This Month's Contributors

Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.

This Month's Contributors

Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.

Jerry Beck is a cartoon historian, writer and animation studio executive. He was editor of The 50 Greatest Cartoons (Turner), recently co-wrote Warner Bros. Animation Art (Levin) and is currently a freelance writer and consultant through his own company, Cartoon Research Co.

Howard Beckerman is an animator, story artist and director. Beginning in the animation field in 1949, Beckerman's animation credits include Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Popeye, Casper the Friendly Ghost and McBoing-Boing Show. Noted for his classes at the School of Visual Arts and Parsons School of Design, he teaches students all facets of animation production. His writings on animation appeared monthly for 10 years in Filmmakers' Newsletter and then weekly for 8 years in Back Stage. He has just completed a text book, Animation: The Whole Story to be published this winter.

Alyson Carty is an Ottawa-based independent filmmaker, assistant director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and is currently studying cinema at Montreal's Concordia University.

Lee Dannacher is an animation producer/sound track director of over 300 half hours of television films, as well as numerous network and video holiday specials. Currently based in New York, she is freelancing in audio, project development and new media productions.

Rick DeMott is the Associate Editor of Animation World Magazine. Previously, he served as Media Coordinator for Hollywood-based Acme Filmworks. He holds a BA in Film/Video from Penn State University with a Minor in Comparative Literature.

Maureen Furniss, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor and Program Director of Film Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. She is the founding editor of Animation Journal and the author of Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics (John Libbey, 1998).

Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman is a longtime student and fan of animation. He lives in Anderson, Indiana.

Iain Harvey of The Illuminated Film Company is an independent, U.K.-based producer who produced the award-winning T.R.A.N.S.I.T, directed by Piet Kroon, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories, directed by Andrew Goff. He is currently developing an animated feature.

Eric Huelsman is the over-paid, underworked er -- that's underpaid, over-worked -- guy in charge of the Friedman 3D computer animation program.

Joe Jo is a freelance writer who has previously worked as a producer at Tooniverse Inc., the Korean animation channel. In addition, Jo has produced three animated short films.

Heather Kenyon is editor in chief of Animation World Magazine.

Jeff Kleiser is co-founder of Kleiser-Walczak Construction Co., which specializes in 3D animation. The company's credits include Universal Studios Florida's The Adventures of Spider-Man ride, Judge Dredd and Stargate. Previously, Kleiser served as animation director for films such as Tron, The Blue Lagoon, Flight of the Navigator and the TV series Captain Power.

Judy Lieff earned her M.F.A. in dance and experimental film/video from the California Institute of the Arts following a career as a professional dancer. She has performed as an animatronic character in Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and as motion-capture figures for Raven Software and Sony's 989 Studios. Judy has taught "Movement for Animators" at CalArts, New York University, Royer Studios and Pratt Institute amongst others.

J. Paul Peszko is a freelance writer and screenwriter living in Los Angeles. He writes feature articles, interviews and reviews for regional publications. He currently has two scripts under option and is working on a feature comedy, in addition to just completing his first novel. When he isn't writing, he teaches communications courses.

Chris Robinson is executive director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the founder and director of SAFO, the International Student Animation Festival of Ottawa. In his spare time, Robinson is vice president of ASIFA-Canada. Robinson has curated film programs (AnimExpo, Images Festival and Olympia Film Festival), served on juries (AnimExpo, World Animation Celebration), and written articles on animation for Animation World Magazine, FPS and Take One.

Gregory Singer is working toward an M.F.A. in Producing at Chapman University, in Orange, California. He is also the assistant editor of the Animation Journal, a peer-reviewed scholarly publication devoted to animation history and theory.

Charles Solomon is an internationally respected critic and historian of animation. His most recent books include The Disney That Never Was (Hyperion, 1995), Les Pionniers du Dessin Animé Américain (Dreamland, Paris, 1996) and Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation (Knopf, 1989; reprinted, Wings, 1994). His writings on the subject have appeared in TV Guide, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, Modern Maturity, Film Comment, The Hollywood Reporter, Millimeter, The Manchester Guardian, and been reprinted in newspapers and professional journals in the United States, Canada, France, Russia, Britain, Israel, the Netherlands and Japan.

Paul Younghusband is editor-in-chief of Visual Magic Magazine, a publication focusing on the 3-D graphics and digital effects industries.