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Animation & Visual Effects graduate, Roland Gauthier (Class 10), along with two colleagues, Michael Kuehn and Alex Tysowsky recently opened a full-service 3D animation and visual effects studio, Hinge Digital, in Portland, Oregon. Read the full article at Animation Magazine.

Christopher, one of 10 artists at New York-based Mantra Studios, builds over-the-top performance looks for the Country Music Association Awards (CMA) show with the help of CINEMA 4D and Adobe After Effects. He and the studio have created these looks for 13 different artists, including Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker.

See Mantra’s reel: www.mantradesign.tv

Read the full article.

Recently, accomplished animator, Justin Kohn (Coraline, James and the Giant Peach), along with professional cameraman Peter Williams (Coraline and others), brought their current project, a stop motion film adapted from H. G. Wells War of the Worlds novel, to Ex’pression College to begin production on a trailer for the film.

A group of students from our visual programs at Ex’pression assisted with the production, of which, most was shot on the green screen at the school. Peter has been on hand to coach the students on the physical FX methodologies. The students are involved in all aspects of production, set up, camera, lighting, rigging, and compositing.

Justin was kind enough to answer a few questions about the project:

Please explain how this idea came to be.

Justin: After Coraline wrapped, and we all went our separate ways, I returned to the Bay Area and resumed teaching animation classes. Around a year ago, I re-read the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds. A few pages into it, I noticed that it was practically a screenplay already– all told first person, lots of visual descriptions with all dialog written out (plus, it’s public domain). I read it really slowly–taking several weeks for a book that could have been read in an evening, taking notes the whole time. I realized that none of the 2 previous productions (George Pal/ Spielberg) had, in my opinion, captured the flavor and message of the original 1897 book.

I’ve always been a fan of director Karel Zeman’s work. He was a Czech film maker from the 1950s, who’s feature: The Fabulous World of Jules Verne can be seen on Youtube. His style of work combining live action, miniatures, Stop-motion and physical FX seems the perfect media for a period piece with a Victorian/steampunk style of art direction/design. I built the Martian models in my garage shop from descriptions in the novel. I’m presently working on the Martian spaceship, and plan to film it for the first trailer when its completed.

My initial notes tell me that a feature could be done in around 2 1/2 years, With 8-10 shooting stages for the FX.

A couple years back, I met a local live action director, Eric Jacobus (thestuntpeople.com) who produces features with good acting and production quality on reasonable or non-existent budgets. Eric was the missing piece of our production plans. With a good crew, producing impressive visuals is a given. Most FX laden films that fail, fail for lack of good live action.

In an ideal world a budget of around 40 million would be great– but it could probably be doable for as low as 15 mil. Right now the plan is to produce a couple of trailers, some behind-the-scenes documentaries, and some posted shots in progress. We also need to nail down our production methodologies and practice animation style, as we work toward assembling a good crew. The scenes and shots that we hone our crew’s skills with should be usable in the final film.

We also want to show the world at large what we are capable of doing.

Is this production only for a trailer or will the entire film be stop-motion?

The plan for now is to do two trailers for the potential feature. These will be done to practice animating the stop-motion elements, shooting live action and compositing. Once we get our quality up to the standards we’re looking for, we’ll begin soliciting whatever it will take to produce a full length feature. The plan for the finished film is for it to be a live action film with stop-motion FX, much like the films done by the masters Ray Harryhausen, and Karel Zeman. We plan to use hand made FX as much as possible. The plan for now is to assemble a competent crew, so that when (if) we get funding, we can go right into production (locally).

In what disciplines are visual students from Ex’pression assisting with the production/shoot?

The students have been awesome and Camera pro Peter Williams has been on hand to coach the students on the physical FX methodologies. One of the students, John Zapata, is working on compositing one of the shots right now. Some of these initial tests can be seen on Youtube. (Retrovision / War of the Worlds)

What convinced you to do the shoot at Ex’pression College? Have you used our facilities for other projects?

I met one of your teachers Jesse Brodkey, at one of our networking get togethers that we have every few months in the city. He had finished an amazing stop-motion film with animator Chuck Duke a while back. I had brought one of the Martian machines to the party for people to play with. I had planned to do my shooting in L.A. at my friends, the Chiodo Bros. studio in Burbank (Team America, Critters, etc.). Jesse mentioned that they had a green screen setup where he worked that I may be able to use. He got me in touch with Yael Braha and Scott Hess. It seemed like the perfect opportunity coming together. Not only do you have a great setup for doing this sort of filming, but many talented students who seem interested in learning what, a while back, I thought was becoming a lost art.

Can you tell us a little about your background and how you became involved in stop-motion animation?

