SFS BLOG
Mass Update!
by Christopher Wade / Tyrone "Hydraulic" Selby on 06/12/11
We know that everyone's been waiting for the next installment for "Pumpk & Cham and Pai" the animated series, and it's coming! Actually, it will be published July 29th, 2011 to be precise! So mark your calendars! But we're not going to leave you guys completely high and dry....here's a Sneak Peak at the next installment to "Pumpk & Cham and Pai"
And not to worry...our webcomic series "Pumpk & Cham and Pai" and "Elements of Light" will still continue! If you've missed the recent pages, go ahead and mosey on over to see what's going on!
-Tyrone Selby
Spark-Flow Workshops
by Christopher Wade / Tyrone "Hydraulic" Selby on 03/10/11
Spark-Flow has been switching gears by getting more involved publically; stepping away from our desktops and tablets, and actually becoming more personal in the community. On (Saturday) March 26th, we will be special guest speakers at the 2nd Annual Soul 4 Reel Film Festival, teaching festival go-ers on vocal acting for animated cartoons. We are extremely excited! Here's a little bit about the Soul 4 Reel Film Festival:
"The Soul 4 Reel Film Festival spotlights truly independent short films (under 30 minutes) in every genre including music videos, created by new and established filmmakers dealing with The Soul of Real Relationships. The goal is to enlighten, inspire and build the imaginations and lives of those who enjoy making films as well as those who simply observe by expressing what it means to have and be in a relationship. The competition is open to students, indie filmmakers, and music video directors from all over the world."
But before that, on February 24th, Christopher and Tyrone taught a workshop on the entire animation workflow (from the process of birthing an idea, all the way to exporting your cartoon from a program) for the DC Animation Meetup Group. Here are a lot of the questions we were asked that we are glad to share the answers with you!
Q: What's the reccommendation for animation programs?
A: We typically operate with the Adobe Creative Suite. It's very important to try and match your clients software accessibility and the Production Premium (focuses on Flash, After Effects and Premiere) in case you have to swap workfiles with your client. Adobe Creative Software is quite well-known among businesses and education facilities (Photoshop anyone?), quite efficient in it's graphics capabilities and it is by comparison a little cheaper of an alternative to the higher-grade multimedia programs out on the market.
Q: Have you ever worked with Toon Boom?
A: We've touched Toon Boom and are in the process of learning it. However, at this moment we have not incorporated it into our primary workflow simply because many of our clients do not have access to it. The program itself is quite expensive but because it chops the workflow by almost 30%, it is no wonder why it is the industry-standard in animation.
Q: What's the preferred program for writing a script?
A: We use Celtx. It's a great program that is free! It formats to whatever style media you're writing, be it film/television series, comic strip, stage play, etc. It allows you to export in a PDF file (granted you have internet acesss), and even has an app with apple products that can sync with your desktop, allowing you to write away from your desk. There used to be another great scriptwriting program called Sophocles but who knows what has happened to it :(
Q: What is the script page per film minute relationship in animation?
A: We get this all the time and it honestly depends solely on your content. Timing is much different in animation than it is in film. A comedy-heavy show may have a page with scores of snappy dialogue between two characters which could last for all of 20 seconds while an action-heavy show may have a page with a huge action scene that lasts for a minute and a half. It all depends on your content! Keep in mind that the more action you write in your script is more work for the animators to draw, which means more money for the studio. Unless you're writing for a major studio with powerful bank, don't be too excesive or the script may get turned down for being too expensive to produce. Be creative but be sparing.
Q: What is the normal time for rendering? What's the output time's relationship to resolution?
A: Great question for the After Effects users! One which will ALWAYS differ in every product and your computer's processing power! Keep in mind when rendering, it's always a good idea to give your product an extra day or so just in case you run into rendering issues. It happens to the best of studios but it's a hang up you must be prepared for. Per resolution, we are in the High-Definition era now; 1920 x 1080 is the standard so your final renders may end up being several GB's large. Make sure you have plenty of hard-drive space!
Q: When was the start/stop time in animating the PC&P project?
A: Pre-Production started in March of 2010. Full-On Animation for the Prologue began late July 2010 and ended in October 30, 2010. The animation to ACT 1 is slated to commence in late March of 2011!
Reconstruction and Thoughts
by Christopher Wade / Tyrone "Hydraulic" Selby on 02/19/11
A brand new site for a brand new day!
It's beautiful out here in Germantown, Maryland and we encourage everyone, fans and friends alike to go out and enjoy life! More comics to come next week soon as we expand our business just a little more!
So as I sit and revamp the site a bit with 16 Blocks playing on our new flat-screen at home, (it's pretty friggin' sweet), I catch on to the theme of personal change. I begin to wonder how complicated a thing personal change really is...
Personally I share my home with seven other kids, playing big brother when I can and pseudo-father to the toddlers that require it. These toddlers, the new four that complete our set of seven are ours to care for until, without going into specifics, a change comes from their "parents". I often wonder why a person should change; perhaps for the betterment his/her family, perhaps for their spouse and the continuation of their marriage, maybe even for individual change in order to find this thing we call "love".
These questions I ask myself because I find (we) humans fascinating especially in the regard of character growth in the development of our cartoons. Take PUMPK, our tall lanky scarecrow, for instance. From what's seen in the Prologue, he's very much a coward even if a show-offy one. However, this is a fact he very well knows and as fans will see in the coming weeks, he works very hard to "fix" this about himself. If the mantra of "be yourself" holds itself to be true, wouldn't being a coward lend itself to being an attractive and golden trait in real life? Sure, biology has in a way blessed us with fear so that we as living organisms can sense danger, assess it and run from it... but as a father-figure, how can someone remain a coward and protect the people he loves as in Pumpk's case? And if a person simply walks without fear, how can they truly survive the perils of life without exercising some form of caution?
Whether we want to admit it or not, through the workplace or through our relationships, even within traffic, in a way we beg for people to understand us, to be comfortable with who we are, maybe to truly see us and love us, even though we are given mixed messages pertaining to the finality of our makeup: "be yourself", "get stronger", "share your love", "protect your 'stuff'". Our flaws seem to make us perfect, loveable, even attractive... they even confine us within our predictaments, cementing us in stone in the gaze of our friends, families and superiors. Maybe the one thing keeping us from obtaining the things, the circumstances or the people we desire are ourselves as was the case with Bruce Willis in 16 Blocks when he finally makes the plot-changing decision that concludes the movie..... or maybe the changes we desire in life can only come in time.
All this from a movie with an annoying performance by Mos Def? Sheesh, I DO overthink things, dont I? Rant off.
- Christopher Wade
We Are Growing!!!
by Christopher Wade / Tyrone "Hydraulic" Selby on 10/11/10
Hello Fans!
So you have found the secret layer! If you're reading this, you will not only get the inside scoop on what's new and happenin' within Spark-Flow Studios, but also the latest buzz with the rest of the comic, cartoon, and gaming industry! Welcome to the Spark-Flow Studios blog! We will be updating shortly, but in the meantime, make sure you are following us on Twitter: @Spark_Flow for our latest discoveries and news ~ HUZAAAAA
