Video game wise:
Doublefine Studios. Doublefine is a relatively small game company that is known primarily for their sense of humor and their recent success in the downloadable console space. The biggest reason that I'd love to work there is that they seem to encourage creativity in their staff, and the staff looks like a tight-knit group. Plus, working on games that make people smile is one of my serious goals.
EA Games. The biggest reason I'd love to work at EA is that it's one of the largest, most successful game publishers right now, and if I can get my foot in the door there and get the experience from the internship, my resume would look all the better from it. Also, some of the best games I've played recently (Dead Space, Dragon Age, etc) are published by EA and made by their subsidiaries. The main reason these games were so awesome is that they were able to make the player feel something- they weren't just games, they were experiences. And more than anything, I want to be part of a project the audience experiences, not just sits and plays (or watches).
Animation Studios:
Walt Disney Animation Studios. The big D. I could tell you how integral Disney was to my childhood and how they pushed me to become an animator, and all that would be true, but thats not why I'd like to intern there. I want to learn from the best in the business, and few companies have the prestige Disney has in the animation field. Not only that, the internship program sounds extremely strong and like an incredible learning opportunity.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Internship Ideas- Video Game Companies
Vigil Games-
Doublefine Games
EA Games
Activision Studios
THQ Games
Twisted Pixel Games
Capcom
Bethesda Studios
Zynga Games
NetherRealm Studios
Disney Interactive
Sucker Punch
Blizzard
Valve
Rovio Mobile
Gameloft New Orleans
Rare
38 Studios
Epic Games
http://www.epicgames.com/careers/
Page 44 Studios
http://page44.com/
Internship Ideas- Animation Studios
These are a couple big names I'd love to work for.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
http://corporate.disney.go.com/careers/walt_disney_animation_studios_intern_info.html
Pixar
http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/uni_internships.html
Dreamworks
http://careers.dreamworksanimation.com/internships.php
Blue Sky
http://www.blueskystudios.com/content/company-internships.php
Sony
http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/employment/internships/
Tippet Studio
http://www.tippett.com/studio/jobs
Lucasfilms
https://jobs.lucasfilm.com/internships.html
Turner Broadcasting
http://www.turner.com/careers/#/careers/students-and-recent-grads
Nickelodeon
http://nickanimationcareers.com/jobs/internships/
Marvel
http://marvel.disneycareers.com/en/career-areas/students-recent-grads/internships-co-ops/
Frederator Studios
http://frederator.com/about/#where
Cartoon Network Studios
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-cartoon+network+studios/pn-2
Walt Disney Animation Studios
http://corporate.disney.go.com/careers/walt_disney_animation_studios_intern_info.html
Pixar
http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/uni_internships.html
Dreamworks
http://careers.dreamworksanimation.com/internships.php
Blue Sky
http://www.blueskystudios.com/content/company-internships.php
Sony
http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/employment/internships/
Tippet Studio
http://www.tippett.com/studio/jobs
Lucasfilms
https://jobs.lucasfilm.com/internships.html
Turner Broadcasting
http://www.turner.com/careers/#/careers/students-and-recent-grads
Nickelodeon
http://nickanimationcareers.com/jobs/internships/
Marvel
http://marvel.disneycareers.com/en/career-areas/students-recent-grads/internships-co-ops/
Frederator Studios
http://frederator.com/about/#where
Cartoon Network Studios
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-cartoon+network+studios/pn-2
Thursday, September 22, 2011
I'm So Damned Tired, Take 2 (with masks)
Voila! Behold, my super new and improved version of that janky animation I turned in last class. It's much, much better than before. For 1, the acting is much better, and the foreground looks much cooler with the blur effect. Also, I really like how I used the masks. Sure, they're pretty simple- a quick animation to indicate he's shutting down, and a fade out using a feathered mask- but they get the job done and I have a pretty grasp on how they work. I had to pull another all nighter to get this done, but I'm pretty proud of it. Who knows, this is definite reel material compared to other stuff I have on it. As much as I hate how rapid-fire Jill is dolling out these assignments- I really don't want Monday and Wednesday night to become the never-sleep nights- but I am learning this damn program fairly quickly. My heart will always belong to ToonBoom though- sorry AfterEffects.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Character Creation Exercise
Assignment:
"Write a one-page character portrait.
