Reflective Analysis

There were both good and bad things about my Work Based Learning workshop with the Young Carers.

The positives were 

• meeting the young carers
• made links with the young carers organization by introducing myself to the coordinator
• made possible plans to do voluntary work for the group
• my workshop went well because i got the children involved with colouring in
• the younger children seemed to enjoy my activity
• i was well organized and had everything set up before they arrived
• i had enough resources to run my workshop because I had worked out in advance roughly how many children would be attending and made extra sets of animation frames 

The challenges were

• there was not enough room in the studio for each of our activities
• we were not aware of the amount of young carers that were going to attend 
• i was not in control of anything but my workshop so didn't get the audio i needed

The outcomes were

• i contacted the group to set up another meeting with the organization to get the audio i required
• i went down to the group base with some decent audio equipment and acquired some better audio for my animation
• i learnt that it is important to be flexible and if things don't go to plan on the initial run then have a backup plan 

Outline of my WBL role

The work-based learning project was to set up and run a workshop with the young carers from the Friends and Families of Special Children group.

The primary aim was:

·       To introduce the young carers to animation techniques

·       To give the young carers an enjoyable experience

The secondary aims of this workshop were related to our major project:

·       Getting to know the young carers

·       Recording audio of the young carers

·       Visual work from the young carers

We each had an individual workshop to operate.

·       Ronan = 3d modelling clay

·       Jack = Green screen

·       Chris = Sound engineer

·       Me = 2d drawn animation

For my workshop, I drew the outlines of eleven sets of animation sequences, ranging from 5 to 8 frames each.

Each child picked a set of animation frames and coloured them in. I then proceeded to show them how to make them move by capturing each of the frames in twos on the Rostrum and viewing each of them on a computer monitor.

 

 

WB7 Work-based activity: Student Evaluation Form

Details of activity: Provider/employer, self-employment activities, etc.

Details: Friends and Families of Special Children Dates: October 2011

How could the provider/employer have improved the support offered? ·       Provide more opportunities for interaction with the Young Carers ·       Provided more specific details of how many young people coming to the workshop and when
What could you have done to have gained more from your Work-based? ·       Kept frames of their animation, have more room for each workshop and more time
Were you satisfied that the Work-based Learning activity; was relevant to your intended career?	Very Satisfied		Satisfied		Not  Satisfied
		x
Which aspects of your Work-based activity did you find particularly useful? ·       Interaction with the young people
Which aspects of your Work-based activity were not relevant? ·
Were there any areas that you would have liked to be part of the Work-based activity that were not included? ·      More time
Do you have any other comments that you would like to make?      ·

Student signature………………………………  Date: 03/05/12

letter

Dear Mr Lucas Martell,

My name is Alex and I am currently doing an Animation Degree at Plymouth Art College in Devon, England.

Through my research, I came across your CGI animation, Pigeon: Impossible and thought it was extremely impressive and very humorous.

As part of my Work Based Learning project I have been asked to present an animation to my peers, find out who worked on it and to write a letter to either the Director or the Producer to request a copy of a DVD for our future archives to show students what can be accomplished with CGI.

Because I was so impressed with your animation and similarly the informative blogs that accompanies your work, I have selected it to show to my colleagues.  

If you could help me with my request I would very much appreciate it.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely

Alexis DiMarco

Research

Synopsis

"Pigeon: Impossible" is the tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.

About the Production

Production on the film spanned for nearly 5 years and is the first attempt at animation by writer/director Lucas Martell: “When the project started, it was really just an excuse to learn 3D animation, but by the end of the project I had spent so much time reworking and polishing the story that I just wanted people to laugh.”

The end result is a hilarious 6-minute romp through the streets of Washington D.C. as our hero fights to save himself, and the world from the chaos reigned down by a hungry pigeon. Breathtaking visuals and a sweeping soundtrack showcase the work of nearly one-hundred talented artists and musicians, and the film stands as a testament to what can be accomplished by a team of dedicated volunteers working for the love of their craft.

Technical Achievements

Even with all the technical complexity, the focus has remained on the story and the characters.

