Schedules -Editing - Animateing - and BIG ole X's

Hey guys,

I have been working like crazy on the film....and its starting to really shape up. I am well over the hump now and am sitting at {over 5 minuets of shot animation}This tells me that Its gona be a bit longer than I thought originally. This is cool! That way after I work on this film for 2+ years I ll have a bit more to show in the end.
I'm sure when Shel gets done editing it it will shorten up nicely though. She has started editing 3 of the 5 sections of my film. It is so nice to finally see my ideas coming together.

{I have to tell ya though- I am getting pretty scared that the film in my head is'nt gona match whats on the screen} Shel is very good at assureing me that its gona be great.Its REALLY REALLY Hard to make a great animated film guys! CRAZY props to those that manage ta pull it off.

I really want my audiance to feel for Gerald as a character - I want them to forget hes animated and accept that hes a liveing creature. I know there are definate moments of MAGIC in this film.....I just have to make sure my narrative and acting is as clear as possible.
As far as my schedule goes - Shel has me doing 2 shots a week. This sounds like nothing but its Hard to stick to. I am Now prepping for my Last MONSTER SHOT.It is a major acting sequence between the little girl character and Gerald. Its Just as hard as the dog and Bowl piece I finished and shared with you guys. I also think it the MOST important in my film. I gota NAIL it.

I'll post my preperation process on this MONSTER shot in an upcoming post.

jriggity

Playing with my new puppet (shel)

Arch Enemy Waltz from handmadeheroes on Vimeo.

here's my new puppet in action.....he's got a bit of a crush on lola....

HERE COMES THE ARMATURE TECH TALK PART, VERY SKIP-ABLE IF YOUR NOT A STOP MO GEEK: i'm not so happy with his most of his armature (ball and socket that i pieced together, and wire from the elbow to the finger tips). you can't say i'm not LEARNING ALOT though! he's too fat, actually i think he's perfectly fat, but the armature isn't strong enough to hold more than the weakest bend in his beefy torso or his muscular legs. and i didn't make a big enough "grip" for the inside of his head, so i'm having a hard time turning it, and even if i had, his neck doesn't hold small enough increments of "yes" or "no". and as for his legs, i want him to be able to squat deeply and stay there without bouncing back (he IS a wrestler afterall!). and i want clavicles so he can shrug. ...and i want....and i want....

on the positive side: his shoulders are good, and so far so good with the wire elbows and fingers too. but the best news is that i LOVE his feet. marvelously maliable-toed supportive feet that i've decided to make even more awesome next time by putting a tie down in his heels as well as his toes. his feet have a socket at the toes and a tie down made simply from a threadable ball.

so i'm not giving up on armature for him yet, when his fingers break i will tear this puppet apart and give the next him a wire spine and i'll figure out better clavicles, but i want to keep the ball and socket shoulders, it'll be a bit frankenstien-y....i'm thinking i'll keep the ball and socket legs but wrap them with some hefty wire that will support the bends and hopefully take up enough space so there's not so much foam in the way. i'm making it up as i go, which is the happy go lucky story of my life, but if anybody has any suggestions about this stuff i'm all ears!

oh yeah, and sorry for the quality, i accidently set the camera to crap size pics.....opps!

Nickys cool - FIGHT Animation

Hey guys!

This is a fight scene my son Nicky choreographed for a school performance last year.
I just found it on my drive copying some pics over from my latest shoot. I Think he did an awesome job and their is some cool animation going on there. Just look at the poses and the weight. COOL Fun shiznit!

Second try


otherwise....I conquered the shot that I posted about last and it looks great! Im so happy I didnt settle for less than what I wanted.

jriggity

FAIL FAIL FAIL#3 Strikes and Im up to Bat Again

Hey guys,
Things were going great for a bit there.....I started a shot that I thought would be really straight forward. I was WRONG. The animatiion on paper was simple enough.
{Gerald} Was to watch the toughguys leave then walk back to his corner . SIMPLE.

{Night one}I went into the garage with an idea that after Gerald watches the Toughguys leave he would look down at the bowl pushing or nudging it in a Failure kind of way.
BAD START- I didnt even start animateing this one till 2 in the morning. I really try not to ever start a shot past 1:00 am. My mind is just a bit blurry and generateing the energy required after a FULL day of work and family is Harder to muster.

but

off to the races....it went ok till the push of the bowl. I Went overboard...pushed to hard. This killed the emotional KEYFRAME I wanted to hit.Then I had him walk back to the corner and sit down. Half assed too....I felt the shot wasnt going to work at this point...so I just rushed the sit.....Its nothing like the real sit will be.....
I usually dont check my animations but every 2-3 seconds of footage I shoot. I just trust my instincts and the flipping slider in Monkeyjam. This I might change soon.

Problem #2
I animated the dogs turning around in too few keyframes.......Crraaaaaap! finished the shot but
NOT GOOD ENOUGH....Shouldnt have shot so late..

onto
NIGHT #2
shot is going AWESOME.......MY light slowly fades ...I notice my frames are looking dark WAY too late....Dammmit!!!! FAIL

NIGHT #3
Im finishing this dammm shot tonight!! I got a schedule to keep....I finished but screwed up the walk Royally. I know how a dog walks but in the way my dog was posed I couldnt get him in the right position naturally to engage in to a natural stride. He looked as if he was just turning and walking backwards......CARAAAAAAAP!! I tryd to have him pause and look at the duck useing it as an excuse to get his legs squared up....it looks like I had it happen....?????????crap.....so I do another half ass Sit just to say I finished it. NOTHING Like what I picture.

so....I analyze my problems and FIX EM. My mind is straight and Into the Dungeon once more. Im SUPER clear and fully confident.

jriggity