Quarter-Polish

Merry Christmas (in the West Midlands)

2011-12-18T20:04:00.000Z

Here's a short Christmas animation we made at RJDM Studios promoting the use of public transport during the festive season in the West Midlands. I storyboarded sections of the video and I also animated afew of the characters as well as the bouncing Christmas Pud! I also comped the whole thing in After Effects.

It was a really enjoyable project to work on with a pretty quick turn around too! I'd be happy to get more work like this in the future! Anyway if you do watch make sure you sing along!

Ho Ho Ho!

John K Caricature!

2011-11-20T18:01:00.000Z

I went to Encounters Festival in Bristol this year to see one of the 5 films that I had been involved in some way in making including my very own graduation film Refrigeration. Among other things I met the excellent John K who's best known for his Ren & Stimpy who also drew a caricature of my lovely face in all its glory! I really like the way the light captures my nose!

Country Life

2011-11-13T17:47:00.000Z

"You can always tell a farmer, but you can't tell him much!"

Flip Festival

2011-11-05T20:44:00.001Z

Had an excellent time at Flip Festival this year! Not only did they screen Refrigeration and my Flippin' Sting, but I had my showreel reviewed in front of a panel of the following industry guests:

Mick Foley (Freelance Producer, Sumo Dojo)
Barry Purves (Stop Motion Animator / Director)
Glen Holberton (Executive Producer, Loose Moose Productions)
Neil Hall (Character Animator, Frontier Games)

Gotta say they were actually really positve and gave some good advice about the industry although I was all geared up for a kicking since I know these reviews have been really harsh in the past. But there was plenty for me to take away.

Also got to attend a masterclass and meet the great, independant animator Bill Plympton. Before the festival I'm ashamed to say I knew very little (well nothing) of Bill's work, but I now can't believe his work passed me by for so long!

He animates all his work himself (including several feature films), has been nominated for several Oscar's as well completly independant. Pretty impressive stuff and his short The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger was just amazing and he drew me a little sketch. Great Guy!

Flip International Animation Festival

2011-10-10T21:16:00.002+01:00

I'm pleased to anounce that "Refrigeration" will also be screened at this years Flip Festival. Its playing in "Open Shorts 1" on Friday 28th October so please check it out if your in sunny Wolverhampton for the festival. Oh, and be sure to look out for my Flip Sting which is also being screened at this years festival!

Encounters

2011-10-05T11:22:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to announce that Refrigeration has been selected for Animated Encounters in Bristol! Look I've even got the official selection logo thingy with the leaves! It will be playing in a program called "Domestic Bliss" on 16th November at 18:00 and again at 12:00 on the 18th. All the details are here

Also playing at the festival are Bertie Crisp directed by Francesca Adams, Damned directed by Richard Phelan and All Consuming Love (Man in a Cat) directed by Louis Hudson. I worked on all three of these films and can honestly say that they are all fantastic and should be seen at all costs!

FLIP Sting 2011

2011-10-02T18:58:00.000+01:00

Animation Forum West Midlands latest competition was to create a sting for the FLIP animation festival. I've been to the festival for the last couple of years so I thought it would be a great opportunity to get involved with the festival and get my work shown.

It also gave me a great chance to practice a bit on ToonBoom which I have been meaning to do for ages. The sting itself was inspired by the dark, twisted inner workings of the FLIP festival!

Still time to vote... For Me!

2011-09-06T13:09:00.001+01:00

Last blatant promotion I promise, but there is still time to vote for "Refrigeration" to win the Barbican/Ideastap Animation Competition.

Just click the link below and vote for "Refrigeration". Thanks!

http://www.wallpaper.com/voting/wallpaper-animation-competition/1

Refrigeration at the Barbican!

2011-08-10T20:57:00.000+01:00

Now showing at the Barbican! Refrigeration is being screened from Friday at the Barbican in London before the feature film "The Salt of Life. So if anyone is in london and fancies seeing it please check it out. All the details here:

http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/event-detail.asp?ID=12605

Also on a similar note you can STILL VOTE for Refrigeration to win the Barbican/ideastap animation competiton. Its shortlisted in the final 6 so please vote if you like it on Wallpaper.com:

http://www.wallpaper.com/voting/wallpaper-animation-competition/1

Last Minute Birthday Card

2011-08-07T19:21:00.000+01:00

Made a birthday card for my brother (called Paul by the way) on the morning of his birthday before he was awake. Great forward planning! It centres around one of his great loves, brown sauce!

Nurse Character Designs

2011-08-01T21:00:00.000+01:00

Some designs for a ditsy nurse character I've been working on of late.

Vote for Refrigeration! at Wallpaper.com

2011-07-10T14:22:00.001+01:00

As one of the winners of the Barbican and Ideastap animation competiton my graduation film "Refrigeration" is now up on wallpaper.com. This isn't just for fun, its serious! Turns out an overall winner is being picked on wallpaper.com via public vote!

So if any fancies voting for me I would be very grateful. Just click the link below and vote for "Refrigeration". Thanks!

http://www.wallpaper.com/voting/wallpaper-animation-competition/1

E4 Sting

2011-07-10T13:36:00.001+01:00

My Entry for the E4 Stings competition 2011, its evolution at its best! Made using a combination of hand drawn and 2d puppet animation. Actually finished it a while ago but have been so busy with work lately that haven't had a chance to upload it.

If you like it please vote "Yay" at the E4 website here:

http://www.e4.com/video/7JnD08CNTtYFTHpdbmuhlg/play.e4

Barbican Animation Screenings

2011-06-12T20:02:00.003+01:00

I'm pleased to announce that my graduation film Refrigeration has been picked as a winner of the Barbican and Ideastap Animate Competition! This means that it will be screened at the Barbican Cinema in London before new releases throughout the summer and at a special event at the Barbican Art Gallery in September.

So a massive thanks to all the judges who picked "Refrigeration" and also thanks to their kind words:

‘Well designed and animated with a strong sense of atmosphere, a very accomplished piece with a wonderful sense of characterisation.’ – Mike Please

‘This short is beautifully realised, and has a very appealing dark humour to it which isn’t overplayed or overdone – I enjoyed the unusual angles and facial expressions, and found it very reminiscent of ‘Belleville Rendezvous’.’ – Olivia Humphreys

‘Great fun with a striking sense of layout and visual composition. Horror as a genre, though familiar in Japanese anime, does not appear frequently enough in UK animation, and I loved the idea of the burly delivery driver being taken on by the old woman who refuses to let him take back the fridge. Not for the first time she hangs up the driver’s jacket as a trophy. Stunning camera angles and sense of perspective – the high shots looking down are excellent. Reminded me of Svankmajer. Clever.’ – Robert Rider

I didn't need to include them I know but it seemed a shame not to get a little ego boost! All the details of the screenings be found on the Barbican Website along with their season of Animation throughout the summer. So check it out: http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/competitions/ideastap-and-barbican-animate!

Limelight Awards

2011-05-23T13:04:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to anounce that my graduation film "Refrigeration" has been nominated for a Limelight Film and Arts Award in the Animation catagory. A big thanks to everyone who liked the film and decided to nominate it!

For more information and a full list of nominations check out their website:
http://limelightonline.org/Nominations2011.html

New Avatar

2011-05-16T12:49:00.000+01:00

Thought it about time for a new avatar, so I created this one. Much more realistic than the last one and even contains some designer stubble. In truth I don't actually own those style shoes but I would like too so i think that counts as an accurate depiction of myself. I've made it so that I could put it into After Effects and animate it as a 2D puppet if needs be. Might also make an avatar of my cat and animate a series of short films for Youtube about the antics my cat gets up to when my back is turned. I'm thinking of calling it "Matt's Cat". I'm pretty sure that's a totally 100% original idea...

Double Bounce Walk Cycle

2011-05-14T13:25:00.000+01:00

I always find myself watching old animations from the 1920's and 30's so I thought I'd give a rubber hose, double bounce walk cycle a go.

