Craig Barron has posted a really nice short film tribute to film historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow, who this past Saturday received the Governors Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

Lucasfilm Animation lobby

The boundless energy and enthusiasm I brought to Singapore Monday morning has dissipated somewhat now this fine Wednesday evening, done in by the heat, humidity and non-stop pace of our media tour.  It’s late and still quite hot, a sticky hot that’s like summer in Texas, without the pickup trucks or shotguns.  Our hosts and organizers have done a terrific job, herding us from one site visit to the next as we journey back and forth across Singapore visiting many of the main animation, vfx, gaming and educational organizations on the island.  Much has been learned, gleaned from what’s been said and what’s not been said. The pleasant formalities of company presentations disrupted now and then by a barrage of pointed questions by the attending journalists. Mostly, we sound pretty intelligent, though as I listen to some of my tapes sometimes I think I sound like a 5 year old.

It will take a bit of time to properly synthesize, plus there are still 2 more full days of meetings to go.  So my coverage here actually begins with a pictorial spread of the first couple days, which includes visits to Lucasfilm Animation, Sunwoo, Southern Star, EON Reality, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Digipen and LASALLE College, as well Contact Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board.  Picture-smithing is much easier than word-smithing at 2 in the morning after an evening of spicy Indian food and a number of adult beverages.

Megamind. All images courtesy of DreamWorks Animation.

If you’re looking to spend a couple hours sitting back and having a good time, then get yourself to the theatre this weekend and go see Megamind, DreamWorks’ latest animated feature.  When I got to the press screening last Saturday, I was actually in a good mood for a change. It was my birthday, I’d eaten an In-N-Out double-double for lunch and for a few brief hours, I was mostly pleasant to be with.  I put on my 3-D glasses in search of some good old fashioned entertainment and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.  The film looked great, the story resonated with me and kept my attention, the running gags were used wisely, not beaten to death, the 3-D done seamlessly and expertly without obvious gimmicks or flaws. 

Cinzia Angelini's Mila.

Frank Gladstone shot me a note about a short animated cg film called Mila being made by former Disney, DreamWorks and Imageworks animator Cinzia Angelini. Hoping to push the boundaries of non-photorealistic rendering to create a painterly aesthetic and character design, Cinzia is also striving to tell a socially relevant story about war’s most tragic collateral damage – the youngest civilians. The film is inspired by true stories that Cinzia’s mother and grandmother told her of their own lives in Italy during World War II. 

Gary Schwartz' 2010 Ottawa Short Fa Fha Pha Ottawa!

I’ve known Gary Schwartz since, well, since he was a much younger zany filmmaker and animation teacher.  In the Webster’s Dictionary, under the word “energy,” there is a picture of Gary with his infectious grin, a camera and a tripod.  If you ever meet him, ask him about taking 3-D pictures of Don Knotts in the Toronto Airport.  This year at the Ottawa Animation Festival, as he does every year, Gary made an extremely cool stop motion short – in one day! This year’s edition, Fa Fha Pha Ottawa!, inspired by the Ottawa festival award designed by sculptor Tick Tock Tom, is his best yet!

No, Anderson, Bullwinkle, Rocky and Me is not a British supergroup from the 80s.  Please, who would have played bass?

Beautiful downtown Annapurna, Nepal.

As reported on the Republica website, Nepal’s first annual Animation Short Film Festival will be held tomorrow, Friday, October 29 by the Independent Film Society (IFS), in association with Artistic Alliance Nepal (AAN).  18 films from 9 countries will be screened.  The event will be held at the Nepal Tourism Board, Exhibition Road. Oxygen tanks must be checked at the door.  And in a related story...

Courtesy of YouTube.

From the Taiwanese studio and web broadcaster NMA.tv comes their latest animated news “piece,”  Brett Favre's Pecker the Talk of the Town.  Pardon my cheap pun. It can’t be avoided – you’ll understand once you watch the video.