The Russian party.

By David Tousek

So what exactly have we learned at MIFA? Have we gained something meaningful? I have to admit I need more time to answer such a question, to see if an event of this kind brings along something worth the effort invested into just coming over. After all, if the animation business is about relationships / partnerships, then there needs to be a lot more work done after the event beside the initial quick flirting. But...

...I think I have been really open in my second post where, I believe, I made obvious that what one gains is the real-time networking, friendliness and sharing the same passion for the craft.  It’s an experience which encourages and supports our hard work and passion to produce animated movies.  Such inspiration is most needed especially for us that live in such a hard Bohemian environment in Central Europe.

By Zoe Chevat

On a rainy L.A. weekend in mid-November, the Burbank Marriott’s convention center was packed as young talent and seasoned professionals alike descended for the Creative Talent Network’s 3^rd annual expo. Hailing from as close as here in town, or as far away as San Francisco, Utah, and Egypt, the mob of students, young professionals, and animation fans were eager have their portfolios reviewed, browse artist’s sketchbooks, and soak up advice from some of animation’s most experienced names. While the packed convention floor played host to many kinds of exhibitors, including independent artists’ wares, studio reviewers, and cable-laded tech booths displaying the latest software, it was clearer than ever that, though the attendees might all consider themselves fans, this is no casual fan convention. An event like this aims to accommodate a broad swath of the animation community, but a large amount of its resources –and its advertising – are aimed at bringing in students. CTNX is for the young and hungry, boasting a crowd of current students and the recently graduated, who are looking at an angle into their beloved, but notoriously tough, contemporary animation industry.

By Mika Kennedy

Conventions (or "cons", in the fannish parlance) like Creation Entertainment's SupernaturalCon in Burbank, CA aren't looking to secure their next legion of television-watching prospectives.  They're not like San Diego's Comic-Con, with a warehouse full of vendors, promotional panels, or enticements designed to help you remember their name.  If you've been to Comic-Con in the last six years, you're there for what's to come--television's new spread of genre shows this season, exciting upcoming developments in extant genre shows, the newest set of genre tropes graving the silver screen this summer.

Supernatural's Burbank Con isn't like that, nor does it try to be.  "News" doesn't factor in, and rarely does "new" in any sense.  If anyone was there to glean some juicy spoilers, talk candidly and specifically about what the next few episodes will have to offer, they walked away empty-handed.  And if you stop to think about it, it makes sense:  within the realm of single-series fan conventions it's a sure bet that your target audience, by virtue of the rapid-fire dissemination of info via Twitter, Tumblr, and LiveJournal (the dinosaur of this triumvirate)--they already know the hottest info you could possibly offer.  There's almost no point in bringing any news to the table, because your audience already heard it from Ask Ausiello; they Tweeted a producer and received an answer; someone hiding in the bushes in Vancouver Instagrammed paparazzi photos of that day's scenes and now the entire Internet's already seen it.  Should you disregard this ineffable truth and choose to divulge something at the con, the fans on the outside will absolutely hear about it before half the audience does, thanks to the more nimble-fingered Twitterers in attendance.  And I can speak from experience on that one--the first thing one of my Internet pals said to me when she learned I'd been to the Burbank Con was, "SO YOU SAW JENSEN IN A HOODIE???"

The Kosovo/Serbian border

By Nancy Phelps

When I last left you I was on a bus from Pristina, Kosovo headed to Belgrade, Serbia where I was planning to meet my old friend Rastko Ciric and attend the first edition of the Festival of European Student Animation that he had organized.  It was supposed to be a six hour trip.   I knew that Serbia did not recognize Kosovo as a country and people travelling on a Kosovo passport could not cross this border but I had been assured that I would not have a problem since I was travelling on a United States passport.

David Crane (l) and Steve Cartwright.

I was off to an early start this morning – the good news being the hearty breakfast I wolfed down when I learned more about Adobe’s new Director 11.5 release. Dr. Allen Patridge of Adobe ran the presentation, and he went over some of the things users can expect from the new Director software. He approached this from three angles: Dominate, Accelerate, and Impress.”

Finally I understood I am not indestructible so I have to decide to focus myself on highlights and to give the essence of the moment. This is how I proceeded to write this Day 3 Report for VIEW Conference 2009, in Turin.

Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino, great anchorman, entertained us with the Italian Wedding Party he ended up without being aware of it. People dancing, drinking and singing. He is an American soundtrack composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games.

During his workshop he shared an avalanche of background tips and techniques on his work. For instance: Michael writes the score for a scene very quickly, even in a day. Because he gets to see the entire movie before its completed and he can map each shot and satisfy the requirements.

Here is a nice design advice, which I find very useful in many other fields, Giacchino approaches a soundtrack writing job with this question: whats my feeling for this film if I have to reduce it to one chord? It is really a great way to distill the essence of a project.

While the Maestro drives the audience with questions and answers like if they were instrument players, frames of his films went on the big screen: Mission Impossible III, UP, Star Trek. I could feel the mood being created in the hall thanks to the music playing. He is right, some movies should have only music and no dialogues...

Because, also true, as he said, if the music is working well you are not conscious of it.

So here I am, curled up with a real printed version of the Ottawa International Animation Festival schedule, which I picked up at a local grocery store.

And a red marker.

One more page, last page. It's a handy-dandy candy pink, blue and green, colour coordinated idiot proof festival schedule with all the dates and times.

I can see that half of my choices conflict with each other.

I'll sign off now while I make extreme choices and chop dream screenings.

The Annecy + band at the Saturday picnic.

By Nancy Phelps

The 2011 Annecy International Animation Festival was so full of films, business, friends, special events, and parties this year that it was impossible to do and see everything.   The first screening at the festival on Monday morning was The Big Sleep, a tribute to animators who passed away since last year’s festival, which was a very appropriate way to begin a week of films.

It was a treat to see work by renowned Japanese director Satoshi Kon (1963-2010) on the big screen, even under such sad circumstances.  His unique style of directing and the complex psychology of his characters were evident in such classics as the 2006 Paprika, Millennium Actress (2001), and Tokyo Grandfather (2003).

The passing of Gael Brisou (1971-2010) was a great loss for Folimage Studio.  His gift for color was exemplified in his 2005 film Sucre with its extremely sensual, dreamlike qualities.  His gift for working with color added a special luster to the backgrounds of such films as Jacques Remy Girard’s Raining Cats and Dogs and Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol’s current success Une vie de chat (The life of a Cat,) as well as numerous short films.

By Nancy Phelps

In Ukrainian, KROK means “step”, but to animators, KROK means watching animation, making music, dancing and meeting friends, both old and new.  For me KROK is summer camp for animators and the best ten days of my life every year.

The festival is unique.  Each year an international group of animators boards a multi-decked river cruiser and spends 10 days sailing together.  Every other year, the festival location alternates between the Ukraine, which programs professional films (third film and later), and Russia where the films are student works. This year we sailed down the Dnepr River and across the Black Sea on the ship Princesa Dnepr from Kiev to Odessa in the Ukraine.

My cat Steven, doing his impression of the look the waiter gave me at lunch Monday when I told him the salad dressing had too much Dijon mustard.

By Dan Sarto

Since I’m finding time so scarce this week, I have not yet finished any of my formal write-ups.  So for now, I'm posting some initial images from the first couple days of the festival.  I apologize in advance if I don’t name everyone, or if I messup a name.  My memory has been dulled by too much cheese.