The Last Lecture: Randy Pausch

Some motivation for you...If you feel down, frustrated, or if you need a little bit of encouragement. Hmmm, these days, sounds like many of us are in need of this right? Me included. Listen to Professor "Randy Pausch's Last Lecture"

As an instructor / educator / teacher, we want nothing more than to see all of you succeed (whatever that means). Sometimes though, its hard. Life gets in the way and things knock us to the floor. We are human, we make mistakes, and sometimes despite all our good intentions, some people choose not to listen. If you take my classes, hopefully you'll never sense that its one of those bad days. Be Tigger everyday! Be positive, have fun and help one another.

I originally saw this lecture air on Oprah many years ago, and once in awhile, his messages of encouragement come back as gentle reminders for how to live the many aspects of my life. Its simple, to the point and easy to understand. Recently, this lecture and many of his points keep entering my mind, so I took it as a good sign to create this post. I hope that you too find it motivational.

Randy was a respected and renowned instructor at Carnegie Mellon who learned tragic news of his pancreatic cancer when he was also told that he only had 3 - 6 months to live. This video is a recording of his "Last Lecture" as it appeared on the Oprah Show.

After you've viewed the lecture. Be sure to check his keynote speech to the graduates of Carnegie Mellon close to the year he passed away in 2008. Thanks Randy for your words of encouragement.

Clash of the Titans: Trailer 2

This new "Clash of the Titans" trailer is tasty. Watch it first, then go back and pause your player to see new Medusa and Pegasus clips. Also, stick around till the end to see long awaited clips of the Kraken.

Enjoy!

Toy Story 3: Trailer 3

Hooray! The new Toy Story 3 trailer is up and running. To watch it, click here >>
Looks sweet! Get ready to see lots of new characters.

But guys... Barbie/"Ken" doll? (place sound of ladies cheering here). Here we go >>!

Last Airbender: Trailer 2

Not sure why this didn't show up during the Superbowl, but it is nonetheless...engaging. Thanks for the heads up Jimmy.

Logorama

Is a fast paced, well executed, animated, action short. If you are like many of us, you'll end up watching it many times, see if you can find "Your" favorite logo in the shots. Just be careful how many times you watch it, its over eleven minutes long.

The piece is highly entertaining and its a great example of how effective composition, timing (in action), editing, research and sound can be all while using simple shapes and colors. Keep the kiddies away as there some bad words in it. Nice contrast their guys.

Thanks Nae for sharing!

Fire it up and enjoy!

My Top 10 Superbowl Commercials for 2010

Let's get right to the cream. Here are my Top 10 Superbowl commercials 2010. I chose them based out on shear entertainment / giggle value... the ones I keep watching over and over again. Seriously, just watch these so you can be the educated one at the water tank at work. It'll be a great 10 minute investment of time to get you prepared for the day. Once again, the Bud Light ads score on the top of the list, and to my students, be prepared for a pop quiz in the morning.

Here we go....Let's start things off right...at number 10...


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"Asteroid" - Bud Light: Very clever, great idea and funny.



"Casual Fridays" - Careerbuilder.com: This is borderline gross! I love it.



"Sleepwalker" - Coke: Traditionally, they rank high on the list... hmm, not this year though. Of the two ads (the other starring "The Simpsons"), I like this Coke ad the best. Well executed and thoughtful. Here's to "Open Happiness".



"Honda Accord" : This made it on the list for its visual presentation, and its unique use of CG.



"Dove for Men" - Dove: Great idea. Well executed, timed right and funny. To all the Daddys out there, this commercial is spot on and dedicated to you.



"You're Not You When You're Hungry" - Snickers:



"Stranded" - Bud Light: I think this is genius. Let's see if we can keep "Lost" going, even though I got "lost" after Season 2.


"Voice Box" - Bud Light: Very reminiscent of the "Wazzap" ads from back in the day. Anyone remember how many versions they created. Superfriends anyone? Anyone? This is going to be a classic folks.



"Bridge" - Budweiser: Simple, well executed and elegant. Thanks Bud and Bud Ad Agency for making such an outstanding award winning piece. I will enjoy this for many generations to come.


So which commercials make up your Top 10 for 2010?

Thanks for reading. Open Happiness to Everyone!

Randolf

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Related Posts:
Superbowl Ads 2009.

