JOHN DUSENBERRY - CALARTS ANIMATOR

New Blogspot w/Artwork

2007-09-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

This'll be one of the last posts I put up on here. This sort of turned into my place to rant and rave about things and I've gotten annoyed with it ... I might keep it up for the sake of doing that, but for now, friends ... please re-link to:

http://artofduze.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Indiana Jones and the ... Title of the 4th Film!

2007-09-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

So our good friend Shia announced over at the VMa's today that the new Indiana Jones movie will be called:

.... ready for it?

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

I'll be perfectly straight in saying that I was REALLY REALLY rooting for Kingdom of Gods and that I'm disappointed with this title. Sounds like a video game or bad Sci-Fi Channel miniseries.
That being said ... I have faith in Spielberg that this film will be phenomenal. I hope the rumors about the Ark somehow being involved are true and that Abner is still alive.

If not, I hope that the title will sink in and this will end up being a great film. Personally I'm hoping for a bookend to the series, tying a lot in to the first movie, or at least characters in that one.

Indy 4

2007-07-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

(right click and view picture alone ... sorry some get cut off)

yes ...

yes!

yyyyyes!!

YESS!!

YYYESS!!!!

Double YES!!! OMG!!

and finally ... HOLY JEEZE! yyyyYYYYYEEEESSSS!!!!!

CALARTS ... 48HR Film ... and Jungle Cruise

2007-06-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

My topics today have nothing to do with one another .... but I'm too tired to write 3 blogs.

CALARTS:
So for the past few weeks I've been working with my buddies cleaning and painting the cubicles over summer at CalArts ... A pretty sweet gig if I do say so myself. But I have to say this: The Ldge .... I don't know what the hell goes on there, but that place was disgustingly dirty ... I'd never want to cube out there - no offense to all the great talent that over there but ... DAMN!

48 Hour Film Project:
This weekend, a bunch of us entered into the Los Angeles 48 Hour Film Project. We spent the past few weeks prepping, getting gear and trying to mentally prepare for no sleep. Things didn’t go exactly how I’d have liked them to, but I think the final product is a pretty well put together film that’s entertaining and meets what we set out to do.
We missed a few shots and there are parts that could have been reworked or been stronger … but for 48 hours? I’m satisfied.
There was a lot of fighting over the story that ran way too late into production. We just didn’t have the time for it, and we ended up overstaying our welcome at Chris and Neysa’s apartment because of it. Big thanks to them, btw.
Anyone who wants to go see it, please do! The more people we get to the theatre, the more votes we can get in to win awards! It’s a good film too, just contact me for further details.

The project is really fun tho, for those of you who don’t know about it. Basically ….

On Friday night, we meet in Hollywood with all the other 80-something teams to draw a genre out of a hat. We got “Spy Movie”. Then at the last second, they tell all of the groups 3 elements that had to be in their film. This year it was:
1) Character – Frieda or Frederick Nailo
2) A bumper sticker
3) And the line, “Hey, my mom gave me that”

So we had an interesting time meeting those requirements. We made a film that loosely could be considered “spy”, and thanks to Dave and Jesus, we have an amazing flash title credits sequence that is really going to set us apart, I think. And on top of that, based on other people’s work – I feel like our film is going to be one of the few that has any real character in it.

And finally … The Jungle Cruise:
I’m scared about this. I just read an article online that said after the success of the Pirates movies, Disney is basically moving down the line and making another ride into a movie franchise. Their target for assassination this time: The Jungle Cruise.

Cherish that image, people. I have a sick feeling in my stomach that the movie will be a success and they’ll ruin another classic attraction with modifications to the ride and insertion of out-of-place characters from the movie that steal the scene and ruin a timeless/classic attraction.

The script is being handled by the writers who write all the cheesy dialogue for Smallville and who worked on part of Spider-Man 2 .. again over the top cheesy … which MIGHT work because the ride has cheesy joke captains, but it might come off bad. My first choice would be Steve Martin or Will Ferrell for the lead (one of which worked on the original ride as a skipper – as I’m sure many other actors have after them).
Again .. I’m just really … worried. That’s one of my favorite rides, as was Pirates which I now lack enthusiasm for.
The article talked about how the ride was partly inspired by the John Huston movie “The African Queen” which I really hope they go to for reference.

Sucks too because I’ve been working on a great script for a Jungle Cruise movie too … but that might work in my favor in the long run. The movie might suck and ten or twenty years from now I can remake it … The Haunted Mansion too, for that matter.

Hmm, maybe I can negotiate a deal to get Jack Sparrow and all of them repositioned or removed from the Pirates ride too. LoL.
C’mon Lasseter, don’t you see how that ruined a timeless ride?! Just talk to Marc Davis’s wife, she came and told us all about it (this being after having my own opinion about it, really solidified it for me, though).

So that’s been my life the past few weeks. Going to see Rats soon! Very excited! And going to Arizona! :-) I need a vacation!

Walt's ORIGINAL vision for EPCOT

2007-06-12T03:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you who weren't aware ... Epcot Center was never supposed to be a semi-entertaining theme park. Walt had originally planned something else. Something amazing and revolutionary!

For Walt, EPCOT was the next logical step in the evolution of making dreams come true at the Disney Company. For him, he saw that it was high time to take everything he'd learned and put it to use.

Let's think about this. Walt started out making cartoons for theater houses. They were a great success, so he made more and started honing in on what REALLY drove the audience: Characters. In came Mickey and the gang, and his cartoons were a league above the rest. Then he figured he could make a feature length cartoon. The odds were against him, but Walt saw through that and into the future he'd help shape. He had an uncanny sense of what was coming up next and what would work. Features took off like no other hand have become the Disney Classics we know today.
So after that, he built upon everything he'd learned from creating cartoons and made live-action films, and even television shows. Not just any old shows either, he basically started what's now become the Discovery Channel animal documentaries with his True Life Adventures. And in addition ... before television even went to color, Walt knew that eventually it would go to color, so he spent the extra money to film in color. AGain, ahead of the game.

So he kept building upon what he last did ... the next step: Disneyland! And we all know how successful that was. In fact, it was so successful in entertaining, feeding, transporting and moving people in an almost city-like paradise, it's still a success today and has expanded into a vast theme park enterprise the world around, even extending to cruise lines and whatever else they'll come up with in the future.

But the sad part, for me to hear at least ... is that the future wasn't going to be just theme parks.

Walt wanted to build on everything he'd learned from his parks > films > shows > animation > shorts ... and put it into effect in REAL LIFE. Walt Disney World was supposed to be just that, the real world ... Walt's world. Not to say he'd rule the world or anything, but it was his vision of a successful and happy future for everyone. Not a theme park enterprise.

EPCOT was supposed to be the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. That's right, a real working city where nothing was fantasy anymore, but it was real life. This would have been an experiment in Urban planning and living, that I think would have been a tremendous success and spawned a whole new way the world structures and manages their cities.

Unfortunately, no one had the exact vision that Walt had in his mind. He saw the whole thing laid out on the ceiling of his death-bed ... and died about 10-15 years too early to get the project rolling. I can only imagine that it ended up being his last unfulfilled wish.

Here is a video he made months before he died, promoting the idea:

Part of it may come off as unrealistic or even Communistic, but I honestly believe that the idea would have been successful, that it would have ironed out any bumps and through trial and error and that the way we live today would have been forever changed for the better.

For more information, you can visit www.Waltopia.com - If i ever have the means, I am going to try to fulfill Walt's dream the way he intended it to be.

Pixar is going UP!

2007-06-12T03:12:00.000-07:00

So Pixar just announced their next film to be released after Ratatouille and Wall*E. It's called "UP". First of all I love the title. They love to keep things simple and to the point, and all I've heard is a brief synopsis about the story, and one picture but I'm totally stoked already!

As they released, UP will be about a 70-year-old man who teams with a wilderness ranger to fight "beasts and villains". How cool does that sound?!?!

