So I was notified Wed. of this week that I would not be allowed to continue working on my short film in 2D. Same goes for Bobby Pontillas, he took time off from AM and put even more time in for his 2D film. Either go 3D or don't graduate.
Funny because Bobby Beck and others through out the course of AM lectures talk about animation is animation no matter what the medium. And to be told that I haven't done that much work and it should be easy to do the film in 3D, doesn't set right with me! Just leaves a pit in my stomach.
I BUSTED MY ASS off to get what I have, and I hustled even harder to help my classmates out and do whatever I could for them. I didn't have all the time I wanted to put into my short film, but then again, who does have all the time in the world.
I wrote Bobby Beck the CEO, and was disappointed with what I read in return. I would have thought with him being an animator himself and being the CEO he would understand and unfortunately is out of his hands. It feels like the people who we are trying to communicate and work with have not created a hand drawn piece or made a short film before. This isn't easy and can't be changed with a click of a button.
WHY would I want to animate in 3D when all of my love, passion and motivation is for doing this in 2D on the film. Besides that, with my whole heart being poured into this, why wouldn't I make this the best piece of work I could? And if you know me, I don't half ass anything.
Mr. Beck also said I didn't have the draftsmanship for the standard needed; I could see that with my short film. Its also in a very rough stage. And I would like him to take a look at my portfolio and tell me I can't draw. But whatever, its cool everyone is a critic, that's why artists have to have thick skin.
If it sucks its sucks, ya know? :P Besides I wasn't going to have it 100% completely done in 12 weeks, clean up takes longer than animating lol. And I'm cool with that because I want to draw each frame by hand then paint it using watercolor.
What sucks to is: I remember Bobby Beck's exact words when Ryan Hobbiebrunken, Zac and I had a heart to heart with him while out at Siggraph in Boston. After speaking with Bobby and hearing everything we were so desperately needing to learn, that of which we weren't learning at school. We went back to school and caused a huge ruckus!!! Which of course wasn't the intention at all, we just went back to school and told the truth. And a handful of students dropped out after we talked to them. Hobbie actually left and he was super concerned this would hurt him in the long run. But I told him that he would be the first from are "group" to be working on a feature film, he would be working on a feature film before he even graduated the school!! And guess what!? He did exactly that, so AM was the best thing for him! And I was so happy for him. (law of attraction does wonders)
And the coolest part was, Shawn Kelly wrote to us, telling us his story! And what he was going through back in school and making a tough decision like that. It was totally cool to hear that from such an awesome person. For me I couldn't do what Hobbie did, it was different, I finished up because of one person, and they helped me get my business up and running. But guess what, not even a full week after graduating school I was starting AM up! I've only had great things to say about this school. So this sucks. No one knew we weren't allowed to do 2D.
Whats hard for me, is, I looked up to Bobby Beck. He was working at Pixar, and left it, to go off and pursue a dream, all those years of hard work, the long nights with his buddies and it finally paid off. Look at what AM has accomplished! And for me the connection is he never gave up, he stayed true to himself and his dream. I've been pursuing my dream the last few years. It comes down to examining ones own desires. I have made a choice, I am willing to risk certain parts of my life to live my dream, I've risked relationships, time and humiliation. What are you willing to risk?
I mean, I'm a kid, 23 yrs old getting gray hair already from working so much. Even though I'm not getting paid, I wake up every morning and LOVE what I do. How many people can say that? And I know it will pay off one day soon.
To me this all correlates with story telling. I believe my ambition has a life defining force with it. The measure of the value of a characters desire is in direct proportion to the risk he takes to achieve it. Greater the value = greater the risk.
And I've really risked a lot trying to make my short film the best it can be on top of everything else. This is why I admire people busting their butts that have to work so many jobs just to attend school, or people with newborns, they are doing it for their family. Even people who decide to quit work altogether and solely dedicate their time.
So 2D isn't allowed. Well it doesn't mention it in the Class 5 syllabus, it wasn't apart of the "rules" for making a short film. So why now? Everyone was under the impression that the AM staff checked out the work of the students, and everyone is having a hard time believing that they wouldn't have known about Bobby Pontillas work or mine. I mean this has only been going on 6 plus months, close to seven now.
I mean there are tons of students to watch, but still we were passed from class 5 and everyone seemed to know... except the staff I guess? lol
So for me, now, I have to graduate. Plane tickets and hotels are already reserved. I feel really bad for Bobby P. he is so far along on his work, its looking fantastic! I just want to get this sorted out and honestly I would like to just work on some animation tests (in 3D lol) so I can strengthen my reel.
Were being told this is for are best interest so it doesn't hurt are chances getting in the industry. I can see where they are coming from. They're just preserving the market for which they employ grads, that's all. And the market is all 3D!! Last thing I would want to see happen is me and Bobby get really hurt by this.
