www.animationmentor.com

[SheepFactory]

i finished all 30 too , had to guess one of the math ones cause time was running out.

[mmkelly011881]

http://images.apple.com/isight/images/isight_top01v2.gif
sigh, too bad i have a pc

[SheepFactory]

you dont need to go overboard with the webcam , i have a cheap 25$ one i got from comp usa and it works perfectly fine.

Though i have to add i dont use that to shoot my reference , I use a handycam for that.

[Jozvex]

Yeah I have a Panasonic MiniDV cam for that too. Funilly enough, one of it's features is the ability to use it as a webcam.....though it was pretty darn expensive so I think I'll spare it the indignity of being used at that level.

[Trevor Hunsaker]

I was thinking of doing the same thing with my panasonic mini dv, but I just tried to get it to work with msn messenger and couldn't pull it off. Guess it's just going to be the quickcam and cheap-o mic for me (if I get in).

*edit - Got it working. Just had to connect to my comp via USB and not use the Firewire. If you've got a DV camera that has both, use the USB connection for webcam operation. Short article here for anyone interested: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/tweleve_questions_three.htm

[mmkelly011881]

Jozvex... on the Logitech site it says that Messanger has a built in mic

[andy_maxman]

i finished all 30 too , had to guess one of the math ones cause time was running out.

how on earth did you manage that? and that too with just 20 mins of sleep and tapwater in 2 days.
i just managed 21 and 2 were guesses of them. is that bad?


there were talks of Term 1 and Term 2. could some one please let me know what that means?
here's a little dumb side of mine -

I simply dont precisely understand Spring & Fall seasons as we just have summer and winter here. (duh! meAgain)
Does it simply mean Term2 begins with CLASS TITLE: The Principles of Body Mechanics?
or a new batch begins with Basic Foundations?
thanks!
;-)andy

While it was great to see Jason, Carlos, Shawn, Boom around here, was just wondering if the other mentors too were around silently watching this monster thread grow?!

[Jozvex]

Jozvex... on the Logitech site it says that Messanger has a built in mic

Oh ok thanks! On the Australian version of the Logitech site the page for the Messenger one is broken, hehe.

[Trevor Hunsaker]

Term 2 just means that another batch of students are going to start then with the Basic Foundation course.

And don't worry too much about that test. They all said that the essay was the most important part. You really oughta worry that you didn't screw that up too badly

[Jozvex]

I wonder if they'll give us a personal video critique on our essay if we don't make it?

[andy_maxman]

Term 2 just means that another batch of students are going to start then with the Basic Foundation course.

And don't worry too much about that test. They all said that the essay was the most important part. You really oughta worry that you didn't screw that up too badly

is that right? so when does this Term 2 begin?
SUMMER TERM June 20, 2005 – September 11, 2005?
or is it
FALL TERM September 25, 2006 - December 17, 2006?
thanks for clarifying.

and Jozvex, that's the funniest thing i have heard for the day ;-)lol

[immerzeelpictures]

I spammed a lot of friends, asking to review my essay. After some rewriting I think I got it how I wanted it to be.

The final draft had a word count of 378. I am a humble man of few words.

Need food.
Animate.
Sleep.
Work.

Stopping now...

[philippeduvin]

argh I was like about 800 words :scream: and just realize during the application that it has to be 300-500 words...believe me, it was really hard to speed up to get the application done, keeping the meaning of my essay even with 300 words less, and the huge stress makin my body just boucin all around my room :bounce:

I really hope its gonna be enough to express how much I want to be a part of this school :)

[RayenD]

I wonder if they'll give us a personal video critique on our essay if we don't make it?

:) .

I'd rather not want to see personal critique on this test I had to do... :twisted:

[andy_maxman]

how about posting essays here?

[hideandfreak]

Mine was 500 exactly and that was edited down from the 800 range as well. Wasn't exactly sure how to present the information so I went with a few paragraphs that tried to describe what drew me to the magic of animation and while giving a brief history of where I had experienced that magic as a kid. Last paragraph was a quick one on what I was looking for at AM and why I thought online education was right for me.

[super_mouse]

nah i didn't finish the test the time ran out! Man im hoping my essay makes up for test :)

[Bentagon]

I bought myself a Creative Live! webcam. It's not the cheapest ($50-55), but it gives pretty good quality, I can attach it to the top of my LCD screen, and - what I thought was very important - it's got one of those little microphones you attach to your shirt. This way you don't have as much back noise as a built in microphone, and you don't have a stupid headphone on your head all the time.

- Benjamin

[AjaBogdanoff]

Huh, it just occurred to me that the demos we've seen have shown live webcam feeds IN their flash application! I don't know much about flash and videoconferencing, but wouldn't that have to be pretty crazy? How would they interface with all the different kinds of cameras, and how would they network the feeds?

They're mad! Mad, I tell you! :p

[immerzeelpictures]

Huh, it just occurred to me that the demos we've seen have shown live webcam feeds IN their flash application! I don't know much about flash and videoconferencing, but wouldn't that have to be pretty crazy? How would they interface with all the different kinds of cameras, and how would they network the feeds?

They're mad! Mad, I tell you! :p

I think the webcam interfacing is handled by the Flash Player, converting the images so Flash understands it properly.

I am kind of curious what kind of machine(s) they are using to process the feeds. Although I do not doubt that they are prepared for some high bandwidth and can crunch fast amounts of data.

All I know sofar is that they are using a Windows-based machine with an IIS server,

[Bentagon]

It's been done before in flash. Rightclick on any internet flash file and select "settings". This gives some options for allowing webcame, etc.

- Benjamin

[Afr_CG]

As weird as it may sound, my Panasonic Mini DV works as a webcam through firewire! BUT I have only used it with Yahoo messenger because for some reason it wouldn't work on MSN (maybe because I am on MAC) and the bizarre thing thing is that it works for say 5 min and turns off by itself so I have to turn it back on (without having to unplug it or re-invite the person I am chatting with)...I know it is weird...I am getting a new PC next tuesday so I am gonna see if it works with MSN on there if not I'll just do like some of you guys did, grab a decent one at $50-$60...

As far as the test, I hope the essay is gonna make up for that because I flunked it period. I didn't have netscape as recommended on the e-mail, I installed it but it would crash whenever I tried to start it so I just did it with IE (OSX) and I lost a MINUTE almost just trying to click NEXT on the first question...I need to get over that test or else I will do something bad :cry: :banghead:
My essay was 430 which isn't too bad...so I hope we can ALL get in because I think we all can benefit from this unique learning experience...

One last thing, can anybody let me know which is better? Verizon DSL or COX Cable? lol I am telling, this DSL to me looks at times like 56K on steroids man---->still 56K! I was thinking about switching to COX cable but I have never used a "cable" connection...

Good luck y'all!

[AjaBogdanoff]

Hey AFR... usually, with video cameras, they'll turn themselves off after 5 minutes if they have a tape inside. Remove the tape, make sure that it's set to not display "NO TAPE!!" on the screen, and it should stay on.

[oshiroii]

Oooh, just checked out the new stuff in the preview and it looks cool. I saw this little traditional animation of a girl rope skipping, looked awsome ^_____^ I so love there site, it's pretty damn fast, or that might just be my internet connection. It's well set up :)

Anyone knows if the forums could be reached by people who havn't joined yet or can only the official members enter the forum? I hope we can at least view it, or make me a mod :D

[Afr_CG]

:bounce: I'll try it tonight, thank you SO much 4 the tip Aja!!! u rock!
:thumbsup:

[AjaBogdanoff]

No prob, afr.... hope it works!

[Bentagon]

I don't think so Oshiroii... I believe they want to create a community as tight as possible, and when there are other people on it too, this is more difficult. And then I'm not even talking about bandwith ...

- Benjamin

[clockwerkz]

Ok, I applied and did the wonderlic test. Now it's sit-and-wait for the an approval or denial. I can't get over how sharp that site looks! You can tell that the feature interviews are going to be sweeet, along with everyone else.


So AM recommends the logitech cam... I saw a couple threads back a few other cams listed.. any other good recommendations??


cW

PS-Oshiorii- I think the forums are part of the virtual campus, so non members will not have access to them. How's the Feb 10 sec coming along??

[oshiroii]

:sad: too bad, still hoping though, would be great to have a peak some time :thumbsup:

10 sec club is going very good. I'm actually following Keith Lango's method and I quite like it. I've layed down all the important extremes, as you already know and now I'm worrying about arc definement, breakdowns,putting in most of the timing, overlap etc. The overlap/off-setting thing will work quite good I think, after reading a few of Keith's articles I've gotten a better idea of the whole off-setting thing. I'll post an update pretty soon, possibly tommorow's afternoon, I'm now working on [kind] so I'm already over 50% + I've got a vacation now, so expect lots of updates on everything I'm working on! :D :bounce:

[clockwerkz]

Yup, Keith Lango is definitely the man. I used the step, or "pop through" for the January piece. Incidentally, I scored a 1! Woohoo! Actually, I did better than my June entry, where I got a -37! Oof. The score is really incidental, though..better is the experience from doing the competition. I started the Feb one, but unfortunately, I had some setbacks that I have to attend to, so I haven't been able to work on it. Since AM will start late in March, I'm going to try and do the March one. It wouldn't hurt, but then again maybe it's best to lay low and start AM nice and fresh? One of the main reasons why for me AM will be awesome.. to devlop a good workflow from the pros.


cW

[oshiroii]

Hey clockwerkz

yeah, 10sec club is about learning and helping others, winning is just a possible side effect, it would be nice though :thumbsup:


Don't give up man, you should definitally do the March entry, get into AM really really dirtry. AM is all about animation, so laying low is báááááád, don't be lazy, animate tons and kick ass! that's what I try to do.... work work! :wip: :wip: :p

I think I won't be doing the next entry. I'll be focussing some bigger physics exercises with some storytelling in it, give the character a reason to do what he does. I'll get back to the 10 sec in April I guess.

[AjaBogdanoff]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, too. I think that one of the most important things I took away from Keith Lango's Pose-to-Pose tutorial (and there were a lot of things!) was the importance of keeping your timeline or dope sheet clean until you were really ready to tweak. The first time I tried to do a walk cycle, the keys were all over the place, and it wasn't long before I'd painted myself into a corner and had to give up. Being able to spend the first week of the February 10sec entry on all of 6 or 7 keys total really helped me focus on the poses, not on which of my 5000 keys I needed to edit. :D

Of course, my entry is still going to sucketh... but I'm seeing it as sort of an AM "pre-test" (if I get in!!). I'd love to finish this, take AM for a year, then try the February 2006 10 second club contest. I'm betting the differences would be dramatic. :p

[clockwerkz]

Well, don't look at it as your animation is going to suck. Suck compared to what? To what we see in The Incredibles? Well, guess what, we all suck then. Hehehehe. Instead, what about comparing it to, say, that walk cycle you mentioned? It's probably a lot better than the walk you did with all the keys all over the place.
I'm very happy with what I've done, and when I entered them, I knew I probably wouldn't win. But I was happy with what I learned in doing them. Now, assuming I'm part of this first group, I'll be able to show my assigned mentor where I'm at, so he'll have a better idea of what my weaknesses are, besides what he observes on the assignments. Speaking of which, I can't wait to use their pre-rigged characters. That one of the ball with the tail looks cool. :-D


cW

[AjaBogdanoff]

You're right, cw... and, really, I don't think it's the worst thing ever, it's just not anything great. I'm getting to a point where I can start to see the problems, but not really know what to do about them. Still, this is the best character animation I've ever done, and I think it's the absolute best I can do at this point. So, yeah, I'm happy with it, warts and all. :)

Now, after a year, year and a half of animation mentor.... that should be a different story! :D

[AjaBogdanoff]

Ha! I just IMed my husband the latest pass for my 10sec entry. He knows diddly about animation, beyond deciding whether it's "good" or "bad". Usually he just shrugs and says it's all right. But this time, he responds saying that "the silhouette is bad, you need to open the character up more".

I'm all, "Uh, where did you learn that?"

He responds, "Duh, haven't you watched the animationmentor intro videos?"

LOL!

[immerzeelpictures]

Look out, Aya!

