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]
Horton and the Whos
Posted on March 19, 2008
After watching Horton Hears a Who, I’ve got to say that Blue Sky really did a wonderful job. The lighting, story, models, shading, animation, all of it was top notch. I was especially impressed by the rigs and what they are capable of.
They’ve definitely raised the standard on what is capable with a cartoony CG rig. The deformations were amazing and the animators used them very well. I’m hopeful that some papers will be released, or some secrets will be revealed so that we can learn more about the process that they used. Simply amazing.
Go see the movie once just for fun, and the second time pay attention to the technical achievements. Such a great job. Impressive stuff.
Directing Actors for Animated Films
Posted on March 16, 2008
There is an interesting article that was written for the LA Times. In a somewhat surprising read, Carol Burnett, Steve Carell, and Jim Carrey talk about the difficulties working on the newly released CG film Horton Hears a Who. Usually actors have nothing but good fluff to say about whatever projects they just came off of. Although they didn’t exactly tear anyone a new one. I was a little caught off guard. Awesome!
For those of you not familiar with how voice recording sessions go for animated shows, they generally take an actor and throw them in front of a microphone by themselves and are told to read some lines. There is generally little or no interaction with other actors. Just them, the director and his team.
This a flawed system. Actors feed off of each other to make great performances. The Sony Pictures Animation film Surf’s Up did it the right way. They put the actors together and allowed them to play off of each other. The results were most impressive and gave a more naturalistic delivery, in my opinion. I realize the value in having them singled out and performing on their own, but I really wish the system was changed.
Here is how I would do it. Put the two or more actors in a room with their own microphone. Separate them enough so that you can easily single out recordings from each person. Tell them to read the script a couple of times a few different ways and then allow them to shoot from the hip with some adlib. You can even put each actor in their own booth if need be. As long as they can see eachother and work off one another it will pay off in the end.
This is what the actors are familiar with, why take a fish out of water?
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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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