I am really really excited about this film......Last week was the LAST week of my 3 week vacation and we really put all our energy into Getting that first shot in the CAN.
my weeks work on the film.
Right after a High Octane Dogfight in deep Space......Dober Awakens on a strange planet with his ship in need of repair!!! Can Ya feel It People!!!???
Shots 1 - 4 in the {Dober Awakens} Chapter - the computer display is temporary as we work out all the Display and lighting-effects hurdles.....but...... You can see where I'm going with it.
The world That is taking shape is THRILLING ....I cant even describe how vast and 3d it all feels. We are really taking it to whole differnt level on this.
So after our first lighting by Alia Houser
we discovered a few problems.......I was going to have to comp out too many lights in the background{trying to save work}......and our ship shadows would get cut when I split the tables for access .
Alia graciously came over to do the NEW 2.0 Lighting for the set and We are very very happy with the results!!Shes a very cool person and enjoyed helping out us INDIE stop mo filmakers . Highly reccomended!!
So.....Letting you guys know......I have set a pace of doing 10 seconds of Animation per week as my Goal throughout the making of the Film.
This will allow me much more sleep than GLD did and I hope to come close and sometime surpass the goal.
We as a studio got an incredible NEW Piece of equipment for doing professional Camera moves .
You can see the quality in the Latest shot.....and I will be using it often in this film.Super Perfect smoothe slide - with a Sweet crank to roll as I Animate.
During my vacation I was able to connect with some of our ART assistants on Our Art Tuesdays. 
I have been wanting to hang with these guys for a while but gota go ta Work....
It was especially great to hear their personal passions and where there Interest in this artform came from. I Also got to hear what they would like to do with the craft {Films-Careers-Storys}......we hope to help them with some knowledge and Teaching anything we can to help them achieve thier stop mo Goals.Shot in 3d and edited together quickly just to feel the cuts and get our first taste of the film to come.
Heres Shels latest Handywork - Flea Ships Cracked and smoked windshield ready to be Photographed tonight.
{VACATION}- So One of the Things that I have been up too recently with my vacation has been to RIDE BMX bikes - I used to Be a FREAK for the sport.......completly in love with it.
Well .....I have started to ride again and am very much into relearning the Craft.We have been spending every saturday Night at the Home Depot Parking lot......Under the 6 lane overpass. Covered and Lit....no one bothers us as we Ride, Crash and Laugh.
Heres some pics of our recent Sessions-very fun!!!
Nicky Building his first bike - 
My Hot Biker Chick!!
Robert Litton - Composer -Intern -Yaghtsman - BMXer-We went Pole Vaulting after a few good years off.
My Aunt and Uncle Visited -
had a great vacation but not LONG enough....
22 comments:
Super Uber POWERFUL!!! Screw the next level man...you just leaped over the next 50 levels...hahahaa. Gonna be an AMAZING film my friend.
Super. Heroes!!!!!! You guys are all so gorgeous and hugely multi-talented I can't figure out WHY a smart media person hasn't just friggin' started filming your everydays for a fascinating tv or web show?! I mean, you are already living the most exciting and interesting lives, you're just not being filmed! It's crazy!
I'm laughing so hard at all the titles Robert is gaining after hanging with you all. HA!
If you were only making the fantastic animations it would be enough. But then all the other mad skillz and the way your lives are so well organized takes it beyond where the dog and flea are flying.
Holy cow! I didn't see that BiSlide when I visited today! When did you get it?
aaw :( I want to watch the full film, right now!
so 10 seconds a week, does that mean most nights you have to stop in the middle of a shot? how do you get back in the rhythm the next night jumping right into the middle of a shot?
what was the solution you found for the split shadow?
Justin and Shel,
Everytime I visit your blog, I am very impressed with the progress. I am very happy for you guys. The passion that you guys have is amazing and something that I look up to. Thank you and keep up the great work!!!
are you doing the little particles in the air with a screen, or in post, or some other trick
(hope you don't mind me always asking questions)
awesome! Robert Litton is my hero.
Nice Muybridge, not to judge you two, but Shel seems to have the better form for punting, good foot extension:)
Love seeing the PV pits, did you do any vaulting?
As for the scene, Great! loving the look and feel of it all.
Yes, I can feel it!
Good luck on your ten second challenge.
