Filmmaking

basically, block first, add fill to bring up general exposure, then finesse the main marks

playlist of filmriot DIY shootin tools

2D animation in photoshop

This post by JustGoscha got me excited to dive into hand drawn.

He sited Alex Grigg's tutorial  (I'm curious to check out this podcast with him)


Photoshop Animation Techniques (Redux, Creative Cloud) from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.

which I had been afraid to watch before because it was so long, but now I feel ready to tackle it

1920*1080 72dpi

timeline create video timeline
timeline properties (on right)
   set frame rate
   panel options, no thumb (no img every frame)
   enable shortcut keys (up down left right)
       (won't work if start a new layer on 0)
   enable onion skins (can hotkey it)
    onion skin settings for more frames


File>Export>RenderVideo
   (export as png sequence and wrap up elsewhere)
   (or as a quicktime for quickness)

CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+S save for web
  downsize, looping true =  make a gif

hotkeys     recommended to make
    ctrl+ y onion skins
       for video layer animating
        ctrl+b insert blank frame
        ctrl+alt+b  insert duplicate key
        ctrl+shift+b del frame
        ctrl+alt+shift+b new video layer

set up actions
   make a new frame for layer animation
      v+3          make old layer light
      dup layer   
      ctrl+A       select all
      del          erase it
      ctrl+D       deselect
      v+0          make solid
     then can put this on an f2 button

    expand fill
      make selection, then start recording
      select>modify>expand  (2 pixels)
      alt+[               step down layer
      alt+backspace       fill w/ fore color
      alt+]               step back up layer
      ctrl +D             deselect

    new color layer
      dup layer (action
      alt+[
      ctrl+a
      del
      ctrl+D
      atl+]

    copy all (for condensing linelayer onto 1 video layer)
       ctrl+a
       ctrl+shift+C  copy all (hide bg)
       ctrl+shift+v
       next frame (w/ next frame button)
       (can copy paste this a bunch for batches)




typically blocks with layer animation, then cleans up with a video layer

layer menu lock transparent pixels, makes it easy to color your lines

can put all of your animations and all of your lines and colors into a group, and then you can use the group as a clipping mask (constrain a fuzzy texture to the anims)

LAYER ANIMATION
animating with layers
with layer selected v & # = opacity
can drag each layer bar in timeline to change length frame shows
V - selection, if turn on autoselect then when over a frame and click on active pixel you select that layer

VIDEO LAYERS
layer>video layer> new blank video layer
  (already a bunch of frames in 1 bar)
  won't be able to see where your drawings are, good for straight ahead, fx, and cleanup/color
layer>video layer> insert a blank frame
  (tricky to work in video layers because the frames are hidden)

VIDEO GROUPS
basically like layer but little more organized
when making a new layer it'll be too long, drag a layer onto the new layer button to duplicate length then select all delete deselect
drag layer in timeline down onto other layer, makes a Video Group (group) in layer menu and timeline
now can just put a new layer in for inserting inbetween (have to duplicate if want to be short in time)


30mins intro over, now some production tips to improve workflow & flow
if done with a layered animation can consolidate it down into a video layer group

Le Temps

Walk Vid Ref

Endless Reference

Levitation

LEVITATION from SILA SVETA on Vimeo.

Non Verbal Communication

Lauren O'connell Mouth shapes

check out the assymetrical mouth poses.

side note, I think her music's nice too

Shaman

THE SHAMAN - a mind-bending short by Marco Kalantari from Marco Kalantari on Vimeo.

Urbance & Sun Creature

Secret world

milk shake smoothie feather

Jake Parker

Jake knocked me on my butt with his career timeline. I think we are just about the same age, and he's achieved so much. Makes me realize how driven he is. And also how much follow through he has, I have tons of projects I fiddle with but I never take them to finish because I never feel like I have the skill to make them good enough. 

Progress is made with constraints and accountablilty

2 sketchbook pages a day, 1 of loose exploration drawings, 1 finished (but in a year in review video he said he only did 129 drawings that year, which is 1 finished every 3 days)



a drawing every 3 days

1. specific vision (what position what level what achieved)

2. deconstruct vision (what steps to get there, what steps did others take to get there)

3. daily and weekly schedule for achieving steps (to have an achievable sense of progress)

4. Cut the Fat is this going to get me closer or further to my goal, for everything you do
(reading, tv, games, dampires (well intentioned sucky people))  (-1 day for recharge, family friends)


Routine
Daily -
    before starting 15 minute rev                 up/inspiritation meditate
        write priorities for day
    start w/ creative stuff
    biz stuff 2nd 1/2 of day
    (if has energy, sneaks back to work         after family evening stuff)
Weekly
    each day or half day is a dif project             (tue-thur=comic, sat-sun=songs)
Gobal
    to do list, read everyday so decide if you need to stick it in the days to do

do better today than you did yesterday



there are 3 types of nourishment
       1. the project feeds your spirit, creating the work is the reward
       2. other people like it and their feedback nourishes you
       3. it makes money and you can eat

so when considering a project, think about what you want to get out of it:
      I don't care if anyone else likes this, I really want to do it
      or
      I don't care what the project is, I just need to make some money

Ride that first burst of excitement about the project (the blocking buzz) as long as you can, stay up late, put in extra time, use the excitement to go go go as far as you can, knowing that once it wears off you're still going to grind through and finish the thing. Because the flush from finishing is even better than the blocking buzz, and the only thing that matters is finished things.

The Cult of Done Manifesto

1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
3. There is no editing stage.
4. Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
7. Once you're done you can throw it away.
8. Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
11. Destruction is a variant of done.
12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
13. Done is the engine of more.

 must have
1 web page
2 post on twitter instagram facebook tumblr
3 viral bait (series often works better, like star wars as samurai, or disney as robots, or fill the gap in an IP like chewbacca kylo ren backstory, or even do 100 somethings)
4 submit your viral bait to every top blog, write your own article about it
5 do it again and again, consistency

Success on Social Media (instagram)
1. post striking imagery that stops people and elicits an emotion
2. post when audience is online
3. hashtag smartly (trending & climbing, also accurate)
4. be strategic with your captions. drive engagement (call to action)
5. respond to followers/comments (especially when not overwhelmed by followers yet)turn people who followed into actual fans.
6. be a good internet citizen, be part of community, follow like comment on others, don't just drop in dump your stuff and walk off

Polish

Lecture Clip - Spline to Polish Comparative Analysis from mike safianoff on Vimeo.

Typha

Typha from Typha on Vimeo.

People having fun are fun

it's fun to watch people having fun

Editor Speak