I see competition in the same house. Dangerous. :)

[swadepgh]

Talk about competition in the same house...both my better half and I applied for AnimationMentor. Hopefully if we both get accepted, having each other's critiques will only serve to improve our work even more.

I can't wait to find out if I got accepted! I really really hope so.

So when you guys do the 10 second club animations, do you use the models rigs they offer on that site for download or your own?

I have not entered that before but would like to start to get some practice and crits.

[oshiroii]

I use the provided riggs. I don't really have my own riggs, I'm only animating since 8 months so... Did some stuff before that for a year or so, but that was mainly checking out the software, learning it and deciding what I thought was the most coolest thing I could do, which is animation of course :p

At the moment I use package man. I'm just in love with this rigg, it's so easy to work with, but still you can do everything with it, the only drawback is the facial animation, you can do the basic stuff, but for the more complex things you should check out generi, I believe that one was done by Andrew Silke. People don't care which rigg you use, it's about the animation. Of course having your own riggs is very cool and might give a more original look to it, might stand out more between all the PMs en LowManriggs :D

[monstersauce]

here are a bunch of riggs you can check out, some will be moreuseful than others for the 10 second club, but they all look pretty fun to animate :)

http://www.3dfiggins.com/gallery.php?id=38

click on the thumbnails on the right to see each downloadable selection.

[swadepgh]

Hey thanks oshiroii and monstersauce!


I will definately take some time this weekend to get familiar with a couple of the rigs.

[t°mmi]

first of all good luck to all of you who applied for the course. i would have so much liked to go for it right away, but i still have to finish university here in germany first. besides i don't have the money now... i don't think any organization would support this education at the moment (i mean financially), since it's almost not known here until now. i hope there will be ways to get aid in the near future, for it's hard to do all the financing on one's own, especially because i wouldn't want to work parallel to doing the course. i bet it's going to need all the energy and time one can spend.

by the way, anyone from germany doing the program?

i'm so exited how this is going to work out, i hope it'll be a huge success, actually i don't have any doubts;) i'm sure there will be a load of really good animators out there soon.

must say i'm a little jealous of all of you who can help to make this the coolest school for animation you can think of... maybe i can do it next year;)

hopefully this thread will go on for a while since non-students can't use the am-forums, which i think makes sense, but it'd be nice if the lucky ones to be accepted post some info on the "am-development".

happy animating,
t°mmi

[Makomako]

hey, thanks for the link! cool stuff!

[Jozvex]

Hmm I think we need an advent calendar, or one of those iluvbees counters or something. There's only like 30 days until class starts!

[bentllama]

or one of those iluvbees counters or something.

ha!

yeah, we had fun with that one... :twisted:

[alexandrecollac]

:sad: Hello all, I’m so damn worried; unfortunately I was traveling this week and far away from my computer. I just had a few minutes of paid internet access where I was, and it was not cheap, it was something about 6 dollars per 10 minute, so I was there at 12:00 am of february 17th day but AM applying didn’t open its doors on the time they announced :sad: so I had to wait there in front of that computer, it was about 6:00 am in my country, but after a long waiting, 50 minutes of disappointment it was still closed and I had spent 30 dollars just to stay in front of the computer waiting, If I could I had spent all night in front of the computer but wasn’t me the one who was going to pay the bill and unfortunately I had to disconnec:sad: :sad: t. A few hours later I woke up and went straight to that money sucker computer, for my happiness AM was open .I made my inscription as fast as I could to spend the less possible, it was a so great feeling of hope:bounce: :scream: .



I got from this travel at home a few minutes ago and came running to my computer check my mail and received a very disappointing message from AM crew, probably some problem happened with the computer that I used and some info that I entered wasn’t sent to them. I send it now as they asked but I didn’t even received the link to do the test. I’m so afraid or missing it:sad: .



Sorry about this sad story but I needed to tell it.

[polymath]

Its going to be ok!

I'm sure if there is a cutoff date, they would have let us know! The test should come in a few hours, it took 6-7 hours for it to get to me. It will most likely be your essay that counts. So stick in there and don't worry; you're just waiting like all of us!

Use the time to read a little in the "textbooks" or to do something to calm yourself down :P - relax!

[stewartjones]

That really does suck dude. So sorry to hear mate.

I think you have to wait a little for the test anyways, so don't stress too much about it.

Good luck :)

[Rabid pitbull]

Yes I was there and remember you talking about the expense of waiting. Sorry to hear that it was less than smooth for you. They are probably not sending test out over weekend. I know they are still giving priority to those who were on mailing list, so just cross your fingers.

I would really wlike to know how many people are trying to get into the 300 slots available. I would be happy if I can get into the program anytime this year, of course sooner would be better.

[oshiroii]

That's a sad story Alax, I hope you get in. Maybe you'll get extra priority for subscribing early, being involved and setting up the pre-am forum with me. :D

Keeping my fingers crossed for you ;)

[Breinmeester]

They didn't ask me what country I'm from, only state or provence. This wasn't USA exclusive, was it?

[fluffybunny]

Alex,

I'd say not to worry too much. I just saw this story:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/18/BAGPSBCS221.DTL

It says in there that by the end of the day Thursday, 240 people had signed up.

I'm one of those and I'm probably not the only one who asked for something besides Spring as my first semester.

I also think they're looking at the initial application time, not when you got all the materials back to them, so there's plenty of hope.

Probably as much hope as for someone like me who just slammed out his essay in 10-15 minutes thursday afternoon after deciding to go for it at the last minute. Actually, it was a response from a nice person at AM to some of my questions that convinced me :D

eric

[stewartjones]

They didn't ask me what country I'm from, only state or provence. This wasn't USA exclusive, was it?

Nope, its for the full world m8. They know about the Country thing, so dont worry!:thumbsup:

[alexandrecollac]

Thanks for the help, i feel a little better now, not great but better. :thumbsup:

Hope this things will not cause me problems.

[My Fault]

[QUOTE=Rabid pitbullI know they are still giving priority to those who were on mailing list, so just cross your fingers.[/QUOTE]

Wow not to sound dumb but what if you are subscribed to the mailing list but signed up to AM with a different email? Hope that doesn't screw me up.

[kirko]

240 applications! That gives me more hope. I was worried that there would be more than twice that many. Thanks for posting that link, fluffybunny.

Kirk

[trydberg]

Wow, this is an incredible thread--lot's of passion, humor and emotion--great qualities for bringing characters to life!

>> Wow not to sound dumb but what if you are subscribed to the mailing list but signed up to AM with a different email? Hope that doesn't screw me up. <<

I asked Shawn about this and he said it's okay to use a different email address when signing up, so don't worry about it.

- Tom

[fluffybunny]

240 applications! That gives me more hope. I was worried that there would be more than twice that many. Thanks for posting that link, fluffybunny.

Kirk


no problem! :)

of course the article is ambiguous enough that you could interpret them meaning 240 applied for the first semester, but even then, I'd imagine nearly everyone who applied on Thursday will get in as long as their essay is better than mine! :argh:

On the other hand, I hope tons more people continue to sign up. :bounce:

Boom, Carlos, Shawn, and the gang have put so much effort into this! :applause:

eric

[daraand]

240? Wow rock on :) Yes here's hopign we get in!

Good luck to you all

[mindspin00]

Dont know why I didnt post this earlier, but Thursday morning (at about 4am for me) was just one of those magical times! It really was like being in a big room and everyone swelling with excitement waiting to register for AM. Regardless of who gets in and who doesn't, if we all maintain that passion for animation that made us scramble on this board for those few hours, we'll all succeed in this field. This really is a fantastic community, and I'm so glad there's a place where people around the world can gather and talk about something we all care so much about.

Thanks ALL!

eric

[stewartjones]

Yup, I have to admit, that it's awesome to be able to chat with all you guys nd gals about something that we are all so passionate about.

If everyone from here is successful AMO will have an excellent community for sure!

[clockwerkz]

240? Only?

I have mixed feelings about that number. Obviously, I'm happy that I was one of the first 240 applying in the wee early morning hours, and so where a lot of us who have been following this thread since last summer and have been really excited about it. But I'm also a little disappointed.. only because I hope these guys get their 300 capacity. Then again, they DID get 240 serious apps on Thursday..that is a hell of a lot of people.
Dunno.. I just really think Bobby, Shawn and Carlos poured their hearts out into this program, and I really want it to be a success for them. Talk about 3 guys who I've never met in person, yet I think they're great guys who have been able to convey their dreams of this program clearly through their newsletters and posts on here.


Also, not to beat a dead horse, but I stumbled upon a few interesting pieces in Animator's Survival Kit, that I had forgotten about. This is directed to those who maybe feel it's better for someone to just go off and learn on their own:

Page 9: "It takes time. I didn't encounter Ken Harris until I was nearly forty and he was sixty-nine. I had to hire most of my teachers in order to learn <animation> from them."

:thumbsup:

cW

[hideandfreak]

I too am happy to be one of those 240 applicants. I think a good number of people are waiting to see how things go with the first class before applying. I think the AM guys addressed this in the PDF when they said something to the effect of their graduates will show how good the school is. Its a lot of money for a little risk and if it were any other industry I would probably wait too, but this is animation man, and to me it is well worth whatever risk is involved.

[swadepgh]

I agree clockwerkz. So many of the great animators we read and hear about learned by apprenticing. I would bet that a lot of the mentors will tell you that learned quite a bit on the job from each other.

I think this program is a great opportunity for all of us.

[alexandrecollac]

I think this number doesn´t count that much, for them of course, they will for sure get 300 and even more until it start and if my ideas and imagination are correct and based on what i´ve seen till now this course will gain more and more reputation thru the years. I remember to look at how many were logged in here at 12:00 of 17, and were more than 90 counting members and visitors. I think too that 240 is not so bad for the first day, you have to think that it is not only a simple course it is a life choice( what to do, to study? Where?, When?) these are quite really important choices and need some time to think about, i know it, i´ve been thinking about quit the college for a long time, fortunately now we have AM Online.
I wish and i´m sure that this course is going to work and will be great. Just want to congratulate them again for making this true.:thumbsup:

Ah, I´m curious, what time did it exactly open for subscription??

Forgot to say, loved that flip pages on the left-botton corner of the AM page

[bobbyc]

I bought this book a while back, just as I was starting my studies at one of the "major art schools". It wasn't on the to-read list... I got it while strolling the shelves at the local Borders Books. Anyway.. you all might wanna check it out:

"Animation - From Script to Screen" by Shamus Culhane
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312050526/qid=1108846844/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-7475538-4739914

Yeah.. I was one of the hesitant people applying for AM. (I'm a bit over 30, and thought maybe I was too old :) )

I re-read this passage in the introduction:" Don't prize what you already know; prize your capacity to take in and use new information. There is nothing more patheitc than an artist whose work habits are so constricting that a new school of thought leaves him or her stranded like a beached whale. AGE IS NOT A FACTOR. Grim Natwick, creator of Betty Boop, did some fine animation at eighty-six. I have scolded animators in their thirties for being old-fashioned."

So yeah... since I'm not working as an animator... I decided to take the risk and learn from these experienced mentors at AM.

As so many passionate people on this board can attest to, we are in it for the love and eventually the long haul. This is a life long endevour and pursuit for the love of this art.

Good luck to all that applied.. and hope to see you on the "other side" .

Peace
Robert

[RayenD]

I am sure they will fill up the whole 300 till the end of the month.

Hope everyone who is serious about it gets in (yes I am talking about you here ;) ). I'll be there in summer or fall IF I passed this test, heheh..

[Guiliguili]

Hi BobbyC,

I am 53 and I hope to be on the list. So you, at 30, you are very young !
I read the book of Shamus a long time ago now and it's help me a lot with his ideas.

About AM : the wait of results is more stressful for me that the test... I am like my daughter when she is waiting her results at the university or I imagine like a pregnant woman waiting the results of her first ultrasound (scan) !

Good luck to you with AM and may be we will chat from "old to old" ! :-)

Guy

[philippeduvin]

They didn't ask me what country I'm from, only state or provence. This wasn't USA exclusive, was it?

I've asked Bobby about that and its totally fine, theyre gonna fix it with the field change with TAB :thumbsup:

u rocks AM guys !!!

