"Time and Time Again" Production Blog

2007-04-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Okay. Right. This Blog.

So a year ago around this time I began my "break" into the animation industry. And it's been going really great! Special thanks go to Carl Willat and Leo Martinez! Right now I'm a CG animator at the game company Nihilistic in Novato working on "Conan". Yay animation!

Of course all this real work hasn't left a whole lot of time for Time... and Time Again! But things are getting done, believe it or not. The trailer I think was a nice exercise in post production, getting to edit some footage and make some music. It's made me think of a lot of stuff I can do with the final film as far as mixing, editing, presentation. Good practice.

So now I have some good news and bad news. As I draw closer to completion, there are less things to blog about (as you have seen!) since I've just been making and shooting a bunch of little things that would seem redundant here. Also, I'd like to save some anticipation for the film itself.

Does that mean the end of making-of info? I should hope not! What I'd like to do next is somehow incorporate the making-of stuff in this blog, along with new info, into a detailed credits page where each person who helped out gets the specific attention they deserve about what they did, and where they can be contacted if they wish. Which leads me to my next attention-grabbing paragraph:

Attention All Time And Time Again Crew!!!!!
Hi everybody! It's been a while, hasn't it!! Heh heh. :) Well the film is closer to completion than when we first started! And when it does come out, I'd love to be able to give credit where credit is due. My goal is to avoid a list of tiny unreadable credits at the end of the film, and instead, put a url at the end of the film telling people where to go for the credits. (Including my own!) So, this is a call to get important info about what you did and what you're doing now! Can you send your current contact info (website, email, etc.), the long list of what you did on the film, and even any pictures or anecdotes or whatever else you'd like to see on this new page to reluctantagent AT gmail.com? Thanks a lot everybody! Looking forward to hearing from you!

So here's a little more making-of stuff for y'all:

This is so cool. I don't know when Sculpey started making this, I only found it a couple weeks ago. It's Sculpey Frim! As we all know, in stop-motion keeping things still is a must. I use Proproxy (usually found in the plumbing section) as a base when I want to build something that shouldn't move and will stay together under a lot of stress. The only drawback is it smells, and probably is, pretty toxic. So I usually have to go outside, wear gloves, and get my sculpting done in 5 minutes, the time it takes for it to become rock hard. But it seems Sculpey Firm may change all that. I did a test baking around some aluminum wire, a task other Sculpey products usually crumble under when you move the wire. It worked great! It's like combining the ease of use of Sculpey (being able to sculpt however I like, then bake out in a toaster oven in the garage [in a little foil tent as to avoid direct heat!], so I don't have to be around for the toxic fumes it lets off when hardening) with the functionality of Proproxy. Nice!!

Happy Fabricating!

2006-11-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

Hello Blogreaders!

Okay, so big news today: big "T", little "railer"! That's right, it's trailer time! Check it out!

Okay, you may be wondering, well what does this all mean? New site? New trailer? No new posts for months? What's up with that?

Okay so, yes, there is a new site, and I'm going to keep this production blog off of it for a little while until I figure out where it should go, and how it should go there. You see, in drama, sometimes it is necessary to preserve that illusion of the "forth wall". And if I immediately show all this behind the scenes stuff with the trailer, it can get to be a little much. But if one happens to find it, more power to them! But beware, there are spoilers inside!!!!

Okay, another thing. On the new site it says "stop-motion serial." "Serial what now?", you may be saying. Yes, my goal now is to release this short in little gripping segments, suitable for efficient web enjoyment. So hopefully soon, you'll be able to watch new "episodes" in regular intervals! Ooh, fun!

As far as this blog is concerned, I will endeavor to update it here and there, so if you like the nuts and bolts of making stop-motion, stay-tuned! I'll try to put new and interesting info up when I can.

Oh, and say hello to "Robot"! Never before seen on the web!

Thanks for stopping by!

2006-10-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Now relocated to Dharma Initiative Hatch Number 5: "The Duck" ...

...Pressing the button every 108 minutes.

Well, not just yet. But this is my new place in beautiful San Francisco!

2006-06-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Stop Motion Vs. CG: The Showdown!

