Really exciting news about the oscar nominations - Pixar's Up, an animated feature film, has been nominated for Best Picture! This is only the second time (well .. joint second if you count Avatar?!) that this has happened, and I believe this is the first time since the Best Animated Feature category was introduced. This is such fantastic news, as it means that animated films are being taken seriously as films, rather than just "cartoons" or whatever people think they are. This can only be good news for the industry, and it's really exciting that Up is getting the recognition so many of us believe it deserves. (Best Picture is one of 5 nominations).
It's also great to see a variety in the Best Animated Feature nominations - stop motion, hand drawn, as well as CG, reflecting a great year for animation. I'm delighted to see that Disney's re-entry into the world of 2D animation (The Princess and the Frog) has been recognized as well. However, I was disappointed that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs didn't get a nomination, as I thought that was a great film. But on a positive note, it's great to see that Wallace and Gromit are still up there with the best in the animated shorts category!
So all in all, a very exciting time. I would watch Up in celebration, but as it still hasn't made it to DVD in the UK yet, I'll have to settle for listening to the Oscar nominated soundtrack...
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Charity auction - Pixar memorabilia
Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich is generously auctioning off mementoes from his time at Pixar, in aid of the Clinton Bush Haiti fund. I think this is a lovely gesture, as these are from his own personal collection, and he's stated on Twitter that he will pay postage to anywhere in the world.
So if you're a Pixar fan, and have some spare cash, what better way to donate some money to a worthy cause while getting some great memorabilia at the same time?!
Check it out here.
I think I've already been priced out of the lots that I had my eye on, however, I can't be too disappointed as it means that even more money is being raised! I think this is a great example of how far a little initiative and personal sacrifice can go towards making a big difference.
I know there's a load of other people out there doing their bit as well, for all kinds of great causes, but this caught my eye, and I just wanted to let you know about this great opportunity to get some one-off Pixar items.
So if you're a Pixar fan, and have some spare cash, what better way to donate some money to a worthy cause while getting some great memorabilia at the same time?!
Check it out here.
I think I've already been priced out of the lots that I had my eye on, however, I can't be too disappointed as it means that even more money is being raised! I think this is a great example of how far a little initiative and personal sacrifice can go towards making a big difference.
I know there's a load of other people out there doing their bit as well, for all kinds of great causes, but this caught my eye, and I just wanted to let you know about this great opportunity to get some one-off Pixar items.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Monkeyin' around
The new term at AM has got off to a flying start - I can't believe it's Week 3 (or class 3 come to that) already! My latest mentor is T. Dan Hofstedt who is an awesome animator and mentor. My Q&A sessions are at 6am in the morning ... and I'm not really a morning person. However, T. Dan once filled in for my Class 1 mentor, so I knew how great he was and decided not to switch classes for a more reasonable hour. And so far, it's been worth getting up for! T. Dan has worked in traditional 2D animation for Disney, among other studios, as well as CG for Sony. Can't quite believe that someone who animated on the Lion King, now knows my name and critiques my work! SO exciting! You can see some of his work on his website.
This term I'm starting off with a monkey bars shot - hence the cheesy title ;p
We can pretty much choose what we want to do, as long as it's got good body mechanics in the shot. So it's great to have that freedom, although can feel a little daunting with so much choice! However, I settled on monkey bars and am really enjoying it. Almost everyone that has stopped by my workspace has commended me on choosing a "challenging" shot though, so I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew...
It's certainly proving a challenge but think I'm starting to get there. It's certainly going to help me refine arcs in my animation, as that's pretty much all the swinging consists of. However, getting that rhythm and flow is proving challenging.
Here's what I've got so far - Blocking Plus. I've moved past blocking, in stepped mode, and this is currently in linear. Done quite a bit of straight ahead on it to try to get the lead and follow actions working. Still got a way to go though as the action still isn't quite there, and there's a lot of refining to do.
Let me know what you think of it so far!
