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There and Back Again. A Young Wizard's Tale!

Daily updates from the Corps of Discovery

Film Editing with David
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I have been working on my portfolio like crazy. I will update more when the time is right :)

Day 50: ?
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Kelly is in Aussieland! We miss her.

PIXAR! It's been a hectic month. I've been hard at work on a lot of things... let's go down the list:

  • I went to a PIXAR masterclass earlier this month! it was of complete awesomeness and I learned quite a bit. Mostly: POLISHING. Polish polish polish. How to take work to the next level. It was a great experience and to top it off, I went to a Cirque du Soliel show "Ovo!" :) I visited old friends, Francine Mangain and Ryan Pickering in Montreal and relished in their wonderful and incredibly busy city. Overall a wonderful experience.


  • We had a big discussion at work the following days on polishing. And we took the lessons I learned and reapplied them to our current shots and polished the hell out of them. Admittedly we ran into a ditch...
    You can't polish what you don't know


  • Well, that just made things dandy. So we researched big bulky metal things. Man that was fun! BBCMotion Gallery is the place to be!


  • This has also encouraged me to redo my resume (*GASP*) and my CV along with my demo reel. I want to be prepared. I have a deadline of tomorrow night to send it to my Mentors for some feedback. Next deadline is July 8th, because I said so :) And then of course, SIGGRAPH! But from what I gather WETA may not be there. An email will be sent out to verify this... they must have SOME kind of rep there!


  • Lastly, I am putting the reel together. I will upload soon. I promise!


  • Until then, good night :)

    Double Comic Feature!
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    Oh damn Kelly :D You've started something. So now I will start to just explore and let out a lot of thoughts, demons, angels, and everything else out in comic form in here. Let us start with the first one. I'm not sure how or where it came from, but it was there. Is it even scary? Who knows, maybe it wasn't supposed to be. But it's there. Strange creature really, but kind of appealing, in a Edward Scissorhands sort of way.

    I also am changing the way I draw these. My birthday is litterarly around the corner. As always I try to do something new, different, and ultimately exciting. Something to really get me excited to do what I do! As lately I haven't been happy. Lots of things weigh me down. Even in running I came up with the phrase: Heaviness in mind, heaviness in legs. I could hardly keep pace as I was thinking about events at work. Alas, I got through them!

    WETA update? Listened to another podcast. They're quite amazing. I am going to be writing to them pretty soon here as I'm really enjoying what I hear. I'm also going to dig through my contacts for more info on who and what worked there. Also this was interesting. A whole list of people working at WETA. I am going to do my best to contact them and get to know them. Exploit what ever connections I have. I will work there :) I know it. I pray for it!

    The last comic? Well that one was for JilL! She is about to embark on a pretty tough exam tomorrow and then palpitate an animal. Yeah. Check about 10 minutes into that video for a piece of Dutch and Pig action...

    :)

    Comic and Hobbit: Climbing that Mountain
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    [info]ghrwah


    Who doesn't feel like they're climbing something impossibly everyday? Jill at least has recieved two B's so far in her classes :D!

    Now about WETA. Here's what's up. I'm making progress. A lot of it is centering on self practice. Actual communicating will take place soon. I also am researching New Zealand laws. The base is 3 years. Since I professionally was paid 2 1/2 years ago, I'm going to be pretty close to that mark. By December I'll definately be there (thanks Chad!) Here's what's happened so far:


    • I've been listening to the WETA podcast quite a bit - learning about how they work and who they are. They're a very relaxed group and they have big exposure at festivals and get togethers. SIGGRAPH is going to be very close to me this year and I believe they will be there. My next steps are to A) email the WETA cast people and ask them questions ;) B) prepare for this coming SIGGRAPH

    • I've enrolled in a animation masterclass being held in Montreal. It's a bit of a gift to myself but I will definately add it to the resume. I think exposure to things that will refine my skill will help me at places like WETA. At least to refine my work

    • I am about 25% done with refining the reel. I've picked out new shots I want to put in, then the actual refining will occur. I have about two or three passes to go. First pass will be for SIGGRAPH this coming year.

