I want a job at Pixar

Do'er and Dreamers

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:06:00 +0000

It's been 6 months plus since my last post. A kind person questioned my silent blog - ok what can I say to that, well 'a lot has happened'. I have been working a lot of freelance which is good, and the rest of the time I have been working on a childrens television series called "Bear Mix 6" - it used to be called 'Bearobics' but due to popular demand the name has been changed. Together with AirBag Productions we managed to get a pitch produced ready for MipCom in Oct 2009. Please feel free to check it out www.bearobics.com - even if kids shows arn't your thing I am sure you can appreciate the amount of effort that has gone into the Pitch.

Mipcom went down very well but a production is yet to be secured, there was lots of interest so hopefully something happens soon......patients is not my virtue.

My animated short 'Welcome to the Biggs' - I love it to death - it's my baby and it will happen. I am still pushing concept artists to sketch for me and I am still personally working on the script and animatic. If something like Bear Mix 6 happens this will give me the opportunity to schedule production for 'Welcome to the Biggs' the thing I want to most work on.

The Do'ers and Dreamers title of this blog is more to say I can do all the dreaming in the world but without action I will get no where. Pixar is still my target as is driving a ferrari baaahahaha. If I am good enough and I can be involved in great projects then people will find me :) (or at the least not ignore my applications).

Oh and if anyone is interested in helping out with 'Welcome to the Biggs' give me a yell. Later people :)

Opportunities

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:03:00 +0000

I have been thinking about a few things lately regarding our industry. As everyone has seen from the media that we are apparently in the middle of a Global Financial Crisis. My first little rant is - that's absolute bullshit, it's just a shift of power (and wealth), someones always getting rich so don't you worry about that. Also I am seeing the production companies and advertising agencies using the GFC as an 'opportunity' to get people to work for less. So here I am saying stop using that as an excuse and pay what people deserve, your all full of shit. More money is being spent on movies as people need an escape, companies right now should be advertising more then ever, if things are slow then why make it slower but reducing your marketing, doesn't make any sense to me.

When I look around the world at all the major players in the industry everyone is busy, animated movies, special effect heavy movies are everywhere and the opportunities are immence for a 3D artist. Sure America has reduced their VISA intake but look elsewhere - games companies are looking for talented people, if you want it go and get it. A colleague sent me a link to a TRON 2 'Legacy' trailer - holly crap, if you were born in the 70's and were any sort of a nerd then TRON was most likely your thing. Some movies leave a memory burn and TRON was one of them, honestly I think that's why I am in the industry. Jesus I think I might have to change my website to 'IwantajobatDigitalDomain.com' because working on TR2N would be living a life dream. Check it out here

So what have I been doing - few commercials here and there but mainly I have been working on 2LargeProductions children's television series pitch called 'Bearobics' which our own IP. We have a deadline of end of august so needless to say we are flat stick. No movement with Monty Biggs - hopefully I can get back onto it soon.

quiet ambitions

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Firstly please don't think because I have been absent from blogging that nothing is progressing with my short. If anything it's the opposite - it's never too far away from my thoughts and discussions. I havn't been this poor yet totally content with my life for a long time. I love being in this industry - I love getting up in the morning ready to attack what ever is planned for the day, I am keen as ever and the only thing I can nail down for a reason is that I am working freelance and able to be as creative as I like. Dan and I have a few projects going with the long term plans being my animated short (Welcome to the Biggs) and onto maybe one day a feature (got to love the dreamers hah). Dan read an early script I wrote off his treatment for a full length feature and he liked it, WOW ! this is cool because he's the writer. I was expecting some harsh feedback considering it's his idea.

Different note - I watched Monsters Vs Aliens the other day on IMAX !!!!! 3D, so where do I start. Firstly, freaking incredible character design, I loved it. There was plenty of empathy for the characters and the visual style and animation style was spot on, another great job by Dreamworks. Now onto the story - I really felt that after 30 minutes of fighting scenes that that was really enough. Surfs Up my all time favorite animated movie hammers all over this movie in the story department, it was just way too much action and not enough plot developments to get me excited.

Oh and one more thing - watching stereoscopic movies with 3D glasses on top of actual glasses - while NOT being directly in the middle of the IMAX massive screen was MASSIVELY distracting. Anything within the left 3rd of the screen was blurry regardless of how I angled my head, it just pissed me off way too much. I think I will have to watch it again without the 3D maybe I will get into it.

My blockout rigs

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Just a quick one - heres the blockout rigs for my main character for when hes an All Star and when hes a Has Been.

Oh and someone on MaxPro (3DSMax software mailing list for senior artist professionals, veterans) sent around this - WOW !!!!. Normally tech doesn't excite me much but this is way cool.

AniSculpt Tutorial -- Pepeland from psl on Vimeo.

