Long Post, Sophomore Seminar x10

ALL POSTS FOR SOPHMORE SEM HAVE BEEN MOVED TO HERE. WHOOT.

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10.) Kiki's delivery Service : April 28th

I watched Kiki's delivery service again tonight, and I was shocked when I sat down and actually watched the movie over again. Hayao Miyazaki really over did it on all his video's, and I cannot appreciate his work enough. So many subtle little things that make it so... realistic! So human! And yet... so charming. Ugh. Its sickening but so awesome. Anyways, what I noticed in Kiki's Delivery Service was that Jiji, her cat, moves SO MUCH like a normal cat that its weird! You usually pay attention to Kiki since she is the main character, but if you sit down and watch how a cat reacts to their "best friend" (like my cat Fozzy did to me) they do MUCH of what Jiji does... wiggle around, ears up, down, circle, look up, circle again... its hard to explain unless you've owned a cat that's completely attached to you. But thats how they MOVE. And its so REAL yet so NOT at the same time... AMAZING! ><

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9.) New York Times Online : Walt Disney : April 19th

I recently read an article on New York times about a collection hand picked by Walt Disney to tour in Japan a good two decades ago when Sleeping Beauty first came out. It is very interesting to hear about the peices and how they were "misplaced" in a vault for so long until they were found again! However, they mentioned how the background paintings for sleeping beauty were in the pile and how important they were to the company. Curiously, the company wanted it for themselves for documentation, and also for a revisit to the inspiration that walt disney had for said backgrounds... which is 15th-century French manuscripts and the paintings of Van Eyck! I guess that goes to show that I dont always need to come up with something COMPLETLEY fresh. All thought it is good to take from what I see around me, and use that to be inspired by something. Dont feel so inconfident with taking inspiration from someone else... it could lead you to fortunes and great, great undertakings (Duh, Disney is so rich... holy cow that guy)

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8.) Art Of This : April 14th

Art of this is a little constantly changing gallery that other artists exhibit in... do their own thing, and have a party! Whoo! I went as a class for ideation and process, but the exhibit was very unique and homey. I loved the pillowcase birds and the hut that was like... a home-y contributation to making a tent. I forgot who the artist was, but I give them super props for how it turned out. Mainly just the cave. It was really interactive in there, both atop and inside. I would say this related to me by saying I can really put some of my own personal experiences into my work and make something realy lovely out of it... even if it is something "childish" like... who cares! I really need to let go and do some more sporadic things :/

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7.) Dead Space : Character creation and on. : April 8th.

This was a FANTASTIC thing to experience. It told me exactly what I wanted to know... HOW DO THEY PICK EMPLOYEE'S FOR SPECIFIC THINGS THEY DO? How do they build up to make a game, etc? Studio's work very different on that matter. They actually have a very SMALL team starting up, and hire more as they gain more time and money to create the product! That is, thats going through another Studio, EA to produce their work. When they say specifics for what they want and need, they MEAN it. You gotta do what they want, but if you're use to doing it, might as well consider yourself hired. Also, I want to know more about Z Brush. Its the first time I heard of such a thing, and it seems animation/character creation department... its really helpful to try to learn it.

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6.) Animusic is awesome! : April 4th

I watched Animusic with my Dad and boyfriend today. Boy was that right up my alley. Combine music and animation and that's all this is... but what they do is so fantastic, I can't tell you in words. They re-create a simulated fictional world with how the music might actually be performed. You can probably find some of it online on youtube.com. It really is cool. I want to play with something like this... the creation of an area and the manipulation of it through music. This kind of work fascinates me to no end :)

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5.) Phoenix Arizona and the Desert : April 3rd

This may not seem very art oriented but for me it was. After attending school here in Minnesota for so long, going back out to the desert for the first time in two years was extremely refreshing, and every time I go out there it's.... a magical kind of thing that really sparks something for me. Especially when we go camping. This is a totally different type of camping. Everyone is around on a trail that leads to over trails that motorcycles ride on. Families go out together in groups, having fun and doing what they love. However, when everyone goes back to camp, it's not just your family that's there... There are so many more people there around riding motorcycles too! And everyone goes around and talks about their bikes, and hangs out, and if anyone needs help they are there to help you, too. At night, everyone cooks food over an open fire and laughs and has fun. Its like the world doesnt matter. If you need a moment from all the people, all you do is hop on your bike and go out for a little, turn off your motor, and stare into the sky. Again, this is different from regular camping in the woods.... In the desert, the sound is different. The sky is different. The world is different. God, what an experience. It's like its something new to me every time.

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4.) Crystal Barlow : March 20th

Crystal Barlow came in and talked to us this week. It was really interesting... Im not a fine arts major, but her stuff was really... well, "Plain" in a good way? She would omit specific things to make you think about... whats going on in this picture? Why are people all happy, and then this... kids shoe on the ground? They all seem so subtle... yet... there's so much MORE going on. Or it looks like something bad is going on, when really its nothing big at all! Who would have thought! The mind plays games with you... interesting. How does this apply to me? Well, I LOVE subliminal or packed images sometimes! You never know what'll come out and bite you! How can you incorperate that into animations to get the punch line out? To give a sense of revealing to the watcher? It really hits home then, and is a great seller!

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3.) Megan Bosler Speech : March 13th

Jenny Barlow came and visited us today in class. All thought I'm not much of a type face person, some of her work was really fun, and that inspired me a lot. Not only that, but one big thing she said was extremely inspiring.... "I just post my stuff, do what I want... and people hire me just by finding me and seeing my work". I want to create a base like that were even if I go into animation, I want some people to follow what I'm doing and maybe want to hire me for small jobs that I can do in between! It would be great work, extra income on top of what I'd already be doing... and it would be fascinating too!

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2.) Danny Robashkin : March 5th

We had a visiting artist named Danny Robashkin visit school the other day. He is the director of MAKE studio's, a small animation studio that does some pretty FANTASTIC work. While he was there, I listened carefully..... and it was very helpful to do so. I learned a lot about the industry and what I might want to look forward to... and it made me feel better about what I might do and... eventually become while I'm a student here at MCAD. (I'm still blown away that their studio only has like... 10 people working there!!)

Now I will be e-mailing Andrew Chesworth, an alumni from MCAD, and also a lead animator, director, etc of MAKE studio. I have many questions for him... and hope to get many good answers that will ease some more doubts I have in my mind about my career descition and who I want to be. (That is, the ones that Danny didnt quite cover over.. Andrew I can be a little more 1 on 1 rather than sitting in a big auditorium waiting for everyone to ask their questions!)

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1.) Spirited Away : Feburary 16th

Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli is an AMAZING animation studio. What makes them so different? Their style. Their attention to detail. Example: In Spirited Away, the young girl and main character, Chihiro, takes off her shoes earlier in the series. When she is about to leave, she puts them back on, and after she ties them, she gets up, and taps her foot to adjust her shoe on properly.

Who honestly does that in animations anymore? Simple... pure elements of the world we dont pay attention to. Usually animators cut out this "non-sense" that "takes time out of the real meaning" of the movie... but I wis they could incorporate more..... Purely beautiful.

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