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A PRINT OF NINA PALEY'S IMAX FILM "PANDORAMA" IS NOW SHOWING IN BERLIN at the Cinestar IMAX theater. She recently signed with XLargo Distribution in Paris. The theater has a print in 70mm on a long term lease. The film was created by painting directly on 70mm clear film stock, by scratching on black 70mm leader and by using rubber stamps.
The work has been shown at special events in IMAX theaters in San Francisco, Los Angeles (Calif. Science Center) and Frankfurt, Germany. It has been shown in other formats at festivals and other events in the Hamptons, Ottawa, KROK (a festival on a ship in Russia), Berlin, St. Petersburg, Kiev and San Rafael. Pandorama will be shown in the Film Arts Festival at the Roxie on Nov. 4 at 5 pm. It play in Bilbao, Spain later this month (she first herd about that event in this newsletter). Other screenings are pending.
Paley has an entertaining web site at www.nina paley.com. It has animated segments on it, samples from her successful career as a cartoonist, and other things to see and read. A mini-exhibit of her work will be displayed at a posh fund raiser Nov. 9th at the Black Cat on Broadway (San Francisco, not New York).
Paley is trying to raise money to transfer her delightful, funny and fast moving video Fetch! to 35mm film. Donations are welcomed. They can be sent directly to her (Box 460736, SF CA 94146), or you can get a tax break by making the donation through The Institute for Unpopular Culture, a non-profit group in SF (415) 986-4382.
FILM ARTS FOUNDATION'S ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL TO SHOW ABOUT 10 WORKS USING ANIMATION ON SAT. NOV. 4 AND SUN. NOV. 5 On Sat. at 4 at the Roxie the program "Whole Films" will include Nina Paley's Pandorama (3 min., 35mm)and Jeremy Solterbeck's Moving Illustration of Machines (9:30 min., 35mm) FAF director Fail Silva has told me how wonderful Solterbeck's film is several times. In the 20+ years that I've known her, she has rarely been that excited about recommending a work so…
At 7 pm the program "Evolution, Revolution, Revelation" includes Peter Brinson's It Did It, an 18 min. video with animated sequences illustrating a drug experience.
At 9 pm Saturday, "Hold Me With Your Robot Hand" includes Anne McGuire's I Like Men (1 min. video) and Naomi Uman's Removed (7 min., 16mm). Removed sounds quite interesting as the creator used nail polish remover to erase the image of a woman in a 1970's porno film. It isn't really animation, but it does suggest some interesting possibilities.
On Sunday at 3 "The Ultimate Connection" includes Naomi Uman's Private Movie which uses drawing on film to tell a love story (6 min., 16mm). Also in the program is Stefan Gronsky's The Box (5 min video). It is a computer animation in which "a Ju-Ju-Bee falls for a Jack-in-the-Box."
At 5:30 "What's A Family" features Debra Chasnoff's That's a Family (35min, 35mm). Her documentary includes some simple animation of colors.
At 7:30 "Have You Seen Me" includes Victoria Livingstone's Window (10 min., 35mm)and Charlie Ramos' The Metamorphosis (8 min., 35mm) a computer animated version of the Kafka classic.
ANIMATOR DAN McHALE IN A ONE MAN PLAY ABOUT GOING TO THE WTO PROTESTS IN SEATTLE Dan McHale, who does both commercial and independent animation, will perform his one man play Meet John WTO this month at the Noh Space. A year ago he left work and went to Seattle to protest the actions of the World Trade Organization. At Noh Space,, 2840 Mariposa, SF on Thurs., Fri. and Saturday nights at 8 p.m., Nov. 2 - 18. www.meetjohnwto.org For reservations call (415) 621-7978.
"FOR THE BIRDS" BY RALPH EGGLESTON OF PIXAR marks his directorial debut. It was a hit when it premiered at SIGGRAPH in New Orleans this past summer and it has gone on to festivals (Rome, Chicago, etc.). It is also touring with Spike and Mike. Eggleston joined Pixar in 1992 as an art director on Toy Story. He is presently working there as a production designer on an unnamed feature. John Lasseter was the executive producer of his short.
PREVIEW PIXAR'S "MONSTERS INC." ON THE INTERNET Seek and you may find a funny 2 minute clip from the upcoming feature. It has cute toy like characters in the scene shown. I found a link to the clip on Jerry Beck's informative web site, Animation Research. The movie will be a Thanksgiving 2001 release.
