Aaron Hartline

GOLDEN GLOBES and ME?

2012-01-15T23:42:00.001-08:00

Holy Cow! My CARS 2 Francesco shots just popped up at the Golden Globes. What am I doing here sitting on the couch in my boxers? I should be sitting between Angelina and Brad in my boxers!

CARS 2 - Animation Reel

2011-11-24T00:31:00.001-08:00

Cars 2 is out on DVD, so it's that time again...

Below is my shots I did on the film - enjoy!

(color is mine, black/white is other animators)

1) Agent Leland Turbo - I was really excited to get these shots. Then I realized, before the credits, before the title card, audiences were going to be seeing my animation first. Excitement quickly turned to Nervous.
2) Finn on Tightrope - So how do you make a car swing around on a rope? Beats me! I tried tying a jumprope on my car's bumper but for some reason the rope couldnt support the car's weight ;^)
3) Finn Swan Dive - Thank you YouTube. I watched a dozen clips of different cars peeling out before I did my take on it. As a animator, you get excited by that one lil' thing that you added. It can be as small and meaningless as a blink, but you know that blink has that extra something special you added in there. For me, I really like that look Finn get's in his eyes as he goes over the edge. When the ground is pulled out from under him, even though he is a top-notch spy, his eyes dont lie. There is that brief 'Oh No!' look that he gets.
4) Bathroom Brawl - Car tranforming, 1st thought that came into my mind 'Total Recall'. A Chubby middle-age woman turning into Arnold. Also, I animated these shots using scratch dialogue. It wasnt til a few months later that I found out that I animated to Bruce 'Evil Dead' Campbell's voice. I wish someone wouldve tapped me on the shoulder while I was watching 'Army of Darkness' in the theatre and whisper you're gonna animate him one day!
5) Francesco in the Zone - I was helping out a fellow animator by taking this small shot off his plate. Lesson learned, there is no small shots. John L. really liked what I did with Francesco there in the background and I started getting more and more Francesco acting shots.
6) Karate Cars - Thanks to my fellow animator Michal for showing me how a car could actually throw another one. I owe ya one Mike!
7) Mater vs. McQueen - Out of all my CARS shots, these mean the most to me. John L. spoke about the importance of this moment in the film. You are experiencing a fight among two best friends. I approached this sequence less about posing and more about overall rythm. When you 1st see Mater, he is happy, carefree, always moving. Throughout these shots, it slowly dawns on him what he has done and he moves less and less. Til the last shot where he does not move at all. I learned alot on these shots. It was great to have an amazing animator, Rob Thompson, who animated McQueen to bounce off acting beats with.
8) Francesco loves his Mama - I wanted Francesco to be in his element. This is his homeland. He is not talking to McQueen as much as he is talking to his fans. Every move he does has to be read by the person in the back row of the stadium. John Turtorro's voice performance made this character. When you have a actor that good, it makes your job as a animator very easy. You can just see the performance already by just listening to the voice.
9) Francesco the TV Star - I feel really lucky that I kept getting Francesco shots. He's just so fun to animate. One rule I had when animating this sequence of shots, Francesco would only look at the camera if he was taking a jab at McQueen. Like two boxers going at it, trying to get inside the other's head.
10) ClockTower Mater - I asked for this one specific shot of Mater running on the gears. I had no idea on how I was going to make a tow-truck run on fast spinning gears but that's why I took it. It's good to be scared! I tried my best to pull off a 'Doug Sweetland' type of cartoony motion that he does so masterfully. I just wasnt getting it right. Reblock after Reblock, my supervisor came up to me and said 'be Aaron Hartline, I like his animation' That definetly helped get my confidence back and give it one last try.

Getting the chance to work w John Lasseter was a dream come true. I remember watching Toy Story, walking out of that theatre my goal was to work for Pixar. 13 years of trying, I did it! And to top it all off, I've got the man himself, Mr John Lasseter directing me. I wish I could find the words..

I just kept remembering that Chicago kid walking out of the theatre. As JL was talking to me, I kept thinking 'is this really happening right now?'

SKETCHTRAVEL

2011-10-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow a very unique sketchbook will be bid off for a great cause. If you haven't heard about it, then I urge you to go take a look right now. www.sketchtravel.com

I just hope they sell it in stores soon!

71 Artists all in 1 Sketchbook

Poster for the Event

My old college bud, Mr Daniel Lopez's piece

CARS 2 Animators Behind the Wheel

2011-10-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

WOW, last post was August! Sorry for the delay in posting. It's hard to do animation updates when your working on a film that won't come out til the end of 2013. Nevertheless, I promise to post more often. Even if it's just to say hello on a weekly basis.

Now that Cars 2 has done it's run in theatres and is soon coming out on DVD, I can share with you some of the footage that is getting released online. Over a year ago I got to drive really fast and get paid for it! (I love my job)

Since we were all about to start animating cars for the film, it's important we understand how they move. How the weight shifts when you hit the gas or apply the brakes. Here is a snippet from that fun day. I'm in one of those silver cars :0)

The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs

2011-08-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend at Disney Fan Convention D23, Disney/Pixar announced the film I am currently working on titled'The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs'

The movie doesn't come out til Nov. 27th 2013, which by the way my 16 year old daughter will be in college by then. Wow, I'm feeling old right now.

I'm really excited to be part of such a small pre-production crew. With each animation test, we get closer and closer finding who these characters are. I like to think that they are out there already and if we listen closely, they will tell us who they are.

The D23 announcement by Director Bob Peterson and Producer John Walker

Pic from the making of UP that 1st hinted that Pixar was making a dino movie.

Pencil Kings

2011-08-07T23:14:00.000-07:00

Years ago I did a interview for a website called Strut Your Reel. It was a great site for the animation community, it actually put faces onto some of your favorite shots in animated films. I miss not having it around anymore, it was one of those sites I visited daily as I waited for my animation to playblast.

So when Tim Linklater asked if I would be interested in doing a video interview for his new site, Pencil Kings, I didn't hesitate. Looking at the finished product and the new site, I'm really happy to be part of it. It's even on a higher level then Strut.

Click on the pic below and enjoy!

Thanks Tim!

CARS 2 in theatres today!

2011-06-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

After a year of working on Mater, Francesco, Finn and the gang - Cars 2 opens in theatres today.

I'd be lying if I say I didn't follow what the critics are saying about the film. To be honest, 5 years ago when I watched the original Cars I was saying alot of the similar comments the critics are saying today. The thing is, 4 years ago I had my boy Jackson. It wasn't until I pressed play on the dvd player and watched my son smile ear to ear as he watched Lightning and Mater do tractor tipping, that I finally 'got it!'

The Cars franchise is not for me or the film critics - it's just good clean popcorn movie fun for the kids. And for that, I feel extremely proud to be part of it.

I'm going to love watching my son's smiling face as he watches Finn McMissle drive across the big screen this weekend.

ELMO

2011-04-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

I LOVE MY JOB! Where else do you get to take your 4 yr old son to see Elmo on your lunch break.

A new film was shown at Sundance called 'Being Elmo' about the life of Elmo's puppeteer, Kevin Clash. I can't say enough good things about this film! Even if your not a Elmo fan (personally I'm more a Gonzo guy!), the story is so inspiring watching a young boy making puppets out of his dad's old coat to a young man actually getting to perform next to his idol, Jim Henson.

I'm proud to say I cried 3 times during this film!

'BEING ELMO'

Elmo and his puppeteer, Kevin Clash

Elmo and Kevin spotted Jackson in the audience and came up to say hi!

Jackson and his new best friend Elmo!

A young fan watches Elmo up on stage.

If you ever get a chance to see this film - do it! I filled up my 'inspired' tank after watching the film.

Cars 2 - My Finn Shots

2011-04-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Disney / Pixar released a viral video for Cars 2. In the video, if you look closely you can find a link to a few minutes of some footage of Cars 2. To view both of these videos, click here!

A few of my shots I animated shows up at the end of the Cars 2 footage. Below I animated all the shots of Finn McMissle getting cornered, rev'ing, then hitting reverse and going off the edge into the water.

Cars 2 was a big challenge for me. When I was 25 I got into a car accident - it was bad enough for me to vow not to drive for awhile. 10 years later, leaving NYC to come out west, I knew it was time for me to get behind the wheel again. As I was re-learning how to drive, I was going onto Cars 2. For a guy who took public transportation most of his adult life - animating cars was pretty nerve wracking at first. I had no idea how to make a car move believable.

Being part of such a great team - Animators showed me how a particular car should move. We took a class from a professional race car driver. About halfway through I felt like it was all starting to sink in. Needless to say, I'm a total pro behind the wheel now. I drive to work with my eyes closed! kidding ;0)

CARS 2 Animation Wraps

2011-03-26T23:31:00.000-07:00

My last shot on Cars 2 approved and finaled.

A few weeks of downtime before going onto Pixar film #4 (#9 if you count all the films i've worked on) Yikes! That's starting to sound like I'm a old timer.

TS3 Animation Reel

2011-03-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

Back in '95 I went to go see a lil' animated movie about a toy cowboy and spaceman by unknown company. Walking out of that theatre I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I immediately went back to night school to learn computer animation. Days and nights went into making demo reel after demo reel hoping one day, some day I would get a job at Pixar.

