In between ends - Alex Glawion

i came across this video, and I loved it, its creepy but also very beautiful, in an eery way, its strange, and i cant completely understand the story, but i think its about the cycle of life, im not too sure, just enjoy it, i did.

relaxation room in progress

so who is my lair designed for you might ask...

have you asked this? i dont know, have you? you havent asked me, you may have asked yourself. do you want to ask me? go ahead... ill wait...

well im glad you asked, my superhero, is not a superhero, my secret lair is still a secret lair designed for a superhero, but the person to whom it belongs, is not a superhero, aha, why you ask...

well, i wanted to be different, and i need to become a lot more imaginative in creating characters.
I didn't want to make a crappy character like computerman, or bag man, i wanted something special, and for now, i dont have that creativity flowing through me, im focusing more on the lair itself, so something i thought would be different, is the following, here is my character...

My guy is a wealthy man who has decided on a slight change in his life, he was a business man, now hes living in isolation within a mountain, and slowly training himself to become a superhero like the superhero's he idolized as a child.
He doesn't have any superhero's, but he has people who work for him in his secret lair as he is quite wealthy, which includes a martial arts expert who is teaching him  the ways of... some form of martial arts.
Since its all made up, he also has yoda teaching him the ways of the force, why not.
He wants to help the world like his childhood hero's, batman, superman, etc.

He is currently unknown to the world as his superhero/wannabe status, as he isnt there yet, but he is trying.

Thats my character, i have a very wide imagination as you can see...

sneak peak to some more things im making

A couch as part of my 'relaxation room'

An Abstract artistic looking statue of a penguin, because i like penguins, made in marble.

The big round table for meetings or general sitting in a circle type events.

samurai

Thought I'd make a samurai sword encased in a museum type presentation thingy, as part of my weapons room / training room, its not finished yet, i still need a better wooden texture for the case, im not happy with its colour, but im happy with the way the sword has rendered.

I have more to show, but in due time.
enjoy.

My Superhero

is me, my secret lair is going to be about me, but not exactly me, its based on me in an alternative world, i will explain the whole story in much detail later on as i have thought about it a lot, but for now, how about looking at some pretty pictures of things ive made so far in my lair :)
Here is a lift which will take you down, into the mountain where my lair will be.
I need to work on shadows as im having some problems with them being blocky because there arent enough final gather shadow samples i think.
also need to make actual light structures for the light to come out of as right now its just a light placement. im happy with its overall look though, im pleased with my few hours work on this.

More pictures will follow in time, for now, just the lift.

LOWRIDER

If you dont like this bike then your silly, i want to get this bike for next year, no relation to this blog or my course, i just want this bike and thought id share it with you... who ever you may be.

Gaze - 1st finished edit

This is the edit which i directed and edited, but i want to make another version using my own music and sounds, this version was done by Ulisse which im grateful for, but i want to make another version making it very creepy.

Shapes animation

this is the best thing ive seen in ages, its not even anything spectacular, i just love the way the shapes move to the music and everything is to the beat. i love it.

This video was made by Steffen Bygebjerg in 2009 for the song "End Scene". The track is taken from Troels Abrahamsen's album WHT also from 2009.



The animation work was made in Adobe After Effects. Each frame was then printed and the print was subsequently scanned back into the computer. The scanned frames were then assembled back into the original animation, now with a new rugged look, created by the visit in the physical analogue world. No effects added after scanning.



www.supertroels.dk

GAZE - group version

Our Film is finished now, the group version, Im going to make my own slight changes again for the end of year, as im not happy with the sound thats been put over it, I am quite happy with my editing and directing, but i think some final tweaks are needed, especially on the sound.
Im uploading it so it should be on here after this post.
When you see it I think you will see what i mean, im just going to make it creepier with some eery music and no voice over as i dont want the viewer to understand anything, i like the idea of watching something with no understanding of what it could mean or should mean.

pretty much finished the chair now

practice on 3ds max

more practice and ive made a chair, after about 7 hours doing it haha, all created from scratch, im quite proud of it, and im enjoying the software a lot. good times.

3DS Max

Still learning using the full lynda.com essentials, its going well im learning key skills for the software. I have a friend who is an architect and he uses 3DS with his work, so he is also helping me a lot in using the software, talking to me about things im not quite sure about, but its helping. I really cant wait for this next project, i can just see myself using 3DS for hours and hours everyday to get the perfect 'secret lair', as im already on the program for hours everyday.

