Bloodtoe

"Earth Day" Publicity

2009-04-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

I decided to put together an archive of "Earth Day" publicity floating around the web. We were featured in the Register Guard's Ticket this week (and mentioned a few times in the Eugene Weekly). Links below.

Press
Register Guard: Ticket

Blogs
Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule: FORGET THE WHALES MAN. SAVE YOURSELF. ITS EARTH DAY!

bloody-disgusting.com

www.horror-movies.ca

arrow-in-the-head-news

Paper Cut-Out Character Design

2009-04-08T03:57:00.001-07:00

bloodtoe.com

I Saw You: DIfferent Familiar Faces

2009-04-08T03:25:00.000-07:00

Different Familiar Faces

I saw in you a quality human being - I see you "everywhere & everywhen" the kiva, sundance, ymca, coffeehouse, walking, riding, the library, the track...
Im not chasing just alert If you think you may be the one I'll creat timje for you

-Eugene Weekly

bloodtoe.com

"Earth Day" New Trailer , Poster and Premeire Info

2009-04-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

(Poster Design by Violet)

World Premiere April 22nd, 2009.

The world premiere is coming to the Downtown Initiative of the Visual Arts on
April 22, 2009.

Showtimes:
5:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m.

Tickets go on sale on April 10th at
http://www.myspace.com/fauxshowproductions

bloodtoe.com

Winter Review

2009-03-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

I was altogether fairly satisfied with this terms' review. Bryson and I had some major technical difficulties in the limited down time before and between reviews which meant we couldn’t display our animations for those that were not there to specifically review our work. Even if everything had been up and running, there didnt seem like there was enough time to sit through our videos anyway. Im assuming and hoping that the final show will provide more of an opportunity for this. I was pleased however that after the reviews I was able to show a previous reviewer my progress and another eager viewer my work for the first time.
A major highlight for me was having Will Vinton as one of my reviewers. He seemed somewhat impressed with my work and it was really rewarding to get his praise and criticism.
The good thing is that both fall and winter reviews have left me feeling that I am on the right path and that my work is worthwhile, but I also cant help but feel like the reviews have only contributed a minimal impact to the development of my project.
But regardless of how effective the actual review process is in itself for me, it has proven a strong motivator for developing the presentation of my work, which is the stage that I am at now. how do I package and contain the work in a way that it is accessible and coherent to outsiders? Im left thinking that it needs a title and introductory animation...

I Saw You: Thanks For All The Snuggle Times

2009-03-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

thanks for all the snuggletimes

Mandrew. You feed me. You are nice to me. You are good company. I totally appreciate your friendship. I still like you even though you kicked my ass at Ms. Packman. XO

When: Sunday, November 16, 2008

Where: my house

I saw a: Man

I am a: Woman

Date posted: Sunday, November 16, 2008

bloodtoe.com

I Saw You: Oh, Sonya

2009-03-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, Sonya *long sigh*

There's a tear in my beer...

When: Saturday, May 17, 2008

Where: Alto Lounge

I saw a: Woman

I am a: Man

Date posted: Thursday, January 8, 2009

bloodtoe.com

I Saw You: Help Me Wonder Woman! -Hulk

2009-03-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Help Me Wonder Woman! -Hulk

Hulk miss talking with Wonder Woman about Rilke, Musashi, solitude and bench pressing! Where did you go?! Hulk not spritely scenester, not wear girly pants, mufflers or guyliner. Hulk not smoke cigarettes in rain outside Tube (aka Fuck Hole) while texting twitter-friends! Hulk is Man! Arrghh! Most Portland girls not understand Hulk. But Wonder Woman understood Hulk, Wonder Woman touched Hulk, but then disappeared! Hulk sad.

When: Thursday, January 1, 2009

Where: hyperspace

I saw a: Woman

I am a: Man

Date posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Process: Oh, Sonya

2009-03-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

I decided to go with stop-mo charcoal animation for this short. The biggest problem was that I am not familiar with the medium, which lent to a bit of trial and error. Erasing and re-drawing was also pretty fustrating and meant that going back and fixing parts was almost impossible. A couple segments were removed from the final animation because of this. Also, the dancer was animated first in flash, then printed out as individual frames as a template and redrawn in charcoal. Then composited back into the animation. Im not totally happy with the composite, but I could just be being overly picky.

