Animation 101: Constructing a Story for a Short Film, Part 4: Resolutions and Endings..

This is the fourth part of constructing a story for a short film. Part 1 introduction. Part 2 The Image. Part 3 Conflict. Part 4 is Resolutions and Endings.

Every short film should have a good ending. I can't overstate the importance of a satisfying ending. In a lot of ways it's the ending that is remembered. You can have the greatest technique or characters, subtle actions, conflict and build up.. but if the ending isn't complete, it's all a waste. But let's back up a bit, and talk about "Resolution." A resolution is quite different than an ending, I would say that a "Resolution" is simply the first step to achieving a quality "Ending."

The conflict we established and built up requires some sort of "Resolution." Something needs to happen that ends the conflict. This resolution can introduce a new conflict, can neutralize or satisfy the original conflict, or can introduce an element that makes the original conflict insignificant. All fine ways to resolve what you have built up. In the most simple form, what you must do is solve the conflict in a witty, interesting, creative, emotional, and unexpected way.  Let's return to our relaxed cyclist. He's continuing to ride, oblivious to the mass of smelly stinky impatience directly behind him. This massive body of cars, trucks and buses have developed into a ineffable body that fills the frame behind the peaceful cyclist, who is a speck comparatively (contrast!). Now enter the first part of the resolution, we go very wide and they start to cross a bridge (symbol).. immediately it begins to shake, it can't hold the weight. It looks as if the entire group, cyclist included, is going to crumble into a twisted heap into the ravine.. but it only happens the exact moment that the cyclist reaches the other side. CRASH.. now.. dead silence. peace. contrast to the previous shot... Resolution. The cyclist quietly continues his ride. (this is the resolution, not the ending)

In Michael Dudok De Wit's epic film "Father and Daughter" the conflict with the daughter is her missing her father, who disappeared in a boat when she was young. The film takes us through her entire life, shows her growing up without him, but always having this connection, and keeping it in context of a bicyle (symbol).. always looking if he will return from the lake. The build up happens through her getting older, continuing her life up through marriage, children, and old age, but she will never give up hope. This distinct struggle demands a resolution, and the film would not have been so effective if it had ended with her simply always waiting.  Finally, so much time has passed that the lake has dried up, and she is an elderly woman. Despite her age and frailty, she journeys out into the lake which is now a grassy field. She finds the sunken remains of her fathers boat. She curls up into it, and dies. (this is the resolution, not the ending)

At this point it's important to note a key element to story: What does the character want? If you crafted your "Image" and developed your "Conflict", it shouldn't be such a hard question to answer. If you can't answer this question, an alarm should go off, you are most likely dealing with too much complexity and lack of the glorious simplicity of an idea.

There are many ways to reach a "Resolution" in your story. One method is to give the character what they want, but not how they thought they would get it, or not what they expected it would look like. Perhaps they don't even know they get it! Our loyal cyclist has no idea that the bridge collapse took care of his conflict.. because the conflict itself existed outside of the character (see how easily all this stuff can be twisted?). But there's no question what the cyclist wants.. he wants to continue his wonderful relaxing ride, he wants to remain in his happy state. The bridge collapsing made this possible, unbeknownst to the protagonist.

In my film "Handshake" the resolution, after a hallucinatory build up, is that the male character gets literally ingested by the female character.. and then there is that wonderful silence. It's that contrast that typically follows a resolution, this contrast will lead us boldly to a satisfying ending.  In "Father and Daughter" the old woman curls up and falls asleep (dies) and we cut to a extreme wide shot.. everything has changed. There is a contrast we can taste. It almost feels like an ending. A good resolution will do that, it fakes you out a bit, it gives you an pre-ending, so to speak.  The old woman awakes, but the world looks different.. she gets up and as she gracefully walks, she morphs into a little girl, she runs, runs faster.. directly into the arms of her father who is standing there waiting for her.  Thank you Michael for creating such a wonderful masterpiece.

"Father and Daughter" Michael Dudok De Wit.

Let us continue on the "Ending", the final bookend that contains your main idea in a nice package. Endings are synonymous with satisfaction. Your final ending may be very dramatic, or a simple gag, of course depending on your Image, conflict, and resolution. A satisfying ending doesn't have to be character related at all. There's a great technique employed by more non-narrative films, at the end of the film, they simply back up an show the grand picture, an all encompassing shot that either shows the technique that drove the film, or the entire world in which the film took place.  At the end of George Griffin's "View Master" he simply backs up to reveal all the cycles of walks and runs we have been watching are on a wheel, similar to the wheel used on the old toy "View Master", hence the title. It was a very satisfying ending to a film whose conflict very well may have been "what exactly are we watching?"

George Griffin's "View Master"

I've outlined several different ways to end your film in my past Animation 101 post: 5 ways to end your story, and I don't need to re-hash them. Especially since there are a multitude of ways to wrap up your story if you keep in mind how the Conflict is solved by  your Resolution and how that relates to your Ending, and you remain experimental and creative at problem solving. Often times shorts will use an "Exclamation Point" at the end of the film, just to give it a bit of a leap going into the credits. Again, let's go to our Cyclist. The threat is gone, he's continuing to ride joyfully, but after all that conflict we hear a tiny little ringing, we reveal a precious little girl riding a little pink bike with streamers (contrast to the man). The man is startled, almost falling.. he rides to a stop and allows the little girl to pass, he smiles as he looks around. We're satisfied. An ending can be a simple gag that accentuates and contrasts the Resolution. The audience instantly agrees that a little girl on a little bike is more powerful than all the machinery that an urban commute could throw at us.

Your short film is a gift the the world, it's for everybody and should communicate clearly what you wish to say or illustrate. Don't expect the audience to speak a language they (or you) don't know, but at the same time, know that the audience is smarter than you think, and most likely smarter than you the director. Animation has the distinct quality of being non-intimidating and completely approachable medium, use that to your advantage. You have their attention! Don't abuse that. The medium you chose to work with has limitations that you need to take advantage of, concentrate on what you can do, not what your medium can't or isn't very good at doing. Good filmmakers make use of Subtlety, pretentious filmmakers use Mystery and complexity, and call it Subtlety. 