I began teaching myself stop-motion in the late 70s. I landed my first paying gig, animating on the claymation feature I Go Pogo in Washington DC. in 1979. In 1984, I moved to L.A., and worked pretty much non-stop on commercials, TV shows, and features. My first job with Henry Selick was Nightmare in 1992, and I’ve worked on every stop-mo job he’s done since then.

Work began drying up around 2000, After Toy Story and Jurassic Park, CGI began to take over the industry.

Lately, there seems to be a bit of a revival in hand made animation (Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox in one year, as well as some commercials) I would love to have a small hand-made FX studio up and running in the Bay Area before too long. There’s no shortage of talent in the area, with lots of veteran FX people and dedicated students around. I feel that with some good projects and a bit of capital, we could have much more happening here locally than only CG work.

Of the recent projects you’ve worked on, which one were you most pleased with? And why that film or project?

On recent films have to say that Coraline really pushed the quality of my animation to a new level. Then again, every job with Henry Selick is a challenge. Nightmare Before Christmas was a dream job– fun, great crew and it paid well, too! I if you want to see some really low-budget work, check out Disaster! (the Movie)– Directed by Roy Wood. That was great fun to work on.

Do you often learn new tricks and techniques on a film? If so, could you explain an example of one?

I learn new things on every job I do. That’s what’s so fun about it. On Coraline, I learned the fine mechanics of animating a girl’s walk. Also, animating Bobinski gave me the chance to study and animate gymnastics. At Ex’pression College I’m learning a bit about the capabilities of your computer systems in compositing and enhancing traditional FX techniques.

You are using the Dragon Stop Motion software, correct? Is this the first time using it for a shoot? How does it effect your process?

Yes. We used Dragon at the Academy of Arts university, where I teach. Its very well designed, and Jamie Caliri, its developer, is constantly improving its capabilities. The first “Frame grabber” technology I’ve used was on the Nightmare shoot. It could only show us 3 frames at a time, but was a great improvement over animating “blind”–(making tons of notes and using measuring tricks to make the animation happen.) I’m still amazed that anything we did before frame grabbers actually looked any good.

Nicki Minaj – Your Love COVER

Click here to view the embedded video.

B.o.B – Magic MUSIC VIDEO! Feat. Rivers Cuomo of Weezer ” The Official” COVER

Click here to view the embedded video.

More media buzz:
Meeting B.o.B
B.o.B’s official website feature
The B.o.B Story on Movin 99.7
The Nicki Minaj Story on Movin 99.7

Behind Studio SQ is Ex’pression College Sound Arts graduate Jeremy Rosenblum and John Flores. You can read more about Jeremy in a recent graduate spotlight article. John came of age in a thriving L.A. music scene working as an assistant at Sound Castle. During 8 years in L.A., John worked with artists such as Jamiroquai, Xhibit, Nas, Gotti Bros., Dialated Pupils, Yo-Yo Ma, Ashanti, Weezer, Robert Guilay, and the “Punk’d” show, just to name a few.

“We try to enjoy ourselves. Having a good time translates to a recording and we want people to feel the juju.”

Whether Jeremy and John are tracking in the 1,000 sq. ft. room utilizing the large collection of guitars, amps, keyboards, and synthesizers, or configuring a signal flow and custom mic setup for a band, one thing is certain- Studio SQ is a labor of love. “We try to enjoy ourselves. Having a good time translates to a recording and we want people to feel the juju.” Sudio SQ is an active member with AES, NARAS, The Grammy Association, and Deli SF. You can learn more by visiting their website: studiosq.com.

You’re invited!

Ex’pression College presents our next Ex’pert Series, an evening with award-winning motion graphic designer, Danny Yount. Don’t miss this chance to get an expert’s perspective on the future of the design profession.

Danny Yount is internationally recognized for his work in feature films and television titles. He has earned an Emmy for the Six Feet Under main title, has been elected into the Alliance Graphique Inernationale and is currently serving as a Creative Director at Prologue Films, where he designed the main titles for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Reaping, Pushing Daisies, The Invasion, Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes, and RocknRolla, among others. To view these projects, visit dannyyount.com.

Friday, July 16, 2010 | 6–8 p.m.
Ex’pression College for Digital Arts
6601 Shellmound Street, Emeryville

Arrive at 5 p.m. and take a tour of our campus before the talk.

Admission is free. Please send your RSVP to dreams@expression.edu or contact your Admissions Representative to reserve your seat at the event.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As part of an on-going relationship with Creative Allies, Ex’pression College was proud to have Ani DiFranco perform in Meyer Hall on June 24, 2010.

