Burning Man ~The ultimate special effects reference?

The burning of the temple
My voyage to Burning Man this year was epic. From the moment I left Vancouver on my motorcycle, and headed East into the BC interior, I felt transported 100% away from the daily routine that most of refer to as 'life'. With the wind in my face and the promise of new roads in my heart, I felt released....free!

Burning Man involves a LOT of burning. The largest most impressive structures are lovingly handcrafted and built almost entirely of wood, and on the last two nights of Burning Man, the 'man' and the incredible Temple (different and unique every year) are burned to the ground. On top of that many art installations in the desert are set ablaze on the last two night.


An amazing dance party in the middle of the desert at sunrise...
On top of that, there are pyrotechnics galore. Every year the fire experts try to top what they came up with the previous year, and there are a dazzling array of fire belching, computerized machines of all kinds here and there around Black Rock City and out in the desert (on the 'playa' as they say). Just down the street from the camp where I stayed, they let me handle an incredible kind of explosive propane fire throwing gun that was absolutely incredible! Pulling the trigger released a tremendous explosion of flame that mushroomed out like a special effect from a Bruce Willis movie! It was such a rush. I only wish I'd gotten some film of me firing it off.


An incredible rainbow appeared after a rainstorm on the first afternoon that I arrived
Although I did take quite a few photos, Burning Man is primarily a participatory event, and walking around taking pictures turns you in to an observer, not a participant. So I frequently left my camera behind, and just got right into 'being there' and absorbing as much as possible. From a special effects viewpoint, I can't recommend Burning Man enough. If this kind of stuff sounds interesting to you, then GO! Buy your ticket and set your sights on being there next year, and I'LL SEE YOU THERE!!



The sunsets on the first night of Burning Man


Pyrotechnics seen through the swirling dust


The 'man' burns...


The 'man' burns...an amazing fireworks display precedes the burning

Elemental Magic in JAPANESE!

I just got delivery of 'Elemental Magic' translated into Japanese! It looks pretty amazing, to see my book in a beautiful language like this that I can't understand. I can't help but wonder how they interpreted some of my more imaginative text. Hopefully I will get a chance to go through it with Japanese friends!

Playing with paint! A wonderful new direction for my art, and a fascinating exercise in Special Effects

I spent two days painting with my friend Autumn Skye, near Powell River. I have not painted anything since I was in art school back in the seventies, but it is something I have always planned on doing when I get 'older'. Skye is an incredible artist, and I was humbled to work next to her, but she is a generous and enthusiastic mentor. She was happy to answer all my questions patiently and turn me on to her painting 'tricks' of the trade. It was an amazing creative session, we worked outdoors under a large opened tent. Many, many thanks to Skye! Check out her phenomenal and inspiring artwork at:

http://www.autumnskyemorrison.com/

Since posting this painting on Facebook, I got an overwhelming number of positive comments, and I am extremely enthused and excited to launch into a painting career....on top of my tattooing work! Egads, will I have time for fishing?


The painting is as yet unfinished, and untitled. I will post it when it's finished and properly photographed. It was really just a practice run, I was playing and learning, and I didn't expect to come up with something that I actually liked. In fact, there is much about it that I do NOT like, but it still fills me with excitement, just to see all that glorious colour and texture come to life under my wiggling brush. Super fun, cool, beautiful medium. Hooked on acrylics! (Now I just need to buy my own paints!, Thanks Skye!)

Cover for 'Elemental Magic Volume II'

Here a a few possible designs I've come up with for my next book, Elemental Magic Volume II 'The Technique of Special Effects Animation'

I'd like to get as much feedback as possible, so please, tell me your favourite picks, tell me which ones you hate, or fresh ideas!
You can leave a note here, or email me at joegilland@shaw.ca with your 'vote'.

I have no problem filling the inside of the book with animation goodies, but designing a cover is really hard. It's what everybody sees, and it should make an impression. I got very mixed reviews on the cover of the first 'Elemental Magic' book, some love it, some hate it. Of course I'll never make everyone happy, but you all matter to me, and I'd love to hear what you think of these. They are just preliminary designs, and I might end up going in a completely different direction, but the size and title and the font is pretty much the way it will look....So, send your thoughts, OK? Thanks!

