The Past Excelerated... Part One

Shippan Pointe. Stamford Connecticut. 1984.

The Cove Below Fire Road, Angel Island. San Francisco California. 2012

For those who don't know the story of how I came to this point in my life, I would like to explain my journey.  My name is James EdWard Kennedy Jr. and I am a multi-disciplinary fine-arts/film student currently living in Chapel Hill NC. I have spent the last four summers visiting Valencia, and San Francisco CA, attending enrichment programs that have helped my career choice of working as an artist in the animation industry. When I decided to return to school in the summer of 2009, after fourteen years of working in various retail position, I had to take a hard look at the direction in which I wanted to take my career and put it in realistic terms. I talked things out with my wife and with her support we began working on a five-year plan to seek out avenues that would allow for my dreams to find voice and emerge.

As long as I can remember I wanted to be an artist. Like most children I enjoyed the fact that cartoons were on every day, before school, after school, and especially on Saturday. My first memory of wanting to work in the industry was after a screening of Sleeping Beauty at the Ferguson Library downtown, that winter in Stamford, Connecticut. I had seen all the standard Disney classics from the 1940s to the 1970s  up to that point, including my favorite 101 Dalmatians, yet there was something magical about the climatic look of Eyvind Earle'sdesigns and its importance  that felt and looked a little off base from the rest. The “Forest of Thorn” battle between Maleficent and Prince Phillip appeared to stand alone, the way in which the Maleficent transformed into this fire breathing dragon moved differently, the lines were sharper, yet retained the modern visual design quality of the film. It was only through research and conversations with Disney Legend Floyd Norman, that I discovered that the Disney studio had employed a test of the Xerox process to achieve this, a precursor to director Ken Anderson’s use of it throughout 101 Dalmatians. I had discovered on my own a shift in technology, which still inspires my fascination of pushing the medium forward into new areas.

Walt Disney with an early model of the Xerox processor.

I've Got The New World In My View...

Sorry for the week off, but the need to pass my finals out weighed the need to post. Last week, I made my first payment to CCA and I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the first "You've Got A Friend In Me" pledge drive. I was able to meet my goal at 64%, which means the other 36% goes on the AMEX for the time being. I really appricate everyone's continued support, encouragement, and belief in my dream. I'm hoping to continue with the "You've Got A Friend In Me" pledge drive over this and next month, with special projects aimed at showcasing my drafting skills. Once again, many thanks and extreme gratitude to those who donated their time to my efforts, in this first go round.  

Monday, on the Diane Rehm Show...

On Monday I was lucky enough to get through to the NPR Program The Diane Rehm Show and speak to Dr. Ed Catmull about his book Creativity, Inc. I had no prior knowledge that he would be her guest for the day, yet I stumbled upon it as I was getting in my car headed to a final exam. It's funny how once you start applying focus onto an area, in this case my pursuit of my BFA in Animation at CCA; those efforts sort of open up doors for you. Enjoy the interview!

The Internship That Wasn't…

Well... It wasn't meant to happen this year. Yet, I'm a strong believer in persistence and the eventual pay off it usually brings with it. Today I received notification from Laika Animation Studios in Hillsboro Oregon, with the news that I had not been selected to attend this years summer internship program. MAN I REALLY WANTED THIS OPPORTUNITY. My attempts to enrich my skills a bit more and earn a some additional income to go towards my tuition, before heading out to CCA next year.

The "UNMADE FUTURE"

In Ed Catmull's new book Creativity, Inc. there's a whole chapter on the "Unmade Future". In it there a great way to look at elements hidden“On one side is everything we see and know—the world as we understand it. On the other side is everything we can’t see and don’t know—unsolved problems, unexpressed emotions, unrealized possibilities so innumerable that imagining them is inconceivable. This side, then, is not an alternate reality but something even harder to fathom: that which has not yet been created.

The goal is to place one foot on either side of the door—one grounded in what we know, what we are confident about, our areas of expertise, the people and processes we can count on—and the other in the unknown, where things are murky, unseen, or uncreated.