Unsuccessful Animation Attempt

2009-03-04T00:55:00.000-08:00

Decided to go ahead and post some of the work I did on the Bike I saw you animation. I ended up scrapping it because I was unable to find a time efficient way of animating the work as I originally intended without compromising the quality...I think that their are alot of possible solutions, just havnt been inspired yet.

Chains Of Love

You were locked at the corner of broadway and 28th, all in green and aquamarine. I rolled by, lavender and white. You made my cog skip a link. Let's make single speed babies, unless your fixed?

12/15/2009- Portland Mercury

Hulk Animation

2009-02-11T00:00:00.001-08:00

Now that Im not featured on the Contemporary Design Blog Im not sure how many of you read this...But I thought Id give it a shot anyway. As I mentioned in class, Im stepping away from the Bike animation and moving forward with the Hulk animation instead. However, now that I have committed myself to this new animation I am having concerns about copyright infringement. I wanted to pull screen drops, or ideally straight video, from the Hulk TV series and edit it to fit the I Saw You narrative...Does anyone know the laws/rules of appropriation and how they might apply to my approach for this project?

Someone build some of these please.

2009-02-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

Road signs warn of Zombies

2009-01-29T19:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/Road_signs_warn_of_zombies

Fall Review

2009-01-17T01:20:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t sure what to expect for the fall term review. The casual vibe of the review was perfect for me. I got a lot more out of the review this way.
The weird part about showing my animation in the screening room, is that I was either sitting in the dark, watching me and Bryson’s animations play over and over, or standing in the hall while people sat silently judging the work. And it also felt a little akward standing there while the people exited. Either way, I felt sort of alienated in that hallway, and I felt torn about where I should be and what I should be doing.

Anyway, as far as the actual review, I should have taken more notes because its difficult to recall the specific content at this point. Off the top of my head, it feels like the discussion was mostly questions directed toward me rather than suggestions or critique, which makes sense considering the early state of my project. It was suggested to me to include the dates and locations of the ads I used for my I Saw Us - to establish that they are based on real postings and to make it feel more authentic and significant. We also discussed submitting my work to different venues to get exposure and a response. One reviewer suggested submitting my work to New Grounds, as well as submitting my work to the publications themselves. The Eugene Weekly discovered my animations without my notification but I havn’t heard from the Mercury. I think its almost better to wait it out and let people discover them…at least until I have more material to present/submit. The artist with the domain eatpes.com was mentioned as something that I ought to check out at which point I was reminded by Ying that I was already familiar with his work - having seen it in her class.
As I mentioned, a large portion of my review was focused on work and opportunities outside of the program. I wrote down a short list of sites where you can submit your resume and let employers find you. We also talked about my internship – one of my reviewers happened to be a senior recruiter for LAIKA. It sounded like LAIKA was in a sort of transitional phase and not in an ideal position for interns, and what might be available was probably more on the commercial side. This led to a discussion over my interest in art and animation and whether or not working in the “machine” was something that suited my aspirations. Id like to make a career out of my passion for art, Ive worked hard to get where I am. But will a full time position in a media company developing someone elses ideas be a drain on my independent artistic pursuits? I think their is still alot I can learn from working for someone else, even if my creative input is minimized. Ive got to make a living somehow, and these are really the only skills that Ive honed/have the potential for the biggest payout. My hope is that if I work hard enough, keep producing, one day something will catch and with any luck I can make a living independently. All and all, I think the most useful information I recieved through the review was not directly related to my project or the BFA, but my life beyond the program.

