'Once' title sequence

One of my favorite movies is the low-budget musical film 'Once' which is set in Dublin and follows a struggling street musician who falls in love with a Czech immigrant flower seller over the course of a week. This film is best known for the song "Falling Slowly" written and performed by the film's stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. When I was thinking about what to write about for my weekly blog post I ended up on broadway.com and found out that there is a 'Once' musical transferring onto Broadway later this season! So yeah, needless to say I'm pretty psyched!

As I was on youtube looking at various film title sequences I came across a title sequence someone created for 'Once.' It's super simple and looks easy enough but now that I've created an opening title sequence I know that it is not easy to create at all.

Brickyard VFX

In ACP Animation, we watched this really cool demo reel made by a VFX company called Brickyard. They have locations in both Boston and Santa Monica, and in the reel, the showed clips from really high-end commercials that they've done recently. The reel was on DVD, but I think they still mention/show clips of the commercials at their site here. I recognized several of the things that they did, and all of them looked really cool. For example, they did a light-painting one to promote some sort of business technology, and showed people painting venn diagrams and such with their fingers and lines of glowing light.

We also watched their "making of" reel, which highlighted the light-painting one and a few others and went through a quick demo of what the raw footage was like, what it looked like as they added tracking data and composited it with other elements, and what it looked like at the end. The tracking data they had looked absolutely staggering, with thousands of points and arrows and just insanity everywhere. But their final product looked gorgeous, which I guess is why they're doing high-budget commercials for Volvo and other large companies.

Fun fact- there are 2 or 3 Ithaca alum working for them right now. I'm a little hesitant to work in NYC or LA (I know I'll end up there eventually, but I'd really like to look at what else is out there), so the fact that they have a location in Boston is really great. I think I'm going to see if I can contact one of the Ithaca alumni there and talk to them about what they do there and how they got there.

Top 50 Movie Special Effects Shots

I stumbled upon this page that had 50 of the top special effects scenes in movies. I definitely think there are some really awesome special effects scenes in movies that they are missing but this had some pretty cool ones. When you watch a movie you don't always realize all the special effects that go into it. I found some really interesting scenes on this site. I posted some of my favorites below but here is a link to the website.

The Road to Perdition - I thought this scene was cool because the special effects are very subtle. It really makes you feel like you are in Chicago in the 1930's



War of the Worlds - This movie is filled with special effects. This scene is a good example of some of the effects they used to create this movie.



Forrest Gump - I thought this scene was cool as well because you forget that they have to edit out the guys limbs.



These were just a few videos that I found interesting. There are more scenes from other movies like Jurassic Park, Alien, Star Trek, Star Wars, and many more.

Stop Motion Software

I've been noticing a lot of people posting many stop motion videos lately so I tried looking up ways to go about making your own stop motion video and stumbled on this site called Stop Motion Pro. The site tells you how you can purchase the stop motion software and also gives you a free trial.

The site also showcases a gallery of student stop motion videos and even has tips for anyone wanting to create their own video. One article on the site explains step-by-step on how to create faces and change between showing different emotions for claymation:

Film 24 frames of the first emotion on your character.

Change the face gradually over 10 frames to the next emotion.

Hold the emotion for 18 frames, then change the emotion over 10 frames again.

Pause again for 18 frames, then finally end with one more 10 frame transition to another emotion. Capture another 24 frames at the end of the shot.

"Address is Approximate" - Stop Motion Short Film

A friend of mine showed me this short stop motion film the other day. It is about a toy robot who wants to explore the world and does so the only way he knows how, through a toy car and google maps. The concept is extremely creative. With today's technology the possibilities are endless when it comes to storytelling. This director took the technology from Google Maps and made a beautiful short film. This is just one example of how a little creativity can go a long way.

Project 2

Since the deadline for project two is quickly approaching, I thought I would post about my project this week and the progress I have made thus far.
I have completely finished the first 3/4 of my project (for those that remember I am doing Toy Story 2) and now I am working on sorting through the footage I took of my cousin playing with some of the Toy Story toys I bought so that I can use a small montage of it for the rest of the credits. I am however, still looking for a cool cartoon-like effect I can create in after effects to give the footage more of a cartoon look. I know I cannot completely animate the footage so that it looks like it belongs in a Pixar movie, however I want to edit it so that it looks as little like live-action footage as possible.
When looking for pictures to use in the last pan of Andy's room for the first chunk of my project, I came across this great website that has high-quality images of the characters of some of the Pixar films that can be used as source footage for future projects. It is actually Pixar's very own wikipedia page. So anyone that needs those types of pictures for a project should definitely check it out!

