Huhu Studios and Veggie Tales!
Today I signed an NDA (non disclosure agreement) and then was given a tour of Huhu Studios, across the parking lot from our 3D animation labs!
One thing that I can tell you is that Huhu has gotten the contract for Veggie Tales- which means all the 3D you see in Veggie Tales is being made right here in New Zealand on Snell's beach!
That's exciting too, because that's a fairly big contract. Veggie Tales is the second highest selling children's franchise in the States- or so I was told.
Basically Big Idea does the script writing, voice recording, and concept art, and then they send it down here for Huhu Studios to turn into an actual 30 minute episode!
Let me just say that the standard of quality is very high at Huhus; all the shots have a very fine-tuned visual quality to them, and Veggie Tales looks better then ever. Should I be given the opportunity to work at Huhu studios, I'd be excited to work on Veggie Tales!
Labels: Pacific Travel
Feb 18. PHOTOS FROM NEW ZEALAND!
So here is a brief overview of the last month- with photos! I took off from Edmonton Alberta on the 23rd of January, spent 5 days in Davis, California (near Sacramento). There I hung out with a close friend of mine from bibleschool, then on the 28th, I took a hop down to Los Angeles. (a 8 hour drive from San Francisco where I was close to)
Believe it or not- on the domestic flight from Sacramento to L.A., I was searched through the security! It seemed like a routine random search. They swabbed all my carryon and stuck the swabs in a machine that would beep. (Presumably at the absence of drugs or explosives.)
Had an 8 hour layover in Los Angeles, but I kept myself entertained in a resteraunt.
Met my first Kiwi waiting in the terminal- she was from Wellington and she did sound design for alot of the big films going through there! (King Kong, LOTR, among others!)
Then began the long overnight flight into Auckland. I didn't even know for sure who was picking me up! Then to my relief, Lowell and Julie were at the airport waiting for me! That was awfully nice ;).
My first weekend in New Zealand- I spent each night in a different place before I got to school! One night at Lowell and Julie's little hut in the country. (surrounded by wildlife)
Then Bethanne organized me to stay with an awesome Kiwi family who was going to the wedding- so that worked out perfect. Rides and a place to stay and church the next morning! Roger and Niki and family were great to deal with and I hope to say hi to them again in the future!
Bethanne and Adrian's wedding was just excellent- quite perfect in my imagination! It had a small town feel to it, especially the reception which was north of Auckland surrounded by natural bush. Rather then a DJ- Adrian's band played superbly. I'm also noticing that wine is plentiful in New Zealand- and everyone drank responsibly as far as I could see!
After church the next day Roger took me around downtown Auckland before my bus departed for Warkworth. In Warkworth I finally met Cindy- the aunt of my dear friend Mark's room-mate Dylan. She was kind enough to pick me up, and I stayed one night at her place before her husband took me to Lifeway College on Snell's beach the next day! Very kind of them to accommodate a complete stranger.
Since then I have been just meeting tons of people, networking, and having a blast. Fitting in well into the year 2 animators, they don't seem to mind the butting-in by a couple of strangers. (me and a fellow from Shanghai)
We often go to the beach together.
So without further ado, here are some of the choice photos so far!
Canadian rockies ;) ...
My dear friend Will was kind enough to drive me all over Sacramento and San Francisco! I got to see more of California then I thought I would-- and he was a most generous host!
Will also took me to the Redwood trees just north of San Francisco! They're remarkably close to downtown...
...the crazy hat shop on Pier 382! (I forget the famous number)
Uncle Sam Wants You! .... to buy him some ghirardelli chocolate! Will complied, and bought us sundaes from Ghirardelli square! So much fudge I couldn't even eat supper!
First sight of New Zealand from the air!
The following 3 photos are from Bethanne Kefali's wedding in Auckland! Good times! And I was very very happy to be there! I'm looking forward to getting to know Adrian better.
