Week 11 - Beginning my final block out showreel

For my final block out showreel I'll be using Adobe Premiere Pro. This software unlike Windows Movie Maker is a more professional video editor allowing you to use features like picture in picture which lets you display multiple images and videos at once. After playing around with the software and getting a better understanding of it, I went back to my original storyboards and polish them up.

Also in my previous block out I used early rendered footage of a Ninja from Game Development project which I did the animation for, however for my final block out I will use another character which is called the Brute. This is because for the final animations in Game Development I started with the Brute character instead of the Ninja. This could be change as I've begun working on the final Ninja animations and will probably add them in too to show variation. When displaying these in the block out showreel I will render them out in Maya in a plain background like I did before showing screenshot images of the in game city environment from our game at the same time.

Nearing the end of working on my block out showreel and watching it back I felt my first storyboard which contain a character on the phone just wasn't good enough and didn't feel like it made sense. So I removed it completely and started from scratch. I went back onto MovieWav.com and searched for some new audio clips to use. Shortly after I did find a new piece of audio and began creating a new storyboard for it. This new storyboard is based around a man not wanting to go on a roller coaster and he's pleading and begging not to go on it. This will be the piece that will open up my showreel.

Week 10 - Showreel Update

Work on my block out showreel is going well, but still I feel there should be a lot more added. Still researching other peoples portfolios looking at these two specifically. On average they contain around 8 - 9 shots. Each as different as the next and each displaying a certain skill in animation. For example having a character lift something heavy, Interact with another character in the same shot and have running a set of obstacles. This shows that the person who's portfolio it is can do these skills in animation and they are all needed for animation in film and video games.

http://vimeo.com/75099548

http://www.leandroanimation.com/

I feel this might be what is missing from my showreel. I should also note that these animators use different rigs for each shot. This would show that you can work with a variety of different rigs something that you would have to do in the industry, as you can't just work with the same rig for your whole career. Others segments I could add to my showreel could be an obstacle course. 

Here's my showreel so far, comparing it to a few weeks ago progress has been made and after looking at other peoples portfolios I can see what I need to add to my showreel next. For my final block out instead of using Windows MovieMaker, I will use Adobe Premier Pro. 

Week 9 - Professionals in the Industry

In the animation industry there a lot of professionals who've been working on many projects, gaining experience and skills that could help and teach new people entering the industry. This happens in almost any industry, however in animation there are many considered "greats". Walt Disney being one of the first leading the way with new technology and his employees like the 9 old men creating what we know as today as the 12 principles of animation that are universally used in all animated film and video games. My point being that there are many people who have a lot of experience and advise that could really help beginners.

Rich Moore director of Wreck-it Ralph and The Simpsons this year gave a speech at a graduation for recent animation students giving advice from his past and talking about he started in his career.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7QZY_bkijg

He talks about his main 3 steps to help the students get into the industry. He starts off talking about how he felt on the day of his graduation from CalArts. "What's Next" he constantly thought after graduation because nobody knows what's going to happen next. However after finally getting his first job working on the Care Bears designing props and after working on shows like The Simpsons, Futurama and finally directing Wreck-it Ralph at Walt Disney Animation. So his 3 steps he gives in his speech are what he would of wanted to hear the day of his graduation. Referring back to his first job in the industry working as a prop artist on the Care Bears, it wasn't what he had planned to do in the industry however it's all about taking your first few small steps that will help lead you to where you want to go next.

His next point is about taking risks and his final point is that it's okay to fail. Every film, every game and every task you do isn't going to be amazing. We will fail sometimes but we shouldn't dwell on these moments, but instead learn from these and hopefully improve ourselves from these moments.

What I took from this was that it was reassuring to hear this from someone like Rich Moore. The points he makes seem obvious, but expecting to succeed and be amazing straight out of education and be working at a dream studio like Pixar or EA is highly optimistic. Referring back to what Rich Moore says there's simply no shame working on projects like the Care Bears or Hello Kitty. They might no be what you were expecting but it's experience and you'll learn so much from working at a proper studio, that the skills you learn from these could help you to getting that dream project.  

