tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44217663026360977622024-03-21T02:23:44.741+00:00plasticinefishDan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-14508364235960555812011-08-19T12:12:00.003+01:002011-08-19T12:14:57.883+01:00Home Grown Talent 2011 TrailerThe Home Grown Talent 2011 Trailer is online now!
<br />It has been an exciting few months of filmmaking once again. View the trailer below for a teaser of the films to be premiered at <a href="http://www.canterburyanifest.com" target="_blank">Canterbury Anifest!</a>
<br />
<br /><iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BZp-tvQFdVM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
<br />These films will be premiered to the public on Sunday 2nd Oct – 3.00pm at Canterbury Anifest as part of the Community Programme
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.canterburyanifest.com/home-grown-talent/">Read more about this years Home Grown Talent here!</a>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-92090029480303915042009-05-12T23:38:00.008+01:002009-07-22T09:37:53.547+01:00The joy of local news...<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyeuQdqf6mz4kdXFHkBmM0y1GQf9qWy25IaTMbgdySvreG_iPFBCoUonxpbUeLgjD_hEObU6VDisbELzcWpCw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Back in October last year, my local news station asked me to create a short introduction piece of animation for them. They provided me with images of their presenters and the cheesiest of all voice overs and i went to work on it. I produced all of the models and animation, with the help of a wonderful assistant. <br /><br />I really enjoyed the job, and thought I'd share it here. The two models and set took two full days to produce and the animation took me 10 hours straight to get it finished. The whole project was a lot of fun though, from sculpting the characters to working out the timings and actions, and most of all the animation shoot. I loved working in a team, going through the dope sheet and working through the tracking and development of the scene. Animation is a real team game, although there's plenty of us that like working on their own too. I do love working with other creatives on a project and this projector was one of my favourite jobs.<br /><br />Having an assistant meant an extra pair of eyes and hands to over see the tracking device, software and dope sheet were the main tasks, but the secondary tasks of tea making and good company are the other important tasks of the role.Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-59957059572340127092009-05-11T22:55:00.004+01:002009-05-11T23:31:19.861+01:00Camera Shy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5LnaWF4bUR0AV2ByxpyrnQCYl4t5ii7H_gMda5AxELugMrebTk26dhv1CaLkmaOHo4IFduFMo33xdSm4lMnTZ7ek4A3NANIEgSt9idqv7XS1vAL_F_ZuchxuoWAXuxftjJdFISQ2nis/s1600-h/dragan+digphotographerV1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5LnaWF4bUR0AV2ByxpyrnQCYl4t5ii7H_gMda5AxELugMrebTk26dhv1CaLkmaOHo4IFduFMo33xdSm4lMnTZ7ek4A3NANIEgSt9idqv7XS1vAL_F_ZuchxuoWAXuxftjJdFISQ2nis/s320/dragan+digphotographerV1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334695020088290690" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Image Copyright Ben Anker Photography</span><br /><br />I thought I'd link to a set of photographs that talented photographer Ben Anker has put together. Ben who I met while working in a supermarket during my students days six years ago contacted me about taking some pictures. He explained that he needed a short series of portraits for an accreditation, so of course being the shy retiring type at first I refused, before biting his arm off!<br /><br />On Ben's site he has a real variety of photos and is well worth a look, my shots can be seen in the portrait section.<br /><br />The mad/crazy/'should be sectioned' director pose is my favourite, lots of fun producing it and a great little shot.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">www.benankerphotography.co.uk<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-84212044398927642032009-04-10T21:10:00.002+01:002009-04-10T21:19:48.581+01:00Best Journey Ever!