In this series we broke constructing a short film story into four chunks, The Image, The Conflict, The Resolution, and the Ending. And I need to remind everyone reading this that this is only a framework in which to experiment. Twist and pull this, change it around, sew a head on where an arm should be. But most importantly, communicate and create. Ultimately, this is what we were all put here to do! Good luck, this was fun!

Animation 101: Constructing a Story for a Short Film, Part 3: The Conflict!

Conflict hangs out in the same playground as Contrast, and it is possibly the single key element that creates a story. Without conflict, there is no story, only character and design (which can work just fine by the way, story can become a big pain.. but I'm not going to start on that).  Characters Create Contrast. Contrast Creates Conflict. Conflict also includes something very dear to animators, which is Motion! Take your "Image" that you carefully crafted, and simply put it into motion. There you will discover your conflict. It will be a lot easier if your original image has contrast built in, but if it doesn't, no worries.  One of my students, Maryellen Atkins, created an image of a ship inside a bottle. The moment she put this image into action we had a story. The ship is trying to escape.. it slowly moves back, then strikes the glass as the entire bottle moves forward. The ship wants freedom. The conflict is clear, it's trying break free so it can sail away in glory.

Maryellen Atkin's "Ship in a bottle"

I like to look at my image and ask myself what the opposite of that image would be, and illustrate that right next to it.  One of my students, David Huang, has been observing how people ride bicycles. One of his more interesting observations was a very relaxed rider. Let's use this as an example of finding the "Conflict" within his "Image"... there he is, riding peacefully along, riding with such a relaxed attitude that his feet aren't even on the peddles.. they are thrown up on the handlebars and he's in a full reclining position with his hands behind his head. Nothing can disturb this man. Not even.. BANG an impatient, dirty, noisy, massive public transit bus, filled with horrible impatient screaming people. It follows directly behind him, practically on top of him. Contrast of scale, mood, color, emotion, gracefulness, weight, cleanliness.. gentlemen, we have "Conflict."

At this point it's vital to stay true to your character. Contrast does not equal Contradiction! Another student I know created a character that was very poor and desperate, yet there he was sipping sake and smoking cigarettes! That is a contradiction. Better to support your character's personality with props and circumstance, rather than going against it. This will ultimately serve the conflict as you make each personality very clear. This same poor and desperate character will look even more poor and desperate when confronted with a wealthy, well fed antagonist.  Allow every element to feed into your conflict. If your character is starving, exaggerate his thinness, have him eating his belt, study how hungry people move, how they talk and walk. Illustrate the extreme opposite of this, and study that. Study how fat people move and talk, how they eat. Study Study Study. There is a world out there to observe and digest.

Conflict needs to build. Years ago, my screenwriting teacher called it "Upping the Stakes". I like to simply call it "build up" in preparation for a release. This is the volcano that is about to erupt. This is the bridge that is about to collapse. Push it farther, build up to an extreme, and hold it as long as you can.  Then, bring back some contrast. You're building, building, building... and then break to a quiet subtle action.. then back to building building.  animator PES used this trick when he animated commercials for Coinstar. PES typically gives all his objects a directive, a mission. He then builds on this showing a larger world of multiple objects all striving toward a similar goal, boldly moving and breaking through barriers. But then he will cut to a more quiet, individual moment, a character struggling to do what all the others are doing without effort. This character is the "Gimp" and brings contrast and emotion to the build up sequence. This break from a build up is a wonderful way to inject a bit of contrast at the very moment where everything is at it's most tense. PES did this again in his short film "Game Over" where we are led on a tour of classic video games, acted out by household objects. When we cut to a new game, there is a quiet mood (for example the deep two note melody of "Space Invaders") and each game sequence builds up until it's time to cut to the next game. PES brilliantly ended this short with pac man disappearing into a simple "Game Over".. (more on endings and resolution on next post).

PES's "Gimp" character for Coinstar

In a short film Conflict can often times be simple continuation and building up of circumstances, gathering up into a crescendo and a leading to a breaking point.  Your image of a single character walking.. he's joined by another, they pick up the pace, they are joined by another, and another, and more.. until hundreds of people are sprinting in practically one entity. The conflict here is the action itself, it's race against itself, and it's unsustainable pace. Everything must stop at some point.

Characters fighting to pull each other free from "Handshake"

 In my film "handshake" the conflict is clear, the two people are stuck together, and wish to pull themselves apart. I build this up, or heighten it, by illustrating that the harder they struggle the more entangled they become, this struggle then builds and builds. But Conflict doesn't always have to be so obvious, it can be subtle or even mechanical, or it can be the build up itself like I mentioned. Conflict is something that can be reinvented in new ways, and here is where your creativity and experimentation will pay off. There's a more intense personal conflict happening in Hisko Hulsing's "Seventeen." We see a teenager coming of age, and his conflict is the outside world of monstrous maturity. This world is represented by several factors, including prostitutes and thuggish co-workers. The main character is also struggling with himself, and the desire (or inevitable decline) to actually become part of this world.

Conflict can come in so many ways. Conflict is everywhere. It's in the picture frame that won't stay up, it's in the drunk man trying to focus his eyes, it's in the dented aluminum can standing next to a brand new un-dented version. Conflict is your "Image" put into motion, given a struggle, some type of circumstance that brings it away from the norm. What we've done here is establish this normal state, and then change it, giving it a challenge, a story. This conflict inevitably ends with the "resolution." And that is up next.

Animation 101: Constructing a Story for a Short Film, Part 2: The Image

Every idea comes from a single image, no need to worry about a story at this point, that comes later. This image is what the story is built around. It's the very first brick, but is not necessarily the foundation, matter of fact the first image can become a rather minor part of the final picture. What's important here is to start somewhere, and start with something that sparks interest and establishes emotion. More often than not, for animators in particular, this image is a hybrid of several observations recorded in your sketchbook and then fused with a personal emotional flare. For example, the way different people drive, the way certain woman walk or eat. Perhaps the relationship between a triangle and a circle (I can see right away that the triangle is upset that it can't roll around freely like the circle). Or, it can simply be two clouds with distinctly different shapes (perhaps one very large, and one very small). One of my Thesis students last year, Kai-sen Chan, came into class on the first day with a sketch of a cactus hugging a flower. Perfect! On that he built his film "Plant Story."

