Big Problems and Small Issues I had with Star Wars Rogue One. Spoilers.

I wanted to like Rogue One. I really did. And I try to go in without reading spoilers or gossips and only watched the trailers released..

 But I left the cinema feeling hollow and unfulfilled. Twice. 

Was it a bad movie ala Transformers or Jurassic World? Hell No! Was it a decent movie worth spending to watch it twice? Yes. The 2nd time to actually get over the jarring CGness and to try and absorb the story. So.. was it great? No. 

It is a mediocre story covered with amazing sets and visual effects well executed . That is the problem.

Or as Nerdwriter1 puts it...

Its an amusement park ride. Not a movie.

That was what I felt like when watching Rogue one. A very well-executed amusement park ride. 

the struggle to management your own expectation. aka how not to get pissed off at work.

I often am caught in a dilemma of deciding when is enough and when should I put all my best.

I suppose after years in the industry dealing with situations where people cannot make up their mind and stuff, it becomes hard to give my best to everything. That does not shoddy work. It just means work to the letter.

It seems when it comes to doing my own work, that seems to happen. Part of me just want to go.. "whatever"... but the other part refuses to just give in. It seems to enjoy pain.

But you do it because you are paid to. You are pissed off because your sense of self worth lies in your ability deliver it effectively. But the goal posts keep moving hence frustrations mount.

That is natural.

What I am saying is recognise the reasoning behind it
And do not take it personally
You are helping them realise a vision, and its part of the job description.
If they cannot make up their mind, they cannot make up their mind...

 It is also understanding that end result isn't just the goal. You are working with a group of people. And everyone are trying to do their jobs.

Adjust your mindset that allows you to take that role so that they trust you to do the job. The real prize is that you build a reputation of a dependable and pleasant person to work with.
Its an opportunity to build your reputation and reputation goes a long way in any industry.

Maybe its a different perspective, but in 2 years, you will look back at this and laugh at the stupidity.

Try to do the job with a perspective that you are helping someone make their jobs easier and helping them make a decision.

When u help someone, you feel good as well, whether they are aware of it or not. ask yourself how can u help make their decisons easier.

More importantly, do it for your mental well being. you do not want to go home kicking the cat..
And honestly, most of the time,
after all options are explored, its not only how good you can draw or paint.. but just to
assure that you are helping them make a decision. That you are on their side. It triggers a postive response from them. rather then a defensive one.

Once you understand this concept, it is easier not to be pissed off.

Sad state of the Visual Effects Industry and VFX in Los Angeles – 100 hour weeks & homeless

This post below from Scott Squires makes for sobering read of the state of the industry over in the States.

"For profit schools are multiplying at an incredible rate and being funded by money machines such as Goldman Sachs to sell dreams to people, young and old. The problem is those dream don't exist. These schools are churning out thousands of graduates to an industry without jobs. The only selection process at these types of schools is can you pay or can you sign this student loan from the government.  Your aptitude and your potential talent is never evaluated. Guidance counselors never reveal the reality of the industry you're getting into or your odds. In most cases these diploma mill types of schools teach very little of value and even those that do now have cranked out so many others it doesn't matter. It's hard to stand out and even when you do it's hard to get a job. When you do get a job you will likely be working long hours and then have to move to find your next project.

All of these students are eager to go into tens of thousands of debt. They are eager to work for free or close to free. They are eager to be exploited, to lower their value and the value of everyone else in the future, to the detriment of their real future."

 

and connected to that story by Jeff Hauser

 

"Victor has been unable to find other work because he’s often working so many hours, frequently reaching 80 to 100 hours a week. The stress is so intense that he feels it is affecting his mental health and mild dyslexia is getting worse. He worries about legal remedies or going public because he needs to work and fears the company he works at the most would be put out of business. Victor concludes, “There would be a scandal if it was ever found out that the worlds largest recording artists used a sweat shop/borderline slave labor in Los Angeles for their own personal gain in digital cosmetics/beauty.”"
"Are the schools doing enough to prepare graduates for the real world? How can artists deal with abuses and labor law violations? How can we fix an industry where a sort of Stockholm Syndrome exists where artists love the work so much that don’t seek available remedies because they worry the company they work for would go out of business if they had to pay properly or on time as required by law?
All I can try to do here in terms of wrapping up this story is to reiterate some common labor issues. These issues are common to all crafts  - visual effects, previs, games, motion graphics… and cross all borders."