    • I made a wetanz.com profile because that is their portal now! Very cool website and you can buy a 250$ Cortana. I love it!
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    Working on the Hobbit: Day Four!
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    Not a huge update but an update nonetheless:</p>

    • I've found two people who've worked at WETA and I am trying to network with them

    • I've signed up with TheOneRing.net because they're just an awesome group of people :D

    • And I've just read through this. I think it's definately worth the gander. Check it out! Five Reasons Why You Are Not Fulfilling Your Potential

      The person who can motivate you, change you and get the most out of you is in the mirror. Build your self-belief. Set yourself clear goals and measure progress against them.




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    A Fun Saturday
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    It was a fun day.... We had a blast at the Powell Observatory!
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    Working on the Hobbit: Day Zero
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    Job Description!



    • A solid foundation in realistic facial animation? Yes, I've been animating quite a bit of faces and granted they haven't been humans, they have been intense facial animated scenes.

    • Camera and Staging? Definately, I've storyboard experience and experience in laying out my own shots at work.

    • High level of polish will come with some of the work we're going to be doing soon at DXD. I'll bide my time on it, but I'm so excited for what we're going to do!

    • Maya. I need to learn linux. Time to install Ubuntu on Parallels ( - updated, I did!)

    • Debug technical problems? I also double as the generalist at work and am good at rigging, basic MEL and minor rendering, but I have knowledge of the whole pipeline.


    The Job Website



    • New Zealand immigration law requires that non-resident applicants have at least three years’ feature film experience to qualify for a working visa. Please note that Australian permanent residents/citizens are not required to apply for a NZ work visa

    • Now I actually applied to them exactly one year ago:

      • Hi David Andrade,

        Thank you for expressing an interest in working at Weta Digital. Your material has been

        received, and forwarded to the Recruitment Department. This will be held on file for future

        reference. They will be in touch directly if there are any potential positions they may wish

        to consider you for.

        Kind regards -



    • Exciting right? Well I wrote them back, but I know how it usually goes - to a generic email sender... outter? But we'll see if they write me back. Tomorrow i must fill out the questoinnaire - might as well right?

    • This is the level of animation I need to hit. Ignore the beautiful lighting and modeling. I'm talking purely about the acting of the character and the emotions it creates in you

    • I believe Jason Schliefer worked on that scene...


    Info on the film



    • The wikipedia article is fairly up to date thankfully. It has quit a bit on what steps have taken place and what is to come.

    • There's also a lot of post by Guillermo del Toro at TheOneRing.net. Pretty exciting!


    I've a lot to read these next few... months ;)

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    My Dream
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    [info]ghrwah
    One of the biggest things to ever affect my life was a 10th grade highschool teacher who gave me a copy of the Fellowship of the Ring to read. And from that moment on I never looked back. I love the world Tolkien created. It's filled with everything a venturing young guy would ever want! Strangely clad women in small clothes, lots of war, good food and a few pints to wash it down at night! Sad to say that when I got the book the movies were already well into production. Of course that didn't stop me. I wanted to work on them!

    Years of college, training at AnimationMentor and a few jobs later, I'm still pursuing that goal and it's just within my sights. We all know the Hobbit is going to be made. I love the Hobbit. Who doesn't? In the hole in the ground there lived a hobbit were some of the greatest words ever put together I think.

    It's been a long time coming and I've kept this little secret to many friends and family of mine, but, I am going to take a risk and let it out in the world. I want to work on the Hobbit. I do.

    It started a few days ago really. Thursday in fact. Yesterday! Our editor Zach asked a great question: How far could human potential go? What if you wrote a book in which you gave yourself ONE goal for the entire year and you worked tirelessly that whole year to satisfy that goal? Each chapter of the book would be one year.

    I'm going to do it. It had me thinking. It's almost my birthday, just a few months away, where I will be turning twenty four. What do I have to show for it? A lot, but, my one dream...

    Well how about realistically? Is it possible? Yes.

    - Skills to work on the movie? Check
    - Know where to apply etc? Check
    - Can I even work in New Zealand? From what I gather the law states I need 3 years of experience. That is tough but, I do have it! As of this summer I would have 3 years of experience. Which is strange to say as I began in the summer of my Senior year by working on a short film. Strange how time flies...

