Thinking Animation Blog

Building Projections

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:10:32 PDT

Projection on Buildings from NuFormer Digital Media on Vimeo.

NuFormer Digital Media develops high-skill 3D video mapping projections. These 3D projections will be custom-made to fit any specific building and will be exposed by a battery of powerful projectors.

Robot Sculptor

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:30:26 PDT

Robot Sculptor Mike Rivamonte

Possibly the kewlest thing I have seen in a long time!

Been a Long Time, Shoulda Left You With A Dope Beat To Step To...

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:18:56 PDT

Revenge from lernert Engelberts on Vimeo.

I cannot believe it's been nearly 3 months since I last posted here. I started a new job at Image Metrics as Anim Sup for over 20 animators on over a dozen projects and there is just no time. I have gotten all of your emails and I will try to do better, but I used to post here when I was an animator playing the "hurry up and wait" game - while I waited on play blasts to finish. The reality is I come into work, get a cup of coffee and next thing I know ...I look down and it's 7 pm! Day is over! I will do my best to post some things on the weekends and spread out the postings through the month.

These Revenge Shorts just tickled me.

The anticipation is brutal.

Carlsberg Sport - Penguin

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:48:44 PDT

Carlsberg Sport - Penguin

My friend Jonas was Sup on this spot
it made me giggle :)
Enjoy!

The Muppet Show - Bruce Schwartz Japanese Ghost Story

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:53:08 PDT

It's Hard Being Oxygen

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:29:56 PDT

Oxygen from Christopher Hendryx on Vimeo.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome on so many levels!

The ACME Animation Program

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:49:12 PDT

I have been a huge proponent for the old atelier style of learning craft with any art form. In the 17th century in Europe if you showed an aptitude towards a trade like painting, you were shipped off away from your family to live with your master at a young age to learn everything you could about that craft.

Animation lost the mentor/apprentice paradigm with the invention of CG. You do not see this relationship as part of the workforce today. These animators are being taught early, while still in high school by professionals and will be way ahead of the curve when they go to college.

My friend Lennie Graves is one of the teachers on this video (red shirt) and I think this is a really great way to mentor students online - check it out!

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:44:13 PDT

This made me giggle like a little gurl...

Chalkboard Animation

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:09:02 PDT

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

I love this...

More Awesome Slow Mo Footage!

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:35:14 PDT

I-Movix SprintCam v3 NAB 2009 showreel from David Coiffier on Vimeo.

It's all action and reaction...great studies for animation!
Thanks Rayfield!

Sneezing in Slow-Motion

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:10:31 PDT

Sneezing Slow Motion - Click here for the funniest movie of the week

So gross and awesome at the same time...
Thanks Thanh!

Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age: A New Model for the Workplace

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:31:52 PDT

Pixar University's improv coach - Randy Nelson - gave a lecture about Collaboration and Perfection. He makes connections to improv to introduce his ideas on collaboration as a solution for success in the workplace.

I attended the Improv Conservatory at Bang Studio back in 2003 for over a year. Improv taught me more than any formal classes in school. I learned about myself personally and professionally. One of the best lessons is how to heighten a scene. I think society teaches us to resist and for our first instincts to be negative to new ideas, in general. Improv says you must accept every idea in order to take the scene to a new level. Otherwise, the scene or idea simply dies. By accepting the ideas put forth, you will push the envelop of what we think CG animation can be!

Nelson has some great points in this talk. He says..."Depth, Breadth, Communication and Collaboration" create a solid CG Artist. I couldn't agree more.

DEPTH:
I have run into many an animator who can rattle off every bit of his understanding of animation easily, but do they have understanding of anything else that brings a deeper take on what he is animating???

BREADTH:
Without a breadth of experience on both artistic and technical, the same animator will not have creative solutions to the obstacles we all run into in production.

COMMUNICATION:
Communication is one lacking often in CG. Understanding how to communicate your ideas effectively without stomping out anyone else' voice is so very important.

COLLABORATION:
And, finally collaboration is the key to CG because none of the work would be completed without every artists being involved. It's one of the most collaborative industries I have ever experienced.

Check out A New Model for the Workplace

Chalkboard Walls

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:11:49 PDT

Mo Willem's Chalkboard Walls
What a great idea!

Inside Up: Unlikely Heroes

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:26:28 PDT

Up Exclusive Featurette

Nobody Does Disney Like Disney

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:30:55 PDT

Disney-ressemblance

So you’ve watched your favorite Disney movies a hundred times, but you’ve probably never noticed the uncanny similarities amongst the characters! Watch this short sequence of clips that compares the clever or convenient animations in these Disney scenes. Who knew Robin Hood and Snow White had so much in common?

Thanks to Carrie!

Joel Trussell

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:21:57 PDT

Joel Trussell

I love this guy's work

Partly Cloudy

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:29:33 PDT

Ain’t It Cool News has got their hands on the
first still from Peter Sohn’s new
Pixar’s short, Partly Cloudy!

Poop deck pappy Walk Cycle

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:10:12 PDT

Another treasure from Michael Sporn

Amautalab

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:17:09 PDT

Awesome!!!
The timing of the reactions made me giggle...

Client: Nat Geo
Product: Ecology messages
Concept, Production, Animation and Direction: Amautalab

Music Clip for Anne Laplantine
Client: Angelika Kohlerman Records
Concept, Production and Direction: Amautalab

Concept, Direction and Production: Amautalab

Tissa David

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:57:54 PDT

I am flooded with emails from ambitious female animators entering the field and asking me for advice and mentoring. Sooooo, I wanted to give props to one female animator I have always admired and wished could have been MY mentor - Tissa David.

