March 1998
PIXAR'S JAN PINKAVA WINS AN OSCAR NOMINATION This year it should be a close race for the Oscar for
Best Animated Short. People who have seen all 5 nominated shorts say there
is no clear-cut winner. All are excellent works. If you haven't seen the
list, the 5 nominated works are Geri's Game by Jan Pinkava from Pixar,
The Mermaids, a beautiful paint on glass film by Alexander Petrov
from Russia (he did The Cow a few years ago); Famous Fred,
an entertaining half-hour TV show directed by Joanna Quinn in London for
TVC, Redux Riding Hood, directed by Steve Moore with Disney TV, and
The Old Lady and the Pigions by Sylvain Chomet from France.
DISNEY'S REDUX RIDING HOOD
The Disney nominated short was an experiment to see if Disney TV could make
a different type of product. They made 3 seven or eight minute shorts for
"Totally Twisted Fairy Tales," but they were then put on the shelf.
They didn't look like typical Disney material. All 3 are said to be excellent,
theatrical quality, and very funny.
This is the first Oscar nomination for Disney TV. The short features the
voices of Garrison Keillor, Mia Farrow, June Foray, Michael Richards (Kramer
on "Seinfeld") and others.
ILM AND TIPPET NOMINATED FOR OSCARS IN THE VISUAL EFFECTS CATEGORY
ILM's nomination is for The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Phil Tippett,
Scott Anderson, Alec Gillis and John Richardson were nominated for Starship
Troopers. Music from the feature Anastasia was nominated in both
the music and song category. The nominated song is "Journey to the
Past." The song "Go the Distance" from Hercules also
received a nomination.
PDI RECEIVES AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE CONCEPT
AND ARCHITECTURE OF THE ANIMATION STUDIO'S PROPRIETARY ANIMATION AND VISUAL
EFFECTS SYSTEM. The Oscar goes to PDI's co-founders Carl Rosendahl,
Richard Chuang and Glenn Entis who began to develop systems in 1980 at a
time when nothing existed on the market. Over the years PDI has worked on
over 800 commercials, music videos, effects for feature films and other
types of projects. The company is presently working with DreamWorks Feature
Animation on their first computer generated feature, Antz.
THE CHRONICLE (1/26) RAN AN ARTICLE ON PROTOZOA'S VIRTUAL
BILL "Virtual Bill" is a computer generated Bill Clinton that
was made for MTV. On his special a very unhip Bill lectured America on the
"state of music videos." The program aired a few hours after The
State of the Union Address. The Chronicle said he will "boogie
along stiffly in the lower right corner of the TV screen" as MTV shows
rock videos. Steve Rein directed.
ROBIN STEELE'S STICKIN' AROUND WINS A GOLD WORLD MEDAL AT THE
NEW YORK FESTIVAL It won in the Best Animated Children's Program category.
This top rated Canadian show has also been nominated for Canada's Gemini
Award, their equivalent to an Emmy.
Since making Stickin' Around in Canada, Steele has joined Wild Brain
as a partner. At Wild Brain he has directed the Cartoon Network series "I.M.Weasel,"
and commercials for Coca-Cola, NTB National Tire and TCI.
FLYING RHINO says they had a great 1997 with projects completed for
Lego, MSH (Make Something Happen), MTV and others. They worked on MSH's
TV series "Vanpires," did modeling and animation for a real-time
CD-ROM game by Lego called Island, did a cool station ID for MTV,
medical animation for an unidentified client and more.
The company, located in Corte Madera at 400 Tamal Plaza, Suite 406, has
more than 20 high-end multi-processor work stations, a full digital video
and internet department and post-production edit suites featuring the Scitex
StrataSphere editing system.
For information www.flying~rhino.com (415) 927-4466
COLOSSAL DID A SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING OPEN Its a 45
second live action opening. Drew Takahashi directed.
PIXAR ANNOUNCES THAT THEIR SEQUEL TO TOY STORY WILL BE RELEASED
THEATRICALLY INSTEAD OF BEING A DIRECT-TO-VIDEO FEATURE Toy Story
2 is scheduled to be released in 1999. It will star the voice of Tom
Hanks as Woody and Tim Allan as Buzz. Ash Brannon is directing and Ralph
Guggenheim and John Lasseter are producing. The plot involves a toy collector
who steals Woody for his value as a collectable. The other toys devise a
way to save Woody. People who have read the script say the plot is much
tighter than the first film. It was going to go directly to tape, but Pixar
was finally convinced to let Disney release it theatrically as some people
expect it to be an even better film than the original.
A Bug's Life will be Pixar's next theatrical release. It will be
a Christmas, 1998 release (probably out before Thanksgiving). The film is
being directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. It features the voices
of David Foly, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Roberts, Phillis Diller, Madeline
Kahn and other stars. The music is by Randy Newman and the producers are
Darla Anderson and Kevin Reher.
This news from Pixar has pleased stock buyers. As this issue goes to press
the price has gone up to over $36 a share. (Last years the low was about
$12 a share.)
AN INTERVIEW WITH JAN PINKAVA, CREATOR OF THE OSCAR NOMINATED GERI'S GAME
Pinkava's new film is the first short to be produced at Pixar since 1989
when John Lasseter stopped making them and began to develop feature projects.
About 2 years ago Ed Catmul, president and co-founder of Pixar, decided
the company should get back into producing shorts for a variety of reasons.