Oh im looking forward to my future haha

This is an interior piece that my friend gave to me to work with, i put my little character Jose inside the house and thats pretty much it, i rendered it using mental ray, added a skylight, and Jose now has a house.

Gaze pre-upload

I haven't uploaded our group film yet as its still going through some post production work with sound, as the entire film has a score and voiceover, the sound is vital in making the finished piece complete, without the sound, or just the voiceover, it makes even less sense.

I have to admit im not very happy with the outcome, i can live with it, but i feel it could have been pushed further with more effort by the whole group, but as we had a director missing for the entire shoot, making me director as well as editor, i dont think it has turned out as a full group effort, this is where im hoping Ulisse can revive the film with some good music and voiceover.

I did post the first scene, the rest of the movie has that same theme, it will be posted soon, unfortunately sound man Ulisse couldnt get it till today to work on, so im hoping it will be uploaded by monday at the latest.

I am very happy this project is over, not because i didnt enjoy it, because i did, it was stressful but enjoyable. Im happy it ended because i learnt a lot about myself, for example i do prefer to take over a group, like with the directors position, i took that because i was selfish and wanted the film to turn out how i wanted it to look. That's also what i learnt, I have to have things my way or i probably wont be happy with the outcome, i see what i want in my head and i wont stop until thats achieved.

Jeff Patton

Is a freelance graphic artist, i was introduced to him by a friend of mine who is an architect, and he described him as the man when it comes to mental ray, which is 3DS max's renderer. some of his stuff is really incredible and makes me think i have a LOT to learn when it comes to 3D, especially if i want to get into animation. anyway, here's one of his pieces, and here's his website.
http://jeffpatton.net/openb/

opening scene GAZE

I have a lot to blog, but im busy editing, so here instead is what im hoping to be the opening scene for out GAZE film, its not long, just a quick example of whats soon to be completed

3G making of advert

Film Update - Gaze project

Our group has been very busy filming today, we got a lot of footage which means we are almost finished with the production, which means my work as Editor is about to triple, but im ready for it. I have also taken over as Director as the original director doesn't seem to show up, so i Have had a lot of input in this film, fingers crossed it looks good.
Im working with After Effects, still practising and getting better, using tutorials to create a very good title sequence for the start and end of the film, before i work on the actual footage, so i have more time to work on the film.
Im about to start creating something spectacular but im not going to share it yet, you will have to wait and see when i blog it.

Im also teaching myself 3DS MAX for the next project, and for personal development.
Im going home over the weekend but il be using that time to sketch some ideas out for the next project so its not time wasted.

I have high hopes for this film so i hope it turns out how i want it, and it should do as im editing and i wont stop till its perfect.

enjoy

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

new favourite architecture studio

This is Bjarke Ingels, a danish architect talking at TED, look at the amazing structures his studio are planning and creating. I love where the ideas come from too. His company 'BIG' (Bjarke Ingels Group) are by far one of my favourite studio's regarding architecture, and i also have to say their website is very cool aswell, check it out.
www.big.dk

Studio aka

Studio aka are the designers who did the new orange ad with the random crazy characters, i loved this ad but randomely came across this studio and found out they did it. They have done a wide range of commercials for big clients like lloyds, guinness, orange etc.
You can see all their work on http://www.studioaka.com/
I think their stuff is amazing, i love the orange ad, and if you haven't seen it, here you go...

Avatar and Paranormal Activity

AVATAR
I had to put this in capitals...
Avatar was amazing, from an animation point of view it was the next level, it was definitely the next step up in CGI and was truly incredible. Storyline was very good too, it kept me interested throughout the 2 hours 40 minutes of the film, it didn't drag on at any point, there was constantly something changing. I'm not going to do a film review because that's not what i do, i do graphics and animation, and from that point of view, the animation was truly inspirational and shows the level of work i have to achieve in my future line of work.


Paranormal Activity is supposed to be the scariest film of all time.
not at all, it was terrible, such a bad film that was not at all scary, possibly because half the time i was thinking of how they did certain scenes. But i didnt get into the film fully. I do like the fact that it is possibly the most profitable film of all time, with a $15k budget, and a gross revenue of $141M (as of 19th dec, 2009)

existing flash websites

im looking at existing flash sites and ive come across a few really cool ones which I thought id share...

http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html
http://www.gettheglass.com
http://www.marcecko.com
http://www.speakvisual.com

my own sites

as well as blogger, ive now begun work on my own website - www.peymansalehidesigns.co.uk, using the flash knowledge i have il be making a flash website, still going through planning right now.
I also have an online portfolio with www.behance.net, a site for designers to show online portfolios and get in touch with companies and agencies and other designers, its very good, i just got accepted as there is a waiting list and you need to be accepted by the company before you can get a website. I just got accepted so im beginning my behance portfolio at www.behance.net/peymansalehi/frame

End of Module 1 and 2009

I began multimedia in october, i have now finished the term and the first module of the course, having successfully completing my presentation today which went very well, i am very pleased with how it went and i felt very proud of the work i had done and am happy with the feedback i received.

