Hasta La Motion!

What I noticed in „Cat people“ were two things: The presence and absence of light and creatures that are trapped and released from cages: Including people. The people in the movie spent a lot of time switching on and off lights and walking through doors. Turning on the lights in the first part of my essay always puts the characters back into the secure realm of reality, entering rooms in the second part traps them and most of the time introduces them to Irena’s shadow world: Her appartment. Another motive is people who put animals into cages or boxes and keep them there. These scenes have almost symbolic quality to, considering that Irene tries to keep her inner nature trapped inside throughout the movie. Irena herself is like an exotic animal, who is confronted every day with her otherness: also as opposed to American culture. The central point of my essay, which reverses everything I tried to show so far in the essay, is the image and the temptation of the key, which haunts Irena. In the next step, animals are being released: As well as the people, who leave the rooms which they entered in the first place. Turning off the lights, they are once again left in darkness, the natural habitat of Irena. The light and closed doors are things which separate the world of the conscious and the world of the dream, the world of the beasts and the world of the humans. I wanted to show entrapment of the animals in the film and the central aspect of the key. Very soon I realized that the people in the movie were entering and leaving rooms through doors very frequently, as if these were cages, too, often entering or leaving Irena’s apartment, which is in many ways the equivalent to the cat cages in the zoo. Cages and doors separate animals from people and people from people. So I looked for the motive of the door, as well as the one of the cage and the key. Then I searched for moments when people were switching on and off lights, as a way to introduce the sequences of entrapment and release. And also images which separate Irena’s culture and American culture. I created some sort of symmetrical pattern, with the key in the middle and the other aspects around it. Because I wanted to keep the atmosphere of the individual clips, I used audio transitions.

12 November 1956 on NBC. Missing first 20 minutes of episode. Segments include: sewing, velvet fashion show, song, pepper mills, women’s clubs, hand-bags.

Mon 9th Mar 2015, by Mike Hepburn | Peoplestudios

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Oka Free Run with Sound. This was a test for work for a potential project – took about a week to animate

Kyle Kenworthy is an animator who currently works at Schell Games in Pittsburgh PA. He has worked on numerous projects including Pixar’s Toy Story Midway Mania, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, & Disney’s Toontown. He also has his Body Mechanics CGWorkshop coming up. CGSociety was lucky to take some time out of his busy schedule to have a chat …

Please describe what you do.

I’m an animator! In short, I bring characters and objects to life. I currently work at Schell Games where I’m the lead animator and have been here for a little over 8 years now.

Where are you from?  Where are you now? How did the animation bug bite you?

I’m originally from Pratt Kansas, a pretty small town, but decent size for Kansas. I’m now currently in Pittsburgh PA. From a young age I was always really into art, but it wasn’t until seeing Jurassic Park that I was exposed to this idea of combining computers with art. After high school I attended the Art Institute of Phoenix where I majored in Animation. While there, I had the opportunity to intern at Fat Cat Animation in the ink and paint department. Shortly after graduating I was hired at Schell Games and have been here ever since.

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Battle Ball Reel Facebook game created for the Dallas Mavericks – responsible for all animation

What are some of the projects you have worked on / clients or studios you’ve worked with?

I’ve have the amazing opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects. I’ve worked with Disney & Pixar on the Disney theme park attraction Toy Story Midway Mania. I’ve also worked on The Sum of all Thrills, another Disney installation at EPCOT. Other projects include; Dallas Mavericks Facebook game, Race for the Beach, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Disney’s Toontown online, and Mechatars.

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Pixar Toy Story Midway Mania! is an interactive 4-D theme park attraction, currently located at three Disney theme parks. Kyle worked closely with supervisors at Disney and PIXAR to create rendered and in game animation

What’s the most indispensable tool in your software arsenal?

I would probably say my camera. I’m a big reference person and when possible will film myself or colleagues to study and analyze the movement for my shot. As animators, we’re all actors, so it’s always fun to get in front of the camera and explore various possibilities.

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Hysterical Blindness Process video for animation test Kyle did with Mery Rig

Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting, that you can tell us about?

At Schell Games we’re currently working on an educational tablet game for schools called The World of Lexica. It’s a really exciting project to be working on. Students have the ability to explore vast 3D environments, create their own stories, and interact with famous literary characters including, Frankenstein’s Monster, Tom Sawyer, Maid Marian, and more! It’s been really fun getting to bring these famous characters to life! You can get a bit more info on the game on our website here.

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The World of Lexica™

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World of Lexica Animation Reel

When not creating world beating animations, what do you like to do? What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?

