I couldn’t resist to share this. Here’s an organizational chart of the
WALT DISNEY COMPANY of how a story starts from
Walt all the way down to the final preview in the the theaters.
I hope you find it as interesting as I did.
To View Larger Click Here!
Leon Theremin (1896)
In 1919, in the midst of the Russian Civil War, Theremin invented the musical instrument that bears his name. The theremin is an electronic device that resonates sound when its operator waves his hands near its two antennas. It was the first musical instrument designed to be played without being touched.
He invented the theremin (also called the thereminvox) in 1919, when his country was in the midst of the Russian Civil War. After a lengthy tour of Europe, during which he demonstrated his invention to full audiences, Theremin found his way to the United States. He performed the theremin with the New York Philharmonic in 1928. He patented his invention in 1929 (U.S. Patent 1,661,058 ) and subsequently granted commercial production rights to RCA.
To play the theremin, the player moves his hands around the two metal antennas, which control the instrument’s frequency (pitch) and amplitude (volume). The theremin is widely associated with “alien,” surreal, and eerie-sounding portamento, glissando, tremolo, and vibrato sounds, due to its use in film soundtracks such as Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks! and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Theremins are also used in art music (especially avant-garde and 20th century “new music”) and in popular music genres such as rock and pop.
Rick Kirkman One of the Creators of the Comic Strip “Baby Boom”.
See the video at the bottom of this post!
In the summer of 2006, Jerry and I worked on a Christmas series that lasted a month, running from Thanksgiving until Christmas of ‘06. One of the aspects of this series was that it included the use of dozens of gifts as props and background. As you can see from this example of one of the gags from that series, the inclusion of those items was but a slight tickling of the keyboard, but translated to at least a couple of hours of extra drawing time (note the key highlighted phrase).
Click to view larger image
I’m not discounting the amount of time Jerry has to put in writing. I’m sure he spent a couple of difficult hours staring out the window before he got this idea.
After pencilling in the rough, I decided that I’d videotape the finish of that drawing. It would have been difficult to see much of it if it had been videotaped at the pencilling stage . What you’re seeing is really the middle of the drawing process. The first part, the pencil rough, is where the blocking of the scene and the thinking part is done–what the characters’ expressions are, body language, etc. The last part, also excluded from the video entails filling in the solid black areas, touching up mistakes, scanning the drawing, setting it up for coloring and the coloring process. You can see the final color version when you scroll down.
We would do an over-the-shoulder video of Jerry writing, too, but there’s not much action involved except the occasional tearing off of a sheet of paper, wadding it up and tossing it into a trash can.
P.S. For you techies out there, the drawing was done using Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens and Faber-Castell Polychromos black colored pencil. The video was done with a Canon GL-2 camcorder, edited in Final Cut Express, and the music was created in Apple’s (Magic) GarageBand.
Mort Walker, the creator of comic character Beetle Bailey, is interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and talks about his life as a cartoonist, dedicated to what he calls “the world’s most popular art.” (July 16). I used to read Beatle Baily when I was a kid, but didn’t get excited about being a catoonist untill I read his book “BACKSTAGE AT THE STRIPS”. I was hooked. Anyway here is a video on Mort Walker founding the Museum of Cartoon Art and keeping an American art form alive. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. CLICK HERE!
A friend sent me this and I just had to share it. If anyone wonders what advertising and marketing is all about have a look see. Click this link or the picture below. http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2008/07/23
Now I have seen everything. Advertising hits an all new high? Or Low? You be the judge.
For those of you who need help with your Rubik’s Cubes here is an ad I think you will find great or just plain insane.
Lois and Clark to Get Closer!
Tom Welling in Smallville by David Gray/The CWSmallville fans, rejoice! Following the show’s Comic-Con panel, executive producers told TVGuide.com’s own Erin Fox that Lois and Clark’s relationship is going to take a new direction this season. “Lois and Clark will be working side by side at The Daily Planet, and Lois will start to see Clark in a different way,” they said. “She’s surprised to see him in a suit, all grown up and handsome. It’s no longer going to be played like a brother-sister relationship.” (Video of the interview is coming soon!)
That huge news aside, the panel has to have been one of the single best hours of the four-day Comic-Con extravaganza. With a jocular cast and recurring jokes with the audience, the laughter was non-stop — and so were the spoilers. Here are the highlights:
• As reported previously, Season 8 is all about Clark’s destiny as Superman. He joins the “Daily Planet” and uses his new gig as a way to find people in need. He also starts to realize that he may need a double identity to truly evolve into Superman.
