Sunday, January 30, 2011

Senior Project Progress 2/1


Layout and color map of factory level for Abortion



Motion map for factory level for Abortion

Levels Reorganization and Edits:
1 - Health care reform - represented by manufacturing of drugs with welfare line off to side
2 - Climate change - represented by manufacturing of hydroelectric cars
3 - Gay rights - represented by manufacturing of gay marriage licenses
4 - Marijuana legalization - represented by manufacturing of hemp (but all the workers are smoking marijuana and doing jack shit)
5 - Abortion - represented by manufacturing of babies and then killing the babies at the end of the production line
6 - Immigration - represented by manufacturing of welcome mats
7 - Liberals - literally manufacturing liberals


Sound edits for SS

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Job Research Continued... and Updated Calendar

I was told to look into awards and fellowships more specifically, so here it is!

U of M
Part-time Master's Fellowship
- 3-8 hours a semester
- $1500 a year / $750 a semester
- No tuition waver
- You have to be nominated by the college
- deadline is May 13 for fall semester and you are notified by June 13

Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Awards
- 2 awards for outstanding teacher's assistants
- have to be nominated by faculty, students, alumni, or dean
- deadline is March 11
- $500 reward

Morton Thesis/Dissertation Awards
- thesis must be approved by their individual committee
- $500 for thesis award
- department chairs must submit nomination
- deadline is February 18

Graduate Assistantship specifics:
- sign a contract
- work a maximum of 20hrs a week
- have to maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA to stay in
- Must maintain at least 12 graduate hours to keep it
- additional assignments are sometimes available but require a 3.2 GPA and an advisor's permission
- you must make a profile on their website
- a resume is required



UPDATED CALENDAR

February 1 - Critique.
February 2 - Revise assets. BFA Workshop Meeting.
February 3 - Critique.
February 4 - Edit sound for frames 19-27.
February 5 - Revise and create assets.
February 6 - Revise and create assets.
February 7 - Revise and create assets.
February 8 - Critique.
February 9 - Revise assets. BFA proposal form due.
February 10 - Critique.
February 11 - Edit sound for frames 28-38.
February 12 - Revise and create assets.
February 13 - Revise and create assets.
February 14 - Begin placement of assets.
February 15 - Critique.
February 16 - Place assets and reorganize existing ones. MEMPHIS CITY SCHOOLS RECRUITER MEETING! BFA exhibition deposit form due.
February 17 - Critique.
February 18 - CONOOGA - Out of town. Bring laptop and supplies to do away from lab work. Edit sound for frames 39-49.
February 19 - CONOOGA - Out of town. " " " "
February 20 - CONOOGA - Out of town. " " " "
February 21 - Revise and create pixel work.
February 22 - Critique.
February 23 - Revise and create pixel work. BFA Draft 1 of Artist's statement due.
February 24 - Critique.
February 25 - Edit sound for frames 50-60.
February 26 - Pixel animation tests.
February 27 - Pixel animation tests.
February 28 - Pixel animation tests.
March 1 - Critique.
March 2 - Revise pixel animation.
March 3 - Critique.
March 4 - Edit sound for frames 61-71.
March 5 - Animate for 1st scene division.
March 6 - Animate for 1st scene division.
March 7 - Animate for 1st scene division.
March 8 - Critique.
March 9 - Animate for 1st scene division. BFA Draft 2 of Artist's statement due.
March 10 - Critique.
March 11 - Edit sound for frames 72-82.
March 12 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 13 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 14 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 15 - Critique.
March 16 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 17 - Critique.
March 18 - Edit sound for frames 83-93.
March 19 - Edit sound for frames 94-Finish.
March 20 - PUT SUPER SALLY TO BED! DONE AND DONE!
March 21 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 22 - Critique.
March 23 - Animate for 3rd scene division. Career Service Form due!
March 24 - Critique.
March 25 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 26 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 27 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 28 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 29 - Critique.
March 30 - Animate for 4th scene division. ARTIST STATEMENT FINAL FORM DUE! ACADEMIC AFFAIRS FORM DUE! ARTIST STATEMENT FINAL FORMATTING FORM DUE! FINAL GALLERY LABEL SUBMISSION SLIP DUE! FINAL FORMATTING DUE! FINAL GALLER LABEL DUE!
March 31 - It is due!
April 6 - Project due for BFA show!
April 7 to May 1 - Demo reel and portfolio work
April 29 - Career Fair
May 13 - Senior Digital Media Show
May 14 - Commencement
May 15 - Take work down from BFA show.