[philippeduvin]

Hey guys,

I have to admit that i got more hooked day after day to this thread and to all you guys, who making this incredible and really motivating atmosphere. It's unbelievable how great this stuff is becoming.
This school is really something huge in my life and Im so glag being with you guys to share this experience...imagine and dream just one second...all together, in 3-4 years working at Pixar and having fun on our job, laughing and remembering about the launching of the school this 17st February 2005 :) It could happened...Like Fox mulder would say "i want to believe"

[swadepgh]

MOdus - nice post. That was very motivating. I hope that someday we will all be working at major studios on fantastic films talking about "the old days" when we stayed up all night(or all day) waiting for the school to launch.

Cheers!
:beer:

[stewartjones]

Hell yes, that would be totally awesome!

This school is THE biggest thing in my life too. That, and of course checking this thread every 15 or so minuites that I'm awake, it's like some sort of addiction!

My F5 key is still hurting from the Launch too, think I'm gonna get him some antiseptic, coz he took some real punishment!

I am hoping that the wait for acceptance, or rejection is not too long, my life is on hold till I find out :bounce: .

[swadepgh]

Hey does anyone here know about the logistics of claymation? I would like to experiment with it for some of the assignments for AM (if I get in of course).

Is there a particular type of clay/sculpting substance that is best to use?

[bobbyc]

Hi BobbyC,

I am 53 and I hope to be on the list. So you, at 30, you are very young !
I read the book of Shamus a long time ago now and it's help me a lot with his ideas.

About AM : the wait of results is more stressful for me that the test... I am like my daughter when she is waiting her results at the university or I imagine like a pregnant woman waiting the results of her first ultrasound (scan) !

Good luck to you with AM and may be we will chat from "old to old" ! :-)

Guy


hehe... sorry Guy, no offense to the old-er people in here. :D

It's really exciting to see such a diverse group here so passionate about this... young, old-er, male, female, and from all parts of the globe. I dig how we all share the common bond.

maybe the AM people can find a way to bottle up all this the love and spread world peace... oh, one can only dream.

[philippeduvin]

MOdus - nice post. That was very motivating. I hope that someday we will all be working at major studios on fantastic films talking about "the old days" when we stayed up all night(or all day) waiting for the school to launch.

Cheers!
:beer:

I know that jason have a great story that i love about this man on a sand dune ..I cant find the link anymore... that's a great story about looking to your future and try to imagine what's gonna happen with your life ?

com'on Jas, tell us about this stuff, it's just magic :)

[Makomako]

yeah modus, i want to belive.

[jschleifer]

Hah! my sand-dune guy story?

yeah, that was weird.. I'll try and remember it well enough to tell...

It was mid March, back in 1999. I was cruzing through the desert in my jeep with some friends. We were headed back to Santa Barbara after spending a week in Vegas for NAB (National Association of Broadcasters). It had been a crazy few months leading up to the conference. We had each been working over 90 hours per week to prepare for the show, and had a few days of regular 9-to-5 hours to look forward to.

We were heading south next to the railroad tracks, enjoying the feel of the 4x4's slipping and sliding through the sand. Driving along sand can be a total blast if you're okay with not being sure which direction you're going to be heading at any given time, and I was definitely in that mind-set. I had been contemplating leaving my job at Alias|Wavefront for something a bit more challenging. While, I loved the job, I felt like I wasn't learning as much as I wanted to be about actual production work.

Earlier that month I had interviewed with Weta Digital and PDI, two very different CG companies. Both jobs had been offered to me, and I was in a huge dilemma about which one to take. PDI was a place I would have loved to be working, but their building was located about 1 mile from where I grew up. Weta was an unknown. They were located halfway around the world, I had no friends there, and I didn't know how well this "Lord of the Rings" movie was going to fare.

My mom had told me that she was worried moving to NZ to work on The Lord of the Rings would ruin my career.. that I would be too far removed from the industry.

It was definitely a concern. I mean how did they power their computers, anyway? Sheep-wheels?

So there we were, driving along, the railroad stretching off to some small town in the middle of nowhere. Behind us, the bright lights of Vegas. And on either side, sand dunes.

I had the top of the jeep down, and could hear my friend Matt whooping it up as he turned his Land Rover off towards one cluster of dunes.

Soon the six or seven of us had parked and started running up the dunes as fast as possible. Being the amazingly fit computer graphics artists we were, it wasn't long before we were sweating profusely and dragging our feet. What had appeared to be a small hill seemed like an Everest of sand.

By the time we reached the top of the dunes, we were all exhausted. I took my camera out to take a photo only to realize it had been gummed up with loose sand. Great.

Looking around and sucking in the air, I realized that over to our right were two people sitting on a rug. One of them was eating an apple, the other drinking a glass of red wine.

I had become a huge Doors freak a few years earlier, and thought the guy with the wine looked a bit like Jim Morrison, so I went over and said "hi" to the odd couple.

The man with the apple offered me one which I gratefully took. The wine guy offered each of us a glass of wine, which we also partook in, toasting our sucess in reaching the mountain top. Now that we all had wine, we each sat and relaxed and took in the view.

The wine guy, I'll call him Jim, began speaking about nothing in particular. Or at least nothing that was making much sense. You know what I mean. Generic "art speak". Man's inhumanity towards man. The challenges of post-appoloptic consumerism. Beannie Babies.

He wasn't making much sense, so I thought I'd offer up my dilemma to see what his solution would be. I mean, who better to decide my future than some freak who sits on a sand dune waxing philisophically about which was a bigger influnce on current pop culture-- Martha Stewart, or Smurfs?

"So what do you think I should do?" I asked. "Should I head out somewhere where I have no friends, where I may loose everything I've been working towards in my career, where I don't even know what time of year it is?" I looked out to the surrounding sand and to the storm clouds developing behind us. "Or should I go to work where my family is, where I know what the future will hold?"

He looked at me and said something like "why not?"

I looked back at him. "What?"

"why not? What can you loose? Why not go to new zealand?"

I looked down at my feet. Understanding the fact that he was wise (he was drinking RED wine.. from a BOTTLE), I didn't want to start saying "butt" this and "well, butt" that. So I took in what he was saying and thought about it for a bit. I started to think "I could always do it next time.." and then stopped.

WHAT next time?

Then I jumped up and started running down the sand dunes as fast as possible, tripping over my own feet, getting sand in my hair and eyes and mouth, but not caring.

Why not try something unknown? why not give it a chance? You live once. There is no "next time". There is now. There's only here and now and given the opportunity, you've got to try it. You're only going to be angry with yourself if you never try and never see what happens. It could go horribly wrong, sure, but it could also be one of the most amazing experiences of your life.

I was beaming with excitement as I charged down the hill, past an incredibly stinky dead cow, jumped into my car, and headed off back to Santa Barbara and then onwards to New Zealand.



whew!

now.. back to work! :)

[swadepgh]

Why not try something unknown? why not give it a chance? You live once. There is no "next time". There is now. There's only here and now and given the opportunity, you've got to try it. You're only going to be angry with yourself if you never try and never see what happens. It could go horribly wrong, sure, but it could also be one of the most amazing experiences of your life.


Hey Jason great story! I was thinking along those lines a few weeks ago when I decided to move to the SF bay area. I haven't moved yet, have no job there, and will be hard pressed to afford a house there. Despite all that, I intend to make it happen this summer. Actually as soon as possible. I might end up losing a lot financially and I know only a couple of people there.

That said, ever since I decided to make the move I feel so much happier! I have wanted to live there ever since the first time I visited 12 years ago. It is the only place I have ever been where I immediately felt at home as soon as I arrived. It's not on the other side of the world (like WETA) or anything....but it is still a big risk for me.

You only live once right? We should all learn from your story and do what needs to be done...even if it's risky.

[AZL42]

You gotta love jeeps. I did a photoshoot for a class once where I went around with a bunch of guys rockcrawling...no sand unfortunately but I did get to ride around in this rig: http://www.skidplates.com/images/Page%20Specific%20Graphics/Project%20vehicles/Otter%20Buggy/Dsc00118.jpg . Sometimes feeling a bit out of control is awesome, be it in a jeep or in life.

-Adam

[mmkelly011881]

Hey Alexandre, it ended up opening at 5:11 am Eastern Standard Time which is 2:11 AM PST


edit: whoa, great story Jason

[Jozvex]

Ahhh this is truly a fantastic thread!

Those people on the rug were problably a mirage!! You probably passed out from climbing the hill and then had a weird life changing vision.

Hehe, either way it worked out well so that's all that matters.

[hideandfreak]

Hey does anyone here know about the logistics of claymation? I would like to experiment with it for some of the assignments for AM (if I get in of course).

Is there a particular type of clay/sculpting substance that is best to use?

"Oil based clay is the best clay for animation. The best brand is called Van Aken. Van Aken clays come in many colors, is very inexpensive, is animation proven and non toxic. Making new colors out of existing colors from this brand is extremely simple to do. All you will need is a double boiler, a large piece of plastic wrap, and a spatula. "

Taken from: http://www.animateclay.com

[jschleifer]

lol! it coulda been a mirage.. seems so long ago. :)

[mattmos]

Great story Jason! Thanks for the inspiration :)

[Im2Dguy]

well... now awaiting validation...

I've been trying to post,
but there was some trouble registering with my e-mail.
I've read through this entire thread!!! :eek:

I had my midnights mixed up, so late Thursday evening
I had sent on my application and modest 350 word essay.
No response on the math test either,
so maybe they are busy sifting through people.
Best of luck to all..

[Paul F Diaz]

DAm Jason! That was a great story man! Its amazing how sometimes these moments of clarity can come and change your life forever. Thanks for sharing man:thumbsup:

[mayakindaguy]

Great story Jason. Now I'm off to tell my mom that parental advice stinks. I'd much rather listen to a hippie on a sand dune, just kidding mom...ouch! let go of my ear.

But seriously, wow! What an amazing experience that was. I'll have to bump my creative meter a bit higher...I left my last tough decision to a stupid quarter. heh.

Oh and clockwerkz, great points about Richard Williams and mentorship. I mean this guy flew Ken Harris to London, and nagged Milt Kahl, Nat Grimwick, and Art Babbitt for every juicy morsel bit of animation knowledge there was. All 99 points of it that is. I think it's about time I got someone to nag, don't you. Well, other than the poor saps that frequent the forums.

[mikefeil]

awesome story jason. Kinda reminds me of the scene in Wayne's World 2 when Mike Myers has those weird, philsophical dreams with the indian wearing the loin cloth and that mentor singer guy (sorry I don't know his name).

Anyway cool,inspiring stuff.

[daraand]

Actually it is very inspiring stuff. I mean when you actually hit those crossroads, that list bit of info helps. Why NOT try something new right? And its New Zealand of all places. Oh my. Excellent stuff Jason really, I'm going to bookmark in case I ever need some inspiration (; thanks a lot man. thanks!

[RayenD]

Great story Jason, thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:

I think you have met Lizard King... I swear I saw him few years ago when I lost my way from Vegas to LA while taking shortcut through the desert! ;). Must be the same place.

[oshiroii]

Jason's story reminds me of Wayne's World 2 where they meet Jim Morrison and a naked indian in the dessert. They want to start a second woodstock but everything is going crazy and they don't know what to do anymore so a naked indian walk into wayne's room while he's sleeping to take him into the dessert where Jim Morrison gives him adice :D :bowdown:

swadepgh,
Hey man, I'm gonna move to SF too, or at least California. Not this summer, I'm still in school and all, but after I've got like 2 years of work experience in my own country, I'll sure try to go to the place with all the big studios. I'd only move for the weather, man that sux here, stupid weather ;p :D

Modus,
Be sure to wear a name tag saying "Modus" when working on Pixar, so I can spot you and say: "hi!" I'll wear a big "SHIROII" t-shir on my first day :D:thumbsup:

[mgarward]

Jason: Awesome story. I needed a mystic sand-dune guru a few months ago.:)

I'm going through something similar right now with this decision to be an animator. I've been a programmer for 10 years and now that I've decided to change career, my wife (and family) and I had to decide: take the risk, try the change, and maybe be really happy, or stay where I am, do what I know and what will support the family well, and be miserable? If it was just me, I'd just at the "be happy!" choice: I've been obsessed with animation all my life, go for it! But I have to consider my family. Strangely enough, my wife, her family, my family, my friends... they all know it's what I should do. So... we just have to make it work.