Many fear this side of the door. We crave stability and certainty, so we keep both feet rooted in what we know, believing that if we repeat ourselves or repeat what is known to work, we will be safe. This feels like a rational view. Just as we know that the rule of law leads to healthier, more productive societies or that practice makes perfect or that the planets orbit the sun, we all need things that we can count on. But no matter how intensely we desire certainty[…]”

This way of looking at opportunity is furthered by Catmull in what has helped me stay leveled during these past few weeks concerning my financial situation. 

 “Alan Kay—Apple’s chief scientist and the man who introduced me to Steve Jobs—expressed it well when he said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

This sounds like the kind of slogan you’d see on a bumper sticker, but it contains hidden depths. Invention, after all, is an active process that results from decisions we make; to change the world, we must bring new things into being. But how do we go about creating the unmade future? I believe that all we can do is foster the optimal conditions in which it—whatever “it” is—can emerge and flourish. This is where real confidence comes in. Not the confidence that we know exactly what to do at all times but the confidence that, together, we will figure it out.

That uncertainty can make us uncomfortable. We humans like to know where we are headed, but creativity demands that we travel paths that lead to who-knows-where. That requires us to step up to the boundary of what we know and what we don’t know. While we all have the potential to be creative, some people hang back, while others forge ahead. What are the tools they use that lead them toward the new? Those with superior talent and the ability to marshal the energies of others have learned from experience that there is a sweet spot between the known and the unknown where originality happens; the key is to be able to linger there without panicking. And that, according to the people who make films at Pixar and Disney Animation, means developing a mental model that sustains you. It might sound silly or woo-woo, this kind of visualization, but I believe it’s crucial. Sometimes—especially at the beginning of a daunting project—our mental models are all we’ve got.”

Excerpts From: Ed Catmull & Amy Wallace. “Creativity, Inc.” Random House, 2014-04-08. iBooks. 

This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=733503589

One More Thing...Steve's Movie

It's great to be able to reflect back on events with fresh eyes. I remember learning of Steve Jobs' role in crafting Pixar from hardware company to film studio, in a book entitled The Pixar Touch. The final chapter of Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull, speaks on the importance of Steve's investment of time, energy, opinion, finances, and leadership, and how it helped shape Pixar as a company. After reading that afterwards of Catmull's book, I remembered a quote Steve gave to the New York Times, one week after the first iPad was released back in 2010. This quote that's almost four-years-old has been taped to my animation desk since that time and it reads:

"Great products, according to Mr. Jobs, are triumphs of “taste.” And taste, he explains, is a byproduct of study, observation and being steeped in the culture of the past and present, of “trying to expose yourself to the best things humans have done and then bring those things into what you are doing.”

This statement has been the catalyst to which I've applied myself daily, and has allowed for me to remain diligent and cogitative in my efforts as a student. I feel so fortunate to have had the right set of circumstances appear in my life over these short four years of striving to attend CCA.

Ed Catmull's new book Creativity, Inc.

Finding Nemo. Toy Story. The Incredibles. These wildly successful, award-winning films are all part of the outstanding canon Pixar Animation Studios has produced since its inception in 1986. Pixar co-founder and president Catmull takes us inside the company and its evolution from unprofitable hardware company to creative powerhouse. Along the way, he addresses the challenge of building an effective and enduring creative culture. Punctuated with surprising tales of how the company’s films were developed and the company’s financial struggles, Catmull shares insights about harnessing talent, creating teams, protecting the creative process, candid communications, organizational structures, alignment, and the importance of storytelling in his book Creativity Inc. His own storytelling power is evident as he narrates the company’s precarious journey to profitability. Written in an earnest and introspective tone, with the help of Wallace, the book will delight and inspire creative individuals and their managers, as well as anyone who wants to work “in an environment that fosters creativity and problem solving.” 

I just finished reading this book and it is an amazing journey into foster self-awareness, setting objectives from a creative standpoint, and a clear approach to research and development! 

