2D Animation is definitely not dead!

I read a great blog post the other day by Tara Peak from Curveball Media. I couldn't agree more with her sentiments within her post! Take a look at it, it makes interesting reading: 2d animation isn't dead. 

2D animation is still definitely alive in Japanese anime! Studio Ghibli still create 2D films, and it is definitely alive within TV and online advertising, animated info graphics and 2D games! The area where it is no longer used is in Disney films and Western animated films in general, but it is still alive within so many other areas. 

I recently attended a couple of screenings of the British Animation Awards, public vote at the Regent Street Cinema, London and there was a great variety of animations screened including lots of 2D, along with stop motion, mixed media and 3D. I enjoyed The Evening Her Mind Jumped Out Of Her Head by Shaun Clark and Kim Noce, Weather the Storm by Benjamin Sheuer and Stromae: Carmen by Sylvain Chomet, to name a few.

Stromae: Carmen by Sylvain Chomet

I think 2D is having a revival and I happy to witness this. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate all types of animation, but I am tired of hearing that 2D is dead, I think we can categorically say this is not the case!

Big upgrade for Adobe Flash!

I first read about the update to Flash on the Angry Animators website and I must admit to having a bit of panic when reading his headline RIP Adobe Flash.... Thankfully on reading on, it shouldn't be as bad as it sounds. If Adobe gets this right, there will be a lot of grateful animators out there! I am a bit scared that they could get it wrong, but this is me being a pessimist. I do have my reasons as I used to love Adobe Soundbooth it was a great sound editing programme... straightforward to use and edit in, but Adobe changed it to Audition which I do use, but it is in no way as user friendly as Soundbooth was. I really hope they don't do this with Flash.... or should I say 'Animate'.

There is going to be a name change - Flash will now be Adobe Animate CC - I really do hope that they focus on what animators really need and reflect on the new name!

It was hard to take when they upgraded Flash CS6 and they took away things that we were getting used to using, it seemed crazy that an upgrade came with less features than the old version?!? It is also quite annoying that when you import video to create some rotoscoping effects that you have to import an flv to embed into the timeline but that you cannot convert .movs to flv's in the Adobe Media Encoder! I really hope this is updated with the new version.

Below is a video from Adobe.com, discussing some of the new updates - nothing here to get too excited about apart from being able to import brushes.... that is long overdue I think.

Well, the update is supposed to be happening soon so we will wait in anticipation for what happens with the re-birth of good old Flash. It has its short comings but I teach it to my animation students and its a great platform to start learning 2D digital animation. You can do frame by frame, 2D rigging and rotoscope which are all the skills you need to learn at the beginning of an animation education.

Take from: http://www.angryanimator.com/word/ 

I love the illustration above - I borrowed it from Angry Animator because it illustrates the frustration of learning and creating animation :)

Animation Infographic

Here is a cute info graphic about animation from www.elearninginforgraphics.com


Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

The Art of Short Films

The Art of Short Films  flick through


The Art of Short Films Book 'Flick-Through' from Skwigly on Vimeo.

This book looks so cool, it's a must buy I think! The short film creators are interviewed and they share their experiences and give advice about what to do and what not to do, which is helpful.

LIAF Best of the Festival

Storm Hits Jacket by Paul Cabon (France) was chosen as the best of the LIAF festival last year (2014). I love the style and obviously the judges loved it! There comments were that: 

'This film used a combination of highly imaginative scenarios, absurdity, deadpan humour and a deceptively naive but subtle animation style to keep us riveted throughout a film which really made no sense at all. For its genuine silliness, sophisticated structure, pacing and memorable images the award for Best Film of the London International Animation Festival 2014 goes to Storm Hits Jacket by Paul Cabon'.

Here is a little snippet from the animation:


Tempête sur anorak _ ANIMATION SNIPPET from Paul Cabon on Vimeo.

What is Animation?

I recently stumbled upon an interview with Bob Godfrey by Martin Pickles in Cartoon Brew and I realised how similar my philosophy of animation is to his. I truly admire Disney style 2D animation and I am in awe at the expertise of the nine old men, but I do love the simplicity of quirky non realistic animation. I love the work of Ivan Maximov and Michaela Pavlatova to name a few.

