* Asterisk Animation *

Process Makes Perfect

2009-11-10T07:29:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be lazy and post something we wrote up a few years ago to help clients understand how animation works. This was prepared specific to an anime styled project, but the essentials are the same.

Feel free to use it (with proper credits).

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New technologies give us a lot of flexibility compared to ten years ago, but ultimately, animation is the same production process as it was for Daffy Duck or Popeye.

In this case, it’ll be closer to Astroboy or Star Blazers –but the idea is the same.

Here are the key steps to the process and what to look for at each point.

Script

Everything stems from this. Any jokes that need tweaking, or characters changed around, or locations altered –this is the place to do it.

There’s always some flexibility with this up until the voice record –which happens before animation begins –but once the track is laid down, any alteration to dialogue involves additional time for talent, audio facilities, voice direction, video edit, and depending on how far into production we are, animators, inbetweeners, trace and painters and compositors.

Storyboard

The storyboard will represent the final film in single frame, black and white drawings.

Here we look for narrative continuity, dynamics, general framing and camera position, shot sequencing and visual pacing.

Along with the storyboard, an “animatic” or “leica reel” is created. This is a simple edit of the single drawings against the voice track.

Character Designs

Character design is a bit like casting for type. The look of the character is defined. At this point we’ll work up several poses of each character. Here is where art direction and knowledge of the medium are critical. The character designer anticipates how the illustration will work in motion and in the context of the narrative environment.

Once we go into production, any changes to design will lead to substantial work. Further, design revisions after this phase invariably compromise the final quality of the picture.

Animation

Traditionally, a drawn animation will have a “pencil test” which serves as a full, sort-of, rough cut. The pencil is line drawing of animation, often double-exposed onto a background. It shows the acting performance of an animated character.

Understanding a pencil test is a learned skill. Most people can’t look at one and make intelligent comments without examining the film for a prolonged period.

Pencil tests have come to be a luxury, as drawn animation is difficult to produce on 21^st Century budgets.

Nevertheless, we do create motion tests throughout production. Considering the simple nature of this animation style, and the necessity to create much of this work digitally many of these motion tests will be in color.

At this point, it is sort of like a rough cut and “good” take in live action. Some acting changes can be made –along the lines of “is there a better read of that line?”. Different angles, additional shots, and other changes are the equivalent of calling a re-shoot in live action. It’s possible, but just like a re-shoot in live action, it requires a great expense of resources.

Rough Cut

By the time the rough cut comes around in animation all the creative decisions have been made. This is a point for fine tuning of edits/transitions/special effects.

What can be done at this point is the same as what you can do in a live action edit when there is no possibility of re-shooting.

Where They Never Heard of Wild Things

2009-11-09T07:08:00.000-05:00

In the spring of 1998 we got a call at The Ink Tank from a U. S. agency that served as an intermediary between Japanese advertising agencies and American production companies.

A Japanese beer was launching a new brand and were planning an animated advertising campaign to go with it.

We were asked to work up some designs. I think they gave us something like $1500.

The concept was this beer was an ancient recipe passed on by Germanic "master brewers".

Maciek Albrecht worked up some characters, some one else I don't remember, but we wanted to come up with the best pitch possible.

R. O. Blechman was in Florida at the time, visiting his mother. I go over the prospectus with him over the phone.

He says, "We should get Maurice Sendak to do it."

"You think he will," I replied. "I didn't think he did advertising."

"Even Woody Allen does commercials in Japan."

So I flip through the rolodex and dial up the Connecticut phone number.

I should note here that "Where The Wild Things Are" was not an important book to me. In fact, I never even heard of it until Tasca Shadix tossed it at me in 1993 during a collegiate visit to Austin.

"Really Rosie", on the other hand, was a film that did have an impact on my young psyche.

More than anything that was likely due to the terrific soundtrack by Carol King.

I'm thinking of starting a "Twitter" account so I can "Tweet" while listening to "Tapestry"

Back to the telephone.

Maurice Sendak, for those who don't know, had his signature reproduced on the Brooklyn Public Library Card. Him Walt Whitman, and two people I don't remember. Maybe Marianne Moore.

He's also a giant amongst illustrators. His mechanics are beyond comparison and his ability to convey emotion in his drawings is practically magic.

