My Animation Blog

Heading to Siggraph 2008!

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:28:12 -0400

Hey there, I know it's been a while since I posted last but we've been crazy in production for our last Virgin Media ad at So! Animation. We just submitted the final version to the clients this week so I should be able to post it on my video page sometime in the next 2 or 3 weeks.
But I did manage to take a bit of time off to come to Siggraph! I'm actually typing this on the plane. He he. There are lots of really cool events going on, as well as parties and get-togethers so I will definitely be posting during the next three days if I have some time and an internet connection.
I am looking forward to the Animation Mentor industry party. Last years party was a blast and I met lots of AM folks and industry contacts. Plus, it was on a swanky hotel in the terrace on the top floor. Hope this year's is just as much fun.
Ken

Got my iPhone 3G!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:39:45 -0400

After quite a while of waiting for an iPhone with 3G and GPS, I finally had no reason not to buy one. So this morning I was lining up with the crowds at the Apple store in Prince St. in SoHo for an iPhone 3G. I got there at 7 AM and there was already a huge line about a block long. But it was not so bad since everybody was in a giddy mood, chatting about iPhone apps and stuff in line.
We finally got to go in at about 8:45 and the experience was very nice in the store. They let the customers go in in blocks of about 25 and line up in a snake pattern in the store so that you could pick up stuff to buy in the isles while you waited.
Then I finally sat down with a rep and everything went smoothly until I tried to move my current number over to the iPhone. That's when the problems started. You see, I was already an AT&T customer. What happened was that the AT&T servers went down and I couldn't register the Phone.
Finally, after 45 minutes of waiting, the servers went back online and they were able to register it.
Then they sent me over to do what they called the "personalization" of the phone with another rep and more issues. This time, the iTunes servers had gone down and every time the phone tried to connect in order to activate the phone, iTunes would spit out an error message.
So I ended up having to leave the store at about 11 AM without an activated iPhone. And to make matters worse, as I was leaving I tried to use my cell phone and... you guessed it! It didn't work!!! Why, because the number had already been ported over to my iPhone. BLEH! They should have known this was going to be an issue with so many activations all happening at the same time.
I guess activating the phone at the store was not that great of an idea for Apple. I'm still very happy to have the phone but I am bummed to have no cell phone and even more bummed that I can't even play with my new gadget. Because to make matters worse, until you activate the phone with iTunes, the iPhone remains in a locked state, preventing you from experiencing the device at all.
Oh well... I guess I'll just have to keep on trying to activate the phone every now and then with the iTunes store.
Ken

Went to see WALL-E!

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:42:03 -0400

Wow! I went to see WALL-E tonight on their opening night and I have to say, it's got to be one of Pixar's best movies so far! On par with Ratatouille, my other favorite Pixar movie. Every single joke and character subtlety reads so well. You can totally relate to the little robots and to their love story. :-)
You know how sometimes you go see an animated movie and there are certain parts where you say... hmm... those background characters move really strange... or that part of the movie feels a bit rushed or unfinished... or I wonder why they put that in there. Well there was absolutely none of that in this movie. Every single move and character action felt motivated by the plot and the characters internal drive. All the characters were believable and moved as you would expect, including background characters. And I was laughing out loud every 5 seconds! But not because they were forcing a bunch of jokes. It was more about laughing at the quirky characters and situations... which flowed perfectly along with the plot. You'll understand once you see it. That's what I like about Pixar movies... story is king.
I'm most likely going to see it again this weekend with some of my other friends. Let's see if they show it on the IMAX screen. It would be awesome to see it in on that.
Oh and I almost forgot to mention the short! There was an animated short right before the movie and it was awesome!! I literally did not stop laughing during the whole 5 minute short. You are in for a treat!
Big congratulations to my mentors, Amber Martorelli and Brett Coderre for their work in the movie and to all the other Pixar contributors. Amazing work like always!
Ken

Virgin Media Mick Hucknall ad done!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:42:35 -0400

We finally completed the Virgin Media KWACCS animated commercial! It has been a fun and very creative process since one of the characters was a caricature based on the famous singer from Simply Red, Mick Hucknall.
The ad will be airing in Odeon and Cineworld cinemas across London starting Friday 20th of August and is part of a Virgin Media campaign we are working on here at So! Animation. All the ads feature celebrities being pitched the Virgin Media cable service by funny doctor types and are full of double entendres and tongue-in-cheek jokes British style.
I have spotted talk about ad in several online sites including Newsweek, the Simply Red website. and the British Daily Express newspaper in which there were even pictures of Mick Hucknall himself standing next to a live size render of our Mick Hucknall character!

