Fourth Dimension

Acting references

2011-04-01T00:22:00.003+05:30

Some excellent acting stuff. I quite like the Javier Bardem and Matt Damon ones. It is difficult to do the James Franco stuff in front of the mirror and the Robert Duvall stuff without the mirror! The subtlety in Michael Douglas clip is amazing. I dont know why, but there is something sad about all the clips and none tried comedy which is very tough.

Making of 'Little Krishna'

2010-09-16T13:00:00.001+05:30

Big Animation studio has published a video on the 'making' of their flagship product - Little Krishna. It is available in several parts in Youtube. I stumbled upon the videos only a few days back. It was interesting to hear from all the people who worked on it.
Watch the videos from the Big Animation Youtube channel.

I have more reasons to be excited about the videos as some of my shots have been featured in the video(Part-05 linked below).
Making of Little Krishna - part05

It will soon go into my showreel...yay!

WassUP?

2009-12-31T12:03:00.000+05:30

Been sometime since watching Disney Pixar's UP. I wanted to write my afterthoughts of the movie but somehow it didn't happen so far.

I read a blog post on UP and thought of sharing it here since I agree with most of the points.

Sunny Kharbanda's blogpost on Pixar's 'UP'

Adding to that, I did love Ellie more than Carl at the beginning. The Silent part was the best in the movie. The adventure of Carl seemed to have been forced on him than done with passion.
And the villain didn't appeal much to me. I also thought something was not in place, probably because I wasn't expecting Muntz at that point of time on his legs and the talking dogs never enthused me.

I felt the Pixar magic missing a bit in UP. It was definitely a let down!

2009-09-03T11:00:00.007+05:30

I came across this interesting animation clip posted by one of my favorite animators Richard Lico. It was so brutally comical, that I laughed my heart out. Apart from being technically brilliant, it was so very tastefully created.

Here is the link -----> Mouse tale

Can wait to see the completed project, but I am not sure if it has not already been completed.

Animation Cake

2009-07-10T22:37:00.003+05:30

Shawn Kelly, Animator at ILM and co-founder of the online animation school 'Animation Mentor.com' has given this recipe for the "Animation Cake" in his newsletter. Its quite funny to read but at the same time very useful. Here it goes-

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ANIMATION CAKE:

1 gallon of rough thumbnail ideas
2 quarts of video reference (created and/or found)
1 quart of thumbnails derived from the reference

*Note to chef: Be sure to include timing notes! Exaggerate thumbnail timing and posing to personal preference

Mix contents thoroughly and pour into a pan
2 tablespoons of saving key poses based on your thumbnails
1 heaping cup of breakdown poses, again based on your thumbnail poses and timing notes
Season breakdowns with anticipation, weight shifts, eye animation, and rough arcs
Mix with original contents and stir until terrible computer-created in-betweens are completely dissolved
Add contents to baking pan, and place in oven until ready

If possible, allow animation to cool before decorating, to have a fresh eye

Once cooled, polish Animation Cake with Arcs Frosting, Overshoot Sprinkles, and top off with Secondary Animation Candles!

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Sweet!!....... isn't it ?!

For further reading, go here --> 'Recipe for Success: Baking Your Animation Cake'

Ghajini Special Effects

2009-07-01T22:53:00.003+05:30

One of my all time favorite visual effects artists is Pete Draper. His tutorials are quite famous among 3d artists. Here is an interesting article about the making of the title sequence animation for the movie Ghajini; Pete Draper has done the special effects and is quite stirring.

Read the production story --'Gajini title animation- Makiing Of'

Animation Reusability

2009-04-24T22:34:00.003+05:30

Here is Disney's way of reusing animation. Though the animations have not been used as such, the timing and poses are the same cel to cel. It would have greatly reduced the production time. Purely, it is economics of success !