Gadsby Meeting

My meeting on 1/28 went well with Gadsby. We discussed my resume. She gave me an example and we decided what to keep on my current one to make it into a teacher's resume. Additionally, she passed my name on to the Memphis City Schools recruiters and invited me to the recruitment meeting on 2/16, which I will be attending and passing off my resume that day. She wants me to submit my revised resume so she can critique it before then. She also told me my number one goal at this point is to get actual hands-on teaching time in. She gave me a contact for the Boys and Girls club and Volunteer Memphis so I can volunteer to get crucial experience. Also, I'm using my father as a contact to get me some hands-on teaching time with instructors at his school. She also is making sure I get an interview at the Career Fair with Memphis City Schools. Additionally, we discovered that the animation background I have is something they are looking for with their art/technology charter schools.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Demo Reel Research

Good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcPI47Xrij0
This one caught my eye at first because I liked the graphics themselves. However, the groove is good in this.The pace is fun and fast moving to keep you interested. Nothing repeats but he connects the scenes well with good transitional smaller pieces. The music, I think, aids it and everything tends to follow the beat. The ending is abrupt but it's good that way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EANVX2FWsPU&feature=related
This one is a good length to establish the idea of what kind of work this individual does without overwhelming you with too much. The transitions and pace are nice. You get a good idea that this person works on commercials and for big networks. It does a good job showing their professional work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp-HMh-toHo
This is a 3D reel so it works a bit differently in the setup but it is very strong. It shows all the components an animation firm is looking for from polygons to walk cycles to different animation techniques and facial/speech techniques. It is long but it isn't unpleasant to watch. The opening is quite nice and it sets up for an action-packed demo reel. The music is nice and adds to its appeal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7ewDGx66F8&NR=1

I liked this one for the labeling features. A lot of these 3D demo reels benefit from having labels to the sections so the viewer understands what talent is being shown. Otherwise, it might have been confusing as to why each of these images existed in this section. In a way, it ties them all together. The music matches the first image and then transitions into a more modern song to join the rest. Also, it's a nice signifier of the artist himself.

Iffy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwRQNjqrIro&feature=related
This one isn't terrible. I think it could have benefitted from music based on the content within the reel and for the pacing's sake. The transitions are good in some places but are nonsensical in others (like the moon vs. the car back and forth transition). The opening is great and it shows a large breadth of work. I think it could have benefitted from being shorter, however.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED2CKaUEAEo&feature=related
It's obvious this animator relies a lot on speech to get across their talent. I'm not against this choice but I wish there was some underlying music or something to connect all the scenes. I think for a humorous twist, they could have taken bits and pieces from each animation and made a whole new dialogue that might have been quite hilarious.

Bad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Ieh7SiozM&feature=related
This reel is quick and to the point. Because of this individual's talent, I would have liked to see more. The music doesn't really go with all the clips or the main mood of the reel. It needs more transitional elements because random things are squashed together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE1xY2vZciQ&feature=related
I wasn't really feeling the music and it spends WAY too long on individual scenes, especially the first one. I felt like I watched a whole animation instead of a clip of the best moments. And in no way do I feel that entire scene captured the highlights. It easily could have been cut down to a 1/3 of the time. Transitions are virtually nonexistent and it seems a bit slammed together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY8ViHPXajo&feature=related
Barbie Girl was not a good choice of music, especially since the imagery did not match. The balls at the beginning were nothing compared to what comes later and should have been completely omitted. If the artist can make characters in combat, then I'm sure they can make a ball bounce and roll. The NAG appearing in the background was distracting and unnecessary.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

1/27

Project Progress



New 7 Levels:
1 - Health care reform - represented by manufacturing of drugs with welfare line off to side
2 - Climate change - represented by manufacturing of hydroelectric cars
3 - Gay rights - represented by manufacturing of gay marriage licenses
4 - Marijuana legalization - represented by manufacturing of marijuana (but all the workers are smoking and doing jack shit)
5 - Abortion - represented by manufacturing of babies and then killing the babies at the end of the production line
6 - Immigration - represented by manufacturing of welcome mats
7 - Liberals - literally manufacturing liberals




Job Research

Well, as we know, I am not taking the traditional path out of here so my research is based on money towards graduate programs. I chose to unpack some information regarding money that individual schools offer. I specifically have done research with University of Memphis, Memphis and Shelby County Schools, Tennessee Dept. of Education, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, and New Mexico Dept. of Education.

