A New Beginning with Chris Demarais: The Blog

Hello and welcome to Chris Demarais: The Blog. This URL was previously the home of my buffalo blog "The Way of the Buffalo." However, since I am required to create a blog for another class, I have decided to move that blog to www.thewayofthebuffalo.com.

So if you're interested in the musings of a buffalo then please head that way. If you're only interested in the musings of a regular human than you're in the right blog!

Forest Chronicles

I have completed my final project and it takes the form of two short animations that follow the lives of some fellow animals. Though it about killed me to finish both of them and I was literally using five computers simultaneously to render and export, I'm pretty satisfied with the results.




Since I already have most of the assets and animations down, I'm considering making a short webseries with these guys. I already have two episodes so if I made half a dozen more then I would be set.

Oh, and if you think buffalos can't get carpal tunnel syndrome then you're wrong.

Report of Progress

So with the last week of school I have made several significant strides. I have completed the audio cut of the Forrest Drama animations and have all of the assets I need to complete them. I've also built and refined my landscape in which all of the action will take place. In addition, I'm made progress animating the first of the two shorts.

So far I am happy with what I have accomplished. However, I do have a fear that I will have difficulty completing both of the animations. Since the first one alone is over a minute and the second will be at least that long, it will be challenging to complete them both by the deadline. Hopefully, the luck of the buffalo will carry me to my destination and all will be well.

I just hope that my buffalo luck doesn't run out.

Progress Report

So I've made some good progress on my animations. I've got most of the assets finished and I've recorded the voiceover. Unfortunately, I haven't really started the biggest task which is animating. I'll hopefully make some big leaps in that next week.

Here is an image of one of my actors. He's a nice guy, a little difficult to work with sometimes but good at heart. He also makes the best damn quesadillas in North America.



He doesn't always have four arms. That's just a trick he does for laughs. What a kidder.

Animal Co-existance Effort

As a buffalo, I feel it is important to extend a hoof of friendship to all creatures. For this reason, I am attempting the first animal co-existance society. This group will try to find common ground among all animals, focusing particularly on those that live in the same forest as me.

PROPOSAL

To create a series of short animations almost like a comic. Each animated short will take place in the same location and using the same characters. I plan to do at least three and each will be about one minute long. I have already written the scripts for them and because they are very similar except for dialogue, it won't be too much more work to do three of them instead of just one.

The two main characters are a dove and a squirrel and they spend their time in a forest talking. The title of the series is "What Animals Say to Each Other."

ASSET LIST

Here is my asset list for the three scripts I have chosen.

A forest environment- I already have an in depth forest designed so I might just add to this and expand it.

A dove- I need a cute looking dove. I might design two different "angles" of him so I can use a variety of perspectives. I will need to create this character with moving parts so he can talk and move around.

A squirrel- A squirrel is the counterpart to my dove so I will probably design two versions of him as well. He will also need to be able to move and talk.

An explosion- There is one large explosion in one of the scripts so I will need to create a realistic exploding squirrel as well as fire particles.

A desolated forest environment- One comic requires a forest destroyed by loggers. Though this environment is complex, I only need it for one shot so I wont need to be incredibly complex.

A tree- The dove character spends most of his time perched in a large tree on a branch so I will need to design a new tree.

Voice recordings- Obviously, I will need to record some actors for the different characters. I'm not too worried about this because I have some friends in mind and the recording session shouldn't take very long.

SCHEDULE

Week 1
This first week was spent writing the script, casting the parts, and planning out the assets.

Week 2
I plan on recording the dialogue and preparing my different assets in photoshop.

Week 3
This week I will begin animating the different shorts. I would like a rough of at least two of the three

Week 4
This week will be spent finalizing the animations and working on the particle effects and more difficult parts of the stories.

No hablo espanol.

yo note que an habido cosas etrenas en mi vida pero no se que esta pasando. mi pelo se a estado empezando a caer y e estado sonando extranamente. si an visto la pelicula "the fly" es algo parecido menos eljeff goldbloom. no se cuanto tiempo puedo seguir. oren por esta bestia.

The Hoof Struggle

As a buffalo, I do feel slightly handicapped at times. I mean, there are certain activities where those without opposable thumbs just can't keep up. You try making a sandwhich with hooves. Even typing this blog is extremely difficult for me.

Anyway, that being said I started messing around with some footage for this movie I'm working on. I decided to smooth out some of the shots and put it inside of TV for no reason whatsoever. It's not perfect though but don't blame me, blame the hooves.



Oh, and imagine having hooves and Carpal tunnel syndrome. Don't get me started.

The Love of the Buffalo

I'm going to be honest with you this week. I've never really been in a real relationship. Believe it or not, I'm not the best at the game of love and the rarity of those with buffalo fetishes does not help.

Besides one incident with a foxy looking giraffe, I'm basically a virgin. I don't count making love with a giraffe as actual sex because for one, I couldn't see her face most of the time and two, I couldn't really reach beyond her knees. Anyway, I've been on my own for the past 22 years and I had pretty much given up hope. That is until I met Victoria.

Victoria is like no other girl in this world; she's smart, funny, and incredibly sexy. We met some time ago and at first I was intimidated by her beauty but after we bumped into each other at the grocery store we have really hit it off. Turns out you find love when you least expect it.

Just the other day we had a magical candle lit day in the park. It was amazing.


You find love in the strangest of places... and people.

In other news, my webseries, The Wingmen, is a finalist for The Streamy's Audience Choice Award. Please go support us by checking out the website below and voting for us.

http://vote.streamys.org/

Thanks!

Buffapoem

The animal kingdom is not always fair I've learned.