To that end, exec producer Brian Peterson says that the show will hold to its original “no tights” rule, but he would not comment on the “no flights” restriction.
• Behind-the-scenes changes are to come, too: Comic writer Geoff Johns will be writing a Legion of Superheroes episode of the show, and Allison Mack may have just shaken on a deal to direct an episode. When pressed about her plans, Mack started off with a diplomatic answer, but one of the panelists said, “Why don’t we make it official?” Kidding or not, it would be hard to back out of the public pact.
• Justin Hartley says that the Green Arrow will be struggling with why he’s doing what he’s doing, while the show will be exploring the origin of the Green Arrow.
• Mack’s Chloe will also be doing some struggling of her own, and there’s trouble in paradise ahead for her relationship with Jimmy. Mack says that Chloe will be finding some independence this season, though, and she’ll maybe even have some new powers to show off — but no details on those yet!
• And might new Smallville arrival Tess Mercer share a smooch with any of the resident studs? Cassidy Freeman titillated the audience by saying she’d like to see her character kiss Chloe.
• Finally, of course, there was a long preview of scenes from the new season. With the introduction of at least two more heroes from DC Comics, the action is ratcheted up, especially as Clark starts to come into his own. In short, expect love, loss, mega-action and more of the Superman mythology to unfold.
If you share a passion for wine like I do, then here are a few places to enjoy.
Playgound for wine lovers.
Think of an intimate European bistro. Or, think “coffee house”, but with the focus on wine.
Barrel Malibu is a comfortable space filled with great high-tech equipment containing a selection of California and the world’s most interesting and intriguing wines. Add a carefully crafted menu of food that accents the tasting experience, along with cheese and charcuterie from The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, and the result is a much-needed hangout in Malibu. http://www.barrelmalibu.com/
Imagine if you could taste any wine you wanted by walking into a wine – bar and finding not just the usual two or three bottles to taste, but eight, sixteen or even a hundred wines all waiting to be discovered.
Imagine if you could choose a wine to buy, not because of its label or because someone told you about it, but because you tasted it and you liked it. At enomatic, that’s what we imagined too. Now, after careful research and scientific discovery we have developed a solution that has turned our imagination into reality: Enomatic Wine Serving Systems. http://www.enomatic.com
Welcome to The Wine Room on Park Avenue, in Winter Park, Florida. Here, in this unique combination of wine bar and wine shop, buying and tasting wine becomes a completely involving experience. Our state-of-the-art Enomatic dispensing system allows you to sample up to 150 wines in 1, 2.5 or 5 ounce portions. Then, when you find one or more that you prefer, you may purchase your wine by the bottle, and/or sip your selections in a cozy setting of leather sofas and armchairs. While you’re relaxing, you can complement your wine choices with a selection of hand-crafted meats and cheeses. Let The Wine Room be your guide as you explore the delectable and delightful world of wine by the glass or by the bottle. http://thewineroomonline.com/
Enjoy Everyone!
July 25, 2008
Reuters reports Batman fans inspired by his latest box office hit can bam and kapow alongside the Caped Crusader and other superheroes with the launch of the world’s first licensed massively multiplayer online comic book game.
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is using this week’s mammoth Comic-Con International show at the San Diego Convention Center to introduce the “DC Universe Online.”
This massively multiplayer online game allows players to create their own superhero or super villain and work in tandem with iconic characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and bad guys like Bizzaro, The Joker and Lex Luthor.
“Comics dominate the pop culture landscape today,” said comic book legend Jim Lee, who serves as executive creative director of “DC Universe Online” and is an artist for DC Comics.
“As comic fans, we’ve known since we were little kids how great comics are. With this game, we have the opportunity to show everyone else how cool the DC Universe is.”
Although the game won’t be shipping for PlayStation 3 and PC this year, an early build of the action-packed game, which focuses on Brainiac attacking Metropolis, is playable at six kiosks on the show floor.
SOE Austin, a unit of Sony Corp., is developing the game in tandem with Lee and a collection of DC Comic writers, which will allow for unique crossover opportunities between mediums.
“We’ll coordinate things across print and online,” said Lee. “If we have a big storyline happening in the summer, you might see that in the game later. I have a staff position at DC and we have a short list of characters that we’ll update first in the game and then in the comics.” Reuters has more