Kai-sen Chan's "Plant Story"

The image that a film is built around typically expresses some type of cleverness, intrigue, conflict(more on that soon) or irony. For my film "Puppet" the image that I based the story from was a quick sketch of a kid wearing a hand puppet, but the hand puppet had a very mean expression, as if he was about to do harm to it's creator. This image creates interest and is deviously ironic, and the panic that is building within the kid can be felt. In Konstantin Bronzit's masterpiece "Au Bout Du Monde", the image was most likely a single house teetering precariously on the sharp point of a mountain. The image evokes thought, as we have certain preconceived notions of what a house symbolizes (solidity, safety, home), and the idea that it is balancing on a graphic summit begs for further information. It's interesting to point out here that the "Image" doesn't necessarily have to be character based, it can be environmental.

Konstantin Bronzit's  "Au Bout Du Monde"

Very often a strong image that becomes an impetus for a film is something that doesn't sit right with the viewer, or contradicts the viewers typical definition of what they are looking at. Or, more on a basic level, makes us laugh. Peter Ahern's very first image for his thesis film "Down to the Bone", was a kid who is inside out. He built the film around this very funny image.

Peter Ahern's "Down to the Bone"

Even within non-narrative films, an image is created in the beginning. In Ishu Patel's film "Bead Game", he created a row of small beads, mimicking his sketches of the snow drifts in the arctic. This image captured what he wanted to communicate, which was the way particles move together to create broad smooth lines that reflect the beauty of the natural world. In George Griffin's "View-master" the image was a bunch of people walking and running. This image led him to intense study of the animated looped cycle, and that in turn steered his technique that dominated the overall message of his film.

From George Griffin's "ViewMaster"

In Koji Yamamura's film "Mt. Head", the image of a small plant or tree growing out of the character's bald head intently creates intrigue. When we see this image we ask ourselves why this is happening, as well as feeling the roots of the tree burrowing into the bald skin of the character. It's bizarre, and creates an emotional interest in the character.

Koji Yamamura's film "Mt. Head"

Furthermore, an effective image typically illustrates a strong contrast in several ways. Contrast, is of course, a very important element in practically every part of film making, and we will discuss it more later. For now, let's just say that we should all be searching for contrasts, and attempting to put it in every place we can cram it into. Use that imagination of yours to find wonderful contrasts everywhere.  A very large but graceful man, riding a very small and delicate bicycle could very well be more thought provoking that an average sized man riding an average size bike. Contrast equals interest. If we see a goofy clown, and an anvil falls on his head, we may chuckle a bit.. but take a slick business man and drop an anvil on his head, and it's an uproar. You see, we expect something crazy to happen to a clown, but a man in a business suit creates better contrast with that particular action. Vice versa, if a clown sat down at a business meeting and started talking serious business.. we would laugh.

One time I was talking to Bill Plympton about his creative process behind his most beloved film "Your Face". He told me that he was sitting on the subway in New York, and across from him was a man with a very small, very scrunched up face. So scrunched up that it looked like it was going to just keep getting sucked into his head, and then reappear on the outside, only to get sucked into the middle of his head again. And we literally see, very early in his film, this image true to form.  It's a theme that I love about his work. He divulges in his observations about people, pushing them further than mere representation.

Bill Plympton's "Your Face"

Another effective method of achieving this "Image" is through the use of audio. When I was creating my idea for "Masks" I had an audio track to inspire me. I simply played this bizarre track, and images would appear into my brain. The first image I drew was a group of masked men singing to each other, being watched my little people a fraction of their size, the men looked like they were in a trance, resonating the trance-like score created by Karl von Kries. Music can do this, it evokes imagery, and becomes a very visual medium when you listen to it in a certain manner. I'm sure Nick Park couldn't resist seeing animals in cages when he first heard the interviews of people talking about their lives in nursing homes. From that audio the visuals came. The essence of this formula can be exemplified in Walt Disney's masterpiece "Fantasia." The artists created the imagery solely based on the direction and feel of selected classical scores, and remained beholden to those musical scores. Audio in this way works as a device to give  the artist a frame in which to work, limiting where he/she can stray outside of that frame (for example, the Disney artists could not, in any way, change the music), and limitations can often be your friend and closest ally. "The enemy of art is absence of limitations" stated Victor Hugo.

At this point it's a good idea to ask yourself what the "Normal state" of your image is. Get to know your image so you can answer any questions about it possible. These facts won't be in your film, but knowing them will affect how you make it move, react, struggle, etc. The "normal state" of Nick Parks animals in a zoo, are just that.. animals in a zoo. The "Image" creates interest because there is a microphone in front of these animals. But it's important to know the state of these creatures prior to the recordings. In feature film making they call this "Establishing the norm" and you really can't move on into your inciting incident without doing so. Since we're concerned with making a short here, this process needs to be condensed a bit. As I mentioned in the introduction, the use of symbols is a great way to establish this norm, or instantly give the viewer a bit of back story on character. As just a quick example, a circle is instantly recognizable as an approachable, friendly entity. Where as a prickly star shape has more of an edge to it. The audience will subconsciously pick up on the long spines and lack of soft appeal, and you can take advantage of that preconception. Often times, in a short, the very first shot will establish this norm.  In Michael Dudok De Wit's film "Father and Daughter" the very first shot establishes the deep bond between father and daughter, illustrated by showing them riding bicycles together, the bicycle itself becomes a symbol of their connection and is used throughout the film, all the way to the end.

First scene of "Father and Daughter" by Michael Dudok De Wit. This image immediately establishes the deep bond between father and daughter.

So, go create that all important "Image", allow it to guide you on your journey to creating your story. Let this image work for you, and your story will grow rapidly in your mind. Allow the relationships and contrasts to ask questions about the characters and situations, allow it to establish the normal state, and suggest intrigue into what may be happening. Pay close attention to what the emotional state of your image is. If you don't know what the emotional state is, all you have to do is ask yourself what the character or object in your image is feeling. We all have these images within us, for various reasons. Who knows why we, as artists, feel the need to express these things and put those images out there. It's just what we do I suppose.  Animators are sometimes intimidated by starting a short film. This is typically due to fact that they are inundated with complex solutions to their ideas. We often look at problems and our first action is to add garbage to it, make it complex. This is not how story works. The short story is simple, wonderfully simple. This simplicity is summed up in your very first "Image." Stay tuned, next up is Part 2 of "Conflict!"

