Pixar have been turning out blockbusters for years, but how do they do it? How do they manage to make every film a hit? When the people of Pixar sit down to plan their next film, it’s an incredibly creative process that involves several steps. Not unlike how Digital Media Academy’s students plan a film project, Pixar’s process includes brainstorming, developing a script and then actually shooting the action.

This summer the studio released Toy Story 3. To bring the film to life it took hundreds of creators and even more ideas, in addition to the countless hours of hard work. Recently Wired magazine visited Pixar and provided an incredible look behind the scenes at the magic.

We’re can’t wait for Toy Story 3! How about you? What’s your favorite Disney/Pixar film? What did you think of the Wired magazine article?

Every year video game makers gather in Los Angeles for the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Also known as E3, the video game trade show gives game buyers a chance to take a sneak peek at what’s in development. We visited the show in search of future video game stars for DMAC’s future video game creators.

Ezio & the Brotherhood

In Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the sequel to the amazing and critically acclaimed single-player game Assassin’s Creed, our hero, Ezio, travels to Rome to take down corrupt leaders. This time though, Ezio is supported in his efforts by the Brotherhood, a shady bunch of characters that help him through the single player and new multiplayer mode.

Players will have access to different weapons and attack techniques when the game releases in November 2010, but it’s the shadowy characters of Ezio and the Brotherhood that players are really excited about stepping into the shoes of.

Ezio’s cloaked hood hides his face, adding to the character’s intrigue, likewise for the other characters in Brotherhood, their animations and character designs give each one unique personality and almost overshadow this incredible game.

Epic Mickey

What do you get when you take an 80-year old mouse and give him a facelift by one of the most respected game designers in the video game business? You get Epic Mickey, a new game from Disney Interactive and the brain of Warren Spector, who is known for such games as Wing Commander and Deus Ex.

Click this image for a larger view of Mickey's strange world.

Epic Mickey has its own unique character and style. Epic Mickey takes classic Mickey and turns him upside down in a platform game world oozing with Disney style and character. Not since Square’s line of Kingdom Hearts games have we seen such an untraditional – and cool – way to represent Disney characters. Speaking of character, the game will also be the first video game to ever feature Disney’s long-lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a character that came before Mickey and one that Walt Disney sold the rights to earlier in his career.

The People of Rage

Rage is from id Software (of Doom and Quake fame) and uses the company’s unique id Tech 5 technology. This technology allows programmers to “bring a new level of graphic presentation and artistic expression and graphic fidelity.” All we know is that the game and its world pushes the limits of what we’ve seen in video games. Reactions to the demo and trailer was jaw-dropping awe, even to industry veterans.

Rage was the big winner at E3 and the pick of many video game editors as the best of the show.

The post-apocalyptic Mad-Max-inspired world is incredibly detailed, crafted almost, not just designed. The down and dirty environments and characters are so well made they’re almost human. That includes the zombies challenge players to high-octane battles and racing, in the outskirts of the protected city the action is centered around. Oh yeah, it all plays like a top-notch first-person shooter.

Are there any games or characters you heard about from E3 that you’re eager to get your hands on? What video game character are you creating this summer?

It’s almost time to get back to school, but you can get a jump on everyone by continuing your education year round. And while you’re at it, why not take courses you WANT to take, not what you’re REQUIRED to take. Digital Media Academy offers several ways to grow your brain with courses from Digital Filmmaking to Robotics. Start a career in game design or become the next George Lucas… It’s easy when you grow your brain.

Take for example Megamind, he knows people dig a guy with a large cranium.

Speaking of growing your brain, follow our resident Brain on Twitter for great tips and technological tricks. Need a new computer to finish a project or start a new one? We’ve got great deals on gently used Apple Computer’s, check them out.

Nowadays most of the media your iBalls watch are on an iSomething. This is all great and grand, but how did my iMedia find it’s iWay to the iWorld?

I would love to tell you that I don’t know and just leave the magic in it. But since telling my sister at the age of seven that Santa didn’t exist, I’ve always been one for iTruth, regardless of how disappointing it may be for others. If you use an iPod or other Apple device then you should click this link to check out a video tutorial on how to compress for iPods and iTunes.

I get to rub shoulders with some pretty talented and amazing technical instructors. Once in awhile these same instructors come to me for my thoughts, and I get to do what I do best, which is to think of how on earth people use the internet to find what they’re looking for.  I take that info and share it with the authors, so they can write technical copy to be reachable by those people.  I don’t write the articles here, I take the written articles and insert them into the blog with pictures and videos. I add categories and tags, keywords, and I brainstorm about why kids want to come to summer camp – what are the needs that can be met and exceeded by our training and summer camps for kids, teens and adults and how Digital Media Academy’s training and summer camps can help people meet their goals.  I try to make sure those important ideas and words are included. And it all ties in together – DMA has terrific professional instructors and camps are set on amazing university locations for our summer camps (Stanford, UCLA, UC San Diego, University of British Columbia at Vancouver, University of Chicago, Drexel, Swarthmore, Brown, George Washington University Washington, DC, Harvard, University of Texas at Austin.) We just need to present the information in a way that is interesting, original, and findable. Findable being key!

