One of the last assignments for the film class was to create a piece that had something to do with color. I used aftereffects to pull this one off.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Figure Drawing
Along with all of this film making and animating and writing, I was also expanding my life drawing skills in a figure drawing class.
There's a City Inside
Another assignment from the film class was to use green screening and super imposition in some way. I combined shots of plants, growing in the city, and replaced the green with video footage of downtown KC.
Herbert's Horrible Hands
Over in the 'Discourse of Love' class I had written a short story about love and illustrated the main character.
Later I had my very talented friend Dahlia Grossman-Heinze edit and polish it. Here is the story as it stands today.
Herbert’s Horrible Hands
Herbert the Cyclops was a misunderstood being. His heart was full of love but his hands
were full of hate. Whenever Herbert’s heart fell in love, his hands would completely destroy
whatever it was that he loved. Herbert couldn’t help but kill all those he loved. After several
failed attempts at self-control, Herbert realized the only way he could go on was if he never
loved again. Herbert barricaded himself inside a deep hole in the earth.. Herbert decided to
harden his heart with loneliness and never destroy anything else. The Cave was dark, damp and
dull but at least here it was impossible for the Cyclops to love.
Everyone slowly began to forget about Herbert and his short-lived reign of terror.
Eventually the only mentions of the Cyclops were in warnings and bedtime stories for
disobedient children. No one knew where he had gone, but everyone in the town suspected he
had disappeared into the dangerous and dark woods. One especially disobedient child earned
this story nearly every night. Her name was Zoe. It seemed as though Zoe misbehaved for the
sole purpose of hearing stories about the horrible Cyclops and his rampages. She constantly
thought about Herbert. She was obsessed. She wanted more than anything to meet this
creature.
Finally, one day Zoe had the chance to slip away from the supervision of her mother.
The girl ran into the forest to search for the Cyclops. After several hours of searching in the
dense woods, she came across a large hole in the earth.
“This must be it! This must be where the Cyclops lives!” she thought.
She began to climb down the jagged rocks until she reached the bottom of the hole.
Three tunnels lay before her. The little girl sat down to think of which way to go. As she sat in
thought, she heard the faint sound of someone, or something, crying. The girl decided to
follow the sound of the sobs. As Zoe kept walking, the tunnel opened up into a great cavern. In
the center of the room lay a huge mound that appeared to be moving. As she approached the
dark mass, she realized that whatever it was, it was breathing. She slid along the edge of the
cavern to get a better look at the beast. Just as she reached the far side of the cavern, the
mound shifted and the beast sat bolt upright. Startled, the girl let out a tiny screech.
“Who’s there?” growled Herbert.
“M-m-my n-name’s Zoe,” the little girl stammered.
“Whad-you want?”
“II-I heard stories about yy-you.”
“Get out of my cave, little girl! Now!”
“W-wait! I just wanted to m-meet you Mr. Cyclops.”
“Name’s Herbert and I don’t take visitors. You should leave.”
The little girl stood still and didn’t make a sound.
“I said go!” Herbert screamed.
“Wait! I have some questions for you Mr. Herbert; can I ask you some questions?”
Herbert waited a moment. It had been so long since he had company. “Well, F-fine, but
you have to stand over there by the entrance and keep your distance. Don’t move,” he said.
They resituated themselves, Herbert moved to the very back of the cave and the girl did
as she was told and stood in the entrance of the cavern.
“Alright girl, what do you want to ask me?”
“Why did you kill all those people? In all of the stories, you always end up killing people
who loved you. Don’t you want to be loved? Don’t you want to love somebody, too?” Zoe said
as she leaned forward.
“They never loved me! I never loved them! They were horrible little people who
deserved it. They had it coming! If I hadn’t of done it, then someone else w-would have!”
Herbert broke off as he stared at the floor. Tears began to gather in the Cyclops eye so
he covered his face in his hands. Zoe moved forward almost as if she were going to give Herbert
a hug but the giant held up one of his large mangled hands in protest.
