Brenda Chapman -- CTN Kickoff

The unbelievably talented story artist and director, most recently known for her work on Brave, Brenda Chapman offered to CTN a heartwarming discussion on her work, where she started, and her inspirations -- most notably her family, and the relationship with her daughter that inspired Brave.

Brenda's lecture centered around four key elements that helped her as a zealous young woman looking to break into a world of men:

Now, because of the nature of her lecture, I found that much of it was a "had to be there" sort of thing. However, in speaking on passion there were a few gems in her lecture that I thought were too irresistible to share.

"If it doesn't immediately capture you, dig deep and find a place you can connect to."

As students, at least where we're studying, we don't come across this so often. We have a lot of liberty with choosing what shots we're going to do based upon our own desires. However, getting in to the industry, it's not so much a choice anymore as it is an assignment -- it's a job, right? At some point, each and every one of us is going to be assigned a shot we don't see eye-to-eye with. That's where this comes in.

Even in a shot we think is boring, it's important to find a way to connect with it on a level we understand. If the animator is bored or detached, the shot will be tough to get through and more often than not, the audience can feel that through their work. Sitting and really thinking on a shot and finding a way to get into it will make your life easier as a professional (you won't be sitting and hacking away at something you gate), and will truly make your own work sing.

"If you don't get the job that you really, really, really want...is it still worth doing?"

I found this to be a particularly engaging question -- and in her lecture she left it fairly open ended. I've discussed this subject with a few people since then and I've heard mixed responses. Yes...No...

That won't happen, I'll try until I get there...etc...

Brenda, on the other hand said "Who knows! Maybe not, but is that a reason to stop?" Even if we don't end up with our dream jobs, all that means is we have to find an outlet. If we're not satisfying creative desires in the workplace, it just gives us the opportunity to pursue that craving elsewhere. We're not all going to get those golden opportunities, it doesn't mean we can't make something great.

"Find it...then share it!"

I know, I know -- how many times are we going to put pressure on the fact that this is a collaborative industry? But I want to emphasize that it's not just about helping each other with shots and patting each other on the back upon getting the work done, but it's about keeping the fire alive in each other. For me, at least, animating -- yeah, I love it -- but it can feel like work, and there's been times where I've hated it. But when I'm excited and passionate and talking and sharing and "Oh my gosh have you seen this?!" with others, it never gets old -- no matter how bogus the shot.

For anyone who missed this amazing lecture and happens to be an aspiring story artist, Brenda Chapman teaches a one-on-one workshop through Motivarti. You can also check out Brenda's personal website and blog for some more insight into the industry and Brenda Chapman, herself.

4 Different, Amazing Approaches to Acting: Context and Creativity

As promised, here was one of my personal favorite panels from CTN 2012. It featured Pixar/Animation  Collaborative animators Michal Makarewicz, Victor Navone, Rob Thompson and Aaron Hartline.

The group of four took on the challenge of using the same rig and the same line of dialogue to create blocking for four entirely different feeling characters/scenes. I managed to take some fairly succinct notes, so here's a little bit about the process each animator went through to create their final shot.

Aaron Hartline - "The Villain"

Lipsync First 

Animating the sync first (while the character is still in T-pose) really helps me to not over-animate through the body. Often enough having the character speaking can be enough movement to keep him alive, and it saves me from having to put in more movement or more poses than necessary.

I make sure to focus on the key words in the sentence, so I can make sure I give them enough emphasis and an interesting mouth-shape.

Animating the lipsync first buys me time! It's something that has to be done no matter what, so getting it done first gives me more time to think about the interesting situation or specific posing I want to put my character into.

Strike a Pose

I like to try and animate my scenes using as little posing as possible. i.e: For a shorter piece of dialogue like this one, I see if I can find one pose that can carry me through the whole thing.

The pose should start with a question -- something to intrigue the audience. We don't want to know he's a villain right off the bat, that's something we want to discover. Having an interesting pose that doesn't give everything away at a first glance is great because it will keep the viewer interested, and give me a place to go as an animator.

Simplify

Less is more!

Try to find something that you can relate to that you can draw from; Something you know. i.e For a villain, the way your mother or an aunt might look when they got angry when you were a kid. Think about your favorite movie villains, what sort of mannerisms them so frightening?

