tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post115393871569887421..comments2023-09-11T01:08:04.956-07:00Comments on The Blackwing Diaries: My goat, gottenJenny Lerewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06668171465801333811noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-10627680987864344572008-06-06T20:14:00.000-07:002008-06-06T20:14:00.000-07:00"Who drew the goat graphic at the start of the art...<I>"Who drew the goat graphic at the start of the article?"</I><BR/><BR/><B>Anonymous</B>: I did--and very quickly. I had to have <I>something</I> to illustrate my essay.Jenny Lerewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668171465801333811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-32724887568787593312008-06-06T20:08:00.000-07:002008-06-06T20:08:00.000-07:00Who drew the goat graphic at the start of the arti...Who drew the goat graphic at the start of the article?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-46146556025819165402008-05-18T23:08:00.000-07:002008-05-18T23:08:00.000-07:00Hi,How do I get in direct contact with the blogger...Hi,<BR/>How do I get in direct contact with the blogger, without doing a 'published comment' (yes, I'm a techno-phobe). I have a question about the cartoon goat. (A bit off-topic, but my reasons are sound).<BR/>Flossy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-39449011061716173522008-04-26T06:12:00.000-07:002008-04-26T06:12:00.000-07:00Monster House doesn't appeal to me that much story...Monster House doesn't appeal to me that much story wise so I haven't seen it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154471518081696642006-08-01T15:31:00.000-07:002006-08-01T15:31:00.000-07:00I find his somewhat condescending reply as amusing...I find his somewhat condescending reply as amusing as his original text.<BR/><BR/>"Thank you for a thoughtful message. I appreciate it. (Don't agree with it, any of it, but I appreciate being accurately quoted and not being cursed at.)"<BR/><BR/>I wonder how, in the face of overwhelming evidence against his point, he can expect anyone to take him seriously with that reply.<BR/><BR/>It would be prudent to investigate further, take advantage of a great wealth of knowledge about the topic and for crying out loud, be a grown up and say "I erred in my assessment". He has the opportunity to educate and instead, misinforms and stands by it on what I can only assume is principal alone.<BR/><BR/>In the end I guess he could attempt to claim it is a matter of opinion. It would just be nice to see someone own up for once.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154466846696061802006-08-01T14:14:00.000-07:002006-08-01T14:14:00.000-07:00Holy Moly! I'm going to copy all these comments an...Holy Moly! I'm going to copy all these comments and your post and read them on paper away from the computer screen. Thoroughly.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the stimulating discourse. I really enjoy hearing all these shades of opinion. The art and craft of animation deserves the attention and respect.the doodlershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550185004249639693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154439608405444162006-08-01T06:40:00.000-07:002006-08-01T06:40:00.000-07:00have to agree that the reviewer is missing somethi...have to agree that the reviewer is missing something. It's always my opinion that you can't fight technology. There's a validity to motion capture, but I think there's obviously something lost about the strong design of keyframe animation. Bluth overutilized rotoscoping in some of his films. It takes a really knowledgeable animator to make rotoscoping or mocap work convincingly in an animated world. Honestly, Monster House doesn't appeal to me that much story-wise, so I haven't seen it. There's a lot of animated content out there these days, and precious few of it really makes me excited.MisterZoobadoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06332187536236199330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154438082956200072006-08-01T06:14:00.000-07:002006-08-01T06:14:00.000-07:00very sad indeed!very sad indeed!Jotodohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14812350078008535756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154400669928112612006-07-31T19:51:00.000-07:002006-07-31T19:51:00.000-07:00Congrats Jenny, you were quoted on BoingBoing toda...Congrats Jenny, you were quoted on BoingBoing today!Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08013378967522569657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154383477388743102006-07-31T15:04:00.000-07:002006-07-31T15:04:00.000-07:00In response to Mike Fontanelli’s idea that today’s...In response to Mike Fontanelli’s idea that today’s critics are chosen via Ouija board, he’s on the right track, but the facts are more dire.<BR/><BR/>To be a successful writer in today’s marketplace, you really don’t need to know anything. Most Americans who can read, if they read at all, read mainly to be entertained. Knowledge is boring. Outrageousness is in!