Although the project started out as a simple test animation, it quickly ballooned into a no-holds-barred attempt at studio-level CGI filmmaking. The repeated emphasis on solid storytelling meant that technical considerations often came second to what the story required. This resulted in a level of technical hurdles far beyond what most independent shorts attempt, especially one that was made for less than $10,000 and created entirely in people's spare time. Countless weeks were spent optimizing assets in order to render the expansive environment, a pass- based look was developed to allow for the use of more expensive ray-tracing techniques, and hundreds of custom tools were written to accommodate the massive amount of data that had to flow through the pipeline.

Running time: 6m12s Format: 35mm & HDCam

Color / Stereo Release Date: June 25th, 2009

Website: www.pigeonimpossible.com

Contact: Lucas Martell lucas@pigeonimpossible.com

Lucas Martell (Writer/Director/Producer/Animator)

Lucas is a freelance animator and VFX artist. After graduating from Millikin University with a bachelor’s degree in Commercial Music, he moved to Austin, Texas and began production on "Pigeon: Impossible" in the summer of 2004. The film is his first animation, and took nearly 5 years to complete. Since then, he has also become widely known for his weekly podcast that chronicles the techniques and obstacles he's faced throughout production of the film: www.pigeonimpossible.com/podcast

Austen Menges (Editor/Additional Story)

Austen began his editing career in 2003 with the short film “Toward the Near,” which screened at the Director's Guild of America Theatre and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Most recently, Menges co-wrote and edited the short film/web series “Script Cops,” a film industry favorite about cops who arrest people for bad screenwriting.

Christopher Reyman (Composer)

Christopher is a Ph.D. candidate in music composition at the University of Illinois. In addition to performing regularly with various jazz and chamber orchestras, Chris has written over 200 pieces and spent nearly a year composing the score for “Pigeon: Impossible” which was performed by two orchestras and required 74 musicians.

Additional Story

Scott Rice Gopal Bidari

Animators

Jason Lindsay Adrian Zambrano Rodney Brunet Adnan Chatriwala

Models/Textures

Tad Catalano Jason Nichols Don DeGrasse Ousama Itani Eric Burke

Hair/Cloth

Tad Catalano

Environment Coordinator

Ousama Itani

Lighting/Rigging

Lucas Martell

Art Director

Belal Hibri

Additional Character Design

Amalia Litsa Lindsey Villareal Magnus Skold

Sound Design and Mix

David Bewley Corey Roberts 501 Audio

Post Services

501 Post

Executive Post Producer

George O'Dwyer

eQ Artist

Jim Reed

Associate Producer

Gopal Bidari

The Millikin University Jazz Orchestra Director: Randy Reyman

Engineers: John Scott & Steve Andreas

Mastering: Caleb Willitz

The Austin Wind Symphony Conductor: Patrick Phillips

Vice President: Shelly Eager

Engineers: Chris Keyland & Luke Lovett

Videographer: Graham Davidson

Video Playback: Gary Huff Additional Support Provided by The Austin Film Society

Full-size digital versions of these images and an up-to-date listing of festival screenings and awards are available at www.pigeonimpossible.com

To request a DVD screener of the film, please contact:

Lucas Martell lucas@pigeonimpossible.com

Special Features include:
All 23 Episodes of the Pigeon: Impossible Podcast
An 18-minute Featurette on the Story Process
3 Commentary Tracks (Director, Animation & Technical)
All-new 5.1 mix
Nearly 3 Hours of Bonus Content

Pigeon: Impossible wins Jury Award at Animatron

Pigeon: Impossible has just taken the jury award in the humor category at Animatron, the Babelgum Animation Film Festival. The film was also screened as part of a special screening at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Pigeon: Impossible joins Spike and Mike

We're proud to announce that Pigeon: Impossible has become part of an animation legacy: Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation.

Pigeon: Impossible is a viral hit!

After just a few months online, Pigeon: Impossible has reached over 5 million views and topped several lists as the most viral movie of the week! Thanks for spreading the word and please keep it up!

Pigeon: Impossible wins Mopti award at KLIK!

In addition to supporting the Mopti Foundation which digs wells in Mali, every year the KLIK! Animation Festival sends a special short film program curated especially for the audience in Mopti. This year, the audience and local dignitaries selected Pigeon: Impossible as the winner of the Mopti Award. Check out a video of the screening here.

