Craig Crane

This is something I write for the 3d world mag blog……

“How the hell did I end up here?” I thought to myself while having a late-night JD and coke in Soho‘s Marquis of Granby earlier this week. The pub was our local back in the day when I had a job as a full-time puppeteer at Nickelodeon. That was just over four years ago, and yet here I am, still with the same crowd of regulars – yet somehow I feel different.

So am I back in London because the lure of kids‘ TV was just too much to resist? Well, no. I may be working in Soho again, but only as the result of an incredible journey from puppets to pixels. No, scrap that… it wasn‘t a journey, as I didn‘t really leave the front door. It was more of a reinvention. I subjected myself to a gruelling and often frustrating regime of self-discipline just so that I could pursue the career I should actually have taken up some ten years ago, before every Tom, Dick and Bournemouth graduate decided that they wanted to get in on the act.

So, what happened in 2002? Where am I now? And what advice can I give to anyone who finds themselves in the same boat: attempting to land a full-time position in 3D at nearly twice the age that most students start looking for their first jobs. Well, let‘s start at the beginning – although, at the time, I was convinced that it was actually the end.

CUT TO
Daytime. Nickelodeon TV, a kids‘ channel in the midst of London‘s Soho media district. Although the Viacom flagship has seen better and funnier days, the old guard are still mostly in place. One of the original presenters, a puppet by the name of Bogey, is called into the office for a chat. Well, not the puppet per se, but his puppeteer. That would be me. It‘s the first day back after the Christmas break.

BOSS
Hi, welcome back. Did you have a good Christmas?

ME
Yeah, not bad, you know… usual stuff: family, kids, socks and so on.

BOSS
Sounds great! Well, we are not renewing your contract. We feel that after some ten years of service, we would like to change the channel around a bit and we have no place in our plans for Bogey or any of your other characters.

ME
Shit.

BOSS
Yeah! So, Happy New Year, you‘ll be fine and have a good show this afternoon.

ME
£$*&*!* *$!%

And that was that: the end of my tenure at Nickelodeon. I had been so lucky to have had a contract last that long, but never in a million years did I believe that it would all come to an end. All those dreams… all those ambitions… all those aspirations… ah, crap.

A BIT OF BACK HISTORY
I had started at Nickelodeon when I was 22, and was already an established puppeteer. In fact, I had even risen to the top of my field as a real-time CG animator, puppeteering characters‘ faces during live recordings by means of digital data gloves. As a result, I had made a lot of good friends in the world of 3D. These friends had nagged me to learn CG as early as 1994, but in my puppet-biased arrogance, I believed that Jim Henson was God, and that pixels were merely a twisted perversion. Really, I only had myself to blame for letting the good ship CG set sail without me.

But back to that fateful day in 2002. The carpet had been well and truly pulled from under my feet, and all I could hear was the Bogey puppet asking me what we were going to do. (One very strange facet of being a puppeteer is that you actually start referring to the puppet character as if they were real… and Bogey was almost as pissed of as I was!)

As you can imagine, the show that afternoon was not easy. But I had already started to formulate a plan: one that involved a few books, a shedload of DVDs and a wife who would hopefully understand that there was a goal in sight. It wouldn‘t be easy, we might lose the house and everything else in the process, we might bicker, fall out and not talk for very long periods at a time – but in the end it would be worth it. At least, I hoped it would.

CUE DRAMATIC AND INSPIRATIONAL FANFARE
Yes, I was going to teach myself CG animation and get a job within two or three years. Either that, or jack it all in and disappear into obscurity. Frankly, I couldn‘t see any other alternatives that didn‘t involve a lifetime of trying to make ends meet while attempting not to amass a large collection of supermarket name badges, forever lamenting the days when I was able to create characters and perform on a whim, capturing the hearts and imaginations of many a child (and the occasional yummy mummy). The first meeting of the year may have gone down like a shit sandwich, but I was determined to make the most of a bad job. I was down, but not yet out!