Earth Day Teaser Trailer and Movie Synopsis

2009-01-08T12:36:00.001-08:00

"The first feature from Eugene, Oregon based Faux Show Productions, the horror-comedy Earth Day tells the tale of a group of ex eco-crusaders who find themselves being systematically slaughtered as the one year anniversary of the tragic Earth Day death of their leader, Pixie (Koi O'Eltressiah), approaches. Detective Trent Torrance (Bruce Lundy) suspects only one man: Hassan (Adrian Salge), who grew up in the most extreme terrorist sect in all of Pakistan, only to be expelled for "going under the Burga" and embracing the forbidden art of Women's hair care. Together with Priscilla (Daphne Danger), Pixie's nihilistic twin sister, they strive to prove Hassan's innocence, while trying to avoid her insanely overprotective plastic surgeon father Dr. Percival Peever (Gaylord Walker), and his plastic surgery casualty of an assistant, Lenora (Elizabeth Myers). Coming April 22, 2009!"

Written, Produced, and Directed by Mister Ooh-La-La. Cinematography and Editing by Dustin Dybevik. Starring Daphne Danger, Adrian Salge, Gaylord Walker, and Bruce Lundy. Co-Starring Christopher Anglin, Josef Gordon, Rebecca Teran, Johanna Laemle, Zak Johnson, Koi O'Eltressiah, and Elizabeth Myers as Lenora.

Zed

2009-01-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

Completed almost a year ago, finally got around to fixing some audio issues. Check it out.

I Saw You animation blog

2008-12-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Eugene Weekly found my animations and posted about them on their blog.

http://blogs.eugeneweekly.com/node/914

Process 1: dove parade

2008-12-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Just archiving my process and evolution from idea to product.

thought I might be able to scan inked illustrations for the animation, but realised it didnt work (couldnt get clean scans/photographs) and had to re-illustrate in flash vector. threw some real photographs in as place holders for props and decided that I liked how it looked and went with it for the final animation.

1. Pencil Sketch
2. Inked sketch
3. Vector Illustration

Contemporary Design: Fall Final

2008-12-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

My flash presentation for Zara's class.

Design Canon Presentation: Shigeru Miyamoto

Artist Statement: "I Saw You"

2008-12-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

Here is my first artist statement attempt for the BFA Terminal Project.

Moonstrider, Portrait Man, The Hunger and Pippy, created prior to this term, are presented as complements to my developing BFA project. Each of the animations showcase different approaches to animation in terms of style, theme, process and execution. The idea of developing a project without the limitation of conforming to a single process, approach or medium preceded the initial conception of my current endeavor.

Dove Parade, and Thanks for all the Snuggle Times, are the first in a series of animated shorts based on public personal ad postings submitted to “I Saw You” and “Missed Connections” forums found in weekly print publications such as The Eugene Weekly and The Portland Mercury, as well as online networking communities such as Craigslist. These forums contain regularly updated short descriptions of sightings and brief encounters which are generally motivated by romantic ambition, missed opportunities, desperation and redemption.

Individual postings generally provide minimal context with which to inform the majority of its readers. They are personal and mostly anonymous, often intended for a specific, limited and unlikely audience, but consumed by a significant portion of the community. Interpreting the postings of these public forums, and translating them into a series of short animated segments, offers an opportunity to engage the peculiarities that modern communication, community and culture provide. Independently, the animations should function as brief, awkward, incidental encounters, but collectively they may provide a broader impression of human relationships and personalities.

My approach to the project entails a loose and open-ended conceptual structure. However, a procedural strategy has begun to emerge that adopts a more subjective approach. For example, every animated posting will be interpreted and executed using different criteria, methods, style, approaches etc. Some will be dealt with using stop motion, others vector, silhouettes, retro computer graphics, or hand drawn, with the possibility of video, print and other mediums. The criteria for developing each animation will directly reflect the tone and/or references within the selected postings, and selections will be based on what I find to be most engaging or offer a compelling potential for an animated interpretation. Since this project is founded on cultural and communal communication, the selections for the animated shorts will come from publications local to the Pacific Northwest throughout the course of my BFA year.

Dove Parade

2008-11-24T12:26:00.001-08:00

The first in a series of "I Saw You" animations...

