coming home...

ATTENTION: I HAVE A NEW BLOG!
Check out www.mountcg.com where i write down my thoughts and opinions on the industry!

The last two weeks of 2011 im going to stay at home in switzerland.

It is amazing and weird at the same time... amazing because i see all my loved ones... get lots of hugs and just have a good time...
Weird because it doesnt feel like ive been away for 8 months at all... everything is still so familiar... there hasnt much changed (except for the new gas station in dagmersellen and the first out of all my closer buddies who is about to get married and become a daddy)
Its just weird... and also weird to feel that im on a vacation... at home... and that i will leave very soon again...

But it really helps to see my life from a different angle...
While being here and meeting all the people feels amazing, i also notice that the actual life here... and how things go... arent what i want anymore... its part of my past (and its a good and fulfilled past btw) but not my future, and in a couple of moments i found myself frightened what might happen if i cant stay in canada after this year because i definitely dont want to go back...

Well i guess i have to work even harder when i get back...

But for now im just enjoying the off time...
Happy Holidays everyone!

copied pairs

ATTENTION: I HAVE A NEW BLOG!
Check out www.mountcg.com where i write down my thoughts and opinions on the industry!

Yesterday i made an attempt to explain copied pairs to a student at AM... (btw. her name is Dita Lang... keep that name in mind... she will make it big... im sure of that!)
And i thought that concept would be nice to post up here as a base for discussions.
So here is what i wrote to her about how i approach copied pairs:

The main concept and advantage of working that way is probably that you can figure out how trasitions and the timing feel much better than in stepped...

Im doing it this way (this is for an acting shot):
im setting a key pose (nicely fleshed out of course) and put a key on all controls... then i go to the place where the movement should end... do the end pose and set a key on all controls...
lets assume that there is a hold following after that movement... i go and set a key on all controls at the end of that hold but at the START of the following movement without changing anything... so that there are two identical keys... combined with plateau curves, the character shouldnt move AT ALL between these two curves... if he does you probably have some overshoots going on somewhere...
then i go to the end of the following movement and do the next key pose... try to feel out how long this one should be held and set another key without changing anything at the START of the next movement... and so on...
After that you can start filling in the breakdowns but thats coming in a second pass...
What i think is really important to get the concept of copied pairs, is that you have two identical poses at the end of the previous movement and at the start of the next move...

(all this of course also applys to physical shots with one advantage: you can time it out in a later pass... wich means... in the first pass you just put in all your golden poses every fifth (or so) frame without looking at the timing... and in the next pass you time it out...)

If you want to go in later and add a copy of a key... you just select everything again... go to the key you want to copy, right click in the timeline and choose copy... then you go to the frame you want to place it, right click on the timeline and choose paste...
Some rigs get messed up when you copy the keys of ALL controls at once... in that case i usually go in, one frame after the key i want to copy, set a key on everything, go to the graph editor and push the curves back to the same value as the actual keyframe i want to copy, and then you can drag it out to where it belongs...

Im not using many tools or scripts for that... except for two things:
-Tween key... (as soon as you start doing breakdowns!) Gives you such a nice start on your inbetweens... (emphasis on start! you still have to go in and flesh them out! Dont be lazy on those inbetweens! You want to know how the character gets from one golden pose to the next!)
- there is a script done by cameron fielding from dreamworks who allows you to easily figure out your timing...
check it out here: http://fliponline.blogspot.com/2007/04/quick-trick-tap-your-timing.html
Its such a simple script but speeds you up a LOT... and you dont have to go into the dope sheet or graph editor and move keys around...
Just hit select all on your GUI Picker and then use the hotkey you gave it... so simple... so fast... try it! :-)

Another note at the end just to think about... mostly for acting shots i block in stepped to be fully focused on the poses but with copied pairs in my back head... so i put in copied keys even if you cant see they are there when you play in stepped... but you will see it as soon as you turn it into spline (or in my case plateau)

 Thats my personal approach to this... i would really love to hear some comments, suggestions or other peoples approaches!

worth sharing...

