2018 issue
the p rtal the latest in entertainment
EXCLUSIVE interview with 360 Studios
PIXAR’s secret strategy for success
p. 25
p. 31
INSID
A closer look into Austin film
E SCO
OP
A Godlessness in the media: “The Atheist Experience” p. 7
p. 19
see m
ore o
n p. 1
Z 3
ROOSTER TEETH: who and what are they? p. 1
Table of C NTENTS
The Teeth of a Rooster
By Alex Yang
This company reels in over 1 million views a day
1 Heathens to High Heaven
By Nate Smith
A single call-in show changes lives every day
7 Lights, Camera, Action
By Jackson Hadwin How movies really get made
13
Austin Film: the Rising Scene
By Jack Terronez
A look at the film productions in Austin
19 Television in Austin
By Aiden Reed
The impact, the changes, and the legacy
25 Evolution of Pixar
By Max Dobbs
What makes Pixar’s world go round?
31
The
Teeth of a Rooster This Austin-based company reels in more than 9 million subscribers
By: Alex Yang efore even entering the room, passerby can hear laughter and laid-back conversation emanating from the room. The occupants of the room wore relaxed expressions, indicating that they didn’t have a care in the world. Their conversation was a ridiculous and hilarious debate about a battle between fictional characters. But the group never looked at the camera recording their conversation. After all, it would ruin the video, and since they were working for a company with over 9 million YouTube subscribers, every second had to be perfect.
B
Rooster Teeth Productions (Rooster Teeth) creates all kinds of different media centered around video games. They feature YouTube series, podcasts, video games, and everything in between. Rooster Teeth has grown from a group of 6 people casually shooting video to a huge company with over 9 million subscribers on YouTube alone. Their original show, “Red vs. Blue,” has run for 16 seasons and shows no signs of stopping. Rooster Teeth also boasts popular YouTube series such as the “RWBY” franchises, “Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures” and “Achievement Hunter.”
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“Rooster Teeth is a diverse production studio offering a variety of entertainment from online videos to feature films and video games,” said Michael Hadwin, the director of game development at Rooster Teeth. “I’m proud of Rooster Teeth as a whole, because it’s created an environment where a lot of different people can come and make a career, build shows and build franchises in some cases,” said Burnie Burns, the CTO of Rooster Teeth
Burnie Burns stands triumphantly in his office, the Rooster Teeth logo in the background.
and film production, and animation. “Most people think game developers just sit around playing games all day, drinking Mountain Dew and surfing the internet,” Hadwin says. “But there’s a ton of science, engineering, creativity and black magic that goes into making a successful game. It takes a dedicated team of passionate individuals to pull together all the parts of a game design and then get it running smoothly enough to attract a wide audience.” Michael Hadwin, Director of Game Development. (Photo by Michael Hadwin)
and one of the company’s original founders. Before starting the company, Burns majored in medical sciences. However, when he saw that the growing internet was opening up a whole new world of possibilities, he switched his major to computer science and got a job at a telemarketing company. Eventually, his job at the company led him to meet his future co-workers in Rooster Teeth. “It was my learning at Telenetwork and being part of that dot-com revolution that lined all that up. I didn’t see that till two years later. We were just ahead of the curve,” he explained. When looking at a selection of Rooster Teeth’s laid-back, casual videos, it might be tempting to think that the creators don’t work hard when filming. However, Burns knows better. “I think that would be a thing that for people who watch YouTube, I think that you see people like Logan Paul or Casey Neistat, they think ‘Oh, wow! They’re having a blast! Everything seems great!’ It’s an incredible amount of hard work that goes into it,” Burns says. The same is true of other creative media: game development, movie
True to his words, Burns had to work hard, especially in the early days of Rooster Teeth. Before he thought he could make a living out of making videos, Burns worked at a telemarketing company and helped get Rooster Teeth off the ground. He would get home at 5:30 p.m. every afternoon and start working on “Red vs. Blue” all night. “For the first two years, I didn’t sleep on a Thursday night. Probably not best for my performance on Friday at the company, but it was something you kind of had to do.” So what moved Burns to quit his telemarketing job and finally start the company? “It’s just a passion for storytelling or anything else. I’ve always enjoyed storytelling. This is a way to take that to the next level and try new things, especially with video and effects. I just love it.” Kaitlin Petras is an animator that
“ There’s a ton of science,
engineering, creativity and black magic that goes into making a successful game. ”
worked on one of Rooster Teeth’s films, called “Lazer Team.” She started animating in order to tell a story as well. “Telling a story and bringing your own characters to life is the coolest feeling in the world. Watching an idea going from something on a piece of paper or a thought in your head to something you can watch on screen with your friends in family is the best
feeling,” she said.
How they do it
So how does Rooster Teeth make their media? Do they have a process? Do they improvise? Where do they get their ideas? Burns believes that a set process is important, but artists should be ready to make improvisations. He says that movie production is rushed and streamlined, so planning the process out can save time in the long run. At the very beginning, Petras likes to start media with characters. “A lot of people like to start with stories, but for me personally it’s about developing your character and giving them a conflict.” Conflicts are crucial for developing media, otherwise audiences will not take interest in the story. As for getting ideas, Burns says, “I’m a big believer in taking in a lot, watching a lot of things. Monty Oum taught me that. His desk looked like something from “The Matrix.” He had eight monitors always going and he would constantly watch other things.” Ideas strike at the most unexpected moments too. “It’s typically when I’m letting my mind wander, out walking my dog, driving my car, listening to music, or just chatting with friends,” explains Hadwin. “Suddenly you’re struck with an idea that inspires you and that creates a chain reaction of ideas that flow like fireworks. I live for those moments.” A great example of letting your mind wander is how Rooster Teeth got started. It also happens to be the origin story of a wildly popular filming technique: Machinima, or the art of using video game engines to make animated videos. It’s the basis for Rooster Teeth’s first, longest-running, and most popular web series: “Red vs. Blue.”
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if an idea completely fails, the artist honed their skills and became a little more experienced. They learned from their mistakes, figured out what worked and what didn’t, and moved on to another idea. Great people started small. Even Burns. “My first movie that I made, I spent 13 months on it,” Burns says. “150 people have seen it, maybe, total? But I still learned so much that from just that process that I was able to build Rooster Teeth.”
