Empire State Demo

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This sketch was a demo for one of my online students. The class is called, “Sketching People, Places and things.” Since the class was held on Zoom we couldn’t go to a location to sketch. So I showed the student how to use Google maps and turn on street view.

I explored around Cleveland to see what the theater looks like where my film will be screened on April 12. I found the theater district and walked around until I found a good view of the Allen Theater.

My student decided to explore NYC. He wanted to draw the Empire State building. He stood directly in front of the building and looked up. From that angle you couldn’t see the top spire. So I advises him to walk around the building several blocks away and look back for the Empire States Building. He was delighted when he found this view so this became the focus of our lesson.

This became a lesson on using three point perspective. One point is at the end of the street as the road converges to the horizon. Another point is off screen to the left, and a third point is high in the sky which affects how the buildings converge and get smaller as they rise into the sky.

This is my old stomping grounds. I used to work in the empire State Building about 2/3 of the way to the top. I could open the office window and sit on the ledge looking out over the city. I vastly admired the window washers who would clean the windows from outside several times year. That is a job I could definitely not do. I clench my butt just thinking about it.

My student made a fun creative decision and he had a subway train run up the avenue. I finished this in the class, but his piece still needs work. Then again, is a sketch ever really finished? I see things I would like to change and details that could be added.

Control of the Dirt

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Control of the Dirt by Louise Schwarz will run from March 29 – April 7 2024 at The Marchall Ellis Performing Arts Center (1300 LaQuinta Drive Orlando Fl.) It is presented by Playwrights Round Table.

I went to sketch a dress rehearsal of the show. As I walked to the theater entrance, Jac LeDoux, the director, was laughing and delighted. They had found a living room lounge chair on the drive to the theater. That chair was now part of the set. It didn’t smell. I had passed a chair on the drive to the theater as well but had decided to let it sit. I would be moving in a couple of days and didn’t need another item to haul.

The set was simple with three flats which could be rotated if needed. There were quite a few set changes as scenes jumped form one setting to another. The stage would go dark with faint blue light as stage hands moved furniture into place.

The first few moments of the show had me laughing out loud as Susan Woodbury  as Selina, performed an awkward and hilarious interpretive dance for her iPhone. She was a social media influencer in theory. he claimed to have many hot pokers in fires but they seemed to be false leads. She was staying with her sister in law but had overstayed her welcome.

In another story line a very intelligent high school student played by Hafsa Zuberi shared her concerns about her father with her counselor Vanessa, played by Taylor Byerly. It turns out her middle aged father had fallen for the Selina. The father performed by Tom Leahy, was much older than the Selina but she needed a place to land since she was being evicted. The concern was that she only was interested in him for his money. Selina had a tendency to exaggerate truth to make herself look good. Though her confident airs were fun to watch it became clear she manipulates people and she lies.

The characters must live in a small town, because all of the separate story lines suddenly converge towards the end of the play. Tensions flared. At one point there was an argument about funeral ashes possibly being laundry detergent. The ashes were thrown and the fine dust lingered in the air for a good 10 or 15 minutes drifting through the theater space. It wasn’t clear if it was detergent or ashes. It would be in character for Selina to get confused. The lingering dust in the air was a fine visual demonstration of aerosolized spread and I was glad I had my N95 on. I didn’t notice any HEPA air filters in the theater.

This dark comedy is a world premiere about grief, empathy, breaking points, and suspended libidos. I love dark comedies and I enjoyed this show. Tickets are $20.

 

COVID Dystopia: From the Observation Dome

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This scene from COVID Dystopia has a waves crashing against a lighthouse. The movement was created using animation pins in After Effects. I think the shot works as it is.

I made a drastic change to she whole film yesterday. I got feedback from a viewer from South Africa that he felt the film moves too fast. His wife kept asking him to pause each scene so she could take in the details. He wanted me to do an entirely different version of the film that runs half as fast.

I am not going to go back into each shot and add twice as many drawings to extend the animation. I did however decided that all the snap zooms that transition between each shot might not be needed. Each snap zoom happens over 3 frames, so each shot loosed 6 frames to the quick transitions. Most of the transitions were on a separate layer in the timeline, so I simply turned off the visibility of that layer and watched the film again.

Nothing was lost when the snap zooms were dropped. As a matter of fact the animation became the focus since it is no longer competing against the fast transition effects. I still need to do quite a bit more tweaking since the timing of each shot has to be adjusted, but the next cut of the film will be much cleaner and focused.

I discovered that an out of focus scene needs to be re-animated to make it 4K high resolution. I thought I had revised the scene already but apparently the work was never done. I have to move my studio in a couple of days so that scene might start after my Disney Animation Desk is set up in the new studio space.