Sweet! Check out the video!
Virgin Media - Mick Hucknall Video
Ken

Geico Subway is on the Air!

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 17:16:05 -0400

The final Geico ad that I worked on is now on the air. It's the Geico Subway spot. This was my favorite by far because of how animated the Gecko is. And I was also lucky enough to get assigned the last three shots of the ad where the Gecko jumps out of the subway car. Check it out!
Geico Subway Video
Ken

Wall Animation Graffiti

Tue, 27 May 2008 11:59:19 -0400

This animation is pretty bizarre. It was done by an artist that goes by the name of Blu and consists of animation painted on public walls in the city of Buenos Aires and in Baden.
Very creative. Enjoy!
Ken

Geico Cafe is on the Air!

Mon, 12 May 2008 16:01:52 -0400

Another Geico ad got released and I didn't even know about it! It's the Geico Cafe ad. Apparently it's been out for a while but I've been so crazy busy working at SO! Animation that I didn't realize it.
The work at SO is progressing really well. We got our first ad for Virgin Media finished and approved for animation. We only need final render approval and it will be done, hopefully in the next week or so. Then it will be a matter of weeks before it starts running in Theaters, TV and the web in it's full 1080P splendor! :-) (Only in the UK though :-( ...) I'll be posting as soon as that happens so that you can check it out.
Well, off on a tangent, hehe. Here's the Geico Cafe video so you can check it out.
Geico Cafe Video
Ken

Transformer Owl

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:03:37 -0400

Wow! Check out this video. This owl "transforms" in order to impress smaller owls or seem like an untasty treat to bigger owls. Hilarious! Sorry, no english but you'll get the point.
Thanks to Carlos and Adriana for the link.
Ken

Moka in the Park

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:16:08 -0400

I had a really relaxing weekend for a change. The days are warming up and this weekend was beautiful. Melissa and I took the opportunity to go to Branch Brook Park in Newark where they have some really nice cherry blossom trees. So we got in the car and took Moka down there so she could run around and have some fun while we went for a walk. I took the opportunity to take some pictures and video and edited a little piece when I got home. Check it out!
Moka in the Park Video
Ken

Bowling with Adriana and Carlos

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:43:18 -0400

Last weekend we had a blast bowling and playing pool with Adriana and Carlos at Bowlmore Lanes. I haven't bowled in a while and the Wii bowling I did at Framestore did not help our score. :-)
After we had some fun there we went to Lalo's Cafe in the Upper West Side for some tee and dessert.
In any case, I edited a little video of our experience.
Bowling with Adriana and Carlos Video
Ken

Animation Mentor Newsletter Feature

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:39:42 -0400

One of the animation resources that I always check out is the Animation Mentor Newsletter. The newsletters are great because you can always find great animation tips, interviews with industry greats, featured short films from AM students, and cool articles.
On this months newsletter they had an article about the recent Horton Hears a Who movie and they interviewed some of use Animation Mentor Alumni that worked on the film. Check it out!
Animation Mentor April Newsletter - Feature
Oh, the featured short film is also amazing! It is one of my favorites... completed by a friend that graduated with me from AM, Ales Mav. Here is the article about his short in which you can see the finished version as well as several of his workflow iterations.
Daphne's New Broom - Featured Short Film
Ken

Geico Giraffe is on the Air!

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 12:42:13 -0400

The Geico Gecko Giraffe commercial is now finally on the air! This is the fourth commercial in the Geico Zoo series. I worked on the animation of the last three shots of the commercial.
View the Geico Giraffe Video
Hope you enjoy the ad.
Ken

Kit Kat Break? Check this out!

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:32:30 -0400

This is an awesome commercial that came out for Kit Kat Ultimate Break in France. I really like the guy's character. And all the visuals are very well done.
Check it out in higher res and visit the website here:
www.kitkat.fr
Ken

Geico Gorilla is on the Air!

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:07:16 -0400

The Geico Gecko Gorilla commercial is now finally on the air! This is the third commercial in the Geico Zoo series. I worked on the animation of the first and third shots of the commercial.
View the Geico Gorilla Video
I got to do a lot of walking and acting with the gecko. He's such a subtle character. But I did get to work on some more exciting Gecko stuff as you will see on my next ad postings. I will post them as soon as they air.
Well, hope you enjoy the ad.
Ken

Amazing Animation

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:11:45 -0400

Once in a while animation so amazing comes along that you cannot stop looking at it... not!
But seriously, this thing is viral. We must have been playing it for about 15 minutes in the office this morning and we couldn't stop looking at it. Hehe.
Ken