Bob Sabiston
Encyclopedia
Bob Sabiston is an American film art director
, computer programmer
, and creator of the Rotoshop
software program for computer animation
. Sabiston began developing software as a graduate researcher in the MIT Media Lab
from 1986 to 1991. While at MIT, and also after moving to Austin, Texas
, in 1993, Sabiston used his 2D/3D software to create several short films
, including God's Little Monkey (1994), "Beat Dedication" (1988), and "Grinning Evil Death" (1990). "Grinning Evil Death" was widely seen on the first episode of MTV's "Liquid Television" show. "God's Little Monkey" won the Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica award for 1994.
In 1997, he developed his interpolating rotoscope
program, Rotoshop
http://www.g4tv.com/techtvvault/features/23423/Rotoshop_Animation.html, for an animation contest sponsored by MTV
. The software was used to produce a series of 25 30-second interstitials in New York, collectively entitled "Project Incognito." He moved back to Austin in 1998 and with the help of local artists made the short film "RoadHead." This was followed in 1999 by short "Snack and Drink" in collaboration with Tommy Pallotta
. "Snack and Drink" won several film festival awards and resides in the MOMA video collection. The shorts collection "Figures of Speech" followed in late 1999, for PBS. In 2000, Sabiston hired thirty graphic artists in the Austin area to help make Richard Linklater
's groundbreaking film Waking Life
.
After Waking Life Sabiston spent several years making more rotoscoped short films, including "Yard", "Earthlink Sucks", "Grasshopper". He directed a series of shorts for the PBS show "Life360".
In 2003 he directed a short segment for the Lars von Trier
film The Five Obstructions
.
Both "Grasshopper" and "The Five Obstructions" were shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
In 2004 Sabiston was hired as Head of Animation for Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly
also produced by his "Snack and Drink" collaborator Tommy Pallotta
. He improved the software substantially for the film, which represents a big leap in the capabilities of the software. Since 2005 he has also directed the "Talk to Chuck" campaign of animated advertisements for Charles Schwab
.
Sabiston developed Rotoshop as a means to make rotoscoping easier for artists by automating the interpolation
of hand-drawn shapes and lines over video. The software is proprietary
and currently not available for use outside of Sabiston's production company, Flat Black Films.
Sabiston is also the creator of Inchworm
, a paint
and animation
program planned for release on the Nintendo DS
.
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, computer programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
, and creator of the Rotoshop
Rotoshop
Rotoshop is a proprietary graphics editing program created by Bob Sabiston.Rotoshop uses an animation technique called interpolated rotoscoping, which has been used in Richard Linklater's films Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, as well as the Talk to Chuck advertising campaign for Charles Schwab....
software program for computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
. Sabiston began developing software as a graduate researcher in the MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
from 1986 to 1991. While at MIT, and also after moving to Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, in 1993, Sabiston used his 2D/3D software to create several short films
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
, including God's Little Monkey (1994), "Beat Dedication" (1988), and "Grinning Evil Death" (1990). "Grinning Evil Death" was widely seen on the first episode of MTV's "Liquid Television" show. "God's Little Monkey" won the Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica award for 1994.
In 1997, he developed his interpolating rotoscope
Rotoscope
Rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame, for use in animated films. Originally, recorded live-action film images were projected onto a frosted glass panel and re-drawn by an animator...
program, Rotoshop
Rotoshop
Rotoshop is a proprietary graphics editing program created by Bob Sabiston.Rotoshop uses an animation technique called interpolated rotoscoping, which has been used in Richard Linklater's films Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, as well as the Talk to Chuck advertising campaign for Charles Schwab....
http://www.g4tv.com/techtvvault/features/23423/Rotoshop_Animation.html, for an animation contest sponsored by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The software was used to produce a series of 25 30-second interstitials in New York, collectively entitled "Project Incognito." He moved back to Austin in 1998 and with the help of local artists made the short film "RoadHead." This was followed in 1999 by short "Snack and Drink" in collaboration with Tommy Pallotta
Tommy Pallotta
Tommy Pallotta is an American film director and producer.-Biography:Pallotta received a degree in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. There, he met Richard Linklater and began his film career as an actor and production assistant on Linklater's directorial debut, Slacker...
. "Snack and Drink" won several film festival awards and resides in the MOMA video collection. The shorts collection "Figures of Speech" followed in late 1999, for PBS. In 2000, Sabiston hired thirty graphic artists in the Austin area to help make Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's groundbreaking film Waking Life
Waking Life
Waking Life is an American animated film , directed by Richard Linklater and released in 2001. The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.The film focuses on the nature of dreams, consciousness, and...
.
After Waking Life Sabiston spent several years making more rotoscoped short films, including "Yard", "Earthlink Sucks", "Grasshopper". He directed a series of shorts for the PBS show "Life360".
In 2003 he directed a short segment for the Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
film The Five Obstructions
The Five Obstructions
The Five Obstructions is a 2003 Danish film by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth. The film is a documentary, but incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films produced by the filmmakers. The premise is that Lars von Trier has created a challenge for his friend and mentor, Jørgen Leth, another...
.
Both "Grasshopper" and "The Five Obstructions" were shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
In 2004 Sabiston was hired as Head of Animation for Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly
A Scanner Darkly (film)
A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 science fiction thriller directed by Richard Linklater based on the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick. The film tells the story of identity and deception in a near-future dystopia constantly under intrusive high-technology police surveillance in the midst of a drug...
also produced by his "Snack and Drink" collaborator Tommy Pallotta
Tommy Pallotta
Tommy Pallotta is an American film director and producer.-Biography:Pallotta received a degree in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. There, he met Richard Linklater and began his film career as an actor and production assistant on Linklater's directorial debut, Slacker...
. He improved the software substantially for the film, which represents a big leap in the capabilities of the software. Since 2005 he has also directed the "Talk to Chuck" campaign of animated advertisements for Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab Corp.
The Charles Schwab Corporation , is an American brokerage and banking company, based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1971 by Charles R. "Chuck" Schwab, as a traditional, brick and mortar brokerage firm and investment newsletter publisher. In 1973, the company name changed from First...
.
Sabiston developed Rotoshop as a means to make rotoscoping easier for artists by automating the interpolation
Interpolation
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points....
of hand-drawn shapes and lines over video. The software is proprietary
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
and currently not available for use outside of Sabiston's production company, Flat Black Films.
Sabiston is also the creator of Inchworm
Inchworm
Inchworms are the caterpillars of geometer moths.Inchworm can also mean:*Inchworm , a song from the film Hans Christian Andersen*Inchworm , a ride-on toy manufactured by Hasbro in the 1970s...
, a paint
Raster graphics editor
A raster graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to paint and edit pictures interactively on the computer screen and save them in one of many popular “bitmap” or “raster” formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF and TIFF....
and animation
Flip book
A flip book or flick book is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change. Flip books are often illustrated books for children, but may also be...
program planned for release on the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
.