Resume~

KAITLYN CHANDLER

(615)506-7158

Kaitlynechandler@gmail.com

EDUCATION

Aug 2009 – Present

Enrolled at Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN.

Majoring in Digital Media with a Focus in Digital Cinema

GPA: 3.6

May 2009

Graduated with Honors

East Literature Magnet School. Nashville, TN

DIGITAL SKILLS

Proficient in Mac and PC

Final Cut Pro

Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Aftereffects

Toonboom Animation software

Video Production and PreProduction Skills

Cinematography

Audio Recording, Logic, Ableton, Reason

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Dean's list

Indie Memphis Student Short Film Competition

Memphis College of Art Portfolio Scholarship

Memphis College of Art Christi Collins Scholarship

Memphis College of Art Painting and Drawing Exhibition Fall 2010

Digital Cinema Student Alliance Representative

EXPERIENCE:

08.2009 – Present: Library Assistant

Memphis College of Art Library, Memphis, TN

Organizing visual material, gaining widespread knowledge of visual culture.

01.2011 – Present: MCA Animation Club President

Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN 

Creating, organizing and leading Animation events. Fundraising, pitching, etc.,

08.2009 – 05.2010: Design Club Member

Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN

AIGA Memphis Chapter, sold and produced visual material.

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WEB PORTFOLIO

VIMEO:http://vimeo.com/user4579637

YOUTUBE:http://www.youtube.com/user/TalkingJello?feature=mhee

Review Committee Outline

I don't know yet if it's better to have my demo reel palying when they walk in or not. However I am showcasing it via a DVD when they enter the room, as soon as they get settled, I will start talking about my work and go back on the DVD to the menu. It will be awesome and pretty and they will ooo and aww.

Demo Reel

-Committee Enters

-Go to the DVD Menu and start talking about my work this semester

-Start playing work from this semester, sound on low, waiting for there feedback

-Answer Questions

-Go over more work, show them sketchbook.

-Answer Questions

-Finish off strong with the complete Demo Reel of all my work.

Schedule and WIP Self-Critique.

Schedule:

Finish Backgrounds by Dec 1 (Thursday)

Finish Scarfs & Squiggles by Dec 3 (Saturday)

Composite and Animate by Dec 6 (Tuesday)

Make Revisions and Turn in? by Dec 7(Wednesday)

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Self Critique:

So far I think I'm making good progress, the only thing I'm worried about is the chase scene and I want to make it feasible and not make any promises, I can only say that I want it to be very tight and believable. Backgrounds are killing me right now, they are so time-consuming but I can't stand looking at crappy backgrounds- so? What can you do. I think my only problem this round is not spending enough time on all the extra things we had to get done, and only focusing on the WIP. I dunno- maybe it will help me in the long run. It's getting to crunch time and I'm really liking this project, and what I'm doing with it.

Travelling Fellowship (Revised x3)

So I've changed the Festival I wanted to go to because I found one that is even better and closer to my interest as well as being bigger and at a better time (The last one was during the Spring semester) than before.

I have been committed to making work that is both visually and technically exceptional since I have come to MCA. I have not only been active in the MCA community (founding and leading clubs, using my voice to make significant changes about MCA, etc.,) but I have done so while never receiving anything lower than a B for any class. I say this not to gloat but to affirm my passion and drive for my education and my future career. My work has been screened at Indie Memphis Student Short competition and I have been the leader of the MCA animation club, GSA, and a leader in Student Alliance. For that reason and more I believe I would be the best candidate for this fellowship.

The specific questions I plan to address are whether there are huge differences between European an American narrative. I would also like to answer why sci-fi and fantasy-adventure is although one of the hardest genres yet also one that profits tremendously both finacially and with career exposure; such as the Harry Potter Films or Star Wars. I would be the best person for this trip because I would use my time as wisely as possible, my experiences organizing events and connecting with others in the industry is paramount. If my work does not speak for itself, then you should know that I am a perfectionist and try to perform at the highest level of aesthetics and

Depart 4.29.2012 for London, United Kingdom via American Airlines Flight(round trip):$874.90-$1000.00

Arrive and arrange accommodation at: Keystone House Kings Cross in London, England:$26.58-40 a night. : $186.06 for 7 days (this is the cheapest rate, I may have to go higher)

(The full schedule of this festival is not yet listed online, but what I will likely be partaking in is:)

Sci-fi london: (strangely enough the ticket prices aren't out)

-48 hr Film Challenge

-Fantasy Screenwriter Workshop

-Search for a Script...

