Pixar Animator Mike Makarewicz's Excellent Lecture Notes

Academy of Art alum, 8 year Pixar animator and all around swell guy Mike Makarewicz (MUH-KARE-UH-VITCH) gave a great talk at the 79 Montgomery theater on Saturday April 21st on the most important of the 12 animation principles to him: timing. It was an excellent talk. He spoke extensively on the subject, provided great film clip and musical examples, reviewed animation club member Brandon's reel, and even gave a demo on how to animate Sully from "Monster's, Inc." Animation gold, I tell you. Here are my illustrated notes. You can also read some non-illustrated and equally helpful notes over at the Animation Club blog.

Zephyr Animation now on Twitter

Hey folks,

I've joined the rest of the social media wave and created a Twitter account.
Mainly so that I could claim Zephyr Animation before someone else takes the name.
Don't worry I don't plan on tweeting what I had for lunch (yet.)

hashtag @ZephyrAnimation

Rock on.

Bay Area Women in Film & Media

Attended an AWESOME panel this evening hosted by the Bay Area Women in Film & Media. I've only been in this town for four months and I am blown away by the sheer amount of creative coolness swirling about this city. Panelists from ILM, Kabam, San Francisco State University and Pixar were on hand to discuss how they got into the industry and answered numerous questions from the audience.

The best part - even though half of us were not able to register online they let us pay at the door - which I hoped they would. The event was posted at school yesterday, and by then registration had ended. I figured - "What the heck? If they turn me away oh well, but I'm going down there to see if I can get in." And I did. AND I got free parking. AND I met awesome people on the panel, board members, volunteers, as well as some folks from AAU majoring in 2D, 3D and design.

Good times all around. Here's who came:

EMMA COATS, Storyboard Artist at Pixar

LAUREN FREEMAN, Art Producer at Kabam

MARTHA GORZYCKI, Associate Professor, Animation Coordinator at SFSU

GEORDIE MARTINEZ, Creature Technical Director/Creature Trainer at Industrial Light and Magic

LORIEN MCKENNA, Art & Story Dept Manager at Pixar

My favorite speaker of the night was Geordie as he came to animation through a circuitous route. He did poorly in high school, joined the Navy for six years, then went to college and got his BA, and worked while attending Animation Mentor. Out of all of the speakers, I can relate because animation was not in my mind when I was in high school, I had a completely different career path in mind. But after much diligent work he accomplished his goal. Very rewarding to hear a story like that.

And as always, some sketches from the event:

The Sketcher Strikes Again

Sketches of people at APE:







On BART:



And a family dinner at Pier Market. Whose family? Who knows.

Kenwood, CA wineries

My folks were town this weekend so we drove up to Kenwood and visited two wineries. We had fun and had some delicious and not - so delicious beverages of the alcoholic persuasion. Here are some photos from the trip:



Rows of Landmark Winery grapes



Close up of Landmark grapes



Even more Landmark grapes



Landmark lake



Landmark fountain




Ledson Winery Castle




Ledson Winery Castle 2



Ledson roof




Ledson side view




Belle and the Beast are here somewhere.



Ledson fountain




And one last shot

APE: Alternative Press Expo

Attended the Alternative Press Expo for the first time on Saturday and had a grand time. The event highlights those in the indie press industry, as well as independent creators and bigwigs like Fantagraphics, Top Shelf and 4D Entertainment.

I met every creator that I really liked and now have some great autographed books. With the exception of Keith Knight and Andy Ristaino, all of these folks started out as web cartoonists and either published their own books themselves, or in the case of Kate Beaton, got picked up by a major publisher.

Best of all, the event was small enough to get around fairly easily but large enough to not get bored. And they had the typical comic convention things - how to get started, learning the craft, etc. etc. which I skipped since drawing comics is not my thing but it's good that those events are around for the folks who like them.

And now for the calvacade of photos:


Obligatory crowd shot. The convention center was much bigger. Best shot I could get.



