For this year’s Showcase, we invite all of you to step back in time — and to imagine the bright lights and red carpet of old Hollywood. This was a time when glitz and glamour dominated the entertainment scene. Eager movie goers packed the theaters and often found themselves leaning forward, mesmerized by the performers and hanging by their every word. “Back to Basics” honors this time when the character was king.
Green Lantern, one of six movies based on comic books destined to fight for audience share in movie theaters this summer, lands in the unenviable calendar slot between X-Men: First Class (June 3) and Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2 (June 24). Can Hal Jordon, the first human recruited into the elite Green Lantern Corps, power people into a ticket line? That might depend on actor Ryan Reynolds who plays Jordon — or, at least his head does when he’s wearing his superpower-granting green ring. His body becomes a special energized suit, and that suit is digital; the suit is, in effect, a character. To move it, a team of animators at Sony Pictures Imageworks matched and extended Reynolds’ performance; a team of visual effects artists fastened the CG suit to footage of Reynold’s head.
In this showcase testimonial video, Animation Mentor alumnus Michelle Ohana breaks down her 2011 showcase shot. She explains that her everyday life in San Francisco was the inspiration for her shot. Michelle wanted to animate a character loosely based on herself so that she could more easily relate to the character.
Well, you finally made it. You nailed your first animation job. So, now what?
Kenny Roy offers his advice on how to start your first day at an animation studio. He recommends bringing a sketchbook so that you can learn to thumbnail quickly and accurately. Fill the sketchbook as much as you can on that first day and you’ll be a step ahead when you begin planning your shots.