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-X-WxtHBvoU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-X-WxtHBvoU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">I have produced lots of animation workshops over the last two years, but none have been more rewarding the project I set up last year 'Home to Home'. The project was a two week scheme, to make films with unaccompanied asylum seekers in Kent about their experiences. Home to Home was set up by Wendy Catterick from the KRAN group at the Riverside Center and myself and funded by Media Box with support from Canterbury Christ Church University. The four films produced are very touching and can all be seen on my webiste and youtube pages www.animateandcreate.com and www.youtube.com/AnimateandCreate <br /><br />Last weekend I visited the Leeds Young People's Festival where I had two films made during workshops. I traveled from Canterbury along with Zana a young Iranian who made the film 'Our Country' which can be viewed above. I wrote a short account of the trip to thank the festival organisers and Media Trust who funded the trip, so I thought I'd share it here:</span><br /><br /><br />The reason I hadn’t written before, was because it’s taken a few days to take it all in, and I also wanted to speak with Zana before writing my account. I met with Zana this morning at The Riverside Centre’s Fair Trade coffee morning to have a chat. As he strode in he was still buzzing from the trip, and gave me a warm welcoming hug and hand shake. He greeted me and then said just these exact words “The best trip ever”. <br /><br />One of the last things Zana had asked me about on our long train ride home, was where he could buy a digital camera from. When he arrived at the coffee morning he proudly presented his bright blue Fuji camera. On the train he had described how he would have liked to have kept a photo journal of his trip, so wanted a camera for his next journey. I was happy to see him with his camera that he had brought the day after his return from Leeds, and his interest in this new medium. On inspection Zana had not even peeled back the protective film on the camera’s viewfinder, as he wanted to keep it perfect. Zana started by asking about the other young filmmakers from Canterbury who had also travelled to Leeds, and also asked if there were any other festivals his film could be shown at. His excitement was obvious, and we were soon joined by another young Iranian boy who became deeply involved in a Kurdish conversation about Zana’s film and his trip to Leeds. He seemed to talk about his film with a lot more confidence than he had when I met him at Canterbury train station the previous weekend.<br /><br />When I met him at the train station last weekend, Zana found it hard to understand that other people wanted to see his film, and that anyone would pay for him to go to a festival. Every thing I brought for Zana from a bottle of water to a train ticket, he questioned me asking if it was because of his film. You could see in his face how happy he was at the thought of showing people his film and he couldn’t believe he was getting everything provided. On the journey up to Leeds we sat with two young people from Leeds, and we explained the reason for our journey. Zana found their accents really interesting as he had not heard their regional accents before. I described to him about the various different accents in the U.K and he explained how he found it hard to understand people from different areas back in Iran. Speaking to Zana more on the train, we spoke about his last big journey the one he travelled from Iran to the Britain. He described how this trip was a hundred times better in comparison to the journey through various different countries. <br /><br />On arrival at our Hotel in Leeds, Zana could not believe how big his room was and that he had his own shower and double bed. At the shared house he lives in, in Canterbury he has to share a bathroom so was excited that he had his own in Leeds. When he saw the price of the room, he said he felt it was very expensive and offered to sleep on the road to save money. I told Zana that he deserved the room as a reward for his hard work on his film. That evening we went into Leeds to get a meal, and at a restaurant we spent half an hour speaking with a couple from Leeds who had Iranian friends. Zana really enjoyed speaking about his home country and described the couple as very kind people.<br /><br />The next day we went into Leeds town centre and Zana was amazed at the amount of shops and how busy it was. Zana was by this time filled with a mixture of excitement and nerves, and kept asking how long before we needed to be at the cinema by. While in town, Zana wanted to find a new pair of trainers, so set us the task of finding a pair of yellow, blue or green trainers that had to have a large sole and could cost no more than £20, or £25 if he really liked them. After two hours and endless amounts of stores searching, we gave up and headed to the beautiful Hyde Park Picture House.