keith lango animation

I found this neat little interview/article linked from 3dTotal.com. I haven’t seen it linked in the usual animation related blogs I check now and then, so I thought I’d throw out a link. It’s a really great (and quick) read on how to keep innovation growing. An excerpt to whet your appetite….

Lesson Two: Perfect is the Enemy of Innovation

Brad Bird: I had to shake the purist out of them—essentially frighten them into realizing I was ready to use quick and dirty “cheats” to get something on screen… I’d say, “Look, I don’t have to do the water through a computer simulation program… I’m perfectly content to film a splash in a swimming pool and just composite the water in.” I never did film the pool splash [but] talking this way helped everyone understand that we didn’t have to make something that would work from every angle. Not all shots are created equal. Certain shots need to be perfect, others need to be very good, and there are some that only need to be good enough to not break the spell.

More cool stuff like this in the article. Take 10 minutes and check it out.

Seems there’s a bit of google adsense spam that can be seen in some browsers at the head of my blog. It’s not something that all browsers see, though. Even so I’m working on a fix for it. Just re-uploading the files from my back up disk offline doesn’t seem to be doing the trick, which tells me there’s a script jammed somewhere in my wordpress set up that is re-writing the spam into the file as I upload it. Looks like an entire upgrade will be necessary. There goes my Sunday. *sigh*

Why do spammers feel the need to make the internet so hard to live with?

Lots and lots and lots of people have emailed me over the past 7 months asking when the next Animation Personal Training (APT) session will be. For a variety of reasons I’ve been unable to do an APT since last August, but the good news is that later this year (2008) I will start the APT back up again. I had seriously considered not doing another session simply because of the heavy toll the stress of doing them had on me. It’s not easy creating individualized animation curriculum for students of all different experiences and abilities, not to mention the task of making the system work technically. Based on this and a number of other things I’ve learned about teaching animation (and more specifically, how people learn it) there will be a few changes in how the APT works. Sessions will be more condensed, the individual lessons will be more focused, there will be far fewer students admitted to each session, the sessions will be shorter and they’ll cost less, too. Other than that, everything’s the same. heh.

Schedule and registration info will be posted here once I get them finalized. Obviously it will be after we get settled in our new home back in the United States, but if you’re interested in the class (especially if you’ve emailed me about it) then you’ll need to keep a close eye on this site. The demand for this next session is definitely higher than the number of spots that will be available. However if this next session works out the way I’d like there will be more to follow it.

So stay tuned.

Well, two years, lots of learning (some lessons harder than others, but that’s life) and some really positive efforts our time in Brazil is coming to a close. Soon the Lango clan will head back north to the USA, closer to family and to take some time to rest. I’m thankful for what I learned in Brazil, for the kindness of the brasileiros who showed us warmth and hospitality, and I’m proud to have been a part of helping people. Some really good things were done and a lot of people have been blessed. But the way of life dictates that all chapters must close so new ones can begin. So on to the fun job of packing up and moving on down the road begins. If I take a while to answer my emails, well, now you know why.

It just doesn’t get any better than this…

Go here to find out the greasy details of how this glorious illustration was made. Be sure to watch the progression movie, complete with a near lethal use of the “wah pedal” in the theme music.

Your life will never be the same.

Me again.

I find as I get older my tastes in animation are evolving. I suppose that’s not a bad thing, it’s a leading indicator that I’m alive, at least. When I was a younger animator I was really taken by the magic of technically excellent animation. You know, animation that is very smooth, highly polished with high production values. And if it closely mirrored the realistic workings of people in motion and behavior all the better. It was the gold standard we all aspired to achieve in our own work. I still like to see that these days, too. I’m not dogging it by any stretch. Shoot, it pays the bills so I’d be a hypocrite to say anything rotten about it. But I’m finding myself drawn more and more to simpler animation- something that may not be the most polished or technically sound animation. It’s got glitches, pops, imperfections. It’s inventive, offbeat, not afraid to be ‘wrong’ while still being somehow just right. I love anything that just shows signs of… humanity, I guess. To me these days it’s about energy, texture, a vibe, a sense of the artist’s hands touching the work, complete with all the quirks and clumsy foibles that our hands introduce. I dunno, it seems to be more accessible to me, it speaks to me more. The older I get and the more I see in life the more I realize that people are pretty messed up, dirty, clumsy, failing, hopeful, loving, forgiving, imperfectly funny things. When I see animation that in some way captures and reflects all that I get a sense that it’s the very real product of a very real person. I find the simpler it is, the more I like it. I still admire the craftsmanship and quality of highly refined technically excellent animation. In this modern day with the detail and level of infinite refinement available to animators in CG it’s easier than ever to keep at something until it’s pretty darn near perfect. That’s not something to dismiss offhand- it’s impressive. But stuff with life and energy that feels like someone imperfect touched it with their clumsy hands and hopeful heart, not just their minds, is what keeps me interested in this medium. Every piece is a surprise to be discovered, like a new friend that’s waiting to be found just on the other side of a handshake.