The cite of game creation at Rooster Teeth, filled with computers and hardworking developers. This office captiures the creative essence of Rooster Teeth. (Photo by Michael Hadwin) “I was messing around with Halo one day,” recounts Burns, “trying to show how to get a Warthog off a cliff without tipping it over, and I realize I’m using my player like a camera trying to set up the shot. Then when I blacked out the score, ammo counter and health counter, I thought, ‘oh, this is like an animated movie!” Sometimes, coming up with an idea has its challenges. Burns wasn’t even the first person to create Machinima, although he was close. But Burns believes it’s fine for artists to have an unoriginal concept, as long as they came up with the idea themselves.
So how does Rooster Teeth implement their ideas once they have one? The answer is to get started, and Burns thinks it is one of the hardest parts of the creative process, simply because people don’t want to share their ideas with the world. “Budding artists are worried that their idea is not perfect enough yet. They kind of hold it in their head and they want to make it better before they tell it to anybody else, because once they tell it to everybody else, if they don’t like it then it’s ruined.” But that is not the case at all. Even
“You don’t need to be an expert,” Hadwin reassures. “Just jump in and learn as you go.” While implementing ideas, obstacles are bound to show up. Whether actors lack the skills they need, the company wants a game done in half the time it takes to properly develop it, or the software used to animate becomes more of a hurdle than a tool, media designers address all these obstacles. “I think a big thing that we do for overcoming obstacles is realizing your limitations and then finding people, really talented people, that can help you with that. Filmmaking is really hard; there’s so many different aspects to filmmaking that you just can’t possibly learn it all,” Burns says.
“If it’s an original concept, regardless of where the inspiration was drawn, the idea should still be carried out because it’s still unique. It just has to be something really good that grabs people.” It’s also acceptable to put a new spin on an old idea, especially since new ideas are being implemented all the time. “I’m not saying the universe is out of ideas, but it’s really hard to surprise modern gamers with something truly new and unique,” Hadwin says. “You have to find a way to give them something familiar, but fresh. Something old, but new.”
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Editors edit and check footage as they record it for “DEATH BATTLE Cast.” Editing is one of the steps of the creative process.
“I try to learn from the process and apply it moving forward. It’s OK to make mistakes and fail fast! That’s where true learning comes from,” Hadwin says. A common example of an obstacle in the creative process is knowing what to edit out. An editor is important to show producers what needs to be left out and what can be left in because producers are often blindsided by the effort it took to shoot a certain scene. Burns thinks it’s important to listen to the editor and at least consider their directions.
a movie concept, Burns’ advice is to know that anyone can film video. Even though Rooster Teeth is producing content on a large scale, all it took for Burns to start his company was a moment of pure inspiration and hard
start learning software as early as possible. “Definitely learn the basics in college,” she said, “because it’s harder to understand what people are people to talk about if you don’t know the basics.”
“The audience doesn’t care how long you spent shooting a scene; they just want it to be a good movie.” It’s extremely important to capture the audience’s attention. Most of the time, audiences can’t and won’t watch everything. Out of the two weeks of footage that gets uploaded to YouTube each minute, Rooster Teeth’s content has to stand out. “Audiences can’t watch everything, so audiences will find things that they like and they’ll do a deep dive on it. But they won’t bounce around a lot,” Burns says. So what is the best way to capture the audience’s attention? With the fun of media. Fun is one of the most important essences of media, especially in video games, since the interactivity between the game and the player is the most important part of games.
Rooster Teeth game developers sit in their office playing one of their games. Playing finished games is a way to relax and relflect. (Photo by Michael Hadwin) work. Hadwin’s advice to people who are getting started on making a game is to jump in, get messy, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The way to start is to learn the basics with free physics engines like Unity, Unreal engine and Amazon Lumberyard, and then try to develop a small idea and share it with anyone who will listen. Get feedback and learn what worked and what didn’t, and make another game with the experience gained.
“ Perfect is a never-ending processs, never ending. ”
Once the bulk of the game or movie has been created, a common pitfall that artists make is continuing to refine work for a long period of time until it’s perfect. However, that should not be the case. In fact, knowing where to stop editing and publish media can save artists from taking too long to improve their creation. “The media is never going to be perfect,” Burns says. “Perfect is a never-ending process, never ending.”
“With so many free tools and knowledge available, it’s never been an easier time to learn game development,” Hadwin says. “So download some tools, join an online community to learn and share with and start making games. Most importantly, have fun!”
For the people who have an idea for
Petras’s advice for animators is to
She also believes that budding animators should be interested in telling a story. “If they’re interested in art, they’re interested in characters, and they’re interested in telling a story, there’s no better way to do it than animation.” What started as a six-person project has evolved into a company reeling in millions of viewers every day, and there are no signs Rooster Teeth will stop. What’s next for Rooster Teeth? New games that might be based on “RWBY,” “Camp Camp,” “Gen:Lock,” and more. While the boundaries of technology keep increasing, who knows what Rooster Teeth — and new artists — will create?
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The Creative Process
How your ideas get from your head to your paper Phase 1: Preparation
you even get started, is to research and see what others have done.
•Main goal is to conduct research to prepare for the creative process •Absorb information, see what others have done. •Artists visit galeries, musicians play with chords, etc. •Mainly centered around the subconscious mind, which absorbs information. •This Information feeds into the next phase.
Phase 2: Incubation
Incubation sometimes happens along with preparation, when you subconsciously work ou t the problem, sometimes without consciously knowing it.
•Passively mull over the problem •brainstorming, thinking about ways to approach the problem, reviewing the results of preparation, etc. •Can occur during everyday tasks or when your mind wanders. •Subconscious mind does most of the work conclusion, you’re hit with the next phase.
Phase 4: Implementation
The ideas from all the previous phases are arranged in the physical world.
•Usually the most work, involves making your idea a reality •All phases of production and evaluation •Artists will paint, musicians will compose •The other phases are important: well-executed research can lead to intriguing ideas, which can product. •Your media can inspire others and aid them in preparation.