These sad state of affairs is coming to be the norm in the industry. And with so many private schools world wide popping up feeding the dreams of the young people. If you are reading this and or know someone who is thinking of entering into the visual effects industry or related fields, please get them to read about the scams that these art for profit schools pull. Do not get into debt trying to get into the industry. Especially to get student loans to get into VFX. Animation is still something doable because it is flexible enough to branch out but even then, you got to have some artistic talent.

Thoughts and experiences on making a movie. WIP.

Why make short films. 

I thought there must be more to life then to make other people's movies. I saw the future that lay ahead of me if I continued the path of where my career was going. Overworked with no life.. Now I am overworked with no life AND no money. But surprising really happier. And I finally made my own short. GODAIZER

My honest intention was that before I get too old to do it, I want to tell a story that is my own. I think I got stories to tell that people might like and I wanted to have a shot at making my own short and seeing where it can take me. But the only way to find out is to do it. I only got one life. I do not want to look back and think of excuses why I didn't do it. I do not want excuses. It is also a escape from the mundane reality of every day living.

There were a hosts of other reason. My ego being one of them. I wanted to make my own movie.  I do not want to be a director or a art director for hire. There are much more talented and capable people out there doing it for a living.

In Singapore, its really hard to find a job and make a living. The stress level is already so damn high. To find job, to get married, to have enough money to pay mortage for a flat etc.. Constant worry and stress. You can consider making the short as an outlet for the stress and a form of expression. 

But the one thing that I did not realise was the connection with people. That people like your work. The stuff you create. That you bring a little bit of enjoyment to people out there. That was something unexpectedly rewarding.

"When the external validation of success replaces our spiritual sense of purpose, things get messy." - Chris Oatley.

I have just finished reading this bloody well written article below by the amazing Chris Oatley.

http://chrisoatley.com/jobs-in-animation-industry/

I really encourage animation students and working animators to go read it fully.  This particular part below is so so true to me personally. And I want to put it here to remind myself.

"Are you an artist? …a visual storyteller?

…then keep drawing and telling stories.

You can’t let fluctuations in the industry and/or economy kill your creativity.

…and you don’t need a job in the animation industry to validate your calling.

The world needs visual stories. Humanity thrives on visual stories.

I think you should draw or tell the stories inside of you even when you aren’t getting paid.

…especially when you aren’t getting paid.

We must distinguish the truth of our internal calling as creative people from all external forces."

steps.

Steps.

Type down all the things in the head. Story, personalities. etc.. all on paper. Mix and match. Might create happen accident,

Experiment with the personality THEN be clear. Trust gut instinct. Because their personality will dictate their reactions and actions. And for the love of god... Pls write down. DUn just procrastinate blindly. Writing down is very good. because it will help you think!!!! PLS PLS! PLS!!!! AAARRRRGGGGGHHH!!!

Ignore the nonimportant stuff. FOCUS!!!!  Highlight the ones that stand out!!! BOLD it! Or color it.

DO NOT LET The nitty griity details get you DOWN. FOR FUCK SAKE!!!! Get the MAIN IDEAS AND BEATS OUT. ARRGGHHH. They are serious eriouss mind fucks and more importantly time waster.

Conflict of interest for animation studios to run govt certified courses.

 Locally, there are several companies offering WDA certified animation courses. All of these courses are partially funded by the WDA. I applaude the willingness of the govt to spend the money to help the industry. But I feel that this is actually doing more harm then good.

The key issue for me is that the revenue of these schools come from the subsidies given to the students. So say a  course fee of $10,000, a local students just needs to pay $1,000.00 with the remaining being paid for by the WDA. You can quickly see a dilemma when the company will lose revenue for failing a student. Therefore I question the worth of that certificate given at the end of the course.
Currently there are already 4 polytechnics, a couple of private schools that are churning out hundreds of animation students a year. Such courses are adding to very crowded market.