<BR/><BR/>Consider some of today’s success stories, major and minor:<BR/><BR/>1. Ann Coulter<BR/>The girl is outrageous! Plus she’s every conservative’s inner seventh-grader. The rest of us had to grow up, but she gets to stay on the playground forever.<BR/><BR/>2. Scott Foundas (L.A. Weekly)<BR/>Pretentious and humor-blind, but writes elegant sentences. Other critics hate him, but he’s guaranteed success, mainly because he’s proved himself ruthless enough to push almost every other critic off the page in less than a year. Never liked The Princess Bride, “even as a child”.<BR/><BR/>Now consider my teeny-tiny success story. (I write a column about animated shorts for a trade magazine, and they keep asking me back every month.) How did I get my job? I replaced the previous critic, whom the editors didn’t like. How do I keep my job? Editors like my prose. End of story. And what research am I required to perform every month before writing my column? Zip-ola. That’s all up to me.<BR/><BR/>Ladies and gentlemen, give no thought to this stupid profession of ours. There are thirty million copies of the Incredibles DVD out there. That means thirty million copies of the dinner sequence. They’ll be saved. They’ll be re-watched endlessly. They’ll be dug up by archaeologists 700 years from now and enjoyed again. Most if not all copies of the Chronicle, on the other hand, have already gone to the big blue bin down by the curb and will never be seen again. <BR/><BR/>Priorities, people! Go make art! Piss on us chatterers. We are terrified of making a mistake, so we don’t take risks. You’re terrified too – and you jump off the cliff anyway. You rock.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154382565159647382006-07-31T14:49:00.000-07:002006-07-31T14:49:00.000-07:00I have not seen it mentioned here or anywhere in t...I have not seen it mentioned here or anywhere in this discussion. But for the general public, it's the story, fool. I made a point not to see Polar Express because of the 'look', but take Tarzan - it was crap! storywise, hand-animated or not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154361467874982432006-07-31T08:57:00.001-07:002006-07-31T08:57:00.001-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Jenny Lerewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668171465801333811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154361457524032392006-07-31T08:57:00.000-07:002006-07-31T08:57:00.000-07:00Mike--I've fallen off?! Where the heck have you b...Mike--<I>I've</I> fallen off?! Where the heck have you been these last 12 years?! <BR/><BR/>Seriously, it's like you went to consumer products heaven or whatnot and left animation flat! What the hell! Jim S. is down the hall from me--aren't we lucky where I work? Thanks for the kind sentiments!<BR/>P.S. add Manny Farber to that list, too--it's a good one.Jenny Lerewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06668171465801333811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154346852648440942006-07-31T04:54:00.000-07:002006-07-31T04:54:00.000-07:00one of my favorite characters in the animated litt...one of my favorite characters in the animated little girl in 'grave of the fireflies.' so darling, and then horribly sad!<BR/>because i'm not an animator, I didn't view "monster house" from the view of an animator. Plus, I did not know it was a motion-captured movie. Anyway, I was really awed by the animation, cinematography, and the pacing of the movie. Chowder's expressions and delivery were especially fun to see. It's just sad that reviewer felt the need to bash other forms of animation to praise 'monster house.'José-Luishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15274167924970440064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154344856920580002006-07-31T04:20:00.000-07:002006-07-31T04:20:00.000-07:00Hi Jenny!Nice response to that unenlightened boob ...Hi Jenny!<BR/><BR/>Nice response to that unenlightened boob who suggested that Disney animators needed motion capture programs. He should be writing seed catalogs instead of movie reviews. <BR/>I think you might be wasting your time, though - something about casting pearls before swine...<BR/> <BR/>Once upon a time, a body had to earn his stripes to be a film critic, or a literary or theatrical one. I don't know how they pick them now - I think they use a Ouija board or something. <BR/>You can't go two feet on the web without tripping over a self-proclaimed "critic" who's never seen a black & white film all the way through, unless you count music videos. Many are culturally ignorant, and a few are even sub-literate. What a nosedive from a profession that once gave us George Bernard Shaw and James Agee. <BR/><BR/>P.S: <BR/>It's nice to see your drawings again. I thought you'd fallen off the face of the planet! I like your blog...