"The Mni Expression" by Mark Walsh and Bobby Podesta

This quick lecture about "The Mini Expression" given by Pixar animators Bobby Podesta and Mark Walsh focuses on observation and slowing down actions in order to analyze them.

via Acme Animation

"Understanding Story: or My Journey of Pain" by Andrew Staton

My friend Dan Kunz sent this to me yesterday and I thought I would pass it on you all! It's a great lecture on story and screenwriting. Enjoy!












This is all of Andrew Stanton's keynote speech from Screenwriting Expo 5 (2006)

(sorry -- audio only)

New Rapunzel Pics!

Monkeys fall into the 'uncanny valley'

I found this article by a Princeton research team very interesting! Even monkeys can detect the 'uncanny valley'!! Check out the info here:

Like humans, monkeys fall into the 'uncanny valley'


*UPDATE

My friend Dan just sent this to me as well. Looks like WIRED also put their 2cents in on the 'uncanny' monkey subject:










WIRED on 'uncanny' monkey

Pixar - A Human Story of Computer Animation

Five Minutes of The Princess and The Frog!!

Via - Trailer Addict

Secrets of District 9: Grungy Alien Realism

I saw District 9 a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the gritty realism of the environments and the aliens. The story was decent but could have used some more work. I do hope there's a sequel though and from what I hear it might be in the works!! Enjoy this featurette I found over on WIRED:

Special Effects Add to Realism in 'District 9'

Tim Burton Interviews Ray Harryhausen

Ray Harryhausen interviewed by Tim Burton! How great is this! It's a must see!

PART 1



PART 2



PART 3

Find of the day: Pencil Test Depot

A friend told me about this blog today at work. It's a good collection of pencil tests both old and new. Enjoy!

http://penciltestdepot.blogspot.com/

'A Christmas Carol' trailer!

This was just posted yesterday over on Yahoo. I've got a few shots in there -- enjoy!

A Christmas Carol Trailer

Creature: Bat Running and Walking

I just thought these vids ROCKED!! How creepy is it to see these bats run and walk! Talk about some sweeeeet creature reference eh?!! Enjoy!

Bat Running:

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Bat Walking:

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Don't Replace the Actor - Replace the Animator?!

The article posted below is very troubling -- I'm about to go on vacation so I can't write much more but I'll update this post when I get back from the UK!!

read the article here:
The "Avatar" Effect: Don't Replace the Actor - Replace the Animator


Here are some bits to chew on:

"To me, it's the exact opposite," Landau says. "Our goal on this movie was not to replace the actor, it was to replace the animator. If you think about it, what a great actor does and what a great animator does are antithetical to one another.

"A great actor withholds information. Dustin Hoffman in All the President's Men can sit there and do nothing. No animator would ever allow that, they would put in a twitch. So our objective was to preserve Sam Worthington's performance and have that be what you see in those characters."

The Making Of Dr. Strangelove

Here's a special on the making of 'Dr. Stangelove' -- awesome!!

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5

Brad Bird Presents Dr. Strangelove

Last night was a rare treat! Tiff and I got to see a brand new print of Stanley Kubrick's film 'Dr. Strangelove' on the big screen! And as the 'icing on the cake' Brad Bird introduced the film and gave a great Q&A afterward! He talked a bit about the legendary design of the 'war room' created by Ken Adam and explained how Kubrick was ahead of his time in his use of handheld cameras, comedy approach, storytelling, and production techniques. It was a fantastic night and very inspiring! Also, I found the 'making of Dr. Strangelove' and will posting those shortly!

'Where The Wild Things Are' art blog

http://www.terribleyelloweyes.com/