July - August, 2003
DON (GORDON) THOMAS, ANIMATOR, SF STATE INSTRUCTOR AND A REALLY FINE PERSON, HAS PASSED ON Don, who was 35, had just completed his first full year teaching animation at the school where he received his MFA degree in 2001. (He had been working at State, first as Patricia Amlin's teaching assistant and then intermittently as an instructor, for 4 or 5 years). He was awarded a BS from Northwestern University in 1990.
People who knew him, including those that worked with him professionally and his former students, were shocked and saddened when the news was announced. Don was just coming into his own as an animator and had great plans for the future. He had just completed a feature film script for "Bad Hair Weekend," and was shopping it around. He was also developing an animated TV series based on Pedro and Tony, his sensitive stop-motion film about a relationship between a rooster and a dog. The film has them trying to work out their differences to better understand each other. It was made as his thesis film. He was a kid when he made his first animated movies. Letters about his passing sent to ASIFA suggest the tremendous loss that our animation community feels. "Don was good humored and patient with the animation students at State as well as very generous to the SF State animation program. Don was a perfectionist and wanted the students to flourish as young animators; he eagerly volunteered much time in helping set up facilities in the animation area and helped research new software and opportunities for animation students. He was an extremely talented, zany animator with a deep sense of community responsibility and commitment to fostering social change. Don was a stellar colleague and a real joy to be around." Martha Gorzycki, Assistant Professor, Cinema Dept., San Francisco State University. Jamie Galatas, one of his students, wrote, "I found him to be a very energetic and passionate teacher. He seemed to really know what he was talking about, and more importantly, knew how to apply it. In class we would listen to comedy albums and just talk about animation. He seemed to really take it seriously. He was hard on his students, particularly in workload, but I think we learned a lot. That was seen in the quality of the work that we produced. Animation One put out some really great stuff, and I think that was a credit to him." "I saw his film Pedro & Tony and was very impressed. The movement in the film is spectacular, as is the character design. The characters feel real and believable. I remember asking him 20 questions about it, and being really impressed at the amount of time he put into it. I told him that I thought it was a great piece and that his hard work paid off. All in all, this has all come as a complete shock to me (as I'm sure it did to everyone else), and I feel fortunate to have known him, and had his influence on my work." Scott Kravitz wrote, "I met Gordon at Phantom Investigators. He brought in a film about a rooster and a dog having a lover's quarrel. If you have seen it, I'm sure you were floored by it. He worked in character fabrication making wire armatures." Warren Haack, the Cinema Department's chief technician said he was saddened as "Don was a fine artist whose life ended in the flowering of the youth of his creative career. He was also a new teacher who showed a lot of promise as a mentor to future animators." Jon Hall, a recent graduate who was President of the SFSU Animation Club, said. "This is just tragic. When I heard the news I was shocked and saddened. I can't believe I was just sharing the spotlight with him before the animation finals show. It is surreal to think he is no longer with us. He was a joyful and loving man who seemed to care a great deal for his medium and for the art of animation. He seemed to take great care in teaching his class and was always willing to learn, even if it was from myself. His passing comes as a great loss to SFSU, the faculty, and especially to us, the students whose lives he touched." Don died on June 6. There was "a non-corporate funeral" organized by those who love him at the home of his brother Chris and his wife Becky in Santa Rosa, CA. A memorial gathering with about 100 people was held in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on June 22. Ron Ng, Don's partner and Don's father, Dick Thomas, are setting up a scholarship for animation/film students at SF State in Don's memory. The scholarship will help continue his commitment to learning, his love for teaching and his belief that we need to hear each other's voices to make a difference. You can send your tax-deductible donations to: SFSU Foundation, c/o Jennifer Severin, San Francisco State University, Office of Development, 1600 Holloway, San Francisco, CA 94132 Please make the check payable to: SFSU Foundation and say the check is in memory of Gordon Thomas. A tax receipt will be mailed to you from this office. For further information contact Ron Ng at: ronman@isic.org ANNECY GAVE A MAJOR AWARD TO MONDO MEDIA The award for best Internet series went to Happy Tree Friends, "Eye Candy" episode, directed by Kenn Navarro, Mondo Media, San Francisco. Congratulations. See our Annecy section for a list of other prize winners at the festival. PIXAR IS IN THE BREAST REDUCTION BUSINESS In Pixar's award winning short KnickKnack (1989) the mermaid in the "Sunny Atlantis" snow-globe had breasts the size of grapefruits with starfish pasties over her nipples. When the short was re-released before Finding Nemo they were considerably smaller and properly covered if one was concerned about offending someone conservative. Thanks to USA Today for uncovering this important censorship story. Now you can sleep better knowing Disney once again has made the world safe from images that are not politically correct. In 2000 Disney removed Pecos Bill's use of tobacco in the DVD release of the feature Melody Time (1948) and over the years they have removed 100s of other images that might offend. When KnickKnack came out in '89 some women disliked the film as they said they were offended by John Lasseter's sexist depiction of women. I guess Pixar/Disney were concerned breasts could be more of an issue in these troubled times. 