Chambers Foundation sponsors dynamite media arts conference

The Chambers Foundation sponsored a fascinating media arts conference at Lane Community College in Eugene last week that brought together animators, screenwriters, producers, musicians and lighting specialists

Each day began with registration, breakfast items and socialization from 8:30 - 9:30 then proceeded with talks and panel discussions that lasted all day through almost 5 o'clock. 

Mark Shapiro, marketing and brand

 manager for Laika Studios discusses 

the challenges "Coraline" presented

 for the Portland animation studio.

On day 1, I attended the opening welcome from 9:30-10:30 then chose "Behind the Scenes: Making Coraline" by Mark Shapiro of Laika Studios in Portland, Oregon.  Although I'm not into the physical tedium of stop-motion animation, it was interesting to see how it is done now (compared to methods used by such early pioneers as Ray Harryhausen) that includes the use of 3D printers to produce removable masks for puppets to facilitate a wide range of facial expression.  He said the main character, Coraline, had over 225,000 facial masks to portray all of her expressions in the film.

Other sessions available were "Formula for Success: The Independent Film World" by producer Jeffrey Cooper of Cut Entertainment Group   and a lighting workshop by Leonard Henderson, Director of Photography for Chambers Communications (the conference sponsor).  The lighting workshop lasted all day each day.

Mark Shapiro demonstrates the use of

the 3D-printed expression masks

Laika Studios produced for the Oscar

nominated film "Coraline"

At 11:30 I attended "Essentials: Storyboard and Story" by Jason Lethcoe, a 2-D animator (has worked for Disney, Dreamworks, etc) and children's storybook author. Jason's pragmatic viewpoint and personal experiences were really interesting.  He submitted his first storyboard to Disney when he was in high school.  Disney Studios actually called him back to tell him not to bother to ever send them another portfolio again as it was terrible!  I know that had to be hard to take for a naive 17-year-old.  But he persevered and kept honing his skills until he finally got a foot in the door.  He cautioned everyone, though, that the days of a secure job with a big studio are over.  Most artists now work project-to-project and it's important to diversify and cultivate your own "tribe" through blogging and social networking referring to "Simon's Cat" as a prime example.


 The other presentation was "End of the World As We Know It: Digital Music Distribution" by Dr. Paul Friedlander, a musician and professor at California State University at Chico.

I had lunch with a retired media arts friend from the U of O, a media arts faculty member from LCC and a couple of people from MOPAN.  After lunch I attended "The Big Picture: Film Producing" presented by Jeffrey Cooper who has worked in development, production, sales and distribution for such production companies as Universal Studios, and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment and produced four feature films. He also teaches film studies at a university in California.  Mark Shapiro, from Laika Studios in Portland (It's owned by Phil Knight of Nike) also held a question and answer session.

Then at 2:30 I attended "Idea to Script: The Writing Process" by Sara and Gregory Bernstein, a husband and wife screenwriting team.  They handed out a very helpful checklist for the writing process that included such nuts and bolts as asking yourself "What is the underlying lesson of the film as revealed by the protagonist's journey?"  and "Is the plot's conflict ill-defined, underplayed or too static?".  I think I will use some of their listed problems as references in future book reviews.

The other presentation was "Artist Experience: Working for the Studios", another talk by former Disney animator Jason Lethcoe.

At 3:30 I attended the panel discussion "Career Paths: Getting Your Work Out!" chaired by screenwriters Sarah and Gregory Bernstein, producer Jeffrey Cooper and Mark Shapiro of Laika Studios.  One of the most interesting things that Jeffrey Cooper mentioned was the tasks of a script reader, the beginning position in the film development process.  He said that many production companies are looking for script readers and they pay about $100 per script.  Apparently there is a checklist of things a script reader uses to evaluate submitted scripts and good script readers that recommend work that becomes successful films can advance to assistant story editors, and on up the ladder.  I thought of my sister who loves film and actually used to write film reviews for a newspaper in the SF Bay Area in exchange for movie tickets.  She is looking for something she can do from home to supplement her other freelance graphic design and writing jobs.  So I called her that evening and gave her the information about the Hollywood Creative Directory, that contains contact information for different production companies, the website Entertainmentcareers.net and showbizjobs.com which Cooper recommended when I spoke with him after the presentation concluded.  I also noted that the Bernsteins recommended the books "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler and "Story" by Robert McKee for those interested in writing screenplays.

On day 2,  I opened the day with "Inside the Studio: How Movies Get Made" by Mark Shapiro.  This time Mark discussed the importance of using film festivals to bring attention to a film, especially independent films not backed by the marketing supplied by major studios.  The other presentations were "It's only Rock and Roll: Rock's Creative Explosions by Paul Friedlander, "Meet the Writers" with Sara and Gregory Berstein and the ongoing all day lighting workshop by Leonard Henderson.

