Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen

Over the weekend, I ran into this cool interview of Tim Burton with Ray Harryhausen. Burton's a real hero of mine, so it's funny to watch him geek-out over basically anything Harryhausen says. If you're interested in listening to the wisdom of one of the masters of the animated craft, follow the links below:

Part I: Inventing an Artform
Part II: The Pitiable Leviathon
Part III: Monster Music

Ray Harryhausen mentions that a major artistic influence on him was the work of Gustave Dore. This was a new name to me, so I thought I'd look him up. His work is fantastic! As a kid who grew up on flat-toned comics, dramatic lighting doesn't come very naturally to me. So to see this level of mastery is pretty inspiring!

Dore's imagery is truly cinematic. It's unfortunate that he died in 1883, a mere five years after Eadweard Muybridge's experiments in real-time photo-capture, and just before the development of the first motion picture camera. Like Harryhausen says, if Dore had been alive during the age of film, I'm sure he would have been one of it's most successful auteurs.

SHOOTING WRAPS ON HITCHHIKER

Emma Coats...I don't know how she does it! All I had to do last weekend was sit in a car and recite the same few lines of dialogue every hour or so, and I thought that was exhausting. This lady was running around for fifteen straight hours setting up and tearing down lights, trouble-shooting pesky rear-projection screens, and patiently listening to me butcher the same few lines of dialogue every hour or so. The key to good direction is having an artistic vision and the ability to communicate that vision to the rest of the crew. Emma seemed to have a complete roadmap of the film in her head, I imagine an Indiana Jones-esque red dotted line jetting from scene to scene across the narrative ground plan untill each sequence was complete and the story was told.

Makes me want to jump in the director's chair and give it a go. In fact, I have an idea or two up my sleeve...

HITCHHIKER SHOT OF THE DAY

This is from last weekend's shoot. It's easy to get caught up in the on-set anxiety of making a film, so you have to remember to have fun, no matter where you're shooting. Yes, even in a graveyard.

THE HITCHHIKER

Another tantalizing still from the short I'm working on. Danielle Levin plays the picture's titular role. This scene was shot right near our director's hometown, Davis.

Speaking of Northern Californian filmmakers, I just ran across this sweet interview of my hero George Lucas from a long time ago before he made a film about a galaxy far, far away. I know there are a lot of folks who would appreciate this clip because Yoda's quote "Do or do not...there is no try" won last week's poll What is Your Favorite Movie Line?

WHAT I'M DOING THIS SUMMER...

Still from The Hitchhiker, short film by Emma Coats

Wow, I feel really blessed to be having such a fun, inspiring, and very busy summer so far. First off, thanks so much for everyone who has gone out and supported Up. Of the three Pixar films I've worked on so far, it's certainly my favorite. Russell is one of my favorite characters I've ever animated and I couldn't have asked for a funnier, taller boss than Pete Docter. A lot of nay-sayers *cough*Wallstreet Journal*cough* said that the film wasn't marketable and that no one would turn up to watch a film about a seventy-eight year-old man, but Up's numbers have been Pixar's highest since Finding Nemo. Turns out folks do respect their elders!

I also have two childhood dreams in the works this summer: animating on a Toy Story movie, and preparing for a dinosaur dig. I've started brushing up on my dino-lore recently. I've been keeping up with my paleontology news, but I haven't seriously studies the subject since I was ten years old. Something tells me I'll need more than a 4th grade-level knowledge of prehistoric life out on the dig.

On top of that, my good pal Emma asked me to be in her latest short film, The Hitchhiker (I play Mike, the guy who picks up said hitchhiker). I'm not the kind of guy to turn down an auteur like Emma, so I gladly signed up and we've been having a blast shooting in gas stations, cemeteries, and bunny-laden houses. Here are a few stills from the film, coming soon to a film festival near you! (Cinematography by Dani Strijleva)

Having a word with my co-star, improviser extraordinaire Rebecca Stockley.

Here's some production art Emma did for the film, with a background plate she shot for the scene.

Happy Belated Easter!

I joined a video ministry at my church, and this is our first film. My primary contributions were storyboarding and helping to direct the actors. All of our actors were friends from church, so there are some dramatically inappropriate smiles here and there, but I'm proud that we were able to shoot this entire thing in six hours, and very thankful to everyone who contributed. God definitely blessed us with an enthusiastic crew. We have the film posted at our youtube channel, NCBVid, with more to come.

Enjoy!

The Prisoner, directed by Kerwin Kuniyoshi

81st Annual Academy Awards

The polls have closed on your Oscar picks, and you guys have predicted some major wins for Slumdog Millionaire (as if winning a million dollars wasn't enough, sheesh!). Here are your choices; I hope you're right, because I'm putting a lot of money on these predictions.

Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Original Screenplay
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter (WALL-E)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Actress
Meryl Streep (Doubt)

Best Actor
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Score
Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

THIS DAY IN HISTORY...

This day in history, exactly ten years ago, Pixar released A Bug's Life. Of all Pixar's films, this has to be the most underrated, there's some brilliant animation on Hopper, and Tuck and Roll are just plain hilarious.
Now everyone at Pixar's hard at work on the upcoming Pete Docter film. You can check out the new trailer here.
Happy 10th Anniversary to A Bug's Life, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone else!

Fictional Presidential Campaign, Part II

Looks like Gandalf is ahead of Xavier in the polls. But the X-Men aren't about to give up that easy. Xavier's campaign has its first attack add ready, and it brings some interesting points to light!

Who is Gandalf the White? Two films ago, he was promoting the Grey agenda, why the sudden switch? And why does he want to sneak WMDs back into enemy territory?