3DO FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY After announcing a plan to restructure the business and $10.5 million in new financial support, they filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Someone who was working there said, "all employees were sent home without severance or vacation pay, save for a small group left behind to assist selling off the assets." The Redwood City company is headed by Trip Hawkins and they produce games (Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War, High Heat Major League Baseball 2004.) www.3do.com. ED HOOKS RETURNS TO SAN FRANCISCO July 18 - August 7 He will be teaching stage acting in SF and Mountain View and will be available to teach Acting for Animators. If you want him to visit your company, contact him at his studio in Chicago (773) 929-1667. From August 13 - Sept. 13 he will be in Australia and Malaysia. www.actingforanimators.com ASIFA-SF NEEDS A VOLUNTEER WHO CAN SEND OUT OUR LAST MINUTE E-MAIL NOTICES Almost every month there are last minute announcements of events that arrive after the monthly newsletter has been mailed. For example in May we held a last minute party for Jimmy Picker and in June there was a last minute screening of Marco Polo at the Rafael Center. The member who keeps our mailing lists doesn't have a system to do bulk mailings quickly, so instead of asking her to go through a time consuming process to mail out the notices, we are asking somebody who can do our bulk mailings to help out. We will provide you with the addresses and updates to the e-mail list. If you can help out contact karlcohen@earthlink.net. Also, if we don't have your e-mail address, send it to us if you want our notices. VISIT A CAT HOUSE FULL OF GREAT CARTOON AND ANIMATION CATS From July 5 to October 26 the Cartoon Art Museum will present Great Comic Cats, with special guest stars Mooch from Mutts and Bucky from Get Fuzzy. The opening reception on Thursday, July 10 from 6:00-8:00 PM, is free and open to the public. The show features original art with Garfield, Krazy Kat, Edward Gorey's sophisticated felines, Bud Fisher's Cicero's Cat, Gus Arriola's Poosy Gato, James Swinnerton's Mr. Jack, Otto Messmer's Felix, R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat, Gilbert Shelton and Dave Sheridan's Fat Freddy's Cat, Kliban's Mom Cat, Berkeley Breathed's Bill the Cat, Bill Watterson's Hobbes, and Phil Frank's Orwell T. Catt, as well as several popular animated cats from the movies and television, including Sylvester of Looney Tunes fame and Tom of Tom and Jerry. CHRIS LANIER HAS A LONG ARTICLE IN "COMICS JOURNAL #253" He writes us that the next issue "features a long interview I conducted (about 18,000 words -- a real monster) with Eric Drooker. For those of you who don't know, he is a great cartoonist, who has done work from New Yorker covers to rabble-rousing agitprop narratives for the NY-based comics mag World War 3 Illustrated. He's both a friend and an aesthetic fellow-traveler; his most ambitious works have been his wordless comics, published in Flood! and Blood Song." COMING IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE - A VISIT TO THE NEW WILD BRAIN For many months there has been little news about this fine company. They have moved into an amazing space that is huge. They are working on several hush hush projects and are still going through endless secret negotiations on a really important job. I've seen storyboards, model sheets and tests for some of the things they are working on. I look forward to telling you more when I have permission to do so. Hopefully that will be in our next issue. KC
Sunday July 6, WESTON WOODS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW with Where the Wild Things Are, I know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly, and lots of other animated classics. 1 PM, Rafael Film Center Wednesday, July 9th, 7 PM. ASIFA-SF PRESENTS A LOOK INSIDE THE BUSINESS OF ANIMATION WITH RON MERK AND A SCREENING OF JIRI TINKA'S 'A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM' Ron has worked for many years in distribution, merchandising, licensing, restoration and as an animation producer. He has written and lectured on a variety of topics. His work has ranged from the importation and release of such foreign classic films as Antonioni's La Notte to working with all of animation's most famous characters under license from Warner Bros., Speed Racer Enterprises, MGM and King Features. This will be a chance to ask him about a variety of things from script writing to details about his work as producer of Marco Polo-Return to Xanadu, one of 9 films that qualified for the first-ever animated feature Oscar in 2001. Ron will also show a rare stop-motion masterpiece by Czech director Jiri Trinka, A Midsummer Night's Dream (the narration in English is by Richard Burton). He has distribution rights to the work and will talk briefly about meeting Trinka and his visit to his studio. Saturday, July 12, 11 AM, ALICE IN DISNEYLAND with VIRGINIA DAVIS IN-PERSON She was one of the women who played Alice in this silent cartoon series by Walt Disney. Presented at the Castro Theatre by the Silent Film Festival. Saturday July 12, the Cartoon Art Museum will present A LIVE DRAWING EVENT WITH RENOWNED NEW YORK ARTIST FLY, 11 AM - 5 PM. Fly will also be signing copies of her latest book Peops: Portraits and Stories by Fly (published by Soft Skull/Shortwave). Peops documents individuals by including Fly's drawing of their faces & their stories. To capture the tone of her work the press release included her biographical statement. "Fly was born in a dumpster. She lived in a whole bunch of different places and lived a whole bunch of different lives until she landed in New York City and finally felt at home (since there were so many dumpsters). She has been squatting in the Lower East Side of Manhattan since 1990 where she paints and draws comics and illustrations, and sometimes paints murals. Her work has appeared in NYPress, Juxtapoz, The Comics Journal, Village Voice, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Raygun, The Bradleys (Fantagraphics), Punk, Maximumrocknroll, World War 3 Illustrated, MonkeySuit, and Slug & Lettuce among other publications. Fly is currently working on many projects including: a novel called Dog Dayz, a squatter museum, and her newest comic collection Total Disaster available now." Sunday, July 13, 4 PM, the Silent Film Festival presents at the Castro Theatre Rock Ross' STUPOR MUNDI (1999) with Nik Phelps, Tim Dent (drums) and Dennis James (on the Castro's organ) with Claire, a modern, live action silent feature accompanied by an 11-piece orchestra. PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE TO SCREEN SEVERAL CZECH ANIMATION PROGRAMS IN AUGUST They are presenting a touring series of Czech Horror and Fantasy films which includes the following 3 screenings: Friday August 1, 7:30 PM Jiri Barta's Pied Piper (55 min., 1986, no dialogue, 35mm) and his short The Last Theft (1987) Also with an introduction and book signing by Steven Jay Schneider. The feature is visually fascinating as Barta has created a medieval town and uses unusual materials to create his people. Friday August 8, 9:20 PM, Vaclav Mergi's Little Cousins (1988, 8 min., 35mm) with Morgiana (Juraj Herz, 1971), a live action feature by the director of The Cremator. The program notes say the feature is a 19th century tale of decadence, murder, suicides and psychoses. "Enough to please Edgar Allen Poe." Friday August 22, 9:35 PM SHORTS BY JAN SVANKMAJER The program includes The Pit, The Pendulum, and Hope (1983, 15 min.), The Fall of the House of Usher (1981, 15 min.), Down to the Cellar (1983, 15 min.) and Castle of Otranto (1977, 20 min.). Saturday August 23, The Best of the 2002 Ottawa Animation Festival at 7 and 8:50 PM at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. An exciting selection that includes: Flux, Christopher Hinton, Canada; a.z, Tim Szetela, USA; Home Road Movies, Robert Bradbrook, UK; Tornehekken (The Hedge of Thorns), Anita Killi, Norway; Hasta Los Huesos (Down to the Bone) , Rene Castillo, Mexico; Coldplay: Don't Panic, Tim Hope, UK; Samurai Jack: Jack & The Blind Archers, Genndy Tartakovsky, USA; Twang, Christopher Hinton, Canada; Leunig: How Democracy Actually Works, Andrew Horne, Australia; Slakt & V?nner (Family & Friends) , Jonas Odell, Sweden and NSPCC: Cartoon, Frank Budgen & Russell Brooke, UK In 35mm, 16mm and Beta SP. ASIFA-SF MEMBERS WHO SHOW OUR FLYER FOR THE EVENT (LAST PAGE OF THIS NEWSLETTER) WILL GET A $3 DISCOUNT TICKET ($5 INSTEAD OF $8 ADMISSION).
DISNEY HAS COMPLETED A FILM PROJECT BEGUN IN 1946 BY SALVADOR DALI Dali worked briefly for Walt in 1946. He did storyboards and several design studies for Destino, a surreal short. In 2002 Roy Disney initiated its completion. The new 5-minute work was animated by their studio in France. It premiered at Annecy 2003. An informative article on the making of the film (using Maya , making the script comprehensible, etc.) appeared May 31, 2003 at awn.com and can be read online. "LET MICKEY'S BIG 4 FINGERED HAND PLAY WITH YOU!" READS THE AD FOR THE MICKEY MOUSE VIBRATOR After reading about the Winnie the Pooh vibrator in our June issue, a member sent us news that Mickey gives, "a nice gentle buzz. Imported from Japan and it's a genuine Disney product not available in the US. 5.5 inches long." It costs $25.95 plus shipping www.weirdco.com/mickey DISNEY HAS ENOUGH TROUBLES SO DON'T SPREAD FALSE RUMORS An animator who didn't check his facts called to tell me the latest news. He claimed Disney had closed their studio in Burbank and wasŠ I called two people in LA to confirm that the guy telling me the "news" was full of hot air (I'm being polite). A vice-president of the Disney studio wrote back, "This rumor is absolutely false. In addition to its enormously successful partnership with Pixar, Walt Disney Feature Animation had one of its greatest triumphs last summer with Lilo & Stitch and is very proud of its upcoming November release, Brother Bear. The Studio is currently working on an ambitious slate of feature projects for both its Burbank and Florida facilities." KC JIMMY PICKER'S "THE AGE OF IGNORANCE" IS BEING INVITED TO SEVERAL FESTIVALS As the result of their hearing about it from a festival in New York, he has been invited to screen the work at events in Maui, Tel Aviv and Williamstown, Mass. It was shown in June at Annecy 2003 in a program of spicy animation and we showed it in May with Jimmy Picker in-person. JOHN WATERS MAY SUE NICKELODEON OVER THE RIGHTS TO USE "ODORAMA" IN THE LATEST RUGRATS FEATURE Rugrats Go Wild is being shown in "Odorama" with scratch-and-sniff cards. Waters claims the word "Odorama," used to promote his 1981 comedy Polyester, is a registered trademark. He says Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures, didn't clear the rights with him or New Line Cinema, his distributor. "Can you believe it? They even copied our logo. That's all I can say for now. It's with my lawyer.... We'll see what happens." Julia Pistor, the executive producer of the new film, said, "It is our understanding