| |
Sexuality and Myth: The animated films
of John Straiton
Thursday, November 20, 8 pm.
A screening
of the films of 81 year old animator John Straiton who was
a pioneer in the independent animation scene in Toronto
in the 60's and 70's. His independently produced animated
film "Horseplay" won a Genie Award. He has won
over a 100 awards for his films. In each of his films Straiton
developed new techniques of creating animation from stop
motion pastel drawings in his film "Portrait of Lydia",
to rotoscoping (the tracing of frames of live action film
footage) in his films "Horseplay" and "Marilyn
Monroe", to stop motion plasticine in "Eurynome"
and the stop motion animation of paintings in his film "Picture
Show".
Not
only are his films technically innovative but he also explores
depictions of sexuality and myth in all his work. This evening
was a chance to expose a new generation to a pioneer and
re-evaluate Straiton's work in light of the times they were
produced and how that compares and contrasts with today's
attitudes to the depiction of sexuality and myth.
John
Straiton was on hand to introduce his work and answer questions.
Chick Gammage introduced the program.
Chuck
Gammage, Squeeze Productions and The Toronto Animated Image
Society present an: Animators' Pub
Friday, October 30, 2003
A meeting
of friends and colleagues in the animation scene for conversation
and some drinks. After the Pub, all were invited to a screening
of the best of animation from local animation schools that
the Toronto Animated Image Society was hosting (below).
|
|
The
Best of Student Animated films from Toronto area Animation
Schools
Thursday, October 30
A screening
the Best of Student Animated films from Toronto area Animation
Schools from the past year. Included was computer and classical
animation that is being created by emerging animators.
|
AT THE CO-OP
Rescheduled
Puppet Workshop!!!
Puppet
Animation Workshop with Todd Peterson (Part Two: Moving
the Puppet) Saturday,
July 5, 2003, 1 to 5 pm.
Participants
worked in small groups with Todd with the stop motion camera
as he showed how to create convincing character movement
with the puppet. Todd Peterson has extensive experience
in the puppet animation field having worked for Will Vinton
Studios (creators of the California Raisins).
Professional
Development Workshop "How to Start Your Own Business"
with Christine Whitlock
Saturday,
September 20, 2003,
This
one day intensive workshop was designed as a broad introduction
for those interested in starting their own business and/or
selling your skills as a freelancer. It explained how to
deal with GST, PST, legal registration, licensing, zoning
and by-laws. Emphasis was placed on saving money on taxes,
getting organized, tapping into various consultants and
government help centres. This workshop was especially useful
for anyone interested in setting up their own film production
company or planning a film shoot.
Christine
Whitlock is a writer/producer/director who has also been
teaching business courses since 1981. She has two businesses
that do business consulting, write scripts, publish books
and create events. She belongs to the Hamilton, Burlington
and Oakville Chambers of Commerce.
Monthly
Events:
Greg
Duffell: "My first 30 years in Animation....sort of"
(Screening and Talk)
Thursday, June 19
In June
of 2003, animator Greg Duffell marked thirty years of professional
life in the field of animation, more than half of it running
Lightbox Studios in Toronto. During a presentation peppered
with early personal films, commercials, and other animated
works and rare footage, Greg gave the harrowing tale of
one animator's journey to the present that included stints
with Richard Williams and Chuck Jones to name just two.
That journey also led to surprise detours from life at an
animation desk, like screenwriting and voice acting. It
was his setting up of an animation studio that sets this
story a little apart, and we heard the harrowing account
of the creation of this independent production facility
in the 1980's.
|
|
Anijam
with Gerry Lagendyk : "Let's add sound!"
Thursday June 26, 2003
Gerry
Lagendyk demonstrated how to record voice and sound effects,
and how easy it is to synchronize sound with your animations.
We learned about simple software techniques that we can use
at the TAIS co-op or at home to make television "broadcast
quality" animations.
|
AT THE CO-OP
Final Cut Pro Workshop with Jonathan
Amitay
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Jonathan Amitay
introduced workshop participants to the creative possibilities of
Final Cut Pro Video Editing Software. Picture and sound cutting,
special effects, transitions, blue screen and compositing multiple
layers was covered.
Flash
Animation Workshop with Jonathan Amitay
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Jonathan Amitay
introduced workshop participants to the creative possibilities of
Flash Animation Software. Flash is an accessible program that is
especially good for animation on the web, and is increasingly being
used to create animated television series. Jonathan has created
numerous political animated films using this software that are on
display on his website.
