This weeks episode is, appropriately enough, a short one! Kyle and Katie take a much needed break as I discuss the advantages that animated shorts have over their feature-length cousins.
For the record, Even though I have some critical things to say about WALL-E, I do think it is an amazing film and is one of my favorite Pixar films to date. No hate mail please!
You can listen to the podcast here, or subscribe via iTunes, or grab the RSS.
NOTE: I have heard that some peoples iTunes feed have not updated with episode 5 yet either. (titled Episode 3: Scriptwriting Session) If you are one of the affected, you may want to try re-subscribing to the podcast. I apologize for the inconvenience.
As if November 18th didn’t already seem light years away, Pixar has released pictures of BURN-E, the star of his own short film which will be packaged with the WALL-E DVD set.
I was just talking with a friend about the length of my film and we were trying to get a sense of how long it was going to be taken in account the amount of action involved. My friend then pointed me to this awesome little animation. Its a great example of just how much action and story you can pack into something that is barely a minute long!
My original intent was to jump from the treatment directly to storyboarding. However, considering that the crew is fairly large, It is probably a good idea to develop a full script just to insure that everyone is on the same page creatively.
I did some research this weekend on how I should go about formatting the script and frankly, it seems that as far as animation goes, there isn’t one “right way” of doing things. Everybody seems to have different thoughts on the matter. With that in mind, I decided to go ahead and write the script in the way that I felt best suited my needs.
And so, this little three and a half minute film has a script that is nine pages long. Every shot described, every action captured. It turned out to be a very valuable exercise. The scriptwriting process revealed a lot of flaws in the story and gave us a great opportunity to address these flaws before they became an issue later in the game. The entire script was analyzed in great detail to determine the best way to set the tone, present the characters, and make with the funny.
This weeks podcast gives you a little insight on how we took an interesting idea, and turned it into an entertaining story…we hope.
You can listen to the podcast here, or subscribe via iTunes, or grab the RSS.
Dave Rogers has jumped on board and is creating a large tree that will be featured prominently in Annabelle’s Bistro. This tree, which is a combination of 3D and 2D elements will require advanced physics simulation to create the natural look of leaves moving in the breeze. This test is the first step towards that end.
Apple’s website has the exclusive HD trailer for Pixar’s next animated feature UP! The film is described as being a “coming of old age” story, a seventy-something hero, alongside his clueless wilderness ranger sidekick, travels the globe, fighting beasts and villains, and eating dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon.
The trailer has that same retrospective look at their past success before it actually launches into introducing the new film. We’ve seen this same thing in the WALL-E trailer and it is perhaps a bit much at this point. Do we really need to keep reminding people that Pixar is wonderful at this point? I think most people get it by now. But perhaps Pixar is still struggling to separate themselves from the sea of sameness that leads people to confuse them with the creators of The Reef?
That being said, Up is looking really wonderful. And I am getting a very strong Miyazaki vibe from this one for sure. And who doesn’t love a grumpy old guy? I certainly do.
Which of these two movie posters offends you more as a parent?
if you said Zach and Miri Make a Porno, then you are a real American.
In this weeks episode of SModcast, Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier discuss efforts to market their film with integrity and social responsibility in a world where the word “titillating” is apparently more offensive to the sensibilities of a child than a picture of a person wearing the face of a dead man as a mask.
Being a new parent myself, and knowing that I will have to one day explain to my daughter what a porno is, I found this episode to be particularly fascinating.
[CONTENT WARNING] SModcast features harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Listener discretion is advised.
The 4th episode of the Annabelle’s Bistro Podcast is available now. In this week’s episode, we speak briefly with Amanda Sanchez and then Kyle learns why keeping it simple is a smart thing to do.
I would like to add that these podcasts are going well, but we need everyones help to get the word out about our little project. If you have friends who enjoy animation, or listening to podcasts, please let them know we are out there. Also, visit our page on the iTunes store and write a quick review. Additionally, if you would like to add a badge like the one on the right side of this blog to your own website to help support the podcast, feel free to email me at podcast[at]annabelles-bistro.com and I can supply you with the code.
CGTantra has an interview with Apurva Shah, effects supervisor at Pixar Animation Studios. We don’t often see interesting interviews with effects guys who work in animation, so this is a real treat.
On Ratatouille we worked on several different problems at this early stage – quadruped rig for the rats, organic modeling and edge displacement to avoid straight, CG lines, translucency and subsurface for food and skin, food effects and visual manipulation of the image to avoid grey, CG colors to name a few. I can’t imagine how we could have taken on the film without some of this initial development. However, it’s also important to balance how much you invest in upfront activities without solid story and layout to back you up. Time and budget is finite so you want to pick the most important things to focus on.
Apple’s website has the exclusive 