Ben Costa, Xeric winner and author of Shi Long Pang The Wandering Shaolin Monk.



Kory Bing of Skin Deep fame wearing her super cool Indiana Jones-esque hat.



Keith Knight of The K Chronicles, Th(ink) and The Knight Life. I got a book and a free cookie.



Academy of Art University's very own Kevin the Lab Tech of "Funky Bat" illustration.


The one and only Jeff Schuetze of the semi-autobiographical jefbot. Cool thing about Jeff, his card swiper wasn't working so he sold me the book for the $16 in cash I had - $4 off the cover price. Thanks Jeff!



My friend Dan of Lamp Post Inc. and his comic Chelsea.



The fabulous Kate Beaton of Hark! A Vagrant.



Lead character designer Andy Ristaino of Adventure Time with one of his own creations.


And what con would be complete without cosplayers? Especially Dr. Venture and Dr. Girlfriend.

An Evening with Craig Thompson

San Francisco's very own Cartoon Art Museum celebrated the release of Craig Thompson's latest graphic novel "Habibi" this evening at 7 pm. It was a delightful showcase of Thompson's artistic endeavors as well as an in depth look at how the artist created the 600 + page tome. That's right folks - 600 pages of gorgeous art. Not only is the line work beautiful but Thompson was open and honest about feelings of doubt, writer's block, and how he persevered through the seven year undertaking.

After describing the process and themes of the book, he answered a generous helping of questions from the attentive crowd of all ages, ranging from who inspired him to how the Islamic themes in the book have influenced his own perception of the world and its' peoples. He noted that while he understood a great deal about Christianity, having grown up in that environment, he knew little about Islam and Muslims before starting his epic research quest (something he likened to procrastination). As he worked on the book, he became acquainted with many Muslims who later became close friends. They offered him advice as well as helped him translate many of the passages in the graphic novel from English to Arabic. Thompson also studied the Koran in English, and the novel is filled with passages relating stores such as the tale of Abraham's sons Isaac and Ishmael.

Currently I am on page 20 of his work and I am thoroughly enjoying every bit, from the lavish ink detail to discovering the deeper meaning of the stories being told. And as a fan of "Blankets," one of my all-time favorite novels, graphic or otherwise, it was quite exciting to meet Thompson in person. I found that comic book artists in particular are fascinating people, and it is refreshing to know that there are individuals out there who still love using pen and ink to create. Computers are wonderful devices, but they cannot replace the tactile beauty of watching pigment soak into a page. Praise also goes to the Museum for showcasing a truly talented artists. The general public often thinks of men in tights whenever comics are mentioned. Superheroes are awesome and no one compares to Spider-Man, however there is more to this art form than caped crusaders, and I salute an institution that widens the eyes of the public.

Thompson is an honored guest at the Alternative Press Expo this year, so if you were not able to attend the Cartoon Art Museum's lecture, it is worth your time to visit APE and hear more about Thompson's artistic process and purchase a few books as well.

Dr. Sketchy's

I am greatly excited that there is a Dr. Sketchy's right here in downtown San Francisco. Summer fun!

National Portfolio Day

Went to Portfolio Day yesterday. It was...different.

I expected it to be crowded so that was no surprise. It was kind of organized in some areas and not so organized in others. Some lines had chairs, others didn't.

I received the best review from Academy of Art. I say best because Frances was the friendliest person I spoke with, gave me plenty of advice on how to improve the art and was actually interested in getting me, personally, to come to her school, instead of just ushering me in, checking out my stuff for two minutes and ushering me out. She was very enthusiastic about the school and I found out I could apply for the MFA animation program or the BFA2 program. Either way, I would only be in school for 2 and half years instead of 4 because 66 CREDITS would transfer from UT. WooHoo!

Worse review was from California College of the Arts. The woman didn't introduce herself, didn't ask for my name, spent less than a minute looking at my portfolio, didn't offer any advice and suggested I include photography. Eh? Why would I include photography in an ANIMATION portfolio? Not only that, but a bratty high school girl came in asking if I had waited in line because she had like, been waiting for an hour. Good grief. I couldn't believe she asked me that. If I had tried to get into that room without waiting I would have been jumped by about 8 angry high school moms. Get a grip, child.