Check out a full story here: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966684.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
or here:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32959

And let's just take a moment to stand in awe of what's to come in the next few years:

Ahh, sweet Pixar. Thank you. Thank you for making great films for everyone and anyone. You're one of the few and I think you've been following in better footsteps of Walt Disney than the Disney Company itself recently, but it looks like they're coming around the bend again too! Let's hope for a 3rd Golden Age of Animation! You're a constant source of inspiration and keep me plussing my own work.

What's even more exciting is that I may have an opportunity to intern there during these films, or even more amazing: work there on a future project! I LOVE my career choice and i LOVE CalArts ... and I LOVE Pixar! I can't wait!

Pirates of the Caribbean - Review

2007-05-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END was, in my opinion, a fairly great conclusion to the film set up by the second film: DEAD MAN'S CHEST. In essence, they're really the same movie - neither one I feel is as good as the first film, but they're a close second.

Now, apparently it seems there is a massive amount of confusion out there about the film that leads to disliking it. Frankly, I have no fucking clue what people are confused about - or when people say it was all over the place or had no plot.
I, of course have some parts that I would have done differently (the poorly timed marriage/kiss between Elizabeth and Will, for example). But I won't go into those, and there are just a few.

Is America just not able to sit and watch a movie that might make you think/remember something? Is America's attention span that short now? I think had this movie come out 20 years ago, it would have been better received. But this is the MTV generation and they don't even know what Film Noir is. I feel that's the best way to describe this film - it's a Film Noir Action/Adventure flick. It's very dark and it sets that up beautifully with the opening hanging sequence. That sequence also had a new pirate song I could see being one of the classic ship-sailing songs of the time, something out of an Errol Flynn movie.

So about the confusion it's really not anything complicated or convoluted at all. Like any good film, it's a character-driven plot. Let me summarize:

There's 3 main characters each with their own Journey/Arc. The overall plot is that Lord Beckett now has control of Davy Jones and is on a mission to do away with all of the pirates in the seas. To counter this, the pirate lords are called to meet to find a way to stop this.
Tia Dalma is revealed as the goddess Calypso, and brought back Barbosa in the last movie (we learn) so he can convince the lords to free her from her human form but they need some one who died for either case: Captain ...

... JACK SPARROW:
- Jack starts out lost in madness after dying. He's resurrected and now wants find a way to live forever at any cost (simple enough).
- After making a deal with the enemy that will allow him to kill Davy Jones and take his place forever on the high seas, Jack does all he can to betray/deceive his mates to get to his goal (nothing out of the ordinary for Jack).
- Finally, when he's about to stab the heart, the words he heard from his father about living with the choices he makes get the better of his kind heart, and he sacrifices his dream to Will so he may be with his true love, Elizabeth (albeit at a price)

But, finally, as a tag ending, Jack finds a clue to another path to immortality on the cool circle-map. Simple story. Straight-forward. He goes through an arc as a character even ending in giving up the goal he first wanted.

WILL/ELIZABETH: Will is torn between finding out if Elizabeth still loves him and his quest to rescue his father. Remember the last film? He's still on that journey. Let's recap:

(Part One: Dead Man's Chest)
- There's a warrant out for the heads of Elizabeth and Will for helping Jack in the first movie. Their wedding was broken up, Will jailed and Elizabeth escaped to get help from Jack. Will also heads off to find Jack, after the enemy requests he get the compass (to spare Elizabeth's life)
- Will meets up with Jack on the Cannibal Island and tries to get his help, but of course Jack (with his own motive of getting Davy Jones's heart as collateral for the price on his head) tricks will onto Davy's Ship where he meets his father and swears to free him.
- Finally, after Lizzy meets up with Jack (and almost falls in love with him) they get ahold of the chest that's now become the object everyone needs for their goal. Will shows up where Jack is and there's a 3-way fight over the chest. It finally ends up in the hands of another one of the enemy's henchmen ... and Liz kills Jack via the Kraken. Will sees her kiss him.

(Part Two - aka At World's End)
- After Tia Dalma proposes they save Jack (he's dead now, remember?), we meet up with Elizabeth and Will on their way to save Jack. Will's motivation is to get the upper-hand and free his father, though Elizabeth (now a pirate herself, rescuing Jack out of guilt/survival) complicates that goal. We learn that whoever kills Davy Jones must take his place forever.
- After rescuing Jack, Will and Elizabeth haven't full resolved things (and this part could have been a little stronger, that things were getting better between them) and Will is acting will full piracy/betrayal to get the heart and kill Davy Jones. After both he and Elizabeth find out that you'd be taking Davy's place they realize they couldn't be together and witty Jack is right there begging to do it himself and be immortal.
- After using the sub-plot of the Pirate council as a way to get the Black Pearl and lure the British Army to the last of the pirates, Will ends up in the final battle, facing Jones - he dies, but this is where Jack ties in and sacrifices his dream so will can live. Oh yeah, Will and Elizabeth get hitched during the fight (again, the only real random thing I had a problem with in this movie).

And to sum up the Pirate-hunting plot - Calypso is freed, doesn't keep her word to help directly and conjures a storm. Will takes Davy's place and the pirates kill Lord Beckett and his fleet of pirate-killing ships.

So what's all the confusion? It picks up right where the last film left off and doesn't go back and baby you through it. It rather starts much like RETURN OF THE JEDI does, where our heroes are already close to rescuing their friend Jack Sparrow. It's really as if they wrote one big script and cut it in half. Of course people are betraying each other left and right and there's a lot going on: They're Pirates in a Film Noir Adventure! I just can't understand how anyone didn't get it .. and from what I hear, people who didn't like it resorted to not understanding/being able to follow as their main excuse ... or just not liking the 2nd one too - which is Madness.

All the other characters: Hector (haha, i dunno why but that was funny) Barbosa, Davy Jones, Tia Dalma, Beckett (the villain), Norrington - are all supporting characters to the main 3's plot. Davy's subplot love-tale is concluded and we get that shot of what he used to look like (which I LOVE when the story allows for a CG character to be seen as he once once - just like Gollum/Smeagol in LOTR)

The music was good. Everyone seemed to play off of the new pirate song - tho I do admit I liked the Klaus Badelt soundtrack better. The CGI was great, again especially on Davy Jones it looked like it could have been make-up. Everything was concluded ... it wasn't the best movie ever made, but it definitely made sense and it was entertaining and fun and added more to the Pirates world. It's definitely one of the best Pirate movies ever made.

It was good and I liked it ... Pretty amazing ... could'a been stronger here and there, but it was a lot better than any other movie i've seen in a long while!

To paraphrase a fellow reviewer: Jack and Barbosa played off as a wonderful Bugs/Daffy leadership duo and that worked perfectly. This film is VERY comparable to the original Star Wars Trilogy in many respects - including the plot outline. The Black Pearl is our modern day Millennium Falcon, and Davy Jones/the Flying Dutchman could be loosely compared to Darth Vader and the Death Star. Both Davy and Vader are villains who used to be good men and are now corrupted by a rough encounter with love and ultimately the tool of the Emperor (Pirate's Beckett).

I thought the idea of a 4th movie would make me cringe, but after seeing how they set this up, Jack still has his wish to be fulfilled in finding eternal life. Which would fulfill a shot I've always wanted to see which they ALMOST did in this film with Jack sailing into the sunset.

My perfect end to the Pirates series: Jack sailing away into the sunset on the Black Pearl at the end of the movie in mysterious awe and wonder to those on shore looking on ... commenting something like "there goes the best pirate i've ever known". Some comment about him being the last of his kind, now immortal from whatever (the cup of life?) and some line from Mr. Gibbs like, "Aye, the seas will never be rid of Captain Jack Sparrow ... i reckon he'll be sailing those seas forever."

CalArts getting a bad rap online?

2007-05-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, they featured our CalArts Open Show intro on CartoonBrew.com - and I guess some people actually took the film seriously which is frankly very sad because the reality of the way the industry is headed ... is that a lot of the films ARE motion capture these days. The film was meant to make fun of it and show that Mo-Cap is NOT the way to go.