Blender is making a lot of waves in the industry with it's open source free software.

oh wow another re-write

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:47:00 +0000

A few blogs back I mentioned I had settled on a version of the script - oh boy how wrong was I. As feedback started to flow in it was a resounding "I like the earlier script", this was unexpected feedback to say the least. Firstly I decided to go the Frankenstein route and mash together various parts of the old script and the new script to make one "ULTIMATE SCRIPT!!!..script...script...script". Several re-write later things went way off course with the major problem being plot points were lost in the script (but remained in my head). This in turn destroyed the flow of the script and confused even more people...........ah Solution 'REWIND'. Yeah I went back to a crude old draft (8 version back to be exact) and just tweaked that. This version I have now is a lot more simpler and doesn't explain as much to the viewer, for one I only have 10min to establish characters, create empathy, make a call to adventure, have a final push then reveal an aftermath that will tie everything together nicely......mmmmm too easy.

Well I have been reading the draft over and over and I feel it sits right to create a great animated short, guess only time will tell.

Pre Production - few things have happened. Kate has completed all the expression sheets for Monty Biggs (main character in my short 'Welcome to the Biggs'). Check it out
Monty - ROOKIE

Monty - ALL STAR

Monty - HAS BEEN

These are priceless and Kate has done an awesome job working off Kyle's original concepts. Having these sheets assists the modelling greatly and Eoin and I can really pick out what is needed most in the topology of the mesh and what shapes I want Eoin to hit.

And welcome to another person on the team - Carl Knox my evil nemesis whom I used to work with at Yomp Studios. Carl has an incredible knack of poking the bear (me) in just the right way to invoke irrational outbursts that involve flying fruit (but that's another story). Carl has done a quick blockout rig for me in Maya. You will see I have not skinned the mesh but instead have cut it up into pieces. For the blockout stage this is fine to work with.

I already have the sets blocked out and with the Monty character low res mesh rigged ,an animatic is next on the agenda. Speaking of animatic - I meet with Dan Fothers the other day and discussed the possibility of him doing some animation for monty biggs. If you havn't seen his reel it's worth checking it out. We have discussed a trade of talents - he will help me block out the animatic and I will model some high res characters for a short hes working on. This trade made a lot of sense and running with your strengths is the only way to go when your doing something so ambitious.

It's funny the more I work on it the more I enjoy this creative process. There's nothing like it - working with talented artist on your idea is an incredible high. I want more and more every day, and I have to stop myself from asking these guys every hour "hey done any more for Monty" baaahaha. They make me want to write a better script just to do their concept work justice, how funny is that. With that said I have to leave this blog now and get back into it.

cheers,
Potter

First incarnation of Monty the Character in 3D

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:19:00 +0000

Eoin just sent me a 3D WIP of Monty Biggs. This is really very cool and very inspiring.

Eoin has got some crazy ZBrush skills. Check out his blog of Iggy Pop - wicked !

Kate has been busy too - she managed to complete the expression sheet for Monty Biggs when hes an old washed up 'Has Been'. If Kate doesn't land a concept illustrating job at one of the big boys (Pixar, ILM, Sony Pictures etc) then what chance do any of us have baaahahah

You can really tell when something is going to succeed, it consumes your thoughts, its never really a drag doing it and you get a buzz seeing your creation come alive. I love this part of the industry, I have spent the past 10 years creating other people ideas and giving them the buzz, now it's my turn. I really love art directing, writing and producing this is where it's at for me right now, VFX supervising will still be my bread and butter which is still cool (but lacks the buzz).

Oh and I found a producer to join the Monty Biggs project - Dan Conway former 3D Department head at iloura. Together we are producing a pitch for a kids television series, and going of funding for Monty Biggs (AKA - Welcome to the Biggs).

not good blog a great blog

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:23:00 +0000

It's been a long whole since I have posted anything. So what have I been doing to increase my chances of landing that Pixar job well.....I have been doing something. The biggest thing to happen is I just finished a 3 month contract back at my old stomping ground 'iloura' post productions. Were I was lucky enough to somehow sneak into the team and work on the latest Drumstick commercial. I do have to say this have been one of my highlights in the industry so far. I saw some concept sketches whilst lingering at iloura then proceed to wink, nudge,....plead and beg until they gave me the contract. If you would like to check it out you can see the full 60sec Here .It was a great job Directed by a first timer director (old timer 3D lead) Josh Simmonds, cummon he had all the ingredients - great live action plates, incredible concept designs, excited clients and the cherry on top - an agency willing to let the 3D artist run free a little.

Here is a list of stuff I got to do - Modelling, Robot, BBQ's, Thongs, Ice creams, Sandman and his float. I also did the lighting and rendering for all the main Robot shots, plus the thongs.

Below is a WIP of the Sandman float that I am quite happy with

Now to move onto something even more exciting - 'Welcome to the Biggs' my personal project. This is were a great blog comes into play. I am totally buzzed - the people involved and the concept work being produced is inspiring to say the least. Firstly there's a new guy doing some after hours (free) ZBrush work on the project. He read my blog and script and offered to have a crack at some modeling. This is some of the stuff he has done -

OLD HASBEEN MONTY - WIP V02. I love this work, the body is perfect, I am getting him to work on the head which is a very evolving process as we have to also work the Allstar Monty at the same time to make sure there's continuity between the ages

SATAN - WIP V01 - still early days but the body proportions are cool

And check this out - it's an Expression sheet done by Kate Moon frikin AWESOME !!!!