-Interviews with numerous professionals in the industry

-A lot more!

More things I will do!

 -Trip to the British Musuem : Free

- a visit to BBC Television centre for a tour : £7.75 - £9.95 ($10.41-$13.37)

-London's Transport Museum : Free

-Tate Gallery : Currently Unavailible, Approx. $20

-Tate Gallery $20

-London Science Museum, Free, Imax is not free (set aside $20)

-London Trasnport Museum

Transportation: Oyster Card, $48

Food & Beverages: $950( The stay is for 5-6 days)

Misc:$200

Emergency Fund:$400

Total: $2712.33

This is a conservative estimate.

Depart for memphis 5.6.2012, arrive 5.7.2012 (price listed above)

W.I.P. Self Critique

So I'm trying to really stride that line between messy and "intentional messy" and trying to get it closer to the latter, at first I wanted to do it all in very muted colors, but I decided against it. I am now leading towards the idea of everything desaturated and then just the scarfs- but I think that's too forward so what i'm trying is;

Everything grayscale (except scarves)
Lights are colored.

^These work best.

So it was pretty fun going through these tests though, I think the outcome is pretty successful, needs more tweeks but it's getting there.

Some tests:

So learning to export out of ToonBoom with an Alpha channel is getting pretty confusing? I think I can do it it's just so tricky, and exporting everything in lossless format is pretty interesting- it actually doesn't take that long and the everything is still pretty awesome. Yep, so all-in-all I'd like to be further but I think   this is a manageable project. Also, the ending changed.

Schedule: 

Thanksgiving- FINISH PRELIMINARY ASSEMBLY EDIT WITH ALL SHOTS

Backgrounds and ToonBoom Scarves.

Nov. 23-25

End of Thanksgiving- FINISH THE PIECE with Aftereffects lighting.

Nov. 26-28

REVISE REVISE REVISE

Nov. 29- Dec.1

PROFIT!

Dec-etc.,

Self Critique

I love making storyboards! I am always in a conflict about how detailed to make them however. If I make them too detailed, it distracts from the purpose, if I detail to little it looks rushed and doesn't serve to communicate my meaning. Nevertheless, I love making them, and recently I have turned to just making them animatics- why not? It's just one more step. I think my colored frame could use more textures- and I cannot tell you how conflicted I was over the girls legs- My god! Anyway, I'm excited for this piece, I thought of the story for a very long time, and I think it will be good to get feedback. I like the luminosity of her scarf against all these dark and grey solids- it really makes me think of france for some reason. It's also very rare that I make a piece that is so unfantastical that it could play as live action too. The only thing I'm worried about is how the textures will move when they cross the screen, I don't want them to go wanky.

Travel Fellowship (Revised)

    Going abroad is an opportunity few get to experience in their life, especially in their young adult years, yet it is so crucial for the life of an artist. If given this opportunity, I would choose to go to London to Attend the Sci-Fi London Film festival, and document my trip both digitally and traditionally by filling up at the least two sketchbooks. The purpose of this trip would not only be to understand and experience another culture but to further my capabilities as a film maker. I have experienced many film festivals in the US, and afterwards my work has always been tremendously more informed of the standard that the film industry has. With this trip, I think it would further the success of my projects and MCA's presence as not only excelling at fine arts, but digital arts as well.

    The specific questions I plan to address are whether there are huge differences between European an American narrative. I would also like to answer why sci-fi and fantasy-adventure is although one of the hardest genres yet also one that profits tremendously both finacially and with career exposure; such as the Harry Potter Films or Star Wars. I would be the best person for this trip because I would use my time as wisely as possible, my experiences organizing events and connecting with others in the industry is paramount. If my work does not speak for itself, then you should know that I am a perfectionist and try to perform at the highest level of aesthetics.

