DAVE THOMAS' A DOG CARTOON PICKED AS BEST IN SHOW at our chapter's screening of the 1999 ASIFA-East annual animation competition. Over half of the audience voted for A Dog Cartoon by Dave Thomas of Wild Brain. Coming in second place was Bunny, the 1999 Oscar winner. The dog had a 20 percent lead over the rabbit. Thomas was surprised and delighted to have beaten Bunny as he assumed Chris Wedge's work would win the top prize.
The third place prize money will go to The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit by Aleksandra Korejow of Acme Filmworks in Los Angeles. This work was done by animating colored salts. It announces the title and credits of a Disney production. One person thought the work was from Fantasia 2000. When told it was from another film, he speculated that the artwork was probably better than the images in the upcoming Fantasia feature.
Our audience picked three films for honorable mentions. They are Bill Plympton's The Exciting Life Of A Tree, David Wasson and Chris Miller's Max And His Special Problem and Titey from J.J. Sedelmaier (David Wachtenheim. director).
A BUG'S LIFE IS NOW THE FORTH HIGHEST GROSSING ANIMATED FEATURE OF ALL TIME according to AWN's Animation Flash. The domestic gross was $163 million and the international gross was $195 million in early May. Meanwhile, Pixar announced a 1st quarter decline in profits. They only made $3.4 million this year. At this time last year they made $5 million.
Other industry statistics include The Mummy setting
the 1999 record for highest grossing opening week ($43,370,001). That is the
ninth biggest opening week of all time (the record will change when the new
Star Wars opens). Congratulations to the animators at ILM who worked
on the film. By the way, ILM has now workon 155 features. Somebody recently
added up those films' grosses and came up with $15 billion!
THERE IS A PETE DOCTER PAGE ON THE INTERNET. Docter, who co-directed
A Bug's Life, apparently sold some of his pre-Pixar animation art to
collectors who are now displaying it on the web. Search for James and Alan Rice's
Animation Art Collection.
"WILD BRAIN: THE ART OF ANIMATION" IS ON DISPLAY AT THE CARTOON
ART MUSEUM. This is a large show covering a wide range of projects. The
show presents works from various stages of productions including early conceptual
drawings, storyboard art, background paintings, cels, animation drawings, etc.
The company has done a wide range of projects including the feature Fern
Gully 2, ads for Coke and other products, episodes of TV series including
Toonsylvania (Spielberg) and Todd McFarlane's Spawn and the hit
short A Dog Cartoon by Dave Thomas. See it at 814 Mission, 2nd floor,
SF There is a low cost city parking garage across the street (5th and Mission)
(415) CAR-TOON.
PIXAR TO MAKE MONSTERS, INC. It will be a comedy directed by Pete
Docter and David Silverman. Disney plans to release it in 2001. The story features
monsters who are afraid of people.
WELCOME IMAGINE ASIA STUDIOS with there animation studio in Manila and
their corporate headquarters in San Francisco. The company, founded in 1997,
does 3D computer animation, digital ink and paint, motion capture and digital
puppets. They are working on Heavy Metal 2. There next project will be
a 26 episode TV series titled The Quest: Tales From The Ramayana.
James Myher is their new development director. His office is in San Francisco.
Ivan Roth is their new creative director. He has offices in Los Angeles and
Manila.
LUCILLE BLISS WINS LOTS OF HONORS. Animation voice actress Lucille Bliss
was called one of the nation's top 10 voice teachers in the March, 1999 issue
of Animation Magazine. Women in Animation in Los Angeles recently presented
her an award for her years of work in the industry. In San Francisco she was
a guest of honor at a fund-raising banquet at the Sheridan Palace Hotel. The
mayor presided over the event that benefited senior citizen centers.
PLANS FOR OUR WEB SITE ARE MOVING FORWARD. Becky Wells, a chapter member
who works at the Academy of Science as a designer, has been working with cartoonist/illustrator
John Grimes on a mock-up. Their work is quite handsome and professional. Hopefully
it will intrigue visitors to our site and motivate them to explore further.
At present we are considering dividing the site into five sections. There could
be membership information, a calendar of local events, a members' gallery, a
section on jobs and training and links. We will not be putting the newsletter
on line and expect to send people wishing to see back issues of our newsletter
to the already established archive at www.awn.com
There are a lot of details that have to be decided on before we go on line.