Hi there, everybody! This is Mike checking in, and I have some big news: Apparently, I'm a CG animator! Someone's given me a job animating talking toothbrushes! Wild, no? But never fear, this is not the end of Time and Time Again by any means. Hopefully it will be a nice way to be able to continue the film. So, I'm excited. So far the transition has not been that bad. I think growing up in the Silicon Valley has helped condition me to ease into the world of computer animation. It also didn't hurt that I worked for hours and hours with splines on the Motion-Control rig at De Anza. But of course in the end, the most important thing is the animation and the computer, model or the pencil are just tools to get what you really want out of the story!

Here's a little CG animation to hopefully tide you over!:

KARLOFF!

2006-05-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Drake gets a new neck.

2006-04-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

2006-03-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

More power! Well, not really. Not technically. Just longer lasting power for the camera cooling fan. Triple-As just don't cut it in Stop Motion.

2006-03-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

Espresso, Mr. Drake?

2006-03-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, now that the robot shots are pretty much over, it's on to greeeeeen!

The best place for the helper light on this shot turned out to be right behind the camera. But sticking a 60watt bulb right next to a high-end digital camera is a good recipe for one sad camera. So I bought this great little cheesy handheld fan. Yes, it lights up. But not for long.

See? You can barely see it. And the camera stays cool. Ahhhhhhh.

2006-02-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

Flashback! Yes, here's a pic from the last time I was in the sound stage.

2006-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Canon S60 Review Continued!

Final Image (JPG vs. RAW):

The S60 is the lowest model camera in the Canon line, not only to have the manual and semi-manual settings, but also to have a "RAW" image output option. RAW is the proprietary format the camera uses to store an uncompressed image. One of the problems with the digital cameras that are out now is that usually the only options for picture output is JPG, PICT or RAW. The first one being not very well compressed, and the last two being gigantic files. I don't think there are any cameras with a PNG output, which is an ideal lossless compression format, that would save a lot of room on the disk. So I haven't decided what my final image will be, but I am taking RAW pictures of all my shots, so that I can have the highest quality image to start with, then I can change that to pretty much any format from there.

Frame Grabbing and the Shoot Setup:

Right now I'm using frame frabbing software for the Mac called "Frame Thief" which uses the native DV format of the Mac. To use Frame Thief with the camera, I needed to convert the "Video Out" of the camera into the Fire Wire format that plugs right into the Mac. For that I am using something called a Dazzle DV Bridge, not a cheap piece of hardware, but thankfully my friend had one he wasn't using! And it works great. There may be some cheaper devices that may serve the same function, transferring RCA video into firewire, but I haven't looked into it too far.

One of the biggest problems with the Digital Camera and Stop Motion is that you have an amazing final image, but the available live video output of the camera does not have very high resolution. In fact, the "Video Out" resolution of the S60 is about 2/3 that of normal TV resolution. Bummer.

But for a sort of work-around (I mentioned this in my last comment, too) the zoom control in the Remote capture software has only about 7 stops to it. Which means you can zoom in a few stops closer in the middle of the shot and see a close up view of the subject, great for smoothing over some messy clay, or fixing other little details. Then when you're done, you can zoom right back out to the exact spot it was before, and take the shot. I've done a couple shots where the puppet's head was so small in the frame that I frame-grabbed the whole shot zoomed in, but took the final shot zoomed out, zooming in and out for every shot! I try not to do that very often, you never know how much zooming these cameras can take.

Another little note, sometimes my shots are so dark, that it's hard to see everything that is going on in Frame Theif the same way the final image will see it. So one way to see everything is to run one file in Frame Thief that looks good in the final image, but looses detail the way I see it in Frame Thief. Then run another file that adds another light that is not part of the final lighting setup, but helps see everything on the set for the shot. Then I can turn the light on and off between getting the move right with the frame grabber and shooting the final image. This way I can watch all the action, without compromising lighting quality. Another way to see a dark lighting setup is by changing the f-stop, or shutter speed during the shot. Shooting one Frame Thief file at one exposure setting, then brightening up the exposure for another Frame Thief file. This way it's the same lighting setup, just a little brighter. And thanks to the Remote Capture software's "Batch" save settings feature, you can save all your exposure settings, zoom, etc. then change them, take a shot, then recall them to exactly where they were to begin with. (Except focus, which as we saw in the last installment, is a little different.)