I've always wanted to work on a 2D though, maybe that's the Disney kid in me haha. Or even something like Triplets of Belleville. And didn't this years short film Academy go to a 2D film? :P It wasn't full blown Disney level animation. Very stylized. Same for Lavatory - Lovestory, that was a great short film. I think it all depends on the story trying to be told, and I will stick to 2D for my story.
I will just have to finish it on my own time. And I know it isn't going to be easy, I mean doing emotional animation scenes in 3D is freaking hard and you have more control over things. But that's part of the fun and challenge I find in my piece.
I still have enjoyed my journey in Animation Mentor, and have made friends for life and worked with some of the best talent the industry has to offer. I wouldn't change that for nothing. Just time to put this behind me and bust my butt on a awesome 3D test!
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
-Harriet Tubman
4.09.2009
3.27.2009
Short Film Progress v.2
Here is what I finished up with after class 5.
The short is still in rough layout mode, basically a tightened animatic.
I tell you what, class 5 was harder than I expected. I use to be a peer buddy and loved helping others out and would always comment on as many peoples work as I could. It's a great way of meeting new students, making friends and polishing your own skills as an animator.
At the beginning of class 5 I made the decision not to be one anymore and put all of my focus first into my class and then others as much as I could. And it really paid off this term, granted I didn't get around to my friends work spaces (i tried :( lol) Even though I'm personally not as far along as I would like to be, I did what I could to the best of my ability. Working 70+ hrs a week, or working 20+ hr days some weeks was killer and drained me.
If it weren't for my classmates, the Puddy Carebear Crew I wouldn't have made the short I did. So for those who are parents or raising newborns, or for some that are working crunch time on films (ice age 3) or people who have to work 3 jobs to make a living to follow your dream, it will pay off!!! And you are here doing it for the right reasons, I have much respect for those people who make that choice.
Because when it comes down to it, and you have a dream, what are you going to do to make it happen?
Sure you can complain about work, or how crappy everything in life is, or blame others, and all you do is talk about what you wish you could be doing!
People! Wake up, you realize that no one has control over creating your happiness!! No one but you has that control!! And if you are surrounded by people that control that, WHY?? Seriously why? Put your energy where you want it to really go.
"easier said then done" or "it's not that easy" is what I always hear, yeah your exactly right! But guess what the secret is... "its not easy!" No one ever tells you that part, if it were easy everyone would do it. You have to work at it. So it comes back around to what are YOU going to do that separates you from everyone else?
It's getting up off your ass, shutting TV off, and putting in 1 hr here or 30 mins there. It's coming home from the longest day at work, and making sure you put the time in; may it be h/w, your film, whatever it may be!
Remember "Energy flows where attention goes"
And I believe my awesome class knows this very well.
Puddy Story Ninjas:
Ana Cunha
Andreas Koumpis
Annette Perin
Daniel Carey
Daniel Coes
Daniele Zannone
Frank Spalteholz
Gabor Lendvai
Irina Golina Sagatelian
Ricard Castany Boix
(I will get links to everyones websites soon!)
Make sure to check out their sites!
The short is still in rough layout mode, basically a tightened animatic.
I tell you what, class 5 was harder than I expected. I use to be a peer buddy and loved helping others out and would always comment on as many peoples work as I could. It's a great way of meeting new students, making friends and polishing your own skills as an animator.
At the beginning of class 5 I made the decision not to be one anymore and put all of my focus first into my class and then others as much as I could. And it really paid off this term, granted I didn't get around to my friends work spaces (i tried :( lol) Even though I'm personally not as far along as I would like to be, I did what I could to the best of my ability. Working 70+ hrs a week, or working 20+ hr days some weeks was killer and drained me.
If it weren't for my classmates, the Puddy Carebear Crew I wouldn't have made the short I did. So for those who are parents or raising newborns, or for some that are working crunch time on films (ice age 3) or people who have to work 3 jobs to make a living to follow your dream, it will pay off!!! And you are here doing it for the right reasons, I have much respect for those people who make that choice.
Because when it comes down to it, and you have a dream, what are you going to do to make it happen?
Sure you can complain about work, or how crappy everything in life is, or blame others, and all you do is talk about what you wish you could be doing!
People! Wake up, you realize that no one has control over creating your happiness!! No one but you has that control!! And if you are surrounded by people that control that, WHY?? Seriously why? Put your energy where you want it to really go.
"easier said then done" or "it's not that easy" is what I always hear, yeah your exactly right! But guess what the secret is... "its not easy!" No one ever tells you that part, if it were easy everyone would do it. You have to work at it. So it comes back around to what are YOU going to do that separates you from everyone else?
It's getting up off your ass, shutting TV off, and putting in 1 hr here or 30 mins there. It's coming home from the longest day at work, and making sure you put the time in; may it be h/w, your film, whatever it may be!
Remember "Energy flows where attention goes"
And I believe my awesome class knows this very well.