In addition, recently one of schools which also happens to run a animation studio let go of almost this entire production crew while at the same time, still are offering courses in animation. i am sure you can appreciate the irony and hypocrisy of the situation.

On top of that, Lucasarts Singapore just let.go of its entire games dept.

We have a huge pool of cg artists jostling for a smaller pool of jobs. While these schools chase the govt dollar.

disclosure : I teach animation at a private art school  in.Singapore. I often am torn by the dilemma of.the situation. But I believe that we are offering the students a better chance at succeeding in the industry.

Keep Calm and Keep on animating.

Few months back, I was sitting behind my class of 3D animation students during studio time when I read about Dreamworks letting go of up to 500 artists. This was a day after Rhythm and Hues are rumored to be bought over by Primal Focus.

And that was when I felt the hair raising behind my neck. The accumulated silent frustration that these students in front of me are going into an industry that is facing cross roads. Some of them I honestly believe can go far in their careers. If there is a industry to get into.

But I do not know what future holds for them. I initially thought to be optimistic. That they will find jobs. 

Then later, R&H files for bankruptancy and Pixmondo is going to close their Detriot and London Studios followed by Shanghai.

Then Lucas Arts Closed. With plans announcing that ILM might be affected too.

 My original intention of teaching was to have time to make my own short and that I used to enjoy teaching. Especially young eager minds. But  I suddenly felt small. That the value of my self -worth is judged by myself on the success of these students. I felt disgusted at how pitiful I am. But at the same time, that is what drives me to push them harder and to make them better in hope that some of them can make it into one of the big boys and/or create their own companies/ideas. The hope that the success of these students will entice even better quality to join the course in a ever improving  circle.

Then I came across this article below.

http://nebezial.deviantart.com/journal/so-you-want-to-be-a-professional-XD-363842751

"now listen, there is nothing wrong about treating this as a hobby, it is a wonderful satisfying hobby to have. but if you want to be a professional, be it a comic artist a game artist a n animator a designer... you will have to put in the time, you will have to pay your dues.

life is a bitch, it will do you no favors. all you can get out of it is what you are willing to fight for. it is a hard battle, but it is worth it.

see, at a certain point it truly is about this. what is it that you want to do in life, do you want to spend your life being slowly killed on the inside  by the job you hate while dreaming of your could haves, or will you fight for your dreams."

That quote above struck me and it just brought me back to when I was in school stuck doing something that I didn't like to do. After growing up and having to worry about bills, jobs mortage, getting fucked over by bosses etc.. especially in this pressure cooker of a country..But I understand that in spite of the shit that is going down, this is still what I want to do. And i have to be good enough at it to make a living creating ideas, stories with these tools. Be it a pencil or a software package. It is still a tool to tell a story. Stories that will bring people to a different world or to escape reality for that few minutes. Or to relive their childhood memories... Or simply just to feel.

VFX industry craziness

This is about 2 months late.... but Wwith all the angry and frustrations over the Oscars snub for R&H guys who won best VFX, it confirmed my long held suspicion that they treat us as the smart class geek at the back of the class doing their home work for them, the cool guys... the jocks, the studs that they think they are. And we loved it. Trying so hard to be accepted, to be invited to the party.... I do not need to add more to the situation. there is a whole lot of info at the links below.

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/03/oscars-vfx-protest/
http://thinkinganimationbook.blogspot.sg/2013/02/a-piece-of-pi.html
http://www.fxguide.com/fxpodcasts/fxpodcast-245-vfx-roundtable/?fb_action_ids=10200237614316885&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/ves-advocates-for-more-vfx-subsidies/#more-3400

Except there are a whole world for Nerds/geeks out there that want to bend over and be their whipping boys.

Here is my take of it. From the other side of the world, from the supposedly side that is taking work away from US.

A union isn't going to work. PERIOD. Not on a global scale. Someone posted on VFX Solitary Int.

"AGAIN...HOLD ON HERE! Let me jump in and ask one VERY SIMPLE question: What happens when another market in the world offers an even greater Tax Subsidy Incentive to the Studios that they can't afford not to Leave New Zealand? Then what happens to the New Zealand market?"
Here and here are the answers.


