Ed's Newsletter - April 2004

LOOKING FORWARD TO FMX '04 IN STUTTGART
DOUG FRANKEL (Animator/Pixar), MATT BRUNNER (Director/Micosoft X-Box) and PETER PLANTEC (author "Virtual Humans), among others, will be joining me in Stuttgart the first week of May for FMX 2004. The theme of this year's event is "2D vs 3D: Does it Matter?", and I can't wait to dig into it. Professor Thomas Haegele, director of The Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg is the shining light behind this FMX, which is the largest animation event in Germany.

CONGRATS TO ADAM ELLIOTT!
Adam's "Harvie Krumpet" won the Academy Award for Best Short Animation, and I'm delighted for him. I've been screening Harvie in my classes ever since Adam gave me a copy of it in Melbourne last year.. It is a lovely bit of work. Hats off to you, Adam, and to Harvie!

MICHAEL DUDOK DE WIT ANIMATES FOR UNITED AIRLINES
Michael ("Father and Daughter") is one of my favorite animators in the world, and I hope he's getting the big bucks from United. His commercial for the airline's new campaign is entitled "A Life" and will show a businessman traveling through his career into retirement. Watch for it!

WOMEN AND VIDEO GAMES
The BBC web site is carrying an interesting article about the growing importance of females to the world of video games. Take a look: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3496963.stm
My strong opinion is that the game companies would profit immensely by bringing in more females on the creative/production side. The industry is presently male-dominated, which is understandable considering its history and the prime target audience. But the audience is shifting and expanding. More women, please!

THANKS TO ANIMA 2004.
I had a wonderful time in Montreal, participating in the first showcase exclusively for Canadian computer animation. The primary sponsor was Societé des Arts Technologiques (http://www.sat.qc.ca/) and much of the event was streamed live over the Internet. Cool! Montreal is a hopping city, by the way, home to Ubisoft and, lately, EA. I'm definitely looking forward to ANIMA '05. Particular thanks to Marcel Archard, (the best interpreter a non-French-speaker could ask for!), Joseph Lefevre and Lucie Marchand. Great job, folks!

I HAD FUN AT GDC!
This was my first speaking gig at GDC and I just want to thank everybody that showed up to hear me talk. I wish we had had three hours instead of 1 1/2, but it was a joy to meet you. Next year - same time, same place - okay?

FLASH GENIUS ADAM PHILLIPS has been busy adding wonderful stuff to his website. It is truly impressive how much juice this artist can get out of Flash. Take a look: http://www.biteycastle.com/html.shtml

DAVID BAKER dropped me a note to remind that the MIDWEST ANIMATORS CONFERENCE will happen April 23-25. Here's a link: http://www.asifaconference.org/. This event is co-sponsored by ASIFA/Central, itoons, http://www.itoons.com/catnap and Women in Animation/Chicago http://www.asifaconference.org/. Chicago is lovely and (gasp!..) warm now. Ya'll come.<g>

TERRIFIC NEW BOOK ON MOTION CAPTURE!
MATT LIVERMAN deserves a big round of applause for "The Animator's Motion Capture Guide - Organizing, Managing and Editing" (Charles River Media, 2004). This is a soup-to-nuts approach to the subject, starting with flow charts and ending with Post Production and deserves a place on your bookshelf. "The Animator's Motion Capture Guide" is appropriate as a primer and is an excellent guide for seasoned pros. I am personally impressed with Chapter 9, "Motion Performers, Stunt Coordination and Directing". Matt is talking my language in there. He has a strong and clear grasp of the importance of excellent performance in MOCAP, and he states loud and clear that it starts with the casting of the "right" performers in the first place. Check it out! http://www.charlesriver.com/titles/animatorsmotion.html

ED HOOKS'S UPCOMING SCHEDULE

May 6-9 FMX '04, Stuttgart Germany (keynote speaker) http://www.fmx.de

June 7-11 Annecy, France (I'm not teaching, I'm just going to join the fun and watch the flicks. Drop me a note if you'll be there and we'll hook up for a French brew.)

June 18-19 Luzern Switzerland. This is an open Acting for Animators class co-sponsored by the Foundation for Professional Training in Cinema and Audiovisual Media ( FOCAL) - www.focal.ch - and The Art School. For more info, contact Robi Rengler at: rengler@mail.tnca.edu.tw

November 22-27 SAND '04, Swansea Animation Days in Swansea South Wales

CRAFT NOTES
THE USE OF ATMOSPHERE

Your character's behavior is - or should be - influenced by the atmosphere in which he lives. Every scene, every location and every event has an atmosphere of its own. The kitchen in your home has a different atmosphere than your garage. A shopping mall has a different atmosphere than a chapel. A car wreck along the side of the road has an atmosphere that you will feel as you approach it.

An atmosphere can carry with it a sense of danger or excitement. A boxing ring has an atmosphere that is far different from the atmosphere at a Chicago Cubs baseball game.

When considering atmosphere, remember that your character has five senses. The smell of a place is a factor of atmosphere. An ocean beach has a different smell than a mountain lake. A temperature that is hot feels different if it is humid rather than dry. The sounds of Times Square create a different atmosphere than the sounds of Ponca City, Oklahoma.

ACTING PRINCIPLE
Conflicting atmospheres cannot co-exist. They will negotiate and one will prevail. For example, if you are having fun at a party when someone arrives with bad news, the festive atmosphere of the party will be in conflict with the incoming bad news. Perhaps the new person received a cell phone call on the way over, informing her that a friend has suddenly been taken to a hospital. The people at the party will be aware of her tension and will deal with it. Either the life will go out of the party and gloom will set in, or the newcomer will put the worry aside and join the party, or maybe she will leave. One way or the other, you cannot have the party atmosphere co-existing with the bad-news atmosphere. They will negotiate, and something will resolve.

Playwright Tennessee Williams makes great use of heat and humidity in his plays. They mostly take place in the Deep South. The heat causes the characters to be more sensual and to move differently than they would in, say, Alaska.

In Sylvain Chomet's "Triplets of Belleville", the roaring train outside the family's house shifts the atmosphere every time it comes around the bend. The dog goes rushing to the window to bark at it. The atmosphere of that house is radically different from the atmosphere in the smoke-filled gambling arena that appears late in the movie.

Michael Chekhov ("On the Technique of Acting", Harper Resource 1991) was the first acting teacher to come up with the observations about atmosphere, and I consider his book to be essential reading. He also came up with the Psychological Gesture, another very useful concept for animators.

MOTHERS CRADLE BABIES ON THEIR LEFT SIDE
Up to 85 percent of new mothers automatically cradle their baby on the left side. Some experts theorize this is because the baby is then closer to mom's heartbeat. New research suggests the reason is that it activates bonding-related brain regions. For a really interesting article on this subject, check this link: http://www.nature.com/nsu/040126/040126-3.html
And next time you're animating a cuddling baby, put her on the left.

A GOOD DEFINITION OF ART
I wish I could remember where I saw this. I read it somewhere, scribbled it down and now cannot recall my source. I like it a lot though and want to share it with you: "Art is the creation of forms that represent feelings." Cool, isn't it? . I cannot think of an art form that will not support that definition. Music, painting, drama and animation all have form, and the form of each of them definitely represents the feelings of the artist.

I think that the more we can equate art with feelings, the closer we will get to being meaningful and shamanistic.