Grandpa

Engineer worked at Ford, Hudson's

The Detroit News

Robert A. Priebe, a former longtime Dearborn resident, loved all things mathematical and had the respect of family and friends.

Mr. Priebe's son, Robert Jr., said his father will be remembered as a diligent man who had a gentle side.

"Family was very important to him both extended and immediate," Priebe said. "He was a guy who was always fair. He was soft-spoken and always won the respect of everyone he met both professionally and socially."

Mr. Priebe died Friday, May 4, 2007 at his home in Prescott, Ariz., of coronary insufficiency as a result of metabolic syndrome. He was 81.

Mr. Priebe was a graduate of Fordson High School in Dearborn and a graduate of Lawrence Institute of Technology where he earned an industrial engineering degree in 1951.

Mr. Priebe worked at several Metro Detroit corporations, including Ford Motor Company where he worked in Brussels at Ford International during the early 1960s.

He also worked at Chatham supermarkets, Brooks & Perkins engineering firm, and the J.L. Hudson department store chain.

Mr. Priebe's family said he loved mathematics and took great satisfaction in solving problems, including monthly spreadsheets of his investment portfolio, balancing his checkbook and preparing his annual income tax forms.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Mr. Priebe was a member of the Lions Club in Arizona and served as chapter president.

In 1994, the Lions Club awarded him the Melvin Jones Fellowship, the highest honor given to a member for his commitment to humanitarian causes.

Mr. Priebe and his wife Mary, who died in 2002, moved to Arizona in 1986.

A big Detroit Tigers fan, Mr. Priebe gradually put his loyalty behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Survivors are his son, Robert Jr.; a daughter, Carol Ann Roseman; a sister, Rose Marie Bala; a brother, Edward; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass was held last week at St. Germaine Catholic Church in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

Interment was in Heritage Memorial Park in Dewey, Ariz.

Memorial tributes may be sent to the American Heart Association, 2929 South 48th St., Tempe, AZ, 85282.

Becky: My New Hero

Our radio station has crossed over to new management playing the same crap, which is rather pointless and I will miss our DJ friends. Jay is very upset over losing them. I don't get why this always happens. Some people are dumb.

Anyway, whenever this kind of thing goes on, there is a day in-between where they play all kinds of weird stuff like novelty records and comedy bits, etc. Now THERE'S a concept! Why can't we have a station that's like Dr Demento-stream-of-consciousness stuff all the time? I would rather listen to that. As a result of listening in last night to the strange radio filler, I discovered a sound clip from this 8-year-old girl named Becky who is a radio personality in Ireland! This is the one they played:

And luckily, there's more! If you need a laugh, this is the place to return to:

More Becky

And More Becky!

Squishy goodness

Enrollment seems to be moving along and going up at work which makes life a whole lot less stressful...at least until it starts getting warmer! Gotta keep them caffeinated fluids goin. Looking forward to upcoming events, the annual Pixar presentation, family gatherings and special moments, 6-year anniversary with my lovely wife, 1-year birthday with our lovely little girl, and the Platform Festival in Portland. I'm reminding myself to stay plugged in to God and be so grateful for all that I have and the neat connections and opportunities that come our way.

A new review of my book has been posted on Michael Sporn's blog, one of my daily web visits.

Spread the Stop-Motion Madness!

I found some animation done by a reader of my book in the US...pretty surreal to see it applied!

Mexico Book Review

My book has been reviewed in a recent issue of Onderfilm magazine in Mexico, published by my friend Ricardo Torres at Golem Producciones. It's all in Spanish so I had a student at VanArts translate it for me:

It has became relatively simple to do animations: a web cam, a PC of last generation and done, you have your first project. However, doing a quality animation with this kind of technique, its still complex and requires a lot of knowledge in different areas like chemistry, mechanics and anatomy. The best way to learn how to do professional projects, its taking a course, a lot of practice and a lot of good reading about the subject. Believe it or not, these last ones are scarce.

The Art of Stop Motion Animation is a new book that talks about this form of animation
with a didactic point of view. Unlike other publications which are descriptive and informational, this book contains exercises that you can do to obtain better results on screen. Ken Priebe, the author of the book, has been a stop motion instructor for more than 7 years, and in these pages you can find the knowledge gained in those years. Also the author enhances the content by doing interviews to people with a vast experience in the studies of animation and the details of the world of stop motion that so far have been great mysteries.