Here are a few of my classmates! I believe there are about 18 or 19 of us in total. Those are the 3D labs you see behind.
Here is my dorm room and the view out the window!
Here's one of the doors into our year 2 animation labs! I can't complain about anything! The computers are top notch- we've got the entire adobe suite, Maya, everything we need. And the director was mindful of giving me a good seat close to the lecturer!
Here's the lab and dorms at night! My dorm room is directly above the labs on second floor!
Here's the view of School from a nearby road! I'm looking inland towards the estuary in this photo. The sun is to the north.
Here is a scenic park really close to school... separating Algies bay and Snells beach.
And this is Snell's beach from the south!
The nicest (of 3) beaches I've been to in New Zealand so far! Mangawhai beach, a good 30-40 minute drive. Some friends from school were perfoming in a tavern- that's why we traveled the distance. I hear there are nice beaches close to school as well.
So far the water has always been a nice temperature! Once you're in the water- it's warm and invigorating.
Till next time; stay sweet as!
Labels: Pacific Travel
Almost leaving again!
Hey faithful siters!
Jan 23rd I leave again for New Zealand! All the pieces are falling into place and the important things have been taken care of!
So if you want to see me before I leave- better make an effort!
Labels: Pacific Travel
11 months since NZ. Dodge Viper!
Haven't posted in a while since I've been home. Here are some random pictures of what I've been up to.
Contributing to greenhouse gas. (Not as much as a cow however-)
Hanging around with brother Jeff.
Playing Xbox with dear friend Chris. A Paraguyan turned Canadian that I met in New Zealand and is now engaged to an Albertan.
Lake Louise! My sister on the right with two oddballs on the left.
And to finish, a picture of my cute little sister at a random moment!
Labels: Pacific Travel
Unexpteced vacation in Fiji - Home!
On September 9th, I left New Zealand.
When I was leaving the Auckland airport, a security man who checked my boarding pass said, "Headed to Paradise?", and I said;
"No, I'm leaving it."
Landed at the Fiji airport at about tea time and hopped off the plane. Humidity hit again as usual, I could feel it in my hands! This is what the Kiwis and Aussies call "paradise".
"Your flight has been cancelled."What?!? It was true. I attempted to transfer within the terminal, but the Fijian staff told me to check out through security, and talk to the check in desk. So I had to enter Fiji territory and get in line. It was a long wait, full of other passengers who wanted to leave too. (Some 200 people ahead of me) I think I waited at least four hours. Part of that was sitting on the baggage.
Finally after most of the people deserted, at about midnight I was finally at the front of the line. I've long missed my Air Canada flights to Canada. But the Fijian staff (Air Pacific) were somewhat helpful, (if hugely understaffed) and they photocopied my Air Canada itinerary before sending me off in a taxi. They gave me a voucher that was supposed to cover room, food, and drinks. I went to a 5 star resort called "Sofitel" on a private island called "Denerau". So excited was I, that I wandered around the resort looking at the colourful pools and the moonlit beach. The beach must have faced away from the ocean, because there were no waves at all.
I ordered breakfast ($40) before bed. This was my room.
So breakfast came at 9:00 AM sharp, like I ordered it. Eddie, a courteous Fijian, asked if I was ever coming back to Fiji, and I said "not likely". He looked a little sad. The plate of fresh Papaya was delicious.
This was the view from my balcony. Fiji is actually a third world country (I believe), and off the island were many poor people. I'm sure many of the Fijians working at the resort were forced to work in order to survive.
Checkout was at 10AM and they needed the room. So I put my bags in storage for the day. The front desk told me that Air Pacific had made no provision for lunch. I had AP's number, but I figured I'd call them later at lunch time when I was hungry. So I spent all morning walking. Outside the pampered, watered, gardened resort, the land was a bit dry.
At about 1'o'clock, I checked with the front desk again, and now lunch was paid for. Down at the "Salt Resteraunt" I ordered a Tandoori Kebab. Later they made me pay for the soda however.
