Animators, motion graphic artists, visual effects artists, screen designers, title designers – here’s your chance to show the world your work. Each month we select two reels from the motion community to screen during the reels@motion segment on our monthly motion+connect broadcast.

It’s easy to enter:

1. Upload your 3-minute or less reel to Vimeo
2. Add the tag: reels@motion to your reel on Vimeo
3. Tweet the Vimeo link to your reel with the hashtag: #motiontv

…and then stay tuned. Winners will be notified. Good luck!

motion09 officially came to a close, Wednesday October, 15, 2009.

“It was our best year ever,” said Becky Padilla, co-producer of motion09. “We started motion three years ago. As working professionals in the industry, we were frustrated that nothing like it existed. As creatives – we were looking for an event that provided inspiration.”

“We’ve attended many conferences over the years,” said Elaine Montoya, co-producer of motion. “They all focused on learning software. While this has it’s place, we were at the place in our careers where we were looking for creative inspiration as a means to revitalize. With tight deadlines, and the pressure of the industry, sometimes you just need to get away from all of it and rejuvenate. That’s what motion is about.”

With motion09, these goals were realized. This year’s show included some of the top talent in the industry, including Karin Fong and Rod Basham (Imaginary Forces), Andrew Orloff (Zoic Studios), Synderela Peng (yU+co.), emmy award winning director Jamie Caliri, animation master Dan Haskett, Michael Waldron and Erik van der Wilden (nailgun*), visionary screen designer Mark Coleran, Patrick McDonough of PMcD Design, and many more.

“The intimate atmosphere allowed for some great one-to-one conversations. I made some great connections that will be invaluable as I continue to define and develop the new Department of Motion Design at Ringling.” Ed Cheetham – Ringling College of Art and Design

“It was so enjoyable to share time and space with other creatives who didn’t seem to be worrying about their place in the scene!” Erik van der Wilden – nailgun*

“We had a wonderful time, thank you – looking forward to next year already!” Alicia VanHeulen – Toolfarm

“I think the whole experience of motion is the people you meet. I have always found some great people that become friends that last much longer then the conference.” Jason Sorbie – Sorbie Design

“Congratulations on the conference! I am so glad I participated!” Patrick McDonough – PMcD Design.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. This year we were honored to have the amazingly talented photographer, Chelsea Nicole capturing the event. Take a look…

“A shout-out to the rockstars of motion09, attendees, volunteers and sponsors of motion. You are what motion is all about,” said Montoya.

“I’ll say it once again,” added Padilla. “We truly appreciate your support!”

Next year’s motion, will take place in October 2010, in ABQ, NM. Details coming soon.

At motion, we are always inspired by the talented work we see coming from the future of our industry – students! This year we provided two unique opportunities for students to have their work seen at motion09:
– the reels@motion competition and
– our interstitials competition

Post-secondary students studying motion graphics, animation, and vfx were asked to submit their reels – 5 minutes or less. The top three winners in two categories – motion graphics and vfx, were announced at this year’s motion conference.

In the category of motion graphics, the winners were:

1st place: Tommy Strickland (Ex’pression College for Digital Arts)
2nd place: Cassandra Chisom (Ex’pression College for Digital Arts)
3rd place: Matt Aubuchon (Ex’pression College for Digital Arts)

view winning reels:

In the category of vfx, the winners were:

1st place: Anna Tonrungroj (Vancouver Film School)
2nd place: Corey Coates (Vancouver Film School)
3rd place: Peter Choi (Vancouver Film School)

view winning reels:

Congratulations to the winners of the motion09 future@motion reels competition!

Want to attend motion09, but your company’s fiscal year begins in October?

Not a problem. Reserve your tickets now at the discounted rate, simply by sending us a purchase order or letter of intent. You won’t have to pay until October!