Break The Law of Silence from CRCR on Vimeo.

My Idol...

Carlos is probably my biggest idol...
And here is another reason why...




At the end... when he starts talking about how he continues learning about animation... you can truly feel how much he loves animation just by looking at his eyes...

Pure inspiration!

and here we go again...

Serkis gave another interview on his performances... and the emotions are cooking high again...

I think he deserves the credit. And they truly are HIS acting choices... in my opinion he deserved an oscar for Gollum... that was just freakin brilliant work! Period! I would be frustrated too, to not getting considered for an oscar just because i played in the wrong movie... 

But he shouldnt play the animators work down as he does... it just seems like he doesnt really understand the process of an animator because hes not really interested in it...

And those people who wrote him hate mail are just jerks!
The animators community is based on accepting everyones opinion and growing together...
And im sure if serkis would take a deeper look in the creative process of us animators he wouldnt say stuff like that.


All that of course is only my humble opinion... 

Impossible is nothing

Stumbled upon this here today while browsing youtube for new animation dialogues... and remembered how motivational it was as i first saw it on tv...



All these legends together... and its true...

impossible is nothing!

Oh those gobelins show offs...

If i could go back and choose a school to go to... i would go to gobelins. Even before calarts or AAU... Almost every piece ive seen coming from their students is awesome...

Like this short...
I love the mood so much...

The Night We Were Kings from Cube Creative on Vimeo.

My favourite parts - 7 - How to train your Dragon

Wait what?! Yes i decided to write about other awesome film moments because there is more out there than just Pixar! :-) so my favourite non-Pixar movie is definitely HttyD.
To me this was the first time that Dreamworks catched up with Pixar in terms of story and animation. (Kung Fu Panda was close... but not quiet as awesome)
A very cool soundtrack and very cool characters did the rest. Also there are some amazing visuals like the one in the beginning when hickup walks up to his house with the blond teacher guy (sorry dont remember the name) the whole picture looks more like a painting than a scene from a movie... same for the scene in the end when stoic walks over to toothless who is lying on the ground... again... a painting not a scene from a movie... beautiful!
My first highlight, animation wise, for this film is the one that is cool for everyone... toothless... His character and also his moves specially in those sequences when the two get to know each other is just awesome... The combination of all the animals the animators have studied works so nicely together and some of the character stuff is simply hilarious.
And the scene when hickup holds up his hand and toothless puts his nose in the hand... that one is soooo beautifully subtile... no words needed...
Thats when the movie took a huge leap and didnt feel like animation anymore but like a big film.


The next thing that amazed me is Stoic. They really gave him so much depth... such a huge character... but how he holds hiccup there when he thanks toothless... thats another goosebump moment... and his character arc over the movie is definitely as big as hiccups. Maybe im so amazed by him because he reminded me of my own father. Its just so cool to feel that inside he loves his son but he is very insecure about how to deal with him because he doesnt understand why hiccup is doing all that stuff that seems unimportant or weird to him.
His beard is amazing!
And i love gerard butlers voice! :-)

Very beautiful movie!

My favourite parts - 6 - Nemo

Stanton at its best...
He is an amazing storyteller, and nemo is such a complete film, you just have to love it.
The sondtrack is probably my favourite out of all Pixar films... and its filled with lots and lots of details.
Ive just recently bought the art of finding nemo and all the amazing drawings... specially simon varelas stuff is just stunning!
Its also one of the few movies that has a very good german version. Wich is also something pixar manages to do quiet well overall.

The part that stands out to me in particular for this movie is this here:

finally Nemo and Marlin are reunited.
But the very special thing about it was to see doug sweatland talk about it on the pixar story.
There you see how deep he thinks into the shot, the subtext, what every gesture means.
Doug is a genious anyways and this part shows how every animator should think...
I feel it brought my own work on a completely new level when i really started to think about the character, the subtext and really tried to figure out what every gesture will mean. That was one of these moments when it somehow clicked for me...