that there is no trademark on record for Odorama. Our movie was intended as an homage to John Waters and his work." Animators and filmmakers - cases like this show that it is important to put the proper notices of copyright, registered trademark, etc. on your work if it has commercial value and to register those rights. The process isn't that complicated or expensive and it may help protect you from the sharks in the business world. In the 1970's I had to defend my rights to my work. A corrupt festival director sold 2.prints of my work to a Canadian distributor and pocketed my share of the sale. Also, he never paid his lab bill. He left town. When I eventually found out who had purchased the prints I contacted them. I mentioned I wasn't paid and that the film was protected by copyright law. They quickly settled and paid the money owed me. Not having a proper copyright notice on your work can result in major headaches. A friend, who made a clay animation film at SF State in the early 70's, discovered his naughty comedy was being sold and rented by others without his permission and without his getting any compensation. He contacted the man selling the prints and also a distributor who was offering the film to theatres. He tried to stop the sale and distribution of his work, but was told to go to hell because the film did not have any notice of copyright ownership on it, nor was there a copyright registered for that title in Washington, D.C. My friend was wronged, but he didn't protect himself so he couldn't protect his rights to his work. KC WILL VINTON SUES PHIL KNIGHT, HEAD OF NIKE Portland's main newspaper, The Oregonian, reported on May 28 that Vinton had filed a complaint in the Multnomah County District Court that he was unfairly forced out of the company he founded 27 years ago with insufficient compensation. He is seeking $3.1 million in damages, claiming he "suffered economic damages in the form of lost wages, bonuses, benefits of employment and the devaluation of his stock" (in the studio). Also named as defendants were Travis Knight, Phil Knight's son, Jonathan Slusher and Robert Harold. All three were appointed by Phil Knight to serve on the studio's board of directors. (Travis Knight, a talented animator in his own right, has worked at Vinton Studios since the late '90s, is well liked and is an amazing animator according to a former studio employee.) Vinton claims in the complaint that Jeff Farnath, Knight, Slusher and Harold acted "solely to further the personal agenda of Phil Knight." A few days earlier the paper ran a very long article on how Vinton ended up out the door of the company that bears his name. AWN.com ran an excellent interview with Vinton early in June. The impression I get from reading both articles is that Vinton was more concerned with the artistic side of the business and let others run the financial side. Apparently Vinton did not agree with his partner's opinions (one example was his developing a Popeye project for adults and kids and their demanding he turn it into a kid's film). Vinton trusted the wrong people for business advice and put the wrong people on his board. Vinton made serious errors and did not have a cash reserve to cover his operating expenses when he lost his two TV series, The PJs and Gary and Mike. MEANWHILE WILL VINTON IS TRYING TO INTEREST NEW PARTNERS IN A NEW FEATURE PROJECT CALLED "THE QUEST". "I'm definitely on my way back from hell," Will Vinton told AWN.COM. He claims to be happy and has signed with Creative Artists Agency. He was recently in the Bay Area shopping around an animated feature film script, The Quest. It was written by Peter Crabbe who wrote Monty Python's Flying Circus: Live at Aspen, for TV in 1998 and the features Car 54, Where Are You? and McHale's Navy. RAY HARRYHAUSEN GOT A HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME STAR IN JUNE AND THEN HIT THE ROAD TO TALK AT BAY AREA COMPANIES The ceremony for the 82 year old stop motion master was at the El Capitan Theater. Guest speakers included sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury and filmmaker Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption). THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL IS FACING A MAJOR FUNDING CRISIS - LETTERS OF SUPPORT NEEDED Telefilm Canada, their major government supporter for almost thirty years, recently told them that they are completely cutting their funding. No warning was given, nor were they invited to any meetings to discuss the matter. They will strive to fulfill their obligations and will host the Ottawa International Student Animation Festival this October 2003, but Telefilm's decision to cut our funding almost guarantees the death of both Ottawa Festivals. Telefilm told them, "We are in a position to only support events that are primarily focused on screening feature films that are destined for wide distribution." This limited criteria for funding is a blatant snub to the art and industry of animation. With only a few major festivals for animated short films, industrial work, animated television series, specials, commercials, music videos, Internet animation and features, the loss of this festival would be awful. Help by writing Richard Stursberg, Executive Director, Telefilm Canada, 474 Bathurst St. Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2S6. 