There are only two things you need to do to become a better writer: study and write.  The question is: are you studying and writing optimally?

I wrote screenplays for Columbia and Paramount on instinct, and wrote hundreds of animation scripts the same way.  But I’d never really “learned” how to write. I finally decided to get serious about my craft and read all the best-selling screenwriting books.  I learned quite a bit.  But one of the most important things I learned was that WHAT you read is only half of the journey.  HOW to read is the other. Learn the three R's and become a better screenwriter...

 

Without good direction, you end up with drek.  Problems with sequence timing or the render pipeline can be solved with relative ease – problems of mismanagement are difficult to overcome and usually spell doom.  Animation directors aren’t directing animation, they’re directing a group of people who are working in arguably the most time consuming and exacting of creative mediums.  Copiously illustrated with relevant images, the book is well thought out and concise, never preachy or off target. David writes in an engaging style that captures your attention without smacking you over the head. Directing Animation at its heart strives to teach the reader how to keep an animation production crew happy, productive and on task. 

 

Special Guests:  Ron Diamond & Dan Sarto, The Animation Room, Uncle Billy Frenzer

 

Few FFAF episodes have challenged the potent potential of what a jam-packed powder-keg of animation multilarities can elicit in the burgeoning minds of those seeking more lore and eternal wisdom of this frame-by-frame La Bamba than number 24.  This show is huge.  Ron Diamond + Dan Sarto = how to invent and maintain an international animation archive and animation short distribution empire while enjoying the best of Scotch and olive canning.  The Animation Room + The Animation Room = how to create an animation studio boyband right out of college.  And finally, Billy + Bill + William Frenzer = how to develop treasured American comedy songs into animated music videos that change the course of human history.  Perfection, sometimes, does not take time.

 

 

I thought Rango’s character design would sink Rango, but the little lizard works. Those teeny-tiny eyes set in bulging trackball sockets are completely counterintuitive – don’t director Gore Verbinski and company know you’re supposed to give animated characters oversized eyes? Does Rango work because of, or in spite of his ocular resemblance to a real-life chameleon? Frankly, I don’t think it matters one way or the other: it’s Johnny Depp’s vocal and his ‘emotion-captured’ physical performances that brings Rango to life. I mentioned Verbinski’s cowboy dress-up strategy in my first write-up of the film: recording the actors not just reading their lines, but performing – and not in tights and motion marking ping-pong balls either, but in Wild West drag. It’s a brilliant brainstorm that judging from the final results paid off nicely.

It has been reported that Ursula K. LeGuin granted Studio Ghibli the rights to her EARTHSEA series largely based on her love for Hayao Miyzaki's work. When Miyazaki was not available to direct the film, the studio hired his son Goro instead. Hayao publicly said his son was not ready to write and direct his first feature film. They should have listened to the master.

The land of Earthsea is out of balance. Dragons have been spotted over the sea. The King walks to his study and is stabbed by a young man who turns out to be his son Prince Arren (Matt Levin, BLADES OF GLORY). Arren flees and winds up in the desert where he meets the Archmage Sparrowhawk (Timothy Dalton, HOT FUZZ), who takes the young man under this wing. When they arrive at the city of Hortown, Arren has a run in with slaver traders led by Hare (Cheech Marin, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN), who try to enslave the scared young woman Therru (Blaire Restaneo), who is the ward of Sparrowhawk's old friend Tenar (Mariska Hargitay, TV's LAW & ORDER: SVU), a former witch. Sparrowhawk soon learns that the evil wizard Cob (Willem Dafoe, ANTI-CHRIST) is behind the turmoil in Earthsea. The male wizard who looks like Cher needs Arren to obtain immortality.

You may have heard the phrase,"Greed is Good" as uttered by the money-broker tycoon in the 1987 hit movie “Wall Street”.   It was a phrase often used to chastise those who cherished materialism over core values. Hey, it was the ’80’s, there was a recession and the world was at war and wait, does this sound vaguely familiar?  Well, it very well may be like the ’80’s when you think of our current economy, but one thing is for certain when it comes to looking for a job and pulling out all the stops, let me just say one thing, "Greed is Good."

Munwha Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is a public organization, and corporation which operates on the basis of advertising revenue. Korean audiences have always rated MBC as the best broadcaster in Korea, especially in terms of credibility, popularity, audience ratings, and influence.

Frustrated about your job search?  Ready to kick not only the tires?  It's OK, to get angry if you are not moving in the right direction.  Just remember to vent, release and move on...

I have always loved the God of War series and the last God of War on PS2 left us with a cliffhanger in the story. Since then Sony has been teasing the crap out of us with God of War III screen shots, trailers, press releases, and all kinds of other stuff except for the actual game itself. E3 '09 showed off a very pretty demo which was then made available on PSN a few months later. But a demo of God of War III is not really God of War III!

Finally, God of War III has hit store shelves and Kratos fans everywhere are getting their fill of their favorite, bloody, vengeful, tormented, family-friendly Spartan! Hit the jump to see our review of God of War III.