My Friend Flicker: Post-Production and Flicker

Now to watch all this stuff, you've got to put all the images you've shot into an editing program. And the best way to turn that sequence of images into something that an editing program understands is to use Quicktime Pro, a 30 dollar upgrade for Quicktime. This upgrade allows you import a sequence of images, then save them as a Quicktime file. This, your editing program will understand. You can either save it as a reference movie, which creates a QT movie which "refers" to the original image sequences, making for a very small file, or you can save it as a self-contained movie, which contains all the images in it, that is much bigger.

Okay, so flicker. What is flicker? What causes it? How do you combat it? Well, I've thought about it the last few weeks while shooting and the come to the conclusion that there's not much I can really do about it. :( I have tried look a little closer at how my camera causes "flicker", but for my film I've decided little flicker might give it some old timey character, and if I really need to, I may be able to tweak a frame here or there in editing.

A flicker in the images can be caused by the obvious, the camera or a light moving between shots, but there is definitely sometimes a fluctuation in the camera that gives every other frame a slightly different brighness, even when the exposure is locked down. It was okay for a while there, but I've been noticing it a little more lately. Since it is not a fully manual camera, there is probabaly some weird automatic function that resets itself after each photo that I'm not aware of.

But in the end, these are digital images, and the potential to alter them in post-production seems very promising and may outweigh the flicker issue. To read more about flicker, I highly recommend the StopMotionAnimation.com forums. They've got a ton of information already on the site, as well as people who are eager to help. Also, I think I remember some After Effects plugin for combating flicker. Check it out!

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Okay, so there you have it! If I've missed anything or if you can think of any questions, please comment below! I think the camera works great in stop motion for the price, and considering it really wasn't designed with stop motion in mind, all the little quirks it has seem minimal when compared to it's advantages. Thanks for reading!

Now, back to the pictures!

2006-01-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, so there has been a slow down in posts lately. Mostly due to the fact that there is a top-secret robot being animated on the set. So I wanted to take this chance to tell everybody a little bit about how my digital still camera, the Canon PowerShot S60 is working out on the project! Something that I know a lot of you have been wondering. Hopefully I'll be able to shed some light on some of the benefits and problems of the S60.

Here in a few brief paragraphs are some of the things I've run across in using a Digital Still Camera (DSC) on my own film. I'm going to try to break it up into several posts, so I can get the info out faster. Feel free to ask questions at any time! Here's a break-down of what I'll be covering:

This time 'round:
•Lenses, Manual Settings
•"Remote Capture" Software

In future post(s):
•Final Image (RAW vs. JPG)
•Frame Grabbing, Shoot Setup
•Post-Production Processing and Flicker

Lenses, Manual Settings
Most of you are already aware that Tim Burton's Corpse Bride was shot exclusively on DSCs. The cameras used for that film, from what I hear, were in the several thousand dollar range, with interchangeable lenses, so they could act as close to film cameras as possible. For my film, I decided I didn't need that much versatility, since I had been using Digital Video cameras (DV and D1), with good results. The lenses were always Zooms, so I was used to working with the simple limitations of the zoom lens. One thing I knew I did need was to have manual control over the settings (focus, exposure, etc.). Not only to have complete control over the image, but I had to be able to shut off the camera at the end of the day and be able to come back the next day, turn it on and have the settings be the same. The PowerShot line of cameras are divided into simple "Point and Shoot Digital" cameras, that do most of the exposure settings for you, which is great for everyday, on the fly shooting. But then there's the more advanced, "High-End Digital" cameras, that have more advanced lenses and features which include, very importantly, manual control for focus, zoom and exposure. Out of these advanced cameras, the S60 was the cheapest, but had everything I needed, the manual settings, and great looking image. Plus, it had the next requirement, software that allowed me to take the picture without touching the camera.

