6 Years later...

Whoops!  I have left this thing collecting dust for 6 years.  I'm obviously not much of the blogging type anymore.  More current updates can be seen on my Instagram, youtube, vimeo, imdb, or my also-dusty website.


Dan MacKenzie - 2016 Stop-Motion Demo Reel from Dan MacKenzie on Vimeo.

PARANORMAN opens today!!

The movie I worked on for 6 months, ParaNorman, comes out today!

I got to see it with the crew last weekend, and I loved it!  Tonight, the Robot Chicken crew at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (where I'm working now) is all gonna go see it after weeklies.  I'm sure I'll see it a few more times in theaters afterwords too.

Here's a cool web-trailer for it.  I've got 2 shots in it!  (12 total in the film)


Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Bonus cute one:

CREATE - finally online!

I am finally putting my senior film, CREATE online!  Completed 1 year ago, I've been putting it in festivals for the past year, but now I just want to share it with as many people as possible.  Please enjoy and share.  I appreciate it.



THANKS
https://vimeo.com/42819257

Dan MacKenzie
Mackmation.com
Mackmation@gmail.com

Adventure.

It has been a while.  Let me update you.

Things have been beyond great.  Job-wise, life-wise, adventure-wise.  Truly, as the past couple years have passed, things continue progressing forward in a path I am extremely happy with.

My senior film, Create has spread a bit in the festival circuit.  Recently returned from the Savannah International Animation Festival, where it won Best Stop Motion Short!  It has also just been accepted to the NW Animation Festival in Portland, OR.  I will try to put together the real list soon.

Create plays twice at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 28th!  I am happily going to be able to attend, as it is just a couple hours away from LA.

PARANORMAN!

It was dream come true to work at Laika.  Six months as an Assistant Stop Motion Animator on ParaNorman... in my opinion already the best stop motion film of all time.  But perhaps my judgement is swayed already, but it was just such an honor to help out on the film.  I have my fingerprint in it, too, with 12 shots in there.  Bam.  AUGUST 17th!  Go go go.

I'm in there... top leftish!

I am now back in La La Land, as an animator on Robot Chicken at their new studio, Stoopid Buddy Stoodies!  So fun, I love the people here.  And it is super refreshing to be doing snappy animation on twos again.  Here is an example sequence I helped on last season quite similar to what I've been working on lately #RCDC !

       

GOODNESS

Sorry for lack of updates... will be updating soon!
In the meantime - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzjhej9pVuY&

-Dannnn

Create wins "Best Student Animation" at the Savannah Film Festival!

By far the greatest festival experience I've ever had.  I got to watch Create with a happy crowd on my birthday, in the town I spent 4 years going to school in.  I got to visit old friends, and meet new friends and incredibly talented fellow filmmakers.

As you may be able to see, I was quite happy with the outcome.

Create won "Best Student Animation" during the awards ceremony, and it completely blew me away.  I was so pleased to have won, but I believe my speech was just giddy gibberish and amazement.  The response at the reception I got from friends, filmmakers, producers, and professors was wonderful.  It was such a good feeling.

A friend and amazing talent, Kirsten Lepore, won "Best Animation" with her film, Bottle.  I also had a great time hanging out with Jason Carpenter, with his award winning film The Renter, and Chris Swanson, with the film he worked on, The Reality Clock.  I was also able to speak with Christopher and Christine Kezelos, whose stop motion film The Maker blew me away.  There is a great group of people in this industry.
 

Under-dressed with 3 incredibly important and vital people in the creation of Create.  Thank you, Debra, Jeremy, and Jason.

ParaNorman - Trailer and poster revealed

ParaNorman, the film I am working on at LAIKA, is now starting to be revealed to the world.  It doesn't come out until August 2012, and there is still a bit of work to be done with it, but right now you can see what's to come.

It is looking amazing, and I am so proud to be helping out on it.