Making CG look like stop motion
Posted on July 3, 2008
I’ve been asked to create a CG character and make it look like stop motion. It is quite a unique challenge. Something I’ve never done before, but very interested to successfully pull off!
Pepper Films asked me to come up with a story, supervise the modeling, do the rigging, and finally perform the layout and animation. The story, modeling and rigging has been finished. I’m currently doing layout and the first pass of animation. So far I’ve been ignoring the idea that it has to look like stopmo and working exactly how I would on any other CG project. It is really starting to come together.
As usual, my workflow is to not only do the layout/animation in Maya, but also the editing. All the shots are timed and edited in this software using various mel scripts. Once the short is determined, the individual shots will be broken out and animated in separate scene files. Then, from that point on, the assembly of the short will be very straightforward in the editing package.
Making the animation look like stopmo, with all its quirky problems will either be the easiest thing I’ve ever done, or the most difficult. I’ll have to get back to you on that!
Spammers Taking Over
Posted on June 12, 2008
Boy, if you don’t keep on top of things, these spammers will ruin your virtual life. It seems that one or more were able to hack into my blog and upload html pages advertising their crap. I didn’t even notice what was going on until I did a Google search on my own site.
I’ve since deleted the material and upgraded to the newest version of Wordpress. I’ve taken a vow to stay up to date on these things and hopefully this won’t be a problem in the future.
As a by product, Google has removed most mention of my name and website from their search engine. How great is that? I’ve sent them a letter asking them to “reconsider” and explained what happened. Let’s only hope that they allow me back into their searches.
Fun Fun
Interview with Brad Bird
Posted on April 17, 2008
On Mark Mayerson’s great blog, he points us towards an interview of Brad Bird (use the username of “pjs@mailinator.net” and password of “142″). Now, this isn’t your standard interview about animation, but it contains a ton of juicy information. Especially for those of us interested in more of how various people/companies approach management and how their directorial philosophies fit within.
I’ve never worked with Mr. Bird, but after reading this, I can appreciate how he pushes his teams and is open to comments from everyone. Being confident enough to be able to listen to others and implement their ideas when they’re better is a clear indication of a good leader. I’ve worked with a lot of various directors in my years and clearly the better ones are those who like Brad listen to those around them.
Another interesting portion of the read centered around The Incredibles, and how they settled on camera angles early on the process. This provided the team the ability to build for the camera. Meaning, if something wasn’t seen, it didn’t need to be made. On many CG productions, so much work goes into modeling/shading objects and environments that will never be seen. It is simply done in case the director decides to swing the camera around in a direction that wasn’t initially planned for. These are the type of things that can lower budgets and something that could be more widely implemented.
I suggest anyone and everyone to read this interview, it is not only interesting, but could potentially help you in your job, whatever that may be.
Sonoma Film Festival
Posted on April 14, 2008
I had an opportunity to attend the Sonoma Film Festival yesterday. It is always nice to watch something you worked so long and hard on in front of an audience. Hearing the applause and comments from those in the theater is inspiring.
It has been quite a while since I’ve been to that part of California. Even though I only live a little over an hour away, it’s hard to find time to go up there. I’m glad I had the chance. It was a warm and beautiful day and although I didn’t see many films, I had a wonderful time.
I’d like to thank the folks that put on the festival. They are first class. The volunteers were great, the filmmaker hospitality room was awesome. They had great food and a 60 inch plasma to play Wii on! The filmmaker gift bag was incredible. First off, there was a bottle of wine, a squishy THX (the robot mascot guy) toy, gift card for Starbucks, some chocolate, and a free pair of tennis shoes (that retail for more than $250)! I wasn’t expecting any of that. Thanks so much to the festival and sponsors for being so gracious.
In the next couple of weeks I’ll be attending another local festival, this time the Santa Cruz Fest. I can’t wait to do it all over again!
Funny shortfilm
Posted on April 9, 2008
Although this is not animated, it is a really funny (and sad at the same time!) short created by some guys that work in the industry. I’m sure most of you can relate.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPflLGEHUAI]
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About
This page is where you can find out more about Director/Animator Rick May and his projects. My latest film "Till Death Do Us Part" is currently making the festival rounds. Please check back on occasion to know when and where you can see it. If you'd like to know more about me, please click the appropriately titled 'About Me' link on the top of each page.
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