    But listen everyone who is stll out there. Everyone and anyone who reads this lovely blog where I post my comics. I want to work on The Hobbit. That is my dream. I'm going to remind myself everyday of this dream. I will get there (and I'll post about it on the way.)

    Here goes everything!

    Action plan of things to do next:
    - Read job description for animators
    - Find out as much info about the production schedule as possible
    - Reach out to any who have knowledge or experience
    - Get my demo reel together and see what I need
    - Finish my current job. My current job is great. We had two amazing projects coming up that I want to pour my heart into and I believe the company is going to grow fantastically from them. I'm truly hopeful. I will not abandon them in mid flight! But I will pursue my dream.
    - Search forums and stories from those who worked on it for more info
    - Visit Jill as she is the bestest female out there!!

    I'll see you in New Zealand
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    106 Days
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    Communicating with Jill
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    And the conversation that started it all?


    david: jill sent me a text. she is alive. im not sure what numbers it is >_> but she says itll cost a lot but I AM ALIVE AND FINE!
    angie: thats good to hear... im glad shes alive


    ;)
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    Help
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    +_+
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    Free Yogurt
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    We litterarly circled the out door shopping mall for an hour searching for this free yogurt and then thought of a better idea. Sadly after he was devoured we found the Yogurt place to actually be ACROSS the street from whence he was dancing. It was a sad day in yogurt history, but at least it was fun!

    In other news, I worked 48 hours straight this past week. Ok I had a 2 hour nap and then another 7 hour one, but realistically, I went to work on Sunday and came out Tueswendsthursdayish :D

    Sleep!!
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    [info]ghrwah

    Have you ever had the problem where you fell asleep, woke up and then could not fall back asleep? Well doh >_<. That's me right now!!

    Posted via LiveJournal.app.

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    Days Gone Without Accidents
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    ;) Thanks to Martin for this one! In life news, an intense week of animation is coming up and I've learned quite a bit. We're easily going to be staying overnight two or three times this week! I'll make a post about it of course! But in the mean time... GOOD NIGHT!

    Curiosities: Saving!
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    This one is a bit if a misnomer. I've been researching ways on how to save and I am about to spend 3-400$ to fix my car! Yes... I was tired, a bit anxious and stressed and judged wrong how to pull into the garage. And lobbed off my sideview mirror :D Poor Catalina (my ford mustang) has been scratched today and her bumper hit by a driver while I was out eating. So here are some questions...

    What do I spend on and what can I save? After reading this I kind of began searching for what I could do better. Of course being a single one person guy I could probably bank on saving a lot more than most people. I know there's a lot of gift card and point options out there. Time to think what I could use and where I could save...

    Okay. And now what resources do I have... lets see.

    Rewards1.com is a great website for filling out surveys and collecting points to then gift cards etc back. Very awesome and useful! Just a note, make a new email address as you will be spammed beyond belief.
    http://www.freecycle.org/ Is incredibly useful for finding free things and giving them away. Mind you it's a bit cumbersome as you must create a Freecycle account THEN a Yahoo groups account.
    http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/ is a fun website as it updates constantly with new sweepstakes and yes there is a chance you couldn't win, but also no reason why you couldn't. Kind of a fun website!
    http://www.swaptree.com/ is one of my favorites. You can eaisly trade anything, quickly, with anyone else. Love it! And way easy to use.
    Wachovia has a lot of savings programs. From Way2Save to their Money Market. If I save quite a bit I could capitalize on it and make about 300$ extra a year. But I need 2,500$ to start most of their programs
    Mint.com is fantastic for tracking all of my expenses and loans. Love it!

    Conclusion? Call Ford tomorrow for quotes. See what lights I can find. Buy my next purchase through Wachovia's online store. and I found Pricechopper's online weekly ad! Ok I'm off for now...

    Qoute of the day...


    Although I do my best to update once a week, it's a bit like a gerbil with one leg on a mousewheel. I'm not making much progress!



    Clients...
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    Congrats Kelly!
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    Tests
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    Jill's Life
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    Taki the Challenger
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    What a fun weekend ;)

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