Depart 4.29.2012 for London, United Kingdom via American Airlines Flight(round trip):$874.90-$1000.00

Arrive and arrange accommodation at:  Keystone House Kings Cross in London, England:$26.58-40 a night. : $186.06 for 7 days (this is the cheapest rate, I may have to go higher)

(The full schedule of this festival is not yet listed online, but what I will likely be partaking in is:)Sci-fi london: (strangely enough the ticket prices aren't out)
-48 hr Film Challenge
-Fantasy Screenwriter Workshop
-Search for a Script...
-Interviews with numerous professionals in the industry
-A lot more!

More things I will do!
 -Trip to the British Musuem : Free
- a visit to BBC Television centre for a tour : £7.75 - £9.95 ($10.41-$13.37)

-London's Transport Museum : Free

-Tate Gallery : Currently Unavailible, Approx. $20

-Tate Gallery $20

-London Science Museum, Free, Imax is not free (set aside $20)

-London Trasnport Museum

Transportation: Oyster Card, $48
Food & Beverages: $950( The stay is for 5-6 days)
Misc:$200
Emergency Fund:$400

Total: $2712.33

This is a conservative estimate.

Depart for memphis 5.6.2012, arrive 5.7.2012 (price listed above)

The wallet

ELEVATOR LINE

Sometimes it's better to leave mysterious strangers; mysterious.

http://vimeo.com/32263320

Travel Fellowship

     Going abroad is an opportunity few get to experience in their life, especially in their young adult years, yet it is so crucial for the life of an artist. If given this opportunity, I would choose to go to London to Attend the Sci-Fi London Film festival, and document my trip both digitally and traditionally by filling up at the least two sketchbooks. The purpose of this trip would not only be to understand and experience another culture but to further my capabilities as a film maker. I have experienced many film festivals in the US, and afterwards my work has always been tremendously more informed of the standard that the film industry has. With this trip, I think it would further the success of my projects and MCA's presence as not only excelling at fine arts, but digital arts as well.

    The specific questions I plan to address are whether there are huge differences between European an American narrative. I would also like to answer why sci-fi and fantasy-adventure is although one of the hardest genres yet also one that profits tremendously both finacially and with career exposure; such as the Harry Potter Films or Star Wars. I would be the best person for this trip because I would use my time as wisely as possible, my experiences organizing events and connecting with others in the industry is paramount. If my work does not speak for itself, then you can see

Depart 4.29.2012 for London, United Kingdom via American Airlines Flight(round trip): $874.90

Arrive and arrange accommodation at: Keystone House Kings Cross in London, England = $26.58-40 a night. : $186.06 for 7 days (this is the cheapest rate, I may have to go higher)

(The full schedule of this festival is not yet listed online, but what I will likely be partaking in is:)

Sci-fi london: (strangely enough the ticket prices aren't out)
-48 hr Film Challenge
-Fantasy Screenwriter Workshop
-Search for a Script...
-Interviews with numerous professionals in the industry
-A lot more!
--
More things I will do!
 -Trip to the British Musuem : Free
- a visit to BBC Television centre for a tour : £7.75 - £9.95 ($10.41-$13.37)

Transportation: Oyster Card, $48
Food & Beverages: $950( The stay is for 5-6 days)
Misc:$200
Emergency Fund:$400

Total: $2672.33

This is a conservative estimate.

Depart for memphis 5.6.2012, arrive 5.7.2012 (price listed above)

Tutorial Presentation/Self Critique

TUTORIAL PRESENTATION



So For my TUTORIALS. Yes, I did two because Andrew Kramer took 45 minutes until he said we needed TRAPCODE for one of the tutorials. I think they were both really helpful and informed each other, however.

TUTORIAL 1:

TUTORIAL 2:

So you'll notice at 5sec it gets kinda crazy, and that's on purpose because I parented the Camera's positon to my sound's bass. It was pretty cool learning more things in aftereffects that weren't related to characters and I am excited to do more of it in the near future. I think also, my idea and concept for my Final is solid and that it will totally be in enough time. I just hope Jill allows me to be free with the experimental nature of the project. So yeah, I really learned a lot about expressions when doing this as well.

Final Project Concept Idea + Reference

I want to do a music video with a collage of video and paper art. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do it at the moment but I'm passionate about this idea and I have some really good music that I've got the rights to use and I'm really pumped to get started on this. Here are some examples of music videos that I'm using as an idea for what I want to do.





