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MADGOD: KickStarter

So we Launched the KickStarter Site today for MADGOD.. sweet!. so i thought i'd add to the "behind the scenes" images for people to check out. This project is like no other. It's more Alchemical, spontaneous, accidental, for better or worse it's unique. but words are boring... here's stuff to look at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/madgod/phil-tippetts-mad-god

sometimes my kids get trapped at the Studio while we work, Phil gives them quarters for the snack machine, and they draw...sometimes i pay them a nickel for every army man they melt !

I am almost all the way done with "the TEST" animation. i am up to around 1400x frames without a cut. I should wrap it next weekend i hope. it is definitley the longest single shot i've ever done.

MAD GOD pt.5

Rattled off another 200 plus frames again the other weekend... i don't even remember which. The Dark Tale continues, (and when say dark i mean i can't see a thing!) it's amazing how the Digital cameras these days can shoot in virtual darkness and still get a great exposure while animating in a literal cave!

the Minotaur: final pics

well.. not very good pics. but here are the last weeks worth of effort, painting , drying, painting, drying, etc.
String, wood, paper mache', glue, paint and wire, oh, and an unknown vertebrae, a chicken neck, and 2 dog teeth...

Fatman making pt2.

here is a more complete time-lapse of the "Fatman" sculpture

Fat Man .pt1 time lapse

Starting a new couple sculptures. this is a time lapse of the start of making it.

Mad God : pt4

The Pit: 240x in 7hrs.... couldn't see a thing, staring into the LED light held by the puppet was like staring into that light the Eye Dr. uses to see the backside of your eyeball. ya know the one where they say, " look at my left ear and the light-bar burns into the corner of your vision and it feels like your staring just to the side of the sun on a snow pack field?
none the less the feeling of being lost in a giant cavern, slowly moving thru a curious and impossible environment was mesmerizing. the time just slipped by as frame by frame the Assassin crept forward.

the Assassin and me.

this is more like what it looked like on the Set.... DARK!

Had to go Old School and shoot using surface guages because all i could see on the Frame Grabber was 10 pixels of a white spot that was the Assassin's Torch-

Got to shoot this one with Jim Apperle!!! he did the lighting and the camera move.

Circe: in progress

i have 1 camera on the Stop Motion set, the other camera shooting time lapse of a sculpture,(but still got the iPhone) also teaching Harper how to make diorama of Coco Chanel for school. But managed to get a couple new castings done (the cold weather makes it take about 3+ weeks for the catalyst to completely fire)... and started another sculpt. CIRCE.

Mad God: update 3

Blaring the Soundtrack to "The Fountain" and Ennio Morricone, we dance out a few more shots, WWII BlitzKrieg Cannons, Search Lights, and tiny tiny Guards in tiny towers, pointing tiny fingers and "Fire!"...

Phil Tippett and Gibby-

Mad God : update 2

For those out there still over analyzing, over thinking, squeezing the proverbial pencil to tight, the MG crew rattled off another couple shots. We were graced with Dennis Muren on this shoot. He swept in and in about 30min. had a set a few lights found an apple box and set down to animate some Search Lights, no fuss, what a talent, said he hadn't shot a frame in something like 25yrs. and he rattled off a shot, perfect, NO RESHOOTs ! i love that guy...

Dennis Muren, Hans Brekke, cMo,..

Hans and Dennis

the Eternal Stone: pt2

a little test shot that is starting to take on a life of it's own. stay tuned i'm going to keep at it til it's something.

Mad GOd update: 1

Well this weekend marked the 1st "tag team" shot between myself and the Mad Alchemist himself, Phil Tippett. We started around 10am putting the finishing touches on the set (mostly me telling Phil to STOP! hot-glueing stuff to the TOWER!) then around 2pm we did a quick Pop Thru on 3's to see the camera Boom. and then.... Pull the Trigger, Unleash the Hounds, ..! it's "Animation as Theater" we adjust, adapt, and animate on the fly as we go, it was definetley more of a 'dance' than the typical Stop Motion practice!!! We couldn't see anything the set was so dark, we just watched the specular kicks off the edges of shadows and let the rest to fate.
We finished the shot around 10pm and went home exhausted but happy. Animation CAN be a "performance" and not some stiff-premeditated-overly-analyzed-over-critiqued process! And you can take THAT to the Bank.

pic1: Phil Tippett at work

pic2: Chris Morley & Gibby

the Disobedient Pet:

it's back to the drawing thing. just to keep the muscles moving, 1 day doodles inspired by my kids (kid me) world, as usual, although i promise m0nsterS to appear soon.
it's whatever i can accomplish in a day, 1 idea , 1 chance.

the END :

today Jim Brown looked over at me and said, " i Surrender "... and i knew exactly what he was talking about! we've been doing this Once A Week ting for 30 weeks now and well i think we'd both like to sleep again-

a last installment ... just for a while

cat pt.3

still working, WEEK 29, very rough it's been a very busy week

the Cat: pt.2

week 28, why oh why did i restart this idea!!? well her's another installment on the looooong road to where i want to take it.

the Cat: pt1

sleepy, oh so sleepy,... but here is a quick CAT to start a new Finish for this older piece.

enjoy

the Trap:

well, week 26. this is another quick 3hr-ish stop-mo test. just mucking around with a cobbled together rig. it's all basically straight-ahead animation with FrameThief and a USB Web camera. not fancy, but it's a nice change from drawing.

Sneek : Old School

week 25, KEEP IT SIMPLE! well, i took it back to the old world, a single light, a USB camera, an armature, an about 3hr.
it's all about dusting of the old muscles and doing something SIMPLE. this turned out to be a good test for this armature, as i moved it around i found several articulation points that it was missing,(mainly in the shoulders and hips) i could add more joints or just live with it.... live with t i think