Geesh i love animation! :-)

My favourite parts - 5 - Wall-E

Were getting to one of my all time favourites...
I just love the characters so much... i love the setting, the story... everything... the only thing i was a bit disappointed about was that the movie is a bit split into these two parts... its just some kind of bump more in the visual style that disappointed me because i was so amazed by that post human world... the axiom is much more cartoony... but anyways... the story is beautiful and as i mentioned... wall-e is my favourite pixar character of all time!
You have to know how to animate first to be able to give him that robotic moves but still give him sooooo much character...
The part that stood out to me the most... is probably the one that stood out to everyone the most...

beautiful...

:-) so full of detail... i love how the cockroach is walking up and down... looking at them... then going again... like in a hospital... so perfect... then... 2:29... how eve holds him in the moment she gives up hope...
and then the kiss...
 ok first... i have never ever experienced something that was quiet as this moment at a theatre than on this movie... no one dared to breathe... dead silence... and then comes his questioning "evaa?" (im having goose bumps again) its just perfect...
And again... its not just the whole scene but how deep they go here... not all the new parts made him whole again... its that little kiss from eva... the love she feels when she kisses him goodbye... thats what truly revives him... awesome also because they established the strength of her kiss and the influence on him in the space/dance sequence where it overloads his system and lets it crash... but now that much energy/love was needed to revive his soul... awww... so beautiful...

btw... go to carlos baenas website to see what he did here... the broken wall-e is just awesome... 

:-) i love writing about animation... :-)

My favourite parts - 4 - Up

In preparation for this post i watched the intro sequence again and... well... watch it yourself first...

I really had to wipe a tear away... BEAUTIFUL! Amazing! And what a build up for a movie in the first 10minutes... oh i love it so much... thank god its friday... so i can watch it again this weekend...
This sequence makes me feel sooooo unworthy of even dreaming of working at pixar someday...

This film proves another thing... well actually pixar proved this much longer ago but this here is special i think...
It proves that they make films with such a depth that its definitely not just for kids anymore... the beautiful thing is that there is something for everyone... kids will love it because all the fun stuff like speaking dogs... a funny bird etc, but there is so much going on, on deeper levels that appeals to grown ups... im saying it again... pixar films are plain and simple... pieces of beautiful art.

But... im getting off topic (again).

The first thing that made me laugh out loud from excitement about the amazing animation is at 0:59 when carl places his hand on the arm of the chair and ellie grabs it... this moment... (oh my god im having goose bumps just by thinking of it again!) its so subtile... like its the most natural thing for them... perfect...

The whole sequence of course could be a short film in itself and is a masterpiece in every aspect (not just animation)

Next thing...

again... carls animation is just beautiful... how he rubs his eyes... how he gets up etc.
And there is that shot when he comes down the stairs in the "elevator"... (wich is storytelling wise also very very amazing... he got that elevator... and later in the film he is doing all this physical stuff... that elevater really shows how much he had forgotten to live...) in that shot, there are so many subtile moves... nothing forced, basically just overlap from the elevators movement... i just love that subtile stuff! :-)

There are lots of other things thats are very outstanding to me (as always) for example the scene when muntz kidnaps kevin and sets the house on fire... carl goes to extinguish the fire and russel accuses him not to care about kevin... the way carl turns around in his reaction... the lighting... that huge emotion in his face... thats another very very unique and incredibly strong moment.

