Ruah Edelstein

Rendez-vous

2012-01-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

Spare time from thesis film, as if such exists, and I am digi–painting...

These Fairies they call the Good People...are said to be of middle nature between Man and Angel, thought to be of old; of intelligent fluidous Spirits, and light changeable bodies somewhat of the nature of a condensed cloud, and best seen in twilight. These bodies be so pliable through the sublety of Spirits that agitate them, that they can make them appear or disappear at pleasure.

Snow Animation

2011-12-15T23:10:00.000-08:00

It is magical to see ideas coming alive. My thesis film is in full production mode these days. There are snow scenes in it, and I looked for ways of animating snow from scratch with no use of any preset effects. I'm sure there are many ways of doing it, and people end up with most creative ideas of animating snow. I carried the idea of animating snow for a few days until, in a shower, it came to me!

Each line represents a path of a snowflake. I chose the amount of 35 frames for a complete cycle of a snowflake, so that the last flake drawn right next to the first in the cycle. In that way I can use the snow for 5 seconds or 10 minutes, for whatever length I need it in a shot. Lines are color coded for my own orientation, I animated paths of one color at a time. Indulge my geeky post this time! The process took half a day, but I think it payed off eventually. Here is one of the shots with the result.

The Hermit Poet

2011-12-05T11:14:00.001-08:00

Saigyo Hoshi (1118-1190) - a hermit and one of the most prominent poets of his day. Last night I painted this and thought of his tanka being as fresh as if it had been written yesterday. Below are three of his tankas.

Thesis Film.

2011-11-11T14:52:00.001-08:00

Living through a delicate time of pre–production for my thesis film. Having only one year on my hands for making this film I am holding myself from being overwhelmed and give my senses enough space to breath before jumping into production. Countless notes around my desk, looking at works by masters, both painting and cinematography, reading Russian classics and Japanese haiku, I look for patterns from my perceptions from the past and present, aiming to make a film that will carry in itself a journey of one's life with inspirations, memories, and growth. Above is a culmination of my visual development for the film's looks. The film, titled "Died 100 Times", is planned to be completed in May 2012.

Presenting Oah & Harlam Episodes.

2011-10-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had an opportunity to present "Oah & Harlam Episodes" in San Diego at &NOW conference for authors and critics of contemporary, innovative literature.

While opening I shared a little about my background, influences, and inspirations that formed me as an artist. Then spoke about ideas behind the series, how I believe that there is a need to simplify important matters to the scale of almost ridiculously surreal characters in order to talk about important things in life. Speaking from a podium isn't necessarily the best way of communication for me, soon I turned to introducing Yoon Lee, a film composer who scored three episodes, and we proceeded to screening the series.

Following the screening I read a few episodes that didn't make to screen yet. And during the Q&A session, probably for the first time, I had a direct contact with the audience when non of the technical ways of creating animation were discussed. Instead their questions linked to the meaning behind the stories and characters, and what was my path of arriving to the necessity of creating them. Most of the turnout were writers, and I very much enjoyed responding to their questions. The whole experience of sharing was a treat.

Pacifica, California.

2011-08-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

Stopped by Pacifica, a small town between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay and experienced the coldest night this season. The warmer palette is only due to sunset hour. Charming place, delightful with its expanse and a lot of fresh air.

Pacific Scape.

2011-08-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

One more seascape of the Pacific coast. These are small snippets 6''x4'' of oil on board. The small scale allows me to work fast and be spontaneous, something I would love to carry on to bigger scale before too long. Of course scale isn't that important and for now this series is a lot of fun.

Central Californian Coast.

2011-08-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

One more painting I did from central Californian coast. This will be a series of small format oil on board paintings. Summer is so hot that never before I saw an oil painting drying in one day or less! More to come.

Piedras Blancas Lighthouse.

2011-08-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

And so, I took some time off. This is oil on board from California's central coast along the Pacific Coast highway, the lighthouse from 1875 and still functioning. While showing my parents around California this summer, it turned out that I was shown all this profound beauty that was missing within the walls of university, not to complain about education, anyone! Soon more to come!