BUT ... did the films this year have what it takes to show the world that traditional animation (2d or 3d) is alive and well? I have mixed feelings leaning toward the answer "No".

Now I'm not gonna point any fingers here at people I feel haven't been stepping it up a notch, and frankly I'm one of the accused, myself as part of CalArts. But, this is a school for Character Animation. Let's keep that in mind.

Tonight on CartoonBrew.com, there was another article specifically about the films. Thanks to the magic of the internet, students can now plaster their films on YouTube for all the world to see - resulting in:

CALARTS EXPOSED!

- Before the big jump in student's ability to post their work online, the only ones who saw the films were people in the industry, their parents and friends and demo reel filtering people at studios. CalArts has a big reputation, and usually only the best of the best of the best have leaked out into popular culture.

This is no more. Now we have the world looking over us. We've in a sense "gone public". And it seems our shareholders aren't impressed. The article on CartoonBrew stated that "the overwhelming impression I got from this year's batch of films is that CalArts is increasingly a school that is coasting along its reputation than on the quality of work its current students produce".
Sad to say, I agree.

I won't name who, but I overheard one of the best animators from a Major studio commenting on the show that they only really felt that two, maybe three of the films in this year's producer's show had a real developed Character.
(Here's that Character Animation thing again). I totally agree with this person. Watching the show for the third time, I was able to sit back and really judge and I was thinking the exact same thing that this person stated after the show. Where is the character? We're supposed to be leaders in character animation, right? I recently posted an article transposing what John K. thought of schools like CalArts and what they're lacking, so I won't repeat myself in detail when I say:

WE NEED TO STEP IT UP! We need to push beyond what our instructors show us, find a strong story - good character designs that support that story and that reflect that character. Where is the character? My Instructor from SMC told me that when I get to CalArts, I need to help bring character back. I see now what he meant.

I've seen work from other students around the world that blows us out of the water. I think when people get here, they can let themselves think, "Well I'm at CalArts, the best school for animation in the world - must meant I'm damn good. Let me whip something out for a film this year and then get a Disney callback"

Doesn't work that way. That's how empires crumble. Fact of the matter is, we aren't the best unless we make ourselves so. It's getting easier and easier for people out there to learn animation and get it out into the world, and with CGI entering in, it's EVEN EASIER and the public barely notices a different between quality and shit. Except the people who matter, the people who cherish animation and love it as an art form.

I know for myself, I'm taking the John K. comment, the CartoonBrew articles and my own personal realizations and letting it fuel my work ethic. I'm not one of the best ones out there ... YET.

Spike & Mike ... also, Griffith Park Fires

2007-05-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

So today I got a call from Spike and Mike, a girl asking me to send out a copy of my film "(Don't) Feed the Wildlife". I guess two representatives came and saw it and wanted to see it again. So that's pretty cool - it's so strange to suddenly be getting calls from studios and shows. I guess that's one of the things we pay the ridiculous tuition at CalArts for.

My friend Sean gave me a good heads up though. He said that someone else sold their film to them and didn't negotiate well, so Spike & Mike ended up owning all the rights to that film and the characters in it too! So if something proceeds, I'll have to talk to the CalArts lawyer, or maybe my cousin (the D.A. for LA County).

... in other news: Those wildfires that burned through a lot of Griffith Park nearly touched a lot of homes, including my grandparent's place in the Los Feliz estates, right next to Griffith Observatory. ALSO next to Griffith Observatory is (i guess) one of George Lucas's homes. He was just on the news and the Observatory was behind him in the background, looked like the neighborhood my grandparents lived in - so how cool is that? They're freakin' neighbors and I never knew it! I bet there's a lot of famous people living there, to be honest.
I would love to buy their home one day when I can afford it. It's an amazing location. I'd totally turn it into the family summer-home. It's got a lot of sentimental value to all of us, especially since my grandfather just passed away. It's a shame that we might have to sell it because of stupid inheritance taxes being through the roof.

John K.'s Animation School?

2007-05-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

In a recent article from the website "Cold Hard Flash", they interviewed John K. about various achievements of his and what he sees for the future of animation. Aside from all the negative comments I've heard about him, i think he makes some valid points - some of which I found myself thinking after listening to guest lectures at CalArts.

John proposed setting up an animation school - it was more of a proposed "what if" idea than a real institution in the works, but his point was this:
Teach the kids today animation the way the greats before them learned it. Now, as copied below in the course outline, I don't think we'd need to literally do EXACTLY what they went through what with learning rubber hose animation and all that, but generally I agree.

Every time some great animator from Disney or Pixar comes by, they always mention working with like, the Nine Old Men and becoming their apprentices ... the things they learned through them, and also how THEY learned animation.
A lot of the techniques they mention seem to have crafted them into the master artists they are. And frankly, "they don't make 'em like they used to" ....

... I constantly hear these guys say things like:
"Well, the first thing we used to do is study a model sheet, then get the keys to some master scene from Pinocchio or something and inbetween - you learn a LOT by inbetweening a master animator's scene"
(or)
"You kids are spoiled. We used to have to flip animation by hand, and figure out how to flip and roll at 24 fps. Those lunchbox machines spoil you"

And I think there's something to that. I think the fact they COULD flip 24fps to test their animation, or plan it out in their head so well and so on the nose ... or inbetweening master scenes to learn yielded some of the most incredible animation we've ever seen - the classics.

I think there is a definite correlation between the lack in quality in animation that we see today, and the approach the teachers today dish out. Why is it that they force some new technique to learning the art on us? Maybe to help us push the medium? Possibly ... I don't think it's working. And in fact, from my one year at CalArts, I'm finding that discovering ideas like this on my own and taking matters into my own hands is the best solution. Why do they think that their old techniques aren't required anymore?

Even when Pixar and Disney started producing the 2nd Golden Age of Animation, the Nine Old Men took a look at it and their main comment was "It's good ... AAaaalmost as good as what we used to do".

I think we should take a stand, fellow animators! Take this medium into our own hands and follow in the footsteps of those before us. If our teachers won't teach us in the classical way, we can teach ourselves and find help where we can. Push the medium. Outdo the classics.

I think John K. here is on the right track in his thinking - and this is one of the keys to mastering animation and taking it to new heights.

His curriculum:
"1ST YEAR
* Rubber hose animation
* Walks, runs, basic movement
* Basic lip synch
* Figure 8 motions
* Animating to beats
* ¾ walks with animating backgrounds
* How to read and write ex sheets
* Animating the impossible - using the medium to do what only animation can do
* History of cartoons, comics and animation from around 1920 till about 1965 - this would be every year and each year I would have the students study aspects of classic cartoons that relate to their exercises
* Life Drawing with an emphasis on slow careful drawings, structure, perspective and proportions
* Caricature
* Observation over style: Learning to use your eyes and senses to analyze, rather than copying trendy styles
* Music, Dance (every year)

2ND YEAR
* 40s principles of animation
* Using simple organic characters made of pears and spheres
* Basic acting, staging, timing
* Observation and application
* More Life Drawing
* Applying concepts from Life Drawing to your animation
* Caricature of bodies as well as heads

3RD YEAR
* Character animation
* Animating different types of designs
* Solving design/animation problems - animating cartoon designs from media other than animation-comic strips, magazine cartoons, etc.
* Advanced acting and dialogue animation - timing and pacing
* Animating caricatures
* Animating specific gestures and expressions that your fellow students make

4TH YEAR
* I'll have to think about this one... maybe make a film.

If there was a school like this, the graduates of the first 4 years of the program would revolutionize the medium and no one else could compete with them."

-- No offense to CalArts and all the great teachers and students that are there, I just think we could be doing SO much more. I looked at some of the finished, amazing films in the producer's show ... and honestly, there were only about 2 maybe 3 that felt like "This is PRO".
I know we're learning ... but really, the 4th year's should ALL be producing as close to professional, finished films.

Job Fair 2007 - Disney Feature

2007-05-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

So after playing much Zelda this weekend, I went to school to finish putting together my portfolio for the Job Fair.
MY God, it was a madhouse here. It was really like crunch time all over again, but this time the printer became our bitch. Nathan was really amazing and stayed the whole night in the lab (which was PACKED until time to lay out portfolios).