I took a drawing class and an animation class at the community college to prove to myself and my family that I really could do this. And I could, but I obviously need a real course if I ever want to work in features. So I've been excited about animationmentor because it would be best education I think I could get (look at the mentors! WOW!), as well as the least disruptive way to learn (we'll still be able to eat!).:) And now that it's open and I've applied and tested and everything, I'm just stressed about getting in. Never been this stressed and excited all at once in my life! Well there was that wedding day almost 10 years ago... :)

I'm only new around here, but being in this forum in the wee hours of Thursday morning was a blast! I hope to see everyone in the animationmentor forums in a month or so! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

[mikefeil]

man peoples attitudes around here are great, so inspiring. I cant wait to start too and just meet a whole bunch of you alot better, and really start to get going with all of this. Damm, anyway cant wait.

OH and oshiroii...hahaha nice one with the wayne's world 2 scene aswell...ahah funny movies.

[emptyness]

to mgarward: go for it, guy!
Count your bucks and if you can make it, go for it and let it happen! let the magick of your art spread through your flesh and make yourself a living god!
many people live a very sad life, a life without knowing what they are and what the want to become.. You have a gift: you know what you don't want to be and what you want to become. If animation and art give you that strange tingling sensation of excitement and pleasure; if taking a pencil (or the stylus of your instuos) sets you in a strange and hypnotic good mood; if you cannot loose a CGI film for any reason in the world; if you find yourself constantly day-dreaming about drawings, creatures, animation loops and fantasy stories; If your heart misses a hit and you hands sweat when you think about working in an animation studio;
Then, that is your road and at the end of that road lies your happiness. It doesn't matter if you'll become a real animator or not; what matters is to live your dream or continue to dream your life.
I've choose to live my dream.
In the Summer, after making some bucks, I'll submit my essay and at the age of 35, after 10 years spent working as a not-so-happy Software Developer, I'll make my move toward my happiness; Maybe I'will not be a working animator; maybe I will continue to make what I can make best, but I'll be one of those guys that have a dream and the courage to try to pursue it with all the love and the passion that they have in their heart.

(apologies for my bad english :) )

[philippeduvin]

Thansk Jas, for the remind of this story, I knew it was a really special story and it fits totally in the moment where we're all about making a big decision in our lives. This is really inspiring.
Say hi to Penny ;) it' was a big life change for her too right ?

[My Fault]

Great to hear so many similar stories here makes me not so freaked to be doing this as well. Best of luck to everyone. Hopefully we'll hear something soon.

And you know everytime that guy on the sand dune watches Lord of the Rings he tells people a story of meeting a guy that worked at Weta. :)

[Guiliguili]

May be it's interesting, may be not, but I would like to tell my story.

As I already said : I have 53. I want to make animation since I am 8 years old (after seeing 'Snow white » to the movie of my little town in the north of France).
When I was forteen, in my college, during the technology class, instead of making an object that have no usefulness like a block of steel with a hole in the middle, I asked to the teacher to build my animation disk and a Multiplane. And I get a small amount of money from the mayor of my town to make a small animation with 2 friends of me.
After the end of my secondary school , I was 17, I want to learn animation. But it was in the year 68 and there is no animation school.
And I was sending to Tahiti to make my military service. Tahiti is not a bad country to make the military service but a bad country for the animation. There was no TV, no movie. Only beach, lagoon and vahine. I meet my wife in Tahiti.
And as I have success in my secondary school they take me as teacher for primary shool.
Animation was always in my head and my heart.
During 13 years I teach to the tahitian kids. I create the first « editing house » in Tahiti and I began to publish books for kids. I publish also a small magazine for kids. And in this magazine, there is one page that was paid by the Tahitian health department to present to kids some information about health. I do all the illustration. And one time, in 1986, the head of the health department said me : « we would like to make a cartoon about mosquitoes and we have write to Disney to have an invoice for a 4 minutes cartoon ». « Did they answer ? I asked. « Yes, she said, but it's a lot of money and we can't pay ».
« I can make your cartoon » I said and I do my first animated cartoon and incidentally I takes the job to Disney. I did not make a 4 minutes as they ask to Disney but 17 minutes. It takes me near one year. I do it during night, week-end and holydays. All the drawing were made in computer : an amiga 2000 with Disney Animation studio ! 32 colours, big pixel, no drawing tablet, no scanner. I have to draw all with the mouse, pixel by pixel, no layers …
The drawings were OK but not the animation…. I think that the story was good as this first cartoon is always used in all the school in french Polynesia.
After I make one animation film a year.
10 years ago I became psychologist for children and I continue to do animation
3 years later, I decide with the help of my family to change my life and to do animation all the time. At this time I had a good salary. Near $60 000 a year.
And for the love of animation I restart from scratch. I create my own studio : GUILIGUILI and I do educational animated shorts for the Tahitian government, for the World Health organisation. I do also commercials, animated TV credits….
I am working on the first Polynesian animated feature in 2D. The project was selected in the ten best project in Annecy in the year 2001. Now the pilot is finish and we are working on the final script.
I am not rich, I am not poor but I am very happy to do animation all the days and when I am watching a new animated feature I am very happy to say to my friends : « I am no just watching animation, I am working ! »

So don't hesitate, go to animate

Guy

[philippeduvin]

Salut Guy, c'est une superbe histoire ! :cool: j'espere que l'on se croisera sur AM...so back to english ;)

congratulations for this story. I think you just teach to everyone the meaning of dedication :bowdown: and it's just wonderful that finally you make the step with AM. Glad to be beside you for this adventure !!

et encore bravo !!

[Guiliguili]

Ia ora Modus,

thanks for your answer. I hope too to meet you and all the others soon on AM.

Guy

[Afr_CG]

ah la communaute francophone! fait zizir de parler francais un peu et surtt de voir que des gars comme vous sont aussi passiones par ce qu'ils font. Modus je te l'ai deja dis it's gonna be so cool if we all make it! and guiliguili ba je pense qu'on a beaucoup de choses a apprendre de toi, je le sens vraiment...je sais que tu merites d'etre accepte plus que quiconque ici! et je te souhaite ca en tt cas!

translation: it's great to be able to speak french a bit :)and see that the french-speaking community (of the Forum) is as eager and passionate as the rest to get in the AM program. Modus, I know it's going to be cool if we all make it to AM and Guilliguili, well I think we all have a lot to learn from you. I know you deserve to be accepted more than anybody and I wish you the best!

Voila!
later and Good Luck y'all!

Afr_CG

[darkefire]

240 Applicants is definitely a double edged sword this time around. I thought they needed at least 600 to fill out the first 2 sessions. Hopefully a smaller first term will inspire more people to fight over the next registration like we all did! :)

Nevermind the T-shirts, i think we should all get little badges that say "I stayed up into the wee hours to be among the first 240" :D

There have been a lot of great, inspirational and hopeful posts after "Zero-Hour". i wonder what happened to all those naysayers who tried to keeps us all from applying just a couple days ago. Its like they were evil apparitions that tried to sway us from our noble path to animator-hood or something....

[Afr_CG]

Darkefire :applause: I like the badge idea :buttrock: Oh man that is a night to remember! Glad I was part of that!!!

[Rabid pitbull]

Empty cache, hit refresh, repeat. = another good button/t-shirt.

That was the motto of the night. Very exciting time to be part of this revolutionary program.

[immerzeelpictures]

This is 240 just on the first day.

Although unbelievable to us on this thread, but there are people out there who haven't heard of AM..... yet.

I hope we will be the lucky ones. Riding the first wave!
But don't worry. More people will follow.

[alexandrecollac]

:scream: Hello everybody, Just made the test some ours ago, was a little nervous with tha 8 minutes counter on the top of the screen but i think it wasn´t so bad, i hope. Thanks everyone with the support that i was needing yesterday:thumbsup: . Great stories here you are making me become more and more motivated about Animation Mentor every hour.



emptyness
Then, that is your road and at the end of that road lies your happiness. It doesn't matter if you'll become a real animator or not; what matters is to live your dream or continue to dream your life.

Just want to give another point of view here. The happiness isn´t at the end it is in the path and in the little and big victories thru it.

Good to see everybody so entusiastic here. Besides my desire to become the best and always be the best I think that be the best one isn´t nothing compared with working and learning with great and motivated guys, and here I can see these kind of people, lot of potential and desire to learn, would be great to be with you there. AM Rocks :thumbsup: :scream:


Dont forget to bounce:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
Learned it in the Pixar short film Boundin´, Try it, really works

[Bentagon]

... and I must say I find this bouncin' enhancin', for I'm also joining the play...

:bounce::bounce::bounce:

- Benjamin

[jono338]

I was reading the catalog last night, (again!) and I noticed it said for the The first couple of terms the minimum hours instruction is 118. Over 12 weeks that averages to nearly 10hrs a week. Not that I'm complaining, but that seems a lot. It couldn't possibly be just the prerecorded lessons. I understood there was one lesson a week. Even if split up its a lot. I guess it includeds the Q&A session, but how long could that go, a couple of hours? Perhaps the video critique is included of course, but it's hard to imagine that taking up even 15 mins a week.

Anyway, has there been any breakdown on what constitues the 118 hours anywhere.

Gees, it's hard to not get overexcited about all this.

Cheers.

[Afr_CG]

can I bounce? :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[polymath]

This is only a guess/speculation but:

If the lectures are an hour long, and you can watch them 3 times a week, that's 3 hours down.

Then let's say you spend 2-3 hours per assignment, that's 6 hours down total. But each week you get the chance to make a revision which could take another 2-3 hours again. Plus the Q&A, I don't remember if this is weekly or once per course, but that adds to the hour load too.

I think that no matter which way you swing it, 10 hours is a good estimate of the time to fully take advantage of everything that is offered to you?

That's just my guess!

[Jozvex]

Not to mention guest speakers, the forums and chat, watching other peoples animations and the critiques they got. That's all part of the learning too.

[jono338]

Well, yes, I guess you could add in all those things, but it does use the word "Instruction". I think it's drawing a long bow to say watching someone else's assignments is instruction, and it would take a crossbow to hit doing your assignments as instruction. If they are using those things, it would seem like asking for problems, especially from those more litigious areas of the globe.

Me, I'm going to be stoked to just get in and receive whatever those guys throw our way, I'm sure it's going to be brilliant. I'm just trying to get a feel for the expected work load, so I can estimate all those things I'm going to say I'm too busy to do.

With all this hype we've put ourselves through, I'm sure a lot of us are going to have trouble to remember to eat for the first week or too, once it starts.

Oops there I go again, thinking I'm already in. :shrug::bounce:

[alexandrecollac]

Something just pop in my mind now, I´m used with 3D MAX but pretend to use Maya in the AM Online. We know that they will give us quick teaching in Maya (I don´t know anything of maya). What i want to know is; Are they going to provide these classes before the stat date?? I don´t know if i can learn basics of animation in maya and work in my assignment in one week. Anyway I´ll try to learn Maya by myself but knowing when we will have access to these classes would be better.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
See you :bounce:
Bouncing :bounce: :bounce: , wow these crazy balls are taking my computer.

[textureyes]

I think you will find that animation in Max and maya are very similear.

You will just have to learn the keys.
Its all going to be Rotation Translation and Scale.
No rigging.... cos thats not animation.
When it is started im sure there will be space in the forums to add helpfull tips, so the newbies of maya can get to grips with it.

As with the Jimmy in the desert.. i had no such expierence of overwhelming pliosophy... but i had the hard decision of leaving a good job working in CG in the UK to come to live in the east and get married to my lovley wife...
It was a hard choice, left my family, friends. but i have never looked back. Was a great decision. And if i ever want to ... it is not difficult to come back.
The only main thing for me was to stay true to my passion and work in CG here as well.

Life is great if you can work out what you want and how to get it.


keep animating
the mentors are comming

[Shreds]

What's going on everyone?
I've been keeping an eye on this site for some time now but sadly this is my first post! Can you believe that?

