9131

I'm away.
I'm doing lots of flying, and I hate flying. I'm listening to McCartney's 'Ram' and I love it. I heard it on LP, but it'd good to have a CD on iPod too so he and Wainwright can hush me to sleep on the plane.

In the meantime, for few days it was Zwierzyniec lager outside on the abandoned railway station where lying in the tall grass one can see so many stars. Now it's red wine. We'll see what the next week brings.

And in the meantime of meantimes, I am also growing old, but I'm not really good at this.

Don't have much to show for myself just now. I re-watched 'Avatar' cartoon, thanks to Kri. I needed to skip through some more embarrassing bits (when each of those teenager had some trauma to sort out, please…), but overall, as an animator, I love watching all the fights. I like the way you move it!
(Funny, some time ago I've been to see 'Avengers' and I said it was ok, but the fighting was so long and so boring. Not nearly as sexy, smooth and energetic as in 'Avatar'. I guess that's something live action can't do as well as 2D cartoon).

Right, I'll be back after Annecy and then I'll rumble on...

9105

 I like old things, and I like beautiful things, and so I like "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders". I've been 'being disillusioned' (as the acclaimed director Neil Jack put it last time we spoke, and I couldn't help noticing: does that mean that 'illusioned' /deceived/ would be artists' default mode?), so I tried to look into inspiring things.

In a way, it is quite relevant. In art college I've been trying to learn film-making: perhaps organising and labeling things makes it seem manageable, a bit safer. Is there a 'safer', more 'manageable' way to do art? Bullshit. And that's what things like "Valerie" remind me of: they'd take me for some insane ride and give me a beating until all of these so-called principals crumble, until there's nothing to understand, nothing to comprehend, nothing to write essays about. Just the world to experience.

that's some weird drawings, sorry. I'm tired.

I have better things to post...

...but in the meantime, I don't have means to do it.

(sorry, it's a Holmes season right now, cause of "House of Silk" and recent theatre movie. And this strip is for holmes geeks)

8041

a lot had happened. i'll probably skip some important at the time bits.

so, first Krakow, OFAFA - animation festival in Poland. it was so much fun, I have learned so much about Polish animation and I'll absolutely try to get there next year as well.

then BAFTAs in Glasgow - I did not win, but it was a valuable experience in a charming company.

I have the voices for the train project and i'm pressing on with animating. I was up north in Highlands recently visiting my friend - Cat, whom I sometimes make to animate for me as well. The time there only passes at something like 2 frames a second, but still looks so smooth.

Right now i'm in the process of switching from the pc to mac, i've been using both since i started uni, but now i'm biding farewell to pc. it's also a jump from CS2 to CS4, and it takes me a while to get used to. i only realised to what great extend i customised my old CS2 - it'll take me a while to get all the settings right. so there will be a bunch of odd frames in the sequence I'm colouring right now…

In the summer, I may get to work in my hometown's youth cultural centre teaching basic animation. that should be so much fun! But first I've got the film to finish. and the essay for Jonny Murray, due in 3 weeks, i'll start at some point next week…

there is some festival action going on as well, but my mind's not in it.

8210

living in the world where there's no right or wrong, how can we be asked to take that responsibility and draw the line to define these? and yet, we are.
in the big Anything-Goes world, we're being asked to have an idea of the future. there's nothing to fight for, nothing to rebel against, nothing to embrace or neglect, nothing that would make any voice of opinion valuable.
and you asked us to make up some rules. again.
i find this uncomfortable.

after experiencing life as a human for a while, in which i failed miserably, i decided to go back to being a film making machine. it's quite a sad thing to do, if you think about it, but i try my best not to think about it, so it's fine.

here's s wee test for my next (hopefully) film (project working title: train). i really want to make a film in this kind of style, but i'm not sure if it's really gonna work. esp. that the story is quite long.

ps. i liked "the men who stare at goats". i actually liked a film. that's strange. more about films coming soon, as the year's coming to an end and the oscars are approaching.

8151: uni started again.

i was as negative as i can, you can always count on me when it comes to that. it actually made me feel sick. all that enthusiasm, many loud people, new, "exciting" projects, all overflowing with happiness. i'm probably alergic to happiness.
and the banner project: i want to be a film maker, not a banner maker. shit happens, i have to do it.
i've been thinking of animation schools recently. you know, many people complain about Edinbrurgh College of Art, that nobody really teaches us anything etc. isn't that life, that you only get what you reach out for? that there's nothing really given?
there probably are schools that produce amazing, tiny cogs to fit into the animation studio machine. people who study all these tricks to make an animation look more real than live action. people who absolutely succeed in that. people who don't seem to have anything to say.
when i'm watching their work, it looks so much more mature than our silly things. and i can't see a single personality showing in these. just the massive monster of the industy conventions.
i'd rather wish to see animation "reach into places where live action doesn't go", really.
in the end i don't mind not being that skilled in portraying motion, because that's not what animation's about. whatever it is about, i can't be sure. but it's just what i make it, and i make it much deeper.
i'm happy to be attending ECA, where animation dep looks pretty much like the Toon Town from Rogger Rabbit. no matter how much i feel sick there sometimes, with all my alergic to happiness, there isn't any better place to be.



"why do people want to fly?"
"because they can't?", Bruce answered.