Create Animated Content for Virtual Reality

I have mentioned before that I wanted to create animated content for virtual reality, so I thought I would expand on what I was looking to do.

There are a lot of people who have a much better understand of VR then I do, so I won’t try and explain where we are technically with it.  If you are in the entertainment industry you most likely know there is a lot of interest in VR right now, and a lot of money being thrown at the development of the technology.  There are easily over a dozen VR headsets out there from Google Cardboard to ones like HTC Vive.

So you might be asking in what way do I want to be involved with VR?  I don’t plan to get into the designing the hardware for it, but I would love to get into content creation.  I found this neat little graph which shows “Types of Virtual Reality Content Internet Users in Western Europe and the US are Interested In Watching/Experiencing” You can see at the top at 39% is movies.  This is might be why Hollywood is so invested in figuring out how to make VR content.

Typically movies are shown to the audience by controlling what they see in the frame of the camera.  When the director wants the viewer to focus on something they can easily do that through framing and focus.  The difference in VR is you loose the control to direct what the audience can see.  It has the creative people in Hollywood trying to figure out the best way to tell stories in this uncontrolled lens.

I have been wanting to create content for VR, but was not really sure how to get started.  I have been seeing a lot of interesting stuff with the 360-video, and I believe this is a great place to start.  I might start by rendering one 360 environment(Maybe the lab where Bink is trapped), and seeing how it works to stitch the images together.  Then move into rendering video in the same way.

One of the animation companies who is creating some really great content is Baobab Studios. Check out this 360 animated short they made called “Invasion!”.  If you want it to work you need to open it on a mobile device and in the YouTube app.  It won’t work otherwise.  Being able to be in the world, and look around as you please is a really fun experience.  They do things with sound effects, and having the character look in a direction to help get you to look at what they want you to look at.

Another interesting use for 360 videos is horror films.  Check out this “scary” video.

You can find a bunch of other examples of these 360 videos on Youtube.  I’m still very new to all of this, but this is a perfect medium for animation film making, and it is the logical direction to head.  I would love to hear from all of you on what you know about VR.  Be sure to leave me a note in the comments below.

 

If you have not already, please join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog.  Also, if you have any thoughts or advice I would love to hear what you have to say, so please feel free to leave me any comments below. Otherwise, be sure to stay connected with me on Twitter (@MillerAnimation). Only Time Will Tell.

26th Annual Producers Guild Awards

This weekend I attended my first Hollywood awards show.  It was the 26th Annual Producers Guild Awards at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.  I imagined it would be an unforgettable night of hanging with celebrities, and dressed impress.  It was an unforgettable night, but I would throw it more in the learning experience category.

Eric PGA Tux

I have a lot to learn before I can consider myself a veteran awards show attendee, but overall I was still glad that I went. Let me share with you some of my experiences, and what I have learned.

I think it all started from the moment I got the invitation.  It said that it was a “creative” black tie event.  I knew what a black tie event was, but it was that word creative that stumped me.  So I did what anyone of our generation would do… I asked the mighty Google.  I found as I expected that it is a black tie event with a sense a whimsy.  Think of the red carpet on oscar night, and all the variety of outfits you see there.

I headed to the mall to find a tux for the event, but one that would not break the bank.  Luckily I was not worried about anyone asking me “who are you wearing”, since I’m not a big time movie star. After looking around I finally found myself in JCPenny’s looking around.  With someone of my limited expertise on fashion I found it very difficult to be creative.  I have a new appreciation for stylists, since everything I tried looked horrible.  I decided to play it safe and go with the standard black tie.

After finding a jacket and pants in my size I was halfway done.  Then I found this cool box that had a white shirt, black clip-on bowtie, and black cummerbund.  All this was a great price, and it made everything a lot easier.  I think this is where things took a fashion downturn.

Everything was in a sealed box, but I thought what could go wrong? When I got home I tried everything on expecting to feel debonair, and sexy.  Instead it reminded me of when I worked at Glenmoor Country Club as a food runner. The collar was the wingtip style, and one side was bent down, and the other was bent up.  The french cuffs were to large and did not fit nicely through the sleeve of the tux jacket without some squeezing.  The shirt was a little big, and the clip-on bowtie looked like it was deflated, and would only face the ground.  I convinced myself that after washing the shirt it would shrink a little, and I could iron the wingtips into shape.  And that was my second major fashion mistake.