So I was a little taken aback when he answered his own phone. Even more when the "voice of god" was disturbing similar to an old Jewish guy from Flatbush.

I laid out the job for him. Told him the whole scope of the project, what his contribution would entail, how we would staff the production (promising him Ed Smith who did a phenomenal job 20 years earlier with a drawing of Sendak's for "Simple Gifts").

He hemmed and hawed. "I'm busy designing sets for Julliard".

"Oh, what production?" Smoozing.

"Hansel and Gretl."

"The Humperdinck," my salemanship was in full force -naming checking 19th Century operas on the beat, "That's a great piece. I'd love to see what you do."

And round robin for the next few minutes. He would think about it.

Then he called back. "I'm sorry, I'm just too busy."

Deflation. I phoned R. O. in Florida.

"Bob, Sendak doesn't want to do it. I've tried everything I know. He's just not interested."

"Give me his number, I'll talk to him."

Five minutes later, R. O. calls back: "Maurice will send something FedEx in the morning. It'll just be line work though."

10 am, FedEx rolls in. He didn't deliver what he said. He claimed he would do a line drawing of the main character and that was it.

In the package were four pages of full watercolors. Beautiful, beautiful illustrations. The character in nearly two dozen poses. And the character, to us, was perfect.

We scan them, and send the disk to our client. This was the age of dial up 56 baud modems and sending 5 MB worth of files to Japan was still a bit of a trick.

A couple days later I ring up our client. "What's up, I thought we had a great presentation. Is there a problem?"

He then confessed that another studio presented nearly 30 designs.

"So," I was a little snippy, "we've given you Maurice Sendak. You can go through one hundred illustrations and not even get close."

He then dropped one of my favorite sentences ever, the one line which could deflate our well constructed pitch: "The client in Japan never heard of Maurice Sendak, and frankly, they just thought his drawings were weird."

February 1991 Animation is Acting

2009-11-08T06:25:00.000-05:00

Here are notes from two of Tissa David's lectures in February of 1991.

Below she goes over some basics (isn't that all there is?).

Stretch (as long as the volume remains the same).

Motion in arcs are important to flowing animation.

Action should be in the clear and very visible.

Don't do two actions at the same time.

Map out a diagram before animating.

Notes on a treadmill walk (walking in place while the background pans), along with notes on a horse's tail.

Has 'Sesame Street' Really Done Any Good?

2009-11-07T04:23:00.000-05:00

As you've probably heard, Sesame Street is celebrating it's 40th Anniversary this week.

While the program's impact on education has been debated, it's influence on animation can not be contested.

Here's an article from an October 1976 "TV Guide" entitled "Has Sesame Street Really Done Any Good?"

A title like that is why I love language. Can there be any other answer than "Of course not! Harumph!"?

Great illustration!

On this last page Joan Ganz Cooney makes a few terrific statements. Here's the pull from the article:

"There have been other proposals that the show be made 'more black', showing a ghetto street as it actually is and helping children cope with the horrors and hazards of their actual lives. 'That would be something called The Poor Children's Hour,' says Mrs. Cooney. 'If someone wants to produce that, fine. I think they'd get maybe five viewers in a city. I think ghetto children have enough of the reality of their neighborhoods. They out to see what a better world might look like.'"

TV Guide, not surprisingly, looks to television to educate children. Clearly that's foolish. What Sesame Street offers is television which, at the very least, doesn't make you dumber.

Fire

2009-11-06T07:31:00.001-05:00

Here are some color models for The Buddha.

This is for a sequence based on Buddha's "Fire Sermon". It's sort of like the Christian "Sermon on the Mount", but instead of a litany of "blessed are's" we're given a list of thing which are ablaze.

Everything, it turns out, is in flames.

Even the oceans. Everything you see, hear, smell, touch or think is on fire.

This sequence is mostly animated by Ed Smith. It's a far cry from "Moonbird".

Then again, not too far, I hope.

Aragones on Animation

2009-11-05T07:56:00.000-05:00

We're doing a series of short films for The Sundance Channel which use footage of Sergio Aragones and Al Jaffee which was shot last year.

This clip won't be included in any of the segments. He talks a little about the animation he has worked on and the different process compared to comics and cartoons.