Things to think about:
Choose one single theme.
Explore a concern you care about.
Have one main character.
Make the character interesting.
Describe three characteristic actions by this person.
Guess at this person's long-term agenda (that is, what her or she seems to be trying to get, do or accomplish in life.
Suggest experiences that might have implanted these drives.
Predict where this person's agenda might take them in ten years' time.
What is this person's point of view in the immediate, moment-to-moment circumstances.
What are others point of view of this character?"
Okay, so looking at my themes from last class, there are three major possibilities: The Quest, Perseverance Despite Society, or Artifice vs. Organic. I can still incorporate them all, but I have to pick one major one. I think the theme I will go with is the perseverance one, since it would probably make for a more interesting story, and I can relate to it the most. I will probably incorporate the idea of the quest, but whether or not I will incorporate the organic/ artificial thing with it.
A concern that I would like to explore is the little guy rising up and, despite society's wishes, he reaches his goal. I also like the idea of love, and a guy going on a quest to find love. Love is has a universality to it- as people, we either want it or we have it. Like I said in my goals on Tuesday, I want my audience to walk away from my animation touched, as well as presenting them in a way that is uniquely mine.
An idea that I'm toying around with in my head is that of a gangly, goofy robot trying to find love in a mechanical city that runs like clockwork. He could look almost like a human wearing a boxy robot suit, and the other robots could all be the same model, following strict protocol. He could be clumsy and faulty, and the other robots don't accept him, as he causes "errors" in the system. He's created by a sweet old man scientist, and the scientist could have made him in spite of the rigid structure of the society, meaning well, giving him human-like emotions. But after the old man dies, the robot is left alone in a cold world that doesn't care for him. He is assigned to work at a power plant, having the simple job of flipping necessary switches on a large circuit but he cant even do that right. As he works and is constantly reprimanded for his work, he one day stumbles and is helped up by a woman who becomes his one and only friend (who could also be clumsy). The robot could develop feelings for the woman. One day, when fawning over the woman, he could really screw up what he was supposed to be doing, and causes a crash in the plant. Having wrecked the system, the other robots turn on him and surround him, meaning him harm. He cowers a against a wall, but then the woman can stand between him and the oncoming waves. It's all in vain though, as the other robots knock her out of the way. Upon seeing this, something could flip inside of him, and he will rush towards her, and using the stretchy, gangly nature of his limbs, he carries the woman through the oncoming mob, and with a look of determination on his face, he escapes the city carrying the woman with him. Once they escape, she could wake from her sleep to him fussing about her, and she could look around her, revealing a beautiful field, or something like that, which would be in complete contrast with the harsh mechanical nature of the city. The piece could end with them sitting by the forest admiring the scenery and the woman could kiss him on the cheek or something, and he would be really flustered. She would laugh, and the camera would then pan up with the credits.
So three characteristic actions of the robot is 1.) he tries his hardest to please his co-workers, but always messes up in some fashion, like tripping and knocking over important stuff or zoning out. 2.) As far as robots go, he would be very unrobot-like: I imagine his limbs being noodley as opposed to the rigid to the structures of the others, and would move accordingly. I imagine a scene where he is working at his switchboard and he's reaching all over the board to click things on and off. How does this define his personality? By making, in sense, an organic robot, he will act and move like a person, and will make him more emotive. I can show him disappointed, sad, happy much easier this way. 3.) When the day is over and he goes back to where he lives, he could have a picture of his creator, and have an emotive moment where he holds the picture close to him and his lip trembles. This could help push his persona and establish his emotions despite him being a robot.
His whole purpose in life would be to find someone that will accept him for who he is, like his creator. That's why he tries so hard at his thankless job, and why he connects with the woman- she accepts his clumsy nature and is a friend, unlike the personality-less co-worker robots.
The way he takes the day-by-day hardships- he is sad, because being the only one like yourself is lonely, and he just wants someone to acknowledge him. However, he perseveres and keep up with job and his life because he believes, almost to a fault, that the harder he works, eventually the other robots will accept him and thank him for what he's done. The loss of his creator created this desire in him- having lost that one person that loved him for who he was, he feels he needs to step up and become what is accepted by society.