We need to establish rules on running the gallery and other sections where input
from members and/or nonmembers is needed. It will probably be a month or two
before we are ready to ask people for their art/web addresses, information,
etc.
Kim Tempest is researching service providers and other issues. Your suggestions
are welcomed on which company to go with (or which to avoid) and other technical
issues. We plan to register our own name and have our own site rather than be
part of a bigger one. If you have comments or suggestions contact John Grimes
at luddites@earthlink.net or (415) 221-5042.
LARRY JORDAN RETIRES FROM THE ART INSTUTE. He has been an animator since
1960 and is the recipient of many awards, fellowships and other honors. His
work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art, Annecy, Zagreb and other major
festivals. He lives near Petaluma and has created an exceptional garden with
ponds and other surprises on his property.
COLOSSAL ANIMATED ANOTHER OLD NAVY AD - THIS TIME IT WAS DONE IN-HOUSE!
The ad began in black and white with a lifeless group gathered around a deflated
inflatable pool. When two kids in tied-died shirts from Old Navy arrive, the
party turns into a colorful aquatic event. George Evelyn directed, Tom Rubalcava
was the animation director and the animators were Kevin Coffey, Ricardo Barahone
and Catherine Margerin. The backgrounds were by Siri Margerin.
CURIOUS PICTURES DID A PROMO FOR AN INTERNATIONAL SOCCER COMPETITION. The ad
is airing in Latin America. Jerry van de Beek directed and Betsy De Fries
was producer and co-designer.
What voice actress had a small part on Nash Bridges in April? Answer -San
Francisco's Lucille Bliss
TOSHIKO KAMIYAMA'S THE HAT WAS SHOWN AT THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN NEW
YORK as a part of the International Puppet Film Festival. The event was
held last September and it included nine different film programs. Kamiyama's
film, made in 1994, has a unique look to it as her puppet was made with crushed
paper. She lives in San Francisco.
THE ATTIK DID TITLES FOR IDLE HAND. The sequence was designed at
there SF office by creative director Simon Dixon and designers Monica Perez
and Stephan Burle de Figueiredo. It opened April 30.
The local office also did a minute promotion for Adidas. They hired Realtime
and Radium to do Henry and Inferno effects. The piece is being shown in stores.
CORRECTION: PROTOZOA'S CHARACTER FOR M&M'S didn't air on Superbowl Sunday. Instead the real-time performance animation character aired a week prior to the game. M&M was represented during the game by commercials from Will Vinton's studio.
GARY SCHWARTZ RETURNS* TO TEACH AN INTRODUCTORY ANIMATION WORKSHOP FOR ADULTS June 14-20 at Film Arts Foundation. 7-10 pm weekdays and 9-5 on Saturday and Sunday. $165 for FAF members, $210 for non-members. Class limited to 20 Call (415) 552-8760 for details. *direct from NYC
A LOW COST COLLEGE ANIMATION CLASS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING FROM JR. COLLEGES OR HIGH SCHOOLS. June 9 is the last day to enrolled in one of the best academic deals in the Bay Area. The Academy of Art College offers several seven week, three-hour class that meet twice a week. The courses include an introduction to animation, figure drawing, painting, computer arts, paint systems, digital imaging, graphic design, fashion design and comic-book illustration. There is a $45 registration fee (nonrefundable) and a lab fee that varies from course to course.
This is a great way to help a student who need to sort out what he or she wants to pursue in the arts. The school provides these classes each summer as a promotional, hoping students attending will continue in the Academy's regular program. For more information (415) 296 -- 2095 www.academyart.summerart.edu
MEDIA ALLIANCE TEACHES WEB ANIMATION WITH FLASH AND OTHER COURSES For details call (415) 546-6334 or 546-6491.
BURNING MAN has nothing to do with animation or education, but a few animators will be there. It takes place on a hot Nevada desert, August 30 through Sept. 6. Part of the fun is people wear very little or nothing and do crazy made up rituals & other things. For details write P.O. Box 420572, San Francisco, CA 94142-0572
Friday, June 4, FIVE EXPERIMENTAL FILMS BY OSAMU TEZUKA, 7 pm, He was
the creator of Astro Boy and the father of manga. He was also a great
personal animator who had several films in past Tournee of Animation shows.