I could go on and on again... but ill leave it for now :-)

My favourite parts - 3 - Incredibles

To me visually this wasnt the most appealing pixar film, and in times where i didnt know anything about movie making or animation... i actually wasnt that impressed by it when i first saw it. But as i started studying animation, and watched it again... i realized how amazing this film is... the visual style (specially of the environment) still isnt that appealing to me, but the animation is just another milestone in animation history. I recently just watched it with the animators commentaries wich just opened another level of excitement about the film.
It has an amazing story and every character develops in its own special way... its just amazing how everything is worked out perfectly. And of course there is the world famous edna mode... wich just rocks the house! And knowing that brad bird did her voice just increases my admiration for him.
He is actually the only reason why i will go and watch ghost protocol... :-)

But to come back to my favourite parts in the film...
For this one its actually just two little parts that just show pixars greatness... i like elastigirl/helen a lot... she is so confident, but vulnerable on the other hand... and that elastic stuff must be awesome to animate... but apart from all the funky stuff they did with her, there are a few moments where they showed her "powers" in a more subtile way.

Timecode 2:29 and 2:50


Specially at 2:29 there is no awesome stretch going on, but her main pose is just perfect... and amazingly beautiful. Her SL leg is bent in that amazing arc wich as i mentioned shows her flexibility without showing it off because in that moment she has to act subtile so she doesnt get seen... thats the way to keep a character like her consistent.
Same at 2:50... ok there is much more S&S going on, but its so fast that its almost not visible... and the way she squishes when she lands is just pure animation awesomeness :-) again... you dont have to turn her into a parachute to jump down from the ceiling... she doesnt need that here... its just perfect (hehe i gotta search the dictionary, i guess im using a lot of superlatives over and over again) :-)

Thats it for Incredibles... to me this film is a real phenomenon... everytime i watch it, i see something new that amazes me... well this happens with every pixar film, but incredibles hits me off the chair everytime i see it.

My favourite parts - 2 - Toy Story 3

Ok... I wasnt a huge fan of the toy story franchise... even though i remember how eager i was to see the first one all those years ago... but it was not until i saw TS3 that i really got amazed by it.
All the characters are so incredibly beautyful animated, and integrated into an amazing and much more complex story than i had expected... and with so much attention to detail and nice additions to the animation that was already established in the first two films.
Apart from all that, there were two things in this film that just cracked me up and really showed that animation (not just since TS3) has grown up.
The first scene i was amazed by is of course the reactor scene...
(dont get distracted by the title... it just cuts out earlier... but the actual footage im talking about is the same)



Beautiful... Pixar proves that there are no words needed (like the f.ex. cheesy stuff in Harry Potter 7.2) to show the moment when someone realizes he is going to die... the characters just look into each others eyes, hold hands and go into their end together... This moment is incredibly strong! Everything weve seen in all three movies comes up again...
accompanied by an amazing soundtrack this scene to me is movie history...

I also admire how they cut everything together... the chain starts and ends with the two leaders of the gang... the first who grabs someones hand is buzz... and the last one is woody... the one who always kept fighting the longest and always had to fight the hardest comes crawling back, ready to fight on... but this time his friends just look at him and tell him... let it be... this time he has to accept that there is no way out... and like a true leader... he sits in front of all others, his arms spread out protecting them till death... beautiful...
Hehe and then they of course get saved in a way only pixar can do it :-)
Love it :-)

The second thing that made me go overboard at the theatre was... of course... the world famous spanish buzz... I loved it so much that i felt bound to do a little hommage to carlos baena as i came on stage to get my AM diploma in summer 2010... (i wouldnt have done it if carlos himself wouldnt have been on stage of course) :-)





I cant point out anything that appeals to me in particular because these are the most complete piece of animation ive ever seen.
To me the special thing while watching it was, by knowing who did it (i know there are some credits to give to other animators who have worked on those pieces too... check out carlos' website to see which stuff he did), i could almost feel how much fun and joy carlos must have felt while animating it and how much of his heart and soul are conserved in it...
I guess its already pretty obvious and will become more clear when i move on, that carlos is one of my biggest idols... not just because his work is just breathtaking but also because he is such a natural and amazing person...

Again, there is much more stuff in this movie thats simply stunning but these two things stood out the most for me.