I couldn't find any of the "Laugh In" segments he referenced, but if we can dig them up I'll post them.

The Worst Book About Animation Ever

2009-11-04T07:32:00.002-05:00

Not to sound too full of complaints, because really, who needs it?

We just got in "Historical Dictionary of: Animation and Cartoons" by Nichola Dobson, part of a series edited by Jon Woronoff for Scarecrow entiled "Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts."

Other volumes include "American Radio Soap Operas", "Japanese Traditional Theater", and "Sacred Music". In this light "Animation" is a broad subject. I'm glad the editor understood the value of the field's inclusion. The value of this volume, however, is minimal.

It's a sad waste of a possibility. Even worse than no volume at all.

Whenever I look I look at an animation history book, I flip to the index and look for "Tissa David", I'll then look for "Blechman". Maybe it's West Coast centric, so I'll see what they say about "Bob Kurtz" or "Fred Wolf" or "Bill Littlejohn". OK, what insights or information do they have on "Frederic Back"? How about "Harry Smith"?

How about "none"? Not even "Bill Melendez". Not even -I shit you not- "Richard Williams".

This book references none of them -and more!

It's a dictionary, insight isn't required. Just a simple: Fierlinger, Paul (1936 - ) director of numerous independent and commercial shorts including "Teeny Little Super Guy" for CTW, "Amby & Dexter" for Nickelodeon and "Drawn From Life" of Oxygen. He is best know for his longer films including "Drawn From Memory", "Still Life With Animated Dogs", "A Room Nearby", and "My Dog Tulip." These are marked by strong narration, often by the animator himself, and deep personal revelations.

There. Was that so hard? No. I did it in two minutes while talking on the phone.

Quizzically, there is an entry for J. J. Sedelmaier Productions. Good for him, I know he works hard to get his name out there. But there's no Curious Pictures, no Passion, no Filmteknarna nor Jonas Odell, no Duck Soup, no Wildbrain nor Colossal.

Does this same series' "Historical Dictionary of African American Theater" exclude Ntozake Shange, Derek Walcott, August Wilson or Suzan-Lori Parks in favor of page after page of Al Jolson and blackface "mammy" shows? Why, then, would the volume on animation -ANIMATION AS ART - exclude dozens of men and women responsible for making this craft an art in favor of entries on Trey Parker and Matt Stone (who's work I love), The Muppet Show, and Jonny Quest?

Yet no Suzan Pitt, no John Canemaker, no William Kentridge.

Nichola Dobson's "Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons" is a terrible and insulting book. A wretched, horrible waste of time. If you come across it in a bookstore, bring it to manager and tell them to ship it back to the publisher. The world would be better if it was never published.

I'm often reminded of the Winsor McCay (he made the book!) quote "Animation is an art. That is how I conceived it. But as I see what you fellows have done with it is making it into a trade. Not an art, but a trade -bad luck." Dictionaries and histories like this will forever relegate the technique of animation to a second rate pornography for children in the eyes of the public.

Tear It All Up!

2009-11-03T07:23:00.000-05:00

Here's the conclusion of our multi-part post on paper tears.

This is what the tear finally looks like.

It was shot with a still camera, photoshopped like mad and ultimately composited. There's a Flash version which simply pops from no rip to fully open for bandwidth sake. The swf file for a banner ad needs to be below 30k so its an exercise in economy.

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While looking for our Infor ad on the Wall Street Journal, I found this article about Disney's new hand drawn feature film, "The Princess and the Frog".

Frog legs, tres cher

The article estimates that the film costs about $150 million to produce and that's in line with CG fare as well.

Pardon my French, but HOLY FRIKKIN COW PEOPLE! I have no doubt that the production value is terrific and infants will love it -but $150,000,000! How much paper are they going through on this project.

That budget, I'll add, does not include overhead or marketing. Are the animators getting paid $1000 a foot? Even so, that's only $8.1 million dollars tops. Considering that I was taught to target 10% - 15%
of a budget for the "lead" animator Disney must be paying upwards of $2000/foot to their guys.

Here's an idea for Disney, if they really want to make a profit, forget these grotesque behemoths and contract 20 films for $7 million apiece. Look at the cash those Tinkerbell movies rake in. Heck even, "The Triplets of Belleville" made $7 million in its modest theatrical release. Can "Brother Bear" claim to have recouped its budget?