The other robots don't really notice him at all, except whenever he throws off the system. The plants bosses, which are people (explaining the one woman), are frustrated with him, but seeing as he is the only robot they have that can stretch his arms to man the entire circuit board, they keep him around. However, whenever he makes the big mistake, they are the ones that tell the robots to crush him.
All in all, the piece touches on all my themes- it has the robots "quest" for acceptance, the idea of perseverance in life, and touches on the difference between artificial life and organic.
"Write a one-page character portrait.
Things to think about:
Choose one single theme.
Explore a concern you care about.
Have one main character.
Make the character interesting.
Describe three characteristic actions by this person.
Guess at this person's long-term agenda (that is, what her or she seems to be trying to get, do or accomplish in life.
Suggest experiences that might have implanted these drives.
Predict where this person's agenda might take them in ten years' time.
What is this person's point of view in the immediate, moment-to-moment circumstances.
What are others point of view of this character?"
Okay, so looking at my themes from last class, there are three major possibilities: The Quest, Perseverance Despite Society, or Artifice vs. Organic. I can still incorporate them all, but I have to pick one major one. I think the theme I will go with is the perseverance one, since it would probably make for a more interesting story, and I can relate to it the most. I will probably incorporate the idea of the quest, but whether or not I will incorporate the organic/ artificial thing with it.
A concern that I would like to explore is the little guy rising up and, despite society's wishes, he reaches his goal. I also like the idea of love, and a guy going on a quest to find love. Love is has a universality to it- as people, we either want it or we have it. Like I said in my goals on Tuesday, I want my audience to walk away from my animation touched, as well as presenting them in a way that is uniquely mine.
An idea that I'm toying around with in my head is that of a gangly, goofy robot trying to find love in a mechanical city that runs like clockwork. He could look almost like a human wearing a boxy robot suit, and the other robots could all be the same model, following strict protocol. He could be clumsy and faulty, and the other robots don't accept him, as he causes "errors" in the system. He's created by a sweet old man scientist, and the scientist could have made him in spite of the rigid structure of the society, meaning well, giving him human-like emotions. But after the old man dies, the robot is left alone in a cold world that doesn't care for him. He is assigned to work at a power plant, having the simple job of flipping necessary switches on a large circuit but he cant even do that right. As he works and is constantly reprimanded for his work, he one day stumbles and is helped up by a woman who becomes his one and only friend (who could also be clumsy). The robot could develop feelings for the woman. One day, when fawning over the woman, he could really screw up what he was supposed to be doing, and causes a crash in the plant. Having wrecked the system, the other robots turn on him and surround him, meaning him harm. He cowers a against a wall, but then the woman can stand between him and the oncoming waves. It's all in vain though, as the other robots knock her out of the way. Upon seeing this, something could flip inside of him, and he will rush towards her, and using the stretchy, gangly nature of his limbs, he carries the woman through the oncoming mob, and with a look of determination on his face, he escapes the city carrying the woman with him. Once they escape, she could wake from her sleep to him fussing about her, and she could look around her, revealing a beautiful field, or something like that, which would be in complete contrast with the harsh mechanical nature of the city. The piece could end with them sitting by the forest admiring the scenery and the woman could kiss him on the cheek or something, and he would be really flustered. She would laugh, and the camera would then pan up with the credits.
So three characteristic actions of the robot is 1.) he tries his hardest to please his co-workers, but always messes up in some fashion, like tripping and knocking over important stuff or zoning out. 2.) As far as robots go, he would be very unrobot-like: I imagine his limbs being noodley as opposed to the rigid to the structures of the others, and would move accordingly. I imagine a scene where he is working at his switchboard and he's reaching all over the board to click things on and off. How does this define his personality? By making, in sense, an organic robot, he will act and move like a person, and will make him more emotive. I can show him disappointed, sad, happy much easier this way. 3.) When the day is over and he goes back to where he lives, he could have a picture of his creator, and have an emotive moment where he holds the picture close to him and his lip trembles. This could help push his persona and establish his emotions despite him being a robot.
His whole purpose in life would be to find someone that will accept him for who he is, like his creator. That's why he tries so hard at his thankless job, and why he connects with the woman- she accepts his clumsy nature and is a friend, unlike the personality-less co-worker robots.