Hehe... i really have to go home... recalling all those moments makes me want to work on my own stuff :-)

My Favourite parts - 1 - Ratatouille

Ok starting off here...
In this movie there are so many amazing parts that its really hard to say what stands out in particular.
But to me the whole skinner character is the highlight...
For example in this sequence here (sorry no sound but maybe its even better like that):

Its amazing how much detail is in the animation... i love how he grabs and pulls linguini at sec 14, then we only see his hat at sec 31 but thats all we need to see... his hat bumping around and everyone can imagine whats going on... he is so into his own rant that he misses that the "bad juju" guy is getting the soup.
And then my idol carlos baena comes into play :-) sec 51... need i say anything more? Its just pure facial animation awesomeness... sec 56... What a pose... 1:00 that detail how he pushes himself up on his tiptoes... so he can see through the window (wich is so nice working together with the following shot) thats just... aaaaah... stuff like that is what makes animation great... its not just puppets moving... its art...
The next part of the sequence is also really amazing because it reveals another part of skinners bad character and how very insecure he is on the inside... how he points at linguini in a its not my fault matter at 1:18... and then straightens himself up... suddenly not as pompuous and superior as before... tiny steps... a straight walk and a face wich just shows how dead scared he is inside but tries to act as calm as possible... great great great stuff!

There is another scene when skinner reads the letter from linguinis mother... I couldnt find the clip online (and maybe its even better like that... so people will actually buy the dvd) but im sure if youve seen the movie you know what scene im talking about.
We had a lecture about this whole sequence at Animation Mentor... and it just cracks me up again every time im watching it... its just amazing to see exactly whats going on in skinners mind just by seeing his eyes dart around and his frown getting bigger. Great great stuff...

Ratatouille is one of my favourite Pixar films ever... I simply love it... It looks beautiful, the animation is of course over the top... but also the story... i love the story... Brad Bird is a genious!

Thanks... next film might follow soon :-)

I got inspired...

Yesterday the new Brave Trailer came out...
At first i didnt want to see it because ive become very careful with watching trailers since despicable me... just because i dont want the first 20min of the movie spoiled by the trailer...
But after the whole office talking about it and mails going back and forth i just had to watch it... and ended up forgetting everything around me and going through it frame by frame...
And after that the day couldnt end fast enough so i could go home and implement some of the stuff ive seen into my own work.
There is one thing i noticed in it wich just cracked me up... they hid a small but AWESOME hommage to Beauty and the Beast in it... (or at least i think it is one) :-)
Know what im talking about?

I love stuff like that...
And because the trailer inspired  me so much, im gonna post some of my favourite moments from pixar films in the next few days... just to add a little nerdyness to this blog :-)

until then...
To infinity... and beyoooooond! :-)

I was hoping for this... rebuttal for the dark knight chase sequence

http://josephkahn.blogspot.com/2011/09/analyzing-action.html

Someone puts that chase sequence from the dark knight in a better light.
Another incredible learning experience just by readingit.
Unfortunately he gets a bit rude from time to time... but what ever... its a nice rebuttal to the original also very negative video.

my first workflow tip... keeping the "feel" of your blocking

Ok fist off... after animating professionally for only 4 months i feel not the slightest qualified to teach others how to animate, but on one of my last acting shots i did in my spare time, i started doing something i never have heard from mentors or someone else, and id like to share this because to me it works pretty well.

Im talking about that well known moment when you come out of blocking in stepped and turn your awesome looking piece of animation into spline (or in my case plateau).

Suddenly everything looks funky, floaty and completely terrible... i used to go back and set more breakdowns but i dont think thats very efficient. Dont get me wrong, i dont get out of blocking without the feeling i have set enough keys to define all my transitions and all the key movements, wich is usually when i have a key on every 4th - 5th frame.

But then it still looks terrible sometimes. So what i did on my last shot was simply, keep a playblast of my awesome looking blocking and have it open during my first few passes of splining. And constantly go over it an check if my animation still feels the same as my blocking. I found this extremely helpful and it was one of these moments where i wondered why i hadnt done this earlier.