According to Ken, this book focuses en la in the construction of characters, it also talks about which is the best way to get involved in the process of animation and it helps you by giving you tips about the cameras, programs, and plasticine that you should use. " I believe that is important that people have a greater visual reference so they can start their way in the media. Stop Motion is hard work there are thing that work and things that don't. I don't want to touch every single detail, for that you would need a whole bookcase " Ken commented for underfilm.

Looking at the book, you will find that technology has come to evolve since animation was invented; Today we rely on certain tools and tomorrow may be others. everyday is less important which camera or which computer you use to achieve a project with great quality.
" Technology is impressive nowadays but its far away for being the answer for everything. Just because you have the best digital equipment does not mean that you are going to create an excellent animation, you can do a great job with just a webcam. there are people that know all about the tools but do not know how to use key concepts like poses, timing and character design. This is something that takes a long time to learn." Assures Ken.

Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Grommit, a year ago said for underfilm that right now there more people hired to do stop motion than in any other time in history. a great industrial movement is developing in Europe and North America since the production of movies and television series. In Toronto Canada, Cuppa Coffee studios has just been classified the largest stop motion studio in the world. The animator, specialist in this technique are considered by the industry like a rare thing to find; However,every day the gap between producers and artists is closing thanks to the internet. " I posted some of the animations my students made on you tube , and received several mails from animation productors interested in putting them on T.V
It is a lot easier nowadays to show a work. when i went to Mexico, I saw a lot of interest in stop motion, and i believe its because their culture is very handcrafted, people like to do thing s with their own hands. All these people have now access to the same technology and the same exhibition quorum as the others. Now you have to worry about learning and training about how to make professional animation. this is the way there will be more and better animators, art will get stronger and become more popular. My book talks about the best way to get yourself inside the world of stop motion", Ken concluded.

Enter my 80s Brain!

Since I'm in the blogging spirit, for no other reason at all here's some random awesome-ness from my childhood psyche courtesy of YouTube.

This is one of the most brilliant pieces of animation & music used together, actually from the 70s...old school Sesame Street!


The original 80s HBO Logo...


Recently re-discovered the best 80s Disney shows ever...

Wuz gowan own wif Ken?

Since I very rarely blog, it's time to catch up! it's monday...i have today off....i've been dusting, vacuuming, neglecting hygiene, staying in my jammies and working on dubbing for a DVD trade with someone off the SMA.com message board....i'll be getting some good stuff in return....useful for my next book project....shhhhhh! it's a secret. nah, not really....thinking of doing a book on stop-motion history, cuz nobody else seems to be doing it and i think it's interesting so what the hell, it be fun! got 'puppet animation in the cinema' and 'making of king kong' from the library recently to help.

film class at sunday school has been fun....had Kevin Miller as a guest speaker last week talking about the Hero's Journey; very fascinating stuff and helped me bring around full circle many of the themes i've found in movies. speaking of movies, we rented 'Shut Up and Sing' the other day and loved it! I like the Dixie Chicks, they sing good. Working on my film a little bit too.

overall i like life. you should try it too...it's life. it's good.

and now, Ariel likes to dance. I just had deja vu when posting this.

Good-Bye Grandpa Priebe

Dear Grandpa-

I'm sorry we didn't get to say good-bye in this life, so this letter will have to do. I'm sad that you left so suddenly and I won't be able to call you and hear the usual..."OH HEY KEN! OK, LET ME CALL YOU BACK!" :)

First of all, I want to thank you for all the memories I've been blessed to have with you as my grandpa. I still remember many things about all the visits to your house in Dearborn, how I loved the cuckoo clock on your wall, and how you and Grandma always welcomed us with open arms. I was always sad to leave. Visits to our house always would come with gifts of Dunkin Donuts and your little one-finger tickle to my belly. I also remember the visits to pizza places and Greenfield Village, and memories of those places are always reflected with being with you and Grandma. These memories are great, but even more special to me are the many visits I made to see you in Arizona during my college years. This was the time when I really started to get closer to you and learn more about the person you are. I could always count on you to just listen to my dreams, my concerns or whatever else was on my mind. I enjoyed watching old movies with you and sharing new ones as well. You had a kindness and a curiosity and openness to everything, and calm understated contentness with life that to this day I find very inspiring, and as I get older I find myself becoming more like that.

I'm so glad you were able to visit me and Janet here in Ladner and connect with family members here, and I'm especially thankful that you got to meet our little Ariel. Even though she was too young to remember, we'll make sure she doesn't forget.

Although I wil miss you dearly, it comforts me to know that you and Grandma are together again, because I know how much you missed her. So until we meet again, thank you for our history, yesterday and today. I love you with all my heart.