He saw shorts as a format in which they could try out research and development
ideas and give upcoming talent a chance to train as directors. In the case
of Geri's Game they focused on improving their abilities to create
human characters.
Pinkava says that when the shorts division was proposed, he developed several
ideas for a possible Pixar film. A review process was established and he
pitched his ideas to the review panel. It was decided the short would have
a human character in it so the company could try out ideas being researched.
Pinkava storyboarded 2 ideas. Both dealt with Geri (who is possibly a self-portrait
of Pinkava as an old man - he isn't sure who Geri really is modeled after).
In the story that wasn't chosen Geri was in a park feeding a duck. Eventually
the duck eats Geri's entire lunch.
For Pinkava Geri's Game was an enormous challenge as the film required
him to make Geri into a first rate actor. Fortunately the end result is
a fine performance. Geri plays both sides of a chess game and turns out
to be a colorful character with a very expressive face.
Pinkava isn't sure why he chose to build his story around a chess match,
but he says his mother's father played the game so perhaps his grandfather
inspired the story.
One reason Pixar made the film was to try out new technology. One development
they used on the short was software to render skin textures and folds realistically.
The "surface description technology" allows subtle expressions
and details. The project was headed by Tony Derose.
Another technical advance was the development of a system that improves
upon the ways fabrics move. Instead of having animators try to figure out
how to move fabrics their cloth simulation system, developed by Michael
Kass, computes the fabric movements in the machine. Both the fabric and
skin projects were so successful that they are now being used on the features
in production at Pixar.
There are many reasons why it took 2 years to produce Geri's Game.
For one thing they had to wait for Kass and Derose to develop their projects.
Another problem was the availability of labor. Other projects take priority,
so people worked on it on a temporary part-time basis. Even Pinkava, who
would love to start work on a second short, is needed elsewhere. He is presently
working as an animator on Bug's Life.
One of the nice things about Geri's Game is that it gave several
new employees a chance to work on it while they were being trained to use
Pixar's computers. Pinkava says that is one reason why there are so many
people listed in the credits. Most went on to work on Bug's Life.
He also commented that his film was the first job assigned to Karen Dufilho.
She produced the short and continues to work at Pixar as a producer. David
Haumann was Pinkava's technical director.
The program to develop other shorts at Pixar should prove to be a great
asset to the company in the long run. Morale is high at Pixar for many reasons
including their giving everybody from office workers to directors a chance
to pitch ideas for future short projects. While the program is on hold for
the moment as there is a big push to finish Bug's Life, Ed Catmul
has assured the staff the money is there to complete other films. Pinkava
also commented that morale is high because Catmul and the other leaders
at Pixar make time to talk with the employees. That can keep them busy as
Pixar has grown from about 60 people in August, 1993 when Pinkava was hired,
to about 400 today.
JAN PINKAVA'S BACKGROUND
Pinkava was born in Prague in 1963, but spent most of his childhood
in Essex which is N.E. of London. His family moved to England in 1969 after
the Russians invaded his country. His parents continued to speak Czech at
home so today he can read books written by his father and talk with his
relatives in the new Czech Republic.
It was TV that inspired him to try his hand at animation. He used to watch
Bob Godfrey's "Do It Yourself Film Animation Show" on TV. Guests
on the show included Terry Gilliam, Richard Williams, Stan Hayward and Ron
Giessen. The show inspired him to make films in Super-8 using a variety
of techniques including paper, cel, and clay. One of his films won a BBC
children's film competition. After he won the BBC commissioned him to do
a film for them. He was disappointed that they never ran this work.
When he entered college in the early 1980's he was fascinated by the potential
of computers. Although a career in computer graphics was his dream, there
was no way to study the subject at his school in Aberystwyth in western
Wales. Instead he got a PhD in theoretical robotics.
Dr. Pinkava wasn't excited about the idea of an academic career in robotics,
so he took a job as an artist-in-residence in Wales with a regional museum.
He worked as an educator and gave tours of a traveling show about computers.
He also visited schools where he discussed computers with kids.
His next move resulted from his seeing a newspaper ad for Digital Pictures
in London. The ad read "ARE YOU THE NEXT JOHN LASSETER?"
Pinkava says Digital Pictures was a small company so he got to do everything
from working with the clients to directing and animating TV commercials.
He was with them from 1990 - 1993.
After Digital Pictures he worked freelance while sending out resumes and
reels to several companies. He sent Pixar his package "just at the
right time" as Pixar's top directors were being moved from work on
TV commercials to work on Toy Story. Pinkava was hired to direct
ads. His first one for Pixar was the last of their Listerine ads. It won
a gold Cleo.
Pinkava is quite pleased that Pixar gave him the chance to make Geri's
Game. He had wanted to make a short at Digital Pictures, but there was
never any time for that. Now his wish has come true. He also has a dream
that on March 23, his mother's birthday, she gets to see him on world wide
television accepting an Oscar for his work. He says "she will be delighted
if it wins."
THE MEDIA LOVES WILD BRAIN On Saturday, Feb. 21, KRON TV's "First
Cut," a news magazine program for a young audience, ran a long segment
on the company. It featured interviews with Dave Thomas and Cindy Ng, two
of the company's younger animators. Also interviewed were assistant animator
Vaughn Ross and production manager Marc Galvan plus Jeff Pheno, a partner
in Wild Brain. At the end of the piece they gave the web address of Animation
World Magazine (www.awn.com).