Our campers love to post their videos on YouTube, what words do they need to use to be found and viewed? If I were a teen with a dream to make an amazing film and change the world, where would I start? I’d probably search the internet for amazing films that are already changing the world, and work backward from there to learn where to go to learn how to make an amazing video! Digital Media Academy teaches a wide variety of courses, some of which teach kids to make amazing films at film summer camp.

As I was writing a pretty dry document for our instructors to use this year, the nuts and bolts of posting student videos to YouTube, I was trying to think of a great example of a “viral video” – the holy grail of “viral” and how to achieve that goal.  And I remembered that I had used a great video as and example in a “surprise and delight your customer” post…  shown here.  (And you can also check out another amazing viral video:  educate girls)

If I were the original creator of this video, and if I had made it during summer camp, I’d post it with tags like this:  “Digital Media Academy Summer Camp”, “Film Summer Camp”, “Make a Film”, “Teen Summer Camp” and so on.  To view it on the blog here, post it, click on “embed”, select the viewer color box you like, and select size 560 X 340, and paste it in the post in “Html” view.

Enjoy the video!

I’m going to illustrate a few things simultaneously here, so bear with me as it all weaves together with this one incredible viral film!

Tips for Posting Your Summer Camp Videos to YouTube

• Categories – YouTube has several categories that are appropriate for summer camp videos – check out the categories by clicking on the “browse” tab next to the search box.
• Think about your video – if your video is the answer, what was the question?  If the question is “I want to watch something funny”, and your video is funny, consider placing it in the “Comedy” category.  If it’s a technical film about how to create something using a certain technology, consider “Education”, “HowTo”, “Science & Technology”, or “Gaming”.
• Post your video and select your tags.  Tags help people find the video.  If the film is made by the Digital Media Academy staff or a student, use “Digital Media Academy” as one of the tags.  If it’s made by kids at summer camps, or if this film would help kids looking for a film summer camp see what happens behind the scenes at film summer camp, use “film summer camp” as a tag.  If the camp is about “skateboard summer camp” or “academy for game design” use those words in the tags.  Whatever the title of the summer camp is, that would make a good tag.  Use all of the available tags.
• Write a brief description of the video, mentioning the name of the summer camp, the location of the summer camp, the age group, and what made it special.  Include a link to the page on the Digital Media Academy website that displays either the course name of the summer camp, or the location of the program.

I’d love to see all the videos made by students and staff this summer at Digital Media Academy!

This film was made by Keith English, acclaimed artist, animator and instructor for the Digital Media Academy. He created the animations for this promo for the Sonoma International Film Festival.

Kids, post your videos, and leave a comment on this post.  Wouldn’t it be fun to have a contest for the funniest video?  Please let me know (especially!) if you post a video to the comedy category!

Check out Digital Media Academy’s videos on YouTube! Have a blast at summer camp!

In late June, Digital Media Academy is purchasing  brand new Apple computers and Sony Cameras to be used for 3-5 weeks and delivered in June/early August. A 25% deposit is required. Limited number available on a first-come,  first-served basis.

To reserve a computer or camera call, 866-656-3342.

Click the image below to enlarge and get more details.

In just weeks the summer camp shenanigans of Digital Media Academy will be in full effect and I can’t wait. I love working with kids. Their imaginations and outlook on this world is so refreshing in comparison to the box most adults put their brains in. The summer camp course I’m most excited for is the Come Together: Music and Video Production Class I’ll be teaching this summer. I enjoy the fact that this course shakes your brain to think of everything from producing music and writing lyrics to shooting video and editing in Final Cut Pro. I’m especially excited to expand my instructor skill set from teaching this process in one day to one week. I think the students are going to have a ball and come up with some really creative projects. Here is one of my favorite projects produced in a day on the Lennon Bus in Fairhope, Alabama. It was during all the Swine Flu hype and the students on that day had their own angle on the hoopla. Check it out and be sure to register for the Come Together course HERE.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-R1ECiwPqE

Even if you don’t know an Ollie from a McTwist or Gain from Shutter Speed, Digital Media Academy’s got teens covered this summer at Stanford. We’ve teamed up with leading local retailer SkateWorks and are raffling off a board AND free spot in our upcoming Skateboarding and Filmmaking Camp for Teens.

Or if you’re an experienced boarder and have made videos in the past, you’ll be able to kickflip your vids to an entirely new level. This year’s class at Stanford is taught by taught by SoCal’s visual fx and skateboarding master Nick Guth with UCSC grad and extreme sport junkie Travis Schalfman.