Phase 3: IIllumination
When your subconcomes to an idea, the conscious mind realizes it.
•Can be described as the “Eureka!” phase, what we strive to understand. •The urge to carry out the idea is so strong, it overpowers the conscious •Can also happen during everyday tasks •Subconscious mind feeds the product of incubation to the conscious mind. •The idea is carried out in the next phase
Sources: •Interview with Michael Hadwin, conducted Feb. 11 2018. •ProductiveFlourishing.com. •SmallBusiness.chron.com.
Heathens to High Heaven Austin’s Atheist Experience A look into one of the live music capital’s less known traditions By Nathaniel Smith they idols or extremists, B einfidels or heroes, the cast
of “The Atheist Experience” has certainly been impactful, featuring famous theologists worldwide and giving rise to such faces as Matt Dillahunty and Tracie Harris. Since 1997, this local call-in show has changed the minds, and the lives, of those that it’s touched. Broadcast over the World Wide Web from the Freethought Library here in Austin, Texas, “The Atheist Experience” brings on the debate every Saturday from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. CST. Funded and filmed by the Atheist Community of Austin,
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a non-profit organization, the show has amassed over 203,000 subscribers on YouTube as of this month, and has taken calls from Mormons in Utah to Muslims in Lebanon, for all of the world to hear. “A call-in television show? A panel of atheists that talk about religious beliefs?” was Kevin Carney’s first reaction to hearing of “The Atheist Experience”. Now he works behind the scenes, choosing which calls get to be on air. For him, finding a community of like-minded people was game-changing.
“Talking to atheists who used to be theists is what hooked me. Not because their stories are necessarily individually compelling, but because of the sheer number of people who used ‘The Atheist Experience’ as a road map to help them leave their religion behind.” He’s been with the Community ever since he came to Austin in 2015 and has since climbed his way up to the Board of Directors. It’s a multi-man effort, all without pay, to get the show live. Three people must constantly man the backstage for the whole 90-minute runtime, just to keep up the
conversation for two hosts and a caller. Carney knows the struggle. ”The guy who does sound has to constantly listen to the quality of the phone calls and make adjustments to the sound to compensate for the fact that we have no control over the audio quality from the phone call into our equipment,” he said. Everything must in balance in order for “The Atheist Experience”, which itself makes no direct income, to keep broadcasting, to have kept running for 21 years. The Atheist Community of Austin began as a humble advertisement in the newspaper back in 1995. Kellen von Houser, the original Austin atheist, put up an invitation to meet at an eatery to talk about atheism. As the meets gained more members and new ideas
began to surface, somebody mentioned a public access television set where they could rent out time to film their debates, and “The Atheist Experience” was born.
“ The ACA promotes
compassionate atheism and secular government globally through the production of media that is accessible, informative, and entertaining, and locally through community outreach events and service. - Atheist Community of Austin
”
“One of the questions you’ll hear frequently on the show is ‘What do you believe and why do you believe it?’, and it’s that ‘why’ that I think people don’t do enough of,” said Russell Glasser, president of the ACA since 2016. “I kind of got comfortable a long time ago with being given a topic and just going freestyle about it. I’ve seen some people try to host for the first time and decide it wasn’t their thing, and they left, but at this point answering questions from callers takes very little preparation and I basically just jump right into it.” Glasser’s been the host of hundreds of episodes of “The Atheist Experience”, and he’s since become adept at it. Unlike an actual debate, the discussion topic can flip on a dime, with the hosts’ only control over it being the ability to mute the caller.
The 2017-18 ACA board of directors lines up for a photo in front of the Freethought Library. (Photo by Lisa Schuck, courtesy of the Atheist Community of Austin.)
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The training and expertise that goes into the human element of “The Atheist Experience” often crafts the hosts into expert debaters. Such is the case for Matt Dillahunty, former president of the ACA, and possibly one of the most famous faces of atheism worldwide. Dillahunty has recently strayed from the local scene and moved up to the level of such giants as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens, using his past experience as a Southern Baptist minister-in-training to bring a deeper and more emotionally profound vein to the argument. Now matter how respected the hosts may be, a religion-opposing organization in the middle of conservative Texas can’t exist without gaining a few battle scars, even in the hill country. The show and its cast have seen multiple instances of confrontation across 21 years. In Kevin Carney’s experience of deciding who gets to be on the show, he’s found that, “Every once in a while, someone makes a troll call, or someone who is quote-unquote ‘a good Christian’ calls in and is misleading about who they are and why in order to make a point, and I love that because they themselves don’t see the hypocrisy in what they’re doing.” He’s not the only one to have known the public’s negative responses first-hand. Phil Session is one of the rotating cast of co-hosts that switch weekly. “My portion was the volunteer aspect, because that’s what I’m passionate about... I went all in for it and started putting up more volunteer events, [wheelchair] ramp builds and atheists helping the homeless, bringing that out here in Austin,” Session said. For him, the show is a great way to meet new people and get them into doing what he loves, helping others, even when they might not be able to help him in return. Although it is unknown how many there are in total, a majority of atheists are also secular humanists,
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r’Amen! meaning that they derive their morality based on human interaction, to do for others what should be done in return. Session certainly follows that idea to the letter. One of Session’s experiences with the ACA that has stuck with him came at a time when he and his compatriots were handing out supplies to the homeless by the side of the road. A Christian religious group came along in a truck with megaphones in hand and began to berate the atheists for their actions, despite the giveaway that was happening. The homeless fought back. In Phil Session’s memory, “it was actually some of them that came to our defense, even though we didn’t ask for it.” “We got a lot of apologies from people that were religious,” Session said. The merits of his and the ACA’s generosity showed themselves; it wasn’t aggression or hostility that saved them, it was their hospitality. After every show, the cast can be joined by the audience and anyone who wants to drop by for an aftershow dinner. All of this and more from a little place at 1507 W. Koenig Ln. here in Austin, Texas. Although it has since moved from cable to its own website, “The Atheist Experience” still inspires closeted atheists with the courage to express their unorthodox views and challenges theists to strengthen their belief. The ACA’s multiple media outlets, including their “The Non-Prophets” podcast and “The Atheist Experience”, are available on their website at https://atheist-community. org/.