<br /><br />At the cinema, we were greeted by friendly staff from the festival and met with Andy and Sarah who were also film makers from Canterbury. Andy and Sarah chatted with Zana and the four of us, sat and watched the under 14 category before the over fifteen section which we’d travelled all this way to see. It was at this point that Zana was filled with stage fright after realising the host would invite him to the front and ask him questions about his film. Zana asked if he could be excused as he didn’t want to offend anyone by not understanding the questions. I tried to assure him that he could just go to the front and receive his certificate but he didn’t want to, so lapped up the applause in his seat. He received some great feedback from the judges who thought that Zana’s film really helped educate other people about individuals from other cultures and a Organiser from a Bradford film festival encourage Zana to enter his film into the Bradford festival.<br /><br />On the long ride home, Zana repeatedly said what a great time he had on his journey to the festival. He loved seeing his film and wanted to know if there was another animation project he could do so he could come to Leeds again. We arrived back in Canterbury just before midnight and I drove Zana home, before arranging to meet him at the coffee morning in the week. On a personal note, I felt really proud of Zana over the two days as he was so polite and respectful. He enjoyed every minute of his journey and I really hope that he sees that if you work hard at something you get your rewards. Zana worked very hard throughout the animation project and hopefully he will continue with his English course at College and use the reward of his trip as a reason to focus more at college for the long term rewards of his education. <br /><br />At today’s coffee morning, it was great to see Zana still so happy about his journey. The Fair Trade morning was at The Riverside Centre where I first meet Zana nearly a year to the day, to discuss the animation project for the first time. A year on and I would never have expected to have met such an inspiring young man, as I have with Zana. As I left Zana he told me how he would like to start a hairdressing course in September, which I felt was a great choice as he is a very creative individual and has a great personality to work with customers, not to mention his own funky hair style.<br /><br />Hopefully the next time I see Zana he’ll be able to show me his next media project, some pictures on his new blue camera!Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-41987911935587775142009-04-06T17:49:00.003+01:002009-04-06T18:12:15.730+01:00Green FingersI thought I'd produce a time lapse of my garden being cleaned as I only do it properly once a year, so captured it as evidence.<br /><br />As for the silent movie score, well what else could I use????<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxQkfPYRN4mnVYwSYMLsot6UxSEf0lpnIv8k9ilh0BbP3XXkHKowlP0caXMtHkZ_9Z_IV3Se9C8jiCIIwf8IA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-60388631871559520372009-02-06T23:51:00.003+00:002009-02-07T00:28:33.322+00:00In Car Animation<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxfPWId6dOXnh4w_hgGSt69ghK5n3k376yWlkn6mUJTmYZLU36DIwEdmvOKlC5E4UkE9gGJvSkwgI90iaOnvw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Nothing special, nothing new, just something to keep me entertained on a journey to work returning animation kit.<br /><br />I was taking a laptop back to work, when I had the idea of using the laptops built in camera for a time lapse sequence of my journey. I opened the laptop to it's widest position and propped it up on several bags and then belted it in, as well as tying it to the seat with my coat! I really should have taken a photo of the set up as it looked hilarious.<br /><br />I shot this piece capturing two frames every five seconds.<br /><br />It made my journey a little more interesting although the exposure is poor and the framing terrible, I need a laptop boaster baby seat next time!Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-13678400559379746932009-01-20T19:33:00.004+00:002009-01-20T19:45:27.888+00:00Blur-ing my face<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_BBLoakCaVxNAlbFHNnn3JDI7D_PdsJh-x009unwvCHOBOQ5CvmRSGRZoYY84lElj8xh353LSbzdxHAsx1Fx6p9qGo2Jr6IqPV60wT_vtRkgu3lBbFM-I5X0jFRuV8la-N0W58Ygqok/s1600-h/Dan+Pop+Art.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_BBLoakCaVxNAlbFHNnn3JDI7D_PdsJh-x009unwvCHOBOQ5CvmRSGRZoYY84lElj8xh353LSbzdxHAsx1Fx6p9qGo2Jr6IqPV60wT_vtRkgu3lBbFM-I5X0jFRuV8la-N0W58Ygqok/s320/Dan+Pop+Art.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293461841383961778" /></a><br /><br /><br />Here's a picture that a good friend and I knocked up a few months ago. The image is using the simplistic style of British artist Julian Opie, who created that iconic LP sleeve for Blur. <br /><br />I wanted a picture of myself for the wall, but didn't want either a posey pic or painting. So went for this style as a happy medium. The image was produced by tracing a photograph in a combination of Photoshop and Flash and then printed onto a square canvas for my front room!Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-78052122197100336902009-01-18T22:30:00.004+00:002009-01-18T23:30:47.386+00:00A True Inspiration...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAKh7RBYLTJEDDCj32QXSUlu_hZgNSz5xJtvNARRi1tKZ2xXeJUeawuPHclRBmCRNjV0ohdsDW6BnHUfF1Kwy_YiHMpRtgoH97JhdJ_s3M9Z8VKMiOC26CLWe8oPy23CmXAlwM3jQBUQ/s1600-h/tonyhart.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAKh7RBYLTJEDDCj32QXSUlu_hZgNSz5xJtvNARRi1tKZ2xXeJUeawuPHclRBmCRNjV0ohdsDW6BnHUfF1Kwy_YiHMpRtgoH97JhdJ_s3M9Z8VKMiOC26CLWe8oPy23CmXAlwM3jQBUQ/s320/tonyhart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292779282943893762" /></a><br />My heart sank today when I heard the news Tony Hart had sadly passed away. With my own craft show launching this week, I feel we've lost a true great. This guy wasn't a Michelangelo or Leonardo, although a very talented artist, for me and other British kids, his work was a lot more inspiring. As a child in 80s Britain, I never got into art from looking at the Mona Lisa, it was from seeing this silver haired gentleman using simple lines to create artistic wonders. <br /><br />Being a stop motion animator, the influence of Morph is obviously a massive reason I wanted to start bringing plasticine characters to life. But Morph wouldn't of worked as a 60 second animation thrown between Blue Peter and News Round. The thing that made Morph was the relationship with Tony. Today children's television is dumbed down and patronising, with presenters dramatically interacting with their puppets. The relationship between Tony and Morph was different, there was a genuine chemistry between them. Tony's mild manner and authoritative voice made you believe that if this great man was talking to a clay figure, then the clay figure was real!<br /><br />I mentioned before in a previous post, but during filming for the show, I realised how tough it is, to be friendly, informative, remember lines and be entertaining. Tony Hart seemed to do it with ease, and this made you feel you could do everything he made. I'll post the series up this week, but feel they aren't a patch on a genre he really made his own. <br /><br />There's a really nice video produced by the BBC online, it shows how creative he made his shows and reminds you what children's television is missing today. I love the pixelation of Tony on the cart with a paintbrush in his mouth, and wonder how the director broke that to him. I guess Tony felt if children would find the demonstration entertaining and engage with art, then it was worth it.<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7836142.stm<br /><br />I was planning to send him a copy of the series, and tell him how inspiring he was to me, and how much respect I have for his work. I won't get to do that now, all I can do is try and inspire kids to be creative in the same way he did for me, passing on what he did for me.Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-7950313532061288452009-01-02T23:04:00.003+00:002009-01-02T23:29:55.956+00:00The 3 little Piggies build a Studio SetNote* In this story there is no big bad wolves and no sets were huffed and puffed down...<br /><br />Here is a short piece of time lapse footage I produced showing the Set being constructed for the animation series. I used Stop Motion Pro 6.5 and set the counter to capture every 10 seconds. The set took roughly two and a half hours to finish, and here it is...