Animation 101: Constructing a Story for a Short Film, Part 1: Introduction..

The Short Film is a very different beast from it's more long winded counterpart. A short doesn't have the time to tell intricate details about characters, back stories, or environments. We have our audience for a very brief, very precious period of time, and we can't waste any of it. A short film is like living in a tiny New York City apartment, you own very little, and what you do own has it's place. Within this apartment there's very little room to indulge in anything that isn't vital, and often you are forced to get rid of a lot of stuff, in exchange for clarity and a de-cluttered living space. The art on your wall has to be chosen carefully, because, well, it's your only wall. The filmmaker must be brief with his/her short and stick to the idea and not stray, yet cannot rush anything or cram info in at all. Often times shorts use symbols more readily than features, symbols have preconceptions attached to them already, thus one more thing the filmmaker doesn't have to worry about, or spend precious time divulging. It can be a challenge to express a clear idea in a matter of minutes, but it can also be a very clear and concise vehicle of communication.  There are several types of "Stories" you can employ in your short, some don't concern story at all. In Nick Parks short "Creature Comforts" we see a collection of interviews from elderly care homes translated to animals living in a zoo. The interviews themselves are so interesting and filled with character that the story becomes a simple exercise in recording, hence the film begins with the levels of a recording device, that's all the information we need to get going.

It can be suggested that where a feature tells a story, a short expresses an idea. This idea is packaged in a complete manner, and wraps up in a satisfying way. People that know me know that I'm not a big advocate of story in general, or at least I don't share the obsession of overstating it's importance, I believe it is purely one of the key elements to making a short, but shares this importance with character, design/aesthetic, overall appeal, technique, as well as execution of that technique. Many of the cliche chunks of advice filmmakers hear all the time are even more important with a short. "Show don't tell", "Get in late, get out early", "The medium is the message", etc.. all even more important when we only have a handful of minutes to express our idea. The medium is truly the message, so choose your medium well. The content will likely dictate your medium, for example, JJ Villards epic piece "Son of Satan", features the gritty poem by Charles Bukowski. JJ employs a raw, gritty, and awkward line art as if out of his sketchbook. The style and medium matches the equally raw words of the voice over.

When I first started making shorts, over 15 years ago, I was hesitant and worried about my skills as a story teller, animator, and lots of other things, so I kept things simple, brief, and based on the idea. I didn't realize it back then, but I was on the right track from the start. Humility can help you in many ways! understanding your limitations and working inside those limitations is key. There's a world of creativity that lives and breathes inside your limitations, in other words, there's limitless ideas within your limitations of skill.

I knew I couldn't' draw that well, but I also knew I had a knack for weird abstract action, like morphing, and twisting. My first film was called "Drink", based on the simple premise that we have many personalities in us all. To express this I illustrated different people crawling and stretching out of each others mouths.

We see incredible short films all the time, but rarely do we slow down and ask ourselves "Why" they work. What mechanics behind your favorite shorts contribute to their success? I love asking the question "Why!" There is so much to learn and benefit from others victories. There are so many ways to do things, and of course you don't have to follow the techniques I've outlined below. These are methods I've found useful, as well as many of my colleagues. I've written this more for the struggling idea maker, the person having trouble getting started or wrapping it up. These are not rules, they are suggestions, and suggestions are designed to be twisted, torn apart, chewed up, and spit out. So with that attitude, let's begin. In the following days I will post a 4 part series on Constructing a story for a Short Film. Most material is drawn from my personal notes while teaching the graduate thesis program at NYU Tisch-Asia from 2009-2014.

Animation 101: Four Reasons to use INK..

You have your daily sketchbook.. you have the habit.. you have the passion for observation, exaggeration, characterization and interpretation.. Try using INK. I use a fine point sharpie.. they are cheap and look great. Here are Four Reasons to use INK:1. Ink teaches you to commit. I've always had trouble committing, in life and in art. When you use ink you simply can't erase or undo. You learn to live with your choices, and more than that, you learn to appreciate your unfiltered choices (which some would call "mistakes"). Your brain is way ahead of your hand, and this is illustrated literally in the form of line. Learn to love these lines that seem to come from your subconscious, those are the lines that are honest, and the more you respect them, the more you will trust them.. next stop, good drawing.

2. Speed. There's nothing more painful than seeing someone slowly carve out a drawing. Most likely that that drawing will not have a shred of energy or motion to it (even if it's rendered well). To achieve motion and force, I believe an artist must capture the image from memory, from an instant. Ink teaches you to throw lines down.. boldly and quickly. When you're a traditional animator faced with the task of drawing thousands of images, this comes in quite handy.

 3. It's clean and lasts forever. Have you ever seen a pencil sketchbook a week after that book has been carried around everywhere? without fixative (that spray that will eventually kill you if you breathe too much of it) those pencil drawings will become smudges. Archivally speaking (making up words ) Your ink lines will look great 20 years later (i know this for a fact).
4. It looks cool. Ink produces often wonderfully unpredictable results, the way ink seeps into different textures of paper is something you can play with. A colleague of mine uses a water based pen and often mixes his saliva with the ink to do tonal work.. it looks great in and out of the crime lab.

Animation 101: 5 Reasons to stop whining about being offered jobs with no pay...

