We are entering PETE in festivals to take advantage of her shelf life. In the meantime, I am working on other projects - preproduction and scripts.

a bit of time in Central park

 

The Diamond Dust Rebellion looks into the past of a character whose popularity rivals that of Ichigo himself: Toshiro Hitsugaya. An artifact called the “King’s Seal” is stolen under his watch, and consequently he and Squad 10 are put under suspicion. As it becomes evident that the thief is a soul reaper from his past, Hitsugaya’s silence ultimately demands a warrant for his arrest!

 

IT WAS A GREAT NIGHT!

Here is some footage I took at the premiere of PETE’S ODYSSEY. It has the students, Michelle Armstrong singing and a snippet from PETE - shot off the screen.

 

Okay, in case someone out there doesn’t know the story of Renton Thurston, here it is. Flash forward 10,000 years. A sentient being has merged itself with the Earth, forcing humanity into space. On a terraformed planet teenage Renton dreams of lifting (surfing invisible waves in the air caused by a substance called trapar) and achieving a bigger, better life, like the kind his lifting hero Holland and the surfing, subcultural crew Gekkostate live everyday. All that changes when the Nirvash, an advanced bio-mecha unit, and its pilot Eureka crash into his life. 

 

OIAF is a huge event, with lots of activities in numerous venues. As the festival came to a close on Sunday night, it was a pleasure to be able to sink down into the seats of the ByTowne Theatre and watch the Best of the Fest – the award-winning animation shorts.

In my humble opinion, the quality of the animated entries surpassed 2008. Perhaps it is the passion and vision of young student filmmakers that freshened the fare.

The Adobe Prize for Best High School Animation was awarded to Did U See That? by Yuri Rhee, Ha Jung Kim, Paul Kim and Hyun Jung Lee, Korea Animation High School, South Korea. The black-and-white lines of this animation were simple and the story was too – about a young boy haunted by the appearance of a menacing sea turtle and flying hogs. The teen goes to the authorities to report what he’s seen, and is promptly locked up in the loony bin. However, his psychiatrist soon discovers that pigs do fly.

The Best Undergraduate Animation prize went The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9! directed by Jake Armstrong, School of Visual Arts, USA. This short had real comic-book space adventure sensibilities in its design and storytelling. It was also an engaging shaggy-dog story, with the shaggy dog being a goggle-eyed alien monster instead of a mutt.

The Best Graduate Animation award was given to Lebensader, directed by Angela Steffen, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemburg, Germany. This beautifully rendered animation makes bold use of brilliant, flowing colors as a child regards a leaf and witnesses the interconnection of all living things. The animation design has strong kinship Canadian native art styles – simple at first glance but increasingly complex as the eye takes in all the nuances of the presentation.

WHAT A NIGHT THAT WAS!!! An event we will remember for years. For me it was gratifying to see the students again. When you do a project like this you tend to form bonds with your co-workers.

 

 

The much beloved Honey and Clover is the story of Takemoto, Mayama, Morita, Hagu, Ayumi and their transition from art school to post graduate, adult life. I say much beloved because this manga and anime series is immensely popular in Japan.  The manga, created by Chica Umino, won the Kodansha Manga Award, and then sparked not only an anime series, but also a live-action feature film and dramatic television show.

 

OIAF’s Chez Ani Café was transformed from a peaceful koffeeklatch to the crowded, boisterous AniMarket as throngs of job-hungry animators jostled to get in line and chat up recruiting companies.

Exhibitors included Walt Disney, Rainmaker, Nelvana, Pipeline Studios, Starz and Studio B, as well as such schools as Algonquin College, Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Sheridan College, Carleton University Interactive Media and Design, Vancouver Film School and Durham College.

Silverman talks about his work on The Simpsons – both he TV series and movie – with great affection and enthusiasm. “The Simpsons challenges the intellect and stimulates the intellect,” he says. This, despite the fact that the show relies on what he calls a “double act” routine – with one big idiot leading a lesser idiot.

When asked if another Simpsons feature is in the offing, Silverman replies, “I’m sure in future there will be. Right now, we’re too busy on the show.”

Silverman advises that The Simpsons series is being adjusted for HD format. “Backgrounds had to be redesigned and updated, and that involves a lot of fine line work,” Silverman says.

In 2000, Silverman departed Simpsons territory and co-directed Dreamworks’ The Road to El Dorado and in 2001, he co-directed Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. “I had been working on The Simpsons for 10 years, and I thought, ‘This can’t last forever’,” Silverman recalls. As it turned out, after those gigs, Silverman returned to The Simpsons’ comfortable couch for another extended run.

The premiere of PETE’S ODYSSEY went extremely well last Friday night, October 9th at Bloomsfield College in New Jersey. It has taken me a week to come back to Earth and resume my daily tasks.  Here's a "making of" video clip.