This term I'm starting off with a monkey bars shot - hence the cheesy title ;p
We can pretty much choose what we want to do, as long as it's got good body mechanics in the shot. So it's great to have that freedom, although can feel a little daunting with so much choice! However, I settled on monkey bars and am really enjoying it. Almost everyone that has stopped by my workspace has commended me on choosing a "challenging" shot though, so I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew...
It's certainly proving a challenge but think I'm starting to get there. It's certainly going to help me refine arcs in my animation, as that's pretty much all the swinging consists of. However, getting that rhythm and flow is proving challenging.
Here's what I've got so far - Blocking Plus. I've moved past blocking, in stepped mode, and this is currently in linear. Done quite a bit of straight ahead on it to try to get the lead and follow actions working. Still got a way to go though as the action still isn't quite there, and there's a lot of refining to do.
Let me know what you think of it so far!
Monkey Bars blocking Plus from Sarah Knight on Vimeo.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
AM full Progress Reel so far
Here's a quick post with my full progress reel so far. I updated my hopscotch shot a little, but am going to leave my other class 2 shots till later. My mentor said that as I improve, I'll look at them in a different way and it will be much easier to see what needs doing, and bring them up to the next level. So that makes sense.
Looking forward to next term, although I think it's going to be a challenge - hope I'm up to it!
Looking forward to next term, although I think it's going to be a challenge - hope I'm up to it!
Friday, 18 December 2009
Walt Disney 2D animation - back in style
So, I promised you lots of posts all at once ... ahem. Here's the second! It's a little film review, my first ever, so I hope you enjoy it and that I don't get too carried away with purple prose. Feel free to stop reading at any point, I'll never know! :p
On Sunday I was lucky enough to attend a special preview screening of the new Disney 2D animation The Princess and the Frog. I very much enjoyed it - absolutely worth the early morning Sunday start.
The story starts off in typical Disney fashion with a fairy-tale, but then suddenly twists off in a new direction, which keeps things fresh - you're not entirely sure where the story will end up. It's set in New Orleans in the 1920s and there are some stunning backdrops that set the scene beautifully, with some catchy jazz music to further enhance the setting.
There are numerous references to past Disney films which are fun to spot, and a few modern updates to Disney's worldview. There's a strong female lead who is getting on with life, pursuing her goals, and not waiting for her prince to arrive. When a prince does roll into town, she ignores him. There's also a more modern take on wishes - the message being you can still wish upon a star kids, but don't expect your dreams to come true unless you work for them too. Nothing comes easy - it's not enough to be a good person and find a star to wish on like in Pinocchio's day - nowadays you've got to back it up with hard graft. The moral messages were sometimes laid on a little thick, (I prefer to be shown these things rather than hear them spouting from the characters' mouths), but I can forgive a little overcooked sentimentality, as there were also plenty of laughs and entertainment along the way, with some brilliant comic characters.
The animation was great. There is a huge variety in characters - from people (at both ends of the animation spectrum - realistic and charicatures), to animals (hulking alligators to tiny fireflies), to malevolent skulking shadows. All of them move in a natural and appealing way. There was some fantastic exaggeration, (I'm already looking forward to the DVD so I can frame through some of this stuff!) the frogs jumping demonstrated some beautiful arcs ... in fact I could pretty much sit here and list the 12 principles of animation and tick them all off for you. However, I'll refrain and let you discover them for yourself. I also really enjoyed the more stylized graphical 2D animation (not sure if that's the correct term) that was used in some of the dream sequences. It broke things up a bit and added some more texture.
OK, so the film wasn't perfect - there were a few incongruous moments, and the odd bit of slightly less than perfect draughtsmanship. However, all in all, The Princess and the Frog feels like a great way for Disney to re-enter the world of 2D animation. The group of animators I went with all enjoyed it, and judging by the well-behaved audience at the screening I went to, where children outnumbered adults by roughly 3 to 1, it's a film to entertain the whole family.