So ... I'd been feeling a bit down since not getting into the Producers' Show, and I guess in the back of my mind, I was thinking that if i didn't get any sort of notice today at Job Fair that ... I dunno, I almost started questioning whether I have what it takes to do this or not. I know already I need to improve my draftsmanship, and I have a plan for that.

But! Lo and Behold, I got a Callback! I think I was one of the few freshman. I'm really glad that Darrell got one too. He was such a great help to me this year and his work is great! And not JUST a callback, but a callback from Disney Feature Animation!!!

So I came back to school after napping and met up with Joe White, who said he was really impressed with my squirrel animation. He was saying that squirrels are so hard to animate and that I nailed it. So we chit chatted for a bit and he told me they'd like to bring me on for an apprenticeship on American Dog (i think). He mentioned that they had a similar character in the film alongside the fact that i could animate a 4-ped/2-ped well. But, I guess he thought I was a graduating senior, so I didn't qualify for the apprenticeship. I asked about an internship over the summer, and this year's is already filled, so he put me on the list for next year ... asked for me to keep in touch, he wanted to see my reels and work in the future, also mentioned seeing some of my 3D work.

So WOW, that really boosted my morale! I think more than anything it's taught me that the Producer's Show really isn't THAT big of a deal.

I'm actually surprised anyone found our freshman table at all. It was tucked away literally around the corner from the main gallery. I know Erik Benson told me that James Baxtor was looking for his film and didn't find it. So I know at least a few people from companies never knew it was there. C'est la vie.

I also finally met Austin Madison. We talked with Erik and Darrell for a bit about life at Pixar, and his wisdom as a CalArts grad. He seems like a really cool guy. I hope I get to work with him in the future. Gave some good advice and insights too. Also said he liked my stuff.

Well it looks like I've got a big road ahead of me. This should be exciting! I really gotta keep stepping up and not let this allow me to slack off. That big road ahead of me means a LOT of improvement needs to be done!

Thank you Disney!

Madame Tutli-Putli

2007-05-05T02:45:00.000-07:00

Check out this link for this amazing stop-motion animation I stumbled upon. The film-makers used this technique of meticulously blending live action eye footage with a stop motion puppet. The result is phenomenal - it really gives is something else, and at first, made me question whether that was master eye animation or live action/cg spliced in.

Anyway, it's really great and a nice style. As they say, her character is kind of a female Charlie Chaplin. I really want to see this whole film.

http://www.nfb.ca/webextension/madame-tutli-putli/player.php?film=1

Spider...Man, that was kinda lame...

2007-05-04T03:07:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the midnight show of Spider-Man. From the previews, I didn't really feel all too interested in this one, but I really liked Spider-Man 2 and I thought that I'd give it a shot. All my friends from school were, I had to be cool and go - lol.

Let me just start off by saying that I liked most of the movie. It had some great action sequences, mostly great special effects ... humor, drama, suspense - it was your regular Spidey flick and it entertained me.......Most of the movie. I'll touch on the specifics of why I started with that kind of review in a bit ... Because,

I kind of feel like Raimi might have made the same "mistake" he did with the first Evil Dead movie ... it was supposed to be serious (i think) and parts just came off as totally cheesy and ended up just getting laughs. Like every time we see Peter Parker with his extremo-Emo hair and overly cheesy dance moves.

Aside from that, it feels like there was just too much going on. Two new villains, both which could have been REALLY great on their own as a main villain for the movie. Venom didn't really get to shine until the end and then just dies ... but on the flipside, there was some good plot build-up between Parker and Brock.
Also ... there were a few too many plot resolution cheap cop-outs. Again, I think part of that had to do with not giving the film enough time. I think it could have been a really great 3-hour plus epic finale to the Spider-Man saga. And talks of a 4th one? I guess ... they don't really leave you with anything open ended to continue the series ... and they definitely broke the mood of this being a cool superhero franchise anymore. I mean, even just your average person - i could hear commenting as we walked out "wow, that just ruined the whole Spider-Man movies. Ruined the whole image of the first two" or "well, they really can't make a sequel to that - you just can't make up for it"

Now, I don't think it was THAT bad ... I agree the franchise is over. The movie just had that sort of feel to it. All the main drama in Parker's life came full circle and is over. The movie did have its moments. And Bruce Campbell, THANK YOU! You did NOT let me down. And to be honest, I'd say that about 75% of that movie I really enjoyed. But 25% is enough to kill it for me too. I'll buy the DVD and probably watch it a million more times just like the last two. I know I've been criticized in the past about not just being able to watch a movie and enjoy it for the sake of a movie. Immediately my film-maker side takes over and I pick at it ... but that's really only with a movie like this where a big slice of it made me not like it.

As another critic from Ain't It Cool News said "The truth is the movie isn’t bad. Unfortunately, it’s just kind of lame, which is almost worse."

All I can really say is. I hope they don't make more - and that I'm really looking forward to a bound-to-be-great superhero movie: THE DARK KNIGHT ... even IRON MAN

There's always next year.

2007-05-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't get into the Producer's Show this year. There were a lot of films that I thought should get in that didn't ... I'm trying not to let it get me down, but a film is such a personal thing, it's tough.

I guess I gotta try and see this as just a learning experience. After all, I am still in school, right? I got a lot of positive response from people about my film. Particularly some upperclassmen that I really look up to. Thanks to you guys.

My goals now are to improve my draftsmanship. I think that may have held me back a bit this year. I know that was James Baxter's main comment about my work. So I plan to get completely addicted to my sketchbook. I would really like to finish one almost every week. I'm also starting to draw from model sheets and really try to study how the great characters were put together. Maybe study some more anatomy too.

I'm at CalArts for a reason, right? That's what they told us when we first got there. They hand picked us out of hundreds of applicants. And this show, I've heard from many teachers "aww that show ain't shit". And tho, yeah it sucks that my film didn't get picked, they only picked a little over 30 films out of something like 140.

I just gotta keep at it, not let it bother me - but let it motivate me if nothing else to improve my skills even more now.

Watch out, guys. The Duze Train's gonna come barreling through!

"(Don't) Feed the Wildlife": My First Year CALARTS Film

2007-04-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Well here it is. It's not perfect by any means, but there just wasn't enough time to like, add color and clean up every drawing. I've got 5 days till it's officially due - just not enough time. Maybe if people have a big positive reaction I'll "finish" finish it up this summer.

Otherwise, hey - I'm a freshman ... it's my first real film. Enjoy!

First Year Film finished

2007-04-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

It's finished!!!

Tonight I just finished my film, it's a weird feeling. People are telling me it looks pretty good, but having worked on it for 3 months straight, I've become totally jaded from it. It's a strange feeling to lose all perspective on your work, but it seems a natural part of the process. I'll be glad to get some genuine reactions at the Open Show.

Anyone who wants to come check out my film and everyone else's film - it's at CALARTS on the 27th of April (The Open Show), starts at 8:00 but those should get there pretty early. In all actuality, the next night is better for people outside of the school to show up and see - the show repeats again ... but feel free to come see the madness of the character department getting ridiculously crazy and party watching films.

I'll be posting the making of my film up here now that I finally have free time on my hands. As for now, enjoy the poster for the film:

The Astronaut Farmer (or how it's not just a FILM about the man trying to shut down the little guy)

2007-03-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

Howdy Folks! Houston, we have a problem!

As mentioned in a blog about a month ago, I had the opportunity to see an advanced screening of the Polish brothers's new film THE ASTRONAUT FARMER at CalArts.

I was originally going to put up a post, respectfully, the day the film was released to the public. I did put a hint about what kind of review it was going to be, and boy did that scare the fuck out of their publicist.

The story goes ... Apparently (as I was told) the Polish brothers went online and found my blog. There they found the two sentences I wrote about their film alluding to a negative review to come.
So I received an email from the head of the Film Directing program at CalArts to come meet with her about my blog. I thought, hmm I wonder if this is good or bad? I don't see how it could be bad ... maybe they were interested in what else I had to say.

