The Bigger Picture

I was lucky enough to find myself here in Dallas when Glen Keane rolled in to receive the Tex Avery Award.  He spent a night at the studio to give a very inspirational talk about his life's work thus far.  He ate lunch with us the next day and offered more words of wisdom.



What it boiled down to for me was this:

Creating moments on that screen that connects with an audience tends to come from a real place inside of you. The challenge is to allow yourself to be vulnerable enough to reveal the truth about you through the characters.

If you're going to do this, do it with all of your heart.  Something half-assed will never fulfill.

Live the life of an artist, without walls.  Explore it all, absorb it all, recreate it all.  Stand on the shoulders of your predecessors and reach beyond.

This last tidbit had me thinking a lot about myself and made me take a step back to try and view animation as a whole.  The grand message I got from these few nights was that the field of animation feels like it's being confined within corporate walls.  Andreas Deja spoke of it much better than I can:

http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2012/04/animation-today.html

There are glimpses of hope in things like Spanish Buzz, Nigel from Finding Nemo, and Tangled.  Overall though I find the smell of money (it is a business after all) veers the field off-track.  Given my no-experience, I'm not really in a position to define the state of the industry, but never-the-less I was inspired to start exploring and absorbing so that one day I can recreate.

Finished Reading:
Save The Cat! Strikes Back by Blake Snyder
This book rocks.  So much insight into story, definitely recommend to anyone related to the film / story process.

Cinematic Storytelling by Jennifer Van Sijll
A nice encyclopedia of film techniques.  Nothing new but a good book for those trying to understand film language / need a reference for film techniques.

Steal Like an Artist  by Austin Kleon
What started out as a cool posting turned into a book.  I really love this book, very small - huge on advice.  Puts things into perspective and is a fun, quick read.  I like having this one around.

The Flinch by Julien Smith (Free)
This book summed up my life up to this point and has changed it forever.  With many things now I'm learning not to flinch anymore.

Currently Reading:
Force:  Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators by Mike Mattesi
Two Guys Named Joe by John Canemaker
In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch

ReelFX Apprenticeship

So it looks like I'm Texas-bound and it feels a little something like this:

Everything is moving pretty darn fast and in just a couple of days I'll be driving down there with my brother.  Questions like "Hey, where am I going to live?" and "What is cooking?" have been popping up lately.  But I'm really grateful that the good people of ReelFX are willing to take me in for their Winter Apprenticeship.  If all works out I'll be starting on January 9th.  Exciting times.  It wouldn't suck to come to this every morning:

The apprenticeship is going to last for 6 months and I can't wait to meet all the folks there.  It's a huge opportunity for me to grow both personally and professionally.  Here's to growing up, weee!  Happy New Year!

Oh yeah, the current book list.

Recently Read:
The Filmmaker's Eye by Gustavo Mercado
A compilation of camera shots / techniques explained with examples and breakdowns of it being in use.  Also shows a case of breaking the technique / rule to great effect and explains that as well.  It's a short picture-driven book as it should be and was a nice quick read for anyone new / not-so-new to cinematography.  Also Juliette Binoche in Troi Couleurs: Bleu makes for a nice cover.  Definitely check out The Three Colors Trilogy if you haven't seen that yet!

Currently Reading:
The Vilppu Drawing Manual by Glenn Vilppu
Cool, Calm and Contentious by Merrill Markoe
Cinematic Storytelling by Jennifer Van Sijll
Save The Cat! Strikes Back by Blake Snyder

Thanks Animation Mentor!

Today marks the end of the term and the last day of my 18 month trek through AM. I've learned so much during my time here that not only improved my skills, but drastically changed my life.

Example: My niece and I had a terrible relationship. She was scared to talk to me because I was put in a position of "teacher" at the request of her parents. All I knew to do was make sure she gets her work done and that she behaved. That sounds quite normal, but our dynamic was one-way. We would go on days without having an actual conversation, which isn't much of a relationship at all.

Cut to Class 4, I'm learning about pantomime and acting. I read Keith Johnstone's "Impro" and discovered high / low status. I also read Joe Navarro's "What everyBODY is Saying" and keyed in on body language. One day I drove my niece home from school and it was obvious that something was bothering her. When I asked her what was wrong I noticed she had half her body already turned away from me, head down hiding her eyeline, and feet pointed in the direction she wanted to go (away). And I noticed what I was doing, arms crossed, leaning in, towering over her. I took what I gathered from these books and decided to try something new. I bent down on one knee, looked up at her and calmly asked her what was wrong. She took on a whole different attitude and we chatted about it.

It has to be a fluke of some sort, but it only took one single day, one moment to change our dynamic that was pretty much crap for the two years prior. It was amazing, and my niece and I have a newfound relationship. One day during a chat she asked me "Where did you learn to talk to me?" - and it all stemmed from learning animation during my time at AM. I told her that, and she concludes that animation rocks.

There are so many moments like this that came about during my classes that just have changed me as a person. I'm really grateful to everyone at Animation Mentor, faculty and students alike. The classes might be over but the journey stretches on. And damn it's gonna be fun.

-----

Finished Brain Storm - by Don Hahn. Awesome book! Definitely a keeper.

Finished The Perfect Bait - by Bobby Chiu. Very short, but also very good.

Currently reading: Cool, Calm & Contentious - by Merrill Markoe.  Thought I'd read some comedy over the break :)

That alone was worth the trip.

The most common phrase we spoke during the whole CTN shindig. I can probably talk volumes of each of these, but then I'd be old and gray by the end of it and I'm sorta hungry and would love lunch. In chronological order, each of these in and of itself was worth the trip.

1. Lunch at Dreamworks with some badass mentors.
2. Screening of Puss in Boots 3D in the Dreamworks theater, sat in Katzenburg's row.
3. Bill Plympton's Panel. What a way to start the event.
4. Rhinohouse.com - reference gold. Sadly I was worried about having enough cash to make it home... but they will have my money soon enough.
5. Sony Panel - Doug Sweetland was in the house!
6. Andreas Deja / Richard Sherman Panel. Might be the best damn thing that happened that weekend. It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
7. Ron and Jon Panel - The roast of Ron.
8. Demo reviews - some great notes from the reviewers and great to grab the contact info.
9. Meeting Bobby Beck - He's a hoot haha.
10. Alex Woo / Matt Jones - Pixar Gesture drawing Panel - Mind blown (Space!)
11. Lorenzo / Prep and Landing 2 screening at Disney. Prep was awesome (great animation). But Lorenzo really blew my mind. Also, I got a Winnie the Pooh Mug (Thanks Kitty!).

And lastly, meeting all of my friends in person and realizing that none of them are crazy. Huge thanks to Mike, Marshall, and Reed for not being axe murderers and helping me along through the weekend. What a trip... can't wait to go back next year :)

Currently reading Don Hahn's Brain Storm. A great fun read, lotta fun little stories if you're into that thing.

CTN Reel

Posting from Burbank! This is what I've come to CTN with as far as work goes. So far (and it's only been a day here) the trip has been fantastic.