Sinbad The Fifth Voyage Official New Trailer

Sinbad The Fifth Voyage TV Ad

The Truvia Ad Is Out!

A little over a month ago I got called to join the crew of stop motion animators shooting an ad for the product Truvia. (sugar substitute) There must've been about 10 animators working on the job because the whole ad needed to be shot in about 3 days! I was one of only two animators on the last day's shoot (David Bell was the other) which was an overnight shoot with each of us shooting on separate stages. On the days leading up to the shoot, I tried to stay up later and later to adjust my sleep schedule but, I never made it past 3am before falling over... so I was a bit worried about how I would hold up. But being on the stage with the responsibility of getting it right (as opposed to just trying to force myself to stay away for no reason) mad it far easier to pull off than I thought. The shoot went well and here's the result! My shot is the first one of the packets of Truvia in the add... Click HERE

I Now Have A Facebook Fan Page!

I'll still post here on my blog as often as I can but, for business reasons I've started a Facebook Fan Page. That won't be for 'chit-chat' and will serve much like a website as a central spot where people can see an overview of my work and career. If you haven't already seen it, please visit my Fan Page and 'Like' me? Click HERE to go there. :)

THE SECRET SPACE BASE PODCAST

I was recently asked to be a guest on THE SECRET SPACE BASE PODCAST and it was a blast! You can hear that here - http://alienanimationstudios.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/secret-space-base-podcast-episode-4-ron-cole/

Animate Clay Live Chat Panel Discussion - 21st Century Realistic Stop Motion

On Wednesday September 18th I took part in a discussion on the future of realistic stop motion special effects in the post Jurassic Park era. The Show was hosted by Marc Spess and took place between Timothy Bergeron and myself and we had a blast! I'll caution you that you'll need to set time aside to take this in because Marc's show is usually an hour long but, we went on for 2!

Here's a link to the LIVE STREAM recording of the show... (make popcorn) Live Chat Discussion

Ron Cole's Realistic Stop Motion Creature Effects Reel

Here's a shorter version of my Puppets & Animation Reel which focuses entirely on the more realistic creature effects which are really the main focus of my efforts these days.

I Finally Have A Demo Reel!

Please be sure to take note of the credits I've placed on the bottom of each clip because on many projects I was the puppet (or prop) builder and not the animator. I'm hoping this reel will grow quite a bit over the next year as the projects I've been working on are finally released. I've been in this business for a lot of years but it's not until just the past 5 years or so that I have enough of my own animation to justify the creation of a demo reel, I'm so happy that day has finally come. :) Click on photo for the video:

New Project - Faceless Neil

I'm currently working as a puppet fabricator on a very cool short film called 'Faceless Neil' by Noella Borie. The project is currently being privately funded and WILL be completed but, more funding would only result in an even better end product. So Noella has created a KICKSTARTER page in hopes of raising a much needed $6,500. I'll be making the puppet of 'Manny' (the serpentine looking guy) and may at some point be involved with other aspects of the making of the film. To have a look at all the work that's been accomplished for the film thus far and perhaps jump on board with a donation. (Please Please Please?) Click below to check it all out!...

I'm proud to announce that this Kickstarter campaign was MORE THAN SUCCESSFUL! The original goal was set at $6,500 and by the end of the campaign... OVER $10,000 HAD BEEN DONATED!!! Thank You! from everyone involved in the creation of this film and I'll be posting links and updates whenever I can. :)

Demand Sinbad The Fifth Voyage To A Theater Near You!

New Preview for 'Sinbad The 5th Voyage' Released!

New Photo Released

I'm surprised the Producer decided to release this photo because it reveals who the contenders are in a fight scene in the film but, here it is... GIANT CRAB vs CYCLOPS!

Sinbad Update... With Pics!

First of all let me start off by saying I'm sorry for almost never posting updates on this blog, but that's largely due to the fact that the stuff I've been working on for the past couple of years is 'under wraps' so, there's very little I can actually show. But at long last, I actually DO have some stuff I can show you from my work on 'Sinbad The Fifth Voyage'. It's only a couple of photos and I'm able to (re)post them because the Producer/Director recently posted them on his blog and Facebook. This first photo is of the sculpture of the head of 'Alakei' which is a statue that comes to life in the film. This sculpture was life sized (along with two of her arms) and produced for a portion of the film in which a live action actor needed to physically interact with those parts of her. Sadly, this prop (although filmed) was cut from the film due to a change in the direction of the scene which rendered this head no longer needed. (I can't be any more specific about the reasons for eliminating those props without giving away plot details I'll get in trouble for!)

