James Baxter's Animation Workshop

A couple of weeks ago the animation team at PDI/Dreamworks were treated to an amazing lecture series. A 3 day seminar with animation master James Baxter. It was a solid 3 days in the screening and conference rooms. I never saw my desk for the whole period of time. In addition, Dreamworks took the entire animation team and James Baxter out to dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant. It was amazing. James went into detail about acting, wieght and inertia, and cartoony animation. We analized video reference and discussed it. Also, we even had a flipbook creating contest. That was intimidating when you have James Baxter creating a flipbook as well. The whold experience was very inspiring and I learned quite a bit. As an additional treat, James had a special guest come on the last day to discuss acting. ANTONIO BANDERAS!! He was really nice and very excited to discuss animation and acting with us. It will be an exprience that I will remember. Here are some photos from that Seminar.

Animation wraps on Madagascar 2

Today, the animation team wrapped up work on Madagascar 2. We had the final dailies this afternoon and boy it was a spectacle. The whole team gathered in the screening room to applaud the last few shots to be final. The head of the department rented a giant Gong to hit when a shot got final. Also, the animation manager dressed up as one of the characters from the movie and played the role the whole time. She wasn't the only one dressed up in costume either. There were several supervising animators dressed up as lions and pirates. A couple of animators had fake mustaches as well. In addition, we had champagne, beer and jello shots. Finally when the last shot was final, the directors banged the Gong and at the same time there were two confetti canons that shot confetti over the whole crowd. It was AMAZING!! They really know how to end a show. It was a great experience.

My Home in Cali!!

This is the view from my apartment balcony. There is a heated pool.
I moved in about a week ago to Beach Cove Apartments in Foster City, CA. Here is a couple of photos from my studio apartment and the area around it.

This is the view of my bedroom.

This is the view of my kitchen and living room.

This is the view of my living room.

This is my parking spot.