Freelance has been good to me

Three weeks ago I started a freelance gig at Framestore here in New York, working on Geico Gecko spots! It's an animator's dream to go into work everyday, working on full character animation with dialogue! It's been so much fun this far, I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. This is the great thing about working freelance in New York--getting to work at all sorts of places on all sorts of projects, and experiencing what different studios are like. Had I gotten a full time job out of school, I may be more financially stable now, but I feel like I've learned so much about the industry by freelancing than I would have otherwise. I think that knowledge will help me if and when I finally accept a staff position somewhere.

In other news, I've been told that "One Rat Short" has made it into Sundance Film Festival! It's still kind of surreal to think of all the attention that film is getting. When I was working at Charlex I was just happy to finally have landed a job! It truely shows how unpredictable animation/vsfx is, and you never know where it's going to take you, especially when freelancing. I'm very grateful for the opportunities I've had so far, because I know that I didn't get there on my own.

Take care folks,
--Kyle

an update??

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since the last update. It's been kind of a weird fall. I've got a few drawings I'd love to upload, but I don't have a scanner. And my most recent animation isn't quite finished yet, but hopefully that will be done before too long!

Where to start? Let's see, I finished the gig at Tronic about 2 weeks ago. There I worked on an M&M's project, making content for screens on the new M&M's World store in Times Square. It was a pretty challenging schedule, but I learned a lot from it. I'm lucky to already have another gig lined up, this time at Framestore, where I will get to work on a new bunch of Geico Gecko ads! That gig is supposed to run through the end of January.

So that job starts soon. I'm also looking forward to actually going home for the week of Christmas through New Year's! I haven't been home since May, so I can't wait to get back there to see my family, and also hang out with my friends at Camp Wyoming.

I guess that's about it for now. Hopefully I'll have that new acting exercise up in not too long, but I don't make any promises :-P Take Care everyone! I hope the Christmas season is good to you.
--Kyle

So that's what a video blog should be

Once upon a time, there was an animator, who just graduated from college. He spent the summer at home, working on his computer, and applying for jobs. One day, he decided to pass the time by making his first video blog, like his friend Ben. Unfortunatly, doing a blog at a time of unemployment resulted in a rather depressing, yet apparently amusing video (in a sad, sad way).

I just stumbled upon a video blog on YouTube called "LUCYinLA", and it made me realize what I should have done, haha. Well, I'm not an attractive young woman, but she also does a blog right ;) She picks a story from her life, and tells it with either enthusiasm or perfect honesty. She's an aspiring actress in LA (doh, why am I in NY?), and it's good to know that there are other people in the world struggling through times of unemployement as well. There's a lot of difference between the film world and the animation/vfx world for sure, but the nature of how hard it is to find work and how some people don't understand why it is hard--is similar. Anyway, if you are an animator like me, or an actor like her, check out her vblog on youtube. Cause chances are if you are employed right now, you will be going through times of unemployement, and boy is it good to know that even people on the other side of the country are going through the same thing, at the same time.

9/11 conspiracies? how sad

So I decided to check out that WTC movie group that was advertised on the front page of facebook, and I kinda regret that I did. I cannot believe how many people justify 9/11 as a government conspiracy. Holy cow. I could never believe that. It goes to show you how big of an event it was to comprehend, that people "just can't believe" that a group of terrorists could bring down the Word Trade Centers. It must have been too big for them to think that these people could just walk onto planes and do that. But why not? Are we so big, so powerful that the *only* way such a devestating blow could happen is if it were a huge conspiracy? Come on people, humble yourself for a moment. It's ironic that your opinions of conspiracy and power are actually the source of the *idea* that the U.S. government can do whatever it wants to. In your mind, you are giving the U.S. government the corruption and power that you so fear. Whether or not it is always true.

I more than strongly disagree with the whole conspiracy theory. It saddens me. Politics are something that I have never liked, and when things like 9/11 and Katrina get more focus because of politics than because of people, I think we've lost perspective on what's important. Before you take on this theory as your own, think about the people that lost their lives. Think about the mourning that EVERYONE, including those on our government, went through. Try telling the NYPD and NYFD your reasons for conspiracy. Try telling Rudy G. I dare you to go face to face with any U.S. public body or government, and tell them they did it on purpose. These people had friends and family who worked in the Twin Towers and the Pentagon too.

Call me a "hopeless optimist". Call me whatever you want. But remember, when it comes down to horrific tragedies and human suffering, those are people serving on our government. Not cartoons in black suits and sunglasses. You may find it hard to believe, but I bet they cried on that day too.

3:37am (13 hours 'til Boston)

Hi everyone! So the time has come again, where I am up late the night before I leave for SIGGRAPH, packing and getting everything around. Hopefully I will actually get some sleep this year! I am excited to meet up with fellow Scaddies, and friends from Charlex and Psyop. It is sure to be a good time, I can't wait to see Rats (or the proper name, "One Rat Short") on the big screen. I hope to be surprised by seeing other familiar faces!

Flux capacitor...fluxing, engaging warp drive--I'm headed to Boston!
--Kyle

An alien insight on facial expression

So I happened to come across an awesome quote from René Auberjonois who played Odo on Deep Space Nine. This guy really knows how to act.