Ask an Expert

Make sure you show your work to someone else! Find someone that you trust and deliberate with them.

Rob Thompson - "The Job Applicant"

First things first, think about what you have -- the Dialogue, the rig, and the idea -- and consider what is involved in that kind of situation.

For a job applicant:

Emotions: Nervous, excited, anxious...

Conflicting advice: Act casual, but not too casual, dress nice, but not too nice...

Remember that there is a fine line between Confident vs. Cocky, Relaxed vs. Overly Casual, Enthusaistic vs. Over Zealous

Single Pose
Like Aaron mentioned, Can I find a single pose that can get me through the whole shot.

Consider the desires of the character -- like in this example from 'Peep Show'. The main character doesn't actually WANT to get the job, but he also doesn't want to make his friend, who turns out to be in the interview with him, look bad.

Find Your Lighthouse

Find the most important control on your rig - the one that will affect your scene the most - and use it as a guide for all the acting and the timing. (This is a lot like what we were talking about in our Power Centers lecture) For example, if the control is the neck, that person could feel like they have a lot of attitude. Really confident/cocky. 

Details

What specifics can I add while still being limited to one, main pose? i.e. Ricky Gervais in this clip: Same pose, but rocking back and forth in his chair.

Try to keep spontaneity -- don't over rehearse your line, because then it will feel over rehearsed. 

Victor Navone - "The Politician"

Research

Consider your options. Think about the ways you can open up possibilities for acting choices: i.e. For a politician, have them be in one of those circular town hall debates rather than behind a podium.

Context

-Think about character history
-Restrictions i.e. for a politician, one would say/do things differently while they are being filmed. There are certain behaviors that are accepted and/or expected from them that you should try to put into your work
-Environmental details and how they would affect your performance.
-Status: "who has the power" on your scene? How do you inform that through your performance?
-What are your characters goals?

Subtext

What is really being said through the dialogue?

Planning

Practice by drawing out some poses
Refer to Video reference

Inner Monologue

Find the moment of emphasis/biggest change and then emphasize it!

Process

Sketch blocking (2D posing!)
Simplify
Watch for accidental patterns

"It's a process of discovery for me. I had to go through  a lot of bad ideas before I could get to the ones that had worth." --Victor Navone

Mike Makarewicz - "The Mentor"

Macro-Look:

 

Like the others, consider context, dialogue (mood, subtext, etc), scene length.

Get to know your character!

Think about adjectives - 'ingredients, if you will - for your character
Really consider your character's history, because it will help define your characters choices.
Relate your character to people you know well enough already so that you are able to draw from that.

What's important to me:

-Energy -- progression, balance, contrast,
-Internal vs. External -- thinking vs. delivery
-Relatability -- connection with the audience
-Timing/texture
-Status

CTN 2012

CTN 2012, as per usual, was an absolutely phenomenal experience. We know that, for various reasons, not everyone can afford to attend, thus, we made sure to jot down gems of wisdom and take lots of explicit notes so we could share a little bit of the experience with those who missed out. Keep your eyes here for details!

Paranorman Lecture Tonight

We haven't advertised it much (and forgot to mention it in club! Sorry.) because we haven't actually had anything to do with the planning of it,  but tonight, LAIKA (Coraline, Paranorman) will be giving a lecture in AAU's own 79 NM theater. It starts a  7:30pm, but seating is limited and, as we all know, these things fill up fast so get there early.

CTN and Basic Networking

Club today started with a bang as Brandon took us all through a few, fun improv games. Needless to say we all got to know a deeper -- and sillier -- side to everyone.

Charging ahead, however, the majority of club was consumed by another whopping networking lecture. With the advent of another CTN in our midst, we thought it was important to bequeath a little knowledge on optimal conference behavior. Didn't make it? Check out detailed notes here.

Additionally, you would be keen to note that Tea Time is going to be taking a bit of a hiatus due to CTN and then thanksgiving the following weekend. Besides crossing paths at CTN (in some pretty sweet swag, if all goes well) we will reconvene on Friday, November 30th at the usual time/place for an extra special lecture. Will announce more in the near future so keep an eye out.