<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwTXSthB5483FY0DUuOB-u3ZhkrN-pNoXFQ49eOWwh6gCOdWBnrigMCOlJgQulCTW9eQctmMYo6IXsQ81BFng' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope it's a good one!Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-54244562734237972682008-12-23T23:24:00.005+00:002008-12-23T23:44:54.963+00:00Tis the season...to be jolly???<br /><br />I'm off for Christmas now, so thought I'd leave with the one piece of creativeness I've produced which isn't to do with an animation craft show. Today I was editing together an interview for the series with Aardman's Richard Goleszowski. He gave a really interesting insight into the creative process behind putting an episode of Sean the Sheep together. In the show the interview is only three and a half minutes long but I've got 15 minutes worth of chat, which has some really nice content, I must throw it together later on next year as there is some interesting stuff which isn't suitable for a series aimed at 8-12 year olds. <br /><br />So here's my Christmasie effort for 2008... It's an envelope but could be a xmas card, gift tag or reindeer enthusiast journal cover???<br /><br />Merry Christmas one and all!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKV0rVbshqil4IbPZGqABta1cVfiQMCfOMGGDb_m_OYmPWMU4unm55rNAags6IhyphenhyphenDttw1GQ175O7VxEYDkec4z9eRWcx1nsWHumOZsBxB3xTgc9oWC2-V2upxOwsQk4GveANJZamvLKng/s1600-h/xmas+card.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 319px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKV0rVbshqil4IbPZGqABta1cVfiQMCfOMGGDb_m_OYmPWMU4unm55rNAags6IhyphenhyphenDttw1GQ175O7VxEYDkec4z9eRWcx1nsWHumOZsBxB3xTgc9oWC2-V2upxOwsQk4GveANJZamvLKng/s320/xmas+card.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283133581129911682" /></a>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-38855051691573327732008-12-13T23:00:00.002+00:002008-12-14T00:44:50.490+00:00Behind the Scenes, On Set...As promised a few snaps from my latest project the online series 'Animate and Create' which goes out at the start of the new year. I'm frantically editing away at the moment, the deadline and Christmas are lurky though...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6ZbkLv4gHAsHochmK_-4812mFYNY7laxOPUotwX24i94NXh-ACsJOJYwK-YsLtdQeGZHvH8u1ILene9qlwT5wRNhXzeN64Rb34aNl8ZEEd93QC92ZHKTbIwxtrgQBB_UMKcAc3LDlfY/s1600-h/IMG_6684.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6ZbkLv4gHAsHochmK_-4812mFYNY7laxOPUotwX24i94NXh-ACsJOJYwK-YsLtdQeGZHvH8u1ILene9qlwT5wRNhXzeN64Rb34aNl8ZEEd93QC92ZHKTbIwxtrgQBB_UMKcAc3LDlfY/s320/IMG_6684.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279432649803090562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" /></a><br />Me on Set...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYsjWzLzY-VIzZ7AemwUdvzjamvuA2TofO8RYtg-nFOHPflo4-yfXklul96ELWa-PLLR6ClUyPJgQIRA1yl9XXhuLjmoK_e3ZLTjA4fjHeXXHZptMaNL_-LpjKEI1ZJoVPnz8QNQIC0M/s1600-h/IMG_6955.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYsjWzLzY-VIzZ7AemwUdvzjamvuA2TofO8RYtg-nFOHPflo4-yfXklul96ELWa-PLLR6ClUyPJgQIRA1yl9XXhuLjmoK_e3ZLTjA4fjHeXXHZptMaNL_-LpjKEI1ZJoVPnz8QNQIC0M/s320/IMG_6955.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279435490929256850" /></a><br />Serious me in the plasticine jungle, which is the studio...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCy49lkpurwOSdpQtT43KfuCx5sLe-n7XQew42uMtxdTMRO4tDEVxf5M3hyphenhyphenpYw3vGdykfdOFFYkrVH8ApUOIKwAItfYBMQxkfVcMWyqmubkFq4gzP6vqYjQnsAXRN_UHab2NAm94u6yE/s1600-h/IMG_6799.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCy49lkpurwOSdpQtT43KfuCx5sLe-n7XQew42uMtxdTMRO4tDEVxf5M3hyphenhyphenpYw3vGdykfdOFFYkrVH8ApUOIKwAItfYBMQxkfVcMWyqmubkFq4gzP6vqYjQnsAXRN_UHab2NAm94u6yE/s320/IMG_6799.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279437137280518882" /></a><br />Me again... This Time trying to find my motivation for the opening scene<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKFzwDu0NJYcMDOHtkZUos0TEOeMa4YxZJOGPm-l2DUUPhBKtMmmBiL0VytAmUcMxZj-XVN4Bf7fJ8sEgly5zCkr-SaHaFHMIAasLQewdnZqlZULxBmYoJXXh9mo3A_FwPi0Vof-QtHY/s1600-h/IMG_6720.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKFzwDu0NJYcMDOHtkZUos0TEOeMa4YxZJOGPm-l2DUUPhBKtMmmBiL0VytAmUcMxZj-XVN4Bf7fJ8sEgly5zCkr-SaHaFHMIAasLQewdnZqlZULxBmYoJXXh9mo3A_FwPi0Vof-QtHY/s320/IMG_6720.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279433824364156786" /></a><br />My 'Man trapped in box' mime impression <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNwglVwZPlUxCkluPDcs91C1-RcvN2ttNcqoEgkiB6zFcO14GtPLPNLm2DD1XwtFnK6Lnrb1zWxtp8NeJt1jSyY8BEsXTXvi72f7UqZ4kaOtey95vHw9pkEbw7FhOWKfkT-XpTeTcdVI/s1600-h/IMG_5370.