Change in Animation & Alice in Wonderland Behind The Scenes

What's really interesting to me is just how far we've gotten in animation. The technology and the process compared to the beginning of the whole idea of animation is just so wild to think about compared to the amount of software's and such that we use today. However when looking back on it, you can still see the core of the animation, especially for classic Disney films like Alice in Wonderland. It all comes back to a paper and pencil and from there what happens next is anybody's guess. I thought it was just fascinating watching this video, to see how much hand work went into the animation compared to the programs we use today.

"Day & Night" Pixar Short

While searching for some animation videos, I came across this little short, "Day & Night" from Pixar and instantly fell in love. The concept is such a clever and captivating idea, and I was instantly hooked. I can only imagine how much fun it must have been created these two characters of "Day & Night," and exploring where they could take them. Watching the two interact with one another was severely enjoyable. I also thought the sound choice was interesting, with just having the sound effects from the aspects of Day & Night, versus having background music and such. Overall this animation was extremely entertaining and I would recommend everyone checks it out in their spare time!

Virtual Reality Animation

I was online and I came across this post.  I thought it was very interesting.  It's about virtual reality plugins for programs like after effects. Click here to read about it. 

I also really enjoyed watching this video on virtual reality animation. I love how imaginative and creative it is. “When you draw, you are expressing something real, visceral. By making a line, it’s like a seismograph of your soul. These are not drawings, these are real characters as they exist in my own life.”

Glen was the son of cartoonist Bil Keane (The Family Circus) and he started animating his drawings early in life. But as he got older, he realized that his drawings were an extension of himself, which is quite challenging within the confines of 2D creations.

Keane says, “When I animate, there is a frustration that I have wishing that the flatness of the paper goes away and that I could actually dive in.”

In virtual reality, flatness isn’t a limitation. There are no edges to mind. An animator need not worry about running out of space for his drawing. Keane described his immersion as “more like a dance.” He was almost dancing around with the animation tool, drawing a character in a virtual reality space. Keane wandered through his drawings, going inside lines and bubbles. For Keane, virtual reality animation means freedom.

Hope you enjoy watching this! 

Disney's New Cool App and Motion Capture

I stumbled upon this video and I think this is such a creative and awesome idea.

Disney has really created an amazing tool and I hope it becomes available to the public soon.

While exploring some more, I found out that using motion capture to track human motion has been mastered after years of work but the same cannot be said about animals.

Motion capture is quite literally means recording the movement of humans or objects to capture the motion.

I found an article about researchers at Bradford University who have used motion capture on animals to improve the biomechanical accuracy of animals in films and video games.

Previously, only a few markers were used on animals to capture motion; however, the researchers from Bradford University did it differently. Check out the article with the video of their work here.

In case you wanted to see what motion capture looks like with real actors, here's a fun video of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

The World of The Good Dinosaur

When I first saw the trailer for Disney/Pixar's The Good Dinosaur, I was just in shock and awe while watching this. But the reason why was because, not just of how fun and adorable the story seemed, but because how beautiful the animation looked. All of the textures and lighting looked unbelievably realistic. There were time when I looked at the picture and thought, "is this really an animation?! It looks like real life!" The only things that really looked animated were the characters, but everything else (trees, leaves, plants, all of the environment) was really well crafted and well rendered and looks so photo real. It's truly amazing how technology in animation and filmmaking has come thus far, and it's things like this that continue to inspire me to pursue my dream of working in this industry (although particularly as a visual effects artist for live action films, but the techniques still go hand in hand).
If you haven't seen the trailer yet, take a look at it right here! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-RgquKVTPE

What's new in the world of Disney?

Hi there,

I figure it is about time to visit the world of Disney animation! Walt Disney Animation Studios continues to be one of the premier contributors of innovative animated videos. Here's a sneak peak of at its newest adventure Big Hero 6, which premieres this November!

Big Hero 6 is an interesting concept for Disney to tackle. Big Hero 6 is a lesser known Marvel comic that is being rebooted for it's November premiere. It's official Disney synopsis states that Big Hero 6 "is an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax, a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada. When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. Determined to uncover the mystery Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called Big Hero 6."

Take a look at the trailer below!

When I first saw the trailer I was honestly quite confused. It doesn't feel like the Disney I've come to know and love. I was a tad confused about the characters, and didn't feel any attraction to the main characters. Upon a second viewing of the trailer though. the cuteness began to seep out. I'm interested to see if the character Baynor, the big goofy robot will connect with both child and adult viewers. Based off of the trailer, the artwork and writing seems to skew heavily towards the former. 

An early review from Vanity magazine states that "Displaying a special love for Japanese robotics, screenwriters Robert L. Baird and Daniel Gerson integrate elements of manga, anime and science fiction into the very fabric of the film, but also succumb to the same pitfalls faced by so many other superhero pics: Namely, after establishing its fresh and relatable origin story, the movie gets bogged down with a relatively generic villain's power-hungry schemes." 

We'll see what the public thinks when the movie reviews on November 6th, 2014. 

Until next time,

Alex