No ... the film's publicist contacted my school to contact me and ask me not to post my review online. Accordingly, CalArts (in the graceful and appropriate manner they conduct themselves) basically told the guy, "Uh sorry ... that would be going against the first amendment ... yada yada ... they agree with me and my right to write a review ... etc". I only heard snippets of the details, but there was some fuss over the matter, and even a threat to not screen any more films at the school risking bad hype before the film was released.
See, ever since SNAKES ON A PLANE made more than that few bucks it would have with no positive internet hype .... apparently publicists rely on the internet hype as a technique to mask a semi-decent, mediocre or even terrible film - making it up to be another great movie.

The school almost agreed with the guy solely on the grounds that they make it a policy to help CalArts alumni in their careers however they can. But as they also agreed with me. To truly help these artists - one should not give in to marketing campaign gimmicks when the movie isn't good!

Instead tell them what they need to hear to make a better movie.

MY REVIEW -
THE ASTRONAUT FARMER was a great attempt at that much beloved genre of underdog champion films. Attempt. I fell in love with films like OCTOBER SKY or even SPACE COWBOYS as a few of the films that semi-relate to the topic addressed in this film.
The movie is about a farmer who was once part of the space program, but quit over a family matter concerning his father's death. Never giving up his dreams, he took it into his own hands to build his own rocket and blast off into orbit around the Earth.
Of course, as you would imagine - "the man" comes and tries to shut him down. Apparently making a home built rocket (even though he was once a professional) would make NASA look bad and make the public question why they support paying NASA billions to continue their missions.

A nice premise ... my problem with the film was in the execution of plot turn, acting, character development and mood. The film was just riddled with over the top or cheesy dialogue. This dialogue of course was sometimes the solution to the matter at hand. Ex: A somewhat unconvincing and very sophomoric speech to a board of government officials. As a side note, I'd like to point out the irony of that scene which takes place in a high school gymnasium.
Moving along ... the family created in the film was VERY hokey and a bit unbelievable. The main government officials were more of a comic relief than a posing threat. There was no sense of tension at all.
And I'll throw this one in as randomly as it appeared in the film. Bruce Willis makes a dramatic appearance as an old friend - which sent the audience into laughter. If you're going to drop a known face like that far into the movie, introduce the character in an old picture on the wall or something. Totally broke the mood ... and his acting choices were just ... awkward. He kept laughing.

The editing was also very questionable. In fact, one of the people in the audience asked the filmmakers in the Q&A "how closely did you two work with your editor?" ... apparently they didn't understand that he meant "It looks like you two didn't work with your editor at all, is that right?"
The pinnacle of that came in the part when the main character screws up a hasty launch. Everyone I asked, and myself, felt like this was a dream sequence either he or his wife was having ... but it kept going ... and going ... then it soon became apparent that this was just a bad edit and it totally broke the suspension of disbelief.

I could go on, but why bother? Overall, the film was just very very sophomoric. I have heard that their other films are great, nothing like this ... and they even alluded to kind of "selling-out" with this flick. I really hope that's the case for their sake as an artist.
I've got to say that it did seem apparent that the one brother who went to CalArts ART school, not the FILM school ... just picked up a camera his senior year and started making films. The other brother didn't go to film school at all, and when they were talking, it showed.
I've got nothing against that ... but the way they were coming off made it seem like they were these born film-makers. They even said that they made this movie simply because they "wanted to make a rocket" and asked themselves "how can we do that" ... "hmm, let's make a movie". they didn't do any research into people who have actually gone and done this type of thing before ... they just made it all up. In my opinion, even a film that you're gonna "make up" requires SOME research. The film has that "this is a true story" feel to it and to learn it wasn't was just shattering.

The art of the film was beautiful. The shot choices and cinematography and lighting and color was all spectacular. I can't take that away from them. I loved that aspect of it. I even loved the concept of the film and the general story. Again, it was just all the little things that went wrong with the execution.

I've got nothing against them as artists ... I believe that they did sell out on this piece. It started out as an independent production and the big brother at WB took it over at some point. It may have been better as an "artsy" type film where there isn't the Hollywood slice of cheese that often ruins great films.

In closing, I praise the filmmakers in their effort and hope they view my criticism as just that - criticism ... more than anything I'd like to see better films come from them.

This movie did not do well in the box office ... it's not because of marketing error, it's because it could have been a better movie.

Thank you for letting me screen the film, and I'd hope that no one would be so afraid of a student from an art school's online personal blog review would be so detrimental to their film that they try to shut them down. How ironic that the movie is about that very thing ... the people behind it are out doing the opposite of the message the film tries to send out.

But I shouldn't be surprised. Hollywood doesn't take any risks for the sake of greatness these days ... but that's another entry altogether.

Yes ... I am Alive

2007-03-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Howdy Folks!

It's been almost a month since I last posted on here. That's primarily due to lack of free time to get on the web - due to my film-making. But, lucky for all you blog-watchers I've got the flu today! So that means sitting at home shivering in a blanket with just enough energy to lazily type on the computer box!

So a quick update with specific blogs to follow/detail:

1. Been steadily working on my film and I'm a bit over halfway through rough animation
2. Did a color test on the the squirrel character, decided if I finish on time and get the rough version (with backgrounds) in the all finished in the computer that I'll go on to "ink" the drawings and do full color.
3. I was almost asked to "shut down" some comments on this blogspot from "The Man" regarding a film review of a not-so-good film.
4. Lots of great Guest Lecturers at CalArts including the one and only Glen Keane!
5. Lost a week of work due to family issues - the loss of my grandfather.
6. I got a Nintendo Wii to keep me company while I sniffle or come home to rest after animating!
7. I'm getting better at Street Fighter while waiting to use the pencil test machine at school!

So i hope my followers haven't dropped off the face of the planet. I'll be uploading pictures and blogs within the week, i SWEAR!

"Hands on" with Pixar

2007-02-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

Pixar's Angus Maclane gave a great little lecture about hands, the importance of hand poses, features ... particularly heroes' hands, and how the back of the thumb plays a key role in their strength.

He used this great example. This is what I learned:

These hands say, I'm gonna kick your ass!!!

These hands say, I already did!

Hahaha, that guy was awesome. I took lots of notes.

Meet the Robinsons

2007-02-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

I got a brief opportunity to 'meet the robinsons' last week. One of the animators from the film MEET THE ROBINSONS came to CalArts to give a lecture about animation.
The guy was incredible. There's a man dedicated to his craft. he does SOOO much research into his characters, what they look like, how they act, how they move. The guy freezed framed scene from Braveheart to study subtle eye movements .. meticulously writing down how they move, their timing, what it meant when they did it ...

insane! I wish i had the luxury of 6 months to get into research like that. No, I've got just about 3 months to finish the entire film! haha.

Anyway, back to THEIR film ... After seeing CHICKEN LITTLE and the few past Disney Animation Features, I've been really disappointed in their animation, their storyline, dialogue, etc. It REALLY started downhill with BROTHER BEAR. While this movie did grow on me, it was a definitive decline in story quality and writing. The animation and artwork was pretty great, i do admit. But it led into their next movie, further down the spiral ... HOME ON THE RANGE. I really can't say much about this one, but ... WHY? it was a ripoff of aLooney Tunes short, and a lot of it was just WAY too random, poorly acted, jumpy pose to pose animation ... it wasn't a full effort, I feel.
Now I know the industry naturally takes its rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, but still, their down movies were never THIS bad. CHICKEN LITTLE? Their first CG film? what a peice!!! Again the choppy pose to pose movement ... character definitely looked very plastic ... it just wasnt good. I'm sorry.