Finally, since it is the holiday season, I thought I would leave you with this holiday greeting from everyone's favorite toys (even though it is for Toy Story 3 not 2):

How to stay creative

I've been thinking about how difficult it is to create new and original material AND make it creative. The big time designers must have a secret. I did a little investigating of my own.

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

I also read this article which had a few tips and tricks. To be creative and stay creative, it is important to be multicultural, provide lots of free time to think, encourage risky behavior, writing it down, be flexible, and mixing up your people.


Here is a blog post talking about staying creative!
Helpful website!

The Adventures of TinTin

I was watching football this morning and I saw a preview for “The Adventures of TinTin” and thought the animation looked amazing. I did some research and read a lot of many people were looking forward to seeing the film because of the hype from said animation. I found this video about the behind the scenes making of the film, and it goes into some detail bout the technology used to create such amazing visuals. I thought the video was especially interesting because it gives a short background about how many people involved in the film were fans of the original animations of TinTin, and now with groundbreaking technology they are able to bring to live their childhood memory or TinTin.

"Brave" Pixar's First Female Hero

Pixar is coming out with it's 13th feature film, and it will be a lot different from the first 12. The feature film, Brave, holds a lot of firsts for Pixar: the first fairy tale, first female protagonist, first period piece, and the first extensive use of Scottish accents. Also, since Pixar is known for it's push to ever more realistic computer-animation textures in its films, this film appears to be extremely earthy with lots of mist, moss, and magic.

Brave is about an archer who defies her Scottish Highlands-based clan to make her own path in life, but wreaks havoc when she unleashes an ancient curse. The movie opens June 22, 2012. Below is the trailor.

Work in Progress

I thought I would use this blog post as an opportunity to give in update about my projects. I'm nearly done with my Scott Pilgrim vs. the World project, but it's not turning out exactly as I hoped it would. I was expecting it to be more flash, more fast paced but due to time constriction, I don't have time to fix all that. The main this is that I was able to incorporate the comic books into it. All I have to do and fine tune it and it'll be done. As for my "name" project, I don't have a lot done with it because I've been spending all my time on my other projects. In the end it'll probably be very short and very simple. Hopefully I'll have everything ready by the screening.

Rodrigo Blass' Alma

I found this short film, Alma, that is directed by Rodrigo Bass. After 10 years in the animation field, this is the first film that Bass has directed. The one thing that stands out in this short is the incredible attention to detail. In the beginning, the detail in the cobble stone alley is very realistic, with snow separating each stone with slightly varying color and shape. From all angles, we see individual hairs of our main character, Alma. The tiling of the floor is like a mosaic, with each piece a unique shape and size. I was very impressed with the detail in this short film and felt like Bass took the time to to make sure every element in this short was just right. A painstaking process? I should think so. Notice at the end of the short the number of people listed in the credits for this 5:25 length piece.

Rodrigo Blass (or Rodrigo Blass Nacle) has worked on various well known animation films including Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, WALL-E, The Incredibles, and Up.

Job Search

I started searching around my local area to find some possibilities for jobs when I graduate in May. I started with QVC as I have an interest in working with props and figured they have a large prop department/merchandise. Only a few jobs I could find would be in reach of an entry level position, one of which was a Lighting Assistant. Another position they had an opening for was a Designer for Program Guides: "Reporting to the Managing Designer, responsible for the design and production of graphics for a variety of QVC projects."

I furthered my search by taking a quick look at production assistant jobs out west. There are plenty listed but I also wouldn't mind starting with a show as a Runner. Access Hollywood has an opening for a production assistant/runner. The ability to be on set and also not be tied down in the office all day appeals to me. In my previous internship I would have to generate Runner requests and coordinate with Runners to acquire props needed for that weeks shoot. It would be necessary for the Runners to travel to unique locations and specialty shops all around the LA area. Another interesting listing I came across was for a 2nd assistant/runner. Based on the Job description this job would be worth taking for the contacts alone.

Job Description:

A-list Writer/Director/Producer seeks 2nd Assistant/Runner from prep through post-production on feature film. Candidates must be extremely organized; detail-oriented and thorough; highly efficient; able to multi-task. Must be extremely professional, trustworthy and discreet. Pleasant personality with a can-do attitude an absolute must. Duties will be both personal and professional. Must be willing to work long hours and some weekends.