Of Care.

2011-07-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

One more episode from the Oah & Harlam Series I made these year. Scored by Thomas Parisch in association with PearUp Media.

Demo Reel.

2011-06-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Demo Reel from Ruah Edelstein on Vimeo.

'Do you have a demo reel? Send me your demo reel! Demo reel, demo reel, demo reel... !' - I heard a lot of that in the last few years. I also heard from an artist and a filmmaker I am looking up to since childhood, that chopping up films into a demo reel is an unbelievable act for him, and I felt how opposed he was to the idea of chopping films into a reel. Films, that are so carefully thought of in terms of story, color script, and the overall feel of it. And so, after years of making films I made a demo reel. Thinking of it as a collage of different works put together in a two-minutes piece to show what I do.

The Making Of. "Of Stars & People"

2011-06-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is a storyboard for "Of Stars & People" in a free, unofficial style. It is one of the beginning stages before animation steppes into the process of making a short film. This is one of my most favorite stages, where visuals are coming out for the first time to being without any restrictions, a very intuitive and spontaneous process to allow all sorts of visualizing ideas to come up. At this point the storyboarding process has to be as loose as possible to avoid any restrictions, yet with an eye on staying a minimalist, while touching up only the keys of the story. Then, in the process of making the film, I am keeping the storyboard close to working area at all times. Some of the initial ideas may be changed or followed closely, I show it to friends and colleagues, think about it over and over again.

Of Stars & People

2011-06-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

At last online! This is a new episode of Oah & Harlam series I was working on this year. At fist glance the stories about two weirdoes Oah and Harlam may appear as senseless. But when there is an overflow of senselessness, then appears deep philosophy.

These stories are not just shorts that I wrote, they are a worldview, answers to some questions of reality, grotesque simplicity of which seems to be surreal. In this series bits of life situations, thoughts, and actions are applied to animation, music, and a spoken word. I think there is a need to write fairytales for grownups, to write almost impossible stories in order to talk about important things in life.

The original music scored by Yoon Lee, involves a rare use of instruments such as kalimba and kayagum.

Summary

2011-06-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Titled after an eponymous work by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, this film is a collaborative project. A musician, Yoon Lee, used audio signals from varying instruments and tone generators to vibrate a plastic membrane over a speaker. Acrylic powder on the membrane formed shapes, as long as the sound was passing through. The process was captured with a down-shooting camera in stop-motion manner. And I took care of charcoal drawn animation, live action, and montage for this film. As to the music, Pärt works in minimalist style that employs self-made compositional techniques. His compositions depict simple harmonies, reminiscent of ringing bells. Exceedingly stable, yet fragile.

Dusted from 2008...

2011-06-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Poet - The King of Fools

2011-05-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

Just came across the visual development of a character I did at Jon Gomez' Life Drawing class in 2008 at CalArts. Pierre Gringoire - a struggling poet, playwright and a philosopher from Victor Hugo's novel 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'. The poet's character did not appear in Disney's 1996 animated film adaptation. So, here are his looks! The Poet becomes the object of crowd's derision, when the 'King of Fools' title is given to him.

GRINGOIRE: I am the true King of Fools! I battle for beauty and the ugly gets crowned! What greater fool can there be than I?

Of Care - Still

2011-05-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

One more still frame from "Of Care". I used oil paints for all the layers in the background, which was very fun to work with, while seeing how the paints interconnect after being layered digitally on screen.

The episode is scored by Thomas Parisch and Laurent Ziliani of PearUp Media. This short and "Of Stars & People", scored by Yoon Lee, will be screened along with other MFA-1 films at CalArts Bijou Theater on May 19th, 4pm.

Of Stars & People

2011-04-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

These are still frames from "Of Stars & People", one of the two new episodes from Oah & Harlam series. This episode along with "Of Care" is screened today at CalArts Open Show, 2 - 6 pm and after a break 10 - 11:30 pm.

