tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1102810332285128572024-03-14T02:59:19.091-05:00SCOTT RAYMONDScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comBlogger352125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-80686788833533974282020-06-26T12:00:00.000-05:002020-06-27T16:55:54.519-05:00New Website / End of Blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_1jnaTnwLOY/XvdIxjJGQoI/AAAAAAAAN7s/b9Cry0-VjLEl4hjvFhLD8Ltqs3yZqmNTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Web.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1600" height="304" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_1jnaTnwLOY/XvdIxjJGQoI/AAAAAAAAN7s/b9Cry0-VjLEl4hjvFhLD8Ltqs3yZqmNTACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Web.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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I decided I needed a proper website - especially as I teach students how they must have a website in this day and age, but my own example is a blog. Also, the focus now is on social media, and my time and attention is on updating the APSU Animation + Visual Effects profiles.<br />
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I started this blog back when I was starting Animation Mentor, at the very start of 2011. Since that time I switched to animating full time at DreamWorks, then moved to Tennessee to head up a new animation program - which saw it's first graduates this past Spring. The wife and I have each embarked on our own freelance careers. We've also welcomed two amazing little boys into our family (who now insist on staring in their own <a href="https://vimeo.com/425676687"><span id="goog_1769917840"></span>visual effects shorts<span id="goog_1769917841"></span></a>). It's been a helluva ride.<br />
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Please check out my new site at: <a href="https://www.thescottraymond.com/">https://www.thescottraymond.com/</a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-897816332513584472020-05-08T12:00:00.000-05:002020-05-09T08:13:47.670-05:00Virtual Graduation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D8R2_2zGh-A/XrWz37MiJMI/AAAAAAAAN3c/f1gjMYJpku0Kp4YigxfUATlJngJTWpSCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/zoom2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="840" height="402" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D8R2_2zGh-A/XrWz37MiJMI/AAAAAAAAN3c/f1gjMYJpku0Kp4YigxfUATlJngJTWpSCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/zoom2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Official graduation ceremonies has been postponed this year due to the pandemic. So the Department decided to throw our own version for our nearly 40 Art+Design graduates! The Chair opened with a few remarks, the Dean read off the names of the students, and we were very lucky to have Kaye Vassey join us to give some encouraging words to the students. It was a really fun experience - and we live streamed it to Facebook Live so any and all relatives of students could join in the moment.<br />
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You can check out the full video at:<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/apsuartdesign/videos/1341575792708778/">https://www.facebook.com/apsuartdesign/videos/1341575792708778/</a><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9hp1WsmuM1Q/XrX09IIBCEI/AAAAAAAAN3o/_b794Z14YWkw1T0xpaCI0WLrXQjdzKU8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Grad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9hp1WsmuM1Q/XrX09IIBCEI/AAAAAAAAN3o/_b794Z14YWkw1T0xpaCI0WLrXQjdzKU8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Grad.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-41953605095732473972020-04-20T12:00:00.000-05:002020-04-20T17:07:56.035-05:00Spring Senior Thesis Projects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N3SaRUWjG1k/Xp4bTMP4tPI/AAAAAAAAN2U/YB2nvkp1NAY94471BwFkzi1LCiAthvLSACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/SeniorThesis_PR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="653" height="328" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N3SaRUWjG1k/Xp4bTMP4tPI/AAAAAAAAN2U/YB2nvkp1NAY94471BwFkzi1LCiAthvLSACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/SeniorThesis_PR.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With the closing down of in-person University functions, it means all the senior thesis capstone projects have had to find a way to move online. We have several animation projects this semester which will be announced <span style="background-color: white;">on the APSU Art + Design </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/artapsu/?hl=en" style="background-color: white; background-image: linear-gradient(currentcolor, currentcolor); background-position: 0px 90%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 100% 0.0625rem; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #bb1e3a; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">Instagram</a><span style="background-color: white;"> and </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/apsuartdesign" style="background-color: white; background-image: linear-gradient(currentcolor, currentcolor); background-position: 0px 90%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 100% 0.0625rem; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #bb1e3a; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;">Facebook</a><span style="background-color: white;"> pages. Check out the full Press Release at this <a href="https://www.apsu.edu/news/april-2020-art-exhibits-online.php">LINK</a>. </span></span>Our animation student Myles is also quoted in the article:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Monday, April 27, APSU senior Myles Johnson will present “After School Cartoons” - an animation project that recreates the channel-surfing experiences of his childhood. Johnson created a website to host his collection of videos.