I dont know if everyone else does this but no one thinks its worth mentioning but i find this a nice little trick to hold on to if you feel lost when your splines go crazy :-)

Cheers
Luke

The Dark Knight in the cut, Part 1

I actually ama big Fan of Nolan and also the Dark Knight, but this video showed me that awesome (and successful) movies not necessarily have to be great in every aspect. I just keep asking myself if Nolan maybe intended to confuse by breaking the rules of editing or if its really done pretty sloppy.
Since i just started Production for my first own short film, these 20min were a HUGE learning experience.


In the Cut, Part I: Shots in the Dark (Knight) from Jim Emerson on Vimeo.

Demoreel inspiration

On the look out for some new ideas for shots i looked at the reels of a few people who have done AAU and there is some FREAKIN AWESOME Stuff.
If you need some inspiration look at these People:

Lisa Allen


Joshua Slice

Chutinart Warunyuwong

Shaofu Zhang

Louaye Moulayess

Stefan Schumacher 

(Swiss guy btw! And furthermore, his site is in my opinion a sample for the perfect portfolio page)

Inspiration through people

Theres another thing thats currently happening to me id like to write about.

A few weeks ago i saw a character design done by one of our matte painters... and i liked it a lot.
As i was on the threadmill at the gym this character came back to my mind and i thought about creating a story around that character... later that evening on the bus i had a basic idea for an adventure for this character... not a whole story... just the beginning... a setup :-)
I had nothing more for several weeks... but then suddenly (on the bus again) it came to me like a flash... i typed everything down on my phone because i didnt want to loose it and had nothing else to write on me. I almost missed my stop because i was so into it.
I pitched it to my workmate and he liked it... but not just him... everyone at work liked it... another guy (actually my cg supervisor) was totally eager to realize it as well...
So we decided to make that movie :-)

That was probably 3 weeks ago... since then ive drawn out rough storyboards, and developed the story to a really cool point. There are still some gaps, but it will come along... because... and thats what im actually talking about...

We are talking about it a lot... and everyone has great ideas... were also defining the look and feel of the world and of course the character needs some work...
This is so incredibly inspiring... both guys have so much knowledge in how to realize such a project and totally support me in realizing my story idea...
Ive never experienced something like that before... im full of energy, wich i can use not just for that short, but also for the other ideas i have... today i was awake 1hour too early... i dont know why... but instead of turning around and do the lazy thing... i got up and worked on another shot i really love and wich will hopefully be finished till end october...

To come to the point... talking to people who are as passionate as myself about our art, and work together to create something special... thats just... hard to describe... its just one of the best experiences ive ever made in my life, and i wish to everyone that you can make this experience yourself...

am i getting a bit emotional recently? ;-)

Fate... or Destiny?

And now there is another thing that i wanted to share here.
Some people might say im just too deep into all that mythological stuff and that its all just not proven, but im making one experience OVER and OVER again... what im talking about is fate...
I truly believe that fate will guide me into the right direction and open every door for me... as long as i manage to step through myself.

One example wich i realized long long after it actually happened.
I was Extremely engaged in the swiss national karate team... i loved karate (i still love it btw) i had some talent, but would probably never have made it to european or worlds top... but i was sooo extremely focused on that goal and i believed that  i can do it if i just work hard enough... i wasnt listening to anyone who was saying im trying too hard... sacrificed a lot that i regret now...
And then it happened... i fought at the swiss championships in 2008... i was in the shape of my life and in my first fight my opponent was none other than the 10 times swiss champion... i had fought him many times before but never had a chance... but this time we were equals... who knows where it would have led me if i would have won that fight... but in that very moment fate changed my life for the first time...
In a very unlucky action and without any bad intent from anyone, i ripped my crucial ligament in my left knee... as he tried to throw me on the mats...
I tried to go on, but it just wasnt possible...
Result: Surgery, Physiotherapy and build up from scratch...
Because of that big break in my life... i had to find something else to focus on while i had to stand low on sports...
i decided to start a new education called...

