Workshop Dates and Schedules

2010-08-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

This post will serve as an overview of all the current and upcoming workshops and their start dates as well as possible holidays and breaks. It will get updated as changes occur.

[last update 1/27/12]

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Spring 2012 Workshop - 16 weeks
Start: January 30th

- Lukas Niklaus
- Jero Maggi
- Mike Wilson
- Yen-Shih Chen
- Ting Tey
- Kristin Wiman

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Testimonials and Feedback

2010-08-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

This post serves as a summary for feedback concerning each workshop.

Feedback is all about what you guys and girls think about the workshop. Did you like it? Did you hate it? What should change? What should stay? etc. etc.

Just leave feedback in the comments section and if you feel more comfortable writing an anonymous comment, no problem!

- Summer 2011 SO Workshop
- Spring 2011 SO Workshop
- Summer 2010 SO Workshop
- Spring 2010 SO Workshop

Animation Feedback Site

2010-06-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is the site where I post the clips from the Spungella Online Workshop takers:

spungellaworkshop.blogspot.com

I'm sure the animators will appreciate any type of feedback, so if you have any comments regarding their work, don't be shy!

Cheers
JD

F.A.Q.

2009-12-29T15:05:00.001-08:00

General Information:

What is Spungella Online?

SO is an online animation workshop where animators can show their animation clips and get feedback on it from either myself or other animators.

How many can participate?

A maximum of 14 animators can join within one workshop

Is it a school? Can I get college credits?

No, SO is not a school. You won't get any grades, no homework, no credits, there won't be any midterms nor finals and you can't fail the workshop. It is purely a get-together for animators in order to share feedback regarding their work.

How many times do you have those workshops?

In Spring & Fall, one session per week, 16 weeks total
In Summer, one or two sessions per week (your choice), 8 weeks total

Finance

How much does it cost?

$500 per animator, paid in full prior to workshop start (which is usually a month in advance). That's for the Spring and Fall workshops.

Just like the Summer on-site workshop where you can have two sessions a week you can have two sessions a week for the online workshop in Summer as well. That means for instance every Monday and Thursday (if those are your assigned days) you would have to show updates if possible. That's a lot of work, so think about how much time you can invest. If you do that it's 16 sessions total (8 weeks), for $500. If you do once a week then that's 8 sessions (8 weeks), for $250.

Why payments in advance?

It gives me time to reopen the sign-up window, in case someone can't pay or changes his/her mind.

What if I miss sessions?

It is your responsibility to follow up each week with revisions to your shots. If you happen to go on vacation during the workshop and are not able to submit work, I can stretch out the length of the workshop for a week or two during your break.

How do I pay?

Payments can be sent via check (if you are a US resident) or Paypal. Paypal is much faster.

1. Check

Send the check to:

Jean-Denis Haas
LDAC Shipping & Receiving Center
1110 Gorgas Ave
San Francisco, CA 94129

Pay to the Order of: Jean-Denis Haas
For: (Spring/Summer/Fall) SO Workshop

2. Paypal

Use

animate (at) jeandenis (dot) net

for the transaction.

Under the "Purchase" payment options (not "Personal"), choose "Services".

Do you accept student loans?

No, sorry.

Registration

How do I apply?

Send me an email to: signup (at) spungella (dot) com
Subject: SO Workshop sign-up (tell me if it is for Spring, Summer or Fall)
Body: "I'd like to attend the SO workshop" and/or whatever other information you want to give me.

More sign-up details will get posted here and on the Spungella blog a few weeks ahead of workshop start date.

How do I know I got in?

You will get a confirmation email for the initial sign-up. Sign up approval is on a first-come, first-served basis. You will also see your name on the list of the workshop (here).

What kind of feedback are you giving the animators?

Honest feedback. You might not always like what I'm saying but I prefer to tell you the truth (from my subjective point of view of course) so I can help you improve your animation.

Is a demoreel needed to qualify for the workshop?

Nope. Feedback is given to beginners as well as advanced animators.

So how is this really structured? Let's get to the juicy details:

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WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?

Someone was asking if I was going to hand out assignments. Nope, I won't. As mentioned before, this is not a school, I don't have a teacher's license, so there won't be anything resembling a school system during the workshop. I won't tell you what to do.

