Jan
07
Missing fingers in Valkyrie
Posted in: ValkyrieMillimeter’s step by step article on Imageworks’ missing fingers effects for Valkyrie.
Jan
07
Smith & Foulkes: Stop, Look & Listen
Posted in: 3d, character animation, department for transport, General, nursery rhymes, psa, uk
This one nearly slipped by the radar. “The Boy Who Didnʼt Stop, Look & Listen” is the first installment in a three-part series for the Department for Transport THINK! Child Road Safety campaign in the UK.
Leo Burnett set up the series for success by penning “Tales from the Road,” an eerie set of nursery rhymes that show kids what might happen when basic safety rules are ignored.
In the hands of Nexus Productions’ Smith & Foulkes, the stories become painterly visions that are one part children’s book illustration and one part nightmare. They walk a fine line between quiet and creepy, crawling under your skin in the process.
Says Smith & Foulkes, “We wanted these commercials to act as a pause in a child’s TV viewing, holding the gaze of the immobile injured characters almost painfully long as a contrast to the hi-energy multi-coloured frenzy of your average childrenʼs programming break.”
Pay attention to the little details, like the quivering crutch as the boy reaches for his ball or the subtle dimensionality of the vignetting during camera moves. It’s all beautifully realized down to the finest detail in typical Smith & Foulkes fashion.
Stay tuned for parts two and three of the series. They’re worth the wait.
Client: Department for Transport
Title: ‘The Boy who didn’t Stop, Look & Listen’
Length: 1 x 40″
Production Company: Nexus Productions
Director: Smith & Foulkes
Executive Producers: Chris O’Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso
Head of Production: Julia Parfitt
Producer: Melody Sylvester
Production Assistant: Denise Abraham
Character Designer: Mustashrik Mahbub
Project Lead: Mark Davies
Further credits from Leo Burnett:
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Burley
Creative Directors: Guy Moore and Tony Malcolm
Copywriter: Christopher Birch
Art director: Caroline Rawlings
Planner (creative agency): Nick Docherty
Media agency: Carat
Planner (media agency): Laura Braithwaite
Editor N/A – animation
Audio post-production: Anthony Moore @ Factory
Exposure: National television
Posted on Motionographer
Jan
07
Does anyone know a way to render out what the camera is seeing in the 3d viewport? I want to show some composites I’ve done for my showreel, with all the layers in 3d space. But I haven’t figured out a way to output it.
Jan
07
Scene Setup Artists – Toronto
Posted in: The Job LotC.O.R.E. Digital Pictures located in downtown Toronto is currently looking for experienced Scene Setup Artists to work on a dynamic new pre-teen animated series that will be aired on a major U.S. television network.
The company was founded in 1994 and is one of Canada‘s leading digital visual effects and animation studios. Over a decade later, C.O.R.E. has successfully built three divisions: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, C.O.R.E. Toons and C.O.R.E. Feature Animation. Over the years, with the underlying philosophy that a studio designed by artists for artists fosters the best creative environment, C.O.R.E. has produced award-winning work for more than 55 Feature Films, 24 Television Series and 24 Movies of the Week.
C.O.R.E. offers an exciting work environment; our open work structure allows for creativity and fun at the same time. The continuous flow of interesting new projects that are awarded from major studios and production companies makes working at C.O.R.E. a unique and fulfilling experience.
Qualifications and Skills:
·Advanced knowledge in Maya
·Strong ability to problem solve independently
·Excellent knowledge of directory structures, databases, specific naming conventions, and file management
·Excellent knowledge of professional animation processes and terminology
·Superior posing skills and an ability to create well timed reference animation where required often using library elements
·Professional camera knowledge and framing awareness
·Ability to create background art or 2D designs
·Post grad diploma in animation preferred
·Training/knowledge in 3D animation
·3-5 years professional experience
·Must be legally authorized to work in Canada
Job Duties and Responsibilities:
·Create required quotas of finished shot layouts per week on professional grade animated productions
·Required to check in with Directors and Production Managers, review notes and instruction regularly
·Post completed work internally and communicate progress to managers
·Make timely corrections to work when required
·Assist in establishing workflows concepts and toolsets for the team
·Additional duties as assigned
Qualified applicants can send their resumes, demo reels in DVD-R format including shot breakdown to:
C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures Recruiting
461 King St. West
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1K7
We would like to thank all applicants for their interest however only those under consideration will be contacted. No phone calls please.
Jan
07
3D Animators – Toronto
Posted in: The Job LotC.O.R.E. Digital Pictures located in downtown Toronto is currently looking for experienced 3D Animators to work on a dynamic new pre-teen animated series that will be aired on a major U.S. television network.
The company was founded in 1994 and is one of Canada‘s leading digital visual effects and animation studios. Over a decade later, C.O.R.E. has successfully built three divisions: C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, C.O.R.E. Toons and C.O.R.E. Feature Animation. Over the years, with the underlying philosophy that a studio designed by artists for artists fosters the best creative environment, C.O.R.E. has produced award-winning work for more than 55 Feature Films, 24 Television Series and 24 Movies of the Week.
C.O.R.E. offers an exciting work environment; our open work structure allows for creativity and fun at the same time. The continuous flow of interesting new projects that are awarded from major studios and production companies makes working at C.O.R.E. a unique and fulfilling experience.