Scoring "Of Stars & People"

2011-04-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Scored by Yoon Lee, a new episode of Oah & Harlam series titled "Of Stars & People" is complete. The project is based on poetic prose and expressed through animation and music, along with the narration. The first screening of two new episodes is on April 30th at CalArts' Open Show!

Animation is complete!

2011-04-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Two new episodes of Oah & Harlam series are complete. This is a still frame from "Of Care", one of the two shorts this year. We are working on final mix, and I am looking forward to show the films soon!

Seine of Paris

2011-04-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

From my older sketchbook, while on final stages of my two animated films this year. Deep breath.

Theater of the Absurd

2011-03-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Eugene Ionesco's "Exit the King", an improvisational play took place and time at CalArts's video studio last week. One of the side ideas of the improvisation was to carry it at a moderate tempo to accommodate sketching animators! ...Amazing actors, lights, cameras, and Masha Vasilkovsky - the organizer!

Japan

2011-03-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

Japan has been struck today by what is now thought most powerful earthquake since records began, triggering a massive tsunami. I found in me this image with one of my characters. ...caring.

School Girl

2011-03-10T11:42:00.000-08:00

This is a traditional animation exercise from a CalArts' advanced Character Animation class taught by Ted Ty. The character was given, and all I had to do - animate! This is from last Fall's semester, while these days new shorts of Oah & Harlam Episodes are on the way!

Home Alone

2011-03-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

This is a short animation I did last Fall for Drawn Techniques class with Maureen Selwood. The task was to show a fall of a chair.

Film Festival.

2011-02-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

RE: "Of Giants"

"Your work was selected for this years' program and was consequently screened at the festival. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking part in the Animex Awards".

These are some still frames from "Of Giants". The festival took place in Middlesbrough, UK, from 7th to 11th of February, and I am here, in California, working on another three shorts of "Oah & Harlam Episodes". Not to complain about being in California! Nor about working on new episodes! But I never attended a film festival!

Los Angeles Zoo, painting with Deborah Ross.

2011-02-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

Today was a fortune. I painted with Deborah Ross, one of America's leading wildlife artist. Ross is a faculty of the School of Visual Arts in New York and also teaches workshops in animal drawing and movement at Dreamworks, Pixar, and Walt Disney Feature Animations.

“I work in watercolor because of the speed, mobility and emotional richness of the medium. My technique derives from the oriental school of painting. A broad sweep of color applied with the full body of the brush lays down the overall gesture. I then use the fine tip of the brush for a telling detail – the arch of a wrist or angle of brow line - to set and ground .the pose. All of this must be done quickly, for I only work from life. Once the moment is past, I stop. My ambition is a portrayal of the essence of a subject distilled during the moments of observation. This “genii loci” (spirit of the place) is severely depleted and often lost when an animal is displaced from it true habitat.” - Deborah Ross

Robert, my friend.

2011-02-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

Taking breaks between film work and putting some care into this blog keeps me happy and sane!

Wait Mama...

2011-02-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

Since working on a new film these days, I am going through some of my old work and finding interesting pieces. This drawing came spontaneously, while sitting by my old desk at my parents' house, with yellow lamp light, using the leftover ink from my childhood. That was during my visit to Lithuania in 2001.

One Boy's Horse and Meeting Norstein.

2011-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Found this old sketch of mine while looking for inspiration. This was an early stage of development for "Tomorrow", my short film from 2009, where I had an attempt to show a child's sense of beauty amid devastation of war.

A year and a half after the production was over, I met a person to whom I am grateful for the biggest inspiration starting from my early age. Yuriy Borisovitch Norstein, an author of "Tale of Tales" and "Hedgehog in the Fog" - my favorite films of all times. On the last day of our meeting I looked through my art with a hope to find something that has a soul, that has no touch of digital, something that I drew with a free mind, and stopped at this sketch. Next, it was framed with brown tape at the back and soon traveled to Moscow!