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNwglVwZPlUxCkluPDcs91C1-RcvN2ttNcqoEgkiB6zFcO14GtPLPNLm2DD1XwtFnK6Lnrb1zWxtp8NeJt1jSyY8BEsXTXvi72f7UqZ4kaOtey95vHw9pkEbw7FhOWKfkT-XpTeTcdVI/s320/IMG_5370.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279438703773062322" /></a><br />Finally my Homage to the legend Mr. Tony Hart and his trusted sidekick MorphDan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-5864358915750001792008-12-12T23:46:00.005+00:002008-12-13T00:16:00.608+00:00Feeling LostHaving a down day? Me too...<br /><br />I'm lucky enough to be a very energetic passionate person, but as a creative this comes at a price in the shape of a low. The dearest things to me in life are my dreams, desires and future projects, these things keep me going and something to aim for. If I was to describe how my lows feel,it would be losing my self belief in fulfilling my dreams. Now the reasons can vary from others doubting or letting you down to personal matters effecting your work.<br /><br />When I'm low/down I always use the term 'Lost' to describe the feeling, as i never know how i got here or how I'm going to get out. I'm not sure how I'm going to get myself out of this current low, maybe writing this is one attempt?<br /><br />This all reminded me of an article I was asked to write by an online creative mag. The theme for the issue was 'Lost', so I wrote about a creative person's eternal state of feeling 'Lost'. A link to it is below:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.creaturemag.com/lostandfound/page5.html">http://www.creaturemag.com/lostandfound/page5.html</a><br /><br /><br />I'm feeling more 'Lost' than usual tonight, but do hope i get back to being a plain old 'Lostie' soon enough. It's days like this, that makes the highs all the more sweeter...Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-2873535051351385482008-12-09T22:09:00.002+00:002008-12-09T23:14:16.302+00:00My New Baby...<script type="text/javascript">document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='http://www.kenttv.com/assets/js/swfobject.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));</script><script type="text/javascript">var flashvars = {}; var params = { allowfullscreen: "true", allowscale: "true", menu: "false", bgcolor: "#4D4D4D"}; var attributes = { }; swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.kenttv.com/embed/embed.swf?id=f26dab9bf6a1", "f26dab9bf6a1", "430", "290", "9.0.28", false, flashvars, params, attributes);</script><div id="f26dab9bf6a1">You need to upgrade your Adobe Flash Player to version 9.0.28+</div><br /><br />I thought it was about time I mentioned the main project I'm working on, which is keeping me from writing my Blog!<br /><br />I'm currently producing a short animation craft show for the online channel Kent TV. The series will be made up from six episodes, each being eight minutes in length. The episodes will present animation tasks, interviews with animators and run a competition. The show is being pitched at both primary and secondary schools pupils from the county. I've written, produced, and am presenting it which has been lots of fun, but extremely straining, most of all for the crew as I forget lines!<br /><br />I've been busy the last couple of months writing the shows, producing the interviews and have just finished recording the studio tasks. After presenting I have a new found respect for TV presenters in particular the likes of Tony Harts and Neil Buchanan. These guys are such an inspiration to so many young people, and they're real professionals. For them to be so good on screen, remember lines and processes and to complete all the tasks successfully over and over again is tough job.<br /><br />I'll write more and throw some photos up over the next week or so.Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-42775137638425249742008-11-24T23:51:00.004+00:002008-12-09T22:08:13.261+00:00Buttons For Eyes...<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UuXZ8l4j8Ag&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UuXZ8l4j8Ag&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I wasn't going to write anything today until a friend pointed me towards this little treat!