Tonight's show features Broken Down Film, Pictures at an Exhibition, Legend
of the Forest, Tales of the Street Corner and Jumping. 5 mm and 16
mm. With BLACK JACK, 1996, at 9:15 pm. The animated feature combines
action/adventure with scientific detail. Based on a story by Dr. Osamu Tezuka.
Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley (510) 642-1124.
Sunday, June 6, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, 3 PM, by Miyazaki, in 35mm, back
by popular demand. Pacific Film Archive.
Friday, June 11, at 7:30 pm, THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE ANIMATION, Parts
1 & 2 (total 70 minutes) A documentary that includes work from the silent
era, World War II propaganda, experimental animation, early manga and much more.
At 8:55 pm, DOLLS, DEAMONS, DRAMA: AWARD WINNING SHORTS by Kawamoto,
Yoji Kuri and other directors. The program contains several shorts that Marty
McNamara and Prescott Wright have been praising for years. It comes highly recomended.
Pacific Film Archive.
Friday, June 11 at dusk in a café garden, FILMS PRESENTED BY
LIZ KEIM, THE EXPLORATORIUM'S FILM PROGRAM DIRECTOR. The program will include
shorts by Len Lye, Jane Aaron, Stephanie Maxwell and other artists. Luther Burbank
Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa (707) 527-0297.
Wed. & Thurs. June 16 & 17, A CHINESE GHOST STORY from Hong Kong.
Said to be "wonderful" Red Vic.
Friday, June 18, 7:30 pm, ASIFA SF PRESENTS: ILM'S WORK ON THE MUMMY,
MONDO MEDIA'S MONDO MINI SHOWS & GIANT KILLER ROBOT'S WORK ON WHAT
DREAMS MAY COME At the Exploratorium's McBean Theater, free
Friday, June 18 BAND OF NINJA (1967) by Nagisa Oshima at 7:30 and GHOST
IN THE SHELL (1995) by Mamoru Oshii at 9:15. At the Pacific Film Archive.
Sunday, June 20 at 1 pm (repeated Saturday, June 26 at 8:15 pm), HELLO,
DOLLY presented by the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Program of 9 films
with unique uses of dolls not authorized by Mattel. The program notes say, "you'll
never see dolls the same way again after this!" The 90 minute show features
works from Canada, UK, Holland and USA. Two films, 7 on video. Roxie,
Monday, June 28 NIK PHELPS AND THE SPROCKET ENSEMBLE PRESENT IDEAS IN ANIMATION
AT THE FINE ARTS CINEMA, they do a great show, "a must see" 8
pm, 2451 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley (510) 848-1143
20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT TO SPEND $100 MILLION PROMOTING VIDEO RELEASE OF ANASTASIA. The ads and promotions will target kids under 11. The feature made $56 million in 24 weeks in U.S. theaters. It is now being released theatrically overseas.
MIKE SMITH DIRECTED 1001 NIGHTS. The 23 minutes film is part of a series that will feature music by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Smith's film premiered on April 30 Los Angeles. It was made by staff of 120 people in six months. The Filmharmonic series will include new works directed by Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, Paul Vanhoevan and others.
MILLIMETER ON LEXUS. They ran an article on the making of a Lexus commercial
that showed a new car cruising a freeway built like a rollercoaster. The ad
consisted of hundreds of elements composited together using Inferno and Flame.
The pieces included parts of real roads, model roads, computer generated roads,
real cars, model cars, and other elements. One problem they had was making it
appear model cars were sticking to the road like real vehicles. They also had
headaches trying to match colors and lighting.
HBO IS SHOWING SUNRISE OVER TIANANMEN SQUARE. The documentary
includes animation by the National Film Board of Canada. It was directed by
Shiu-Bos and nominated for an academy award this year. It airs on June 4 and
June 7.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: A 48 hour Bugs Bunny Marathon will be on the
Cartoon Network June 4-6. The director's cut of The Yellow Submarine
will be released in September on tape. It will include the "Hay Bulldog"
number that was shown in Europe, but not in the US. A feature starring the 4
kids from South Park will be released June 30.