Dove Parade

Spank that tambourine! Do I know you Because you sure know me, I was the guy talking about fingers. In ziploc bags and bloody Swiss clippers. New Egypt;

When: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Where: lllllas-t cahhhl..
I saw a: Woman
I am a: Man

Date posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

DVD design

2008-11-23T03:06:00.000-08:00

A quick and simple design for my portfolio dvd.

Java Luna

2008-11-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

Moldy coffee art.

Extreme Receipt

2008-11-18T20:14:00.000-08:00

3 items: bread, ice-cream and crackers.

BFA Project: "I Saw You"

2008-11-13T17:52:00.001-08:00

After working through my previoius ideas and coming up with a semi-coherent outline for my BFA project, I promptly lost interest. Maybe after a few days Ill come back to it with new motivation. But for now Im exploring another possibility.

I came upon this new idea while I was sleeping. The Eugene Weekly posts a section called “I Saw You” where people can submit short descriptions of their sightings and casual encounters with people who are generally affiliated by only that one moment or series of moments. I want to select specific postings throughout the year and translate them into animated shorts based on my own interpretation of the description. My tendency is to create things that are slightly odd or disturbing, and that would likely be the angle from which I would interpret these postings. Each short would receive a unique approach in terms of style and interpretation. As an instillation I would likely create a mock-up I saw you page from a newspaper to occompany the looping video. Here are some examples I pulled from the online Eugene Weekly, the top one being my personal favorite:

Organic Garden Hoe

You were hunting garden slugs at midnight, I was driving drunk in a company vehicle trying to get back into bed. You were wearing over-alls and singing a song about six little ducks, I was eating peanut butter and farting like the hairy bear I am. You were crying over a book fully of funny photos, I was missing you from a foreign country. Will I see you before I go away again?

When: Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Where: Eugene

I saw a: Woman

I am a: Man

Date posted: Sunday, November 9, 2008

Dove Parade

Spank that tambourine! Do I know you Because you sure know me, I was the guy talking about fingers. In ziploc bags and bloody Swiss clippers. New Egypt;

When: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Where: lllllas-t cahhhl..

I saw a: Woman

I am a: Man

Date posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Different Familiar Faces

I saw in you a quality human being- I see you "everywhere & everywhen" the kiva, sundance, ymca, coffeehouse, walking, riding,the library, the track...
I'm not chasing just alert If you think you may be the one I'll creat timje for you

When: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Where: all around the town

I saw a: Woman

I am a: Man

Date posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

OSAA sweatshirt in Winco

I was with my dad at Winco on Sunday night (the second). We eyed each other in the store several times. You had an OSAA Track and Field sweatshirt and I had on my Oregon one. You bought fish sticks and orange gummies and my dad and I had a conversation about Kashi cookies from Chicago. I tried to go after you in the parking lot but you were gone! I would love to meet you.

When: Sunday, November 2, 2008

Where: Winco foods

I saw a: Man

I am a: Woman

Date posted: Sunday, November 2, 2008

cereal killer

i am intrigued by you.
i liked the way you held yourself.
it wasnt until i was leaving that i saw the heart on your back.
wish we'd talked a bit more

When: Friday, October 31, 2008

Where: outside

I saw a: Woman

I am a: Woman

Date posted: Sunday, November 2, 2008

J-P at Soriah's

Baby Mazzah, a few Malbecs, and Cherries Jubilee. You didn’t want to disturb me and my friend, so you told me to wave my finger if we needed something and you’d come over. I’ve been waving my finger every since…

When: Saturday, October 18, 2008

Where: Cafe Soriah

I saw a: Man

I am a: Woman

Date posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008

BFA Project: Narrative

2008-11-12T03:52:00.000-08:00

My most recent thoughts of the BFA project involve a more narrative based approach. I still want to use the Stream of Consciousness idea for one thread of the project. But my newest ideas incorporate other aspects.

Im still undecided on the multi-panel/frame approach, but I would like to carry on the concept of a central character experiencing different places/realms/worlds comprised of different materials and animation styles.