Gandalf holds council with Saruman of Many Colours: a known terrorist, anti-environmentalist, and leader of orcs. Can we trust him with our forests?



When he isn't paling around with terrorists, Gandalf smokes pipeweed with halfling thieves. Irresponsible; not ready to lead.



Gandalf is confused and out of touch. He doesn't know what the internet is, and couldn't even find his way through the mines of Moria.



Gandalf the White: not ready to lead.

"I am Charles Xavier, and I approve this message."

Movin' on UP
Soaring gas prices and a lousy housing market are even effecting animated characters. Looks like Carl Fredricksen just found a cheaper form of transit and a way to improve his real estate!

OPENING DAY

As most of you know from the trailer, this film has been over ten years in the making. I'm sorry I could only have worked on the last year of production, because as some of you may know I'm a bit of a sci-fi nut, and early in production Wall-E was already one of my favorites. The entire crew was phenomenal, but the man whose work really shines is Ben Burtt, the sound designer and voice of Wall-E. As animators, we didn't get very many dialogue tracks, but Ben's sympathetic motors and humorous metallic whirs gave each robot a voice of their own, and made animating on this film a truly unique experience.
My hometown morning show, Good Day Sacramento, stopped by the studio yesterday and their jocose entertainment reporter, Mark S. Allen, interviewed Ben and myself. Talking with Mark was a blast because I pretty much grew up on that show and his movie reviews, so being on the other side of the camera with him was a real trip. You can catch Ben's interview here and mine here.
Anyway, hope you all enjoy Wall-E as much as I enjoyed working on it! In summary, go see Wall-E!

You'll believe a robot can fly.

Stan Winston (April 7, 1946-June 15, 2008)

In much sadder Jurassic Park-related news, Oscar award-winning makeup and special effects wizard Stan Winston passed away yesterday from complications due to multiple myeloma. Stan was one of my earliest artistic influences whether I realized it or not. Whether his work was as mind-blowing as Terminator and Predator, or as melancholy as Edward Scissorhands and Batman Returns, he never failed to transport me to another world populated by bizarre characters. His work lended as much atmosphere as the music or the cinematography, and was often more iconic. This is a tragic loss for the filmmaking community, but we will always have his characters, his art, and his inspiration.

DTV Interview

Here's an interview with my friend Victor Jimenez from One Dream Studios. I know Vic from highschool, and I'm constantly inspired by his ability to keep creating films and telling stories, so I was more than happy to answer his questions about life, the industry, and everything. Note my intro tune...oh yeah, Star Tours, baby!

For those of you achin' for more interview goodness, here's one of me toothless that I gave to SECC after my Pixar internship in '05. This interview is great because if you pause on any given frame, I look completely deranged. Enjoy!

Can't have the Joker without green hair. Nuff said.

Addendum 4.25.08
The new Dark Knight poster just came out. Not only does Joker look like the crow, but now he's burning the Batsignal into things. As long as Iggy Pop doesn't make an appearance, I guess we're still safe.

Every once in a while, you just want to draw something cute. Today is not one of those days.

Ollie Johnston (October 31, 1912-April 14, 2008)

Any animator worth his salt owns at least one copy of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's The Illusion of Life. The book offers the wisdom Ollie collected over the forty-three years he worked at Disney, creating some of the world's most memorable characters (including two of my personal favorites, Merlin and Baloo). More importantly, The Illusion of Life reveals the importance of fellowship, and learning from your peers. Over the years, the names Frank and Ollie have become almost inseparable. These two embody the golden age of classical animation and, for me, childhood in general.
My favorite animated scene of all-time is their squirrel sequence from Sword in the Stone. Within a few minutes (and hundreds of Ollie's gorgeous drawings), we are taught about having the faith to leap, the courage to fail, and we are introduced to the most powerful force on Earth...even more powerful than gravity.
At Frank Thomas's request, the sequence was played at Frank's memorial. So here it is again for old Ollie. Frank and Ollie's squirrel sequence
And for those of you unfamiliar of the man that helped invent animation, here's his story.
Thanks for the magic, Ollie!

Addendum 4.18.08
Disney's Farewell to Ollie
The Disney Company on Ollie Johnston
Brad Bird on Ollie Johnston

CHADES CHALLENGE X, WEEK II: MOSSY HELLBOYS
In retrospect, I didn't really incorporate a great deal of moss. These were fun to draw, though, and that's all that counts. Anyone seen the new Hellboy trailer?


Other Mignolites:
Josh 'Lobster' Billings
Leo 'The Brazillian Devil' Matsuda
Steve 'Right Clockhand of Doom' MacLeod
Moro 'Kambodia HotHELL' Rogers

By the way, everyone is welcome to join the Chades Challenge. Every couple of weeks we choose a new subject based on a random pairing of an adjective and noun. We spend a few days sketching ideas, and post the brilliance on fridays.
Next week, Chades Challenge XI: sweaty bikers

Results of last week's poll: Which summer blockbuster are you most looking forward to?

The Dark Knight 42%

Indiana Jones IV 38%

Iron Man 15%

Speed Racer 5%

Hellboy II 0%

The Incredible Hulk 0%

I drew this a few days ago when Indiana Jones IV had a commanding lead, and planned on posting it with a terrible caption like "Indy gives Batman quite the whipping!" Let this be a lesson to all of us: never underestimate the Batman.

Dear God. The machines have gained the trust of animals. It won't be long now before man's best friend turns against him in the war to come.


In other news, on-set shooting of Pam Walker's short film Trifles was wrapped this weekend. The REAL shooting, however, has just begun.


Photo by Mark Andrews

Go, Spielberg, go.