And we’ve even provided you a sample letter of intent. email it to us at contact [at] motionconference [dot] com or fax it to 505-344-9787. After we receive your purchase order or letter of intent, we will send you a special code to register now. See you at motion09!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

sample letter of intent

September 17, 2009

motion conference
po box 70102
albuquerque, nm 87197-0102

attention: motion 09 registration

This letter serves as [your company's name] Letter of Intent to submit payment in full for the following motion09 conference and training fees:

– motion09 {m}ticket $599
– motion{u} registration $249
– guest ticket for planetmotion party $38
(sample items – replace these with the specific tickets you are purchasing)

TOTAL $886.00

Payment will be made in full no later than October 10, 2009.

This representation is made with full authority and responsibility of [your company's name].

Sincerely,

your name
your title

We negotiated a great group rate this year for motion09 attendees – just $119 a night at the ABQ Doubletree.

This offer expires midnight, Friday, September 18, 2009. Yes…that’s tomorrow! Regular room rates start at $159 a night, so reserve your room in the next 24 hours and save $40 a night – that’s enough to pay for your plane ticket*!

Well…what are you waiting for? Reserve your room at the discounted group rate now!

*based on Southwest Airlines discounted specials to certain markets

Pre-conference pricing for motion09 ends September 30, 2009 at midnight!

Do yourself a favor and save $100 by registering now. Then, get ready to enjoy the rockstars of motion09 including:

karin fong {Imaginary Forces}, andrew orloff {Zoic Studios}, synderela peng {yU+co.}, emmy award winning director jamie caliri, veteran disney animator dan haskett, michael waldron {nailgun*}, mark coleran {gridiron}, rod basham {Imaginary Forces}, erik van der wilden {nailgun*}, chris & trish meyer, patrick mcdonough {pmcd design}, lee roderick, william lebeda {Picture Mill}, phil nibbelink {Nibbelink Productions}, bryan thombs {Picture Mill}, cedric hohnstadt, brad swardson, barbara geary, mark spencer, and more.

register now…you’d be silly not to

A graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Barbara has performed, created and directed numerous theatre works and films. Barbara has had a varied performance career, careening through Mud Shows, mask performances, indie films and Shakespeare. Her directing credits include the acclaimed contemporary commedias Love Potion # Mine and 3 Dottories 3. She has extensive experience as a mask maker and visual artist, exhibiting her ceramic sculpture around the country.

In 2000, she developed the graduate course Physical Expression For Animators at the Rochester Institute of Technology and has brought that work to animators around the country.

How did you come up with the concept of acting for animation?

In the spring of 1998 I was asked to devise a course in non-verbal communication designed to broaden the creative vocabulary of Graduate Students in Animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology. At the time, I had decades of experience and training as a physical actor behind me and some experience in working for animators doing registration and film editing so I set about to distill the elements of my training and experience that would be useful for an animator.

Does acting help improve a character animators skills?

A common belief about acting is that it’s simply about becoming someone else and for the most part, that’s what’s apparent to the audience. But that process requires an understanding of the way we inhabit our bodies. Without it, we can’t play with and mold our physicality in a way that translates as a believable transformation into the “other”. And a character without a real physicality is just a talking head.

Any specifics?

Breath, gait, gaze, status. We take these things for granted in ourselves, but if we can isolate their specific qualities, understand and work with them in a variety of combinations, we are building a great foundation on which to create a character that is alive as a real individual for the audience.

- Breath pattern is a great indicator of a personal rhythm and emotional state.

- Gait or how a character walks can express a tremendous amount about a characters’ physical state and what they do as an occupation.

- Gaze brings us into the character’s thought process and inner life.

- Status as it is expressed physically, gives us an almost unconscious understanding of a character’s place in their immediate social circle and in the wider world.

You get into other aspects as well?

Yes. When you begin to mix variations in rhythm, pace, levels, and movement qualities with these basic elements you’ve established, it’s possible to explore and embody a full range of physical possibilities for your character.

Not all of them will be useful in a given project, but your underlying understanding will bring depth to your creation. An understanding of these elements are useful to animators as they develop a character just as they are to the actor creating a character in performance. If you can inhabit the physical aspects of the characters you create, to get inside their skins, it is so much easier to translate that into your animation because you know what it feels like for them to move in this or that way, to twist like that, how their breath changes when they’re scared or embarrassed or in love.

