http://www.theimaginariumstudios.com/what-we-do/performance-capture


A website link to the Imaginarium Studio, with the basic info like "About Us", "Who We Are", "What We Do"...etc.

Motion Capture Filmmaking: Are Computer-Generated Actors the Future of Hollywood?

Andy Serkis is best known as being Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  In this role he showed the potential of motion capturing.  He launched his own specialty film studio - The Imaginarium.  He hopes to teach actors the craft of motion-capture performances, familiarizing them with the technology’s process.  Opinions; I think this technique is great when you want a 3d CGI film, but with the fluid and realistic movements of human beings. I do believe more and more industries are using this technique which is good, which means they are "keeping up with the times" and using the latest techniques to produce the best movie, short animation...whatever they are making.  The same technique was used in the movie Avatar (not the cartoon one).  The actors/actresses had certain suits they wore and sensors placed on various facial muscles and over their body to capture every move they made and converted into CG animation.  Hence why the movements looked very fluid.  Question; I have none. Article was plain and simple.

Filmmaking Tips from the Disney Masters!

Find a Hook for your character

• Use your life experience when making artistic choices
• Draw on your memories to add depth to characters
• Always ask: what is this character thinking and why is he thinking that way?

Don't animate drawings, animate feelings

• Crawl into your character's head and animate from the inside
• Lighting and camera placement should match your character's emotional state
• Easier to add technique to something emotionally true than to add emotion to sterile technique

Animate the more Aggressive Character First 

• For a doc, interview your most aggressive character first
• For narrative, light and block your most aggressive character first
• Use less aggressive characters to add shading to your piece

Observation, Observation, Observation!

• True whether you are capturing reality with a pencil, a camera or a computer
• Go out and just watch. Then draw. (Or film.)
• Learn your subject so well that you don't need the reference anymore

 Observe then plus Reality

• Mission statement for any filmmaker in any genre or discipline
• Choose what to leave in and select what to add or take out
• Difference between going to the zoo and watching Animal Planet 

Explore ALL possibilities in your thumbnails!

• Or in your script, or in your notes
• You can't succeed if you're afraid to fail
• Never throw away bad work - worst case, you can later see that you’ve grown as an artist

 Break Things Up – Everything Moving At the Same Time Looks Weightless

• Good advice either way; how to shoot a science-fiction weightless scene
• Also confuses audience; they don't know where to look
• Simplify and focus

 You Owe It to Yourself and the Medium

• Set high standards for yourself
• Work hard; don't settle for second best
• Set an example for your cast and crew

 Incorporate Asymmetry (In Facial Expressions and Lip-Syncing)

• Symmetry is boring
• Asymmetry adds character
• True for lighting, scripts, actors, staging, blocking, etc...

  If It Doesn’t Look Natural, It’s No Good

• Show audience something they know to be true; easier for them to accept your fantasy

 You Need to be Sincere in Your Own Work

• Avoid theatrics
• Focus on making characters come to life
• Don’t be ambiguous; make it strong and clear

  It’s All About Feeling - That is Number One

• Capturing emotion is more important than technique
• Draftsmanship (or staging) is secondary; acting comes first
• Let the audience see what the characters are thinking and feeling

Don’t Forget, This Is Supposed to Be Fun!

Don't Try To Be the Next Ollie Johnson, Be the First You

• Young filmmakers have a tendency to try to replicate their idols.
• To be successful, you need to express yourself in your projects.
• Apply your own sense of humor, of drama, of romance, of fear.

My 2 opinions; these are really great tips to use and apply to ones' own artwork.  I loved the sketches that went with the article. And question; TEH? Really?
  

from TV to the big screen

TV directors who moved on up to the big screen. (1) The director for the Avengers and the fireflies also did this. (2) People think this may be the way for new up and coming movie directors to start from as tv show directors. (3) Most like the Avenger movie, was a risk, but came out with really good results. All in all it makes sense if you can direct tv you can direct a movie.

Pixar does emoticons?

We all know the basic emoticons of Facebook. And they are a little bland. (1)So a Pixar artist is trying to create new emoticons for our enjoyment.  The artist (2) Matt Jones is experimenting with different color for different emotions, (i.e. red for anger, green for envy etc,).  They also brought in an expert Mr. Paul Ekman!  (1)I'm glad they are making new emoticons, we need it.(2)  I can't wait to see these new emoticons, I hope they turn out good. (1) When do we get to see the new emoticons?

