Animator/director Nick Hilligoss

I discovered Australian animator/director Nick Hilligoss some years back because of his archive of stop-motion and model making.

Nick has made many films over the years and has won some awards. It is not too surprising that a lot of the films contain animals when you hear that Nick works for the Natual History department of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Shots from Nick's films:
Once upon Australia
Turtle world
Good riddance

His latest project is also stop-motion with a fantasy theme with caves and dragons. Nick gives us a sneak preview with videos of how he built the dragons' head and the cave. The techniques although very impressive use simple materials and tools so could be reproduced by anyone with a kitchen table or small workshop



Nick's examples and tutorials of set building, puppet making, camera and lighting rigs can be viewed at http://www.picturetrail.com/hilligossnic

More of Nick's films, a bio on Nick from ABC and on Stopmotionworks.

Carrara 8

Even though I've not yet moved to Carrara 7, those people over at DAZ3D have been working on a new version 8.



Carrara 8:

* Multi Threading
* FBX Export Updates
* COLLADA import/export Updates
* Multi Leaf Objects
* God Rays
* Barn Doors for Spotlights
* Puppeteer Animation Tool

Carrara 8 Pro:

* 64-bit versions for Mac and PC
* Edit Figure in Vertex Modeler without the need to Zero Figure
* Network Rendering Improvements
* Negative Lights
* IES Lighting
* Normal Maps
* Bullet Physics Engine - Rigid Body and Dynamic Cloth

There are also a few videos to demonstrate the features



Daz3D are also giving away a few copy as a prize in their Bullet Physics Competition

Funding opportunity for film makers

Some news via Short and Sweet.

IdeasTap has launched Ideas Fund Shorts, £40,000-worth of funding to help young people realise their short film projects. Eight awards of £5,000 are being offered to anyone aged between 16-25 to create a five minute short film. Recognising the lack of funding for young people within the arts, and the endless application forms and hassle to secure what funding there is, IdeasTap created the Ideas Fund to make it easier for young people to get their creative projects off the ground. Along with the website, www.ideastap.com, IdeasTap is dedicated to providing opportunities for up-and-coming creative talent. Alongside the launch of Ideas Fund Shorts, IdeasTap is also launching the second round of Ideas Fund Innovators; ten awards of £1,000 for creative ideas from any discipline. The deadline for both funds is 29th March 2010.

Animation for Christmas 2009

There's a good range of animation on this Christmas. I watched the Nightmare before Christmas the other day and there are a few specials and premieres. So I decided to list a few that I've found. If I've missed anything of significance please let me know.

Christmas Eve

10:25am Curious George (2006) on ITV1 and Home on the Range (2004) on BBC1
4:25pm Over the Hedge (2006) BBC1 followed by Shrek 2 at 5:45pm
5:15pm Creature Comforts on ITV1 and Corpse Bride (2005) at 6pm

Christmas Day

Channel 5 has animation for younger viewers until 10:20 with one of my favourites "Little Princess" is on at 9:10am.
The Polar Express (2004) is on ITV1 at 1:10pm
The Incredibles (2004) on BBC1 at 3:10pm on BBC1
Happy Feet (2006) Premiere's on BBC2 at 3:40pm
I found Shrek the Halls just a little too silly but if you missed it before or want to see it again it's on BBC1 at 4:55pm.
A half hour BBC Special "The Gruffalo" is on BBC1 at 5:30pm Christmas Day.

Boxing Day

Technically not an animation but one of the films that inspired me due to it's puppetry and animatronics, The NeverEnding Story (1984) is on ITV3 at 1:35.
Aardman's first venture into CGI, Flushed Away (2006) is on BBC1 at 3pm with more Aardman at 4:40pm with Wallace and Grommit Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
A repeat of the Gruffalo on BBC3 at 7pm.

27th December

Chicken Run (2000) 3:05pm BBC1

New Year's Eve

BBC1 seems to dominate the Animation listings for New Year's Eve starting with The Magic Roundabout (2004) at 9:55am. Then the Premiere of The Ant Bully (2006) at 12:40pm and finally Madagascar (2005) on BBC1 4pm.

New Year's Day

The Disney classic, The Sword in the Stone (1963) is on BBC1 at 9:45am
Shark Tale (2004) BBC1 1:55pm
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) ITV1 at 2:50pm

There are also Creature Comforts scattered through the ITV listings through the Christmas period and there's a few muppet films too.

Info from tvguide.co.uk

Stop Motion Stuff

I spotted this morning that I've been neglecting the animation ramblings blog so here's a quick post with a selection of Stop Motion Links that I've found over the years.

Modellers / filmakers
Jan-Eric Nyström
Marc Spess
Interview with Jim Rohn
Jeremy Spake
Scarlet star studios
Larry Loc
Menagerie Productions

Materials
Sculpey
Trylon

Armatures
Armaverse
Gryphyn
Animation toolkit
Textbook Industries
Animation Supplies
King Kong Armature

How to make models
Tom Brierton on Foam Puppets
Scarlet Star Studios - stop-motion puppet construction
Stop Motion Works

Miscellaneous
Using an armature as a input device
Animatronics