2010 Technical Director Reel is Online

After 3 years at PDI Dreamworks I am setting out in search of new and exciting challenges.

Heys at work

"hey" is a Linux command to send an instant message between two workstations. Here are two recent ones I received I wish to save:

Thu Dec 3, 1:44 PM
i am not sure if what we have is rare, but i feel lucky for having what we have.
I am very grateful for all you've done for me in the past, and i only hope i can always do more for you.
if not for you, i would feel so alone in the world, last night. but luckily for me, i got you, not only wide shoulders and big arms to hold on to, but also you, a man i love, and care about, who also cares about me.

Thu Dec 3, 9:52 AM
ladies, and gentlemen,
on behalf of all the girls/women in the world, and all the boys/men as well,
i'd like to present you now the winner of 'world's best bf 2009': Alon Zaslavsky. (clapping).

now may i have the honor to have Mr Zaslavsky on the stage, and give us a little speech pls?

TV Specials

If you enjoyed Madagascar and Monsters vs. Aliens try and catch the two television specials we've created here at Dreamworks that bring the cast of those movies back for the holidays.

Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, has our heroes back in Modesto, California, protecting children from candy eating mutant pumpkins on Halloween Eve. It will premiere October 28th at 8:00pm ET/PT on NBC, I believe.

Merry Madagascar will have our lovable Zoosters save Chirstmas. Also premiering on NBC November 17 at 8:00pm ET/PT.

Hope you enjoy these when they are released.

Still living the dream

Monsters Vs. Aliens came out on DVD a couple of weeks ago. The DVD extra for the DVD was my 3rd Dreamworks project. The 10 minute short called Bob's Big Break includes a "True 3D" viewable version. The 3D experience leaves something to be desired when compared to a theater 3D screening... still it's pretty cool that this technology is getting introduced into the home. And Dreamworks is one of the biggest promoters of 3D technology - we are going to start to include a "True 3D" version of every DVD release starting with our upcoming feature film release "How to Train Your Dragon".



As a Chracter Effects Artist I simulated and final-ed the cloth on Dr. Cockroach, General Monger and Susan, as well as any other extra who happened to walk into one of my shots. I also animated crushing, crunching and squishing inanimate objects. I did a bunch of character contact type work as well (i.e. making sure feet weren't going through the ground, hands through props or other characters, etc.)

Dreams Work

It's about a year since I wrote here. Much has happened and I'd like to make other posts to fill in some of the blanks. But for now, I'll just say that I work at the 47th best company to work at, according to Fortune Magazine.

Work on Mad2 as we call it here at Dreamworks was fun. I did all sorts of Alex Mane shots, king Julian riding big birds holding reins, even a monkey kissing Skipper the penguin. And now I'm on Mad Santa. It's a TV Christmas Special, slated for release next winter, starring the Madagascar Crew - Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman, King julian, and of course, the Penguins.

Golden Compass out today

Sep 29th was my official last day on Compass, which came out today. Unfortunately rotten tomatoes has it at a rotten 44%, though the general audience gave it a barely fresh 63%.

To remind my audience, my technical title was: TechAnim TD - which means Technical Animator Technical Director. What I really did was character effects, like hair & fur, collision/s, floppy skin/ears, muscle tensing/buldging, and other such effects. The comopany I worked on worked on the human dameon companions (not the armored bears), and their interaction with the scene and environments.

Working at PDI/Dreamworks

October 29, I started work at PDI, the bay area Dreamworks location as a Character Effects Artist. Or as it's called here CFX. The movie most of PDI is working on is Madagascar 2, though some of us are on Monsters vs. Aliens or Kung-Fu Panda, both of which are mostly tasked to the Glendale Dreamworks location. So as you can see the 2 companies share work across site. And down the line I might help out on other projects that might not be mainly up here but down in soCal.

The building I work in is sick! It's 4 levels of glass and steel, in a corporate office building park, called Pacific Shores Center, that's out on a landfill in the Bay Area. To the south we (on the 4th floor) have a picturesque panoramic view of some salt flats, the bay and the Dumbarton Bridge. And to the north we can see the Pacific Shores Club, with it's outdoor lap pool, grassy amphetheater and pretty landscaping, as well as the Redwood City Port behind the trees.

Besdies working on funny films with other awesome people. Working here has other perks, like free chef cooked lunch, free crap like animated DVDs and Shrek toys. On my floor right by the elevators there is a Wii and Xbox 360 each with it's own 50" screen. And my favorite perk is the gym. The Pacific Shores Club boasts a full gym, free yoga, core, and spinning classes, as well as an indoor climbing wall and outdoor lap pool.

Let's just say that I hope I don't have to blog another job change for years to come.

I Enjoy Change

Soon after Siggraph I had a call back from Dreamworks. And long story short, I got the job! I finally have a long term job near my son. How fun.

So I gave R&H 4 weeks notice. Work on Compass already kind of ended for us tech animators. I have actually been doing a bit of work on the Alvin & the Chipmunks visual effects during my last couple of weeks here.

In 4 days I leave for Israel again. Though not for rest or vacation. My father became disabled earlier this year and I am going back to be with him for 3 weeks. When I return I'll be relocating 400 miles up north and start work on Madagascar 2 asap.