"Remote Capture" Software
I knew most cameras, digital or regular, usually had an additional accessory, the hands-free button. Sometimes it's a little remote control device, sometimes an old-school wire trigger. So I wasn't too concerned about finding a way to take the image without jostling the camera. But Canon makes great software that comes with the "High End Digital" cameras that allows you to adjust and save the manual settings, take the picture and save the image to your computer, all through a usb cable. Very cool. So far the software has worked fantastic. (Picture of the interface above.) The only sticking point is that the "manual" setting for the focus is just a "lock" feature. Which means that once the camera finds an Automatic Focus setting you like, you can lock it down, and it will stay there, no matter where the subject is moving. But it won't remember your focus setting after you've turned off the Remote Capture software. Which is not perfect, but there are work-arounds. If my Automatic Focus (AF) has been locked in the correct place and the subject has moved, and the next day I come back and the camera won't find that same focus setting because the subject has moved, I will just hold some object in front of the camera to get the camera to focus to the depth I want it at, lock it, and away we go! That is really the only "manual" setting feature that is not perfect. But it's really not that bad.

Stay tuned for more adventures in pixel-land! Click here for more info on Canon cameras.

2005-12-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

He's loose! And he's climbed upon a yellow box! Ahhh!

Mr. K, on a whirlwind tour, graciously makes a visit to the set.

2005-12-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night Animation:

That big flood light above the camera will not show up in the final shot. I run two files in Frame Thief, one is for the final dark, dark lighting setup. The other is the same animation, just taken with the big light on so I can see what's going on! So I turn that big light on and off every shot. Dark brown on black? Kinda hard to make out.

That camera stand looks complicated, but it's really not. I just threw it together with a couple of L-brackets and washers from (where else?) OSH and some pieces of wood that were lying around. Bolting the camera to the set is awesome! I wish I could do it all the time! It can be hard to get the angle, but that camera is rock solid. And if you bump the set, the camera moves with it!

One thing I really like about stop-mo is easy bounce light. Just stick a card under there!

Note: Duck mouths on the floor.

The music? ELO, of course.

2005-11-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

Snoot.

2005-11-07T18:24:00.000-08:00

2005-10-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Oh, so exciting.

The new Mac is in. Frame Thief is working. Canon's proprietary software is working. The analog to digital converter is working. Horah! Thank the Lord! Things are working. Together, even! This place is looking more like a studio and soon may even be acting like one!

Yes. Exciting.

Here's that crazy shower tension rod light thing holding up lights:

The walls look weird because I opted not to paint them black and instead pinned up black paper.

2005-10-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

"Period Adjustment Corner" at The Studio.

Which includes: A framed Ed Wood promotional still, interchangeable monster movie posters (right now showing "Day The Earth Stood Still"), the aforementioned Hot Rod Life magazine poster, "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" postcard (Kienholz!), two Aquabats trading cards (The Bat Commander AND Crash McLarson!) and last but not least a Haunted Mansion postcard. (Thanks Sean and Nich for most of this cool stuff!)

There are also: C47s, emergency spackle, "Shipwreck Red" Wine, the FCP4 box (and manuals), a bunch of helpful animation books, I think my Pixar visitor's badge is on that piece of paper and... Can you spot the Gargon?

Also, in stop motion, ventilation is very important.

That window will be all covered up eventually, but now with a way to get air through!

2005-10-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

The lovely Janet.

Or at least part of her.

Her feet are aluminum because Magic Sculpt, although easy to form, can't handle tie down screws very well.

2005-10-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Emeryville, California: where the best coffee in the world is roasted and shipped to stores and people everywhere! Yes, Peet's coffee is located here and if you ever get a chance to taste their wares, please do. You won't be disappointed. But Emeryville isn't just known for the production of excellent coffees and teas. No! Did you know that right down the street from Peets HQ, there is also an animation company? There is! It's called "Pixar" and boy, can they make some fantastic films! Remember the name: Pixar! I just know someday they'll go far.

In seriousness, I'm a huge sucker for Pixar. They are really the best movie studio in existence right now. And I got to visit the other day! A friend of mine invited me up to see their very cool "public space" which was well worth the visit. They had a ton of Incredibles stuff out: beautiful artwork, sculptures... even the furniture in the lobby had that mid-century long and low look like the movie. Awesome. Kudos to you Pixar! Keep up the excellent work that reminds us why we all want to go to the movies!