13 yrs later, I actually got to bring Buzz and Woody to life in Toy Story 3. While animating on this film, I remember thinking to myself 'is this really happening?'

I hope you enjoy watching my TS3 animation below as much as I did animating on it.

WOODY SNEAK - My first Toy Story shots! Opening up my shot, hearing Tom Hanks voice as the Woody rig is staring blankly at me - I went into instant panic! I could not animate anything for two days.

Starting animating, rather then thinking what would Woody do (which is way to intimidating!) I thought of my old lawnmower. Pulling the rope, getting the motor started. I wanted Woody's body to a have a energy throughout those shots, a bouncing vibrating quality much like my old lawnmower I had as a kid.

MR.SAND HEAD - When starting these shots, its important to set everything up so it is easy to animate later on. I made sure to move the pivot point of Mr. P to the side where his hip meets the ground. This way, when rotating - it'll feel believable throughout.

Since Mr.P is basically a big head, I wanted to make sure the eyes told you exactly what was going on. I spent days on getting those flicker blinks just right. I must've done alright cause I ended up getting alot more Mr.P shots later on :0)

VHS ANDY - What can I say! Young Andy playing with his Toys, Randy Newman singing 'You've Got A Friend in Me' - It was like 1995 all over again. Also, Andy is watching Star Wars on the TV (you can hear a Stormtrooper yell then shoot his blaster when there is no music playing). Yeah, this nerd fanboy's head just about exploded while animating on these shots.

SCRAMBLED POTATOES - This shot I knew was going to be all about being organized. There is alot of constraints going on with characters picking up pieces, putting pieces in, throwing pieces to each other. Knowing this ahead of time, I spent a few days organizing and color coding - so when there was changes, I knew exactly where each thing was.

Good thing, cause the 1st time I showed Lee he said 'I'm Lost! What's going on here?!' I had to re-block the entire shot since my intial idea of Mr P looking like Mrs P then reveals that Mrs P is actually Mr P (yeah, I was lost too). Once I got those notes from Lee, I immediately went back to my desk, turned off the computer and pulled out the pencil and paper. I had to find the character design before I could animate it. I went for the most alien like creature for Mr P when you 1st see him in the shot.

BARBIE MEETS KEN - To be honest w you, I was shocked that I was given these shots. I mean, this is movie moment history if done right! Again, panic started to creep in but luckily mr director told me to watch West Side Story when Tony sees Maria. Watching that a few hundred times, I knew exactly what to do.

Its really fun to animate Ken, less is more! I try to think of a guy that was in a horrible ski accident. If you imagine Ken with a invisible neckbrace on and his arms are in casts, then you are 90% done with your shot.

WOODY n REX - After animating alot of big, cartoony moments - the animation supes gave me a rest with these shots. I think they knew something I didn't at the time. A storm on the horizon in the shape of a Tortilla.

TYPING TRIXIE - Once in awhile you hear a character's voice and you know exactly how they should be animated. Kristen Schaal's Trixie is exactly that character. I just imagined those texting teenagers that type a mile a minute with there thumbs while Tom Hanks sits at his old trusty typewriter, looking for each letter.

I do have one regret during Toy Story. I wish I had the courage to ask the director if I could put a Daily Post-it on the computer screen.

GOODBYE GANG - Surprisingly, all these shots got approved pretty fast except for one. Its that moment when Woody turns around one last time to look at his friends in the Attic Box. Getting that expression just right took alot of tweaks. I showed that shot so many times in dailies that finally at the end, I just showed 5 different versions and let the director pick his favorite one. It was a combination of 3.

KEN DANCE - When assigned these shots I immediately thought 'Blue Steel' I went to Google and found as many Ben Stiller Zoolander picks as I could find. I printed them out and taped them all around my monitor.

MR TORTILLA-HEAD - The animation supes took me into a room to tell me the news 'We are giving you Mr. Tortilla-Head' Its one of those moments where your really happy then really nervous. How was I going to animate that thing? Sure it plays funny in boards, but to bring it to life! The Supes knew it was going to be a challenge, being the great leaders they are said 'these are your last shots, take all the time you need!' I kept telling myself, you'll be happy you animated this once it over.

I sure was - although they were extremely hard shots to pull off, I'm really proud to part of that character. There was a small team of us, 3 animators helping each other. Showing each other what works, what didn't. Some reference that really inpired us was Drunk Guy Buying Beer. I wonder if this guy knows he was in a movie?

TRIXIE n REX - Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in ... an i'm glad they did! I really didn't want Toy Story 3 to end so when I heard Lee the director wanted me back for one last shot I had a feeling I knew which one it was. Although it looked like another technical nightmare of a shot, I was soo happy I could extend my stay on the film.

I actually got to go into the recording booth with Kristen Schaal as she did the voice work for this shot. She turned to me and asked 'was that good?' I nodded yes then she screamed 'now get to work!' :)

In this shot I just worked backwards. Knowing they were both made of hard plastic, I just spent a day posing them into crazy Twister type poses until one fitted. Then I just work backwards from there trying to figure how they would get into that pose.

When you wrap on a film, you tired and happy for the break. Then you go to the crew screening and squirm in your seat everytime your shots come up on the big screen. Looking over my TS3 reel as I write this blog post - i'm really proud of my work on this film. It represents the best I could do at this time in my career. I poured my heart and soul into this film. As much as I am happy with the way the trilogy ended, I really wish I could animate those characters again.

Oscar, Lee and Me

Toy Story 3 Animation Department

A Clean Start - start of TS3 Animation

Please Stand By

2011-02-21T21:48:00.000-08:00

Hey All.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I'm rounding the corner and headed towards the finish line on CARS 2. Just got my last shots assigned to me today with this guy below.

I'll start posting soon, only 6 more shots to go :0)

Grazie!

Return of the Region Rat

2011-01-29T06:17:00.000-08:00

Last year I gave the Commencement Speech at my old Chicago highschool. It was 17 years ago when I last stood on that very stage receiving my diploma and now I was asked to return with words of wisdom to the next generation.

Its hard to put into words what those twenty minutes were like. Its certainly a moment I will never forget.

What's a region rat?

The Region n : an area of Indiana encompassing Lake County; many Hoosiers immediately recognize a 'Region-Rat' from the subtle nuances in dialect and propensity of proclaiming being 'from Chicago', albight living in Indiana.

Non-'Regionites' have the ignorant belief that da Region is a gang-infested wasteland a la Mad Max or Escape from New York / LA. If your from the Region, you know this is not a belief but rather a fact ;0)

ROBOTS - Animation Reel

2011-01-15T22:21:00.000-08:00

Well, with the good ones comes the bad and this folks is my BAD! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present - ROBOTS.

Truth be told, it was on my 1st day at BlueSky I saw a William Joyce drawing framed in the halls. Later I found out that William Joyce's Robots would be the 2nd film. I was so excited - I read so many Joyce childrens books to my daughter that I couldn't believe I was going to bring his characters to life! During all of Ice Age I justed wanted to get through it so I could start on Robots.

When Ice Age was a success and we started pre-vis on Robots, everything was going great. The designs were creative, like nothing that had been done before. I managed to read the 1st draft of the script, it was amazing. Had such a old time Hollywood feel to it (the closest thing I can compare it to is The Coen Brother's The Hudsucker Proxy)

So, what happened? I wish I knew.

Truth be told, those 2+ years animating was the absolute hardest and heartbreaking of any project i've ever worked on. Although, I feel every artist needs a Robots once in their career.

You need the lows to make those highs that much sweeter.

LUGNUT (workout?) - This was done before the start of the film. We would grab audio lines from actors and animate to them. I always though John C. Reilly wouldve been a perfect Lugnut. This was taken from Boogie Nights for the sole purpose 0f testing out his jaw rig.

BIGWELD (buttah!) - Yep, this was Bigweld at one time. Actually he was the big round jolly guy you see, but behind closed doors - his ball would open up and this lil' guy would pop out (ala The Wizard of Oz). This line is Steve Martin in Bowfinger, the purpose of this test was to play with follow-thru on the wires of the robot characters.

BABY RODNEY - when I got this shot assigned I immediately thought 'Not again!' On Ice Age I did most of the human baby shots. From this shot on, it was my goal not to just repeat myself again. I had to work harder to become a better animator.

DAD DISHWASHER - Reminded me of going to visit my dad at his job, he is a welder. I still remember him showing me his beat up welding mask with a Chicago Bears sticker on it. Wanted to capture that memory in this shot.

BIGWELD CHAIR RIDE - While animating this, I wanted to find movements that would be uniquely Bigweld. Sort a like when someone does the moon walk yo instantly think of Michael Jackson. The last pose of this shot I wanted it to be iconic, something BW would always do.

MOM HUG RODNEY - Ouch! This one hurts. Such a emotional scene and I really didn't do it justice. I wish I could go back in time a re-animate this.

RATCHET (big city kid!) - Heres is just one shot of many that never made it into the film.

Animated films are usually around 72 minutes long. I think we animated in total 120 minutes for Robots, alot of which was finished rendered shots that ended up on the cutting room floor.

My hope is that they would end up on the dvd one day - no such luck!