“ Don't be afraid to question ideas that don't seem to make sense, and in fact, I would encourage you to do so. - Kevin Carney, Call Screener
”
Photo by Lisa Schuck, courtesy of the Atheist Community of Austin
“ I think the most important thing
is not what conclusion you come to, whether there is a god or not, it's the ability to exercise critical thinking and question your assumptions all of the time. - Russell Glasser, Host
”
Photo courtesy of the Atheist Community of Austin
“ Love and help one another be-
cause people are worth it, and they are more important than the beliefs they hold. - Phil Session, Co-Host
”
Photo courtesy of the Atheist Community of Austin
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11
cause
Lights, Camera, Action: How Movies Get Made By Jackson H.
Photo by Jwvein
People love the movies; they’re a big part of
American culture. However, some people miss out on what goes on behind the scenes. How a movie is made is a monumental process. Writing a script, filming scenes, editing footage, and animating characters are just a few of the things that have to be done. The movie business is full of people with big or small roles, from actors to extras. Many people go into making a film or production. It can take years of work — or maybe just a few months — to turn a script into a finished product that can be seen at the theatre. Hundreds of people help to bring a movie to the big screen.
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There are many roles, such as the assistant director. It’s an assistant directors job to put together a schedule, direct safety, and give directions on set. Another important role is the writer. A writer’s job is pretty self-explanatory: they write the script. A role that is just as important as the others is hairstylist. The job of a hairstylist is to creatively manipulate the hair in such a fashion as to be seen in a film.
One of the most important roles is actor: the men and women responsible for bringing a script to life. Some of the other roles include the cameraman for filming and shooting; sound artists for recording and mixing; directors for directing; actors for acting out scenes; designers, hair stylists, and makeup artists for bringing a character’s design to life; extras for being the background on set; and editors for cutting and editing the footage into a final product. People work hard to create a movie that might only be watched for an hour and a half. People can work for years before making it onto the big screen. Three such people are KC Hodenfield, Roxie Hodenfield, and Derek Connolly. First is Connolly. Frankly, movies start with Connolly . It’s his job to write a script for a movie that’s already going to be made or, “greenlit.” Connolly sometimes writes a script and takes it before a greenlighting committee where they decide whether or not to invest in his ideas. Connolly, like many people in the film industry, worked hard to get where he is, “I went to film school at NYU and then moved to Los Angeles where I wrote scripts while working at a restaurant,” Connolly said. From there, Connolly wrote a script for a television pilot that two of his friends liked enough to direct and produce for him. Connolly received more job opportunities until Connolly wrote his own indie film, “Safety not Guaranteed.” An indie film
is a film which is produced outside the major film studio system. Connolly’s film won multiple awards, including one at Sundance Film festival. After that, Connolly received more offers for bigger and bigger movies. Movies like Jurassic World, and Kong: Skull Island etc. Even now, Connolly is writing for Sony’s new Metal Gear Solid movie. Connolly described his creative process: how he tries to captivate an audience with a script. “Colorful characters and unique dialog,” Connolly said, “Trying
“It was all hard work, a sense of humor, and always
”
having a desire to do more
- KC Hodenfield to find new ways to say things. Trying to subvert tropes and expectations and surprise or shock people. However, the most important thing is to hook them emotionally and make them care about the characters,” Connolly said. When Connolly says ‘them,’ he is of course referring to the audience, the movie goers. Many things inspire Connolly when writing a script. “People in real life and real issues,” Connolly said. “And themes that interest or move me that I try to put into the script.” The techniques Connolly uses to create his scripts are what make characters in the movies relatable and enjoyable to
watch; characters people can actually relate to. That’s how a movie begins, but where does it go from there? Normally a cast is selected based on who would best fit the budget and theme of the movie. Then begins pre-production, the period of time before filming. In pre-production, schedules are made, resources are allocated, locations are chosen and many other things important to the next step, filming. One man who helps in pre-production and during filming is Mr. KC Hodenfield. Mr. Hodenfield is an assistant director, a position that most people probably aren’t entirely familiar with. Mr. Hodenfield says he meticulously plans out his schedule. “I make a schedule that’s doable in the allotted time and with the money we have available. And once we start filming I run the set.” Good planning is fundamental to the development of a movie. Mr. Hodenfield’s work sets the groundwork for the whole production. The schedule he prepares determines what it happens and where it happens. His role is one of extreme importance to the filming part of movie-making. Mr. Hodenfield’s story of making it in the movie business is one of humble beginnings. “I started in the film business at the lowest rung in the mailroom at Lucasfilm,” Mr. Hodenfield said. Lucasfilm, a common name in the movie industry, a name many people have heard the portal p. 14
before. But he wasn’t there as a Star Wars character. What is important is that his story is one that proves that anyone can make it in the movie business. He said,“It was all hard work, a sense of humor, and always having a desire to do more.” Mr. Hodenfield was fascinated with being an editor but was reminded on an almost daily business he really didn’t want to be an editor. After five years of working at LucasFilm, he was offered a job as Assistant to the Producer on a TV mini-series called “Amazing Stories” being produced by someone many movie fans might be familiar with, Steven Spielberg. After working at LucasFilm, where at the time there wasn’t much production going on, this job gave him a real chance to get experience.
“It has been a
tremendous amount
”
of fun.
-KC Hodenfield
Photo by Michael Hadwin
“It was a great education,” Mr. Hodenfield said. Eventually he decided he wanted to work in production which meant more hard work to rise up the ranks. “I started again at the lowest rung of the ladder as a production assistant,” Mr. Hodenfield said. One thing important is to love movies. “I’ve always been a film buff, I grew up on movies,” Mr. Hodenfield said. the portal p. 15
If the person loves the movies, then in the end, this much work will pay off. Working on movies, with great actors, great directors, and fun perks like travel are some of the advantages. “My office is constantly changing based on the locations that we’re filming,” Mr. Hodenfield said. “I have filmed in India, Iceland, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Africa, and Egypt. It has been a tremendous amount of fun.”