Happy animating!

Introducing Frank-Joseph Frelier!

As I mentioned in my last post, during Friday's meeting we gave a nice, warm welcome to our newest board member. For those who haven't had the privilege of meeting him -- and so our online community feels just as welcome as our on-campus community -- here's a little bit more about the newest man behind the curtain...

Howdy, animators! 

           I'm Frank-Joseph, your newly-appointed Tea Time board member! If we haven't met yet, I'm the flamboyant grad student that references "Jurassic Park" and Britney Spears in every meeting. When I'm not racking my brain trying to figure out parent constraints, I enjoy organizing movie outings, drawing dinosaurs, and analyzing Star Wars.

I hope to get to know you all through Tea Time events, movie nights, or sketching field trips! 

(And yes, I generally speak with that many exclamation marks!)

PS: Han Solo shot first.

Power Centers and the Importance of Body Language

This Friday, after letters and interviews and much deliberation, Tea Time was proud to welcome the newest member of the board Frank-Joseph Frelier (more on him later).

In commemoration of his first official day on the team, he was in charge of planning and delivering Friday's lecture: Power Centers.

What is a Power Center? 

Essentially, it's where the essence of a character comes from; It is what drives the character. Designing characters with strong Power Centers informs the character's nature, which, in turn, informs the motion. 

For example, if a character's Power Center was held in their head, that character could be more cerebral and focussed; or if a character had a Power Center in their hips, they could be more seductive. Here is a list of the Power Centers we discussed with some possible adjectives, as well as some characters we found to be good examples of each.

Head - Cerebral, focused or distracted, goal-oriented, regal

Ego, Carlie Brown, Iago, Sir Hiss, RattleSnake Jake, Quasimoto

Chest - Assertive, seductive, arrogant, macho, confident

Mr. Incredible, Superman, Jessica Rabbit, Hercules

Stomach - Sloth, jolly, giddy, lesser, intellect, improper, slovenly, sluggish

Po, Santa, Ed, Pregnant ladies, Patrick (from Spongebob)

Hips/Pelvis - Seductive, lewd, cocky, confident, sexually suggestive

Ace Ventura, Jack Sparrow, Meg (Hercules), Shakira/belly dancers, Izma, Woody

Legs/Knees - Clumsy, Lesser intellect, tired

Kramer, zombies

Feet - Graceful, light, awkward, burdened, injury, sneaky

Cowboys, ballerinas, Pochahontas

Using power centers can help you to create recognizable traits with ease, but it can also help you to think about entirely unique characters and get out of the vice-grip of cliches. 

Finally, in addition to Frank's excellent lecture, Tea Time joined students from all over the Bay Area at the Reel Feedback event at the Animation Collaborative after club! It was an excellent night of having our work torn apart (with love!) interspersed by pizza eating, Mike Makarewicz demos, and networking. As per usual, it was a wonderful experience and we can't thank the review board enough for providing such an amazing opportunity to students like us.

To Reel Feedback -- and Beyond!

If you're planning on attending this evening's Reel Feedback event, it's important to come prepared. Here's a quick check-list you can use in preparation for arrival.

Your Work

Although we talk about the event as a great place to meet people, it is first and foremost about the opportunity for really, really great critique. If you have one piece -- show it. If you have 50 pieces! -- well, you should pick your favorites and show them. Make sure you're not missing out on getting feedback straight from the proverbial horses' mouth, it is truly an invaluable opportunity to improve. All work should be brought on a flash drive or an external hard drive.

A Backup Plan

If you're not on the ball about this, Murphy will most certainly get the best of you. Bring a back up drive. Make sure you have a drive that works on both a PC and a MAC. Don't have a spare? Put it on your friend's! Don't let bad planning get in the way of getting this crit.

A Notebook and Writing Utensil(s)

Again, the feedback you will receive here is invaluable -- TAKE NOTES. You're doing yourself an injustice by not trying to soak up as much of the info as you can, and you'll be insulting your reviewer for not taking his feedback seriously. Even if you have some kind of amazing photographic memory, at least pretend to scribble on a page so you don't look arrogant. Additionally, like the back up drive, make sure you have more than one! Pen, pencil, crayon...you don't want to be "that guy" that gets up there and looks unprepared. Plus, you only have about 10 minutes to begin with, don't waste two of them harassing prepared strangers for their stuff.

