Creative transformation means re-visioning the learning environment by adopting a set of principles that enable authentic learning experiences.  Traditional teaching techniques are no longer appropriate in a world of rapid technical and conceptual change. Successful learning practices need to be flexible and individualistic but also capable of mirroring professional practices at their best.  This post details a preliminary list of principles designed to establish a set of transformational practices that create and support authentic learning.

Steve Streeting, if anyone, should know how to plan his work week. He's been at the helm of OGRE (the open graphic rendering engine) and a prolific freelance developer for a qurter century. Refreshingly, he admits that it isn't that easy... even with so much experience under your belt. Check out his post for valuable work tips on how to make the most of your time.

The younger the audience, the more obvious the performance.  Children are adults-in-training, and their parameters for thinking and emotion are much more narrow than that of their parents. Most major animated feature films today are designated “Family” films.  But a family is comprised of a number of individuals of different ages and life experiences.  Is there really such a thing, really, as a “Family” film?  After all, Walt Disney did not make “Family” movies like those we see today.  He made movies for kids, and then charmed the adults into coming also.

 

This week my goal is to compile a master contact list of friends, associates and acquaintances.  Since the film “Idiots & Angels” is opening on the 6^th of October at the famous IFC Center in NY and on October 29^th at the Laemmle Sunset in LA, I need a groundswell and a firestorm of publicity. I want to get packed audiences; I have to have big long lines of people eager to see my new animated feature stretching around the blocks.  I've sworn to do anything possible to pack the houses, as long as it's legal.

Your series has been sold to the network and you get to guide it creatively and nurture it.   It’s like having a baby and putting it up for an open adoption.  You will take care of it everyday, but will not own it.  You can love it, take care of it, but at the end of the day the adopted parents will make all of the life’s decisions.

 

In this, the third of four articles on the work of Georges Schwizgel, we follow the production of Romance and examine Schwizgebel's unique way of visualizing his animated world.

 

 

I’ve known Gary Schwartz since, well, since he was a much younger zany filmmaker and animation teacher.  In the Webster’s Dictionary, under the word “energy,” there is a picture of Gary with his infectious grin, a camera and a tripod.  If you ever meet him, ask him about taking 3-D pictures of Don Knotts in the Toronto Airport.  This year at the Ottawa Animation Festival, as he does every year, Gary made an extremely cool stop motion short – in one day! This year’s edition, Fa Fha Pha Ottawa!, inspired by the Ottawa festival award designed by sculptor Tick Tock Tom, is his best yet!

 

 

It's hard to choose my favorite Christopher Walken.  Kevin Pollack, Jay Mohr and of course, Kevin Spacey come to mind.  In fact, Mr. Walken has become such an iconic personality that it's tough to watch him on TV or in a film and not think, for a moment, that he doesn't do nearly as good a Christopher Walken as one of the previously mentioned actors. He's just not Walken enough.  As they say, you can't be too rich, too thin, or have enough Christopher Walken.

For every cowbell junkie and True Romance lover, this video should scare the "Wow, Wow, Wow" out of youze.

 

By Haley Hughes

If ever there was a film to see in 3D, it would be Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.  This film proves that 3D can be used to enhance a viewing experience: allowing the audience to interact with the roller coaster like camera moves and the abstract sequences of light and color.  Though it has a relatively weak story and fails to really develop character, the visuals and the use of 3d make this film worth a viewing.

 

If you spend time analyzing successful people, you will tend to find a repeating list of similarities. Attributes like talent and charisma often get the most ink, but more often than not, a person’s drive and the quality of their education is a far better determinant of a bright future. Successful educators nurture this type of person, or set someone on the path to becoming one by creating a learning environment that is as engaging as it is relevant to their student’s future ambitions. And when it comes to careers in art, animation, and digital content creation, students that learn on industry-standard technology – like Wacom’s Cintiq – are more prepared for the professional world, and its elevated expectations.

A product of British Columbia-based Capilano University’s two year, Commercial Animation program, Gemma Reeks-Coad is living proof of how the right tools, in the hands of the right artist, breed success.