'Tube'



[ In Production ]

Team
Urchin

Related links
Bit Films
Hampshire College

Tube is Urchin's current work in production. Whereas Elephants Dream proved it possible to make professional 3D animated films in libre software within a studio setting, the Tube project is a new experiment in distributed collaboration. From an undisclosed base in New England, it unites a team of local and international artists using cutting-edge tools for independent filmmaking based in - what else - the hypertubes.


Very Satisfied



[ Pre-production ]

Team
Urchin

Related links
Blender Conference Suzanne Awards

Very Satisfied is a short in pre-production. An early animation test using one of its set-pieces, a surveilling robotic desk chair, won Bassam a Suzanne Award for Character Animation.


The ManCandy FAQ



Version 2.48

Team
Urchin

Related links
download

ManCandy began as an easily animatable test bed for rigging experiments, and multiple iterations have been released for public use. Bassam demonstrates him in the animated tutorial video + short, The ManCandy FAQ (sold-out 'DVD training 1' of the Blender Foundation's education series). Following 'Tube' production, ManCandy will be updated with a re-engineered rig and new mesh to correspond with the release of Blender 2.5


Omega



[ In Production ]

Team
Franz + Goralczyk

Related links
Artificial3D/Omega

Omega is an ambitious hybrid stop motion-3D animation short being produced by Eva Franz and Andy Goralczyk at the University of Arts and Design in Karlsruhe, Germany. Bassam contributes as rigging artist.


Suzanne Animation Festival Interstitials



2009

Team
Urchin : Bassam, Jarred, Kursad, Pablo, Jan

Related links
download

Introduction and interstitial animations as part of Blender Conference 2009. Eyes and Hands riff on the Blender logo's conjunction of 'see' and 'do', culminating in the Suzanne monkey mascot at the end.


Oversaturated



2009

Team
Hand Turkey Studios

Related links
48 Hour Film Festival

For the 48 Hour Film Festival - where that is a production time limit - normal people make live-action film submissions. The delightfully deranged compatriots of Hand Turkey Studios have taken up the challenge 3 years running, resulting in this award winning short among others. Bassam rigged characters and also did a bit of animation.


Interviews from the Future



2008

Team
Spark Digital Entertainment

Related links
Blender Conference Animation Festival

Bassam did rigging and animation while consulting for the Rome studio of Spark Digital Entertainment, then converting to a Blender-based libre pipeline. We discovered that despite Blender's reputation as being difficult to learn, with minimal coaching, skilled animators are able to make the switch successfully in a matter of days. Intervista della Futura won the 2008 Suzanne Award for Character Animation.


Plumiferos



2008-2010

Team
Manos Digitales

Related links
Licuadora Studio

Highly courageous, Plumiferos ('Free Birds') was the first feature length 3D animation made using Blender and all libre software. Bassam was worked in Buenos Aires on the Manos Digitales production, consulting on the libre production pipeline, rigging and animating.


Big Buck Bunny



2008

Team
Blender Institute
Dir: Sacha Goedegebure

Related links
download

Blender's second open movie project, this time: "funny and furry". Bassam pitched in with some animation (once Fateh, who is from the Wild West, explained the use of bow and arrow). We like this wacky image remix by PhotoComiX.


Elephants Dream



2006

Team
Blender Foundation: Studio Orange
Dir: Bassam Kurdali

Related links
download

Elephants Dream was the first ‘open movie’. It established the viability of libre tools in a production environment and set precedent by offering its source data under a permissive license for learning, remixing and re-use.


Training — Blender Institute Master Classes, workshops at HISC, TOSMI, Red Hat High, Hampshire College

Consulting — Manos Digitales, Spark Digital Entertainment, Teamto

Publication — Regular contributor to 3D World Magazine; Technical Editor for several editions of Blender for Dummies