You guys are amazing!!! Everytime I read your posts I am blown away with the quality stop motion you are making and also with your life as a family. Dober Awaken seq looks great. Can I ask you the same question with Alonso; how did you make the particles?
the Dober Awakens sequence looks amazing!! the video didn't load for me for some reason, but it gave me the opportunity to find your youtube page, which Jed Bramwell joined.
Thanks for you comment on my little animation. Jed and tito aren't real puppets, so the animation is a little stiff. I'm still struggling with how to either rig them externally, or make foam replica stop mo puppets of them - probably the latter.
Craig} Thanks Brother!!
Shelly}Ha!....very kind of you to say.....I dont think any of us could feel comfortable with someone else in our house-Filming our lives.
and Yeah - Roberts titles could be a tall drink of water before this films done.
Thanks again for the support Shelly!
Yuji} We just got it a week ago -thats why we gots the PRO camera move in the new shots.
Alonso}-Me too man!!!10 sec- Most of the time -yes Ill have to stop if I had a 10 sec shot.
Most of the shots arnt quite that long though......so I hope to finish a shot per night on average...but anything big always takes a couple evenings.
getting back into the rhythm comes from trying to {choose} where I stop for the night-If I stop where a settle just finished its pretty easy. Its not too smart to stop in the middle of a big action.
the Split shadow solution - change the lights to the other side- I work from the front of the ships in 90% of the shots.....so our planet extenders are most of the time in place....{No shadow Break}
Kelly Shon}thanks kelly - and thank you for the inspiration as well!
Alonso}Im doing the particles In after effects - post...too much to think about while animating..ha!
Rich}Ha!.... Ill let him know man....
John Pierro}HA!....YEAH Shels always gona have form on me...but my balls go through the Goal post.Ha!!
And Yes- I did get to do some vaulting.....it was AWESOME....I still can do it.Im just a bit slower than I was...
and thanks man!
Yaz} the particles were comped in through aftereffects...keying out the blue color... and blurring the remaining image....Particles
DJ Dyer} Thanks ....I just connected to your youtube account 10 minuets ago.
Looking forward to more animation from you!
jriggity
I agree with Rich Johnson...and might I add that you have some CUTE interns.
Robert Litton - Composer -Intern -Yaghtsman - BMXer- PoleVaulter - Casanova
Dude! You have the life! HAHAHA I loved that little clip!!!!
gotta agree, your family life looks as much fun as the film! thanks for the inpsiration!
j
Just beautiful.
Great work guys!
I see from a couple of shots that you're using hand-cranked camera-moves, and also a system that combines aluminium T-channel with a stepper motor.
The results in your latest test-shots certainly look smooth. :)
How does the stepper-motor connect to the T-channel and drive the camera-holder? (Is it a rubber wheel, rack-and-pinion, belt-drive, or something else?)
Did you go to the trouble of computer-control, or keep it simple with a "forward" and "back" button and count-out the clicks yourself?
In your experience, what are the pros and cons of each approach?
Technology/equipment aside, your character-animation is incredible...love the wake-up sequence! :)
Greetings from Ireland
I love the Dober awakens scene..can't wait for the full movie.
We featured Gerald's Last Day on our amateur animation hobby site over at http://www.stopmotioncentral.com
Hope you don't mind.
Best Regards
Zorg
Cheeks- Thanks dood!...always a pleasure when you visit!
jp- Anytime! and thank you for your blogs Inspiration.
Tonychauzer-Thank man! were working hard....
jmanu- Thanks man....and Nice to internet meet cha.
Damien- Thanks man-we are definitely trying to show off the 3d world were animating in.
Honestly man...on a tech note- I know hardly anything....the stepper motor is for Shooting in 3d.
It is computer controlled...I choose how far apart I want the Left Eye Right eye Movements to be -type it in and then just click a button to move for every click.
the actual Crank slider is a long thread with a shuttle ontop that we attach the 3D moterised slider too...
I then just crank it to move the camera...
In my experiance- I have come up with a work flow thats fairly simple. I go Positive -Negative on the 3d slider....then if necessary give it a crank for a camera move....and its pretty easy on the brain.
Zorgy-Hey Man...and Hey Ireland!!
Nice to see people visit from new places......
and Thanks for the Coverage in your online Site!!....
great to internet meet you.
jriggity
awesome!!! it's so cool! nice animation and lighting! very good team too!!
YES!
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