The March issue of Film/Tape World will feature a long article on
the making of FernGully 2. Look for it at Limelight, at your local
film lab or... Free copies will be distributed at our March ASIFA event
- a free screening of the feature in 35mm at the Red Vic on Saturday, March
21 at 11:30 AM.
Phil Robinson & Dave Marashall wrote the cover story of Animation
World Magazine (March) on the making of FernGully 2. Daily
Variety's animation issue (2/13/98) also had an article about the
company (plus a color image from Pixar's A Bug's Life).
WILD BRAIN DID A XEROX DOCUMENT CENTRE SPOT called "A Tale
of Two Networks" that was shown during the Winter Olympics. It features
a machine that can make copies and also digitally scan documents into a
computer. It was directed by Gordon Clark, co-directed by Dave Marshall
and produced by Lie Gazzano. Sarah Shen was the production manager and Paul
Golden the executive producer. Mike Toumey was the editor.
WILD BRAIN PICKS JEFFREY ULIN AS THEIR CEO The company's new chief
executive officer had been with Lucasfilm for six years and was once a senior
vice president of business affairs and general counsel of CIC International,
the international distribution arm for video and home entertainment products
from Paramount and Universal Pictures. Ulin is a graduate of Harvard and
the University of Chicago's Law School.
WILD BRAIN FORMS A DIGITAL ANIMATION DIVISION AND NAMES DAVID BRANDT
AS DIRECTOR OF CG ANIMATION Brandt has worked in recent years as a CG
director and animator at Xaos, Colossal Pictures, Rocket Science Games and
Western Images. Before moving to San Francisco in 1994 he was a director
and designer for Pinnacle Effects in Seattle.
FILM ARTS FOUNDATION IS ADMINISTERING THREE GRANTS FOR $3000 EACH TO
MAKE A 45 SECOND FILM The entry deadline for proposals is March 11 at
5 PM and the project must be completed by May 8, 1998. The advance notice
is vague, but the theme of your work should be some expression of independence
(independent thought, action or choice). Details will be with the application
form. You must live in the Bay Area (one of 10 counties). The project is
sponsored by Dockers Khakis (Levi) and the winners will be shown in June
before a series of classic independent films. For an application form or
more information call (415) 552-FILM
CURIOUS PICTURES HELD A PARTY that showed off their new work for
the Cartoon Network. The work looks great! Live music was provided by Patsy
Cline and the Memphis G-Spots. Cline, who has an excellent stage presence,
did two really hot sets.
Thursday, March 12, SYLVAIN CHOMET, DIRECTOR OF THE OSCAR NOMINATED
THE OLD LADY & THE PIGIONS IN-PERSON at DeAnza Community
College in Cupertino. 7 PM in Conference Room B in the Student Union. Free.
Other Oscar nominated works will be shown.
Saturday, March 21, ASIFA-SF will present Wild Brain's FERNGULLY 2
and David Andrews' new short Tweet Tweet Sludge. The free screening
will be at the Red Vic, 1727 Haight Street between Cole and Shrader, 11:30
AM.
Tuesday, April 14, ASIFA-SF and the Animation Program at SF State present
an evening on EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY
at SF State's August Coppola Theatre (Arts and Industry 101) at 8 PM.
WEBSTER COLCORD DID A GREAT JOB INTRODUCING THE ASIFA-NW SHOW AND SHARING
WITH US A SAMPLE OF HIS WORK He is a highly talented director, animator
and producer from Portland. He is presently working at PDI on their first
feature. He seems to love rats, mad scientists and
skeletons as they are in abundance in his work for Nick Jr., Converse and
other clients. As a member of ASIFA-NW (Portland and Seattle) he had organized
the chapter's last 3 show reels. It was a valuable asset to hear him talk
about the individuals whose work is on the current reel.
SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL WHO BROUGHT WORK TO OUR OPEN SCREENING FOR COMMERCIAL
COMPANIES IN JANUARY The program included a wide range of material
from Wild Brain, ILM, PDI, Curious Pictures, Protozoa, Radium and others.
The finale for the show was a screening of Jan Pinkava's Geri's Game.
We also got to see Bill Flugrath's Flying Beings, a short on
16mm that didn't get shown the previous week due to technical problems in
the Exploratorium's booth. A reel from Xaos wasn't ready in time for the
show, so it was shown before our February event. It received a great deal
of applause.
OMISSION: One work shown at the open screening for students and independents
in January that was not mentioned in the Feb. newsletter article about the
screening was A Fish Tail by Lynne Lee. I was not present at the
screening and I received incomplete information about what was shown. Sorry
for the omission.
ANYONE WANT TO GET THEIR ASIFA-SF NEWSLETTER ON E-MAIL INSTEAD OF
ON PAPER IN THE MAIL? A member asked if there would be much interest
in an E-Mail edition. It would save postage, but it does create work for
the person/company that provides the E-Mail service. We spent $1,600+ in
postage fees in 1997. As you can see from the above graph, shipping and
postage costs ate up 27% of our annual budget (graph by Shirley Smith).
Since some or most members do not have E-Mail we would deliver some issues
by mail and others by wire.
Any comments? Send them to our post office address or phone Karl Cohen (415)
386-1004.
WHO HAS 35MM PRINTS OF THEIR WORK TO SHOW AT AN ASIFA-SF EVENT? We would
like to present another 35mm show at the Red Vic in June or July, but we
don't know of enough works to fill out the program. If you have created
something in 35mm that people will enjoy seeing, call Karl Cohen soon and
let him know the print exists. Even though he should remember your film,
he may have forgotten, so call (415) 386-1004.
