Contest Winners Fall 2010

Here are the clips (great job everybody!!):

Aju Mohan:



Elliot Russel:

Dimmer Switch from MuDvAyNe on Vimeo.

Teemu Kutvonen:



Keeley Nolan:



"vityag":

And the winner is:

Aju Mohan!
_________________________

Fall SOS Workshops #1 and #2 are DONE!

Well well well, two more workshops are done! There were some room confusions this time around, but all in all, you guys rocked as always! Super patient and always ready for 3 hours of laughter. :)
Can't believe 16 weeks went by already... Wesley Snipes would turn around and go: "WTF?" Good luck to everybody and some of you I will see in Spring!

Thanks!!!
JD

- pic source

Animation Mentor Newsletter - December 2010

If you haven't signed up already, I'd recommend you do it, there's always good info to be found. This month you get:

- The Gruffalo Magic
- Be the First to Hear What's New!(I believe sweet AM news are coming!)
- Chili Bandit: A Short Film by Animation Mentor Alumnus Phil Barnard
- Featured Mentor Jeff Joe, Senior Character Animator at PDI/DreamWorks
- Featured Alumni Alison Sanders, Animator at Tippett Studio
- Useful Tips for Animation Tips & Tricks with Peter Kelly

Contest Ending Tomorrow

... meaning: Wednesday, 11:59pm. :)

Good luck!!!

VFX Law

There's a new site up, called VFX Law and it's an interesting source of information. I'll add that to VFX Soldier and TAG.

Rango Trailer

firstshowing is quoting:

animating using "cutting edge techniques" that "allow [them] to capture and translate every aspect of Johnny's performance, using it to drive the computer-generated character in a way that has yet to be seen."

That's right. Cutting edge keyframe animation. SPOILER! :)

New Rango Poster

- found @ yahoo

How to build your animation team - by Keith Lango

No budget exists that will allow you to build a team of 100% 15yr+ pros to get your film done. Every animator on a film needs to contribute footage, but not all footage is created equal. Many shots frankly don't need a superstar, and other shots can't be done by anybody less than amazing. You build your team in sections accordingly. The percentages may fluctuate some, but in general here's how you build a team, going from most expensive to least expensive team members--

Read the rest of Keith Lango's breakdown, very interesting! Thanks Ting for the tip (took me a while to post this...).

Ice Cream - by N. Pinet

Love the new winning clip by N. Pinet. Watch the November 11secondclub winner here!

50 Disney references in Epic Mickey

Check them out @ gamesradar.com - found via GoNintendo

I so don't have time to play through games anymore, but I'd love to get it. So far everything looked really cool.

Despicable Me - Mini-Movie 'Banana' Preview

Real Steel Trailer

Prep & Landing – Operation Secret Santa

So good! Loved the first one and this one is great too. The designs are so cute!

Meet Buck

Meet Buck from TeamCerf on Vimeo.

- found @ Cartoon Brew

Rio - Trailer

Watch it @ apple!

Arthur Christmas - Trailer

Watch the trailer @ arthurchristmas.com

Awesome dog reference

Dog biting shark? Backflip at 2:15? I think there's reference for everything...

Thought of You

So good! Thanks Bernie and David for the tip!

Thought of You from Ryan Woodward on Vimeo.

Behind-the-scenes-work:

Thought of You - Behind the Scenes Preview - ROUGH CUT from Cambell Christensen on Vimeo.

38th Annual Annie Nominations

Best Animated Feature

* Despicable Me – Illumination Entertainment
* How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation
* Tangled – Disney
* The Illusionist – Django Films
* Toy Story 3 – Disney/Pixar
...

Animated Effects in an Animated Production

* Andrew Young Kim "Shrek Forever After" - DreamWorks Animation
* Jason Mayer "How To Train Your Dragon" - DreamWorks Animation
* Brett Miller "How To Train Your Dragon" - DreamWorks Animation
* Sebastian Quessy "Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" - Warner Bros. Pictures
* Kryzstof Rost "Megamind" - DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production

* Nicolas A. Chauvelot "Scared Shrekless" - DreamWorks Animation
* Savelon Forrest "Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III" - ShadowMachine
* Elizabeth Havetine "Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III" – ShadowMachine
* David Pate "Kung Fu Panda Holiday" - DreamWorks Animation
* Nideep Varghese "Scared Shrekless" - DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production

* Mark Donald "Megamind" - DreamWorks Animation
* Anthony Hodgson "Megamind" - DreamWorks Animation
* Gabe Hordos "How To Train Your Dragon" - DreamWorks Animation
* Jakob Hjort Jensen "How To Train Your Dragon" - DreamWorks Animation
* David Torres "How To Train Your Dragon" - DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Live Action Production

* Quentin Miles - Clash of the Titans
* Ryan Page - Alice in Wonderland

Head over here to check out the rest of the nominations. Congratulations to everybody!!

When Failure Becomes a Good Thing

Awesome analysis of "How to Train your Dragon" at storyfanatic.com.

Not every story needs to work out for the best. In fact, one could argue that greater truth can be found in stories that closer approximate the bittersweet moments in life.

In How To Train Your Dragon, things don’t quite work out the way Hiccup had intended. While smiles abound and the music swells, there still seems to be a sense of loss. The reason why this is goes far beyond the obvious physical changes: something quite meaningful has transpired.

Head over there and read the rest.