Watch the webcast here: creativeallies.com/more/expressionwebcast

Open House Countdown

Ex’Radio Show Schedule

Ex’pression Sessions Photo Slides

“The Pitch” is our submission for chapter 5 of “The Story Beyond The Still” contest. The contest is hosted on Vimeo and sponsored by Canon. In this story within a story, a man peers through the surface of images to discover a world beyond.

Starring:

Nick Fargo – as Film Executive
Marisa Schlussel – as Woman
Andrew Schlussel – as Man

Also appearing:

Erik Tharalsen
Mike Dinocco
Asif Haque
Chris Padilla
Gillian Mantchev

Written and Directed by:

Andrew & Marisa Schlussel

Camera – Asif Haque
Audio – Erik Tharalsen
Grip and additional camera – Chris Padilla
Grip – Mike Dinocco
Additional audio help – ‘Jersey’ Joe Mosley
Visual effects – Andrew Schlussel

Music Composed by:

Erik Tharalsen

“Time Away” written by:

Audrey Howard
Performed by – Audrey Come Lately

San Francisco USA (April 8, 2010) – ME’DI.ATE Art Group is excited to announce the return of the acclaimed Soundwave Festival this summer for its fourth season, entitled Green Sound, exploring the natural world and environmental issues. Arguably the largest collection of artists and performances the Bay Area’s avant-sound scene has ever seen, Soundwave ((4)) Green Sound will feature over 75 participating artists and musicians, in over 35 inspired performances, exhibits and talks, in 18 events over the span of 2 ½ months.

Ex’pression’s very own Common Core Course Director and member of performing group Myrmyr, Agnes Szelag, will be performing throughout the Green Sound Soundwave Festival. Here’s a list of her events.

• June 12 – Unweathered Embers at St. Marks Lutheran church
• July 2 – Turrell Resonance at De Young Museum
• July 9 – August 7 – Illuminated Forest at The Lab

]]> http://www.expression.edu/blog/green-sound/feed/ 0 http://www.expression.edu/blog/green-sound/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ExpressionCollegeAllAccess/~3/qNHI_9Ld-iM/ http://www.expression.edu/blog/spencer-nilsen-redux-new-tang-dynasty/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:44:37 +0000 digitalsoup http://www.expression.edu/blog/?p=2817 Spencer Nilsen, Ex’pression College President & Creative Director, recently spoke with New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) to talk about the school.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are tiered levels of checkout capability for students based on where they are in their particular program. So students shouldn’t expect to show up on day one and be able to check out Neumann mics or HVX video cameras. All gear is ultimately available once proper training and course level has been achieved. Students, Alumni, and faculty & staff alike should always try to return equipment on time and to be conscious of how they treat the gear.

“Whether it’s to pick up a guitar amp, point-and-shoot digital camera, or a Wacom Tablet- we’re here for everybody.”

Members: Nathan Snider, Norman Teale, Nathan Fritz, Varun Kejriwal, Amir Shirani, Robert Lautenslager, Matt Anderson, Janelle Hessig

“The video that we produced would not have been possible without the exceptional curriculum of our program and dedication of the instructors and administration.”

Thank you to all,

Randall Imel

www.speakinmotion.com

We started this project in order to give something back to the community. We chose a non-profit organization and made a film on them and what they provide in hopes to help them get grants and any funding to help them help others.

Credits: students Daniel Rolnick, Stephen Boyd, graduate David Minard, and from the Berkeley Digital Film Institute, David Smith and Choncy Shu.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Andrew Schlussel
Director of Animation & Visual Effects
Expression College for Digital Arts
510-594-6959

Q: When you were in elementary school, or middle school, did you enjoy drawing, watching movies, or cartoons?

A: I was always drawing and taking art classes. I watched a lot of cartoons after school- Voltron, Thundercats, Smurfs etc. I used to watch certain movies over and over again- Tron, Indiana Jones.

In your resume, I noted that you started in philosophy. What caused you to make the switch to Art?

Good question! I was studying philosophy at University of Michigan and doing pretty well. But I hit a sort of crisis point where I wondered “What am I doing here? What is the point of this?” They were pretty philosophical questions themselves. I chose not to sign up for classes the next term.  I came to the conclusion that the things I most enjoyed in life were movies and computers, so I decided to pursue that as a career. This was back in 1993.

Why did you select NYU? Were there any other programs that you considered?

A friend of mine went to University of Texas, Austin, for film school and I considered going there. But my sister lived in New York City and she suggested coming there. I worked in video production and took classes at The New School in New York before I applied to NYU. I had a great experience at NYU.

From your resume, I’ve learned that you taught tons of Maya classes and even co-wrote a book on it. Do you believe that Maya is one of the most powerful animation/visual effects software out there? If so, what about Maya makes it so powerful? Also, what do you think might be a close second to Maya?