I washed everything and ironed it, and although it was a little better it still was not perfect.  I was limited on time, and I decided it was good enough.  On the night of the event I got all dressed, and I was not feeling very confident.  I decided that my biggest issue was this clip-on bowtie.  With this style of collar there was no hiding the clip, and it looked embarrassingly bad to me.  I left a little early so that I would have the time to run to a store on the way to buy a real bowtie.  Luckily across the street from the event was a mall, so dressed in my tux I setoff on a mission to find a bowtie.  This proved to be more difficult then I expected, but was only the start of my difficulties.  Finding a store that sold bowties in the appropriate style for the event was challenging, but was easy in comparison to what came next.  I found myself sitting in my car in the mall’s parking garage watching YouTube videos on how to tie a bowtie.  They made it look so simple, but it was IMPOSSIBLE!!!  I tried for over a 1/2 hour trying to fold the elephant ears and take the fish through the hole before I finally gave up in a fit of rage.  I was now late to the event, and I thought to myself “maybe some there can help me”.

I pulled up to valet and it was a mad house of people arriving to the event.  Of course everyone was perfectly dressed, and here I was looking like a monkey in a cheap tux.  I jump out of my car and headed straight to the bathroom to continue my battle against my archenemy… the bowtie.  Many guys come in and after seeing me wished me luck.  None of them actually tied the bowtie themselves, and could offer me no assistance.

I was finally about to give up when a guy walked in, and said he might be able to help.  He gave his best effort, but was not able to tie it on someone else.  At this point my self-esteem was exhausted, and I completely gave up on the bowtie. I left the clip-on in the car that valet took, so I did not even have a backup.  I decided to go without any bowtie, so into my pocket it went. Luckily this was an acceptable option, since it was a “creative” black tie event.  I undid the top button on my shirt, and walked out into the lobby.

I took a quick look at the red carpet before continuing to the ballroom where I found my seat at the table.  After we finished eating the awards show started with the category I was most interested in… Best Animated Feature.  The Lego Movie won, and the producer Dan Lin came up to accept the award.  I never met Dan, but as he got up on stage I recognized him.  He was the guy that tried to help me with my bowtie in the bathroom.  I think I sank a little in my seat in embarrassment.

The rest of the night was better after I accepted my defeat against the bowtie.  I went to this event by myself, since my wife had prior engagements that she committed too.  Which worked out since I wanted to check it out first to see if it was worth going to again.  Besides my fashion folly I think it would be worth coming again.

IMG_0174It was interesting to see all the big celebrities, and the excitement that they bring.  I think this was the most movie stars that I have seen in-person at one place.  I saw Brad Pit, Reese Witherspoon, Bryan Cranston, Adrien Brody, Matt Bomer, Kit Harington, Eddie Redmayne, and Felicity Jones to name a few.  My favorite of course was Jennifer Lawrence.  She stole the show when she got up on stage.  She was very entertaining, captivating, genuine and of course looked amazing.  She has a great personality and a presence that people gravitate towards.  I’m now a bigger fan.

Normally I thrive in these kind of social events, but with my confidence shaken I was much more reserved.  It reminded me of the first cast and crew party I went to at DreamWorks Animation.  It was before I knew many people, and I walked around feeling more like a spectator then a participant.  In a odd way I found comfort in this.  There has been many times in my life where I have had to start at the bottom, and work my way up.  Where you have to meet new people, and build relationships.  Life is full of these moments from your first day at school to the first day at a new job.  I may have had more of these moments then the average person, since I constantly pushing myself beyond my comfort zone.  When I first got to Los Angeles I felt like an outsider, but I have come a long way since then.  The last DreamWorks party I attended was a completely different experience then the first.  Instead of feeling like a spectator I felt at home surrounded by all my friends.  I feel like this is my next new beginning, and as in the past I will find my place.  It is not a bad circle to be at the ground floor of, and I look forward to making it my home.  I think my first step is learning how to master the bowtie.

I know this post has already gone longer then I planned, but I still have one thing I wanted to touch on.  Last week was a sad time for both DreamWorks Animation, and the animation community.  The closing of the DreamWorks/PDI studio was shocking, and I feel for all my friends that have considered it home.  Many of them have been there for years, and are now being asked to leave.  It is a reminder of the challenges of our industry.  I hope after all the dust settles that all my DWA friends will find themselves in better places.  Maybe one day that place will be Eric Miller Animation Studios.

 

If you have not already, please join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog.  Also, if you have any thoughts or advice I would love to hear what you have to say, so please feel free to leave me any comments below. Otherwise, be sure to stay connected with me on Twitter (@MillerAnimation). Only Time Will Tell.