That's some of the best concept work I have seen since the Drumstick commercial. Which isn't so funny cause Kate did that aswell.

I am totally inspired and buzzed to have Kyle, Kate and Eoin chipping in. Thanks guys. If you get a moment please checkout there websites by clicking there names (hyperlink'ed).

Oh and there one more guy I hope to get in the Mix - Paul Braddock, a crazy talent working at Animal Logic. Here's a sketch he did awhile back. I might get in contact with him soon to see how busy he is. Check out his site - really nice work.

More concept work - hopefully much sooner then 3 months away baaahaha Lets say 3 days away

The Draft reaches 1.0 - title "Welcome to the BIGGS"

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:39:00 +0000

So after many a draft I have finally reached a version I am quite happy with. Obviously things will change in production but for now I have something I am happy with to push forward. Here it is for anyone slightly interested in having a 15min read of my writing skills (or there lack of baaahaha).

MontyBiggs_Script_alternate_ending_05_01_2009_Draft_11.pdf

I am open to feedback from anyone - this is a great learning experience for me.

cheers

Monty Biggs

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:21:00 +0000

I had to post these sketches done by Kyle - totally awesome

The HUNT !! is on

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:03:00 +0000

I am looking for a producer to help create and back 'Monty Biggs'. This is an extremely hard task finding someone willing to take on the role let alone have the experience to bring it all together. Even though I produced 'The Yomp Experience' I still need someone to take on that role so I can concentrate on Directing and Writing (plus funding requires the director and producer not be the same person). It would involve bringing all parties required together, handling all funding applications and promotion for Monty Biggs. I need a passionate inspired personality and if your new to this game then you must be ready to be knocked back (people prefer to tell you whats wrong with it not whats right). Email me if you like the script and are interested in producing.

As far as how my 'Monty Biggs' script idea is traveling well - I now have 3 separate illustrators having a crack - Kyle the creator of all the current artwork is now full time working on Monty Biggs - which is AWESOME !!!. His skills are improving and I am getting concept sketches daily. Then there's two other talents just starting - both are great and I am wrapped to have their talents contributing (I will promote them and attach links once they have settled in and start producing work)

Me well I have been blocking out a 3D layout of the sets afterhours - here is a sample of what I mean. Its the first baseball diamond when 'Monty' is a Rookie. The storyboard artist then takes this scene and uses it to help him set cameras and draw perspective into the boards easily. During the day I am working freelance back at my old company so any personal work is left until after hours.

Here is Kyles latest sketch of Monty in his shack eating breakfast before the big game -

I am glad things are back on track after a long period of absence - I am really pumped - more to come later.

take a breath and get back into it

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:13:00 +0000

as you have noticed (and kindly pointed out to me) that I have been absent from blogging lately. Well I can put it down to a simple case of theres only one of me - days are short anyway, throw in a young family, an investment property needing to be renovated for moving in tenants, and freelance work to survive and lets just say I am beyond exhausted.

There is a major point I would like to stress to anyone reading this - even though I am having a whine about being tired and time poor I am fully aware that I wanted all this - I purchased the property, I advertised the property when it was not finished, I chose to go freelance, and those 2 little monkeys demanding my time were created by me (and the misses) it's all ME I know, you made the bed now sleep in it etc !!

Tenants moved in Monday into a not so finished property, luckily they are understanding and have cut me some slack. The space does look incredible as Airbag productions have really put in the effort to create a great work space. Now onto some not so positive things about the investment - TRADIES suck the big one !!! - they never turn up when they say they will, they overquote everything, there always too busy to even take the job, and worst of all they charge way tooooo much. If anyone wants to argue the last point bring it on ! - theres no way you will win the argument with such stories I have as, a just off apprenticeship 22year old punk costing me $75an hour to drag his heel and talk shit to his mates on the mobile on my buck. Oh and it gets better - the harder you push them the less they work. So that 2 month chapter in my life is coming to end for which I am very pleased.

Onto happier thoughts - my script 'Monty Biggs'. I missed the funding rounds back in Sep so it will have to wait until next year (thats if the funding still exists, considering the economic crap thats going on). I have been chatting to Kyle (the illustrator) and he says he is back on board after a break - which is AWESOME. I am still looking for another illustrator especially one that can storyboard if anyone out there is interested. The best thing about my script is the level of expectation I have towards it - I know what is achievable considering my limited resources and time so it's made it easy to create clear defined targets, which are -

1) Complete Script
2) Produce a solid collection of concept work
3) Storyboard
4) Animatic
5) Audio (rough)
6) Funding application

All these tasks are very achievable working around my freelance and all will help me greatly achieve my task of moving forward creatively whilst enjoying journey. Good times

Freelance update - iloura has hired me a couple of times to cover commercials obviously beneath there talented team baaaahahah oh don't get me wrong I need the cash so I am very appreciative of the work and I am trying to over deliver on everything so it will continue into the future but......it's not the most creative work. Why is it they don't have a cool commercial thats needs outsourcing, nope your dreaming buddy take it, and have a coke and a smile and shut the F$#K up, which is what I am doing.

