Neil Gaiman in Winnipeg!

Whoot! I took an evening off Tuesday to go to the Neil Gaiman signing/reading at the mall. They'd won a contest based on a Halloween party, and you'd never realize how popular he is until you walk into a mall with a line already snaking through it!

My friend Vanessa and I went, go there around 4:30, checked our coats in the mall and got in line. At 5 they let us into the store (closed ahead of time to set up) and found a spot. I brought my Coraline Box, and bought a copy of 'The Graveyard Book'. Very crowded - he signed for 869 people -- this is on a day that meant facing -40 temperatures just to get there!

Around 6pm he came out, talked about the contest and the round setup of the area (he rotated periodically), did a reading from 'Odd and the Frost Giants' and answered some fan questions. Very entertaining all around! Then, the signing line started. Wow. We were divided into 7 quadrants (not sure how that math works!) and given numbers. Everyone under 12 went first, which is good since the signing went until 1:30am. We were section 3, and the mall had closed by the time we got into line. Probably 2 hours standing, following a winding path through the store. Great advertising - we spent quite awhile looking at those shelves! Aside from the standing (and lack of foresight to bring food!) it really was fun - we had some great conversations with the people around us. Like minded people make for great fun, especially when the tired-hungry-sleep-deprviation humour starts kicking in!

Getting the box signed was really cool - he asked what my site was, and if I'd played with the arms at all (I have!) and thanked me for promoting the movie. Overall super cool! Got home around 12:30 - my friend and I both staggered through work the next day, but was well worth it!

Have to admit -35C weather is a great motivation to stay inside and get some work done!Henry's graveyard of burnt out bulbs surround the ceiling light...


There's some crazy dust on the lens, seems to jump around a bit sometimes, and the dust blower did nothing - any suggestions? I'll probably stop by the camera shop tomorrow to see what I can find.

Blew a fuse!

A few quick shots finished before I blew a mini-fuse in my lighting kit:


Fortunately I was able to pick up a new fuse in the city, but it took out my mini-light string and a bit of my momentum with it. I've got it back up and running now, replacement mini-lights are slightly different, hopefully it'll still flow! This weekend should finish up the burnt out bulb sequence, which is exciting, fun, and sad too - I really enjoyed playing with such a limited light source. Also a bit intimidating - the first shot up with the normal lighting setup is one of the most complicated ones in the film. Many elements to keep track of, as well as a moving camera.

Should be fun though - strangely my process has really changed during this film. During Judder I was OBSESSED with X-sheets - had to use them to keep track of the kids moving at different framerates - but I was trying to mark out everything, when I thought a leg should land, when an arm would stop moving... it got pretty obsessive. This film it's all much more intuitive, and Dragon is a huge help with the different playback options! It's really about thinking how I want elements to move, checking where they are in their arc, and trying to force myself to do longer holds then I ever think is necessary (4 frames seems like a long time until it's playing back!) But I'm finding the intuitive way much more enjoyable and better results - should be interesting to see how it plays out with the complicated stuff!

Searching in the dark

Actually pretty happy with this shot which is a nice change from wanting to reshoot so much! I just passed the 1 min mark, and am really enjoying animating!

A few Stills

With the replacement lights set up, I can return to filming Henry dealing with his burnt out light. These little things make lighting really fun.
And a still from a scene shot a few days ago; Henry with his music box (potters circling a vase/pot)
Backing up files I found this - my attempt at traditional animation, using a homemade light table then scanning the images in. (Blink and it's over!)

Slacker Henry

The computer is back from the shop! They never did find out what was wrong, so I bought this guy :A tv tuner that works as an analog/digital converter for my camera - it's cheaper than the heavy duty options, but better reviewed then the cheapie converters. Should work out well.

Working with Dragon is amazing, love it! It just feels more intuitative - I still want to get a small monitor (shockingly hard to find) to keep near the set to watch feedback on.

Hmm based on this clip I think I put too much Slacker in Henry's Silicone (bad bad pun, bad me!)


Thanks so much for the comments - you guys/gals/stop mo puppets are keeping me motivated and going!!

First Shots and Technical Glitches

Filming has begun! Still hampered by the technical issues - the main computer is still in the shop, and the older one isn't up to running Dragon, so it'll be nice once I get the new setup up and running.

In the meantime I started filming.

The main room light has burnt out; Henry pulls down some Christmas lights he'd strung up in his room so that he can light his way to find a new bulb and fix the main light. Ironically, the Christmas lights burnt out just after this scene. I'll film other scenes while waiting for the replacement, but thought I'd post this one for now.

(edit - looks like it's playing a bit choppy, hopefully it'll play properly!)