“Little girl, let me tell you something about love,” Herbert said through tears. He was
quiet a moment. “Your heart knows love and it knows it very easily, but the heart has a hell of
a time trying to convince the rest of your body. My hands have a particularly stubborn outlook
on love. I truly loved all of them with my entire heart but my hands would have none of it. My
heart is weak compared to the strength of my hands. Every time I begin to feel the warmth of
love swelling in my body, my hands make sure to crush it. I am a cursed and I will never feel the
fire of love. I am broken.”
Herbert put his head in his hands and wept. Completely forgetting all of Herbert’s
warnings, Zoe rushed forward and threw her arms around the Cyclops’ leg.
“Oh, Herbert! Surely a creature of your intelligence and beauty can learn to accept love
and control his own actions. What is the body but a mass of flesh and bone? You can control it,
Herbert! I’ll love you!”
In this moment Herbert saw the true beauty in Zoe’s innocence and with every ounce
of his heart, he loved her. Their gazes locked as an overwhelming understanding filled up their
eyes. Zoe smiled up at Herbert.
“I love you, Herbert,” she said.
Suddenly, Herbert’s hands shot out and smashed Zoe’s frail body into the floor of the
rocky cavern. Herbert slowly lifted his hands to his face and stared at them. As Zoe’s innards
oozed down Herbert’s fingers, he fell to the ground too grief stricken to stand.
Later I had my very talented friend Dahlia Grossman-Heinze edit and polish it. Here is the story as it stands today.
Herbert’s Horrible Hands
Herbert the Cyclops was a misunderstood being. His heart was full of love but his hands
were full of hate. Whenever Herbert’s heart fell in love, his hands would completely destroy
whatever it was that he loved. Herbert couldn’t help but kill all those he loved. After several
failed attempts at self-control, Herbert realized the only way he could go on was if he never
loved again. Herbert barricaded himself inside a deep hole in the earth.. Herbert decided to
harden his heart with loneliness and never destroy anything else. The Cave was dark, damp and
dull but at least here it was impossible for the Cyclops to love.
Everyone slowly began to forget about Herbert and his short-lived reign of terror.
Eventually the only mentions of the Cyclops were in warnings and bedtime stories for
disobedient children. No one knew where he had gone, but everyone in the town suspected he
had disappeared into the dangerous and dark woods. One especially disobedient child earned
this story nearly every night. Her name was Zoe. It seemed as though Zoe misbehaved for the
sole purpose of hearing stories about the horrible Cyclops and his rampages. She constantly
thought about Herbert. She was obsessed. She wanted more than anything to meet this
creature.
Finally, one day Zoe had the chance to slip away from the supervision of her mother.
The girl ran into the forest to search for the Cyclops. After several hours of searching in the
dense woods, she came across a large hole in the earth.
“This must be it! This must be where the Cyclops lives!” she thought.
She began to climb down the jagged rocks until she reached the bottom of the hole.
Three tunnels lay before her. The little girl sat down to think of which way to go. As she sat in
thought, she heard the faint sound of someone, or something, crying. The girl decided to
follow the sound of the sobs. As Zoe kept walking, the tunnel opened up into a great cavern. In
the center of the room lay a huge mound that appeared to be moving. As she approached the
dark mass, she realized that whatever it was, it was breathing. She slid along the edge of the
cavern to get a better look at the beast. Just as she reached the far side of the cavern, the
mound shifted and the beast sat bolt upright. Startled, the girl let out a tiny screech.
“Who’s there?” growled Herbert.
“M-m-my n-name’s Zoe,” the little girl stammered.
“Whad-you want?”
“II-I heard stories about yy-you.”
“Get out of my cave, little girl! Now!”
“W-wait! I just wanted to m-meet you Mr. Cyclops.”
“Name’s Herbert and I don’t take visitors. You should leave.”
The little girl stood still and didn’t make a sound.
“I said go!” Herbert screamed.
“Wait! I have some questions for you Mr. Herbert; can I ask you some questions?”
Herbert waited a moment. It had been so long since he had company. “Well, F-fine, but
you have to stand over there by the entrance and keep your distance. Don’t move,” he said.
They resituated themselves, Herbert moved to the very back of the cave and the girl did
as she was told and stood in the entrance of the cavern.
“Alright girl, what do you want to ask me?”
“Why did you kill all those people? In all of the stories, you always end up killing people
who loved you. Don’t you want to be loved? Don’t you want to love somebody, too?” Zoe said
as she leaned forward.