Memories

Hollywood- Hollywood sign - First Cali PictureThis last Tuesday marked my “Ninth California Anniversary”.  On July 29th nine years ago I drove into the state of California starting a new life in The Golden State.  Every year on my “California Anniversary” I reflect on where I was at in my life then compared to where I’m currently at.  When I moved out here I did not have a job, and only had a temporary place to stay on the bedroom floor of a friend from high school.  I had no experience in animation, and none of the studios I applied at would even give me an interview.  It was very scary back then, but also invigorating.  I left everything that was familiar and safe to start something new, and it was an adventure. Those feelings I had 9 years ago, are very similar to the feelings I’m having now.  This last year has been a huge change for me, and nothing is familiar or safe.  We bought a house, had a baby, I got a new car, left my job, and started my own company to name the big ones.  I hope that this year will be another step forward, but I know that sometimes you have to take a step back to get a running start.

Now that I’m a father I have also been thinking a lot about my childhood, and all the great memories I had growing up.  One of things I remember is watching Saturday morning cartoons. I believe, like many kids, that this is where my love for animation came from.  One of my favorites was the Adventures of the Gummi Bears, but there was a lot of great cartoons then.  Recently while hanging out with my nephews I started to notice the shows that they were watching, and what was even available for kids to watch these days.  It seemed to me that many of the cartoons that are on now are cheaply made, and somewhat annoying to watch. At first I thought maybe my memory of the shows I watched were better then what the shows actual are.  So I pulled up an old episode of the Gummi Bears up on YouTube, and watched it with my son.  I felt it was just as good as I remember it being, and only made it more obvious that many of the shows today are pretty bad.  I have not done a lot of research looking for good cartoons that are on, so please let me know if you have any favorites in the comments.  But from what I have seen of today’s cartoons and kid shows, I’m not impressed, and not excited for what is available for my son to watch.  I would love to eventually be able to make some quality cartoons that I would be proud to have my son watch.

This week has been once again pretty busy for me.  There is always more I want to get done then there is time to do it.  The commercials I’m working on have been keeping me busier then I thought they would, but they are turning out really well.  I can’t wait until we can show them to everyone.  We will be working on them through the end of August, but some of them might be released earlier. I was approached with an idea for an original animated short that I was asked to help produce the animation for.  The script is now in a place they are happy with, and we will be starting that sometime next week.  I’m excited to get to work on that project, and I hope it turns out well.  On Tuesday I got to visit a friend of a friend who has been running a post production company that specializes in motion graphics and visual effects.  He converted his 2 bedroom apartment in Studio City into a boutique visual effects house.  In the living room he had at least 4 workstations, 2 in the 2nd bedroom, and 2 more in his bedroom next to his bed.  It was very inspiring, and reminded me of the stereotypical companies that were started in a garage.  I met with him and 3 of his partners that he brought on to help him.  He has put a great team together, and they are doing some pretty amazing work.  It was nice talking with them, and hearing about what they are working on.  They also gave me a lot of great advice, and pitfalls to watch out for.  Maybe in the future we will be able to find a way to work together, and help each other out.

Every year I plan to go to Comic-Con, but every year something comes up that prevents me from going.  This year with everything else going on I simply forgot to register for it.  Although I was not able to go I read a nice update from the animation panel on the animation industry. Information from the animation guild blog.

  • The animation industry is booming, and Los Angeles animation work is at record highs.

  • In the 1970’s there were normally two or less animated features released each year: whatever Disney did and one other independent feature.  Last year there were 22 animated features released.

  • Cartoon Network has doubled the number of shows in work that it had four years ago. The studio is constantly looking for new, young talent.  They are focused on hand-drawn animation.

  • The gaming industry is doing amazing business.  It is possible for a small crew of game makers to create a game, own, and market it themselves, since there are many digital platforms from which to sell it.

  • A lot of young animators are breaking into the business through personal shorts displayed on YouTube or Vimeo.  Vimeo, in particular is pretty egalitarian in giving newcomers a viable platform to showcase their work.

  • The visual effects business has taken a hit in Southern California. Sony Imageworks has moved its business to Vancouver, where the Canadians are given away free money. Montreal and Toronto also have large subsidy programs and now do work previously done in L.A. There are a number of boutique visual effects studios operating in Los Angeles, where work is being done on various television shows and some limited feature work. But big players like Digital Domain and Rhythm and Hues are kaput.

I thought this was very interesting with a lot of great information.  It would have been better to have heard it first hand, but maybe next year I will be able to make it to Comic-Con.

 

If you have not already, I hope you will join me on my journey by subscribing to my blog.  If you have any thoughts or advice I would love to hear what you have to say, so please feel free to leave me any comments below. Otherwise, be sure to stay connected with me on Twitter (@MillerAnimation). Only Time Will Tell.