Voice talent for the feature includes Jihn Goodman, Billy Crystal, James Coburn, Jenninifer Tilly and Bonnie Hunt.
PIXAR TO MOVE IN MID-NOVEMBER to 1200 Park Ave., Emeryville, CA 94608 (510) 752-3000
"WIRED" RAN A FULL PAGE PHOTO OF A SET FROM HENRY SELICK'S "MONKEY BONE" The magnificent interior of a train station from the artist's nightmare in the movie was built by M5 here in San Francisco. The image appeared in the Nov. issue, page 82.
PLAN TO SHOW YOUR WORK AT OUR NEXT OPEN SCREENINGS, THURS. JANUARY 25 FOR INDEPENDENT AND STUDENT WORKS AND WED. FEB. 21 FOR WORK BY PROFESSIONAL STUDIOS These are great showcases and everybody is welcomed to show up with a reel. No forms to fill out, no fees, no advanced reservations necessary, and you do not need to be a member of ASIFA or left handed. If you do not have a real, just come and be part of an appreciative audience. At the McBean Theater in the Exploratorium, 7:30 p.m. free..
SIX FOOT TWO DID ANOTHER FINE WORK FOR A WORLD FAMOUS THEME PARK They have done several project for a well known park that doesn't want the world to know who works for them. Suzanne and Robin have done a few other projects including graphics for HGTV and moving their studio to 25 Ebbtide in Corta Madera 94925 (415) 927-0880.
They also had to move from their rented Mill Valley home. It was sold for around _ million dollars to somebody who will tear it down and build something bigger on the lot. They also welcomed their second child into the world a few months ago. They now have a boy and a girl. www.sixfoottwo.com
SEVERAL LOCAL COMPANIES HAVE MOVED, CLOSED OR… SINCE WE PUBLISHED OUR 1999 DIRECTORY By researching a directory of local animation companies for the November Film/Tape World, I found lots of changes since we last published our directory. We are using the following new information to update our web site:
Curious Pictures has closed their local office, but they will continue to represent Tuesday McGowen at Western, Jerry van de Beek at Little Fluffy Clouds and Chel White in Portland. Curious' main office is in New York. (212) 674-1400.
One Frame at a Time, SFPG, Danger Productions and Click 3X have also closed their offices/studios in the Bay Area.
Atari changed their name a year or two ago to Time/Warner. Since then they have been purchased by Midway West and they have once again changed their name.
The latest 3rd hand information on the Learning Company/Broderbund mess is that Matel dumped these CR-ROM companies after paying over a billion dollars for them. They were rumored to be loosing a million a day. The company that now owns the Learning Co. and Broderbund will probably sell off whatever assets there are and then close what is left.
Flying Rhino has moved to 500 Tamal Plaza, Suite 520 in Corte Madera. (415) 927-4466
Six Foot Two has moved to 25 Ebbtide Passage, Corte Madera CA 94925 (415) 927-0880
Giant Killer Robots has moved to 576 Natoma St. SF CA (415) 541-9821
Spunky Town has moved to 689 Third St. SF CA (415) 947-0320 They apparently are not expanding their web sites, but are keeping them going "as is." They have taken on work doing animation for hand held electronic devices.
ZDTV has changed their name to Tech TV. Several animation studios have been doing new station ids for them.
There are several companies listed in 1999 that still have phones that work, but do not answer them and they did not return my calls. For example Midland's message box on their answering machine was full ever time I called.
Zenimation's phone was disconnected. Their web site says they are no longer in business except to do an in-house project.
