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

INDIANA JONES
and the Magic Kingdom of the Three-foot Mouse

I've got to say, I'm pretty surprised at the results of last week's poll, What is Your Favorite Disneyland Attraction? I really thought Pirates was going to win by a landslide, but Indiana Jones crushed it like some sort of colossal, rolling object. I love both rides, Indiana Jones has a cooler line, but Pirates has that true Disney magic. Of course, my favorite Disneyland attraction always has been and always will be Star Tours. The technology is dated, and the poorly synchronized hydraulics never fail to bring on a head-ache, but I always feel transported into the Star Wars universe, and I still find myself ducking my head in the ice asteroid. Thanks for the votes. Make sure to chime in on this week's poll. Most of my polls are to determine what the best of the best of any given category is, time to turn it around and dig through the bottom of the barrel, starting with: What is the worst song of all time?

In my search for the worst songs of all-time, I ran across this list of the worst country songs ever recorded. Remember, these are actual songs. Enjoy!

1. Get Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In Bed
2. Get Your Tongue Otta My Mouth 'Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye
3. Her Teeth Was Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure
4. How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away?
5. I Can't Get Over You, So Why Don't You Get Under Me
6. I Don't Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling
7. I Got In At 2 With a 10, And Woke Up At 10 With a 2.
8. I Hate Every Bone In Your Body Except For Mine
9. I Just Bought A Car From A Guy That Stole My Girl, But The Car
Don't Run, So I figure We Got An Even Deal
10. I Keep Forgettin' I Forgot About You
11. I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well
12. I Still Miss You Baby, But My Aim's Gettin' Better
13. I Wouldn't Take Her To A Dog Fight, Cause I'm Afraid She'd Win
14. I'll Marry You Tomorrow But Let's Honeymoon Tonight
15. I'm So miserable Without You, It's Like Having You Here
16. I've Got Tears in My Ears From Lying On My Back While I Cry Over
you
17. If I Can't Be Number One In Your Life, Then Number Two On You
18. If I Had Shot You When I Wanted To, I'd Be Out By Now
19. Mama Get A Hammer (There's A Fly On Papa's Head)
20. My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, And I Love Rovers
21. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, and I Sure Do Miss Him
22. Please Bypass this Heart
23. She Got The Ring and I Got The Finger
24. You're the Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly

WAUGH-HOO!!

This week, I am submitting my application to the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research to join the Waugh dig in South Dakota. This is a dream-come-true for me, I've wanted to be a paleontologist since before I could spell P-A-R-A-S-A-U-R-O-L-O-P-H-U-S. I'll be out there digging with these guys for a week, and while the chances are slim that I'll uncover something, I've already started brainstorming names for my first new species. Let me know if you guys have any ideas.
terrordactyl
tricarrottops
velosithraptor
stlegosaurus
cardartharodon
pixarasaurolophus

Upisode 2

Here's the latest sneak peak of Up. As you can see, Russell is an expert in all things Wilderness and Explorer-y. I had to take four weeks of first aid training to animate the shots of him demonstrating his command of bandaids. Enjoy!

Website of the Day: SkeletalDrawing.com

A great resource for all you dino-philes out there. Check out the skeletal drawing gallery, it's an insightful look at how much we still don't know about dinosaurs.