“They never loved me! I never loved them! They were horrible little people who
deserved it. They had it coming! If I hadn’t of done it, then someone else w-would have!”
Herbert broke off as he stared at the floor. Tears began to gather in the Cyclops eye so
he covered his face in his hands. Zoe moved forward almost as if she were going to give Herbert
a hug but the giant held up one of his large mangled hands in protest.
“Little girl, let me tell you something about love,” Herbert said through tears. He was
quiet a moment. “Your heart knows love and it knows it very easily, but the heart has a hell of
a time trying to convince the rest of your body. My hands have a particularly stubborn outlook
on love. I truly loved all of them with my entire heart but my hands would have none of it. My
heart is weak compared to the strength of my hands. Every time I begin to feel the warmth of
love swelling in my body, my hands make sure to crush it. I am a cursed and I will never feel the
fire of love. I am broken.”
Herbert put his head in his hands and wept. Completely forgetting all of Herbert’s
warnings, Zoe rushed forward and threw her arms around the Cyclops’ leg.
“Oh, Herbert! Surely a creature of your intelligence and beauty can learn to accept love
and control his own actions. What is the body but a mass of flesh and bone? You can control it,
Herbert! I’ll love you!”
In this moment Herbert saw the true beauty in Zoe’s innocence and with every ounce
of his heart, he loved her. Their gazes locked as an overwhelming understanding filled up their
eyes. Zoe smiled up at Herbert.
“I love you, Herbert,” she said.
Suddenly, Herbert’s hands shot out and smashed Zoe’s frail body into the floor of the
rocky cavern. Herbert slowly lifted his hands to his face and stared at them. As Zoe’s innards
oozed down Herbert’s fingers, he fell to the ground too grief stricken to stand.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Video Mashup
The stipulations for this assignment were to mash up two videos in some way. I choose to strip the audio from a classic clip of Office space and sync it up to a classic scene of Disney animation.
Frame X Frame Art Book
Our senior class was a very tight-knit group and we wanted to commemorate our education and artistic abilities so we decided to compile a book full of our best still work, yes animators make still work too. I ran the business side of things because we printed it through the printing company I've worked for for over 10 years now. This was a limited edition 100 copy production so if you see one of these books anywhere, snatch it up. Here are some of the images that I included for my pages.
Back to go Forwards / Exquisite Corpse
The next film assignment was to film actions moving backwards then reverse the footage so that it is moving forwards to create a strange action. I got lucky and had my camera when it started to snow, so I had my friend walk around a courtyard and filmed snow falling up.
For the Exquisite Corpse assignment the class was broken up into groups of three. Each student was assigned a section of the body that they had to portray in video either literally or conceptually. I obviously had the torso and decided to show off some of my fashion and pixillation skills.
For the Exquisite Corpse assignment the class was broken up into groups of three. Each student was assigned a section of the body that they had to portray in video either literally or conceptually. I obviously had the torso and decided to show off some of my fashion and pixillation skills.
Film Chastity
The last semester of my senior year was surprisingly extremely productive. I got myself into a film class that really helped me explore film from behind a camera.
The first assignment was a study of Dogme 95 which was a group of filmmakers that created strict guidelines, or 'Vows of Chastity' in an attempt to purify the art form of film. Our assignment required that we just follow two of the guidelines so I choose to abstain from using filters or other optical work, and I used no out of place props. We were also not allowed to use a shot for more than 15 frames at a time. The last stipulations seemed to really override all of the Dogme 95 Vows, but it still made for an interesting assignment.
The first assignment was a study of Dogme 95 which was a group of filmmakers that created strict guidelines, or 'Vows of Chastity' in an attempt to purify the art form of film. Our assignment required that we just follow two of the guidelines so I choose to abstain from using filters or other optical work, and I used no out of place props. We were also not allowed to use a shot for more than 15 frames at a time. The last stipulations seemed to really override all of the Dogme 95 Vows, but it still made for an interesting assignment.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Senior Thesis Preview
Throughout the entire semester we were supposed to be working on our thesis films. At the end of the semester we were required to give a presentation to the entire department about how the production was going. I was pretty on schedule and so I made this little trailer.