My current idea would have the central character, Raul, begin alone in his dwelling as thoughts run through his head. This is the stream of consciousness thread. Where the thoughts form a continuous run-on narrative, as Raul contemplates his place in the world, reality, insanity and other related rantings – the animation reflecting the same sort of looseness and continuity of the characters thoughts, and potentially utilizing letterform to also carry the narrative (See below “RUreal”).

The narrative will continue with Raul leaving his house and exploring different locations. Each new location he visits will be visually distinct. Ideas for possible environments in which the character will interact include: A hand drawn world, a world made of fabric, meat, vector, letterform, photo cut-outs, old school 8 bit graphics, garbage, etc…

In each of these locations, Raul meets or seeks out a merchant character, whom offers unique commodities/chochkas in exchange from something else (possible things from the Raul’s home land). This exchange and accumulation takes place across all the environments and Raul’s home gradually becomes cluttered with items from his travels.

At this point, there might be another Consciousness segment as the character reflects on his travels and his newly cluttered environment. He gets lost amidst his own clutter and…(rejects it, destroys it...?)

He returns to the places he had visited previously (but the landscapes have changed slightly, reflecting the impact he made on previous trips). He bypasses the merchants this time, seeking to assimilate culture as oppose to the material manifestations. He visits a pub and becomes entranced by some musicians playing on the stage. As the musicians hit and strum their instruments animated depictions of the sounds fill the room, and little materialized beads of sound bounce off the walls and onto the floor. Raul picks one of the beads up and puts it into is pack. He continues to the other previously explored environments and collects other abstractions of the cultures, including materializations of beliefs etc.

He places these objects into a jar placed on the counter of his dwelling, until the jar is full. He tends to the jar of music, ideas and beliefs as they interact, grow, transform and fuse. He cultivates a mini culture comprised of his favorite elements from those visited. This “culture” grows in size and beyond Raul’s control, necessitating larger jars, a fish tank etc…

The result is a shape-shifting blob like creature who peers out from the fish tank, beckoning Raul for release. As Raul sleeps, his mind goes down another rant, and the blob escapes his jar, entering and possessing Raul’s body…

Profile Portraits Update #3

2008-11-10T04:15:00.000-08:00

Here is all of them. Still waiting to see if anyone wants fixes. Let me know if you have issues with eye color, skin tone, or if you are all around unsatisfied with your portrait etc. I want these to look as good as possible so please critisize and complain.

Remix Project

2008-11-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

For the sake of maintaining this blog as a digital journal and hub for my work throughout the year, Ive posted my Remix project presentation. It can be found at the link below.

http://www.bloodtoe.com/BFA/Remix.html

Group Name

2008-11-08T17:07:00.003-08:00

Now that the profile pics are almost complete, I decided to invest some time in contributing to the group name. I tried to think along the lines of other suggestions given during class and thought “under construction” could fit into that category. Its frequently used in web sites, and reflects our building, program and process. But then I got to thinking about how some reference to the Bar Code might be appealing. The acronym “UPC” popped into mind (which is a specific type of bar code), or SKU (another inventory term related to bar codes). An acronym might be too short, and the three words making up the acronym might be too long, but I wanted to contribute and see if it inspires anything. Havnt come up with anything that works but here are some words that might work in the right combination.

E.G.

Ubiquitous Pixel Curmudgeon
Unencumbered Pixelation Comity
or whatever

Potential Words:

Uni
Unanimity
Unification
Unencumbered
Ubiquitous
Union
Unilateral
Unidentified/able
Unclassified/able
unconscious
Etc…

Pixel
Panarama
Precinct
Public
Private
People
Privileged
Personified/al
Program/ers
Perpetual
Perceptual
Parliament/ary
Prestigious
Prejudice

Commission
Comity
Commune
Community
Collaborators
Collage
Conservation
Correction
Construction
Consortium
Curmudgeon
Conspirators
Codec
Cluster
Crew
Conspirators

BFA Project: 25 Frames Idea

2008-11-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Ive been trying to work out another possible direction for my BFA project. Ive been considering several ideas involving a multi-panel/framed instillation. Here are a few descriptions of how it might work.