Animation.

2011-01-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

Full-time film work! Oah & Harlam Episodes, my friends.

At first glance the stories about two weirdoes Oah and Harlam may appear as senseless. But when there is an overflow of senselessness, then appears deep philosophy.

These stories are not just shorts that I wrote, they are a worldview, answers to some questions of reality, grotesque simplicity of which seems to be surreal. In this project bits of life situations, thoughts, and actions are applied to animation, music, and a spoken word. There is a need to write fairytales for grownups, to write almost impossible stories, because when we seriously begin to talk about important and intimate things in live, most of us cannot take it.

The image above is an animation pencil test from "Of Care", the new episode I am working on right now. And so, Harlam is walking.

Studio Time.

2011-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Recording session for the next three episodes of Oah & Harlam series! Still looking for a narrator.

Screening with Live Music!

2010-12-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

Oah & Harlam Episodes were screened during Yoon Lee's concert at Wild Beast Concert Hall at CalArts. We screened the episodes scored by Yoon as well as Laurent Ziliani and Thomas Parisch, film scoring composers I collaborated with. It was a unique experience, something that we wish to do again with more episodes that are coming to life this very moment!

Lifedrawing.

2010-12-27T12:28:00.000-08:00

Painting.

2010-12-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

Two Candles, oil on board, 9'' x 12''

My Room.

2010-12-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

Found this drawing from my BFA-2 layout class with Dan Hansen at CalArts. The concept of this is showing my room at the time when I was a kid.

Searching.

2010-12-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

People who say they don't need inspiration, are inspired all the time without knowing it... Just thought of it, while searching, searching...

Guardian Angel.

2010-12-03T23:11:00.000-08:00

This is a pick from my Life Drawing session with two models, something that I do between film and painting. Many ideas are coming out from these spontaneous drawing sessions.

Concert Invitation.

2010-11-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

This is a poster I created for Yoon Lee's recital that is coming soon! December 9th, Wild Beast Concert Hall at CalArts, at 8 PM. Pieces of Yoon's and other composers will be performed at the concert by Yoon and with some great guest musicians joining in, playing classical and folk/jazz, improvisations, etc. Also, three films from my "Oah & Harlam Episodes" will be screened at the recital. Some solo parts from the films' final mix will be extracted and played live. We never did it before, it is going to be an experience! You are warmly invited.

Winter Light.

2010-11-26T18:39:00.000-08:00

I painted this in two years. Started it one winter, and painted for about two hours. Then I took a year to think and completed it next winter in another two hours. It would not be possible for me to come to this result in that first year.

Winter Light, oil on board 8'' x 10''

Countryside.

2010-11-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

A few people from my native country told me that this painting reminds them of Mikalojus Ciurlionis, probably one of the most known Lithuanian artists. He was a painter and a composer. Even though that I do not find any vivid resemblance, I agree, that in some way there is a similar spirit in this painting. It came out unintentionally, I love when it happens.

Countryside, 24'' x 36'' oil on linen

A Thought.

2010-11-22T18:20:00.001-08:00

“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and somthing else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”

-Chuck Close

On the way to San Francisco.

2010-11-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

Oil on board

Film Festival.

2010-11-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

"Oah & Harlam Episodes" got into No Festival! Chelyabinsk is a city in Russia, just to the east of Ural Mountains. It used to serve as a center for the Trans-Siberian Railway around 1900. Hmm, what else, ...and my cousin Marishka, was born there! The screening will be on November 5th, 7 PM, in historical building - Pushkin center of the cinematic arts.

Sketchbook.

2010-10-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

"Lifetime of a Wave"

2010-09-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Concept art - project in progress.

Of Shepherds.

2010-09-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is a first short from the "Oah & Harlam Episodes". The project is based on a poetic prose by Ruah. Two characters - Oah and Harlam find themselves in situations of unspoken search, that is visually interpreted through animation. Music scored and performed by Yoon Lee. Sound design and final mix by Diego Perez. Animation, concept art, story, and directing by Ruah.

