Jeep Wranler Storm animation

This animation was created as a sample to showcase AW's many abilities. From realistic vehicle movement and rendering, to matte paintings, environment creation and particle simulation. This 23 second piece also shows AW's ability to create a unique look and narrative.

It was a blast working on this and I am very proud of how it turned out. Everyone at AW put their best foot forward and I think it shows.

By the way this project was fueled, creatively, by a trip I took this past May with fellow AW artists Pete Reynolds and Bruce Spike where we spent 4 days in Tornado Alley chasing tornadic supercells. Much of the background imagery from this animation came from the photos we took while on the chase.

CLIENT: Armstrong White
DIRECTOR: Mark DeRidder
CO-DIRECTOR: Jon Parkinson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Roe
SOUND DESIGN: Yessian Music
CGI ARTISTS: Dean Armstrong, Rob Burman, Mike Degg, Mark DeRidder, Dennis Fraser, Damian Fulmer, Mike Prentice, Peter Reynolds, Clarence Rice, Kevin Sanderson, Bruce Spike, and Nikki Vassallo

Photos from the chase!

Sorry it took so long, but I have finally gone through my pictures and chosen a few of my favorites to share on my blog. The only enhancement made was contrast levels. These pictures are a great representation of the type of beauty severe weather can behold! This is why I chase storms.

We're not in Kansas anymore

Yeah, I've been waiting to use that title:) Well I'm home safe now after a very fun, very successful storm chasing trip. My third and most prosperous storm chasing trip yet. I have never seen such amazing cloud structure, color and movement as I have the past 4 days. From an amazingly dramatic rotating wall cloud only 100 yards away to a beautiful snaking tornado touch down in a flat grassy field, this trip had it all.

The trip wasn't without it's tense moments either. One night we got trapped in some nickel-sized hail which made my Jeep sound like a large drum. And then there was the time my Jeep decided to seize up and not work while tornadic storms were all around. Luckily I got it going pretty quickly. Oh yeah and then there was the time this large nasty storm decided to make an eastward turn when all the other storms had been going straight north. This caused all the chasers in the way of the storm to clog up the road making for an instant traffic jam with a potentially tornadic storm barreling down on us. Did I mention that every storm chaser in America was in Kansas?! So yeah, chasing has its dangers and is meant to be taken VERY seriously. You certainly get a new respect for weather after a trip like this.

And on a somber note, a number of people lost their lives and/or homes to some of the tornadoes produced by the storm system we were chasing (there were hundreds of tornado reports the few days we were chasing). That is something you never want to hear or see. As a chaser, you always hope to see a tornado hit an empty field and quickly dissipate. While that is most common, some tornadoes do hit populated areas. On the positive side, due to the presence of many storm chasers, many of the warnings came earlier than they would have without any eyes on the ground. Yes, some chasers are yahoos, but most are respective and conservative hobbiests/professionals that play an important role in saving lives.

After two days of very active chasing in Kansas, we headed to Nebraska for our final day, and unfortunately ended up with a bust. All the action ended up being in Oklahoma with one very large active cell that kept dropping tornadoes all day long. Never the less, we saw some pretty Nebraska country side and then called it a trip early and saw Iron Man in Omaha. Which by the way is a darn good movie!

So that concludes my storm chasing adventure for the year. After starting to chase in 2001, and taking a LONG break after 2002, I finally returned to chasing and safely whitnessed my first tornado. Can't wait to do it again!

Today I saw my first tornado

Well today was quite a day! It was a complete repeat, weather-wise, of yesterday. The same areas that got tornadoes yesterday, had tornadoes today as well. It was another day of supercells marching south to north in a line almost like a storm train. There were a bunch of tornadoes all over western central Kansas and we got to actually see one of them! It was a beautiful rope-like tornado north of Shields Kansas. And I believe it was produced by the same storm that dropped the most amazing wall cloud I have ever seen. That was in Dighton and we actually got pretty close to that one but were still completely safe as the storm moved north and we were east of it.



The wall cloud hung low and rotated very quickly. It felt like it was going to drop a tornado at any moment and I believe I saw a funnel, but I can't be sure. We followed the storm north a bit and then headed east to get out of the way of another storm coming up from the south. When heading east on I-4 I looked back and saw a funnel cloud that was continuing to extend towards the ground. We pulled over and watched it touch down and then reveal itself to be a long snaking tornado that looked amazing. Unfortunately it was a white tornado against white clouds from our view so the contrast wasn't so great and it was about 8 miles away, but we still appreciated it!