BIG's Little Krishna

2009-04-08T22:17:00.005+05:30

BIG animation studios has finally completed their flagship project 'Little Krishna' and its ready for broadcast(telecast/webcast/podcast and so on). The 13 episode Action, Adventure animated series will be a milestone in Indian animation.
Read the synopsis here and watch the trailer.

I consider myself lucky to have worked on some of the episodes of 'Little Krishna'. It was great to have worked with some of the most talented artists and animators in the country. I am sure this project will be a blow away success.

Animator on a killing spree !

2009-03-23T07:49:00.009+05:30

Warning! Warning! …Look out for this ‘One Man Army’ who has let loose his imagination and is on a killing spree. Not in real life but in an animation movie. Jeff Lew, the lead animator of 'Matrix Reloaded', has finally finished his movie ‘Killer Bean Forever’ and will be releasing it soon in DVDs. He has just released the release date(June 2009).

Jeff Lew has made this movie all by himself, well…. almost. He has spent around four years from concept to completion of this movie. Gutsy!

His yesteryear animated short ‘The Killer Bean’, an action comedy was a blast. It was a series of two episodes…

Episode 1 was made in 1996 and is 2:41 minutes long

Watch Episode 1

Episode 2 was made in 2000, this sequel is 7:21 minutes long

Watch Episode 2 - The Party

Download trailer of ‘Killer Bean Forever’ from HERE

Jeff Lew is currently working on Transformers 2. Surf over to his site for more info.

Weighty stuff

2009-03-23T07:12:00.003+05:30

Found an absolutely cool tutorial on weight shifts in animation. I have been longing to get some material on this subject. This fantastic article is supported with some awesome video references.

One of the Videos

Weight_Legs_Front from DJ Nicke on Vimeo.

Here is the link to the tutorial

http://animationsalvation.com/free_tips/dancinghip-hop/135

Really Cool !

Panda – Pure Awesomeness!

2008-09-23T20:01:00.005+05:30

There is no price for awesomeness! That’s what the Panda replies to his awe struck admirers……in his dream . The awesome 2d animated dream sequence at the beginning of the 3d animation movie Kung Fu Panda is in my opinion the best opening for any animation movie I have ever watched. In fact, the movie also had a great opening at the box office!

The starting sequence was a hint of what was to follow. It was hilarious to the hilt. The dialogues, the acting, fight sequences were simply superb. Apart from the voices of Jack Black(Panda), Dustin Hoffman(Shifu) and Ian McShane (Snow Leopard), others didn’t appeal much to me. I have no clue as to what Jackie Chan had to do in this movie. I thought the animators need better recognition than those who lent their voice. The animation of Grand Master Oogway was a certain highlight. The fierce antagonist Tai Lung, the snow leopard, was fantastically portrayed and is now in my list of best animated villains! At last, DreamWorks animation studio has got the pulse of movies that would work for a larger audience. Kung Fu Panda is awesome and attractive; easily the best animation movie of the year. I am saying this after watching Wall-E.

Looking forward to more stuff from Dreamworks animation studio.

Pixar's next stop

2008-02-25T22:11:00.005+05:30

Before the news of Ratatouille winning Oscar could sink in, there are some great news about Pixar's next flick. What if mankind decided to leave the Earth and forgot to turn off the last robot ?!.... thats the tag line for Wall-E, Pixar's 2008 release directed by A Bug's life and Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton.

Read this note on Wall-E presentation at Wondercon

http://www.firstshowing.net/
2008/02/24/wondercon-pixars-wall-e-
presentation-incredible/

Watch the trailers at
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=17343

Latest trailer
http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/12/17/
must-watch-next-new-wall-e-trailer/

Another clip showing Eve- Wall-E's girlfriend-
http://wall-e-trailer.blogspot.com/

Don't miss out the wonderful vacuum vignette animation in HD. It was animated by Victor Navone. I am keeping a tag on his blog hoping to get more info on Wall-E.

