Anomalisa

Last weekend I attended a special screening of the film Anomalisa followed by a Q&A with the animation supervisor for the film, Dan Driscoll. Written by Charlie Kaufman, the film is an incredible and beatuiful stop motion animation that has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Anomalisa tells the story of a man who is stuck in a mundane world, only to fall in love with the only person who can bring color back into his life. The narrative reveals the mysterious and dark workings of the characters' worlds around them but the film ends ambiguously, leaving me wondering and with numerous unanswered questions.

While the story itself was unique, the animation was the highlight of the film and Driscoll shared many interesting aspects of the animation process. I was particularly intrigued by the careful attention payed to the movements and mannerism that would be executed for each physical action taken by the animated characters. Driscoll revealed the very slow process of shooting only a few frames per day, which only was possible after months of planning for each various individual scene. This attention to detail was evident in the animation, bringing the figures to life and adding a sense of humanness to the silicone "people" that one would never expect.

FEAST - Short Animation

I have always had a love for animation, and I think that's mainly responsible because I survived on Disney & Pixar films growing up. One of my favorite things about the Pixar films is the animated shorts that always premiere before the movie. Although there are several to choose from, my favorite short is FEAST. From first-time director Patrick Osborne and Walt Disney Animation Studios, it follows the story through the eyes of an adorable little Boston terrier, a man’s best friend as he watches his owner go on the journey of a relationship, and is able to witness, and potentially save, the man's love life. What I love about this short is there is little to no dialogue throughout it, and yet you completely understand what is going on the entire time. The short is just a charming story that will pull at your heart strings. After having my first After Effects lesson, I have a whole new appreciation for animators, and especially for FEAST. The amount of time and effort that went into every last detail of the short is impeccable. I highly recommend you check out this short, and the rest of the Pixar shorts if you have not because they are a real treat to watch. 

3D Shorts

One Day, I'd really like to make a 3D Short. Wether I have a great story or not, one day, i want to be a part of the creation of something like the video's below:
Some of them are funnier than others, but, I think any of them would have been a wonderful learning experience to gain an Understanding of Animation Workflow, Group Dynamics, and General Roles for creating Animated Stories.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

One thing that I really love about animation is the fact that you don't even have to include words to make a story. Some of my favorite animations are those where words are not included. It forces you as a viewer to really focus and watch what's going on and try to infer what's going on with just the information that the artist is giving you. For example, one of my favorite shorts is from last year called Feast:

It's a sweet love story told through a dog's life. In this short, only a total of two words were said: "Hey" and "Wait". Other than that, communication was told through barks and the visualization of the story. This short was created for young children and it just goes to show that not all good films need words for people to understand.

Mr. Hublot

I noticed on the Maya help page that they had a picture of the winning animated short film of the 2014 Academy Awards known as Mr.Hublot.

I did a little research and found out that the film was made on maya. This didn't come as a suprise to me as the film is visually stunning for animation. The lighting especially is fantastic. This was a grew example of exactly what can be created with Maya under the correct creative mindset.