I've really been watching this post since I applied for Animation Mentor the first day possible! Keep in mind, I haven't been posting but I've been up late into the nights along with everyone else that's totally crazed about this school.

And can you believe some of the guys posting here; Jason Schleifer and Bobby Beck!!:applause:

This is great! I'm posting this while I should be studying for my circuit analysis test which I have to take in a couple of hours but I just couldn't resist checking out the new messages on this post.

I read that there were 240 applicants. Is this the total number as of now and how did you find that out? I hope for Animation Mentor's sake that more apply which I'm sure more will but that would be awesome if the 240 of us were the ones that were to prove how successful this online school is after we finish, that is if we are the only ones to enroll in the first section.

Good Luck to everyone in getting in and everyone that gets in!
Hopefully see you all in school!;)

[andy_maxman]

My wife decided to put across this dilemma to our 2-year-old boy. So I asked him,
'now or later'? And he would say - 'later'
I tried again with 'now or later'? The same reply.
So I swapped the words, 'later or now'? He said, 'now'. I never asked him again ;-)

Well friends it's been so much fun waiting for this school to launch ever since Jason Osipa announced about it on this thread. It’s been fun, emotional, motivating while interacting with AM aspirants. Especially the day they opened the doors.

Anyone here who is married (myself - having a 2-year-old kid and moving to an alien city, Bombay this April), working full-time (as an animator) and planning on doing this course?

I plan on spending close to 12-15 hours per assignment with my hands full already. And I sincerely hope I manage to do justice to the investment.

Cheers and good luck.

;-)Andy

btw – hey Benjamin, how is your back now?

[textureyes]

Anyone here who is married (myself - having a 2-year-old kid and moving to an alien city, Bombay this April), working full-time (as an animator) and planning on doing this course?


yeah im in an alien culture (Taiwan) and city (Taipei) wife my wife (Hong Kong) and im working full time (stereoscopic CG TV) and planning on spending all my waking hours i have left to do the course (if i get in ((if i didnt flunk the test))) No kid yet so that provides me with a little extra.

coudnt wait for the doors to open... now i cant wait for the results.....

[stewartjones]

My wife decided to put across this dilemma to our 2-year-old boy. So I asked him,
'now or later'? And he would say - 'later'
I tried again with 'now or later'? The same reply.
So I swapped the words, 'later or now'? He said, 'now'. I never asked him again ;-)


That's totally awesome, had a good chuckle to that one m8!:D

I have noticed that a lot of you guys are already animators. So, for the likes of me, just a student of animation who has no work experience within animation, it will be absolutely awesome. Not only will I be able to chat with the mentors, I will be able to get some excellent advice from you guys too!

It also shows that the current amount of animation education is not exactly 'up to scratch'. No doubt that there will be more courses such as this in the future. But to be a part of the first ever course will be an honor for sure!

[swadepgh]

Not married, but not single either. My boyfriend and I are both hoping to do animation mentor while juggling my full time job (Flash, motion graphics) and his company (which is more than a full time job for him).

We are not in any crazy alien place (Colorado is anything but) but we do plan to relocate later this year. I hope that whole process is manageable along with the workload from AM. This is all assuming that we are lucky enough to get accepted.

Regardless of all the other things going on, if I get in, I am going to make AM my top priority. I want to spend as much time as possible on the assignments.

I think that we are all willing to sacrifice a lot for this program, and it will show in the quality of our work.

[oshiroii]

Something just pop in my mind now, I´m used with 3D MAX but pretend to use Maya in the AM Online. We know that they will give us quick teaching in Maya (I don´t know anything of maya). What i want to know is; Are they going to provide these classes before the stat date?? I don´t know if i can learn basics of animation in maya and work in my assignment in one week. Anyway I´ll try to learn Maya by myself but knowing when we will have access to these classes would be better.

You could do it in Max right? I believe AM is non software specific?

Well, anywayz, maya is easy, I find it much easier to animate in than max, but that might be my personal preference. What you need to know is how keys work, how to set them, how curves works (weighted, non-weighted, linear, smooth etc. ) how the dope sheet works and how the viewport works and that's it. You might want to know some other things like the frames per second, but you'll get onto those on the way. Just be sure you've got your timeline set to real-time instead of play every frame. The playback is slower on the latter.

You should check out digital-tutors.com, they've got a lot of free maya video tutorials, including about animation. Should be enough to learn how to animate :)

[mgarward]

Married, 2 kids (5 and almost 3), living in an alien place (the USA.:) I'm Australian), and working but not in animation... I'm an analyst programmer. But hopefully not for more than about 18 more months... that's what AM.com is all about! I hope!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: Wheeee!

[philippeduvin]

Ok guys so if it's introduction time, let's do it :)

My name is Philippe, 27, live in Marseille in the south of France, married with a beautiful and incredibly supportive woman, had a daughter but unfortunately lost at birth the last summer, so we tryin to have a second one. I'm a graphic designer since 8 years, so it's about print, webdesign, cdrom, 3d etc...and like i said in my essay, nothing of all those things give me the excitment i got with animation :) . I always knew that i wanted to be a part of this "visual effects thing", but you know, this is so huge, so many differents things, i messed around a lot of time before finding "the one thing" :thumbsup: And now...i cant wait anymore !!

[immerzeelpictures]

le repeI would like to hear something from AM Crew. It is awfully quiet.

Maybe that is a good thing...

I am just a CRRA (CGTalk Repetitive Refresh Addict).

Hello, my name is Pascal and I can't stay of the F5 button.

*Group says hi*

Maybe that's something for a (pin) button...

[AZL42]

I have two 2 year-old sisters who are from a foreign place (China) and also a 24 year old sister, but that's not really the same. Good luck with the move and with time management. Sounds like your life will be a bit crazy busy.



-Adam

[hideandfreak]

Well, here's to hoping that today is the day we find out. My wife is betting me it will be this coming Thursday and my current boss is betting it will be next Tuesday. We sort of have a little community pool going here. This is definitely one of the harder waits I have had to go through.

[andy_maxman]

hi jason,
do you by any chance have the email address of the guy who drank red wine sitting on the huge sand dune?
;-)andy
*inspired*

[philippeduvin]

hi jason,
do you by any chance have the email address of the guy who drank red wine sitting on the huge sand dune?
;-)andy
*inspired*

you dont need him anymore :) you HAVE to do it !!! :thumbsup:

[alexandrecollac]

You could do it in Max right? I believe AM is non software specific?

Well, anywayz, maya is easy, I find it much easier to animate in than max, but that might be my personal preference. What you need to know is how keys work, how to set them, how curves works (weighted, non-weighted, linear, smooth etc. ) how the dope sheet works and how the viewport works and that's it. You might want to know some other things like the frames per second, but you'll get onto those on the way. Just be sure you've got your timeline set to real-time instead of play every frame. The playback is slower on the latter.

You should check out digital-tutors.com, they've got a lot of free maya video tutorials, including about animation. Should be enough to learn how to animate :)

Yeah I know but they will give only rigged character to Maya and as far as i know Maya is better for animation, so i want to try it. But I think I need to be tunned with the software to make a better assignment. Keys, curves, dope sheet; all these I know how to use in Max but not in Maya.
Anyway I´ll try your link with free tutos.
Thanks :bounce: :bounce:

:bounce: :bounce:

[mgarward]

Well, here's to hoping that today is the day we find out. My wife is betting me it will be this coming Thursday and my current boss is betting it will be next Tuesday. We sort of have a little community pool going here. This is definitely one of the harder waits I have had to go through.
According to the catalog, I thought today (President's Day) was a holiday for the animationmentor.com offices, much as I want to know as soon as possible. So I'm hoping for tomorrow but thinking it will be Thursday (1 week from registration opening sounds kinda right... but SO FAR AWAY!!).

[Bentagon]

Over 12 weeks that averages to nearly 10hrs a week.
Good question. But I think this is quite possible. Video's*3 takes at least 2h... video critique*2 (new one + revision) also definitly an hour I'd say, personal talk with mentors via webcame that's some more, ...

btw – hey Benjamin, how is your back now? Hey man, thanks for asking! It's much better now... I can't sport just yet, but I'm hoping I will be able to train with my friends tomorrow night. A good night rest will do me some good (only slept like 4-5h last night :shrug:)

Just got my mail with the test! Nervous... I'll do it later tonight, when I'm sure cookies etc is enabled. Wish me luck ;)

- Benjamin

[hideandfreak]

According to the catalog, I thought today (President's Day) was a holiday for the animationmentor.com offices, much as I want to know as soon as possible. So I'm hoping for tomorrow but thinking it will be Thursday (1 week from registration opening sounds kinda right... but SO FAR AWAY!!).

Good point, I forgot it was a holiday today cause I had to go to work anyway. Guess I will put my money on Thursday, although I will probably still check my email every few minutes . . .just to be safe.

[mgarward]

Good point, I forgot it was a holiday today cause I had to go to work anyway. Guess I will put my money on Thursday, although I will probably still check my email every few minutes . . .just to be safe.
Every few minutes? You're waiting that long???!?

[Guiliguili]

Hi all, (salut aux français de la liste ! )

I worry about the chat with the webcam. (If I get in AM !). I have a Philips webcam that my wife and me use daily to speak with our daughter who is in France. The sound is OK but the video is very slow, to slow to be useful. It's more like to have 1 frame each 10 seconds that to have video. I know that we are "far far away" and that the video signal travels between a lot of satellites : may be it's the problem. Also here in Tahiti we don't have what you have in US and Europe, happy animators : a speed ADSL. Mine is 128 kbs. The speed connection goes to 131 kbs... May be it's an another problem !
I would like to know if some of you have the same problem with internet and how they manage to communicate with their webcam.

Guy

[Bentagon]

I've applied yesterday, got the e-mail with the test a few hours ago, and just received an e-mail from one of the AM Online helpers with the answer to a question I had... I doubt today is their day off. Maybe this year they skipped this holiday so they could keep track of the applications so everything starts out fine.

@guilliguilli: I had the honor to talk to Bobby BOOOOM Beck himself through webcam a few days ago, using Yahoo Messenger, and it was also like one frame per second. He assured me though, that Yahoo was notorious for this, and that their site would have a framerate of about 15 frames/sec. But if you have doubts about your hardware, just try the software that came with the webcam, or msn messenger/ichat. I've heard those do have pretty good framerates.

- Benjamin

[polymath]

With Yahoo Messenger, sometimes it connects via P2P direct connection, then your framerate skyrockets ;). When it uses the "server" method, it has to route all over the place and hence the 1/10 frame per second.

I don't know how to stimulate the P2P connection but if you are able to use it, you'll see how fast your cam+connection are capable of. I could get close to 16-18, rarely more, so, its all in how its routed!

[immerzeelpictures]

I have an old Creative WebCam here in the studio, it has been used only once to capture a few still shots..

Too bad I can't use the webcam that came with my SGI O2, would have been so cool!

Ahhh. Nostalgia...

Will see if I can find the recommended webcam here in store somewhere... still nice to have around.

[peanuckle]

Would using a camcorder as a webcam work better I wonder?


Tanner

[DonHuan]

The frame rate which students will get from AM might be very fast but what happens if they don't have a really fast connection speed.For example my internet connection is 512kbit/s and my family in Cyprus which i communicate via Yahoo messenger has an adsl 1000kbit/s connection and they don't get me in motion at all, only maybe a still image at the beginning, while i am able to see them in a good frame rate.This happens because they have my double speed or another reason, thats what i try to figure out these days.This is the first time i use a webcamera.
Are you people satisfied when you communicate with webcameras in distant places?
I hope communication using them with AM will work fine!

[DonHuan]

Using any webcam software uploading pictures to a website via FTP might be the best solution provided you have an webpage, so many people can see you too this is another option,
or with webcam software that uses someones computer as a web server and share the ip address and port you are using, for anyone to see you, but these are not the steps for AM students to set up webcams.
So easiest way to set up a webcam is by using a servise like msn or yahoo messenger but that gives a not perfect quality.What the future AM students shall do?

[textureyes]

I have no idea about the webcam. I have a logitech. But its the cheapest of the cheap. and the picture quality is very bad especially under low light. Which may be bad as when i will be doing AM stuff it will probably always be in the early hours of the morning for me.