NEW COMPANY LISTINGS Several new companies are listed in the Film/Tape article. A few may be familiar to you like Claartoons run by Tony Claar, 581 Chetwood St., Oakland CA 94610 (510) 654-7492. Others have not been mentioned in past issues of our newsletter. They are:
3D JOE CORPORATION They do web games including Water Balloon Drop. 330 Townsend #100, SF CA 94107 (415) 536-4170
DRISCAL DESIGN They do Flash and other forms of animation. They are run by David Maglioiocco, a former Broderbund employee. He has done work for Hallmark, Hasbro and other clients. (415) 899-9948
IMAGININE creates CD-ROM games. Their new product stars Barney. They also do other kinds of animated work for clients. 3025 Fillmore, SF 94123 (415) 567-6158
WAY OUT WEST is headed by Tom Rubalcava, Ricardo Barahona and Bill Hunt. They have done work for both TV and the Internet. 3001 19th St. SF CA (415) 641-0371 www.wayoutwestproductions.com
PIX N STONES PRODUCTION HOUSE does corporate communications work and other 2D and 3D projects. 326 Sanchez, SF CA 94114 (415) 558-9332
FLUENT SOLUTIONS has merged with ALPHA OMEGA. Fluent is now located at 2054 University #300, Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 649-8634
FREAK SHOW FILMS is a young company run by 3 partners who have already done work for Old Navy, Entertainment Tonight, Cartoon Network, Curious Pictures and Comedy Central. Gerald Howard plans to finish a 4 minute personal stop-motion film early next year. 651 A Scott St, SF 94117 (415) 776-1076
HOTWIRED ANIMATION EXPRESS WANTS TO DISTRIBUTE YOUR WEBTOONS Talk with Marlow Markus about their non-exclusive contracts, pay, etc. 660 Third St. 4th floor, SF 94107 (415) 276-8476
Two other local companies to contact that want to see completed projects and proposals are Mondo Media and Wild Brain.com. (Shockwave's acquisitions department is in LA. Their corporate offices are in SF.)
OUR OCTOBER EVENT INCLUDED SEVERAL UNEXPECTED SURPRISES PDI/Dreamwork's reel was exactly what you would expect from an outstanding 20 year old cgi firm (the oldest in the biz now). It was excellent, high tech, polished, impressive, etc. What I didn't expect was animator Nick Walker saying a few words about the problems/solutions of converting Shrek, PDI's next 35mm feature, to 70mm IMAX in 3D. He gave a brief talk on the conversion problems that fascinated me.
ILM's commercial reel was also what I expected. What I didn't expect was Victoria Livingstone's polished presentation about working in the shadow of George Lucas and how the company helped her finish Window, her award winning short. The audience gave her a lot of applause afer her film was shown. At present ILM is working on 10 or 12 features for a variety of clients.
Wild Brain didn't tell me in advance they were going to give us a sneak preview of their TV series Poochini (a world premiere we were told) or previews of their new web series. Congratulations! Phil Robinson, one of the partners in the company, shared a lot of information with us.
Dot Comix sent a reel with several types of shows for adults who like nasty satire that is sophisticated. There was also stuff for kids who get spoon fed wholesome stuff whether they like it or not. The clips from the Duke 2000 campaign had a lot of bite. I certainly hope he isn't elected to office this month. Dot Comix's Duke makes Nixon look like a nice guy… Sister Randy made a couple of appearances on the reel. She is a top rate parody of Sister Wendy of PBS. Randy is a chain smoking nun whose talks about art are quite funny (and her facts are inevitably wrong).
WILD BRAIN.COM IS LAUNCHING ANOTHER SEASON OF FINE WEBTOONS INCLUDING SEVERAL NEW SHOWS one nice surprise is Frank Kozik's Kozik's Inferno. It is based on Dante's Devine Comedy. A lot of thought and work went into developing this intelligent series. In this updated trip to hell, Dante is played by a pig who meets Nixon, Elvis, Monica Lewinsky and other familiar figures along the way. Kozik is known for his posters for rock bands.
Other new series include Anita Bomba, The Perfect Weapon, and Guilty as Sin. Anitta Bomba is the story of a bank robber in a city full of decay. It is based on a French comic by Cromwell and Eric Gratien.
Perfect Weapon is an action adventure story about a mild-mannered clerk with super-human powers when danger strikes. This hot show is by Marcelo Souza and Ariel Prendergast.
Guilty as Sin takes place in a world full of corruption, greed and other forms of evil. The anti-hero savior is hell-bent on his own damnation.
The second season of Romanov has started. This well designed series by Chris Lanier won the Grand Prize for Internet animation in Sept. at the Ottawa Animation Festival. A Wild Brain press release calls it "the struggle of a bewildered soul in an uncaring world. Intriguingly cerebral, with dynamic animation and an elegant score, Romanov sweeps the audience into an irrepressibly witty theater of the absurd."
MONDO MEDIA KEEPS GROWING WITH MORE STAFF AND MORE FINE SHOWS INCLUDING 3 FOR TEEN GIRLS For teen girls Piki and Poko in Adventures in Starland has been premiered and two more series are in development. Tom Tomorrow is doing This Modern World, a political series. Ralph Nader provided his voice for a cartoon version of himself in episode 1. Another new show is Another World, an anime inspired series by 2 artists with a fine arts background.