Week 9 - Showreel Progress

My aim for Mondays lecture is to have an early version of my block out showreel done. So I've already begun planning whats going where however I needed to start to figure out what information I'll have on screen to help explain how my final showreel will play out next term for PPD 2. Here's what I have so far.

Show reel plan

Panel 1 – opening with my details

Jordan Peel

Showreel

My e mail address

Panel 2 – Advanced 3D Graphics

Here I’ll be show various images from the web that would hopefully replicate what I may be producing next term.

Other details on the screen will be stating that for the final model I will have it rotating and fully textured and rendered.

Panel 3 – Super Collateral (Game Dev)

Next will be my Ninja animation from game dev. I’m hoping for the final showreel I’ll have the character running in the environment. However for block out I’ll have the character rendered from maya. The animations I’ll show will be the run, jump, idle between other animations and punch. Also on this panel I’ll state that the model was made by Cemal and the rig was done by josh.

Panel 4 – “Staring at me”

This in the block out will be a animatic storyboard based on a wav audio file. On the screen I’ll state what rig I’ll be using and where the audio is from. Also that the animation will be fully rendered in a basic background to set the scene.

Panel 5 and 6 – phone call.

Same as panel 4

Panel 7 – Independent studies

Panel 8 – My details again. 

Week 9 - Showreel Review

As the deadline for PPD 1 is getting nearer, work on my block out showreel really needs to start kicking in. I have a basic idea of some of the key content I'll be showing in my showreel for example Advanced 3D Graphics project, Game Development work, Independent Studies work and a few small animations using the Max for Maya rig. To try and get a better understanding of how other people present their work in a show reel I went back to researching show reels to see what makes other people's show reels stand out.

http://vimeo.com/71648286

One show reel I really enjoyed watching was one by artist Chris O'hara. His showreel contains a variety of 2D short animations hosted by a wide range of characters from Lions to bears and a post box. Why I liked this so much was simply funny it was, in total there were 7 animation shorts each very different and hilarious. The total running length of Chris O'hara's showreel runs at 2:27 minutes that's including the opening slide displaying Chris O'hara's details at the beginning. The humour Chris O'hara has in his showreel I would love in mine, a lot of showreels can seem very bland and have humour like this can lighten up the whole video.

From what I've noticed early on especially with the animation related show reels they are very character based and in some way tell a story with the characters. With the animation showreels they're more like a very short sketch show and they try to entertain you (like a piece of animation should).

An important element to an animation showreel is showcasing your understanding of the key principles of animation. It doesn't matter if your animation you show isn't fully rendered or textured, if the key principles aren't there then its no good.

Week 8 - Day of the Mock Interview

Today was the day of the mock interview and this gave us the second chance this term to practice being interview by others in our class and interview them. Earlier in the week I decided on the job role I'll be applying for which was the role of an animator at the Walt Disney Animations studios in Burbank California. Here's the link to the application from the animated jobs website: http://www.animatedjobs.com/animationjobs/animator-walk-disney-animation-studios-burbank-ca/

Also for when I interview someone in my group I prepared questions that I would ask them before hand. At the start I went with the most common questions like "What are your strengths?" "What are your weaknesses?" and "Why should we hire you?". Then I did try to recall questions I remember being asked when going for proper interviews in the past. "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", "What inspires you?" and "What's your greatest achievement?" are all questions I've been asked in the past in interviews and they are all questions that I feel can't be answered in just a sentence. They give way for you to really open up about yourself and give the interviewer a clearer picture of you. Using these questions in the task really helped us .

In the end I found the task today helpful as it keeps you thinking of how you'll answer typical interview questions properly instead of your mind going blank or saying "I don't know" which would be disastrous in a real interview. It was also a lot fun to see how your friends react to being put on the spot.  

Week 8 - Paths to Pixar

While watching the bonus features on the new Monster's University blu-ray there was one feature called "Paths to Pixar" which has Pixar employees talking about how they landed a job at Pixar. What I found most interesting about the video was one employee Kelsey Mann who's a story supervisor at Pixar tells us he has had so many rejection letters from Pixar, but it never stopped him from constantly improving his portfolio and show reel. He also says when he received rejection letter number 20 it stated that they "enter content" which gave him more encouragement to keep trying and not to give up. This video shows not only how hard it is to get a job at a studio like Pixar, but how also if you put the hours in and keep working hard you'll reach your goal.

