There are many other
resources for animation and 3D animators, in general, but the following have
been notable, and sometimes very useful. Some links for specific software, like
www.renderosity.com for Poser software, have been omitted just for
clarity. 3D animation can be a pretty big envelope.
I recently learned about
this extraordinary Lightwave info group. Weekly and
sometimes daily updates for Lightwave exclusively. A
tutorials search engine.
Did you know there is a "patch" for
the Quicktime problem? This wonderful man has
excellent links, answers to nagging little problems and oodles of "Plug-in's."
I cannot say enough about this $300/year
intensive 3d computer graphics instruction facility in Los Angeles teaching LIGHTWAVE, MAYA and SOFTIMAGE. Praise God. Unreal.
Once you have had a few
of your models accepted by the free sites above, you may want to try marketing
some geomtery or textures direct to the public. This
vendor collects 50%, but allows modest self-promotion.
The
annual convention, literature, archives, power-shmoozing
of the leading CG organization. In Los Angeles, their meetings are usually the second
Tuesday.
Although game programming
is up there with cigarette advertizing to my way of
thinking -- if what goes around comes around, learn to duck -- this web site
also should have some good information on VRML, interactive learning and
interesting animation techniques.
Newtek maintains a discussion group for
INSPIRE users and LIGHTWAVE users that I have greatly benefitted
from. For convenience, makers of Lightwave, Video
Toaster, Aura... this is one of their Patch Download pages: ftp://ftp.newtek.com/pub/NewTek/Patches/LightWaveIntel/
There are several
discussion groups listed as "Lightwave"-oriented,
where one may submit a question or comment and receive very savvy useful
information. Since a "newsgroup" is assumed to be located on the
USENET, a subscriber service, this resource is widely referred to as a
"mailing list." Be aware that there are also Yahoo "Clubs"
that are much smaller, and other groups at msn.com and others. I believe the
yahoo group is something like 1500 strong.
This site offers both tutorials for Lightwave 5.6, which is very similar to INSPIRE, and a
"mailing list CD" of solutions to Lightwave
tasks -- dwarfing the "Glossary."
Many sites have worthwhile tutorials,
according to the Lightwave Tutorials link above, but
this working animator's articles use a "paypal"-like
annual membership charge of $5 to access something like 50 entries.
Dan Ablan has
written over a half-dozen LIGHTWAVE books, and I have seen him do some
incredibly gracious things. Dan recommends www.cgchannel.com for all things CG; it is a daily-updated site
covering MAX, LW, MAYA, XSI and other high-end matters.
ASIFA is the International Animation Society
which sponsors the Annie Awards for friends of animation. At one ASIFA event,
the likes of Preston Blair, several prominent voice actors, Chuck Jones, and
many other luminaries graced the stage.
This cartoon animation networking group
includes a 30% male membership, writing and production groups and regular
monthly meetings, and seems to represent commercial and vfx
as well as traditional cartoon animators.
EMPLOYMENT
Search terms like "Animator,"
"Lightwave" & "Job listing"
should bring up most of these links. If by accident I have included a for-pay
one, please e-mail me and I will be sure to correct it. Historically, job
listings have had referrals attached by the listing company, so I am hoping
up-front fees are the exception and not the rule. Most of these listings will
include MAYA and "XSI" work. Game Developer work is still often 3D
Studio Max. I got most of this list from another site, then
lost the URL of it, so feel free to e-mail that link. Also, see www.la411.com below, a directory which has been known to very
affordably list animators and others.
SHORT FILM CONTESTS,
FESTIVALS and SHORT FILM BUYERS:
Please notify me of
broken links if you get the chance. The following short film sites will exhibit
one's shorts and provide exposure, but since they seem to require perpetual
rights, even though they are "non-exclusive," this will make
"exclusive" sales later impossible, if one reads them correctly: www.reeluniverse.com , www.minutemovies.com , www.eveo.com , http://alt.sho.com (the wording is vague, it might
not be THAT bad). EXPOSURE may be more important than rights during a project
launch. Recently, some short film websites like www.res.com and www.pop.com have closed their doors, but not
like other closed sites offering their libraries of short films valued at
millions of dollars to prospective business partners.
If "Exposure"
is your work's mission; www.bijoucafe.com and the unrelated www.filmfilm.com have cancellation clauses that
allow one to sell "exclusive" rights to an exclusive licensor like www.atomfilms.com if they express an interest. A majority of non-paying sites
unfortunately seem to have clauses wherein the work's appearance may be
cancelled on one site, but may continue on an affiliate's site. Atomfilms has a reputation for providing an advance of
$300, 20% royalty and stock options according to a Wall Street Journal article.
Public TV stations also
have a good reputation for paying filmmakers for their shorts. The more positive, the better.