WATERSHIP DOWNS TO BE AN ANIMATED TV SERIES. It has a $10 million
budget for 28 half hour episodes. It will be a joint Canadian-British production.
NEED A DISNEY ANIMATION KIT? This item for kids includes a plastic peg bar,
18 pieces of punched paper, a blue pencil, a black pencil, six color markers,
4 cels, a flip book, a manual and other items. It retails for $19.95.
DALLAS McKENNON HAS RECOVERED FROM AN ACCIDENT. He is a voice actor whose
credits range from the stars of the Gumby show to Wally Walrus and other
characters in Walter Lantz cartoons. McKennon lives in Portland and still has
a great voice. One of his fans was disappointed to learn that Billy West (Ren
& Stimpy, etc.) was hired to do voices on a new Woody Woodpecker series
on Fox. They are voices McKennon made famous.
ALL IS NOT WELL WITH THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY IN LOS ANGELES. A group of
disgruntled employees are voicing their grievances on a new web site. If interested
go to www.animationnation.com
ASIFA EAST presented a program of WWII cartoons from the vaults of Turner.
It was a show of material that is no longer shown on TV. They will hold an open
screening on June 11 (probably at Tisch School of the Arts, 721 Broadway, room
106 - if in NY call Michael Sporn Animation or Buzzco).
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SUMMER HIGH SCHOOL WORKSHOP is a 1 month immersion
program that includes classes, lectures and tours. Students will shoot pencil
tests using the school's 4 Video Lunchboxes. Students will get 4 units college
credit.
UCLA TO SCREEN STUDENT FILMS FROM THEIR ANIMATION WORKSHOP. Tuesday, June
15, 7 and 9 pm, Melnitz Hall, RSVP by June 11 to (310) 825-5829 and indicate
which screening you would like to attend. Free, reception after the program.
GREETINGS FROM MARCY PAGE. She had a wonderful time presenting programs
for ASIFA-SF and SF State's Cinema Department. She is excited about a new project
she is producing with a Norwegian co-producer. The NFB is proud to announce
Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis' When The Day Breaks was to be shown in
competition at Cannes. After that official world premiere it will be shown at
Annecy. The NFB is also about to release Village Of The Idiots by Eugene
Federinco.
THE BOLEX BROTHERS in Bristol, England, have recently completed commercials
for Nestea Cool, a bottled iced tea. The stop motion animation company is best
known for their surreal feature The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb. Their
short The Saint Inspector was in last year's Spike and Mike program of
quality animation.
ELFRIEDA FISCHINGER
DIED MAY 13 in her sleep at age 88 (1910-1999). She was the wife of the
great abstract artist and animator Oskar Fischinger, and she devoted much of
her life to keeping his memory alive after he died in 1966. Her tireless enthusiasm
for animation as an art form has inspired many. She wrote, arranged exhibits,
spoke to groups, etc. Along the way she was given numerous awards and other
honors for her efforts. Even in recent years when her health began to slow her
down, you would find her at international animation festivals and conferences.
She took the time to help students and lovers of animation learn about abstract
animation, the work of her husband and the work of others. On several
occasions she came to the Bay Area to present programs at the Pacific Film Archive
and Canyon Cinema and to attend the Society for Animation Studies Conference.
She will be missed by a great number of people. Elfrieda and Oskar met in 1931
when she won a textile design contest and had her abstract work exhibited in
Berlin. They emigrated to Los Angeles in 1936 after one of Oskar's non-objective
films won top international festival prizes. They feared the wrath of Nazi government
as their art was condemned as decadent. They believed the festival honors were
too great an embarrassment for the German government to ignore. In Los Angeles
Oskar worked briefly for MGM, Disney and Paramount while Elfrieda established
a career as a fashion designer.
Tributes to her will be posted at www.iotacenter.org Cards can be sent to her
daughter, Barbara Fischinger, at 3027 Volk Ave., Long Beach, CA
THE NEW YORKER `REVIEWED' 4 RECENT ANIMATION BOOKS. In the first week of May the "Book Currents" column (p.20) was devoted to animation. The reviewer had kind words to say about Cartoons: American Animation and its Golden Age by Michael Barrier. Reading the Rabbit by Kevin Sandler, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons by Michael Mallory and Saturday Morning Fever by Timothy and Kevin Burke.
