I'm back!

I'm back from my internship at Mayo in Rochester. Didn't really learn too much new though I'm much more comfortable with Final Cut and DVD Studio Pro now. Wanted to learn more about Motion, but never got much of a chance to use it.

Anywho, I'm back on the hunt, but I have a brand spanking new demo reel up so hopefully something will turn up. Check it out on my site:

I've also been doing a lot of writing. A LOT of writing. Mostly scripts. One in particular I'm on the brink of finishing is for a documentary on VHS tapes.

And, to add to my side projects, I'm also going to be doing some small acting in some local films.

There are some new VHS Show episodes uploaded on the Tube as well so check 'em out.

So, yeah, all kinds of stuff going on.

welcome back

Welcome back Mark... Gotta say though, I haven't seen the new demo reel. 134Meg for the 'small' version is a little too large man. How long is it?

It's about 1:47, but I don't have the H264 or MPEG codec so the lowest compression I can get without worse quality is Sorenson 3. I'll try re-rendering it soon.

Yeah dude 1:47 should be like 20mb max with h264, even for sorenson that's really high! The size difference when you adjust quality from best to high is substantial too without too much loss in quality. I can convert it to h264 if you'd like, though you always take a 10% gamma increase hit through the codec. PM me if you want.

Also, try to use AAC for your audio.

Welcome back

Okay, I've finally got my hands on an MPEG codec and the reel is now about 17mb on the front page.

Ah now that's better.

Couple of crits if that's ok. Make sure your strongest work goes first. I like that fly spaceship fly-in, but at nearly 11 seconds I don't think it should start your animation reel with that as one of your first shots(or if you do, maybe break it up a little... cut to something them come back to the fly-in)

I like the trampoline guy - and I'd definately recommend a couple more animations like that if you want to focus on animation (something that displays weight and dynamic motion - maybe even a walkcycle with that character)

Which brings me to the two models (the car and the alien face). They are nice, but they don't have a place in an animation reel (you could put them at the very end)

The floating head is a little too floaty (in animation terms - not because it really is floating!) I'd take another look at it . Even though it is just a head, there will be distinct poses and gestures throughout the dialogue, right now it seems to just kinda roll. (Oh and I'd give Jason Osipa a credit there too)

few crits, and dont take this as attacks, but as me trying to help.

its rough, man.

ill go over shot by shot what works and what doesnt

shot 1: Intro
dont know if its just my machine but it plays really choppy. tried it on 3 computers now, same result. also the hair on the head is kinda choppy as well. maybe smooth that out.

Shot 2: UFO thing in water
when he turns around, i would cut after that. otherwise he is just floaty sitting there, it does nothing to enhance the shot or the reel. maybe if you have some time add displacement to the water because it has no effect of him coming out of it.

Shot 3: ship fly towards building
right now its a little over 320 frames longish. i would cut out the last 200 frames, to be quite honest. it just seems long for what basically amounts to a pan up on a still image of a building. tighten it up and you would do better.

Shot 4: landing ship
length is good

Shot 5: tramp guy
this is one of your strongest shots, though the animation is still a bit rough. his motion is a bit all over the place and the arcs and timing seem to be lacking. its also just a wee bit too stretchy in my own opinion.

shot 06: green guy
reeks of roto. looks like it was traced over film. also you might want to choose a different color unless you want to be linked to the group anonymous.

Shot 07: car model
the model looks pretty nice. Though, i would say work on your textures and cam move. its on the way though.

Shot 8: character head
another good shot. nice model. maybe include a wireframe, a non textured version to show.

shot 9 and 10: the chicken
I would almost say leave this out. the animation is far from complete and quite floaty. either go over it with a finer toothed brush or scrap it all together.

Shot 11: weight lifting
pay more attention to weight. its very fast, floaty. doesn't look done. go back over the principals for this one.

Shot 12: first contact audio
very floaty head, very snappy mouth. crits already posted still apply. lacks direction just kind of moving for the sake of moving. mouth only seems to have an open and closed shape (even if there are more shapes in play, thats all that is noticeable. go over it again or scrap it and re-do it. its looking pretty rough.

