Lego Animation Workshop brought to you by ASIFA-Colorado

This August ASIFA-Colorado and Ones & Zeros hosted a four hour Lego Workshop at the Mamie Daud Broomfield Library. The turnout was impressive, with around 70 families showing up at the door. Unfortunately, we only had space for about 40 of them. Together, the children split into teams and concepted an epic battle between Earthlings, Pirates and Martian Dinosaurs! Each team shot an scene and the entire short was edited and projected on site. What a fantastic experience for event planners and participants alike. Thanks to all the parents who stuck around and helped, and all the kids who mustered great attitudes especially when sharing their beloved toys with strangers. Check out the video!

Creativity & New Media Symposium in Boulder, feat. Disney Producer Don Hahn

An exciting new media event comes to Boulder next month, featuring Disney Producer Don Hahn and other great guests. This is part of the Boulder International Film Festival, which the Casserole understands will be hosting another big guest this year: Alec Baldwin. Here's the full press release on the Symposium:

BOULDER, Colo. (Jan. 14, 2010) – The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF), the Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media (COFTM) and the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB) are hosting the inaugural Digital Media Convergence Symposium (DiMe) on Feb. 12 at St. Julien Hotel in downtown Boulder.

‘DiMe’ is a multi-tiered event that focuses on Colorado’s technology and entertainment industries will be held as part of the Boulder International Film Festival. The event features a panel of local and national leaders in animation, HD filmmaking, media convergence, game development, music and business.

“We are thrilled to co-host this unique event during the Boulder International Film Festival,” said Kathy Beeck, festival co-founder and director. “As long-time supporters of Colorado and its working artists, we believe that DiMe will not only spark productive conversations but also open eyes to the many creative possibilities here.”

“Colorado has a long tradition of creative resources, and in the last decade has also become a fertile landscape for new technology companies,” said Don Marostica, head of Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade. “DiMe will present the depth and breadth of these existing and emerging industries with an eye on keeping these coveted jobs within the Centennial state.”

The DiMe panel will include:

Moderator: Robert Reich, founder of OneRiot and Boulder-Denver Tech Meetup
Panelist: Don Hahn, Producer, Disney, (“Beauty and the Beast”, “The Lion King”)
Panelist: Michael Brown, founder of Serac Adventure Films & Film School, HD Filmmaker
Panelist: David Rolfe, VP Integrated Media, Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Panelist: Brian Robbins, Founder, Riptide Games
Panelist: Jason Mendelson, Managing Director, Foundry Group, and member of Soul Patch

Also included in the ticket price is the debut screening of Don Hahn’s latest film, “Waking Sleeping Beauty,” a documentary that looks candidly at what happened in the creative ranks at Disney from 1984-1994 that lead the company from pessimism and flops to an amazing renaissance. The film will screen at 7 p.m. at the newest BIFF venue, the First United Methodist Church, at 1421 Spruce St., just north of the Boulder Theater.

Tickets for DiMe are $35 and can be purchased online at biff1.com, bouldertheater.com, or by calling the Boulder Theater at 303-786-7030. DiMe begins at 3 p.m., followed by a cash bar reception with complimentary hors d’oeuvres at 5 p.m.

For more information about DiMe, please visit www.biff1.com/dime.

Discovering Ardi TONIGHT at 9pm on Discovery channel

Just a late heads up that tonight Discovery channel will be airing a show that I (Daev Finn) worked hard on with some former AIC students freelancing at Impossible Pictures in Denver. The show is Discovering Ardi at 9pm on Discovery channel.

The students, Jackie Evans my lead Lighter and fear less leaf wrangler. Russ Adkisson, lighter and forest ranger. Toby Cochran animator and entrepreneur extraordinaire.

There is a story behind the story of the Ardi that only my team will know for sure, put succinctly we pulled off in six weeks a project with incredible challenges and hurdles. Our work is Ardipithecus (Ardi for short) whenever she appears in the jungle, including the environments.

So my congratulations to my AIC alumni team for pulling off such a high profile job, under truly challenging circumstances.

Daev

http://www.daevfinnstudio.com/

The 2009 Summer REEL THING at the STARZ Tivoli Theatre!

It is that time again folks, the Art Institute proudly presents it's quarterly REEL Thing, an animated showcase of student and faculty work. Come one, come all to this totally free event at the Starz Tivoli Theatre, on the Auraria Campus in the Tivoli Student Union this Thursday, September 24th from 7 to 10pm. This projection features 3D, 2D and even stopmotion work, such at this little ditty by student Moses Guardado. See you there!

Griddleville on BoingBoing!

Hey, check out the write up on this animation posted on BoingBoing today.

Instructor Steve Smith give free seminar on Stereoscopic viewing for animation

Hi all, on Wednesday September 9th from 11:45 – 12:15 in the Penthouse (which is the 10th floor) of the Art Institute of Colorado at 1200 Lincoln Street, AiC instructor Steve Smith will be presenting "A Practical Guide to Stereography for Stills and Motion"
This is research from his recent Sabbatical
Some topics to be discussed:
- Use of Print and Computers for Viewing Stereo Images
- Inexpensive viewing methods for Animation and 3D
- Tips for Creating Stereo Stills and Motion Images

Should be a hoot! Hope to see you there.

BTW, I personally visited Steve's house in the mountains a few weeks ago and saw his studio. He's been graphics artist longer than I've been alive, and his interest in computer graphics came at a time when very few considered it "art". But that didn't stop Steve, he completed a master's thesis on replicating tiled patterns and some of the results are absolutely astonishing. (This is not all that he's capable of!)

For more information about Steve Smith and his work, check out his website here!

Animation Resources for All!

Ed Desroches, one of our ASIFA board members, was kind enough to collect some vital resources for the beginning independent 2D animator. Here are some links for your future endeavors:

Light Table Directions:

CARDBOARD - http://www.asifa-colorado.org/Workshops/images/ltTblCrdbrd.jpg

WOOD - http://www.asifa-colorado.org/Workshops/images/ltTblWood.jpg

Or you can search for one pre-made and get other animation supplies at:

http://www.lightfootltd.com/index.php

Free animation software can be found at:

MONKEY JAM - http://www.giantscreamingrobotmonkeys.com/monkeyjam/index.html

ANASAZI - http://www.animateclay.com/index.php?module=Pages&func=display&pageid=24

Just hook up a webcam and you’re ready to animate! Thanks ED!

Hi everyone! So sometimes I cruise the interwebs, watching for interesting or innovative animations, seeking inspirations and ideas. I recently encountered an artist named Stefan Nadelman, whose webpage is located at http://www.touristpictures.com/ . This guy is really inspired, and uses many different techniques as part of his storytelling process. In particular, I saw that in some of his short films, he utilizes actual photographs or real footage of real world places as backgrounds, sometimes even as the principle characters. I am inclined to think that we may benefit from this kind of technique as well, meaning that we could use actual photos or film of real places in Denver as the settings for our animated characters. Using some simple methods, we could apply these images as "skins" for three-dimensional shapes created in 3D Studio Max or some other whiz-bang program. I believe this could be a time-saving process, decreasing the amount of time needed to physically build environments, as well as adding a level of "verisimilitude" or suspension of disbelief to the entire feature. I encourage you to take a look at Nadelman's works to get a better idea of what I mean, as well as to simply enjoy this guy's creative process.