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I mean, this whole thing has been rough,” Johnson said. “My main idea was to immerse the viewers in a living room environment to transport them to a time specific in my life when I would come home from school and watch cartoons. Now that my show will be online, that idea is so much harder to execute. I have to find some way to make a website that will do the same job the living room would have done. I have a positive outlook on this, though. Animation lends itself well to being in an online format, so I'm lucky in that regard."</span></blockquote>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-28167723837527953702020-03-31T12:00:00.000-05:002020-04-07T16:44:37.401-05:00Pandemic Academic Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-trTJHJFRs5g/XozztG_ko3I/AAAAAAAAN1A/gP3aObEePEQxsI-CL3t5CF2l8Q96hw10ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Quarantine.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="1600" height="120" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-trTJHJFRs5g/XozztG_ko3I/AAAAAAAAN1A/gP3aObEePEQxsI-CL3t5CF2l8Q96hw10ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Quarantine.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Well, as with the rest of the world, APSU has moved to online classes for the rest of the semester. A few students are still going into the animation lab, but most students are at home. Classes are being held via Zoom. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but I'm super proud of all my students learning to go with the flow.<br /><br />Learning some remote collaborative workflows is actually a REALLY good career skill right now.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-57547631858855834162020-03-25T12:00:00.000-05:002020-04-16T14:17:50.479-05:00Loomie App is live<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XfgNQeWJuA0?controls=0" width="560"></iframe></div>
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Excited to see the Loomie App get launched recently! I had a hand in helping with this project and it was great fun to work with my ol' supervisor from DreamWorks Mahesh (along with a great crew of people). The app is available on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.loomai.loomie&hl=en_US">Google Play</a> the apple <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/loomie/id1480766333">App Store</a> and can be added to networking platforms like Slack!<br />
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Check out all the cool avatar projects in the works at <a href="https://loomai.com/">Loom.ai</a><br />
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-80694150102897440752020-03-02T12:00:00.000-06:002020-03-02T12:00:04.494-06:00Heather VASE Talk Followup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJrudhlvsH4/Xl0-Dw2LURI/AAAAAAAANyA/lMNuos7d2dEAcj8vOIwyGzbVNZbe0uI-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/VASE_FollowupArticle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="1600" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJrudhlvsH4/Xl0-Dw2LURI/AAAAAAAANyA/lMNuos7d2dEAcj8vOIwyGzbVNZbe0uI-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/VASE_FollowupArticle.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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APSU Press Relations has a followup article about Heathers speech last week. Check it out <a href="https://www.apsu.edu/news/february-2020-abels-lecture-coverage.php">HERE</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Department of Art + Design and the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts welcomed award-winning senior matte painter and environment designer Heather Abels to Austin Peay State University on Wednesday, Feb. 26.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Abels is a Clarksville resident and friend of the Department of Art + Design who works with major film, TV and animation studios such as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Rhythm and Hues and Nemesis Collective,” Michael Dickins, chair of the Visiting Artist Speaker Committee, said.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Abels has worked on matte painting for various movies, including “Frozen II,” “Deadpool,” “Game of Thrones,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Django Unchained,” “300: Rise of an Empire” and “Moana.” She also worked on Academy Award winners in best animated feature or visual effects, including “Zootopia,” “Big Hero 6,” “Avatar” and “The Golden Compass.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">During her talk at Austin Peay, she discussed with the students three major things that she has learned throughout her career: inspiration, failure and acceptance.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Abels was inspired early in her career by legendary matte painters. She got her inspiration when she was a young child by watching “Star Wars,” “Toy Story” and “Jurassic Park.