MEET THE ROBINSONS ... While I haven't seen it yet, I have seen the trailers ... for which I was not impressed one bit. The animation looked a little bit better in parts, the 2nd trailer had the T-Rex which lightened up the film a bit ... but still - it didn't look like a rise out of their slump period.
Then I saw the clip he showed us at school. It was about a 2 minute scene between the villain and a character named Goob.
and MY GOD! They're BACK! Disney is back! It was brilliant. We were all laughing sincerely at this piece. It was funny, animation was great, the characters were really well developed, it looks beautiful ... and just .. wow. I was very happy. I can't wait to watch the full movie now. I only hope that the clip wasn't one of the few good parts in an overall crappy film, though. Disney, don't let me down!

Future of digital music interface?

2007-02-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

It seems like the more and more we develop multitouch interfaces, the more people apply it to things like creating sound effects and digital music. It's a very interesting mix of real objects (the crystal looking things) with a screen. I can foresee this drifting into the 3D hologram projector technologies as well.

It's a crazy world we're living in!

-Sigh- Big Change ...

2007-01-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

Well, just when I'd just about finished my 4th pass at my story reel, i showed it to my mentor and had a really great conversation about the story, the characters ... and also where the story came from.

The original REAL story about what happened with the squirrel at the Grand Canyon, he found much more original, pleasing, creative ... etc. And I think I agree with him too. I really feel like I've been drawing on things already done in the industry for gags ... and its all been done way too much. It's tired.

I'm at this school to become a great animator and storyteller. I should really be focused on drawing from real life, my own experiences ... and trying to push myself and the art form. Find ways to tell stories in NEW ways, with NEW turns and things people may have not seen so much before. My reel was full of falling off cliff gags, pulling guns on people ... typical gags you'd see in a looney tunes short.
I also had some pretty good gags that i don't think many people have seen before, and those cliche ones were really bogging down the story for me ... made it predictable.

So to make this long story short: I'm gonna be reboarding about half the film, basically switching the character types, staying more true to how it originated and changing the ending slightly.

I think it's for the better. I hear from the pro's all the time how many revisions their features go through, the go back to old ideas they got off track from ...

This actually reminds me of how Monsters Inc. ended up. When Pete Docter came to lecture, he told us the story of how that developed.
Originally, it started with the idea that Monsters scare for a living just like they do in the film. But someone up in the ranks mentioned that it might be hard to sympathize with a character who goes around scaring children.
So based on another thought about the story he had, Docter and the team developed a story where it was a guy in his 30's who still had a lot of problems he never faced as a child. And he comes upon his old drawings from when he was a kid. A lot of them are filled with these monsters he'd see at night! After this, the monsters start showing up and following him around in his life. he's the only one who can see them, and eventually they become his friends.
the thing was, the function of your childhood monsters is to help you overcome your fears. So, of course, they're there doing the job still ... and once he overcame each fear, the monster disappeared and he had to say goodbye.
I really thought this was very touching and bittersweet. i would have loved to see this story. Maybe they'll come back to it ... or SOMEONE will steal the idea in the future ;-)

But anyway, they eventually went back to the original concept for one reason or another. Worked better, kept the initial mood that started the project? I dunno.

But that's where I'm at ... so forgive me about not posting my designs and boards yet. I'm quite busy!

and on that note, it's back to the drawing board!

Update: My Film, Filmmakers and Film Reviews!

2007-01-30T03:56:00.000-08:00

It's been about two weeks since I last checked in ... a lot has happened!

School's well in session and my film is starting to come together in animatic form. I've been getting some great advice from some upperclassmen, fellow freshmen and my teachers. I've still got a few more people to run it by, but it's really becoming pretty solid. Expect visual posts by the end of the week.

My personal deadline is to start animation on the 1st of February. I'm gonna meticulously plan this thing out so I can get it done efficiently. Before Thursday I'll plan out a shot list and production schedule.

What's kind of killing me is this critical studies foundation course. I don't read REALLY fast, and my mind's always on my film, so its kind of distracting. This week we have to read Frankenstein ... woohoo. The more I learn about this class (and it IS interesting stuff, but ...) the more I thing Europeans were VERY egocentric and ignorant of the rest of the world and what's come before them.

-----

In other events, we had some great guest speakers come to school. Tom Sito came two fridays ago and spoke ... well he told funny stories all night. He's really big on what happened to the average animator man. The people who started strikes, the real life side of the "golden age" studio work environment. And let me tell ya, things were never laced with Pixie dust back in the old days. It's just as cruel and grueling now as it's always been. Still, we love animation. We love film. Keeps us going. Tom's a great guy - he's beautiful, i love him.

Also, we had a special guest on the following monday: Pete Docter! Creator of Monsters Inc. himself. I was kind of surprised at how mellow and tame this guy was. He's really tall and lanky, went to CalArts, of course .. and has done some great things up at Pixar. Even still, he very assertively confessed that he still feels like he has no idea what he's doing! That's somewhat comforting ... cuz if he has no idea and he's still learning, that means we've all got a chance to do great things in animation! He was really cool, funny and gave some good insights. And he was nice enough to wait through the line of geek-ing out artists crowding around him for an autograph! My god, he's just a person like you or me! My one friend started crying! I did get two autographs, though, haha.

I've also been able to make some miniature Philip DeGuard style backgrounds for WayForward for an upcoming game. I can't say much about it, but it's Looney Tunes themed for the DS, and it's REALLY creative and gonna be tons of fun!

In the film world, I finally saw Children of Men - great movie. And yes, Tom there was great CG in that. Much better than that cabbage patch doll of a baby we saw in Apocalypto! That was just creepy .. broke the illusion and just .. weird. haha.
Also in movies,

I was able to see an advanced screening of THE ASTRONAUT FARMER. One of the two twin directors (the Polish brothers) went to CalArts, so they were nice enough to bring us a screening of their film. I wish I could be nice back to them and tell you all how great it was, but I can't. I've heard from some of my friends that their other work is great, but I have never seen it. I think I'll give it a shot. But even they didn't like THIS one. Review of this film coming soon.

It's late, been a long work day for me, and Heroes is just about downloaded. I heard it was a good one! I missed it due to working on my film! God bless the internet. Thank you Al Gore!

I'm gonna sleep in tomorrow and head to school around lunchtime to work the night away!
More to come soon!

Round Table at Pixar!

2007-01-12T23:56:00.000-08:00

For those who don't regularly check up on Cartoon Brew.com (but for some odd reason look at my site more frequently instead, lol) There is a great podcast of 5 guys from Pixar discussing various things about animation at Pixar!

Very cool, check it out:
http://splinedoctors.blogspot.com/2007/01/animation-round-table.html

More about CGI and Puppetry

2007-01-12T14:51:00.000-08:00

DING! DING!
Ready for ROUND 2 ... FIGHT!

Welcom Back! CGI versus Puppetry. I've gotten a few responses from people both agreeing and somewhat disagreeing about what I wrote ... both in person or the net.

So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to dive back in and further detail exactly my opinion on the use of CGI. When is it acceptable to re-edit a film that should have used it but couldn't? When are puppets are the best way to go?

My opinion?? In today's SpecialFX world, we have both technologies at hand. Both CGI and Puppetry have made leaps and bounds in their fields. Puppetry can now achieve some VERY sophisticated and articulated animatronic movement - particularly Jim Henson's Creatureshop. Some of it still doesn't completely replicate what a real live creature would be capable of, but not every creature requires such elaborate and meticulous movement. If so, that's where CGI would come into play. CGI has advanced to the point of almost perfectly replicating a living creature. I still think it has a bit further to go.

(ABOVE: An example of Creatureshop's work a Vogon from THE HITCHHIKER's GUIDE TO THE GALAXY)

If one needed a giant squid in a film, for example, I think CGI would be the best way to go. Take a look at PIRATES 2 and their giant squid, or the tentacles on Davy Jones. Most of it doesn't look CG at all, ESPECIALLY Davy Jones.

Me Apologies, no Kraken image could I find ... arggh.

Now look at 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. The old Disney live action film.

