New Site

Hey guys, I have built a new site, so from now on I will be posting there. Check it out: caleb.diaddigo.com

Until later!

Caleb

Time Freeze FX Shot

New short film. Well… not really. More like a short clip, but whatever. Short film sounds better.

Joshua and I went for it yesterday. This is really our first live-action short in a while, so it was exciting the get back into a different workflow. Away with animation!

The film was shot on my iPhone 4, which is a cool experience in and of itself. We’re hoping to be getting the Canon T2i soon, though. It will be a huge step-up for the both of us. Using more of an industry-standard device will be neat.

For the muzzle flash, Joshua created the image on top of alpha and I tracked it to the barrel in After Effects. I also added a lens flare as well in order to brighten it up a bit. The smoke particles were simply a solid with fractal noise applied. I set the transfer mode to “screen.” Originally, I was going to leave it as that alone, but Joshua gave me the idea to use a grain filter to give it more of a “gritty” feel rather than a fluffy look. I think in the end it really paid off to sell the shot.

One more effect that you may or may not notice when looking at it first glance is the “frosty breath” shot near the beginning. This was simple. I added a solid with Particle Playground, tweaked the velocity, gravity, etc., bumped up the particle size to 3.5, then added a fast blur. After that, I tracked the layer to the footage below.

All of the editing was done in Final Cut, and Joshua composed the music.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the result…

Enjoy!

(Oh, and be sure to watch in 720p!)

-Caleb

“A Bigger Picture” – Animation Short

Our latest short film, created for the SCAD Film Challenge. It is the story of a man who is a big part of something little, and discovers that it is better to be a little part of something big.

We began this project back in April, claiming it would be released Summer 2010. This changed, clearly, because unfortunately we never got around to it all Summer. But upon learning of the SCAD Film Challenge, Joshua and I took the plunge about a week before the deadline. Here is the result of about 4 all-nighters and straight animation through the day. What an experience… Enjoy!

Directed, animated, modeled, and produced by: Caleb Diaddigo

Written, composed, and modeled by: Joshua Diaddigo

-Caleb

Not My Will

Our Father’s love stretches further than the eye can see, and His love extends far beneath the crashing waves in which we struggle. His love lifts us up out of the roaring waters and rests us on dry land. Our Father’s love shepherds us to Him; it draws us in and humbles us before His throne. It is because of His love that we are alive and breathing, and it is because of His love that we can love others. His love rescues us from death, lifting us from the ashes of the world. For in Him, we have life…

As I read this, it brings me to a place where I realize just how big God is. But often times, my heart is not in this position. Too many days go by where I feel that I have everything in control. I have the mindset of “my life is set; my future locked in… Oh, and anything that stands in the way is bad.” Yes, that is me. When I get into a groove, I like to stay in that groove, not climb out and dig a new one. But this past summer marks a new groove for me. As the short, hot season went on, it seemed that time after time I fell short, and by such small margin. By the end, I was confused and upset. I fell short of my standards and my dreams. And it changed me. It changed the way I think everyday. Now as I move forth into life, let the mindset change to God’s standards and God’s dreams for me. And just to know that the Creator of the universe wants to hold my hand as I walk down the treacherous path of life, brings me back to that humble place where my eyes are open to His true glory and majesty. I’m tired of calling the plays. Take me out of the field and put me in the sidelines. “Not my will, but Your will be done, Lord.”

“Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.”

Be Still

Inspired by Psalm 46…

Be Still

How long must this go on? For how much longer must I endure? Hopelessness and despair fall around me; they envelope my very bones.

I stride forth in confidence, yet loneliness still resides inside my heart.

Day by day I press on… enduring, fighting, withstanding. Yet, still again, I am defeated.

Why is this? Why does my heart feel heavy? I feel empty and worthless, broken and overcome. I collapse to the floor, blood gushing from my body; yet still, the pain continues. I am defeated, and I can endure no longer.

As the days turn to months, and the months turn to years, I still rest broken on the floor.

I hear a voice, ever so softly, whisper in my ear, yet in my misery there is no room for words of comfort. I shove it out of my mind and move on.

I hear the voice a second time. And again, I try to press it out of my mind.

And finally, a third time the voice makes itself known to me. This time I listen. I have no where to run. My body is withered, but deep inside my heart yearns for more.

“Be still and know that I am God.” The words echo in my head. “Be still and know that I am God…”

And as I lay there, my body oppressed and my heart fragmented, I look up to the heavens.

“Be still and know that I am God…” I hear it again inside my head.

More words envelope my thoughts. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

I am not alone. Though the earth crumbles around me, my refuge is in God. He is my fortress and He will not fall.

From the break of day to the setting of the sun, He reigns in heaven on His throne.

My problems no longer tower menacingly above me. Rather, they provide me opportunities to grow in Him, on the true Vine.

“The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

[Quotations taken from Psalm 46]

The Climb

This is something I wrote last Christmas, but I thought that with Easter being tomorrow, I should post it here… For the very small amount of people who are actually interested in reading my blog.