Meanwhile, I continue to sand before the next coat...

2005-10-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

The fun stuff! Sanding!

My old friend spackle makes another visit to the set. In order to make sure the wall was flat enough to make a suitable green screen, I called in another favor from spackle. He's doing good these days. Works on a lot of small projects, and likes to keep busy. He helped out with the Rambler and the Time Machine. His specialty? Smoooothness.

If this thing works out, it will hold lights above the set without the need of a bunch of c-stands or drilling holes in the walls. I got the idea from a similar type of pole that we used to hang lights on at SF State. Thankfully this one is not spring loaded. (That was a pain!) One needs only to turn the end to tighten it into place.

That thing at the end there is just a little adjustable shower curtain rod bought from the hardware store.

2005-09-16T23:25:00.000-07:00

I needed a clock for the new studio. Why not a classic "starburst" wall clock? Made quick and dirty out of styrene and a six-dollar clock kit. Oh, and glue. Superglue. It will need paint someday (most likely a stately copper), but for now it does a pretty good job telling the time without it.

Also: Lights, a green wall and other things the studio needs are being worked on, but aren't as photogenic... yet!

2005-08-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Another cool find. Ten dollars at Orchard (Supply Hardware)! Comes with it's own 250 watt 110 volt halogen bulb (a 4 dollar value). Compare that to the bulbs that you use in a Mini-Mole which are 200 watt, 120 volt (FEV). (Mini-Moles are small professional lights, the kind most used in pro stop-mo shoots. Oh, and the ones I used at De Anza.) Pretty cool! I the main differences between the Mini-Mole and this work light is the reflector behind the lamp and the lack of a lens in front. That, and I'm not sure if it puts out the same amount of foot-candles (light measurement). It looks pretty bright though. Now I'm going to see if I can make little round reflector to set in there. (Right now it just reflects off of the retanglular box that it's in, which gives four little mini-shadows on each side of any given object's shadows.) Also, I'm going to hopefully try to find a nice lens to direct that halogen power where I want it.

Oh, so here's a footnote: I'm shooting black and white, which means I'm too not concerned about color. So I'm fine with the fact that the halagen bulbs in these worklights are probabaly not the right color temperature for film. But if you folks watching at home are shooting with a digital camera, that camera will probabaly let you tweak the white balance, even after you take the picture. So these worklights still may be a good, cheap way to light your projects!

2005-08-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

It is thought by some that Joe Ranft was the secret weapon for the quality of Bay Area animated films: Nightmare, and all the Pixar films. Some might even go so far as to say that Joe was a catalyst for the "Story is King" revival that has breathed new life into modern animated film.

As many of you have probably heard by now, Joe Ranft died in a car accident on Tuesday.

In the last few years I have tried to take to heart that advice that story is so important. And the best place I learned about it was, of course, from Pixar DVDs. So I know that many, many of the things that I've learned while making this film, I've learned from Joe.

He will be greatly missed.

2005-08-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a while!! My home computer crashed a few weeks ago, and I've just (big news!) been moving my stuff out of De Anza. So I haven't had a chance to post, or had any production type stuff to relate to y'all!

So where am I going? Home! Yes, home. De Anza is great, but it's good to have everything in one place, and complete access at all the time. I will still stop by De Anza here and there, but for the most part I'm more of an independent filmmaker now, I guess.

Here's a cool tip: construction sites.

Down the street a neighbor was having new siding and insulation put on their house. And apparently when they do this, they just throw out the extra insulation doesn't fit on the walls! I got a ton of it! I was amazed.

What is it good for, you ask? Well, this pink insulating foam is awesome for sculpting. Especially for sculpting things that need to be light weight. It doesn't flake off or distort like other foams. It's pretty sturdy and keeps a good shape. And super-glue works great to get it to stick to itself. It's quite an amazing product. So next time you see a construction site, see if they're throwing any insulating foam away. It's win-win!

Among other things on the to do list: removing wallpaper, and painting a wall green.

That's some hideous wallpaper.