It is also worth
mentioning that if one's aim is "exposure," that special interest
sites, mailing lists and newsgroups may provide free or fee-based links to your
film's exhibitor.
BUYERS
In addition to the
established "players" below, there are apparently small studio's, artists' "co-op's"and
"sales agents" who specialize in marketing animated shorts. A search
engine search for "animated short" + "distribution" may
uncover the e-mail for these sales agents, or the
artists themselves if they self-distribute. Small programmers like public television
stations will apparently check magazines and websites like www.ifilm.com according to animators I've
spoken with.
There are dozens of DVD
publishing/design studio's though a handful do the
lion's share of work apparently. These are listed at this web site. On the
off-chance someone makes a feature about robot dolphins, and you just happen to
have a short about robots and dolphins living in peace on Mars -- could there
be a better way to market your short than to mail it around to these DVD
publishers? As I write this, my sister's laptop has the only DVD player in the
house, so, for those who may be in the dark ages with me -- DVD's often include
games and other little "extra's" like
related shorts or commercials.
Hypnotic -- the Million
Dollar Contest -- gives the impression they are a short film buyer, and will
only show your film on their one website. An older site that has changed its
name and recently provided content to the Sundance Channel,
and in 2002 hosted the "Million Dollar Film Festival" through www.chrysler.com .
I was surprised to learn
that this site was taken seriously by some, who pay upwards of $300 to have
their short films listed on the web site in various formats for a full year.
This company also publishes a directory of distributors which lists some forty
buyers of short films. The directory is sold for $40.00 as the Hollywood
Creative Directory of Distributors in some bookstores.
The closest thing I have
come across to "Liquid TV" is this "Sci-Fi Channel" show
inviting submissions of science fiction-oriented shorts to their 60 minute
showcase. In recent months, also like "Liquid TV," they appear to be
withdrawing from this practice. <pout> Worth
sending a VHS?
Odyssey has issued a
number of computer graphics compilations, and has been known to compensate
filmmakers on a royalty basis.
FESTIVALS & CONTESTS
www.awn.com
has a phenomenal chronological festivals listing under "Call for
Entries." Their links to festivals like “Clermont Ferrand” were a godsend. Plug "animation festival" (with
quotes) into Google.com and get about 10,000 results. The links below are
believed to be very animation-friendly. Thanks also to the folks at www.pixar.com -- following some of their short
films revealed many nice links.
The logic for entering
the better-known festivals once was that one will both make contacts and
attract sales agents and non-exclusive sales agreements. Now that DVD/ www.netflix.com is making the winning of awards
a significant quantity FOR FEATURES, festivals are getting a second look, and
some animators are even transferring their films to 35mm film. DVD publishers
may be including shorts with some films.
NOTE: www.asifa.net has a list of festivals which it
has filtered at their website, and which animators should take note of -- the
approximately thirty festivals all don't charge any fee to enter, and accept
both PAL and NTSC.
This new web site
promises film festivals all the time. There are also numerous
"bookmark" pages of festivals links, some specific to animation, like
Animation World Magazine's www.awn.com website, hosting several info
pages below.
As billed, the only
magazine exclusively for short filmmakers. You may find reviews of some of the
festivals listed below. Supported by www.shortfilmgroup.org
.
Clermont-Ferrand Short Film
Festival. A
20 year old phenomenon attended by worldwide distributors. The
best known of the short film festivals, beside Aspen, Cannes, Berlin and Venice.Free entry.
Industry trade magazine Animation
Magazine has sponsored a fee-based convention of sometimes daunting
proportions called the "World Animation Celebration." A Film Festival
is incorporated.
The Bradford Animation
Festival has one drawback, like the festival below -- a PAL video. Otherwise, growing repute and no entry fee.www.minkfish.com had good prices for conversion
last time I checked.
This 90 second shorts
contest has been partly sponsored by Aardman Studios,
among others. The only problem may be converting your entry to PAL. www.minkfish.com
Through a collaboration
with Universal and Yahoo, hypnotic's "Million
Dollar FimContest,"in
which the best short filmmaker gets to produce a low-budget feature of their
script, has continued into its second year, with some modifications: a thirty
dollar entry fee, all non-exclusive rights in the short submitted seem to
trickle through to Yahoo, there are two additional rounds -- one of which is
producing a commercial for a chrysler car, AND the
"winner" gets $35,000 only IF a big name star will sign on with the
project. So, why list this contest? Because: if you're one of the 24 filmmakers
who only make it to the first cut, THAT IS SOMETHING. The pay is better than
most of us manage, and since your project is going to be a LIGHTWAVE feature,
you can hire 30 of your friends. Does this presuppose that Hollywood is corrupt and your winning
script couldn't manage a $1,000,000 budget otherwise? No, the filmmaker does
the supposing, the less the better.