There was a great doco on tonight about 6 degrees of separation ("how Kevin Bacon cured cancer") and how network hubs are the key to getting into contact with people and companies you previously thought impossible to reach. I am going to take this scientific theory and think about how I can apply it to what I want to do and where I want to go (well PIXAR is a good target to aim for). The websites like LinkedIn.com I have talked about in previous posts are great cause instantly I can see people in my industry connected to other people that can help me. I do guess that even if I successfully make these connections then I need something to seal the deal - no use getting in front of a HR manager of PIXAR and saying I have plans - that will end the dream right there and then. So keep adding to my showreel, keep writing scripts (new ones), and basically enjoy my time in this industry, it could be as simple as that (or not baaahahaha)

Later :)

Investment Rented - woohoo

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:35:00 +0000

Well that was positively smoking - from posting an advert to signing a lease agreement within 4 days. I guess I was lucky enough to be contacted by a company called AirBag Productions here in Melbourne whom needed such a space. They are a relatively new company (compared to the big boys anyway) and suited the space perfectly. It's also good because they have agreed to allow me to retain a small section for my workstation - so now I have tenants and a new office.

If anyone wants to check out their work go to - http://www.airbagproductions.com/

Now onto more creative endeavours - Monty Biggs !! I have been going over the script in my head lately (mostly to forget the warehouse) - and I had a thought to change quite a pivotal moment in the story. It's the section where Monty is running the bases after hitting his last hit that doesn't go over the fence and body starts to change back to his slob'ish self. Even though I like how it currently reads I thought maybe it would be better to have him actually hit the home run over the fence - crowd do ballistic - then as he 'trots' the bases towards the home plate then his body does the changing back and he dies before he gets to the plate. This way I can have a moment to add interaction between the devil, Demy and Monty before he is allowed to return to his dead body get up take the final 3 steps and die on the plate. It works on a few different levels because now the Devil comes into the story earlier and shows a really nasty side to himself, and also it makes Monty even more of a Hero because he literally comes back from the dead just to score the run,(in baseball even though you have hit a home run you still have to round all the bases for the run to count) this is now a real legends story that will be passed on for many lifetimes. As apposed to him not hitting the home run over and barely making it home by sliding (like every other baseball movie ever made). It's just a thought - I will write a version and see how it reads. Comments anyone ?

Oh and if you haven't read the current script - get on it ! download script here

Here's the first illustration done by an awesome illustrator called Kyle Van Asperan - all I got to do is convince his of his talents and we should be forging ahead once again.

I have never actually asked officially but if anyone likes my idea and would like to join the creative team contact me and we can chat. I am especially desperate for a storyboard artist at this time

later

Production Studio Space For Rent - 6 Grant St, North Fitzroy, Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:45:00 +0000

Sorry to all (baaahaha) my blog readers - but I am hijacking my blog and using it to post some photos and details of my studio I need to rent out.

As mentioned in my previous post I managed to buy an incredible warehouse space in North Fitzroy. Here are some photo's and comments -

It's currently a 130 square meter first floor warehouse space with the potential to add a further 90 square meters (220 total) if I add mezzanines. The beautiful old building has a saw tooth roof with 6 massive 2.5Meter windows facing Melbourne CBD. Located only 5min from CBD and a short walk to Brunswick street or Smith Street the property is perfectly located on the fringe of our City.

Here's the current floor Plan

It has a Private Entrance leading to a wide stairwell. Note a cast iron double door is being built to add style with security. Also tiles will be added to the entry steps

The wide stairwell will either be carpeted or tiled depending on tenants requirement's.

Now finally to the space - it's an open warehouse with full Kitchen, bathroom, and 2 toilets.

Another Interior (shot from above the Bathroom)

Looking back towards entrance on the right, Kitchen in the middle (not built yet), and Bathroom on the Left.

There's views of the City

Now we get to the fun part - the potential. As the ceiling height within the sawtooth roof is so high the potential to add 2 mezzanines to the space brings the floor area up from 130sq to approx 220sq.

Just so people could see the potential I did a rough 3D interpretation of what the mezzanines would look like -

Another 3D render -

With the mezzanines added you would get 2 edit suites, conferennce room, private office and one massive open space this space begs to be a cool small production studio.

Location via Google Maps Click Here

FEATURES -
Excellent City Views
Abundance of natural Light
Private entrance with Security Iron Door
Security System (Back to Base ready)
Fully Networked via Moduline
Network/patch Room located in Foyer on Ground floor
2 Toilets (one in Bathroom)
Bathroom with Shower
Full Kitchen with Oven, Hotplate, and Dishwasher
Trapeze Lighting
Close to CBD
Transport at doorstep
Close to Parks / and Shops
Beautiful heritage building with plenty of scope for adding space.
Ample street parking

Asking Annual Rental is 40K + outgoings. This price is negotiable depending on what needs to be done (mezzanines etc) whether you will value add and whether your interested in sharing the space.

