Sweet goodness from the land of Danes

I am pleased to share with you the reels of 5 young talented animators. I worked with them over the winter in Viborg... and now they will be joining me this summer in Thailand. -should make for a great animated time. tod


Untitled from angel aguirregomozcorta on Vimeo.


showreel from jan rybka on Vimeo.


Showreel from Henrik Sønniksen on Vimeo.


Showreel-Animation from Thomas Huusmann on Vimeo.


Showreel 2009 from Benjamin Nielsen on Vimeo.

My Recipe for Film Making

This post is a little more personal... and a little less nuts and bolts. A few people have asked me to talk about how I have been able to make personal short films without proper funding for the last 10 years. To be perfectly honest... I never have known how a project will come together once I have started it. I just know (and pray) it will somehow. It's a bit like a marathon really... you want to give up... but you don't... then suddenly you are at the finish line. All of my films been finished under different circumstances... but have a lot of similarities. This wouldn't work for everyone... but it's a recipe that has worked for me so far.

Faith: When I am not sure how something will get done... I pray about it... and somehow things come together. My whole life has been like that. I have a list of these times for each project.

Catalyst: Each project has been started by a life changing event. The death of a friend or family member. Though I have been working more recently in satire... they are always stories about my own life deep down. Making films is a sort of therapy for me.

Good friends: Involving people that are as passionate about making films as I am. Many of my friends have traveled overseas to work on my projects. A few have helped by doing some sketches, or commenting on boards and designs. Some friends have given me freelance work... allowing me to work from wherever I'm stationed. Other friends give me short teaching stints here and there to help me keep going.

Place: Being willing to live where costs are low enough to do what I need to do... places like Thailand, The Philippines, China, India. I started my first short in Los Angeles. It was incredibly difficult to work, pay for my apt, pay for my car, and keep my life together. Some people can do it... I could not... so I moved overseas. I can live in Thailand for 6 months... for about the same price as 1 month in California. And I'm surrounded by great food, nice people, and only a short distance from the sea.

Sacrifice: As nice as it is living overseas... there have been a few times I have had to go several years without seeing my family. I don't like it... they don't like it... but luckily they understand my art, and what I am trying to do. One of my biggest expenses is going home, and I can live for many months for the cost of a plane ticket. When you don't have a paying job... every penny counts... and could make the difference between finishing or not finishing. Fortunately as I make more films, things get easier.

Sponsorship: The last two films have been made in studio environments. A lot of countries don't have proper animation training... bringing in an experienced artist is a cheap way for a studio to train their staff... not only by me... but by the friends that come over to help me. I don't get a salary... but I get a film... my friends get a few months near the beach. Not such a bad deal when you think about it really.

Colorful confection

Above: Some of the color script for Ginger.  The main focus of the color script is really making sure the characters read on the backgrounds... and making sure that there is a artistic progression in the film... making sure each sequence and place feels unique from one another... yet still tie together in some way. For Ginger I have used mostly variations of green and red... for some reason this feels Irish to me.

The color scripts start out as boards... then I fill them in with rough color passes... then eventually more finished backgrounds. This board is a combination of my, and Susanne's bgs... all based on my layout and color sketches.  The more 3d looking scenes are keyed by going over frames from maya... and early render tests. For some sequences of the short,  I lean the red more towards orange or yellow... and the green to blues depending on the mood. I keep the yellows and whites  primarily as accent colors in all the sequences... using them to help focus the eye to specific parts of the screen. Of course I try to keep the orange of the Ginger cookie reading... depending on what's happening in the story -tod

Kanome cookie

Above: A small handbill made by one of the artists at "The Monk".  The studio is helping promote "Escape of the Gingerbread Man!!!"  at various events. Showing clips, and artwork... drumming up interest in the project. As we get closer to finishing... we hope to enter the short in the film festival circuit.  - tod

Monk-ees

Above: Animation wrap at "The Monk Studio": Every person here has contributed in some way in the production of Gingerbread man. I owe a great deal to Juck, and the gang. Thank you all! Now on to render and post production!

Fresh baked to your door

Above: A rough design for Grannies delivery truck. I say rough because this design will be translated to work in 3D... and sometimes certain lines in the design have to change slightly in order to work. The main thing is keeping the "feeling" of the design.

Below: A sketch by Jannick Grool... In the long version of the story I had imagined Granny being a sort of heavy metal momma... dressed in black leather. Heavy Metal versions of traditional Irish folk songs would boom out of her ride. The big plow on front isn't for snow... it's to clear the sheep out of the way. Granny is one of my favorite characters in the film... but unfortunately I had to cut some of her best bits early for time sake. Hopefully someday I can make the complete long version of the story.

Small Bites

Uploading a few of Aarons test renders from the famous race sequence. The gag being that there wasn't enough of a budget to paint proper backgrounds, or do proper animation in this section of the film. The back story being that school children were employed. The truth is... two school children designed the animals for this sequence... Nate and Ean Moretti... but I never actually paid them. Though I will probably take them out for an ice cream, or a glass of water once I have save enough money to actually go home. Hope they like the end result. -tod