2009 Demo Reel

My latest Character Animation work from the past couple years. I have clips from my current short film that is still in progress, some work from Animation Mentor and a couple clips from Ghostbusters The Video Game. I also included a motion sample created for Chrysler which I directed and animated at Armstrong White.

DEMO REEL BREAKDOWN

Animation Mentor Work

"Coach": I used Maya 8.5 to animate this character rig provided by animationmentor.com to a sound clip from the TV show "Friday Night Lights".

"The Fan": I used Maya 8.5 to animate this character rig provided by animationmentor.com to appear excited and then visibly disappointed when the moment comes to meet his idol.

"Green": I used Maya 8.5 to animate this character rig provided by animationmentor.com to a sound clip from the movie "Meet the Parents".

Short Film

"Superdumb": This is the opening 25 seconds of my current short film "Superdumb" about a boy who wants to fly like his favorite superhero.  He makes a series of increasingly clever but dangerous attempts to achieve his goal.  Animated in Maya 8.5, character rigs provided by animationmentor.com.

Video Game Cutscenes

"Ghostbusters: The Video Game": I was hired by Terminal Reality to hand animated several shots for the cinematic cut scenes.  I animated every character except Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) in these clips.  All animations were created in Maya 8.5.  Some walking action was aided by motion capture, which was often heavily tweaked.

I am now an Animation Mentor Alumni!

After 18 months of study, focus, weekend sacrafice, and amazing growth, I have finished all 6 classes at animationmentor.com!

I have made many new friends, industry contacts, and memories that I will never forget! My time at AM has been way better than I ever imagined it would be and I am so proud to have been a part of such an amazing school, and to now be part of an exclusive group: Animation Mentor Alumni!

Take a lot of my progress reel that shows all of my work from Class 2, to Class 6, including a WIP look at my short film "Superdumb" which I hope to finish by the end of the year. I now move on to the Alumni site and will continue to be involved with the school as much as I can.

I now have a Diploma in Advanced Studies in Character Animation! This is an awesome addition to my Bachelor of Fine Arts focused on Animation and Digital Media.

AM Grad videos

Since I won't be able to attend Animation Mentor Graduation in July due to the birth of my first child, I was asked to make a short video to thank and congratulate everyone at the ceremony. I was told to keep it under 30 seconds and make it fun, but I had a hard time doing that. So I made two videos, one serious and meaningful, and another that is just me impersonating the three founders of Animation Mentor, Bobby Beck, Sean Kelly, and Carlos Baena. 

I'm torn about which one to send... maybe both? I'm thinking I might need to work on the impressions a bit more as it was my first shot at it, and I'm affraid of getting blacklisted in the industry for poking fun:) I think they all probably have a good sense of humor... right?!

AM Short Film: Blocking Plus

Here is an update on my animated short "Superdumb". While some shots are basic layout animation, most have been taken to the "blocking plus" stage and are ready to be splined out and polished. I won't have the whole film finished by Animation Mentor graduation this June, but just about half the shots should be final by then.

I am still playing with timing and making adjustments to help things read better. Let me know if you see anything that is unclear on first viewing.

Thanks!
-Mark

The Legend of Farmer Jenkins (Student Film)

A 3D animated short film about childhood legends and ghost stories and how they live in the minds of kids. I worked with Mike Tonder who created the backgrounds while I created and animated the characters.

Jenkins has been my little engine that could. It has achieved far more than I thought it would considering it was a student film. Here is a list of a few of Jenkins accomplishments:

Released on DVD as a part of a collection of Horror shorts

Received over 60,000 hits on Halloween 2006 when featured on front page of myspace.com

Featured on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Featured in film festivals across the country
-Waterfront Film Festival
-Los Angeles Animation festival
-Detroit Metro Shorts Film Festival
-Planet Ant Film Festival
-Eerie Horror Film Festival
-Independent Film Festival of North Texas
-Spooky Movie Film Festival 2006
-Spooky Movie Film Festival 2007
-S.N.O.B. Film Festival
-SEMAFX Film Festival

Featured on the front pages of the following sites
-cgtalk.com (recieved CGTalk award)
-cgchannel.com
-deathfall.com
-myspace.com