Thanks for the support.

-Andrew

How can we tell if a scene we are animated is overdone? Are the gestures to big? Is the scene upstaging another character? Is that character to broad or not giving enough? This topic came up at a talk I was at. Its fascinating how closely animators and actors think about the same problems. When I asked the actor what over acting was, she commented that its when the character does too much or does not know there place is within the scene. It can be many things such as pulling attention away from the other characters. It can be as simple as a character over doing something as simple as picking up a glass. When we animate, we are usually going bigger and making things read more. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to watch out if the character is doing too much. We always need to look at the character throughout a sequence. Steven Spielberg once said to George Clooney ” You could be a star if you stop moving your head.” Or it was something close to that I believe.

So how do you know if a scene is over acted? Ask yourself some questions: How would it look if you acted the same way as your character? Is your character taking away from the general idea of the scene? Did you bring in an extra set of eyes to look at it? What is the emotional center of the character and scene? What really drives that character and would your character do that?  Is the style of acting you are doing fit the project you are working on? Think about a film like Amadeus or Pirates of the Carribean. These are roles that require a bit of an exaggerated character. It fits the style of the film. I’d love to hear what you think and for others to pass along any tips or comments.

-Andrew

-Andrew

Here it is! Enjoy!

The directors guild honored Steven Spielberg and there are a bunch of great clips to listen too… They are individual clips but some great stuff in there..

Here they are:

CSU Summer Arts is in full swing at Fresno. This year students are doing mixed media films. There is so much animation energy at summer arts. Rick Vertolli gets the best guest artists together to create some of the best animation education you could imagine. Its like animation sleepover camp! Chuck Harvey, who studied under the great Milt Kahl and Ollie Johnston are there giving gold nuggets and showing off his amazing collection of animation scenes. Myself and Adam Burke talked animation as well as Laika Director, and summer arts vet Mike Wellins. Producer/director Rusty Mills is in attendance along with many others.  There is so much energy and stuff going on for two weeks. It truely is one of the best kept secrets in animation education. Make sure you check out what is going on for next summer. It will be held in Monterey Bay!!! Ill post the work of students in a couple weeks. Thanks to everyone at Summer Arts for keeping it going for 25 plus years!

-Andrew

Here are the completed submissions:

You can Make Me happy by Tyler Brown

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Higg Boson Security tape by Ben Plotnik

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Super Royal by Dennis Borruso

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Myself and fellow animator Michal Makerawicz are starting a workshop where students can learn animation and storytelling. The location is across the street from our place of employment, Pixar. We are starting small with 4 workshop classes for summer and a fall offering. Each workshop is intimate with only 8 spots.  The reason we wanted to do this was to teach outside the system of a large school. We think we have some of the best teachers for animation and will offer workshops on Story, Character Design and Acting and filmmaking. Students will also benefit from lectures and guest speakers.  You come in, we access where you are at and what assignments you do. Applicants will need to have their own computers and software in order to do the work. What we are providing is lecture, and critique. The cost for the workshop will be $1400 for summer (8 sessions) and  $1900 for the fall session (12 session plus 1 for guest speaker). It will meet once a week from 7 to 10.
Send email to animationcollab@gmail.com for info or to reserve a spot

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Here is the challenge!:

Many people have emailed me in regards to doing 24 hour challenges or assignments they were given a week to do and the results are amazing. I know many schools do this and its a great way to just go for it. I am not proposing a 24 hour challenge, but I am proposing a 1 month challenge. Heres the idea…

Take something that has been in the news starting a 6 months back to now or whatever pops up in the next days weeks and animate an aspect of it. You have probably seen NMA World Edition. Its something like this but hopefully more artfully done.It should tell a story through animation.  It can be something related to the news story but does not need to be factual. An obvious example would be something related to Osama being captured. Obviously, nothing in bad taste but there is entertainment to be seen in every story. The piece should not be longer than a minute unless you think you can do it. The pieces will be judged on overall idea, style, story and animation. You will have to provide a link to the story you are using. The contest starts May 9th and Ends June 10th.

The Prizes:

1st Prize: A Ticket to the VanARTS Class Matt Luhn and I are teaching in New York, Austin or Montreal. You will have to get yourself there, but admission will be taken care of and you will get a signed poster.

2nd Prize: A Limited Edition Tin Toy Collectable (only 500 made)

3rd Prize: A Pixar Sweatshirt

Top 10 will be posted on the site.

The challenge will only take place if there are 10 or more applicants. Please email splinedr@gmail.com if you plan to participate. This challenge is in no way supported or related to anything at Pixar/Disney and is put on completely for educational/recreational purposes

Good Luck!!!

Andrew