Shaolin Pepsi

Last Airbender: Superbowl Spot

This is going to air during the Superbowl, if you can't wait, here you go. Keep an eye out for the Earth and Waterbenders. Enjoy!

Peter Zoppi

Peter Zoppi is a talented modeler and creature designer who has done work for both video games and film. His site came across our screens this week, and it made everybody pause...we wanted to get a closer look. He creates his base mesh in Maya and adds the detail using Mudbox. He's got a great command over surface detail, and a holistic understanding of anatomy that is obvious, especially in the Alien piece above.

I hope you will be inspired just as I was, be sure to check out his demo reel by clicking here >>.

Hey Pete, keep up the great work and thanks for posting. Lots of people here like your work.

Fire it up!

Randolf

The 3rd & The 7th: Modeling Reel

"This guy is so good, that it makes me feel bad." - Anonymous CG Student

That was actually said in class as we watched in amazement at Alex's work. This, by far, is one of the best CG modeling reels I have seen. Kids, pay attention because this is how its done.

In this presentation, Alex showcases CG rendered modern architectural models in a way that a photographer would present their work. His compositions are eye catching, has a masterful use of depth of field (blur), lighting and texturing that sets the stage for a an excellent presentation

The clip above showcases a random sampling of shots as well as the breakdowns, so you can see his process.

The clip below is the longer "Third and Seventh" movie (12 minutes long), if you have time, do check it out. The piece is very beautiful. You can learn more about his work and his methods by checking out more of his movies on Alex Roman's Vimeo page here >>. Let me know what you think of his work.

Sinesthesics : Demo Reel

SINESTHESICS Showreel 09 from sinesthesics on Vimeo.

This reel is exceptional. Many times, especially in the advance animation classes, students have to animate type, and typically use 3D software to help generate particle effects and slick materials on their letters. This reel not only does that, but it also demonstrates great editing, use of blurs and interesting compositions of the same animation. Just a little somethin somethin to add a little variety to your flava. Nice soundtrack too.

Fire it up and Enjoy!

Pigeon Impossible

"Pigeon Impossible" is a clever animated short produced by animator Lucas Martell. I liked many things about it, particularly the clever story, characters, overall digital execution, soundtrack (his music is "off the hook" - how in the heck did you pull that off?), and after looking at this piece, I also noticed that he's got a lot of "behind the scenes" featurettes, so you can experience many the many struggles he faced during the production process. These featurettes are also well designed and entertaining. Thanks Isaac for sharing.

Check out the animation and take a few moments to check out some of the "Behind the Scenes" clips...simply inspiring from an "animator" standpiont.

Thanks for sharing Lucas, keep up the great work. We'll keep an eye out for your next project.

Enjoy!

His featurette about writing and developing his script is below...

Gesture vs. Lip Sync: Fidel Castro

Which do you feel is most important?

In my animation classes, especially the ones where we focus on acting and movement, the topic of gesture arises. Gesture in essence, is body language, and if you can get the gesture of a character down, if you can make him look like he's saying it, then the lip sync is "icing on the cake" and makes the animation better.

Animate gesture first and make sure it communicates, your character animation will turn out much better. This clip is a perfect example of this. Thanks Trevor the link. Way to go Fidel!

Cheers and Enjoy!

Honda Crosstour : Animation

Saw this ad on TV for the new 2010 Honda Crosstour and liked it a lot. Its CG, but has a look and feel that is unique and refreshing. I had to post it here for future reference and inspiration. Its also animated to a great song!

Enjoy.

Adidas Star Wars Commercial?

Adidas is kicking off their new "Originals" shoeline, and in these commercials, everyone is invited to display and celebrate their style. So, don't be surprised to see cameos from lots of cool people.

I think, whenever you have Snoop, Darth, breakdancing, smoke and Daft Punk all in one commercial, not only is that rare, but very cool. Turn up the volume, you'll like the soundtrack too.

Also, it took awhile, but every time I watch this, I always see something new Star Wars thing appear, either in people's shirts, on the walls and in the sky. Nice!

Enjoy!

and the Stormtrooper shoe...sweet.

Rogier Wieland: Paper Animation

This is a showreel of great animations by Rogier Wieland made entirely of cut paper. This guy is so crazy in my opinion because of the amount of time it takes to make one piece, but the look and feel of the pieces are outstanding and engaging.

Below is little video about his creative process that I also found incredible. Do you think you would have the patience to create animations like this?