Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Stuck in a RUT- New winds

Hey guys,

 been a ruff 3 weeks for my progress on Line.....I feel like I am stuck in a bit of a Rut-

I am sure shel would not agree with that....but It sure feels bad not creating any new animation for 3 weeks.

well here is the run down-

Took a trip to Grandma's to see Paranorman-{Which was awesome}
 - got a cold - doing some more freelancing  and was tasked with lots of Film SETup in the garage and out.......ugggh...

busy I guess- well------We finished the Montage which required a set change- the Sand storm came through which covered up all the work our actors did in defining territories...

these meant fresh clay and a sandy finish much like what the planets skin first looked some 2+ years ago.

here's a pic of shel putting on the sandy touch after the whole family did some fresh clay squishing...line filling.
Here is some more cool Handy work from my talented film making partner-
Mini Flea ship- before it was ready for molding-

 so many cool little things are in this ship------ these pics don't show half of it.

It looks great and will make an awesome KIT - when molded and painted-

I on the other hand have been covering lines and sculpting new heads for the broken Dober puppets
between shots....

shel is going away to a conference and Taking Shamus to college in Washington so....I am going to have a pretty solid week of being a lonely guy at the house- I plan on shooting as much footage as possible while they are gone.....so redemption is in site.

So.....Paranoman has been released and I have seen it in its Film GLORY 3 times now. I LOVE it more and more every time I see it too . Its just crossed the $40 million dollar mark in the US.... That is super cool but I am very confused as to why it hasn't been more successful at the box office.....most CG films make that Opening weekend??

 Our film got great reviews....and it is Totally going to be a classic as the years roll on by...just like this gem of a film.

hmmmmm? what do you guys think it is?

 its still only week 3 at the theaters....tell your friends and get some butt in those seats. This film deserves to be seen by everyone.

here is another cool share- I received this t shirt gift  from LAIKA...which has the scooby doo vibe and its a great pic of the gang in action.

more to come soon guys- some fun posts ahead...I will crawl right out of this rut and be running full speed very soon.

Trick Of the week-

just wall front-

jus rob- over under wall riders


nephew Parker- takin the leap


        jriggity

8 comments:

Steven Garrett said...

Hi Justin
Can't believe you are in a rut you put the rest of us to shame with the energy and work load that you seem to get through.
If you could bottle the secret to your energy and drive you have you could make Millions!!!

Paranorman isn't out over here yet but will be going to see it when it arrives.

Ken C. Tyner said...

Ruts are horrible places. Hopefully you'll recover rather quickly.

Shelley Noble said...

There sure was enough effective promo in Los Angeles for Paranorman, billboards everywhere for weeks! So I don't think the box office was due to improper studio publicity.

Haven't seen Paranorman, yet, but I never go to the theater to see things anymore. Dvd's at home. Maybe that's what people do these days?

I'll for sure buy a copy because I know FROM YOU that the film is a masterpiece of hand-crafted stop motion. The behind the scenes vids are mind blowing over the amount of skill, talent, and work that has gone into the film.

The reason I adore and revere Nightmare Before Christmas so much is because I could SEE very easily that it wasn't cgi, that it was completely a work of human hand. Laika films are painstakingly made by the finest talents in the world, but I, at least, can't tell they are hand made in anyway just from looking.

Cgi is made with skill too, but my heart belongs to messy hand made stop motion. So if I can't tell a story is cgi or not because of its smoothness and seamlessness so that looks computer rendered, then it doesn't get me going, no matter how great the story might be.

I have seen a few big release computer-drawn animations that were entertaining and enjoyable and even beautiful in spots, like Kung Fu Panda and UP, that I was glad I got to see on dvd.

I don't know what Laika and the distributor could have done differently to let people in on what this was, a complete work of art. Maybe show an animator hand in the billboard shots?

Alonso said...

careful, you're gonna talk yourself into having 2 sets running in your garage so you can animate while minions do set dressing ;)

my theory on laika not competing with the CG films: 1st is theme, laika's doing "spooky halloween" stuff, maybe even considered "occult", so people aren't sure if they want to take their kids to it, madagascar 14 is marketed at kids (even if it might not be appropriate), 2nd no food tie ins, the CG studios have a huge machine pumping out happy meal toys and little books and everything (which all works as advertising) Laika just doesn't have the cash and leverage to blitz everywhere as big. Nightmare only made it big as a cult classic, it opened poorly, I'm guessing same reason.

rich said...

Oh man I am so behind. I have not seen paranorman yet due to summer crazy-ness but am Sooo pumped to see it next weekend! I love all the promo material they have done online, instagram, facebook, etc. Been seeing marketing all over the place here in canada ( including pics of you). Beats me why they have not done so great in box office.? I am surprised it was not released on Halloween though... ? But i guess they have too much competition at that time... it's going to make a killing in VOD in october.

After this week in first days of school I bet tons of kid water cooler talk will swarm the halls with talks of paranorman! Alsonso is right though, without merch...there is no in your face pocket evidence ( fast food toys and books) besides the web but don't kids all have laptops and smart phones now?


jriggity said...

Steven}Ha! thanks man...I got back on the horse last night and ...the film is rolling again...

I feel a burst coming on...well...let me know when Ya see Paranorman man!!

Ken}8 seconds RECOVERED!! and thanks for the support man

Shelly}yeah...I was very happy with the billboard presence out there...and i caught a few comercials... so I didnt see a bunch of fault in the advertising...

I like the hand in the billboard idea....but in the end....thats not what we are selling.

we are selling a story....for kids.

so....I am thinking it might be the adult content that scares parents...and rightfully so.

A little too scary to be mainstream.

Alonso} ha! a 2 set house hold would be pretty neat....ha!
yeah man...I agree.

I think its the spooky or ZOMBIE concept thats too scary for moms ....I get it.

Ohh well....one of these days we will make a stopmo film that is CLEARLY safe for kids and hopefully the audience will be there.

Rich}yeah man...I think holloween was too packed - Frankenweenie-Burton and Hotel Transelvania is just too easy to get lost in.

I think they made the right decision on when to come out....as bad as the box office has been.

let me know when you do get to see it man!!

jriggity

Don Carlson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Paranorman was awesome and weird in every way that is good.

I saw it in 3D but plan to see it in 2D on actual film before it leaves theaters. Curious about the differences, but I prefer 2D over 3D, mainly because after a few minutes, the effect wears off and when I notice it again, It's a distraction and I am pulled out of the story. But that's probably just me.

I can't really say why the film wouldn't have made more money at the box office, but I can contribute a music analogy: In the world of pop, the good stuff doesn't sell. The reason is that the mainstream appeals to disposable entertainment. Maybe that's just the way it is and there is no changing it. But you all should be proud of your accomplishment regardless. You and your friends have raised the bar and set a new standard for quality in stop motion.