Graduate Assistantship
http://www.memphis.edu/gradschool/ga_awards_fellowships/gainfo.php
At all of the schools I have looked at that I seriously have been looking at attending the following are requirements that all of them seem to have:
-10-20 hours per week of work
-Covers all of tuition
-The department in which you work must be contacted directly.
-These are need based mostly.
-3.0 GPA must be maintained
-18 hours of graduate work must be completed if no prior college teaching experience exists.
-A resume is required.

Awards and Fellowships
http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=163
-Nominations are generally required by school granted fellowships and awards.
-A resume is required.
-Most are only available to students currently enrolled in their field.
-Most only offer $1000 a semester.
-Organization granted awards generally require service work/research in the field to maintain.

Art Education Career
http://www.mcsk12.net/hr/aboutmcs_human_resources_jobs.asp
-A resume is required.
-Basic computing skills is required.
-Knowledge of word, powerpoint, and excel is a plus.
-Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
-2.5 GPA
-Sincere desire to work with children
-Ability to interact effectively with diverse children
-Ability to provide instruction to children
-Experience using creative teaching techniques
-Ability to work effectively as a team member

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Goals for Thursday

- Rerecord sounds for super sally project
- Refine level manufacturing items and bigger issues
- Determine set angle

Extra Credit 1/25 and due dates

State of Union address (1 week to complete)

Review of address. About one page review. Try to be non-partisan, neutral.


1/27 -
review classmate's job posts. unpack 3 potential jobs with:
filter job postings you found and find glean pertinent information from them, find consistency with MANDATORIES (like resume, demo reel, etc.), software requirements, etc.

Vision of senior presentation. Talk as a group. Come up with times/dates, presentation, order, set-up, etc.

2/1 - report from meeting with Gadsby questions in regards to job postings

2/8 - all demo reel resources must be organized and prepped for editing. Research demo reels. Post good demo reels and bad demo reels, labeling them as such. (continuous rolling post, same as job post)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Goals for Tuesday

- Create animatic of factory
- Create a grid or outline in Photoshop for total Factory space size for floors
- Begin rough layout of pixelized factory space for one floor

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

BFA Creative Strategy Pitch

SUPER SALLY PROJECT

Log Line: A five-year-old girl must attempt to save the city from the monster destroying it.

Short Synopsis: A five-year-old, Sally, is playing jump-rope when a monster attacks her city. She transforms into a super hero and tries to fight the monster. Her power lies in her ingenuity and comic ability to defy the laws of physics. When she is unable to defeat the monster herself, she calls on a friend for help.

Tone and Execution: Humorous tone, Approach is based on childhood play-time, as in imagining all the elements around you without their physical existence. While in this piece the actual creatures and surroundings exist, the girl's voice acts as a bridge between what is make-believe and what is reality, blurring the two.

Objective: The goal of this project is for interviews and portfolios and entertainment. The project should serve as a means for entrance into graduate studies and possible jobs whether they be full-time, part-time, or freelance.

Target Audience: Child/Young Teen (5-16)

Positioning: Demo reel, interviews, online portfolio, online video websites (Vimeo, Veoh, Youtube)

Mandatories:
After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop, Logic, Sound equipment (mics, recording device)

Inventory:
Assets - complete
Animation - complete
Sound - mostly completed, tweaking and rerecording various portions (97% finished if you must have a number)
Title and credits - nonexistent
DVD ready media - nonexistent











ISOMETRIC ART PROJECT
Concept: Loop animation of a factory that produces objects of "fear" for uber-conservative americans, Fear Factory. Examples of items produced - non Christian artifacts, books, etc., gay marriage licenses, liberals, interracial couples, abortion doctors, health care bills, etc. The outside of the building will have humorous depictions of protests, end-of-the-world bomb shelter advertisements, etc.

Example animation type:


Tone and Execution: Humorous approach, concentrating on (what is in my opinion) irrational fears of the conservative sector of America. This piece relies solely on visuals because it's final format (GIF or PNG) will not support sound. It will be created in 6 sections that are reassembled. The sections are for easy management of animation. With the overall finished size, it would be too cumbersome to animate entirely on the one giant section.

Objective: The goal of this project is to open a dialogue about unjustified fears of the conservative sector. The piece is to serve as a strong anchor point in my pixel art portfolio.

Target Audience: Young adult (18-30)

Positioning: Demo reel, online portfolio, pixel art communities

Mandatories:
Photoshop

Inventory:
None yet!