Not only are these studios being run by men of questionable creative merit, their business decisions don't even make sense.

Down With Big Erp!

2009-11-02T06:43:00.002-05:00

As advertising is in the throes of a punctuated equilibrium evolutionary period, so is illustration.

The technique of animation -often used in conjunction with illustration in advertising -has experienced fallout from this.

Broadcast commercials have all but disappeared -those that remain are either Flash driven neo-retro (enough already with warmed over 50s style!) or high end graphics styles. The latter is interesting visually, but limited in terms of narrative possibilities, a :30 commercial pretty much represents the creative apex.

For illustration, the magazine and newspaper market has withered. If the rise of the internet was the death knell for illustration, those publications that continue on after the economic collapse as surely the walking dead.

Today a campaign we worked on for Infor "launches". It's running on several websites, including the Wall Street Journal. Additionally we did some components for their microsite.

These are mostly Flash-based as well. Click HERE to see one.

Steve Brodner was approach by PJA in Boston to create print advertising. He suggested making the drawings move. That's essentially what this series of banners amounts to: moving illustration. The work (apart from the constant attention demanded by advertising clients and the arm's length list of web deliverables) is nothing that a tech savvy illustrator couldn't do. The next generation of illustrators, they may lack the broad intellectual scope of David Levine or Richard McGuire or Mirko Ilic but they'll bring a facility with media which will further cut into the traditional advertising client base of the animator.

Subway

2009-11-01T08:31:00.003-05:00

A piece of the daily drive.

Trick or Treat

2009-10-31T07:12:00.000-04:00

Here's what little Canadian boys are girls might find in their sacks tonight.

The Northern version of Popeye candy is a little sharper packages than our Janqui brand: as noted here, although I think I prefer the weird drawing of the U. S. brand.

Dear James

2009-10-30T07:45:00.001-04:00

R. O. Blechman's "The Juggler of Our Lady" is a well written book.

The art, on the other hand, is serviceable at best. It's stiff. Unexpressive.

In his later books, "The Life of Saint Nicholas" and especially "The Book of Jonah" it's just the opposite -the art if fluid, precise and beautiful. The writing, not so much.

His eagle eye became more and more developed over time (even if sometimes it was more like a hurricane's eye), I figure the trade off was a gradual tinning of the ear.

Simon and Schuster has just published "Dear James: Letters to a Young Illustrator".

And, wow, is it a good little book. And well written.

Since Halloween is upon us, we can say it's written in "Dracula" format, all these letters from Blechman's hand to a fictional young illustrator.

Having worked closely with Blechman for many years, I was familiar with most of the anecdotes shared. I've also recounted several of them on many occasions -his presumptive fan letter to Steinberg and its response, his immediately wastebasketing of handpainted Warhol postcards from the 50s, a mutual friend by the aforementioned artist his first camera.

Particularly pleasing to me is how he refutes Rilke's remark to an aspiring poet: "Ask yourself in the most silent of the night: Must I write?" His reply is inspiring (Rilke's position is deflating).

Most impressive is the easy range of literary he shows in this book. It should be handed out to aspiring artists and illustrators the moment they send in their first art school application.

Blechman can cite nearly any illustrator from Hogarth to John Hersey (illustrator) and he makes easy reference to Horace as well as Phillip Roth (with a little John Hersey, novelist, too, I'm sure).

He's not as fluent in animation literature. Film, I think, was always thrilling fling more than deep burning passion for him. His approach to animation was more like an illicit hot trot whereas illustration -that was his wife. Maybe that's why this terrific volume looks like it will be roundly and unjustly ignored by "animation people".

Today's Tom Sawyer

2009-10-29T06:38:00.000-04:00

We just did a quick "talking storybook" which will have limited use -direct to teachers, apparently.

It was done as a favor, essentially, to Steve Brodner's print agent. We have a little over a week to make it (discounting my time in Ottawa) and had to cut the "script" down from seven minutes to three.

I recorded a scratch track -we were adamant they would handle audio. They wound up "liking" my track and using it anyway.

We asked ZEES to work up some art based on some extraordinarily crappy sketches that I did. Something a little 19th Century was the direction.