Mondo buys animation for syndication on the web. One show that they now distribute is Bulbo. It was first seen by us in the ASIFA-East competition.
Mondo's first hits keep chugging along. Thugs on Film is now seen on cable TV on BBC-America. Mondo recently opened Mondo Mini Shows.Com. There are now 120 people on staff and more will be added this year (send them your resume).
FLASH ANIMATION FOR ANIMATORS Lee Marrs at the Center for Electronic Art is developing the right course for you. Call and find out (415) 512-9300 www.cea.edu
SPIKE AND MIKE'S SICK AND TWISTED PROGRAM IS IN TOWN, BUT DOES ANYBODY CARE? If you go and like it or have another point of view, how about a few words or a mini review for our December newsletter. Send in you comments ASAP as the issues will be put together before I go off to Spain. (Mail directly to Karl Cohen, 478 Frederick, SF 94117) Meanwhile, here are a couple of illustrations from films in the new show. See "Local Screenings" for a list of theaters playing this program.
A DISNEYANA SHOW/SALE IS COMING Sat. and Sunday Dec. 9 & 10. The location will depend on how many dealers decide to take part. So call (650) 401-9749 for details or www.geocities.com/jollyholliday2000 The producer says this was a big show before the Internet killed business at shows held in rented spaces. He believes the novelty of buying online is ending and people are once again interested in seeing what is available before buying anything. Past shows have been in the San Mateo/Palo Alto area.
- through Thursday, Nov. 2 NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS at the UC Theatre, Berkeley
SICK AND TWISTED FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION will be at several locations this month. Midnights on Fri. and Sat. Nov. 3, 4, 10, 11 at the Kabuki. Nov. 3-16 at the Fairfax. Nov. 10-16 at the California in Berkeley. Also at the Crest in Sacramento, The Roxie in SF, Towne in San Jose and in Dec. at the Lakeside in Santa Rosa.
Friday, November 17, 7:30 o.m. CARTOONS KICK ASS, Fritz the Cat will be there, will you? See our event flyer for details. Exploratorium
Sat. & Sun. Nov. 18-19, The Berkeley Film and Video Festival is showing 2 animated works: Aspire by John C. Atkinson and What's in Heidi's Head by Nancy Ferguson, Mark Mothersbaugh and Arlene Klaskt. At the Fine Art Cinema in Berkeley. Call (510) 843-3699 for details.
Monday, November 27, IDEAS IN ANIMATION WITH LIVE MUSIC BY NIK PHELPS AND THE SPROCKET ENSEMBLE at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Program will include Fur and Feathers by Maria
Vasilkeusky, the premiere of a new Romanov episode, and more. At Minna Street Gallery (on Minna between 2nd and New Montgomery).
Tuesday, November 28, IDEAS IN ANIMATION - same event & times as the 27th, but at "21 Grand, " 21 Grand Ave. in Oakland
Sat. December 2, David Cox and Molly Hankwitz present their latest work from Australia. Past work has used a lot of stop-motion animation. ATA's Other Cinema, 8:30 pm. 992 Valencia in SF.
JIMMY PICKER HAS A NEW 35MM FILM He won an Oscar in 1983 for the impressive clay animated Sundae in New York featuring dozens of great looking characters. He also won an Oscar nomination in 1977 for Jimmy the C, a clay animated Jimmy Carter sitting in the oval office and singing Georgia on My Mind (sung by Ray Charles).
His new film is The Age of Ignorance. It was shown in October by ASIFA-East. The only hint to its theme or content is the note, "due to the serious/graphic nature of this film, no one under the age of 18 will be admitted."
WELCOME WENDY JACKSON-HALL AND ANTRAN MANOOGIAN, OUR NEW U.S. INTERNATIONAL ASIFA REPRESENTATIVES Wendy is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design in animation. She worked in LA for Animation World Network (AWN) and Animation Magazine before moving to Seattle. She now runs a "Hands-On Media Lab, a high-tech animation studio for budding animators" at 911 Media Arts Center. In October she had Yuri Norstein present a masters class there and held a public screening of his work (Tale of Tales, Hedgehog in the Fog & his unfinished The Overcoat). www.911media.org
Antran Manoogian has been president of ASIFA-Hollywood since 1989. He has worked for several top studios in Hollywood. For the past 6 years he has been an associate producer of special projects at Disney TV. He is presently working on DVD releases and an animation project for a theme park.