I enquired at the front desk to find out that my room usually costs $650 FJD a night! At 5 PM-ish many of us stuck travellers were put on a bus and sent to the airport. Another huge line. I was informed later that Air Pacific overbooked this flight by 200 seats. Ouch! They will be feeling the repercussions for a while.
Before my flight, an Air Pacific manager gave me an Alaskan Air itinerary to replace my flight to Vancouver.
I asked "What about to Edmonton?" He took a while and got busy, but after half an hour, he got back to me and said that he couldn't book it from Fiji. So I needed to get to their office in LAX. I got on the flight, 25 hours later then originally scheduled, and took off. Every single seat was taken.
In Los Angeles, I had less then 2 hours to catch my Alaskan Air flight. It was tight and I was running. But the check-in for Alaskan Air told me my itinerary wasn't valid; I needed a real ticket! So by this time it was getting too late to catch the flight. So I headed to Air Pacific's check in, and talked to them. They directed me to Air Canada, where my original flights were scheduled. Guess what? My AC tickets were still vallid after 24 hours. So I caught my flights to Vancouver and to Edmonton no problem, just 24 hours late. Here's a funny advertisement I saw in Vancouver.
That concludes 8 months of my life in New Zealand. But the travels are not over yet.
September 9 - 11th
Labels: Pacific Travel
Week 6/7 Aug 19 - Sept 4, Geraldine
We spent two weeks in Geraldine, staying at "The Crossing". The Crossing is a well known homestead just outside of Geraldine, which will be a century old in 2008. Capernwray currently manages it, which puts Dale and Pattie in charge. It's normally run as an upclass bed and breakfast, but then it's turned into a small school for second semester students from Monovale. (North island Capernwray)
There hadn't been enough applicants to the course, so there was no course while we were there. But all seven of us filled the place well enough, and we lived in this luxurious place for two weeks!
One day we had lunch at the Horne's place, and this is the view from their backyard! In winter the trees shed their leaves to reveal the snowcapped mountains.
We had alot of fun with the St. Andrews youthgroup. We hung out at a shed called "the Lighthouse".
Uniquely New Zealand (well not Canada anyway) is a weekly event that many churches participate in, called "Mainly Music". Moms bring their babies, and they dance for an hour and a half, singing basic songs with exaggerated actions. Not my thing.
Also we organized a few kids clubs, and helped out with a friday night rally.
One weekend us guys went on a hunting trip with the youth group (Boys only) and caught a few rabbits. The valley we were in, or the area, was Mesopotamia. It's the same valley where the Lord of the Rings crew filmed Edoras of Rohan! Also Helms' deep was around this area. Gorgeous scenery. Here's Adam guarding his treasure...
...and the travel team posing on Allie. (Our van.)
On my birthday, we went tramping up Mt. Peel! As you can see we encountered a fair amount of snow!
Our last saturday together, the team went to Christchurch for the day. Me and Chris bought these shwagsmen hats. (Does that make us shwaggers?) Shwaggers are hired Aussie farm hands who go from farm to farm.
Then we took the long drive home. This is the ferry ride back to the north island. The north island is behind me, but there was a strange wall of haze, so you can't see it.
Labels: Pacific Travel
Week 5, August 12 - 19, Timaru, Canterbury
So next we headed down to Timaru, which in the Canterbury region, is south of Christchurch. On the way I took these photos.
Those really are pringles in Nick's mouth. We were all goofing and acting lame after driving all day.
This is the church we worked at. The auditorium was entirely round like this, with hallways and offices branching off.
We helped out at a Christian school, the kids were great. The principal bought us fish and chips for lunch, and I was so stuffed! We even had these little oily balls kind of like Tim Bits.
The last day in Timaru, a Saturday, some of the locals who we had befriended took us to the local skihill in the mountains. (Mt. Dobson) It was a blast.
August 12 - 19
Labels: Pacific Travel