<BR/> <BR/>Mike FontanelliAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154297732948435282006-07-30T15:15:00.000-07:002006-07-30T15:15:00.000-07:00your blogs are really cool!your blogs are really cool!ysengrinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12696233823857763135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154221474276336712006-07-29T18:04:00.000-07:002006-07-29T18:04:00.000-07:00I haven't seen this posted yet, so I'll add the fo...I haven't seen this posted yet, so I'll add the following. As amazing as it seems to animation folk, some people in the general public can not "read" animation or cartoon characters in general. Cartoon faces, after all, are a collection symbols most people learn to interpret as a "face" when they are small. If they are lucky, they'll learn to relate to that collection of moving line symbols as a character. Many people do not, which I think is one of the reasons why animation is not considered an adult media in the US. In Japan, for example, their alphabete is a set of icongraphs, which allows them to be more symbol friendly and also explains their more abstract, puppet like character designs. <BR/><BR/>I'd say this critic, like a lot of people, can read the "3d" animation better than he/she can the "2d" variety. Which IMO is more likely the source of this kerfluffle. <BR/><BR/>E.T. BryanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154186808198639952006-07-29T08:26:00.000-07:002006-07-29T08:26:00.000-07:00http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=38664...http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=386645Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154102923952876182006-07-28T09:08:00.000-07:002006-07-28T09:08:00.000-07:00Waht about examples from more recent 2D movies? I...Waht about examples from more recent 2D movies? I truly enjoy subtle facial expressions... Like Jane blushing in "Tarzan", Lilo's silence in "Lilo and Stitch" and Jim's disappointment when he thinks Silver's left him behind, in "Treasure Planet".<BR/><BR/>Actually, Jim's body language made that movie for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154098539920415582006-07-28T07:55:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:55:00.000-07:00Some people's kids shouldn't be allowed near a key...Some people's kids shouldn't be allowed near a keyboard...warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09034823254751468446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154097238419157832006-07-28T07:33:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:33:00.000-07:00see also:Jeff Pidgeon's response:http://pidgeonblo...see also:<BR/><BR/>Jeff Pidgeon's response:<BR/>http://pidgeonblog.typepad.com/pidgeonblog/2006/07/film_critics_do.html<BR/><BR/>Jaime Weinman's response:<BR/>http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2006/07/cartoon-cluelessness.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154076080398593942006-07-28T01:41:00.000-07:002006-07-28T01:41:00.000-07:00While I obviously agree that this guy is on crack ...While I obviously agree that this guy is on crack I think it's interesting how everybody's up in arms about this while there are very similar prejudices against the medium of games amongst many animators.<BR/><BR/>Almost everyone I know sees it as a stepping stone to features with no room for acting outside cutscenes... whereas I (as an animator) see it as a largely unexplored area of storytelling with enormous potential, because of, not despite its interactivity.<BR/><BR/>So as we demand respect for this art form we should not forget to extend the same courtesy to others.NDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09178478319847840168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154035368835801822006-07-27T14:22:00.000-07:002006-07-27T14:22:00.000-07:00From Felix The Cat to Wallace And Gromit these car...From Felix The Cat to Wallace And Gromit these cartoons have had more expression and heart than Monster House. I don't get it. Why are all the feature cartoons being done as CG films?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154026788937758912006-07-27T11:59:00.000-07:002006-07-27T11:59:00.000-07:00Good grief. That stuff shows that somebody doesn't...Good grief. That stuff shows that somebody doesn't know squat about movies. Monster House is fine, if a bit dark, but I kenned the mo-cap right off. The sets were great, the style admirable, but as for it being animation... well, I don't think so. <BR/>Nothing to see, indeed. What about Hogarth talking to the Giant about death? There was a nice mix of drawn and modelled animation, and both figures were entirely emotive. Bugs Bunny's look of pleasurable mischief is a keeper, too.<BR/>Go get 'em, Jenny. They shall not pass!<BR/><BR/>-JoshAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19218379.post-1154021541353786052006-07-27T10:32:00.000-07:002006-07-27T10:32:00.000-07:00I agree with everyone's opinion here about the cri...I agree with everyone's opinion here about the critic's review being nonsensical and ignorant. One of the things that really drives me nuts though is the fact that most people ( animators, general public, and critics included) write this movie off as entirely "performance capture". A lot of tallented animators worked on this movie and yes it's primarily Mocaped...but a lot of things aside from the House ( which I thought was animated quite well...by hand.) simply cannot be mocaped. You'd be suprised how many keyframed scenes were in this movie. Ok just wanted to get that off my chest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com