dimensional characters with a lot of development. While the main character of Jake Sully starts off with a past, problems of his own, and even a family, the story quickly launches him into a world where we has no more family, no more goals, and just want to stick with what he does best, despite his lack of funds to allow him to be healed so he can fight again. The changes that happen to him so fast in his life lead to him being the character we all have to associate with. He knows little to nothing about Pandora, he has never piloted an "Avatar" before, and he open to learning just about anything. It is this openness, and his skills as a marine (combined with the only way he has been able to walk and run in years) that has lead him to really engage with the Avatar program. He must pilot a biologically grown Navi body. It is this same openness and warrior status that drive the Navi to teach him their ways, and accept him, eventually, as one of their own. That is all I will give away, since it is really the premise of the film, but I will say that many of these characters are strongly affected emotionally by the events and actions of the story. The heir to the clan is of course skeptical and only wants to protect his clan, his people and planet, his position, and his woman. But as he grows, eventually he too changes his views as events unfold. The female lead here, a Navi flying warrior, also grows. She is next to be the spiritual leader, and at first views Jake as an enemy, then as an annoyance, growing into curiosity, to a friend, and eventually lover, only to feel betrayed later on.
Even the character of the General in charge of the human forces is well designed. He has one goal in mind, to protect his people while they mine for resources. But in the end, his own tough attitude and power hungry ego gets the best of him as he wages an all out war not only against he Navi, but also against his people, and the man he once relied on for intel. Even the head of the company's operations is a conflicted characters, not wanted to hurt or attack the Navi, but not understanding their view and forced to look out for the company's best interest as he sees it.
I must say that these characters are all multifaceted, with a lot of development and emotional connections.
Effect
Wow! Amazing! I can't think of anything as amazing as the effects in this movie. The quality of the effects is astounding! Every minute of the work that went into this film was well worth it. Every frame is a masterful work of cinematic art. But lets get down to it.
The effects are indeed drop dead gorgeous. If the story and characters weren't also excellent, this movie would still have a chance on the graphics alone. Granted, all these aspects are astounding, but none of them show off the quality of this work as well as the graphics do. The characters interact so flawlessly, I can not for the life of me see where the CG begins, and the acting ends. It is just flawless. I feel that the best part about this was the outdoor scenes. Every blade of grass, every leaf, every animal, every drop of water, mist, clouds, fire, everything is completely believable! It is full of subtle details that really make you wonder how they could have done so much! The characters are a close second however. The Navi are incredibly amazing, with perfect details and animation. The subtle emotions on their faces, the body movement, the way they balance on their feet, their tales, even the fact that the Avatar bodies (having human DNA mixed with Navi DNA) have 5 fingers while the natural Navi only have 4, are flawless spectacular details that I only dream about doing myself one day. Even the humans are perfect. Makeup on the colonel is amazingly good and distinctive, really adding to the character. The actor Sam Worthington, who plays the main character Jake, is a healthy active guy who stars in many action movies, and yet here, he is a crippled human with legs that have dystrophy (weakened and unusable). I am amazed at how realistic they made his legs look when you see him moving around with these 2 bony weak legs, like anyone in Jake's position would naturally have. Amazing.
On that note, I did notice two, and only two things that may or may not have been there. With my keen eyes and attention to detail, I noticed 2 scenes, fairly close together, where is something off. The first is a scene when Jake wakes up in ashes (you know what it is when you see it), the arm band he wears is black with little blue stones in the center. However, without any interaction from navi or humans in between scenes, by the time he is landing before the people on his newly acquired "ride", he has a cyan beaded armband. Why would be go change armbands, and how? Still, I might have overlooked something there. The second issue is actually in this same scene. As he approaches the clan leader, the look on the leader's face is priceless (mouth agape), but it is also a little off. This one is a graphics issue, which I have noticed twice now. The lighting that shines onto the face of the leader doesn't look quite right in the area of his mouth, almost like too much light is getting into around his teeth. It almost looks like he has a CG glowy mouth, but the rest of him is real. Now it could be that it is an artifact of the light shining into his face, and is at just the right angle to make it look this way, but it did look off to me.
Regardless, if these are the only problems that I could find, then I have to say it is by far the best CG I have ever seen in my life.
IMAX 3D
This film was presented in IMAX 3D. In the AMC screen I went to, this is not the IMAX format screen, but an IMAX brand screen. Therefore it is NOT the full sized IMAX screen and you may actually lose information due to this. What I mean is that some movies, like Dark Knight, and Transformers 2, use select scenes to fill an IMAX screen, and present an amazingly engaging scene. But the IMAX format for these traditional IMAX screen are very square, and very large, at a 1.44:1 ratio. In fact, the average traditional IMAX screen is 72 ft × 53 ft, while the largest is 117.2 ft × 96.5 ft. Typical films use 35mm film, while IMAX films use 70mm film. Regardless, the AMC IMAX screens are not even close to this. However, they are very impressive. One big disadvantage of the traditional IMAX screen is that any seat that is not in the ideal spot can be downright painful to watch a movie in. I have seen several films this way, where in one I was so far off to the side that I got very bad neck aches, and in another I was so far to the front I got awful eye and head aches as well. This screen is still very high quality, and does not have this problem no matter what seat you get. Luckily, it is a good experience in most seats. The IMAX quality is still there, although, like I said, not in IMAX format. This means it is not a 70mm film, not is it a 1.44:1 ratio screen, and is probably not as wide either. But I would still say that this is an excellent experience to see. These screens are high, high quality, and have sharp detailed images with no distortion, no noise, no dirt, nothing. A flawless presentation.The 3D, aka stereoscopy, was impressive, but more subtle than I would have liked. There are 2 planes for 3D films. The back plane, where the stereoscopy happens "behind" the screen, and the forward plane, where the effect is in "front" of the screen. Really good movies try to utilize both, to great effect. Downright bad movies focus too much on sticking out and can really give you a headache trying to focus on the action. However, this movie focuses more on the back, pushing the effects into the screen. Instead of seeing the flying reptiles hovering over the front row, you see him on the screen, while the background goes way back into the distance. I like this for the reason that it presents itself more as a film, and less as a gimmick, and lowers the amount of headache complaints. However, as others have told me as well, I think it should use a little more of the forward plane than it does. I does indeed use the forward plane, and to good effects, but usually for minor foreground objects like debris and floating seeds. It brings you into the scene this way, but I feel they could have pulled a few things out a little further to really show off the 3D.
That being said, I will say that this subtle 3D style is perfect, and looks amazing. You get so used to it, you hardly even realize it is there after a while, you just get used to seeing it.
OVERALL
Finally, the overall quality of this film is perfect. You can not find a better presented film with better effects, better story, or more memorable characters than this. The amazing visuals really bring in the audience, who are then taken by surprise by the amazing story to go with it. Everything from the grand outdoors scenes, to the subtle details and movements, to the lighting and color, this movie is as good as it gets!
I can not give any movie a higher recommendation than I give this one. A+++!!! If you only see one movie this century, Avatar is the one to see.
Well that about raps it up. Again, Avatar is an amazing movie worth seeing multiple times. I can't wait to get it on Blu-ray, and by the time this film hits 3D in the home, I may just have to upgrade my system again.
If you have already seen it, see it again! If you haven't, GO SEE IT NOW!
If you really get into the story and world of Pandora, check out this great book, Avatar, An Activists Survival Guide. It shows a lot of things you didn't notice, teaches you things about the world you didn't know, and is a fun book to just pick up and flip through.
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