GENERAL CHAOS: UNCENSORED ANIMATION PROVES NOTHING IS SACRED This
new program from Manga Entertainment opens in the Bay Area in late March
and early April at several theatres. The program reaches new heights
by presenting films that go far beyond anything Spike and Mike would dare
to show in their Sick and Twisted programs. Jan Cox of Manga has
programmed some mighty powerful images that are sometimes shocking, sometimes
extremely intelligent in their content and often entertaining. If you want
to see an unusual selection of animation that pushes the envelop, this show
is for you. Most of the program could never be shown on TV in America.
The program features the Oscar winning animated short Quest by Tyron
Montgomery and Thomas Stellmach (Germany, 1995) which is a good reason to
see the show. Another highlight is a series of Bill Plympton short vignettes
called Sex and Violence. They are woven throughout the program. By
showing them in different places Cox entertains us between the heavy handed
works.
Other outstanding films includes Vince & Miwako Collins' psychedelic
display of shapes and colors in Malice in Wonderland. Their inventive
use of morphing and other types of transitions will amaze you. Some people
may be upset by the erotic images in this nightmare experience.
The surreal The Saint Inspector by the Bolex Brothers is another
amazing work. A few years ago this British group created the powerful surreal
feature The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb. The new work is superb
animation and somehow it doesn't matter that the film's meaning is obscure.
One short that can shock is Donor Party, a computer exercise in the
macabre. Laurence Arcadias made it in 1993 at Apple with a grant from the
French government. The film takes us on a tour of a Victorian mansion filled
with gruesome images. Some of the images may float around in your mind for
years.
The program isn't full of male teenage sexual humor, but Oh Julie!
by Frances Lea and Jayne Bevbitt is an X rated experience. I assume it will
be a disappointment for individuals who wish to see naughty stuff, but it
does have a lot of content and guts. The program notes say, "Julie
prepares for a night of passion, clipping her fat and putting on artificial
hair and breasts." That hints at what you can expect in this crude
work.
For low points Jan Cox has brought back two hits from past Sick and Twisted
shows. Performance Art: Starring Chainsaw Bob, 1992 and Eric Fogel's
Mutilator, 1991, use lots of red cel paint. If seeing the screen
go red bothers you, you will be glad to know these are very short works.
Cox commissioned at least one work for the show (plus an animated opening,
closing and intermission message). Fans of Jean Jean the Evil Cat will love
Attack of the Hungry Hungry Nipples as it features the evil cat in
a brand new adventure. I was never a fan of the cat, but I know a lot of
people find Walter Santucci's work funny.
For light humor there is an almost cute parody of an awful TV commercial
for a rock record. Beat the Meatles plays with the titles of Beatle
songs in "a commercial pitching the greatest masturbatory hits of the
greatest pop group of all times."
Another lightweight experiment in humor is American Flatulators.
It combines live action actors with computer animation. The film is about
a disgusting show that might very well appear on TV someday.
A more sophisticated work of humor is Zerox and Mylar by Joel Brinkerhoff
of Will Vinton Studios. This short could be in any show of quality animation
and remains funny after repeated screenings.
Unlike a Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted show, most of the films
in General Chaos are well animated. Lawrence Van Gelder, New York
Times reviewer, had trouble with the show's content, but he said "plenty
of talent in many forms of animation -- cel, clay, puppetry and computer
cutouts among them is on generous display in General Chaos: Uncensored
Animation, opening today in New York, but that talent is impressive
mainly in terms of technique..."
Variety (2/2/98) called it, "rambunctiously satiric and agreeably
quirky than prurient, pic's collection of high-quality shorts should click
with animation cultists and collegiate auds, and in vid playoff... General
level of technical competence is high, with expressive originality being
the keynote."
This program of 20 works opens in the Bay Area March 20 - 26 at the Towne
3 in San Jose, March 1 - 7 at the Red Vic in San Francisco,
April 3 - 5 at the UC in Berkeley and April 2 - 8 at the Nickelodeon
in Santa Cruz. It also plays April 17 - 23 at the Tower Theatre in
Sacramento and from April 10 - ? at the Lark in Larkspur.
Saturday, March 7 ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL to include OVERSHADOWED
by Neil Ishimine in program "Belly of the Beast: Los Angeles Indies,"
1 PM, Kabuki.
Thursday, March 12, SYLVAIN CHOMET, DIRECTOR OF THE OSCAR NOMINATED THE
OLD LADY & THE PIGIONS IN-PERSON + other Oscar nominated shorts
at DeAnza Community College, Cupertino, free.
Saturday, March 14, the original KING KONG. The Red Vic on Haight
will show a new 35mm print at 2, 4:15, 7:15 & 9:30.
Tuesday, March 17, the Brothers Quay's first feature, Institute Benjamena
at the Red Vic. There is little or no animation in the film, but these noted
animators have created a remarkable work that their fans consider a masterpiece.
Fans of Hollywood action features will leave saying the film is pure torture.
7:15 & 9:25 PM
Saturday, March 21, ASIFA-SF presents Wild Brain's FernGully 2 with
David Andrews' Tweet Tweet Sludge at 11:30 AM, free at the Red Vic,
1727 Haight Street between Cole and Shrader.
Saturday, March 21, cut-out & collage animators ERIK SAKS, LEWIS
KLAHR & JANIE GEISER (from NYC) present their work at ATA's Other
Cinema in-person, 8:30 PM, 992 Valencia.
