The latest Acrobat edition of Animation World Magazine is now online to download. Covering commercials, IDs and music videos, this edition brings readers the fifth Hot Spots, which presents the best in animated and vfx commercials selected from our readers' submissions. Steven Gottileb surveys the music video scene and highlights some recent examples of cutting-edge visual effects in the medium. Joe Strike talks to several animation production companies about the growing need for interstitial programming around the globe. Karen Raugust reports on how some commercial animation houses are starting to ask for ownership and participation in commercial characters and concepts they have developed.
Additionally, Strike talks to animators at Rough Draft Studios about the challenge of taking the Springfieldians' simple, stripped-down designs and flat, 2D TV origins into CinemaScope for THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. On the occasion of the animator's 99th birthday, Strike speaks with Jack Zander, one of the few surviving memers of Hollywood's "golden age" of theatrical animation. Russell Bekins caught up with Alexandre Petrov and talked with the filmmaker about his new film MY LOVE, as well as his career and his love of animation.
In columns, this month, Martin 'Dr. Toon" Goodman looks at Christopher P. Lehman's AMERICAN ANIMATED CARTOONS OF THE VIETNAM ERA, and takes issue with the author's ideas about animators' intentions. In "Mind Your Business," Mark Simon explores the two teams artists can play for: "Protect Your Ideas at All Costs" and "I'll Pitch to Anyone, Anywhere, Any Time." This month in "The Animation Scene," Joseph Gilland ponders one of the eternal questions. "Career Coach" Pamela Kleibrink Thompson celebrates July 4th in this month's column by giving readers pointers to help them in their pursuit of happiness.
In reviews, LAIKA/house director and premier animation blogger Ward Jenkins checks out his new hometown's first animation festival to discover a new tradition unfolding before his eyes. For this month's anime reviews, Chris Feldman checks out THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA, 009-1 and GUNBUSTER 2. For "Press Start," Peter "The Rizk" Rizkalla checks out SHADOWRUN, CRUSH, ODIN SPHERE, ATELIER IRIS 3: GRAND PHANTASM and DINER DASH: SIZZLE AND SERVE. Anime expert Fred Patten checks out THE ANIME ENCYCLOPEDIA: A GUIDE TO JAPANESE ANIMATION SINCE 1917 to see if the authors have maintained its position as the go-to book for any question about anime. Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman cracks open Michael Barrier's THE ANIMATED MAN: A LIFE OF WALT DISNEY to find out whether it captures the true story of the man behind the Mouse House or whether it's just a bargain-bin biography. As always, Taylor Jessen returns with five new short film reviews in "Fresh from the Festivals."
So it's time to download your copy now!
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
