Base14

Today I am very proud to announce the next Base14 animated film: The Girl and the Fox. In production since September 2009, TGTF has reached the long-awaited proof-of-concept stage to make it worthy of publication.

The Girl and the Fox is a new foray into dramatic animated storytelling for Base14. Leaps and bounds above our first attempt at animated drama, Ara, this new film channels all the professional filmmaking and storytelling techniques I have learned since starting graduate school here at The Savannah College of Art and Design. TGTF also marks our return to hand-drawn digital animation, which thanks to the talent and resources here at SCAD, will be far superior to anything to come out of Base14 previously. The production staff has grown to over 40 members, including a dozen character animators, half a dozen layout artists, and another dozen or so ink & paint artists. It’s safe to say about 80% of my time is currently spent managing and directing such a large crew, but it’s possibly the most enjoyable and rewarding endeavor of my life. I’m honored to work with such a talented and dedicated team.

To see what they’ve been cooking up, though, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Animation is almost completely done, and we’re now entering the ink & paint / composting stage. Later this month we’ll be launching into overtime with another experimental Base14 Studio setup, this time here in Savannah, to tie up any loose ends in production. By late March, we’ll move into post-production, finalizing editing and sound design. And now that things are really getting exciting, every noteworthy event will be chronicled right here on Base14. So stay vigilant, loyal base14 readers! Much more is on the way.

Duck Heart Teslacoil has been chosen as one of the featured films of the “Best of Animation Block Party” traveling showcase! The next stop is Los Angeles, California at the New Beverly Cinema on Thursday February 18, 2010 at 7:30pm and 10:00pm. The New Beverly Cinema is located at 7165 West Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036. Anyone that’s out in L.A. and hasn’t had the chance to witness the film on the big screen yet,
be sure to get out there and see it!

Over the weekend, Duck Heart Teslacoil won two honors at the Smogdance Film Festival. “Don’t you mean Sundance, Tyler?” you’re probably asking. No. I mean Smogdance. It’s a tiny bit lower key but with just as much heart, as far as I’m concerned. We received the Honorary Mention for Student Animation and the Saturday Audience Choice Award for Animation. And this one actually includes some prize money, for a change. Nicely done, DHT!

Happy Holidays from all of us at Base14! As a special gift to our Internet friends, I’ve created something special for anyone stuck at home this season in need of something to do. Why not brush up on your After Effects skills? Presenting the latest Base14 Tutorial: “2D Animation Compositing in After Effects.”

» Download the tutorial files right here.

This is a popular tutorial I have done for some workshops at SCAD and I have been getting requests on my YouTube Channel for some sort of follow-up to my 2D Character Animation tutorials. This video goes into detail on how to properly export character animation from Flash and import it into After Effects to combine with background and foreground elements. It also gives a handy trick of how to duplicate a character animation clip to make a convincing shadow.

Anyone who’s interested in digital animation should find it useful. Enjoy!

The week is coming to a close and I have a few updates, plus a poppin’ fresh new video to keep you entertained… while we secretly work on other projects. First, some news.

Duck Heart Teslacoil has been chosen to be included on the Animation Block Party 2010 DVD. The DVD features all the favorite picks of the 2009 Animation Block Party and it’s really an honor to be included! I’ll definitely post a link when it goes up for sale. DHT was also accepted to show in the Smogdance 2010 Film Festival! It will show on January 23rd at Laemmle Theaters in Claremont, California.

Now then, for the video. This was a project for one of my animation grad classes at SCAD dealing with sketching for motion and animation. We had to rotoscope some dynamic piece of motion from a film or television show, so I chose Bret’s angry dance from the 12th episode of Flight of the Conchords. My aesthetic choice was to do the entire thing using office supplies, so the art is drawn in ballpoint pen, Sharpie marker and yellow highlighter. And yes, I retraced the background for every single frame! It’s kinda cool, so check it out!

Yesterday marked the end of the Savannah Film Festival, and it was nothing less than spectacular! Duck Heart Teslacoil got a terrific reception at it’s screenings Monday and Friday, and we made several new friends and fans. We even had an exclusive interview in the Connect Savannah magazine.

Since I live right here in Savannah, I got a filmmaker pass that allowed me access to every screening, panel and reception, and took full advantage of it! It was an exhilarating week of meeting, greeting, screening, wining, dining and inspiration. Although I barely even attended my classes and did virtually no homework, I feel like the entire festival was a much-needed boost of filmmaking mojo that’ll pump me up for the next few long months of producing our next short film.

Also, I should announce that Duck Heart Teslacoil has been accepted to the Anchorage International Film Festival. Although I always have wanted to visit Alaska, I doubt this December will be the ideal time to make it happen. Still, it’s a fast-growing, trendy festival and we’re thrilled to be a part of it!

So last Tuesday night I suddenly realized I had two days left to produce my experimental “under the camera” assignment for ANIM 705 - Animation Aesthetics and Practice. When the project was assigned over a month ago, I knew I wanted my medium to be stop motion with Lego bricks, but procrastinated for weeks on just how I would apply it.

Finally, in a flurry of indecision, I settled on a narrative piece structured around one of my favorite songs from musician and good friend of Base14, Rick DeSutter. Rick has been a key player in all of our recent short films, providing original music for Ara, Brian Paulson and Duck ♥ Teslacoil. The song I chose was “Shasta Creme Song,” not only for its wit but also its extremely short run time - only a little more than a minute. I set up a rostrum camera and lighting system Tuesday night and started animating bright and early Wednesday morning. By 11:59pm Wednesday, I had finished all animation and had the whole video wrapped up before class Thursday morning. Not bad!

The video was uploaded to YouTube Friday and has already garnered an impressive number of hits. It may not be perfect, but it’s spontaneous and fun, which makes it charming in a crude sort of way. Anywho, have yourself a watch and enjoy!