Of Shepherds (2010) from Ruah Edelstein on Vimeo.

ForGiveness.

2010-09-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

This is a second episode from the Oah & Harlam series, a poetic prose by Ruah. Music for this episode is also scored and performed by Yoon Lee. Sound design and final mix by Diego Perez. Animation, concept art, story, and directing by Ruah.

ForGiveness (2010) from Ruah Edelstein on Vimeo.

Of Giants.

2010-09-15T18:30:00.001-07:00

The third episode from the Oah & Harlam series is scored by Laurent Ziliani and Thomas Parisch in association with PearUp Media, a Hollywood based film scoring company. It is featuring vocals by Argenta Walther! Sound design and final mix by Diego Perez. Animation, concept art, story, and directing by Ruah.

Of Giants (2010) from Ruah Edelstein on Vimeo.

Visual Development

2010-09-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

"Of Shepherds", a short film from "Oah & Harlam Episodes".

Harlam's running scene.

Still shot from the film.

Oah & Harlam Character Search.

2010-09-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Angel of Grozny.

2010-09-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Project in progress.

Visual Development.

2010-09-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

"ForGiveness", one of the shorts from my "Oah & Harlam Episodes".

Harlam and the Wolves. Still shot from the film.

Oah Fishing. Still shot from the film.

Pan scene.

Oah and her Crow. Still shot from the film.

Aaron.

2010-09-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

Oil on canvas and mixed media. I painted the portrait of this child while still living in Lithuania. I took a photo of the painting with a primitive digital camera I had at the time, and that is all I ended up having, since the painting went missing. Then, just recently, I discovered this image and finished it digitally.

Aaron, oil on canvas & mixed media

LifedDrawing.

2010-09-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Lindscape - Soundscape.

2010-09-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

The Soundscape, acrylic on canvas

Baltic Pier.

2010-09-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Baltic Pier, 20'' x 24'', acrylic on canvas

My Little Boat.

2010-09-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

Painted it in Dublin, Ireland, and after years passed, I realize that this is exactly how I felt during that time. Very little and not giving up. I think that throughout the time I only became smaller.

Little Boat, 24'' x 20'', oil on canvas

Painting from Film.

2010-09-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I stop frames while watching a film and paint. In this way I study from all, director, actor, light artist, and cinematographer.

Promissed Heaven, acrylic on card

Stalker, Girl. 10.5'' x 8,6'', oil on card

Painted in France.

2010-09-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

I painted these during my half-a-year stay in France in 2009. Preproduction of the first three episodes of Oah & Harlam stories was made at ENSAD, a film school in Paris. During this time I took a painting class with Mark Tunguy, a French contemporary painter.

Cannes at Sundown, 10'' x 14'', oil on canvas board

Cannes after Sundown, 12'' x 16'', oil on canvas board

Reed on Sunset, 129,5 x 96,5 cm, oil on canvas

Landscape, 60 x 73 cm, oil on canvas

Portrait, 130cm x 162 cm, oil on canvas

Plein Air painting in Malibu, California.

2010-09-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

June Gloom in Malibu, 12'' x 24'', oil on linen

La Piedra Beach, 12'' x 24'', oil on linen

Elephant Rock, 12'' x 36'', oil on linen

Morning at El Matador, 12'' x 24'', oil on linen

LifeDrawing.

2010-09-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

Sessions with a model at CalArts are always long and fun, and it is a journey on its own. I experiment a lot, discover something interesting and then continue moving in that direction.

PARIS sketchbook.

2010-09-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

I had a Moleskine sketchbook and a three tubes of acrylic primary colors with me in France. These is some from the sketchbook.

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Sketchbook.

2010-09-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

LifeDrawing.

2010-09-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Another session, different model.

California Sketchbook.

2010-08-29T22:33:00.000-07:00

Santa Monica.

LifeDrawing.

2010-08-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

2009-02-13T17:07:00.000-08:00