No Govt will come together for a agreement so that a bunch of (in their eyes) animators want fairer pay. That is like asking for World Peace.

I feel that it is a global issue. Artists from China, India, , South Korea, japan, South East Asia etc... are being subjected to same stress, job uncertainty as those in California because even here, there is even more crazy pressure to make things cheaper and faster. The race to the bottom will not help anyone except the studios and the money men....

And there are different viewpoints. Some rejoice that the jobs are coming to Asia. that finally they get a piece of the pie. but that is just stupid. Some over in Us are angry that the jobs are going to Asia.

But the problem is still, the people who wins are the money men.

The problem is compounded by unscrupulous individuals offering courses in vfx, animation etc.. flooding the market with utterly inadequate "artistes".

Ending with pissed off people spending so much money and govt on subsidies on animation courses supposedly to help get them non-existence jobs.

http://www.facebook.com/ajax/sharer/?s=99&appid=2309869772&p%5B0%5D=714432030&p%5B1%5D=105400906301584
Solution?

They view the subsidies and funding by the different governments world widde creating a unfair playing field as a problem.

How many companies here closed down despite of the govt funding and subsidies. How many of the local animators are working as permanent freelancers etc...

As you well know, we also have problems like this locally. Its a worldwide problem Animators in Batam are paid how much ? U compare them to local animators. for the quality vs the price which will you chose? And I am sorry to say this, the quality of work locally isn't near what is needed to compete with the big boys.

At the end of the day, its basic maths. There is too much supply, not enough demand.

my honest opinion is the the local big boys will move towards the cheaper countries when the quality vs wages level off and when the subsidy is over.

 If you want to be pissed off, be pissed off at the companies and schools that offer govt subsidised short courses and letting hundreds of ill equpped "artists" with unrealistic expectations of industry while making themselves rich. Those are the assholes you should be pissed off by.

Be the Jock? No.... Be the smart Geek that the Jock cannot live without. Not the jerk in the corner trying to get you hook on smack.

How ? I do not know. Yet. But I am sure as hell trying to find out.

A Personal Opinion on Passion and Commitment

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, passion is ‘a strong and uncontrollable emotion’. This is the word that many had used to express their enthusiasm and (used generically here) love for something. The subject may range from an individual to an object or activity. It could be anything. However, since this is purely from a personal standpoint, I’ll mostly deal with the activity part, loosely based on the art discipline (again, art here is used in a generic manner). 

  Let’s assume that Oxford Dictionary is completely correct about the definition of the word. ‘A strong and uncontrollable emotion’ seems to have a negative connotation, as of the word obsession, besotted and possessed. In this sense I am referring more to the uncontrollable part. Regardless, strong is a relatively vague word too, and is dependent on the situation as presented. 

  People may want to indicate that they have the fierce love for art, and here is where the commitment part comes in. Commitment is defined as ‘the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity’. By saying that a person has passion for certain things, it mainly indicates emotional qualities, consisting more sentimental value. Commitment, on the other hand, seems to imply a psychological and physical sense of involvement in the aforementioned situation. 

  Putting both together, by saying that one has passion for art, does not certainly indicate the presence of commitment to the discipline. It simply means that one possess an intense  emotion for something, not necessarily dedication. Deriving from that, a lack of dedication also implies an absence of responsibility. That would be the problem here. 

  Passion is an emotive word, and we all know that emotion is something extremely indistinct. People can get away with things by using emotion (as observed in all complicated situations that usually involves the phrase ‘I love you’). Hence, when a person says, I have a passion, it merely states that he/ she has an intense emotion towards a subject matter. You have a passion, so what now? Having an emotion simply isn’t sufficient to make things work. 

  So far all these seems to put passion in an unfavorable light. Actually no. It’s simply the fact that we all use the word passion too dismissively, too lightly. We instantly relate passion to a positive meaning when we hear it, hence we use it. It is a straightforward word. 