“It was never a job that I looked for” -Roxie Hodenfield
Photo by Cameron Norman
These perks sound great, but people have to work very hard for very long to get there. Mr. Hodenfield may work 13 or 14 hour days on set. He’s worked on countless movies over the years, starting as assistant director on a movie called Prep School, and from there getting bigger and bigger roles. But if someone sticks with it for as many years as Mr. Hodenfield has, the rewards can be amazing. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s a great diversity,” Mr. Hodenfield said. “Even though it may seem like some days are the same, no two days are exactly alike.” Filming includes a broad spectrum of working people. From directors to actors, producers to production assistants, one of the many
“Trying to find new ways to say things.” -Derek Connolly
Photo by Derek Connolly
roles is that of a hairstylist, like Mrs. Roxie Hodenfield, who works closely with costume designers and makeup departments to get actors ready for the big screen. Mrs. Hodenfield has done hair on countless movies for many actors. Mrs. Hodenfield worked in a salon for many years before switching to the movie business. “It was never a job that I looked for,” Mrs. Hodenfield said. “I was in a salon and I educated for a hair color company for many years and then a friend who worked in the film industry asked me to help her on a movie, and I did one show and continued after that.” Hairstylists like Mrs. Hodenfield are essential to creating a characters look in a scene. In the end, a movie can only be made through the work and collaboration of many people. It will take years, but thanks to their hard work and dedication movie-goers can watch the movies that they know and love, wherever and whenever.
”
Roxie (middle) standing on set of the AMC television show, “The Son,” with colleagues.
Photo by Roxie Hodenfield
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So You Want To Make A Movie? Get out your pencils
First, you’ll need a script
I’m lazy, I’ll pay someone to write it for me.
Characters
Find Yourself a Producer Cliche: Jock, nerd, Aliens, Cyborgs, mean-girl, quiet girl Humans
Soldiers & Spies
The Producer Wants to Change a Scene
Locations Outer Space
Rogue Extremist
Drawing Board Go through with it
Sometime in the past
Antagonist(s) British Villian
Back to the
Find a Cast Big Budget Hollywood Actors
Someone on the inside!
New & upcoming talent
START FILMING!
Plot Twist It’s all a simulation
It was all a dream
You’ll be here a while
You’re the one Neo
Editing
NEXT STEP Previews Release Red Carpet Premiere
Sequels? the portal p. 17
WATCH YOUR MOVIE!
The Highest Grossing Films of 2017 Last year the film industry pulled in more than 11 billion dollars. Here are 10 films that contributed the the to that number. . most tomost that number.
700 650 611,118,204
600 550 504,014,165
500 450 412,563,408 389,813,101
400 350
338,709,528 334,201,140
300
327,481,748
313,708,485 264,624,300
250 228,071,154
200 (In Millions) 1234 Star Wars: Beauty & The Last Jedi The Beast
Sources •
5 Wonder Guardians of Woman the Galaxy Vol. 2
Jumanji
678 Spider Man
91 It
Thor Despicable Ragnarok Me 3
0 Justice League
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Austin Film: The Rising Scene
A Look Into Local Film Culture By: Jack Terronez
Barbara Morgan (left) speaks with award recipients Walter Hill, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Kenneth Lonergan (left to right) at the 2017 Austin Film Festival. (Photo by Jack Plunkett, courtesy of Austin Film Festival.)
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T
he lights dimmed in the Galaxy Highland theater in Austin. The audience was eagerly waiting to witness one of many films shown at the annual Austin Film Festival, one of many festivals in the city. With many screenplays and films submitted, the Austin Film Festival is one of the biggest film festivals in Austin. While the Austin Film Festival has events year-round, they have one main event. Every year during October, the Austin Film Festival and Conference begins. For eight days people are entertained, informed, and taught by professionals and independents alike. While being an audience member during the conference or screenings will teach someone about filmmaking and screenwriting, the filmmakers and screenwriters themselves also get valuable information. The festival started from a desire to do something new, and since then it’s blossomed into a leader of pushing the art of storytelling further in not only Austin, but the world at large. The festival had its roots in the desire to do more. “So I was bored. That’s the most honest way I can put it,” said Barbara Morgan, co-founder and executive director of Austin Film Festival. Morgan always had a love for movies, so starting a film festival seemed natural to her. “It wasn’t as hard as I thought it
judged and suggestions on how they can improve, but that’s not always the case.
Did you ever think that Austin Film Festival would get this big?
“Hell no.” -Barbara Morgan
would be,” she said. Morgan got help from the Texas Film Commision in the beginning. She wanted to make the focus be on the screenwriter.
“A lot of them take away nothing,” Morgan said. “On the screenplay side, everybody gets nervous. So even if they lose, hopefully they get notes and they’ll go back and work on their script and keep trying. Filmmakers not so much,” she said. Morgan says that it’s a lot harder and more competitive for filmmakers at the festival. However, if films make it to a certain level in the competition, they may get opportunities to work with people that can start their career. But what if someone isn’t a filmmaker or screenwriter? There are still some things that they can get out of the festival and conference. “You’ll get to hear the people who wrote their favorite movies get
“We’re really about the craft of narrative storytelling and we exist to serve and open doors for storytellers in a variety of mediums of entertainment,” Morgan said, explaining the mission of Austin Film Festival. “We serve the writer, we serve the craft of storytelling,” she said. Last year the festival had over 10,000 screenplay submissions and almost 5,000 film submissions. The idea is that submitters get their submissions
Writer and director Robert Townsend discusses filmmaking at the 2017 Austin Film Festival. Townsend has over 30 years of experience in film and television. (Photo by Arnold Wells, courtesy of Austin Film Festival.)
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up there and talk about how they saw that project,” Morgan said. Attendees can learn a lot about the film and writing process from professionals and famous actors, writers, directors, and more. In addition to the festival and conference, Austin Film Festival also has a number of youth camps and programs. “Our Young Filmmakers Program is a year-round program that has many different initiatives, but they all are focused on introducing the art of screenwriting and filmmaking to younger people,” Youth Filmmakers Program Coordinator Stefan Allen said. This youth program has been with Austin Film Festival for 25 years. Its branches include a summer film camp, young filmmakers competition, digital storytelling curriculum, and a festival scholarship.