Animation Mentor...

Wich let me discover my pure LOVE for Animation and brought me to the point im at right now...

In these 3 Years i started to realize if you dont always try to reach your goals straight and without looking left and right... you live a much more relaxed and pleasant life. You finally have time to see the beauty of life... and everything that goes on around you.
Dont get me wrong... i worked hard and im still working hard to reach my goals... but im not trying to force anything... i trust that if the time is right, and its the right way for me, and i always work hard... fate will show me the door..
So far it never has ditched me...on travels when i felt lost... with hard decisions... and just today... i thought it would be the worst day since im here in toronto... and it really was a BAD day at first... but then... out of a sudden and soooo totally unexpected, something happens... coming from someone you would never have expected it... opens up a new door... and makes this day just beautiful...

i will step through that door... and im looking forward whats expecting me on the other side.

I hope i could communicate in my terrible english what i mean because this really has become a life philosophy to me and i would be so happy if i could inspire someone with it...

so true!

http://spungella.blogspot.com/2011/09/seriously.html

Cant tell how much i agree with what JD is writing there!
Thats why i had to bring one box more to Canada... i had just have too many DVDs... :-)

Animation with a moustache

My buddy Olivier Ladeuix is currently doing the Animation Collaborative Workshop over at Emeryville... Sounds like its a really cool thing (as expected... regarding who created it) Head over to his Blog to see his Progress on his cool and original shot idea...

 also check out the Anim-C Homepage... they are constantly adding new courses...

I want one too...

AT-AT day afternoon from Patrick Boivin on Vimeo.

If you dont like to listen to music while animating...

Mixed Music

Discovered this one yesterday.
12 Tracks mixed together from various songs...
And the coolest thing... it shows you the name of every song that gets mixed in, and i guess you can even download it.

Really cool stuff!

Check it out

I wanna be an Astronaut

Thats what i used to say when i was asked what i want to become when i was a child.
It turned out that im not smart enough for that... but im pretty happy with the path im taking right now...

But what i find really exciting is that we can actually be part of every NASA Mission... live!
Head over to NASA TV and check it out...

Specially the Shuttle Launches are amazing... but also all the other stuff like the space walks provide such a deep look inside how they work.

Definitely worth checking out! :-)
There is actually only one last Shuttle Launch left before they have to stop the program due to a smaller budget.

Good morning Toronto...

Ive finally started working here in Toronto... Nothing more to say about that :-)

And since Firefox has all those new cool features, i also changed the Layout of the Blog :-)
Hope everone likes it... if anyone sees it at all :-)

And to start i wanted to post something i found on Bobby Becks Blog... Awesome Stuff about ILM!
Check it out

Oh and of course i will adjust the header as soon as possible :-)

Animation Mentor Newsletter

Animation Mentor Newsletter

Just wanted to share that one cause Rick is just Awesome! And what he sais is awesome too... obviously :-)

Oscar Night

 The Oscars are just around the corner... and this is a very special oscar year!

Its not just the year of How to train your dragon... and with that Simon Otto as head of character animation. (He is from switzerland by the way) :-)

No, its also the year of The Gruffalo... in wich 7 of 10 animators are Animation Mentor Alumni... this is amazingly awesome :-) and shows what a great school AM really is, and that besids all the amazing people in this huge community... they really know how to teach animation :-)

So... go Toothless and go Gruffalo! Im keeping my fingers crossed for you!

waiting...

Nobody said it was easy... no one ever said it would be so hard...

Even Coldplay already said it, and now i feel exactly like that...
Pixomondo is not ready with preparations in Toronto, wich means... i have to wait...
New starting date: 1. May... hopefully this is the last time they postpone it...

Cheeers and out