And the weirdest review came from CalArts, believe it or not. The recruiter said her favorite portfolio piece she ever saw was from a girl who made a self portrait out of bread. Say what now? I'm not making pictures out of lunch material. That's just strange. She did like my zoo drawings. But she only spent 5 minutes with me and kept looking at the clock because she only had 5 minutes to review 4 other portfolios. I expected more out of CalArts - she gave everyone else about 20 minutes at least. I would say that I wish I had gone to her table first, except AAU was so awesome that I am glad that was my first review. I am definitely applying there. I will apply to CalArts too because...I feel like I should. You know it has a great reputation but I have yet to speak to anyone in the recruitment office or in administration who sounded knowledgeable. I'm beginning to think that their reputation is what keeps them afloat, rather than the work that comes out of the school. All of the animators I admire graduated from there more than ten years ago. I am less impressed with them as a result of my experiences with the administration and the application process.

I am going to call CCA and talk to someone more knowledgeable. I don't want to toss out the school because of one clueless person.

Sadly Sheridan and VFS were not in attendance. I would have liked to have met reps from the schools in person.

I saw a lot of high school kids in weird arty clothing, a few were dressed professionally (very few), some had portfolios, some didn't bring sketchbooks at all, which I found odd, and one girl walked out of her review and burst into tears. Yikes. If you're busting a gut now the real world might kill you. She sounded like she had faith in herself after talking to her Dad. Hopefully now she's recovered.

As for my art, the reviews were positive. Mainly keep doing what I've been doing, work on perspective and try drawing things in color to mix it up a bit.

I can do that.

MileHiCon!

Hi folks,

I had the great pleasure, thanks to my friend Rose Beetem, of volunteering for the 40th Annual MileHiCon in Denver today. It was quite fun! I have been to cons in Texas (Wizard World Dallas - first year held!) and the East Coast (Big Apple Con! New York Comic Con! Mocca Fest! Onna Fest! Katsucon!) but was beginning to fret that such interesting times were not to be had in Colorado.

But oh, how wrong I was.

I arrived at 8 a.m. to register and sign up to volunteer and was helped by no less than five people - Annabel, Steve, Ron, Suzi and Richard. I then met up with Rose for pre-event coffee and breakfast and met several of the authors giving panels later that day including Nicole Givens Kurtz, Tim Powers and David Boop. Very excellent and enjoyable folks.

And that, in fact my friends, was the theme of the Con. I must say that the people I met were some of the friendliest Con folks I've ever worked with or listened to. My previous Con experience has been with comic book and anime conventions so it was interesting attending a predominantly literary con (and a scifi/fantasy one at that) for the first time. And the Dealer's Room was selling Dr. Horrible goggles! And Captain Hammer t-shirts! How awesome is that?! Oh, but if I only had more expendable income! Curse you low funds! Grrr!

While in the Dealer's Room I also met Stan Yan of Squidworks, the local comic book collective. Man, was I glad to meet him. I was beginning to think that myself and my handful of comic book friends here in town were the only ones in the state that read comics. Stan proved me wrong. Squidworks meets once a month on the second Sunday of each month and you can check them out here. I'll definitely blog about them come November.

I also learned how to BUILD MY OWN WORKING LIFESIZE R2D2, courtesy of Lynelle Phillips' panel. Did you know that people do this for fun? I had no idea. It's expensive, but interesting, I'll tell you that.

And I met Hugo and Nebula award winner Connie Willis, who is an absolute hoot. One of the funniest speakers I've ever heard, and considering she was talking about WWII, not typically considered comedic fodder, is saying quite a bit.

I also had the great pleasure of volunteering for Jeanne Stein and Robin Owens' panel, both of whom read from their upcoming novels, and meeting Susan Crites, owner of Neon Hearts, an online used book store. Lovely ladies!