416-973-1819 ext 2510. Fax: 1-416-973-2826 email: coppss@parl.gc.ca fax: 1-819-994-1267 WORLD'S SMALLEST FILM FESTIVAL PUTS 5 OF THEIR ANIMATED "WINNERS" ON LINE While the festival appears to be a shameless promotion for mobil picture-phones, and isn't run like a real festival, I was curious to see what animation was being shown by them using Quicktime on the Internet. The 1st work is The Wasabi Warriors by John Fang, 51 sec. It was what I expected to see, simple, effective graphics animated from pose to pose without inbetweens. A strong voice-track saves the work from obscurity. Statues Quo by Oren Ben Tov is 260 seconds of accomplished 3D computer animation. It opens with a statue coming to life and swatting a fly with its sword. It took forever to download (I have a 56K modem) and I wonder if the mobil phones can actually reproduce complicated images like this film in real time. Pom Pom by Laurent Caneiro (113 seconds) downloaded in less time and was more entertaining than the first two works. It has an ugly creature up on a tree limb spotting a kid with an apple. It jumps down, steals the apple, the apple is retrieved, a kung fu battle ensues. The use of a sign in French in one shot suggests it was made in France. Again, the animation was so fast paced and smooth that I would have to see it on a phone before I will believe they can transmit images like these successfully. The Truth About Grays by Joe Clasen (102 seconds) didn't download. Dragons by Lief Arne Peterson (59 seconds) did, and it is the most impressive work in the group. The opening title says "The German Film School Presents" suggesting the film is an advanced student production. Peterson's work is an exciting fast paced fantasy film with 2 dragons flying around and fighting above ye old picturesque castle. I assume the animator/director would love to work at ILM. This work shows he is capable of creating high caliber work. www.worldssmallestfilmfestival.com SIGGRAPH 2003 WILL BE HELD IN SAN DIEGO JULY 29-31 Lots of papers, seminars, art exhibits, screenings, etc. plus a big trade show. www.siggraph.org ANIMATION SCHOLAR MIKE BARRIER HAS A GREAT NEW WEBSITE Visit www.michaelbarrier.com. He writes, "Its subtitle is 'Exploring the World of Animated Films and Comic Art,' and it is in many ways an electronic version of Funnyworld, the magazine I once published. At the site, you'll find interviews with Chuck Jones and the Disney director David Hand, extensive commentary on recent books and DVDs, an essay on Carl Barks and his paintings of the Disney ducks, and 'capsules' about the production history of two very different short animated films. You can listen to an audio clip from the Hand interview and even watch a little bit of actual animation. Try it, I hope you'll like it--but, regardless, please let me know what you think of the site, content and appearance alike." Mike Barrier presented a program of rare animation and talked about his book Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age (Oxford) at an ASIFA-SF event last year. This really is a worthwhile site. KC NICKELODEON TO SEE IF THEY CAN BASE A TV SERIES ON A NEW VIDEO GAME after they first try to merchandise products based on the game. The game is The Power of Juju that stars an ugly looking shaman's apprentice named Tak and it comes out later this year. While going this route may seem odd, Nick Enterprises, which includes Nickelodeon's consumer product division, grossed $2.6 billion in retail sales in 2002. Tak is awkward and crude looking, but Nick expects him to be their next big hit. THE WIT AND WISDOM OF DEBRA SOLOMON Debra is a brilliant New York animator who recently completed work as the animation director on the feature Lizzie McGuire Movie. I first became aware of her work when we screened her Mrs. Matisse in the winners of the ASIFA-East competition several years ago. She is presently pitching companies with her ideas for an "interactive preschool show." The following quotes are from an interview with her by Jose Maldonado in the June issue of the ASIFA-East Anymator. "Pitching is something you just do again and again. Life is just an extension of the Radio Shack training manual; every tenth customer will be the one who shops, so with each rejection you get happier because you know you're one step closer to the sale!" She also offered some sound advice about surviving as a personal artist. "Maintain your work, and your point of view. Work on your sketchbook; always thinking about what it is you have to say and is most important to you. Everyone else who gets work in studios doesn't necessarily work on their perspective as an artist. Your identity is the most important thing. No one can be you. You must work to maintain that. You have to find your own wayŠ" GARY SWARTZ IS ON THE MOVE AGAIN Since several ASIFA-SF members have studied animation with him in past years, I thought you would like to know he has accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the Animation & Digital Media department of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. He begins in the fall. Meanwhile he is looking at films set in Detroit to get an idea of what the city is like. DESIGN BACKGROUNDS FOR BUSINESS CARDS AND GET ROYALTY PAYMENTS Barry Brilliant writes, "Business cards as art, as communication. I have been working on that for 18 years and have produced millions of cards. I have my own website which offers color business cards and post card size cards, makeacoolcard.com." "I have been approached by a very large printing company to supply card backgrounds for the masses. I do not want to use my art, but rather new artwork, which will bring a fresh look to this new line. I am offering 50% of my commissions to the artists, which vary with how well the product sells. Get paid for your art and have a good showcase for it. If interested email me at CARTOON NETWORK'S ADULT SWIM PROGRAMMING TO ADD A JAPANESE ANIME SERIES COMMISSIONED BY THE NETWORK The show The Big O will be shown uncut (violence). It begins to air as part of their late night series aimed at adults. The series had higher ratings than Late Night With David Letterman and The Tonight Show in the May sweeps in the 18 to 25 year old male category. The series will air uncut in August.