It’s a great way to improve you observation skills

Definitely. You will also find yourself much sharper in your observations of living things. Tapping into your instinctive understanding of what to look for, you’ll find all the inspiration you need for character in the nearest coffee shop or a walk down the street.

Add these skills to your toolbox and you’ll find yourself going back to them again and again.

speaking at motion09
Barbara Geary will be one of the ‘rock stars’ at motion09

10.11 – 10.14 2009 | abq | nm
motion | experience inspiration

………………………………..
author: Elaine Montoya
motion.tv
………………………………..
copyright: © 2008 – 09
motion.tv

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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A couple of months ago we ran a Twitter contest, with the winner receiving a free {m}ticket for motion09. The winner? Ken Latman.

Since winning, Ken has Twittered about motion regularly – cheering us on, being our human count-down clock, and totally getting into the spirit of motion. Bottom line, that’s what motion is about – community.

Previous attendees of motion have always been surprised when they find out that it’s just two people (really!) who produce motion – doing everything from design, web development, signage, recruiting sponsors, selecting ‘rock-stars’ . . . you name it – it’s two of us who do it! We are really excited when members of our community help us grow motion – whether it is through Tweeting about it, blogging, or word-of-mouth. We truly appreciate your support! Ken – we’d like to personally thank you for helping us get the word out!

Just who is Ken Latman? We asked Ken a couple of questions. Here’s the scoop…

who do you work for?

I have been working now for 10 years for RGH Enterprises. They are a wholesale distributor of medical supplies. They cover everything from Diabetic and Urinary supplies to Chiropractic and Massage tables. It sounds odd that motion graphics would be used in such an organization but they do attend a lot of trade shows in various parts of the US and require booth graphics to bring people in. There are also in-house corporate videos for training and employee information.

I started out as the “web” guy and gradually pushed for more animation type projects. Today I am doing about 2 to 4 major video/animation projects a year around these areas.

what are your areas of interest in animation, motion graphics and vfx?

My interests range from the very traditional cartoon Looney Tunes type animation to motion graphic title sequences and visual effects supplied in motion pictures. I frequently pick up Cinefex magazine just to understand what is behind the effects used in Hollywood blockbusters. I also have a subscription to Computer Graphics World (CGW), Millimeter magazine, Studio Monthly (now it is just an online magazine, but still very good) and CreativeCow Magazine.

tell us about the kind of work you do in the industry and any favorite projects

I do a lot of title type sequences in Adobe After Effects for tradeshows. Usually we are trying to show the benefits of a company or companies and tie in something special either about the trade show’s location or some major new benefit.

These projects I enjoy the most because they have to be energizing and colorful to grab attention. They also have to have a loop point so trying to make them seamless without bringing attention to that point is a challenge. It is always nice to hear that someone really liked my work still after seeing it two or four times noticing something different every time.

Some of the in house work material is pretty dry. They tend to focus around medical compliance issues and company policies. The struggle though is also an exciting challenge because you have to take that material and keep the viewer interested. I am given much leeway to let my imagination run to get these types of project more energizing. They used to be just old PowerPoint slide presentations with audio of just re-reading the content before I took over.

tell us how you found out about motion09 and why you wanted to win the contest

I had been looking for a conference or seminar that focused on animation or motion graphics but was not a film festival. I had attended a number of years ago as a volunteer a conference in Pasadena, CA run by Lynda.com called AfterEffects West. Chris and Trish Meyer (motion09 speakers) had been presenters at that and I just started at RGH. This further fueled my interest in animation not only in what After Effects could do but how off-the-shelf applications can be used to do the very same work you see on the big screen.

I discovered motion through an online search last year, but it was already over. The session schedule and list of presenters appeared to be just what was looking for. I kept the page bookmarked and checked the site periodically for updates on motion09.