Figure Drawing
I was taking a figure drawing elective. In honesty I really didn't take advantage of this class nearly as much as I should have. In any case, here are a few images from that.
Commercial
The last visual project for the Writing for the Media class was a commercial animatic that we could create for any company to sell any product we wanted. I made up my own fried chicken restaurant.
Propoganda Poster
I was also taking a class called 'Writing for the Media'. It was based on story structure and how to sell a product. Occasionally we would have some visual assignments, this being the first. We picked a cause and created a propaganda poster to represent it.
Artist Interview
To kick off the senior year, our Portfolio class required us to pair up with someone and take turns interviewing each other 10 years in the future. It was kind of an interesting project...
Senior Thesis GO!
The last thing I did over the summer was begin pre-production on my senior thesis. Everything was really loose and ended up drastically changing by the middle of my first semester, but I managed to make this short intro storyboard before changing the story. I was also messing around with some After Effects puppet animation and looking back I'm a little sad I didn't give it more of a shot. Those legs look pretty sexy.
Computer Programming Company
Also during the summer I scrounged up an infinitely more boring, but paid, internship for a computer programming company. I was enlisted to create simulated animations for the interface of a spreadsheet program they were working on.... exhilarating.
To liven up this post a little bit, briefly during the summer I helped my friend Stuart Bury animate a music video for The Chariot. I was a very minimal part of the production but what I did was cut-out some of the puppets and animate some run cycles.
To liven up this post a little bit, briefly during the summer I helped my friend Stuart Bury animate a music video for The Chariot. I was a very minimal part of the production but what I did was cut-out some of the puppets and animate some run cycles.
Quixotic
Going into the summer, I had managed to get myself an internship at one of the few local Kansas City animation studios, Bazillion Pictures. For the first part of the internship we worked on abstract projections that would be used in the annual Quixotic Fusion show held on UMKC's campus. Here are several renders I created using Adobe Aftereffects and Trapcode Particular and Form.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Junior Year Final
Lucky, for my sanity, the last semester of Junior year was mainly focused on one project. A few of my peers and I decided we were going to actually produce the project we had pitched in our pre-production class, The Fox and The Monkey. In the background of this new 'Digital Frontiers' class we were also learning how to model a Vermier painting and rig it, which is probably the single most painful assignment I have ever had to complete in my 17 years of schooling. By happenstance I have no documentation of that awful project. The Fox and The Monkey was originally intended to be about a minute longer but we ran out of time near the end so this became a perpetual WIP.
Second Semester Junior Year Begins
Lip Sync. We were given freedom as to which medium we wanted to animate in and so I choose hand-drawn. Upon getting this assignment I searched the inter-webs for some good audio. In retrospect I wish I had chosen something with a little more emotion, though I am happy with the way this turned out.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
First Semester Junior Year Final
The Final for the Intro to Maya class was to use basic forms to show emotion and tell a story. I combined this project with a final from a Sound for Animation class in which I was required to completely create a soundscape. I used samples of acoustic chords and laughs that I recorded to create the audio track. For the visuals I used Maya, which was required, to bookend my project and in the middle utilized a magic marker abstract animation that I had been working on in my free time (to keep my sanity) to create a visual break in the middle of the project and drive the narrative.
Enjoy, Geoi.
Here is a time lapse of me animating 'Geoi'
Enjoy, Geoi.
Here is a time lapse of me animating 'Geoi'
Pre-Production Final
The final project for the pre-production class was quite a doosey. We were allowed to form groups so I partnered up with Sakari Singh and Laura Ambrosiano and we put together a pitch for a short film titled 'The Fox and The Monkey'. We wanted to tell a lesser known fairy tale and found this one in an African fairy tales book. This fairy tale was so short that we decided to bookend it with little snippets of another fairy tale which happened to be of Indian origins. This is the animatic we pitched.
and here are some pre-production images
-Character design by Laura Amrosiano
-Character design by Sakari Singh
-Characters by Me
and here are some pre-production images
-Character design by Laura Amrosiano
-Character design by Sakari Singh
-Characters by Me
Animal Walk Cycle
As we neared the end of the semester, the projects began to get pretty difficult. This was an assignment to animate a quadrupedal walk cycle. I choose a wolf.
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