Another listing I saw was a Job in LA for The Ant Farm. I was surprised to see a PA position with benefits. I was surprised reading through jobs with similar titles having very different duties and requirements to be considered for hire. Looks like there is some hope in the entertainment job market for those of us who are graduating relatively soon.

Sticky Monster Lab

When I was on Motionographer I came across a post about a video created by Sticky Monster Lab, a Creative Studio in Korea. Sticky Monster Lab was founded in 2007 by three individuals from different realms of the creative process including motion graphics, illustration and festival management. Unlike other studios Sticky Monster Lab uses character building to create their videos. A complete solution of a 2D character becomes real through the addition of motion, and then ultimately into an actual figure character. Since the project is produced and preplanned prior to the start of the whole project, the final outcome of the character, animation and figure come together in their own individual format. The project demonstrates both the individuality and togetherness of the "Monsters" virtual world.


The most recent addition to the Sticky Monster Lab videos is "The Loner."


Below is the link to a video of the creators at Sticky Monster Lab speaking about their creative process:
http://thecreatorsproject.com/creators/sticky-monster-lab

Videohive Templates

I was browsing some football related animations, and I came across a Videohive After Effects template that was designed to be an easy download allowing anyone to update the text on the animation to personalize the animation to their specific needs. Videohive is a website that is powered by Envato, and they do a lot of templates like this for anyone interested in looking at their downloads.

This specific template I saw was created to be an animation used to introduce a high school foootball team. They used particles of grass blades flying up from the text falling down onto it on a football field, and it is a pretty impressive animation. It's easy to see why someone would want to download it instead of spending so much time creating something themselves, particularly if they were less After Effects-savvy.

Other project files and templates by Videohive can be found here.

My Future Plans

Since we were talking about our career goals and plans for after we graduate I thought I would post and share some of my thoughts about my future plans. Dun dun dun….life in the real world! This is something I have been thinking about and worrying about a lot especially this past summer and semester! I think about it a lot. Where am I going to live, what kind of job and I’m going to find, what kind of job do I exactly want to find, what are my long term goals??? All of these questions run through my head and I’ve slowly been trying to work out answers to them. There are so many different scenarios and possibilities!

Since the Television/Radio major covers such a wide variety of topics and career options my first problem came with trying to figure out a specific area of focus to target my career plans toward. When I first started at Ithaca I really had no idea which aspect of TV/R I liked the best or even what all of the options were. I was able to narrow my ideas down thanks to all of the different production classes I’ve taken and through my internship experiences.

At my internship on the set of an independent film I got to see every department at work and an insight into how they operate. I was most closely associated with the production team and the art department. Since the film was low on funds and sometimes low on staff I got to delve into many different tasks from working on set as a PA, working in the production office, acting as locations manager, assisting the art department, etc. This internship was a lot of fun and helped me narrow down my career choices.

I have been trying to decide whether I want to live in NYC or LA. I have some contacts in LA from my internship that I have been keeping in contact with so it would probably be most practical to start there but just in case I want to try NYC instead I have signed up for a NYC Alumni networking night over winter break that will hopefully help me meet and talk to some Alumni from NY to get advice and hopefully some do networking.

After I decide where to live there is the difficult question of…what to look for in a first job and how to get it?? I really enjoyed working on production in LA and it seems like a good way to break into the business so I will most likely try to get an entry level production job as a Production Assistant for example. After that I will try to work my way up through the different production jobs. Eventually I think I want to maybe be a producer or something along those lines in the production team (but I’m open for suggestions-who knows where my experiences will lead me!). I also really enjoyed working in the Art Department on my internship so an Art Department Production Assistant would probably also be a good place to start.

Ahh I think about this all the time and I’m very nervous for when I graduate and it is time to try put these ideas in motion…and it doesn’t help that I am a very indecisive person! But at the same time sometimes when I think about it I get really excited…that’s a good thing right? I am not sure why I didn’t talk about this in class the other day…maybe I’m better at expressing myself through writing or maybe I was just really tired that day-both are highly likely!

VH1 holiday card

Since we are getting more and more into the holiday season I though this was a cool piece done by VH1 using stop motion and candles.



I also found some behind the scenes photos of how it was done.

920 pencils used to create stop-motion video

I found a stop-motion music video that I thought was very interesting. Jonathan Chong created this video an Australian group. He used 920 colored pencils and captured 5,125 frames of footage. Jonathan filmed this music video all by himself so he had to move every colored pencil and capture every single frame. Below you will see the actual video and a behind the scene video of how it was made.