Since MileHiCon is on the smaller side of Cons, you have the opportunity to actually talk to authors and guest speakers for a longer period of time ( 10 - 30 minutes instead of 2, on average), there is more of an opportunity for you to volunteer for rooms with panels you'll like, and volunteers got a discount on parking.

The downside is that some of the panels were rather obscure. And some I just didn't like. I volunteered for one that ended up being on cannibalism in film and literature. Didn't realize it would be on cannibalism. I didn't see the sign until afterwards. The presenter was actually really cool and knowledgeable and the audience was fun but quite frankly, that's just gross. Eating people. Ewww. And the panel on Joss Whedon was disappointing because instead of it being about Joss and say, how he gets ideas, or how he is so successful, became a group of people lamenting over the loss of Firefly. And I love Firefly. But EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG is in agreement that Fox totally blew it with that one. That's not news. Let's lay it to rest and move on by supporting Dollhouse in January. Thank you. But on the upside I learned about stuff that I didn't know even existed (like droid building) and I even learned a few Joss and cannibal facts. Facts I'd rather not know, but hey, knowledge is power. I guess. So not a total loss with those two.

I encourage you all to go tomorrow if you have the chance. If not, they'll be back October 23, 24, and 25, 2009. And if you volunteer for 8 hours, you get a free staff shirt. And raffle tickets for prizes! I'll post my winnings if I get 'em on the blog.

PRSA Winner

Tonight my coworkers and I attended the 50th Annual PRSA awards. For those who don't know, each chapter of Public Relations Society of America hosts a nice banquet every year for the Gold Pick Awards, which honors excellence in PR. We won two Silver Picks and a Gold Pick this year for our member magazine and for press releases related to our Spring Impressionism exhibition, respectively.

The dinner was more low key than I expected but chilling with my cohorts outside of the office is always fun and really, you can't say no to free food (baked chicken - YUM). And it's nice to be honored for doing a great job.

So kudos to us. Hoo-rah!

Brad Meltzer Book Signing

Thursday I had the pleasure of attending a book signing featuring #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Brad Meltzer at Tattered Cover Highland Ranch.



And let me tell you, Brad is no wallflower. A whitty guy to be sure, he entertained the crowds with ancedotes about his life, previous books, comic book writing career and even the outfit he wore, starting off the evening by saying that only a loser would wear the same outfit as the photo in the book jacket of his current novel, The Book of Lies.

I purchased a copy of his graphic novel, Identity Crisis, and he even signed it "For Angela, My Hero." How cool is that? Pretty cool. If he's ever in your town buy a book and say hi, you won't regret it.

He also promoted an awesome charity to save the house where Superman was created -Ordinary People Change the World. Check it out and donate to save a great piece of Americana.

Kaiser Chiefs Forever!!!

That's right kids, the boys from Britain play TOMORROW NIGHT at the Beacon Theater. More info from the live show coming Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

Panel Discussions: Do's and Don'ts of the Art of the Question

So I attend many a panel discussion every year in my quest to learn more about the tv/film/animation/comic industry, and it never ceases to amaze me how badly folks in the audience ask questions. I'm not talking about nervousness, for even the most nervous has asked a compelling question. And indeed, most people are able to get their thoughts across well enough for the interviewee to answer well. But many people use it as a platform to tell their sob story about the woes of failing in the industry, or about their life in general, leading many a moderator to ask what the actual question IS within the jangled mess of jargon spewing from the attendee's mouth.

So for you, my dear readers, I present:

A PRIMER ON ASKING THE QUESTION

DO:

1. State your name and your profession.
2. Ask one to two questions MAX that are clearly worded well enough for you to say them before you get up to the mike.
3. Give the responder time to answer the question without arguing, cajoling or looking like you're about to break down.
4. Thank them for their time.