As a general sum up of the year, i am very happy with everything, i love my course, i love the work we've been doing and am looking forward to learning more and doing a lot more work, i cant wait till 2010 and the second module, but first holidays, which I'm even more excited about as i get to go home and do nothing but play PS3 and eat. I lie, thats not all ill be doing, I'm building a PC with my cousin, hopefully a very good PC as i want to progress in animation, so its going to be a very powerful PC, or at least have to ability to build further when i get better at animation.

I will also spend some time doing possibly 1 more Flash, if not that, then another Pixilation, and possibly a one shot film. I mainly want to do at least a pixilation piece, I don't think the one shot will be too hard to do.

As I said, a very successful year on my half i feel, I'm very happy and cant wait for the next 3 years ahead of me.

Enjoy.

Mondo Mini Shows

This group make some of the funniest, most random cartoons i've ever seen, i love them. I've watched nearly everything they've created and have been watching for quite a while but thought i should expose them to my blog. Mondo Media is the Internet's leading multi-platform distributor of ad-supported animation for teens and young adults. They made Happy tree friends, Dr. Tran and loads more amazing cartoons, all created in a different way or style of animation. Happy tree friends alone boasts over 900,000 online members. I think the variation in animation technique is what makes them so unique and appealing to me, 'happy tree friends' is a completely different style of cartoon than 'Dr.Tran' or 'Baman Piderman'. The first video is an episode of Happy Tree Friends, im not the biggest fan as its a bit gory for me but its still entertaining. The second video is of Dr.Tran and i have to admit i love Dr.Tran, its amazing. The third video is of 'Baman Piderman', the most random cartoon based on batman and spiderman, but i also love it because its so different. watch more on youtube or www.mondominishows.com
enjoy.

Happy Tree Friends - Out on a limb


Dr Tran - The fruit hat


Baman Piderman - Made da cards

I got bored and thought id have some fun

Not the best, but it didn't take long, and i was bored

Module 2

I have to say... im VERY excited about the virtual environments project, we create our own secret lair for our own superhero! how cool is that, im very eager to learn 3ds Max, but i do have to wait till after christmas till we begin the projects.
I currently work on mac but i WILL be getting a PC over christmas, hopefully a high performance PC... with 2 screens so i can connect my ps3 when im bored... geek.
I really want to get started on this secret lair, and i will probably start generating ideas over the holidays, i cant just do nothing.

Posting Comments on my Blog

Ok i didn't realize there was actually a problem with my blog but posting messages under things i post wasn't working, I've got it working now but its in a pop up window.

so just to clarify, you can all comment on things in my blog now.

good times

Pigeon: Impossible

I found this on a third years blog and i loved it, i keep telling myself I'm going to make a movie about a pigeon, in the future, because i love them, and here is an amazing animation about one. Its done by Lucas Martell and obviously a load of other people with a budget of less than 10k, i love it.

next summer

I emailed an animator named John Hedley who's based in manchester, he's been doing work for over 25 years and after watching his demo reel, he's very good.
He emailed me back telling me that we can sort something out for next summer holidays for me to go and experience an animation studio so im thrilled about this, we don't do official work experience till second year but being me i like to be 1 step ahead, and i believe working with or just watching John Hedley in his studio will be a great experience for me, i cant wait.
Here is his show reel of the work he's done :)

John C Hedley, Showreel 2009 from John C Hedley on Vimeo.
Digital Animator John C Hedley's Showreel for July '09. Will be updated as new work comes in and the new edits are made. All work shown entirely or partially created by J C Hedley.

our one shot film

I am quite happy with how it turned out, obviously it was a group attempt overall so i cant be picky, but generally quite happy. I do want to make another 1 on my own over the holidays on my own, but here is our groups one shot film.
And to anybody who speaks iranian, i apologize for my accent, i know its bad.

