All Hallow's Eve

Why the Hawaiian jack-o-lantern? Why the iron nails instead of bolts? These questions (and more) will be answered on the brand-spakin-new blog for my non-Pixar short film, Nail'd.

Check in for weekly updates and watch as my crew and I navigate the stormy seas of animation!

0 days...Happy Halloween!

Captain's Log
Part II: Stormy Seas

That should probably read "story seas." My new animated short, Nail'd, is in the uncertain waters of the story process. Some ideas are sharpie scribbled feverishly onto napkins to capture an idea while it's fresh in my mind, others (like this fantastic layout by fellow Sacramentan and CalArtian Tyler Decker) are beautifully painted explorational work.

A few weeks ago, we had our first meeting with a possible composer. Because music will be so prevalent in Nail'd, we wanted to get our composer involved as early as possible. No more cannibalized film scores for my animated films! The goal in the upcoming months is to assemble a story reel for our composer to write the first demo tracks. Things are shaping up, and we're getting a glimpse of what lies beyond the squall...

3 days...

SHOOTING WRAPS ON HITCHHIKER

Emma Coats...I don't know how she does it! All I had to do last weekend was sit in a car and recite the same few lines of dialogue every hour or so, and I thought that was exhausting. This lady was running around for fifteen straight hours setting up and tearing down lights, trouble-shooting pesky rear-projection screens, and patiently listening to me butcher the same few lines of dialogue every hour or so. The key to good direction is having an artistic vision and the ability to communicate that vision to the rest of the crew. Emma seemed to have a complete roadmap of the film in her head, I imagine an Indiana Jones-esque red dotted line jetting from scene to scene across the narrative ground plan untill each sequence was complete and the story was told.

Makes me want to jump in the director's chair and give it a go. In fact, I have an idea or two up my sleeve...

HITCHHIKER SHOT OF THE DAY

This is from last weekend's shoot. It's easy to get caught up in the on-set anxiety of making a film, so you have to remember to have fun, no matter where you're shooting. Yes, even in a graveyard.

THE HITCHHIKER

Another tantalizing still from the short I'm working on. Danielle Levin plays the picture's titular role. This scene was shot right near our director's hometown, Davis.

Speaking of Northern Californian filmmakers, I just ran across this sweet interview of my hero George Lucas from a long time ago before he made a film about a galaxy far, far away. I know there are a lot of folks who would appreciate this clip because Yoda's quote "Do or do not...there is no try" won last week's poll What is Your Favorite Movie Line?

WHAT I'M DOING THIS SUMMER...

Still from The Hitchhiker, short film by Emma Coats

Wow, I feel really blessed to be having such a fun, inspiring, and very busy summer so far. First off, thanks so much for everyone who has gone out and supported Up. Of the three Pixar films I've worked on so far, it's certainly my favorite. Russell is one of my favorite characters I've ever animated and I couldn't have asked for a funnier, taller boss than Pete Docter. A lot of nay-sayers *cough*Wallstreet Journal*cough* said that the film wasn't marketable and that no one would turn up to watch a film about a seventy-eight year-old man, but Up's numbers have been Pixar's highest since Finding Nemo. Turns out folks do respect their elders!

I also have two childhood dreams in the works this summer: animating on a Toy Story movie, and preparing for a dinosaur dig. I've started brushing up on my dino-lore recently. I've been keeping up with my paleontology news, but I haven't seriously studies the subject since I was ten years old. Something tells me I'll need more than a 4th grade-level knowledge of prehistoric life out on the dig.

On top of that, my good pal Emma asked me to be in her latest short film, The Hitchhiker (I play Mike, the guy who picks up said hitchhiker). I'm not the kind of guy to turn down an auteur like Emma, so I gladly signed up and we've been having a blast shooting in gas stations, cemeteries, and bunny-laden houses. Here are a few stills from the film, coming soon to a film festival near you! (Cinematography by Dani Strijleva)

Having a word with my co-star, improviser extraordinaire Rebecca Stockley.

Here's some production art Emma did for the film, with a background plate she shot for the scene.

Happy Belated Easter!

I joined a video ministry at my church, and this is our first film. My primary contributions were storyboarding and helping to direct the actors. All of our actors were friends from church, so there are some dramatically inappropriate smiles here and there, but I'm proud that we were able to shoot this entire thing in six hours, and very thankful to everyone who contributed. God definitely blessed us with an enthusiastic crew. We have the film posted at our youtube channel, NCBVid, with more to come.

Enjoy!

The Prisoner, directed by Kerwin Kuniyoshi

Movin' on UP
Soaring gas prices and a lousy housing market are even effecting animated characters. Looks like Carl Fredricksen just found a cheaper form of transit and a way to improve his real estate!

OPENING DAY

As most of you know from the trailer, this film has been over ten years in the making. I'm sorry I could only have worked on the last year of production, because as some of you may know I'm a bit of a sci-fi nut, and early in production Wall-E was already one of my favorites. The entire crew was phenomenal, but the man whose work really shines is Ben Burtt, the sound designer and voice of Wall-E. As animators, we didn't get very many dialogue tracks, but Ben's sympathetic motors and humorous metallic whirs gave each robot a voice of their own, and made animating on this film a truly unique experience.
My hometown morning show, Good Day Sacramento, stopped by the studio yesterday and their jocose entertainment reporter, Mark S. Allen, interviewed Ben and myself. Talking with Mark was a blast because I pretty much grew up on that show and his movie reviews, so being on the other side of the camera with him was a real trip. You can catch Ben's interview here and mine here.
Anyway, hope you all enjoy Wall-E as much as I enjoyed working on it! In summary, go see Wall-E!

You'll believe a robot can fly.

Dear God. The machines have gained the trust of animals. It won't be long now before man's best friend turns against him in the war to come.


In other news, on-set shooting of Pam Walker's short film Trifles was wrapped this weekend. The REAL shooting, however, has just begun.


Photo by Mark Andrews

Obsessing over TRIFLES
Last January, Pixar University presented a stage production of Susan Glaspell's turn-of-the-century drama, Trifles. This year we're creating a short-film adaptation, set more in the Depression era. It's a Pixar University production, so don't expect to see it in theatres or anything, it's just for education. Trifles is a compelling story, and adapting our performances from stage to screen is a cool challenge. This time I made sure to cut my hair. Apparently there weren't any hippie sheriffs in the 1930s.


Pam Walker is directing, with Mark Andrews DPing and Pete Sohn as cinematographer.