Don't Be Apologetic

When  you actually get up with your reviewer, it can be intimidating. Fight the urge to prelude your work with excuses or apologies or things you 'already know'. i.e. "When the guy takes that first step, you'll know the one, I know it's slipping already, so just ignore that..." No matter what you say before hand, your reviewer is still going to see the same thing. Besides, to someone who hasn't been staring at the piece for hours upon end, they might not even see whatever blip you're concerned about!

Be Confident

Again, it can be super intimidating sitting side by side with a professional as they judge your work, but don't worry! They are there for you. The entire platform of their company is designed to help students become better animators. Be proud of your work -- or at least be proud that you've got courage to sit down and have it lovingly ripped to shreds while you sit there and take it.

Do Some Research

It can be really beneficial to take an hour or so and look up the board of reviewers planning to attend. It doesn't take long, and it saves you from potentially embarrassing moments (of which I, personally have had too many). Find out who they are, where do they work, their official title, if you can! Save yourself from accidentally mistaking important people for homeless men (long story...).

Turn Your Cellphone Off

I know it's difficult to part with how popular you are, but at least turn that thing on silent -- and I'm not talking vibrate. SILENT. I don't think anything could be more disrespectful than your phone going off in the middle of a critique. Not only is it a rude interruption, but it says that you were never 100% invested, because someone more important might need to get a hold of you.

Contact Information

If you've got business cards -- bring 'em! If not -- make some! I'm not talking design some in 20 minutes and get them rush-printed from Copy Central...it's easy to make something in an hour or two that's faster and looks nicer than pieces of loose-leaf ripped out of your notebook. Get some card stock, printer paper and glue from Walgreens, and you can easily have some cute, double-sided cards. Did you take color and design? Print as neatly and nicely as you can on old swatches, and those are some pretty cool cards! Obviously it's not the most important thing about the evening, but it's certainly a nice thing to have.

Remember, you can use many of the points from same check list for every review you get. Whether it be in class or in a full-out interview, it's important to keep these things in mind


If you want to BART with the group, we will be meeting outside of 180 New Montgomery at 6:00 pm. We will be leaving by 6:05, so don't be late!

See you at Tea Time.

Reel Feedback This Friday!

Hey everyone!

This is just a quick reminder about the Reel Feedback event this Friday at the Animation Collaborative.

If you're looking to go with the group, we will be meeting at 6:00pm outside of 180 New Montgomery Street, and leaving shortly after -- don't be late! We will not wait for you (but we'll give you a high-five when you get there!)

For everyone else, hopefully we'll see you there.

Tea Time Member Spotlight - Andy Wu

For anyone who participated in the T-shirt competition, you may remember that the winner of the competition gets to be featured on the Tea Time Blog! Well, awkwardly enough, my T-shirt was the one that one -- BUT only by a few votes.Thus, because one one wants to hear more about me, here is a little more about our amazing second-place winner: Andy Wu!

"Hey everyone! I'm Andy... 

I'm a graduate student at AAU. I'm actually not so much of an animator as I am a texture painter and lighter -- but I'm also highly interested in visual development and story development. My undergrad was at University of Washington where I studied painting & drawing. My initial major choice was graphic design, but upon deciding that I wanted to get into visual development for animated films, I wanted to work on developing my drawing skills more. 

While UW didn't have an animation program, under the CSE department there was a 3-quarter series animation production class. It was through that class that I really got involved in all the different areas of the pipeline. I wanted to develop my technical skills more which is why I chose to come to AAU. 

The top two studios that I would love to work for are Disney and Pixar; Pixar being the ultimate job that I would like to stay at. 

I like tigers.

Here's a sample of a piece Andy lit!

IMPORTANT UPDATE

As you all know, our Tea Time T-Shirt Competition came to a close two weeks ago with this 

as the winning design:

In order to get an accurate quote on how much these are going to cost us, we need numbers -- fast! Click here to fill out the poll on our Facebook page.