EVANGELINE THAN

We had our graduation ceremony and screening in the FTI cinema on Friday night. It was crowded, noisy, and joyful; altogether, an outstanding evening.

This is the speech I gave on behalf of the animation students, and I meant every word of it.

“On the first day of this course, our training coordinator, the beautiful and formidable Fern Nicholson, sat us down in this cinema, and said, “Succeeding in this course is not just about getting your diploma. It is about what you do afterwards. It is about getting out there, seeking out opportunities, and forging your path. If you think that succeeding in this course means getting your diploma, and then going home to sit on the sofa, drinking orange soda, and waiting for an opportunity to fall into your lap, then THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU.”

Wow.

That is the kind of place that FTI is, and that is why we have grown to love this place, and why we have cherished every minute of our time here.

My class and I would like to thank our instructors, who led us, inspired us, and were so generous in sharing their incredible, vast amounts of knowledge with us. Tanya Beeson, Stephen Grant, Phil Jeng Kane, Noah Norton, Wendi Graham, and Khrob Edmonds–thank you.

A special thank-you must go to our facilitator, Ebbie Williams. Like a mother, she cared for us. Like a father, she gave us wise counsel. And like the dear friend that she has become, she did not hesitate to give us a swift kick up the backside if we stopped believing in ourselves, and felt like we couldn’t go on.

To our partners and families, thank you for being so patient with us, and for simply loving us, and sticking with us, all the way through this very challenging year.

Finally, we would like to thank all the people involved with FTI, for welcoming us into your family. Thank you for making this one of the best places in Australia to learn the trade.

Have a wonderful evening, and the animation class of 2009 hope that you enjoy our films.”

It’s graduation night at FTI and I’ve been asked to give a speech on behalf of the animation class.

Go away, butterflies!

A rough portrait (I sketch when I’m nervous). There was no fat, startled dog-pretending-to-be-a-kangaroo sitting next to Tim. I just like to draw them.

Last weekend was eye-opening, unforgettable, and a little surreal.

I secured a last-minute place (hurrah for cancellations!) at a narrative comedy workshop taught by Tim Ferguson and arranged by the WA branch of the Australian Writers’ Guild. The people attending this course were a mix of early career film makers like myself (“early career” is a nice way of saying, “n00b”), mid-career types with wild eyes and exhausted hair, and relaxed veterans of Perth TV, stage and film.

Tim definitely makes learning fun, and even threw in some interpretative dance for free. I will never forget your parting of the Red Sea, Tim. Where were you when I was trying to get my head around neural computation? (I still don’t know how I passed that exam.)

I’ve always wanted to write for comedy but grasping the “how” of it was always just out of reach. Comedy writing kept slipping through my fingers. It was Frodo Baggins to my Sauron.

Well, I’ve got your ring now, Frodo.

Naturally, this knowledge comes at a price. I watched an episode of “Extras” last night and my brain kept shouting, “Ooh! Look! Distortion! Positive negation! Misinterpretation! I see it all now, Ricky Gervais! You dunnit with mirrors!” and it took several minutes to shush Mr Brain into using his inside voice.

I went to this writing workshop with the intention of adding some je ne sais quoi to a couple of animation scripts I’ve been working on (oh, and by the way, the Japanese have discovered that you CAN polish a you-know-what, so nyah), but now I’ve gotten greedy.

I want more. I want to write for live-action too. I want to write for stand-up. TV! Movies!

Look out, world.

Today was the last official day of our Diploma of Animation course. Naturally, we celebrated by going to the movies.

After much negotiation and minimal bloodshed, we settled on District 9.

Holy cow.

Neill Blomkamp, I salute you, superlative director and screenwriter. Oh, you’re an animator as well? Geez, no wonder the CG in the film is top-notch. And Sharlto Copley, who played Wikus Van de Merwe, ad-libbed most of his lines. Wow.

Love, friendship, loyalty, good vs. evil, parenthood, fishes out of water, racism, ignorance, fear–now that’s some impressive plate-spinning.

I think every would-be or will-be filmmaker should treat themselves to great movies on a regular basis. In the cinema, when possible, so that you can’t run away to grab a snack or check on the laundry. Just sit there and immerse yourself.