COVID Dystopia: Ocean into Foam

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This shot in COVID Dystopia pans up to show just how tall the wave is and then there is a fast snap zoom into the foam. I could animate the woman shifting her weight a bit but there really isn’t time to notice such a subtle movement.

The iron beach barricades are from scenes in Ukraine. During the pandemic Russia decided it was time to invade the small neighboring country. War it an amazingly effective vehicle for spreading disease during a pandemic.

America has shown its weakness for allowing this invasion to continue. Of course there is the fear of complete nuclear annihilation since Russia and Americas could end all life on earth ten times over. The virus is ending life in a much slower and more indigenous way that can be ignored until it affects you or your loved ones.

My vote on this scene is, no change,

COVID Dystopia: Churn the Ocean into Foam

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In this scene from COVID Dystopia, the carrier rolls downward from the force of the wave. I used the pin tool in After Effects to add some rolling action to the wave. Some distortion was added to the foreground to get those waves moving.

There is a distant wave that could be hand animated to add motion but I honestly doubt that is needed. The shot is over before the audience can register that they are looking at a sinking carrier. The subtle hint of a skull in the foam is probably lost on most.

I entered the film into the Austin Film Festival yesterday. I visited Austin once and liked its “Weird” vibe. My film is certainly weird so I hope it is a good fit. You never can tell. I am getting better at picking out quality festivals from bait and switch operations who are only in the business of collecting entry fees.

I was looking on FilmFreeway yesterday and was surprised to find one of my location sketches as the header of a film festival. I contacted the organizer to be sure my signature is added. The need to educate even film festival promoters that an artist should get credit for their work is exhausting. COVID Dystopia would never be accepted to this festival since the Film Festival only shows 1 minute films and my film is 4 minutes. Also the festival wants films that promote sunshine and butterflies and my film it the polar opposite. COVID Dystopia shouts bloody murder into the void.

COVID Dystopia: I Saw a Megapod

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In this shot from COVID Dystopia, the life boat surfs down the wave. The implication is that the wave will crash down and capsize the boat. Does all that action need to be animated? I don’t think so. I could animate the wake spray at the bow of the lifeboat and there is one rope hanging from the mast which is hanging awkwardly forward. I should probably just erase the rope.

To add more motion to the crashing wave I rotated the camera as it zooms in. I could also add some fish eye distortion to the ocean which would further curve the wave. Would I, should I, could I? At what point should the short be considered done. Animation has so many variables that any should could always be improved. I am going to compile a list of what I have noted here as possible changes on a spreadsheet. Right now I am swamped with doing theater posters, but when settled into the new studio, I could start going back and making improvements.

I signed up for passes to the Cleveland Film Festival. As a filmmaker, I also get 10 comp tickets to the screening, so if you happen to be in Cleveland on April 12, look me up.

COVID Dystopia: I Saw a Megapod

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This scene from COVID Dystopia simply shows the submarine captain looking through the periscope. No animation was required but depth was added as the camera tracked from left to right.

This was a late replacement scene. Originally the scene showed a 911 operator encased in a glass dome as he looked at computer screens that had large COVID virus images on them.  In that scene I could have animated the fingers typing on a keyboard but such small actions go largely unnoticed in this fast moving film.

The plane tickets I ordered from a company called EDreams were canceled. I called my bank to find out if the funds had been taken out of the bank and I was told they were. I preemptively warned the bank of possible fraud. I had to have my credit card canceled and I will get a new one in 5 business days.

Pam helped me order new tickets direct from the airline and they were about $40 cheaper. Hopefully this is a lesson learned. Do research on sites like Kayak, but order the actual tickets from the airline website.

I have to get up at 5am to get to the airport and I will spend much of the day exploring the Cleveland International Film Festival with luggage. At 9:50pm that night COVID Dystopia will screen in the historic Allen Theater which can seat 500 people. Naturally I hope for a full house. I am excited to hear the soundtrack which in now in surround sound. I am now sending out press released to Cleveland media in the hope of generating some interest in the film. Sitting on an airplane being the only passenger masked, and sitting in a 500 seat theater will be the largest risks I take this month in my effort to convince just a few that COVID is far from over.

I found out that three virtual classes were scheduled during the Cleveland International Film Festival. I have to decide if I will teach from the air B&B or if I should be at the awards ceremonies. The festival is an Academy Award qualifying festival so my hope are high but I also know that most minimizers are insulted by the message of COVID Dystopia. Clean the indoor air with HEPA filters, wear masks and isolate when infected. These are pretty simple steps but Americans can not be bothered.