Now THIS critter actually is in the film! This is a creature called the 'Goliath Crab' and he/she/it is a nasty one. As I write this, I'm still in the throws of animating a pretty extensive scene involving this bugger. This is only one frame and I realize it's a bit difficult to make out the full design of the thing but, I suppose that's part of the reason this specific image was chosen for a 'sneak-peek'.

IRS Stop Motion Ad

I was thrilled to be the lead animator on this new ad for the IRS!

The Official Sinbad Trailer Has Been Released!

New Info - Harryhausen Tribute

All the most current info about the tribute to Ray Harryhausen and a video about it can be found at the following link...

http://www.stopmotionmagic.com/tribute

Ray Harryhausen's Birthday!

This year Ray Harryhausen will celebrate his 90th birthday and I'm hoping we can do something really special! When I learned that Ray would be turning 90 this year, I made a suggestion on StopMotionAnimation.com that maybe we should celebrate by shooting stop motion video birthday cards for him. Our friend Nick Hilligoss was already in the middle of shooting a short with that same theme for Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine Online and I'm already working on 'Sinbad The 5th Voyage' but, I still felt that wasn't quite enough.

After I made that suggestion, a lot of animators agreed that the idea had merit and we really should go for it. I blathered on about the idea for a while hoping that it would become something worth collecting on a disk and shipping it to Ray himself. Well as it turns out, it got a lot more attention than that, the idea has ballooned and I'm happy to report that AnimateClay.com and Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine Online have both taken up the concept and expanded it into something that amounts to a REAL TRIBUTE!

Plans are still being hashed out but, Ray's business partner has now officially given his blessing to this and Ray will indeed see whatever we turn out AND there are plans being hatched for this to be something that can truly be called an 'event'.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been contacting as many stop motion animators that I have email addresses for and asking for their participation in this tribute and I'm happy to say that there have been a good number of those who have signed on to shooting a 'card' for Ray's birthday. I will be shooting my own short for this and I hope you will too!

So if you have the time, Please consider shooting something? There really are no strict rules for this other than the following... it needs to be shot in either puppet or clay animation and it must be 'family friendly'. (no gore or otherwise offensive content) Other than that, it can be as long or short, simple or complex as you can afford the time to do... it just needs to honor the life and career of Ray Harryhausen and/or wish him a Happy Birthday!

Further details about how this will be collected and shown are developing currently and I will post future updates as they unfold. But I want to get the word out to as many stop motion animators as possible as soon as possible. Ray's birthday is coming up on June 29th and I suspect that anyone who intends to shoot a 'card' for this event would need to plan to have it finished at least a month in advance of that date.

Ray Harryhausen is in my opinion, THE KING of stop motion animation and more than deserves his 90th birthday to be a massive showing of THANKS for all the years of entertainment and advancements to the craft which he alone mastered for millions of fans.

More To Come...

Sinbad: The 5th Voyage

I've had the distinct honor of being picked as the one who will animate a stop motion animated scene in the film 'Sinbad The 5th Voyage'. As an animator who has seen the work of Ray Harryhausen as nothing less than miraculous for all of my 43 years, I can only hope to make a meager - if not foolish attempt, to fit my tiny feet into those giant shoes.

We stop motion animators refer to him as 'Uncle Ray' for very good reasons... he is family and he will always be larger than us, for all he has taught, inspired and mastered. I will do my best.

Now Available Through

I just recently completed the process of making In the Fall of Gravity available on Amazon and what was very exciting for me was the fact that Creatspace (where I set up the account) sent me an advance copy of the DVD to approve before they release it. It was the first time I ever got to see the disk with the actual disk art on it and it looks very cool!

So now I have my very own eStore on Amazon and I think people will trust buying the disk through Amazon more than Indieflix for being sure they will get a quality product for the buck$.

So here's the link.. https://www.createspace.com/265051

Gravity Now Available From Indieflix!

Just a note that I've updated the box on the right with a link to the page on Indieflix where you can now get In the Fall of Gravity on DVD as well as via direct download. I'll add more links and stuff as the release moves forward.

Thanks for all your support!