Here's the commercial...

In case you missed it during American Idol or Lost (wow, State Farm must have spent a bundle!) here is the ad I directed:


It's a 3mb Quicktime movie, and you'll need Quicktime 7 to play it.

Shannon Tindle's Blog

Some amazing art here from artist Shannon Tindle, who designed characters for "Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends", among other things.



Thanks to Noah Albrecht for the link.

My commercial premieres tonight!

If you happen to be watching American Idol tonight (and I wont hold it against you if you do) keep an eye out for the commercial I directed for State Farm insurance featuring characters from Pixar's "Cars".


Okay, it's a commercial, not high art, but it was a lot of fun to work on and I think it turned out really well. My first directing gig at Pixar and all the talented people around me made me look good! I wasn't involved in the story development but I directed the layout, animation, lighting, fx, editing and sound, and I animated a couple shots in there, too. I'll post a Quicktime of the commercial to this blog sometime after the premiere.

Doggy Poo

"Sometimes dreams really do come true."



Yes, this is for real. Another oldie-but-goodie. Check out the rest of the web site if you don't believe me.

The Big Snit

Yes, more classic animation. I know, I should post some "new" stuff, right? But it's so great to see all this old stuff again! Here's one of my fav's from the old Spike and Mike festival:



The video quality is pretty crappy but you can still appreciate it. Thanks to Hans Ranum for the link.

New "Flushed Away" Trailer

I'll let you be the judge of this one.

More classic animation: The Monk and the Fish

This film competed with "The Big Story" for the Oscar in 1995 (both lost to "Bob's Birthday", which I haven't seen). Beautiful, simple, entertaining animation and a soulful story - typical for Michael Dudok de Wit. See his other shorts, including Oscar-winner, "Father and Daughter".

The Monk and the Fish

New Interview

There's a new interview with me on StrutYourReel.com by Tim Linklater. Note the manic photo of me in the header.

Vader calls the Emporer

This is funny. Some decent stop-mo animation, too:

Major web site overhaul

I've redesigned and updated my whole web site to coincide with the start of this blog. Look for new content in all sections, which you reach through the links at the upper right ->. This blog is now the hub of the site. Enjoy!

P.S. Happy Mother's Day!

The Big Story

Just saw this on Brett Schulz's blog - an old Oscar-nominated stop-motion short in which all the characters are caricatures of Kirk Douglas. Created by Tim Watts and David Stoten. I hadn't seen this in years (1995?), and now it's on YouTube.com (of course):




The animation in this is just amazing, even though it's all on two's.

Le Papillon

Here is a beautifully animated 2D short by Antoine Antin called "Le Papillon" (The Butterfly).


I know, it's not new, but if you haven't seen it (or haven't seen it lately) it really holds up. Great story and design, too. I get goose bumps!

It's Official.

PIXR is now DIS.
http://www.newratings.com/analyst_news/article_1269318.html

Some newish animation

1.8 MB Quicktime Movie (Quicktime 7 required)

Here is shot I animated a few months ago as part of a lecture on workflow for AnimationMentor.com. The audio is from the film "Coming To America".

Another Alien Song "Homage"

Jesus Christ: The Musical

Even the credit screen for the music is identical! For reference:
Alien Song

It begins...

Here it is, my blog. I suppose it's about time. I've been terrible about updating my web site, and I'm hoping that this will make it easier for me, and therefore more interesting/useful for you, the visitor.



So I recently got to direct my first commercial at Pixar! It's a promo piece for Cars and State Farm Insurance. The commercial premieres on May 22 during American Idol. Last week we did the sound mixing at Skywalker Ranch (pictured above). It's a beautiful place, and the rain let up just in time for us. Here's me with our Sound Designer Juan Peralta and Producer Liz Gazzano: