I really enjoyed our guest speaker Marc Baird. At first I thought he was nervous, not saying anything and looking like he'd rather be anywhere but up in front of us all, but then he drew himself introducing himself, and it was all fun and entertainment from there on.
It was genuinely nice to see someone who so enjoys their work, who genuinely derives pleasure, pride, and happiness from their job. I don't think many people (or not nearly enough) get to have that sense of satisfaction. The way he described himself as a child drawing and being fascinated clearly translated to adult Marc, in his animated explanations.
I know he didn't really work for Disney, but he reminded me of a special I saw on about their Imagineers, who were basically animators and storyboard artists for Pocahontas, back when I was really little (and Disney Channel didn't suck), showing how the process of storyboarding translated into the real thing. I had those flip books too; there was one for the Lion King of the "Just Can't Wait To Be King" scene, and I used it so much until the paper's stiffness wore out and I couldn't make my own cartoons anymore.
It was really cool to hear an insider be so humble and talk about other big Hollywood directors as just people, give some credibility beyond the hype of the media.
I went to his second talk in Jewett at the SUNYwide Film Festival, and even though it was pretty much the exact same talk, it was cool to see him in action with his equipment, especially the motion capture technology of the Kinect. He made me want to see 21 Jump Street, too. I was very impressed that he got a room full of mostly adults to make sound effects to his little spaceship animatic he created for us, and at how quickly he could draw something and have it look so functional.
My favorite anecdote was his fear of Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro (who happens to be one of my favorite directors). As far as in class connections go, Marc really highlighted the need for motion in still pictures, something not as cut and dry in the Sandman comics, and something very present in the Hunger Games series, given that the author was used to writing blocking direction for TV. I'm not really sure how else his lecture tied in, given that it was mostly about the technical aspects and anecdotes of storyboarding, and how his style shifted with the needs of his current film project.
All in all, I'd really love if he taught regular classes here. He seemed like such a genuinely great guy. And he had awesome hair.
You made a lot of good thoughts on Baird. I really enjoyed both his presentations as well. He really come to life while talking to us.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you when you said it was good to meet someone "who genuinely derives pleasure, pride, and happiness from their job." That really is hard to find.
With how the job search has been going recently, it's no wonder people take whatever they can get because they need the money. Baird is lucky enough no not only be able make money, but also make money while having fun at work. And for him, literally "having fun".
Yeah, it would be great if he taught here. It would be a serious pay cut though. :-) This post does everything it needed to do. I'd have liked to hear more of your thoughts about stills vs motion though--the difference between rendering motion in comics and in film. Using Marc's demo of animatics, or the boards vs the clip of 21 Jump St, would have been a good way to talk about that.
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