Click on an image to see a full-sized version

Design #1
Design #2
Design #3
Design #4
Design #5
Design #6
Design #7
Design #8
Design #9
Design #10
Design #11
Design #12
Design #13
Design #14
Design #15

I've been fishing.....

Lately, I've been fishing a lot. What does this have to do with Elemental Magic? Everything, I think. I am drawn to the water like a moth to the flame, I am drawn to rivers, lakes and streams, the ocean. Early morning at the lake, two loons cry out to each other, and then meet in the middle of the lake. They dance together and celebrate the morning. Another day, another lake, a hail storm blows through, and afterwards, when the sun hits the side of the mountain, incredible tendrils of steam clouds rise up from the dense forest on the steep cliffs. Eagles glide over, looking. A huge bald eagle circles and lands on a floating log on the lake. A kingfisher darts down from a tree and strikes the water, making off with a tiny, wriggling fish.

Comox Lake
I bring a small trout to the shore, and gently remove the hook. He is too small to eat, and so I am extra careful, and I let him go in the shallow water, watching as he regains his composure, and then heads back to deeper water. Fish, so beautiful and sleek, each a perfect hydrodynamic miracle, flashing every colour of the rainbow. I make a small fire, and watch as the smoke from the damp wood rises and gets caught up in the convections of the lake's temperature. The smell of damp forest and wood smoke, the sound of wind coming across the mountains, through the trees, and then spraying sweeping patterns of ripples across the lake's mirror like surface.

Comox Lake
I meditate by the water, in the forest. Each moment is that perfect moment, when I allow it to be. Whether or not I actually catch a fish is secondary, although it's always nice to eat fresh trout for dinner or breakfast. But the essence of the experience is absorbing the divine perfection of nature into myself, allowing myself to be one with it and thus perfect, for once. The internal dialogue, the self-effacing chatter of un-consciousness, is quelled and quieted. Feeling and knowing that I am actually one and the same with this natural beauty.....

Maple Lake
It is Living Elemental Magic. It is all there, in every moment, when I am fishing....

Wolf Lake

Beautiful Cutthroat Trout, Wolf Lake, April 9th, 2010

All photos were taken near my home in the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island. (believe it or not, all these photos were taken with my crappy cell phone!)

Steelhead Trout, Puntledge River, October 2010

Life Drawing in Cumberland

A big part of my Elemental Magic philosophy, is to draw as much as possible, regardless of what kind of animation you do. In fact I think that so called 'digital' artists, and CGI artists, should practice this as much as possible. We work in a visual medium, regardless of what technique we use, therefore we need to develop a visual vocabulary, and always practice communicating ideas visually. Without drawing skills, it is almost impossible to communicate a visual idea that could be quickly and easily explained with a simple sketch. And all you animators out there who started out drawing, but now work with CG, or Flash or Harmony, DON'T FORGET TO KEEP DRAWING!! Use it or LOSE it!!

I decided to put my money where my mouth is, and get back into as much life drawing as I can. Here are a few drawings I've done since I started up again. Definitely a little rusty, but it is fun and I can feel myself loosening up and drawing better and better again!


30 minute drawing


15 minute drawing


10 minute drawing

I can't urge you enough to get out there and draw as much as possible! Everything you do creatively will improve, even music, dance, you name it. Drawing from life is the very soul of the creative experience, let's not toss it out and get lost in a digital illusion of creativity!

Workshop at Algonquin College

I am back home after another extremely successful Elemental Magic workshop. Ottawa was snowy and wet, but the welcome I received there was warm and wonderful.


I spoke to a group of over 150 people, mostly students, but there were also a lot of professionals from local Ottawa animation studios who were able to attend. Kudos to the great folks at Algonquin College for getting the word out to the studio community and opening their doors to them!


The lecture ran for about two and a half hours, and afterwards folks lined up to have me sign their books and add a quick special effects sketch in each one. Every single book that Algonquin and I had on hand sold out in a hurry! I'm not sure how many, but in hindsight I wish we'd had quite a few more. The response to the book and my short workshop/lecture presentation, was once again, almost overwhelming.


I'd like to thank Neil Hunter at Algonquin for his assistance in putting the visit together. He was gracious and a wonderful host. Thanks to Derek Bond too, for taking great care of me and shuttling me through the horrendous wet, snowy weather and traffic! I would also like to send a special thank you out there to all the students who attended, and were so enthusiastic about Elemental Magic. It is incredibly rewarding, when I see that I have created something that energizes and excites you all. When a young animation student comes up to me clutching a copy of Elemental Magic and exclaiming how much it has helped them, I feel 100% fulfilled and all is as it should be in the universe! Thank you. You give me back more energy than you can every know, and you make it all worthwhile.


On another note, I was also able to visit with my family while I was in Ottawa, and it was so special to meet my new great nephew Spencer! Congratulations to my beautiful niece Amanda and her husband Nick!

Another workshop, back in Ottawa today!

This Thursday, I'll be doing a 2 hour presentation of my Elemental Magic workshop, followed by a book signing session. This is taking place at Algonquin College, in Ottawa. Apparently they have publicized it well in the Ottawa animation community, and we're expecting a really jam packed full house! Many thanks to Neil Hunter and the folks at Algonquin for putting this together! I will re-post here when it's done, with photos and film clips too!

Elemental Magic Workshop at PennDesign

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the University of Pennsylvania to conduct my 'Elemental Magic' workshop at the PennDesign department of the school. It was an absolutely wonderful experience, and I can't say enough good things about the quality of the students and faculty and the warm welcome that they gave me! This was my first time conducting my workshop in an American University. I have previously given the workshop in Canada, Europe and Asia, and this was a great opportunity for me to bring my workshop stateside.


My workshop focuses on what I call, 'an ORGANIC approach' to visual effects animation. The premise of my workshop is that, like character animation, visual effects as well should be approached from a traditional, or 'classical' point of view, when a student of animation is first starting out. It has been well accepted in the discipline of character animation, that to become a quality 3D or 'digital' character animator, one must first learn the basic fundamental principles of classical animation. But when it comes to visual effects animation, the long history of special effects animation and the hands-on study of what makes effects elements tick, is most often completely left out of the equation.


Visual effects today is treated like a fully 'digital' discipline, and students of visual effects are taught a kind of techno worshipping, 100% computer dependent approach to creating special effects of all kinds. And from my perspective, this is why the vast majority of special effects being created today look like crap!


Of course there are so called 'digital' effects artists creating utterly amazing special effects these days. But I guarantee you, they are few and far between, and the ones who do create compelling effects know exactly what I am talking about! To create truly wonderful special effects, any artist must approach his art with a great deal of feeling, and an imagination filled with a deep understanding of the elements that he or she is attempting to recreate! The way to do this, is through the imaginative study of 'ORGANIC' elements. And that is the primary focus of my workshops. To bring the participant's imagination and attention, to a universe of visual effects information that is not found somewhere inside of a computer, but exists all around us, in the infinitely creative universe of natural phenomena all around us!


The students at PennDesign were wonderful, and dug into what I was saying! Over a period of three days, as we shared ideas and observations, each student had a chance to explore visual effects from a natural viewpoint. Each student chose a specific effects element to tackle, everything from water running from a tap, to a character punching a brick wall, to an airplane crash landing on a runway. One student did a fascinating study of 'caustic' effects, the wonderful patterns of dancing light rays that we see when we look through a body of moving water....


It was a fantastic workshop for me. I hope that the students at PennDesign feel the same way I do. It was fun and exciting. And that is a big part of what I am proposing when I give this workshop. The most exciting part of being a visual effects artist is the 'organic' approach. Playing with the elements, shooting reference videos, recreating bizarre circumstances in which specific effects might occur, burning stuff, breaking stuff and seeing what happens....this is the really FUN stuff that is a much bigger part of understanding visual effects than learning software!

Kudos to the folks at PennDesign for having me, and kudos to the students there, for really hearing me out and 'seeing what I mean', and for coming up with some killer presentations when it was their turn to show me their stuff! You guys were awesome!



And remember...We are not ‘digital’ artists, any of us. We are organic beings using digital tools. I pray that the academic as well as the professional world of animation will come to understand this fully, and change the creative language that we use to describe what it is that we actually do as animation artists. Must we put the word ‘digital’ in front of everything creative that we do, just because of the tools that we use? Me thinks not.

Coming to a city near you this year!
(email joegilland@shaw.ca for more details)

I will be bringing my Elemental Magic workshop to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on the 14th of January, and then on the 20th it's off to Harbin, in Northern China, where I will be doing another. And February looks like it will be busy as well! I'll keep you posted. I am aiming at eventually putting together workshops in larger venues where the general public and all interested parties can attend. If you have any ideas or leads on places, institutions or festivals that might like to host my workshops, please contact me directly at joegilland@shaw.ca or (250) 650-6686

Avatar -A New Era of Cinema?

Read on below to see my additional comments.....

Well, almost everyone I know has been to see Avatar by now, James Cameron's new 'masterpiece' of futuristic, psychedelic, action-packed movie magic madness. So I can safely write about it without blowing any surprises for readers, (I hope) If you haven't seen it yet, I won't really give any of the story away here, so don't be afraid to read this...

I hesitate to say how much I really enjoyed this film because, well, it seems really fashionable for writers to be professional critics, and expose whatever flaws a movie might have. This film has plenty of flaws. What film doesn't? If you've tried directing a big budget blockbuster film lately, you know just how difficult it really is to even begin to approach 'perfection'. Something tells me, not many who read this will have directed any big budget films lately. He he....sure!



I love this movie.

And I've heard every conceivable bit of criticism you could possibly throw at it. But it's beautiful, it's even visionary. Regardless of the countless subtle ways it may have been improved, regardless of the occasional corny moments, or lame attempts at humor when it really didn't need it....

It's gorgeous, and flawlessly put together from a technical standpoint. I cannot remember one single scene that really stood out as far as anything not quite working. The character animation, the special effects animation, and the compositing is all so beautifully done, that it was easy for me to completely abandon my critical animation artist side, and just let go, fall in, and enjoy the ride.

This is just the beginning of this report....I have alot more to say about this film, stay posted!

SECOND POSTING
Now I have actually seen this movie twice, as an incredible number of other people have done. I can hardly believe how many people I have spoken to are going back for seconds and even third viewings. Pretty phenomenal reaction to this film. Seems folks can't get enough!

Myself, I went to see AVATAR first in regular old-fashioned 2D mode. I wanted to watch it first as a regular movie, without the added distraction of the 3D glasses and effects. And that first viewing was extremely satisfying. I liked it far more than I expected to, and I was ready to go see it in 3D as soon as possible....

So I just got back from the 3D screening, and I actually have to say, I enjoyed it more without the 3D effect. Although the 3D is certainly fun, I still found it somewhat of a strain. It was distracting. It had many glorious moments, but overall it took me OUT of the story more, it really did. Surely everyone won't agree, but I urge you to watch it in 2D and see what you think. Something about the 3D glasses makes me feel like my eyes are straining a little bit, especially when there is a cut to a new scene, I found my eyes had to readjust for a few moments, and that distracted me severely a couple of times.

So I certainly can see cinema going more and more frequently with 3D, it is SO MUCH better than it used to be, and hopefully it will continue to get better. I am hoping to someday go to a 3D film and not feel that subtle eye strain. Only then will the 3D effect work 100% for me.

Back to the film itself.

You know, I am hearing so many people complain that the story is contrived, the whole 'Tree of Souls' thing is corny, they say, and the whole 'Save the Rainforest' idea has been done.

But this is our story people! The story of so called modern man, conquering the 'New World'. That is our legacy, that is who we are here in the new world, and if we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. Telling this tale over and over, it is something that desperately needs to be done, lest we 'progress' ourselves right in to extinction! The idea that the 'undeveloped' countries of the world were inhabited by 'savages' that we needed to teach how to be 'civilized'. Folks, there is nothing civilized about what we have done all over the world, to indigenous peoples, and to nature itself. Civilizations who understand the delicate balance of nature around the globe, have been slaughtered and laid to waste, their history, culture and languages destroyed. They are the civilized ones! WE are the savages. No amount of technology and so called progress can mask the fact that we are ignorant, destructive savages, completely out of touch with what is really important in this miraculous journey we know as our lives.....

And we need to learn that. Now.

We are like lost babies, just like she says in Avatar....like stupid stumbling babies, with big guns to protect our fragile, misguided egos. We are an absolute mess, with all our glorious technology, we are just becoming more and more depressed, more and more disconnected from Life, Love and Truth. The more we surround ourselves with consumer gadgets and toys, the less we are able to wake up to the call of the wild.

Somewhere perhaps, in our futures, there is a place for technology and Love to work together, but technology without spiritual wisdom is a frightening dead end road, that is swallowing our souls. We all need to connect with the 'Tree of Souls' or we we will eventually see the beauty and magic of our natural world taken away from us and extinguished from our ability to perceive it, in a nightmare of darkness.

I see a film with a story like this as a clarion call for mankind to wake the hell up. Exploitation of resources and billions spent on developing bigger better weapons to protect us from ourselves.....in our hearts and souls, we know where it will take us. Reformat your hard drives into the tree of souls people. Unplug the iPod and listen to the wind.....

James Cameron is just trying to remind us that the alarm clock is going off, and it's time to wake up!

R.I.P. Roy Disney

Today marked the passing of Roy Disney, Walt's nephew, and the last truly great man (as far as I'm concerned) to carry Walt's legacy. I had the great privilege of meeting the man, several times actually, during my 8 years working at Walt Disney Feature Animation. I first met him back in 1994, when I had just started working for Disney, moving to Florida after living in Ireland for three years. Since Roy owned a house in Ireland where he spent time each year, we had something in common, and we talked for a while about life in Ireland, and also about the history of animation. He was extremely humble, warm and engaging, and I liked him a great deal. The fact that he looked a lot like Walt, made it that much more interesting to talk to him. But what made the greatest impression was the complete and utter lack of bullshit that came through. He took a genuine interest in every artist that worked at Disney, and he made it abundantly clear that he admired and respected any artist who made it into the Disney studio. Read on and I will tell you who Roy Disney really was....

In the next 8 years, while I was working for Disney, I watched in horror as the studio slowly transformed itself from an incredibly supportive, creative, and exciting place to work, into a faceless corporate entity ruled by fear, lies, and the 'bottom line'. By 1998 the studio had decided on an extremely aggressive production schedule, that would have us releasing a brand new feature film every year. My take on that strategy, was that they would shoot themselves in the foot by saturating the market. And on top of the 'one feature film per year' schedule, they also began to release a ridiculous number of poorly animated direct-to-video sequels of their great classics, even further saturating the classical animation market, as well as degrading the public perception of the 'Disney Quality' that they had come to expect.

Although I was still pretty happy to be working at Disney, and we were starting production on what turned out to be the most enjoyable production I have ever worked on (Lilo & Stitch) I was disillusioned by the overall direction that the company seemed to be headed in. The 'president' of Disney animation at the time, Tom Schumacher, was in my eyes, literally dragging the studio down the tubes with his creative meddling, and bizarre production decisions. I watched aghast as tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars were thrown away on ill-conceived productions that were not followed through after countless millions were squandered. But when the studio started to falter and box office numbers began to slide, it was the hard working artists who took the brunt of it, even though they had seen the folly all along and had been trying to raise the red flag. Blame was put everywhere except where it belonged, directly on the shoulders of the profit driven suits who were making all of there decisions based on fear and greed.....