Life Drawing

2011-04-18T18:26:00.001+01:00

Recently started life drawing again after what seems like a lifetime. Apart from anything else I forgot just how fun it is. I get really engrossed every time I do it, time just flies by!

So I've added a new "Life Drawing" section to this blog that I'll add to from time to time with some of my favourite sketches. Enjoy!

Thou Shall Have a Fishy!

2011-04-12T17:09:00.000+01:00

Character design for an evil fish, nuf said!

A few Kind Words

2011-03-31T20:53:00.002+01:00

Just wanted to say thanks to "project flatform" who saw my graduation film at the Flatpack Festival in Birmingham the other night and described it as a "fabulous short"! Please check out their blog and see for yourselves if you don't believe me. http://projectplatform.org.uk

Also I'm pleased to say that "Refrigeration" is also going to be screened north of the border at the Loch Ness Film Festival in Scotland which takes place from May 27-29. They have even given me a short space on their website... which is nice! http://www.lochnessfilmfestival.co.uk

Chip on your shoulder?

2011-03-29T13:15:00.000+01:00

Here are some designs I've been working on for a narrative which takes the saying having a "chip on your shoulder" literally.

I've also been putting a portfolio together on a website for film makers called "ideas tap".

Check it out:

http://www.ideastap.com/people/quarterpolish/portfolio/

Shorts on Walls

2011-03-25T12:12:00.000Z

Went up to Birmingham yesterday to see the "Shorts on Walls" animation screening thats part of the wider "flatpack festival". http://www.animationforumwm.com/

A great, packed night with loads of great shorts and I was greatful to see my own graduation film"Refrigeration" got a screening too! Also showing was another film I've been working on over the last few months called "All Consuming Love (Man in a Cat)" directed by Louis Hudson http://www.diceproductions.co.uk/.

Its even stranger than it sounds, check out the trailer which has managed to get over a million hits on youtube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8hBjT2EekY. A really great, funny film and most likely comming to a festival near you!

Film Festivals

2011-02-25T20:37:00.000Z

After what seems like an eternity I've finally entered my graduation film "Refrigeration" into film festivals and some of them liked it! Firstly the National Student Film Festival are showing my film in the "music videos and animations" catagory. Click here for all the info http://www.screentestfest.org.uk/programme/

Also the No Limits Film Festival in Sheffield (http://www.nolimitsfilmfestival.com/index.php) are also showing "Refrigeration" and have kindly nominated it for the Best Animation award! Yay, I can feel my head slowly inflating and filling up the room. Which is nice!

Hopefully more "Refrigeration" festival news to follow.

Watch this space...

Xmas Nipples

2011-01-26T18:43:00.000Z

Xmas Nipples from Matt Waruszynski on Vimeo.

Just a short animation I started in December but because of one reason or another I could only get time to complete recently.

I'd like to think of it as a Christmas present 11 months early rather than 1 month late!

New and Improved Gay graffiti

2011-01-26T18:33:00.000Z

New and Improved Gay graffiti from Matt Waruszynski on Vimeo.

A new version of my entry to "The Great Animation Challenge" hosted by the Animation Forum WM (www.animationforumwm.com) which I'm pleased to say came second place! Yay! and well done to all the other entries which were screened at the "Shorts on Walls" night in December.

The audio I used is by a comedian called Eddy Brimson, really great. Check him out. www.eddybrimson.com

BEEN FISHING!

2011-01-17T09:22:00.000Z

Hello, really long time no post I know but I've been away fishing for a while! I hope to be back now with regular updates.

Loads of new stuff coming soon...

Gay Graffiti

2010-09-30T14:24:00.000+01:00

Gay Graffiti from Matt Waruszynski on Vimeo.

This is animation I've been working on for a competition called the "great animation challenge". The audio is by a comedian called Eddy Brimson and it really leapt out at me when I heard it and thought it would work well as a animation.

The animation is hand drawn straight into photoshop using a wacom tablet and the backgrounds are done by my good friend from my University of Westminster days Matt Payne. Apart from anything else it gave me a change to do some lip sync which I have been meaning to do for a while and I work sooo much better when I have a deadline to work to!

Enjoy!

England v Bulgaria

2010-09-04T11:54:00.000+01:00

On the way back from working at the National Film and TV school in Beaconsfield I stopped of at Wembley Stadium to see the England game! Amazing stadium as you can see, and England won 4-0 so all well that ends well.

Character Designs

2010-08-30T22:03:00.000+01:00

Well my work continues on this short film "gay graffiti" albeit frustratingly slowly. However I have managed to get an animatic down and have got almost everything ready to start animating. Hopefully the backgrounds will be done in Maya by a friend from my Westminster Uni days which should look great! All I have to do now is find enough time to get started.

Great Animation Challenge

2010-08-23T15:18:00.000+01:00

I am someone who works much better to deadlines rather than having an indefinate time to finish things. I've got a heap of work which I've started but never finished but I always up my game when I know I've got to get something done. So since my deadline filled days of Uni are over I've found that there are animation competitions out there.. who knew!

So I've been working on a short animation for the "Great Animation Challenge" in which you have to use an audio track featuring sets from a selection of comedians and simply animate a short clip. I found a great clip by a comedian called eddy brimson which I've been working on over the last couple of weeks.

Heres the characters I designed. I think I'm gonna call it "Gay Graffiti"

New Look Blog!

2010-08-15T20:46:00.000+01:00

Well I've been busy redesigning my blog which I found stangely confusing but I did manage it eventually. I can't get my head round html codes but at least templates exist for the simple folk like me. Anyway I've now included some new pages at the top of my blog as well as new overall look. I've finally put a showreel page up also which I'll be updating all the time along with a cartoon page with some of my favourite cartoons I've drawn.

The National Film and TV school is still keeping me pretty busy at the mo but I'll save that for another day. In the meantime heres a pic of a gay cowboy... why not?!

C'mon England...

2010-07-11T21:27:00.000+01:00

A quick cartoon I did inspired by the incredible number of England flags everywhere. Better late than never!

National Film and Television School

2010-07-10T23:18:00.000+01:00

Well life after Uni continues and I'm glad to say I'm keeping busy! I'm currently working as an assistant once again at the National Film and TV school on a animation graduation film by Chess Adams. Check out her blog: http://chessca-oddcat.blogspot.com/. Its a really great black comedy which is animated straight into photoshop which is where I have been helping out. I'm happy to be back there again this year to be honest because there's some very talented animators there making some really impressive films so I'm pleased to be a part of it.

In other news I'm currently in the process of submitting my graduation films to animation festivals. The way I look at it the worst they can say is no so I've got nothing to lose. So I've made a list of festivals and I'm just working my way through them one by one.

I'm also working on another animation of my own (I likes to keep busy!) Just a way to practice new techniques and try things a little out of my comfort zone. Heres the character I'm animating at the mo.

Finished!!

2010-06-07T11:58:00.000+01:00

Long time no post but I think I've had justification! I finally finished my grad film, horay!!

The last month has been both the worst and the best for me. One the one hand its been great because the compositing (putting all the animation, backgrounds, camera movements etc.) is really fun as you finally get to see all your hard work come togeher. Also the addition of the floey and music just adds soo much to the finished piece.

However its also been horrible and not something I want to repeat for a while. The push for the deadline has been intence and has caused me to be very stressed and very very tired with the added joy of RSI thrown in for good measure! But throughout I wanted to look back with a sence of achievement rather than a sence of what could have been.

Since I've finished I've spent alot of time sleeping and not much else. I have put a few business cards together so I can get on with some serious networking!!!

Cats!

2010-04-20T12:48:00.000+01:00

I've got a backlog of sketches I've done over the past few months but haven't got around to putting them online. Here's a few to start of a lovely cat!

A landmark has also been reached in my grad film due the fact that I have now used well over 1000 sheets of animation paper. It would be more of an achievement if I hadn't got so much more left to animate. Oh well perhaps I'll see daylight in a couple of months!

Production Continues

2010-04-08T19:49:00.000+01:00

Busy, busy, busy! Deadlines are looming and the panic is beginning to set in. With the end in sight production of my grad film is in full swing and its a race to get it finished for the end of May deadline! I am however not alone as I have enlisted the help of a sound designer and also an assistant from the 1st year of my course at Westminster who has been helping me with some of the backgrounds. A extra special mention has to go out to my girlfriend Amy who has been relentlessly cleaning up, colouring in and cutting out my animation and to whom I'm hugely grateful!

Because I don't really want to put too much of my work online yet here's of a few pics of my studio aka my flat where the magic happens. Almost all my equipment is from the wonderful land of ebay such as the lightbox which I picked up for £40!

On another note I may well be back at the NFTS this summer after I graduate. Watch this space...

Tony Fish

2010-02-19T20:42:00.000Z

Long time no post for me but I havn't had much to report really. However I've met up with the great editor Tony Fish afew times over the last couple of weeks to get advice about my grad film. He's a really great guy and has given me alot of helpful comments which I would'nt I noticed own my own. For instance I have a tendancy to have the camera positioned to close to the action so that its a bit confusing unless you already know whats going on before. That all been solved now thanks to Tony!

On another note I had to make a presentation to the rest of my course this week about the work experience I did over the summer. To make sure no one got bored staring at my face I made some images of my work experience to have in the backgrounds. The images are the following:

1. general work experience
2. Me talking to Tim Searle at Triffic
3. Playing Ping Pong at the NFTS
4. Me looking at my handywork at Espresso Animations

Pencil Test

2010-01-22T19:51:00.000Z

I've finally started production which means that I'm spending all day every animating. This week I've been working on my opening shot. I havn't animated in a while so its taken me a bit of time to get back into but now I feel semi glued to my lightbox!

Shot 1 Line Test from matt waruszynski on Vimeo.

New Computer = New Look

2010-01-14T16:20:00.000Z

Well I got completely fed up with my old computer so I decided to buy a new one. (By new I actually mean a second hand powermac G5 of Ebay but its still miles better than my old one). Because I can actually use Photoshop and After Effects properly on this computer I decided to have a play around with the aesthetics of my grad film to see if I could improve it. Here are the results!

Shot 003 from matt waruszynski on Vimeo.

Matt's review of the year!

2009-12-31T12:14:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

I know that everyone says it but I can't believe that its been a whole year! In terms of animation this time last year i was young and vulnerable but now I've blossomed into some kind of animating god! (just kidding).

At the start of the year I was working on my minor project along side a pilot project for the BBC. At the time I thought that since I was working so hard the films must be good but looking back I find the BBC project at least very dull to watch and I can see why they didn't pick it to go on their website. The minor film was a bit better but I'm still not happy with it although I've learned from the experience and will make sure I don't repeat the same mistakes.

My plan when I graduate is to ultimately find a job in the UK animation industry and I thought that the key to getting a job in 2010 was the work experience I did in 2009. Therefore I tried over the summer to get as much experience as I could doing whatever I could. I started by going to see Tim Searle from Triffic Films and Baby Cow Productions in my home town of Milton Keynes. Tim was great and although wasn't able to offer me any work did give me a lot of time. I then went onto the National Film and TV school where I stayed on and off till October and once again a big thanks to everyone there! I also spent two weeks at Espresso Animations in London which is a really fantastic little studio which does mainly traditional commercial work. The director there Phil was the first person who really taught me to animate professionally and I even got to do some inbertweening on a Tony the Tiger advert. Finally from the advice of people at Espresso I went on to do a week at Uli Meyer studios in Camden which is a similar studio but is bigger and does more CG work. Once again everyone there was really helpful and I got to practice my animating on a Cookie Crisp advert.

So with work experience over I've spent the last months of the year developing my graduation film which I have found quite difficult. I find coming up with a 2 minute narrative a bit daunting but 8 drafts on I've finally found something I'm happy with. I got some help and advice along the way from not just my tutors but experts like editor Tony Fish and sand animator Caroline Leaf. Now I'm just looking forward to production which will start on Monday 4th January and go on until the beginning of May.

This time next year I would ideally like to be working in a studio somewhere in whatever fashion or freelancing. The worst case scenario would involve me working at ANOTHER call center but its best not to think about such things!

Bring on 2010!

Animated Christmas Card

2009-12-21T23:43:00.000Z

Animated Christmas card from matt waruszynski on Vimeo.
Whilst taking the week off my grad film to complete my dissertation I still felt compelled to animate something! So i thought I'd try animating directly into Photoshop using my tablet pen which is something I've had little experience of doing. Anyways as I was working I thought I'd make it into a Christmas card and here is the result. Ho Ho Ho!

Test Animation

2009-12-15T10:47:00.000Z

Test Animation from matt waruszynski on Vimeo.

This is the first shot I've animated for my grad film. Yay! I'm pretty sure that this is what the film will look like although they may be a few small changes. Hope you like!

Cecil Part 2

2009-12-15T10:43:00.000Z

The adventure continues...

Cecil the Sex Education Robot

2009-12-09T20:38:00.000Z

As I mentioned in my profile I also draw cartoons. Here is one of my favorites, introducing Cecil the Sex Education Robot!

Test Clips

2009-12-09T08:55:00.000Z

The hoarder test clip from matt waruszynski on Vimeo.

The hoarder test clip 2 from matt waruszynski on Vimeo.

Since the plot of my grad film is pretty much finished I've been tinkering with the "look". I really want it to look like an actual professional film and to get away from the idea of making a student film. I am going to be hand drawing all the animation and I have worked out that in order to get the film finished for its May deadline I've got to animate around 5 to 10 seconds a week. However I know that I'll get the timing wrong and end up having to do 5 to 10 seconds a day!

Anyway above are two test clips I've been working on. They are just boils but I did them just to give me an idea of what its going to look like. I can't choose between them so if anyone has any preferences please let me know.

Concept Work

2009-12-03T19:59:00.000Z

I'm in the process of the development of my grad film at the moment and the story is about 90% worked out. The film is about an old woman who is a hoarder and will go to extreme lengths to keep hold of everything in her house. What I'm trying to do now is figure out "the look" of the film and here are some concept images I've been working on.

End of the World

2009-12-02T21:00:00.000Z

Like I mentioned before I worked at the NFTS during the summer and film I spent most of the time working on was Hannah Miller's graduation film "Is it the end of the world yet mum?". Its a about a girl growing up in Brixton with her religious mum in the 1980's when the threat of nuclear war looms large.

I started off working by blocking out the backgrounds with my fellow Westminster student Mark Skinner and I later on moved onto animating a few sections on After Effects. I finally finished off a scene involving a famous mural in Brixton which I started in the summer a couple of weeks ago! When I last saw the film it was looking really great and its been a fantastic experience seeing the film comming together.

For more info on the film check out:

http://hannahleemiller.blogspot.com/

Showreel

2009-12-02T20:21:00.000Z

Showreel 2009 from matt waruszynski on Vimeo.

I thought it best I put my showreel in just to give an idea of what I'm about. It's mainly made up of the work I did in second year so hopefully in after I've finished my grad film it should look a whole lot better!

NFTS

2009-12-02T14:33:00.000Z

I spent the majority of the last 6 months at the national film and television school in Beaconsfield. It hosts a postgraduate MA in animation direction and I have been assisting two of the graduate films there. Its a great school and I just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone there and hopefully I'll be back again at some point!!

Check out their homepage for more info and links to NFTS animation blogs:

http://www.nftsanimation.org/departments.htm

Beginnings

2009-12-01T00:09:00.000Z

Hi there, just a quick introduction. I'm an Animation student studying at the Uni of Westminster in the UK and I'm currently in my final year. That means I'm in the process of making my graduation film so hopefully I'll use this blog to update my progress. I'm a 2d animator and usually animate traditionally on paper, on After Effects or with a dash of Cel Action thrown in for good measure.

Here is a self portrait of me. It's pretty accurate although I've given myself more style than I have in real life!

Contact Information

2009-11-20T19:32:00.000Z

Email Address:

quarterpolish@googlemail.com