I have just returned from a trip to Netherlands, the land of tulips and windmills.  The first one representing an outgrowth of our humanity’s adoration for beauty of nature, and our ingenuity in refining it to the outmost perfection. The second, a product of design projecting humanity’s pragmatic inventiveness when faced with a need for a solution and solving it through design thinking, this at the core of my mission there. 

Should current technologies motivate and dictate new innovative designs or can concept designs inspire novel technologies? Which one is better, wiser, more advantageous in a long run? But is the choice black and white or could students be offered some, or the best of both worlds of occasions? Should educational systems, most of which are motivated by the need to differentiate themselves, this in order to compete with other similar in objectives schools, be also willing and capable of electing the more comprehensive and more globalized, Renaissance like approach and philosophy towards their education?

We have been, and so have the technologies we invent, evolving with an accelerated speed. Currently we are, as it should be, at the stage of development that is the most advanced thus far. Technology is a true “magic wand”. It makes us more powerful then ever. This is likely the most exciting time to be a creative individual or an artist, or a designer, or even an engineer or technologist or inventor. Borders between all disciplines are dissolving before our eyes. Interdisciplinary fusion is lighting up the path to exciting future.

 

Hello from China….this time in Fuzhou.  This is quite a city and province.  It’s located on China’s Southeast coast and rests at a junction of the Yangzte River Delta and Pearl River Delta..both are dynamic economic circles.  Across the Taiwan Straits lies its closest neighbor, Taiwan and nearby neighbors include Hong Kong and Macao.  Temperatures are moderate and the infrastructure is excellent.  There’s building going on all over the city.

I’m here to attend the 8^th World Summit for Multi-media and Internet and the 1^st. China International Conference for Creative Economy Cooperation.  The program is being held over the course of four days.  There were a couple of dozen topics discussed including Global Digital Creative Industries with a focus on Brazil and India, Intellectual Property Protection,  and International Trends on Creative Industries.

Question: What are some of the positive responses from celebrities who got skewered on the Celebrity Deathmatch?

As Celebrity Deathmatch grew in popularity, it became en vogue for stars to be parodied on the show. Whether they were up and coming “flash in the pan” type celebs or bona fide Hollywood Icons, for some, seeing their name on a Deathmatch fight card was acknowledgement enough that they had made it in show biz.

 

The FMX Partners section is ready to set sail. This is your chance to become a part of FMX 2013! There are various opportunities to participate and present your company or school in Germany next spring. Choose from a range of different offerings from workshops to sponsoring activities and individualize your choice accordingly. Take advantage of our Early Bird Rates that end January 31, 2013, and jump on board!

When is it time to mourn the death of your career?  You’ve been dragging around your tired job like a mourner wears a black arm band only to realize it’s time to mourn the loss and move on.  You can’t keep wishing it wasn’t so.  Living in a state of denial about the death of your career is not going to help you move forward and join the ranks of the gainfully living and employed.

Before you turn into a cast member from “The Walking Dead” know that you can manage the loss of your career and let it RIP.

Rise of the Guardians is a major box office disaster for DreamWorks Animation.  How on earth could something with so many “right” elements go so “wrong”?  Ed Hooks does a post-mortem.

This Disney Animation Studio flick came and went in a heartbeat despite being overseen by John Lasseter.  The published production budget was US$165 million, which means the real cost was close to US$200 million.  What the studio got for that investment was the sharpest CG animation in years from Disney and 188 merchandising opportunities.  The animation is brilliant, and the animators that did it deserve more applause than they probably received.  It's not their fault the movie is mediocre. 188 characters 'with names" in a single movie is bound to come up short because the audience can't keep up with them all. Neither Star Wars nor Tora! Tora! Tora! had so many characters.   Let's put aside the discussion about whether or not Wreck-It-Ralph is a variation on Toy Story, which I think it surely is.  The plot involves what happens when the character Wreck-It-Ralph decides he is tired of being the villain.  He goes on a game-jumping quest to be a hero, finally discovering that ("surprise!") one is never a villain in one's own life.  "To thine own self be true."  Ralph's journey includes plenty of maniacle careening around accompanied by loud video game noises.  If empathy was evoked for any character, the moment escaped me.  In other words, Wreck-It-Ralph is a concept in search of a worthwhile story.

I wanted to pass along this notice from Women in Animation's LA Chapter, announcing a fundraising effort to support Rusy Mills, Exec VP at Studio Kinate, animation teacher as well as award winning director/producer for Animaniacs/Pinky & the Brain, who is fighting a difficult battle with colon cancer.  We are all saddened to hear of his illness and our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.

 

“Rise of the Guardians” is a great film, full of rich, colorful, and well-developed characters. Santa, or “North”, as he is called in the film, compared his personality to that of a Russian Nesting Doll. He is a tough and fierce warrior on the outside, but inside, he has a heart of childlike wonder. Bunny is calm and proud, although annoyed by North boasting how Christmas is more important than Easter. Tooth, the tooth fairy, is an energetic and excitable character, constantly hovering in the air. Sandy, the mute Guardian of Dreams is calm, but can be very fierce and strong when he has to. Finally, we have Jack Frost, a smart, mischievous, fun-loving spirit who can control the weather and snow, but has yet to learn about his purpose and responsibilities in life.

By Ellen Besen

I really thought this next piece was going to be about festival programming but fresh from CTN Expo- which wrapped on Sun Nov 18, I feel compelled to shift focus to a more pressing topic: overall spirit. By this I don’t mean so much the mood of the attendees but more the spirit in which the event was conceived and carried out by the organizers. This last factor has a defining impact on every aspect of the event including the attendees’ mood and programming as well, which is precisely why it is the more pressing issue.

This kind of spirit can be an elusive subject- one that doesn’t really show itself directly.  Instead you kind of have to look at an event sideways, to use your detective skills and also keep in mind what other choices could have been made to suss out the organizers intentions.