Happy Halloween!

Well, I've been gone for some time now, being busy with other junk and such, but I had a bit of free time and decided to do an E-card.

My free time is due mostly to the lack of RAM in my computer which makes the task of rendering HD files out of After Effects virtually impossible. Oh well, I hope to have things up and running again for the music video and Autumn Leaves soon.

Autumn Leaves Returns!!

As you may or may not know, I've decided to take a little time off the Music Video so that I can try to complete the remake of my first short Autumn Leaves. I was originally intending on using it for the Stop Motion Magazine Film Festival, but, seeing how the deadline is the 15th of this month, I don't really think I'm going to make it. Oh well . . . . I still may be able to use it for some other festival. But I digress . . . . Here are some pics of the new puppet and if you click HERE you'll get to listen to the song itself (note, the version you'll hear isn't the one i'll be using cuz it's too upbeat).

We made him using the Build Up method; liquid latex, cotton, and foam. He has a wire armature and epoxy bones. And those ARE real twigs sticking out of his back and head.

And I spent an hour and a half painting foil leaves.

New Book Out!

THE ADVANCED ART OF STOP-MOTION ANIMATION by Ken Priebe is due to be released June 16 . . . . . and the best part is . . . . . I'm one of many animators listed in it! There's also a bunch of interviews from great guys like Justin Rasch, Ron Cole, Mark Spess, the guys at Screen Novelties, and MORE! I'm absolutely amazed that Ken was able to pull together enough people and info to make another, but I'm happy he did. You can check out his other book The Art of Stop-motion Animation here.

Another quick "STOP IN"

Ok, so, I've been really busy with STUFF lately and haven't really had time to say hi. I've done a lot more animation and am about HALF way done.

Also, I've been working on the big outdoor set for the last few shots. We made the ground out of plywood and covered it in GREAT STUFF spray foam which we then carved and painted. It actually worked out quite well.

WELL, GOTTA GO, HOPEFULLY YOU'LL HEAR SOMETHING MORE FROM ME BEFORE THE MONTH'S UP!

Broken moulds and new sets

So, the original Skimpy's leg broke and I decided to recast. I did, but then the mould broke!

Also, my uncle made the interior set for the 3rd shot in the music video. I put all the finishing touches on it and it's just about ready to shoot.

Close up of door detail.

The first few shots are coming along nicely, and it seems like I might actually get this thing done pretty well. Slight hold up though; my computer was in desperate need of memory. So I had to order some. It seems to be running fine now. Plus, I entered Messin' with Skimpy in the Zeitgeist stop-motion contest. So I'll be finding out what's going on with that soon. And I heard through the Grapevine that good ol' Laika studios is gearing up for another feature. (Boy I'd like to get in on that.)

First Shot in the Bag! - Almost...

making more grave stones

Hey, just a quick pop-in and back out! I just semi-completed the first shot or so of the Music Video and it turned out ok. The puppets aren't the best for smooth animation, though. They're quite clunky and bouncy and they don't like to stay put. Plus, my first shot was very low light and that made it extremely difficult to see how far I moved it on the frame-grabber. Either way, it's a big step forward and gives me hope that it may actually get done. Mostly I just have to add some extra stuff, such as motion blur and color correction in After Effects and then the shot will be finished. Also, my uncle is making the indoor/outdoor set on which I'll be animating next, so that's some pressure off my shoulders. Other than that, I just have the 10 Second spot for Stopmotionanimation.com to start. So see ya later!

Here's th' video ya' ordered!

Here's the eye replacement test I was talking about. Note: in the final version of the film, his eyes will be blue.

Snippets -o- stuff

I know it's been awhile since my last post, but things have been really CRAZY lately. I've got so many ideas and projects going at once that it's amazing I'm even able to function. And yet, things have been moving at a snail's pace. I know, impossible, right? Still, I decided that even though I don't have enough big news to make a whole post, I still have a bunch of little snippets that would be worth mentioning.

THE MUSIC VIDEO

I still haven't gotten to animate on it yet. This is mostly because I recently bought After Effects CS4 and have been experimenting with it so that I can take full advantage of its powers later on. I did a couple eye replacement tests with the software, you know, real human eyes composited on to a stop-mo puppet. It worked out really well, but I haven't put it on youtube yet. But I will . . . soon. Otherwise, I'm very close to animating. I can feel it.

THE STOP MOTION MAG FESTIVAL

You may remember this from the last post, but you probably don't remember this guy. (if you do, then you obviously pay too much attention to me.)

Yes sir, this is the old Tree Man. And I'm going to use him for the festival. The film will be titled Autumn Leaves, and I will be using the graveyard set from the music video for this short as well. That said, I now have a deadline for the music video; MAY. Because the deadline for the festival is JUNE, and that gives me a whole month to animate the Tree Man. Even so, I'd better get scooting.

STOPMOTIONANIMATION.COM'S 10 SEC. SPOT

I recently learned of this from StopMotionAnimation.com. Anthony Scott, one of the coolest kats in the animation industry, has presented the invitation to all of us at the site, to make a 10 second stop motion spot advertising the forum. I already know what I'm going to do, but I don't know when I can get to it.

CHIMPY'S BROKEN!

And Chimpy broke.

So, as you can see, I've got my hands full for awhile. I'm really looking forward to the day when I can work professionally and let my mind relax.

Animation Contest!

Stop-motion Magazine has posted their animation contest for August 2010.

Click on the image to check it out.

I might enter something myself, if I feel I've got the time.