“They all kind of touch on different things in the educational sphere,” Allen said.
local film organization. Austin Film Society has been around since 1985.
The scholarship program includes 400 film students from 20 high schools around Austin. They are given many resources to better their filmmaking.
“Our mission is to make, watch, and love film and creative media. So our goals are really to celebrate film culture, whether that’s someone that just wants to watch, appreciate, or just enjoy movies, and then we also offer support for filmmakers,” Yolanda Gamble, youth media specialist at Austin Film Society, said.
“The idea is that they can watch movies, attend panels, and learn as much as they can about the art of screenwriting and filmmaking,” Allen said. The competition is free to submit to, and the winners get their film shown during the festival on the big screen. They also get a trophy, recognition at the festival, badges, and are reimbursed for their films. “So it’s actually a pretty good way of getting your film attention of you’re a high-schooler,” Allen said. Austin Film Festival isn’t the only
The non-profit organization screens and curates hundreds of films. They use grants and training to help Texas filmmakers with their craft. “Our contribution is creating a space in the environment for film culture to strive and filmmakers to showcase their work,” Gamble said. Similar to Austin Film Festival, Austin Film Society also has youth programs.
Todd Kessler (left) talks to Greg Garrett (right) about the television show Bloodline. Kessler co-created and is the executive producer of Bloodline, a Netflix original. (Photo by Arnold Wells, courtesy of Austin FIlm Festival.)
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Rob Huebel (left) gives Austin Film Festival attendees a behind-the-scenes look at his Youtube Red series Do You Want To See a Dead Body? (Photo by Jack Plunkett, courtesy of Austin Film Festival.)
“We think the expression is important, a voice. Being able to express your ideas, share your ideas,” Gamble said.
The vast amount of film organizations like these are proof of how important film and film culture is to Austin.
The program features clubs at some schools and camps that teach young people all about a variety of genres, including a variety of animation types.
“There’s just a rich legacy and history of filmmaking here in Austin, especially the independent, do-it-yourself kind of spirit, and we celebrate that in our culture, and our community here in Austin,” Gamble said. This place, whether it’s music, art, there’s just space in the city for creativity. I think visual arts is a huge part of that,” she said. “It’s important to help those people have some sort of infrastructure that gives them an opportunity to put their art out there and test it, see it’s working, get feedback, find funding, find a way to make a living,” Morgan said.
“We also want them to love storytelling and creating, whether or not the want to be a filmmaker or not,” Gamble said. The film clubs are at select schools in Austin. Industry professionals are placed in the classroom to teach kids how to make films. Austin Film Society also has eight weeks of summer camps held at their facility. While the clubs are only at some schools, anyone can sign up for the camps at the Austin Film Society website.
There’s many opportunities to join the film community, or even
just enjoy film in Austin, and it’s important that people know how they can get involved. Donating to organizations like Austin Film Festival and Austin Film Society, visiting local theatres, and supporting local filmmakers are all ways good ways. With help from the people, the Austin film scene can expand for years to come.
The official logo for Austin Film Society. (Photo courtesy of Austin Film Society.)
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Austin Film: September - Fantastic Fest 2018 September - Fantastic Fest 2018 Fantastic Fest is is the largest genre film festival ininthe Fantastic Fest the largest genre film festival theU.S. U.S. They specialize inin horror, fantasy, sci-fi, They specialize horror, fantasy, sci-fi,and andaction. action. June - ATX Television Festival ATX celebrates the television medium through panels, screenings and events.
June/July - AFF Summer Film Camp Ages 9-18 can enjoy a variety of exciting summer camps, all involving film.
July/August - AFS Animation Creation: Session II learn a vatierty of animation techniques at Austin Film Society the portal p. 23
What and When?
October - Austin Film Festival 2018 The Austin Film Festival attempts to inspire and push the art of film by holding an annual festival and conference to celebrate the art. It is considered one of the top film festivals in the country.
November - Austin Comedy Short Film Festival This festival aims to bring the best comedy in films to one place. December - Other Worlds Austin 2018 Other Worlds Austin brings writers and filmmakers together, gathering
Sources: -austintexas.org -austinfilm.org -austinfilmfestival.com -fantasticfest.com
Television:
What’s its significance in Austin? By: Aiden Reed
T elevision is everywhere, every
day. Austin, however, has been a hotspot for film, producing Deathproof, Kill Bill Volume 1, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, among others. Television is prominent in Austin and is a part of what it is as a city. The work that goes into any genre of film, for all parts of the cast and crew, is painstaking. The production company 360 Studios
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is based in Austin and makes ads and television for their clients. They are apart of the unique film that comes from Austin. Shaggy Welsh, Executive Producer, and Andrew Barrera, Director of Photography, both take major roles in the process of filmmaking and the Austin American Statesman entertainment reporter, Gary Binges, has a vast understanding of what effect television has on our lives specifically in Austin as
well as what television is trending across the nation. Shaggy Welsh has 25 years of experience in filmmaking and is 360 Studios’ executive producer. “An Executive Producer wears many hats. For 360, my biggest job is finding new clients, fostering those relationships and making a production happen. From there, it involves, planning logistics of a project, finding funding at times and making sure the overall look, story, and timeline is met to the client’s expectations,” Welsh said. Welsh is responsible for more than finding clients and maintaining relationships with
them. “On shoot days, you can for maintaining a well lighted location scouting and logistics) pretty much bet on working all and well taken shot. and shooting before it goes day. And that means, from the into at least 3-4 weeks of post moment you wake up to prep Film projects have a varying production. This of course, for the day, to the 12-hour time time frame. “Completing an ad, varies greatly per project. Short frame of shooting, to wrapping short, or video really depends films can take longer. There’s out gear, crew and location. on what the creative is. An ad also the occasional commercial Filming days are that is only a very long and as a day of shooting producer, our job and a 2-week involves monitoring edit,” Barrera every detail of each If you are truly a filmmaker: Everyday, 24 hours a said. With project. There are day. It never leaves your brain, even if you are doing these timelines no 8-hour days and extensive in production,” workdays something else. Welsh said. The really show the Andrew Barrera responsibilities dedication put of a producer are into film and extensive and they how important are an essential part it is to those of film production. who work on it.
