"New York Times" article on animation

Perfecting Animation, via Science

Published: December 29, 2010

ABSTRACT: At a Columbia University lab, Eitan Grinspun and his students work on helping movie studios to get hair to blow in the wind and clothes to hang properly.

Oliver Mark

One of the most impressive new photography books is Oliver Mark's portraits. His personal site showcases some of the photography in the book. Take a look at this fantastic photographer next time you are in the library.

Mark, Oliver. Oliver Mark: portraits. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2009.
TR 681 .F3 M37 2009

Jason's Super Reviews-Maya Dynamics

Alright you bloggees, here's where the fun stuff starts...yup you guess it, BOOK REVIEWS!! Anyways I'm going to start this series reviews off with a book that will get all you animators and game designers bouncing off the walls.

"Jason's Super Reviews" presents a Maya studio projects instructional / tutorial book on Dynamics.
what is Maya Dynamics you say? Well, that can be answered in one simple word, "Awesome!" Dynamics in Maya is where all the cool special effects stuff like meteors, volcanoes and EXPLOSIONS are created.

This book starts you off with a simple and small explosion using particles and editing them to do simple stuff like orbit around a larger object, just like an asteroid belt orbits a planet. Later on in the book, you get to more complicated stuff, such as tornadoes, mushroom cloud explosions, flood,s and even a gas station blowing up! How cool is that?! The book also comes with a CD with all the project files, so you can follow along.

I have been super excited to get to read this book and I'm glad it was everything I hoped for. I highly recommend this book to anyone learnin' Maya and wants to get into doing cool effects in movies, animated films and game cinematic.

Palamar, Todd. Maya Studio Projects: Dynamics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010.
Q 183.9 .P355 2010

~Jason Kunz

Reviews of New Films

The New York Times gave good reviews to a couple of new films...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: Time for Young Wizards to Put Away Childish Things

Tangled: Back to the Castle, Where It’s All About the Hair

Culinary Blogs

There is now a huge list of culinary blogs on our Culinary Arts subject guide. Click here to see them.

The Lost Thing Trailer

Day Of the Dead: let me twist your mind

So Halloween has come and gone for another year. And I, in true film student fashion, celebrated it with a healthy helping of mind-bending movies.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was on the top of my watching list, but in true end of October fashion my internet died on me and I could not watch it on my Xbox Netflix queue. So I sneaked a peek into my girlfriend's DVD collection and watched a few.

Fight Club and Memento were my two choices for the day. Both these movies are on my top lists because they aren't only amazingly awesome movies; they both are great movies to learn from. Fight Club is an exceptional example of great cinematography. The lighting and camera work play compliments to each other. Memento is a prime example of how a great story is told. It's one of my favorite Christopher Nolan movies, right behind the Dark Knight (I have yet to see Inception...I know I know I should be ashamed of myself).

I am going to get my hands on Doctor Parnassus sooner or later (or until my internet decides to revive itself). Then I will include it in a Zombie Marathon for this weekend. In the lineup: Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead. Both are great movies again for cinematography and story, respectively. The zombie marathon might seem like a week too late, but November 2nd is Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead, or All Saint's Day depending on your geographical location and culture). In my culture (Mexican), this is a more important day then Halloween.

So in conclusion, psycho thrillers... good. Zombie movies... great. Feliz dia de los Muertos and now my picks of the week.


Picks of the week:
-All of the Above
-Seven
-The Sixth Sense
-The Bollywood version of Thriller

In my Queue:
-The Imaginirium of Doctor Parnassus
-The Crying Game
-A Clockwork Orange

Chat with the AiSLC Librarian

Got a quick question? Don't forget that you can chat with the librarian here.

"Kawaii Bento Boxes"

This book on bento boxes will blow your mind. A bento box is a combination of rice, vegetables, and meat in a box-link container. The artistic presentation in these boxes is incredible.

Kawaii bento boxes: cute and convenient Japanese meals on the go. Tokyo, Japan: Japan Publications Trading Co., Ltd./Boutique-Sha; New York: [distributed by] Kodansha America, 2009.
TX 724.5 .J3 K36 2009

Digital Tutors

Jason designed a poster to advertise Digital Tutors.

Click here for the PDF.

Create an account at Digital Tutors for videos on many useful software programs, like After Effects, Flash, Illustrator, Maya, and Photoshop.

New!

Hey everyone!
We have a ton of new books for all majors that came in at the beginning of this Fall Quarter.

Got a few new DVD's too and I recommend checking out these two!






These two are just an addition to our ever growing Animation selection of DVD's.

Both are considered to be animation masterpieces from director Hayao Miyasaki. We have more of his films including, Spirited Away, The Castle of Cagliostro, Princess Mononoke, and Ponyo. If you are an animation fan, I HIGHLY recommend coming into the Library and checking out one of these great films. Maybe even get together with some friends and having a Miyasaki movie marathon!


My DVD suggestion for this week:
-All of Miyasaki's films!!!
-Pan's Labyrinth
-Amores Perros
-Star Trek (2009)
-Anthony Bordain No Reservations (TV Series)

"A Shadow Falls"

Nick Brandt's A Shadow Falls is a new photography book at the AiSLC Library. Brandt captures elephants, giraffes, and lions in a fragile, regal, and emotional way. The book is absolutely beautiful. Read more about the book here.

Brandt, Nick. A Shadow Falls. New York: Abrams, 2009.
TR 729 .W54 B735 2009

How Ink Is Made

Sesame Street: Cookie Monster In The Library

New database - Stylesight

Jesus designed a poster to advertise our new fashion database, Stylesight.

Click here for the PDF.

Stylesight is a forecasting tool for fashion designers and merchandisers. Search tens of thousands of digital images for inspiration from runway to vintage and more. Create an account here.

Kyle's top design books

This is a library brochure by Nolan on our best graphic design books:

Click here for the PDF

I should be an Interior Designer

I came across this awesome book recently on Oriental interior design (mainly from Japan). The name of the book is Japan Home. Now I am no Ty Pennington, but I am knowledgeable when it comes to Japanese culture. This book will give you the perfect descriptions of what a traditional Japanese home should look like. Now as a Film student interested in shooting a cross cultural film in the future, I learned so much that I can now direct my consult with my set designer and know exactly what to tell them to do.

Also checked out American Beauty this week and I have to say it is now one of my favorite movies!

"Last Words of the Executed"

Last Words of the Executed is one of my favorite new titles in the AiSLC Library. It details the final words of executed prisoners, what they were convicted of, details of their crimes, and details on how they were executed. The final words are sometimes eloquent, sometimes humorous, and sometimes disturbing.

Elder, Robert K. Last Words of the Executed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
PN 6328 .L3 E43 2010

Welcome to AiSLC Library News!

Greetings! Here you'll find out about the Art Institute of Salt Lake City's Library. We'll tell you about new acquisitions and things that might interest you about the AiSLC Library.