Oscar Mania

2008-02-23T22:12:00.001+05:30

When it is this time of the year, its time for the Academy awards aka Oscars. Come 24th Feb, the curtains go up for the awards ceremony at the Kodak theater,CA. All I am concerned about is the animation category. Last year year was a disappointment for the Pixar fan in me, as Cars lost to Happy Feet, leaving me not so happy. This year, I keep my fingers crossed for the Pixar movie Ratatouille that is in contention for 5 different categories. Three films compete for the Best animated feature, they are, Ratatouille, Surf's up and Persepolis. Ratatouille and Surf's up are 3d animated movies, while Persepolis is a black and white 2d animation feature.

All the three movies are unique in a sense. Surf's up is kinda usual talking animals movie, made with finesse; its documentary type making makes it unique though.At times I felt like watching a Discovery channel program The water simulation for the waves is the best CG creation ever made; So much of details has gone into its making.

Ratatouille is one of the best if not the best animation movie ever made. The movie has been made with broader audience in mind and stands to its expectation. With a fresh storyline, that doesn't warrant a fanfare at the first instance, the movie has actually tasted phenomenal success wherever it was released. Brad Bird, the director, has come up trumps yet again.

Persepolis is completely different from the other two movies. This 2d animated B/W classic from Sony picture classic, is directed towards mature audience. This movie based on a novel about an Iranian woman in the backdrop of the Iranian revolution is the hottest contender for coveted trophy.

If Persepolis takes home the statuette, it will be a recognition for the animation medium as a story telling medium, breaking the current mind-set that its a medium to make stuff for kids. It will also break the barrier between animated feature and live action feature films.

On February 18, the Chinese New Year was born. According to the Chinese calender, this year is the 'Year of the Rat'. I wish it is also the 'Year of the Rat' at the Oscars.

Just one day, and we'll know it!

Inside Pixar !

2008-01-14T20:15:00.000+05:30

There are definitely good reasons why Pixar animation studio does things right always. Apart from engaging some of the best talents in the world, there are more to it, SEE it yourself.

Inside Pixar
Part- I:

Part-II:

Part-III:

Wish I could be there....alteast as a tourist!

Beowulf: Unbelievable realism!

2007-12-11T00:14:00.000+05:30

Yes…that is how I would describe Beowulf movie- Unbelievable Realism! But then, when I think again, that’s a paradox within. Realism should be believable isn’t it?!
Beowulf is packed with exemplary art work. The main models are detailed to the core. The textures and lighting are just perfect; can’t say much about the animation because it is motion captured. I said models and not characters because there was something still missing that made me look at them as 3d models and not as real humans. Though they managed to make awesome wet looks (Angeline Jolie rocks!), the models lacked any sweating, even when the golden dragon was spitting fire around them. This might be nit-picking, but can’t really help it.

Robert Zemeckis, the director, has taken a great leap from Polar Express to Beowulf, in terms of visualization and cast.
There is a question mark hanging around somewhere in the mind. Whey did they make this movie in 3d. It could have been done as a mix of live action and CG. That said, 3d has had a great role in converting the thoughts of the director into visuals and in the process converting a 50 year old 5’10” actor into a 6’3” hunk!

Sony Imageworks’ cutting edge graphics shows all that they have learnt from making Polar Express and Monster House. Now, the ultimate question is…..will it beat the ‘Rat’ at the Oscars? I don’t think so. Ratatouille caters to a larger audience unlike Beowulf which has gory monsters and some real hot nudity (Angelina Jolie again, ruthlessly seductive!)- definitely not for kids. While Rat is an original script, Beowulf is an adaptation of an old epic English poem. Well, that might not be a hindrance on its way to the awards. Whatever it is, Beowulf is a great step ahead in 3d movie making.

Ratatouille - too good !!!