Puddy Story Ninjas:
Ana Cunha
Andreas Koumpis
Annette Perin
Daniel Carey
Daniel Coes
Daniele Zannone
Frank Spalteholz
Gabor Lendvai
Irina Golina Sagatelian
Ricard Castany Boix
(I will get links to everyones websites soon!)
Make sure to check out their sites!
3.04.2009
Story Time!!!
Well I'm off to see the big story wizard with the Big Grin crew! We will be attending Robert McKee's Story Seminar!!
It is going to be an intense weekend but very much worth it! We are still working furiously hard on are feature film. Zac and Danny did an awesome job pitching out a sequence they storyboarded just over the weekend. And the presentation rocked! We have some time now to tweak and polish the boards and create a nice animatic before the big meeting!
I'll post up some photos once I get back!!
It is going to be an intense weekend but very much worth it! We are still working furiously hard on are feature film. Zac and Danny did an awesome job pitching out a sequence they storyboarded just over the weekend. And the presentation rocked! We have some time now to tweak and polish the boards and create a nice animatic before the big meeting!
I'll post up some photos once I get back!!
Short Film
Well I'm in class 5 at Animation Mentor and I had worked my way back into class with Mark Pudleiner!!
Thanks to Richard and Eray for making that happen! When I first started at AM Mark was my mentor, and it was his very first time teaching at AM as well. So I had to have class with him again. Not only that I decided that I wanted to do my short film in 2D! And there was no one better than Mark for helping me with 2D.
I've been itching to do 2D ever since I joined AM but I need to understand 3D I'm at AM to learn animation, may it be 2D or 3D its about quality animation!
AND! I have one of the best classes I've ever had at AM - usually classes are awesome and a few students really help push others but this class, EVERYONE helped everyone. We started are own group on skype and would meet every night of the week, especially during the brainstorming weeks. And it helped all of us come out with the greatest story possible. And we were all in different countries so finding the "perfect" time was impossible.
We all stayed up late just so we could help each other out. And to me that's what collaboration is all about. Ya sure, you can go off and not give any feedback in the school and think you can do it all by yourself, but honestly you are missing out on the biggest advantage the school offers. Building relationships with super amazingly talented people from all over the world!!!
I wanted to share some early rough sketches for my short film from back in January, now these are just exploration and my buddy Zac told me about this awesome comic book called Hero Bear! The style in it is AMAZING! Very inspiring.
"Way UP High"
Layout ideas:
Picture ideas:
Boy Sketches:
Early Rough Storyboards:
Best advice for working on a short film is go get fresh eyes on it! Find or ask those certain people you can count on. Also, either working 2D, 3D- whatever always do a rough layout from a birds eye view so you (the director) know where everything will take place. It makes things much easier on you. Always storyboard even if you can't draw, make stick figures, start reading books about compositions.
Study your favorite movies and start analyzing them, study how the shots flow into one another, the use of color and how that is applying to the mood and tone of the film. Look at the editing, how many frames they stayed on an insert shot, or panned the camera a certain way, how did they do that transition you have never noticed before.
Become a student of the art.
More to come on my short film!! :D
Thanks to Richard and Eray for making that happen! When I first started at AM Mark was my mentor, and it was his very first time teaching at AM as well. So I had to have class with him again. Not only that I decided that I wanted to do my short film in 2D! And there was no one better than Mark for helping me with 2D.
I've been itching to do 2D ever since I joined AM but I need to understand 3D I'm at AM to learn animation, may it be 2D or 3D its about quality animation!
AND! I have one of the best classes I've ever had at AM - usually classes are awesome and a few students really help push others but this class, EVERYONE helped everyone. We started are own group on skype and would meet every night of the week, especially during the brainstorming weeks. And it helped all of us come out with the greatest story possible. And we were all in different countries so finding the "perfect" time was impossible.
We all stayed up late just so we could help each other out. And to me that's what collaboration is all about. Ya sure, you can go off and not give any feedback in the school and think you can do it all by yourself, but honestly you are missing out on the biggest advantage the school offers. Building relationships with super amazingly talented people from all over the world!!!
I wanted to share some early rough sketches for my short film from back in January, now these are just exploration and my buddy Zac told me about this awesome comic book called Hero Bear! The style in it is AMAZING! Very inspiring.
"Way UP High"
Layout ideas:
Picture ideas:
Boy Sketches:
Early Rough Storyboards:
Best advice for working on a short film is go get fresh eyes on it! Find or ask those certain people you can count on. Also, either working 2D, 3D- whatever always do a rough layout from a birds eye view so you (the director) know where everything will take place. It makes things much easier on you. Always storyboard even if you can't draw, make stick figures, start reading books about compositions.
Study your favorite movies and start analyzing them, study how the shots flow into one another, the use of color and how that is applying to the mood and tone of the film. Look at the editing, how many frames they stayed on an insert shot, or panned the camera a certain way, how did they do that transition you have never noticed before.
Become a student of the art.
More to come on my short film!! :D
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