Monday, March 23, Nik Phelps' Ideas in Animation with the Sprocket
Ensemble and films provided by Women in Animation. At 111 Minna Street,
7:30 PM and 10 PM.
Monday, March 23, Ghost in the Shell and Wings of Honneamise
at the U.C. Theatre in Berkeley. 2036 University. Shell at 3:30 &
7:30; Wings at 5:10 and 9:10.
Wednesday, April Fools Day to April 7, General Chaos in Uncensored Animation
at the Red Vic on Haight St. Shows at 7:15 & 9:15 with matinees on Wed.
at 2 & Saturday & Sunday at 2 & 4 PM.
Friday April 3 - Sunday April 5, General Chaos in Uncensored Animation
at the UC Theatre in Berkeley. Daily at 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 with a
11:30 show on Friday & 1:30 matinees on Sat. & Sun.
JOHN R. DILWORTH DOES ACE AND AVERY FOR CHILDREN'S TELEVISION
WORKSHOP His new Ace and Avery shows will be on "Big Bag"
on public television starting this April. Dilworth's characters are Ace,
an eternally optimistic 6 year old boy, and Avery, a green raccoon.
ASIFA-EAST HONORS STAN VAN DER BEEK WITH A SCREENING He was a pioneer
of experimental animation (he also worked as a set designer in the mid-1950's
on Winky Dink and You). He developed new ways to combine live action
and animated footage without having to pay expensive lab bills. He was part
of the "happening" scene in the 1960's and worked in computer
graphics with Ken Knowlton at the Bell Labs in the 1970's. He experimented
with the projection of images in domes and in other spaces. The book Expanded
Cinema devotes a lot of space to his work. He died in 1984.
EARLY SIMPSONS SEGMENTS FROM THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW ARE AVAILABLE
ON HOME VIDEO One segment is included in each tape. Apparently 6 different
Simpsons tapes have been released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
They sell for $9.98 ea. Box sets of 3 are $24.98.
ANIMATION AT FESTIVALS When Bill Plympton showed his latest feature
at Sundance he got to see a few animated shorts that he really liked. He
called Boris the Dog, shown at Slamdance, "whacked out and bizarre."
It is a computer work by Eli Kabillio. He enjoyed Stage Fright by
Steve Box from Aardman and said it is similar in many ways to the work of
Nick Park. Another film he talked about was Call Me Fishmael by Steve
Dovas from New York. He also enjoyed seeing a series of shorts by Cory Quackenbush.
Another hit was Orgazmo, a live action feature by Trey Parker of
South Park fame.
At the 21st Portland International Film Festival in February they showed
3 programs of shorts. Among the animated works shown were Tim Hittle's Canhead,
Mike Johnson's The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Vuk
Jeuremovic's The Wind Subsides (Germany - pictured), Craig Welch's
How Wings are Attached to the Backs
of Angels, Joanna Priestley's Utopia Parkway, Jeff Newitt's Trainspotter,
Quest by Tyron Montgomery, The Spirit of Christmas by Trey
Parker and Matt Stone, The Dowager's Feast by Joan Gratz, Stage
Fright by Steve Box of Aardman, Dinner for Two by Janet Perlman
and Noodles and Nedd by John R. Dilworth. The festival also showed
Pippi Longstocking.
ASIFA-CANADA HONORS RICHARD CONDIE Each year they honor a Canadian
animator in a special issue of their newsletter/magazine. The Condie issue
has a delightful "memory" of him by Marv Newland. It covers their
life together in the Canadian Merchant Navy during WWII (both would have
been about one year old if they were born then). Several other articles,
more serious than Newland's were also published.
ABSOLUT VODKA HAS ADDED 8 NEW ANIMATED WORKS TO THEIR WEB SITE The
vodka company has a great site at www.absolutvodka.com Each new work is
8 seconds long and was transferred from film using state of the art digital
technology. There are 23 films on the site.
CURIOUS PICTURES AND MO WILLEMS DO SIX MORE NICK AT NIGHT LOGOS
Each 10 second logo stars Logobelly, a character with a TV set for a head.
Willems works for the New York office of Curious Pictures.
DOES THE WORLD REALLY NEED A GERTIE THE DINOSAUR LIMITED EDITION CEL?
Believe it or not, somebody has created such an edition and they are expensive.
Considering the creator of Gertie has been dead for decades and the animation
cel wasn't even invented when Gertie was made, it seems to be a dubious
product. Gertie was drawn on paper by Winsor McCay and an assistant. The
first Gertie was not created with cels (I've examined several of the original
drawings on paper in Mike Glad's collection).
The collectors' market is strange. If you worked on Betty Boop's Hollywood
Mystery and kept some of the cels, you may be happy to know that a gallery
in LA is advertising them at $800 each (without backgrounds). For years
CBS suppressed the showing of this fine work from Colossal Pictures, but
I suppose people who buy cels from the show may not care about the history
of the work (Disney later got the rights to the show and put it on TV).
Other now valuable items are Jay Ward cels that were manufactured by him
as sales items for his store in L.A. They once sold for well under $100
with his signature on them. One was recently offered for $2,000.
Autographs are going for high prices. A signed photo of Walt Disney was
priced at $5,000 while a recent image of Chuck Jones surrounded by his animated
friends sells for $950 (the Jones photo is a "limited edition").
