Coyote and Thunder

I know I just posted a few days ago, and I really don't like double posting like this, but I just finished a project at school that I am super excited about!  This summer we took a stop motion class and for our final project had to make a short stop motion film.  So here is my final project for stop motion class, "Coyote and Thunder", based on the Native American Klamath myth "Coyote Steals Fire."  I worked with my classmate Susan Curry on this one, and she was the primary animator and did a great job!  I was the photographer and also built most of the set and did the sound editing and color work.  Hope you guys enjoy it!

I'm Going to SIGGRAPH! And Let's Talk About My Second Student Film...

Summer Semester down here in West Palm Beach is coming to an end, and Florida State University's South Florida film initiative with it.  Our film program in West Palm Beach took a sour turn when our partner Digital Domain filed for bankruptcy in late 2012.  As a result, the Board of Governors at FSU decided to move the Digital Arts and Animation film school back to Tallahassee.  We return back to the land of champions (and free crab legs...) later this August.  But not before I take a trip to Vancouver to attend SIGGRAPH 2014!

For those of you that don't know what SIGGRAPH is, don't worry, I don't either.  Well, that's not entirely true, but I certainly am not sure what do expect.  As the banner indicates, SIGGRAPH is an international conference for computer graphics/visual effects and interactive techniques.  Interactive techniques is really referring to knew experimental technology in robotics and engineering and such.  I applied to the student volunteer program earlier this summer and was accepted into it along with a classmate of mine from school.  We will be in Vancouver from August 6-16 volunteering at SIGGRAPH and exploring the conference floor in our free time.  Expect to see some posts on cool things I discover at SIGGRAPH in the near future!

Now, onto the matter of my second student film, which I talked about posting in previous blog posts but never did... Our school is not permitting us to post the rest of our student films online.  This is for two reasons.  First, my film is technically the property of the University and therefore the state of Florida.  Our Professor compared us posting our films on YouTube/Vimeo to JJ Abrams posting Star Wars Episode VII on YouTube before the release date.  It's something we just can't do.  However, if you send me an email or a message on google or Facebook, I can send you a copy to watch if you are interested.  My second film is called "Red Soil".  It was written by a classmate, Lauren Hammond, and was my first step into the vast realm of visual effects.  I will shortly be posting a VFX Demo Reel of mine that will include some shots from "Red Soil", so that should give you guys an idea of what kind of project it is and what kind of work went into it.  I hope it is something you all can enjoy!

In other news, I am in the process of preparing a professional website that I can present to peers and industry professionals when I am at SIGGRAPH, so that should be up shortly.  I am really excited to launch it and make my first mark on the internet as a budding professional.

To finish the post I'll simply say that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is out on Blu-Ray now, and if you haven't picked up a copy yet you definitely should get your hands on one and give it a good watching.  The bonus features are amazing!  Check it out and enjoy it!  Middle Earth can bring out a childlike wonder in all of us that not much else can.  Until next time, take it easy!