ok, my body temperature says I am ill. Or hot! =)
I finally got the cold everybody else around me already had. So you know the thrill: drink a lot, eat little, stay in bed, get lots of sleep and stay away from the computer….
submit! is one of the sweetest words when it’s finally said to you in production.
I was working on that shot of an unconscious creature. So one pose, right? Maybe a little wiggle here and there to show that it’s still alive. Couldn’t take me that much time. right?
Took me fragging four (4!) days.
First my pose was really good but much to far away from the initial blocking. Stupid me.
Then folding that little fellow into a different position using heaps of controllers (where some of them actually do the same thing ) just to find out that there is no way the rig supports that pose. It just keeps collapsing in several areas. And for some parts of the body I am simply missing the controls to place that body parts accurately enough.
So I go back to the originally blocking (hell, it was approved, it should work for me too) and do some little magic here and there and voila: it get rejected by the lead because it looks boring. I totally agree.
Back to the second pose again and it’s time to torture the the rigging TD. I get my extra controls, I change the pose a little so the collapsing parts are hidden, the lead starts to smile and after some attempts I even add an totally convincing little animation on top of that.
Submit!
So what did I learn at the end of the day:
- Stick to the initial idea and and clarify everything you want to alter with the lead animator.
- Stick to your own creative idea of making the best of what you are assigned to. After all we are chosen to do the job for a good reason.
- Work as a team. You can’t achieve everything on your own.
… and health are over rated. Diet for this weekend: Cerials, choclate, burger, french fries and beer. Sport scedule: Rave at The End (thanks for bringing this to my attention Kris). The rest is just time in bed and some films.
Now I am doing some serious laundry and to top things off I will go down Soho and spend some time at Framestore working on that leg slip I think could be fun.
Work| well, I am still working at Framestore. Weeks are passing very fast and most of the time nothing special happens. I just go to work, do my job (still very slow at it), feed my self on english food. Weekend is pubs, hang out with friends and do some occasional sport. So there is not really anything worthy putting up on the blog.
But then there are my bed bugs, the mouse that lives in our house, dating lawyers, friends visiting, Animation Mentor Gathering in London, changing house mates, hitting our providers download volume and observations of english behavior.
Maybe non of this is really worth a blog but then at least it’s a life sign so people don’t get worried too much =)
Oh, and just for the record: we already finished two episodes out of six for the TV series.
The first day at work we had our photos taken. We were told to smile but would have done so anyway because most of us woke up with a smile that nothing could have wiped from our face that day.
And the best thing about that security passes is that it opens the doors to the bathrooms which are on the same floor where we work and we don’t have to go to the basement anymore.
the city | was on camden market an saturday. as where millions of other people. met some friends by chance and we did a quick sweep through the market. I have to get back there somewhen during the week but all of a sudden life changed a lot because of..
the work | started on monday. at framestore. to speak with bobby beck: thats awesome!!! first day in work I was given a login, password, a computer and already my first shot after a brief instruction of the main linux commands. thats right, linux!
actually I will have to read the NDA of my contract again since I am still under the impression that I am not allowed to talk about my work.
I am working cool creatures (two so far) and the rigs are awesome. Some shots came along quit good, others I am struggling with but its still my first week. I think if I don’t relay to much on my work experience and try to remember more the thing I have been taught at AnimationMentor I probably will get along better. If I get the right mixture I’ll be unstoppable!
life | in a shared house is way better then I would have expected. I thought I would freak out with all those strange people around me but instead I am enjoying every new face I see. Probably because they are all really sweet! (have to write that because they are probably reading this) :o)
finally found my room.
After looking at a room in the morning that was very close to framestore ( app. 20 min to walk) I was very tempted by the distance but not by the look of the room and the look of guy I would have had to share the flat with.
Then in the afternoon I found an ad for a room in the same area and when I had a look at it in the evening I made a good effort to shy away the three other guys queuing up for the room.
It’s small, it’s expensive and I am sharing kitchen and bathroom with three others but I don’t have to ride the tube every morning and night, I am in walking distance from the Soho District, its quiet and clean and the australien couple and the landlord are really nice people.
Moving in tomorrow or the day after!
this morning, fetching my fresh bakery from around the corner, I realized that I finally adapted enough to look automatically the right way when crossing the street.
Mhmm, fresh croissant!
end of week one here in London. Time to do a little summary.
the city | is always busy, so many people and despite the weather they all pretend that its summer! Me, coming from 40°C Vienna where I just adopted to the heat feeling a little chilly here in 20°C London where the weather is happily drizzling away. At least for most of the time. Tuesday and today were pretty much sunny and I had very long walks through parks and along some other typical attractions. The parks were full of people hanging out and having some time in the sun, most of the shops are open on sunday. Take that, summer sale, sunny weather and some tourists and you can imagine the masses moving through the streets and parks. It’s hard to understand how they can keep the parks in such good condition with so many people using them every day.
the living | is easy. I arrived here on monday and the girls at framestore were really helpful and arranged an accommodation for me before my plane took off. It’s close to Bayswater station but I usually use the Queensway station because its only a few meters down the road and takes me to the center without changing.
All the necessary shops are just around the corner of my little studio and nearly everything on my todo-list was arranged fairly quick except the 3 prepaid sim card for my phone. I guess I had been in seven 3 -stores to get one and non of them had one in stock. So I got myself one from T-mobile and therefore had to unlock my phone. But the unlocking didn’t do the job and the mobile nearly never picked up the network signal.
Finally I saw an ad for a 3 prepaid in on of those little stores that sell you nearly everything. So I have a 3 sim now and its working like a charm.
I met with two other AnimationMentor students here in London and we had some beer and Korean food while we chatted along about the animation industry and other nerd stuff.
the search | for a room or a little studio is nerve-wracking. I have subscribed to the RSS feed of a well known accomodation advertising page and the posts come pouring in faster then I can read them. What at first sound like a lot of possibilities turns out to be a disadvantage because it makes the process of picking those three or four that would suit my needs really combersome. And then you make and appointment and when you get there your would rather not like to walk through this streets at night. Just yesterday I found a nice double room en-suite in a house to share with 9 other people. First I thought that this would be the perfect choice but then considering all the circumstances I decided against it. Might have been a good chance and I dumped it but as Captain Jack Sparrow once said: “I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by.”
New week, new luck!
Oh, and I finally drove in the upper deck of a double decker bus!
I finally made my mac accept the login, a restart did the trick, and I am now able to do all the necessary surfing and mailing.
Woke up in a small but very effective equipped little studio. Well, don’t let the expression “studio” fool you. But it’s clean and got everything in it except space! Since is difficult to take photos in small spaces I just did one to show you the view from my bed.
And here is a quick google map to show you “my London”. It’s a help for me to get a grip on that town and a nice overview to check out distances.
Finally arrived at the room the company managed to arrange for me. I an not able to log into the wireless connection here in the hotel so I an writing this on my mobile phone.
Weather is typical british but so far I am thankful for some rainy days. Perfect weather to read but unfortunately Potter is sold out in the bookstore around the corner. But thanks to the DVD libary here in the hotel I am having a jolly good time. More about whats going on in London when I have a propper keyboard.