Just to add to the sharing comment - I know studios out there are doing it tough and the asking price though excellent is more then most can afford - why not go into it with another company and split everything, ill even take a corner reducing the rent and outgoings.

If anyone is interested in being shown through contact my email arranpotter@gmail.com

So where have I been

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:17:00 +0000

That's a fair question considering my last post talking up a push to get funding for my Animated short. Well things have taken a slight detour if not a full 180. My plans of producing a Short has been put on hold for a little project that fell into my lap literally. 3 weeks ago an incredible studio space became available to purchase at a ridiculously temping price. I jumped at the chance to get a great investment with future studio potential (well I hope). If any of you know Melbourne (Australia) the space is in North Fitzroy about 5 min from the city centre. It's funny cause I was talking to a friend of mine and I mentioned that "I have lost my focus on what I want to do" and he replied "you haven't lost focus just changed focus". Opportunities in life come and go and how people chose to react to them defines their life. Of course I am not saying this is a sure thing, in fact I a nervous as hell but you have to go with your gut

So if any one in Melbourne is looking for an incredible 130m2 studio space to rent give me a yell

Here are some photo's -

And finally this is what I what I am doing with the space

With regards to everything else I will have to get back to you all later, I am still extremely passionate about producing something my own, just right now I have total blinkers on trying to finish this this project get some tenants and take a breath.

later

Investing in yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:06:00 +0000

Investing or backing yourself is something not many people do often and it is something I am starting to learn is needed to make waves. The Monty Biggs script I wrote exists to show my Directing and Writing skills to the world and for sure if it was to ever become an animated short it would be a massive undertaking. In fact it is so ambitious that the I never actually thought going into any sort of production was possible and from the onset I explained that I was only going to write the script and produce an Animatic (Animated Storyboard), but the more I worked on it the more I think it can be done - whilst working at Yomp I lead a team that Produced an animated short called "The Yomp Experience" , this 8min piece tool 3 fulltimers and a couple of freelancers over 4 months to finish but in the end I am proud of what we were able to achieve. I digress, Not many people realise whats involved in an animated short but you can think of it this way, a movie goes for around 2 hours and our short went for 8min (approx 7% of a animated feature film) - we had to model characters, Rig (skeletal structure for characters), texture, light, do cloth simulation, Motion Capture, Hand Animate Facial expressions and hand movements, camera tracking, Cinematography (by hand filming camera moves), water FX, particle and Fire FX, Editing, and finally rendering and Composting over 12,000 frames. If you have some time to download please do watch the short we did. Go through it once not thinking about the production and then the second time, look around at the smaller thing - like Doc's clothing or his facial expressions. Theres a lot of work.

I am not saying wow look at me, I am saying please take a moment to think about what goes into an undertaking such as that. For sure there were things I didn't like about the Yomp Experience but it is something I am proud of helping lead and complete. So now back to my script 'Monty Biggs' - so I have written the script and worked it through quite a lot of drafts to a point were I am saying - what the hell, I will put my neck out there and think whats the worst that can happen - Film Victoria knock me back baaahahaha....oh wait that is kinda bad. There is a theme with the books I read and it's - 'back yourself and get out there' so that's what I am doing. Theres a production funding round closing 5th September so timing is tight. The current freelance job I am working on ends 08/08/08 and If I take a risk and knock back paid work then that will give me a solid month to take what I have done so far and turn it onto something a funding depatment will be willing to hand over 100K for. errrrrrrr

This is the funding I am going for -
http://film.vic.gov.au/www/html/834-propeller-shorts.asp?intSiteID=1
Quote from website - "Emerging filmmakers can apply for production funding for original and innovative short narrative drama, documentary or animation projects that will hone their creative and technical skills and help to 'propel' them into long-form work"

Fits me to a tea - I have 'The Yomp Experience' and 10years experience to show have the ability and I am an emerging Director to fit the clearly defined critea. Let me just say one final things regarding this step - it is going to be massively f'ing hard for me to get this across the line. I am up against season funding veterans, skilled writers and basically every man and his dog with a camera wanting to find away to produce a movie.

So that's it - my plan unveiled to the people. If anyone is interested in joining me on this venture check out my previous work at www.arranpotter.com and drop me a line. I am definitely looking for a producer at this time. Part for the criteria is that there has to be a Director, Producer, and a Writer and they can't be the same person (they bend a little for Director / Writers being the same.

Next step - I have a meeting with the Audio group "Big Ears Audio" , there a cool bunch of guys I worked with that did all the audio for "The Yomp Experience". I will give them the script and a description of what I am after in voice talent for Monty and Demy. Book one day recording should be enough to get it all down. This recording will help a lot with editing and even script writing.

"Monty Biggs shack underneith score board" Early Concept drawing for Monty Biggs by Kyle Van Asperen.

go speed racer

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:07:00 +0000

Well well - I took my 3 year old son to the movies the other day, just a father and son day. Over the post movie days I kept asking him what he wanted to see thinking for sure it was going to be Kunfu Panda (my choice) which has a child appeal to it with the cute characters and what not but to my horror he wanted to see 'Speed Racer'. My brother who is a few years older then I am was a speedracer nut which meant growing up I often had to watch Speed over Inspector gadget for example (hey I was younger). Now anybody knows when you drag an old nostalgic memory back into peoples lives you better tread carefully or else there will be cries of outrage 'what have they done". When I heard 'Speed Racer' was going to be a movie I instantly thought - "that would be wicked", lots of exciting content, how could they go wrong. THEN.......I saw the trailer - OMG !! WTF was that - it looked like Spy Kids on acid. So for my son Ruben to say he wanted to see that well who was I to deny him some technicolour Spy Kids.

To jump right ahead 2 hours later I walked out of the cinema almost shocked and smiling a lot. Sure there was some shots of the worst green screen I have ever seen and there was a very annoying monkey...oh I mean kid but there was something else, something very cool about that movie. I worked out later what it was - there is absolutely nothing like it out there, it truly is an original, originally what I can't really say eloquently. Hey check this out - I just did a search on Speed Racer and found this blog on a review with a similar vein as mine - cept is wordz is betr. The Wachowski Brothers had a hard task here - on one one hand they wanted to make one of their childhood dreams a reality and on the other they would have had Warner Brothers demanding the film falls into a certain category (i.e one that sells the most merchandise). I think they did to a great job in delivering to all requirements. I enjoyed the movie and I have brought my son all the plastic crap that goes along with it. It's not just toys - he also has PJ's, undies, singlets, shirts - and he wants more.

Back to the movie - it is enjoyable, the driving scenes are exciting and if you can ignore the fluff this movie can really shock some enjoyment into the viewer. Don't take my word for because it could have possibly been that I went to the movie with the lowest of expectations (that would be a fat zero expectation) . Go watch the trailer, I am positive you will be thinking "can it really be any good".

A word on Freelance - Yaris commercial is tracking along nicely. The clients is being difficult signing off on the layout, but that's really out of my hands, I am but a pawn in this game baaahahahaha. I can't show anything just yet - don't want to upset anyone (NDA bollocks) - rest assured I will upload when completed.

Peace

Career Update

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:02:00 +0000

I have been getting a few queries as to why I even have this blog "I want a Job at Pixar". I guess if you hadn't been reading from the start it might seem a little strange and a lot single minded. The word "PIXAR" does not actually mean the company Pixar it's just that 'PIXAR' the company is what I consider to be the absolute pinnicle of our industry, the place everyone would most like to work atleast once in their career, also the word 'Pixar' to me is like a tennis player saying they would like to play at Wimbledon, or a car racer saying they want to drive for Ferrari. This statement doesn't in anyway mean I don't want to work anywhere else. I have been applying for positions at many different companies not just PIXAR. That's just my target, nothing else. This blog is a way of putting myself out there and should I never get that job well all the things I am doing to obtain that position are absolutely helping my career move forward, the fact that I have a running blog is an incentive to do something - people will know what I want and can see how I am trying to get it.

Freelance Update - The AlienNation Music video clip I mentioned a month odd back has been put on hold. Ruben the Director assures me it will happen one way or another, for which I do believe him but I have to continue looking for work until there's cash in the bank. There is some positive news - I started a new freelance job last Thursday - it's a great crazy Asian car commercial (click here for a link to see their last spot). Same style and feel. I have 7 weeks to bring it all together, which is cool because I am going to enjoy this which helps greatly with the incentive to put in extra hours regardless of income. I will upload the comp when it's finished and aired.

Career Update - as I said above I have been applying for a few different jobs hoping to find something I could really get stuck into. I had an interview (well 2 interviews) at a company called Transmission Games - I thought they both went really well but does anyone ever guess right how their interview went. Even though I have never worked in Games before the job did look exciting - it was to head up the cinematography for in game cut sequences and FMV (full motion Videos). I am still waiting to hear back from them. Then theres another company - a big fish / the big cohoona - Digital Domain in LA. I applied for a CGI supervisor position, with the help of an insider college I was able to get my showreel infront of the right people. I had a brief phone interview with a HR manager and hung up on that interview very excited. With some emails back and forth it seemed to come down to VISA and in particular me not qualifying because I have a lack of Press and Awards. This result though disappointing is good because now I know I am only knocked back on these 2 things rather then my work quality. It's just another hurdle to jump over. Plus I have a good contact at Digital Domain and when things change for me in the future (Press or Awards) then I will go knocking on their door :)

I am still working on Monty Biggs and Sweet Dreams on the side of freelance - these updates will be listed in next post.

P.S What the f'n crap is going on with the Petrol prices, everyone should watch "Who Killed the Electric Car", makes me so angry I want to invent something.