RODNEY MAGNET HAIR - For this shot modeling gave me 10 different hair shapes, it was up to me to think of creative ways to go from one pose to the other. This was a hard shot because alot of the notes from the director was about in what order should each hair shape appear. Alot of reblocking! Some hair shapes I didnt end up using was Elvis and Lincoln.

RODNEY (outmoding millions of bots) - Although Rodney takes center stage here, I was more interested in getting Ratchet just right. Having the right pose that shows off his power.

FENDER (the Rodster) - Concentrated on clean poses since there is alot going on in this shot. Wanted to make sure that everything read clearly on Fender so when Rodney working on his head, that the audience can still follow along w the acting.

Dr.V NEEDLE - Poor Dr.V, never had your moment to shine! In a old cut of the film, Gasket calls in the good doctor to reprogram Bigweld's brain to do her bidding. I really wanted to get that shaky old man with a needle feel.

RATCHET / GASKET - I didnt get to animate to many Gasket shots, but she was alot of fun to animate. So many moving parts, felt like a really hard puzzle you had to solve when animating her.

BIGWELD TRAPPED - Fun to play with BW's hose like arms to get clean S-shapes in them.

PICKUP TREADMILL - This was a really quick fun shot to do. To just really sell the weight of a object through the timing and body poses. I think I animated this shot in a day.

FENDER MINI-SKIRT - I really wanted to show the anim supes that I could do full body animation since I mostly got close up face animation on Ice Age. Looking at this shot now, I moved that body WAY too much.

RODNEY STUCK - Again, great lil' fun shot to sell being stuck to a magnet through poses and timing. Sometimes the small throw away shots are the funnest. No stress!

BIGWELD DOMINOES - Really wanted to get fast moving hands on Bigweld to show he has setup dominoes for years now. Why Dominoes? I have no idea!

BW SWEETKEESTER - A robot talking about another one's butt?! Uh yeah, lets move on! That's the directors voice for Rodney.

FENDER (in a huff!) - Fun to really play with Fender's body pose to show that he is royalty. Also with Tim the Guard in the back I just went straight ahead and animated it concentrating more on the timing and less on the poses.

RATCHET (lets do it!) - This is one of those shots that I did twice. After I got the final, the next day there would be new audio with new direction. Here's both.

WINDUP CAR - this was the moment when I lost hope. Here the lightpost walks off after a long days work, in the film version Aunt Fan blows a fart that makes him pass out dead. I couldn't do it. I asked for someone else to re-animate the lightpost.

SCREWDRIVER PLEASE - A drunk robot ordering at a bar? What is this film about again!

DAD SICK - I learned alot on this shot - managing a long shot w 3 characters, knowing who to move at the right time, directing the audience's eyes to the right places on the screen.

FENDER (lil' teapot) - Last shot. I'm too tired to make any more comments.

Mork from Ork(played Fender in ROBOTS) and me.

Halle Berry (played Cappy in ROBOTS) and some lucky schmuck!

UP - Animation Reel

2011-01-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

After carefully picking out what shots to put into my 'Decade Demo Reel', thought it might be nice to do a reel for each film I worked on. Show all my shots - the good, bad, and ugly.

To kick this off, I chose UP - my 1st film at PIXAR.

1) CARL COMES HOME - My 1st shots animating at PIXAR. Simple enough, a close up of Carl's feet as he enters frame. That shot kicked my butt!! I kept getting notes on those feet. After I finished those shots, I started to wonder if I could actually make it as a animator at Pixar? Sometimes its the shots you least expect that do you in.

2) CARL PUSHES THE HOUSE - Back to basics. After sweating through those 1st shots, I immediately went outside and started filming me pushing and pulling the Pixar building. I even grabbed one of the chairs and started throwing it around. I kept a eye out for security, didn't want them to see the new guy ruining company property.

3) YOUNG CARL and ELLIE - I was super excited when I got these. After years of animating Scrat, I felt at home being able to do some slap-stick physical comedy. At the same time there was another sequence in the animation department, Married Life. I was a bit bummed I missed out on that beautiful sequence. Each time I watch it, I still get choked up.

4) DUG 'Point!' - In the beginning of the film Scott Clark, the Animation Supe, asked if there was any shots we wanted. I wrote a email back saying "How about shots we don't want? Please, Please, Please - No Dogs!' Welp, sure enough I got some canine animation. Scott was nice enough to say 'We have your back! If you have any problems, we are here to help you' Sometimes that's all a person needs to hear.

5) CARL ANGRY AT RUSSELL - After 2 cartoony shots, I requested this shot. I wanted to show that I can do more then just slapstick. I must've done alright, cause I got some more dramatic acting right after.

6) MUNTZ SUSPICIOUS - I was incredibly excited and scared as hell when I found out I was getting these shots. Excited to animate Muntz, a amazing villian designed by my old college buddy, Mr Daniel Lopez Munoz. It was surreal bringing my Chicago buddy's design to life. On the other hand, scared to be animating right in the middle of a couple of the best animators at Pixar, Michal Makarewicz and Travis Hathaway. I was responsible for taking Michal's lost in the moment and Travis's evil threat - and stitch those two moments together seemlessly

7) CARL CLIMBS THE BLIMP - When you get shots like this, you have to treat it like a game of chess. Carefully plan your moves, don't do to much - just the right amount at the right time. Really enjoyed putting the lil' details in these shots, like a hand adjust or a foot slip. Something that makes it feel grounded in reality.

8) CHASE SQUIRREL - This was a weekend assignment. Who would like to do a few scrapbook images for overtime pay. When posing it out, they didn't have a squirrel model so I posed out Ellie's hamster. The art department painted over hammy to turn him into the scared squirrel you see.

I let Pete pose with me and my Oscar ;0)

DEMO REEL

2010-12-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

When I got my 1st job getting paid for making art, I was so happy. A week before Christmas our boss took us aside and told us he was days away from letting us all go but we got money to do a videogame. The news was suppose to be good, but instead all I heard was 'layed off'. I realized at that moment how unprepared I was. I told myself I would never let that happen again.

Each year I put together a demo reel, not that I'm always looking for a job but rather to be prepared if I lost mine. I never, ever want to go back to loading trucks on the docks.

As the year 2010 draws to a end, thought it might be nice to reflect on my last ten years of animation by putting together a demo reel.

Enjoy!

note: for students making a demo reel, please don't use this reel as template. There is a number of things wrong with this reel, most notably the length is too long. Rather go to The Spline Doctors website for a how-to guide on making a demo reel.

J-Rock reads the classic: Mater the Greater

2010-12-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, this doesn't have much to do w animation but I'm such a proud Papa I had to share.

I was tucking in my four year old son tonite when he turned to me and said 'I'm going to read you Mater the Greater, alright?' Thank you iPhone for catching these lil' life moments that pass by so quickly.

Enjoy Grandma and Grandpa :0)

Happy Poppins Day

2010-11-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

Each Thankgiving the Hartline family flies out to NYC to eat a big bird with family on the last Thursday of November. However, this last Wednesday of Nov. we now have a new family tradition - see a broadway show. Since my son is now 4 years old, he is now old enough to see his 1st play. After giving it some serious thought, we decided upon Mary Poppins.

My lovely wife has a college friend who does the lighting for the Broadway show. We were lucky enough to go backstage after the show. Below are a few pics. Enjoy!

Mary Poppins - The Broadway Musical

Jackson talking to none other then Mary Poppins. She tried singing 'a spoon full of sugar' to him but he interuptted her to talk about his new shoes.

The original Mary Poppins, Ms. Julie Andrews signs the mainstage wall that faces away from the audience

The Hartline Fam on stage - watch out Osmonds, were coming for you!

The many Mary Poppins' umbrellas

My beautiful wife Karen and her college friend Carlos.

J-Rock hits the stage. Next time all those seats behind him will be full :)

Thank you Carlos for a great night!

CTNX 2010

2010-11-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

I'm writing to you 32,000 ft high in the sky. This past week has been non-stop - this is first time i've had a moment to sit, collect my thoughts and write. This past weekend I attended the 2nd Annual CTN-X Event down in Burbank, CA. All I can say is WOW! What a great event. It reminded me of Siggraph in the 90's except take out all the tech and fill it with lots and lots of art. My only complaint is there was sooo many panels that I wanted to see that there was no time to eat or rest.

Some standout moments was watching Peter DeSeve and Carter Goodrich exchange loving verbal blows to one another, AM t-shirts everywhere, the giant Simon Otto taking us threw Dragon's Flight School and Glen Keane drawing over CG animators animation in Tangled. WOW! I said that already didn't I?!

I guess I should mention that I was on a panel as well. Ok, I have a confession to make first. For those who know me - I am a person who likes to be prepared. If I have a job interview, I will drive to the building the day before just so I know the exact route and how long it takes to get to my destination. My wife knows if we are going out to a movie, I have to be there at least 15 minutes early. Yeah, I'm a bit of a headcase. Talking on this animation panel was a class in 'Teaching Aaron to Relax!'