I will try it out and then get a new one if it stinks.

looks like it will be really good if they can sort out the own way of streaming it in flash and we can all see each other and our reactions.

never reallly seen it done before with multiple people.

i dont mind waiting for the confermation of if we have got in or not. But i cant get it out of my mind for long.

[polymath]

Even with a fast connection, Yahoo Messenger webcam using Server mode will always run slow, the difference between fast/slow connection is neglible in that case. But if you can get P2P, as I'm saying, even if you're communicating with a friend on the other side of the world (as long as you have broadband ;)) you'll get higher frame rates then you'd expect!

Server mode, to me, feels like FTP'ing to Yahoo servers and to your friend. It gave me 1/5 fps average. Most webcams are good as long as you have good lighting, I don't think camcorder vs digicam matters, the connection still is the bottleneck there.

I'm using a Fujifilm Z2800 as a webcam, its great, 80fps stream to my computer, that goes down as I transfer though :(.

[andy_maxman]

i do not design characters nor do i rig. would the rigged characters be given to us in 'CLASS TITLE: Short Film Production'? also would that hold onus in our demo-reel while applying to be recruited in top studios?

page 23 in the pdf says,
'*Selected Students may be asked to participate in the production of other short films. This is optional and not required if the student chooses not to participate.'

what is this about?

thanks!
;-)andy

[textureyes]

I should imagine that we will be given a character to animate. As AM is just about animation. They did mention somewhere that they have professional riggers who help out with the characters they use.
I would also asume that when you apply to a top studio as an animator. They will be only too pleased that you have not distracted yourself with rigging and concerntrated just on character and animation.
I myself am one of those who always distracts myself with rigging (as i am doing right now) instead of animation.
Would be nice to get some more information on the short film side of AM though.

[SheepFactory]

Assuming the short film side of AM is similar to the Pixar short film classes in academy of art in the first semester you design your characters and write your story in the second you animate it. Modelling and rigging happens in the first semester so yes you do have to model and rig or get someone else to do that or join someone elses team or something. I would not want to make a short film with characters provided to me which everyone else uses anyway a short film is personal.

[vanlicht]

I totally agree if an animator fully concentrates on animation and performance, the employer would be happier than see them distracting doing rigging or other aspects of skills. Yet I assume that it seems merely US industry and some specific companies in other countries want to put their employees in specific category, while over majority of the rest would rather see their employees having strong knowledge in animation while having general knowing of the rest pipelines, rigging, texturing, etc. Like what I've heard the situation in France or Canada industry for example is like what i described.

So I'd say yeh put all your heart into animation if he has opportunity to join AM, but spare some of the energy learning bit of the rest...??

Oh, also I'd like to follow the preceding self-introduction line. My name is thomas, 27, now've been working in cg field for a year. though, I don't have reletive art or tech background, so it's challenging but exciting to work among other peers, but the best part of the story is I keep learning new things in my work. Hopefully be lucky enough to get accepted into AM and can leran and grow with hpyer-spirited people you guys.

[textureyes]

maybe we design them and they get other people to model and rig them....
actually thats hoping for a lot isnit it......
wishfull thinking
i can rig but i know how long it has taken me to learn.
The little quirks you can put it to make extra features for controls would take a whole term to teach to make a good character. (i think anyway).

[Afr_CG]

Ok I will sound like a noob....cause I am :( I wanna learn how to rig (Maya) but dunno where to start, any suggestions?

[kujo79]

man that test was tough...i havent touched math in years. bring on animation

[andy_maxman]

so what's the option for people who do not design characters/ draw/ rig ? basically with no arts background but can learn and rock in animation.

also, is an arts background necessary to break into a top-notch studio considering you rock in animation and cannot sketch?
thanks!

[textureyes]

Ok I will sound like a noob....cause I am :( I wanna learn how to rig (Maya) but dunno where to start, any suggestions?
Hey Afr_CG
Lets not get this thred to off subject.
But i would sugest going through the many Alias tutorials and internet sites.
CG talk has many subjects on rigging.
Also get as many free rigs as you can and then pick them apart to work out how they are put together.
This has helped me learn a lot.
try this thred started by titaniumdave
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=190975
lots of free rigs there

[stewartjones]

also, is an arts background necessary to break into a top-notch studio considering you rock in animation and cannot sketch?
thanks!

I am under the impression that an animator should be able to sketch, even if it's just enough to thumbnail various poses.

Just received an E-Mail back from the Mentor staff. I just couldn't wait any more, and had to ask when we find out if we are admitted or not. :bounce: Here's what I got told if you're interested;

the process
will probably take about 10 days to 2 weeks from the time we have all
your paper work, which is a completed application, including an essay
and your test results.



There will also be Live Q&A sessions where we have to log-on at specific times. They will be doing this on Saturday mornings for International students, so it will be late afternoon for us UK people!

:bounce::bounce::bounce:

[philippeduvin]

I had the honor to talk to Bobby BOOOOM Beck himself through webcam a few days ago, using Yahoo Messenger

Wow :scream: how do you did that ??? you know him personnaly ? ok tell us....its your cousin right ?? :eek:

[3FnD]

So Bentagon, what did Mr. Beck have to say?

I'm curious what the companies hiring animators will think about AM students. Assuming you finish the AM program and show talent, do you think being an AM student makes it more likely, less likely, or equally to get hired thank without having done AM?

Also, how many of the items in the first column below are identical to an item in the second column? (4.1 seconds)

animatics staging
geriatric TXH1138
THX1138 aquatics
overlap jurassic

a) 3
b) a cow
c) 5
d) none

(sorry I couldn't make proper columns)

Thanks!

-3

[mikefeil]

i just like the one question i got that was

Does ASAP stand for As Soon As possible, true or false

hah funny, oh and bentagon I have been trying to add you to my msn but I dunno...its not happening ?

[immerzeelpictures]

ASAP stands for Animators Should Animate Period.
or All Subscribed Applicants Passed.
maybe Animation Shall Always Prevail.

I will hope they will let us know this week. Will be gone snowboarding next week...

Will you also be allowed to take a leave to go on vacation if you pay in full. Because I see the classes continue during July and August.

I ask this because the catalog only gives extreme circumstances as an example.

Otherwise I will pay per course, when I get in. :-).

[mikefeil]

you can't pay in full dude, you have to pay course by course..thats the only way, currently. Which is a damm fine idea might I add.

[AKS]

I would not want to make a short film with characters provided to me which everyone else uses anyway a short film is personal.

Short films are really personal, but I don't think you necessarily need a complex slick model to make them amazing. I've seen some really great animation done with stock characters that are the equivelent of 3d stick figures. There was an animation at Siggraph a few years back that was called Family or Father or something like that. It was about a father and son playing together and their interactions growing up, it was really moving and beautifully animated but all the characters were these extremely basic poly-block guys, no faces or anything. If your animation/acting is well done enough the whole story will read 100% with the simplest of characters and props.

BTW, if anyone can remember the short I'm talking about and can tell me the name and who did it I would really appreciate it, my memory for details is really terrible.

[My Fault]

Was it Van Phan's "Values"?
http://www.wbff.org/films/detail.asp?cid=4&fid=82
http://anim.usc.edu/phan/Values_index_new.htm

[AKS]

YEP, that's it. Thanks for finding that! I always want to use it as an example of good clear animation and have never been able to remember the name. I'll bookmark it now and hopefully remember.

-- AKS
www.fiercefire.com

[philippeduvin]

you can't pay in full dude, you have to pay course by course..thats the only way, currently. Which is a damm fine idea might I add.

You actually have the choice...you can pay for the whole thing in one time : from the AM.com" they are given the option of either paying all of the tuition at one time or making payments as they go"

[philippeduvin]

Was it Van Phan's "Values"?
http://www.wbff.org/films/detail.asp?cid=4&fid=82
http://anim.usc.edu/phan/Values_index_new.htm

wow thats great...do you know where we can watch those films ?

[bentllama]

Short films are really personal, but I don't think you necessarily need a complex slick model to make them amazing.

you can always solve modeling, surfacing and render rig details later if you have a solid design on aper and block out the model to rough proportions using pirimitive geometry and an easy to use animation rig.

order of operations does not necessarily aply to making a short film like it applies to math...or women. :)

[AZL42]

I don't know if its online anywhere but Values is one of many great shorts included on the dvd with Inspired 3D Short Film Production. (The book, by the way, is written by Jeremy Cantor an AM mentor).

[swadepgh]

I don't know if its online anywhere but Values is one of many great shorts included on the dvd with Inspired 3D Short Film Production. (The book, by the way, is written by Jeremy Cantor an AM mentor).



THat book is great! I highly recommend it. It is very informative, clearly written, and very inspiring. If you need a kick in the butt to get your short film started, or past that next bump in the road, this book will do it. I refer to it quite often. THe DVD is full of good stuff too. Lots of SIGGRAPH shorts from recent years and a handful of films that I had not seen before.

[agreenster]

Hey Everyone! Hope yall had a great (and some of you--3 day) weekend!

I took Presidents day to get out and ride around Berkeley on my bike and shot over to AM's headquarters to see what was shakin. They have a great space and everyone was really nice and were working really hard. You can definitely see they are serious about making this a legit and fulfilling school. There's nothing of it's kind out there, and unlike "other" schools, they focus heavily on lessons and education, not JUST critiquing. I know when I went to school, and have heard from many other students-that it seems like the instructors spend most of their time putting out fires for students with major problems, and the students who are doing well remain adequate because there isnt enough instruction.

One interesting note was that when AM was in beta, they had people take the course who had never even touched Maya or any type of animation software before, and they were keeping up and doing the lessons. So for those of you out there with any type of hesitation regarding learning software, or animation in general for the FIRST time, it seems like you'll be able to pick it up just fine.

You can tell just by talking to Bobby that he is genuinely excited and interested in helping people learn this craft. It's always such a kick to talk to him, and see the passion he has for this stuff. (like many of us here) Also, I guess there is TONS more stuff on the horizon, so it seems like AM wont stop until it's the full-fledged education powerhouse it's gearing up to be.

Anyway, I just wanted to share since I know how interested everyone is in AM, and any little tidbit is helpful...and like you people, I cant wait to see AM in action. Oh, and its not too late to sign up, so if you havent, get to it!!! (preachin to the choir here, 'doh)

Keep up the good work AM!

[SheepFactory]

Short films are really personal, but I don't think you necessarily need a complex slick model to make them amazing. I've seen some really great animation done with stock characters that are the equivelent of 3d stick figures. There was an animation at Siggraph a few years back that was called Family or Father or something like that. It was about a father and son playing together and their interactions growing up, it was really moving and beautifully animated but all the characters were these extremely basic poly-block guys, no faces or anything. If your animation/acting is well done enough the whole story will read 100% with the simplest of characters and props.

BTW, if anyone can remember the short I'm talking about and can tell me the name and who did it I would really appreciate it, my memory for details is really terrible.


Of course. I never said you need complex characters and settings to make it work. Whatever works for you to tell the story with is fine , just look at "rejected" for example :) . That said if my shortfilm will have stick figure designs , they'll be stick figures designed by me. Also guys I dont think its such a good idea to turn rigging , modelling , texturing , etc to a taboo here. I , like the rest of you , would definitely prefer animating over anything else but it never hurts to learn and understand other things too. It will make you more marketable in the future.

[AZL42]

Hey Adam,

I'm envous that you can just go over there like that. It sounds like great things are happening there. I'm stuck on the east coast (although I shouldn't say stuck, I'm here so I can be a part of raising my newly adopted sisters...I wouldn't give that up for the best animation job in the world...and besides, I'm right by NYC, there has to be animation work there). I love your demo reel by the way.

-Adam

[Bentagon]

That's great to hear, Adam! Seems like you were able to get some of the AM goodness without paying ;)
I've had the honors to talk to Bobby too a few days ago, and you're right, he's obviously full of talent, and FULL of dedication to teach us. I've talked to him for an interview I had to do for Art History class, and I've got some great stuff to write! I really had a blast talking to this guy. I'll be uploading it in about two weeks, I hope (These two weeks are very hectic), after Bobby has checked it ;)

I can't wait till Fall term :D

- Benjamin

[mattmos]

Of course. I never said you need complex characters and settings to make it work. Whatever works for you to tell the story with is fine , just look at "rejected" for example :) . That said if my shortfilm will have stick figure designs , they'll be stick figures designed by me. Also guys I dont think its such a good idea to turn rigging , modelling , texturing , etc to a taboo here. I , like the rest of you , would definitely prefer animating over anything else but it never hurts to learn and understand other things too. It will make you more marketable in the future.