You are climbing a ladder. The top comes into view and you surge forward at an even greater pace. You have been here before. You strive for the reward at the top, whatever it may be. Higher and higher you climb, rung after rung you haul yourself nearer and nearer to the end: A place where you will rest and revive yourself, where you will find peace. As you grasp the final rung, you hear a rumble. The ladder begins to wobble. “No! I’m so close! Not now!” These are the words flowing through your mind. However, despite your outcry, the rungs beneath you begin to bow, and then snap. You fall down and down. Never, it seems, will you be able to grasp the highest rung that was once held with your palm. Never will you be able to ascend so high again. You land with a thud at the bottom; the beginning. A sudden fear sweeps over you. You are alone, and you are defeated.

Too often do there come times when we tend to take matters into our own hands. This is nothing surprising, really; it is simply the nature of man. We try to compensate for our losses and failures by using it as a motive to climb even higher on the ladder, only to fall short and tumble to the bottom crushed and defeated. Some days we may feel up to strength, and we may attempt the climb again, while other days we lay hopelessly at the bottom. It is at this point when we must open our eyes to the bigger picture. There is more to the story than what we see. What may look like a monstrous ladder towering above, may really only be a small bump in the road of life.
After failing time after time, eventually, it would seem, would we see that it is not by our strength that we will be able to surmount the ladder. Instead, we need One Who will grasp our hand for the full stretch, assisting us the entire climb. The Lord Almighty has made this possible for us in this fallen world. When we fall, not only does He help us up, but He embraces us in His arms like a father to a son. His love for us is unending; it stretches beyond the ends of the earth to the galaxies next door. Never, has a picture been painted in all of history, that is more beautiful than the picture of His love that He so wondrously illustrated by His Son’s death on the cross.

Harry Has a Hat

…A blue one, nonetheless. (Click to enlarge). I also played with the eyes some.

Also, here is a wireframe image.

Harry!

New character coming along… (Click to enlarge).

Huck Finn Trailer

Well, I’m back… and in a little over a week, in fact. (Ooooh, new record. ). Anyway, as promised, here is the final trailer for Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

Editing/Sound Effects: Caleb Diaddigo
Music: Joshua Diaddigo
Motion Graphics: Caleb Diaddigo
3D Animation: Joshua Diaddigo
Compositing: Caleb Diaddigo
Cinematography: Joshua Diaddigo

Sorry, WordPress does not allow Vimeo embedding. So here’s the link!

Huckleberry Finn Trailer

-Caleb

Hidden Sin…

I tend to do this a lot. Make 2-3 posts all within ten minutes then wait a few weeks, or months, or… years before posting again. So, simply put, in order to keep tradition, I am posting yet another. This was an extra-credit paper for literature, while reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. If you are familiar with the book, good. If not, you should get a life. But anyhow, here it goes…

Arthur Dimmesdale’s sin burned deep within. It scourged his every thought. It brought him to a place where all walk at some point in life. Yet through this pain emerged a beautiful image: A living confession of God’s grace. Dimmesdale was a pastor, a well-known and well-achieved one for that matter. Many thought of him as holy, others simply as a notable man. However people viewed him, it was not the slightest bit close to the man who was in his heart. For he had committed a dreadful sin, one that he would bear for many years, almost to the moment of death. He kept this sin secret, however, putting on the great, holy pastor he was on the outside, but inside, the sin scarred him, tearing him apart piece by piece.

Seven years passed since the moment of the sin. Through these years, not one man came to suspect even the slightest intention of such a sin, except for one. Roger Chillingworth, the doctor of the minister, knew that something was out of place. The doctor had moved in with Arthur in order to better-treat him with medicine, for the paster was growing very ill. During his stay with the pastor, he came to suspect that not all he saw on the outside was entirely accurate. He eventually learned the truth and began scheming a plan that would not only end the minister’s life, but also secure a spot for him in Hell.

The time came when the minister was to preach a masterpiece sermon upon the electing of a new governor of the city. The sermon was a marvelous piece of work, many of the listeners were greatly moved by its content, which was mainly about the effects of hidden sin on a man’s heart. As the sermon reached its conclusion, a change came from within the pastor. He was affected by his own teaching. On that day he came clean with the Lord and the assembly. He repented his sin to his Father in Heaven, asking for forgiveness. The forgiveness was granted by God’s mercy, and on that day Arthur Dimmesdale went to be with the Lord minutes before the veil of death closed over his heart.

What relevance does this amazing story have to us? The core of it can reach our hearts in the deepest of ways, for we all have sin. It is our inherent nature; none are without it. Only one man in the history of the earth has overcome sin by living a perfect life. His name is Jesus, the Son of God, sent to die and raise from the dead as a full payment for our sins. In Him we are a new being, clothed in the righteousness of God. Because of Him, we may have a personal relationship with the Heavenly Father. In our hideous, sinful state, we cannot look upon the God of the Universe, for there is an infinite gap between us and Him; one that we cannot bridge ourselves. No matter how hard we try and no matter what power we may think that we have, there is no way to cross it with our own ability. But, by God’s mercy and grace, He built a bridge over the gaping pit so that we may be one with Him, whole again, cleansed in His holiness and eligible to spend eternity with the the King of kings, Lord of lords, the Maker of all, worshiping His name and celebrating His great victory over sin and death.