We all have played it safe one time or another.  Whether you are safely tucked away in a nice job or have settled for a mate who at least takes you off the dating scene, we all have our own unique “risk level” which dictates the choices we make or are willing to take in our attempt to keep what we have and follow the status quo.  Every now and again it’s good to shake it up even if you are not sure the outcome.  Playing it safe doesn’t always get you want from your career or in other areas of your life. When do you know it’s the right time to move out of your comfort zone and risk what you have now for the potential of something much better in the future?

 

 

Finding the perfect gift for the animator in your life.

 

There they are, lined up left to right – the dream team, the creative powerhouse behind DreamWorks’ latest, ‘let’s leave out the snark this time’ animated feature Rise of the Guardians. They’re bookended on one side by executive producer Guillermo del Toro and on the other by William Joyce, the creative genius/illustrator whose Guardians of Childhood book series serve as the movie’s foundation.

Surprise, surprise back at 30,000 ft flying from London to Los Angeles after a super quick trip to the UK and Ukraine.  Since my last communication, which was all about the KROK International Animation Festival, I have been back in the US.  A return home after thirteen months on the road.  I left my home in LA in September of 2011 for a two-month road trip.  That trip kept getting extended and extended.  Resulting into the longest period away from the US since I came to America from the United Kingdom after the release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, nearly 25 years ago.

A detailed description of my 2D hand drawn animation process.

This short time-lapse video follows the process of installing Maurizio Cattelan’s exhibition “All” at the Guggenheim in November 2011.

 

By Sean Buckelew and Jess Iglehart

When we traveled to the 2012 Annecy International Animation Festival to present a two-part CalArts Retrospective curated through the class taught by our professor Irene Kotlarz, we expected to bring films back to screen in America, but never did we dream that we would eventually be hosting the legendary animator Katsuhiro Otomo at the new Los Angeles incarnation of the PLATFORM International Animation Festival taking place at REDCAT. 

We all have been charged with picking up the sword to fight the good fight whether we are drawing the battle lines or not.  It’s always a good idea to have a plan in the event that you are called into action lest you be caught off guard.  This strategy applies whether you are fighting a health scare, personal loss or a change in your career.  It’s always good to know what propels you into battle before the appropriate boundaries are drawn.

 

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.

 

By Nancy Phelps

I had never thought of Peja, Kosovo as an ideal holiday spot but when I was invited to be on the International Jury of Anibar International Festival, the 22nd through the 27th of August, 2012, I discovered how wrong I was.  Peja is a lovely small town of 60,000 people surrounded by a beautiful mountain range known as the Balkan Alps with a lovely stream running through the center of town.  You can take a small motorized train up into the mountains from the town square.

A Heritage Museum is situated in an urban house dating from the 18th century that contains examples of regional clothing, beautifully crafted jewellery, musical instruments, and every day household items from the past.  The town also hosts a large open air market twice a week as well as the oldest mosque in Kosovo and a monastery located in the mountains is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Anibar had four screening venues, one indoor Cinema and three outdoor screening areas.   Films were shown in the Cinema during the day but in the warm evenings the action moved outdoors.  The opening and closing presentations and two evening screenings were held at the downtown open air screen which was easily accessible to everyone.