BILL HURTZ DIES He was 81. Hurtz joined Disney in 1938 and was Art Babbitt's assistant before the strike. Babbitt realized that Hurtz, who was doing much of Babbitt's grunt work, was being paid poorly while he was living in luxury. One of the issues that led to the Disney strike in 1941 was Babbitt asking Walt for raises for the poorly paid. At a union meeting in May, 1941, Hurtz made the motion to strike in response to Disney firing Babbitt for his supporting the union.
Hurtz worked on WWII propaganda and then went on to be one of UPA's first employees. He directed the Unicorn in the Garden and worked on Gerald McBoing-Boing and other classics.
In the mid-50's he worked with Shamus Culhane on TV material. He then joined Jay Ward as an overseas director on Rocky and His Friends. (First TV series inked and painted outside of the US - it was done in Mexico).
INDIAN COMPANY TO BUY 51% OF FILM ROMAN The company is Pentamedia Graphics (formerly Pentafour Software) and they run digital studios throughout S.E. Asia. Film Roman in Hollywood does The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Oblongs and X-Men.
FIRST ASIFA CHAPTER IS FORMED IN INDIA It is in Trivandrum, home of Toonz India. Toonz, a large production studio headed by Bill Dennis (former vp at Disney), sponsors the impressive/annual Week With the Masters.
DISNEY SCRAPS INAPPROPRIATE ANIMATED FEATURE They were reported to have spent $20 million on the computer generated project named Wild Life. Roy Disney announced the decision to cancel the project according to Inside Magazine. The film was said to have had "an inappropriate adult sensibility" and it was "gay friendly." It contained "sexual innuendo."
SOUTH PARK HAS LICENSED A BRITISH COMPANY TO USE THEIR CHARACTERS ON CONDOMS! On your next trip to London you can look for the faces of Kenny, Stan, Cartman and Chief on products from Condomania.
THE ACADEMY HAS VOTED TO GIVE AN OSCAR TO ANIMATED FEATURES IF there are 8 eligible animated features that year. There is still a debate about what to do with films that are part-animated. The first Oscar could be awarded in March, 2002.
THE IOTA CENTER SELLS VHS TAPES OF OSKAR FISCHINGER, JOHN WHITNEY, BRAKHAGE and other experimental artists. There are a few books as well. Write for a list: 3765 Cardiff Ave. Suite 305, LA CA 90034 or www.iotaCenter.org/store
THE STOP-MOTION FILMOGRAPHY: A CRITICAL GUIDE TO 297 FEATURES USING PUPPET ANIMATION by Neil Pettigrew (forward by Ray Harryhausen), 878 pages, 189 photographs (51 in color), excellent glossary, appendices, bibliography and detailed index. Hardbound, printed on archival paper, 1999, McFarland & Co. Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 (800) 232-2187 (Visa & MC), $110 + $4 for shipping. www.mcfarlandpub.com (Note: bookstores rarely carry McFarland books, but they can order them for you. You can also buy directly from them or through Amazon.com.)
This amazing achievement should be a basic reference book for anyone with a serious interest in stop-motion animation. The author spent years researching the thousands of details found in this volume. Everything is covered from well known films with major stop-motion sequences to obscure works with just a few seconds of puppet work. The credits in the text include, if known, names of people who worked on the film, but did not get on-screen credit.
From the thoroughness of Pettigrew's research one might think he grew up in Hollywood or in the Bay Area. He is well informed about people who have worked here over the years at ILM, Tippett Studios and for Henry Selick.
It turns out that the author is British and he works as a freelance computer consultant in London. His writing style is straight forward, factual and easy to read. At times there are little phrases that set him apart from American writers and that makes his style all the more enjoyable. For example he writes of one film, "he must battle not only a giant spider… but also the far worst terrors of a lousy script, weak direction and shoody special effects." In a critique of a film he admires he says "one of the genre's most deliciously drawn-out buildups…"
A look at a few more pages gives not only a glimpse at the wide range of features covered, but also provides a few more charming lines and some unexpected information. The 'S' section begins with Santa Claus, "a dreary children's film from… about 12 (shots) which make use of stop-motion by Pete Kleinow - shamefully uncredited." Pete Kleinow lives in the Bay Area and works here and in Hollywood. Elsewhere there are words of praise to others who have worked here including Tom St. Amand, Harry Walton, Phil Tippett, and other masters of stop-motion animation.