It's endlessly annoying to read artists complaining that someone contacted them to do work for free. Artists quickly use this situation to belittle, burn a bridge, and then bore us to death with self righteous pontification in the hope of looking ethical in the eyes of other artists. Artists get so emotional about it, they've even created bodies of work based on the concept (ironically probably didn't get paid for, or, perhaps got a lot of "exposure" from these drawings). 
Or, as cartoon brew illustrates one of the most self righteous and demeaning ways to handle the situation of being offered to work for free.  Another great example, which I confess, is very entertaining, is the famous Saissbury super market ad that is looking for "ambitious artist to voluntarily refurbish our canteen." and in turn garnered a hilarious response. I have to wonder how much time the artists spent writing that witty reply, or drawing. This attitude is summed up nicely in the following cartoon brew comment:

"Requests for free work come from people who literally don't value your work. Why humor these requests at all? It's blatantly insulting." -animator Marc Hendry

These examples show how Artists are systematically encouraged to act entitled, unprofessional, un-resourceful, and all around miserable.  The way people react to being offered a job with no pay says a lot more about that artist than it does the client. These days, if you are an un-resourceful artist with a bad attitude, you will have a very challenging career in front of you, to say the least.  Here are Five things to keep in mind when offered little to no money for your artwork or animation:

1. Someone is interested in your work, this is never a bad thing.
Stop and think about who you are upset with.  This is a person who not only found your work interesting, but liked it enough to contact you. It's a big mistake to assume other people are at the same moral standard as yourself, cut people some slack. Most people who offer artists work for no pay have simply never worked with artists, or are ignorant about how much work goes into the art. At the worst, they're just trying to get something for free.. but they like your work. Use this as a opportunity to educate someone about you and your art, instead of getting on your ethical high horse and start shouting.

2. People can find money.
Some of my best long term clients originated from an paltry amount of money, or no money at all.  But instead of whining and quickly burning a bridge, I suggested that they try to find some money. I like to use the phrase "scrape up some cash to cover my expenses." Often times this will jolt the client into the reality that artists make a living doing this, and require payment. If they valued your work enough to contact you, they will most likely find some money for you, but the artist has to ask and not dismiss. A favorite technique I use is to suggest a crowdfunding campaign, and tell them you are willing to contribute your name and art to the effort. I did this once and it resulted in getting a rate higher than I would have normally charged. Again, it's not a time to get insulted or upset. It's a time to get creative and flex your people skills.. or at the very least, politely decline.

3. Alternative payment options.
There are a lot of ways to get paid. I was offered to do a music video for free.. it was a great song, and the band had other really good songs.  But they really had no money. zero. Instead of getting insulted, I told them I couldn't do it, but I also said I loved their music, and I have an independent film in mind that could really use a score. We kept in touch.  Eventually, in exchange for them giving me a free score, I agreed to make a video for them. We also planned on collaborating on a few other projects.  In the end, I made a solid connection and a good friend.  In addition, often times you can barter things like unconditional creative control and distribution rights.  Another music video I did years ago was very very low budget, but the band agreed that I could submit the video to festivals and competitions, and it ended up winning a boat load of cash, which I never had to share with the band. The video played on MTV and other media, and led to many other jobs.

4. Always have a technique that can be offered for cheap.
My preferred technique is very expensive. So I have about four other techniques that look cool, but don't take me a load of time.  When a client offers me little or no money, I can always suggest one of these techniques.  It's good advice for every artist to have a quick low budget method at the ready. More often than not, clients end up finding more money as you get deeper into the project, because they see the potential and value (see above #2).

5. Exposure is not a dirty word.
As much as artists love to bitch about clients suggesting the job will offer "exposure".. sometimes a job will do just that, and you would be foolish not to consider this element.  I will admit that being offered a job for no money  but a lot of "exposure" is a cheap ploy clients pull on artists, but it's your attitude after this ploy that will either help or hinder you.  So before you get your panties in a twist, consider if there actually is a lot of "exposure" to this job, and use the above #1-4.  Don't condemn people for trying to get work for free, people do what they do, lighten up.

There is one example that I can share that quintessentially shows what I'm talking about above:  A colleague of mine with a similar style as my own was offered a job for a very small amount of money, he was insulted and replied to the client with a very indignant attitude.  Around the same time I was offered a similar job, but for even less money. I took a different approach, I was flattered that the client contacted me, but declined until they can "scrape up a bit more cash", I managed to get a little more money out of them (still very little), and also had the client agree that I have complete creative control.  Also, I really believed in the project and thought it would be successful.. So I had the client agree that any future work, would be given to me exclusively.  I did the job.. and for the next 5 years I got consistent and good budget work from this client, made some good connections, learned a lot about my own technique.  This single job lead to almost every other job I got for the next decade.  Years later, the client confided in me that the reason he kept coming back to me was my attitude early on.  Clients don't like difficult artists, and we really can be difficult, especially if we don't modify our attitudes about low or no pay.

Animation 101: Tissa David Lecture with John Canemaker..

Wonderful lecture with the late master Tissa David. Enjoy.

Animation 101: Exploding People.. A Study..

There's several reasons why explosions are great. First being, it's quick.. it really only takes one or two drawings to illustrate the actual explosion.. leaving you a lot of time to concentrate on what comes before and after (which is always more important than the action itself). This explosion is from "Masks", it's a bit of a spoiler, but that's ok. You can watch the film on Vimeo. And below are the keys. Enjoy.  First, above we have a happy chewing masked man, flanked by his buddies.

We truck in and reveal with a "take" that there's something wrong. then is gets weird..

Used a bizarre "flow" through the characters body, a quick little morphy shake thing prior to blowing apart. i don't know why but it works. anticipation is like that, you can do the craziest things as long as it is before an action. I also allowed the camera to "feel" the explosion.. by jerking out quickly with a motion blur.. I imagined myself holding a video camera in front of this guy, and feeling the pulse of the explosion.

small bumps appear on his skin.. the beginnings of the explosion. remember to take your time and do a lot of drawings when the action is subtle.. then don't do any tweens at all when it comes to the main bang.

bumps continue to grow as his eyes close into a cringe.

he begins to pull apart.. this is on a 1 exposure.. it's quick. Also note above that the background is revealed behind the middle character, I used a two frame mask to wipe the new background in.

it jumps into a fragmented configuration of small people. cheat out the color. Animation works like that.. you can't get away with anything if you slowly change things (thinking nobody will notice if you do it gradually) if you want to cheat or change, just do it in one frame, preferably on a hit. get it?

the characters lightly float down. i'll be honest, this was a pain.

last thing.. the characters in the background react.. remember they have to react a bit late, not right when the even occurs.