2007-09-19T18:13:00.000+05:30

The wait is over. I saw Ratatouille last week with thirty others from my workplace. This is one helluva movie! Pixar’s story telling has hit an all time peak. Apart from the articulate animations, awesome dynamics (cloth, water) and incredible lighting, the story itself is in an all new premise. The ‘Anyone Can Cook’ theme has worked so well in this movie and there is something in it that makes us believe that it could happen in our kitchens too!
It was wonderful to see kids bursting out with laughter when Remy trains Linguini blindfolded. Nobody is always right and nobody is always wrong (hmm….except Skinner) in this movie and that lends so much ‘character’ to all the characters. With all the twists and turns, this movie is one journey worth traveling.
On the technical side, I really enjoyed the water dynamics in the ‘Remy in the gutter’ scene. The cloth simulation on Gusteau (Remy’s figment of imagination) and wet cloth on Linguini were really cool. They must have had one damn rig for Linguini and that showed in many places, one of them was where Remy tries to wake up Linguini. The visualizations for tastes were a great effort, something never tried before!
In a nutshell, Ratatouille is Yummy!

Transformers - After effects

2007-09-06T07:33:00.000+05:30

“This is a must see if you're in the mood for a strong, loud summer movie. Fans of the Transformers and newcomers alike are going to have a lot of fun.“

This is what a review of the movie ‘Transformers’ screamed. Not that the reviews break or make my decision to watch movies. I have been wanting to see this movie ever since I saw the trailer involving the Beagle and I finally did it last week. The actual movie was so different from what I had imagined. But that had to do with my knowledge (or the lack of it) of the Transformers comics. But boy did I like it!

Every time a robot transformed, I felt something running down my spine. It was just amazing. Hats off to the animators! The action scene in the desert was fantastic. The CGI integration with the real videos was just perfect. Some fast editing helped pace the action scenes, but sometimes got me lost in it as I couldn’t find who was getting hit.

I also liked the performances of the cast crew, especially Shia LaBeouf.

On the negative side, the excitement created at the introduction of the team of autobots that come down to save earth is not maintained throughout. Not all of those autobots were fully utilized in the movie.

On the whole it was thoroughly enjoyable!

Promoting a promotion

2007-04-29T13:03:00.000+05:30

In my previous post, I discussed sequels. Eventually, this is the year of the ‘thirds’. The talk is all about Spider man-3, Pirates of Caribbean- the world’s end (third in the order) and Shrek -3. Each of these films has their own audience and they are all critically acclaimed. The makers consider them a safer bet because sequels don’t have the scare of losing at the box office easily. Marketing them is easier what with the previous versions doing really good and a lot of people already are familiar with the characters and have some idea of the plot to expect. It is better to have very high expectations rather than none at all.

Now, what is the stake of movies that are to be released without prior introduction? How are the makers going to create the expectations for them, competing with the sequels that are to be opened at the same time around? They really have to scream hard to get some attention and that is exactly what Disney and Pixar are trying to do for their latest release Ratatouille (pronounced as rat-a-too-ee), an original animated movie releasing in June.

Right from letting people familiarize the pronunciation of the title, to the plot line- (a rat called Remy wants to become a chef in a famous French restaurant. Rodents and restaurants-something that can never be together), extending to the challenges faced by the crew at the production and the crew itself, Pixar has left no stone unturned. The extent of their promotion strategies are none too familiar. They have to do it to stand amongst the giant sequels all of which are expected to have a cake walk.

To top it all, Pixar will be releasing a nine minute clip from Ratatouille to give the audience a glimpse of what to expect from the movie. Desperate move from the great story tellers, but the Pixar fans will only be too happy to see it. Come May 1, the clip will go public at Apple.com. What is more interesting is that, Disney will run a 90 second promotion material at prime time on American televisions, that will drive the audience towards the trailer that is to be released; a promotion for a promotion! Never heard of anything like that!

Come what may, we could only hope that the Disney-Pixar combo will entertain us as well as they usually do.