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've been hearing the whispers and seeing the amazing previews of Coraline, so was thrilled to see this preview of the film. The film is directed by the amazing Henry Selick, and looks like the perfect example of top notch stop-motion animation. I love the dark style and the imaginative design of this fantasy world and can't wait for the film to hit the UK. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One comment I always get asked about my short The Windmill Boy is why my characters don't have any pupils, so I'm always interested to see how characters without pupils act. This is one very excited animator, counting the clock down until February!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One of my proudest moments was hearing my short film was being screened next to Henry Selick's short 'The Moon Child' during a screening at a US festival. </span>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-81251950955454680942008-11-14T00:02:00.004+00:002008-11-14T00:28:47.001+00:00Doritos Ad Entry<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YzS7Ji8L_Ug&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YzS7Ji8L_Ug&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YzS7Ji8L_Ug&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></object><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I thought I'd add this short piece of animation I made back in May this year. The project came around when an animator friend of mine</span> challenged me to produce a video for a competition to make a 29 second ad for Doritos. I didn't think too much about it when I accepted, but later realised I would have to make sets and models, plus animate while he only had to work at home on the computer!<br /><br />The project took 8 days to produce, 3 to make all the models and sets, 3 1/2 to animate and 1/2 a day to edit and put the sound down. The idea was knocked together by my best mate Dave Wharram and I over a few beers, while Steve Allen helped with the climbing wall, wire and podium models. In Post production Mankit Lo edited and did the cleaning up, while Leon Benning produced the sound for the project. The commentators voice was performed by my head of Department the wonderful Mr David Bradshaw!<br /><br />It was a really nice short project, and very enjoyable to make using with the crew who all helped out on my short film. It has definitely made me want to do at least one short film of my own a year from now on!Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-601302186572943202008-11-12T23:25:00.004+00:002008-11-12T23:53:25.546+00:00Up, Up and Away!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/h7ehif8Twk8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/h7ehif8Twk8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I thought I'd point out the trailer for the next classic Pixar feature 'UP'. Apart from the fact Pixar are the best at producing CGI features in the business, I have another couple of reasons for focusing on it. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Firstly the short animation film I made a couple of years ago 'The Windmill Boy' is centered around a boy who turns his home into a flying machine, so has a similar plot. I love the idea of people living in the sky, so am interested to see how the film progresses on that front.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The second reason I'm interested is because I have just recently produced my very first piece of 2D animation, which includes flying men. The animation which I'll add to the Blog next week is for a pilot for a feature film. The animation is for a dream sequence about a man who imagines he can fly and within the dream there is another guy who is floating in the air attached to balloons. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I can't wait to see 'Up' next summer, and hope it lives up to it's interesting teaser...</span>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-52520773841128700962008-11-11T18:14:00.001+00:002008-11-11T23:06:44.796+00:00Bagpuss, The Clangers and Me...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcY1tswhDqF-dq5oHPRvflVf5Gzv7Kn_27cvHKx-D331XExA-ijwHJG7He1gjMlXMpv2zAAnfdQ4gbWq16YtM1KLssihpmPR1qjmNSl-z-YdeTojEAQU0pJx3o491k8pqfNa_tyvCaUHA/s1600-h/SP_A0054.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcY1tswhDqF-dq5oHPRvflVf5Gzv7Kn_27cvHKx-D331XExA-ijwHJG7He1gjMlXMpv2zAAnfdQ4gbWq16YtM1KLssihpmPR1qjmNSl-z-YdeTojEAQU0pJx3o491k8pqfNa_tyvCaUHA/s320/SP_A0054.