This was done with cut paper and long exposure photography and aftereffects.



This was an abstract form of music video- I want mine to have more context than this and I like the "stop motion feel" of the previous two.



This is a pretty awesome video that uses miniature and stop motion and a special type of camera of some sort to get this really cool effect. Pretty boss. This is part inspiration and I want mine to be just as awesome.



Here is another good idea of what I want to do. To put it simply,
I want to take real world images/sketches, cut paper assets, and animation in aftereffects. To music. I really want the style to be sketchy and dirty but realistic.

As for the Story- I want it to be about a guy who loses his wallet then finds it in a different dimension.

Self Critique

So- this project was kind of trying, at first I really wanted to do something crazy and experimenting with all of the different camera movements and things but I ran into a problem when I started to render things out and see how they looked. It would of took hours to have rendered out what I originally wanted to do, so i got rid of a lot of comps I had within my comp and the Z rotations and tried rendering again. So, what I have learned from this is start rendering the night before and not the morning of.

Self Critique

So. I know I have some issues as far as time managment goes- but I realize now that I really need to stop having so much of a life. So yeah. I'm still happy with it- when I show it to people they like it and they think it's funny. I wish I could of done more- but I think we all feel like this after projects and I hate that feeling. As I write this my project is taking forever to export and it's killing me cause it's almost class time. Oh well.

Final Final Midterm

Mid-Term Stills

Travel Fellowship In-Depth Statement

My studies at MCA have encompassed a wide variety of styles and mediums and have informed my art and aided me in my visual journey here. I would like to create even more compelling animations and films by traveling to the United Kingdom in October in order to go to 2 film festivals with overlapping dates;

London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Flip Animation Festival

I think it's important to incorporate new experiences and places into my work- I have done this numerous times and it has helped to increase the aesthetic of my work. I feel that doing this Travelling Fellowship will do the same if I am given it, and I will produce work that can even better display the use of experience and place in helping my films and animation. If I were to get this fellowship I would likely film and photograph as well as take a sketchbook that would be completely filled at the end of my travelling.

Demo Reel Paper Edit?

Demo Reel Reviews

For this Demo Reel all I really have to say is- Papyrus...Really? Papyrus? Besides that I feel like although person appears to have been in a lot of feature productions the Papyrus and the lack of imagination of the demo reel in total gives me a suspicious questioning. I think my favourite part was the beginning and ending however. Both characters were very well understood.



Here's one I like a lot because it has beautiful shots but it isn't something crazy outrageous that were overhead helicopter shots which I am seeing a trend of. The music wasn't super great though.


Animation Showreel 2011 from Nathan McConnel on Vimeo.

This demo reel was fairly accomplished, it had very well understood editing and it had consistent 8's or higher. I think however that there were too many segments showing things from some films and I feel like her could of narrowed it down a little.



I think this reel is very well but may be a tad overwhelming at the beginning with the sheer amount of work this guy is showing that he's done.

BAD DEMO REELS


This one starts off bad simply by being in such poor quality.



I feel like this one is not only fairly boring, but clearly shows what not to do- which is show classroom excersices.



This one has many problems- one major one being "Long live the haters :)" being in the video's opening. I mean really?! Also this one as well has many tutorials which is not beneficial to their body of work.

Snakee in the City

Uploads for Snakee in the City:

http://vimeo.com/30853030

and...

Travel Fellowship Statement of Intent

My studies at MCA have encompassed a wide variety of styles and mediums and have informed my art and aided me in my visual journey here. I would like to create even more compelling animations and films by traveling to the United Kingdom in October in order to go to 2 film festivals with overlapping dates;

London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

Flip Animation Festival

I will likely live in a hostel possibly: The Athenaeum Hotel Piccadilly London

if not and find the cheapest most reasonable hostel and or accomadations.

Mid-Term Evaluation

Going into this mid-term I feel really confident in getting my snake film done, and really excited about doing something new and cool in the next half of the semester. I've been inspired by some of the styles my classmates have used and I would like to do something more loose. I think that fall break is going to be a very important time as far as getting internship work done as well. So far the class as been about fighting with the program a lot but I think it has it's upsides too. I may not be able to fully complete the snake film but with the usage of after effects its fruition has come a lot easier than if I had to do everything in toonboom. I'm am happy and sad that we are doing two projects in this class as well.