When I agreed to do the panel I started to gather my materials only to have my coworkers go 'No man, we are just going to go down there and wing it!' WHAT?!! 3 to 1, I lost that battle. Then as I sat down to watch some of the panels, it was like the dvd extras come to life. I immediately started to sweat, mumbling to myself 'we have nothing, we have nothing' Walking the halls 'We have nothing' getting up on the stage 'We Have Nothing' Mic'd up to talk 'NOTHING!' Honestly, it was a blur for those 45 minutes. All I remember was one of the animation gods sat across from me while I asked him Chris Farley questions like 'Remember when you animated Jafar?! Yeah, that was cool!', Victor dropping a few F-bombs and Carlos losing his voice. Deja said it best 'In case you didnt know it, this is the Party Panel!'

The best comment I got was 'This was way better then the talk down at Siggraph!' Hats off to Victor, Michal and Carlos. They told me 'if we enjoy ourselves, the crowd will pick up on it and have a good time' How right they were, I had a great time! Thanks Fellas.

CTNX-2010

The Panel - Michal Markarewicz, ME, Andreas Deja, Victor Navone, Carlos Baena.

Literally a minute before the panel. 4 shots for the newbie animators and one glass of wine for the legendary animator. This pic sums up the night for me :)

Waiting in line for yet another awesome panel

Saw this at Oakland Airport for the Pixar Exhibit at OMCA

CARS 2 - Poster and Image

2010-11-16T00:44:00.001-08:00

To my surprise, a new Cars 2 poster and 1st official image from the film was released today!

For those out there that have been following the blog, you know all about my 'geek out' thing. Make sure to check back in soon to see what art ends up on the poster :)

Which reminds me - I need to post my Toy Story 3 poster

Cars 2 Poster

Cars 2 - 1st Official Image

CTN Animation Expo

2010-11-12T19:34:00.000-08:00

I'll be at CTNX talking on a panel about all things animation with 3 fellow Pixar animators - Michal Makarewicz, Carlos Baena, and Victor Navone moderated by the one and only, Mr Andreas Deja.

If your in L.A. next weekend - make sure to stop by the CTN Animation Expo and say Hi!

CTNX

Tools of the Trade of a Successful Animator Yesterday, Today and Beyond

Just a few of Deja's beloved characters

1st I get to meet Eric Goldberg, now Andreas Deja?! Man, I feel like I'm in this animation dream this year. Please don't wake me up :)

Letters Of Note

2010-11-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Over a year ago I got a letter in the mail from a young man just starting out in the world. He was currently in the airforce but secretly loved cartoons. I could tell right away that it was much then just a passing interest for him, since he had so many drawings by different animators and speaked of animation with such passion.

I took out a paper and pencil, did my best to convince him to follow his dream. Mailing the letter I thought that was the end of it. A few months back I started getting emails about how inspiring my letter was to Willie. In the halls at Pixar co-workers would stop me and told me they read my letter. I gotta admit in this digital age of facebook and twitter, I felt like is there anything not private anymore? But then after reading the comments and emails I've gotten these last few months about how it inspired them as well, I was a bit taken back.

Thank you all for such nice words you've been sending, I'm really touched. I wanted to be a animator so bad that I knew if I ever made this impossible dream a reality, I would turn around once I climbed that mountain and yell to everyone else 'You Can Do It!'

You Can Do It - whatever your mountain may be :)

From the website www.lettersofnote.com

the letter to Willie

Since the letter, Willie and I have met.

Nice shirt Willie :)

Driveway Follies

2010-11-01T21:59:00.001-07:00

On Oct 31st, the Hartlines hop in the car and head to the next town over to what is quickly becoming a Halloween tradition, Oakland's Driveway Follies. Standing there watching 30+ kids all dressed in their costumes staring at a puppet show in a driveway of a house, I feel like i've been teleported into a Norman Rockwell painting. Its the one time a year where I feel like im getting a glimpse of a more simple time. When people come out of their homes and talk to one another face to face rather then using their new app Face-Time.

It was a great night w the family.

Official Poster from Oakland Artist Michael Wertz

A brief moment from the Driveway Follies Show

My son Bee-Boy (his mom made it specially for him)

Finally here, The Walking Dead on AMC

Columbia College - Alumni Weekend

2010-10-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend - my two college buddies and myself were asked to go back to our old college, Columbia College of Chicago to speak at the Alumni weekend. Truth be told, we used the Alumni Weekend to fly us out there so we could do what was really important to us, a chance to speak to the students in the animation department. Back when we attended, no one ever came to talk. It was great to be able to share our experiences w students just starting out.

The whole time Daniel, Everett, and myself kept looking at each other. We kept thinking 'is this really happening right now?' 'Weren't we just here yesterday?' 16 years go by fast!

Pixar Alumni Panel - wow, looks official.

Highly Animated Panel

These were all over the animation department (I animated the Barbie/Ken shot, Ev animated the Kevin shot, and Daniel did the Russell drawing)

We spoke in the lobby of the new Columbia College building.

Discussing animation on a mo-cap stage (does this strike anyone else as odd?)

Good times :) (not sure when this was taken?)

The 3 Amigos

Ev and myself in awe of Daniel's lecture on color

Hey, Thats ME!!

The moderator and one of the heads of the animation department, Mr Jim Rohn

My attempt at drawing Russell from UP

Best part of the trip, got to take my family along :)

This was taken at Navy Pier, my boy intensely watching the magic act

OakPix

2010-09-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back the OMCA - Oakland Museum of California had a family day for all Pixar Employees to see the new exhibit, PIXAR / 25 Years of Animation. I remember 5 years ago when it opened in NYC while I was working at BlueSky, I was excited and a bummed at the same time. Excited to see the exhibit, bummed that I was not part of it.

5 years later, on a different coast. I was so incredibly happy and proud to take my family to see the final exhibit before it ends its 5 year run. It was definetly a moment to exhale and enjoy all the beautiful art for a day, after a 13 year (4745 days) journey to Pixar.

Gotta stick a post-it where ever I go :)

Still the best art I ever created - My two beautiful kids.

Must have LUXO for it to be a Pixar Event

Cover of the OMCA - 25 Years of Pixar Museum Book

My good friend, Daniel's drawing. Known him since college when we both dreamed of working for the Lamp, over 16 years ago. So proud to see his art in the show!

The Mighty Zoetrope!

Comers Children Hospital

2010-09-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to Comer's Children Hospital of Chicago. It was great to walk into a room and see a child who has no idea who I am or why I am there. I pull up next to their bed and ask them what is their favorite Pixar character? Pulling out my pen and paper, I start to sketch. Watching their puzzled face turn to shear happiness when they see Woody staring back at them. Or Jessie, McQueen, Dory, Dash, I even got a request for SpongeBob :)

It was certainly a moment I will always remember.

Comer's Children Hospital

Practicing the night before in my hotel room

Still practicing, this time at lunch before I head off to the hospital

After a successful visit, my left hand looks like it went through a war-zone

PIXARPALOOZA

2010-08-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

The summer is coming to a end, how do I know? Because today was the 2nd Annual Pixarpalooza. The day where cubicle office artists turn into rockstars!

One of the many PIXARPALOOZA posters in the Atrium

As the music played, Mike was tossed around the crowd.

PIXARPALOOZA Pig

The Cupcakes (Animation Interns) take the stage

1-2-3 Check, Check. Sounds all good!

Music, Sun and Suds. What more do you need?

Siggraph, Recap!

2010-08-08T22:49:00.001-07:00

Did that just happen?! Now thats its been a few weeks its starting to sink in. I actually met my animation idol Eric Goldberg, I actually spoke in front of 600+.

I remember walking those halls at the L.A. Convention Center back in the nineties when I attended Siggraph. A bag full of demo reels and resumes, hoping to get the call that i've been dreaming of. Lost in a sea of like minded people who had the same lofty goals as me.

It was so surreal being back. After working so hard for these last 14 years, I felt like I could take a moment and exhale. Just enjoy it and take it all in.

To be honest with you, I keep trying write something to describe those 2 days more - but im really at a loss for words. So rather, i'm just going to attach some pics below. Hopefully a few pics is worth a thousand words.

The Daily Post-it turns 1

2010-08-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

One year ago today I did a doodle on a post-it note and sent it out for the world to see.

I created a website purely as a excuse to draw more. As early as I can remember I always had a pencil in my hand, even in preschool I always viewed myself as a artist.

But as the years go by I found myself drawing less and less. Although I have a highly creative job as a animator, I do it all solely on the computer. Pushing pencils turned into pushing pixels.

I needed to find a reason to draw everyday. Knowing I wouldn't have time to draw big, detail masterpieces everyday - I looked at a stack of post-its sitting on my desk and thought 'Why not?!' Still though, I know me! I start off with good intentions but life can get in the way. So I needed to be held accountable for my actions. Thats when the idea of a website popped into my head. If you announce to the world that you will be creating a doodle a day, - then you can't back down. People will be expecting that new drawing everyday.

How do I announce this promise to the public, by calling it --------- The Daily Post-it

Its been a great year with alot of great memories.

Heres just a few:

- My daughter and I walking the streets, putting up post-its all over San Fran advertising the website.

- Being asked to participate in a couple of Art Fundraisers for worthy causes. (someone actually bought a post-it note for $60 dollars!)