FILM CARTOONS: A GUIDE TO 20TH-CENTURY AMERICAN IATED FEATURES AND SHORTS by Douglas L. McCall, 267 pages, $39.95, McFarland and Company, Publishers, P.O. Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 (800) 253-2187
Anyone who needs to look up credits and other information about animated shorts and features will find Film Cartoons an indispensable reference resource. It provides a great deal of information not previously available in print. I know of no other source where you can find detailed information about animated features or facts about features containing animated segments. The book lists 180 features that are animated and 58 additional features with animated segments. The features range from the well-known to really obscure titles like Dirty Duck (1977), Felix the Cat: A Movie (1989), Twice Upon a Time (1983), and Bill Plympton's Mondo Plympton (1997, a compilation of his shorts). The information provided includes a synopsis, credits (for art and voice work}, highlights of the movie, honors bestowed upon the film and other notes that might interest the reader.
The book also contains information on almost 1,400 shorts. The author apparently researched every short nominated for an Oscar, including obscure foreign titles that haven't been seen in this country in years. There are wonderful cartoons listed from forgotten studios including Colombia (pre-UPA) and Van Beuren. You will find information about independent shorts from a variety of directors including John and/or Faith Hubley, Bill Plympton and John Lasseter. The book covers so much new ground that it really should be on the shelf of any library with an animation section. Perhaps someone will eventually do a second volume covering films released after 1998 and obscure older works not included here.
by Karl Cohen
The San Francisco Bay Area is an international hub for animation production. Work done locally includes animated features, shorts, TV series, commercials, industrials, CD Rom games, images for the Internet and other innovative uses of the medium. There are 30 or 40 companies producing work and others that provide various forms of support to this industry. Companies range in size from one person shops to ILM that has over 1200 employees.
The following is based on my directory in the May issue of Film/Tape World. If you know of firms that were not mentioned please drop me a note.
Attik, 445 Bush, 3rd floor, SF (415) 989-6401 is an international company (NY, London and Sydney, Australia). Their productions are done using outside companies and with in-house artists.
Cartoonland, 478 Frederick Street, San Francisco CA 94117 (415) 387 -- 2844. Kevin Coffey, owner and producer, has done a lot of local TV commercials, CD Rom games and industrials using hand drawn animation art. He can also do 2D computer animation in-house. His clients have included Lucas Arts and Garry Trudeaux, the creator of the comic strip Doonesbury. Coffey has work as an animator for Colossal Pictures, Wild Brain, Skellington, ILM and other companies.
Click 3X, 535 Pacific, San Francisco CA 94133 (415) 477 3888, www.click3x.com.
Click 3X in SF does 3D cgi work. They also do seamless compositing, visual effects
and high end Internet design work. Their clients include HB0, Discovery Channel,
Sony, Dodge, Coke, Clorox, AT&T, and other companies. Click 3X's offices
in New York, Santa Monica, Atlanta and San Francisco are connected with T-1
lines. The Atlanta office provides the traditional cel animation services. The
local office has 9 people on the staff at present, and it will grow to 25 when
the merger with Construct is completed (www.construct,com). Nationally the company
has over 160 employees.
Curious Pictures, 1360 Mission, San Francisco CA 94103 (415) 437 - 1400.
Curious Pictures, founded in New York in 1993, opened their San Francisco office
in 1996. The local studio specializes in cel animation while the New York office
does their computer animation. They are presently starting work on their second
season of A Little Curious, an animated half-hour series for preschoolers
on the HBO 4 Family Network. There are about 40 people on staff in New York
and San Francisco.
Colossal Pictures, 2800 Third Street, San Francisco CA 94107 (415) 643 -
1799. Colossal, founded in 1976, has a great reputation for creating innovative
images. The main part of their business is unique looking live action and/or
animated work for TV. Clients include Disney (TV), Nickelodeon, the Cartoon
Network, Old Navy, Post Cereal, Hallmark, and Coke. Projects are designed by
Colossal's staff (presently 26 people, plus 15 to 20 freelancers). They produce
some works in-house and send other jobs to production companies around the world.
At present Colossal is doing experimental design work for the Internet.