Thursday,
May 22, 2003
Animated Films from Montreal - Presented by Anouk Préfontaine
Montreal Animator Anouk Préfontaine introduced her
own animated films as well as a selection of films by Montreal
animators. Born in Montreal in 1968, Anouk Préfontaine
worked as a graphic designer before studying animation at
Concordia University. She won the Kodak award for her student
film "Biquette", made with salt and pepper and shot
under the camera, and in her final year at university won
the Norman McLaren Award for best performance over three years.
Her first professional independent film, "Oh Lord",
has been screened at SAFO 1999 in Ottawa, the Cinémathèque
Québécoise in Montreal, at Hiroshima 2000, as
well as in Vietnam and in Estonia. It is also featured on
the video compilation Absolutely Independant' released by
ASIFA-Canada. "Oh Lord" won the Best Director Award
at the International Festival of Cartoon and Comics in Dervio,
Italy, 2000. "Mutations" is her second independent
production and it also won the Best Director Award at
Dervio 2002.
Préfontaine¹s
films include: "Biquette", the story of a love
affair between a goat and a bear; "Mutations",
where a farmer¹s naïveté gets him conned
into growing genetically modified fruits, vegetables and
fish, with dramatic
consequences; "Oh Lord", a film about isolation,
alcoholism and hallucinations; and "System Error",
a film about the commercial aspect of water and the role
of water plays in our daily tasks.
|
|
At
the Co-Op
Sunday
June 8, 2003
Acting for Animators Workshop
The workshop was composed of a short viewing of animated clips
with discussion of the difference between what animators and
actors need to know about acting. She understands that an
animator's job is different than an actor's and geared proven
improvisational exercises toward an animator's needs.
Jenny
Parsons has been teaching improvisation at The Second City
Training Centre for almost ten years. She also has been trained
in Maya and Houdini. She has taught acting to digital animation
students at Centennial College and at Seneca at York and to
professionals at the Toronto Digital Image Festival. A self-published
and illustrated guidebook called "Five Acting Principles
helpful to Animators" will be available for viewing and
for sale on the day.
Saturday,
May 10 and May 31, 2003
Let's Make An Animated Film: a two part workshop with Tony
Tarantini
Tony Tarantini
lead this workshop in developing ideas for an animated film
from initial idea to final pitch. The aim was to stimulate
our imagination and ideas, then develop our vision into a
story treatment and finally to format our film idea into a
pitch that you can take to the Arts Councils or Producers.
First
Session: Sat. May 10, Tony showed how we can create moving,
living, meaningful images and stories that will inspire and
motivate others. By viewing short films, Tony exposed us to
the overall process of script to screen through various approaches.
During which time diverse procedures, methods, media applications
and other details were discussed. Participants engaged in
the development of a personal vision and film idea. In addition
to addressing our creative needs the workshop offered concrete
solutions that assisted in formulating a working plan that
will facilitate the realization of our film.
Second
Session: Sat. May 31, Tony discussed presentation and other
important related concepts. Participants were encouraged to
pitch their Idea from the first session to the class and receive
feedback that will help in the revision and refinement process.
Everyone who presented received a video of their presentation.
Tony Tarantini
is a well respected Animation artist (formerly with Nelvana
Animation) and currently teaching in the Classical Animation
Program at Sheridan College.
|
Monday,
April 28, 2003
Our Annual General Meeting (and a few cartoons)
Reports
from our President and Treasurer, election of our new Board
of Directors. Greg Duffell showed some Animated Film Classics
from his personal collection.
|
|
At
the Co-op
Thursday,
May 1, 2003
Anijam with animator Rick Dolishny - The Making of The Bottomfeeders:
A Lighting Study in 3D
Animator
Rick Dolishny discussed the visual development of his current
8 minute animated short "The Bottomfeeders". Particular
attention was spent discussing lighting techniques adapted
from other live-action and animated films and applied into
3D. Rick's knowledge of real-world theatrical and cinematic
lighting was demonstrated with Lightwave 3D, using actual
rendered and work-in-progress scenes from the project. The
use of light as a dramatic device will be illustrated. Rick
used common vocabulary and had props (real and on-screen)
to demonstrate non-specific techniques that any animator will
be able to apply to their own work in a variety of disciplines:
stop motion, cel, non-traditional, Flash and 3D.