Discussions for a film idea... in 4 Languages from Peyman Salehi on Vimeo.
this is a film me and my group made for a one shot project. its our first attempt at a film so obviously its no masterpiece. the idea was to create a one shot film in 1 minute, without moving the camera off the tripod, so we could pan it, but thats about it.

very brief summary of my past 9 weeks of rotation

Flash narrative - loved it
Pixilation - loved it
One shot film - loved it

I will explain in detail at a later stage, probably once we break up for christmas.

One Shot Film - editing

I am supposed to begin the editing on tuesday after showing the groups film, pre-edited, to the teacher... woops, well i like to be ahead of the game, so i took home the footage, and have spent hours editing it for myself, if the rest of the group wants to use the film the way i edited then im happy but i wont say no if they want to edit it themselves.
The editing process was fine, i enjoyed it, i had a feel for how i wanted it to go and developed it as i did it, i didn't plan it, i just went with the flow and developed further till i was happy. I think i may add music to the credits, but i quite like the silence at the start and end.
Im currently waiting for it to upload onto Youtube, its taken 2 hours so far and only half processed, this could be because i didn't compress the video, its full quality, but it will be worth it.

Sixth Sense Technology

this is an amazing invention, bringing real life and technology together in everyday life, i was shocked at what is possible, just watch the video, its incredible.

Assassins Creed 2, Lineage - the making of

Here is a video of the making of the short film that will accompany Assassins creed 2, the film is to give the player an insight into the character and his background, so when your playing as him, you already know a bit about him, you understand what he's doing through another medium, and your familiarized with the story. It is a very clever concept, and as mentioned in this film, its only the start of something big, bringing the 2 mediums of film and game and making it so you need to have watched the film to understand parts of the film, its very clever.

I also love how everything in the film has been digitally created except for the characters and some props, and yet when i watched the film I had no idea, i honestly believed it was a real set, really is incredible.

future investments...

Im stuck, because Im around 90% sure I want to progress into animation, but looking at existing animation studios and what people work on, it seems PC is the preferred choice of hardware, possibly because of the ease of upgrading and making them powerful enough to work with animation and render files etc.
I have a mac, had one for around 3/4 years, i love it, its my child, i wont be letting go of it, but it seems as though i may have to invest in a PC, this doesn't mean goodbye mac, it just means I'll have both and be using my mac for everything, and PC for animation things.
obviously this is something i need to consider for the future, i don't really need a PC now, but maybe a summer job is in need so I'm ready for second year. I should probably add Big desk to the shopping list too.

1 day, i will work for pixar

I admire everything Pixar does, and working for them is my ultimate goal, unless i was to go 1 step further and start my own company. They are an amazing company, they make the most imaginative and creative pieces of motion picture, i don't believe it is just for kids because i enjoy the films more than any child, so if you want to call me a child go ahead, but they make brilliant films.
I really wish they hadn't disabled the embedding on their Youtube page so i could post some of their work, especially the short films they have.
Anyway, i love pixar, and dreamworks, they're top.

toy story 3 trailer :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BlMNH1QTeE&feature=channel

filming finished :)

my groups one shot film finished the filming process today, over 100 minutes of footage for 1 minute, pretty much all of it being outtakes/general bad acting on my behalf. yes it was today that i officially learnt i can't act, or i can try but i laugh a lot of the time, so thats 1 setback in my future acting career...
i do feel i took charge of the filming process, i was critical and told people if they were doing anything wrong. Everybody had equal participation obviously. it was a fun day for sure, now i need to put the film on the computer and get ready for editing, which i will enjoy too.

over the past 2 days

I have booked the Sony Z1 and tripod, all ready for filming our groups one shot film tomorrow, i'm still not going to say what our film is because i like the element of suprise. im hoping it turns out how i imagine it in my head, all together as a group i feel we work well, we all get on well and put in an equal amount of effort, i do feel a bit bad for laura read because she wasn't there on the day we sorted out the story or script so i feel she may feel left out but i will try and make her just as involved as everybody else. I am known in my group as the one who speaks a lot, i do tend to tell people what to do, im happy with this responsibility.

I have also progressed a lot on my essay, i just need to write the conclusion and i should have a first draft ready for friday when i show my tutor, it isn't as hard as first thought, but i haven't written the conclusion yet so we will see, but i think i understand what im writing.

New pixilation idea

ok, as I have an essay and a presentation to do for 2 weeks time, i wont be doing this pixilation now, il do it in my own time at home over christmas, just for fun.
Im going to make a music video using some action figure/doll, I was originally thinking of action man doing the migrane skank, just because that would look funny. Maybe a transformers group video, Ill think of something, but I will do it.

This has no relation, but its so funny