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This Is A Ball

by Jeff Starr

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Behind The Scenes

The #1 question people ask me…

In this video I answer the #1 question people ask about my popular short film, “This is a Ball.”

September 10, 2016October 18, 2016 BallAdmin Behind The Scenes, VideosLeave a comment

Interviewed by Animation Mentor!

I was interviewed by Animation Mentor to discuss This is a Ball and my passion behind creating the film.  It was a real honor to be included on their blog.  Read it on their site or below.   This month’s Where are they now? series features Jeff Starr, a 2010 graduate of Animation Mentor. Since graduating from Animation […]

March 31, 2016April 30, 2016 BallAdmin Behind The Scenes, Music, Rendering, Roadblocks!, StoryboardsLeave a comment

Cube vs Square

One of the questions I get asked from time to time is, “If the ball is called a ball and not a circle, why isn’t the square referred to as a cube and the triangle a pyramid?” The idea is that the Ball is the only character with depth to his personality.  The bullies are just one dimensional, hence […]

March 29, 2016March 30, 2016 BallAdmin Behind The ScenesLeave a comment

The Soundtrack

One element I have been most proud of is the soundtrack to the movie.  I was inspired by a song I wrote with my great friend Ryan Fitzsimmons. I took the framework we had created and ran with it. It also holds special meaning for me.  Ryan had just left NYC to move to LA, so […]

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 BallAdmin Music, VideosLeave a comment

Behind the Scenes: Rendering

A short time-lapse video of me working to resolve some rendering issues in Maya. Four shots in the movie had a problem where random dark spots would appear on the geometry.  I worked for a long time to try and figure out the cause.  Eventually I had to resort to manually retouching over 100 frames in Photoshop.

June 2, 2015 BallAdmin Behind The Scenes, RenderingLeave a comment

Pt. 4: Where is the light?

Read: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 Part 4: At the end of the first shot I wanted the ball to exit on the right side of the screen.  This caused more headaches than it should have. In film theory the right side of the screen is often viewed (or felt by the audience) as […]

March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 BallAdmin Behind The Scenes, Rendering, Roadblocks!Leave a comment

Pt. 3: Daybreak, Early Sunrise

Read: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 4 Part 3: In the top half of the picture below you can see an early un-rendered 3D concept of the opening shot.  I wanted the green pyramids to evoke trees and the red cube to add a heavy menacing weight. Color and lighting was the next big thing to think about.  I wanted the light to […]

March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 BallAdmin Behind The Scenes, Rendering, StoryboardsLeave a comment

Pt. 2: Feeling Blue

Read: Part 1 // Part 3 // Part 4 Part 2: When I had been visualizing this film I pictured the ball as red.  Maybe that’s because I have red hair and I saw myself as the ball?  Basketballs are orange.  The rubber dodgeballs we used in elementary school were red too. So, it was definitely going to be a […]

March 27, 2015March 30, 2015 BallAdmin Behind The Scenes, Storyboards3 Comments

Pt 1: It all started with a drawing.

Actually, this film didn’t start with a drawing but instead with insomnia.  I was unable to sleep and I was thinking back on all the animation assignments I had done in the various school programs I had taken.  Each class always started with a bouncing ball and I began to riff on that concept and […]

March 27, 2015March 30, 2015 BallAdmin Behind The Scenes, Storyboards3 Comments
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