Rick is
an award winning professional visual effects artist and editor,
working as Post-Production Manager for Stuart Broadcasting
and The Second City. He studied Technical Theatre Design in
High School as Lighting Director and Crew. Rick is currently
the President of TAIS. The Bottomfeeders is his fourth personal
animated short.
Anijam
is a informal monthly get together at the TAIS Animators'
Cooperative where everyone is invited to show and watch animated
films, show their works in progress, see equipment demos,
exchange ideas and collaborate. Everyone is welcome to bring
in work to show and to suggest ideas for anijam evenings.
|
Saturday,
April 26, 2003, 1 to 5 p.m.
Scriptwriting For Animation Workshop
Professional
screenwriter Bridget Newson explored the world of writing
scripts for animation, including television series and features.
Topics included: formatting your script with animation in
mind; writing for series; pitching your series ideas to
producers and agents; and children's vs. Ogrown up' animation
markets.
Bridget
has written animation for Nelvana for five years, and co-written
the live-action feature CENTURY HOTEL. Previously she helped
set up the Skills Development department of the Ontario
Media Development Corporation, working with established
and emerging filmmakers.
Saturday,
May 3, 2003, 1 to 5 pm.
Puppet Animation Workshop with Todd Peterson (Part Two:
Moving the Puppet)
Participants
worked in small groups with Todd with the stop motion camera
as he showed how to create convincing character movement
with the puppet. Todd Peterson has extensive experience
in the puppet animation field having worked for Will Vinton
Studios (creators of the California Raisins).
Thursday,
April 10, 2003
Films By James MacSwain
Halifax
Collage Animator James MacSwain has created innovative animated
films including "Nova Scotia Tourist Industries",
a satire on the lengths a province will go to attract tourists;
"Mother Marilyn", a film that traces the story
of the child born to Marilyn Monroe and President Kennedy;
"Atomic Dragons", a film that examines the disposal
of nuclear reactive waste, and "The Alpha Expedition",
where a team of scientists experience depression and elation
during their mission to discover the Alpha Point, where
our universe
began in the Big Bang. In his films MacSwain present narratives
that construct distilled myths and prophesies of human folly.
Through a collage method that utilizes two dimensional images
cut from magazines, books,
newspapers, as well as using three dimensional objects,
MacSwain rearranges our ³normal² world into a
boiling brew of irony and confusion. Fortunately there are
a lot of laughs along the way. James will be present to
introduce his films.
Friday,
March 7, 2003
The Making Of Yellow Submarine with
Dr. Bob Hieronimus and Tom Halley
John Spotten Cinema, 2nd
Floor, National Film Board Building
Upon
its release in 1968, the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine"
revolutionized the art of animation with its bold psychedelic
graphics and surreal story. This evening Dr. Bob Hieronimus,
author of the new book; "Inside The Yellow Submarine:
The Making of the Beatles' Animated Classic" and
respected Canadian animator Tom Halley, who worked on the
film talked about the process of creating Yellow Submarine.
Hieronimus and Halley presented a slide show of sketches
and original drawings and explained how an intensely chaotic
11 months resulted in one of the best-loved films of the
60s.
|
|
Tuesday,
March, 18, 2003 at the Co-op
The Brothers Quay/Anijam/Helping You Make Your Own Animated
Film
TAIS member
Tamara Ulisko shared her passion for innovative stop motion
animation as we viewed films by the Brothers Quay, including
"The Street of Crocodiles" and other works.
What has
been written about the Brothers Quay:
"The
work of the Brothers Quay, with its stop-motion animated figurines
and its Old World atmosphere, looks like the lost art of a
forgotten age, yet it remains more in the avant-garde than
most of what falls under the rubric of animation these days.
Forget Mulan and Small Soldiers, forget South Park and The
Simpsons. The most bizarre and fascinating animation available
this weekend is the Brothers Quay retrospective at the Brattle."
|
At
the Co-Op
Saturday,
April 12, 2003, 1 to 5 p.m.
Collage Animation Workshop with James MacSwain
Using his film,
"Mother Marilyn", as an example, MacSwain will illustrate
the creative possibilities of the collage animation technique (the
animation of found photographs cut out of magazines, photocopies
and other printed matter). This technique, made famous by Monty
Python animator Terry Gilliam, is excellent for satire, and unusual
juxtapositions. Workshop participants will construct a three minute
animated script that utilizes collage elements inspired by the provided
magazines, books and photocopied images and gain insight into the
technical process of creating a collage film.