In the interview (which took place at Godfrey's Acme Studio in the East End of London in 2006), Godfrey said:

“Well animation is not live action, I think that says it. Anything that is not live action which is actuality but is drawn is animation. And the thing about animation is that there are absolutely no rules. I mean these schools that are springing up all over the place ‘How to Walk, ‘How to Run,’ based on live action. How a live action man runs, how a live action person walks, you know, people in animation don’t have to walk, I mean they don’t even have to have legs, they can go up in the air.
“In animation you can do absolutely everything and I said I think that the only two restrictions are your bank balance and your mind. And, well, your imagination that you can grow, you know, providing the budget will allow you to. And when people are confronted with this absolute freedom they tend to freak out, they tend to say ‘We want limitations, we want gravity.’ Basically, there is no gravity in animation, animation is free, it can fly, it can go anywhere. And I don’t think enough people realize this, they’re too earth bound. It’s not earth bound, it’s fantasy.”

How to stop procrastinating

I have just read an article in Ideas Tap on how to stop procrastinating. I try to warn my students about the daemon procrastination, but I always have to admit that I can also succumb to it at times! There is a good piece of advice in the article (written by Stephanie Soh), from writer Simon Whaley about breaking things down into smaller chunks and this advice is true of any piece of creative work and also for essay writing:

Break it down“Often we procrastinate because the job that needs doing is too big, or feels like a lot of work,” says Simon Whaley. “The trick is to break it down into more manageable, bite-size chunks.” He uses the example of writing a short story to illustrate this technique: “If you sit down to write a 5,000-word story then the task will overwhelm you. You will procrastinate because you’ll be trying to write the perfect first word, followed by the perfect first sentence, followed by the perfect first paragraph. Perfection is created during editing, but you can’t edit a blank page – you need to write something. Break down the task: think about a plot, or the basic premise. Don’t think, ‘I have 30 minutes, I’d better write the first 500-words.’ Just think, ‘What's my story about?’ You can worry about characters and writing your story for the next session.”

Another bit of good advice is to write down the consequences of procrastination, when you see this written down, you will feel the need to crack on with things sooner! It is so true that procrastinators will put work off until the point of pain, it is only when it is so last minute that we finally take action!

Realise the consequencesWe all know that good things happen when we meet deadlines, finish early and generally get things done. So why do we go to such lengths of put off our work? Michael Heppell believes that “People will do more to avoid pain than they will to gain pleasure. They’ll put work off until the point of pain, and that’s when they’ll suddenly take action.” What we need to do is make ourselves fully aware of the negative consequences of procrastination: “Write a list of the benefits of getting busy with what you want to do, but also a list of the pain if you don’t do it,” advises Michael. “And don’t just note one or two things, write down 10 or 15 things: what people might think about you, what it might cost you, your stress levels, your health, what it might mean to your relationship, having to stay behind at work... Big things, little things, get them all on. And by capturing it on paper, you’ll be much more inclined to do something, rather than just think about it.”

 http://ideastap.com/IdeasMag/all-articles/How-to-stop-procrastinating

New animations I am looking forward to seeing

Animation Magazine listed new animations coming out this year in their article, The Animated Movie Dossier & this is my pick from the list (www.animatedmagazine.net/features/the-animated-movie-dossier)

When Marnie Was There
Studio Ghibli | July 19 (Japan)
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writers: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Keiko Niwa, Masashi Ando
Story: Set on the Norfolk, England, seaside, this ethereal tale centers on friendless Anna, whose life changes when she meets a mysterious girl named Marnie among the sand dunes. When Marnie vanishes and a new family moves into her house, Anna learns that her friend was not all that she seemed.

The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls
LAIKA, Focus Features | Sept. 26
Directors: Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
Writer: Irena Brignull, based on Here Be Monsters, by Alan Snow
Cast: Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Ben Kingsley, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, Jared Harris, Toni Collette
Story: Set in a Victorian-inspired world where social status and wealth revolve around the stinkiest of cheeses, a young orphaned boy is raised by underground trash collectors known as Boxtrolls who are feared by the citizens of the upper world. When a social-climbing villain sets out to exterminate the monsters, the boy risks everything to save his misunderstood friends.

The Book of Life

The Book of Life
Reel FX, Fox | Oct. 17
Director: Jorge Gutierrez
Writer: Jorge Gutierrez
Cast: Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate
Story: Manolo, a young man torn between his family’s expectations and his heart’s desires, embarks on an incredible journey through three fantastical worlds to face his greatest fears before deciding on his life’s path. Additional voices provided by Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, Cheech Marin, Placido Domingo, Danny Trejo and more.

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart
EuropaCorp, France 3, Ile de France, Canal+, CineCinema, Walking the Dog, Ufilm | 2014
Directors: Mathias Malzieu, Stephane Berla
Writer: Mathias Malzieu, based on the graphic novel and album by Dionysus
Cast: Orlando Seale, Stephane Cornicard, Sophia Ellis, Samantha Barks
Story: Jack’s story begins when he is born in Scotland in 1874, on the coldest day of the year. When his young heart stops beating, a clever midwife replaces it with a mechanical one allowing him to live. However, Jack must avoid strong emotion, which might disrupt his heart’s delicate machinery.