I decided to write this poem to express how I feel. I hope it finds you well.



In addition to love all buffalos enjoy popcorn, green beans, and the movie Ghostbusters.

A New Purpose

I have very little to say today. In fact I have nothing at all to say. I will say this: I encourage each and everyone of you to find the time to appreciate the finer things in life. Go out into the world and enjoy nature. Take a walk just for the sake of seeing God's beautiful creatures. Listen to what an old snail has to say. Live!

Drugs...

So it finally happened. I was grazing in a pasture last Saturday when I came across some delicious looking mushrooms. I'm normally not one for fungi but it was a Saturday. Within moments I felt a warmth well up from my hoofs and I was thrown into a world of heffalumps, weasels, and hamburgers.


Buffalo on Shrooms from chris demarais on Vimeo.

I somehow managed to find my way home despite the large green corn man that kept whispering secrets into my ears. When I arrived, I found something very unusual.

Rubarb Dance from chris demarais on Vimeo.

Needless to say, I will be a little more careful the next time I graze near cow shit.

Tragedy Amongst the Buffalo

Buffaloes have been in the news a lot in the past week or two and it's not for our great sense of smell, good looks, or the mass holocaust we suffered at the hands of Native Americans.  No, it's for a much grimmer reason.  It's a result of the plane crash of Flight 3407 that went down in Buffalo, New York late last Thursday night, killing almost 50 people.   It was truly a tragic event and many innocent people lost their lives. 

However, in a bitter irony, a flying transport buffalo died last Tuesday, along with almost two dozen passengers he carried, after he lost control and crash landed in the city of Airplane, New York.

Though reports are hazy, it's hypothesized the buffalo's balance was off due to turbulent winds and a nasty stomach ache brought on from a diet of monkey grass and dandelions.  Below you can find breaking footage of the tragic accident sent in by a witness who happened to be filming his skycam at the time of the incident.

Buffalo Flight from chris demarais on Vimeo.

Smelling a Buffalo, etc.

One thing I've noticed is that people don't really know what us buffalo smell like.  Some assume that we smell like a farm or manure because we're "animals."  That pisses me off.  Don't assume that I smell bad just because I'm not human.  I've encountered plenty of stinky humans out there who smell way worse than any buffalo I know.  

Sometimes people's lack of knowledge on buffalo fragrance works to my advantage.  I can think of half a dozen occasions when some drunk girl at a party came and smelled my fur. 

You can't beat that.

 

It's difficult to judge one's own aroma but in my opinion, I smell like a sunny day in the summer with sound of children laughing in the distance.

In other news, I have two screenings coming up for my short film "Thick as Thieves" that I made with my friend Marshall.  Next week it's going to play at the UT-Rice showcase in Houston.  This was exciting news because out of the four UT films selected, ours was the only undergrad one.

The second screening is going to be in the SXSW film festival in March.  The shorts program hasn't been announced yet so I won't know until later what day it screens.  

In a lot of ways this is much more fun for me than last year when my web-series, "The Wingmen,"  was a finalist in the SXSW Greenlight Awards.  I think the difference is that I didn't get a full filmmaker badge because I was going out of town and there are five other writer/directors for the show.  

I am looking forward to more free sandwiches.

Speaking of sandwiches, that reminds me of my old job as a crosswalk attendant at an elementary school.  At the time it was just a way for me to make some extra spending money but looking back, I think it really had an impact on me.

Herding the Children from chris demarais on Vimeo.

I hate children.  If I ever have children, please kill me.  Or my children.  Actually,  kill them. That's better because for one, I bet they would be easier to take out and two, then I wouldn't be dead.

Puppy Love.

It's official. I'm heartbroken. I'm in love with this beautiful girl who is perfect for me except for one thing. She's neither a buffalo nor is she into buffalo men.

You see, my friend set us up on a blind date the other day and I must admit that I was a little hesitant at first. He kept telling me how hot the girl was but I was afraid I would sit down and some cow would walk in and sit next to me. I could never date a bovine. Or a fat chick. Just not into them.

Anyway, it turns out I go on this date with this wonderful girl who must be my perfect mismatch because I'm in love and she "just wants to be friends." I blame it on her parents. They've instilled the idea into her that it's not ok to date someone from the opposite race. I tried explaining that I would do my best to change but she's concerned about how it would affect our children.

To allieve her worries, I went to my doctor and had him create a theoretical profile of what our child might look like and for some reason it didn't persuade her.

















What a bitch. But a bitch I'm in love with...

In the beginning...

So let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 22 year old water buffalo or Bubalus bubalis if you want to get technical. There aren't many of my kind in Texas and I believe I'm the only true water buffalo at the University of Texas. There are a few oxen and a moose who like to pretend but you can always tell when people are faking.

Here's a picture of me from last Saturday. I was sort of drunk at the time but alcohol and pictures always mix together well so what the hell. Hey I rhymed!
Anyway, I'll be updating this blog once or twice a week so you will have plenty of opportunities to see me wasted. I'll also be posting different school projects of mine.

I also spend a lot of my time working on my tv show/web series called "The Wingmen." Here's a trailer so I don't have to take the time to explain it.


I'm a writer/actor/editor/camera operator/boom op/sound mixer for the show so it can be pretty time consuming. Mostly because it takes me hours in post-production to replace my body with a cgi human actor. My agent suggested I do this because "buffalo aren't really camera pretty." I guess the world just isn't ready for a buffalo television actor. Oh well, if a black man can get elected president maybe some day a buffalo can be on tv.

If you want to see episodes of the show then you should check out our website.

www.thewingmentv.com

I guess that's about all I have to say at the moment. Perhaps I'll go have a snack now.