Unfortunately, deciding to switch careers was the easy bit. What followed was four years of gruelling and mostly self-directed study, attempting to master the dark art of 3D animation. And that‘s a subject for another article – or, in fact, for a whole series of articles. Tune in every couple of weeks while I highlight the good times and the really bad times as I plot my way towards that Holy Grail of CG: a decent and rewarding job.

Part II comming soon

Well, I dont think the answer to that age old question is 42. I am convinced its Waterloo. It appears that my enire life actually revolves around Waterloo Train Staion in London. Everything about the place suggests that it may be the epicentre of my galaxy. In the last two weeks, I have bumped into 6 old friends….. Today was the latest encounter, with none other that Brad Williams standing at the end of Platform 11 smoking a fag (which means he was enjoying a ciggarette as oppossed to killing a homosexual man for any US readers).

Earlier this week I had a strange Dave Berry moment….. Its a weird place. Yes, I know its a central hub for commuters, but normally I walk through, keeping my head down as I make my way to work. But for some odd reason, I look up and there is a good old friend…. Strange.

Anyway, I am sure there is some mathematical equation that may govern such encounters, in their apparent random and chaotic nature, and maybe there is a 42 in there someplace. Or maybe its just good karma, as I slowly realise this year that friends really are a mans sole wealth….

OK, last nights episode of Galactica season III / EP IV / Exodus Pt II was fantastic. Zoic Studios rock! I love there work in this show, and it was there work in the Mini Series pilot that hooked me into the story….. I love their CG camera work…. I love the animation, I love the dynamics work. Andrew Orloff has been a huge inspiration to me through his Gnomon DVD’s and one day, maybe one day I may have the balls to send them a reel and resume with a view to at least getting an interview….

Till then, I am more than happy to just watch what they do. Its awesome.

Ach, what a night….

Graham, Sean and Stu came down last night for an evening of hilarity, booze and more hilarity…..

It was always destined to be a good night, and the lads did not dissapoint….

However, they got the good end of the deal as they are still asleep in the cinema…..

Stu’s infectious laughter finally died down at about 4:30……

The next day was very slow in starting, everyone slept in, bar my youngest….. she seems to have more energy than most people I know, and she wanted to wake the guys the same way she does when Christine stays… by going into the cinema and screaming WAKEY WAKEY as loud as she can.

Anyway, we now have a mission on our hands… we need to drag Stu into the 21st century, so that he at least knows how to do e mail. I often forget that people dont use these dam machines as much as I do…. and at times I envy them for not being a slave to the machine…. At present, it controls me as oppossed to me controlling it. So we are going to gently ease him in, and the first step is to get him to change that nokia ring tone.

Sean and Graham have embraced the technology full tilt….. So, Mr Mcleod.. resistence is futile. I know where you work and there is no escape.

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Im toying with the idea of giving up diving. I know, its a bitch, but I just dont have the time…. so lets see if I come out of the SETT determined to dive more or ready to ebay my gear.

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I have come to realise that I have three very distinct groups of friends, and none are intertwined.

A; People I work with

B; People I have worked with

C; People I studied with.

Of the three groups, I would probably say that Group A is the one that has yet to present anything other than me “getting on” with some of the people I work with.

There are a handfull of people that I am close to in group B….. life long friends. And Group C has some of my longest friendships of all time. We talked about this at length last night. I mentioned that I dont have as wide a social circle compared to many… that may be because I can be quite insular at times, enjoying my own space, company and pastimes. My wife has often asked why I dont mix with people in the village, but then I have so much trouble explaining to her that there is no commonality there to sustain anything other than a passing aquaintence. Sorry, its just the way it is. Its not that I DONT like the people, I do… but our interests and ambitions or shared experiences in life dont match up. Its just the way it is. I enjoy thier company, but I cant do the thing that my wife does where they are always doing stuff, on the phone, chatting, going out and stuff.