Song of the Sea

Song of the Sea
Cartoon Saloon | 2014 (Ireland)
Director: Tomm Moore
Writer: Will Collins
Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle
Story: Inspired by Irish folk legend, the film centers on the last of the Seal-Children, Saoirse and her brother Ben who embark on a fantastic journey across a fading world of ancient legend and magic in an attempt to return to their home by the sea. GKIDS has acquired U.S. release rights.

Adobe Generation Video course is finished

I was so pleased that I took the time to complete the Adobe Generation video course. I cannot recommend these free online courses enough. I love it that they have an expert on each week to talk about their work - some of them are so inspirational! The tutors are great too, they are friendly and down to earth and there is plenty of banter throughout the lesson. I will miss going online every week.

I was over the moon to get a mention from our tutor Adam:

Here is the link to the different courses: http://create.adobegeneration.com - the latest one that has just started is Game Design :)

Adobe Generation video course

I am currently doing the Adobe Generation video course. I'm hoping to improve my skills with Premiere because I haven't used it much. I used Final Cut to create the end of year shows, but have not felt comfortable with using Premiere, so hopefully, I will start to improve with this course! So far it has been good. I love the professionals that they have in each week - Alan Stocklakes films were so inspiring! 

I am behind with the weekly tasks due to work commitments, so I need to get cracking in this weeks & last weeks task. I need to film someone leaving or arriving for last week and do a storyboard for a film about the opening scene from a book. I've been frantically looking through books to find an interesting scene..... Not found it yet!!

BBC Winter Olympics animation by StudioAKA

I love this animation, so glad I found it on YouTube :)

Inspire | Features and Opinion | Storytelling in Animation

Inspire | Features and Opinion | Storytelling in Animation

Excerpt from a D&AD feature about storytelling in animation:

Marc Craste is a partner in StudioAKA. He is the recipient of two Baftas and the Cartoon D’or among others, and once came within spitting distance of an Oscar. He is currently working on his first feature.

Here he discusses the creation of large, intimidating worlds and the small characters that inhabit them.

BBC Sport – Winter Olympics Storyboard

Silent characters

There are many challenges in commercials, the greatest of which is conveying information that is engaging, entertaining and memorable, in a very short space of time.

The commercial work we do often features voiceless characters, and as a result there is a reliance on other visual elements to fill the gaps. All the information on the screen counts.

Oddly enough, when making a short film free of commercial considerations, the first thing we did was populate it with silent characters. Jojo in the Stars confirmed the importance of design and staging in the telling of a story, proving that the setting can often be as much a part of conveying the narrative as the character’s performance.

A real face with its infinite subtleties can absorb an audience and tell them all they need to know. It’s not so easy with animated characters, which often need help from whatever else is filling the screen.

Sometimes the character and the world they inhabit become so inextricably linked it’s hard to differentiate between the two. Jojo is an example where the world was integral to the story. Soon after we completed that film a commercial followed similar in spirit.

Animate Projects - Apocalypse Rhyme

I just love this typographical animation. I saw it at the Bradford Animation Festival in November and I was blown away.

LIAF

How lucky was I to have half term coincide with the London International Film Festival! I did work half of the week, but I went straight from work on Tuesday evening (29th October) to watch the International Programme (3). I booked tickets for the 'Horse Hospital', which turned out to be a quirky little venue! I thought we had gone into the wrong door initially, as I stumbled down a sloping corridor into a very small screening room. I had rushed from work (because I left later than I should have... usual scenario), and was running to each train link because I did not want to be late... as soon as we arrived, and had a glass of wine, I quickly wound down in the calming atmosphere.

I enjoyed quite  few of the animations screened. It is difficult to choose a favourite from Paula, Moirai and Coffee - they were so good, but there were also some others that caught my attention.

This is Paula by Etienne Simard (2011), one of my favourites from the screening that I viewed on the evening at the Horse Hospital.

My continuing creative journey Part 2

Following on from the previous post - my creative journey continued and I then found myself teaching on BTEC Level 3,  FdA & BA Animation courses and thought I should top up my HND to a degree in order to update my skills and I was expected to be at a higher level than I was teaching, so I enquired at Hertfordshire University and they persuaded me to jump straight to an MA because of already having a teaching qualification - this was very scary and I had to do this part time as I was teaching full time.... which was tough going, but I achieved an MA in 2D Digital Animation, helped by an amazing tutor (Alan Peacock) and also Ivan Phillips at Herts. What really surprised me was that I found a real love for the research and essay writing during my time studying for my MA. I stumbled across some really inspiring stuff and thoroughly enjoyed reading papers and books on the subject of animation and digital media. I adore reading anything by Lev Manovich, he is so inspirational.