Timeline:
January 20 - Present and critique.
January 21 - Begin finesse of sound and animation that still needs it.
January 22 - Rerecord sound that is unacceptable.
January 23 - Edit new sounds.
January 24 - Edit sound for frames 1-10. Sketch plan for pixel work.
January 25 - Critique.
January 26 - Fix for next critique. Edit plan for pixel work.
January 27 - Critique.
January 28 - Edit sound for frames 11-18.
January 29 - Begin basic construction for pixel piece.
January 30 - Define pixel map.
January 31 - Begin asset creation.
February 1 - Critique.
February 2 - Revise assets.
February 3 - Critique.
February 4 - Edit sound for frames 19-27.
February 5 - Revise and create assets.
February 6 - Revise and create assets.
February 7 - Revise and create assets.
February 8 - Critique.
February 9 - Revise assets.
February 10 - Critique.
February 11 - Edit sound for frames 28-38.
February 12 - Revise and create assets.
February 13 - Revise and create assets.
February 14 - Begin placement of assets.
February 15 - Critique.
February 16 - Place assets and reorganize existing ones.
February 17 - Critique.
February 18 - CONOOGA - Out of town. Bring laptop and supplies to do away from lab work. Edit sound for frames 39-49.
February 19 - CONOOGA - Out of town. " " " "
February 20 - CONOOGA - Out of town. " " " "
February 21 - Revise and create pixel work.
February 22 - Critique.
February 23 - Revise and create pixel work.
February 24 - Critique.
February 25 - Edit sound for frames 50-60.
February 26 - Pixel animation tests.
February 27 - Pixel animation tests.
February 28 - Pixel animation tests.
March 1 - Critique.
March 2 - Revise pixel animation.
March 3 - Critique.
March 4 - Edit sound for frames 61-71.
March 5 - Animate for 1st scene division.
March 6 - Animate for 1st scene division.
March 7 - Animate for 1st scene division.
March 8 - Critique.
March 9 - Animate for 1st scene division.
March 10 - Critique.
March 11 - Edit sound for frames 72-82.
March 12 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 13 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 14 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 15 - Critique.
March 16 - Animate for 2nd scene division.
March 17 - Critique.
March 18 - Edit sound for frames 83-93.
March 19 - Edit sound for frames 94-Finish.
March 20 - PUT SUPER SALLY TO BED! DONE AND DONE!
March 21 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 22 - Critique.
March 23 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 24 - Critique.
March 25 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 26 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 27 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 28 - Animate for 3rd scene division.
March 29 - Critique.
March 30 - Animate for 4th scene division.
March 31 - Critique.
April 1 - Animate for 4th scene division.
April 2 - Animate for 4th scene division.
April 3 - Animate for 4th scene division.
April 4 - Animate for 4th scene division.
April 5 - Critique.
April 6 - Animate for 5th scene division.
April 7 - Critique.
April 8 - Animate for 5th scene division.
April 9 - Animate for 5th scene division.
April 10 - Animate for 5th scene division.
April 11 - Animate for 5th scene division.
April 12 - Critique.
April 13 - Animate for 6th scene division.
April 14 - Critique.
April 15 - Animate for 6th scene division.
April 16 - Animate for 6th scene division.
April 17 - Animate for 6th scene division.
April 18 - Animate for 6th scene division.
April 19 - Critique.
April 20 - Revise animations.
April 21 - Critique.
April 22 - MTAC. OUT OF TOWN. Bring supplies for out of lab work.
April 23 - MTAC. OUT OF TOWN. " " " "
April 24 - MTAC. OUT OF TOWN. " " " "
April 25 - Revise animations.
April 26 - Critique.
April 27 - Revise animations.
April 28 - Critique.
April 29 - Revise animation.
April 30 - Revise animation.
May 1 - Revise animation.
May 2 - Revise animation.
May 3 - Critique.
May 4 - Revise animation.
May 5 - Critique.
May 6 - Revise animation.
May 7 - Revise animation.
May 8 - Revise animation.
May 9 - Revise animation.

Due 1/20

10 min or less presentation for 1/20

Log Line -- one-sentence summary of the pitch for a proposed project
Objective - what is it's function? calling card for job, deeper meaning, etc.
Short synopsis of your project.
Tone and Execution -- What's your approach
Objective -- What do they want to happen? What is the goal of this project?
Target Audience --- Who is your audience -- you can not answer everyone?
Positioning - rent a theater, internet, etc.
Mandatories -- What is needed to make the project happen.
Inventory -- What is done.
Timeline -- detailed!

Job Research, questions

Alternative from animation path. Funding, schools, next step for graduate school and beyond.