Before I was teaching Maya I was teaching Alias Power Animator, which is sort of a father to Maya. Alias merged with a company called Wavefront and they gave birth to Maya. Back when I was teaching Alias in the mid to late 90′s, Softimage was a big competitor; it was frankly better for Animation, Alias was better for modeling. Maya was the first major 3D package to take advantage of graphic card acceleration, which at the time changed everything for 3D animation. Softimage was slow to rewrite their software and Maya quickly took over. 3D Studio Max has always been a strong competitor and for a time, Maya was thought of as more of a tool for film and 3DS Max for games. But Maya has grown to be a leader in games as well.

I think a big part of its success is how flexible it is. Users can write their own scripts to add functionality and build their own tools. More advanced users can create their own plugins. I find that in many areas, the users lead the way with new scripts, and Maya eventually incorporates those into the software. That and they have a very good development team as well. Now all of these competing software are owned by the same company, Autodesk. There are fears that the lack of competition will mean the development will slow down, but so far they keep improving at a good pace.

Did you take a class to learn about editing video, or are you self taught?

I was editing video for documentaries, self taught, before I went to film school, but then I had further instruction in school.

In this day and age, where visual effects are becoming more and more realistic, do you think it’s more efficient to shoot some effects live, or to add them later via software?

Another good question! It always is very helpful to have live footage for visual effects shots. They need something to root all of the effects in reality; something to match the other elements to. I tend to think the more you can get on set, the better off you are. Even if you end up replacing it later, you have some great reference to work from. I remember a shot breakdown I saw from the film “Next” where Nicolas Cage is standing on a steep hill, a car rolls down the hill and he ducks down, and the car bounces over him. They shot a real car rolling down the hill, and shot Nicolas Cage standing on the hill separately with the idea that they would put them together. In the end, it didn’t work well, so they had to recreate the car rolling digitally. It may seem like it was a waste to roll a real car down a real hill if they didn’t end up using it, but for the artists creating the digital car roll, having that reference to know just what it would look like was very helpful for everything from animating the car, to the dust, to the lighting, etc.

There are many similar examples in the Transformers films. Michael Bay likes to do as much as he can on set. Sometimes they don’t use it, but it’s always a great reference.

As the Director of Animation and Visual Effects, what skills do you look for in prospective students?

I primarily look for three things- Passion, Vision and Focus.

By passion, I mean that you not only want to get into this field- you have to. You couldn’t see yourself getting into any other field. By vision, I mean that you have your own ideas, images you can see in your mind that you want to get out on paper and on the screen. By focus, I mean that school is what you are doing now, it is your top priority.

Once your students graduate, do they find work immediately, or do they have to build a portfolio before being recognized by corporations?

The top graduates often get jobs right out of school. Others need to continue to work on their demo reel after graduation, or get an internship before they are fully employed.

Can VFX artists realistically expect to find work in the field as soon as they graduate?  What might make them more appealing to be hired?

It is very challenging and very competitive. You’re not going to be a lead animator at Pixar right out of school. You need to have a great demo reel and network as much as possible. You should have a focused body of work with a specialty, but also be willing and eager to do whatever they need done. You should expect to start at an entry level job and work your way up.

When you do animation and visual effects, what is your favorite part of the job?  Also, what is your least favorite part of the job?

What I like best is Directing on set. I love the collaboration and excitement of being in the moment when so much is at stake. Over the years, I’ve worked with and taught on all different aspects of visual effects- character rigging and animation, dynamics, modeling, texture and lighting, etc. I really like it all, and I think that is part of why I’ve stayed in education, because I get to keep my hands in everything. My current passion is compositing. I’m working with a program that is relatively new to the school, called Nuke, and I’m really enjoying it.

What advice would you give a high school student, such as myself, who wanted to go into this field?

Immerse yourself in the art and science of animation and visual effects. Focus on the fundamentals. Draw, draw, draw. Paint… do photography.  Watch all the extras on the DVDs for visual effects films. Read Cinefex magazine cover to cover. If you’re an artist, you’re an artist 24 hours a day.  Animators pay attention to the way a person moves, how they express themselves with their body and face. A lighting TD or compositor studies the way light and shadow reacts to objects in every situation. It’s great to get a head start on the software, but don’t get too caught up in the tools, it’s more about the fundamentals.

I found the video Age of Convergence on YouTube.com. In the credits, and on your resume, it says that you were an animator. Thus, I have a few questions regarding your part in the video.

Good research!

During the microscopic shots of the human neuron, did you do all of the animation? Also, did you construct the 3-D models for the neurons and viruses? If not, did you get them from some sort of “stock” model marketplace?

Everything was made from scratch. I mostly animated the squid-like nanobot which envelopes the virus.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my questions.

Sincerely,
J. Brodie