We finished our chase again in Hays and are back at the Holiday Inn getting ready for another chase tomorrow. This time we should be heading to Nebraska for sure. Again, check out Bruce's iweb gallery for more pics.

Not a bad first day

What started out as a potential bust quickly turned into quite an evening! We entered into the chase a bit late in the game and from the wrong direction. Storms moved quickly from south to north and we were approaching from the East which is not great. It seemed like the sky was a mess of unreadable clouds. So we dropped south to Ness City, KS and then headed west once we could see the rain-free-base and rain boot (area where tornadoes usually form). It was about 15 miles to our west and we headed towards it. As we got closer the clouds got more defined and a wall cloud became very prominent. It didn't take long for us to notice the first funnel cloud which twirled below the wall cloud for a minute and then dissipated. Another funnel cloud would then form and dance for a minute before dissipating as well.

While we didn't see the funnel touch down, radar did indicate the super cell as a tornado, and then later when we didn't have as good of a view of the storm, we heard spotter reports of a visible tornado touch down... our tornado.

Since I had never seen a funnel cloud before I felt pretty good about the chase. We decided to head back to Hays as it was getting dark and we got caught in a bit of a hail storm which pounded hard on the Jeeps soft-top. Thankfully it was only dime sized hail!

Top left image shows one of the two funnel clouds we saw near Ness City, KS. Below that is video of that same storm a little earlier. Bruce scolded me for standing on my jeep sidesteps when there was lightning. I promptly jumped down. Below that is an image of me next to the T.I.V. outside a hotel in Hays, KS after the chase day.

Also, we passed the famous T.I.V. (Tornado Intercept Vehicle) from the storm chasing show on Discovery Channel today and then later got an up close look at it when it was parked in a hotel near ours in Hays (I'm pretty sure every storm chaser in America is in Hays, KS right now). We got to take a look inside and snapped a few photos. It is quite a vehicle! Reinforced and designed to actually withstand a direct hit from a tornado. Don't worry, thats not our plan!

Tomorrow we head for Nebraska where convective outlooks look good for another ideal chase day and this time we will be in better position, earlier and approaching from the south. Stay tuned!

Click here for more pictures!

St. Louis, MO to Hays, KS

Currently checking out of the Quality Inn where we got a good 5-6 hour sleep, and we are now off to Hays, KS where I believe is a great target for the activity to start this afternoon. The map you see here shows the potential for tornado activity and it is HIGH! 15% hatching is very high, and means there is a 15% chance of a tornado greater than an F2 occurring within 25 miles of any given point in that area. So there will be tornados today... the question is will we see one. Even with odds this good it is unlikely.

For those that think we are nuts, please know that our goal is not to get in front of or underneath a tornadic supercell. Instead we want to appreciate the storm from a safe distance which is what the great plains provides you... 30 miles of visibilty to the horizon. That picture in the previous post was taken by me from 5-10 miles away from the storm where it was SUNNY! So rest asured we are being safe.

Hey, for those that want to see the latest pictures from the chase you can follow Bruce's iweb gallery which he is updating from his iPhone from the road! So if we see a tornado, it will show up there first! And then twitter (mpderidder, or spike1201) and then this blog.

Storm Chasing 2008

It's time. After six years of missing the chase season every May, I am finally heading back to the great plains to chase some of the most amazing storms mother nature can produce. My timing seems to be good, as the convective outlooks for the next 6 days indicate a potential for severe weather over the great plains, the ideal chase location. Nothing but flat land and big sky as far as the eye can see!

There is a slow moving low pressure system sandwiched between a deep trough which is bringing warm moist air from the gulf into the plains where it will collide with cold dry rocky-mountain air. I don't think I have chased such an ideal system before. And this time I have some help... as I will be taking Pete Reynolds and Bruce Spike with me. No more solo chasing.

I leave this afternoon for Kansas, but stopping tonight somewhere in Iowa to get a good nights rest. My target area is Hays, Kansas where the dry-line is expected to hit right around 4pm tomorrow. It's gonna be a lot of driving to get there at storm time, but we can do it. Stay tuned to this blog for daily updates on our adventure.