   

Week 8 - Job Advertisement

For this weeks mock job interview task I've been looking through some job advertisements related to an animator position at either a film/television studio or video games company. I've been looking at a few animation/3D related job websites. Websites that I looked at were http://www.animationbase.com/ and http://www.animatedjobs.com/ through their Twitter page https://twitter.com/animationjobs. In total I've found around 10 animator positions at various companies and at various locations that I found interesting and I wanted to apply for.

One job advertisement I found was at the Walt Disney animation company in Burbank. I found this on the Animation Jobs Twitter page (https://twitter.com/animationjobs). One of the main requirements for the job is to have 2 years production experience, but for this class task that doesn't really matter. They list that the preferred software is Maya or any other related software is welcome. Also key requirements needed is a great understanding in visual storytelling, believable emotions, character weight, physics, staging and timing. Here's the link to the job advertisement: http://www.animatedjobs.com/animationjobs/animator-walk-disney-animation-studios-burbank-ca/.

This would probably be the job advertisement that I'll use for this weeks task as it's a great example of a dream animation job at one of the biggest animation companies on the planet.

Week 8 - Mock Interview

On Friday we have a mock interview again in groups like we did a few weeks ago. However the last time we did this we weren't told until that day, whereas with our next mock interview we've been told a few days in advance. This is so we can find a job advertisement based on a job role we would like to apply for when we finish the course. Once we've found one, we then tell the others in our group who will interview me and they'll ask interview questions based on the job role. I'm going to be findings job adverts for animators either for video games or film and television. 

Week 7 - Show Reel Plan

This week I began to plan out my showreel more visually. In Windows Movie Maker I created a rough plan of my showreel and the contents within it. For the final plan that I will present to the class, I will use Adobe After Effects to create a more polished looking plan. I will also be using Adobe After Effects for my final showreel at the end of the year. In my plan I have roughly guessed how long clips will play for in the show reel for example for my Independent Studies Animation short I've set the time for around 30 seconds.

There's still more storyboards to add and at the minute the show reel stands at just under 50 seconds. Previously I set a target for the show reel to last between 1: 30 to 2:00 minutes long. This time set was based on other showreels I had researched earlier in the module.
So far the contents of my show reel include:

• Advanced 3D Graphics Project
• "You staring at me" Animation
• Game Development Animation Work
• Independent Studies Short 

Week 6 - Story Boarding

Looking back at my original plan I made a couple of weeks ago, a lot more has changed to the work I want in my showreel. Last week I sent off my ethics approval form for my Independent Studies project. The title of my Independent Studies project is the Comedy Techniques in Animation: Comparing the Golden Age to Modern Day. The end result will be a short film that will be presented to an audience and this will see which jokes works.

As this will be a well presented short film I feel this will be perfect to have either at the beginning or at the end of my showreel. As the main job I want to get in the industry is an animator, so for my showreel I want to focus on showing my animation. However with the project 3D module next term we will be working on an environment based on a piece of concept. However this could be something character related too, but I'm still 50/50 on this. Because if I work on a piece environment and I place it in my show reel which will be animation related it may feel a little out of place. But if I create a character in a small diorama, this wouldn't be a huge stretch and it wouldn't feel out of place too with the rest of the show reel.

Looking back to week 4 when I began planning my showreel out, I had planned a few small animations that wouldn't be any more than 10 seconds and to add variety. here's a storyboard of one of them I did a few weeks ago.

To display these and other animations I have planned I will work on them as animatics. Animatics are a moving storyboard that help plan how my animations are going to play out. It's a widely used tool for example at Walt Disney Animation in there feature films and short films. Here's an example of them for the feature film Tarzan. In this video the storyboard animatic and the final finished film are played at the same time.

My animation ideas were planned a few weeks before deciding on an idea for my Independent Studies module were I'll be having a short animated film looking at comedy techniques. At the beginning when I was looking at others show reels I found that they would have small animation clips that felt like they were from scene.