Started new script

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:25:00 +0000

A lot of the funding I am going for with 'Monty Biggs' require that the application is backed with another future project/script (mainly feature film). At iloura I worked with a guy called 'Dan Conway', one of the funniest most non-politically correct people I have ever meet, made my time at iloura enjoyable that's for sure. Anyway Dan used to write scripts, some live action (think Reservoir Dogs) and some for Animation. There was one script that stood out in my memory 'Sweet Dreams'. Dan has already developed characters, synopsis, character sketches, treatments, and character breakdowns, but to this day......no script. I absolutely loved his creation, since then Dan has moved onto a more lucrative career. I contacted him a few months ago explaining I am getting into directing and "do you mind if I take Sweet Dreams and see if I can develop it further and write a full script". I know Dan is a far better writer them I am so once I have finished draft 1 I will get him to go over it and pull it apart and re-write sections if hes up for it. Hopefully it will become a co-writer production and I can get a full feature script under my belt to help Monty Biggs get funding.

Today I just finished act one of 'Sweet Dreams" - it's really funny, coming up with the ideas is by far the hardest part of writing, but for this that's already done. The words just seemed to flow without any break. I am loving this. I wish my other new script was the same - maybe this is the way I should work - get the bones together and the guts of it (script will come easily) - anyway it's all a learning process

Also this week I started reading a book called "What they don't teach you at FILM SCHOOL" by Camille Landau and Tiare White. It's a great inspirational read. Not technical at all, but instead has a more industry tips and tricks feel about how to create films by breaking boundaries. The style of writing is very 'Bobby Chui' - inspirational with a Strong "just go and do it" message. I started writing 'Sweet Dreams' as a direct reaction to the chapter "Your Short Film is only as good as your Feature Script". This chapter explains how it's no use getting every ones attention if you have nothing else to offer. This book and listening to Bobby has made me better for it - so I highly recommend if any of you want to get 'creating' give them a try.

selling yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:32:00 +0000

So I have been busy lately working on selling myself. An important trait everyone should learn, that's for sure. My website is one point of call (needs constant updating), but mainly it's about getting your name out there. I have applied for a few senior jobs with various interviews coming up.

Also 'Linked In' is a great way to network within the industry and it gives you access to people you would never think you could get next to (think 6 degrees of separation). People are mostly approachable and eager to help people within the industry, I highly recommend you jump on it.....hey search for me and add me to your network, bigger the better.

I have started 3D blocking 'Monty Biggs' - this is a pre-storyboard step I have added to assist Kyle (illustrator) with him doing 2D boards. Then once he has done this I will re-edit everything and refine camera moves and timing to produce a fully illustrated Animatic. That's really my goal right now - to produce an Animatic of a high quality. This animatic will be used to raise funding and hopefully get my script into production, well that's the dream anyway, worst case scenario is it never gets made but I have a full animatic to show my writing and directing skills.

I got asked today (phone interview) whether I would be happy working as a lead artist and not a Director - obviously they have read this blog. It's a fair question to which I answered - Directing and Writing is a long term goal,and any position I take will have to be part of that career path (somehow). Plus I am sure everyone has a goals(a dream) - I just happen to put mine out there.

How big is your 'Milo' tin ?

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:05:00 +0000

My wife and I discussed the direct connection between the size of peoples 'Milo' tin and how wealthy they are. Or E=MC² (Economy=Milo Container²). Since leaving my last job at Yomp Studios lets just say we always had the smallest tin, just the other day we bought the larger tin, mind you not the one that doesn't fit in in the pantry but large enough. Why am I talking about this well it all comes back to freelancing and the ups and downs. Even though we have been able to live for the past six months I have to say it defiantly aint easy, the shear nature of freelancing means people only call you when they want to avoid the massive quotes their getting from the larger companies, worse still they already have a benchmark to go off with massive expectations. It's a tough gig stopping yourself from getting burnt, and I am still learning. I just finished a couple of weeks of busy freelance and I am now free to go back onto what I love doing'Monty Biggs' - It's like a breath of fresh air getting back into Directing and Writing.

I do have to say the even though freelancing is painful it does give me time to do what I love.

It's been awhile

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:24:00 +0000

So where have I been - well throw in a few tight deadline freelance jobs and a dash of exploding computer and you can see why I have been away.

Well it didn't actually explode more like caught on fire.....well it didn't actually catch on fire more like smoldering smoking effect. Which left an sbsolutely terrible smell of burning electrical components throughout the house. Thinking I am knowledgeable with computers I deducted that it was the power supply that blew so I ordered a new one, waited a few days for it to arrive stuck it in, and guess what......I blew the new power supply as well baaahahaha. So I conceded that maybe I didn't know anything tech so I dropped it off at a local computer store where they pointed out that half the motherboard was black - I didn't even see it SOB !!! It's been 2 weeks without that computer and it bites the big one - Moral of the story if your income depends on expensive equipment protect yourself with a UPS (power serge protector). Turns out my insurance doesn't cover it either - so best check what cover this kind of equipment will get.

As far as Monty Biggs goes - I haven't done much which isn't good. I have been thinking about the script a lot. I am always interested in listening to feedback as it does help you think about different aspects that never entered your head. I did have someone over Analise the script a little the other day, I almost wanted to remind them it is a short and luxuries of establishing relationships to characters needs to be done as quick as possible in order get things going. I will have to go through as many of the shorts that I like and really think about why I like them, Blur does some great work, off to visit their site again.