Eyeheart, 3001 19th Street, San Francisco CA 94107 (415) 641 - 0338. Since
opening for business in 1996, Eyeheart has grown from a traditional ink and
paint animation service to a company that can provide hand rendered art using
traditional materials (pastels, watercolors, etc.), design work, animation direction,
and most recently interactive greeting cards. They have done numerous projects
for Colossal Pictures, Wild Brain, Curious Pictures and other studios including
international customers. The company is headed by Siri Margerin and presently
has a staff of 8.
Fat Box, 499 Seaport Court Suite 205, Redwood City 94063 (650) 363
- 8700 does cel animation, 2D and 3D computer animation and graphics. Staff
of 15 does a wide variety of projects for Sony Entertainment Group, Hewlett
Packard & others. Their Rotary Rocket work was recently on NBC and ABC TV
news. See www.fatbox.com for samples.
Freak Show Films, 651 A Scott Street, SF, CA 94117, (415) 776-1076. Has
done work for Curious Pictures and a job for Old Navy that was on Entertainment
Tonight.
Giant Killer Robots, 360 Ritch St. #201 San Francisco, CA 94107 (415) 541
- 9821. Mike Schmitt founded this computer 3D house two years ago with Peter
Oberdorfer and John Vegher. Their 3D images for What Dreams May Come
helped the film win the Oscar for visual effects this year. Other projects have
included an ad for Honda that features a computer generated robot, and a trip
inside a man's brain for Lexus.
Industrial Light and Magic, P.O..Box 2459, San Rafael CA 94912 (415) 448
- 2459. ILM does high-end computer images for major features. They presently
have over 1,200 employees. They have worked on over 150 features (for all the
major studios). These films have won ILM 14 Oscars for Best Achievement in Visual
Effects and 14 technical awards from the Academy.
ILM has also done hundreds of high-end TV commercials in the last 10 years.
Their commercial work has won all types of major awards.
There are other companies owned by George Lucas that produce animated products.
Lucas Arts does computer games and Lucas Learning produces animated educational
work.
Little Fluffy Clouds, Pier 29 Annex, San Francisco CA 94111 www.littlefluffyclouds.com
(415) 956 - 8699, Betsy de Fries and Jerry van de Beek are the co-directors
of this computer studio (2D and 3D). They are kept busy working on projects
for Curious Pictures, Colossal Pictures and other studios. They have worked
on several national TV commercials including Coke and Budweiser and have produced
effect work for the feature Lost in Space through Film Factory in London.
Lorie Loeb (650) 342 - 3459, does a "simple style of animation "
and likes to work on "projects that have heart." She used to teach
animation at New York University and does both handdrawn and computer work (2D
and 3D). She is also a consultant to two Bay Area "think tanks."
Manix Visual Effects 1190 W. Tower Ave. Bldg. 11, Alameda, CA 94501 (510)
864-0600 Manix produced special effects for What Dreams May Come, the
winner of this year's Oscar for best effects..
MessyOptics, 3001 19th Street, San Francisco CA 94110 (415) 641 -- 0391.
Carter Tomassi runs a camera service that shoots handmade animation art, titles,
stop-motion projects and effects. Their Oxberry animation camera can provide
16 mm or 35mm footage and the Oxberry stand is equipped with motion control
movements. Tomassi ran Colossal Pictures' animation camera department for six
years before opening his own company. His clients include Colossal Pictures,
Wild Brain, Curious Pictures and other firms.
Midland, 1678 Shattuck #301, Berkeley CA 94709 (510) 848 - 2400. Midland,
founded in 1978, became a leader in the field of special format ride films for
major theme parks. They no longer do work for hire. Instead they are developing
Robots on Mars, their first feature. The project will be an all 3D computer
animated film. It is headed by Don Fox and Michael Sarley. The voices will include
Tim Curry and Judge Reinhold. Suzanne Pastor is the line producer.
Mondo Media, 135 Mississippi, San Francisco CA 94107, (415) 865 - 2700,
www.mondomed.com. Mondo Media, founded in 1988, started as a pc based company
doing multimedia exhibits for trade shows. They did their first game project
in 1993. Today their staff of 50 does work for the Internet, for broadcast,
for films and for the game industry. There clients include Electronic Arts,
Hasbro Interactive, Intel, Dreamworks, MGM Interactive, Disney TV, Disney Interactive,
and others. One of their current projects is putting cartoons and animation
on the web. See The Mondo Mini Shows on their web site for a glimpse
of the future.