Disney is back, doing what it does best - solid story, gorgeous visuals, great animation and keeping hordes of kids (young and ... grown-up) spellbound.
It's out in the UK in February - go and see it!
On Sunday I was lucky enough to attend a special preview screening of the new Disney 2D animation The Princess and the Frog. I very much enjoyed it - absolutely worth the early morning Sunday start.
The story starts off in typical Disney fashion with a fairy-tale, but then suddenly twists off in a new direction, which keeps things fresh - you're not entirely sure where the story will end up. It's set in New Orleans in the 1920s and there are some stunning backdrops that set the scene beautifully, with some catchy jazz music to further enhance the setting.
There are numerous references to past Disney films which are fun to spot, and a few modern updates to Disney's worldview. There's a strong female lead who is getting on with life, pursuing her goals, and not waiting for her prince to arrive. When a prince does roll into town, she ignores him. There's also a more modern take on wishes - the message being you can still wish upon a star kids, but don't expect your dreams to come true unless you work for them too. Nothing comes easy - it's not enough to be a good person and find a star to wish on like in Pinocchio's day - nowadays you've got to back it up with hard graft. The moral messages were sometimes laid on a little thick, (I prefer to be shown these things rather than hear them spouting from the characters' mouths), but I can forgive a little overcooked sentimentality, as there were also plenty of laughs and entertainment along the way, with some brilliant comic characters.
The animation was great. There is a huge variety in characters - from people (at both ends of the animation spectrum - realistic and charicatures), to animals (hulking alligators to tiny fireflies), to malevolent skulking shadows. All of them move in a natural and appealing way. There was some fantastic exaggeration, (I'm already looking forward to the DVD so I can frame through some of this stuff!) the frogs jumping demonstrated some beautiful arcs ... in fact I could pretty much sit here and list the 12 principles of animation and tick them all off for you. However, I'll refrain and let you discover them for yourself. I also really enjoyed the more stylized graphical 2D animation (not sure if that's the correct term) that was used in some of the dream sequences. It broke things up a bit and added some more texture.
OK, so the film wasn't perfect - there were a few incongruous moments, and the odd bit of slightly less than perfect draughtsmanship. However, all in all, The Princess and the Frog feels like a great way for Disney to re-enter the world of 2D animation. The group of animators I went with all enjoyed it, and judging by the well-behaved audience at the screening I went to, where children outnumbered adults by roughly 3 to 1, it's a film to entertain the whole family.
Disney is back, doing what it does best - solid story, gorgeous visuals, great animation and keeping hordes of kids (young and ... grown-up) spellbound.
It's out in the UK in February - go and see it!
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Animation Mentor progress
Sorry for the loooong absence. Keeping a blog updated is harder than it looks ;)
Or rather, writing about things I think people might be interested in is harder than it looks. However, all of a sudden there are a couple of things I want to blog about, so you're getting lots of posts all at once!
So firstly, my animation progress. AM continues to be a fantastic place to learn all of this - I'm not sure where the last term went! Would have liked to be a bit more active in checking out other people's work etc. - hopefully I'll start to get a bit more organized with my time for next term.
Here's the current state of my 3 assignments for this term. Not 100% happy with these shots, but am close to the point where I'm not sure what else to do with them to get them where I want them to be. The dance in particular feels a bit lacklustre, and still can't get the turn on the hopscotch working how I want. I've still got one more critique to come from my brilliant mentor Leigh Rens though, so maybe I'll be able to improve on them a bit more in the last week.
Hopefully I'll be able to raise the level of my animation next term, and start producing shots that I'm proud of.
Anyway, hope you enjoy seeing what I've been up to! ;)
p.s. Vimeo seems to have done something odd with the video at the end which wasn't in the original quicktime. Apologies for that.
Or rather, writing about things I think people might be interested in is harder than it looks. However, all of a sudden there are a couple of things I want to blog about, so you're getting lots of posts all at once!