- Over 1000 followers on Twitter

- Handing out some post-its at Comic Con this year and actually having artists that I admire say 'Your the Post-it Guy?! I follow you!!'

- A fan who works for 3M, makers of Post-it, sent me a huge box of post-its

I'm looking forward to what the new year brings. I still have a couple of goals and you guessed it - I feel if I mention them here then you all will hold me accountable.

1) Publish a Daily Post-it book

2) Draw more news related items (i've gotten lazy lately and done mostly random doodles)

3) Less drawings of faces, be more creative! (This last one is for you Austin! Thanks for keeping me honest)

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the support!

Lastly, thank you to my daughter Autumn Ruth for taking such a beautiful pic above. Click on her name to see some of her amazing photographs

San Diego Comic-Con

2010-07-27T23:07:00.001-07:00

Went to SDCC this past Friday. There is a few rules to follow for a successful day of Nerdom.

1) Get in and get out - woke up at 5, landed at 8, beers at 12, dinner at 7 and flight out at 10

2) Go in w a plan - chart out who and what you want to see and stick to it

3) No panels! - now this is a hard one cause there is alot of good talks, but that means at least 2 hours in line before the presentation, 2 hours you can't afford to lose.

4) Stick to a amount - go to a ATM and take out some cash. When the money runs out - thats it. No going back to a ATM...... unless you have a credit card ;)

While at Comic-Con, left a trail of post-its behind me wherever I went. My cheap advertising for my other site, The Daily Post-it

Two nerds on the 6:45am flight down to San Diego. Make sure to go check out my bud Ev's site

Met up w Buzz and the gang while I was there

Fellow Pixar Animator Angus Maclane signing his lego creation, CubeDudes. Had to pull some serious strings to be able to get my hands on one of those boxes!

TS3 toys spotted

The Walking Dead. By far, the thing i'm looking forward to the most this year! More then any movie, book, or album coming out.

Come back in a few days and i'll be doing a post on my Siggraph visit.

Ellie from Up starring Jackson Rock

2010-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

My 3 yr old son loves the film UP so much, that he can recite the whole beginning.

Luckily for me, I play the part of young Carl - which has no speaking lines

Siggraph, here I come!

2010-07-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

I will be taking part in a panel called Animation Blockbuster Breakdown hosted by Animation Mentor at Siggraph 2010 this year. 4 animators will go over 2 of their shots, showing how each shot was animated from start to finish.

Its been almost 11 years since I've been back to Siggraph! Back in the nineties I would spend all nighters getting my demo reels together to be able to pass out to any and every animation company attending. Lots of VHS tapes, interviews, handshakes, and waiting for a phone call.

Its kinda surreal that I'm now going back but in a completely different way.

click above for details

I'm more nervous that i'll be meeting my all-time favorite animator, Eric Goldberg, then speaking in front of 500+. His Fantasia 2000 short, Rhapsody in Blue (above), blows me away. Phil from Hercules, the Genie!! Ok, my hands are starting to shake now.

Hope to see you all down there. And please, feel free to come up and say hi!

Mr-BLANK-Head

2010-07-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

Just finished my interview over at SKETCHOHOLIC.

Was great to see my old friend Bobby again.

During the talk there was a fun drawing assignment, draw Mr-BLANK-Head.

Below are a few of the stand-outs that made me laugh. Enjoy!

Thanks Bobby and Kei for a great nite!

If you missed the talk, click HERE for the replay.

Interview at Sketchoholic.com

2010-06-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

This Thursday nite, July 1st, i'm being interviewed at Bobby Chiu's Sketchoholic.com

The cool part is during the interview there is a contest. Since I animated Mr. Tortilla-head in Toy Story 3, thought it might be fun for people to draw their own version of Mr. BLANK head. Take out the 'Potato' and put in whatever you want - Mr. Tire Head, Mr. Donut Head, you get the idea.

The most clever drawing, wins a sketch of Mr. TortillaHead by yours truly. And if your saying right now 'im not a artist, I can't submit' No worries, the most clever idea wins!

-------------- click on the pic for more details ---------------

Hope to see you all Thursday nite!

TS3 - Opening Night

2010-06-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Bought tix to Toy Story 3 - IMAX in downtown San Fran.

Was great to see such huge line going outside the theatre. A group of college kids made homemade t-shirts saying 'I saw TOY STORY 3 on Opening Nite', a child had his birthday party friends' wear different hats that had their favorite Toy Story character, and people were so happy, smiling ear to ear. It felt like the old days, waiting in line w my mom to see Empire Strikes Back.

Felt like a event.

My favorite part of going to a film I worked on opening weekend, sitting right next to someone who has no idea its me up there acting for them.

TS3 SHOTS

2010-06-19T00:14:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Contains Spoilers. Wait to read until you've seen Toy Story 3

Below is a list of my TS3 shots:

1) Young Andy playing w his toys (VHS tape recording)

- Andy saying 'Buzz look out!' pointing Woody's hand. Grabs Buzz and flies him by the camera

- Andy points Buzz's laser to camera, then makes Buzz and Woody high five

- Andy watching t.v. - gives Rex a piece of Popcorn

2) Ken meets Barbie for the 1st time. Dreamweaver music playing in the background

3) Trixie typing on the computer

- Woody 'who's velociraptor257' Trixie pushes him aside 'thats just a dinosaur down the street'

- Trixie and Rex in the end credits playing a videogame

4) Mr. Tortilla-Head vs. the Pigeon

- Mr T. giving Woody the baseball signal for 'its all clear'

- Mr T walking sideways on the ledge, opening and closing like a accordian. Stops suddenly because of shadow.

- Close up of Pigeon giving a quizzical look

- Mr T saying 'what are you looking at feathers?'

- Pigeon vs Mr T fight. After many pecks, punches and a kick to the bird groin, Pigeon flies away and Mr. T rips in half

- Mr T parts falling on ground 'well thats just great!'

- Mr T parts spot vegetable garden in the distance

5) Hamm pulls out cork, toys spill on table. Pushes hard to get last toy out of his money hole. 'Someone loose a arm?!'

6) The Potatoheads putting themselves back together again 'Where's my arm?' 'Honey, my mustache!'

7) Mr Potatohead pouring sand out of his head 'it was cold and dark, nothing but sand and a couple of lincoln logs'

8) Hamm - 'those weren't lincoln logs!'

9) Ken's Fashion Dance

- Ken sticks out his behind, giving Barbie a air-kiss

- Barbie makes a cat-claw motion w her hand 'Meeoowww'

10) Woody and Toys final look at each other before going into their boxes

Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did animating it.

TOY STORY 3 in theatres today

2010-06-18T00:15:00.000-07:00

------------- I need a drink! --------------

Hammond High, Welcome back...

2010-06-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was asked by my old highschool if I would like to come back and give the Commencement Speech. After the intial 'Public Speaking, No Way', I thought about it and realized how this is one of those moments in your life that you have to do. So gathering up my courage, I hopped on a plane back to Hammond, Indiana (or as the locals call it 'The Region')

Speaking to students that are taking their 1st steps into adulthood was not something I took lightly. Why was I asked to give advice on such a important day in these young people's lives? I guess it's cause I achieved my dream - but what does it take to achieve a dream. Then it came to me.

Drive.

17 years and 3 days ago I was standing on that very stage recieving my highschool diploma. I had no money, no clout, no connections, no plans for college, and was a C student at best. But I had something much more powerful then any of that - Drive. It turned every NO into WORK HARDER. And thats what I did. I worked like my life depended on it.

It really was a dream being back there. I got to walk those old halls w my now soon-to-be 16 year old daughter, show her where I asked her mother out on date for the very 1st time. I was asked to go to the principal's office, but not because I was in trouble but to shake hands. Watch the biggest smile I have ever seen on my father's face when the assistant principal announced 'He may be a Hollywood big shot, but he will always be a Region Rat!' The crowd applauded 3 times during my speech and I actually got a standing ovation!

I was really nervous the weeks leading up to this event until a friend gave me some really good advice - Enjoy This! I wrote those words on top of my speech w a thick black sharpie. He was right, I enjoyed every moment of it. Its one of those life moments that I will always look back on and smile.

Thank you Unter for such good advice and Thank you Karen, my wife. I couldn't have done it w/o your amazing words.

Seconds before giving the speech to 500+ people

In my Harry Potter robe standing in front of the movie posters I send back every year

Ladies and Gentlemen, the class of 2010!

My old locker (trying to remember my lock combination)

Wildcat Pride fills the halls after graduation

My old art table!! I can't believe its still there!

One of the proudest moments, Buzz on a Chicago Bus!!

Many late nights taking that bus home after working on my demo reel in hopes of getting a job one day at Pixar.

Gotta do two of the most important things when in Chi-town, see my daughter and catch a Cubbies game (notice my TS3 crew hat, Tri-County Sanitation)

Ken's Dream House

2010-06-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Look what showed up in the atrium at Pixar

To bad I didn't get to meet Ken, I guess he was out shopping

Green Light

2010-05-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

Got my 1st shots on Cars 2.

Got a kickoff meeting w John Lasseter

Can't wait for next summer! :)

Downtime

2010-05-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

Aaron Hartline, you just finished Toy Story 3! What are you going to do now? 'I'm Going To DisneyLand!'

