real time animation

Arido Taurajo

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

Arido Taurajo

An International collaboration that brought disciplines together, creating a production that embraces new music composing and film techniques.

(ALYSIA http://tryalysia.com/ : Automated LYrical Songwriting Application) was recently used to create an Italian aria that was filmed in virtual reality.

We trained our songwriting system on Puccini music, calling the resulting system ROBOCCINI. James Morgan (Faculty at the Department of Art and Art History at SJSU) then collaborated with ROBOCCINI to create the following Italian aria.

The aria tells the story of a female warrior from World of War Craft, struggling to balance her family life with the call to adventure.

The machine learning system used to make the melody is created by Maya Ackerman, David Loker, and Chris Cassion.

We are currently submitting the film to festivals.

Singer: Maya Ackerman

Director, lyrics, roboccini collaborator: James Morgan

Music accompaniment: Nicolas Mauthes

Machinima cinematographer: Chantal Harvey

Italian translation: Matteo Leva

Melody: Roboccini

Puppeteering: David Henderson, James Morgan, Chantal Harvey

Film editor: Chantal Harvey

Tony Dyson, my personal memorial tribute.

/ ChantalHarvey / 5 Comments

In memory of Anthony John Dyson (1947 – 2016)
Best known for being R2-D2s ‘Dad’.

BBC Archives (1984) showing THIS

His website is gone, but archived here.
His facebook page.

Tony was honoured at the BAFTA 2017 ceremony.  The British Academy of Film and Television Arts gave credits to the man that created R2D2 for Star Wars, and one of my own photographs was used for this. (with permission, of course!). Aired on BBC television on February 12, 2017. He would have loved this!

In memory of Tony Dyson

tonydyson-©chantalharvey-adieu

Special Effects Designer
13 April 1947 to 3 March 2016

A British special effects designer and expert in robotics, Dyson’s first film job came designing the jetpacks for Moonraker (1979). He was best known for the R2-D2 robots for Star Wars (1977), which included remote control versions, stunt versions, and models that could seat performer Kenny Baker.

I worked with Tony since 2011, we met online in Second Life, and he agreed to be head of jury for the 48 Hour Film Project Machinima. We soon started creating machinima together, which he called ‘real time animation’. In 2013 we met in Malta, and I quit my day-job to work full-time on producing animated shorts and e-books with Tony. We met again in Finland for the Robotics conference, and later in Gozo, Xlendi, where we rented an office together.

Tony was more than a tutor, he was my inspiration and best friend. There are plenty of stories to tell about him, and our projects, but today I will share a personal memory.

Today, March 7th, 2016 – just 6 days before his 69th birthday – his ashes will be spread in Gozo.

To honor Tony, and the bond we had, I am sharing the only photograph that shows both of us together (I took hundreds of photo’s of Tony) and a poem he wrote for me, years ago.

ChantalHarvey-TonyDyson-GOZO-2014

 

Dawn has gone
Dusk is upon us once again
Swallows are resting
Bats are hunting
The Night Angels prepare our spirits for flight

Only our soul knows the true journey ahead
Only our soul knows our deepest desires
So listen to my voice and see my dreams unfold
For I will be heard above life’s din
I am mortal of flesh and bone and will have my time before I die
To see the colors of the rainbow up high

Touch me not with gold so bright,
Touch me not with ebony so dark
Touch me not with marble so cold
Touch me not with hands so eager
But touch my heart with love and truth and I will be yours for ever, Chantal.

AJD

Victoria-tonydyson-chantalharvey©

tonydyson-angrybird-chantalharvey-gozo-xlendi

tonydyson-©chantalharvey-adieu

tonydyson-chantalharvey-victoria

Tony Dyson.

/ ChantalHarvey / 1 Comment

Au revoir, Tony Dyson.
Tony passed away on March 2, 2016.