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“When I talk about inspiration, I’m not talking about what excites you,” Abels said. “I’m talking about people that you surround yourself with and surrounding yourself with people who inspire and motivate you is one of the first things that helped me in my career.” <span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">She encourages the new generation of artists to take the next leap and evolve from digital 2D to digital 3D matte painting techniques. She has taught at several universities and has an ongoing workshop at CGSociety.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">She reminds her students that they will fail at times. <span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s about failing and failing again until you get it right,” she said. “And it’s not always what you want. You’re trying to execute somebody else’s vision.”<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Acceptance is being able to take the feedback and create something better.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">“You don’t know what you don’t know, till you’ve learned what you didn’t know,” she said. “What I’m saying here is about being humble. There are a lot of artists whose careers haven’t taken off because they were unwilling to accept feedback, and visual effects is all about modification.” </span></blockquote>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-35085773492264132362020-02-27T12:00:00.000-06:002020-02-28T09:11:57.822-06:00Heather's APSU Visiting Artist Talk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hiSsbN-6aC4/XlksOunHYMI/AAAAAAAANw4/M1-DIP1UEvkPuzNZmNT4Reb5xumus1DDACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/HeatherTalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hiSsbN-6aC4/XlksOunHYMI/AAAAAAAANw4/M1-DIP1UEvkPuzNZmNT4Reb5xumus1DDACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/HeatherTalk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Last night Heather gave a lecture as part of APSU's and CECA's Visiting Artist Speaker Series. Even with a slight snow storm there was a great turn out and lots of great questions by the students in attendance!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-12927653435268534072020-02-24T12:00:00.000-06:002020-02-24T12:00:10.345-06:00Heather's talk this week!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25RUORXR_OM/XlQIAhRy9oI/AAAAAAAANwA/GHIfsGRHSCAZgcgKw6uyQUZUKv8Nz_ZOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/thumbnail_Abels-TV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-25RUORXR_OM/XlQIAhRy9oI/AAAAAAAANwA/GHIfsGRHSCAZgcgKw6uyQUZUKv8Nz_ZOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/thumbnail_Abels-TV.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-88133115328186333572020-02-17T12:00:00.000-06:002020-02-17T12:00:00.819-06:00Press Release for Heather's VASE Lecture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOD5ZoRtS9s/Xkq-ueUp3BI/AAAAAAAANvU/XvihSyGs4MUYRdn9tjoAVZu4XEyPtHa2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Vase_NewsBlurb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="842" height="288" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOD5ZoRtS9s/Xkq-ueUp3BI/AAAAAAAANvU/XvihSyGs4MUYRdn9tjoAVZu4XEyPtHa2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Vase_NewsBlurb.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can check out the full release <a href="https://www.apsu.edu/news/february-2020-abels-lecture.php">HERE</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Department of Art + Design, with support from The Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is pleased to welcome award-winning senior matte painter & environment designer, Heather Abels, to Austin Peay State University. </span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Abels is a Clarksville resident and friend of the Department of Art + Design who works with major film, TV and animation studios such as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Rhythm and Hues and Nemesis Collective,” Michael Dickins, chair of the Visiting Artist Speaker Committee, said. “She is credited on such films and TV series as ‘Frozen II,’ ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events,’ ‘Zootopia,’ ‘Django Unchained,’ ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ and ‘Moana.’ We are really excited for her visit as she will give an artist lecture on her creative practice and her life and career as a sought after, award-winning, Hollywood matte painter.” </span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Abels’ lecture – which is free and open to the public – is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, in the Trahern Theatre, located in the Trahern building at Austin Peay. All ages are welcome.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Abels has contributed to multiple Academy Award winners</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Abels is a senior matte painter with over 12 years of experience in the visual effects industry. Her work encompasses live-action blockbusters, animated feature films, national advertising campaigns, cutting-edge VR and concept work. She also has taught at several universities and has an ongoing workshop at CGSociety.