Kyle the illustrator did do an awesome Monty Biggs Sketch of him in his three stages of life - Rookie, All Star, HasBeen - check it out - I love it.

Deadline for some freelance ArchVis (kids gotta eat) is today so as of tomorrow I am fully into my writing and Directing - thank god !

Day 24 / 25 / 26 - the down side to freelancing

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:38:00 +0000

So where have I been lately - well I landed a well paying car vis job which is the last thing I want to actually be doing, but unfortunately bills are calling and my kids want to eat food (go figure). It's coming up to the end of my second day and I have already racked up 31 hours - Assuming I start tomorrow at 8am I then have 5-6 Hours before the deadline. I am sure I will make it.

Crap thing is my client was a little shocked when I quoted him high (last minute off the rails kinda quote) where as I would have much preferred earning half my rate without the crazy deadline. I feel like a zombie miss typing everything. Back to work I guess

Day 23 - 'The List' Revisit

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Sun, 11 May 2008 12:59:00 +0000

So have have knocked off a few things on the list (the most basic ones I might add). I cleaned up my site - added Quicktimes along with the DIVx files, added new resume, and added a "NEWS" section on the home page.

I feel the way I am presenting my work has reached the boundries and can't get any better until I add more.

ALienNation - still waiting for cash, even though I am working on it an hour here and there (man I am really setting myself up to get burnt). I really want the Green light and I will be off on my merry way creating an Alien smashing Melbourne city :)

Here's the big list for getting a job at Pixar -

1) Tweak and streamline my website - it needs some attention. - DONE

2) Rewrite another draft of 'Monty Biggs' - DONE

3) Start storyboarding Monty Biggs with Kyle (illustrator) - STARTED

4) Finish all the Hollywood Camera Works dvd's (currently watching number 3)

5) Learn to draw (hehehe) - yeah I know it's a lot bigger then a list number but I am going to put it in there anyway. Enrol in some courses (once I have some more cash) - STARTED

6) Start to write a new script about an idea I have been working through

7) Go to SIGGRAPH job fairs

8) Try to obtain US visa - or at least research it before applying for US positions.

9) Start hitting the large companies for any position that can benefit my journey to becoming a Director. A position like Layout TD would work well as I would work directly with Directors to blockout shots and create the scenes.

10) Complete full Animatic for 'Monty Biggs'. Including sounds, and voiceovers.

more to come later..............

Day 22 - New Show Reel Edit

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:16:00 +0000

I managed to get a new edit of my Showreel done today. I changed some shots, and altered the in and outs for various spots, but to be honest it doesn't really differ very much from my last version. There were just some things that were bugging me that I had to change.

Check it out here - Quicktime 25MB 'Showreel 2008'

Day 19 / 20 / 21 - staying focused

noreply@blogger.com (Potts) — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:30:00 +0000

Well it's been a couple of days since my last post which isn't good. I told myself I originally wanted to start a running blog where I enter daily (yeah daily) steps to show dedication and passion. So I need to pick up my game from now on.

What have I been doing for the past few days - well I had that meeting with the AlienNation Director - it was a productive meeting with a very large proportion change on the mesh. I think it looks much cooler -

I still don't have any funding money (cash in Bank) in the bank so any work I do for it is currently only when I have down time. It's funny the jobs you want always seem to go away and the jobs you couldn't care less about are the ones you land baahahah - almost like being single again.

I have also been working more on the Monty Biggs script - the illustrator and I got together online (skype) briefly and started the storyboarding process. It should work well - hopefully I could have some examples of boarding to show soon. Kyle also did a sketch of Monty as a young rookie. Brilliant ! I know Kyle will go far as an illustrator his work is exceptional. I know I will prop him up whereever I can not that he needs it.

What else have I done - oh I uploaded a profile on www.CreativeHeads.net because I am looking at going to Siggraph in LA come Augest purerly for the Jobs fair. A college of mine John Van Der Zalm recommended I go to the Jobs Fair if I want a good chance at breaking into the American industry. When I went to find some information about the fair the website suggests people join CreativeHeads which is linked to Siggraph. Only time will tell if anything comes out of this step. Siggraph is quite costly as I estimated the round trip with all costs to be approximately $4K - I might have to sell some of my Minicades to fund the trip.

I have some updates regarding the 'Hollywood Camera Works' DVD's - I have been watching these DVD's every night for about 20min each time. It is really starting to sink in - I watched Pixar's 'Ratatouille' yesterday and it was quite funny that I found myself calling out the names of the shots in my head 'over the shoulder' or 'Parallel Master' heheheh - it's like a musician who has learnt without any training being taught how to read music and then writing a musical piece. I say this because now I attack scenes from a totally different approach as to what I have done for many years in the past - I now see scenes and plan many cameras with bouncing dialogue and following rules like 'obeying the line'. Here is a warning though - the DVD's are a little hard to watch - the voice over is droning and watching the same basic characters for hours would be impossible (hence the split viewing). Still I recommend it for anyone wanting to learn Camera techniques.

More updates to come soon :)