Well, no shit, right? It was made in the 60s! What else could they have done? But that's not the point ... The Squid in that film was running on wires and rigs animate it. This is where I think it gets really specific because I know that the director and Walt Disney wanted the squid to look real - like a real live squid attacking the sub. There was an interview or making of or something where he said that. He was greatly disappointed and had to Jimmy-rig a squid contraption together. He really wished it looked better, but ... technology forced them to use a puppet as an only resort. But really, they were itching for some breakthrough technology to allow them to put onto screen what was storyboarded or in their head.

This is where I think it's forgivable to use CGI replacement after the fact. Some films ahead of their time suffer from this unfortunate block in technology. The artist was forced to settle for something he really didn't want. This is also why I can forgive George Lucas for doing SOME (note: SOME) of the changes he made to STAR WARS. Little things here and there that help keep the illusion alive. A successful film should not contain any moments that take you out of the illusion and make you cringe at some effect.

Another example is when Steven Spielberg went and fixed parts of E.T. that he struggled with during the film. I don't agree with ALL the choices, but scenes like when E.T. is running through the forest at the beginning of the film definitely needed to be fixed. It really looked like a red light gliding on a wire. I remember even as a kid, I was unsure what I was looking at ... I just assumed it had to be E.T. because of the noise. But, don't get me started on all the shots where he replaced some of the puppet movement or facial animation. For me, a lot of the shots look plastic, masked on and a bit over-animated ... which ironically breaks the illusion on the other side of the spectrum than the original puppet may have (which it didn't).

That being said ... I still stand by my word in saying that just because you CAN do it, doesn't mean you SHOULD go back and edit in CGI effects. But if the filmmaker really feels it hurts the film without it, then by all means, for the sake of the film, do it!

My friend Tom brought up a point as to whether one was superior to another. I really don't think one is overall superior ... and I agree with what he said: that each has its place. My problem is that film makers don't even consider using a puppet or model because CGI is so much cheaper, and you can adjust it a million different ways and down the road on a project. In my opinion, that's taking a quick, cheap way out of something that could have been magnificent ... award worthy, and really more appealing.

As Tom also noted, Children of Men uses CGI in a way that is very fitting for the film. I've really gotta see this film now. There are many other films that successfully use CGI, too. This goes back to what I said about Gollum. It just HAD to be CGI, it fit the design of the film. And no puppet could achieve the range of motion and expression and free roaming that the CGI could.

It's when you start replacing CGI for damn near everything in the movie (ahem, STAR WARS PREQUELS) that you end up with some things that look really nice .. and some things that look fake and will end up being very dated over time. They'll break the illusion. And I'm not talking about Jar-Jar or Sebulba here, I'm just talking about background elements, city landscapes, space ships, etc...

In my book, that's what places Peter Jackson's RINGS Trilogy far above the STAR WARS prequels in terms of Special Effects. Jackson really took time and care to use CGI only when necessary and needed. When it was unavoidable. And for a lot of elements, he used real life puppets or models too. Like certain shots of Treebeard ... although, now that I mention it; certain shots of Treebeard could have easily been done with some nice animatronic puppetry. A lot of the close-up face animation would have been much more believable and appealing had it been a puppet.

So thanks to all you guys who commented on this highly debated issue in Hollywood, giving me the chance to go back and get a little deeper into the topic and my opinions about the two. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

iPhone ... gonna hold off

2007-01-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

After thinking about it, I've decided it's probably best to hold off buying the iPhone. Not only do I have no extra money to be spending on a cool phone, but I'm thinking this device is going to replace my iPod as well as my cell phone. So ... my reasons are this:

1) It only holds 8 Gigs. Yeah, "only" right? Well I've already got way more than that in music alone on my iPod Video, and I'd like to keep my selection.

2) I'm locked into damn T-Mobile for another year or two. I could probably pay the fee to terminate service, but still ...

3) There is undoubtedly going to be a 2nd Generation model with (as mentioned in #1) a bigger hard drive, some slight increase in appearance and also undoubtedly a version with all the minor hardware kinks worked out. And a faster CPU. Maybe longer lasting batteries.

I know one thing that's amazing about this product is the User Interface. They designed it so you don't have to get a new phone every time they want to make any changes to menus or different software functionality. That's the beauty of their new multi-touch interface. Even still, for the other reasons, I'm holding out.

Assuredly there's gonna be new software features (which I have theories about) ... so there's also a good chance some of them will require better hardware. If nothing else just the next version of Bluetooth or whatever.

So in closing, my theories:
Functions like being able to play a song from the iPod section to calls as ringtones, on-hold music or various other things. Again this is probably a software issue more than anything ... but ... the hard drive. It's gotta be bigger in the next model for roughly the same price as the first release. What more could users want? I'm really not sure.
I had made some predictions about what the next-gen iPods would be after Video ... and so far I was right. The widescreen, losing the mouse wheel for a multi-touchscreen, the bluetooth, integrating internet access and possibly a phone too. The technology has been showcased all over the internet up to this point. I know that it's just Apple's style to actually be a leading company to use it for real! And to have the phone and iPod in one, I think it genius.

We'll see how closely I stick to my plan when these things actually hit the market. I urge all of you to get one so I can play with it and make phone calls all the time, haha.

CalArts Film #1 - the Beginning...

2007-01-11T22:47:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow I register for classes. This semester should be exciting ... intense if nothing else. I'll be animating my 1st student film at CalArts.

Originally it was going to be a story about a dog trying to sleep on the bed with the owners. The man in bed will have nothing of the sort, and the dog eventually gets his master locked outside in the rain. Outside, the guy is nearly attacked and killed by a vicious street dog, but his dog busts out from inside to save his life. The man walks away appreciating the once despised dog-in-bed situation (something his wife was trying to just let be from the start).

But, my first pass was way too long, so I had to cut the story down. I couldn't really tell the full story I wanted to tell in the time limit they gave us. This is probably because I'm just not quite adept at condensing films down to only the bare bones while still making it interesting. Or maybe the film really did just call for a longer format.

Either way, I've gone on to an idea that I was playing around with before I started CalArts. It's a film about a squirrel at the Grand Canyon that tries to steal the lunch away from a resting tourist. A real nasty tourist at that - the guy's a real jerk and teases the wildlife, leaves his trash around ... but, don't worry - He gets his in the end.

So over the break, I've been adjusting to the fact that I'm not gonna be making the film I had originally intended to, and also letting ideas sink in about this squirrel film. I've been gathering many images of squirrels, and videos to study their movement. Also some background inspiration that should help come up with the world these characters will live in. I've put together some rough sketches ... Ideas mostly. I spent a while boarding out the last film idea, and now that my time is less, I really want to plan this one as much as possible.

I don't want to reveal too much about it, but it all started with a true even that happened to me, when a squirrel stole part of my lunch, ran and took a flying leap off the edge of the canyon wall!
Thanks to Erik Benson who reminded me of this film when I was struggling with my other concept.

This one's got a much simpler premise, and I think it will really allow me time to play around with some things since the story is so conceivably short.

Stay tuned for Character Sketches and some storyboard Sneak Peaks while I throw this together over the next few weeks.

The Clone Wars?

2007-01-11T03:16:00.000-08:00

Okay folks, time for a total geek moment in "What if?" film history:

Was I alone in wondering just who exactly the clones were after watching the original STAR WARS Trilogy? I was pretty sure it WASN'T the Storm Troopers because ... well, 1)They didn't all have the same voice 2)They were all slightly different heights here and there 3)No one ever referred to them as the remnants of the clones, and 4) ... I know there was a fourth reason. I'll fill it in later.

I always wondered, who were the clones? What was the great battle between them and the Jedi? Were the clones replicas of Sith Lords? Jedi? Various Bounty Hunters?

Anyway, just some food for thought.

Apple Reinvents the Phone: iPhone

2007-01-11T01:48:00.000-08:00

The guys over at Apple have done it again. They've released once again what is to be a revolutionary product. A product of existing cutting-edge technology with innovation. Apple's iPhone. I really can't say much more about it other than my GOD I want one. This is a perfect example of using technology to improve life and help people connect with each other, improve their everyday status of living and advance in technology. This product can do nothing but help those who use it and make it.