Jonny A put the motion graphics work together in a day or two, based solely on an annotated script and the voice track.

He then went home and recorded banjo track for the music. I knew the client wouldn't do anything and a piece like this can come to life with music. Listen here.

Fall Classic

2009-10-28T05:28:00.002-04:00

Time in the baseball world is unlike time at any other place in the universe.

In fact, the only thing regulated by the clock -the period between half innings -is really only done for broadcasting sake and regularly ignored by pitchers and batters who saunter onto the playing field at their leisure.

And so, the mechanics of a pitch which may take a four to five seconds, can feel like a single tick of the clock if the pitcher is on top of his game.

Likewise, if a hitter is keyed in -those few seconds can seem like twenty or thirty as the ball approached the bat in an apparent slow motion.

Time is perception.

The game links us under a common veil with those who have shared these moments in the past "real time" -Hall of Famers, role players, the unlikely heroes, our fellow observers and the souls of friends and family who may be gone in "real time" but still sit with us as we tune distant broadcasts or shout unheard at miscalled balls and strikes.

Yellow Submarine - 2 of 2

2009-10-27T06:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Carolyn Green for scanning these pages.

This is the best page in the book. Early storyboard/concept sketches? The way the text is blocked in, they appear to be layout roughs for merchandise.

Still, "Send Me My Glove!" in the upper right is a great little drawing.

Read the fine print of these bubble gum wrappers. It tells you how to avoid disappointment.

Although the packaging is "off model" its still striking design.

Trading Cards.
Yellow Submarine candy cigarettes.

Trying to outdo Popeye.

Even professional photographers have a hard time with focus.

End pages of greeting cards.

The Kiss of Death -Michael O'Donoghue and Peter Bramley

2009-10-26T04:30:00.001-04:00

Comedy writers today all owe a debt to Michael O'Donoghue.

A founding writer of "The National Lampoon" and original head writer for "Saturday Night Live" his smart, acerbic humor led the way to today's "The Onion" and "The Daily Show".

I've always been little put off by his notorious refusal to write for the Muppets on SNL (better performers than Dan Akroyd, to be sure), so I was surprised to come across this illustrated story he did with Peter Bramley for the December 1969 issue of Evergreen (a leftist literary monthly).

I was first drawn in by the illustrations -in the vein of Roth with traces of underground comix, S. Clay Wilson, and maybe a little Beardsley who was in fashion at the time (although that may just be the yellow backgrounds).

Apollinaire's "Breasts of Tiresias" holds a special place in my heart.

It'd be great if Cartoon Network would allow this level of literacy to at least one of their shows.
"It's... nothing...Only...a...flash...wound" Rings of future Python.
Great graphic construction on the bottom two panels of page 36.

Written in the height of the Vietnam War, this is undeniable political -a domain of humor now relegated to a one-hour time slot on Comedy Central.

November 12, 1987 - Man Should Have Reaction

2009-10-25T07:16:00.001-04:00

These notes from Tissa's lecture of 11/12/87 are a little more scattered than previous sets.

They refer to a specific exercise of which we don't have a copy.

Here's on clear note: Extreme perspective should take long so that characters just don't GROW. Don't exaggerate size change.

Action should be purposeful and direct. You can smooth later.

Remember the table is an inanimate object when doing animated zoom.

When you want something to be important (HOLD)

What you do before your action is very important.

Movement (of animal) is more important than whether the legs are correct in action. [my note: I assume this is animating in passes]

Then notes on wheels turning and rain.

And reflecting on a lake (in cel, on a budget).

Yellow Submarine - #1

2009-10-24T06:50:00.002-04:00

Nina Paley put out a call looking for an "Art of the Yellow Submarine" book.

We have a slim volume I picked up for a dollar several years ago. It's mostly photos of the Fab Four hanging around life sized cuts off themselves and a full scale Blue Meanie doll, but there are a few photos of production artists, a shot or two of pre-production art and a fun little section of merchandise using art from (and inspired by) the film.

For academics sake, we'll post a few of these images. Some today, then a second batch later in the week.

None of the photos are credited (the photographer is: Tony Gale). Maybe this is Hans Eidelmann. Was he left handed? Could he draw, look pensively at the camera and operate a Nagra all at the same time?

