Thursday, May 06, 2010

"The Barley Way" Work Reel

"The Barley Way" work reel from Amir Avni on Vimeo.


So here's the work reel for the film I've been hard at work on.
Production started in March 2009 when I recorded the voices of Pete Emslie and Brock Gallagher.
My goal was to make a cartoon with everything I like about the medium. I was interested in tackling musical timing (I used bar sheets) characters and relationships, a Tex Avery story structure (with a topper gag that reflects on the characters) clear & fun posing (for which my new hero is Floyd Gottfredson) wild animation (I studied Rod Scribner) and facial acting (for which I studied the mirror).
In short I was trying to make the kind of cartoon I'd want to see. Now that most of the hard work is done, to get it all colored, I'm gonna keep working on it like a monk in the back room. Enjoy!

I'd like to give a huge shout out to Ben for his amazing contribution to the color styling! You're pure talent, man.

31 comments:

MB Thomas said...

This is AMAZING, Amir! The animation was nothing short of lovely. And Pete Emslie did one of the voices? He's got a set of pipes on him. The timing was nothing short of superb. I love how this turned out and I can't wait to see more. A+, sir, A+.

R.A. MacNeil said...

Looks great Amir. Beautifully animated.

TheFuzzyPubes said...

this is AWESOME AMIR!

I just realised I haven't put a link to your BLOG (on mine) yet... SHAME on me!

GRrrrrEAT JOB on your short man!!!!

Nicolas Martinez said...

Bravo, Amir! The animation was really smooth!

murrayb said...

Great stuff, Amir.
Very tight for student work, kudos for maintaining the quality throughout.
Judging by the finished scenes, it will be really sharp once it's all colored and sound mixed.Keep plugging away!

WIL BRANCA said...

CONGRATULATIONS, Amir!!!

That looks GREAT!!!

Yer Dad must be proud! :)

Kali Fontecchio said...

Awesome job to you and Ben!!!! <3

Amir Avni said...

Malcolm- Thanks! Yeah, Pete Emslie is also extremely versatile and talented with voices!

Benj- Glad you like it and thanks for the link!

Ryan,Nicolas, Murray- Thanks for the kind words! yes, eventually it will all look like the finished scenes.

Will- Thanks for the words of endorsement! yea, dad liked it too.

Kali- That means a lot! and yeah, Ben's a super genius :)

Mitchel Kennedy said...

Rock onnnn it looks GREAT!!

brockorama said...

Ya done great man! Congrats on finishing the year!

Amber Gail said...

Way to go Amir!! I'm looking forward to seeing it again when you're all done :)

Amir Avni said...

Mitch, Brok and Amber-- Thanks! Your comments made me smile :)

Freshyfresh said...

That's how I want to do my Cartoons too!!!=D It looks fantastic!
I like the animation, linework, story, voices, characters(especially Dad and the Girls!), EVERYTHING!!!=) It is a joy to watch it and very inspiring!

Sorry that I didn't write! I was in a crappy mood, now I'm getting better!:)

Amir Avni said...

Hey Steffi- That means so much coming from you! Didja notice i gave you a 'special thanks' credit? Thanks for encouraging me to make this film :)

James Sugrue said...

Awesome Amir! AWESOME! I can't wait to see the whole thing colored!

Jack G. said...

There's some wonderful animation in this. I like how the kid walks away sad. Very expressive.

You "work reel" is way better than most of what passes for "professional animation" (especially on TV).

Amir, I hope you find a place where your talents can really be put to use.

Unknown said...

Great work Amir!

Amir Avni said...

Jim-
Thanks man! I'll definitely let you know when it's all finished

Jack-
Thank you for the kind words of endorsement! reassuring :)

Nick-
I'm really glad you like it!

Anonymous said...

Great job on your film, Amir. I've been reading your blog for years, but I've never really commented on it. Your studies and cartoon drawings have been so inspiring to me, but at the same time, I know I'll never be able to draw as well as you can. I'm only 15 and a sophomore in high school, but I've been doing John K.'s construction lessons for several years now and have been constantly been copying tons of framegrabs from old cartoons in that process. The journey's been worth it for me, because had I not found John's blog, I would still be drawing super crappy flat cartoons right now with no analytical eye.

Amir Avni said...

Hey Roberto! thank you for the kind words, don't despair though! you're doing it right, and drawing is a skill that takes time to perfect. I see a lot of appeal in your lines.

Harmke said...

awesome!!!!

John Guy said...

Looks amazing! I've always liked the fluidity of the lines in the still cartoons you post on this blog. To see that fluidity in motion is a real treat.

Geneva said...

The animation looks beautiful!!

Amir Avni said...

Thanks Looney and Geneva!

Pablo Espasandín said...

What a work man, really beautifull!!!

Avigail said...

Amir, this is fantastic animation. I have no clue about the technical side, which looks perfect to me, but, as a viewer, I can say it's fun and pleasure to watch. There's humour in it, but also some serious reflection. Great work!

Avigail

Anonymous said...

This is AMAZING, man!! The timing, the animation, the voices...this ROCKS!!!!

Amir Avni said...

Avigail: Thank you for mentioning humor along with reflection on life, that's exactly what I was going for!

John Micheal- I'm glad to see your enthusiasm! I was hoping too get such good responses :)

Unknown said...

This is amazing, Amir! I love it! :D

david said...

nice work! super solid animation!!!! cool acting too!

John T Quinn III said...

GREAT WORK! Wow.