I've already said too much. See for yourselves the wonder that is iPhone. I fully endorse it!

Watch the Keynote speech showcasing the phone:
http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/j47d52oo/event/

When Will It STOP??!

2007-01-11T00:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, just about when I finished my rant about how I love hand crafted technique in film making, I stumble upon some breaking news about STAR TREK, the original TV series.
Following in the footsteps of Lucas, they are Digitally Remastering and adding enhanced CGI effects to the original series for its 40th Anniversary.

STAR TREK is a CLASSIC, people. Yes a lot of the effects are horribly cheesy and now visually dated, but c'mon! That's what makes the show so interesting and great. It had William Shatner at the helm, what else could you need?

Not this ...

Seriously, though ... this is a perfect example of when: just because you have the technology to do something, doesn't mean you HAVE to do it or that it SHOULD be done. I know its just a TV show and just some effect for a special edition release, but it really boils down to plain old human self control. Yes we all want things to be perfect, and yes we wish we can change the past. But it's our choices between right and wrong that keeps us from pursuing the things we might have access to but really shouldn't do.

"The lack of humility before nature that's being displayed here, uh... staggers me ... Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." - Ian Malcom (JURASSIC PARK, by Michael Crichton)

As History has shown, Man will always eat the apple from the tree. I think the issue was brilliantly addressed in the film/book JURASSIC PARK as quoted above.

I guess maybe there really is no avoiding it. Somewhere, someone will do something they shouldn't with a new technology. Man built and used the atomic bomb. We built and used guns, we do hardcore drugs that kill us, we continue to smoke and overeat and pollute our environment because we CAN. Because it has quick, immediate results and we choose to ignore the long term side effects that cause much harm.

I admire new technology that brings people together. Communication over great distances at the touch of a button, ease of use to do complex tasks that used to take a long time to complete. Things like the computer, E-mail ... and the latest innovation: Apple's iPhone. I also admire CGI technology when it is used well, standing alone as a thing like in TOY STORY, or used when something simply could not have been done with a puppet or painting because of our current technological roadblocks. A good example would be Gollum in LORD OF THE RINGS. That character could not have been a believable puppet and no actor could withstand the physical demands of the character. It just simply HAD to be CG. But notice how much puppetry, model-making and miniature sets Peter Jackson used as well? He only used CG when it was absolutely necessary.

If you notice, I always try to bring whatever topic I address in film making to real life because one of film's main purpose (past pure entertainment) is to showcase and help explain the human condition. I'm not trying to be completely pessimistic and purist about the whole upgrading STAR TREK thing. I actually am somewhat interested in seeing what they've done. I do think restoring the image and sound may have been a necessary "change" to be made.

The episodes will now be restored to high definition and the sound was partly re-recorded and remastered. I'm fine with that ... I'm all for digitally restoring a film because of age deterioration; to protect and preserve what might fade from history forever if it is not restored. Disney has done terrific jobs doing just this with their feature animation films, without giving into the temptation to use the technology at had to add to the film in any way.

Maybe this isn't such an extreme thing as to be categorized as a terrible thing man does to pollute something that was once great and pure on its own ... but I also think on some level it does damage the great breakthroughs in creative efforts the people who made STAR TREK went through to achieve their initial success with the franchise. It also weakens the nostalgia of the original ... nostalgia: something this current generation seems to want to avoid like the plague.

STAR TREK, STAR WARS and the rest of the digitally remastered films were fine in their original form and had a legacy about them. They are benchmarks in the advancement in film making and special effects.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! The day they add CGI effects to something like THE WIZARD OF OZ, kill me!

Inspiration from the Tangible

2007-01-10T01:43:00.000-08:00

Hey! Welcome to my first blog! I'm John Dusenberry - a student at CalArts for Character Animation. Film and animation is my life's passion. I'm 24, engaged and I have have two dogs at my place in Valencia, Ca. I'm planning to be married by next year to my beautiful fiancee Elizabeth. You're all invited!!!! Haha. I'm the type of guy who sets his goals extremely high and keeps pushing and pushing until they're met. Then I point higher, always reaching. I think that in life you have to keep reaching for something.

Always push everything you do, or as Disney would say: "Plus it".

I've just seen PAN'S LABYRINTH. An amazing film about choices and point of view in life. Guillermo Del Toro has done it once again! I've yet to see its two sister films, BABEL and CHILDREN OF MEN. But I hope to see them before I'll be forced to get them on DVD.
Now ... this is just part two of a longer discussion I'd like to have. I say part two because I'm not gonna fully address the issue, but rather bring up the sub-topic of INSPIRATION!
I walked out of this movie completely inspired. I thought it was very creative, unorthodox to Hollywood's standards with a could-be-confusing and down ending. The story was terrific and the character development was superb. The imagery in PAN'S LABYRINTH was spectacular. Not only the parts that were filled with fanciful creatures from a magical world, but also the Spanish landscape and overall setting/tone of the film.
It's films like these that keep me going as an artist trying to pursue film making. To be so inspired ...
At first, while I was watching it, I thought of the 1980's film LABYRINTH. So just off the bat, and from part of the preview, I expected much or most of the film to take place in a magical fantasy world. It did not, but it didn't fully bother me.

But, a lot of my Inspiration comes from movies like LABYRINTH ... what happened to those films that pushed fantasy and creativity in such a raw, textural, tangible sort of way? Why don't we see them today?
I'm talking about the films I grew up on that seem to have faded from our culture to be replaced by computer graphics or cookie-cutter teen super-dramas with terrible acting and shitty plot-lines. Where is THE GOONIES for this generation? LABYRINTH? THE NEVERENDING STORY? THE DARK CRYSTAL? WILLOW ... just to name a few. These films embraced artists like Jim Henson who did amazing, elaborate and very artistic puppetry for film. The closest concept I've seen recently to embrace anything like this is the "big-atures" of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings.
The artists who made the films mentioned above were really after great storytelling coupled with true hand-crafted creative efforts. Even the original STAR WARS had great miniatures, real matte paintings, and puppets.
I'm not completely disregarding some great films in the more recent years, but just addressing the issue that hand-made technique has mostly vanished from Hollywood. And these stories must be out there. Animatronics and puppets can't have already been totally shelved and reserved for theme parks.
Computer graphics is certainly groundbreaking and has its place, but there is something real about, well REAL things like puppets or sculpted miniatures. I feel that it helps keep the magic alive in film making. For me, it gives the film a real-ness I don't think CGI could ever replace.

This is one of the many things Hollywood is afraid to do anymore. They are quick to replace it with the sometimes shitty results of Computer Graphics because it's "hot" and "fresh" and "sexy" ... it will flash this and that at you and get your $20 ass into a movie theatre.

Where has the craft gone?! And its not JUST film making either. The entire world has been shifting to this corporate sellout machine. I bought a book for my father about Johnny Unitas, a great quarterback in Pro Football before the sport became about million dollar contracts. A time when men played football to play football and be great. To achieve things for the sake of achieving them, to be heroes. Now, its all about who has the most this or that, or who makes the most money or how many houses or cars this guy can flaunt on MTV's Cribs.
Where is the true human spirited passion out there?

Life is NOT about making money.
Life is NOT about being famous.
Life is NOT about selling something for profit.

Life, and all the efforts you make in it (like film-making or pro sports) is about giving something back to the world for it giving you life. We are here to try and leave the world a better place than it was before. To strive to do our best in whatever it is we do.
I think it is the responsibility of those in positions of mass public potential heroism to become heroic. A hero puts everyone else before themselves, and does the things they do for the sake of the bigger picture. For the sake of playing a great game. For the sake of making a great film. A great piece of art. A form of expression that everyone can take something from and into their souls.

As an animator, an artist, a film maker ... a human being. I will strive to never do less than my best in my efforts to give something back to this world.

I've also got an itching urge to make a film with a labyrinth in it now that I've seen another film with one, haha. Sorry, that got kind of serious there for a while. I'm all about having fun, too! Haha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy my blog. can put up with my rants, and are hopefully inspired in some way.