Its becoming sort of a family tradition, finish up working on a film then take a small family vacation down at Disneyland. Having a 3 year old, I know these days wont last long where Disney is a magical place for him. So im going to enjoy each of these years while they last.

The Hartlines in front of the Magical Castle

Mickey and my boy

Jackson trying to pull the sword from the stone. Hmm, something tells me he wont be the next king.

Jackson 'Rocky' Hartline

Webinar

2010-04-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

What's a Webinar you ask? Beats me but it look like I'm doing one this Thursday nite.

Wait, it's sold out?! Oh man, people are expecting something good now.

All kidding aside, should be a good night. My co-worker, Victor Navone and myself have put together so much info and movies, that Animation Mentor is worried we are going to go over the hour time limit. Psst, dont tell 'em but we are DEFINETLY going over that hour ;)

Field Trip

2010-04-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Today the Pixar animators got a field trip to The Walt Disney Family Museum. Honestly, I am a huge Disney fan but I wasn't expecting much from the museum. A few photos of Walt, awards, maybe a pencil he used - I figured that would be it. Boy was I wrong. There is so much art and history in that building. I learned about a struggling artist, a daydreamer, a visionary, someone who believed so much in themself when no one else did. I wish I could share it all with you here on this website. Hopefully these few pics below and my words will be enough for you to go visit whenever your in S.F.

We all met at the Presidio in SF, where our manager handed out a ticket to each of us

The building is pretty bland on the outside, but oh what wonders that lie within!

This way to Walt's life

Inside 'No Pictures' signs are everywhere. The only picture I took without security noticing was one of the floor.

Ken meets Barbie - A Toy Side Story

2010-04-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

This week, Ken meets Barbie clip from Toy Story 3 was released.

Above is my four shots. When I was assigned these shots, I was incredibly nervous. I mean the title alone Ken Meets Barbie, sends a shiver of panic up my spine. Two soulmates meeting for the 1st time, and it was all entirely in my hands. Luckily alot of the hard work was already done for me. Animator Angus MacLane is the Ken lead on this film. He showed me alot of tips on how to animate him - less being more.

Also, rather then sketching or shooting reference, I used this moment from A West Side Story as inspiration.

Thanks Maria, Tony and Angus. Couldnt have done it without ya :)

if your having problems playing both videos, watch one then reload the website

LOTSO

2010-04-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

This morning I was asked 'How busy are you?'

Followed was 'Can you draw something for the Pixar Daycare Event' Immediately my mind went racing to all the amazing talented artists here at Pixar. I wanted to scream 'NO WAY!' but lately ive been on this kick, where if I find myself not wanting to do it - then You Must Do It!

Above is my submission - im pretty pleased with it. That is until I go out to the atrium and im surrounded by incredible art by incredible artists.

I'll make sure to post the final product when it all comes together

Rainy Days

2010-04-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

What to do on a rainy day in the East Bay?

Go to the grand opening of the Model Train Museum in Point Richmond

Get a burger at Hidden City Cafe (codename for Monsters Inc. when it was in production)

and top it all off when a chocolate shake at Fentons (Senior Wilderness Explorer Russell's favorite hang out spot)

Today at Pixar

2010-04-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Walked into work today and noticed the 'Toys' were taking over.

Lego Buzz and Woody

Pizza Planet Aliens making their very own TS3 sign

'Welcome to Sunnyside folks'

Fifteen minutes of fame..

2010-03-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

Looks liked I used up my fifteen minutes of fame. PixarTalk decided to do a bio on yours truly. After fourteen years of trying to get my dream job, its weird to see a picture of me and Pixar on the same page. Even stranger, sharing the page with the talented Victor Navone.

I'm sure tomorrow they will realize they made a mistake and it'll be just Victor up there :)

Filling up the book

2010-03-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that I have another site out there, thedailypostit.com.

My Sunday ritual, drawing on post-its and logging last weeks submissions. Flipping through the pages and looking at the many post-its, I got a sense of pride. Odd yes, looking 3x3 squares could make me feel happy. Nevertheless, i'm proud i've stuck with this goofy gimmick I dreamed up one weekend and watch it grow into a full book of art :)

Below are a few pages from the book - enjoy!

UP wins for Best Animated Feature!!

2010-03-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

I was nice enough to let this tall guy to my right pose with me and my Oscar :)

TS3 gets closer and closer

2010-03-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

You know the film you've been working on is almost here when the director gives you your last 'Final!' on the film and the last TS3 Poster is released on the same day.

Who is your favorite Toy Story character? Mine has to be good ol' reliable Woody.

PIZZA PLANET TRUCK

2010-02-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

Took a trip to Muir Woods this weekend. On the way there, I glanced over and noticed the 'Pizza Planet Truck' from Toy Story was in the lane beside me.

for Chris's girlfriend

2010-02-23T23:57:00.000-08:00

More 'Geek-Out' things to share. Here are two more posters with two more Peter DeSeve drawings. To watch him draw on everyone's poster that worked on the film, all 300 of us and do it with such ease. Not sure if I believe in the statement 'God given gifts', but Peter is certainly not human.

Hey Chris, did she have that goat yet? ;)

My TS3 Trailer Shots

2010-02-13T00:24:00.000-08:00

A new TOY STORY 3 trailer has been released.

Below is a edited down version of the shots I animated.

I was excited to see a lot of my shots that i've been animating for the last year is now out there for public viewing. At the same time, I'm a little bummed. I really don't have much left that hasn't already been shown in the two trailers released. I do have one sequence of shots that I just finished up on that is by far one of the most challenging shots I ever animated. Sorry, no hints. You'll have to wait til June 18th :)

Geek Out Thing - part deux

2010-02-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

Thought id share more geeky things with you. Here is my ICEAGE poster that I got the whole company to sign. If you look closely on the acorn, you'll see a sketch of a squirrel running for his life.

Peter DeSeve was kind enough to draw Scrat on my poster.

UP nominated for Best Picture

2010-02-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

---------------------------------a toast!----------------------------------------

My Geek-Out 'Thing'

2010-01-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

All men have their 'thing'. Some a guys its easy to spot, sports. They enjoy sitting back with a beer and watching their favorite team. Knowing all the stats of each player, who was traded, the chances of them making the playoff, etc. Other guys love cars, working on their old beater each weekend, even buying magazines on it.

Mine? I love memoriablia. When I was younger I always dreamed of the day that I would be working on films for a living. I could just imagine the halls of my home would be lined with all the different movie posters that I worked on.

So, when a new poster is released of the film i'm working on, thats my 'thing'. I make sure I get all the signatures of the animators in the department (use to be the entire studio, but Pixar is over 1000 employed). Lastly, I find one artist that inspires me. On UP, that person was my good friend Daniel Lopez Munoz. I met Dan at Columbia College of Chicago back in '95, he was a student aid for the animation department and I was animation student. Dan took a 3D animation course the semester before and shared all his tips and tricks. From there we both worked at Big Idea (where we designed the show 321 Penguins) and BlueSky (where we worked on ROBOTS and ICEAGE2). Now we both work at Pixar, Dan designed the main villian in UP, Charles Muntz and I got to animate him.

Above is Dan's generous contribution to my poster. Thank You Dan!

A Guide to Moving Your Home

2010-01-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about Pixar is rather then getting a single shot, you get assigned a sequence of shots. This allows you to think of the movie as a whole and where your little piece fits into the larger picture.

Early on in production I was assigned a moment that takes place right after Carl makes peace with his past and embracing the present by accepting Russell. Just as this happens, Russell leaves Carl and heads right into harms way.

I wanted to convey that no matter how big the obstacle of moving a house is, that Carl would still try with all his might. I set up the camera in the park and in the backyard, pushing and pulling on anything I could get my hands on. I wasnt necessarily looking for poses, but just what it feels like to try your hardest to move a impossible object. What does your face do? Your body? How could I animate Carl moving his house if I havent tried moving mine as well. I wanted to put myself in his shoes.

Just a side note: Thats a Pixar chair I was throwing around there at the end. Being a new employee, I was nervous security might bust the new guy destroying company property. If caught, my defense wouldve been 'it wasnt me, it was Carl throwing the chair!'

Animation wraps on Toy Story 3

2010-01-15T00:03:00.000-08:00

Today is my last day on Toy Story 3. By far, this has been the best film Ive worked on.

Im seriously going to miss Buzz, Woody and the gang - but I guess I have to let them go so the rest of the world can have their own time w them.

Come on Kevin!

2010-01-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

When I was 1st assigned this shot, I was a bit nervous. Action and pantomime is not my strong points when it comes to animation. Being overwelmed, I decided to focus on the smaller details 1st such as Muntz running off balance, Carl kicking his legs before he steps on the ladder and his slip as reached the top. Adding imperfections to a character makes it feel more grounded in realism and not so choregraphed. Also, it helps me when I get scared :)

Hey kid, I got something to show ya!

2010-01-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

Now that UP is out there on DVD, I can start sharing with you what shots I did.

UP was my 1st film at Pixar. After 14 years of trying to get in the door - I was suddenly allowed in the gates, sat down at a desk, given a business card, and showing the Director my shots all within a few weeks. Needless to say, I was a bit in shock.