Animation 101: 11 Tips from Jeremy Cantor, Animation Supervisor Sony Imageworks...

Good stuff, some really valid advice all around. Jeremy is a wellspring of information and is a great teacher (he has taught just about everywhere), Enjoy.

1. Establish and maintain good contacts.
The old adage, "It's not what you know, it's who you know", certainly applies (to a certain extent) in this industry. I landed my first "real" job on my own, but every one I’ve scored since was the result of a contact (including freelance side-jobs). Keep in mind though, that contacts only help you get in the door. Your skills and professionalism are what will keep you employed. Where do you meet future contacts? At school…on the job…at professional lectures and gatherings…online mailing lists and forums (www.cg-char.com for example) It is also extremely important to keep in mind that if you "burn bridges" and make enemies, the notion of “who you know” can actually be a significant disadvantage to your career growth. Just as a positive referral can help you "get in the door", a negative referral can ensure that certain doors will always remained closed to you. Remember that everyone knows everyone in this field. Try putting someone else’s work on your demo reel and see how long it takes to get blacklisted from an entire industry. (Actually, don’t try that. Just trust me).

2. Don’t go after jobs/compaines where you’re not interested in the subject matter of their end product
Once you gain a foothold in the industry, choose your career path wisely. If you think video games are stupid, why would you want to work for a video game company? You won't have much to talk about with your co-workers and you certainly won't "climb the ladder" because doing so often requires working above & beyond the call of duty (long hours in stressful environments), learning new software or techniques on your own time, and taking the initiative to "push the envelope" creatively or technically. Someone who lacks a passion for the end product will be very unlikely to do such things. These jobs demand a lot from you: Time, creative spirit, and the ability to handle a lot of stress. Anyone taking on such a job "just for the money" will certainly not last very long. When you’re just starting out, however, try not to be too picky or think that any job is “beneath you”. If the industry is somewhat slow (like today), grab whatever you can to gain experience. Do a cheap, local cable TV commercial for the stereo store down the street. Design a tee shirt for your neighbor’s son’s Bar Mitzvah. Take an internship.

3. Have the ability to receive and professionally respond to criticism and failure.
The ability to accept defeat on occasion is perhaps the single most important quality that separates successful talented people from non-successful talented people. How many times have you heard the story of the author whose million-selling novel had been previously turned down by dozens of publishers? (Can you say: “J.K. Rowling”?) Accept the fact that you won't get every job you apply for. Your short film won't get accepted into every festival. Your director might not like your animation, and he might be in a bad mood that day and will therefore deliver his critique without much concern for diplomacy. Be prepared for the possibility that you might spend a month on a shot only to have the editor cut it from the film at the last minute. Remind yourself that a criticism of your work is not necessarily a criticism of you as a person. In "creative" fields, a lot of the work is highly subjective. Not everyone is going to like everything you do. Bill Cosby once said that while he doesn’t know the secret to success, he knows that the secret to failure is trying to please everyone. You can certainly strive to please everyone, just don’t expect to. If you can at least please yourself most of the time though, you’re pretty much ahead of the curve.

4. Take (and create) opportunities to learn and grow on your own time.
You need to keep up with the creative and technical standards and advances in these industries in order to stay employed. There are always going to be fresh, new, talented college students out there willing to do your job for less money. You always need to stay a few steps ahead or you'll get left behind. Don't look at your fellow students' work as your competition. Look at the best work in the world and strive to be better than that.

5. Develop the ability to FINISH.
The ability to take something through to its conclusion is another significant ingredient for success. How many people do you know who have a dozen unfinished project ideas sitting on their desks? Very few people finish absolutely everything they start and achieve every single one of their goals, but if you've ever felt the satisfaction of completing at least one task, it'll be that much easier for you to do so in the workplace. It’s a learned skill. Why is finishing so hard? It often comes down to one word: “Stamina”. The start of a project is usually fresh and exciting. It's easy to stay motivated in the beginning. The latter stages, however, can often become tedious and frustrating and require a lot of hard work to muscle through to the end (like the last mile of a marathon race). If you can only stay motivated and focused during the fun parts and you lose interest when the fun level diminishes, you won't finish too many projects.

6. Go where the action is.
If you want to be an animator in the Visual Effects industry and you live in Louisiana, it's rather unlikely that your dream is ever going to come true unless you're willing to relocate to California (or New York, or Vancouver, etc). You'll never become a professional surfer if you refuse to leave your home in Northern Alaska. If, however, you already live in a hotbed of animation activity, such as Los Angeles, take advantage of your locale. Join professional organizations like ASIFA & Siggraph and attend their meetings and lectures. Go to pre-screenings and film festivals. Visit museums and galleries. Take classes at the Cartoonist's Union. Seek tours and internships at local studios.

7. Always be “Scottie" (ABS).
…as in Engineer Scott from Star Trek. When asked to solve a problem, he'd very often respond by saying "I don't know if I can do it, Captain! The forward thrusters are shot and we're all out of Dilithium Crystals". In other words, it's often advantageous to overestimate (within reason) how long it will take to complete a requested task, and then negotiate down (and you can always expect to negotiate down). That way, you'll be much more likely to come in ahead of schedule and look like the hero (or at least a competent professional). Resist the temptation to impress your bosses and demonstrate a positive attitude by always saying "No problem, I can knock that out in an hour!" More often than not, because of forces beyond your control (technical snafus, supervisor inaccessibility, inconsistent direction), tasks in this industry tend to take longer than you might initially think. You don't want to be constantly making excuses because you were too enthusiastic and optimistic with your initial time estimates. Be reasonable with the ABS technique however. If you wince and grimace every time you're asked to do something and your time-to-completion estimates are always obviously over-inflated, you could end up being labeled as "the boy who cried wolf" or worse yet, be accused of having a "negative attitude".