I guess I am very choosy about who I call a real friend in life, and I know that I have maybe 15 people that I would consider close friends. You know, like in the film the big chill… when my number is up, they would most likley be the people that would all come together in that moment without being asked…. not that I plan to go anywhere just yet! Yet, even those close friends I dont see that often…. a hand full of them I see once every three months or so, and recently, some I have not seen for years, and yet you know when you have true friends because no matter how much time pass’s, you always have that freindly energy that should be there. Last night, we laughed so much, at old stuff and more importantly, new stuff that this morning we were all suffereing…. and it seems that the older we get, the more stupid we become. This may have a lot to do with the fact that we cant hold our drink as well… but I am pleased to say that this year has been a corker all round, and I am glad that I have the few friends that I have. Besides, I would much rather have a handfull of great friends than 100 average ones.

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I have no idea if my contract is going to be renewed. I hate the uncertainty, and at times it makes me wish for some normality in terms of work. Worst case scenario is that in two weeks time I have no employ. I just dont know. I am more than a little worried, because its an expensive time of the year for us. Car needs an MOT, then TAX.. and of course there is the mortgage….

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Er, I am tired now, and all I want to do is curl up with a film and a bag of revels.

I also appear to have been left a few cans of Stella from last night, so may just have to empty a few of those seeing as I am left watching the fort whilst Mrs me does a night shift….

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My practice puppet should arrive soon from Mike. I noticed that IMDB have him listed as a puppeteer on the Power of the Dark Crystal, the new sequel to the original Dark Crystal. If that is so, then I bet he is having a great time on it. In the making of book from the original, there is a cast and crew pic at the end of the book… and there he is…. and 25 years later, he’ll be in the new one as well. Well, as long as the imdb listing is correct. But I must e mail him and see when I may be getting my Quinny puppet.

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Have a whole new load of tunes that I downloaded from emusic.com. I am being very very selective with what I buy, and I am listening to many of the samples before committing to a full purchase. They have a great selection, wide and varied, but as they are not i-Tunes, they dont have a lot of mainstream titles. Still, I am pleased with what I have downloaded so far, and a lot of the Jazz stuff is just great to hear.

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Yep, the one and only 80’s man (in terms of he has an even bigger love for the 80’s than me, the icurable nostalgic that I am…..!)

I have no idea what he plans to right about, or whom… but I am sure it will be engaging…. with maybe a few fond memories of Sidcup thrown in for good measure.

I wonder if he still hase that Queen with supporting band INXS T-Shirt that he always wore back then….?

ha ha ha

Welcome to the world of Blogging, G.

I picked up my old car project today, and did a few test renders… I think I am happy enough now with the geometry to start thinking about the inside, the under carriage and the engine block…

Phew, thank the lord for that. I so need a lie in bed its unreal. I still need a dive as well, but the weather and time dictates otherwise.

So, what else is going on?

Well, work is swell…still having a blast. I really hope that I get some aproved shots soon though! And then there is that niggly question about contract renewal….. never used to bother me in the past as I took the Nick UK contracts for granted, even though I hated being there. This place is different, I actually love doing what I do, and just hope that I get the chance to stay on a while and do stuff. Further more, I cant beleive how much I have learnt in such a short space of time. My Anim supe is a legend, and if I have even just 5% of his animation chops I would be happy.

So, its late here in the UK, Im in my office, and although I came downstairs with the intention to go to the loo, I am now sat here in the semi dark with a record playing (yes, a real record… Miles Davis, Your Under Arrest) and just letting my fingers do all the talking….

There are still some echoes of the big reunion taking place. ;

Graham Soutar sent me an amazing collections of tracks from the 80’s to help me segue into my mid life crisis a lot more smoothly than I did the last one….

Colin Downing called, having received my letter AFTER the reunion took place. I took it as granted that he didnt go because he may have not had as pleasent a memory of college as I did. So I was gutted to here him say how gutted he was that he missed it. Still, he is quite local to me, so a few beers are in order…

speaking of which (local, not beers), Stu Mcleod is working in the Selsey fish huts this weekend, as he often does. So all this time he has been working 25 meters from my house and neither of us new….

And Louise rohan is still busy I guess.

Christine is back in Oz…… such a great visit for her this time around. I guess her and I both got what we needed from the reunion. Different reasons, but plenty of closure none the less.