“
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Andrew Barrera, Director of Photography at 360 studios, has been in the industry for over ten years. “My parents always had VHS and still cameras around, I would grab them and spend time trying to understand how they worked. It sparked my interest even more as I got older” said Barrera. The quality of film produced by Barrera requires a deep connection to film. The Director of Photography is in charge of the overall finished product. “The technicalities of the overall visual appearance of a project which includes, determining lighting and gear necessary to achieve a look, camera and shooting styles, etcetera” Barrera said. Barrera is the director of photography at 360 Studios. He is responsible
could take 3-4 weeks of preproduction (hiring cast, crew,
360 doesn’t produce big budget films intended for the big
The 360 Studios logo with 360’s demo reel behind it. (Photo Courtesy of 360 Studios) the portal p. 26
screen. “Our industry is one big collaboration. Making revenue, usually comes from commercial film work” says Barrera. “And our office is a shared workspace with two amazing companies.” With an office running a maximum efficiency it allows 360 to produce many films. The indie comedy, “Stranger Bedfellows”, is a short film produced by 360 and is the the portal p. 27
winner of various awards including “Best Comedy Short” from the LA Film Festival. They’ve produced commercials for Gatorade, Dell and Trojan. Film production isn’t restrained to the confines of the generic American office. “There is no normal day at 360. Some days we aren’t even in the office. Most of the work we do [is] on a day-today basis, when we aren’t on set, involves networking” Barrera
said. When they aren’t at the office, 360 employees are working on smaller, but important matters. 360 studios helps connect creative minds through their business. Meeting people with like-minded ideas and people who have a passion for storytelling, is something we really enjoy about the business” said Barrera. The density of
ing
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creative minds in Austin make it a prime space to produce film. Out of work a creative mind still must be thinking about something. “Everyday, 24 hours a day. [Film] never leaves your brain, even if you are doing something else.” says Barrera. Although film is the career of Barrera it also affects his lifestyle. Television affects us on a daily basis, but in what ways? “It gives us a role model that
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we can compare to our own lives. Something for us to try reaching” Gary Dinges says. The protagonists on television show a normal Joe how much more he could be. “Stuff like ‘Jerry Springer’ and fictional shows will sometimes have just terrible people as the protagonist. It helps us sympathize and understand people who we wouldn’t normally get a chance to know,” says Dinges. Millions of people have comfortable lives, rarely stepping out of their comfort zones.
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Television takes people to places they normally wouldn’t go to and gives them knowledge on what’s happening in those places. Television is the great equalizer among social classes, the same for everyone and a significant benchmark to compare their own lives to, although unrealistic. Over time, as people’s lives get better, so will their television. It’s a forever repeating cycle, until their lives are so good they don’t need any television to keep them wanting more than what they have.
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Television: Whats On and Where A simple look at what popular TV shows are currently airing or streaming along with a short synpopsis on each television show.
Altered Carbon
A Sci-Fi Thriller set in the distant future. Consciousness is stored like data in stacks and a man who has been dead for hundreds years is awoken. Tasked with solving a murder, he must survive in an unfamiliar world if he wants his freedom.
Game of Thrones
The television adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s, “Game of Thrones”. The continent of Westeros’ peace is broken after the death of King Robert Baratheon, as several powerful houses fight for control over Westeros. A orphan with a claim to the throne gathers three dragons and an army across the sea. The Knight’s Watch is the only thing protecting everyone as a powerful evil approaches from the North
Atlanta
Donald Glover’s comedy drama about two cousins trying to make it in rap. Battling society and money will they rise to the top or lie at the bottom?
The Walking Dead
Amidst a zombie apocalypse, a group of survivors must face off against the walking dead. They can only trust eachother, as the largest danger is other groups of survivors.
Dark
Set in a small German town, two children go missing. The pasts of four families are revealed as we see the reoccurences of an event that had originally occured years prior.
Shameless
An alcholic father of six living in complete dysfunction must manage to get by while living with his children who have to cope with his problems.
TV-MA | 8.5 stars on IMDb 1 season | 10 episodes Streaming on Netflix
TV-MA | 9.5 stars on IMDb 7 seasons | 10 episodes s1-6 | 7 episodes s7 Streaming on HBO
TV-MA | 8.5 stars on IMDb 2 seasons | 10 episodes Streaming on Hulu & Airing on FX
TV-MA | 8.4 stars on IMDb 8 seasons | 16 episodes Airing on AMC & Streaming on Netflix & Amazon Video
TV-MA | 8.7 stars on IMDb 1 season | 10 episodes Streaming on Netflix
TV-MA | 8.7 stars on IMDb 9 season | 12 episodes Streaming on Amazon Video, Hulu and SHOWTIME
Sources -imbd.com -sho.com -netflix.com -hulu.com -amazon.com
Pixar’s Animation Process What goes on in pixar movie production Written by Maximilian Dobbs
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When people watch a movie, they always see it finished and polished. But there’s a lot of work put into creating and editing the movie, and the process. Movies are never an instantaneous process, and usually take anywhere from three to five years. People usually see them as a finished product, and never wonder what work was put in for the stories or the voices. For Pixar, each movie can take years for the story itself to be crafted, and even then the movie is still a changing and evolving thing. Some movies even have drastic changes in the last few months of production, and still require editing from the directors and editors.
such as “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story,” and “Cars”. They use an animation software called renderman. Pixar’s Renderman interface was created in 1988, and has been Pixar’s animation software for over 25 years. When it was first created, Renderman was used for short films like “Tin Toy” and “Knick Knack”. Their first full length movie, “Toy Story,” used Renderman 3.5. Renderman has
evolved into an effective tool for animation, and is used by other animators as well as those from Pixar. Pixar’s movies usually start with a basic idea of what the movie will be about. After the directors and editors get an idea of what it’s like, the editors create a storyboard, which will have several hundred boards per scene. The process varies widely
“For years we’re going back and reworking each scene”
-Kathy Ringgold
Ms. Kathy Ringgold is an editor for Pixar, and has worked on movies like “Finding Nemo” and “Cars 2.” “Editorial is one of the first departments on it. Usually one of us editors are on it pretty early on. The director has a writer if they’re not writing it themselves… A storyboard artists start writing things and drawing things and then as soon as they have some drawings the editor comes on to start putting that together. It looks sort of like a movie but it’s very rough in those early stages.” For those of you who know little about Pixar, they have been creating animated films and shorts for over thirty years, and has produced extremely popular movies the portal p. 32
The Steve Jobs Building Photo Credit:Debby Coleman Courtesy of Katherine Ringgold
for every movie, but the basic steps are the same.
movies.” Then, they edit the scenes and refine them with the director. After the individual scenes are finished,
When the movie is finished with primary editing, and it is being animated, it is still being worked on by the editors. They tweak the scenes to find what works best, and always animate much more than what they actually need. In some films, such as finding nemo, the director already has a good idea of what they want and fewer scenes need to be created.