Back sheet of my final project for my MA

A few years later, I find myself totally overloaded by my job and craving for some creativity for ME! I feel starved at times. The good thing about studying for the MA was that it kept my creative glow burning. I have been doing some sketching during the summer break, but my mind is partly distracted by the fact that I should now be planning for the new academic year.

My eye was caught while out shopping last week when I saw some wonderful prints by Kelly Rae Roberts. I recognised the style because I had purchased her book last year, when I was trying to do an e course with Traci Bautista while working and really fell in love with the mixed media art style. (A link to Kelly Rae's book is below). I have previously attended scrapbooking workshops and created some visual journals and this was really captivating me, but I still have not been able to sit myself down and create something. I went straight home from seeing the wonderful prints in the shop, and looked up Kelly Rae to find her blog and loved her story. I could relate to the beginning of her new journey, before she went part time from her job and began creating art. I purchased part one of her e book series and I really do have a dream, but I cannot verbalise it yet until I have it sorted in my head.....

My creative journey part 1

My creative journey has meandered into varying paths along the way and I started out loving art, always drawing when I was young. My art teacher wanted me to be an art teacher.... I would have loved that, but Mum said NO. At the time there were a lot of teacher strikes and she did not think that it was a worthwhile job. Although my Mum has now found her own creative path in sewing and creating beautiful cushions, bunting, handmade bags etc., she did not understand my creativity when I was younger. I wanted to do an Arts degree, but the answer again was no, simply because she never saw any credibility in extra education and did not see any future in anything creative. I did find a job doing 'window dressing' which apparently is now called 'visual merchandising', which was quite creative, but then was persuaded to work in an admin role (where Mum worked), when I wanted to get a mortgage - becuase this was the more stable environment. I lasted 4 years working my way up within an office environment to be an administrative assistant and met some great people, but it wasn't really for me.

When my son was young, I took the opportunity to go back to College and did a Foundation course and I loved it! When he was not at School, I was able to take him along with me, which was great. I did ceramics, photography, graphic design, life drawing, still life - a whole range of creative topics and I enjoyed everyone of them - it was a perfect course and it made me feel so vibrant and happy and was one of the best things I ever did. From there I did an A Level art course, but could not finish it due to complications at home. I went through a tough break up, which was pretty tumultuous, but through thick and thin, I was determined to stay on the creative path (it really was my saviour). I then took a graphics course and I loved typography and motion graphics and fell in love with a programme called Director, where I could create art with  motion. I then found another course doing Multimedia and I found myself helping a lot of the students with the software and when I completed the course I was asked by the tutor if I would come in and help out with classes. I then went part time and then gradually full time - it worked out very well with my sons education as I was there for him by working part time and by the time he was older, I started working full time. The mystery to me is how I went from art to digital - when I started the graphics course I did not know my way around a computer and here I was teaching web design, motion graphics and animation! I had evolved into a digital creative.

Creating outstanding layout effects in InDesign CC and Photoshop CC

Tim Reckart's Head over Heels

Tim Reckart's Oscar nominated short is a National Film & Television School film, which he wrote and directed. It tells the story of how “a husband and wife have grown apart over the years. He lives on the floor, she lives on the ceiling, and their marriage hangs in the balance.”

Harnessing the power of social networking

Harnessing the power of social for your business by SocialGo:

Using Social to Grow and Engage your Customers from SocialGO

I have a SocialGo Animation Network for the students on the animation courses that I teach on:  animationetwork.socialgo.com I have found it straigthforward to set up and use. 

Animate Projects presents: 2012 (associated with Lupus Films and Channel 4)

I was sent a link to Animate Projects, from Twitter as a suggestion to follow them. I took a look at them and decided that this would be a pretty good idea. They incorporate an online exhibition space for animation within their website and you can explore the 'Animate Collection', which features artists' animation, interviews and writing. It is the only arts charity in the UK dedicated to championing experiments in animation.

'Animate has consistently facilitated cutting edge animation in the UK, making the UK an international focal point for animated filmmaking,' David Shrigley, artist.

One of the projects that Animate Projects are presenting on their site, are five new commissions in association with Lupus Films, for Channel 4’s Random Acts - the project title is 2012.

The five films were broadcast on Channel 4 and had their online premiere on randomacts.channel4.com in April 2012. The films will be viewable on animateprojects.org from May 2012. Below is an example of one of the films, titled: Ylem.

Ylem from Lupus Films on Vimeo.