Meanwhile Spike TV (formerly TNN, but Spike Lee objects to the new name-this may be a long legal battle) is after an adult male late night audience by running the Gary the Rat series with the voice of Kelsey Grammer, new and old Ren and Stimpy shows, and a possibly raunchy Stripperella with the voice of Pamela Anderson
"I'm not expecting to get any royalties from this book, but the publisher, Fantagraphics nearly went broke investing in it. I would have been satisfied with a nice little paperback, but the publisher, in their enthusiasm for the material, went all out with a table-size coffee table book. The publication of my nearly 60-year old artwork, much of it inspired by my early days indoctrination of the UPA style, much of which is evident in these budding-artist graphic designs. (age 21-25). Everyone tells me the book is great. Ask Jerry Beck, and others. The publication of this book is a landmark event in my life! Thanks, Gene."
"BETWEEN GENIUS AND UTTER ILLITERACY" BY CHRIS ROBINSON Although we mentioned it last month, I thought you would enjoy reading the latest promotion for "a new book that delves into the strange comic minds of Estonian animation."
"Ever wonder why Estonian animation features so many carrots or why cows often perform pyramids? Well, neither question is answered in Chris Robinson's new book, Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy: A Story of Estonian Animation (published by Varrak Press). Robinson, the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival and author of AWN's infamous Animation Pimp column, spent six years researching this lavishly illustrated 276-page book. Robinson's frank, humorous, and thoroughly researched book traces the history of Estonia's acclaimed animation scene from early experiments in the 1930s, to the creation of puppet (Nukufilm) and cel (Joonisfilm) animation studios during the Soviet era, and right up to Estonia's surprising international success during the post-Soviet era. In addition, Robinson's book includes the discovery of films by four 1960s animation pioneers who, until the release of this book, had been unknown to both Estonian and International animation historians."
"The paperback book, which was launched June 2nd in Estonia and June 3rd at the Annecy Animation Festival, will be available at most animation festivals but can also be ordered for $30 (includes shipping and handling) from the Ottawa International Animation Festival (info@animationfestival.ca) or through the AWN store. For more information, call the Festival office at 1-613-232-8769."
BIG YEAR FOR AUSTRALIAN ANIMATION AT ANNECY by Nik and Nancy Phelps This year, for the 45th year of the Annecy International Festival of Animation, Annecy France sparkled (and sweltered) under unusually high heat. Days in the screening room were very hot but the evenings at the parties were perfect!
The general consensus was that the films in all categories were very uneven but that the awards jurors did a great job in selecting the award winners. (A list of winners is after this article.)
We spent a lot of time hanging out with our good Australian friend Dennis Tupicoff and a large Australian delegation of animators. They did not know that they would be attending Annecy until five days before the Festival, but since there were five retrospective screenings of Australian cinema, the Australian Government decided at the last minute to pay expenses for the entire group. We got to become friends with Adam Elliott and his producer Melanie Coombes and we were especially happy when he won three very deserved awards for his delightfully original film Harvie Krumpet.
Mt. Head was the obvious choice for the Grand Prix and in the student selection Wunderwerk was our favorite work. How to Cope With Death was a fast paced treat that deserved (and got) the award for Best First Film. Many people, ourselves included, felt that Fast Film, a hilarious and kinetic film from Austria should have been acknowledged with an award.
One of the real highlights of the festival for both of us is a well-kept secret. Every morning at 9:15 AM Serge Bromberg conducted conversations with the animators whose films were screened the previous day. We both felt that it was a special opportunity to gain insights into the minds of the directors. It never changed my opinion about a film I had seen, but it did make me see several films in a new light. Serge is a brilliant interviewer and brings out the best in all but the shyest directors. Despite closing the bar at 3:00 AM every night we did not miss one conversation session.
The opening night event was a screening of Les Enfants de la Pluie, a film so terribly boring that some people left before the end. For those of us who stuck it out, there was a special surprise!
At the conclusion of Les Enfants, the dapper Serge Bromberg, artistic director for the festival, ever the showman, could hardly contain his glee at pulling up in front of the audience a rather goggle-eyed Roy Disney (vice-chairman of Disney and nephew of Walt) to announce a surprise debut screening of a previously unproduced collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. The five minute film, <Destino is based around a Mexican ballad sung by Dora Luz, was picked by Dali from a selection of music that Disney producers gave him to choose from. He then created paintings and sketches for storyboarding in collaboration with Disney animator John Hench. Walt, however, abandoned the project after taking control of all the artwork involved, feeling, not unrealistically, that a surrealistic Disney short film would not sell in Korean War era America.
Some 50 years later, Roy Disney, looking for something to produce in the old material, found all the drawings and storyboards intact in storage, and enlisted Dominique Monfery at Disney Studio France to direct the project. The end result does come out to be a true example of Disneyfication, as a traditional Disney style, using a mix of 2D and CG, was used to smooth over bizarre Dali images and sequences. It ends up being a work that faithfully represents a collaboration between the worlds of Disney and Dali.