8. Take responsibility for your actions
In general, supervisors hate it when artists constantly blame others for their problems. If something weird pops up in your shot during dailies, and you know it was the result of a mistake or an oversight on your part, cop to it. In fact, it's usually best to nip-things-in-the bud by pointing out the mistake before anyone else does. Sometimes, of course, things do go wrong and you are truly not the one to blame. But it's generally a good idea to look to your self first before pointing the finger at others. Place the blame elsewhere only after you've ruled yourself out as the culprit. Admitting to a mistake empowers you to fix it. And, furthermore, doing so validates your successes. (How can you take the credit for your positive achievements, if you won't take responsibility for the things that go wrong?) This, of course, does not imply that it's okay to screw up all the time just as long as you take the blame and apologize.

9. Don’t expect the quality of your work to make you immune to the consequences of unprofessional behavior.
Some folks want to believe that if their work is strong, nothing else matters. Professionalism is just as important to career success. In rare cases, someone who does not play well with others will somehow manage to stay employed for a while if their skillset is deemed irreplaceable. However, a bad reputation always catches up to them eventually. Dennis Rodman could get away with dressing like a woman, hurling obscenities at referees and kicking cameramen as long as he was the number one rebounder in the NBA. However, such imbalances of talent vs behavior never seem to last. Stats will eventually slip or others will come along with stronger stats and better attitudes. I’ve seen a number of talented individuals fall from grace after becoming corrupted with power. Always work to continually improve your skills, but don’t forget to continually improve your professionalism as well.

10. Backup!
No matter how careful you are, it is inevitable that you will someday accidentally overwrite an important file or sit down at your PC only to find that your hard drive has crashed. Backup your files regularly and save copies in alternate locations.

11. Keep things in perspective.
Working in this industry is often not nearly as glamorous as it may sound to folks on the outside. Hours can be very long. Stress levels can get very high. Supervisors can be really nasty at times (and occasionally you might find yourself asking, “Why am I working for this clown? I know more about animation than he does!”) Step back once in a while and remind yourself why you got into this field in the first place. Someone (hopefully) is actually paying you to do your hobby! When things get really stressful, take a breath and remind your self that it’s just a movie (or a game or a commercial, etc). Do the best job you can, but don’t let yourself get sucked into the stress so deeply that you miss out on having “a life”. If you’re on a high profile film production, accept the fact that it’s not your film. On such projects, you will have limited (if any) creative control over your animations. Start a shot with enough artistic passion to do a great job, but not so much that you’ll be unable to sleep at night when the director completely changes his mind and makes you start over at the last minute, or worse yet, cuts your shot from the movie after you worked on it 14 hours a day for 20 straight days. It takes a while to find that balance within yourself, and every project will require you to do things just a little bit differently. Make necessary sacrifices and put in the extra hours as needed to “climb the ladder”, however, be careful that you don’t find yourself looking back after 10 years to find that, while you have a few decent films under your belt, you have no friends, you have more gray hairs than your grandfather and you missed all of your kids’ little league games and school plays. Make sure you’re enjoying your work most of the time and you have an appropriately balanced life.

10 Tips from Terry Gilliam..

This is great, Enjoy. I think the best filmmakers are animators.

 
1. Growing up is for losers.
As a child, I always drew funny creatures, funny characters. But I think the trick is not to grow up, not to learn to be an adult. And if you can maintain the kind of imagination you all had when you were babies, you would all be wonderful filmmakers. But the world tries to make you grow up, to stop imagining, stop fantasizing, stop playing in your mind. And I’ve worked hard to not let the world educate me.

2. Film school is for fools.
Live and learn how to make films. I didn’t go to film school. I just watched movies in the cinemas. And probably my greater education was actually making films, so that’s all I would ever say: watch movies, get a camera, make a movie. And if you do it enough times, eventually you start learning how films are made.

3. Auteurism is out. Fil-teurism is in.
Being an auteur is what we all dreamed of being, as far [back] as the films of the late ‘50s and ‘60s, when the idea of the auteur filmmaker arrived on the planet. And people kept using that term, and they do with my movies because I suppose they are very individual and they give me all the credit, so they say I’m an auteur. And I say no, the reality is I’m a ‘fil-teur.’ I know what I’m trying to make but I have a lot of people who are around me who are my friends and don’t take orders and don’t listen to me, but who have individual ideas. And when they come up with a good idea, if it’s one that fits what I’m trying to do, I use it. So the end film is a collaboration of a lot of people, and I’m the filter who decides what goes in and what stays out.

4. Put your ideas in a drawer. Take them out as needed.
I do have a drawer in my desk with all the ideas that I have and that I scribbled out. I put them in there and some day I use them. At the beginning of a new film, I often go in that drawer and look at everything I’ve done and see if there are some ideas that might apply to what I’m doing. But things grow, so I just start with a sketch and then refine it. And you do it with other people’s ideas coming in. That’s the fun part.

5. All you’ve really got in life is story.
I think the important thing is stay true to what you believe. I mean it’s much more important to make your mistakes than somebody else’s mistakes. Like too many other filmmakers have compromised because somebody advised them [that] if you change this, the film will be more successful commercially. And then the film isn’t successful commercially, and these people get so depressed and destroyed because they didn’t ever finish making their film the way they intended it. You’ve got to believe in what you’re doing. And you’ve got to be willing to take the consequences of whatever it is. If you succeed, fantastic. If you fail, you might have to get a proper job.

6. Command the audience with your lens.
I keep wanting to see more of the world always. When I’m looking through the camera, when we’re setting up a scene, I don’t feel like I’m in the scene. And the wide angle lens, because we see so much, it seems to wrap around me a little bit. I also like the fact that with long lenses, the director controls the audience much more because you show the audience only exactly what you want. Everything else can be out of focus. And I like it to be a little bit more vague so the audience has to be aware of the environment as well as what I want them to look at. I don’t want to really separate the character from the world that it’s in. So the world is as important, and the rooms and everything, as the character sometimes.

7. Nothing can defeat a director who is one with his actors.
I think the key is to make sure that the cast, especially if they’re big Hollywood superstars, likes the movie. My first film in Hollywood was The Fischer King, and Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges are playing the two leads. And I knew as long as Robin, Jeff and I were united, there was no way the studio could break it, and the film would go out. Same way with Twelve Monkeys. Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis and I were one. In both instances those films went very smoothly.