At 10:30 I attended "Meet the Artist" with animator/author Jason Lethcoe.  Jason continued to share his personal experiences in working collaboratively with other artists and the development of professional relationships to advance your career.  Former LCC Media Arts students discussed "Paths to Success".

At 11:30 I attended "Pitching Your Story with Studio Executives" presented by Sara and Greg Bernstein.  Towards the end of a very good nuts and bolts discussion, a couple of people from the audience practiced pitching a story and we all joined in with Sara and Greg with our own observations and opinions.  I would love to have a more extended "real world" session like that.  Elsewhere, a student alumni panel discussed 'School to Industry: What to do now to success later".

After lunch I attended another talk by animator/author Jason Lethcoe, "Industry Directions: The Emerging Independent Scene".  Dr. Friedlander discussed "Going Global: A Case Study in the International Music Industry - Belize Music Project."

Then I attended "Meet the producer" with Jeffrey Cooper.  Jeffrey gave us real world examples of how producers craft trailers to appeal to a certain demographic or to deliver the widest possible audience to a new film.  Most illuminating was the example he gave for the movie "Se7en".  Even though it starred such A-list actors as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, he pointed out that the trailer was designed to draw in horror enthusiasts and did not mention the famous stars.  He said that horror films draw from a much younger demographic and it was decided that since Pitt and Freeman did not normally appear in horror films, drawing attention to the stars may bring in older moviegoers who might not be as supportive of the film as younger horror fans would be.  I pointed out that, although this ploy worked well for "Se7en" it backfired for "The Village", an M. Night Shyamalan film about what appears to be a 17th century village surrounded by a forest populated with ferocious creatures.  "The Village" was heavily promoted as a horror film but was really about societal violence and the futility of attempts to escape it.  Therefore, the film, heavily attended by horror fans, was widely dissed because of its lack of horror.  I personally found the film much more interesting as it was presented but I must admit I am not usually a horror enthusiast.



Other conference options were "The Writer's Life" by Sara and Greg Bernstein and another "Paths to Success" panel discussion.

At 3:30 I attended another "Getting Your Work Out" session with Jason Lethcoe, Paul Friedlander, Jeffrey Cooper and Leonard Henderson.  I was pleased to note that most of the presenters have embraced the internet as an emerging platform to showcase their work and develop professional relationships.

In addition to meeting these fascinating presenters I also met some local people very interested in learning how to blog and use social networking tools effectively.  A psychiatrist for the VA was especially interested when I mentioned I had prepared the Wikipedia article for the Vietnam Combat Artists program.  Maybe next year I could participate in the conference as a specialist in social media.

Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Image via WikipediaI also met an aspiring author who has written a novel about ancient Illyria.  I told her I would be interested in reviewing it but my current stack is quite overwhelming so it could take me a while.

All in all, I thought it was a very productive two days and well worth my time.  Apparently I missed the Creative Conference that is held each year up at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.  My friend attended it last weekend.  I told him that I wish they would have advertised it in the Register Guard like they used to.  He said the special effects artist who worked on "Titanic" was the keynote speaker this year.  I saw him back in 1998 right after "Titanic" was released and his presentation was really interesting.  I'll have to keep an eye out for an announcement about the conference next fall.

Related articles

• 'Coraline' Animation Company Laika Adapting Youth-Lit Novel 'Wildwood' (slashfilm.com)

Digital Modeling combined with Still image texture maps used to bring Lincoln to life

I received an update about the upcoming special "Stealing Lincoln's Body" that shows a little more detail of the process used to bring Lincoln to Life using a combination of digital modeling from a life mask of Lincoln with still images of Lincoln that provided texture maps for wrinkled skin, hair, etc. I wish I could sit down with the animators and watch each step of the process!

History Channel special to bring Lincoln virtually to life

This year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. In commemoration, The History Channel will be broadcasting a special, "Stealing Lincoln's Body" beginning February 16 at 9 p.m. EST. Many of us are aware of the thwarted attempts to steal and ransom Lincoln's corpse after it was delivered to Springfield, Illinois for burial, but, what caught my attention about this program is it's use of new visual graphics technology to present reenactments using photographs of Lincoln himself, not costumed actors.

[image - Abraham Lincoln at Madame Tussaud's in London, England]

"...the program features moving images of Abraham Lincoln, digitally created from actual historical photographs. For the first time, Lincoln walks and moves according to the historical record. The moving images and some of the stills showcase the first “virtual photography” of Lincoln and the only “virtual motion” pictures of him ever created. Using computer-generated imagery, it illustrates key sections of the story and brings them to life, often with startling effect.