A real twist to the story (besides a rare display of a Disney nude) is that Dali adored baseball, and incorporated baseball images into a stock of Dali icons, including melting clocks, a desert landscape and ants emerging from a hole in the palm of a hand.
On Tuesday night we went to a party of young film students at the large grassy area across from the Festival headquarters. As the wine flowed it was great to meet so many future animators who are so excited and passionate about their work. If this group is any example of the future, creative animation is alive and well.
Wednesday night found us at the MIFA party, held under tents lakeside at La Plage. The food and drink were delicious and plentiful and it was a great chance to visit with many old friends, especially the Ukranian organizers of KROK who extended an invitation to us right there for KROK 2003. (We will be sailing from Kiev to Odessa in late September to early October of this year).
Thursday PM saw us at a fabulous party hosted by Nelson Shin and a delegation of the Korean Film Commission at the Novotel. The food was a traditional Korean meal (very delicious) and plenty of wine. There was a traditional Korean rice wine which went down very smoothly, but we could tell right away that we shouldn't drink too much of it. The party also featured traditional Korean dancing and each guest was given a lovely silk bag. Nelson (we became friends at KROK 2002, where he was a juror) is very excited about finishing his feature length film, Empress Chung, which he hopes to have ready for Annecy in 2004. From the little previews we saw, it looks like Shin is creating a beautiful film.
Amidst the rain, which finally broke the heat wave, we next made our way to the Belgian party where good Belgian beer flowed like water. The night ended with our friends at the American Bar.
Friday evening we attended the Zagreb Animation Festival cocktail party. All the familiar faces made this party, where, among other delights, a birthday cake for Sayoko Kinoshita, president of the ASIFA Workshop Group, was enjoyed by all. Next we went to the Blue Boy Party with Australian animator Peter Cornwell. His film Ward 51 was a hit at the Panorama. The party was celebrating the winners of a 48-hour animation video contest. The scene was a very European disco where everyone was a winner. We were given Blue Boy t-shirts along with lots of food and drink.
Friday noon saw us at the Australian champagne brunch hosted by the Australian Consul at the beautiful Annecy City Hall. The Australian animators love to party hearty without missing a moment of screening time.
One of the biggest problems at Annecy is trying to take in everything, and it is often very difficult to decide what to see. Nik and I concentrated on the Short Program Competition, Student Competition, Panorama, and the Australian retrospective where our pal Dennis had three films (two of which we have screened in our Ideas In Animation series).
On Saturday afternoon we took a break from our usual full day of screenings to picnic with our Australian and British pals (with a few Norwegian and Irish thrown in). Everyone was in very high spirits because there was a buzz around the Festival that Adam Eliott (who was partying with us) would win an award for Harvie Krumpet. No one imagined that he would win three!
After several hours of eating and drinking, the highlight of the affair was the paddle boat race organized by the Catloe sisters of 3 Bear Production Studios in England. Words cannot express the silly fun as we all took to the water in our paddleboats. The silliest had to be Dennis Tupicoff who was too tall at seven feet to sit in his boat to paddle. He had to do the entire race standing up. The race to the buoys in the lake and back was more like a bumper cars amusement than a paddleboats event.
After a day in the sun it was time to don glam attire as our Australian pals called it, for the big event. We were delighted with the results. Closing night saw us all at La Plage again. Amid food and drink we all talked about the films we had seen and the awards and danced the night away. We were all sorry to say our final goodbyes. As we had done every night for a week we retired to the American Bar for more final goodbyes at the 3 AM closing.
SERGE BROMBER ANNOUNCES THE DISCOVERY AND RESTORATION OF A HAND COLORED PRINT OF MELIES "TRIP TO THE MOON" Last year there was talk about the film being found. Serge had told us that he had found in Spain a restorable 25-minute colored/tinted version of the film. He mentioned that he thought that the tinting had been done after the film had left Melies' studio. Serge plans to screen the restored film in NY City in Sept., no doubt with him accompanying on piano. NP
MIFA was a disappointment. The location wasn't conducive to talking business. No air conditioning in the tent and not many companies represented. Any deals that were done were consummated at the Imperial bar and terrace.
ASIFA GENERAL MEETING PASSED THE RESOLUTIONS TO CHANGE THE SIZE AND NATURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOARD Reports made it sound like 2-hours of arguments about whether or not there was a quorum and other dull issues. In the final moments they voted to pass the resolution and then voted to adjust the bylaws of ASIFA to reflect the vote. Hopefully this will get more people involved with international activities.