As with all our camps, you have the choice to get a taste of the college life by sleeping at Stanford’s campus each night or come for five action-filled days. Regardless, you’ll wrap the week with a dynamic vid … and there’s even a rumor the Skateworks Team will showcase their gravity-defying talents in an exclusive session for the class.

But if you’re not in the Bay Area this summer, there’s no need to despair. Digital Media Academy also offers the Skateboarding and Filmmaking Camp at UCLA, UCSD, George Washington University and Harvard, while SkateWorks’ brand-name boards, decks, trucks, wheels, and apparel are available for shipment across the country from their website.

Classes are filling up, be sure to register for our raffle before June 18 !

Hey All,

Today I’m going to talk about a technique known as sampling. Sampling is taking bits and pieces of music or sounds from other songs and manipulating them to use in your own artistic endeavors. This is a popular technique used in Hip-Hop songs, but can also be used in any genre or audio situation. The tecnique I’m going to teach allows you to take an audio sample, cut it up, and assign it to different keys so you can play the slices on your MIDI keyboard. Something to be aware of; If you are using noticeable pieces of music you will have to obtain the rights to use that music from whomever owns the rights. This is referred to as “clearing” a sample. You might have to share a portion of your earnings or “royalties” from the song, pay for the rights to use it, or get written consent.

So lets begin.

I’m going to be showing you this technique in Logic Pro 9, an awesome DAW or Digital Audio Workstation from Apple. This is the primary software I’ll be teaching this summer in the “Come Together Music and Video Course” as well as the “Digital Audio and Music Production Course.”

To start you’ll have to launch Logic by clicking the icon in the Dock, the Application in finder, or a Logic Project file.

Then once the software is open you should create a new empty project and save it. For this exercise I’m going to call my project 4_DMP_Sampling.

Make sure all the boxes except include movie are checked when you save it. This way you’ll always have copies of all audio files associated with this project in your project folder.

Next you’ll have to get a piece of audio you want to sample from. For this exercise I’m going to use an apple loop. This is very cool because the Apple loops included in Logic can be cut up and sampled just like anything else, giving you thousands of options! You can also use songs from old vinyl records, CD’s, tapes, or anywhere really.

The loop I’m using is called “Sweet Strummer 02″ It is an Acoustic Guitar lick that I like and want to cut it up and play the different slices on my MIDI keyboard.

Locate the sample by going to your “Media Tab” then  click the “Loops Tab” Type in Sweet Strummer 02 in the search field and hit return. It will pop up below.

Then click the sample to preview it in the loop browser. Nice Huh!

After that click and drag it to an audio track in the arrange area.

Now double click the middle of the audio region to load it into the sample editor in the editing area.

This window allows you to do a multitude of thigs to audio files, but for now I want you to do the following:

Go to the audio file menu there and choose “Detect Transients” what this is going to do is create markers based on “peaks” or dynamically louder sounds in the file.

Now you’ll see little white lines or “markers” in the file. Logic computed where transients were and put markers there. What these represent are the durations of the sample to be mapped to each key. To understand more, double click on the audio file in between two markers and push play or the spacebar on your keyboard. You’ll notice that it only plays from one marker to the next. This is what will be heard when you press a key on your keyboard.

You can move those markers around to change what will be mapped to each key by simply mousing over them and dragging from left to right. You can also remove the makers by double clicking them. So go ahead an move the markers around and delete if you need to.

If you want to create new markers highlight the audio file where you want to create them and hit the plus sign at the top of the Sample Editor:

So once you’ve moved your markers, added and deleted them, now its time to map them to the keyboard.

Now close the sample editor by clicking its name in the edit area and highlight the audio region in the arrange. Then go up to the local “audio” menu and choose “convert regions to new sampler track”

You will then see this menu:

Make sure the Transient Markers bubble is selected. This means that its going to map the sample to the keys based on the markers we created. If you leave regions selected you’ll have the sample only on one key, and it will play the whole thing, not the slices.

Also the trigger note range is the keys you are going to map these to. So if C1 is selected on the left, this is where the first slice will be mapped and the rest will continue up to G8. Then hit ok.

You’ll now notice that a software instrument track was created and a region is created also. This region represents the sample as it is now. Delete that region.

If you record enable the software instrument track with the EXS24 sampler on it that was just created, you’ll be able to play the slices mapped out on your keyboard. So go ahead and play around until you find a pattern you like and record it.

So that’s it. Now you know how to slice, map, and play samples in Logic. Super fun and easy to do. It just might change your life.

To learn more techniques like the one I’ve described here sign up for one of the courses I’ll be teaching this summer listed below:

Come Together – Music and Video Production: http://bit.ly/9zHpIT

Digital Audio and Music Production: http://bit.ly/9kbqHD

Logic Pro 101 Course: http://bit.ly/cuvgmr

Hope to see you there!