Assignment Write-up 10

So, I underestimated the time span of Fall Break. Not that I thought it was like a week or anything, but I did over calculate by a small margin. I feel like after completing my animation to such a point that it had some consistency issues that I think may or may not be addressed. These inconsistencies are as such; the color of snakee's skin, the color of the sky in some shots. I wish I had noticed these things sooner. When doing this project I continued to butt my head against the decision to sacrifice the quality or the quantity of shots in my piece. It was a hard decision but, if I think for m demo reel- I would rather have shots that are concise and beautiful rather than having them just make a story that delivers no visual impact. This is the reason why I chose to stop at the beginning of the city for my animation. Yeah I think I bit off too much to chew but I think I did my best considering I have other classes this semester.

Assignment Write-Up 9

I think this project is heating up pretty well, and it was really fun to animate last night until the server crashed at 3- but yeah, I'm doing only the shots that really interesting me at the moment. I am wondering if I should add texture to the grass of the crossroads shots. I had a texture on it at first but had to take it off in order to animate the grass- which I did with masks, puppet tool, and some good 'ole rotation and positioning. I'm really excited for when I get to the city, I think I'm going to use some of my pictures from New York to help reference me and then I will describe this in my traveling fellowships. This is making me really want to go back although I know it's kind of impossible unless I get a summer internship up there and I REALLY want one.

Travelling Fellowships

I met with Newberry at the Registrar about traveling fellowships and she said that most of the fellowships have ben given to students and the majority of them have just traveled and went to museums. She also said that Hannah Leggoe? Or, Evan, I am unsure has been the first person to do workshop or do a lot of structure work. I think that is very significant to realize. So what I have thought about doing is going to a film festival, specifically in Europe, although Elisha says that in mainland Europe speaking only english isn't a hindrance at all. So, I would like to do my fellowship in the United Kingdom- and go to a film fest, and Elisha also divulged that it is better to go to a few museums because it would be a waste to say, go to Paris and not go to the Louvre just because. I agreed with her statement. Jeshua Shcuster is giving a talk tomorrow about his fellowship which I will likely attend. So I am starting to narrow down this list of film festivals to go to currently. Taking specific note of when it will be.

I chose the UK because I think it's a very important cultural center of english and western societies. I also think that it being in the UK will lead most of the foreign films to have english subtitles so that I can watch them and understand them. I know a lot of french, but I don't think I'm well enough at it to read it quickly in subtitle format.

Traveling Fellowships

I met with Newberry at the Registrar about traveling fellowships and she said that most of the fellowships have ben given to students and the majority of them have just traveled and went to museums. She also said that Hannah Leggoe? Or, Evan, I am unsure has been the first person to do workshop or do a lot of structure work. I think that is very significant to realize. So what I have thought about doing is going to a film festival, specifically in Europe, although Elisha says that in mainland Europe speaking only english isn't a hindrance at all. So, I would like to do my fellowship in the United Kingdom- and go to a film fest, and Elisha also divulged that it is better to go to a few museums because it would be a waste to say, go to Paris and not go to the Louvre just because. I agreed with her statement. Jeshua Shcuster is giving a talk tomorrow about his fellowship which I will likely attend. So I am starting to narrow down this list of film festivals to go to currently. Taking specific note of when it will be.

I chose the UK because I think it's a very important cultural center of english and western societies. I also think that it being in the UK will lead most of the foreign films to have english subtitles so that I can watch them and understand them. I know a lot of french, but I don't think I'm well enough at it to read it quickly in subtitle format.

For my future reference!

Revisions

Revisions to the story:

After snakee sees the city lights come on, he goes downstairs to have dinner and watch TV with his papee. They do and snakee sees a snake on the TV that can play the keyboard and is surrounded by female snakes- and he becomes enthralled with the idea of being a keyboardist snake. This is what he travels to the city to do- after he gets to the studio where it is being shot (after numerous trials and tribulations) he discovers the keyboard snake is just a puppet and the female snakes are prisoners. He is shocked- the female snakes beg him to free them and he does but just barely. He then goes to an alley and is depressed thinking his dream will never be fulfilled. One of the female snakes however (the central one and the best dancer) decides to motivate him to chase after his dream by breaking into a toy store and stealing a small electric keyboard- to which she gives him- they stay in the city (although in a slum that is underground) and  nurture their relationship.