A cancelled bank check signed by Walter Lantz is being offered at $250 as
is a signed copy of the Walter Lantz Story (book).
BELL ATLANTIC HIRES BRITISH TEAM TO DO A SERIES OF SPOTS BASED ON MAURICE
SENDAK'S WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Images from the TV spots are
beautiful. They look exactly like Sendak's original art. The Lord Group
hired a studio called Sherbet to create a major TV campaign for Bell Atlantic.
Jonathan Hodgson is the director and Jonathan Bairstow is the producer.
Kitty Taylor is the chief animator. Three 60-second ads have already been
animated along with a 15-second teaser and THREE 30-second cut-downs. The
ads air this spring in the USA.
THE BRITISH ANIMATION AWARDS (BAAs) ARE MARCH 5 The nominations for
"Best film" are Daniel Greaves' Flatworld, Candy Guard's
Pond Life (a TV series on Channel 4), Steve Box's Stage Fright
(Aardman)
and Ruth Lingford's Death and the Mother. The competition also includes
public choice awards and children's awards. After the event the films are
sent on a national tour.
THE SCREEN CARTOONISTS GUILD IN LOS ANGELES HAS PUBLISHED AN UNIQUE DATEBOOK
CALENDAR FOR 1998 It is full of information that you never knew existed.
For example On Sunday, March 1 "1930 Ub Iwerks leaves Disney, setting
up his own shop to do Flip the Frog cartoons." March 2 is the birthday
of Willis O'Brien in 1886 and Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) in 1904. On the 2nd
in 1922 Walt and Roy Disney founded Laugh-O-Grams in Kansas City and in
1933 King Kong premieres. On the same date in 1947 "Hollywood
union organizer Herb Sorrell is kidnapped and beaten up." Almost every
date on the calendar offers birthday and historical information. Some days
are so full of information that there is no room on the page to write notes
to yourself.
The calendar also includes photos and articles about past strikes in the
animation industry, a history of the screen cartoonist union, a glossary,
political cartoons, and other items of interest that will not be found anywhere
else.
MARCY PAGE WAS CO-PRODUCER OF A SERIES OF TV SHOWS ON CANADIAN ANIMATION
The series "SHORT CANADIAN ANIMATION - The National Film Board of Canada's
1996 Animation Festival," consists of 6 half-hour shows. Each contains
two or three recent works plus informative interviews with the animators.
The artists covered by the series include John Weldon, Gayle Thomas, Craig
Welch, Roslyn Schwartz, Robert Doucet, George Geertsen, Les Drew, Ishu Patel,
Chris Hinton, Janet Perlman, Munro Ferguson, Bozena Heczko, Georgine Strathy
and Heidi Blomkvist.
Page has been working as a producer at the National Film Board of Canada
for about ten years. Several of the films in the series were produced by
her. She received her graduate degree in animation from San Francisco State,
taught there for several years and is the creator of the beautiful erotic
short Paradisia. Her co-producers on the series were Barrie McLean
and David Verrall. Donald McWilliams directed. For further information contact
the NFB Video Sales Dept. 1-800-267-7710 or www.nfb.ca
WILL DISNEY LOSE THE RIGHTS TO STEAMBOAT WILLIE? Unless Congress
acts to extend the copyright protection laws, works protected by copyright
that were made in 1928 will become public domain in five years according
to an article in the Examiner (2/6/98). Apparently a bill to extend
copyright protection for another 20 years is supported by the Hollywood
studios, but Congress has yet to pass the extension.
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SEEKS FILM/VIDEO/ANIMATION INSTRUCTORS
(2) One position is a tenure track, the other is for a visiting artist.
Qualifications: MFA or PhD, professional accomplishments, expertise in 2D
and 3D computer and camera animation. Candidates with the ability to support
the school's commitment to cultural diversity, pluralism, and individualism
are strongly preferred. RIT is an EO/AA employer.
Application review began Feb. 15 so send letter of application, curriculum
vitae and list of 5 references ASAP to: Maria Schweepe, Film/Video/Animation
Search Committee, Rochester Institute of Technology, 70 Lomb Memorial Drive,
Rochester, NY 14623 fax (716) 475-4804.
EDINBORO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SEEKS ANIMATION TEACHER for full-time
temporary position for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 academic years. Qualifications:
MFA or equivalent degree or equivalent professional experience. Three years
of university teaching and/or professional
experience required. Person will teach all levels and areas of animation.
The candidate should have knowledge of basic film techniques including hand
drawn, character, experimental, 3D object and pixellation. Knowledge of
computers helpful.
Send a letter of interest with the position number on it (#070-0738 in the
Department of Art) along with a detailed resume, copies of transcripts,
three references, a sample reel (VHS tape), 10 - 20 slides of your figure
drawings, quick gesture drawings and cartoon drawings; a sample reel of
work by your past students (if available), a brief statement of your philosophy
of teaching and a SASE. Mail to Dr. Terry L. Smith, Dean of Liberal Arts,
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA 16444. Fluency in English
is required(!) www.edinboro.edu/ for info. about the school.
ANIMATION MAGAZINE, FEB. '98 features Protozoa's Dilbert on the
cover (created for a web site). The cover story is an overview of recent
motion capture projects.
The issue has a useful article on US immigration work visas and permanent
residence cards (green cards). For anyone with a friend from another country
who wants to work in the US, the information is quite valuable and well
written. The author suggests different ways to impress immigration if you
need to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the arts.