Hudson - Against The Grain from Dropbear on Vimeo.

El Laberinto del Fauno

Talking about Guillermo del Toro in class today reminded me of one of my favorite films, El Laberinto del Fauno. If you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it because visually, it is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. It also has a unique story that is propelled by the visual effects. The movie tells the story of a young girl who tries to escape Facist Spain through her imagination. She meets all sorts of different creatures and explores a fantasy world she has created. Guillermo del Toro is known for creating amazing worlds in his films that have a unique look.

He used the award-winning company CafeFX to help him create the world of El Laberinto del Fauno. CafeFX specializes in visual effects and has worked on many movies including Sin City, Alice in Wonderland, and 2012. El Laberinto del Fauno sticks out in my mind when I think of movies I have seen with great visual effects. I found an interesting article that talks about CafeFX involvement in the film. One thing that stuck out to me in the article is a quote from CafeFX Visual Effects Supervisor Everett Burrell about Guillermo del Toro's attitude towards the film. "When considering the fine line that production needed to take between realism, harsh imagery and child like fantasy, Burrell recounts that 'Guillermo always said this is a European film- we can do the whatever we want

, we ever have no MPAA, we don’t have to deal with that – so we just went for it. And he is a big horror fan and I have worked on every zombie movie you name it! Day of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead the remake…I have been through the horror gambit, he really respected that and I really respected that about him.'" It's interesting to think about censorship when it comes to visual effects but I will save that for another blog post.

The article also talks about one of the more graphic scenes of the movie and how it was created. The scene has a man tending to a large facial wound on his own face sewing it up. CafeFX added much of the wound later on in post-production. In my opinion it is very realistic and I'll admit, I had to turn away when watching it for the first time.

I also found a video that shows some of the visual effects in the film so you can get a better idea if you haven't seen it.

And here is a video that details the making fo the various creatures in the film.

Extreme Detail Used in Movies

So a few of my friends were sending around this article that Cracked.com just put out. It's called "7 Movies That Put Insane Work Into Details You Didn't Notice"and it shows some rather nice work.

The first one they list is a movie that we talked about in class and actually had a chance to view the process of the title sequence: Se7en. We got to see a little more than what Cracked talks about, but the article does talk about how the creators wrote the journal entries, found and attached pictures, and actually bound the pages together.

Continuing on, Cracked.com talks about a beautiful animation that I have never even heard of. The Thief and the Cobbler, which inspired Disney's Aladdin, was written and directed by Richard Williams. It was about 30 years into the making, but was never finished. Animation World Network Magazine even had an article on it in 1997 talking about the work and background of the story.

Now even if you don't read the article, you should definitely watch this animation because the detail is really quite amazing.

Cracked.com continues on the examine Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Stanley Kubrick's Filmography, The Matrix, Ghostbusters, and finally Akira Kurosawa's Entire Filmography. 

The article is a bit short and not as detailed as I would like it to be, but it definitely opened up my eyes a bit more to the detail that goes into these movies. I've watched Ghostbusters since I was a kid and while I knew that the terms they were using were real, reading the article really emphasized how each director, writer, designer, creator, and producer should really look into even the simplest details in order to make a production that much better. When creating something, no matter what your job is, the project will always come out better with a little more research. Not only will it make it more realistic, but sometimes it will even inspire you to create something else. Detail may seem futile or unnecessary, even out of the budget, but creating something with such depth can really pay off in the reception of the final product.

Production Company Logos

I was trying to figure out how to animate my logo, and I found this compilation video here of all the big-name production companies and their animated logos. I think you'll recognize most of them. There are maybe two I didn't recognize, and one I only recognized because we watched it in animation (it's the dark one with the man and the bird, and it's paint-on-glass animation, which looks really awesome- at least, I think so).

It was funny to see that a lot of the logos start either having their logo come in from behind the camera, zooming out of a close-up of their logo, or flying through a scene to get to their logo. I think the most unique ones are the man-bird one (Scott Free, I think?), the fish mobile one, Pixar's, and the tiger one, just because they did something completely different. I'm sure there are other ones that also do something unique, those four are just the ones that stand out for me. I also noticed that many of them use 3D animation, even the older ones (like the very basic Disney one that kind of looks unfinished, it has so little detail).

I'm trying to find a video that shows the animated logos for smaller production companies, animation studios, or freelance designers/editors, since that's the kind of logo I'm trying to make. Haven't had much luck so far, but I'll post if I find something cool.