Animopus

Cinematographer Style Documentary

2009-12-20T00:50:00.001-08:00

Cinematographer Style is about the art of how and why films look the way they do. It is about the influence of style, technique and technology-the art and craft of filmmaking.

watch here: Cinematographer Style

info here: Cinematorpher Style

Find of the day: 'Creative Illustration' by Andrew Loomis

2009-12-17T22:12:00.001-08:00

I didn't know much about Andrew Loomis until I took an Advanced Figure Drawing class taught by the legendary Mark Tennant (more on this later). In his class Tennant used many examples from Loomis's books to help illustrate the basics of human proportions, perspective, composition, etc. Many of these diagrams and studies are listed in 'Creative Illustration' but unfortunately it's out of print and will set you back a couple of hundred should you want to buy a copy. So, listed below is a .pdf of the book! Enjoy

Creative Illustration

Mark Kennedy - Handouts On Composition

2009-12-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

Mark Kennedy just posted some great material on staging and composition on his blog 'Temple of the Seven Golden Camels'. It's worth a peek.

Handouts On Composition

Animation Thumbnails - Vic Navone

2009-12-14T11:26:00.001-08:00

Vic Navone has posted a great collection of his animation thumbnails on his VNOG BLOG. The Wall-E gags are especially awesome!

Vic Navone animation thumbnails

Today's Inspiration - NZ Book Council 'Going West'

2009-12-15T16:01:00.000-08:00

NZ Book Council - Going West

Chuck Jones, The Master Series -- DVD

2009-12-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

What animator isn't a fan of Chuck Jones eh?! Check out the info on this new DVD that will be available in Feb.

More info over on The Chuck Jones Blog

Secrets of Screen Acting: Podcast

2009-12-09T01:28:00.000-08:00

I found this website today called 'Secrets of Screen Acting'. It has some great 'sample' podcasts about the techniques of acting. You have to purchase a subscription to listen to the archives though booooo! Anyhow, it's a site worth checking out! Enjoy!

Secrets of Screen Acting : Eye Flashes and 'Fake Eyes'

NEW BLOG -- "Behind The Scenes"

2009-12-08T16:27:00.001-08:00

I've started a new film blog called "Behind The Scenes". I'll be posting 'Making of' and 'Behind The Scenes' featurettes from various movies as I find them. Enjoy!

Behind The Scenes

The Face: Emotions Revealed

2009-12-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

The human face as we all know is SUPER complex! I've started looking around for more in depth studies of emotions and micro expressions to better enrich my facial performances. I'll be posting more about this subject over the next few weeks.

"A human being can generate 10,000 visibly different expressions but most of them you'll never see" - Paul Ekman

Emotions Revealed - KQED QUEST

*One interesting point from this vid (5:30 mark):

"Each emotion prepares the body for a specific action" meaning when a person is angry blood surges to the arms preparing you for a fight. When a person is scared blood flows to the feet preparing for an escape.

"The Mni Expression" by Mark Walsh and Bobby Podesta

2009-11-20T23:32:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Monkeys fall into the 'uncanny valley'

2009-10-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-14T23:07:00.000-07:00

Five Minutes of The Princess and The Frog!!

2009-10-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Via - Trailer Addict

Secrets of District 9: Grungy Alien Realism

2009-10-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

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:

Bat Walking:

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

2009-08-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

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."

Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes

2008-09-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is a unique documentary into the life of Stanley Kubrick as seen through the opening of thousands of boxes he left behind after his death.

Ronson asks: is it possible to get to understand such a man – and his extraordinary working methods – by looking through the hundreds of boxes he left behind?

part 1
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=1effe2c7-6bda-49ea-8077-713c851f89f8" target="_new" title="Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 1"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Video: Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

part 2
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=f0be751d-6db3-4e0b-93b1-d4c6a3cfad24" target="_new" title="Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 2"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Video: Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 2&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

part 3
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=cccf2532-64af-4dc3-a108-584fd42b7b3e" target="_new" title="Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 3"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Video: Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 3&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

part 4
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=cf42c920-d115-4d46-a5a6-adf2dbc75660" target="_new" title="Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 4"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Video: Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 4&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

part 5
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=accd042e-8804-4540-9f2b-8111f1bafd62" target="_new" title="Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 5"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Video: Stanley Kubrick&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s Boxes Part 5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The Making Of Dr. Strangelove

2009-08-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

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!

Animating 4 legged animals

2009-07-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

I found this basic animation breakdown for 4 legged animals over on Animation Meat a while back. Cool stuff -- nice reminders for line of action, anatomy and simplicity of form.

Animating and Drawing 4-Legged Animals.PDF -- via Animation Meat

MORE: