Mackmation Blog

Create wins "Best Student Animation" at the Savannah Film Festival!

2011-11-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

By far the greatest festival experience I've ever had. I got to watch Create with a happy crowd on my birthday, in the town I spent 4 years going to school in. I got to visit old friends, and meet new friends and incredibly talented fellow filmmakers.

As you may be able to see, I was quite happy with the outcome.

Create won "Best Student Animation" during the awards ceremony, and it completely blew me away. I was so pleased to have won, but I believe my speech was just giddy gibberish and amazement. The response at the reception I got from friends, filmmakers, producers, and professors was wonderful. It was such a good feeling.

A friend and amazing talent, Kirsten Lepore, won "Best Animation" with her film, Bottle. I also had a great time hanging out with Jason Carpenter, with his award winning film The Renter, and Chris Swanson, with the film he worked on, The Reality Clock. I was also able to speak with Christopher and Christine Kezelos, whose stop motion film The Maker blew me away. There is a great group of people in this industry.

Under-dressed with 3 incredibly important and vital people in the creation of Create. Thank you, Debra, Jeremy, and Jason.

ParaNorman - Trailer and poster revealed

2011-10-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

ParaNorman, the film I am working on at LAIKA, is now starting to be revealed to the world. It doesn't come out until August 2012, and there is still a bit of work to be done with it, but right now you can see what's to come.

It is looking amazing, and I am so proud to be helping out on it.

Create goes back to Savannah, also wins NYLA

2011-10-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Create is going back to his hometown of Savannah, GA!

While I was in school at SCAD, I would go to the Savannah Film Festival each year. It's a week long festival that always impresses. I now will now be going back, not just to attend, but to be part of the festival.

Create plays on my birthday, Nov. 4th, at Trustees Theater at 9:30am. http://filmfest.scad.edu/event/3185-2/

Also, I just found out Create won "Best Animation" at the NYLA International Festival in LA! That event to be held at The Whitefire Theater, on October 26th at 7:55pm.

LAIKA continues to an amazing experience. I now have 2 shots in the film. The feeling of actually being a piece of the film now is a great one.

CREATE making its way to film festivals!

2011-09-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Create is now being seen by people! Good!

I just got back from a quick flight to Austin, Texas for Fantastic Fest, which screened "Create" during its animation block. It had a very positive response, and was a blast to attend. I wish I could have stayed for more than 1 day of the week long festival, but sadly I'm woooorking. (It actually screened in 3 places on that Saturday (Sept. 24th) - Austin, Georgia, and Poland!)

Here is the current list of festivals showing CREATE

9/17 - Burbank International Film Festival - Burbank, CA (Official Selection)
9/24 - SCADanimate - Savannah, GA (School-wide animation showcase)
9/24 - Fantastic Fest - Austin, TX (Official Selection)
9/24 - Se-Ma-For Film Festival - Lodz, Poland (Official Selection)
10/20 - SoDak Animation Festival - Brookings, SD (Official Selection)

I shall try to keep this updated, as I am waiting to hear back from some and will be submitting it to many more.

Separately, CAMPFIRE made it to a festival too! Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival in Atlanta, GA

The past 3 months - Frankenhole and LAIKA

2011-09-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

Things have been intense since completing my film, Create, receiving a BFA in Animation at SCAD, and moving to LA. Everything keeps getting better.

Right after school, I was hired on as an Animator for the Adult Swim tv show, "Frankenhole." It was at the new LA studio, Starburns Industires Inc. I was able to work with a bunch of my friends from Robot Chicken there, so it was a blast.
(clip of season one if video doesn't load)

After great 2 months animating there, the season wrapped and I was ready for another step.

I am now working at a studio that has been a dream for me since I started animation: LAIKA

I am an Assistant Stop-Motion Animator on their new feature film, ParaNorman. It is an amazing project to be on, and I am extremely fortunate to be helping out.

More to come soon, especially now that Create is starting its Film Festival run!

"Create" is complete. Official.

2011-05-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Create, my senior film of 9 months, is complete.

This will be the only online presence of Create for a while, as I will be submitting it to a number festivals. I hope you guys enjoy the trailer!

Goodness I am tired...

"Campfire" finally done! (This is not my senior film)

2011-05-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

After over a year, I have finished "Campfire"! Most of this was made in 2 months back in 2010, as I blogged the making of here. Sorry for the delay. (Watch in HD!)

It's great to have this out now. Feels good.

On a "Create" side note, I am on the final stages of post production. It's funny comparing these two films, made a year apart, "Create" is going to be a big jump up.

Animation stage complete!

2011-05-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

Happily, I have finished the animation for, Create. (Other than titles)

Awwwww

It's been an intense 4 weeks of shooting. 30 shots total, done. Now I can get this equipment out of my room, and have a bed again. Nice.

One of the final shots I animate is actually the very first shot. A camera dolly through the laboratory, ending on the giant door, which bursts open revealing...

Here you can see the high-tech dolly system I rigged up for this baby. It consists of a 1 x 3 piece of wood, sliding incrementally against another 1x3 piece of wood. I did the camera move on ones, 1/8th of an inch each frame. It worked out quite well, given the materials.

I do have one shot to share, as it is just a test on a device that did not make it into the final film. It's a test of the beastly trash compactor! With the mad scientist ready to chuck all the duct tape I've used on this project into it.

Time for a short break, and then it is on to post! Thank you again tho those who actually read these things, it helps drive this whole blogging thing, as I find down the road this stuff is great to come back to.

-Dan

19 shots in! (out of 30)

2011-05-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Lots of work, but it is going quite well. More stills!

The lighting is designed by Austin Rink. He's really helping me get the look I want for this film.

I am loving the look and how it's coming together. Sure, I'm spending 12 hour nights animating a single shot, but after I pass out, wake up, and look at it, it's worth it.

Happy

Shots!

2011-04-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have eight shots completed! Here are a few stills:

Here is the set-up in my dorm room/studio.

As crammed as it is, everything is working out well so far.

More soon!

Animation has begun!

2011-04-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

Yes! I am finally underway on the animation for my senior film, "Create"!

I will not be posting much of my actual animation from now on, but I figured a little taste is good.

Also, I am shooting all of this in my tiny dorm room. Sacrificing a living space and bed frame for this baby... ;(

Demo Reel

2011-03-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here is my new stop motion demo reel. I am very happy with how I've grown as an animator in the past year.

Create - update 4: Finished Puppets and Sets!

2011-03-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

First, the puppets.
The real boy

The mad scientist boy

I really like how they are looking. Megan Miller did a great job on the clothes!

Any now, the two big sets!
Full room

Closet side

Desk side

Dubs.

I am especially happy with the lab. I cannot wait to see them both alive in the shot. There will be a few teaks of color and decor before animating begins in 1 month, but essentially these are the pieces for my senior film, Create.

Create - update 4: Colors!

2011-03-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

Well, mostly two colors... green and black!

The sets are up and painted, now I have begun on the props for both scenes. Two desks, two shelves, the boy's bed, a frankenstein bed, toys, dinosaurs, window trim, doors, and more!

Prop-master, Britain Cramer helping out!

Oh yeah, and puppet heads!

Next week I will have everything built! 100% Be ready for final puppet pictures and seeing the full sets!

Create - update 3: Puppet fabrication and set construction

2011-02-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

I've been making some good progress on the construction of the puppets and sets. It's been incredibly time-consuming, but seeing it piece together is a great feeling.

Starting with the puppets. I dipped the arms in Balloon Rubber, a thin liquid latex, mixed with some acrylic paint. The gloves are just separate dips of of the balloon rubber with different paint mixed in.

The heads are currently being painted, and the cloths are currently being sewn on by a friend of mine, Megan Miller.

And now, the sets! Goodness these babies are taking time.

Producer, Nick Reichard helping plan it out.

Attaching the wall supports.

I only had to build 2 set walls for my short "Campfire"... this one has 9!

So, the set structures themselves are completed. It is time to paint.

Create - update 2: Mold making and foam cutting

2011-02-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

I'm wearing band-aids on my thumb and index finger, due to all the contestant cutting and sculpting foam I have been doing with my 4 different scissors. It is intense...

But first! Before the foam-fest, I made the Create boy's head. Super Sculpey sculpt, baked, silicon mold, resin casting, sanding, and drilling.

Now with plenty of heads, back to the body!

The bodies are really taking shape now. Next step is adding the liquid latex skin! Oh, and clothes. He'll be needing those.

Create - update 1!

2011-02-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

Animatic - Check
Reference footage - Check!
Puppets - Okay!

I am now on the puppet fabrication side of things. From here on out it's the real time-consuming stuff for the short, but also the more fun for me, really making it.

Armatures 70% done

Totally just posed.

The armatures are feeling like they will definitely hold up for this animation. I was fortunate to have the design guidance and help from Dan Field, master puppet fabricator. He has been a huge help.

Overall, it is going well. I'm mostly on schedule, buut that whole schedule plan is more an "idealized" thing... right?

Senior film: CREATE

2011-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

I would like to introduce my Senior Film...

Create

It will be a 2 minute stop motion animation about a young mad scientist setting out to create a pet monster within parallel worlds of an imaginary labratory and the reality of the boy's bedroom.

I am deep into production at this moment. All pre-production is finalized, and I am into the more enjoyable building of things for the short. Many more updates to come very soon!

A new year

2011-01-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

2010 was the best year I've lived so far. Savannah, Campfire, France, Clouds, Allison, Ender, LA, Robot Chicken, Senior Project, Skywalker Ranch, TV, and Maine.

Let's see what you've got, 2011...

(Speaking of Campfire, it will be released soon... music rights are fun to get.)

Roby Chicks Pics - Christmas Special and Star Wars III!

2010-12-22T01:47:00.000-08:00

Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode III, which I animated on, just aired on Dec. 19th. It really turned out amazing. I am so proud to have been a part of it.

If you missed it, it is viewable online on it's official site here on Dec. 27th. It is also available on iTunes right now! 3 bucks. Deal.

And 2 weeks ago was the Robot Chicken Christmas Special. I animated a whole 4 seconds on it! Watch it streaming on adult swim here. (WARNING - blood, blood, and swears)

Robot Chicken Star Wars III

2010-12-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

I had the great opportunity to be an animator on the upcoming Robot Chicken Star Wars III. I just returned from the crew premier at Mr. Lucas' own Skywalker Ranch, and it was absolutely amazing. It airs Sunday, December 19th.

Nautical Boy HD

2010-11-20T06:36:00.000-08:00

A new 2D animated short I completed this quarter at SCAD. 2 month for 20 seconds... goodness.

Here's Nautical Boy!

Groove Me - Maximum Balloon music video

2010-10-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

My buddy Carlos Lopez Estrada directed a great music video for Maximum Balloon's new single, Groove Me. If you look closely, you can spot me in a few shots.

The sky time lapse that James Biscardi and I made, Le Ciel Roulant, was used as the primary green screen effect and can be seen in 90% of the shots in the video. Check out those beautiful clouds!

Also check out the Directors Cut of it!
It was featured on the front page of Vimeo.com!

SHINE - A music video

2010-08-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

There's a pretty long story behind this video, but I won't bore you with it...

Ok. Basically here is a music video I made for The Dirty Heads - Shine. Created in 2 months all within my dorm room a year and a half ago. I experimented with the idea of clay only being illuminated by black lights. The effect was a fun galactic-bowling glow feeling that I was extremely happy about.

The label wasn't though, and therefor was not used as they're official video. Ah well. Watching it again now, over a year later, I still and overall quite happy with it. A few issues, yes (the live action of the band wasn't great video quality, and they never played the song Shine in the footage, I just edited them playing other songs to match) but I am happy to show it off now.

Finally, some footage to show

2010-08-05T20:15:00.001-07:00

Hello!

I finally cut something together to show on the interwebs for "Campfire." It's a nice little trailer, that gives you a glimpse of the animation and the feel of the short.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3-OQipwLmc

The whole short film SHOULD be done by now, but life has kept me busy. Living in France for 2 months, now in LA for the summer, it's crazy. Good news is that I am officially working at ShadowMachine, working on a little show called "Robot Chicken." It's been going great.

Campfire will be completed, someday. In the mean-time, enjoy this little trailer!

Where I've been...

2010-06-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

There has not been that much news in terms of Campfire, sadly, but there is a reason for that. The past two months I have been studying abroad in southern France with 60 other SCAD students. It was probably the best decision of my life to go there.

Since I was not taking any animation courses while I was there, I needed to get my video-making fix. I teamed up with my friend, James Biscardi (master photographer) to create an epic time-lapse of the area we were staying in. You may recognize some very known french monuments hidden in there as well.

So here it is! Le Ciel Roulant / The Rolling Sky

Le Ciel Roulant / The Rolling Sky - A time lapse of France from Dan MacKenzie on Vimeo.

A plug for a friend's film

2010-03-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from "Campfire" for a moment to plug a sweet stop motion project by some animation friends of mine: "Line".

Justin and Shel Rasch are the duo behind the stop motion short, "Gerald's Last Day".

They Have a new animation in the works, currently titled, "Line." It looks great, and they have been blogging the whole production process on it on their blog here.

What they could use though, is a bit of inve$ting to finish up the film. Click the image below to check out some clips of Line, and learn how you can help out the project. They're offering great memorabilia from their work, like sculptures, DVDs, ect., along with supporter credit in the final short. Check it out!

As for little Benjamin campfire boy, he's relaxing at the moment. I'm traveling over to France in 2 days, so I'll hopefully have a bit of time to finish the final cut soon. Sound design is being worked on as well.

Goodbye, forest set.

2010-03-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

I had the move out of my dorm to go back home, and out went the set, too. It was sad to break it apart, but I was able to salvage an important section...
Benjamin the campfire boy made it home safely... but not all of the set was safe:
Lighting rig for the fire glow.
Lost footage of the forest set in its natural habitat...

I animated the film.

2010-03-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

Finished shooting! 10 hours straight to shoot the big final shot. It's worth it.

Now it is time to edit, this will be my first full HD short film.

Just a matter of days now...

55 seconds animated...

2010-03-08T00:10:00.000-08:00

Over half the animation is shot, and it's looking quite good. Already this is the best piece of work I've done, so that's cool.

Jumpin' rig.
He is not pleased at all about this.
This was posed.
A peek at some animation:

All in all, I am very pleased with how things are going. I am looking to have this finished within the week... wish me luck!

Animation begins!

2010-03-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

Eyes are heavy... but the animation is coming along very well. I officially have 15 seconds complete!

A few stills of the finished set:

And a little video tour:

A few stills from the film... no footage for you.

Woods set progress.

2010-03-01T15:03:00.001-08:00

Trees. Paintin' a couple of trees.

Terribly unhappy at work.Quick test shot for tree placement.
whoops.I am planning to finish the set by tomorrow, it's starting to really take shape now.
The animation stage is so close...

Puppet Complete!

2010-02-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

Awesome mini-outfit sewn by Courtney Brooke Vaughan!
He loves his new pants.
Finished Campfire Boy (Benjamin? Gregory?) puppet!
I am super happy with how he turned out... I can't wait to make him come alive.
But first... I must finish the set:

"Campfire" Puppet progress and more!

2010-02-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Everything's going pretty well! But it's all about to pick up speed. Almost finished with the puppet, and have begun work on the set and props.
Mr. Campfire boy (name?) checking out his 3 resin skulls.

Roughed out body and heads. Three replacement heads: Happy, Sad/confused, and Mad. In this picture they're all pretty happy. It's about time for some latex skin and mini-clothes!

My friend Courtney is working on sewing the mini-flannel shirt and pants. She's got some skills!
Two 2' by 4' wooden floor pieces for the set, along with the construction of the tent.

This project is already effecting my home-life:
Beginning to make my bedroom my stop motion studio... !

"Campfire" Progress: Puppet.

2010-02-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

I am happy how the puppet's coming together. This little guy is my first none-clay full character I've created, and so far I'm happy with how he's coming along. It's going to be nice not having to smooth out the clay each frame on this one!
3 resin skull molds.
Final armature.
What good buddies.

Adding some foam to him. Foam sculpting fun.

"Fix." experimental animation v.1

2010-01-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

Here's an experimental animation I'm working on. I may expand on it. Less copyrighted song, more sound and animation to it. For now, here it is, "Fix." version 1.

UPDATE:
I finished it, adding a couple new shots, watch it here!

"Campfire" Stop motion animation production 1: Jan 24, 2010

2010-01-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

I have begun a new animated short film! The current title is "Campfire." I will try to post updates on it as I go on, along with various other things I make.
Campfire is a story of a young boy camping alone who is trying to start a nice little campfire. He does not do a good job. The end!

I have finished the storyboards and animatic, now comes the building process.

And I have also sculpted the maquette of the main character, picture above. He is baked super sculpey, painted. The final puppet will be foam and fabric.

Stay tuned!
-Dan MacKenzie
www.Mackmation.com

Just a test!

2009-11-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

Heyya, this is just a test for the blog. Mainly made it so I can comment on other's sweet blogs.

Check out my animation work at http://www.mackproductions.net/ and http://www.mackmation.com/ !!!

Thank you, and take care.

-Dan MacKenzie