Shot 13: end shot with UFO's
a little floaty on the arc with the ships doing the loopty loo.

so yeah, thats my initial assessment of the reel. sorry if it comes off harsh but it needs quite a bit of polish before its ready to start handing out, i would say.

things i would cut out right now and work on
Trap guy: work the animation a bit more. its close but not quite there yet
Green guy: unless you are applying for waking life part 2 this wont get you much. cut it out.
Chicken shots (9 and 10): do nothing to enhance your reel
Weight lifting: there is more to fix than there is to showcase in this clip. either re-work it hardcore or scrap it
First contact audio: is maybe one of the weakest parts of your reel. floaty, the sync is off, snappy sync and does not have any emotional drive. its a good clip, but it needs a ton of work.

you would be better off with a solid 1 minute reel than this one. i dont want to slam it all down on you at once, but its not quite there yet. keep working and you will get there.

hope my feedback helps. if you want further suggestions or clarification let me know, always glad to go more in depth with ya on it.

Okay, I've made some of the changes you suggested (haven't uploaded anything yet) and I'll try to work some more on the tramp guy and maybe churn out some more actions with Aaron's model since I've become accustom to it. I've also been working on a full-body for the creature head and the modeling is almost done on him.

But at this point I'm seriously questioning my abilities overall. Maybe it's just because I'm between jobs, but looking back on everything I've done, I've never quite gotten 'there'. And what with the loan payments closing in, I'm seriously thinking about going to work IT in my dad's business just so I can make ends meet. I'm not throwing the towel in quite yet as I'll continue to put myself out there, but looking realistically at the situation, animation probably won't be in my future career.

i wouldnt say give up but you are not quite to that level yet where people will come knockin on your door, ya know.

there is nothing wrong with getting a "normal" non animation job while you work on your skills and get better. it isnt like a switch will flip, hell im way waaay far from where i want to be or think i should be but i keep at it.

in the end its what makes ya happy, man. if this stuff drives ya insane and you dont enjoy your job maybe it isnt for ya. dowhat ya love.

i usually watch a movie like horton hears a who or finding nemo and start crying I WANNA BE ABLE TO DO THATTTT so yea we try out best hek IT TOOK ME AROUND 1 YEAR (i think 1 year and a half) to land my first job. so don't rush it perfect your self or reach somewhere in the market level.

as soon as i finished university i glued my self to the chair and said I SHELL BECOME THE SECOND TYSON lol head on fire still not even close but, you set a goal for your self, and the resources on the net is limitless i don't think at this point any one find a hard time finding tutorials, by the way even pros still watch tutorials so nothings wrong with it even you land your job you need to keep progressing the business is becoming larger each day and demands become higher.

watch some old james bond movie they look easy for vfx people but at that time peoples mentality was wow radical dude, but now peoples taste get more complex more sophisticated and it will continue to grow.

good luck on ur journey.

Mahmoud, I think if I met you in real life my head would asplode.

and why would ur head explode, lol?

Heck, no need to throw in the towel just yet. Sure, you should take a step back every now and then and just question what you are doing and why - but you'll generally find that the reasons you started doing this remain and that the same desires to create / be creative are still there. As for the abilities thing - well that's just a matter of patience and, to a large degree self confidence. I think after about 18 months I felt the same. I'd had a huge breakthrough in animation skills then hit a plateau for ages - where I felt that there was a mountain to climb and I just wasn't making it or getting any better. Well... two years later and I'm an animation supervisor working on some large projects but I still feel like there is a mountain to climb and that 'I'm just not where I want to be yet'

That's a natural thing and IMO it's a positive thing to be saying 'I'm just not where I want to be yet'.

Because you're crazy! Heh, here's a breakdown of what happens everytime I read a post of yours:

1. I see your avatar and start giggling.
2. I spend two minutes trying to pronounce your name.
3. I read the first two lines of your post, then have to take a break and catch my breathe.
4. I giggle some more at your avatar.
5. I take a deep breathe, finish your post, then pass out.
6. Wake up in a cold sweat with images of your face dancing in my head.
7. Giggle some more.
8. Continue about my business.

hahahahahahah

dude i passed out laughing on that, heheheheheheheh babababababahahahahahahahah shi shi shi shi shi

Lol - fantastic Clay.