So firstly, my animation progress. AM continues to be a fantastic place to learn all of this - I'm not sure where the last term went! Would have liked to be a bit more active in checking out other people's work etc. - hopefully I'll start to get a bit more organized with my time for next term.
Here's the current state of my 3 assignments for this term. Not 100% happy with these shots, but am close to the point where I'm not sure what else to do with them to get them where I want them to be. The dance in particular feels a bit lacklustre, and still can't get the turn on the hopscotch working how I want. I've still got one more critique to come from my brilliant mentor Leigh Rens though, so maybe I'll be able to improve on them a bit more in the last week.
Hopefully I'll be able to raise the level of my animation next term, and start producing shots that I'm proud of.
Anyway, hope you enjoy seeing what I've been up to! ;)
p.s. Vimeo seems to have done something odd with the video at the end which wasn't in the original quicktime. Apologies for that.
AM Class 2 shots from Sarah Knight on Vimeo.
Friday, 16 October 2009
Hopscotch shot
I am going to try to post a little more reguarly this term than I did last term, however things have already got off to a busy start!
Had a brilliant Animation Mentor meet-up with other UK students in London last weekend, which was great fun. Good to catch up with friends I'd met before, as well as chat to some new people. We went and saw Pixar's new film Up, which I highly recommend. The visuals were stunning, and as always, a very good story with plenty of emotion. A tear may well have actually trickled out from beneath my enormous 3D glasses ... and plenty of laughs as well. Think I might have to go and see it again!
Was good to catch up with everyone and compare notes on Q&A session times, Mentors and shots, and generally talk animation without boring people!
After a day of fun, it was back to work again on my shot. We were allowed to choose from a list of things, and having never seen another hopscotch shot, and because I thought it would be fun, I decided to do that. To plan the shot, I had to film video reference, so the neighbours had the opportunity of seeing me bouncing round the garden on no less than 3 occasions! After feedback from my new mentor (Leigh Rens - seems like a great guy, and a good teacher so far) I was able to get going on blocking out my shot, which you can see in the first part of the video below. Then this week I've been working on tweaking the blocking, and then moving into spline, which is the 2nd part of the video below. As you can see, everything is now a bit floaty and swimmy and "CG" in the worst possible way, so my next job is to go in and try to pull back the snappiness that was in my blocking, and improve the weight and timing.
However, I thought you might like to see where I'm up to. I'll upload the finished shot once it's all polished up nice.
Had a brilliant Animation Mentor meet-up with other UK students in London last weekend, which was great fun. Good to catch up with friends I'd met before, as well as chat to some new people. We went and saw Pixar's new film Up, which I highly recommend. The visuals were stunning, and as always, a very good story with plenty of emotion. A tear may well have actually trickled out from beneath my enormous 3D glasses ... and plenty of laughs as well. Think I might have to go and see it again!
Was good to catch up with everyone and compare notes on Q&A session times, Mentors and shots, and generally talk animation without boring people!
After a day of fun, it was back to work again on my shot. We were allowed to choose from a list of things, and having never seen another hopscotch shot, and because I thought it would be fun, I decided to do that. To plan the shot, I had to film video reference, so the neighbours had the opportunity of seeing me bouncing round the garden on no less than 3 occasions! After feedback from my new mentor (Leigh Rens - seems like a great guy, and a good teacher so far) I was able to get going on blocking out my shot, which you can see in the first part of the video below. Then this week I've been working on tweaking the blocking, and then moving into spline, which is the 2nd part of the video below. As you can see, everything is now a bit floaty and swimmy and "CG" in the worst possible way, so my next job is to go in and try to pull back the snappiness that was in my blocking, and improve the weight and timing.
However, I thought you might like to see where I'm up to. I'll upload the finished shot once it's all polished up nice.
hopscotch shot progress from Sarah Knight on Vimeo.
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