Could this be Al Broadax? Or just another big wig? What could he be commenting on -its a pan cel, its already painted. He's obviously not the checker -no exposure sheets in sight and more importantly NO GLOVES. Any smudgey fingerprints are your fault, pal!

I tried to speak with Mr. Broadax several years ago while writing about Fred Mogubgub for ASIFA. His wife answered the phone and was very cold. He never called back.

Left handed cel painter working without gloves.

I'd be pissed if I were the production coordinator. I'd turn down the heat.

Film artfully hung in the opaquing department.

Paint jars with no lids.
Pencilling on a cel.

They did things a little different on this picture.

This lady is a better actor, with the fingers cut of the glove and all.

Although it looks like the cel is face up. Maybe she's top painting John's moustache.
Cel set ups and the author's description of his relationship with the rock band.
R. O. Blechman told me a story about Al Broadax visiting him in his studio in 1967. The producer had been recommended to Bob as a possible designer for the film.

Bob begged off, saying he was not the guy for the job but he knew who was -and a gave him a stack of Pushpin Graphics and Seymour Chwast's phone number.

Who knows if that influenced the direction of the film, but the great Hans Eidelman's visual kinship to the seminal design group is irrefutable.

More Interesting Things By Others

2009-10-23T00:31:00.004-04:00

Our friend and neighbor Bill Plympton has posted an animatic of his new short film.

He's open to suggestions for a title.

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Almost forgot this one.

Laurent Cilluffo started work on this in 1999 and finished it seven years later. It just made it online two weeks ago.

He writes that there are a few things he would do differently, but to me the singular design overcomes any animation shortcomings.

We worked with Laurent and his wife Valerie for several years at The Ink Tank.

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Pete Sluszka, who worked as an animator on "I Spy" produced by The Ink Tank, was one of four directors to make animation for The Decemberists "The Hazards of Love" "rock opera".

Foremost, it's not an opera. You know what makes something an opera? It's performed in an opera house or an opera company. That simple.

Porgy and Bess at the Met? Opera.
Tommy at the Meadowlands? Not an opera.

Sure there's gray area. Skiffle musicians in smokey club; not within the gray area.

In any event, it looks like an interesting project.

Here's a link to some video.

And an article with some more visuals and full credits.

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Annie Simpson used to work the front desk at The Ink Tank. Everyone had a crush on her.

She's just launched her website. You can see some of paintings and films there.

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And another old friend from The Ink Tank, Santiago Cohen, sent this postcard the other day.

Oh Oh Oh (It's Magic)

2009-10-22T07:29:00.000-04:00

It's not difficult for me to write about or criticize the work of friends.

Unless there's nothing negative to point, then it's hard. I wonder, "Am I myopic because I like them, or is it really that good?"

In that regard its very difficult to write about Joseph Gilland's "Element Magic: The Art of Special Effects Animation". Not only is he a great guy- this volume fills gaping hole in the animation library.

I admit, upon first flipping through the volume I was a little disappointed. Where are the step by step drawings? The Halas & Whittaker/Preston Blair style schematics we've grown accustomed to?

For forty dollars you better show us how to do it!

More impressively, more importantly this book gives the reasons effects are animated in a certain way. It advises the reader how to observe and reproduce these motions and expounds the philosophy behind dynamics animation.

There are several drawing by drawing examples, but you can't just trace them and get how they work. Unlike character animation primers, the text is critical to understanding what makes the drawing work.

Even in the examples, Joe is adamant in saying that the manner shown is simply one way of doing it. There are countless ways to make a raindrop splash -understand the principles, application easily follows.

We've been doing a lot of dynamics animation in The Buddha film. I wish I had read this before we started, it would have made the job a lot easier.

There's also a blog that supplements the book. http://elementalmagic.blogspot.com/

Ottawa Odds and Ends

2009-10-21T07:42:00.001-04:00

Upon return I found that Murray the Cat had taken charge.

On the way up, I made my first stop into a Wal-Mart. They have their own Australian section in the DVDs.

TAC (Television Animation Conference). Lots of people listening. I was both listening and admiring the detailing.

They were led to believe there would be coffee.

People are interested in pumpkins.

Heather, do you know what that means in Canada?
Giant pumpkin. Out to get you.

