Congrats to all who worked on it!

This class will be interesting to blog about as it is a bit different from past classes. Being that this is the Polishing and Portfolio class there will be no new work to document. The class consists of polishing the best of any assignments that will make a well balanced demo reel.  Adding polish to a shot is usually very minor tweaks. So much so in many cases the average viewer can not tell you what is different. If done right they will just know which one "feels" better. So I am not entirely sure how I will document the assignments. At the moment I think I will just show the before and after polish videos. As of right now I am looking to have 4 or 5 clips to polish for my reel. One clip is still waiting review from my mentor.



On another note it is the last day for me to get my vote in for the Annie Awards. I have already started the voting process. I am saving the biggest category for last. The features category. This really has been a great year for feature films. Which makes for a harder time voting. For the most part I have my decision made. I am going to watch one the films again tonight as a refresher before I cast my final vote.

What an amazing event. My wife and I showed up on Saturday just around noon. A bit later than we had planned but L.A. Traffic is always unpredictable. We met up with Owen whom I had met online via DonBluthanimation.com.  He is very cool and I was very happy to finally meet him in person. Luckily for us he arrived earlier and had already scoped the floor. My first order of business was to try and meet Mr. Bluth in person and he knew exactly where to go. After walking in and getting our badges I was surprised at how small it was. That was my own pre conceived notion after attending a place like the comic-con. However, the small size is ultimately what made it amazing. It was very intimate.

Getting advice from Director/Animator/Mentor Don Bluth

 We made our way around the small room to Mr. Bluth's Panel.  I have chatted online with Mr. Bluth via his Don's Club Q&A session  but the first time meeting him in person.  Owen introduced me to him. I shook Mr. Bluth's hand and exchanged hellos. He then paused and looked at me and said in a joking manner"With a name like Zane I thought you were going to be taller".  The Ice was broken and we talked for a bit about his Club and a preview of what to expect. After some pictures it was time to let others have their chance. Off to explore more of the floor. What I found very refreshing was how nice most everybody was. Everybody was very easy to talk to no matter a vendor or fellow patron. 

 Don Bluth and Myself

Me and Owen Welsh

Another Highlight was getting to meet Animator Andreas DeJa (below).  He did such memorable characters for Disney such as Jafar, Scar, Lilo and most recently Mama Odie for the Princess and the Frog. He was doing a signing for a sketchbook he was selling. He was very cool. Asked if I wanted a sketch of any character. I told him Scar would be awesome. With in no time at all he had scar sketched out. 

Me and Andreas Deja

After lunch it was pretty much time to get in line if we wanted to see the Bluth/Goldman panel. Time flew by waiting in line as Owen and I sat chatting about animation. Next thing we knew we were being let it. We were near the front of the line but still a good 20 people back. So I was surprised when I saw the first row was wide open. I guess some people were too afraid to be that close. So we took advantage if it. It was a great inspiring panel.  He discussed his early days at Disney and why he left. Also his journey that led him to where he is now. The first 15 minutes of the panel can be viewed Here. After the panel was over there was to be a Q&A right outside the room. Amazingly enough it was a very small group of about 6.  Don was very cool with his time and chatted with us for probably close to a half hour.  After Don Left I saw Mr. Goldman was still there. He left Disney with Bluth and has been his right hand man since. I listened to a few of his great stories and shook his hand before he headed out.  

Don Bluth and Gary Goldman Panel Hosted by Jerry Beck

 Later that evening there was a midnight screening of Don Hahn's "Waking Sleeping Beauty". It is a Documentary of behind the scenes at Disney from 1984 to 1994.  Don Hahn was on hand to introduce the film as well some Q&A when it was over. I really liked the film.  Very insightful to what was happening on a corporate level during those 10 years. I definitely recommend seeing it when it officially comes out in 2010.  

Waking Sleeping Beauty Trailer

After the film and Q&A I chatted for a few minutes with fellow Animation mentor Students. It was great to finally meet a few in person and some for the first time! I then looked at my watch and saw it was the wee hours of the morning and I was crashing. I headed back the the hotel room and called it a day. What a day it was at that.

However this year is going to be a tough choice. The Nominations have been announced. A lot of good movies this year. Below are a few of the major categories announced.  I still have to see The Princess and the Frog and The Secret of Kells. I do have my tickets already for The Princess and the Frog next Tuesday!

Best Animated Feature

• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Sony Pictures Animation
• Coraline — Laika
• Fantastic Mr. Fox — 20th Century Fox
• The Princess and the Frog — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Secret of Kells — Cartoon Saloon
• Up — Pixar Animation Studios

Best Animated Short Subject

• Pups of Liberty — Picnic Pictures
• Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5 — ShadowMachine
• Santa, The Fascist Years — Plymptoons
• The Rooster, The Crocodile and The Night Sky — Barley Films
• The Story of Walls — Badmash Animation Studio

Best Animated Television Production

• Glenn Martin, DDS — Tornante, Cuppa Coffee Studios & Rogers Communications
• Merry Madagascar — DreamWorks Animation
• Prep and Landing — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Simpsons — Gracie Films

 For the complete list head over the ASIFA's  Annie Awards official website Here

The second image below is the camera layout. After some discussions with my mentor a few things have been changed since creating these. One of the biggest most notible ones is the gunman character in the layout diagram.

He has been moved across the counter. Which is where he was originally going to be. However at the last minute I ended up using new rigs that became available to us.  The new characters are Dan and Glenn from AnimationRigs.com. Glenn happens to be short and stubby and Dan super tall.  I really liked their contrast but it posed a problem getting them to fit balanced in the same shot. If I had them both on the same side of the counter that fixed the problem. With Glenn closer to the camera he was higher in perspective. However after the discussion my mentor Mark had stated since he is behind the counter and we never see his true size or feet, to fake it. Raise him up to where he fits nicely in the shot. He mentioned that this happens all the time in the big studios to make a shot better.  Since raising the Glenn character up the shot now seems to be working better. No one the wiser except you fine folks who made it this far into the post know he is floating a foot or so off the ground.

Below is a screen shot of an early layout shot

If you click on the pictures they will take you to a site to hear the clips

Below is the official CTN-X Press release

Hosted by the Creative Talent Network®
Be a part of the only dedicated Expo for animation talent in the USA—located in the #1 market, Burbank California, this event fills a substantial void by providing highly focused conference programming, workshops, recruiting, presentations and networking opportunities designed to connect animation artists, studio executives and industry leaders both locally and internationally.

Launched in 2004 CTN (The Creative Talent Network) is a virtual community of animation artists from some of the highest grossing films in the history of animation who come together once a year to showcase their work and connect with other creatives. As the leaders of this community our mission is to empower the talent and engage with studios and educators. Making meaningful connections that propel talent into positions within the animation, games and surrounding industries is at the heart of what we do.

“Great ideas and meaningful connections happen most often in the hallways and casual gatherings of creative and talented people!.” says Tina Price founder of CTN and award winning animator, industry pioneer and 24 year former animation professional with the Walt Disney Animation Studios. The CTN Animation Expo is a unique event that brings these creative talents together by providing a collaborative arena in the heart of the animation market to promote employment, education and industry growth — and have some FUN doing it!

Event includes:
Artist panels / interviews
Special exhibits and demonstrations
2D and 3D demonstrations
Speed Talent Recruiting Mixers
Privileged access Networking
Leaders of the Industry Discussions
One on One Critiques