As I got the kickoff to these shots, I dont think I heard a word the director said to me. Instead all I kept thinking was 'dont blow this, dont blow this, thats Pete Docter talking to me, dont blow this, dont blow this......'

When I look at this sequence of shots now, they are a bit rough around the edges. Trying to learn the software and uphold Pixar's quality at the same time can be pretty nerve racking. Nevertheless, I feel really fortunate to be part of this sequence when Carl met the love of his life, Ellie.

Rodrigo Blaas's Alma

2009-12-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

Back in 2000, myself and a bunch of other kids from around the world moved to NY to fullfill their dream - work on a feature film. One of those aspiring filmmakers was Rodrigo.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, Pixar Animator Rodrigo Blaas's short film, alma.

click on the poster above to see the short film

My 1st TOYSTORY Shots

2009-12-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the big break between posts. Working hard on finishing up on Toy Story 3.

ABC is showing a sneak peak of TS3 tonite during The Incredibles. Below is my first shots on TS3 that I was assigned. The shots are longer, but for TV it has been edited down.

When starting my 1st Toy Story shots - I just stared at Woody for a good 2 days. I was scared to touch him. Its like George Lucas telling you 'go ahead and turn on Luke's Lightsaber, go have fun'. On the 3rd day I made him blink, then slowly got into animating. Now 9 months later, im sad that I will soon be saying goodbye to Andy's Toys.

The Prehistoric Odd Couple

2009-10-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

Since i'm digging through my archives, might as well continue to embarrass myself.

In this performance I play a slightly femine sloth and a grumpy mammoth. Short shot but fun to play two completely different personalities.

How do you make a bird cry?

2009-10-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Heres a shot I did of Vlad the Vulture crying at the end of the movie.

The directors decided to put this at the end of the film at the last minute.

It was nice to go back and animate him one last time - knowing it would be our last dance together. I sure miss that buzzard.

...and the rest of them!

2009-10-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

WOW. Today is Toy Story 3 poster day!

Which one is your favorite?

Rex TS3 Poster

2009-10-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

The new Toy Story 3 trailer debuts online this Monday!

Heres a new poster to hold you over.

Looking at this poster, it gets me excited to see the film and i'm working on it!

Vlad the Vulture

2009-10-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well, 1 more month til Pixar's UP comes out on dvd. Since I wont be able to show you the shots i've done until it hit shelves Nov. 10th, i'll take this time to show you some of my old animation.

On Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who, I was the animation character lead for Vlad the Vulture. I was really excited at the chance of animating a villian. My goal was to scare at least one child. If there was one child to afraid to go to sleep at night because Mom and Dad took them to go see Horton at their local cinema, then I did my job.

After all, im still scared of Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

TS3

2009-10-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

Toy Story 1 and 2 is released in 3D. Sure, you have them at home on dvd so why would you go see them in the theatre? Well, if your a movie junkie like me -- then you'll want to know that the new ToyStory 3 trailer will be attached to them.

My 3 shots in the trailer:

1) Andy pushing Buzz's button (very quick shot)

2) Andy and Rex eating popcorn

3) Mr and Mrs Potatohead's parts all mixed up

Happy Birthday Autumn

2009-09-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

My daughter Autumn Ruth turns 15 today.

love you Ruth ~Dad

A Chicago filled week

2009-09-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Welp, Chicago keeps on coming -- even when I'm back in San Fran.

My good friend, Royce, started his 1st week at Pixar. Us both being from Chicago, he suggested we go see the Cubs against the Giants on Thursday nite. It was one of the best games ive ever seen.

We were 8 rows behind the visitor's dugout. We ate peanuts and polish sausage. And in the 9th inning, Cubs are down by 1 with 2 outs and 2 strikes. Crowd is cheering on the SF pitcher to strike out the Cubs batter. The pitch - the swing - he hits a homerun with a runner on 1st base.

CUBS WIN!!!!! Crowd is silenced except for the two guys yelling and jumping w joy 8 rows behind the visitor's dugout.

Royce was clapping so hard that a woman came up behind him and hit him in the back. Sore loser.

A Chicago filled weekend

2009-09-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Took a trip back home recently for a wedding. Was great being back in old Chi-town.

Here are a few of the highlights:

1) Took my daughter out to dinner

2) Watched part of a highschool football game (the kid fumbled the ball on the kickoff, a old man leaned over to me and said 'he mustve been staring at the lights on that one')

3) Went to Second City (home of Bill Murray, John Candy, Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, Chris Farley to name a few)

4) Had drinks on the 24th floor - saw a old Chicago buddy who just happened to me in town the same night

5) Visited my old college and was shocked to see a small shrine dedicated to me (see pic below)

6) Met old friends at Navy Pier (even Cappy from Robots showed up!)

7) Went to see Cloudy w a Chance of Meatballs in IMAX (funny movie w alot of sick food jokes)

8) WhiteSox vs Royals. Sox won - 13 to 3 off of a Grand Slam (ate lots and lots of junk food- ugh, not feel well!)

9) Went to see another film (Mr Matt Damon 30 lbs heavier)

10) Ate at one of my favorite sub places - PotBellys across from the Chicago theatre

11) Went to the church for the wedding (Congrats Dave and Jess!)

12) ran in the rain to Nookies for some soup.

13) went to the reception for alot of drinking and dancing (and photobooth pics - see below)

14) House of Blues at 2am

15) Jogged Lakeshore Avenue past all the Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers fans (so badly wanted to make fun of the Steelers fans but was chicken)

16) Went to Bennigans and ate a fried sandwhich (remembered why I was 50 lbs heavier when living in Chicago)

17) Bought 3 Chicago t-shirts to let people in San Fran know "IM A CHICAGOAN"

18) Placed post-its everywhere I went (got a email from a couple who saw one of them in a restuarant saying 'they loved thedailypostit.com site')

19) Sat between two people because I keep forgetting to check in early on SouthWest

20) Hugged my beautiful wife and boy when I arrived home

WOW. That was alot.

Columbia College made a display full of my films I worked on.

Always advertising thedailypostit.com, even at a wedding. Shameful!

Mr. Post-it visits Chi-town

lets go fly a kite

2009-08-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

My 2 kids flying a kite

Jackson's 1st kite aflight

The Daily Post-it

2009-08-06T00:44:00.001-07:00

I started a new website, The Daily Post-it. I will be drawing the news of the day (along with the occasional doodle) posted on post-it notes.

The goal is - to draw a new pic everyday - in hopes of drawing more and a personal dream of mine, self publish a book. After a year of post-its (365 to be exact) - I will put together 'The Year in Post-its' book.

Spread the word - and please, cheer me on. Im going to need it. -thanks!

Hayao Miyazaki

2009-07-27T23:17:00.000-07:00

Today at work I was enjoying my morning Cap't Crunch when I look up and see the man in the white suit with matching hair. I forgot that Pixar had a screening of PONYO today, followed by a Q&A.

I managed to sneak in off to the side - where I was about ten footsteps away from John Lassetter and Hayao Miyazaki. Its moments like these that I can't believe this Chicago boy is actually here!

365 Supers

2009-07-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

My good bud Ev has came up w a very inspiring idea. Draw a new superhero for each day. Thats right, 365 supers.

After cracking up over two supers: Red Cross/Blue Shield, I suggested Arm & Hammer. I was stoked to see my idea made it onto the page.

ICE AGE : Dawn of The Dinosaurs

2009-07-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

Last March when I left BlueSky for the west coast, IA3 was just beginning. I was a bit bummed to only do two shots on the entire film. When I went this past weekend - I was shocked to see I got my name in the credit.

The original ICEAGE was my 1st film - when watching it, I always remember the good times. A bunch of kids trying to pull off a feature film. None of us ever working on one before. Its really nice to have my name on all 3 of the films of the trilogy.

Now if there is ever a 4th - I may have to go back and see if they can let me animate one shot.

the credit list

shot 1 - this shot is longer, cut down for the trailer - in the film, Scrat faints then comes back up hugging onto the tree

shot 2 - this is what I see in the computer while animating the shot. Added snow by modeling long triangles w a animation cycle so I could be reminded of the force he was struggling against.

shot 2 - the final animation. My last Scrat shot - I miss you little guy.

pic of the week

2009-05-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is a avid photographer - he takes some really interesting pictures. When I asked him how he comes up with some amazing shots - he told me he doesnt look when he shoots. He just holds up the camera and clicks away. Whatever he gets is a happy accident.

Heres a pic I took of my beautiful wife Karen. Its my 'happy accident'

UP - The Shot List

2009-05-30T13:08:00.001-07:00

Below is a list of some of the shots I worked on:

1) Young Carl in bed reading a book with a flashlight. A balloon floats in the window, startling him. Ellie pops her head up from outside 'Hey Kid!!' Carl screams 'AHHHHHHH' smacking his face with his arm cast. Ellie crawls through the window saying - 'I've got something to show ya!'

2) Russell at the dinner table says 'Hey, that looks like Kevin!' Muntz half turns away from the map on a wall 'Kevin?' Russell goes 'yeah, that my new giant bird pet - he followed us' Muntz now engaged into what the child is saying 'Follow you! Thats impossible - How!' Russell says 'he likes chocolate - he goes gaga over it!' Muntz now angered 'Chocolate?!' I did the Muntz shots of this sequence.