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">She has worked at top studios including Walt Disney Animation, Blur Studios, Weta Digital, Matte World Digital, The Orphanage and Rhythm & Hues. During her time at Rhythm & Hues, she became matte department supervisor. In doing so, she was able to cross the divide between artists and technicians in order to build and adapt the department to meet new demands, as seen in the Academy Award-winning film “Life of Pi.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">She worked on other Academy Award winners in best animated feature or visual effects include “Zootopia,” “Big Hero 6,” “Avatar” and “The Golden Compass.” </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Abels was mentored and inspired early in her career by the legendary matte painters who made the leap from traditional painting to digital. She has focused on mentoring the new generation of artists to take the next leap and evolve from digital 2D to digital 3D matte painting techniques.</span></blockquote>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-80059460229640702212020-02-13T12:00:00.000-06:002020-02-13T21:28:51.236-06:00Heather giving talk at APSU!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm so excited to have Heather come talk to APSU students as part of the VASE speaker series put on by our own Michael Dickins with support from the Center of Excellence in the Creative Arts.</div>
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-19143455805575764972020-01-31T12:00:00.000-06:002020-02-03T19:28:34.538-06:00VFX2 Class Shoot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYIGZzeHcEE/XjjH7kmx-EI/AAAAAAAANtQ/d5LHG1PP27oOGL0nQ_9UXwRaFKm7HE6iwCEwYBhgL/s1600/JPGS_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1600" height="366" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lYIGZzeHcEE/XjjH7kmx-EI/AAAAAAAANtQ/d5LHG1PP27oOGL0nQ_9UXwRaFKm7HE6iwCEwYBhgL/s640/JPGS_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Today we took advantage of the overcast skies to shoot outside for our VFX2 class project. We've made a clean plate from a frame of Jurassic Park, and we're going to insert ourselves into the footage. We figured out the perspective and horizon line of the shot camera, and thanks to IMDB we know that Sam Neil (aka Dr. Grant) is 6 feet tall exactly, we were able to figure out what angles we needed to film to get the correct perspective.<br /><br />Not having to set up lighting equipment was a bonus.</div>
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Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-76111075700319333312020-01-14T12:00:00.000-06:002020-01-14T15:04:22.168-06:00UNL Alumni Magazine - Interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iitfa5PBT7Y/Xh36wxUFA4I/AAAAAAAANrA/GmVYpDOGy-4gYPzGO1efa4rhhtdYiYI4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/UNLAlumniMag_Interview1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iitfa5PBT7Y/Xh36wxUFA4I/AAAAAAAANrA/GmVYpDOGy-4gYPzGO1efa4rhhtdYiYI4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/UNLAlumniMag_Interview1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-91113680222126672302020-01-13T12:00:00.000-06:002020-01-14T11:30:10.819-06:00UNL Alumni Magazine - Honors Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-18146302793293348272019-12-09T12:00:00.000-06:002019-12-13T22:41:25.550-06:00Animation 3 - Short Film<div style="text-align: center;">
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In Animation 3 this semester, we took a vote what students most wanted to take on over the next 15 weeks. Overwhelmingly they wanted to create a short film...so create a short film we did. Student each pitched 1 rough ideas, of which one they went ahead and fully storyboarded. Then we voted on a class which idea we thought was the most creative, interesting, and doable in our short timeframe.<br />
<br />So today we premiered that short during the class Final. Thirteen students spent almost exactly two months to create the minute long short you see above!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-42517625387960213142019-12-05T12:00:00.000-06:002019-12-13T22:36:49.073-06:00Art + Design Open House<div style="text-align: center;">
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Last night Art + Design held it's first ever "Open House" event to conclude the end of the semester. It was great seeing all the work produced over the last 15 weeks all at once. For us Anim/VFX folk, I created a new reel of the semesters work and we had a few of the 3D prints sitting out in the hallway.</div>
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Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-86953353289664065212019-12-02T12:00:00.000-06:002019-12-03T00:54:43.267-06:00The Creators Society Leadership <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm proud to have been voted as the Chief of the Associates Branch of The Creators Society. I'm excited to be a part of this amazing group of professionals and excited to see where the next year takes us. Learn more (and join) at The Creators Society website <a href="https://thecreatorssociety.org/">HERE</a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-45865315509567104862019-11-25T12:00:00.000-06:002019-12-03T00:48:49.690-06:003D Printing time in Digital 3D Class<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zxAVqZ18ak/XeYELQkclEI/AAAAAAAANmo/UiY3d0zXZ8AFP9i8pzuLolDEdXDwVYKgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/3DPrintFall19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zxAVqZ18ak/XeYELQkclEI/AAAAAAAANmo/UiY3d0zXZ8AFP9i8pzuLolDEdXDwVYKgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/3DPrintFall19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In Digital 3D class we've spent all semester designing and building "Helper Bots" in Maya. This week we started printing them out on the school's MakerBots. After the tedious months of getting past modeling, textures/UVs, and rigging - it's really rewarding to see and hold these prints. A tangible result and gratification after all that time just getting it into existence.<br /><br />We also have a new larger MakerBot Replicator+ that makes awesomely bigger prints...like this guy in the photo below!<br />