Another line. Guy says, "Yeah, people are just calling me 'kilt-guy'". Me, "When you go around wearing a kilt you'll get that. Unless you're Robert the Bruce."

Trophies.

OK. So these bugs were in Upstate New York. We'd get them in my neighborhood growing up as well. We'd call them Halloween Bugs and they would swarm the back of their house. I think they're disgusting. They seem really mean spirited. Anybody know what they're called?

Here's the middle of the Thousand Islands Bridge. Right on the US - Canada border.

Mobile Studio

2009-10-20T06:37:00.002-04:00

On the way back from Ottawa we got a call to fix a render error on a project.

We saw the sign for "Hi-Speed Internet" and pulled in.

Their office, our office.
We stayed in the car, mooched their wifi and uploaded the final.

What a world.

Ottawa International Animation Festival - Day Five

2009-10-19T00:16:00.001-04:00

Sunset over the River Ottawa.

Awards.

The show was held in Quebec's Museum of Civilization.

this kid in the tie dye cut the line. Hey kid, we all know somebody up front in line.

Get to the back of the queue like the rest. Special disgrace at the Museum of "Civilization"

The NFB was almost shut out. If not for their co-production with Global Mechanic on Bruce Alcock's "Vive La Rose" the Film Board wouldn't have even gotten mention in the Canada-only section of the awards.

A little surprising. I would have taken the safe bet that Cordell Barker's clever "Runaway" would have taken the audience award. After all, the very unclever "Sleeping Betty" mined the shallow area of the same pool and came with awards. It's only the way of the world that better material goes unrewarded.

winners of the High School competition. "Did U See That?" from South Korea.

Yuri Rhee, Ha Jung Kim, Hyun Jung Lee and Pual Kim. If their film wasn't so worthy,

we would think the jury just wanted to see excited Asian girls on stage.

The best film in the festival, David O'Reilly's "Please Say Something" came away with the Best Narrative Film prize.

David O'Reilly graciously accepting his well deserved award.

The Best in Show, quizzically, was given to "Inherent Obligations" by Rao Heidmets from Estonia. Its an OK exercise in Eastern European existential hijynx but I didn't even remember it existed.

I had been mentally preparing my reasoning as to why "Please Say Something" should've won over something like "Runaway" or "Madagascar" (a beautiful travelogue. Nice, but cold). "Madagascar" wound up with three prizes including the audience award.

multiple award winner Bastien Dubois address the audience.

I'm glad that "Please Say Something" was recognized. It's a terrific piece and this sort of work needs to be encouraged. David O'Reilly is a young filmmaker with all the promise in the world. His work is unorthodox and visually confrontational. If professionals in the animation world do not support the constant boundary pushing and expansion of the art form, the process will atrophy. Cordell Barker will continue to make terrific films regardless of acclaim, films like "Madagascar" will continue to be produced.

New York City was well represented within competition this year. Martha Colburn received an honorable mention for "Myth Labs". I think its amongst her weaker works. Her strength is in the explosive nature of her visions. This piece is sprawling and effort-laden. Stieg Retlin picked up the Best Music Video for his 8-bit inspired Nullsleep "Dirty ROM Dance Mix" and Jake Armstrongs "Terrible Thing From Alpha 9" took top undergraduate prize.

Ottawa International Animation Festival - Day Four

2009-10-18T03:26:00.001-04:00

This is the tough day. A lot of screenings after a week of screenings, they really start to become work.

Another well-attended meet the filmmakers. This was well run too.

Someone else in the audience also noted the male-dominance of the previous evening (hard not to notice when 20 dudes are sitting on stage with 2 women).

Paul Fierlinger showcased his storytelling ability by recounting the first recording session which did not go well.

The same space then hosted David Levy's panel on pitching.

The house filled up even more.

The theme was similar to David panel a few months ago in New York, but this was a little crisper. Two of the guests- Linda Simensky and Heather Kenyan -were also more familiar with the network side. Eric Homan from Frederator was the third participant. His inclusion is particularly interesting since David's book recounts an unpleasant experience he had developing for Fredorator. It drives home the truth that in business and art people will disagree, but they can remain respectful colleagues.

Fran Krause rounded out the panel, and recounted advice Linda Simensky gave to him years ago- at some point one five year old is going to try to convince another five year old on the playground to watch your show. How will they do it?

