Hot AND a talented VFX artist??? *Swoon*

Being a long time employee at this "studio" I can say with certanty that the switch to Fusion or any other tool set won't help Intelligent Creatures.
They have deep rooted problems that stem from years of neglect as well as artist and management complacency. Any time someone came in that had significant knowledge regarding proper production techniques or the like they would leave because they saw what a joke IC is. You can't hide the fact that the people running this place don't know a thing about production. Get the job by bidding dirt cheap and expecting staff to work all nighters every night with no compensation while you're at home or "in a meeeting". Studios like this are what's wrong with the VFX industry. Leaving was the best thing I could have done for my career.

Comparing Guardians to Brave is like comparing two mid-level race horses.  They probably belong in the race but neither has a chance of winning.  Both films were green-lighted too early.  John Lasseter gave the go-ahead to Brave before there was even a hint of a script and before it had anything to do with Scotland.  Then he played musical chairs with the creative team for two or three years and wound up with what is basically an advertisement for how far CG has come in the presentation of human hair.  The script is a mess, full of errors that would have earned a first year screenwriting student a "D". 

Guardians is so high-concept that it needs an oxygen mask.  Treasure Planet was like that, just too high-concept to do anything.  Stories ought to start with stories, but when you are churning out two or three mega-budget animated movies per year, it really is no longer about story.  Hence:  Brave and Guardians

The good news is that the big studios have maxed out, and the playing field is opening up for new filmmakers with stories to tell and more earth-bound budgets.  The Big Three have painted themselves into a corner where they can only make movies for $200 million and up.  Might as well hang out in Vegas.

Thanks a ton Jeff...!

As always Jeffrey - you're advice is wonderful. Can't get any more focused than that! Thank you for sharing your experience and talent.

Don

Thanks so much!

Thanks SO much for this interview. I feel as if Bakshi is a big part of my childhood and adolescence...I saw Wizards in the theater (my mother took me, though I was pretty young), and Lord of the Rings, as well; and of course American Pop...

Bakshi was not only the frankest, least-inhibited animator ever to work in film; but was one of the least-inhibited and personal filmmakers generally of his time. His cinematic New York jibes exactly e.g. with the one Scorcese and Mardik Martin put together in Mean Streets...

Anyone hoping for a career in Visual Effects in the U.S. will have to wait a generation or so. The audiences are happy, for the moment, with the dirivative visual effects you can get from 3rd world countries. Until breaking new ground routinely is appreciated again, the U.S. won't innovate. People backing these projects will go cheap, they are just interested in making money. As long as that condition exists, they will keep doing what works for them. They will have to fail a few times and waste a lot of money, before they come around.
Our best minds should gravitate toward fields where innovation is recognized as a way to stay ahead. I am afraid Visual Effects isn't one of them right now.
It is also the Visual Effects industry's fault in taking low bid work. Small companies take work that they really can't afford if they intend to survive. The streets are littered with failed companies that took low bid work. Budget types take short term tax incentives or offshore the work to keep costs down. They aren't concerned with standards. The only ones concerned with standards are audiences & Visual Effects companies. That is why having a credit is important, so the audience knows that at least the visual effects work is supervised by people who innovate.

If I were a young person in the U.S. today, I wouldn't go into the Visual Effects industry. People with budgets chase the cheapest way to accomplish anything, which breeds mediocrity. If you want to work in a low paid sweat shop, move to a 3rd world country there you can find plenty of work.
When labor ceases to be a problem, it will be something else. You will get something akin to pre-vis graphics in films (or should I say videos). Then people with budgets will innovate.
Don't look for innovation for a generation. That's what happened in the 60's & 70's. What makes us think anything will be different now? People with money won't make any progress on their watch until the audience cares about the quality of the graphics presented to them.
Anything that has happened time after time in this industry shouldn't surprise anybody.

Wizards was one of those films that inspired me to get into the comics field. And I look forward to your current endeavers!

What a couple of cantankerous old farts you two are. Love it! Keep up the good work Ralph.

It works with the new point cloud engine in AutoCAD 2011, but releis on the TIN surface engine in Civil3D. If you don't want to create the TIN surface, the plug-in can be used on other AutoCAD vertical products.

EXCELLENT INTERVIEW! I enjoyed a lot!

Very interesting interview, Dan and Ralph! Perhaps computer drawing tools (FLASH being the first) are a big factor the return to reiterating (regurgitating?) the flat, limited UPA style so many studios are following today? Also, other than the studios Ralph ran, there have been few places artists can be truly "honest". John Kricfalusi recently said Animation's highly inbred and recycled - I hope Ralph will once again show it doesn't have to be that way.

Fantastioc post (and photogrpahy), Dan!

Many thanks for taking the time to post it. I bet that anyone would have picked up something new, here.

I look forward to more studio tours, and inside information.

Steve Jay

well this film was far better than brave and far more beautiful to look at!!

absolutely brilliant work..i love this filim as same as much i love my favourite "titanic and avatar".. and the music is kissig my mind..GREAT DIRECTION..GREAT FILIM..

Great article. I agree with much of it. I've often seen the Simpsons format of being closer to a live action sitcom like married with children or even cheers. It has that same sense of permanence in the presentation of its characters and plot outlines.

All. The birds. What channel though?

As was mentioned vfx is subcontracted. As an effects house you are only viable on a per project basis and have to outbid others if possible based on your resources. You will be at the mercy of outsourcing which seems to be drifting overseas. The cost of operation in areas like California is becoming prohibited.

Follow the money. Who is doing well while the effects companies struggle to break even? Content ownership is they key to survival these days. Having a slice of creative ownership will be the defining factor. If you are not actively creating content and merely doing effects for a project you will always be at the mercy of the market.

Create the content, keep it in-house and cost effective. If there is a demand for it you will be OK. Pixar and Lucas (prior to the sale) were doing just fine.