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-58478924258720721442019-11-22T12:00:00.000-06:002019-11-22T12:00:03.417-06:00Heather Frozen II Interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Heather was interviewed about her work on Frozen II (which comes out today!) for this press release from APSU. Check out the full article <a href="https://www.apsu.edu/news/november-2019-frozen-II-abels.php">HERE</a><br />
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">What was your experience working on “Frozen II” with Disney?</span>I worked at Disney years ago on “Big Hero 6,” a little bit of “Zootopia,” “Moana<em style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">” </em>and some other projects. After that, we moved to Clarksville. All my friends that are still there are really great artists and a really fun collaborative environment, so when I got the opportunity to go back for a couple months, I was like, “We can go to Disneyland all summer and work on a movie and hang out with my friends? Heck, yeah! I want to do that! That sounds great!” The first big thing was going back to Disney and seeing how much things had changed. The whole building has transformed, the people are reinvigorated. Seeing the familiar faces was nice. But every team on every movie is different, but for me, getting to meet and work with the art directors is always thrilling. When you’re working remotely, it can be very isolating, you don’t have any colleagues to work with, you don’t have anybody to go have coffee with. So just getting to be around all these people is really exciting. Everybody there gets along incredibly well. Getting to see the movie ahead of time is always exciting because you don’t just see the movie, you’re seeing it as a work in progress. The versions of the movie I’ve gotten to see are part storyboard, part rough animatic, part completely finished. Even the last version I saw is not the last version of the movie. I can’t wait to see the final product because I’ve had the songs stuck in my head since June, but I can’t sing them out loud! Even if I’m humming a tune to myself, nobody’s going to know what’s going on. It’ll be nice for the rest of the world to see it.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">How is matte painting different when working on a live action film vs an animated film?</span><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span>Fundamentally they’re similar. With live action you always have a plate. You always have a reference to real life. The goal is to make it as photoreal as possible. That can be quite easy with all the photographic references. You know what that target is right away. With animated movies, the target is always different. The style changes on every movie and even on every sequence. While you want it to look real, it’s also very stylized. Everything has to fit the style of the world. You have to have very strong painting skills in addition to being able to do a bunch of generalist work. With animated movies, it’s trickier to fit matte painting into the schedule and find reference for what you’re making.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: bolder; text-align: center;">Does there ever come a point where you can be picky about the projects you take on?</span>Since I’ve moved here and decided to only freelance, I have been able to pick and choose whichever jobs I’m interested in. But more importantly than the jobs is that I get to pick my colleagues or the companies I work with. I choose the companies that are easiest to work with and the most friendly as opposed to working with another company with a cooler project. At this point in my career I have enough cool titles and shots that I’m not worried about building my reel. I’ve already led teams. I’ve helped companies build their departments. Now I just want to have a good working relationship with my colleagues.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Is there a dream project for you?</span>Not really. Everybody used to want to work on “Star Wars” or “Avatar” or “Harry Potter,” and I got a chance to work on all of those. Part of the problem is, if you love a franchise, working on it is like seeing behind the curtain. Then you have all these different memories that changes the movie for you. There’s not a whole lot I would choose over my family now. The whole reason we moved here was that we chose family over fame. <span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">What are you up to now?</span>Now I’ve got my own office at home. I work on a lot of different projects. I don’t get as much feature film work now. I get a lot of commercials and game cinematics. I got to work on “Game of Thrones” and “Lemony Snicket’s” series on Netflix. I get to help companies train their matte painters. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of work for a company that does all the park shows that use projections at Disney World.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: bolder; text-align: center;">Are you teaching or doing any mentoring?</span>I had been teaching online at CG Spectrum and a class through Pluralsight. I also taught electronic imaging here at Austin Peay when we first moved here. That was really fun. I was just really excited to teach people. I still have hundreds of students that I have taught in the past that keep in contact letting me know if that they got a job interview or asking to use me as a reference. It’s really exciting to see your students successful.<span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">What is your opinion on what the animation department is doing here at Austin Peay?</span>I think it’s really exciting that students have a place to go that isn’t too far from home. I had to go five hours away when I was going to school to get something even close to what I wanted to do. But now students have so many opportunities so much earlier in life. With any education, it’s all about the effort you put in. If you put in the work, you can go anywhere and do whatever you want. Everything we do online is something that has been designed by artists. There’s so much to do out there. It would be very difficult to design some web pages without animation knowledge. What’s great about Austin Peay is how much students get to dabble in everything.</blockquote>
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Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-17456553945859065382019-11-16T12:00:00.000-06:002019-11-17T07:00:43.587-06:00New Animation Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the new Animation + Visual Effects majors has decided to start a new Animation Club here at APSU!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-33330448947426890612019-10-31T12:00:00.000-05:002019-11-06T21:41:51.155-06:00Animax Visit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last night Heather and I had an amazing opportunity to go visit <a href="https://www.animaxdesigns.com/">Animax Designs</a> here in Nashville. The meeting was set up by a <a href="https://animationalchemy.blogspot.com/2016/05/student-animated-gifs.html">former student</a> of mine, Henry Kiltpatrick, who works there now. They are working on some super amazing stuff, of which almost nothing I can talk about - but they have announced recent work includes the T-Rex from Jurassic World Live and creating Hagrid and the Screwt for the new Harry Potter attraction at Universal Orlando.<br />
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We met some awesome people and saw some incredible things. Pretty great to have a place like this in our backyard...<br />
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-24268666773468263642019-10-29T12:00:00.000-05:002019-10-29T12:00:00.600-05:00New Week, New Senior Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week features Allison Stutts showcasing her graphic novel. The show is up in the Student Gallery all week.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-57885016291682373112019-10-23T12:00:00.000-05:002019-10-23T12:00:00.580-05:00Art + Design at Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just a cool shot of our Art + Design building after leaving the Senior Show Openings this week...Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-36849255787412119632019-10-22T12:00:00.000-05:002019-10-22T15:07:07.602-05:00New Senior Shows Opening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have two new Senior Show openings this week in the Student Gallery. Stephanie Knight has some amazing photo collages and Jonathan Bruns has copies of his graphic novel to read!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-17403652203411745302019-10-12T12:00:00.000-05:002019-10-14T10:00:54.212-05:00JAFF MoCap Workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had a great time showing off our Motion Capture system for a Jackson Alley Film Festival Workshop this Friday. I always love seeing Theatre Professor Talon Beeson in action - and it was fun to cover this from both the performance and tech side of things.<br />
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110281033228512857.post-1797127320011497732019-10-11T12:00:00.000-05:002019-10-12T10:09:33.827-05:0024 Hour Press Followup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The APSU public relations team did a great followup article with the teams about their experience with the 24 Hour Animation Contest! Check it out <a href="https://www.apsu.edu/news/october-2019-24-hours-follow.php">HERE</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ten Austin Peay students had 24 hours to create the best possible 30-second animated film they could working off nothing more than a contest prompt and the knowledge they’ve earned from the university’s emerging animation program.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As it turns out, the students – who broke into two teams of five – didn’t need the time allotted to them by the 24 Hours Animation Contest for Students, an international competition that last year included more than 200 teams and about 50 colleges. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One Austin Peay State University team needed only 23 hours to finish its hand-drawn movie (two-dimensional animation), a task that required team members to create more than 700 drawings then scurry across campus for recording equipment to capture the film’s dialogue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The other team accomplished its three-dimensional, computer-generated movie in 21 hours, which required team members needing more than five hours just to create the characters<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">,</span> let alone the 12 hours to give the characters’ movement (not counting the time needed to capture real humans modeling character movement). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Our group was very happy with the final result of our work,” Claire Layne, who led the team that created the 2D movie (embedded above)<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, said</span>. “Everyone worked extremely hard on each task. Strong communication among our group was a pivotal part of our success, and the experience brought us closer as a team.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Peyton VanHook, who led the 3D team (video embedded below), agreed: “It was a great experience. We really hit our stride. A big part of what we did was develop all the pieces that needed to come together.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘Developing all the pieces’ on little sleep</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The common key to success for both teams was just that: “developing all the pieces” or “working hard on each task.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">All the teams in the competition had to create movies based on the question, “What does family mean to you?” They had 24 hours to create a 30-second movie from scratch<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">,</span> beginning when the prompt was announced at around 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Using VanHook’s team as an example, the student animators started by spending about 30 minutes coming up with a concept. One of the students then broke off to create the character models, a task that took five to six hours. During that time, her teammates focused on creating the story. Other tasks included refining the storyboard and filming a reference video to capture human movement to apply to the characters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After all that came 12 hours of animation – making the characters move within the story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“We didn’t even get started animating moving stuff until 1:30 in the morning because we had to make sure all the pieces were ready to go,” VanHook said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Layne’s team used hand-drawn animation in its movie, a process that requires about 24 drawings in each second of the movie. Her team also decided to add dialogue to the movie, and those voices came from the team members themselves, using a sound studio on campus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“The time crunch was a challenge since we realized that we were going to use dialogue for our short,” she said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">VanHook added, “None of us got much sleep.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Layne’s team included Catelyn DaSilva, Jonathan Bruns, Nicholas Stiers and Jeremy Vega. VanHook’s team included Myles Johnson, Savannah Debord, Kayleigh Baird and Paul Gibson.</span></div>
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<span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>‘Mimics’ crunch time in professional animation</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This year is the third time Austin Peay students have participated in the October contest, which parallels life as a professional animator – especially the days leading up to a project deadline.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“It really mimics a little bit of when you’re in a studio setting and you’re in crunch time and you need to get a shot out by Friday,” Scott Raymond, associate professor in Art + Design, said. “You’ll do what you have to do, pull the crazy 80-hour workweeks to get things done.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Raymond has the experience to know; he worked on such films as “Trolls,” “Kung Fu Panda 3” and “Home” before joining APSU’s Art + Design department. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The contest also reinforces teamwork, he said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“You realize, ‘We’re all in it together,’” Raymond said. “Animation tends to be a solo adventure, but that’s not indicative about how it is in the real world. In the real world, you’re part of a team and you can’t do it all.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The contest awards five teams with prizes from industry sponsors and includes judges who are industry professionals. This year’s sponsors include DreamWorks Animation, the Cartoon Network, Blue Sky Studios and Sony Pictures Animation. The contest is an event by Animation Educators Forum, a subset of the animation industry group ASIFA-Hollywood.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "Gotham SSm A", "Gotham SSm B", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17363926821538433435noreply@blogger.com