These new photographs and moving images of Lincoln highlight a level of historical detail and information never seen before. Ray Downing of Studio Macbeth, who created these digital effects for STEALING LINCOLN’S BODY, explains the technique began as a kind of experiment using contemporary film technology. It gives the modern audience an opportunity to “gaze upon the noble face of our most beloved president, to see him walk down the street, to see him alive again…. Today’s technology allows us to achieve a level of photographic realism previously unattainable, with the added bonus of motion graphics."

Author and Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer , who is interviewed in STEALING LINCOLN’S BODY, says: “ The result—an uncanny, believable, realistic, living Lincoln—moving before our eyes as he must have in life, wholly imagined yet based on actual photos—took my breath away. Here is the man who lived, laughed, spoke, walked, for precious seconds practically born again.”

Here's a YouTube preview. Pay particular attention to the first few seconds - the animation is seamless!!

I have worked with a product called CrazyTalk by Reallusion to animate the faces of still images of sculptures of people from long ago and this Christmas I even used it to create an animation of my late father calling one last square dance for my other family members as a OOAK Christmas gift. I'm presently working on a project to combine such animation with artificial intelligence to enable website visitors to virtually "talk" to historical personalities using the historical sculptures of George Stuart.

So I am anxious to see how similar software can be used to create full length animation and virtual photographic reenactment.

The program's focus:

"After lying in state at the White House and at the Capitol (the nation’s first presidential state funeral), Lincoln’s body was carried by train in a grand funeral procession through several states and nearly two thousand miles, arriving in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois on May 4. However, his final burial would not take place until 1901, thirty six years later.

Before Lincoln finally came to rest in a steel-and-concrete-reinforced underground vault in Springfield , the President’s body was repeatedly exhumed and moved, his coffin frequently opened.

In 1876, 11 years after Lincoln 's assassination, a band of Chicago counterfeiters devised a fantastic plot to steal Lincoln ’s body and hold it for ransom. They wanted $200,000 and the release of the gang's master engraver who was in prison in Illinois . The Secret Service – recently formed to deal with the country's ballooning counterfeiting problem – infiltrated the gang with an informer. Yet it also set in motion a cringe-inducing chain of events in which a group of well-intentioned, self-appointed guardians took it upon themselves to protect Lincoln ’s remains by any means necessary.

Some efforts to protect the remains of the 16th President of the United States would prove to be equally misguided and macabre. Finally, in 1901, thirty six years after Lincoln ’s assassination, Robert Todd Lincoln had the body of his father interred in a massive concrete vault. The contrast between the nation’s reverence for Abraham Lincoln and the shocking manner in which his body had been treated is striking. This strange story of Lincoln at un-rest reveals how important this man was to so many, and perhaps our reluctance to let such a beloved and visionary leader go."

Teacher and student contests, original short form video about Lincoln ’s life and Presidency, related lesson plans, as well as instructions for how to donate to this campaign will be available online at www.history.com/lincoln .

STEALING LINCOLN’S BODY was produced for The HISTORY Channel by Left/Right. Productions.

Crazy Talk promising animation tool for web apps

I’ve been having great fun with a new tool called Crazy Talk. It lets you create talking heads for your website that include automatic lip synching by just importing a .wav audio file. I have one on my web page. It does require installing a plugin but I read there is a way to automatically embed the player in the web page so installing a plugin is not necessary. I’m checking into it.:

http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch

Here are some others I created:

http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/CrazyTalk/CrazyCleo.htm

http://uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/CrazyTalk/CrazyAntony.htm

A Talking Character can be created quite quickly. You simply import the image. Crop it. Then place indicators at the outside corner of each eye and outside corners of the lips. If you want to tweak the mouth shapes during lip synch there is a phoneme editor. You can also apply emotional animations. On the Marc Antony image, I applied an “angry” emotion.

The website where I got it is http://www.reallusion.com

I’ve also been working with their machinma software IClone. It’s quite impressive as well. I’ve created a couple of characters so far:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124324682@N01/sets/72157601884615693/

I created the Roman character in iClone using Ciaran Hind’s face (He played Caesar in HBO’s Rome). I used pictures of lorica segmentata I got from a reenactors’ supply website to create the armor using the costume design addin called “Clone Cloth”. The product not only lets you easily create figures with your own imported faces but can import motion capture files from other programs as well. I found a treasure trove of free motion capture files up on a website named bvh.com. iClone includes a BVH motion capture editor so you can match up the joints to the IClone avatars properly. Like Crazy Talk, the product also has a built-in automatic lip synch function so you just have to import a .Wav file and it automatically syncs the characters mouth and teeth to the words. It’s digital studio features are also quite impressive.

Here’s an iClone version of Act 2 scene 1 from Macbeth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6K7PXf4nRI

You have complete control of the avatars and their movements, lighting, camera angle, atmospheric effects, etc. There is even a particle generator for fog, lightning, etc.

There’s over 100 iClone films on YouTube that you can find by simply searching for IClone.