NEw YEAR, New Skills!

Happy New Year Folks!
I hope 2014 has lots of creative things in store for you.

Speaking of creative things, there are a number of fun and exciting workshops happening at TAIS ( Toronto Animated Image Society) starting in January. If you are an animator or just an animation enthusiast who has has always wanted to try their hand, now's a great time to check it out.

These workshops are taught by some very talented and experienced animators (if i do say so myself) who are all in demand in their fields which means they don't' give these workshops very often. Be sure not to miss out on this opportunity!

info below!
Cheers!
-B

TAIS WINTER WORKSHOPS 


To register: tais.animation@gmail.com
Space will be limited to 8-10 participants per workshop.

Classical Animation on Paper: 101 with Bryce Hallett
2 days: Sunday January 12 & 19, 2014, 11 am – 5 pm
$160 members (2 days @ $80 per day), $210 non-members (2 days @ $105 per day)

This two-day crash course will cover the fundamental principles of animation, including timing, facial expressions, movement flow and simple walks, etc. This is ‘old school’ animating with pencils on paper for beginners or simply those who’ve never had the opportunity. Participants will be given some work to try out at home to be reviewed on the second day. Materials and peg bars will be provided for use.

Instructor Bryce Hallett is an independent animator with 14 years of experience working for clients in Canada and around the world but always in his pajamas. He is perhaps best known for the "Ranger Gord" animations on the Red Green Show, and as the illustrator of the book Animation Unleashed written by Ellen Besen. Some of his other works can been seen on his website www.frogfeetproductions.com

Simple Silhouette and Paper Puppets with Lynn Wilton
Sunday January 26, 2014, 11 am – 5 pm

$75 members, $90 non-members


This introductory course will cover an alternative method of construction using easily found materials for simple silhouette (under-lit) and top-lit paper puppets followed by an opportunity to get under camera and animate. Materials will be provided and everyone will get the opportunity to see their puppet come to life.  Please come prepared with a design idea for a character that could be found in a jungle environment.  We’ll be making our puppets to be roughly 5” on their longest side.

Instructor Lynn Dana Wilton is an animator/designer/artist and former board member of TAIS.  She took a diploma in Classical Animation at Sheridan but also holds a BAAID from Ryerson.  She trained classically but, commercially, has principally animated stop-motion for television series & specials including “Glenn Martin, DDS”, “Rick & Steve”, “A Miser Brothers’ Christmas”, “Lunar Jim”, “A Cape Breton Ghost Story”, and “Henry’s World".  She’s had her experimental short, “(Re)Cycle”, show in festivals internationally.  Find her at https://vimeo.com/lynnscrowbar.

Dragonframe Workshop with Evan DeRushie
Sunday February 2, 2014, 11 am – 5 pm
$75 members, $90 non-members


Dragonframe is the world's leading stop-motion capture software. It's used on feature films, commercials, and most importantly: at the Toronto Animated Images Society. Working with digital SLR cameras, the software is a swiss army knife of animation tools, and can be used to plan and capture your animation with precise control. In this workshop you'll learn the basics of the program, such as project management and camera control. You'll also learn some more advanced features, like sync sound, frame editing, and more. Whether you're shooting a stop-motion short film, or previewing your hand-drawn animation, Dragonframe has all the tools you never knew you needed.

Instructor Evan DeRushie is a professional stop-motion animator. He has animated for broadcast TV series, and commercials for Kraft, Tim Hortons, Indigo and Lays. His independent film "The Fox and the Chickadee" has played in film festivals around the world. More info at www.evanderushie.com

Puppet Building Workshop with Carla Veldman
Sunday February 16, 2014, 11 am - 5pm
$75 members, $90 non-members

This workshop is an introduction to different types of stop-motion puppets and their armatures, including wire, aluminum, paper, and ball-and-socket.  Topics covered will include puppet-planning, materials used, tie-down types, and mouth replacements. Participants will be able to fabricate their own wire armatures during the workshop (materials provided), and puppet examples will be available for reference.

Instructor Carla Veldman is an animation film-maker and stop-motion artist. A Sheridan graduate and lover of stories, she enjoys the tactile and textural world of puppet animation. http://carlaveldman.daportfolio.com/

Motion Control Workshop with Greg Boa
Sunday February 23, 2014
11 am – 5 pm
$90 members, $120 non-members

In this workshop we will go over the DitoGear motion control system for use with Dragonframe stop motion software, and how to use the equipment stand-alone with DitoGear hardware controllers. We'll cover what it is and what it can do; set-up and take down; previewing and adjusting camera movements in dragon; shooting animated, real-time and time lapse shots, and of course safety concerns along the way to protect the camera and the rig from damage. The equipment we will use will be TAIS' DitoGear OmniSlider, OmniHead, LensDrive and DragonBridge interface - a very fun and powerful motion control system for precise moving camera shots.

Instructor Greg Boa is a graduate of Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts and the former film tech for the Film, Video and Integrated Media program at Emily Carr University in Vancouver. For six years he years he worked as a Technical Coordinator at the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto, and has worked on films by Bruce Elder, Isabella Pruska Oldenhof and Madi Piller, among others. Greg has a great deal of experience with camera systems, both film and digital, and extensive experience teaching workshops and classes. Currently Greg works for Niagara Custom Lab.