The Palm Springs
International Film Festival has a $30 registration fee, and bills itself as a
"short film market." To their credit, they were credited with making
contacts of one kind or another for two thirds of the short films during the
online bonanza of 1998.
Of the fee-based
festivals, the "Ann Arbor" film festival now in its
40th year gets a warm place in my heart, ever since I sent them a super 8mm
film.
ANIMATION SELF-DISTRIBUTION
One way out of the
morass of selling one's short directly is to contact the http://groups.yahoo.com "LW3D" newsgroup and
other newsgroups to collaborate on a shorts collection. Another approach is to
try selling one's shorts to the DVD's publishers who routinely add four or five
"special gifts" to each feature. The leading DVD designers/publishers
are listed at www.dvdinsider.com . See "Buyers" above.
I have received e-mail from such an entrepreneur.
As long as one does not
use a pseudonym, a seller's license is free in most states in the USA.
INSPIRE's 640x480 maximum resolution may
limit one's audience, since the professional standard is apparently 720 x 486
for widescreen. (No one wants returns if they can help it!)
Brought
to you by the folks who brought you e-shares, this "Open Market"
distributor will sell your short films at a cost of 35% of your asking price,
and require you to handle mailing. You will be paid once per year, unless you sell more
than $100 worth of product.
EBay doesn't do a big
business in VHS video's, but it's there for you, at
very reasonable prices to list. The "DVD" section of EBay seems to
have a little bit better traffic, at only $1500ish to stamp a short run of
DVD's. www.videodubs.com
Amazon is trying to
reach out to independent filmmakers, with its "Advantage" program. At
this time, there is a $750 obstruction in UPC Bar code registration, but if you
can find a UPC company to "rep" you: An Amazon.com page featuring space for customer reviews, cover art,
bios, and descriptions. Free stocking and shipping-We keep your video in stock
so it can be shipped quickly, a proven way to increase sales. Full access to your sales, inventory, and payment reports.Quick payment terms and automatic reordering.www.uc-council.org is not-for-profit, just like the NASD(AQ)
used to be.
A good place to be listed is the Independent
Movie Database. Some video e-tailers who claim to
have ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING BECAUSE WE'RE THE BIGGEST ON THE PLANET SINCE 1922
do not seem to have copies of some pretty familiar indie
titles.
ANIMATION STUDIOS BELIEVED TO USE
LIGHTWAVE:
A number of the studios listed below use both
LIGHTWAVE and another package like MAYA, or may be included out of callous
disregard for the facts. Some studios like Dreamworks/PDI
use in-house software, and hire animators based on their demo reels and then
train them.
[Also, a large number of
TV stations are believed to use LIGHTWAVE.]
* www.la411.com : a pretty good resource to find animation companies.
* www.thescratchpost.com : another listing, specifically for animation houses
specializing in visual effects or VFX.
INSPIRE-RELATED PRODUCTS
If you can only afford INSPIRE, why would you
start buying software for it? Isn't that like buying extra RAM for a Commodore?
Believe it or not, one CAN buy some of these plug-in's for INSPIRE and then use them for LIGHTWAVE 7
as well. Check with them for upgrade deals, if not. And here's a little known
secret: some of the coolest elements in LIGHTWAVE 7actually premiered in
LIGHTWAVE 5.6/INSPIRE, including "unwrap" and "cloth" and
dynamics.
The other major "dynamics" plug-in
is "Impact 2," made by a company that pioneered particle animation,
the makers of "Particle Storm 3." Their plug-in's
that work with INSPIRE: Impact 2, PS2 Jr, NatureFX, Thor, Tree Druid, LumeTools.
I contacted Worley, and they reported that
unfortunately their many products only work with FULL versions of LIGHTWAVE,
but they are such a neat company, I thought I should mention them.
BROTHER ANIMATORS
This humble list is provided as a service to
animators who may be available for work (or not), and is comprised of credited
animators who have promoted their web addresses publicly. Many of these animators
have more than one preferred software; Stahlberg, for instance, currently works primarily in MAYA.
A much
larger number of Distributors and Exhibitors exist for the feature film
"attraction" which can serve to shorten nights in rainy Seattle or
fill a void for a cable content provider or a second bill for a discount movie
venue, or provide parents some video-babysitting in the next room. Festivals
tend to have entry fees for features, but these fees are often manageable with
early-bird discounts. A "search engine" will reveal MANY resources,
but the biggest resource is the heart to get started and stick with it. Only
one feature, that I know of, has been produced with
LIGHTWAVE -- "Jimmy Neutron" -- and I am told it was a model of
animator persistence.
This list is
going to be skimpy because the way to do these things is talk less and do more.
And I simply have not produced any, so how much help will I be?
The
"Independent Feature Project" for independent feature filmmakers is a
very well known resource for seeing, selling and showing feature films. The IFP
may also provide networking and exhibition for short films.