Ken

Sunday

Had a good day yesterday...in the morning was my much-anticipated and obsessively-prepared-for first Sunday School class for my 'Faith & Film' series. Basic gist of the class was looking at 'Garden State' and breaking down the symbolism therein. I think I might take everything from the class and make it into an extended visual review for HollywoodJesus sometime soon.

Afterwards, spent the afternoon playing with Ariel and watching some more movies. Saw bits & pieces of 'Man of the Year' but it couldn't really hold my attention. I thought Robin Williams' character was extremely under-developed...he wasn't really acting or playing a character, but more played himself. The film seemed to me an excuse for mixing political statements with recycled Williams jokes...much of the material I remembered from his stand-up acts. And on top of that was a completely unrealistic romance (?) of sorts with Laura Linney, who I can't stand in any film I've seen her in...same with Holly Hunter....they always play the same annoying strung-out characters you just want to reach into the screen and put a muzzle on. So anyway, not much to report on there.

Later on I watched 'Flushed Away' in two parts since I fell asleep and needed to pause for an intermission. I liked it, but wasn't really into the story or characters enough to love it. Still worth another viewing. Animation was fun to watch, in that the Aardman style was very much intact. I've tried looking for some information on how they made it look like stop-motion, all jerky at times...did they use replacement models? Can't seem to find anything except featurettes on the voice actors. Dreamworks sucks.

Iris Out on Michigan for now

Back to BC! The whole trip has been amazing...quite likely the best we've had. Ariel was a good girl and everybody loved her. It's sad needing to leave, but we'll be back. We're headed back with so much stuff, we needed to borrow an extra suitcase.

On Monday I got to visit College for Creative Studies and present my work and my students' work, and hang out with Steve and his students. It was a great time...several students there were incredibly talented. It was also re-assuring to know that the same politics and inane management decisions go on even at large schools like this one, based on the conversations I heard around the campfire. Makes my job seem more normal, I guess you could say. It was a shame that Larry Larson couldn't make it in, but there will be other times for that. I was glad to see Frank Beaver make the effort to come by and visit, and especially the chance meeting with Jim Pinard as well. My second presentation had been cancelled due to all the students coming to the first one instead, so instead we hung out in the classroom and then went up to the office so Steve could tie up some loose ends getting ready for his history class. Jim just happened to catch me as I was going out the door! A rather divine moment of excellent God-timing...I guess He really wanted us to meet....glad too, as we had an amazing chat over coffee. This mysterious "maker of the egg film" I felt was very much on the same page as myself, so we had great talks about our lives, film, God, CS Lewis, and all those other things that matter.

Looky, a triangle of babies! This was one of the events of the trip I was most looking forward to...seeing Jeff & Marie and getting our girls together for playtime. The twins, Kasia and Moira, are beautiful babies and it's nice to know that Ariel will have some friends to bond with over the years when we visit.

Here's some more pictures of various family ties...Ohana, Part II...

Ariel with my 2nd cousin Lisa's kids (Brett, Megan, & Trent) and 1st cousin Sara's little Aeron. So this is 3rd, 4th cousins, or something...ehh, just cousins, all of 'em. Brett reminds me of Daniel at that age; very quirky and creative.

Angels and Demons: Ariel with Uncle Dan

Here's me, Ariel and my brothers with an R2D2 mailbox we found in Greektown! Rather appropriate, since Detroit is typically the Mos Eisley of the USA...'You may never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.' I have to admit though, compared to what I saw growing up, it appears to be under-going a Special Edition digital update.

And other random image-ness...

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

I like any bottle label with a chicken on it.

Ohana

Ariel, her new singing teddy bear, and her Great-Grammy Ambrose.

4 generations of Ambrose blood!

Me with my Uncle Bill...no, wait, that's my cousin Ryan.

Ariel and her 'Great-Aunt' Nancy, in every sense of the word.

My Own Little Garden State

I'm here in my ol' home town and having a blast. Jay has many more details on her blog as usual, so I figure I'll give my Kennish commentary and post some awesome pictures.

Hey Fozzie, I want you to turn left at the fork in the road.

Everybody suck on a spoon and see how awesome my brother is.

We've learned on this trip that Ariel LOVES dogs, even fake ones.

I would love to create an entire book of photos with me standing next to every giant mouse with a piece of cheese throughout the country. I now have two pages, since I found another one in Wisconsin almost 10 years ago. The search continues...

My two favorite frau-lines wander through und village de Deutchland...or Frankenmuth.

