credits

again, more practice using after effects, this is just a tester for the credits in our film.

looking at it, its a bit fast, but the effect itself is quite decent.

group film intro titles

This is just some practice with after effects with what could possibly be the start of the group film, just the production name and the film company, its all fun

after effects and 3DS MAX practice

hello...

i've been practicing some tricks on after effects literally all weekend, from morning till night. Im trying to get a good looking title sequence for our groups film, so far ive created a short clip for the name of our group 'GAZE films' and im in the process of making a title for the so called production company, which i'll just name after the producer, Josh Crooks, im thinking Crooks productions.

I would have uploaded the one ive already created but its nearly 1gb because of the quality so ill have to make it smaller and lower the quality to show my progress.

Im also going through the Lynda.com tutorial guides for 3DS MAX, i have them all so im slowly learning how to use the software for when i have my virtual environment project later on.

Im suprised at how easy after effects is to use for a piece of software that can do so much, the interface is very suitable, most probably because i have experience with other adobe products.

After effects is definetly a product i can see myself using a lot of, and is very useful in creating cool things for my groups film, such as the title and the end credits etc.

As for 3DS MAX, this is a product i will definetly be using a lot of more and more in the future, so i need to get on it and master the art.

peace

Flip the Frog - Fiddlesticks

my memory of my childhood is crazy, i can vividly remember a lot of it, from when i was very young. I had this cartoon on video and the last time i watched it i was around 3 or 4 i think, but to this day, before finding it again, i can very clearly remember most of the scenes, the style of the cartoon being like disney (because it was done by a disney animator Ub Iwerks, who made this cartoon after leaving disney) i can remember the frog in detail, i loved this cartoon so much, and i have now found it, making me very emotional because i have been looking for this for a very long time.
It was created in 1930 by Ub Iwerks who i said worked for Walt Disney previously, which is why the style is very similar to the old disney cartoons.
This was also the first ever colour sound animation, it was made in two tone technicolor.
This really does bring back a lot of childhood memories, i watched this so many times as a child, it still amazes me that i remember a lot of it. I hope you enjoy.

Character Animator

Character Animation is a career choice I believe i would enjoy going into, I have done some research into being a character animator in Film and games.

This paragraph is from the Disney website about being a character animator.

'Character Animators bring characters to life. To be a successful candidate, Character Animators may have a background in any of the following animation disciplines: traditional, cg, stop motion or claymation. Prior training should cover anatomy, perspective and composition, including solving problems in weight, balance, movement, space, construction and proportion. Animators must be able to demonstrate their understanding of animation principles such as timing, clear staging, squash and stretch, anticipation and follow-through, and secondary action.'

After looking at the Rockstar games website under character animation, i've noticed that a traditional art background may be essential to be successful, and i don't have such a big background in that, but regardless, I will be trying hard.

This is the list of requirements Rockstar wants for a character animator;

• Minimum of 3-year degree with an emphasis in character animation or equivalent work experience.
• Outstanding demo reel demonstrating strong animation ability and good aesthetic eye.
• Exceptional skill in animating realistic human characters.
• Thorough understanding and application of classic animation principles (staging, timing, anticipation, follow through, etc.)
• The ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with a wide variety of project staff.
• Consistently meet project deadlines in a timely manner without compromising artistic integrity.
• Assist in the integration of animation with designers and engineers to create compelling in-game animation.
• Strong interest in video games.

On the Papaya Studio website, the games website behind a few Disney game titles, their job description for a character animator is as follows. Job Responsibilities: Responsible for creating various real-time character animations and cycles, including research, rigging, testing and revising. Work with Lead Animators on character animation including facial animation, lip sync and personality animation. Meet tight deadlines and milestones by staying on top of the schedule. Communicating with designers, producers, programmers, and fellow artists.

I believe with a lot of practice on 3DS max and MAYA, a lot of sketching, and gaining further knowledge of the human anatomy, i Could be successful in this career, if i do choose to go down this road.

Thats my bit of research into my possible future, enjoy.

so what am i doing to help me progress to a future in animation? im glad you asked...

well i do a variety of different things which i believe may be helping me develop my skills and knowledge of the animation pathway.
Because i come from a graphic design background, 3D is new to me, i'm used to designing in 2D or photography, i've never worked with 3D software or thought of making a moving image.
anyway... to develop myself...

I go on a variety of websites quite regularly just to keep up to date with arty and animation type things, www.awn.com the animation world network, is great for keeping up to date with films and reading about news in the animation industry, information about films, software, anything that may be relative in the animation world.
Im also a member of DeviantArt and AREA (which is the autodesk 'area' for learning anything about the autodesk products such as maya and 3ds max, articles and blogs and member portfolios on this are very good)
Another obvious site would be youtube but that is pretty much expected now, any animated short films will probably be on their.
The adobe website also has a section dedicated to tutorials and articles which helps a lot, and will hopefully help a lot when i want to learn more, but i feel the tutorials on the autodesk website will be more useful to me when doing animation.
I currently have many tutorial videos on my computer for MAYA and 3DS MAX, i haven't watched these yet but i know they will come in handy when i get the chance to use them and develop my skills with these programs.

Im also a fan of movies, i love them, and especially love animated films, which is something i hope to get into, so i am constantly watching films, with 1 side of my brain enjoying the film and the other side analyzing the film and understanding the creation, and how i could develop these, and create better ideas for films.

I think i have a massive thirst for knowledge, but am quite lazy to actually learn, so this needs to change, i am trying.

I also have a contact in manchester who is an animator and we have pretty much agreed to arrange something over the summer holidays so i can go and learn and watch how the animation industry works, either just by watching him, or possibly doing some stuff myself.
I also have another contact, a friend of my cousins, who is a well known architect, he is 1 of 3 main architects at www.fparchitects.co.uk, he has also told me he would teach me 3DS MAX when im back in manchester, so getting in touch with these contacts is definitely helping me develop in the industry.

GAZE - 5 week film project

As a group we have now started the 5 week film project, we have been given a script, which we then have to twist and re-create, develop it and make our own film out of it, with only a bit of leniency.

My groups film is about loneliness, depression and all that shiznit, basically about a girl who never gets noticed, and there are various scenes within the film, set in different locations, where she is proven, that yes she actually isn't noticed by anybody. very sad story, bit boring maybe but its what we have to work. The group and I have decided on taking a more scary approach to this film, still keeping the sadness but a bit eery and messed up, and since I have been chosen as Editor (official role) i'm going to try my hardest to make this film look as dark and freaky as possible.

As i mentioned i am the Editor, Josh Crooks is the Producer, Janos Hammond is the Director, Will Blackburn is the Camera Operator, and Ulisse Razzini is doing Sound. As editor i will be working closely with the Director in production, then my main role will develop further in post production where the film is edited together etc.

Because we have specific roles, we are not allowed to act in our own film, so the search begins for a female to play our leading character, but for now we have to get together and organize locations, scripting etc.

peace

Gran Turismo 5 cover

the Mercedes SLS AMG gull-wing has been chosen as the car for the front cover artwork of GT5 for PS3, due for release in march 2010.

is this not the best advert of 2010... so far