1. On the wall is a 5 x 5 grid of screens/monitors (25 total), all containing the same scene and sequence, but the content of each screen would be created using different materials, styles or themes. Each screen would represent a different “realm." For example, in one screen, the sequence would be hand drawn, another would contain the same landscape and subjects but made of animated fabric, another of raw, pulsating meat products, another using vector graffics, stop motion, cross-section or even video. It would be a cyclical sequence. To take it further, a table in front of the monitors may contain print versions, one on hand made paper, another of glossy computer paper etc.

• In addition, it might be interesting if one or multiple subjects moved between the screens, changing in appearance to reflect the realm in which it is temporarily inhabiting. Maybe there would be some kind of narrative to motivate the subject’s movement across panels.

2. A similar themed instillation may use the multi-frame sequence of monitors to represent an animated comic book page – each containing a short looping animation.

3. One additional possibility, is using the grid of monitors to display different things at different times. Three monitors would be used to contain a short sequence, then transition to a five frame sequence, or even short flashes of patterns across the whole grid, etc. It would not always be sequenced left to right, and could be broken up by monitors that display black, static, or whatever else works. This idea is a little more difficult to describe.

Profile Portraits Update #2

2008-11-06T01:07:00.001-08:00

Here are the final 5. Now that they are all done, I just need to go back and do some cropping, and minor touch ups. Please let me know if any of you need me to fix anything, such as eye color etc. I think the majority have turned out pretty good, but some are better than others. If I totally botched your identity, let me know and perhaps eventually I can redo it. These took longer than expected (1.5 hours plus each), but I want you all to be happy with them, so no worries, just let me know.

Profile Portraits Update

2008-11-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

I added a few more. The picture of me is same one from last week and is basically just a place holder for the moment I either need to redo myself or change the skin tone to match the others. 5 more to go.

Vinyl Project

2008-11-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here is my updated vinyl project. Im having doubts as to how well it will integrate with everyone elses. Let me know your thoughts.

Profile Portraits

2008-10-31T03:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the first set of portraits. Most of them still need a little tweeking. May or may not have time to do more by Monday, need to shift focus toward the Remix proj., Readings, response paper, blogs etc...and hopefully finding something to do for halloween, anyone know of any goings on??? Let me know what you all think about the work.

BFA Project

2008-10-22T01:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a breakdown of one potential direction for my BFA project. I have one more idea that Im still seriously considering and a few smaller ideas. But I want to let this one out and see whether or not it sticks.

I have a few starting points for my BFA project. After trying to work through these different concepts Ive been visualizing I began trying to synthesize them into some sort of coherent outline and meaningful pursuit. I have lots of seeds for ideas but for the most part are just visual and procedural concepts. At this point Im thinking the best way to develop them is to just begin working on them. It occurred to me that a stream of consciousness narrative could be a really interesting approach to my project. In other words, no real plan, just begin animating and don’t stop until the end of the year. The central rule being that the animations must connect, one idea transitions to the next. Ideally, the final sequence would segue back to the first, creating a continuous loop.

I know I want to work with cross-sections (e.g. of a man, house, a tree, earth, volcano, appliances, the brain, heart, animals, the fridge, etc)

I want to use a variety of mediums or animation styles (hand drawn animation, stop-motion, video, paper cut out animation, flash, animations made entirely of fabric, meat, legos, pixilated etc) – sometimes mixed and sometimes exclusive to the sequence. Perhaps the culmination would be all the styles interacting together.

I cant decide if it needs a theme, or if a stream of consciousness approach should be theme-less.
A potential theme might revolve around dealing with clutter, complexity and interdependence of organisms etc…As well as analyzation, deconstruction, and acknowlegement and appreciation of these processes and things.

If I did follow this idea through to the end, I can easily see where at the final legs of the project I may need to edit or rework the project into something that works on a different level. In the end it may become a sequence of interconnected shorts.

If nothing else I think this could be a good starting point to get me working.

Web Profile Demo

2008-10-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here is one potential approach for the BFA web site profiles. They are hand drawn via Wacom drawing tablet and are obviously based on photographs.