My internship Spread Sheet

Internships!

1. NBC Universal (2 internships)

My first internship that looks very promising as well as sounding really interesting is here. Although I chose to look for internship with Bravo specifically, I think it gave me an overarching internship program, which isn't bad at all.


I fit all the requirements, the only things that would be stopping me from doing this internship this spring is that it is in California.

Desired Characteristics Editing Internships: Experience editing using Final Cut Pro or Avid is strongly preferred Photography Internships: Experience using Photoshop to retouch photos is strongly preferred Graphic Design Internships: Previous work or internship experience in graphic design strongly preferred.

I'm a little weak with design, so I would probably brush up on my skills a little before I applied there.


Another one I found through a different route is here(I took a picture because the link doesn't appear to work):

Desired Characteristics Preferred Qualifications  Previous work experience in an office environment Previous internship experience

It's in New York, which is more feasible for me than California. I'm especially interested in Jerry Springer and Oxygen, and it is funny how they are controlled by the same people.


A. I'm interested in applying to NBC because of it's myriad of programming, I am not opposed at all to doing Reality TV or a sitcom, and I believe that Bravo's reality TV is unlike many others. Although they don't do Project Runway anymore, I think their success with it is mostly due to their filming style as well as their ability to create a great amount of drama and suspense. They are also a very gay-friendly network and I feel like I would be very comfortable in that environment and would be nurtured and mentored more readily.


B. I think in my personal life there are many things that would be useful for Bravo- I am resourceful and interested in conflict and action- the thing that makes their ratings boom. I watch bravo, and I get captured in their shows even if it's Real Housewives, which I don't carefor, but their way of telling a story that grabs you when you are switching the channels is like magic and I think I can help make that experience even more enriching because I can understand conflict and can be resourceful in finding the story and the elements of the story and piece them together.




2. Blue Sky


Blue Sky has 3 internship types and all of them seem beneficial for film:


PRODUCTION ASSISTANT INTERN
VISUAL DEVELOPMENT INTERN
STORY INTERN


Responsibilities :
Internship responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
Production database updates
Spreadsheet generation
Set-up of visual components for various meetings
Scanning various forms of artwork
Taking notes during meetings and director rounds




I am really interested in being a production assistant.


These responsibilities look somewhat odd- I wonder if I ever get around a camera at some point? Even if I don't it will be helpful to look at the inner-workings of such a great company. They do not have where the internship is located unfortunately.


A. I am interested in blue sky because they aren't as big as Pixar and I would suspect not as intimidating/competetive to get an intership- while at the same time they have some good titles under their belt that is nothing to scoff at. Rio especially, was very satisfying and had a great and unique plot. I also like that working your way up from animation to developing your own story and content is encouraged within the company and this is in fact how Rio was made.


B. In my life I think I have a lot of stories to share, and unlike a lot of animators I have been developing a very cinematic eye that can plan out shots effectively. I think that's what was most interesting in seeing Rio because it had a lot of cinematic shots and showed lots of beautiful terrain in Brazil. I relate to the main character very well because he seems to belong in the jungle but he's very used to interiors and human life. That is sort of my racial experience- because I speak well black people are always curious to where I come from(especially in the south).






3.Turner


Cartoon Network Production Intern


This looks very promising as well as a little different than most of the internships I've looked at


Description: Students will have the opportunity to learn and observe a number of functions within the production department. They will be exposed to all aspects of a traditionally animated series. Student will assist PA, PC and Line Producer with all areas of pre-production; learn about design, storyboards, digital clean-up and color. Various general office duties may also be assigned. Students will have the opportunity to do their own storyboard pitch. 



Required Qualifications/Skills: In order to facilitate the learning experience, the following qualifications are preferred: Should be able to commit to 12 weeks of the internship and be able to work 15-20 hours per week. Majoring in Animation or related field (Illustration, Fine Art, etc.). Course credit is optional. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers.


Especially the bolded parts! They make me very excited. I didn't know Cartoon Network had such great attributes and ideas. It is in Burbank- but I imagine doing this over the summer and getting the grants in order to live there? They do pay minimum wage though- which is boss! There doesn't appear to be a maximum amount of hours you can do per week as well!


