Archives For jonathan cooper

Poster Post For Posterity

May 21st, 2013 — Leave a comment

The Game Anim Demo Reels vimeo group has now attracted 100 members of both students and professionals alike, with around 150 game demo reels on display. This is great start, and I intend to keep it curated as a resource for anyone looking to update their reel.

In other news, this recruitment ad appeared in the March 2013 issue of Game Developer magazine and will probably be popping up again for the foreseeable future. The shoot was a lot of fun, with me strapped to a reclining “stunt chair” and all manner of supports holding up my legs, clothes and a giant fan blowing my hair. Please overlook the homoerotic undertones – we spent so many years working together that a special bond was formed.

connor_jonathan_small

In Personal, Work , , ,
permalink

Cinematic Reel : 2011

April 10th, 2011 — 3 Comments

I took the time this last week to put together a reel of my work on Mass Effect 2, done between late 2008 and early 2010. Look below for a full shot breakdown, and, because you’re gonna ask, the music is Invaders Must Die by The Prodigy.

Shot Breakdown

Below is a breakdown of what I was responsible for in each scene. The terms used are as follows: Continue Reading…

In Cutscenes, Work , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

2010 – The Shittiest Year In Review

January 11th, 2011 — 6 Comments

2010 was not a good year. I don’t usually write end-of-year reviews, and I’m a wee bit late given that we’re nearly mid-January already, but this is mostly an exercise to exorcise a year fairly consistent in its misery – something I’m extra disappointed in because I was looking forward to 2010 as the first year where in my opinion, much more plausibly than 2001 or 1984, the numbers actually read like the future. Additionally, beyond marking 5 years of this site, it was also the year I celebrated my first decade in the industry.

Continue Reading…

In Personal, Work , , , , , ,
permalink

Showreel 2007

August 20th, 2008 — Leave a comment

I’ve just been messing around with the site, making it a little more easy to find the posts most interesting to developers that may find their way here and have dropped my last showreel onto the About page, so incase you missed it here it is.

This is the reel I made in January/February 2007 to land a job in Montreal so is a little dated. Featuring the second of three Commander Shepard models, (with crossed eyes no less ;-), it also contains the player navigation actions before the final level of polish, but enough excuses.

Continue reading for the full shot breakdown:

Continue Reading…

In Site, Work , , , , , , , , , ,
permalink

GameAnim 3.0 – Coming Out

May 10th, 2007 — Leave a comment

So, the third major overhaul to this site arrives today, along with something of a change of delivery.

New Look

The first and most obvious change is visual. This was inspired by the upcoming Apple iPhone, and the entire site has been formatted to work with the dimensions of the screen based on the initial movies and specs found on this site. Whether the thing takes off or not, I’m sure you’ll agree that everything is much more legible and easier to naviagte now.

New Database

The entire site has been migrated over to a wordpress-powered blog, with the main reason of the database functionality allowing for much easier cataloging. Previously, gameanim.com was created by hand in Dreamweaver, with all links and media updated by hand – which began to be such a pain in the ass that updates were difficult when I was busy elsewhere.

Coming Out

The second major change, (and one from which there is no turning back, based on the consistent hits from whois.com every month), is as you may have just noticed, I’m no longer writing in the third-person. This was always an admittedly cowardly approach to writing by hiding behind a pseudonym, which was mostly serving to provide a critical commentary on industry and animation free from any attachment to employers’ public image, (though the footer below still stands). The reason for this change of heart is twofold. Firstly, to change the emphasis of this site away from humorously poking fun at amateurs via “Bad Walkcycles”, and secondly: see below…

Change of Scenery

I’ve had several overhauls in my life recently, moving away from my previous job as Lead Animator on BioWare’s Mass Effect in Edmonton, Alberta, and moved to the opposite side of Canada to live with my girlfriend, Marie-Jo, in Montreal. We had been doing the long-distance relationship thing for almost a year while awaiting the finishing of the Mass Effect project, and as soon as the animation was in a state fit to leave, I did.

Aside from freeing me up to write about more personal thoughts and events in my life from here-on in, I’m hoping that sharing what work I actually have done should give the game animation-related opinions expressed on these pages a little more weight. Please check the About section for the full rundown on who I am and what I do.

In Personal, Site , , ,
permalink