A general understanding of all areas is really useful, especially in smaller companies. If something isn't behaving how you want you have a better idea of what's causing the problem and how it can be fixed - or who to pass it on to ;)

Adam - dude you just made me soo jealous, would get on my bike and ride on over to check out AM but it's a long way from London...

[L.Rawlins]

... and clearly the bike would sink. :D

[agreenster]

I'm not trying to make anyone jealous, if anything I'm trying to further promote AM--every time I see or hear anything about it, it seems more and more on-track with the needs of artists

Plus, Ive been rather absent from the boards these days because of work, and wanted to see what was going on at AM, so why not just pop over and say hi?

[philippeduvin]

I'm not trying to make anyone jealous, if anything I'm trying to further promote AM--every time I see or hear anything about it, it seems more and more on-track with the needs of artists

Plus, Ive been rather absent from the boards these days because of work, and wanted to see what was going on at AM, so why not just pop over and say hi?

Hey adam, thank you so much for making this report about AM. It makes me dream about being neighbor of Pixar, AM and move to SF. You're a great animator, i love your demo. Did you already applied at Pixar ? because you deserved to work at that place :thumbsup:

[agreenster]

No way dude--the animators at major film studios like Pixar are devout ninjas, I'm not at their level yet. It takes a while to really develop as an animator--like any other art (or wine, I suppose) it take lots of practice and devotion to "season" into being a great animator. It's not an overnight thing.

The trick is to not be in a hurry to "get" someplace. If you constantly strive to become a better artist and a good person--and keep yourself interested an excited about what you do, you'll end up doing what you're supposed to be doing regardless of what studio you are at. Like, right now I'm animating at Shaba and loving every second of it. But I also do a lot of sketching and sculpting in my spare time, and Im even working on a short film with Dumpy. Animation is fun and exciting, and the second it becomes solely a vehicle for furthering your career, you'll more than likely get burned out or discouraged. That's what Ive learned at least. I've always followed the philosophy to do the best you can, where you are, with what you have. Meeting cool, inspiring people and collaborating with them is what its all about.

[mayakindaguy]

well said my friend, well said. http://cgtalk.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

[telliott]

Hey there,

In response to Swadepgh from way back on page 189 (six pages back but only three days old.)

If you're still interested and serious, I have done some claymation back in college and would be happy to give you a brief crash course on the methods I learned on how to build an armature to put under your puppet and animation techniques. The methods I learned are pretty ghetto and certainly not up to industry standards, but you should still be able to get your feet wet and do some good short shots with them (30 seconds or so.) Also, I've used sculpy in the past which worked just fine and seems easier to mix colors than that recommended product.

Maybe we can start a new thread for this one. Let me know if anyone still has interest.

[swadepgh]

If you're still interested and serious, I have done some claymation back in college and would be happy to give you a brief crash course on the methods I learned on how to build an armature to put under your puppet and animation techniques. The methods I learned are pretty ghetto and certainly not up to industry standards, but you should still be able to get your feet wet and do some good short shots with them (30 seconds or so.) Also, I've used sculpy in the past which worked just fine and seems easier to mix colors than that recommended product.

Maybe we can start a new thread for this one. Let me know if anyone still has interest.

WOW! I would definately be interested in that. AM has stop motion as an option for how to do the course so I would guess that some others here would want to learn this too. :)

THat is very generous of you to offer your knowledge and time to the community here.
ANyone else interested?

If a new thread is started for this can you post a link to this thread so we can all find it?

:bounce:

[Bentagon]

Just did the test, and completed all 30 questions! :bounce:
I had to guess about 2, 3 or 4, and at least one of them was correct (the last one, because I had no time left).
I hope I did well :)

- Benjamin

[telliott]

Sure thing. I will try to get it written out in the next few days and post a link to the new thread in this forum. I'm glad to help and pass on anything I can.

talk to you soon!

[droidzlander]

I made a simple multiplication.

13000$ X 300 students = almost 4 millions bucks

4 millions earned in a year and a half is a huge amount of money with just the first trimester's applicants. And the point is that I'm not counting their money but that I know that they'll put everything to make AM even better (if this is possible...)

[mgarward]

And another way to look at the money from the first applicants is that this has been in development for over a year (2 years?). The web site has already been built, there is an office and staff who have already been working, lesson videos made, etc etc... I'd say the first few sessions might just be recouping costs!

And yes, personally, I think it DOES look like it will be worth every penny.:)

[Kimotion]

Just did the test, and completed all 30 questions! :bounce:
I had to guess about 2, 3 or 4, and at least one of them was correct (the last one, because I had no time left).
I hope I did well :)

- Benjamin

If you only had to guess on 2-4 questions, and answered all 30, you probably did very well.

I only got up to 22 and I didn't guess. I pondered and got myself stuck, then checked again. I have a habit of tripple checking...but I STILL get things wrong.

[animboom]

Hey, Folks. Bobby here From AnimationMentor.com. It was great seeing Adam the other day as well as talking to Bentagon via Web Cam chat! Haa haa, getting an early start! Sneaky.:) It's great to see things rolling and people staying excited.

As for the stop motion training at AnimationMentor we do offer a great class on basic stop motion, which should equip anyone with the basic knowledge of overcoming some of the hurdles to this amazing art form. I did a bunch of Stop motion tests through the years while I was at Tippett Studio all the way up through Pixar. It challenges me on so many levels to really "THINK" about my shots before I start and it has really helped me develop healthy methods for getting better animation.

Anyways, just poppin in to say hey. I would certainly love to follow the stop motion thread, too!

-BOOM

[Jozvex]

Silly Bobby, he forgot the "oh by the way you all got in!" part.

I'm sure he meant to say that too. Didn't he? Didn't you??

[mikefeil]

I think after techinal maitenace,paying teacher and staff wages,equipment costs and everythign else..that 4 million ain't looking like alot.

[philippeduvin]

It challenges me on so many levels to really "THINK" about my shots before I start and it has really helped me develop healthy methods for getting better animation.

the amount of preproduction in Stop motion must be huge. I just realize that after finishing your animation in stop mo, you just cant move your camera to anoher place withouh reanimate everything :eek: wow every single shot finished must be like gold ! :) I'll stay tuned to this upcoming thread !! :thumbsup:

[omni]

Damn, I don’t think I did so well at the test.. I’m used to doing iq tests and stuff but yesterday I was really tired after school so I’m a little irritated at my self.. :shrug:

[super_mouse]

sweet i really want to try out a bit of stop motion, im going to be attending uni in bristol,uk in sep(illustration with animation course) which is near the awesome aardman animation studios, i'm hoping to get a work experience placement there in my 2nd year!!


I'm going to be soo busy this year, if i get into AM and university, plus working part time!!

Its totally worth it though:scream:

[omni]

sweet i really want to try out a bit of stop motion, im going to be attending uni in bristol,uk in sep(illustration with animation course) which is near the awesome aardman animation studios, i'm hoping to get a work experience placement there in my 2nd year!!


I'm going to be soo busy this year, if i get into AM and university, plus working part time!!

Its totally worth it though:scream:

Yea, I think its worth it. I study at the university + a fine art education and now "hopefully" AM.=) It will be alot of work though.

[mohinder]

I made my application on Sunday morning. Its now Wednesday and I have not recieved any email regarding the test!

At the chance of jumping to conclusions, does this mean I am out ot the running? Anyone else here apply sometime other than Thursday? I wish an automated email was sent out when completing the application, Im starting to become a little paranoid about typing in the wrong email or my form being lost in the internet post or something!

I guess i will find out soon enough, one way or the other.

Mohinder.

[Afr_CG]

Mohinder,

I know some people on this same thread applied Friday and even during the weekend.

[Bentagon]

Mail to info@animationmentor.com
They're very kind and will surely help you out! Just give your name, etc, so they can edit the e-mail if it WAS wrong. I don't believe they dissmiss anyone at this stage yet...

- Benjamin

[philippeduvin]

I made my application on Sunday morning. Its now Wednesday and I have not recieved any email regarding the test!

At the chance of jumping to conclusions, does this mean I am out ot the running? Anyone else here apply sometime other than Thursday? I wish an automated email was sent out when completing the application, Im starting to become a little paranoid about typing in the wrong email or my form being lost in the internet post or something!

I guess i will find out soon enough, one way or the other.

Mohinder.

dont freak out :) its not an automatic email which sent after the application.

just contact them by email and im sure its gonna be ok :)

[jono338]

Anyone else suffering from LOAMN's syndrome? Lack-of-Animation-Mentor-News characterized by a mild state of anxiety and an increasing compulsion to check for new email and a particular thread on cgtalk.

[hideandfreak]

Haha, I have a bad case of that. Other symptons include:

1.Planning out wi-fi email check spots before traveling anywhere.

2.Directing every conversation, no matter the topic, into a discussion about AnimationMentor.com.

and

3.Sending test emails to yourself, just to make sure everything is still working.

Unfortunately I hear it is going to take 10-14 days to cure, from the date of diagnosis.

[AZL42]

Well with 176,230 views so far of this thread, I don't think you're alone in that regard. Bobby did stop by to say hi not long ago, but that doesn't relieve the anxiety or more accurately pent-up excitement of waiting to hear if we've got in. I, btw, have my email set to check every two minutes and to beep loudly when it comes (junk mail is really starting to get on my nerves). I'm sure they are working to get out info as fast as they can. It shouldn't be long now.



BTW, I haven't done an intro yet so here goes: I'm Adam Levin. A recent PennState grad. I live in Stroudsburg, PA (but spend a lot of time up in the Poconos and down in Philly where my family lives). I have three sisters, two of which were adopted in this past year, Anna and Shoshana, both 2 and from China's Hunan province. My other sister is 24 and I'm 22. I was a photographer during college for the daily collegian and now obviously have become interested (obsessed) with animation and its ability to let me create life and tell stories.

[My Fault]

Perhaps Bobby's stash of Kit-Kats is low... quick send more Kit-Kats stat! :bounce:

[hideandfreak]

Hey guys and gals,

I am doing an animationmentor.com comic strip called F5, to keep me busy until we get . . .the news! Anyway, here is the first one called "The Launch", I hope it reminds you of the craziness that was February 17th 2005.

http://www.aaronrobbins.com/amComic/ar_F5_TheLaunch.jpg

[andy_maxman]

this is 'freakin' superCool man...
that was one long hilarious wait....
with all the trembling and shaking and punching the keys non-stop.....

[My Fault]

Haha, that is brilliant.... also scarily accurate! :)

[Jozvex]

HAH! Great comic! Really nice expressions!

:thumbsup:

[omni]

Man thats good work. THats about how one feels :scream:

[hideandfreak]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments. I wanted to post a drawing that night, but my hands were a little too shaky to get anything done. Anyway, glad you like it . . .I may do a few more.

[philippeduvin]

Gosh ! I love that comic !! :) and yesterday night, i had some guest for dinner...and you know what ? youre totally right !
I find the way to talk about animationmentor.com during 30 minutes to peoples who don't even know what animation is...that was tough..but I kept going just for MY pleasure :)... man, we're totally crazy.
I sent some kit kat to bob by email to motivate him but I think he needs really more, so guys help him :
opening the BOOM KIT KAT CHARITY :
http://images.google.fr/images?q=kit+kat&hl=fr

btw, just kidding !!
Do Not Disturb him from our essays :)

[andy_maxman]

how about one on the programmer? ;-)
or
how about bobby relishing his kit-kat while we all went through - "F5 - The Launch".

btw - the title is super too....

[Jozvex]

Imagine reading all those essays and deciding who's in or out....yikes!

I can see it now..........*daydream warpyness*...

"Hmmm, no not this guy"
"What?? But he likes puppies and marathon running!!!"
"Yes but I'm allergic to dogs."
"I'm not!"
"Oh so you get the final say now??"
"Well, I was just.."
"FINE!"
"No wait, don't be mad, puppies do kinda smell sometimes and I suppose we don't want animator's who smell of puppy, so I guess he's out."
"Thankyou!"