  All too often, you hear people in the art discipline saying ‘I have a passion for arts, that’s why I’m here’ (every other art student, including yours truly); ‘You must be passionate about arts to do it. Live it, breathe it, shit it and sleep with it’ (every other art lecturer who is actually bold enough to use the simple word shit in a sentence. That was sarcasm if you fail to detect); and of course there’s the institute that goes ‘ We are passionate about arts and we are here to teach intelligent young minds who share the same bloody passion’. Certainly, there’s the parents ‘ I want you to study something you have a passion for’, or, ‘Passion for arts is plain ridiculous, you need an education that can get you money’.  

  ALL these people use the word passion. It’s just like the first day in art school and someone asks ‘What do you think creativity is?’. More than half the people will answer ‘To think out of the box’. Personally, I do not find ‘out of the box’ a constructive phrase, it does not explain creativity either. It’s simply a term used too unconsciously, like an involuntary action. And here we go on the improper use of vocabulary before carefully digesting every morsel of the definition. 

  So as I was saying, the word is used too dismissively. We may be saying ‘ I have a passion for arts’ without realizing we could mean: ‘I fucking love arts to bits and pieces but I could ditch it any time I want because it’s just bloody emotion.’ Inappropriate choice of word. 

  Regardless, passion itself is not a problem. I am in fact giving it credit. True, passion is emotion and emotions are unstable and not based on hard facts. Yet, let’s face it, we are all in some way influenced by emotion. A lot of things stem from emotion. Emotion doesn’t accomplish things, not directly. It is a driver.  

  We all do things because there is something inside that is driving us. Hunger drives you to leave the keyboard and make food. Sexual deprivation and mental instability drive the rates of sexual assaults. It is only because you have a passion for something and that is what’s making you do what you’re doing (hopefully). Passion is intense and it could drive people to unusual extents. That is when commitment comes back into the picture. 

  Due to this passion thing we all claim we have, it makes it easier for commitment. I’m not saying passion creates commitment, it is not absolute. If a person has the passion, committing becomes less agonizing. Committing comes naturally for some people because they want to do the thing that they love, and they are ready to take the responsibility that comes with it. 

  I know a lot of peers who have passion for arts, and they come to an art school. That was first step to commitment. Initial commitment isn’t enough. All the hours spent doing things like painting tiny squares of perfect colour value, hue and saturation can kill people on the long run, because it interferes with their online gaming, social networking, clubbing and all the normal things that normal people do. They’ll leave after a semester or two, simply because of workload and the fact that, they don’t want the commitment. Sure, passion makes it easier but it just doesn’t work if you don’t want the responsibility of being physically and mentally involved with what you do. That was simply an observation, not judgement. 

  Here’s a summary to celebrate the fact that you spent 10 minutes reading a long- winded, relatively insignificant article: One, passion is equivalent to emotion and is unstable. Two, people use the word passion too lightly. Three, passion is not commitment. Four, passion can drive us to commit. Five, commitment involves responsibility. 

  So, the next time before you say ‘I have a passion’ , it would be nice to remind yourself that out there somewhere behind the computer screen, a jobless nutcase is looking up the word definition and criticizing your inappropriate choice of vocabulary in the said context. And writing a thousand word commentary about it. 

Story Development in Animated Features

"How much time is typically devoted to the story making/boarding/animatic phase of a movie? How well can you tell if the film will work when it’s in animatic form? . . . do stories come out weakly because they didn’t have enough time to keep tightening them, or because you can’t get a good enough idea of the final product from just the boards?"

The entire process is actually a series of overlapping processes, and while the goal may seem to be to satisfactorily complete one phase before moving on, that never happens.

Inevitably, more story and character changes ensue during the animation process, when the folks in charge figure out the real heart and soul of the film, so that much of the animatic is revised or thrown out as scenes and sequences are reboarded, redesigned, reanimated. The story department is usually still hard at work on a film up right up until shortly before animation finishes.

So how well can you tell if the film will work from the animatic? I’m not sure the animatic is the thing anyone should be judging. The typical animatic, despite how detailed these things have become in just the last ten years, still lacks any acting. In CG features, they’re far less expressive than the storyboards. And the animatic production values (lighting, cloth, effects, score, etc., etc.) are crude at best. So animatics can be deceptive.