The next 6 films are Saturday the 14th, Saturday the 14th Strikes Back ("marginally less interesting than its dull predecessor"), Screamers, The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (he writes about the unusual techniques of the Bolex Brothers - _ page of text), 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (this George Pal feature gets 4+ pages) and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. He spends 17 pages covering the Ray Harryhaussen classic (Saturday the 14th Strikes Back is covered in 2 paragraphs). His favorite directors appear to be Harryhaussen and Willis O'Brien.
While almost all short films are excluded, he makes an exception and writes about the early works of Willis O'Brien (made in Oakland, Ca.). Each of O'Brien's features is discussed at great length (20 to 40 pages) including discussions about technical and aesthetic developments. He also includes one puppet film with no humans in it - Nightmare Before Before Christmas.
The Appendix is also full of valuable information. Appendix A, "Artists' Filmographies" covers about 50 artists including many people associated with stop-motion productions done here.
Appendix B covers Academy Awards and nominations given to special effect work. Another appendix is top ten stop-motion feature lists from Jim Danforth, Phil Tippett, Dennis Muren, Harry Walton and a few other people. There is also a list of posters that normally sell for over $100.
Even though the book is more expensive than most, I suspect anyone interested in stop-motion work will want to own a copy. They will want it even though it isn't a lovely coffee table edition with a fancy cover. In fact the book doesn't even have a paper dust cover. This is simply a book for people who want information. (Most of that information isn't available anywhere else.) The publisher constructed the book so it will last despite repeated usage (it has a library binding and is printed on acid free archival paper).
I congratulate Pettigrew on the amazing amount of work that went into this 2" thick volume, and I thank McFarland for publishing an important work that isn't likely to become a "best seller."
WALT DISNEY AND EUROPE: EUROPEAN INFLUENCES ON THE AMERICAN FEATURE FILMS OF WALT DISNEY by Robin Allen, 300 pages, 240 illustrations (90 in color), plus footnotes, an extensive bibliography and index. Available in the USA from Indiana University Press, 601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 The hard cover edition is $59.95 and the paper edition is $35. Available at bookstores or by calling (800) 842-6796
If you are looking for a thoughtful gift for someone who admires early Disney features and excellent scholarship, this might be an excellent gift. It might also be something you will want to put under your tree for yourself.
Allen turns the clock back to a period when the American public didn't care much for Picasso, Monet or our Ash Can school of painters. Disney and his artists shared a love of European artists who are not as popular today as they were in the 1920's and 30's. It was illustrations and paintings by Gustave Dore, Arnold Bocklin, Goya, Hogarth and others that inspired them. Disney also turned to European authors for many of the stories that appeared in his shorts and early features.
Allan gives numerous examples of how Disney artists used traditional European culture in their work. If the story called for a castle, town square or old church, it was a memory of a European work that the Disney crew recalled. Allen shows photographs or old illustrations of buildings next to a Disney background that shows similar structures. He shows this type of borrowing of images in scene after scene.
This outstanding book resulted from hundred of hours spent talking with the artists, and an enormous amount of time digging through records in the Disney archive. Allen found out what
illustrated children's books Disney and his studio library owned in the 1930's. He found out what stories were their favorites. He researched which town gates and rustic landscapes they admired. Some of this information comes from production meeting notes in the studio's archive.
The value of this book goes far beyond the films of the studio. Europe inspired Walt's decisions about the design of Disneyland and other ventures. Take Allen's thesis a step further and you realize how much of ourpopular culture before and even after WWII was influenced by the old world. Even today, when a kid dreams of knights in shining armor and castles, the images in the kid's mind are based on European models.
SOME PEOPLE JUST HAVE BAD TASTE I was told recently that a well known web site rejected a proposal for a series because it was "too cerebral" and too attractive looking. Frankly, I welcome webtoons that are created for intelligent adults. I'm tired of seeing poorly designed sophomoric stuff. Web animation doesn't have to be crude and ugly. Shock value has its place, but trying to create a novelty hit isn't the only way to go. I applaud Wild Brain.Com, Dot Comix and Mondo Media for seeking out and supporting highly creative talent.