Watching amazing movies inspires me to keep going. I want to be part of this magic. I feel like all this hard work, and all the sacrifices, they’re leading somewhere.

Yesterday evening I attended my first animation writers’ group meeting.

Kate Vyvyan, an animation writer and producer, chaired the meeting and kept the conversation flowing.

Also present were Adam, a physician turned filmmaker with some unusual ideas for a new animated TV series, and Jeff, a cartoonist with a dark sense of humour who wanted to turn his ‘toons into a short film. Adam treated us to a special viewing of the opening credits for his show, and Jeff passed around sheets and sheets of hilarious Gary Larson-esque cartoons.

I seized the moment and showed the others an idea that I had pitched for our Diploma of Animation final project, and received some excellent feedback, filling up a page with notes on increasing my character’s appeal and engaging the audience.

Kate also spoke about what was going on in the animation industry, events that she had attended and would be attending (SPAA! MIPCOM!), and we also had a look at this month’s topic, adapting children’s books for animation.

Many heads are better than one and I found the writer’s group meeting encouraging and invigorating. It looks like I have another event to mark permanently on the calendar!

When: Meetings are usually held on the second Tuesday of every month, but it is best to check with WAnimate beforehand.

If you receive an invitation to the next meeting, RSVP as soon as possible to confirm your attendance. Meetings are cancelled if there aren’t enough attendees.

Where: The Australian Writer’s Guild HQ, 196 Oxford St, Leederville.

Here are some notes from an Industry Knowledge presentation I gave while studying animation at FTI.

We were each assigned an organisation to research and then presented our findings to the class, explaining how this organisation would be useful to people working in animation.

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ORGANISATION: Digital Labourers Federation (DLF)

WHO ARE THEY: A social group for anyone working with or interested in digital art. DLF members communicate via a mailing list.

HOW TO JOIN: Membership is open to anyone involved in creating images made with computer technology. Many DLF members work in film and television.

Go to http://dlf.org.au and click “If you want to join then click here and fill out your registration form.” You will be taken to a registration page which asks for your full name, company, contact details, website and occupation.

After you submit this form, and your registration has been approved, you will be sent three e-mails welcoming you to the different mailing lists: dlf-mailout, dlf-news and dlf-jobs.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU JOIN: You will receive lots and lots of e-mails and basically have a forum running in your inbox.

WHO LOOKS AFTER THE DLF: Kit Devine (an animation lecturer and 3D animator) and Grant Fraser (a professional photographer) manage membership for the mailing list, moderate the list (this includes booting out any trouble-makers), and keep e-mail headers consistent.

Kit and Grant are also active participants in the DLF mailing list; they post information about jobs, highlight interesting articles or news items, or just add their knowledge to the pool when questions are asked.

As in any Internet forum, there are also regular posters who work in the industry and are always happy to dispense advice.

MAILING LIST CONTENT AND MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:

• Content varies widely but ranges from people asking what everyone thought of Wolverine’s CG blades in the latest X-Men movie, to very specific discussions about how to get a certain texture in 3D Studio Max, product reviews, beginners asking for help, and advice regarding breaking into the industry.
• Kit and Grant also post information about jobs available locally, interstate and internationally, competitions, social events, new courses, and the latest animation news.
• A lot of people post links to their show reels and portfolios and ask other DLF members for constructive feedback, which usually given in large quantities and with excellent response time.

SOCIALISING THROUGH THE DLF:

• 26 May 2009 – Through the DLF mailing list, I found out about “Show Us Your Bits” (http://letsmakegames.org/2009/05/14/letsmakegamesorg-may-mixer-and-showcase/), a mixer night organised by “Let’s Make Games”, a support group for the Perth games industry. I met games development students and lecturers from Edith Cowan University, enjoyed the hospitality of the Brass Monkey,  and got to see Tim Beeson’s “Bacon Wings” game make a public debut.
• 28 May 2009 – Perth doesn’t have regular DLF meetings like the Eastern states, but cartoonist Mathew Hampton was enthusiastic enough to organise a Perth DLF drinks night at the 43 Below Bar. What a great night – Chris Toovey (an FTI alumnus) came, along with most of his co-workers from Last Pixel (http://lastpixel.com.au/). I had an entertaining and informative chat with them about how they entered the industry and what kind of work they were doing now. I also met Simon Boxer, who used to be a concept artist at Interzone and is now working freelance, and we had a very interesting discussion about the Perth games industry. It was a fantastic meeting of like-minded people who are all passionate about what they do, and I hope to be fortunate enough to work with them in the near future.

