(it was...) Nothing at all. © Buzzco Associates, Inc., 2000.

(it was . . .) Nothing at all
Based originally on a poem by director Candy Kugel, which was then set to music by Lanny Meyers, (it was . . .) Nothing at all was created scene by scene without a script or storyboards to guide the animation. Considering its ad hoc creation, the film, while episodic, is remarkably cohesive, and its theme-and-variations format poignantly explores the nature of loss. Kugel and co-director Vincent Cafarelli, working in Photoshop and After Effects, employ an endlessly imaginative series of techniques that effectively complement and expand on the meaning of the song, neatly avoiding the twin pitfalls of redundancy and the use of flashy effects for their own sake. If the film is a tad overlong and the sheer variety of transitions a bit much (and the ending dangerously close to bathos), (it was . . .) Nothing at all is nonetheless a happy example of a text-centered animation in which the competing elements achieve a pleasing harmony.

Vincent Cafarelli and Candy Kugel have bee n working together since the mid-1970s. As Buzzco Associates, their work has been seen on MTV, the USA Network, ABC, PBS and HBO. Among their other works are the multi-award-winning A Warm Reception in L.A. (1987), Snowie and the Seven Dorps (1990), Fast Food Matador (1991) and KnitWits (1997). Their current work includes commercials, PSAs, interactive projects for the Web, and network and cable productions.

Mona Mon Amour. © Michael Sporn Animation, Inc., 2001.

Mona Mon Amour
Director Michael Sporn describes Mona Mon Amour as "a reality-based Sex and the City," which sums up the film's subject matter pretty well. Based on a character created by author and illustrator Patti Stren, who also provides Mona's voice, the film is an extended monologue in which Stren mostly discusses the ins and outs (and shoulds and woulds) of dating in New York. The author's insights and observations range from the incisive to the banal, but overall the material is pretty funny and the whimsical drawings and minimalist animation are a nice accompaniment to the rambling narrative. Mona doesn't have the synergy of the best narration-driven animated shorts (the spoken monologue on its own would have much the same effect), but there are many amusing touches, as well as a number of nice moments when the visual and verbal components come together to create a greater whole.

Michael Sporn has been producing and directing animated films -- including more than thirty television specials -- for over twenty years. His first experience was in the studio of legendary animator John Hubley, where he worked for six years. In 1980, he founded Michael Sporn Animation, Inc., a studio specializing in adapting the work of children's book author/illustrators. Mona Mon Amour was created using watercolors and markers on cels backed with cel vinyl. It screened at the Shorts International Film Festival in New York.

Jon Hofferman is an independent filmmaker, writer and graphic designer, as well as the creator of the Classical Composers Poster (www.carissimi.com). He has a B.A. in Philosophy & Religion and an M.F.A. from UCLA's School of Film & Television. Appropriately enough, he is currently working on a documentary about the nature of religious experience.