Saturday, March 31, 2007

"Popsicle: animation" or "Being a public punching bag" {update}


I posted the animation I made four years ago using the same animation technique I use in Bony Lil's Creation. It just occurs to me now, that it's basically hand-drawn cel animation without the cel. Instead of being put on a transparent sheet they are cut out. That means registration between actions happens during filming rather than as they are drawn making it somewhat stop-motion. But with my way, the characters can run across any surface in 3D and crumple and stuff. They can interact with a real 3D space with specific lighting etc.

So I posted this piece about the adventures of a frozen novelty snack that I made in ought-three with help and guidance from Lisa Bufano, and Yahoo! Video picked it within 48 hours and featured it on the front page. went from 18 hits to...
currently 1803, quick like bunny. Youtube is for shmoos.

{UPDATE: so despite the 8,096 hits, I had to go through 280 top featured videos to find one rated near as poorly as mine has been. one star. "hated it". (this one got 1.5 stars) It's a flash/green screen jobby called cosmonaughty about a dancing cosmonaut. Keep the faith, my brother. {Although, safe to say this lad did not spend the better part of a year on his video}}

{April 2nd, 8,857 hits

User reviews:

Puh-leese - wasted time

ugh - 3:11 seconds of my life that i will never get back

detesting - More could be found at www.tv-video.net, and you know you should work on this video more .Best wishes {ad}

Don t waste your time - Looked interesting, but extreamly slow paced video. Got better things to do.

Very Bad - Stupid

lousy - lousy

Everybody feel better now? Feels good to anonymously berate people's work. It's so hard when folks like me force people to sit in front of their computers for hours on end randomly watching whatever's put in front of them. It could be ANYTHING. Life is so tyrannically difficult. I can really see how this piece would raise one's hackles. Thanks for speaking out. Maybe this will bring about some change. In the meantime, while they work at cleaning up this internet joint, maybe it's safer to move back to watching specially programed, corporate-approved television. Their advertisements are guaranteed to more closely determine, I mean, pander to your tastes. Now someone bring me my beret and black turtleneck I have more people's time to waste.
[take THAT you pre-adolescent folks who could care less about any of the above and have already forgotten about the experience anyway]
(I feel better)}

for more on a potential utopia sledgehammered by human nature: go here

(April 10th, 11,059 hits, 244 suscribers:
horrible
que manera de perder mi tiempo

Tiempo perdido
Hacía tiempo no dejaba que me tomaran por estúpida, vaya siempre se tropieza con la misma piedra.

thus: Spanish speakers also find it to be a waste of time)

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Me corto mi pelo {fashion post #2.5}

So I stumbled across this doc (called "The Eternal Children" by some german guy about freak folk folks Cocorosie, Devendra Banhart, Antony etc) first thing this morning and watched the whole thing before getting out of bed. I'd heard plenty about these folks before, heard a few songs from each, but hearing them talk about their approach to and perspectives on life made me want to... cut my hair. (blushing). So, I did. Not totally psyched about it but it'll do. freak folk for all my friends!


{ramona-quimby-age-8 in the front, cut-rate hipster fringe in the back}

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Waiting: They got'm...

Monsieur / Madame Michael POPE

Nous avons bien reçu votre film BONY LIL'S DISTRACTION (and CREATION too)

La conférence de presse annonçant les films sélectionnés pour le Festival de Cannes se déroule durant la seconde quinzaine d’avril.
Si votre film est sélectionné pour le Festival de Cannes, vous serez prévenu avant cette date.
Nous essayerons dans la mesure du possible de donner des réponses à tous les candidats avant la conférence de presse.

Cordialement,

Festival de Cannes
Département Films
_______________________________________________________________________________

Dear Michael POPE

We have received your film BONY LIL'S DISTRACTION (and CREATION too)

The press conference will be held in the last two weeks of April.
If your film is selected for the Festival de Cannes, you will be notified before the press conference
We will do our best to notify all candidates before the press conference.

Yours sincerely,

Festival de Cannes
Film Department


Next comes the deadline for the Hamptons Festival, then maybe Locarno and Rhode Island International, probably Ottawa's Animation one. That's just May. June comes Sundance... more more more (where do we think the money is coming from for all these submissions? dunno. I just hope somebody says "yes. we love it. do come.")

Saturday, March 24, 2007

A coup {& fashion post #2}


Last night's screening went very well (nothing like stacking the deck with your friends). Thanks to Evan for the opportunity and support. We killed'm, gang.



'Big Pimpin' in Navy'
totally overdressed for the occasion

Friday, March 23, 2007

Feature on Yahoo! Video Again

It's a few pages back now from the home page, flew in under the radar, but the teaser for Bony Lil's Distraction has been featured on Yahoo! Video. Lots more hits. (better get crackin on those new videos for all those new subscribers)

Come see full length rough cut of Bony Lil's Creation tonight in Providence. fun.

{I'll post my outfit later}

Thursday, March 22, 2007

For the lads over at B's blog {fashion post #1}



Today's Outfit as per mentioned on Barnaby's blog comments. (somebody has to start doing the "outfit blog"){snork}

I have been rocking a style recently I like to call "farmer urban chic"
(Vogue and W can feel free to contact my handler)

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Additional SHoot

It didn't occur to me until very recently that when the two films are screening back to back there might need to be a bit of an interlude between them. So, yesterday Pope and I put some good quality time into the issue and came up with something marvy, fitting.

Introducing Harriet and Alejandro:






{Roll your eyes if you must, but stuffed animals are fun.}

Monday, March 19, 2007

Sketchbook Doodle and Screening


made in the usual stream of subconscious manner



Ten minutes of animation. Check out what I've been doing for the last two years.

And a tip of the hat to the cirque eloize folks. Thanks for bringin the funk.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Nominee


The Creation Teaser was nominated in the Best Indie Trailer or Promo category by the folks at Yahoo! Video.

soopare cooool.

{if you say it over and over again it's sort of neat. nomineenomineenominee.
conjures up the image of a chubby cheeked creature contentedly chewing with its mouth open.}

Sunday, March 11, 2007

New internetuals

So I've made a new Zea page on my site.

And a whole new Extravagant Bedhead site.
Redid Myspace page... new info in "about me"
...

So that's nice.

{still have a shnoop of audio tweaking and credit polishing to finish films officially. Still holding breath waiting to get delivery confirmation. Keep the evening of March 23rd open if you live near Providence. More soon}