DON'T:

1. Tell them your life story and about how hard it is to break into the industry and the rotten luck you've received for the past 1, 2, 10 years. They've already gone through their own tales of woe and made it, they don't care about your gripes and it makes you look desperate.
2. Think out your question as you attempt to ask them, turning it into a jumbled mess.
3. Ask them to hire you, give them your resume, hire their friend, ask why they haven't agreed to meet with them, etc. It scares them and makes you look like a stalker.
4. Ask them 5 questions in a row that could be answered with a brief conversation with them AFTER the Q&A.
5. Ask them a question that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, why the state of the world is so terrible to them, etc. (Again, see Don't #1)

Remember - they are there to help you, so present yourself in as confident, professional manner as possible. They'll appreciate it and you'll look fabulous.

© 2007 Angela Entzminger

Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting Hosts Second Annual Careers in Television Event

April 28, 2007 - New York City - Apollo Theater

Students and tv/film production hopefuls stood in line at 9 a.m. this morning to attend the
City of New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting second annual Careers in Television Event. Film Office Commissioner Katherine Oliver moderated the program. The esteemed panelists included Darlise Blount, associate producer of BET's "106 & Park;" Melanie Byrd, production manager of the Food Network; Richard Martin, founder and president of Drum Television Network, Inc., David Puente, creator and anchor of EXCLUSIVA for ABC News Now and Yvette Vega, executive producer for PBS' "Charlie Rose."

The show kicked off with an intimate interview with Sway, creator and co-host of "The Wake Up Show" billed on their website as "the most listened to hip-hop radio show on the planet." Sway and co-creator/partner King Tech started their program from Sway's room in his mom's house in Oakland, CA. 11 years later he and Tech continue to host the groundbreaking program, but is also a part of the MTV News Team.

Like many of the aspiring artists in the audience, Sway started from humble beginnings. The youngest of three in a single parent home, Sway did everything he could to see that his dream of giving a voice to the underground hip hop masses would become a reality. Washing dishes, making deliveries for UPS, delivering shrimp, breakdancing for cash on Pier 39, none of these jobs were beneath the talented young man who aspired to be the next Run from Run DMC and Russell Simmons.

With the money he and Tech saved, they took classes in marketing, business and manufacturing and put out their own independent records. They then advanced to radio. When I asked Sway how he got the word out - mind you, this was the late 80s, early 90s before the explosion of viral video and myspace - his answer was grassroots. In other words, guerrilla marketing.
They had from the start loyal listeners who tuned in every week to hear them play the music the mainstream wouldn't touch. Those loyal few told their friends, and the word of mouth campaign began. They created a street team to diseminate information. When artists came to town to appear on their show, they offered to drive them around - took them to hotspots, clubs, concerts, where they could promote their latest albums and themselves. And most important - they were authentic, their genuine selves wherever they went. And they slapped their logo on everything they handed out. These were the tools Sway and Tech used to go from Sway's momma's house to the big time.

It was MTV that courted Sway - three times - before the creator/producer decided to give them a shot. And only if he could stay true to himself. They wanted him, he said, because "The Wakeup Show" was "the ear of the streets." They gave him freedom because he could come to the table with leverage. He had the audience and the artists they wanted. And MTV was openminded enough to see where hip hop was truly coming from.

Along the way, Sway learned many skills, among them: learning people's sense of humor and learning how to relate to people on every level. He also learned to be aggressive, confident and non-confrontational, at first, then be yourself once you have gained credibility and have proven that you have something to offer. He immersed himself in culture, reading up to four newspapers a day, watching the news, reading books both fiction and nonfiction. Keeping his mind open gave him the confidence, and believing in his own self worth enabled him to deal with various people at all levels, because he says, being a black man with confidence is tough in the corporate world. People are instantly afraid of you and speak to you differently, so you have to show people that you can work with them, that you are someone they can trust.

"The more you educate yourself, the better equipped you'll be because you'll know how to react," said Sway.