Pigeon: Impossible takes top honors in Montreal

Pigeon: Impossible was awarded the first prize for Best Short at the Montreal World Film Festival (Festival des Films du Monde.)

Pigeon: Impossible interview on FXGuideTV

While at the 2009 SIGGRAPH conference in New Orleans, director Lucas Martell was interviewed for episode #63 of FXGuideTV.

Stay in touch!

You can stay up do date on the latest PI news via e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook.

Awards & Honors

Jury Award Winner - Humor Category - Babelgum Animation Film Festival (Animatron)
First Prize - Best Short - Montreal World Film Festival
Best of the Fest Finalist - Red Stick Animation Festival
Best Animation - Savannah Film Festival
Best Animated Film Award - Sardinia Film Festival
Best Animated Short Film (Professional) - FICCI BAF
First Prize - Best Animation - Rhode Island International Film Festival
Palm Springs Shorts Fest - Best of the Fest Showcase
Best Animation - Childrens' Jury Award - Encounters Short FIlm Festival
Best In Show - ArtFutura (Spain)
Best Film (Professional) - Silver Salt Animation Festival
Best Director - Silver Salt Animation Festival
Best Short - Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival - Mopti Award
Athens Film Festival - Third Place - Best Animation
DC Shorts - Audience Choice Award
Garden State Film Festival - Best Short Animation (CGI)
Rhode Island International Film Festival - Best of the Fest Showcase
Kids' Choice - In The Bin Short Film Festival
It's Art Magazine - Hall Of Fame Award
SIGGRAPH 2009 - Electronic Theater
Huatulco Film & Food Festival - Best Short Film
DC Shorts - Best of the Fest Showcase
3D World Magazine - Competition Winner (Issue 98)
Texas Film Production Fund recipient (2007 TFPF Grant)