Qualifications and Skills:
- Excellent knowledge of animating in Maya
- Excellent understanding of acting, character development and storytelling
- Must have excellent knowledge of animation principles, weight and timing
- Strong cartoon style animation showing great humour a definite plus
- Demonstrates adaptability to proprietary tools
- Ability to create so-called shell scripts or other automation tools/procedures would be an asset
- Understanding of typical series animation pipeline layouts, positions, and processes
- University/College degree in animation or fine arts
- 3-5 years experience as an animator
- Classical training an asset
- Must be legally authorized to work in Canada
Job Duties and Responsibilities:
- Review each show with the Animation Director and Series Director
- Meet a 2540 seconds quota per week
- Work with the Animation Director and fellow animators to keep characters and animation consistent and maintain continuity between shots
- Effectively use propriety web by appropriately flagging shot statuses, reading and responding to director notes
- Create performance and motion for characters and props based on storyboard panels & Directors vision
- Responsible for lip-sync, posing, body & facial animation; key framed, and in-betweens
- May be required to set up each assigned shot, using the layout/setup tools
- Incorporate supervisor, director and client comments, and complete revisions within deadline
- Additional duties as required
Qualified applicants can send their resumes, demo reels in DVD-R format including shot breakdown to:
C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures Recruiting
461 King St. West
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1K7
We would like to thank all applicants for their interest however only those under consideration will be contacted. No phone calls please.
Jan
07
Hey Guys,
Got a little housekeeping question for ya that will make my afternoon much more enjoyable if I can figure this out. It’s a simple, but HUGE, stamp task for previs with the frame sequence file name needing to be written onto the frame. So far they’ve had to just manually type in the name of each sequence, and that’s a big waste of time. So what I would like to do is figure out an expression to be placed in the message knob of the text node that would grab the file name from whatever Read it’s hooked into.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Doug
Jan
07
Animation Guild Shatters L.A. Times’ “Vision Of Tomorrow”
Posted in: Animation, opinion, vfx, visual effects
Steve Hulett has posted a scathing criticism of the new crowd sourced via Facebook animation project Mass Animation. According to an L.A. Times editorial
Through Facebook, Mass Animation invited the public to create scenes for its first short video, “Live Music.” The company supplied the animation software, the story, backgrounds, characters and audio. Animators whose work is chosen will receive $500 per scene. All told, the project will cost about $1 million and take six months to complete, a fraction of the money and time required for a comparable Hollywood project.
Hulett takes the position that this is unfair to the participants and just another case of a Hollywood bigwig out to exploit the animation community. He states
if the editorial reflects reality, (Mass Animation) is keen on owning the content, making the animators low-paid sub-contractors.
This would make a little more sense to me if the project was not an opt-in proposition. People who submit their work are hoping for a break, something young folks would pay for these days. My question to the guild… How are new animators, passionate about the work they do, supposed to get into the industry?
LINK to the post on the Animation Guild’s blog
Share and Enjoy:
Jan
07
Rigging Error
Posted in: LightwaveA friend of mine who is an animation student created some characters for me this , and he did a fantastic job. But one of the models is not properly rigged. I will post some screen caps, although I’m not sure how to show what’s wrong with it in screen caps. I will pay someone $50 via paypal if they can fix this model and properly rig it for me.
MRA
Jan
07
The Stargate Universe VFX department is looking for a Senior Maya Fluids/Particle Artist
We are located on the Stargate Universe lot (Bridge Studios) in BC, Canada
We are located on the Stargate Universe lot (Bridge Studios) in BC, Canada
Requirements:
– A Minimum of 3 years vfx experience working on episodic television and/or feature films.
– Expert Level knowledge of Maya Particles/Fluids and Metal Ray required
– Comfortable working in a collaborative team environment
– Comfortable with firm deadlines
– Creative problem solving skills
– Comfortable creating elements for both full CG and live action shots
– Generalist 3D skills are a big bonus
This is a full time in-house position starting Feb 2009. It will run approximately 11 months with the possibility of renewal.
we offer:
Regular Hours
Paid Overtime
A kitchen full of snacks, food and drink
Trips to set
Direct contact with Producers and Visual Effects Supervisors
A relaxed team oriented environment
Salary based on experience.
Links to online reels and portfolios can be sent to universevfx@gmail.com. Please include the job you are applying for in the subject line.
DVD reels ans resumes can be sent to:
Stargate Universe
Visual Effects Department
The Bridge Studios
2400 Boundary Road
Burnaby, BC
V5M 3Z3
Canada
no phone calls please
Jan
07
The Stargate Universe VFX department is looking for a Senior level Maya or Lightwave VFX animator with strong cinematic animation skills.
We are located on the Stargate Universe lot (Bridge Studios) in BC, Canada
no phone calls please
We are located on the Stargate Universe lot (Bridge Studios) in BC, Canada
Requirements:
– A Minimum of 3 years vfx experience working on episodic television and/or feature films. Game experience will be considered.
– Expert knowledge of either Maya or Lightwave – this is a senior level position.
– Ideal candidate will be a strong visual storyteller and well versed in cinematography – camera angles, composition, and continuity.
– Comfortable working in a collaborative team environment
– Comfortable with firm deadlines
Animators must be able to set up entire complex sequences, from animatic to final. While character experience is a bonus, a background or shown excellence with cinematography/camera work is a must.
This is a full time in-house position starting mid to late Jan 2009. It will run approximately 11 months with the possibility of renewal.
Previous experience with fast action and science fiction related themes is a plus.
Any experience working in a hybrid pipeline environment is also a bonus.
we offer:
Regular Hours
Paid Overtime
A kitchen full of snacks, food and drink
Trips to set
Direct contact with Producers and Visual Effects Supervisors
A relaxed environment with great people
Salary based on experience.
Links to online reels and portfolios can be sent to universevfx@gmail.com. Please include the job you are applying for in the subject line.
DVD reels ans resumes can be sent to:
Stargate Universe
Visual Effects Department
The Bridge Studios
2400 Boundary Road
Burnaby, BC
V5M 3Z3
Canada
no phone calls please
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