Some Images:

Image 1

Image 2

Videos:

Technical Ingredients - 48 mb

Trailer

Brad Bird-Podcast

Allegedly leaked out clip

Ratatouille contest and video player

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Animation movies – the ‘sequels’ saga

2007-03-18T14:41:00.000+05:30

A big line of sequels to animated movies are in the making than ever before. As far as I know, these are the sequels,

Shrek 3 - (release - May 18th, 2007)
Shark Tale 2 - (2008)
Madagascar 2 – (2008)
Ice age 3 – (2008)
Toy story 3 - (2009)

This has made me wonder why these studios are going crazy into making sequels. What’s the rationale behind this trend? Is it just the studios or does it have something to do with the audience?

A studio like DreamWorks animation has plans to make one sequel every year. That means, a sequel to almost every movie they make. That sounds terrible because sequels bank on the original release’s success. Making a mindless sequel to an insipid movie (Shark tale 2!) is a great risk. When we say ‘better luck next time’ after watching a flop movie, it doesn’t mean that they should try their luck with a sequel.

Since a sequel to a hit movie will already have an audience, the marketing cost will be less. In spite of having the main characters already modeled and rigged, and some environment that can be used again, with prior knowledge of character actions and lighting setup and dialogue style that form a great chunk of initial hard work, they manage to cost more, thanks to the voice talent. The voice actors/actresses demand a bigger pay check especially if it is a sequel. It is estimated that a sequel costs $20 to $40 million more than the original release.

People are ready to pay for what is tried and tested. If the viewers liked the characters in the original movie, it is more likely that they will be interested to know ‘what happened
next?’ and the expectations to a sequel are always high.

With more and more ‘talking animals’ kind of movie releasing every year, importance is given to awe inspiring graphics and animation laced with an awful story. As a result, the audience, rather than being awestruck, becomes dumbstruck. Only a few have all the qualities and reach a wider audience. Such movies are welcome to have a sequel. But endless sequels are not what we want.

Happy ending for ‘Happy Feet’

2007-02-28T22:43:00.000+05:30

Finally, it is ‘Happy Feet’ that has won the Oscars for the best animated feature, winning over Monster House and Cars. Without sounding like a rant of a Pixar fanboy, I would like to say that Cars deserved the award.

There are few things that have made me think so. Firstly, unlike Cars, the other two movies have extensively used motion capture. Ok, that might not weigh them down much. I found Happy feet to be a little monotonous with penguins, penguins and more penguins. What if they sing and dance, it still demanded variety. And the white bg from beginning to end really hurt the eyes. Though it looked ‘cool’ in the beginning, when I came out after the end, the whole world was painted white for some time.

With Monster House, I don’t see any reason why this movie should have been animated. With mostly human characters without any supernatural abilities or that sort, this story does not demand the use of animation. It could have been made as a live action motion picture. Only the house required animation and special effects, which could be mixed with live action.

‘Cars’ stands out in every aspect. ‘A World inhabited by Cars’- wow that’s a great concept to start with and the animation medium has definitely brought out something to us that is otherwise impossible to conceive wholly. The characters and the environments were simply superb with amazing details. I liked the story and the narration was great. The Pixar animators (actors!) are masters at bringing the emotions out of their characters. Not a single frame in the movie was dragging or boring. Its wholesome entertainment and very well made at that too. I wonder what else does an animated movie need to win the Oscars……a message?! oh no !

Hats off to the makers of all the three movies, but definitely, the Knight with the sword should have gone the Route 66 way.

Animation tips

2007-02-25T16:11:00.000+05:30

I am listing some of the animation tips I got on web recently, but some of them are old ones.......
I found them to be very useful...here we go

Jeff Lew's tip:

Happened to see the sneak peek of Jeff Lew's 3d character animation DVD. He advises not to have a bone joint in the chest area, and reasons it out very well. The rib cage is stiff and does not bend itself. Having a joint there will allow for bending which will look unrealistic and too 'spliney'.

