alexiss dawn – Animation Mentor blog

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“I’m not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. You know, I… I… I’m a symbol. I’m a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If… you can’t believe, if you can’t accept anything on faith, then you’re doomed for a life dominated by doubt.”

- Kris Kringle, Miracle on 34th Street

Merry Christmas! It’s been one heck of a year, so it’s definitely time for a little celebration. Whatever you celebrate, have a great holiday!

Welcome back Disney. It’s SO good to see you.

(If you haven’t seen Tangled yet, stop reading this right now and go see it. You won’t regret it. Amazingly beautiful in every possible way.)

Margarita is a beautiful short film done by Hampa Studio over in Spain. It’s incredibly well done.

Aside from being visually stunning, one of the main things that stuck out to me is how well the story is conveyed. I actually had to re-watch it to see if there was actually any dialog in it as I finished the film feeling as though there had been since the story was so clear. But as you’ll see, it’s all done through the acting in the animation combined with the music/sfx.

That’s the power of animation right there folks — done in another country with another language, but able to tell me such a beautiful story in any language. Stunning, stunning work.

From the description: Margarita, inspired on Rubén Dario´s poem, is a lyrical short film where music, poetry and color fuse together to bring to life the story of a young princess who leaves behind her extraordinary life to follow her own dream. It’s a journey full of hopes and dreams for all those brave people who want to shine and follow their own star.

Make sure you full screen this one. =)

Hey Folks!

So this is what I’ve been working on. This is what has been keeping me so dang busy and out of the world for a bit. Bishop 2.0! Over at Animation Mentor I’ve kept busy building and getting him all ready for students and alumni! Huge thanks to Taylor Mahony, Brandon Beckstead, Kevin Freeman, Keith Ribbons, and Kevin Freeman for helping out – it’s been a long project and y’all rock!

As I’ve gone MIA the last several months, I thought I’d holler out to blog land as we’re about to head to Siggraph in Los Angeles! Do you want to know what I’ve been busy working on? (Believe me, you definitely do…) Come to the Animation Mentor Birds of a Feather event this Tuesday at Siggraph! You may or may not see something awesome. =)

Tuesday, July 27th @ 2:30 pm in Room 301A. Be there!

I had the great opportunity to see Toy Story 3 a few weeks before it came out over at the studio, and then again on opening night with some of the great folks from AM and Pixar. I’m hoping by now all of you have seen it, but I’ll still keep it mainly spoiler free. =)

Pixar upped their game for this one. I would definitely say it’s one of the most intense film they’ve done so far. It had me almost rolling on the floor laughing at time, on the edge of my seat nervously biting my lip at others, and yes, tearing up at other parts. It’s the real deal. And I dare say it’s up there for best film of the year outside of the animation category.

It was a powerful situation to be in — the built up excitement for this film spans across ages: people my parents’ age who took their kids to see the first two films, young kids today who are excited for a new animated film, and of course, people my age who grew up with Andy and the toys.

When the first Toy Story came out I was 11 years old. So seeing this film tugged at my heartstrings in all sorts of ways, pulling me back to my childhood and the memories I have of those characters.

And the STORY. Oh man, the story is incredible. I love when you get pulled in and you’re not analyzing the animation, you’re not being distracted by side elements, but you’re feeling the emotions of the characters. Pixar is genius at storytelling and there’s no doubt they have a winner with this one.

And this is the kind of stuff that reminds us why we want to be animators — being a part of a team to create something that connects with people. To make people laugh, gasp, cry, and smile. You cannot walk out of this film without feeling good. I’ve been walking around my apartment today singing You’ve Got A Friend In Me.

As a side note, aside from the updates on facebook from fellow animators who love the film, I love seeing updates from non-animation friends and family who are going nuts over Toy Story 3. That’s gold.

I love that they kept the true characters with Bullseye’s crazy floppy run and the contrast of Buzz and Woody’s movement. And the addition of new characters was great — seeing how they developed character specific movements for each. A few new ones to watch out for that I loved:

Ken

Spanish mode Buzz

A certain version of Mr. Potato Head (cleverly drawn in one of the post its by Aaron Hartline…)

They’re amazingly well done and I love how each works well together but has their own completely unique style. They really put the effort into the character of the characters. That’s not often done on such of a large scale, and was great to see.

They stayed true to the original films but pushed the boundaries x1000. Well done Pixar. This is what it’s about.

Check this out: A great short film, entitled Helium, done by Animation Mentor alumni Daniele Zannone. Awesome work! Love the simplicity and zippiness of it!

This last weekend I got the chance to see How to Train Your Dragon… As it hasn’t come out yet, I won’t post much as to avoid any spoilers for all of you, but let me just say this: I have never seen an animated film like this. It exceeded all of my expectations, bringing chills to my arms and tears to my eyes. And more amazing is how much the feelings the film brought have stuck with me into the week. It is an absolutely stunning and beautiful film.

The trailers and the media that have been released don’t even begin to let you know the big picture of what you’re in for. I absolutely love the film poster I have posted above as it shows what to me the movie is more about: the relationships between the characters. The animation is great, the visual fx are beautiful, the story is strong — all elements of this movie combine and build the ever-so-important relationships. It’s quite incredible.

It made me laugh, cry, cheer, and just get chills. The film takes turns I didn’t expect, develops amazingly deep relationships, and is such a visual delight for the entire film. It’s out in theaters this Friday and I’m telling you now: you definitely will not be disappointed. This film is definitely the best that DreamWorks has done so far, and it has the chops to fight for a slot among the best animated films. They nailed it on the head and raised the bar with this one. Bravo guys, bravo.

Just had a fellow AMer send me a link to an awesome documentary they made about Albuquerque. Now before you close this page and walk away, you really should watch it. They interview several people in this industry who made the jump and moved to Albuquerque to be at the still-pretty-new Sony studio down there. And it’s all shot around Albuquerque at some pretty cool spots. It’s really well done and it’s great to see a bit of the city from their view. Bravo guys!

From their site: In May of 2007, Sony Pictures Imageworks announced the opening of a satellite facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico that could take advantage of tax incentives offered by the state government.

Once in motion, employees of all tenure, and from many parts of the world, began moving to Albuquerque. Most knew absolutely nothing about the area. This is the story of the first forty employees who took the leap, and how they have come to experience the city of Albuquerque, and New Mexico.

I have a new blog. It’s not replacing this one as this will remain up to focus on animation and to continue keeping the history of my journey from know-nothing about animation to now as I continue as a working animator. But this new blog is for everything else….but rather than explaining it here, go check out the explanation on the first post. =)