Tonight I entertained a random decision to see the newly-released Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie with Brother Dan and Good Friend Brandon. Holy crap, was that twisted and somehow brilliantly funny. Not sure what it means for the future of animation, but who cares? It's not Pinocchio but it's not supposed to be. College stoners need art too. A good time was had by all...been a long time since I saw a film like that with that kind of crowd.

Being here at home to catch up with Michigan familiars with my BC family is so much the best of both worlds. I feel alive, and the best is yet to come.

Michigan Trip

The big visit is coming soon!

Mon 9- bussing to Seattle, flying out 10pm.
Tues 10- arriving in Detroit at 5am...ugh (red eye flight!)
Wed 11- goin' to Frankenmuth with the family
Thur 12- returning sometime evening-ish.
Fri 13- chillin' at home
Sat 14- chillin' at home, plus family gathering for dinner
Sun 15- chillin' at home
Mon 16- Me going to College of Creative Studies as a 'guest artist!'
Tues 17- Ann Arbor to see friends and another family gathering
Wed 18- chillin' at home mostly, visiting Mom's classroom
Thur 19- flying back

ASIFA Book Review

My book has recently received a new plug from ASIFA Hollywood. I had a review copy sent to Larry Loc who is putting together a Stop-Motion Expo on April 21 in Los Angeles. The review is posted here...

I'm a little bit confused by the comments on the dope sheets, as I made it clear in the text what their purpose was. I know that stop-motion can be done without dope sheets, all straight-ahead (I didn't use dope sheets at all for Snot Living) but for certain things like dialogue and the morph, it is absolutely necessary. But otherwise it's a generous review and I'm glad for the publicity, especially since the timing of the Expo itself is not convenient. If it wasn't at the tail-end of our Michigan trip I would have loved to make it down there. But there will be other opportunities like this another day.

Speaking of Snot Living, I finally got a digitally re-mastered version from Steve so it will soon be making its 10th Anniversary Special Edition debut!

Stop-Motion Dialogue #5

The latest collection of dialogue from my stop-motion students!

Cow Town

Well I'm goin' down to Cow Town,
A cow's a friend to me,
Lives beneath the ocean,
And that's where I will be,
Beneath the waves, the waves,
And that's where I will be,
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea...

-They Might Be Giants

You might have guessed I'm in Calgary! Came here to do some info sessions for VanArts, and tomorrow it's the same thing in Edmonton. Whirlwind trip, but nice to have a change of pace all the same. I miss my girls though. It's lonely on the road.

Anyway, back to reality before too long, and our Michigan trip gets closer and closer. A world of huzzah.

Bring Me to Life / Lord of the Rings

I've finally managed to post a music video I edited for kicks one weekend a long time ago. Enjoy!

Film Production Diary

Since we have cancelled our Prie-believing.com website due to lack of use, I'm adding a link to my old "Storytime with Nigel" production diary here so it doesn't get lost or forgotten.

http://madkap.diaryland.com/older.html

Any new updates will be posted here instead. Basically I'm at the point now where only a few scenes remain to be finished, mostly just in-betweening is needed. Awaiting a number of completed scenes back from Steve and his students.

Adventures in Babysitting

So let's see what's going on...work is work, month is March, I'm in my jammies, going to Alberta in a couple weeks, my wife is cute and so is my baby. She is trying to figure out crawling and so far can mostly go backwards and in circles. (That's Ariel I'm talking about. Most of the time Jay can walk just fine.) Tonight I'm pretty sure I saw her take at least two "steps" while crawling.

The other night she got a ride in the laundry basket. Much cuter than a dirty sock.

Planning for Michigan trip in April...will be taking shuttle bus to Seattle and then flying red-eye flight for 4 hours and hopefully sleep through most of it.

Been transferring all of my disposable videotapes to DVD as an on-going project, and trying to copy as many as possible before we go so there's stuff to give away at our garage sale upon returning. It's a great space-saver. Still debating if I should sell most of my home-taped cartoons at the garage sale or see if the internet animation historian community would be more interested. Will have to figure that one out still.

I recently got my copy in the mail of the DVD project I worked on over the summer for Galen. It was really neat to see it all finished and all of our animation colored in. The whole thing turned out great. In the trailer here you can see a brief snippet of my animation, with a kid in a striped shirt holding his breath. We were especially excited to see Ariel mentioned in the end credits as the "Production Baby." My film will have the same credit as well (Hell, at this rate, perhaps there will be two of them!).

And now a word from Ariel: "DADADADADADADADADA"

Apparently she has a thing for modern art.

And cooking with nothing in the pan.

On the floor.

Oh boy, animation!

Been out of the blog loop for awhile, either too tired or chipping away at my film again. As you can see, Ariel likes it.