 

COVID Dystopia: Air Out in Space

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This scene from COVID Dystopia has simple animation of the hand and skull rotating a bit. Volumax was used to make the face as dimensional as possible as the camera track top the right. I don’t see any need to add any other animation to the scene. The San Francisco Film Festival rejected the film yesterday. The amount of rejection this film gets is soul crushing, and yet when it screens at selected festivals it keep winning awards. This is a film that people ether love or hate. Unfortunately it inspires far more hate since the message contradicts the nations desire to forget and deny the existence of COVID. Just mentioning the word can cause anger from minimizers.

To counter the soul crushing rejection, I always submit the film to another festival on the day it is rejected. The fast and furious pace of the imagery might not sway minimizers, but it might cause a couple of people to wake up for a moment.

I booked a flight to Cleveland yesterday and have an Air B&B booked. I will be unpacking my studio the first week of April and then immediately flying off to the Midwest. At this point in my life, I need to consider that I could live anywhere, so leaving Orlando is a possibility. As I travel the world following the screening of COVID Dystopia in Film Festivals I will remain open to the possibility of moving anywhere. I discovered an artist from NYC who moved to Berlin and now documents the cabaret scene there. I wish I had known about this artist before I traveled to East Berlin for the Berlin Shorts Film Festival, I would have tried to visit the artist’s studio. Berlin was rainy and cold the entire time I was there so I am not considering that as a possible move.

COVID Dystopia: Flat Earth

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Willful ignorance is rampant. People base opinions on lock downs, the COVID Virus and vaccines based on social media posts and opinions of politicians whose motives are questionable.

No student has seen my animated COVID Dystopia film. I insist the parents view the film first and grant permission. That step has never been taken. I mentioned my COVID Dystopia film to one of my online students and she went off on a tirade about how vaccines are the cause of all symptoms associated with the virus. She was proud to be unvaccinated. I let her now that I was vaccinated and have not had a COVID infection. She vented her anger at lock downs and vaccines.

Since the parents are likely anti vaccine, I decided I could not correct my student. I realized that my job was not to educate her about the science behind vaccines and airborne transmission of the virus. My student has been infected and will likely be repeatedly infected. The first infection was chalked up as a bad cold in terms of symptoms. Each repeat infection however increases the chances of disabling Long COVID.

We went on with the lesson without another mention of the C word. For those who believe the world is flat you can not tell them it is round no matter how many scientific studies corroborate that fact. Scientific studies can be viewed as misinformation. When Russia bombed a maternity ward in Mariupol Ukraine in 2022, there were API journalists at the hospital who shot video of the carnage. Russia decided that they would combat the footage, saying it was not real, but that actors were playing the parts of the mangled bomb victims. A mother was carried out on a stretched with her belly ripped open. The open would was blurred out on national TV. Her hips were shattered and the baby was dead. The mother pleaded to be put out of her misery, she later died. The information war favors the ignorant.

Crealde Panorama

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Each Sunday I head out to Crealde to do demos and try and inspire my students to sketch anywhere they go. We spent all of the classes so far exploring the campus. I keep stressing that everything is sketch worthy. We have covered drawing human proportions and this last class I did a demo on how to draw faces. Most of the time however is spent sketching.

I had the student break up a single sketch page into 9 panels and the goal became to fill each panel with a small sketch. Since students were still getting used to the supplies they worked slowly the first class. Some students only finished one panel other finished several. This week we returned to the same assignment to complete the page. At the end of this class one very talented student had finished every panel. She said, “This is the first complete sketch I have ever done.” It was rewarding to know I helped pushed her towards the concept of finished sketches that have line, value and color.

Another student pointed out that she had never filled a sketchbook. The problem is that many artists feel the book as a whole needs to be a masterpiece, and if it isn’t they put it aside and start another sketchbook. I always show my students my sketchbook that was lost when I rode my bike across the country. It was returned 30 years later when it was found in someones garage. Early sketches in the book are from when I was a freshman in college, then the book transitions into sketches form today. The transition is a jarring as the transition for black and white to color TV.

Since I am packing up my studio, I found all these scraps of matte board which are very horizontal in format. I demonstrated how to block in a panoramic composition in pencil, then pen and finally watercolor washes. I walked the sketch around to show each step, so students know how much time an effort goes into each step. All the while I let them keep working on their own sketches. They learn the most for making their own mistakes. I always offer suggestions, but also encourage then to accept the sketch as it is and apply my suggestions on the next sketch they do.

A gardener was carrying off huge trash cans full of refuge. It looked like real back breaking work. He loved to chat. He has been doing this type of work since he was 14. His father got him started and the money he made was put towards his first car. I later learned that he makes more than I do teaching at Crealde. Unfortunately I doubt I am strong enough to carry the same loads like Atlas. I can only put down lines and washes.