The way he takes the day-by-day hardships- he is sad, because being the only one like yourself is lonely, and he just wants someone to acknowledge him. However, he perseveres and keep up with job and his life because he believes, almost to a fault, that the harder he works, eventually the other robots will accept him and thank him for what he's done. The loss of his creator created this desire in him- having lost that one person that loved him for who he was, he feels he needs to step up and become what is accepted by society.
The other robots don't really notice him at all, except whenever he throws off the system. The plants bosses, which are people (explaining the one woman), are frustrated with him, but seeing as he is the only robot they have that can stretch his arms to man the entire circuit board, they keep him around. However, whenever he makes the big mistake, they are the ones that tell the robots to crush him.
All in all, the piece touches on all my themes- it has the robots "quest" for acceptance, the idea of perseverance in life, and touches on the difference between artificial life and organic.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Internship Research!
Here's the research I've done for internships. These are all video game companies, seeing as that is the industry I want to break into.
Vigil Games-
Doublefine Games
EA Games
Activision Studios
THQ Games
Twisted Pixel Games
Capcom
Bethesda Studios
Zynga Games
NetherRealm Studios
Disney Interactive
Sucker Punch
Blizzard
Valve
Rovio Mobile
Gameloft New Orleans
Rare
38 Studios
This is just a sample list, have a whole lot more I'm compiling.
My answers to presentation prompts
Have to do a 4 minute presentation based off these prompts tomorrow. I have to each them all twice. Here be my answers!
1. Peculiarities of my life that have made me see with special eyes are ...
a.) I grew up in a pretty conservative environment: raised Catholic, went to Catholic school all the way from kindergarten through high school, and I went to an all guy school in high school. Sophomore year of high school, I met Mr. Ancar, my art teacher. The dude's nuts, in the best ways possible. From blasting the Red Hot Chili Peppers during class, teaching us how to make orange juliuses, having arguments with the seniors about the finer parts of Dadaism, or telling us stories from his days Alaska King Crab Fishing, he was the strangest and coolest guy I have ever met, and he challenged me to look beyond my strict upbringing and embrace who I am as a person.
b.) Since I was kid, I've absorbed media. I have every genre of music on my iPod, have every genre of book on my shelf, and basically watch every movie you'll throw at me. This allows me to look at everything objectively, since I don't really have a preference for one particular type of thing and thus am not biased with most things. This lets me objectively think about what is "good" and what isn't.
2. Conflicts formative in my life are ...
a.) Your first big relationship in your life usually shapes you more than most people give it credit. My first big relationship was with a girl that was art-obsessed, and while I was with her I developed a profound interest in animation and comic books. We broke up at one point because she thought I didn't have the chops to go to art school with her, and I poured the anger from that rejection into making myself better at what I do, and it made me realize that I loved creating more than anything, as it made me happy after a pretty big period of my life ended.
b.) I had to fight tooth and nail to get where I am. My parents were absolutely against me going to art school from the beginning, and wanted me to be an orthodontist, a lawyer, aka anything that made a lot of money. It took my three years to convince them that this was all I wanted to do, and that has carried over to my art. I'm not the best at what I do, but I will keep trying until I get something right.
3. Themes that I'd like to work with are ...
a.) The Quest. Every good story has a "quest" in it, be it a road trip, saving the princess from a dragon, or the metaphorical quest of love, where you search for completion. I want to explore this concept and what it means to me this semester.
b.) Another theme that has always interested me, that I explored briefly in IPC, is Artifice vs. Organic. As our world becomes more and more industrialized, I find it interesting that there has been a surge of awareness of the environment, and I imagine that a perfect world would be one where technology and the environment are completely in sync. Plus, the juxtaposition of the organic and the industrial can be very interesting aesthetically, so this is another possible theme for me to explore.
4. Types of character I empathize with are ...
a) The quirky underdogs, since I was one of 'em in high school. Nerds, people with eccentricities, whatever you want to call them, fascinate me when I watch them, and are very easy for me to feel for.
b) The hopeless romantic. Ever since 7th grade, I've been either in a relationship or have been recovering from one. I know what it feels like to hurt and to love, having gone through the process a few times, and can relate to characters on both ends of the spectrum.
5. Story topics I'd like to explore are ...
a.) This question is a recap of sorts to my answer on themes. I don't have an exact idea of what I want my story to be yet, but I do know that it will probably involve a quest of some kind, maybe a smidge of the artificial vs. the organic theme, who knows. I tend my to base my stories off of assignments, so as time goes on I will be able to better answer this question.
