Toy Story 3 Review

Yesterday I saw Toy Story 3 and I have to tell you, it was A-MAE-ZING!

 Wow. Pixar. Just keeps getting better and better. Their animation software just keeps getting better and better! Ahh how I would love to work for them...

 

Back to the movie (may contain spoilers...) 

 

Moments I loved

* At the beginning when Andy's original toys were discussing what happened to the other toys, how they got sold to yard sales etc. And the moment when they said Bo was gone, Heartbreaking!

 

* Buzz and Jessie's dance. Fantastic! When Jessie went around Buzz and through his arms, it was so fluid and fantastic!

 

* When the toys got sent to the dump and they knew there was no way out. They all just held hands and prepared for the end. A beautiful moment! That almost had me in tears.

* I also loved that Pixar didn't give away alot of the story in the trailers. I had no idea about who Lotso was, and that he would be the villain of the story. So I really loved finding that out. 

*When Andy handed his toys over to Bonnie. He was so reluctant and you could really relate to his emotions. But Bonnie was a fantastic little girl to receive his toys. 

*Ken and how they kept making fun of him being a 'girls toy'. Barbie and Ken were fantastic. And who knew Barbie was so smart?

*Also, slipping in Totoro. Genius!

The Day and Night short before the film was also great! I love the idea of 3D animation within a 2D animation. The sound effects and scenarios they chose to convey emotions was amazing. Totally loved it!

Tangled Trailer!

First official trailer is out for the next Disney movie, Tangled! I am so excited for this!
I love the way the hair is animated in this.

After Effects Assessment

Assessment for Terry =)

Tutorials where I learnt to do text and lightning I got from Video Co Pilot. 

Tangled

Here is the first add for Disney's new movie Tangled! Although it's not a trailer it's the first publicly released add for them. Exciting!

Interested in internships?

So I've been thinking about what I want to do next year and realised I have practically no idea.

I could go on to study at Uni, take some more art classes, learn the theory behind animation, apply for jobs in the industry or get an internship. So many options! But I can't seem to decide on just one.

I seem to keep finding myself looking for internships on the internet, so I thought I'd share some of what I found.

*One internship I am super interested in is Disney

They offer paid internships at their California Office and they cover all areas of animation, from story boarding to rendering.

* Another very interesting internship program is at Pixar

They also offer paid internships and the new Pixar Canada studio is looking for animators.

* Dreamworks also offer internships, but it doesn't say that much about international applications.

* More locally, Krome Studios doesn't offer internships, but on their website it says they hire around 20 juniors a year.

So. Those are the ones I have found so far. Exciting!

I also found this at Screen Australia. They help people get into the industry by supplying funding for internships overseas and locally. Up to $50 000 a year. So you can become an intern and get funding for it! I don't know all the details but you can read through the application online. 

Also, Brisbane City Council offers grants for artists to involve the community with arts, professional development and your own projects. Like the Creative Sparks Grant.

So yes, there is a lot out there to do. Just not sure what I want yet....

Horton Hears a Who

So, yesterday I was watching 'Horton Hears a Who', again, and I really do love this movie and the animation so here are a few things from the movie!

My favourite character, by far, is Katie. Adorable!


Progression reel! Acting, Blocking, Refining and Final Animation.
I love seeing how the acting by a human got turned into an elephant! And the Mayor look like such a fun character to animate. So many fun poses!

I also went and checked out Blue Sky studios website for internships, which they do, and found what they think the Do's and Don'ts of showreels are.

Do

• Consider your audience, put in quality work
• Send demo reels in VHS/NTSC format or DVD (region-free)
  • Pop your tabs. Rewind your tape.
• Put best work first on reel.
• Keep it short (about 3 minutes).
• Include a reel break down.
• Label your tape or DVD clearly.
• If submitting a reel, include drawings only if it will help your application.
• Show acting (if applying for character animator).
  • Wire frames with solid motion are better than full textured renderings.
• Simple and well done is better than complex and mediocre.
• Only display your capabilities.
• Focus your reel in one area.
• Show someone in the industry your reel first (get honest feedback).
• Show turn tables of models both completely shaded and wire framed (if applying for Modeler).
• Clearly indicate your role on group projects.

Don’t

• Send inappropriate or plagiarized material.
• Repeat animation.
• Send large cumbersome packages.
• Show work you don’t want to be asked to do.
• Show work that shouldn’t be reviewed yet.

Stop Motion Genius

Travelling around Youtube tonight and I stumbled across BBoy Joker. A very cool interactive game on youtube.



I also found a making of video which is super cool, with some really cool tricks for stop animation, like the light on the Joker from the train. The trick with the mirror was so awesome. I love his animation too, so clean and really nice and entertaining.




















He's also made Iron Baby, which is a rad little trailer made for a movie that will never happen....

Good message + Good animation

A short film/add with a good message and good animation.

Pixar Short

I was looking for inspiration for my music video and my narrative and I restumbled across this. This short came out ages ago from Pixar's Youtube account, but I thought I'd post it anyway, for those who haven't seen it. It's really simple, with an awesome story based on the movie Up. Hilarious!