CYBERWORLD IN IMAX IS AS BEAUTIFUL AS IT IS VAPID, PLUS OTHER UNUSUAL VISUAL EXPERIENCES by Karl Cohen Take your favorite 3-D cgi sequences, have their production companies render new versions of the footage so a stereo image can be obtained, add a female robot as a tour guide for an amusement park of the future and you have Cyberworld. Oh, almost as an after-though, have somebody write a script to tie it all together. That seems to be what the creators of Cyberworld did. They ended up with is a wonderful looking 3-D featurette that has absolutely no content or meaning.
Another problem is the short films that were used to make the film don't really go together that well. You go from ultra-realistic images to the highly stylized look of PDI's Antz, to the cartoony 3-D Simpsons sequence by PDI. There are also 3-D bugs inspired by Tex Avery Raid commercials and lots of other looks and influences in the film. I would have been more impressed if this were a show of a dozen cgi shorts with their original opening and closing credits left in place. Instead, segments just pop on the screen without any logical reason or purpose.
I went to a free preview and nobody in my party of 4 was impressed. One person was puzzled as to why Intel financed it (their name is splashed across the screen at the beginning and end). My wife couldn't understand why people would pay money to see it.
Unfortunately the film will probably make a decent amount of money as it is a nice slick looking novelty. I suspect somebody decided any 3-D cgi animation would sell as long as it was "cool" or whatever the latest slang word is for mindless eye candy. The success of this film, as modest as it may be, will probably encourage future IMAX producers to produce more empty-headed projects.
It would be nice if somebody eventually gets to explore other potentials of the medium. Perhaps there will come a day when a producer backs a project with an intelligent script and either first-rate animation and/or actors.
That could happen in a year or two as Mainframe in Vancouver has a contract to develop 3 animated features in 3D for IMAX. Gulliver will be their first IMAX release. PDI/Dreamworks will bring Shrek out next Nov. in IMAX (it opens in 35mm next May) and Disney may bring out a 70mm version of Beauty and the Beast.
Speaking of empty headed experiences, I saw one of the final laser light shows at the Academy of Science. Over the last a quarter century the Laserium producers have really pushed the technology to great heights, but by the time the hour show ended I was bored and ready to leave. I love good nonobjective experiences (I have worked off-and-on as a light show artist since the late 60's including Bill Grahm shows with the Dead, Airplane, Country Joe, etc.). While laser technology can produce exciting visuals, they are not varied enough to carry an entire evening. They do build in visual excitement, but it seemed each work in the program was more or less the same. There were visual differences of course, but the differences were not great enough to satisfy me for an hour.
I have seen several Laserium shows at the museum over the 26 years they were performed there. There were several wonderful magical moments. I hope that in the future artists can learn how to integrate laser images with other forms of visual material to produce performances that are truly wonderful from beginning to end (the Joshua Light Show company at the Fillmore East in the late 60's was capable of doing that without repeating itself in an evenings program).
If you enjoy nonobjective visuals, the Oskar Fischinger programs at the PFA in late Sept. were exceptional. Dr. William Moritz provided enough information about the artist to make people feel they better understood the man and his work. Unlike Cyberworld, an evening of Fischinger's work builds as an aesthetic experience. You see his art evolving and maturing as you journey from silent black and white exercises from the 1920s to his later color sound films from the 1940s.
The program on artists influenced by Fischinger at the PFA was uneven but most of the films were exciting. Several of the "classics" in the show were shown earlier this year by us at the Exploratorium. One surprise in the program that delighted me was a Mary Ellen Bute film that flowed beautifully from one space to another. Moritz also included a new work from Germany and a work by a Basque animator (Spain). They showed that non-objective animation is still evolving in new directions.