6. Ways I'd like to act on my audience are ...
a) I want my audience to walk away from my pieces entertained, first and foremost. As an animator, my priority is to make a piece interesting to my audience for them to walk away with the piece still resonating within them.
b) My second priority is to present concepts in a way that is my own. Animation is a tough field to be in because we are constantly drawing inspiration from media in every direction, and it's hard to come up with brand new concepts. I once heard a saying that, "Every good story has already been told," and I agree. How you take the old story and spin it in a new way is key, and is hard. I want to be able to attack a piece in a way that my audience hadn't thought of and will resonate with them.
1. Peculiarities of my life that have made me see with special eyes are ...
a.) I grew up in a pretty conservative environment: raised Catholic, went to Catholic school all the way from kindergarten through high school, and I went to an all guy school in high school. Sophomore year of high school, I met Mr. Ancar, my art teacher. The dude's nuts, in the best ways possible. From blasting the Red Hot Chili Peppers during class, teaching us how to make orange juliuses, having arguments with the seniors about the finer parts of Dadaism, or telling us stories from his days Alaska King Crab Fishing, he was the strangest and coolest guy I have ever met, and he challenged me to look beyond my strict upbringing and embrace who I am as a person.
b.) Since I was kid, I've absorbed media. I have every genre of music on my iPod, have every genre of book on my shelf, and basically watch every movie you'll throw at me. This allows me to look at everything objectively, since I don't really have a preference for one particular type of thing and thus am not biased with most things. This lets me objectively think about what is "good" and what isn't.
2. Conflicts formative in my life are ...
a.) Your first big relationship in your life usually shapes you more than most people give it credit. My first big relationship was with a girl that was art-obsessed, and while I was with her I developed a profound interest in animation and comic books. We broke up at one point because she thought I didn't have the chops to go to art school with her, and I poured the anger from that rejection into making myself better at what I do, and it made me realize that I loved creating more than anything, as it made me happy after a pretty big period of my life ended.
b.) I had to fight tooth and nail to get where I am. My parents were absolutely against me going to art school from the beginning, and wanted me to be an orthodontist, a lawyer, aka anything that made a lot of money. It took my three years to convince them that this was all I wanted to do, and that has carried over to my art. I'm not the best at what I do, but I will keep trying until I get something right.
3. Themes that I'd like to work with are ...
a.) The Quest. Every good story has a "quest" in it, be it a road trip, saving the princess from a dragon, or the metaphorical quest of love, where you search for completion. I want to explore this concept and what it means to me this semester.
b.) Another theme that has always interested me, that I explored briefly in IPC, is Artifice vs. Organic. As our world becomes more and more industrialized, I find it interesting that there has been a surge of awareness of the environment, and I imagine that a perfect world would be one where technology and the environment are completely in sync. Plus, the juxtaposition of the organic and the industrial can be very interesting aesthetically, so this is another possible theme for me to explore.
4. Types of character I empathize with are ...
a) The quirky underdogs, since I was one of 'em in high school. Nerds, people with eccentricities, whatever you want to call them, fascinate me when I watch them, and are very easy for me to feel for.
b) The hopeless romantic. Ever since 7th grade, I've been either in a relationship or have been recovering from one. I know what it feels like to hurt and to love, having gone through the process a few times, and can relate to characters on both ends of the spectrum.
5. Story topics I'd like to explore are ...
a.) This question is a recap of sorts to my answer on themes. I don't have an exact idea of what I want my story to be yet, but I do know that it will probably involve a quest of some kind, maybe a smidge of the artificial vs. the organic theme, who knows. I tend my to base my stories off of assignments, so as time goes on I will be able to better answer this question.
6. Ways I'd like to act on my audience are ...
a) I want my audience to walk away from my pieces entertained, first and foremost. As an animator, my priority is to make a piece interesting to my audience for them to walk away with the piece still resonating within them.
b) My second priority is to present concepts in a way that is my own. Animation is a tough field to be in because we are constantly drawing inspiration from media in every direction, and it's hard to come up with brand new concepts. I once heard a saying that, "Every good story has already been told," and I agree. How you take the old story and spin it in a new way is key, and is hard. I want to be able to attack a piece in a way that my audience hadn't thought of and will resonate with them.
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