After the scenes are crafted, always with extra scenes in case the director wants another cut, the director works with the editors to smooth out the edges. The next “There’s a lot that goes into step involves putting a movie. Starting from makeshift voices for the characters. Ms. screenplay and storyboards, Ringgold describes the to creating an animatic/ process as coarse and unfinished. “It’s Pixar storyreel” employees just doing temporary dialogue and temporary sound effects. People have Throughout a huge sound effects the process of library here that the they are chunked together to animation, scenes are still editors use, and temporary form bigger parts. changing as the directors soundtracks from other
-Oren Jacob
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get a broader view of the movie. One big example of this is toy story. Oren Jacob says that in Toy Story, “We decided, near the end of production, that the film wasn’t good enough. So people threw it out and started again, from scratch, and redid the film in 9 months when it was supposed to take 4 years to complete. That was very difficult.” Other issues can arise in the movie, such as a scene not working with the rest of the movie, to which the editors generally have another scene to replace it.
John Lasseter, the director of such films as Toy Story and Cars
make more sense that way so people can give some alternate versions of the scene so we can show the directors to see if they like that take on the scene”. Pixar has been a successful animation studio that many have put their lives into, and it has influenced many other movies and companies, even after it was bought by Disney. This animation giant is still going strong, and has an intriguing story about its history and the process of its animation, from the time a thought enters the directors head to when it enters the movie theater.
“So people have the version that was written on the script and people can say, like, ‘okay, here’s everything that you wanted in it,’ but here’s another take where people took out this or people took out that, people rearranged this list, and it seems like it might
Pixar’s UP display at Disney’s Soda Fountain
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History Of Pixar (1986-2017)
The first pixar short, Luxo Jr. is released (1986)
Pixar’s first full length film, Toy Story, is released (1995) Tin Toy (1988)
Knick Knack (1989)
Finding Nemo is realeased by Pixar (2003)
One Man Band (2005)
The Incredibles (2004)
Boundin’ (2003)
Cars 2 (2011)
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Cars is produced (1986)
Monster’s University (2013)
Brave (2012)
The Good Dinosaur (2014)
A Bug’s Life is released (1998)
Geri’s Game (1997)
WALLE (2008)
Monster’s Inc. (2000)
For The Birds (2000)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
UP (2009)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Ratatuille (2004)
Presto (2008)
Partly Cloudy (2009)
Coco (2017)
Inside Out (2015) Finding Dory (2016)
Day and Night (2010)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /List_of_Pixar_films https://www.listchallenges. com/ranking-pixar-second-edition https://ohmy.disney.com/m ovies/2018/01/23/disney-pixar-movie-trailers-watch-right-now/
The Pe ple to Blame... And Nate Jackson Hadwin is an avid gamer and moviewatcher. His favorite game is probably Borderlands 2 or maybe Halo 3. His favorite movie is without a doubt Tropic Thunder. Jackson Hadwin is the Fact Check Editor for the up and coming “Portal” magazine. He wrote his article, “Lights, Camera, Action: How movies get made” because he knew his friends parents could be his interviewees. Also because Alex was already interviewing his dad, so yeah it worked out quite well. Also he is truly sorry for the picture he used of himself.
Jackson
Alex “Yam” Yang is another teenage video game fan. His favorite video game is Portal 2, from which this magazine gets its name. (He has not played very many games). Alex is the copy and content editor of The Portal, and he wrote the article “The Teeth of a Rooster” because the media company interests him. Entertainment interests Alex because he regularly plays video games and is an avid movie watcher. The most important thing he learned from the Ezine experience is how to interview individuals and ask intriguing follow up questions. One of Alex’s hidden talents is the ability to not move from the computer for over 15 hours.
Alex
Nate is cringy white trash from North Austin who got into LASA because he went to Kealing and had siblings that got in as well. He spends all of his time away from school keeping distant from humanity and acting schizophrenic to replace the crippling absence of companionship from his life. All of his friends “go to another school”, or “have moved away”. You wouldn’t know them anyways. Nate spends a lot of time digging through the deep web, and would prefer not to continue to do so, if only he hadn’t already paid for his membership for the next eternity. He was supposed to be the layout editor, but instead ended up making the whole magazine, because he has no social life.
Nate
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w
Aiden is a huge fan of anything entertainment. He is the layout editor for the portal magazine and a key part in the creation of the magazine. On a normal day Aiden can be Aiden seen sleeping in class, playing on his phone, or doing nothing at all.
Like many high school students, Jack spends his days thinking about how to maximize sleep and minimize work. His success rate isn’t as high as he would like it to be, and going to LASA Jack doesn’t really help. His writing prowess isn’t very great, seeing how he chose to write his note about the most basic and broad topic relating to high school. He decided to write his article about local film because he was inspired by the fact that there are numerous popular film festivals in the city. It was also much easier to get interviews for people that live in Austin.
Maximilian Dobbs is a avid movie critic and enjoys pointing out flaws in the movies he watches. He loves movies like Shaun of the Dead and Young Frankenstein. He generally spends his Max mornings multitasking between homework and hearthstone. At home, he enjoys beating his brother at chess and basketball, which happens about half the time.. When not doing the above activities, he is desperately catching up on the little sleep he can find. Maximilian has won various trophies for doing nothing, such as participating in soccer games.
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