One Frame at a Time, 369 29th Street, San Francisco CA 94131 (415) 648 -
0356. Patricia Amlin runs a full service animation studio. She has produced
and directed The Five Suns and Popol Vuh. She does animated title
sequences for other filmmakers. At present she is chair of the Cinema Department
at San Francisco State University and teaches animation there.
Pacific Data Images (PDI), 3101 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 846
- 6900, (Antz) is working on a series of cgi features to be released
by Dreamworks. They also have a commercial division that continues to do award
winning work.
Pixar, 1001 West Cutting Blvd., Richmond CA 94804 (510) 236 - 4000, produces
features (A Bug's Life and Toy Story) that are released
by Disney. They also animate the ads, CD Roms, home video tapes and other materials
that relate to their features. They no longer do commercials for products of
other corporations.
Protozoa, 2727 Mariposa - Studio 100, San Francisco CA 94110 (415) 522 -
6500, www.protozoa.com and www.protocomix.com Protozoa was founded in 1996 by
Brad de Graf, a pioneer in a technological field called motion capture, real
time animation and/or performance animation. The technology allows movements
of an actors to control the movements of a computer generated puppet. Among
the company's projects are a virtual Bill Clinton and a virtual Ed Sullivan
for TV. The BBC has just begun to air The Dog and Dinosaur Show, 26 five
minute episodes that Protozoa completed in 4 weeks. The company's software division
received an Oscar nomination for their technological achievement, the Alive
program/system. Their Internet division is presently putting a daily 3D comic
strip on the web using a streaming video system.
Six Foot Two, 1011 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur CA 94939, (415) 925 - 9909 www.sixfoottwo.com
Six Foot Two, founded in 1993, is a designed based character animation house
that does work in whatever technique is best for the job (cel, 2D and 3D cgi,
motion control, stop-motion, film & video special effects and/or live action).
They have done theme park attractions, TV commercials, music videos, feature
film effects, interactive work, etc. They have a staff of 6 and hire up to 40
people freelance. The company name refers to the height of the owners, Robin
and Suzanne Atherly.
Tippett Studio, 2741 10th St., Berkeley, CA 94710 (510) 649-9711. Tippett
is an animation legend who used to work in stop motion with amazing models.
Now most of his work is done in 3D cgi - Starship Troopers, Robo Cop,
Jurasic Park.
Western Images, 600 Townsend, San Francisco CA 94103 (415) 252 - 6000. Western
has a long history as a major post production facility servicing clients doing
high-end productions. What isn't well known is the company's growth in the area
of cgi character animation and 3D effects design and execution. Western now
has a small staff (8-12 people) that focuses on being a creative resource. They
have provided animation for clients as varied as Web-TV, Honda, the National
Football League, Electronic Arts, Quaker Oats, Xerox and National Geographic.
Wild Brain, 2650 18th Street, San Francisco CA 94110, (415) 553 - 8000,
www.wildbrain.com. Wild Brain is probably the largest independent full service
animation company outside of Hollywood doing cel and computer (2D and 3D) animation.
They have about 50 people on staff and use about 50 or more freelance artists
when they are busy. They have done everything from award winning commercials
to the feature FernGully 2. They also have created material for TV series
and the Internet. Their commercials have promoted Xerox, Coke, Nike, Intel,
Hershey's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and others. They have just signed a contract
to do their own TV series (26 shows). Their A Dog Cartoon, an original
6 minute 35mm short is winning top festival prizes.
Wreckless Abandon is a stop motion company with a sales office at 901 Battery
St. Suite 220, SF CA 94111 (415) 693-5055 and a studio in East Granby, CT. They
have done national ads and comedy segments for Saturday Night Live.
Xaos, 444 De Haro Street Suite 211, San Francisco CA 94107 (415) 558 - 9267.
Xaos has been busy producing 3D computer animation and visual effects in the
Bay Area for 12 years. Their extensive list of credits includes work for features,
TV commercials, broadcast logos, and most recently large format films (15 perf/70
mm). They have worked on the hit Imax film Everest and on several features
including Jumanji, Lawnmower Man, Spawn and Page Master. The company
has 20 people on staff at present. Their unique organic look sets them apart
from other companies.