Pixar's Animation System Presto

I figured I would post this amazing inside look at Pixar’s proprietary animation system called Presto. The program was written originally for Brave and is being used on all of the studio’s upcoming films. It offers animators a deep level of control within a real-time, interactive environment. The talk is a subset of Pixar’s keynote at last week’s GPU Technology Conference, which you can watch here in its entirety. Thanks to Amid over at Cartoon Brew for making me aware of the video existence.

Words of Wisdom on Building Your Portfolio From Dan Hansen Director of Character Animation at CalArts

That's Dan in with the circle around his head., taken on August 15,1986 huddled in front of the one SGI workstation and a 4' x 5' tablet in the corner at Walt Disney Animation at 1420 Flower St. is the beginnings of what would become the dominant medium of the studio 15 years later. In 1986 this small group of animators from Walt Disney Feature animation were sent to Art Center School of Design to complete a class in hands-on computer graphics and were taught by experts in the field such as Jim Blinn of JPL and Dr. Chuck Csuri from Ohio State University on the latest state of the art techniques of the day.

 First Row L to R: Steve Gordon, Doug Krohn, Reuben Aquino, Barry Cook, Tony De Rosa.
Second Row L to R: Dan Hansen, Jay Jackson, Mark Henn, Tina Price and Phil Nibblelink.
Not pictured: Dave Bossart.

During my time at CalArts I was able to meet Dan Hansen, the director of the Animation Department, who shared with me ways to look and learn from animated films, the importance of knowing the foundations of the animation process, and most  importantly  the best way to put my portfolio together for enrollment into the program. Information that changed everything! I had heard Mark Andrews speaking on how Dan taught him and his classmates about "the film language", during a talk with Andrew Gordon; so I thought this would be an opportunity not to pass up. Below is an excerpt from the twenty-six minute conversation I had with Mr. Hansen over the span of program, highlighting the most important information on building a portfolio.

“We ALWAYS look for samples of life drawings. Ideally 12 samples or
more. The reason we want life drawings is because the better one can
draw life drawings the better he or she can draw anything. On those
life drawings we want to see that the person consistently draws faces,
hands and feet. We’re not looking for tight renderings at all but when
someone ignores faces hands and feet the person’s probably a beginner
and we’re looking for people with drawing experience.

We also ALWAYS want a sketchbook or two that are full of
drawings…maybe 60% from observation and the rest can be from
imagination. Regarding the drawings from observation we prefer the
drawings in pen (you can get yourself a black super fine Pilot pen at
anyplace like Staples or in the stationary section of most any store.)
Each figure will take you 2 minutes or less. You can go to someplace
like Starbucks or sketch kids playing at the park, or a sports game.
Because the action is often fast these sketches will actually help you
to see and remember what you saw. Or you could do them while watching
a sports game on TV. Sitcoms are bad though because it’s just people
standing around and talking. Here again, don’t ignore faces, hands,
feet simply because they’re hard to do. It’s not like you have to burn
up much time sketching them but don’t ignore them. Animals are helpful
too.

In the sketchbook, the drawings from your imagination can be anything.
Anime is really popular but we’re not very fond of sketches that focus
on it. The reason is that we don’t like the students to have blinders
on when it comes to animation. Anime is a fine style but there are a
zillion styles. I guarantee that Pen Ward (Adventure Time) and JG
Quintel (The Regular Show) or many others wouldn’t have succeeded if
they had been focused on only Anime or South Park. Here’s where you
can do character designs, or story ideas or whatever…even drawings
that don’t have anything to do with anything.

As I said before we like to see the sketchbook(s) full or nearly full
of drawings. Make your portfolio the strongest you can. You want to
put your best foot forward. A couple of years ago we saw roughly 270
portfolios and they were battling to be one of the roughly 40 new
students. Last year there 382 portfolios battling for the same number
of spots.

Even though I have decided to take my talents to CCA, it's important that I say without Mr. Hansen's candor on the expectations of enrolling into the program at CalArts, I'm not sure if I would be in the position that I'm in now. Here is that excerpt:

CalArts Legendary Animation Department

This is a rare look into the legendary animation department at CalArts, in Valencia California. I was fortunate to have unlimited access to the workspace during my five week there.