NASHVILLE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL has become "one of the hottest film festivals in the US" according to their press release. It started in 1969 as Sinking Creek. The winning animated short qualifies for Academy consideration for their humble competition. Early deadline is Dec. 15 ($30 for shorts). Late deadline is Feb. 28 ($35 for shorts). PO Box 24330 Nashville, TN 37202-4330
39th ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL is a great annual event for experimental/personal films. Lots of animation is shown at the festival and in their traveling show of festival highlights. Joan Gratz, an Oscar winning animator (Mona Lisa Descending the Stairs) will be one of the 3 judges! Lots of cash prizes, some fame and … awaits you. Dec. 1 deadline. $35 entry fee. Box 8232, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107 (734) 995-5356 www.aafilmfest.org
BLACK MARIA FILM FESTIVAL has a Nov. 20 deadline for entries. They organize a tour of 40+ works to 50+ institutions. Cash prizes plus fees paid to works sent on the tour. (201) 200-2043 or blackmaria@aol.com or c/o Dept. of Media Arts, New Jersey City University, Fries Hall - MA122, 2039 Kennedy Blvd., Jersey City NJ 07305
ART IN MOTION deadline is Jan. 1 for a Feb. 15-17 event. The event is organized by USC's School of Fine Arts and there is an animation category (also a new media category). The best in show winner gets $1,000. Other works will get non-cash awards. No entry fee. Contact Art in Motion, USC Fine Arts Dept., Wall Hall, Room 103, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0292 (213) 740-8938
SKYY SHORT FILM AWARDS has a Feb. 28, 2001 deadline. There is an animation category. Winners will be shown on the Sundance channel, plus other benefit. (310) 201-8848
SIGGRAPH 2001 deadline is March 21, 2001 foe an Aug. event in LA. Www.siggraph.org/s2001/
Despite the sensational nature of the program's title, it is an intelligent look into animation made for adults. It is told by carefully editing interviews with Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat), John Kricfalusi (Ren and Stimpy), Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head). J.J. Sedelmajer ("Out-takes from Clinton's press conference about Monica" made for Saturday Night Live), historian Dr. William Moritz, Karl Cohen (author of Forbidden Animation), Jerry Beck (author of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), and other noted individuals. To give balance to the show there is an interview with a high ranking officer of the Christian Right (note the gun rack in the background). This show is unlike anything else ever made about animation.
While the program's director says he was inspired by Cohen's book, the end result is quite different. He was able to show clips on England's Channel 4 (late evening) that illustrate what is being discussed. For example when Bakshi talks about Fritz the Cat and Coonskin, you see some of his graphic images that shocked America in the 1970's. A Black, politically aware, female journalist is also part of this discussion.
Unlike past American made TV documentaries about WWII animated propaganda that avoided showing any strong images for fear of offending viewers, the British documentary shows how offensive these films were. It covers our propaganda and then shows footage from Japanese and German films that take nasty jabs at their enemies - us.
Don't miss this rare chance to see this 50 minute production. The event is not being widely publicized. This will be a chance for ASIFA members, our friends, members of the professional animation community and animation students to get together and socialize. Hopefully it will not be too crowded. Refreshment will be served and Cohen will sign copies of Forbidden Animation. Two extra "surprise" films will be shown (banned from public exhibition for more than 50 years - the maker pretends these powerful animated moments never existed).
The program on the 4th includes Ring of Fire which won their grand prize for independent shorts. Raymond Krumme, also from Germany, created The Message. His work has been in past Tournee of Animation shows. Other new works in this show come from England, Switzerland, Slovakia, and the U.S. The program is 82 minutes long and all works are in 35mm or 16mm.
The program on the 11th includes work by people known for earlier productions. They include Barry Purves who did the amazing stop-motion puppet films Screenplay and Next. His new work is Gilbert and Sullivan (15 min.). Michael Dudok De Wit, who did The Monk and the Fish is back with Father and Daughter. There are also new films by Igor Kovalyov, John Williams, Jonathan Hodgson, and others. Also, there are two fine works already seen here, At the End of the Earth by Konstantin Bronzit and Humdrum by Peter Peake (Aardman)
ALSO COMING TO THE PFA:
ANIMATION BY MICHAELA PAVLATOVA AND JOANNA PRIESTLY, Sunday, Nov. 26 at 5:30, artists in-person
DOCU-MATION: ANIMATED DOCUMENTARIES, two programs from the Margaret Mead Film Festival. Friday, November 17 at 7:30 & Sunday, Nov. 19 at 7:20
TEDDY BEAR FILM FESTIVAL, Sat. & Sun. Nov. 25 & 26 at 1 pm. Films from the US, Canada & Sweden.
ASIFA-SAN FRANCISCO
P.O. BOX 14516
San Francisco CA 94114
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This issue was written by Karl Cohen and proofread by Pete Davis. The production crew included Shirley Smith, Tara Packard and Ron Seawright. Subscriptions are $18 a year. |
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