After a brief intermission Ms. Oliver began the second part of the program by bringing out the panelists for a discussion on how they achieved success in their careers. Ms. Oliver first asked each panelist to describe "their typical day," and the answer for all of them was that in the world of television, there is no typical day. Case in point for Ms. Vega - Monday morning the crew received a call from the White House, requesting for Charlie Rose to interview the President the next day. The interview happened, but not before the team flew Charlie from Las Vegas back to New York, researched everything the President spoke about in the last nine months and made sure that their best production team members were there for the shoot.

What everyone agreed on is the need to do research on your field.
"Learn everything you can about what you're doing and someone will notice," said Ms. Vega.

The other key is being willing to put in the work.
"People think Generation Y doesn't want to work 12 hour days," said Puente. " Prove otherwise - prove you're willing to work." The willingness to work often separates the wheat from the chaff. Many of the panelists started out doing the menial jobs that all up and comers out of college hate - the unpaid production assistant aka gopher positions. But showing up early, staying late, and showing initiative is what gets you noticed, said Ms. Byrd. Some of the other skills required for making it and staying within the industry are being dependable, responsible, on point and being able to and willing to communicate with people. When asked what one should do to break into the industry, and if there is ever an age limit, the panelists responded that one is never too old to be an intern. There will be people younger than you that know less that are your boss, and you may have to "carry around the screwdriver" according to Mr. Martin, in other words, look like you are busy so people think you are, but there is always a way.

"Whatever you choose to do, you need to be passionate about it," said Ms. Byrd. "Many a false move is made by standing still." In other words, don't just stay there and expect something to happen. Make it happen.

© 2007 Angela Entzminger

Upcoming Events

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL Presents:

The Animated World of John Canemaker

Directed By: John Canemaker

Continuing Tribeca's celebration of New York-based independent animators, this program features the work of John Canemaker, a preeminent animation teacher, filmmaker, author and historian, who won an Oscar® for his animated short The Moon and the Son in 2006. A selection of short films spanning Canemaker's career will be shown including Confessions of a Stardreamer, Bridgehampton, The Wizard’s Son, Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat, The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, and Bottom’s Dream.

Films Provided courtesy of Milestone Film & Video.

» Show All

Continuing Tribeca’s celebration of New York-based independent animators, this program features a selection from the career work of preeminent filmmaker, author, teacher and historian John Canemaker. Called “animation’s ambassador at large [who] has brought animation’s unsung heroes into the limelight, expanded the parameters of the medium, and inspire[d] those who are embarking on careers in the industry,” Canemaker here displays his talent in continuing the tradition of two-dimensional, handdrawn animation techniques. Canemaker pays homage to the work of such pioneer animators as Otto Messmer, the unsung hero behind the creation of the Felix character, in his documentary Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat. Canemaker’s distinct animation style begins with a strong storyline, drawn from a variety of sources of inspiration: real life (Confessions of a Stardreamer), classic Shakespearean literature (Bottom’s Dream) and fairy tales (The Wizard’s Son). In each of these films, Canemaker imbues his animated characters with personality (a precept inherited from Messmer), which the artist then augments with painterly, abstract techniques. In Bridgehampton, Canemaker creates a colorful, impressionistic view of nature over the course of the seasons. The animation techniques that Canemaker foregrounds in his films—including cels, line drawing, cutout animation, the use of marker pens and painting—allows this artist-animator to instill his work with deeper human and emotional resonance. Nowhere is this more evident than in Canemaker’s Academy Award®-winning, autobiographical film about a dialogue with his father, The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation. In this film, Canemaker magically transforms still photographs and home movies into animated flights of fancy, creating a deeply moving, emotionally honest exposé of his own complex relationship with his father over the course of their intertwined lives.
—Jon Gartenberg

Cast & Credits

» Show All

Directed By: John Canemaker

Confessions of a Stardreamer :
John Canemaker

Bridgehampton :
John Canemaker

The Wizard's Son :
John Canemaker

Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat :
John Canemaker

The Moon and the Son: An Imagine Conversation :
John Canemaker

Bottom's Dream :
John Canemaker

For tickets log onto: http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2007/filmguide/title-detail.php