Weekly comment

  Yay tests... well test. seeing as I only have an english test tomorrow it won't be all bad. I am finding 3d very difficult and constantly have to go back over my notes to recreate something usable for the "chicken" project. Ugh. Regardless the highlight of my week so far other than successfully dropping my problem class, would have to be the end of it. This past week was killer, and felt slower than usual. The highlight/disappointment? That would have to be the movie I saw last night American Sniper. I only say that because yes the movie was good, I was even moved to tears at the end, but not as good as the slightly older movie it is constantly being compared to Lone survivor. I don't think the movie was all its cracked up to be, but that shouldn't stop anyone from seeing it and judging that for yourself. I'm looking forward to the independent study project so I can go back to the familiar warmth of Animate pro. I have some plans for the final project as well that should prove to be fun.
 Anyhow heres the link of interest for this week, enjoy! ( Not a trap. )

Sweet mother of render...

  3d has brought about many new challenges to animation but my least favorite to traverse would be rendering, simply because I can only sit back and tweedle my thumbs waiting for it to finish. Just looking at all of the complex  mechanics and sims running in the battle of the five armies movie made me want to cry imagining what it would take for poor Maya to crank that out in mental ray. But thankfully there are different programs specially developed for the job. Having hundreds of creatures and people battling it out on one screen is nothing to scoff at, the production and set up for something on this scale is absolutely ludicrous though it has been done before. Other movies such as The previous lord of the rings movies and Dawn of the planet of the apes, require the special attention of the high tech programs used at Weta Digital.
  All I can really say is that the process for a movie like this is incredible and complicated to no end. I am glad I only have to deal with a fraction of this on a minor scale.

Michael Bay has good advice?!

   It surprised me too when I read the article this week to find out that Michael Bay has more to his directing style than just explosions. The notorious filmmaker has laid the groundwork for many aspiring filmmakers in terms of action movies and sequences.
  There were a few things in particular I picked out from the interview with Mr. Bay, the first being how he used grand scale shots vs close ups. This would allow the audience to take in the enormity of what was happening while transitioning into the characters personal emotions and reaction to the event. Another tip I picked up on was the use of real "Large moving objects." that would also ad an element of realism to the shot. The last tip I noticed was director Bay's use of a tennis ball in order to gauge (haha...) gravity. Tossing it up and using its air time to reflect that of a character to help get a tough shot.
  Actually learning something from Michael Bay was a surprising experience but I will actually find some use for his recommendations in both my animation and future camera work.

Dat weekly comment doe

  Holy crap another week and I haven't put my fist through my monitor yet...just kidding I love it to much for that, but regardless as promised with the arrival of 3d his lesser known and hated by all sibling "crap load of work" is faithfully at his side. I never expected it to be easy but damn is it un-cooperative when i need it to be. Well, the good part about this week is that I will finally be able to drop my problem class without repercussion, ~yay. Although my sleeping schedule is severely jacked up. Im glad that we have started learning 3d but I will miss 2d very much so. Now all of my passion is focused on the final project, I already have a few ideas for it and I refuse to disappoint.
 Welp to wrap things up here be my link of interest--> As of late I caught up to an anime called Tokyo ghoul which in my opinion is the best anime so far in 2015. It is notoriously gruesome and should not be looked  at lightly, especially if you don't like blood, but that is my exact reason for watching it. I like to pick out how the blood is animated, though most of it is censored I still have learned a lot. If you have a strong gut and don't mind blood and broken bones, then this is a tremendous anime, I highly recommend it.

Perspective in perspective

  This topic has been lightly touched apon before in previous articles I have been, against my will, forced to review, and the takeaway remains more or less the same. Put extremely bluntly... Same $*!t different day. Regardless that doesn't make it any less important. Perspective is one of the greatest tools used by both masters and amateurs and when used correctly can receive the same response. As an animator or even an artist it is nice to think of myself somewhat as a magician. I trick the audience into thinking what I want them to while the real trick is all behind the scenes. Pronouncing a characters presence with power or might, a simple low wide angle lens.
   As I stated previously this is a very important tool that can be used in many ways and I have applied it to many aspects of my own work, it should not be taken lightly and should be used prominently.

Disney looks with their special eyes

  There are many things that make the human body and each individual person unique, be it their symmetry, emotions, facial expressions, and of course their eyes. Disney's tough team of computer graphics experts has derived a way to generate an ultra realistic human eye using a combination of people, lighting, and many expensive cameras. Pascal Berard, a Ph.D student in computer graphics currently working for Disney's research team behind the algorithm, expresses his excitement and explains the difficulty and expense of the process in the article.
  This article does really put in perspective the advances currently being made in the animation and graphics field, and strengthens its possibility for the future. The idea of actors them selves being replaced by animated replicas opens the door for a whole new era of entertainment. For better or worse I cannot wait to see how this unfolds.