©ChantalHarveyIMG_7078

 

I am thankful for the years we worked together and everything that he taught me, and for the inspirational roller-coaster ride that started when we met in Second Life in 2011.

Tony became my friend, teacher and business partner and we started a film production company called Scissores, producing machinima or as Tony called it: Real Time Animation.

Tony became head of jury when I produced the 48 Hour Film Project Machinima.
After working together online for 2 years,  we met in Finland and later in Gozo (Malta) and started working on educational and promotional machinima shorts and a book ‘Clive & Sue and the Medieval Farm’.
We created The Bobbekins movie, an animated short film, which I will be submitting to festivals soon.
While carrying on with our machinima work, nobody will miss you as much as I do.
With a different view on the world since we met, I thank you for re-activating the artist in me.

Some of our films:
Their time will come
It’s great to be alive
Robotworld, Sam and Sam
Android Love
Artists in the desert

November brings new adventures.

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

November 2015, and I find myself working on 2 projects, getting back into machinima – full speed ahead!
First one is an assignment by Empire.Kred – my cool cat will tell you all about this social media booster!

And;

Robi is entangled in a brand new adventure, this time in a famous location in Second Life, the Petrovsky Flux, created by the Spencer museum of Art in Kansas. Will she find a new head? 2 Still shots, taken from my editline ….

robi2.6-chantalharvey-machinima-2015

 

robi2.4-chantalharvey-machinima-2015

video capture freeware

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

Let me share a nice list with freeware – testing them to see if we can use them for machinima. Your thoughts/reviews are welcome, of course!

I tested Apowersoft Screen Capture, which was a free offer for a day – but found it had low framerate and no audio. see TEST

However, there is a free web based Apowersoft online screen recorder too.

freeware VIDEO CAPTURE :
Icecream Screen Recorder –
CamStudio Portable –
ActivePresenter Free Edition –  (Record full motion video)
Fast & Easy Screen Recorder –
SMRecorder –
Screen2Avi –

TMUnderground contributes: check out screencastomatic.

 

COLUMBIA GORGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

Vancouver, Washington – USA
August 14 to 18, 2013

UPCOMING DEADLINE
March 18, 2013 – Late Deadline

The 5th Annual COLUMBIA GORGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (CGIFF).

CGIFF

A unique and fast-growing community arts and culture festival, CGIFF brings together filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, and artists from around the world to participate in a free-to-attend and open-to-all event packed with screenings, workshops, and panels, right in the heart of beautiful Vancouver, Washington.

CGIFF showcases a variety of local, national, and international films, exhibiting a broad range of work about current affairs and relevant topics that directly affect communities. The Festival welcomes student, independent, and professional works of all genres, and features red carpet premieres, screenings with Q&As, and live music showcases. CGIFF also honors films, filmmakers, and screenwriters with a number of awards for outstanding achievement. In its first four seasons, CGIFF has presented over $20,000 USD worth of cash and prizes.

CGIFF is a non-profit project from Angaelica, an arts- and ecology-oriented collaborative designed to promote the ability of individual communities to achieve powerful social good. Angaelica’s efforts support artists, collaborative projects, and ecologically sound farming, all under the banner of creating a stronger, healthier, more interconnected global culture.

Click here to SUBMIT your work

Scratch International Film Festival

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

Scratch! International Animation Film Festival – (2nd Edition)

14/15 June 2013 – Lecce (Italy)
Scratch! is an International Animation Film Festival at second edition open to short movies (max. 20 min).

Scratch

 

This festival is exclusively an animation festival
Three competitive categories:
1) 3d/VFX.
2) traditional animation, 2d digital animation, mixed media, stop motion.
3) Music Videos.
Scratch! will take place in Lecce, Italy
Submission is free!

Deadline 30th of April 2013.