3) Russell just waking up notices the Kevin is missing. Tells Dug to find the bird. My shots are when Dug is sniffing around for Kevin saying 'find the bird, find the bird - POINT!' Russell runs in saying 'Oh, there he is!' as he points to the sky. Dug goes 'POINT!' now in the correct direction. Carl yells 'get off my roof!' then Dug follows and says 'Yeah, get off of his...Roof!' in his bark voice.

4) Russell goes off to save Kevin. Carl runs back to his house and trys pushing it, pulling it - anything to make it move. Giving up, he throws a chair in anger. Then he gets the idea to throw out all of his posessions.

5) Carl nearly falls out the window of the blimp - says 'Come on Kevin!' They both go climbing up the ladder as Muntz stumbles to his feet. Noticing them escaping, he reaches for Carl's leg - just missing it. Carl continues to climb when all of a sudden he slips - barely holding on. Looks down and sees Muntz coming up fast. Carl gathers his footing and continues to climb out of frame.

6) Carl just put out the flames on his house. He is breathing heavily with his back turned to us - Russell says 'you gave away Kevin'. Cut to Russell - 'You just gave her away'. Carl quietly says to himself 'This is none of my concern' Then turns yelling in anger 'I didnt ask for any of this!!'

a long road

2009-05-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

'UP' is almost here! Just one more day.

Its been a long journey - back in Chicago I went to go see a film called 'Toy Story' on my lunch break. Walking out of that theater right into night school, 3 animated shorts, 5 siggraphs, 3 companies, 3 cities, countless demo reels, countless rejection letters, and 14 years later....

'UP' my 1st Pixar film.

I love you Grandma and Grandpa Hartline. I hope there is theatres up there - because I thought of you a awful alot when I was animating on this film.

pic of the week

2009-05-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

Papa and Son

Behind the Scenes

2009-05-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Making of 'UP' - boiled down to 15 minutes

enjoy!

UP - the ride

2009-05-08T23:23:00.000-07:00

I love my job! Where else do you go into work in the morning and look up to see a blimp next to a guy in a sofa chair being lifted by balloons.

Today the press got their first glimpse of 'UP' at Pixar. Sure hope they liked it!

Bald is Beautiful

2009-05-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

Toy Story 3 Animation has officially begun. After the wrap party for UP Saturday night, Animation decided to get a fresh start on Monday. We shaved our heads and beards - then letting it grow until animation wraps. Im not looking forward to this itchy beard!

From time to time - i'll post a pic to show my hair growing skills.

Supervising Animators Bobby and Mike do the honors

TS3 Animation - with our fearless director, Lee Unkrich

Mystery Men

2009-04-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

I love working at PIXAR. Where else do you get to watch a movie at lunch time - then meet the cast and crew after.

Mystery Men - hopefully coming to a theatre near you!

movie still

Meet the Mystery Men

Partly Cloudy

2009-04-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

The 1st official image released of Partly Cloudy, the new Pixar short directed by Pete Sohn.

I can't wait to see it in front of UP!!

Back to School

2009-04-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

Yep, you heard it right - im going back to college.

I've started teaching at AnimationMentor - a online animation school. When I heard the word 'online' school, I was a bit skeptical. After cruising the campus, watching some of the lectures, and talking to some of the students - im sold! Online is the future. You get taught by professionals working in the field and you get more personal attention reviewing your assignments. I wish I had this available when I was starting out.

www.animationmentor.com

Spike - AM's Mascot

If your ever cruising the site - look for cartoon me and say hi!

Dave Warnke

2009-03-31T22:12:00.000-07:00

When I moved to East Bay I started seeing some crazy looking characters popping up in my neighborhood. Hanging out by telephone polls, sleeping in the park, waving at me right outside my house. I was a bit nervous until I met their creator -- Mr Dave Warnke.

Dave is my neighbor 2 doors down. We met Dave through my son Jackson who plays with Dave's daughter 'Bea'. I just found out that Dave and his family are moving to a few towns away. Although I know I'll still see him from time to time, I sure hope I see his crazy friends.

You Rock Dave! Thank you for such great art in our neighborhood.

Found this guy hanging outside my house

Public art sculpture

Original painting

Dave at work - cafe 504

Thats my boy!

2009-03-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

I know, whats with the kid pic? Isnt this suppose to be a animation / art website??

This posting is strictly for the grandparents. I promised them every so often I would post a pic of one of the grandkids. This was taken on our Hwy 1 trip up the California coast. We were close to being home, when K convinced me into stopping one more night in this little coast town. Im really glad we did, such great memories on our last day of our family trip.

UP links

2009-03-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

As the movie gets closer to its release date - more and more goodies start popping up on the web. This is my favorite time. You work on a movie for a year or two and no one knows what it is. Then when all these trailers, commercials, pics and goodies show up on the web -- its a bit weird to be watching it with the public when its been hush hush behind close doors for so long.

Meet Russell 'film clip'

Meet Kevin 'film clip'

Inside UP 'First 3D Movie' featurette

Inside UP 'Lost World' featurette

enjoy!

WTD

2009-03-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

Back when I was attending Columbia College of Chicago, every so often I would get the occasional 'are you the Aaron who did that kick-ass drawing?' I would hang my head down and point to the red headed guy on the other side of the animation room, the very talented Mr. Aaron Johnson.

Aaron is now the creator/artist of 'What The Duck' comic strip. A great strip about a duck and his camera.

I got a phone call at work from my two year old son saying 'wanna open it!' When I got home I found out what he was talking about - Aaron was kind enough to send me a Walter Ducket plushy (that my son has taken and called 'Bella') and a original painting on the box that Walter came in.

Thank You Aaron! Your artwork is on its way!!

Walter and the box he came in

'What The Duck' comic strip

Walter 'Bella' Ducket visits Pixar

UP website

2009-03-23T23:35:00.000-07:00

The UP website is up and running!!!

Its chock full of goodies - meet the characters, videos, trailers, bios, icons, wallpapers, movie stills, games, and plenty more. Go on over and take a look see.

10 years

2009-03-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

Pixar had a award ceremony for its veteran employees

10 yrs = A Bronze Buzz (pictured below)

20 yrs = A Bronze Woody

30 yrs = A Bronze John Lasseter (kidding)

The Hartlines come to town

2009-03-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

I got to show my family my job today. I was great to show them what I do rather then explain what I do. I loved watching my Dad's face as he turned the corner and saw Mr. Incredible.

Dr. V

2009-03-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

There is alot that hurts when I think back on the movie ROBOTS - and this one is up there. A great character - designed, animated, lighted - and on the cutting room floor.

This is your moment Dr. V - you've waited long enough.

Industrial Light and Magic

2009-03-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

About 15 years ago I was working as a usher at Cineplex Odeon at River Oaks Mall in Calumet City. I cleaned toilets, wiped up nacho cheese off the sticky floors, and lied to the customers when they asked 'is this popcorn fresh?' One of the perks of that job though, was I got to watch Jurassic Park over 50 times - for free.

Thats when I learned about ILM, the company that not only did the fx for Jurassic Park - but almost all of my favorite childhood movies. Star Wars, Ghostbusters, E.T. just to name a few.

From that point on - I wanted to work for Industrial Light Magic more then anything. I came close a few times, I got interview'd once - gave me a t-shirt that I treated like the holy scroll - but alas no job.

Today though, I got to walk the halls of ILM and I was reminded why I wanted to work there so badly. Walking those halls was like walking in the history of cinema. I got to see the bike Elliot rode w E.T. in his basket, I got to see Slimer from Ghostbusters, and yes - I got to see that T-REX again. It was like seeing a very old friend.

I use to ride my Grandma's bike back at 1am from the movie theatre - and would dream of a day that I got to make movies. Im so so fortunate my dream came true. And if they are ever working on a Jurassic Park - The Prequel - im soo there!

Thank you Peng. I wish you were there Rob.

TOY STORY 3

2009-03-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

I started my 1st shots on TS3 - I was extremely excited and nervous opening my shot today. Im excited to be part of such a great movie trilogy - scared out of my mind that im part of such a great movie trilogy.

Papa Ev and Mama Sid

2009-03-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

CONGRATS TO THE DOWNING FAMILY!!

Our good friends, Everett and Sitapa Downing, just had a baby girl.

Phoenix Adelle Downing was born March 10th at 11:29 am. She is a healthy 7 lbs / 9 oz and 20 inches long.

and the OSCAR goes to...

2009-03-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

not Aaron Hartline, haha.

Before starting out a shot, I like to turn on the camera and act out a few ideas. When im animating, I dont necessarily follow the acting exactly - it just helps not going into a shot completely cold.

My favorite part of this is how my old office-mate Dave Torres is just working away in the background, completely unaffected by me making a fool out of myself. Just another day at the office.

Brand Spank'in New UP Trailer

2009-03-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

If you happen to be going to the WATCHMEN this weekend, you may come across the new Disney/PIXAR Up Trailer. I have a very small shot in the middle of Russell pointing in the sky saying 'whoa, what is that?' ---- enjoy!