I enjoy relaxing with my wife, hanging out with friends and family, taking our dog for walks. I enjoy photography – always on the look out for a good picture. I’m a huge movie buff, love watching all types. I like to workout/stay in shape – sitting in front of a computer for the majority of the day is not the best on the body.

Music: I’m a big movie score fan – John Williams, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, Ennio Morricone, James Horner, Michael Giacchino, and the list goes on and on.

I love watching other people’s animation for inspiration. The first part of my work day involves drinking some coffee and checking various animation sites, getting inspired by all of the amazing artist out there.

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“SeaWorld Race for the Beach” is a motion-controlled multi-player interactive experience that allows SeaWorld guests to experience a sea turtle’s journey from the deep sea to the warm shallow waters of its nesting habitat.  Players must avoid obstacles and pick up food along the way.  Kyle was responsible for all animations in the game.

What would be your #1 advice to other artists?

Don’t procrastinate! If you want to break into the industry, move up the ladder, change jobs, whatever it may be, get out there and do it! Nothing is handed to you for free; you got to put in the time and effort to get the results you want. The first step in doing this is to stop thinking about doing it and do it!

Do you have a motto?

I have two quotes that I really like…

“Try not, do, or do not…there is no try” – Yoda I”m a huuugge Star Wars fan, so obviously I love this quote. And, it’s really great advice. If you go into anything without the confidence to succeed, you’re probably going to fail. I approach my animation and art by “doing” not “trying”

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast” – Bruce Lee. This one applies to so many things in life and art. Sometimes we like to speed our way through things, but more often than not, the slow, planned out route is the quickest. Working in games often means quicker turnaround and less time to work on shots. When speeding up my workflow, I make sure my plan is as solid as possible, as smooth as possible and in turn I’ll achieve quicker results.

What is one secret technical tip that you can give us?

Hot keys! I love using hot keys and am amazed by how much of a time saver they are. If you find yourself repeating an action on the computer over and over again, set up a hot key for it. The seconds you save here and there, add up to more than you would imagine.

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Kyle Kenworthy’s CGWorkshop: Body Mechanics

What do you cover in your CGWorkshop?

We’re covering human biped body mechanics. In short, how to create appealing and interesting movement. In the 8 week course we’ll be animating 2 shots (4 weeks per shot). I’ll be going over my process step by step, and also talking about various topics to help create a strong foundation for animating body mechanic shots.

What do you most hope that people will get from your class?

The importance of planning. In my class we spend a whole week per shot on planning, gathering reference, analyzing it, learning as much as we can before opening Maya. We all want to jump into Maya and start making things move, but if you don’t have a solid game plan before hand, you’re doomed to fail.

Thanks for talking to us, Kyle!

Links

CGWorkshop: http://training.cgsociety.org/course/body-mechanics

Kyle’s blog: http://kylekenworthy.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyle_kenworthy

CGPortfolio: http://kyleg.cgsociety.org/

The CGSociety

The CGSociety is the most respected and accessible global organization for creative digital artists. The CGS supports artists at every level by offering a range of services to connect, inform, educate and promote digital artists worldwide.

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Geico is running a series of YouTube commercials rewarding viewers who opt not to skip after 3 seconds. The prime message is delivered right at the beginning, with the voiceover telling viewers they can’t skip this Geico ad because it’s already over. Those who stay on get to see what happens when characters in Geico ads are put on pause. A family dinner table becomes the family dog’s dinner table. In “High Five” an untended barbecue goes awry. In “Elevator” a new arrival has to work out how she’s going to get to the second floor. In “Cleaning Crew” a rogue vacuum cleaner develops a mind of its own. Each commercial is presented in 15 second, 30 second and extended one minute versions.

Credits

The Geico Unskippable campaign was developed at The Martin Agency, Richmond, by chief creative officer Joe Alexander, group creative directors Steve Bassett and Wade Alger, associate creative director Neel Williams, associate creative director Mauricio Mazzariol, executive producer Brett Alexander, broadcast producer Liza Miller, junior broadcast producer Coleman Sweeney, business affairs supervisor Suzanne Wieringo, senior integrated production business manager Amy Trenz, financial manager Monica Cox, group account director Brad Higdon, account supervisor Josh Lybarger, account executive Allison Hensley and senior project manager Karen McEwan.

Filming was shot by director Terri Timely via Park Pictures with executive producers Justin Pollock, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, and line producer David Lambert.

Editor was Caleb Hepler at Whitehouse Post with executive producer Kristin Branstetter and producer Jojo Scheerer.

Colorist was Tim Mascik at Company 3.

Post production was done at Running With Scissors by Flame artist Chris Hagen, executive producer Scott Friske and senior producer Cheryl Lage.

Sound was produced at Rainmaker Studios by engineer/mixer Jeff McManus. Music was produced at APM.