The following session was the one I most wanted to attend, Joseph Gilland's discussion of effects animation in conjunction with his book.

Lethergy and a crowds -it was sooooo crowded -forced me to skip to the talk. But I have the book and I'm looking forward to reading it. I also encouraged him to do a talk in New York, hopefully that can happen in the next few months.

So lunch then.

Ran into a few people including Christy Karacas, Will Krause and Lisa Jones from Cartoon Network. We went into the candy store. Christy and I both got a bunch of Cyndi Lauper trading cards from 1985.

COMPETITION 4

Solid work. Nothing outstanding, nothing rotten.

I will say that one thing bugged me. In Bruce Alcock's "Darfur Drawings" PSA (and I'll interject that I think he's a terrific filmmaker), the piece is narrated in first person by the child who presumably drew the art. We find out in the end he's dead. I realize it's supposed to be shocking and sad, but it's a logical disconnect that alienates the audience when they should be brought in.

FEATURE FILM: Life Without Gabriella Ferri

The programming here did the film a great injustice. We all know that Priit Parn's work can demand a special sort of attention.

This screening opened with a short film, noted nowhere in the program and entirely unannounced, which was also dense and obscure. But not Priit Parn. The result, to me, was terminally confounding.

A film sets up your expectations in the first few minutes, if you are tricked by the filmmaker or the projectionist it's difficult to recover. There's no trust on the part of the audience. Not announcing the preceding film did a great injustice to the feature.
This is one I'll have to find on DVD to appreciate.

SHORT COMPETITION 5

The crowd favorite -rightfully -was Cordell Barker's "Runaway".

Perfectly timed, perfectly executed.

Marv Newland's "Postalolio" in which he painted on postcards sent from around the world (mostly Hawaii and Vancouver, it seemed) and shot them as animation. Clever.

Also, lovely was Bruce Alcock's "Vive La Rose", although one guy loved it too much as he kept shouting "Bravo!" It was good, but not that good. Several other films had been worth screaming at, but not this.

The new Wallace & Gromit was a big letdown. It seemed careless. Some things didn't even make sense.

But what every wants to know about, surely is the party.

It was OK.

Ottawa International Animation Festival - Day Three. No Soap

2009-10-17T02:53:00.001-04:00

One, one-thirty in the morning. Early Spring 1991. Heading up I-95 with Andrew Kaiser. Headed home, but still somehow aimless.

Mix tape running down. Bauhaus. The Jesus and Mary Chain. The Doors.

FM automatically pops on and a baritone whisper fills the car. At first we laugh at the pretentiousness (we should know), the constructed "artiness". This was the sort of thing people made fun of. After a minute or two we are consumed by the voice, swallowed whole, transformed.

That was my first experience with Joe Frank. My first time being moved intellectually and emotionally by a work of art.

A few months later I witnessed my then girlfriend, now brilliant, Dr. Andrea Brady perform the lead in a high school production of "The Skin of Our Teeth". I was beginning understand what it meant to be effected by a work of art.

That's what David O'Reilly's "Please Say Something" is like.

All of those things I've complained about in animated films. They're all missing here.

These weird looking digital characters behave in profoundly real and human ways. It's a remarkable piece of work and by far the brightest spot to date of this year's festival.

Shorts Competition Three was a very strong program overall. Chris Robinson opened with a short speech and call to action right out of Art Bell's lexicon "Wanna take a ride?"

Each piece was interesting and entertaining. Strong on its own, and supportive of the others in the lineup. Despite the male dominated program (only 1 out of 19 films was made by a woman), the content was machismo free.

"The Black Dog's Progress" by Stephen Irwin was another highlight.

The morning's Meet the Filmmakers was again well attended. Again it started late, this time resulting in two or three of the attending filmmakers getting overlooked.

The rest of the day was divided between work and "The Animator's Pinic".

kids love the pumpkin competition

Ron Diamond offers to represent Zachary Wong, whose film "RoadRunner"

is in the high school competition.

Linda Simensky from PBS and Michael Fukushima from the NFB

share a good laugh at the taxpayers' expense.

I brought out my football. We could only scrounge up four people who wanted to play.

Surprisingly I couldn't find many animators to run my version of the West Coast Offense.