8. Surround yourself with improvisers.
I like the actor to surprise me all the time because the problem when you’re making a film, if you’ve written it and you’re directing it, you’ve been with it so long, it becomes a bit rigid. It can become mechanical when you’re shooting because you’re just trying to do exactly what you were thinking about for the last year. And what’s wonderful is when the actors come in and they do something that’s completely surprising, and suddenly every day becomes fresh. And it makes me stay awake.

9. Directing is not for the faint-of-heart. Or the sane.
What I love about Don Quixote is that he keeps misinterpreting the world. He thinks the world is either worse or better or whatever. He gets it wrong every time. But in the end he has these heroic, epic moments, and he seems to be unstoppable. He just goes on and on and on. I think it’s a great example for people, especially in film, in how to get through life, because film can often be incredibly disappointing. What I like about the Don Quixote documentary is that so many other filmmakers when they saw that, they started telling me their stories of equally horrible disasters. It’s a very difficult business. [Lost in La Mancha] should discourage anyone who is not willing to live in a world where disasters like that occur. Don’t make films if you’re not going to be able to deal with things like that.
I’m always working on it and one day it will happen. It’s changed me. If you’re going to make a film about Don Quixote, you’ve got to be as mad as Don Quixote, so the nature is helping me go crazy.

10. Be an enlightened despot.
I expect the actors to really be totally committed to the film and to their character and forget about who they are. Get rid of your vanity. Just be whatever the character demands. I think it’s horrible when I hear stories of actors coming and they bring their own makeup people and their hairdresser. Wait a minute, what’s going on here? The power is in the wrong hands. And if you let the power go to the actor, then you’re not directing the movie. And the actor is not thinking about the entire movie. Only the director is thinking about the entire movie.
I don’t ever want to be the guy that is saying, “this is the only way that it can be done.” I don’t want to be a dictator. That’s not interesting. It’s interesting if you can have a dialogue going all the time and trying to all agree to find what is the best way for this film to go.

Bonus Lesson: And whatever you do, don’t ever work with the Weinsteins.
I suppose it would have been nice to have made more films in the 71 years that I’ve been hanging around this place. And if I have a regret, there’s only one really, and that was working with the Weinsteins [giggles]. That’s the only one.

Animation 101: More Thoughts on Story..

Story is the buzzword of the film world. Every Tom Dick and Harry wields it like a un-stoppable creative weapon. How many times have you heard the phrase "You don't have anything if you don't have a good story"..  I submit that story is merely one key element of making a film, it shares the stage with Character, Timing, and Aesthetic. I've been dealing with a lot of "Story", both with my own film "Pull" and with my Tisch students Thesis productions. It's a tricky little subject that all too many people get carried away with. Last month I posted a four part series on the subject, part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

My latest film "Pull" is rolling along, aiming for a March 2012 release.

I believe the fixation on story is a product of not understanding the other three elements. It's also a typical buzz-word because it's often perceived as the first step of the process. The truth is that an "image" is typically the impetus for a film. For example Ridley Scott began the story process of "Gladiator" with the famous painting by Gerome. Read my entry on this topic here.

The famous painting of a Gladiator by Gerome. In an interview, Ridley Scott admitted that this was the inspiration for "Gladiator."

Story is skeletal.. Character is flesh. The flesh covers the bones, not the other way around. It is vital to shroud your story with character, timing, emotion, subtleties, and an aesthetic to unite it all. There should not be a tiny bit of white bone showing. The story is there to serve the Characters, to give them a context, a situation. The Characters will and must exist without the story. This is why "Establishing the Norm" is so important in storytelling.

If we were a walking Short Film:
-Story would be our Skeleton, it's our framework.
-Character is our flesh, consistent and always working.
-Aesthetic is our health, how we present ourselves.
-Timing is our speech, our skill of communication.

Conflict and Contrast with Rockwells "Road Block"..

Norman Rockwell was a master story-teller. He's possibly one of the greatest examples of what I've been trying to express when I lecture about your story's all important "Image." (see Constructing a Story for a Short Film, Part 2) Your image needs to express that distinct conflict that will draw your viewer in. It's simply something that makes your image interesting, and worthy of constructing a story around.

In Norman Rockwell's "Road Block", we have a classic Rockwellian storyline. The conflict is clear. The little dog is not moving out of the way of the massive truck. Contrasts are abundant. The most obvious is the large truck and the little dog. Furthermore, the large, bald, rough and gritty truck driver gently attempting to lure the dog away, as the dog looks the other direction. The dog is completely unwilling to budge. The truck itself, with it's colossal height and perfect width to be wedged between tenement buildings, creates an unmistakable flavor of tension. Rockwell expertly placed the audience within the image, represented by all the bystanders, most of them bursting in laughter.  The numerous contrasts of this debacle are very humorous, and we are prompted to laugh along with the bystanders.

Animation 101: Puke. A Study..

I've never animated someone puking before.  Here's a quicktime movie of this sequence.. take a look at it frame by frame, i think quicktime will let you do this with the arrow keys as long as the cursor is on the play bar. The first thing I noted was that a lot of people puke into their mouths before letting it out.. a last ditch attempt to keep stuff in I suppose.  I also noticed the extreme recoil we go through, and how this must be exaggerated in a drawing if it's going to be an effective anticipation.  So let's start..

  

the shot of orange goo that that triggered it all..

 

that didn't feel good.. i just want to sleep.. but there's something more.. there's business i must attend too.. it's in your mind.. you really want to just sleep but it's not that easy..

 

The realization that you're in trouble makes you open your eyes.. immense sadness hits you as you wonder when it's going to strike.. and it never strikes soon enough.

 

bang the desire to vomit hits you..

  

 

projectile vomiting twists your body into ways you never thought possible.. above I expanded his back to look like a hunchback.. i imagined the vomit building up higher into his body.

 

The puke is released, but only into his cheeks...

  

 Release.. The trick with liquids is to go from fat to thin to a dribble, all the while keeping a "flow" almost like wind through a cape.

 

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown.. not sure when I'll ever be called upon again to animate a puke, i probably would have done it a lot differently now.. maybe adding a few fake outs, or like hiccups before the release.. but you can never think like that, you'll never get anything done.  a crappy piece of finished animation is way better than an unfinished masterpiece!  cheers.