THE ANNECY 2003 PRIZE WINNERS EXHIBIT OF WORK BY HOLLYWOOD MASTERS WAH MING CHANG AND TYRUS WONG AT THE CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JULY 15 TO DECEMBER 28 Both men began their careers at Disney in the 1930s. Wah Ming designed models forSnow White, Fantasia etc. before opening his own special effects studio (The Time Machine, King and I, etc.). Tyrus Wong designed backgrounds at Disney and Warner Bros. 965 Clay St. (415) 391-1188 Tu. - Fri. 11 to 4 PM, Sat. & Sun. noon - 4. www.chsa.org
SOFTWARE
CRAZY TALK HOME EDITION BY REALLUSION, INC. Reviewed by Michael Nolan, ASIFA-SF's official WebSherpa ASIFA-SF was recently contacted by Mendy Werne, of Dittoe public relations, asking us if we were interested in evaluating and reviewing a suite of animation applications published by their client, Reallusions, Inc. of San Jose, CA. In our constant effort to keep abreast of any and all tools and technologies of possible interest to the ASIFA-SF membership, we graciously accepted Reallusion's kind offer. We were sent a CD-ROM with Reallusion's current suite of animation applications, CrazyTalk, Effects 3D Studio and It's Me. As each application has a rather extensive list of features and possibilities, it was decided that we would break up the review of the entire Reallusion suite into three separate reviews, one review of an application each month.
CrazyTalk is a fun, innovative and easy-to-use Windows only based software tool for creating animated talking head images (a.k.a. CrazyPal's) from your own photographs or any digital image. There are numerous applications for the animation community. CrazyTalk could be used to easily and quickly develop a demo, audition piece or prototype using cartoon characters, actors, celebrities or any type of headshot. CrazyTalk allows you to import any digital photo, image or likeness of a face. Because CrazyTalk let's you use text or prerecorded audio segments to map to a characters facial expressions a tremendous amount of creativity is made possible with a limited amount of time and effort. The mapping of the facial expressions appears to only be limited by the amount of effort and time you are willing to spend matching points of the wireframe to your image, which in turn maps your image's facial characteristics to your audio or text. CrazyTalk's ability to provide facial expressions to preexisting photos and images is fairly addictive but not without a couple of downsides for the perfectionist animator. For example, CrazyTalk will automatically generate a set of eyes for your image's face and this feature does add an additional layer of expression but, if you are using a photographic image, the eyes make for a somewhat creepy, almost morbid look. The same goes for the interior of the mouth. Luckily CrazyTalk gives you the ability to selectively turn both the eyes and the interior of the mouth off and or adjust the colors and texture. There is also a 'smoothing' feature for the eyes, which reduces the creepiness.
Images are brought to life by mapping them with CrazyTalk's own proprietary morphing facial wireframe. The user simply matches the facial contours of the wireframe to the contours of the image's facial contours by dragging predefined points on the wireframe to various parts of the imported image's forehead, eyebrows, eyes, checks, mouth, chin and jaw. Once the bonding process is complete, CrazyTalk's 3D expression morphing technology is able to apply over 20 expressions and gestures (such as smiling, frowning, crying and laughing) to the image.
CrazyTalk then gives a voice to the images or photos by connecting them to lip-sync of audio recordings and/or spoken text messages. You can even use a recording of your own voice using the built-in audio record function. This lip-syncing feat is achieved with the use of AT&T's NaturalVoice technology & text-to-speech technology.
The CrazyTalk software provides the user with a built in File Manager that assists you in organizing your talking image & talking message collection, visually in a single location. You can create your own categories then cut, copy, paste and delete CrazyTalk content files. To accompany the CrazyTalk File Manager is a large library of fairly useful talking images and messages. Reallusion also provides additional library items available for downloading from their web site.
Your talking images can be sent as an HTML talking animated e-greeting card complete with your own talking images and messages. You can personalize the card further by selecting card design, card text, background music and graphical special effects. This feature could be used for a variety of promotional activities including promotion of animations, films and of course numerous types of products.
Talking images can be sent electronically in a variety of formats including HTML, self running .EXE file or an .AVI movie. Frame styles can be changed to fit your style and personality. Using the AVI file format, CrazyTalk animations could be edited and manipulated for a variety of online and CD-ROM projects. For more information on CrazyTalk Home Edition and instructions on how to download the Trial version of CrazyTalk, check out Reallusion's web site:a href="http://www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/ct_introduction.asp"> http://www.reallusion.com/crazytalk/ct_introduction.asp
You can download CrazyTalk with a FREE 7 day Trial mode. The WAV (windows audio file format) record feature is limited to 10 seconds and the fitting editor is restricted to only allowing you a limited number of saves. If you would like to create unlimited Talking Images from your own photo collection and take advantage of the many other CrazyTalk features, you must purchase a license for the full working Home and or Web Edition.
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| This issue was written and edited by Karl Cohen, with contributions from Michael Nolan, Nik and Nancy Phelps and a lot of other nice people. Pete Davis was the proofreader, Tara Beyhm keeps the mailing list and Shirley Smith, Laura Tulloss and Nancy Phelps headed the mailing crew
~ 3D Photo Morphing Technology: CrazyTalk's proprietary 3D photo morphing technology lets you import any facial image from your own photo collection and bring it to life by bonding with a wireframe. Once bonded your CrazyPal character is able to lip-sync with any speech and exhibit over 20 expressions and gestures (such as smiling, frowning, crying and laughing). |
| Questions? Contact Karl Cohen (415) 386-1004 or karlcohen@earthlink.net |
ASIFA-SF
P.O. Box 14516
San Francisco, CA 94114
| Membership in our chapter is $22 a year or $44 for joint local and international membership. |
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