Life Update - 001

Today, I went on a tour of the facility I'll be working at. I can't say what kind of job I've just been hired to do. Although, I will say is it's not what I would have picked out for myself when I was in high school. That being said, I will keep moving forward by getting my LLC business license and developing my art and writing skills. Furthermore, I fully intend on learning how to market myself as an artist. Visual Development is what I want to do. So, it is vitally important for me to get a strong portfolio together these last few months before CTNx.

Here's what I've been working on recently. Amelie - (Subway Scene) 1 min. 47 sec. This is the sixth shot from the first sequence of this scene. I still need to change the numbering of the shots to reflect the correct sequence and shot numbers.

Why People Give Up

I have posted this image in a previous post but, I've got some quotes by a couple of famous people that are a perfect fit for the diagram. 

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Believe in yourself! Work hard, never give up & anything's possible. OR: Kick back, relax & aim low-you'll never be disappointed.
                     ~Mark Hamill

"Continuous effort--not strength or intelligence--is the key to unlocking our potential." 

~Winston Churchill

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People give up for various reasons. I too was about to give up but, I've decided to stick in there to continue the fight against boredom, slothfulness and, mediocrity. Last night, I found Jessica Abel's website. It's a treasure trove of teaching and advice on the subject of being a self sufficient creative person. I know it's gonna take constant effort and a lot of work but, I need to see my dreams come to pass.

Today, I'm going to an orientation for another non creative job that will pay the rent and bills but, it will not satisfy me creatively. However, it will give me the money I need to do some things I'd like to do this summer. I've made plans to meet a film director and attend an anime convention. In September, I would like to go to Industry Giants to network with other attendees and pros alike. Also, this November I would like to attend CTNx to show my visual development portfolio to industry professionals in the hopes of obtaining employment in an animation studio located in California.

Finally!!! The Wait is OVER! A STORYBOARD PANEL

I have finally got a bit of the animatic I'm working on for your viewing pleasure. So, without further adieu here it is in all it's sketchy glory.

This was drawn using Adobe Flash. And, it looks pretty cool as a thumbnail. This image is from the sixth shot in the sequence. Yes, it's numbered incorrectly. That will get fixed later. Here's where I got the idea to create this file. No, I've never taken Liane's class at the CGMA Academy. Nearly everything I learned about how to set up this Flash file was gleaned from the following video. The numbers at the bottom are symbols from a file I created several months ago. After this is done, I'll post the entire animatic here on this blog.

Interview with the Masters | Liane Cho Han

I'm working on a personal project: AMELIE SUBWAY SCENE STORYBOARDS

Back in the 90s I was really into foreign films so Eric Rohmer, Pedro Almadovar, Akira Kurosawa were a few of the directors that interested me. At that time, I had no idea what cinematography was. All I knew was, I liked what I was looking at. During my employment at Blockbuster Video I saw a weird movie named Delicatessen (1991) directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The story as it's described on IMDB.com is:

The story is centered on a microcosm of a post-apocalyptic society where food is so rare it's invaluable and is used as currency. The story centers on an apartment building with a delicatessen on the ground floor. The owner of the eatery also owns the apartment building and he is in need of a new maintenance man since the original "mysteriously" disappeared. A former clown applies for the job and the butcher's intent is to have him work for a little while and then serve him to quirky tenants who pay the butcher in, of course, grain. The clown and butcher's daughter fall in love and she tries to foil her father's plans by contacting the "troglodytes", a grain eating sub-group of society who live entirely underground. The "trogs" are possibly the most sensible of the lot, as they see food as food and not money. Edit: After watching the trailer for this movie I've decided NOT to link to it. You'll have to look it up on YouTube for yourself.

Anywhosles, fast forward to Amelie (2001). The color pallet for this film is very stylized and gorgeous to behold. I decided to use a clip from the movie to reverse engineer the scene shot by shot using Adobe Flash 5.5 to create an Animatic of the entire one minute and forty seven second sequence. I got this idea from Liane Cho Han the supervising storyboard artist on Long Way North a French Flash animated feature film coming to America through distribution deal with Shout! Factory.

Here's the trailer:
https://vimeo.com/38447432

English Subtitled Trailer:
https://youtu.be/pW7JDw2Qimo

Cartoon Brew  coverage about Long Way North.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/?s=long+way+north

Here's the personal project I'm working on. Within the fifteen to sixteen shots I'm working reverse engineering there's camera movement I've need to simulate. No worries. I just need to get it done by tomorrow night so I can start a new project.

A Very Helpful Color Chart - The Psychology of Color

I'm not sure where I found this or who owns it but, the contact info is at the bottom of the image. I've always wanted to have this kind of chart because colors do have meanings. And, to complicate matters those meanings are not the same in every culture. This chart is a very good fundamental tool in creating great visual art.