There is a sensual flow to her work that I just love. the lines of action drip with fluidity. I would love to animate like this woman one day.

The animated short above is an Ani-jam with over 30 NYC animators working to the theme of "eat or get eaten." Tissa David's section of the jam is at about 3:30 minutes into the short. She animated a dog eats pasta and you can see the gorgeous lines there as the pasta forms from a tornado whirlwind to the plate.

Micheal Sporn (one of my favorite animation bloggers)
posted the movie above on his Splog.
It's a great cycle Tissa David created for the animated short "Eggs."

Below is the Eggs short in it's entireity.

Thanatos & eros as a feudin' couple, love it. It gets off to a slow start but hang in there. From The Great American Dream Machine, a very cool 60s style (read free spirit) series on PBS in 1971. In the sub-plots the medical futurism seems very prescient.

Eggs Cast and Crew List:

* 1970
* Directed by: Faith Hubley, John Hubley
* Cast (in credits order): David Burns, Anita Ellis
* Produced by: Faith Hubley, John Hubley
* Original Music by: Quincy Jones
* Film Editing by: Faith Hubley
* Art Department: Nina Di Gangi, Nathan Garland, Susan Goldberger, Faith Hubley, John Hubley, Peter White
* Animation Department: Tissa David,
* Other crew: Jean Williams

Tissa David was born in Transylvania in 1921. She attended the Academy of Beaux Arts in Budapest, where she also co-owned an animation studio. She began her animation career in Budapest, Hungary in 1943, and escaped the Communist takeover of Hungary by moving to Paris in 1950 and directed the animated feature Bonjour Paris in 1953. She worked in Paris until 1955 when she moved to the United States. She has been working in the New York area since 1956 doing animation and direction for UPA, the Hubley's Storyboard Films, Inktank and Michael Sporn. She was a lead animator on Raggedy Ann in 1977.

Links:

Michael Sporn's Bio on Tissa David

Dave Nethery's Page about Tissa David

ASIFA Hall of Fame - Tissa David

Still hard at work - Tissa David IMDB

Animation Blog - Tissa David

Stop motion with wolf and pig

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:08:47 PDT

Someone has a lot of time on their hands...
but fun to watch!
Thanks Matt!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Leaked Footage

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:19:48 PDT

So funny...

Milt Kahl: The Animation Michelangelo

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:45:06 PDT

Dear Readers,
I apologize for being so absent. My new job has kept me quite busy, but I am coming up for air to tell you about this great event!!! I am HUGE Milt Kahl fan and the rest of the panel is definitely one you don't get to hear from every day!!! Hope to see you there!

As part of the Marc Davis Celebration of Animation,

the Academy presents a centennial celebration of

“Milt Kahl: The Animation Michelangelo”

Hosted by Andreas Deja.
Panel moderated by animation critic Charles Solomon.

Featuring Kathryn Beaumont, Brad Bird (F/V 76), Ron Clements, John Musker (F/V 77), and Floyd Norman.

Renowned for his unparalleled draftsmanship as well as his exacting nature, Milt Kahl (1909–1987), one of the “nine old men” Walt Disney relied upon to bring his creative vision to the screen, was the animator to whom the other eight turned when they had trouble with a character or scene.

Two of Kahl’s renowned colleagues, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, write in Disney Animation:The Illusion of Life, “Unlike many irascible temperaments who have filled the halls of history, Milt had a very sweet helpful side, when he chose. He gave unstintingly of his time and talent when it was to help the picture and almost as often to help a fellow artist who had a problem. However, he expected everyone coming for help to have worked hard and tried everything – to have done his best before coming.”

Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, when Kahl was responsible for the final design of many characters, he complained of being “saddled” with the animation of challenging, non-comic human characters such as Alice, Peter Pan, Wendy, and Sleeping Beauty’s Prince. But Kahl secretly relished the fact that it was his talent and drive that made these characters come alive.

This celebration of Milt Kahl will feature an insightful analysis of his animation drawings, rare film interviews with Kahl himself, and clips of his work from such Disney favorites as “Mickey’s Circus,” “Pinocchio,” “Bambi,” “Peter Pan,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Jungle Book” and “The Rescuers.” The clips will be interspersed with commentary from those who worked beside him and were inspired by him, revealing the rigorous process and fiery personality of a true animation legend.

Panelists

ANDREAS DEJA, one of the top animators of his generation, brought to life characters as diverse as Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast,” Scar in “The Lion King,” and Lilo in “Lilo & Stitch.”

KATHRYN BEAUMONT was the voice artist for Alice in “ Alice in Wonderland” and Wendy in “Peter Pan.”

BRAD BIRD has won the Animated Feature Film Oscar® twice, for his work on “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille.”

RON CLEMENTS and JOHN MUSKER served as co-directors and writers on “The Great Mouse Detective,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Hercules” and “Treasure Planet.”

FLOYD NORMAN preceded his lengthy television animation career with experience as an apprentice/assistant to Milt Kahl on “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Sword in the Stone” and “The Jungle Book.”

All guests subject to availability.

Event Information

When

Monday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Where

Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills , CA 90211

Directions, Parking & Theater Policies

All seating is unreserved.

Happy Easter!!!

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:00:59 PDT

Happy Easter!

Meet Meline

angie@thinkinganimation.com — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:43:00 PDT

MEET MELINE (2009) - TRAILER from Sebastien LABAN on Vimeo.

The husband-wife team Virginie GOYONS and Sebastien LABAN sent me this link to the trailer for their short film. He humbly tells me they are doing this in their "spare time." Some features don't look this good and I love the mannerisms of the little girl.