"I think acting in the mask was probably easier than a lot of people might think. A lot of people have told me they couldn’t understand how Odo could be so expressive in terms of emotions when the mask I was in was even more limiting than the most grotesque Ferengi or Klingon make – up, because it was so neutral and inexpressive in repose. But while we tend to think all our emotions are expressed in our faces by things like smiling or frowning, in my years of study I have learned the mask does not hide emotions. Instead, it tends to amplify emotions because emotion is expressed more through the body and voice and eyes than it is through facial expressions; facial expressions are often used to hide what we’re really feeling rather than express it." (Quoted from trektoday.com, Star Trek Magazine)

Now if only I can find a way to incorporate that knowledge into my animation! Or at least a juicy dialogue clip that lends itself to that sort of duality.

Psyop's Coke "Happiness Factory" is out!

Maybe I can't show you One Rat Short online, but the Coke spot I worked on at Psyop has quickly made its way around the web already! I just saw the final 60 second version for the first time yesterday, and wow, was I amazed at what they did with it! I mean, I of course had seen a lot of the renders already and as an animator was well aware of how many characters there were--but seeing it with sound and music--I was completely blown away. (I don't feel bad saying that, cause I all I did was the animation part!) Without further ado, here's a link:

Coke commercial

If you go to a movie this summer, chances are you may see this there as it will be played in 87% of the theatres across the nation! I really can't believe that I've been so lucky to work on these two projects at Charlex and Psyop. I'm not exactly sure how it happened. Friends, faith, luck and timing I guess.

Lastly: Fill up the flux capacitor, charge your proton packs, accelerate to Warp 9--SIGGRAPH 2006 is coming up! Any scaddies out there who want to meet up in Boston, be sure to drop me an email.

Later!
--Kyle

FREDERATOR!!!

Wow, so much to talk about! First off, I'm very happy to report that my short film "Help Wanted!" was selected for this week's Channel Frederator video podcast! Download Episode 29 there or through iTunes to see it! (I suggest you subscribe for updates in iTunes, it's worth it) You don't need a video iPod to watch them, just Quicktime. Also click that link to see the blog post about my film, RATE my film, or post a comment :) Submit your shorts people, it's a great podcast.

Secondly, the success of "One Rat Short" continues on. It has now been accepted to both the L.A. Film Festival, as well as the Las Vegas Film Festival! I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work on that film. I'm still working at Psyop, this week we are finishing up a 60 second spot, and after that I will be working some on the 90 second version.

In other news, I recently had to re-install Windows on my comp. One day I think I deleted some "not-actually spyware" spyware (aka, Windows files), and my machine wouldn't even boot into Windows. Unfortunatly I didn't have my discs for 2000, so I ordered XP online. So I went for a week without a computer at home (oh no!), and consequently got a lot more sleep, haha. Long story short, I didn't lose any files, my comp is running faster, and I'm finally up to date with my OS (right before Windows Vista comes out, right?)

Finally, for the Quote-of-the-Update (not week) guess where it is from:
"Are you two brothers?
No....Yeees! MAN!"

Later all!
--Kyle

"Too early for flapjacks?"

I just discovered a couple cool things on iTunes. Check out "Channel Frederator" and "ReFrederator", awesome video podcasts. Channel Frederator airs animated shorts submitted by people and studios, the likes of Blur and Wild Brain. ReFrederator airs vintage toons, like Merry Melodies and Mighty Mouse. Sweet stuff indeed. Now the question is, when will I breakdown and buy an iPod so I can watch these on the train...

Another great podcast, this one audio, is The Animation Podcast. Clay Kaytis, animator most recently on Chicken Little, interviews animation legends, like Glen Keane and Andreas Deja. You won't be disappointed by this one!

That's all for now. Oh, congrats to Scott Englert, who guessed correctly that last week's quote was from Groundhog Day :)

Holy cow, congratulations to my bud Ben Willis, who just accepted a job at DREAMWORKS!! I think he's the first animator of our SCAD class of '05 to be hired to work on a feature film. Check out his blog for his official announcement. Good luck man, so happy for ya!

In other less exciting news, (or is it?), my taxes are done! I just have to mail them tomorrow. New York tax forms for part-year residents are so complicated. I hope I didn't mess anything up! For now, it is a relief to have it out of the way.Finally, for those of you who don't know, I have been working for the past week at Psyop, a commercial house here in New York. I'm workin on a pretty cool soda commercial, and there's a bunch of miscellaneous characters that I was hired to help animate. It's all super cartoony stuff, so that is a nice change of pace from the naturalistic animation I did at Charlex. It's a short gig, as of now I'm only set to work until April 21st, so I'm continuing on the hunt for the next job.I'm thinking of starting a Quote of the Week just for the heck of it :-P Grand prize goes to whoever guesses the movie first ;)

Guy1:" Ned... Ryerson!"Needlenose Ned"? "Ned the Head"? C'mon, buddy. Case Western High! I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing! Ned Ryerson, got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn't graduate? Bing, again. Ned Ryerson, I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple of times until you told me not to anymore? Well?
Guy2: Ned Ryerson?
Guy1: BING!

'Till next time,
--Kyle

forgot about this

Well, yeah, I kinda abandoned this, but I might get back into posting at least. Though probably not a video blog ;)

The last time I posted, I was unemployed. But not to fear, just before Thanksgiving '05 I was hired at Charlex in New York, to animate on their short film "Rats" (working title). Although my freelance gig there is almost up, it's been a great experience. And I've been so busy that I haven't had time to post!

Anyway, hopefully I'll find a good use for this blog, and keep it up :) Later!