Ed's Newsletter - April 2009

ED'S PARIS VACATION
I'm going to be vacationing in Paris May 25-30. If anybody in the City of Light wants to set up a one-day Acting for Animators workshop, have your person contact my person. Or just drop me an e-mail.

JOSEPH GILLAND is hosting a Vancouver book launch party on April 24th. His beautiful accomplishment is entitled Elemental Magic, and it is a different kind of book about the organic origins of special effects. I love the incredible illustrations. Lovely stuff. Take a look (http://elementalmagic.blogspot.com/).

GOOD BOOK ABOUT 3DS MAX
I admit I am a dummy when it comes to 3ds Max, but I know something about Pete Draper, the talented and good-humored guy who wrote the book Deconstructing the Elements with 3ds Max, which recently was published in a third edition. Pete is a UK-based free lance visual effects animator and 3D artist I've gotten to know and respect through participation in the Animex Animation event each year. His website is http://www.xenomorphic.co.uk. Pete's book is not for the 3ds Max beginner. You should already be familiar with the software and be interested in having it do back flips and somersaults. The book is organized into sections for "Fire", "Water", "Earth" and "Air", which pretty much defines the kind of effects he wants to talk to you about.

WAR GAMES WEAPON AND ARMOR DESIGN
Some war games feature warriors that wear heavy armor and, often, facemasks or sunglasses. I have presumed that the characters are designed like that at least partially because it is easier and faster to animate masks and armor than it is to animate the human body.

If you are a designer for that kind of game, I want to recommend that you read an article from the New York Times, March 24, 2009 (Science Times) section. It is a fascinating account of how and why various animals and insects have developed body ornaments of war. This kind of evolutionary theory makes perfect sense to me, and it may be pertinent to human warfare. There are times, for instance, when the most frightening appearing weapons are only for show, to scare off competitor males and to attract females. The outsized weapons are too cumbersome to be useful in battle. The creatures that possess more modest looking weapons are often the most dangerous. Here is a link to the article. You might have to register with the New York Times in order to read it, but it is free and, anyway, once registered, you can keep up with all the news that is fit to print. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/science/24armo.html?_r=1&hp?8dpc)

ACTING FOR ANIMATORS WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
May 5-8, Stuttgart, Germany - FMX International Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Digital Media
May 11, Erfurt, Germany - KI.KA (children's pub-caster)
May 14-17, Kalamazoo, Michigan - Kalamazoo Animation Festival International
June 17, Greenwich, Connecticut - Blue Sky Studios
Nov 18-27, Swansea Animation Days (SAND), South Wales
Planning, India (still working on it -- stay tuned)
Planning, China (still working on it -- stay tuned)

CRAFT NOTES
3-D PAST AND FUTURE
Now that the industry is immersed in a new age of 3-D, this may be a good time to listen to the wisdom of Arch Oboler. "Arch who?" you say? Oboler, as in the guy who produced, wrote and directed Bwana Devil in 1952. His movie is generally credited as the first modern 3-D release, and Arch got rich off of it. Turns out, though, that modern 3-D was a flash in the financial pan back in Arch Oboler's day. Between 1952 and 1956, something like fifty 3-D movies were released, and 5,000 theaters made the necessary projection adjustments to exhibit them. But then 3-D went away because the novelty wore off.

Consider the advertising campaign for Bwana Devil, a story about a couple of killer lions who had a habit of eating railroad workers in Uganda. The poster featured two now-almost-famous lines: "A LION in your lap! A LOVER in your arms!" The script, by general critical assessment, was awful. It didn't matter. Folks lined up to squeal with delight when the LION jumped into their laps. And did I mention that Arch Oboler got rich even though it was awful?

It appears that most upcoming major studio movies are going to be released in new and improved 3-D (also referred to as 3D, which seems to me confusing with the other kind of 3D). My favorite movie so far in 2009 was Henry Sellick's Coraline, which was shot in something called "RealD3D". Presently, DreamWorks Tru3-D Monsters vs. Aliens is breaking box office records. Next month, we'll get Pixar's Up, shot in Disney Digital 3D. Later this year, James Cameron's Avatar will finally be released. Plus, there is an assortment of successful regular movies, such as Toy Story and Star Wars, that are being re-released in 3-D. In short, 3-D is evidently going to define the mainstream movie-going experience for a while to come. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

Coraline would arguably have worked in any dimension, and that movie may point the pathway to success. But let's return to Arch Oboler for a moment. Arch died in 1987, an unhappy man. He was frustrated with what had become of his 3-D baby. Shortly before his death, he sat for an interview, during which he gazed into the future: "The only hope for 3-D," he said, "is that someone will come along with taste and understanding and do a good story without regard for the extremes of 3-D--using it in terms of the story itself . . . It's so easy to get so seduced by the wonders of going into space that you forget about the story. And again, how shall I put it nicely, there are so few good movies in two dimensions that maybe I'm reaching for the impossible when I say let's have one in three-dimensions." (Stereo World, May-June 1987)

I imagine we would all agree with Mr. Oboler. But the proof is in the pudding, isn't it? Let's wait and see how this spate of upcoming movies is promoted. If the banner headlines are all about 3-D technology and the visual roller coaster ride it offers, then we may be headed into some choppy waters.

There is no technology that can perpetually guarantee big money. The tribe has historically been drawn to the story, seeking entertainment and a glimmer of insight into what is necessary for successful living on earth. Some things will never change.

Until next month...be safe!
"Actors are Shamans"