Website
Email
Twitter

The MARFA FILM FESTIVAL

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

Marfa, Texas – USA
June 26 to 30, 2013

March 11, 2013 – Regular Deadline

MFF - the Marfa Film Festival by Chantal Harvey

The Marfa Film Festival, set in gorgeous Texas, has become a beacon for amazing filmmakers, industry, and press from around the world.

As a non-competitive film festival, the MMF Marfa Film Festival offers no first place prizes and selects no winners, instead offering selected films a remarkable screening experience and the opportunity to forge connections with audiences and artists in a variety of disciplines. Festival alumni have gone on to earn numerous awards including Oscars, Emmys, and top honors at festivals around the world. In previous years, MFF has honored Dennis Hopper, Larry McMurtry, Lou Reed, and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. At MFF, films are screened one-at-a-time, ensuring each selected participant benefits from the full attention he or she deserves.

They accept Narratives, Documentaries, Animated Films, and Music Videos of any genre, addressing any topic. Films must screen within defined runtimes, detailed below. Marfa Film Festival places no restriction on an entry’s production date or premier status. We also welcome abandoned classics from decades past and never before seen indies.

Thanks to MFF’s remote location and low pollution, visitors are treated to screening experiences they simply won’t find anywhere else, including night-time cinema celebrations under a blanket of stars thicker than most attendees have ever seen. At its core, MFF represents a blend of cowboy, auteur, and home-grown artistic cultures that continues to blaze its own trail along the festival landscape. The result is a unique kind of magic that pulls visitors back again and again.

Submit your work HERE

ACTION/CUT SHORT FILM COMPETITION

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

August 15 to September 1, 2013

Action/Cut Short Film Competition

March 15, 2013 – Regular Deadline
May 15, 2013 – Late Deadline

The 10th annual Action/Cut Short Film Competition, is a celebration of filmmaking that’s been lauded by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “Top 10 Shorts Festivals in the World.”

Action/Cut offers meetings with some of Hollywood’s hardest-working players, including directors, producers, agents, and distributors, and over 100 prizes collectively valued at more than $25,000 USD.

Doing away with traditional film festival structure, Action/Cut accepts all submitted entries into its competition and allows every film to be screened by industry juries. Open to shorts under 30 minutes in runtime across five categories — Fiction Live Action, Student Films, Documentaries, Animation, Music Videos — success at Action/Cut isn’t dictated by some predetermined criteria or by star power, but by a film’s quality and a filmmaker’s skill. Rather than screen its films in a theater environment that limits audience access, Action/Cut streams its winning films around the world, making each film available year-round at the competition’s website.

Submit to Action/Cut today!

Click HERE for entry form

KLIK – Amsterdam Animation Festival 2013

/ ChantalHarvey / Leave a comment

Breaking news for animators:

KLIK has just opened this year’s competitions for animated shorts in the categories Professional, Student, Commissioned and 3-D Stereoscopic animation! Your entry will also automatically compete for the Amsterdam Audience Award, the Young Amsterdam Audience Award and the Political Animation Award. So don’t wait and get those animated beauties to their office, pronto! Submit your film online via klikamsterdam.nl.

Scissores about KLIK

Scissores about KLIK

P.S. Don’t forget to decorate your envelope to have a shot at the Most Awesome Envelope Award!

KLIK 2013 entry:

#1 Read our Agreement and Procedure carefully.

#2 Fill out the online entry form.
#3 Send us a screener of your film via the old-fashioned mail (see our post address below) or via a Youtube/Vimeo link (include it in the online entry form) before July 1st.

For questions regarding your submission, please contact films@klikamsterdam.nl

The selection results will be published in August. In case your film gets selected we’ll ask you in August for a master copy of your film that complies with our Film Specs.

Postal adress:
KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival
Postbus 14626
1001 LC Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Please notice:
Parcels and envelopes send by courier (DHL, FedEx etc.) instead of regular mail will not arrive at our PO box. If you do want to send it by courier please use our office address:

KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival
Haparandadam 7-5
1013 AK Amsterdam
The Netherlands