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267465773582849058" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> <span style="font-size:85%;"> Me, Peter Firman and Steve Allen at Canterbury Anifest '07</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Well today was a real treat and something that really warrants writing about. This morning I was lucky enough to interview Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Firman</span> who along with Oliver <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Postgate</span> produced such wonderful animations including '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Bagpuss</span>', 'The Clangers', 'Noggin the Nog' and my favourite 'Ivor the Engine'.<br /><br />My current project which I'm sure I'll write more about over the coming months is a short animation craft series for an online channel. The series is aimed at young people in Kent, to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">demonstrate</span> different animation techniques. For the series I really wanted to interview Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Firman</span> as he and Oliver <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Postgate</span> produced all of their animation here in Canterbury in an old Pig shed.<br /><br />The interview took place in two different venues, the first was the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">museum</span> of Canterbury, which is where <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Bagpuss</span> now lives with all his friends in his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Bagpuss</span> and Co shop window. The second location was the Sidney Cooper Gallery, which up until 13<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">th</span> December is holding an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">exhibition</span> of Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Firman's</span> artwork and Bob <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Godfrey's</span> 2D animation. The timing for my interview couldn't have been better as it meant the second part could be filmed on a mock up rostrum in the gallery where Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">demonstrated</span> the cut out technique used on 'Ivor the Engine'.<br /><br />As a boyhood fan of the animations, an animator and someone who teaches animation I found today a really special <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">experience</span>. Peter speaks with so much energy and enthusiasm about the productions, you can't help but be inspired. Peter is an incredibly creative person and his stories about his creations are tales of their own. Peter spoke for around half an hour, talking about both his cut-out and model work showing plenty of examples. I now have the challenge of editing the piece from 34 minutes down to 4 minutes! I'll try to get a clip on here over the next month, and talk more about the processes used.<br /><br />I'd just like to finish by thoroughly recommending the 'Animate' exibition including Peter's work. It is along Canterbury high street at the Sidney Cooper Center, its completey FREE and includes the Clanger models, lots of cut outs from Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog and lots of work from Bob Godfrey. More Info at<br /><br />http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/sidney-cooper/exhibition/current.asp<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:10;color:navy;" ></span>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421766302636097762.post-12831603890940984972008-11-10T10:57:00.000+00:002008-11-10T11:09:38.350+00:00So it begins<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I've been thinking of writing a Blog for the last year or so as a way of communicating what I'm doing, but didn't want to do it through a facebook/myspace page. Can I apologise now for my incredibly bad English, my terrible spelling and exaggerated opinion on everything, that's just me really?<br /><br />Hopefully I can use this Blog to bookmark everything worth seeing again online, and also show off some of my own work that hasn't really got a place to sit on my other sites.<br /><br />I'm sure it's going to be a long ride with lots of barren spells, but hold on in and I'll try to make it worth while checking back now and again!<br /><br />Grazie!<br /><br />Dan<br /></span>Dan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391710996865242395noreply@blogger.com0