But I can suggest what you might could do if you are inclined to do so. I can give you my opinion. So can all the other workshop attendees.

So if you're not sure what you want or should do, just send me a link or a file with all your current work. I can take a look at it and suggest areas of improvement and offer exercise tips.

Speaking of exercise. Let me know if the shot you're working on is intended to be an exercise or a demo reel piece. The feedback will vary depending on your choice. Why? Read this post:
http://spungella.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-should-i-animate_24.html

And while you're at it, you might as well read this post for more shot ideas:
http://spungella.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-should-i-animate-pt2-exercises.html

If you feel that you've done a ton of exercises already and don't know what else to do, read this:
http://spungella.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-can-animate-now-what-pt-1.html

and this:
http://spungella.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-can-animate-now-what-pt-2_24.html

In fact, a list of things I recommend reading, if you haven't already, are all the links in this best-of section:
http://spungella.blogspot.com/2008/06/best-of-spungella.html

I'm not arrogantly saying that those posts are great, but they seemed to have helped a few people and it was suggested by third parties to start a best-of list for easier browsing, so there you go. :)

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HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PRESENT MY WORK?

I would like to see Quicktime files for your shots. AVIs can have funky codecs every now and then, Quicktime is safer. I recommend the h.264 codec, it keeps the file size small. If your 5 second shot is 624MB big, then something's off. :) . If you work in Maya, write out a playblast using the default compression within Maya. Open that file in Quicktime and export it as an .mov file with the h.264 codec.

"Wait. My quicktime won't let me." You might need Quicktime Pro for that. "But that's $30!" Get over it. Eat a bit less, party a bit less, sell something, whatever. I'm sure everybody can get $30 together within a week. It's worth it.

I would aim for something like 800x600. No need to send me a super duper HD version, but it needs to be bigger than 160x120. :)

If you want even faster feedback, encode the file in an iPhone/iPad format as well. Do File>Export, then under Export choose Movie to iPhone.
The file size is small and you can easily email that with your other regular movie, just label it "something_something_iPhone". I always have my iPhone with me, so that way I can always check your work and send you feedback. But it looks like it won't loop the movie, so don't do it for cycles (unless there are a few cycles within the whole clip, not just one). The video size is small though, so I still recommend a regular movie, I wouldn't just send the iPhone version by itself.

_________________________
WHEN DO I SHOW MY WORK?

First off, I'm located in San Francisco. So if you live in another country there will be a time difference. When you're sending it I might be asleep and vice versa. So before you go "Cuuuurse you JDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!! WHERE'S MY FEEDBAAAAACK!!!!", there might be a reason for it. :)
I would say that the best times for me to look at your work is around lunch, so 12pm-1pm (SF time), as well as in the evening, 10pm-12pm. But I will look at it whenever I can, early in the morning and throughout the day.

Judging by the on-site workshops, most people work all week and show me their updates on the day of the workshop. I highly recommend you do the same. Have one day a week as your deadline for shot updates (I will assign a day to you). If you need feedback between each week, that's no problem of course. If you need two weeks, that's your call. But again, try to work on a weekly basis.

I also recommend working on two shots at the same time. If you get tired of one you can work on the other one in order to keep the momentum and motivation going. Or while you're waiting for feedback on one clip, you can work on the other, that way you don't waste time.
It would be really cool if you'd let me post your work+feedback on the Spungella Feedback site. That way other people can learn from it and you guys can leave feedback amongst yourselves as well. But I understand if you prefer not to share your clip, no pressure, all up to you, just let me know.

I think that's it so far. As always, if you have any questions, just let me know and I'll update the FAQ! And of course, check out Spungella or follow me on twitter.com/jeandenishaas for all the latest news and updates!

Cheers
JD

Announcing (SO) Online Workshops!

2009-12-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

I've decided to open up online workshops in order to accommodate animators who are not able to come to San Francisco.

If you're interested then email me using signup(at)spungella.com and mention your online preference in the subject line.

I'm finalizing the F.A.Q. right now, so come back for more details and answers.

Thanks!
Jean-Denis