ASIFA-San Francisco April 1998

April 1998

NATIONAL NEWS

TOM GASEK AND BYARS COLE FORM SUSPENDED ANIMATION Gasek and his wife Elizabeth ran Sculptoons in San Francisco in the late 1980's. His talents took him to England at one point where he worked for Aardman as an animator on "Heat Electric" ads and on the Oscar winning The Wrong Trousers. After San Francisco he settled in the Boston area where he worked for Olive Jar for several years and more recently with Mass.Illusion. Gasek also worked for Will Vinton years ago.
Executive Producer Byars Cole has served as the visual effects producer/first assistant director for the Mass.Illusion team on Judge Dredd, Eraser and Starship Troopers. Cole has worked as an assistant director on more that 250 music videos (Rolling Stones, Bette Midler, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr., Pink Floyd, etc.) and on comedy segments for "Saturday Night Live."
The new company has already completed production on several spots for national clients including Burger King, Louis Kemp Seafood and GTE pagers. Two of their Burger King ads featuring Mr. Potato Head, recently won 4 Addy Awards (2 gold and 2 silver). They are located in Lenox, Mass. (413) 637-1212.

CHUCK JONES WROTE A GREAT ARTICLE FOR CIVILIZATION ABOUT LEON SCHLESINGER The short essay in the Feb.-March, 1998 issue is titled "The Tyrant of Termite Terrace." He believes that the studio's look and fast paced humor resulted from Schlesinger being tight with the money. They found ways to create good and sometimes great work despite the cheapness and meanness of their boss. Jones notes that the directors were called "supervisors" so their credits wouldn't distract from his as producer. He explains that the work became great despite their boss because the artists really cared about what they were doing.
Schlesinger's main interest as a producer was for his staff to meet the footage requirement. He wanted his staff to produce cartoons in the late 1930's between 535 feet and 545 feet long in length (about 6 min.). He was paid $9,000 for each cartoon completed and nothing extra if the film was longer. Perhaps the only time he gladly paid for a longer film was for You Aughta Be In Pictures which has Porky and Daffy visiting Schlesinger in his office.
Schlesinger had a built-in market providing cartoons to Warner Brothers and they apparently didn't (or rarely) complain to him about content or quality. As a result he left the men alone, giving them a great deal of artistic freedom.
Leon didn't give his workers a Movieola or other editing equipment, so they had to time everything out on paper. There was only one sliding pegboard in the studio and the animators had to splice their pencil tests together as there was no editor on staff. Despite these and other handicaps they turned out gems like Porky in Wackyland & Daffy Doc.
The stars they created now make Warner Brothers millions each year. Jones thinks somebody should erect a monument to Schlesinger and the inscription should be "He was right for the wrong reasons."
The article can be read on the Internet at www.civmag.com The publication is from the Library of Congress.

RICHARD WILLIAMS' MASTERCLASS WILL BE OFFERED IN NEW YORK CITY Williams has spent a lifetime learning animation skills. His teachers have included several of the greatest animators from the past. In recent years he has been sharing that knowledge in his masterclasses. Part of what he does is returning to the basics, but he presents them with an understanding that should help you work quicker, more efficiently and better. He is delightful to watch as he demonstrates unusual walk cycles and other movements that can improve the look of your work. Of course he covers a great deal more which is why he gets rave reviews from his students. The class will be offered twice in June over two three-day periods. The class dates are June 5,6,7 and June 12, 13, 14. The hall seats 90 and thanks to a brief mention of the class from AWN thirty of the 180 seats were booked in the first two days of that notice. Enroll soon if you are interested.
Richard Willams and his wife Mo Sutton have been living in the Oxford area of England for the last several months. The lease on the house they are renting is up in May, so they will be going to New York before moving to their next location. They haven't decided where that will be. Williams has been busy on a personal animation project. He also has been making almost nightly trips to London where he plays jazz.
To find out more about the class (a flyer is available) you can fax Mo Sutton at 011 44 1 865 316 960 or E mail her at mo@masterclass.demon.co.uk To reach them by mail the address is 18 Hawkswell Gardens, Oxford, OX2 7EX England. After they leave England you can leave messages at their home in Canada. Somebody there will get your message to them. (250) 653-4502.
ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL in Washington D.C. featured several animated programs including a free screening of Frederic Back films in 35mm (Crac, Man Who Planted Trees and Mighty River). They also showed Dr. Seuss's The Lorax and animated films by Nick Hilligoss. Thanks ASIFA-Washington for the information.

ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD PRESENTED A PROGRAM OF WORK BY THE GERMAN ARTIST WALTER RUTTMANN Ruttmann was a pioneer of experimental abstract animation in the 1920's, before he made his remarkable documentary about a day in the life of the city of Berlin in 1927. He also was hired to work on backgrounds and effects for Lotte Reiniger's silhouette animation feature Prince Achmed. The ASIFA program included Opus 1, 1922; an excerpt from Prince Achmed and the feature length Berlin, Symphony of a City.

COMING THIS CHRISTMAS are several features with animation and special effects in them. Dreamworks SKG will premiere The Prince of Egypt (Dec. 18). Paramount will release Rugrats: The Movie (Nov. 25). Disney/Pixar will release A Bug's Life. Special effects fans can look forward to Star Trek 9 and Babe: A Pig in the City.
SOMEWHERE IN SACRAMENTO THERE MAY STILL BE A TAX RELIEF BILL FOR GRAPHIC ARTISTS who are supposed to pay sales tax on freelance work. Transferring work from artist to client at present is considered a sale of tangible property. SB664 would change that. A foe of the tax relief bill has been the California Teachers Association. They are against any revenue-reducing proposals that might result in less money for schools.

BARKER CHARACTER, COMIC AND CARTOON MUSEUM OPENS IN CHESHIRE, CONN. The museum complex is run by Herb and Gloria Barker. They own some 20,000 objects. The exhibits are in an old farm house that has been converted into a museum. A second building is used as a theatre for weekly film shows, and there is also a building used as an art gallery. Only the art gallery contains items for sale. Tours are offered along with children's programs. Admission is free.
The NY Times article on the museum suggests the collection is mainly cartoon and comic collectibles. The museum is located at 1188 Highland Ave. (Route 10) Cheshire Conn. 06410. (800) 995-2357 or (203) 272-2222.

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