Film Festivals & Screenings

London International Animation Festival (Aug 27 - Sept 5, London, UK)
Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation (Touring)
Okanagan Film Festival (Kelowna BC, Canada)
Animatron/Babelgum Animation Film Festival (Online/Hamptons, NY)
Mumia Underground World Animation Festival (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
KROK International Animation Festival (Touring through Russia and Ukraine)
Sardinia Film Festival (Sardinia, Italy)
Nashville Film Festival (Nashville, TN)
Atlanta Film Festival (Atlanta, GA)
Anibar Animation Festival (Kosovo, Albania)
Brussels Short Film Festival (Brussels, Belgium)
Caixina dos Mistos (Travelling throughout Spain)
5 The Film Festival (Lake Park, FL)
Maryland Film Festival (Baltimore, MD)
Fant Bilbao (Bilbao, Spain)
Athens Video Art Festival (Athens, Greece)
Australian International Animation Festival (Wagga Wagga, Australia)
Anifest (Templice, Czech Republic)
Seattle International Film Festival (Seattle, WA)
The Guardian Hay Festival (Somerset, UK)
Webcuts (Berlin, Germany)
EuroAsia Short Film Festival (Washington DC, USA)
Nantucket Film Festival (Nantucket, MA)
L'Aquila International Film Festival (L'Aquila, Italy)
BEFilm Underground Film Festival (New York, NY)
Arcipelago International Festival of Short Films (Nantucket, MA)
Melbourne International Animation Festival (Melbourne, Australia)
EarthDance Film Festival (Oakland, CA)
Tofifest Film Festival (Toruń, Poland)
Bristol Harbour Festival (Bristol, UK)
Salento Finibus Terrae Film Festival (Apulia, Italy)
Sala Montjuic (Barcelona, Spain)
Curtas Vila Do Conde (Vila du Conde, Portugal)
Umbria Film Festival (Montone, Italy)
Jerusalem Film Festival (Jerusalem, Israel)
Anima Mundi (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)
Artscape (Baltimore, MD)
Shorts At Moonlight (Frankurt, Germany)
Indianapolis International Film Festival (Indianapolis, IN)
Cortoons (Rome, Italy)
Festival Illumines (Douai, France)
CMS Children's IFF (Lucknow, India)
San Francisco IFF (San Francisco, CA)
Hill Country Film Festival (Fredericksburg, TX)
AnimaBasauri - AnimaBasque (Bilbao-Bizkaia, Spain)
Short Film Festival La Fila (Valladolid, Spain)
RiverRun IFF (Winston-Salem, NC)
Washington DC IFF (Washington DC, USA)
Athens International Film & Video Festival (Athens, OH)
Newport Beach Film Festival (Newport Beach, CA)
Aspen Shorts Fest (Aspen, CO)
Tallahassee Film Festival (Tallahassee, FL)
Boston IFF (Boston, MA)
Florida Film Festival (Orlando, FL)
FICCI Frames (Mumbai, India)
Animfest (Athens, Greece)
Monstra Animation Festival (Lisbon, Portugal)
San Luis Obispo IFF (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Cleveland International Film Festival (Cleveland, OH)
Garden State Film Festival (Asbury Park, NJ)
Stains Festival du Court Metrage pour Jeune Public (Stains, France)
California Independent Film Festival (Orinda, CA)
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Clermont-Ferrand, France)
Byron Bay International Film Festival (Byron Bay, Australia)
Carolina Film Festival (Greensboro, NC)
Future Film Festival (Bologna, Italy)
Offord Film Festival (Offord D'Arcy, Cambridgeshire UK)
Silver Salt Animation Festival (Travelling throughout India)
Nevermore Film Festival (Durham, NC)
Citrus Cell Animation Festival (Jacksonville, FL)
Fargo Film Festival (Fargo, ND)
Oxford Film Festival (Oxford, MS)
SIGGRAPH Asia 2009 (Yokohama, Japan)
Berlin Interfilm Short Film Festival (Berlin, Germany)
Encounters Short Film Festival (Bristol, UK)
VIEW Conference (Turin, Italy)
Cinanima (Espinho, Portugal)
St. Louis International Film Festival (St. Louis, MO)
Savannah Film Festival (Savannah, GA)
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival (Birmingham, AL)
Fantastic Fest (Austin, TX)
Other Venice Film Festival (Venice Beach, CA)
Tucson Film and Music Festival (Tucson, AZ)
Huatulco Film and Food Festival (Huatulco, Mexico)
Sapporo Short Fest (Sapporo, Japan)
Austin Film Festival (Austin, TX)
SIGGRAPH 2009 (New Orleans, LA)
Rhode Island International Film Festival (Providence, RI)
SICAF 2009 (Seoul, South Korea)
In The Bin Short Film Festival (Currumbin, Australia)
Super Shorts (London, UK)
LA Shorts (Los Angeles, CA)
Montreal World Film Festival (Montreal, Canada)
Palm Springs Shorts Fest (Palm Springs, CA)
Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria)
DC Shorts (Washington DC, USA)
KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Press

It's Just Movies - (Written Interview) 8/5/10
3DArtisan - March 2010 - (Cover Story/Written Interview) 3/1/10
ItsJustMovies.com (Written Interview) 2/16/10
Animation Reporter - February 2010 Issue - (Article) 2/15/10
GQ.com (Article) 2/8/10
ScreenRant (Front Page Feature) 1/29/10
Yahoo! (Front Page Feature) 1/6/10
iSofa.tv - 50 Top Videos of 2009 (#19) 12/31/09
College Humor (Front Page Feature) 12/9/09
Vancouver Animation (Written Interview) 12/4/09
Devils, Angels & Dating (Audio Interview) 11/28/09
3D World Issue #124 (Article) 11/21/09
Film School Rejects (Front Page Feature) 11/19/09
The Guardian (Top Viral Video) 11/19/09
Digg (Front Page Feature) 11/18/09
Moviefone (Front Page Feature) 11/17/09
Entertainment Weekly (Popwatch Feature) 11/11/09
Buzzfeed (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
Boing Boing (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
Laughing Squid (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
CG Society (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
FXGuideTV (Video Interview) 8/7/09
MicroFilmmaker Magazine (Article) 8/1/09
CG News (Article) 5/22/08
This Week In Media (Guest Appearance) 9/17/08
This Week In Media (Discussion @33:06) 9/2/08
That Media Show (News Feature) 8/1/08
Animwatch (Audio Interview) (Transcript) 10/16/07