TUESDAY GESTURE CLASS
Instructed by storyman extraordinaire Nick Sung.

Geez, I'm gettin' rusty.

THE WAUGH RANCH
Part Three of The Jurassic Journals

Tuesday, July 7

After our short stop at Devil's Tower, Greg, Chuck, Zack, and I high-tailed it on down to Hulett, WY where we were to make our fortunes as bona fide paleontologists at the Waugh Dig.

The first thing that struck me about the dig was the scenery, and in particular the greenery. I expected a dinosaur dig to look a bit more like the one's I'd seen on Jurassic Park and Nova specials: dusty, dry, and treeless. The Waugh ranch, however, was beautiful. Because it sat on a hill, we had a fantastic view of the unspoiled region that spread for miles in each direction. The ponderosas filled the air with the fresh smell of pine and, more importantly, provided ample shade for diggers who needed a break from the heat.

Our mess hall, which quickly became my favorite area of the dig since it meant food and shade.



Here's our camp, which one of the diggers affectionately named "Pixar Plaza."

After Zack had set up his tent, Chuck noticed this little beauty nestled in her hole, just a meter away from his tent-opening. She's a funnel-web, the species of spider Return of the King's monster Schelob is modeled after.

Here's the head of the dig, master dinosaur hunter Pete Larson. You may remember Pete's brother Neil in the first installment of The Jurassic Journals. Fossil hunting runs in the Larson family, Neil's two sons Tim and Matt are also seasoned paleontologists and BHI staff members. We calculated our arrival at the ranch to co-incide with lunchtime, so we got to know Pete and the other diggers for a while before they put us to work for the afternoon.

Our first day of work consisted of training our eyes to spot fossils. Not all of them are as clearly defined as this gorgeous Allosaur tooth (one of many found throughout the week by our new friend, Bob Lindsey). We were assigned to dig through the talus piles (mounds of excess dirt set aside by other diggers) for any fossils the previous diggers might have missed. As you can see, fossils are darker than the dirt around them. They're also smoother, and often have imprints of fibrous marrow-like texture.

Here's a look at the skull this Allosaur tooth belongs to:

DEVIL'S TOWER
Part Two of The Jurassic Journals

Tuesday, July 7

After spending a day at the BHI, consuming some delicious Moose Drool (my new favorite beer), and a good night's sleep, we were ready to start our adventure. We headed out from Hill City along the dusty roads that led into Wyoming. Along the way, we passed Devil's Tower, the famous monument from Close Encounters. Zack and I had a religious experience, blasting John Williams music from our SUV. It was like we had journeyed to the nerd mecca. Pictured above are Greg, Zack, and I, marvelling at the natural wonder of igneous intrusion.

Me with Chuck Waite, a man never short of a funny accent or clever remark.


Greg, Chuck, and Zack soaking in the majesty.

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...

THE BLACK HILLS INSTITUTE
Part One of The Jurassic Journals

The photos from this month's dinosaur dig are finally rolling in. What an amazing adventure, I never thought I could gain an even deeper appreciation for prehistoric life.

Monday, July 6
Zack Keller and I fresh from the plane, ready to hunt some dinosaurs.


Inside the Black Hills Institute's (BHI's) skeleton-building workshop, aptly named Rex Hall.

Pixar sculptor/paleontologist Greg Dykstra with Triceratops skull and newly-printed scan from said skull. The three-dimensional plastic "print-out" is the first of it's kind and a great aid to paleontologists and paleo-artists alike.

The tyrant lizard king, accept no substitutes.


Greg and paleontologist/BHI staffer Neil Larson talk shop.

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.

ISSUE 1 OF NECESSARY EVIL

I've said it before, RPGs are great inspiration for cool drawings. The one I'm playing right now involves the agents of WOE. The super hero genre is perfectly suited for comic book format, and our DM, Everett, refers to each gaming session as an issue, so I figured I'd do a comic cover after each game day. The superhero charging at the Temporalist is Barrier, played by none other than Mark Andrews. He's a blast to play with, and brings a lot of character to the table. It's no wonder his character quickly became the most entertaining in the story and the most fun to draw. My character is Mungo Man, seen sprawled, incapacitated, in the background. Covers have always been my favorite part of comics, especially when they capture the kinetic energy of a Frazetta-level battle.

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