I had set up a twitter account when the initial buzz over the site (twitter.com) started over a year ago. When I saw that motion09 was running a contest using twitter to help create buzz about the event, I found a good way to finally use my account.

Having attended conferences like Macworld and Photoshop World in the past, I genuinely wanted something that was more like the old AfterEffects West. motion09 seems like this – and much more.

tell us what you are looking forward to the most in attending motion09

I’m looking forward to seeing how others use Adobe After Effects in their work environment. How others put creativity in their work or look for inspiration to aid them along. Are there others like me that work alone? How do people work collaboratively on projects whether in the same office or across the globe? I am also hoping to see how other applications can be intergrated into my work flow. I do not have a true 3D application that I use. I’ve been told that Maya is the best, but costs over $3k and would be hard to justify to my company to buy right away. 3D Studio Max is given a lot of acclaim, but I haven’t seen too many tutorials incorporating AE with it. Cinema 4D has a large number of followers, but I have never had any hands experience with any of these applications. I use Zaxwerk’s ProAnimator to solve some of my problems, but I could always learn more.

tell us about something about you…

I’m originally from Connecticut and started my career off working for color separation house for wall paper coverings. This gave me an intense experience with Photoshop. Where I work currently I am also the “mac” guy. We run three servers with a graphics group of 8 to 10 people. I’ve written some AppleScript to help with workflow aspects.

I have a degree in Studio Art from Kent State. Additionally, I attended an excellent and highly accredited visual arts program in high school that gave me a tremendous benefit in improving my own drawing and composition skills.

Aside from work, last summer I went on a mid-west road trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. Check out my photos. Best vacation I have had in a long time!

motion09 welcomes ken latman! Thanks for spreading the word about motion! We look forward to meeting you.

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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a note from the producers…

To provide motion09 attendees a unique experience that only an intimate conference can offer, we limit the number of attendees to 360 – creating a ‘full-circle of inspiration’. For those who have already registered for motion09, it means you’re in store for the ultimate experience. What does this mean if you have not yet registered? The math is simple: 360 seats + selling quickly = hurry.

Guarantee your place in the circle by registering now. Once all 360 seats are reserved – registration is ‘officially’ closed.

Past motion attendees have cited the small intimate size of motion as one of their favorite aspects of the event. No where else do you get the opportunity to personally meet and interact with the ‘rock-stars’ of the industry, meet major players from the top software and hardware companies in the industry like Apple, Maxon, Autodesk, or Wacom and network with peers – creating lasting relationships.

We’ve heard from several attendees who have stated that it can take up to 3 weeks for their employers to approve finances so that they can attend motion09. If you’re in this situation, don’t panic. Simply email us at: and provide us with the number of people planning to attend from your company, including their first and last names. We’d be happy to hold your seats for up to three weeks. We want you to be a part of motion09! And after you attend once, we know you’ll want to be part of motion year-after-year.

We look forward to meeting each of you at motion09!

sincerely,

elaine & becky
motion conference producers

motion{u} welcomes Alex Lindsay, founder of the Pixel Corps. Alex has been involved in computer graphics and computer animation for nearly 20 years. He spent several years on the production of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (at JAK Films and then at Industrial Light and Magic). Alex also hosts and produces This Week in Media, a weekly podcast produced by Pixel Corps and is a regular guest on the This Week in Tech podcast. He also produces MacBreak, a video podcast shot in 1080p using a Sony CineAlta.

Those of you who have participated in one of Alex’s hands-on sessions in the past, know that they are simply…amazing. Take advantage of this opportunity to improve your skills at this year’s motion{u}.

motion{u} takes place Saturday, October 10, 2009 – the day before the motion09 kickoff. Alex’s full-day, hands-on session is limited to 15 people – which means if you are even thinking about improving your greenscreen and digital sets skills – you should sign up quickly!

The cost for this training is only $249. Groups of three or more from the same organization can attend for $229 each (please contact us at for details). In September, motion{u} attendees will receive a list of suggested equipment and software to bring to this class.