Meander in Paperman

this should help understand what Meander does in the new short Paperman. *Which by the way I think everyone should watch.*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZJLtujW6FY

Film Gauge

Because I really didn't think of what Tarantino meant by 16mm film.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_gauge

6 Filmmaking Tips from Quentin Taratino

Watch someone will actually follow the first one;
1. Lie until People think you worked with Godard
    "Of course, there are a ton of people lying to get work in the movie business, so if you’re going to do it, know what you’re talking about and go with gusto".

2.Good Artist Borrow, Great Artist?
    "If we can’t help but pick bits of inspiration from everything, why not be direct? Why not blend them all together to make something new that looks familiar?"

3. You Might Make Guitar Picks
   Meaning you could make a really crappy movie but If you keep trying and don't give up could make a "freakin' kick a** movie" you could make it.

4. Make the movie on the Page
   Work really hard on your script. Put as much detail and thought in it that you think you'll need to make your film the best, even if you don't use it all.

5.  Be Impersonally Personal
    Somehow someway there is a good chance that personal things in your life will affect the way your film comes out.  A certain mood or tone that you may be feeling or a personal event that is somehow incorporated into the film somehow. It just works.

6. Think Outside the Casting Light
    Although the actors may be overlooked they can still be the perfect ones for the part.

Papperman

Okay so unfortunately my computer hates me and won't let me watch the movie without freezing on me but from the minute I have seen I LOVE IT!  And I can tell it was Pixar's idea because just the way its done is so Pixar if that makes any sense to anyone.  Its so cute!!!!!!!! Okay back to business and stop fan-girling over it.
Three things I learned:
1. That this even exsisted
2. That it was a combo of 2D hand-drawn and CG.
3. a program like Meander existed for this short to even happen

Two opinions:
1. I love this short! Its so cute and with no dialogue except with things like grunts and groans and Foley obviously. (Yes foley, see?  I remember what those are!)
2.I think the combination of 2d drawing and getting those lines to look great but still move smoothly is perfection!

One Question:
Can I have this Meander program? Just so I could at least to attempt to do such work like they did?

P.S. Can I go back to animation?  I miss it. And this short makes me miss it more?

Minecraft

Because...this is going to sound stupid....I have no clue what Minecraft is.  Yes I am deprived of such games (not that I'm complaining).

 "Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things.
It can also be about adventuring with friends or watching the sun rise over a blocky ocean. It’s pretty. Brave players battle terrible things in The Nether, which is more scary than pretty. You can also visit a land of mushrooms if it sounds more like your cup of tea." (Minecraft homepage)
https://minecraft.net/

Techy

Okay so the movie Escape from Tomorrow was shot using two types of camera; a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. The crew did this so they would seem like normal tourists.  Although when you think about it a person riding It's a Small World ride about twenty times would seem kind of off. To control lighting they shot everything in monochrome i.e. black and white.

Mark IV

Mark II

Disney Infinity

So now if Disney wasn't big enough, they now wish to conquer the game world as well.  I am going to be honest; I have no clue what Skylanders or Minecraft is.  All I know they are some kind of game, probably 3-d based?

3 things I learned;

1. The game is available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo Wii U.
2. Each character represents a whole game.
3. Won't be launched until June.

2 opinions;

1. What more can Disney take over? They already have several hundred theme parks around the world, they bought out Pixar, and bought the corporation for Star Wars.....what more do these people need?
2. Disney needs to stop. Just stop. You probably own half the world!  Instead they should focus on making good movie like they use to when Walt Disney himself was around. I would watch those kind of movies over the new crap they are making now.

Question;

1. Why?

Escape from Tomorrow

Alright I am officially creeped out.  So this Randy Moore (not Michael Moore like I originally thought; although this would be his kind of movie), is making a movie inside of Disney.

Three things I learned;

1. There is another Moore in the world.
2. That you could take the happiest place in Earth and make it something so perverse.
3. Its a movie about how people can film stuff from Disney on their Iphone's and post it on YouTube a lot easier.

Two Opinions;

1. This is either going to be a really awesome movie or it's going to bomb like hell.
2. That I think Moore's way of thinking and showing Disney is such a harsh light is wonderful; I really want to see it.

One Question;

1. When can I see it?

             OR

1. Is Disney really the happiest place on Earth?