A. Cartoon Network has a long history of great programs so it's hard to pick just one. I think what they are doing now- (adventure time, regular show) is really awesome. There aren't any better words for it than awesome, because they are funny and entertaining, and tell a different story and have a different story structure than previous cartoons. Also, knowing they use Toonboom is great because if I wow them with my final or my demo reel it will be a seemless transition. 


B. I grew up with Cartoon Network- everyone has. It is inspiring now to see them adapt to the different generation of kids and those same programs still be entertaining as an adult. 

Assignment Write-up (Number 6)

     This assignment was pretty interesting, through it I learned that the frame-by-frame technique in Aftereffects is pretty janky. I realize a lot more about the tool especially after critique today, and seeing how others used it. One thing I have to say is that it would be quite effective for morphing lines or something very small. It is very likely I will not use it for the rest of the semester.
     This project required a lot more time than expected actually, and most of it was devoted to making the snake's movements look as real as possible. Much of it had to do with the background as well and how it was sloped, I meant to add a trashcan lid in the foreground to make it more readible, but perhaps I forgot. I wish I had realized that I could track a head with his body, but I'm still unsure as to how that would work, I might play around with it more because it seems that I will be doing a mix of Toonboom and Aftereffects especially in this class.

Snakee in the city

A snake in search of who he is travels to the big city in a coming-of-age tale.

Theme
An examination of human life in the eyes of someone who does not belong.

Premise
What happens to a snake when he travels from his quaint home on a farm and goes to a city.

Central Point
The collision of two juxtaposed objects, a city and a snake, and what happens thereafter.

Central Goal
To show a different perspective that centers the business of human life.

Abstract Terms
An outsider travels to a place where he does not belong travels to a stoic metropolis to find himself.

Short synopsis
A father snake and son snake live on a farm away from civilization. The snake longs to find out the secrets behind the bright lights and the people hurrying around from place to place. He meets a girl snake  that is inside a botanical garden and is entranced by her beauty. She charms him then uses him to steal from a pet store. He is trapped and wades away within a cage, when the pet store sells him his cage gets knocked out of the truck at the edge of town and he is left with the decision to choose the city or the country. To which he choses a place that is somewhat imbetween.

Here is my not so great crawling animation accompanied with the video of me crawling.

I still want to take this farther, so soon I will do a revision.

I chose a front kick for my action study. I am a little worried about how to show the turning of the hips but I think it's possible.

Here is more reference (skip to 2:45 for the slow-motion kick):

Character Study and Story Revisions

So, I decided that I didn't care enough about the story so I want to make some revisions to it:

     Instead of the girl living in a village, I want instead for the girl to be living in a space colony, where she grew up as a refugee, and the corporation that owns the space colony being one that is much like corporate America. The corporation is a monopoly and practically enslaves the population by forcing them to buy their goods. Anyone who doesn't have their newest model or most up to date products (phones, cars, houses) are forced out and must live in a slum. All the people that are trying to fight this system are locked up or silenced and so in order to change this she decides to free all the political prisoners at once from the prison. She is not out for vengeance due to her refugee status because of the war, only for change.
     Three actions that she will do are slowly create a tunnel to and from the prison (but  this will be a trick in order to cave the police in and slow them down. She will also gain allies, and then free the prisoners by way. After this they would likely have a revolution and in ten years I see her righting more injustices in other colonies. She will be trying to stop consumerism and materialism as well as money hungry-corporations as a goal in her life (like Ralph Nader).
    Her experience as a refugee and living in the slums (where crime runs rampatant) are the experiences that motivate her. The streets trained her to be smart and think from moment-to-moment as well as to fight. This is her point of view moment to moment, surviving and changing her circumstances.

Character Portrait

     My main character is a girl and she lives in a village with her boyfriend. They together are the weirdo's of the whole village, and are so disliked that they chain her boyfriend up in a tower (this is where the story would really begin in medias res) and what makes them so disliked is that they aren't consumer's like the other villagers. More so we find out they (within their home) are also not their gender's norm. They in fact are the opposite: the husband is cooking dinner and the wife is sitting down reading the paper and waiting. A villager sees this and it is the last straw to the, so they isolate the boyfriend and chase him (with pitchforks and hoes) into a tower where they chain him up and throw away the key. Our main character is left alone in her house and is lonely and downtrodden, but she realizes that asses need to be kicked. and so she goes to save him and is almost unsuccessful but manages to save him and when he is freed they have to face the villagers and escape. In ten year's time I see that this character will be fighting for change of how people who are different are treated. This character will also be encouraging others to be different and for it to be socially acceptable.