If the international business of animation is of interest to you, the view
points from about 30 heads of international animation companies makes good
reading. Most talk about what their companies have done in recent months.
Several people talk about the dominance of Disney. Nelson Shin from Akom
in Korea talks briefly about how the government has helped or could help
the local animation industry.
The issue also has a long article on the animation industry in France. There
is a list of animated shows being offer for syndication at NATPEL. There
are also articles on digital ink and paint and a brief history of UPA. Another
view point section interviews heads of several animation schools in the
US and Canada. Other pages contain news items and other kinds of information.
Subscriptions are $45 from 30101 Agoura Court, Suite 110, Agoura, CA 91301-9987
or call (800) 996-TOON
SHERIDAN COLLEGE HAS PUBLISHED 3 EXCELLENT BOOKS: LAYOUT AND DESIGN
MADE AMAZINGLY SIMPLE, THE ADVANCED LAYOUT AND DESIGN WORKBOOK, AND
DESIGNING CARTOON CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION All are written and designed
by Brian Lemay who is Coordinator of their Classical Animation program.
These text books are full of illustrations and valuable information. Depending
on your needs and budget you may wish to buy only part of the series. The
only overlap is his chapter on character design which is found in both the
basic layout and character design books. The rest of the texts are different.
The character design book covers perspective, head construction, body construction,
designing your own characters, thought process, line quality and model sheets.
The illustrations are quite different from those found in Preston Blair's
book. Lemay's drawings are contemporary looking as his background includes
the character designs on the Inspector Gadget show and layouts on
Carebears, Teddy Ruxpin and other shows. 231 pages, $25 Canadian.
Lemay's layout book is thick (360 pages) and full of information. There
isn't anything else like it in print. After covering perspective and character
design, he covers location designs, prop sheets, storyboards, technical
layouts (camera moves, field sizes, etc.), the layout artist's thought process
(story, composition, etc.), creating the layout package, field guides, posing,
held cels, matchlines, backgrounds, composition, structure, and overlays
and underlays. There is also a glossary and bibliography. The text is kept
simple and is easy to read. $35 Canadian.
The advanced layout book is real thick (476 pages). To get the most out
of it, you should take Lemay's class. It is an impressive workbook with
sections of actual TV episodes and short films represented through script
pages, storyboards, layouts, model sheets, etc. The stories include Dracula,
Hansel and Grethel, Sherluck Homes, Dr. Jekyll and others. He gives
you the basics. Your assignments are to do the layouts from the material
provided. $50 Canadian.
I'm contacting the school to find out ordering information (cost in US dollars,
postage, etc.). If you can't wait contact Scott Turner, Director School
of Animation and Design, Sheridan College, 1430 Trafalgar Rd., Oakville,
Ontario, CANADA L6H 2L1 (905) 845-9430.
MTV'S CARTOON SUSHI WANTS FUNNY STUFF So far 3 episodes of the
show have aired and 8 more are planned. They have purchased work from Bob
Godfrey, Nelvana, John Dilworth and others. One filmmaker said they are
not the nicest people to do business with as the pay isn't great and they
demand that they own the rights to your characters. If your character is
a hit they can exploit it (you may get a royality).
If you have a funny film sitting in your closet call (212) 654-3777 or write
Merle Becker and Nick Litwinko, MTV Animation, 1633 Broadway, 31st floor,
NY NY 10019
PS - they also are reviewing pitches for short funny films "with possible
series potential. Interested in sending a pitch? Leave your address or fax
number so we can send you a release form."
FRANK COLLIN & STEFAN G PRESENT OPEN SCREENINGS is a local show
that is always looking for work. They presented their last show at the Red
Vic and Lark to large audiences in February. The programs, presented with
video projection, combine animated shorts with live action works. The most
recent show included Steven Dovas' Call Me Fishmael, Steve Rawlins
The Hungry One, Stuart Sharpe's Gone Forever and a dozen other
works.
For information about showing your work (415) 485-2575 or www.gulture.com
The next show will be in July.
OTTAWA ENTRY DEADLINE IS JULY 1 for a Sept. 29 to Oct. 4 event.
This is North America's largest, finest and oldest animation festival. Unlike
the event in Los Angeles that focused on animation as a business, Ottawa
honors the films and artists, offers major retrospectives and is an international
event. There are workshops and panels plus a trade show, but the main focus
is on animation as a great art form.
There is no entry fee for your work. You are only responsible for shipping
costs. This year the selection committee will be Alexander Tatarsky from
Russia, Edwin Carels from Belgium, Christine Panushka from the U.S.A. and
Adam Shaheen from Canada. For details/entry form write Ottawa International
Animation Festival, 2 Daly Ave. Suite 120, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6E2
(613) 232-8769
If you are thinking about going, there are some fine events already
scheduled. The tentative plans include retrospectives of Frank Tashlin (USA-Warner
Bros.), Charles Thorson (Canada/worked in LA), Stefan Schabenbeck from Poland,
Alexei Karaev from Russia, Paul Driessen (Canada/Holland), computer pioneers,
animation from the Netherlands, animation from Estonia, and more.