Everyone should now have their DVD’s as well, and bumping into Gary Avis in the Gym showers was very funny…

And Tee Soo chan is busy doing stuff and handstands (all for a good cause I hasten to add) and wish her luck with that.

I guess this year may see a few extra xmas cards… maybe. I dont tend to send cards out, so I may have a bash this year and get a little festive. Last time I tried to get into the festive thing, such as doing a tree, going out and buying stuff, I was in a place called Carr Gate and … well…. thats a long story and not for here.

So, Friday night, I am shattered, I feel animated out, and the plan is just to chill out, watch a lot of movies that still have their wrapping on, and eat a few portions of revels and minstrals (yes, that and Hardy’s wine are yet another echoe from a time long gone!)

Almost joined a 3rd gym today, Gym Box…… with a view to using a months notice at LA Fitness untill Gym Box opens, but what with the PSP and the prtable DVD player this has been an expensive month and I decided to walk away from the ,arketing suite….. and being a lot more fitter than I have ever been (well, at least since college) I managed to walk away at a nice steady, brisk pace).

Been thinking about other stuff as well recently…. life, death and all that shit….. and still none the wiser…. In fact, I have come to realise that by the time you have spent an age pondering those questions, the very thing you are questioning pass’s you by. So I have decided to jst chill a little, and not be so highly strung as I was in 2000 – 2002. Whilst out for a meal last week with Christine, my mate neil decided to remind me of how bad I was (for Christinnes amusement I am sure)… like the OCD, the paranoia etc etc etc It really was a fucking shit time…. normally I would have been really pissed of for Neils actions, but he knew he could get away with it because he knows that I know that a lot of stuff has happened since those days, the most important of which was getting the hell out of dodge (nickelodeon) and getting a new career and life…. depression, OCD and a genuine sense of redundancy are a lethal combination, but I am glad to say that I beat the odds, the weirdness and even a few addictions to come out of the other side pretty much the same person I was before THE DARKNESS…

Mmmm, speaking of THE DARKNESS, they will be shit without their front man…..

I am thinking of getting another Tattoo.. this one will be different to the last…. Having found two books on ebay which I left at Tracey Hill, namely my The Making of the Dark Crystal and the World of the dark Crystal, I am tempted to get one of Brian Frouds mystic designs done. So, now that I have those two books back, I shall have a look and see if I am still determined to do it. My last Tatoo was done in LA pretty much at the height of my weirdness… this time around, I think I shall just get a tatoo done because I want to…. dont need any other reason…..

Im also toying with addressing my comute to work…. Train? Stay in town? Get a motor Bike, like a faired Bandit???? Now, there is an idea…

At least I would be in control, and could shave of at least an hour from my comute….. and spend less money as well… I supposse sitting next to biker-girl is starting to rub off on me. The girl is pretty bike-centric in terms of her outlook on life, and I am starting to see her POV. I just worry that some idiot may wipe me out on the way home (as is often the case with bikes Vs cars)… and that is the only thing stopping me thus far….

So, lets see…

Oh, and I am really loving my Sony PSP……

Words can not even come remotley close to how awesome a peice of kit this is….

I gave up smoking two years ago, and last night had a smoking dream, one of those weird cruel tricks your mind plays on your body to make you wake up thinking you have smoked…..

The dream is so dam real, you can taste the smoke, smell it and even sometimes wake up craving it (or feel really angry that you have once again succumbed to the addiction).

Its a really cruel trick, because unlike the dreams where you beleive you had a super fast sports car, this one comes tinged with horrible regret, self loathing and resentment.

I actually awoke thinking that I had smoked. My chest felt tight, I could taste the tobacco… its a clever trick, but very very cruel. I guess its my body trying to remind my subconsious mind that the addiction is still there and should not be forgotten.

Although I consider myself to be the fittest I have been in years, I still curse the day I took a lug from one of Gregory Pichery s black and Gold superkings! That was the start of a downward spiral into nicotene dependence……

Dont smoke kids, its not big, its not clever!