     We see that the main character is different in a lot of ways from the rest of the villagers, They dress differently they walk differently, they aren't afraid to be individuals while the other villagers are. The main characters point of view moment-to-moment is that she will do anything to be happy and survive, and she doesn't care about how many friends she has or what society tells her to wear and do. Three character actions would be her acting different in a conforming world, saving her boyfriend, and escaping from the village.

     My themes that I'd like to work with are; Being different but nonetheless human. Her destiny is to run up against many obstacles but overcome it so she can live the life she wants to live. I want it to be a metaphor of our own culture that makes us think differently, because in the end we can change the way we think about things.

-Story and/or Character may change dramatically-

Presenting Yourself and Your Storytelling Goals

1. Peculiarities of my life that have made me see with special eyes are ..


     At one point when I was young my parents informed me that I was adopted. I don't really consider this formative of my life or my personal characteristics, but it something that has made me see with different eyes. I love my parents for everything they've done and even though I consider them my only parents, I have always wondered about who my birth parents really are. Because I know (almost) absolutely nothing about them I speculate and theorize who they are and what they're story is. I realized then that everyone has a story.
     Another peculiarity of my life that has made me see with special eyes are that I realized when I was younger that anybody can do most anything if they are willing to work hard and make mistakes. If you really want to do something or be good at something, you just have sacrifice as much time and hard work as it takes. Sometimes there are things more important than being good at something though. This made me see that it's not up to talent or genetics to make someone good at something, it's all about hard work.


2. Conflicts formative in my life are ... 


     I'm a person that tries to avoid serious conflicts as much as possible, but when I need to I will face them head on. A conflict that I have enocountered a lot is that I'm different and I don't follow the same social rules that other people do, especially those rules that apply to my race; Such as my hair or my clothes. A lot of people don't agree with it, and how I face this conflict is to continue being me by doing what I makes me comfortable.
     Another main conflict that I have is that I have a problem with people who think being gay is wrong. 


3. Themes that I'd like to work with are ... 


Being an underdog.
Being different but nonetheless human.


4. Types of character I empathize with are ... 
I empathize with characters that are a little misunderstood but are also likeable. I also empathize with characters who are a different and unique in a different world.


5. Story topics I'd like to explore are ... 
A person escaping from somwhere. (prison, hostage situation, etc). A person in a world they don't understand.


6. Ways I'd like to act on my audience are ... 
I'd like my audience to think they are watching the impossible happen, that they are seeing ingenious things happening, and are in the POV of the character, trying to free themselves from something that is wrong and corrupt (the economy, ruling class, etc.)

Demo Reel Reviews

     I think the good characteristics of this demo reel are that it has a lot of good "awe" moments, especially with the helicopter shots and the foreign places, those are what make the reel most interesting. A good demo reel has a lot of great awe moments, but I think this reel needed more of his work that included dolly's and tracking.
     A good example of a demo reel with too much garbage as well as being a little too long is this demo reel. It has a lot of great shots in it especially in the beginning but some of them don't play to his strengths (especially the cuts with the little kid who is blatantly ripping off a cartoon) It's obvious this person has had some very nice camera experience and color correcting as well as having music video experience. I think his effects within his movies were not adding to his strengths but the intro and exit are very well done.
     An example of cinema 4d (mostly) reel is here.
     And I presume a mostly aftereffects reel (it says it's mostly aftereffects) is here. Despite it's age, it is very good and a lot better than a lot of reels that are current such as: this, this, and this. I'm also confused that some people have no animation in their reels, just character design like this.
     This mostly 3D reel is very nice, it is aided by their use of aftereffects. I think this reel is one of the most concise and successful and I would be proud to have one like it after I finish college.

Room

The preliminary sketch:

The end result:

Also I feel disappointed that I only got one room done but I'm pretty satisfied.