Then in 2003, Roy Disney resigned, and sent an incredible letter to Michael Eisner and the Board of Directors. In it, Roy echoed my exact sentiments of where the company was heading. Here are a couple of quotes from that letter:

"consistent micro-management of everyone around you with the resulting loss of morale throughout the Company"

"The perception by all of our stakeholders-- consumers, investors, employees, distributors and suppliers-- that the Company is rapacious , soul-less, and always looking for the "quick buck" rather than long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust"

"The creative brain drain of the last several years, which is real and continuing, and damages our Company with the loss of every talented employee"

At that same time, Roy partnered with Stanley Gold and created the SaveDisney.com website. I'll keep this short, you can 'read all about it' all over the internet, but in short, over the next several months, Roy brought down Michael Eisner and ultimately Eisner was shamefully ousted from the company.

This all happened at precisely the same time that I left Disney and returned to Canada, to raise my son far away from the stifling corporate culture that was apparently strengthening. On my way out, I spoke to my colleagues, imploring them to get out while the getting was good. My warnings were almost word for word the same words that I read in Roy Disney's letter just months after my leaving.

And that was when I knew, that Roy was the real deal. A man of principle, willing to stand up, with his family, and fight the likes of Michael Eisner. My respect and admiration for him are of the very highest order. He was the last gasp of the true Disney legacy.

And so today I mourn a great man, and I pray that there is somebody in charge, somewhere in that massive corporate engine that is the Walt Disney Company, who can steer the behemoth in the right direction. With 'The Princess and the Frog' just coming out, it looks like the dream of the Disney Legacy, making marvelous, timeless cartoons, might actual live on. (I haven't seen the film yet, review coming shortly) And I believe that without the strength, conviction, vision and character of Roy Disney, the company may never have gotten back on track again.....

Blessings to you Roy, and to your family. As animation artists, we will carry your torch, forever. We will keep the light table fires burning, we will flip the pages, we will be true to our creative selves, and we will not allow corporate blindness to drive the creative engines of animation....

Elemental Magic Volume 2!!

Well, I have finally gotten the full green-light from my publisher, to move forward on my next book. It will be a far more in depth study of several key effects elements, and I will get in to a great deal more detail than I was able to in 'Elemental Magic'. In my first book, I was trying to touch on such a wide variety of effects elements that I was unable to get into as much detail as I really wanted to, although to its credit, 'Elemental Magic' got into effects in far more detail than has ever been published before.

The feedback from 'Elemental Magic' has been overwhelmingly positive, and I was delighted how happy animators all over the world, professionals and beginners were, to have an inspirational reference book opening up the 'secrets' behind animating the elements. The thirst for this knowledge is certainly out there, and I have had many requests for more of the same, but with requests for specific effects, such as splashes or fires, to be explained, illustrated and even animated, in step by step detail.

For that reason, my second book will include a DVD, which will feature live action footage of the author (that would be me...) actually animating in real time, and explaining, step by step, the reasoning, logic and creative process going into every stroke of the pencil, frame by frame. Design, timing, physics, stylization, perspective and drawing technique, will be demonstrated and explained with an on-going dialogue with the viewer. Clips from workshops and lectures will also be included, as well as clips of the actual animation effects drawing I have created live, in front of the camera, shot in sequence, so the viewer can see the work in motion. These will include various different frame rates and timing signatures, so the viewer can see clearly, how much a single frame (at 24 or 30 frames a second) can make or break a series of effects drawings.

I am just starting the work on this book. It's completion and release is scheduled for early 2011, which seems lake a long ways off now, but I know the time will fly by. I am currently holed up in a small home/studio, in a small town on Vancouver Island, where most of the work will be done. It is quiet, secluded, and peaceful. My social life here consists only of taking care of my aging Mother, Tommy, to whom this second installment of 'Elemental Magic' will be dedicated.

So please, send me your thoughts and ideas, and as many inspirational emails as you can! Requests for information on specific effects elements to be included in the book will all be considered. Visits from my friends and colleagues are more than welcome, as are links to cool web sites, and invitations to visit warm tropical places, or attend earth shattering cultural events.....

My purpose with this book, is to share, and spread creative energy into the world. I've discovered so far, that having a book published, unless it's a best seller, is not the road to riches. But the positive feedback I have received from friends, colleagues and 'Elemental Magic' fans the world over, is more than rewarding. It tickles me to my core, and inspires me to do more. so there you have it, and here it comes!

Stay tuned!