Hmm, ok that went a bit weird but I'm sure it's close to that!

[philippeduvin]

hey andy, just wanted to see your animation wip but the link is broken :sad:

[andy_maxman]

hey andy, just wanted to see your animation wip but the link is broken :sad:

hi modus,
it just might be a problem if you are behind a firewall or something prohibiting you from downloading from Redrival as i'm using their server to host the animations.
pls try 'save target as' option. or i might just mail it to you as its only 600kb. here (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=170611) is an old animation thread.
do let me know if it works or not.

hey Jozvex,
i simply love that conversation....
and the best part is
"Oh so you get the final say now??"
"Well, I was just.."
"FINE!"

hehehe!!

[philippeduvin]

does someone have an idea if having the AM diploma will help to get a visa to work in the US ?

[mattmos]

does someone have an idea if having the AM diploma will help to get a visa to work in the US ?

They kind of work on a points system, and I'm sure that an AM diploma would give you some points towards a visa application. Probably not enough just on it's own though, you might need to work in the EU for a while first...

[philippeduvin]

I work in the EU since 1999 as a graphic designer, but not animator :sad:

[andy_maxman]

you might need to work in the EU for a while first...

what's EU?

[super_mouse]

Dude seriously.....Europe or European Union, those bunch of greedy german fatcats:)

[mattmos]

I work in the EU since 1999 as a graphic designer, but not animator :sad:

Well seeing as how immigration officials probably don't have a clue about the difference between them, you're probably ok ;) Just put 'computer graphics' on the visa app...

[bentllama]

Well seeing as how immigration officials probably don't have a clue about the difference between them, you're probably ok ;) Just put 'computer graphics' on the visa app...

when coming to the US for animation on a TN visa from Canada there is no set category that an animator falls into. the closest thing is Graphic Designer, which with clever wording on the letter and documentation from the lawyers, was enough to get my candy ass down to the US. several of my friends and colleagues share the same experience.

[kirko]

Wow, hidean, your expressions are almost eerily accurate. Like for instance, you'd think there would be nowhere to escalate after turning red, but you broke through that barrier and found something--that special state of being that lies just past the end of one's rope.

Kirk

[swadepgh]

Nice COMIC! Too funny.

I am glad this thread is active again. I was starting to become uneasy about the lack of posting activity yesterday, yet I had nothing to post...

THe AM waiting game must be damping my brain activity.

[polymath]

hideandfreak - where's the steam leading up to 1.36am!?!?!?! need boiling hot steam! hehe, great comic :)

[djmagick]

I still have no idea of the price..

[Bentagon]

does someone have an idea if having the AM diploma will help to get a visa to work in the US ?Maybe not in a direct way, but I'm guessing that if you're good enough for one of the major studios, they'll help you out with the visa. I doubt I'd go to SF/LA pretty soon if it's not for one of the majors.

@djmagick: download the catalogue

- Benjamin

[telliott]

Hey there,

I slapped together a tutorial on how to build a stop motion armature. You can find it at

http://cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=213939

Please leave any crits and comments about the tutorial on the new thread.

Thanks,

Todd Elliott

[AZL42]

Anyone have ideas lined up for the short film for when we get up to that class?

[maelstrom]

Hey there,

I slapped together a tutorial on how to build a stop motion armature. You can find it at

http://cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=213939

Please leave any crits and comments about the tutorial on the new thread.

Thanks,

Todd Elliott

nice tut! comment in the linked thread.

[mmkelly011881]

Anyone have ideas lined up for the short film for when we get up to that class?

several :applause:

[swadepgh]

Ahhh yes of course. Lots of ideas for short films. Only two that I like. I have built the characters for two short films. I am still working on the rigs for the second. I don't know which I will focus on finishing first. I hope that what I learn in AM (if i get in) will inspire me to think of unique ways to develop and give life to my characters.

You know in his autobiography Chuck Jones said his childhood cat really inspired him. I was hoping that my cat would do the same, but he is very fat and moves very little. He's not such a great reference study I'm afraid.

[AZL42]

I have lots of ideas too...although they seem beyond my abilities and finances. Character driven 15 min to feature length ideas rather than 3 minute gags.

I can just imagine it. Your career ruined by a cat that wouldn't budge.

[macievelli]

IS there such a school for modeling and rendering? I'm not ready to go into animation like this yet....especially at a cost of $13k-$14k per term. That's like paying for a college with dorms and a campus. Well, almost, anyways.

I've been using 3D now for about 2 1/2 years, and I'm actually employed doing modeling and rendering of commercial products, but I've just hit a wall trying to teach myself Studio Max or go any further with TrueSpace 6.6 (which is a great beginner learning app, BTW. I've grown beyond it now, though...).

Anyone that could offer me any ideas where I can go and learn max online would be greatly appreciated. NOTE: I'm not referring to tutorials, but actual online learning, with help and feedback via instructors.

[swadepgh]

Hey now there's an idea for a short film. The story of the unbudging cat, who by not moving, causes all sorts of problems for everyone else around him. Heh.

[AZL42]

And you already have the perfect reference footage for it!

[jono338]

IS there such a school for modeling and rendering? I'm not ready to go into animation like this yet....especially at a cost of $13k-$14k per term. That's like paying for a college with dorms and a campus. Well, almost, anyways.

Not $13k a term. It's $13k all up, for six terms. Initially terms are $2k and the last two are $2.5k for the last two which are about Short Film Production.

If you're serious about getting into animation, I don't think Max is the tool.

Cheers,

[Jozvex]

IS there such a school for modeling and rendering? I'm not ready to go into animation like this yet....especially at a cost of $13k-$14k per term.

It's actually $13k-$14k for the entire 18 months, not per term :)

Anyone that could offer me any ideas where I can go and learn max online would be greatly appreciated. NOTE: I'm not referring to tutorials, but actual online learning, with help and feedback via instructors.

Well the school I used to go to now offers an online Max course:

http://aie.act.edu.au/courses/online.php

They started it after I left though, so I don't know what it's like.

[hideandfreak]

Ok, here is another quick comic for all you that were online during the launch. Hope you guys like it.

http://www.aaronrobbins.com/amComic/ar_F5_PASD_Web.jpg

[peanuckle]

Really nice cartoon!

[peanuckle]

Anyone have ideas lined up for the short film for when we get up to that class?

I was thinking of doing a Geek's tall tale of his expience going underwear shopping.

[mmkelly011881]

If you're serious about getting into animation, I don't think Max is the tool.

Cheers,

um, what are you talking about?... you can be serious about animation and use paperclips as the tool... lots of studios use max

[Jozvex]

Uh oh, lets keep that potential app war to those two posts. This thread's been going perfect so far so let's not end the perfectness!!

[jono338]

I was going to reply and say in my defence that I did say "I don't think Max is the tool", you know, personal opinion, free speech, and all that, but Josvex is right, so I decided not to.

Look, we're getting near 3000 posts!

[philippeduvin]

FOr my short, I always dream about animate a little cartoony Woody Allen...i love this actor !! :)

[oshiroii]

K, I want to do a short about a fat pirate, but it's in a place where it's always sunny like the carribean or something. It'll be in a future in which the 16th, 18th century have been upgraded to 2050 or something like that. Can't discribe it yet, but I've got some very pretty picutures inside my head :thumbsup:

[textureyes]

mines about a man with squeeky shoes....

just the way he reacts to his own shoes squeeking...

[swadepgh]

Is it time to find out whether we got in yet? I mean it has been over a week. I know they said 10 days to 2 weeks, but they are the type of people who excel at animation. Given that they excel in animation, one of the toughest fields out there, one can logically guess that they might also excel in application processing, therefore getting it done early. I know this is a stretch but we can hope right?

The waiting seems to go so s l o w.


Heh. I am anxious.

:bounce: :bounce:

[mgarward]

I agree! I mean, they only have to read and rank possibly over 500 one-page essays, how hard can it be? What's taking so long??? ;)

I actually really hope we find out today... a possible PC upgrade is in store for me if I get in, as well as much celebrating and preparation with my family. I don't want to go another weekedn without knowing! Is there a support group for hopeful applicants? AMHA?

[stewartjones]

I agree! I mean, they only have to read and rank possibly over 500 one-page essays, how hard can it be? What's taking so long??? ;)

I actually really hope we find out today... a possible PC upgrade is in store for me if I get in, as well as much celebrating and preparation with my family. I don't want to go another weekedn without knowing! Is there a support group for hopeful applicants? AMHA?

This is the support group! :thumbsup: Fellow hopefuls! :D

[AZL42]

Fake AM Newsflash: In an incredible development a rouge programmer named Symptom has slowed down the application process. He is being gallantly fought by Bobby Beck who has the power to go “boom” and Shawn Kelly who is beweaponed with an industrial grade light bulb and of course Carlos Baena equipped with a killer paella.



Anyone else have any fake news? (be sure to label it as such or we’ll all go nuts on you)

[swadepgh]

I actually really hope we find out today... a possible PC upgrade is in store for me if I get in
I decided that if I get in I will need to get a workstation laptop before SIGGRAPH. I currently work on my home workstation but obviously can't take that to SIGGRAPH. In years past I have been able to escape working while at the conference but AM sounds like it will be pretty intense...therefore if I get in I will need a laptop. Heh. I have been coveting those Alienware workstation laptops for quite a while now and AM would be just the excuse I need...

Of course even if I do get in I won't be able to get the laptop until after I pay off the tuition for AM.

[darkefire]

Hi. My name is Konrad, and i've applied for Animation Mentor. I've been hopeful for..... 7 days, 6 hours, 49 minutes.:)

Heh heh, seriously though, let me get my intro out of the way, since it seems to be the hip thing to do on this thread: I'm a 23-yr old working professional, but not in a profession I care to stay in for more than it takes. I've been dabbling in 2D art, writing, composing music, and then got bitten by the 3D bug about 6 years ago. I moved to California to attend the Academy of Art, but never quite managed to get into a financial position that would let me attend the school.

I've got countless propositions for short and long-form films, namely concerning that little character in my Avatar. It would be a sort of Tim Burtonesque stop-motion-imitation done in 3D. But my top runner for the school project would have to involve a roaring herd of buffalo, heh heh :twisted:

[havoc21]

well in hopes of AM i bought a new alienware 51m 7700 laptop and it is quite sweet. although it took 4 weeks to build so give yourself time.

[swadepgh]

havoc21 - I am very jealous of your laptop.

[havoc21]

swadepgh,

of course i will paying for it forever. but i figured if i was gonna spend this much on a school i needed to upgrade my workstation at home. and i like the laptop ability to be mobile. finally got all of my software installed. going to be using xsi for AM and that runs like a dream on it.

[AKS]

So I've been listening to Hank Williams III and Johnny Cash all afternoon while working on a bit of test animation to pass the time and I've decided that If I get in I'm going to try to do a short little video to the song "Lovin' and a Huggin" or "Cocaine Blues". I love old country music because it has such great imagery in it.

As for the introduction.... I am a 25 yr old self-refined animator (as opposed to self-taught. Took some classes in college, but not nearly enough, have been working on it ever since). American living in London working some freelance and hoping to get into AM to start this Summer.

Just wanted to say it's great to be able to check in here and see everyone waiting together :) I'm assuming that they will notify you regardless of getting in right? I mean they aren't going to let the people who didn't get in just hang right? And if anyone gets any notification yay or nay they'll post something here so we will all know it's happening and should start frantically checking our email again, especially the Junk mail folder just in case?

[havoc21]

AKS,

I have also been thinking of doing something to music. Although I tend to get inspired by old classic metal, Priest, Maiden and the like. Possibly something alternative. But first got to get in. Funny thing about the junk folder is the second newsletter got sent and hotmail decided it was junk so I quickly added them to my friends list so I wouldn't miss out.

[AKS]

yeah, no matter what I do I just don't trust my screening program, so I have started scanning my junk mail pretty closely these last few days.

BTW - havoc21, I am EXTREMELY jealous of your new machine.... *wipes away drool*

** just realized this was post #3000 NEAT!! **