Stefan Henry's tips :

It was good to dig this one out. Its a very old one, but definitely stands true till now and will stay that way for ever. In his article in Gamasutra titled Anatomically correct character modeling , he discusses the placement of bone joints effectively that will help proper posing of characters and will animate correctly, all explained with clear images.

Jeremy Cantor's tips :

His article over at Zaayats.com discusses various pitfalls in cg animation and offers solutions to them. Good one !

Pixar-ization of Disney

2007-02-25T15:23:00.000+05:30

Image source : http://www.cartoonbrew.com/

There were/are apprehensions over the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. Most were concerned at the future of Pixar under the mouse house. But the news coming out of Burbank and Emeryville are more than encouraging. Disney is sure benefited under the leadership of Lasseter and Catmull, especially by the restructuring of hierarchy and the efforts to bring back directors who have left Disney recently.
Pixar had been on the right track and doesn't need much changes. In fact, the starting of recently dumped Toy story 3 after the merger has brought in a lot of positive energy into Pixar ( not as if there was a dearth of it before).
With both Disney and Pixar working together, they will surely stay on top.

Read Story HERE

A good animator vs a great animator

2007-02-21T11:11:00.000+05:30

Carlos Baena (Pixar Animator):

So...between a good animator and a great animator. For me, it's the difference between a good actor and a great actor. The animation skills themselves, with time, you learn them little by little. The acting part of things...the choices you have your character do. That's where the true skill relies. I think it takes a lot of studying to get there. Not necessarily animation studying at this point...but acting/drawing/craftmanship/mime/comedy studying. Also your personality has to do with it sometimes. Something you think may be funny, may not be necessarily funny for other people. It's tough. But in the end, and to answer to your question, it's all on the acting. Some animators at Pixar, I don't think of them as animators anymore...I think of them as actors. Purely. Mark Walsh is a great example for me. He has done some of my favourite acting shots in this company, and the best part, his acting is sincere and comes from his heart and experiences. That's what blows me away personally.

Source : Shaun freeman animation tips

My Showcase page

2007-01-28T18:27:00.000+05:30

Finally, I have set up a page to post my animation works ! Though it is temporary, I find it easy to use Google pages to quickly showcase works powered by YouTube

Find my works here ---> Animation works

Best Animated Villains of all time

2007-01-07T22:11:00.000+05:30

A new thread has been posted at Cgsociety calling for the members’ choice for the best animated villain character of all time. I have tried to list some of the characters that flash my mind.

My ultimate choice would definitely be Davy Jones-the captain of the Flying Dutchman, in the movie ‘Pirates of Caribbean’. Perfection has never been so perfect. ILM has pushed all limits of reality in CG. DJ’s screen presence is absolutely terrifying. Hats off to Bill Nighy, who has done the acting for this character.

My next choice would be General Grievous from the movie Star Wars. Although I have seen the movie only once, for some reasons, he is fixed in my mind.

The Flame shaped hair-do villain ‘Syndrome’ from the movie ‘The Incredibles’ is also a well made character with villainous personality. Can Pixar go wrong !

I would also mention Marcus Carvinus from the movie Underworld Evolution just for the excellent CG work. This Luma pictures created model (thanks to Zbrush) has been made with amazing details. Technology has played a great role in the making of some of the stunning characters of 2006.

Nothing engages my mind as much as 3d animation. But still, it wouldn’t be complete if I don’t mention the villains in the 2d animation movies too.

‘Scar’ from the movie Lion King is one of the best. His sinister looks and sick attitude makes him one of the all time favorites.

Next is a little weird. He is the most entertaining villain of all time and the most harmless (!!!!) too. Meet Mr. Tom.

Me, Myself

2006-07-14T10:09:00.000+05:30

You Are 4: The Individualist

You are sensitive and intuitive, with others and yourself.

You are creative and dreamy... plus dramatic and unpredictable.

You're emotionally honest, real, and easily hurt.

Totally expressive, others always know exactly how you feel.

What Number Are You?