THE 1998 NASHVILLE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL - SINKING CREEK FILM CELEBRATION,
FINAL DEADLINE IS APRIL 20. Linda Siminsky from the Cartoon Network
will be a featured guest at the event along with animator Ellie Lee who
will present a workshop on the use of animation in live action films. All
prescreening is on 1/2" tape. Entry fee for films under 21 min. is
$40. Write Kelly Brownlee, Vanderbilt University, Sinking Creek Film Celebration,
402 Sarratt Student Center, Nashville, TN 37240 (615) 343-3419
WINE COUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL HAS APRIL 30 DEADLINE for a July 16 -
Aug. 9 event. $30 entry fee for 16mm, 35mm & video formats. 12000 Henno
Road, POBox 303, Glen Ellen, CA 95442 (707) 996-2536.
PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL HAS APRIL 1 DEADLINE for
a July event. They offer cash awards, no entry fee, accept all formats.
Philafilm, 2623 Sorrento Drive, Suite A, Philadelphia, PA 19131 (215) 879-8209
NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL MEDIA NETWORK'S MEDIA MARKET DEADLINE IS APRIL 24.
The event will be May 27-29 at the Marriott Hotel in Oakland. For details
call (510) 465-6885 or write 655 13th Street, Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94612-1220
ANTI FILM FESTIVAL FOR FILMS LEFT OUT OF OTHER FESTIVALS Deadline
is March 30 for May event. $30 entry fee, accepts all formats including
Super-8 film. Contact Alliance, Anti Film Festival, 927 Lincoln Rd. #119,
Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 538-8242
DEADLINE REMINDER The following festivals have been mentioned before
in this column. See your back issues for details. Hiroshima is March
21 (call Karl Cohen for Xerox of entry form {415} 386-1004) and Brainwash
is May 1 (call David Krzysik at {415} 273-1545 for Brainwash info.).
NOTE: THE ASIFA-EAST entry forms were sent out in Feb., too late
to be mentioned in our newsletter. The entry deadline was March 2. Winners
of the festival will be shown in San Francisco on May 15 at the Exploratorium.
ASIFA-SAN FRANCISCO AND THE DE ANZA COMMUNITY COLLEGE ANIMATION PROGRAM PRESENT
SYLVAIN CHOMET
SCREENING HIS OSCAR NOMINATED
THE OLD LADY & THE
PIGIONS
The program will include other works nominated
for the Best Animated Short of 1998
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 7 PM
at DeAnza Community College
in Cupertino
off 280 onto Highway 85 - first exit off 85
In Conference Room B in the Student Center, free.
Sylvain Chomet is a French director who has been working in Canada for several
years. His 23-minute film The Old Lady and the Pigeons was nominated
in February for the Oscar for Best Animated Short. The film has already
won the Grand Prize at Annecy '97, and the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles
Animation Celebration '97 plus awards at other festivals. Pascal Blais produced
the work. Chomet is presently in the process of expanding his short into
a feature.
The work is admired for its original. clearly told story, for its good animation
that creates interesting characters, and its sophisticated backgrounds full
of minute drawing and detail. Chomet's story has been described as "certainly
a witty, interesting story, full of invention." The plot is full of
twists. It is a mix of social satire and macabre humor. The film was produced
by Productions Pascal Blais.
As this flyer goes to press Marty McNamara, who organized this important
screening, is obtaining prints of some of the other animated shorts nominated
this year for an Oscar. The program will probably include The MERMAID
from Russia GERI'S GAME from Pixar and another short.
ASIFA-SAN FRANCISCO PRESENTS
Wild Brain's
FERNGULLY 2
A SCREENING IN 35MM - PHIL ROBINSON, DIRECTOR,
WILL INTRODUCE THE FILM
plus
David Andrews' new short Tweet Tweet Sludge
Saturday, March 21, 11:30 AM
Free
At the Red Vic Movie House
1727 Haight Street between Cole and Shrader
This may be the only local screening of FernGully 2, The Magical
Rescue in 35mm. The feature, made for 20th Century Fox, is going directly
to video and will be in stores starting March 17. The release will be backed
by a multi-million dollar campaign, so hopefully by the 21st you will have
seen a TV commercial or print ad for this work. While it looks fine on video,
it looks fantastic in 35mm. Don't miss this chance to see the film on a
big screen with Dolby stereo sound.
The film was directed by Wild Brain's Phil Robinson. Dave Marshall was the
co-director. It is beautifully animated, the script is first rate and the
voice actors, music and stereo sound design are excellent. Everything about
the film is well done from it having interesting characters to lush jungle
backgrounds.
The production benefited from a limited amount of computer animation. Robinson
discovered that his budget wouldn't cover the cost of finished computer
images, so he had Imagination Plantation provide rough motion studies for
about 200 shots. The computer images served as reference guides for the
animators in scenes that had complex movements including the flying characters
and movements of a truck.
A lot of Bay Area talent worked on the production. Many of the 100 plus
names in the credits at the end of the film are local people. Besides the
individuals working at Wild Brain there are credits for Carter Tomassi at
MessyOptics, Western Images, Jo-Carol Block from Colossal who wrote one
song in the film and Roger Clark who wrote 3 of them.
Film/Tape World is featuring this production on the cover of their
March issue. The article covers the production's history including the way
they solved several script and production problems. Free copies of the issue
will be available free at the screening.
The short that will open the program is Tweet Tweet Sludge by David
Andrews who works at ILM. If all goes well at the lab, he will be showing
the first sound answer print of this 5 minute short. Andrews is the Animation
Supervisor who talked about his work on Mars Attacks! last November
at our meeting on "The Art of Industrial Light and Magic."
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