jbills

Spring offerings at CCC

Posted on March 25, 2015 by jbills

The Digital Media and Communications program at Clackamas Community College continues to build steam and, whether you’re looking at continuing education options or are an undergrad hungry for more varied offerings, there are some nice opportunities this Spring to get your learn on.

I’m pleased to announce the return of DMC 250 – Motion Capture Animation. A Monday+Wednesday night class that runs from 6:00pm-8:50pm. Happy to see the most excellent Rob Bekuhrs, SuperGenius Animation Director, is the instructor for this go around. Having worked with Rob while at Laika, I can vouch that this class will be in very good hands.

Another noteworthy class is DMC 265, Advanced Digital Filmmaking. Taught by Andy Mingo, this class breaks out the heavy equipment that the DMC program has been acquiring. The big guns! Including the RED Epic 5k camera, the Arri Amira camera, the Blackmagic Ursa 4k camera (PL mount with a nice set of Zeiss glass), the Inspire 1 Aerial Drone, and the Ronin Camera Stabilizer, on and on. A fresh partnership announced for this term: the best student films to come out of the program will screen at the Portland Film Festival in September! This is paving the way for some very, very high quality imagery to be created around here and we’re all quite excited. The class is slated for Monday+Wednesday afternoons.

Finally, spring also marks the return of animator Chris Dreger’s popular Stop Motion class, using the industry standard Dragonframe software. The last class produced a great music video tribute to the Ramones (I say as I switch my Pandora over to the Ramones station). This term seems to be teasing some Star Trek imagery – can’t wait to see what Chris is cooking up! A 7 week class – Tuesday nights starting April 7, from 5-7:50pm.

Any questions about these or other CCC offerings, contact Andy Mingo at amingo@clackamas.edu or phone Kelly White at (503) 594-3034. Lots of info over at the DMC dept page.

A larger post is long overdue to publicize some of the movement out that way and discuss the rest of the academic scene here in town, as it applies to VFX / Animation / 3D / Film. Coming soon!

Thanks to Orland Nutt and Ben Luce!

Posted on March 25, 2015 by jbills

Orland Nutt screening Bear of Heaven

Quick thanks and a shout out to Orland Nutt and Ben Luce for their great presentations at the last meeting. Powering through some technical difficulties with the presentation laptop being at a different aspect ratio from the screen that was being projected, Ben’s pixel art technique was well received by all. “That’s how everyone is getting that retro 8bit look!” (or in Ben’s case, 16 bit – “Super Nintendo!”) was a phrase heard many times after the meeting. It made for an explosive demo, if the “oohs” and “aaahs” were any indication every time Ben said, “Boom!”

Ben Luce demo

And thanks to Orland for rolling with the punches when we couldn’t read his hard drive, and doing the presentation entirely from Vimeo clips. He has some rare before/after footage from Bear of Heaven that hopefully will see the light of day somehow – we’re working on it! In any case, unforgettable imagery from Orland and a huge thanks for taking the time out.

The Ebay Lounge was a great venue with the only flaw being we couldn’t figure out how to turn down the automated lights to help better view the projector. A small glitch in an otherwise fantastic setup and the Ebay office may very well become the default for future meetings.

Next up – a big night of SideFX Houdini is being planned for April. Will keep you informed… watch this space!

The eBay Lounge

Next VFX/PDX Meeting – Feb 12th NW Master Sessions w/Orland Nutt + Ben Luce!

Posted on January 20, 2015 by jbills

Like we always do about this time – the winter VFX/PDX meeting (teaming with AEPDX) is together and worthy to be marked on ye old calendar. With 2 of my favorite artists on tap, this one has earned the name “NW Master Sessions” and we couldn’t set the bar any higher for this first one.

Following up on his amazing retrospective at NW Film Center this past summer, Orland Nutt will be screening his latest short film “Bear of Heaven” among others, complete with behind the scenes. I’m not sure behind the scenes really does it justice – into the mind might be more appropriate. A CalArts grad and mainstay of Portland mixed media moguls Bent Image Lab, Orland defines creativity and pairs this with serious, serious After Effects skills that are used to great effect (pun most certainly intended!) when supporting his original creations. Bear of Heaven is a significant achievement.

Also on the docket is the young and talented Ben Luce, who’s recent illustration and 2D animation continues to define his unique style. Hot off the heels of his AEMoji contest victory at Design Week last year, Ben has been absolutely on fire and will show some of his recent work and the techniques used – be ready to see Photoshop and After Effects teaming up like you never knew possible!

This is a one time chance to get a glimpse into the workflows of two very bright stars in our Portland sky – be sure to step out for this one, or prepare for the agony of everyone raving about this afterwards! 🙂

Please grab yourself a free ticket over at Eventbrite –
https://vfxpdxwinter2015.eventbrite.com

Special thanks to software gurus 3DV for the use of their projector and Jamal Qutub for the great poster design above.

Thursday, February 12 @ the Ebay Community Lounge
1400 SW 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor
6:30pm-8:30pm

See you there!

jbills

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