May 1st, people. Nationwide, in stereoscopic 3d.

And apparently a line of toys available at Nathan’s restaurants at some point, as well. It was definitely an experience making it, and I’m glad that they finally found someone to distribute it. I worked with some great people, and it was an education in what it actually takes to get things done. I’ll leave any negatives for another post, for now, I’m just excited to be able to have worked on something that’s actually making it to the public. It’s been too long…

UPDATE: The trailer went online, here’s an embed:

AM Class 3 Pantomime from Harry Porudominsky on Vimeo.

Another project done, although I really want to revisit parts of this one, and pretty it up a bit with an enviroment and actually rendering it out. Like always, it’s tough to find the time to really give the shot the attention it deserves, and I really wanted more interesting action from the Tailors (the squirrel-ball-things), but all that will have to wait until I have some free time.

I’ve been extremely lax in updating the blog. However, I’m rectifying that now with this post. Here’s my class 2 progress reel, with all my assignments to date, rendered and all. There’s still some shots from class 2 I’d like to revisit and give a little more love to, but that’s going to have to wait till there’s a little extra time lying around. Enjoy, and feel free to let me know what you think.

AM Class 2 Reel from Harry Porudominsky on Vimeo.

I was introduced to this video. It’s hilarious, just brimming with really great physical comedy. And it’s amazing just how natural it looks, but it’s obvious just how much gymnastic skill went into creating and pulling off this routine. Like Chaplin, or Keaton, to really make something like this sing you’ve got to have the technique down pat, and then you can add the flavor. It’s an oft-repeated trope, and I’m not looking up any references here, but I do remember reading that Chaplin would have his performances so well rehearsed and clear in his mind, that he could do them backwards.

It’s a great reminder to me, now the I’m just passing the halfway point of my first term at AM, that animation is the same way. Being back in school and doing the fundamentals, it’s easy to lose sight of the final goal, which is to become a great animator. The assignments are supposed to be just exercises, and I do think sometimes I’m trying a bit too hard to make them into more. So far, I don’t think my training’s suffered for it, but I can see how it might become a problem. I’m hoping I can ride that thin rail between adding a dash of creativity, giving my assignments a bit of conceptual and visual appeal, and losing so much time and effort to all those non-essential elements. I’ll be uploading the assignments I’ve done so far soon. Really.

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I just love watching it…Anthony brought this up at this week’s Q&A. I’m planning on putting up the work so far soon, I’ve just been caught up in work and AM stuff. But, now that I’m done with the project at Amalgamated, I’ll definitely have some free time for a bit.

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