Zenimation, P.O. Box 1017, Orinda CA 94563 (510) 655 - 8539, www.zenimation.com.
This is a new 3D cgi company founded by Joe Elardy. He had previously directed
Vanpire, a 3D cgi TV series done in San Francisco. Elardy's company is
working for video game companies at the moment doing modeling and texturing.
They have also made a pilot for a series they would like to produce.
There are studios that were left out of the main part of the article for
a variety of reasons.
Animation and Effects in Pacifica has done several model animation projects
using clay and other materials. The number I had for them is a fax line.
Radium, 2728 Hyde, San Francisco CA (415) 647 - 0674, is a computer animation
house. The person answering their phone said to call their publicity agent in
Los Angeles for information.
Danger Productions exists as a name and an office at 305 San Anselmo Ave.
Suite 203, San Anselmo CA 94960, (415) 256 - 8854. Partners Ken Pontac and David
Blieman are busy working elsewhere, but they will probably be back at some point
to do another project under the Danger name. They did the TV series Bump
in the Night for CBS in the mid-1990s.
Skellington run by Henry Selick is planning to shoot stop motion animation
sequences for Monkey Bone, his next feature, in San Francisco. He moved
his main business office to Los Angeles so he can be closer to his bosses at
Twentieth Century Fox. Selick is best known as the director of Nightmare
Before Christmas. Several people who will be/are working with him didn't
return my calls.
There are several game companies in the Bay Area that have in-house animation
departments. They include Electronic Arts in San Mateo, Time Warner
(formerly Atari) in Milpitas and Broderbund in Novato.
Besides the above animation houses there are several companies and individuals
that provide specialized services. M 5 in San Francisco (415) 550 - 0604,
makes models for stop motion productions. Matte World, (415) 382 - 1929,
makes mattes for special effect film work. Peter Williams is a motion control
expert who calls his company Como, (415) 566 - 6384. Michael Hinton
at Monaco (415) 864 - 5350, does optical printing. Pete Kozachek (415)
258 - 9699, is an exceptional director of photography whose credits include
Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. Rock
Ross (415) 861 - 6953, does animated 16 mm & 35 mm titles and visual
effects. Custer Studio (415) 641-1100, rents space for stop motion, motion
control and other kinds of shoots. David McLaughlin in Mill Valley (415)
388- 7546 rents motion control rigs, 35 mm cameras and other equipment used
to shoot stop motion and special effects footage. Richard "RD"
Downing (415) 563 - 2376, does quality still photography that is used in
animated sequences for commercials, shorts, etc.
FILM ARTS 15TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL has a final entry date of July 9 fo early Nov. event. This is an important, well run event that pays to show your work. $15 entry fee. Forms at 346 Ninth St. 2nd floor SF 94103 or www.filmart.com (415) 552-8760.
MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL deadline is June 30. Entry fee is $25. The non-competitive event (no prizes, etc.) is Oct. 7 - 17. Contact Film Institute of Northern California, 38 Miller Avenue Suite 6, Mill Valley, CA 94941 (415) 383-8606.
AFI LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL has a late entry date of Aug. 2. $30-40 entry fee for shorts. Cash prizes. 2021 Western Ave., LA, CA 90027 (323) 856-7707
LA INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL shows the winners on the Film Channel. July 1 deadline. Previews in VHS. 1260 N. Alexandria Ave., LA, CA 90029 (213) 427-8016
TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL July 15 deadline. Must be a world premiere. $25 & up fee. (603) 643-5938
NEXT ISSUE: AN INTERVIEW WITH ILM STAFF MEMBERS ABOUT STAR WARS, MUMMY AND WILD, WILD WEST. OUR EVENT WILL BE JOE RANFT ON THE PIXAR PROCESS OF DEVELOPING STORIES. His credits include A Bug's Life, Toy Story, Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach..
| This issue was written by Karl Cohen, proofread by Jim Gates and laid out by Shirley Smith. Membership is $18 a year from the above address. Highlights of back issues can be found on the internet at www.awn.com in the animation village. |
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