TIPS FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THE DLF:

• Set up e-mail filters so that DLF messages are forwarded to a special folder where you can read them at your leisure. Within this folder, sort by subject so that you can read each thread in an uninterrupted manner.
• The sheer mass of mail you receive can become unwieldy very quickly, so archive and delete DLF mail ruthlessly, making sure you keep any gems that will be useful to you in the future.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions. DLF posters are supportive, kind, and generous in sharing their knowledge. Kit and Grant run a tight ship!
• Take advantage of networking opportunities!

CONCLUSION:

• I strongly advise all animators to join the DLF mailing list, by doing so you will really have a finger on the pulse of Australian animation. In addition, joining will give you access to the knowledge and support of hundreds of Australian animators of all levels.
• The DLF is an invaluable support group for early career film makers and animators.

And it is a fantastic read. Engaging, intelligent and not at all self-absorbed, Byrne’s writing cares and shares.

I best remember David Byrne as the frontman of Talking Heads, another band I listened to a lot at school (it wasn’t all Depeche Mode and sawing away at wrists, you know). He’s still around, making music, and that makes me very happy.

I plan to bury myself in the archives soon (he’s been blogging since 2004!) and see what he’s been up to all these years.

Byrne is on tour with Brian Eno at the moment, so his blog is in travel journal mode and full of vivid photographs.

Check it out: http://journal.davidbyrne.com/

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint Exupéry

This wonderful animated short by Louis Clichy, a Pixar animator and Gobelins graduate (the same school that produced Oktapodi) is pretty close to perfection.

You can view more of Clichy’s work at the Cube Creative Computer Company website.

Sources: embedded video from Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePMK3FeyYxI. I first read about this film at Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog, URL: http://drawn.ca/2009/05/08/a-quoi-ca-sert-l%e2%80%99amour/ (posted May 9th, 2009).

Seven animators spent last Friday night in a padded room surrounded by red velvet, feverishly punching in numbers into a remote control, and howling into small silver sticks.

Yes, that’s right. I’m talking about karaoke at Hit Studio in Northbridge.

Highlights of the evening:

• The ladies all sing-shouting, “It’s Raining Men” (the Geri Halliwell version), and frightening the bejeesums out of the poor outnumbered boys.
• Clancie Shorter saying, “I would really like to go to that place right now, that place where it is raining men.” Amen, Clancie.
• Ebbie Williams going into hysterics when the crazy Santa figurine montage appeared for “Wake me up before you go go”. Seriously, guys, now that is just lazy.
• Making up subtext for the very bad videos accompanying the music (see preceding sentence for an example). Like Mystery Science Theatre 3000, but without the high production values!
• Disco-dancing to “Staying Alive”.
• Men in Viking helmets.

Who says animators don’t know how to party?

At last! Being swamped by the missives from the DLF mailing list has paid off!

I mean, I love getting my DLF mail, because they discuss a lot of cool things and with more than 20 e-mails hitting my mailbox every day I can pretend I’m really, really popular, but a lot of the subject matter goes over my head in these early days. Mental ray velocity passes? Yeah, I’ll just lean back with a faraway look in my eyes, stroke my imaginary goatee, and pretend I know what you’re talking about, dudes.

This evening, stib from pureandapplied.com.au posted a link to a 2007 post by Keith Lango, an animator who also runs the Animation Personal Trainer program.

Keith has excellent advice for indie animators working on personal projects, especially people like me who are always trying to be faster! Stronger! Higher!

We can’t produce similar stuff to the big studios because we just don’t have the (wo)man days and resources to do so, but instead of being discouraged, we should use these limitations to open up new possibilities and spark creativity.

Read all about it here.

Sources: Blog post by Keith Lango, “The Fool’s Errand, Part 1″, URL: http://keithlango.blogspot.com/2007/07/fools-errand-part-1.html (posted July 14th, 2007). I first read about this on the Digital Labourers Federation mailing list, April 21st, 2009.