Saturday,
March 29, 2003 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
We¹re Not Here For A Long Time, Just QuickTime: QuickTime Pro
6 Intro Workshop
A 4 hour hands-on
workshop with Ron Stevenson, cartoonist and Internet animator. QuickTime
Pro 6 is the Swiss army knife of MPEG 4 multi-media. An affordable
cross-platform video editing application, it's low cost ($45) and
easy to learn interface makes it a valuable tool for animators and
independent filmmakers. Ron has been using streaming animated video
for several years and currently teaches QuickTime at George Brown
College. Through samples, demonstrations and hands-on work participants
will learn how to add images, text, audio and video tracks and edit
QuickTime content ,as well as, learn the different compression settings
for export to the Internet, CD-ROM, video and DVD. Integration with
other programs and advanced features will also be talked about briefly.
Saturday,
March 1, 2003 10 a.m. To 6 p.m.
Grant Writing Workshop with Elida Schogt -
Sold out
This workshop
will de-mystify grant writing and help you get ready to apply to
the NFB Filmmakers Assistance Program, Canada Council, Ontario Arts
Council, Toronto Arts Council and Bravo!FACT. Learn about what happens
behind the closed doors of the arts councils during the jury process.
The
first half of the workshop offers an overview of what the funders
are looking for and how to best present your ideas. Writing dynamic
project proposals, clear budgets, strong support material and resumes
will all be covered. In the second half of the workshop, participants
are encouraged to discuss their own project ideas and will have
a chance to get some immediate feedback.
ELIDA SCHOGT
has been awarded grants from the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council,
Toronto Arts Council, NFB and LIFT for her trilogy of short films,
Zyklon Portrait, The Walnut Tree and Silent Song. While Executive
Director of the Images Festival of Independent Film and Video, she
wrote all the
grants for the organization. She has also worked as a consultant,
reviewing grants for the OMDC and Rogers Funds. Her current project,
ZERO musings on nothing, also received grants from the arts councils.
Saturday,
March 8, 1 to 5 p.m. + one session in March
Stop Motion Puppet Workshop with Todd Peterson
This is a two
session workshop to create stop motion puppet and bring it to life.
In the first session on Mar. 8 you will create a puppet. At a second
workshop session (date to be announced) participants worked in small
groups with Todd with the stop motion camera as he showed how to
create convincing character with with the puppet. Todd Peterson
has extensive experience in the puppet animation field having worked
for Will Vinton Studios (creators of the California Raisins).
Thurs.
Mar. 13, 20, 27 and April 3, 2003; 7 to 10 p.m.
Under the Camera Animation with Jonathan Amitay
In this 4 session,
hands on workshop, participants learned Under the Camera Animation
techniques with Jonathan Amitay on TAIS's 16mm Oxberry animation
camera. Jonathan is an award winning animator who created animation
for CBC¹s Sesame Park television show. Jonathan demonstrated
the techniques of animating objects such as plasticene, cutouts,
sand, paint, chains; to help participants make a 30-second animated
movie.
Wednesday,
March 19, 2003
TAIS and the NFB present a Masterclass with
animator Paul Driessen,
NFB, 150 John Street, 8 pm.
Award winning
animator Paul Driessen has always had an overactive imagination.
He began his animation career doing commercials in his native Holland.
In 1967, he worked on the Beatles' landmark animated film Yellow
Submarine. After moving to Canada in the early '70's, he began a
long and successful association with the National Film Board of
Canada.
Mark Glassman,
co-author of a book on Driessen's work, was be on hand to introduce
a retrospective of animated films that Driessen has made in Holland
and Canada. Driessen talked about the process of making his films,
illustrated by landmark films from his career including Cat's Cradle,
The End of the World in Four Seasons and The Boy Who Saw The Iceberg.
Thursday,
February 20 at the Co-op
Anijam/Creating Good Character Design with Allen Swerling
This evening Allen Swerling talked about cartoon character
design. He lead participants through the step by step process
of making a character.
Anijam is a informal monthly get together at the TAIS Animators'
Cooperative where everyone is invited to show and watch
animated films, show their works in progress, see equipment
demos, exchange ideas and collaborate. Everyone is welcome
to bring in work to show and to suggest ideas for anijam
evenings.
|
Thursday,
February 13, 2003 - John Spotten Cinema
Films By Iris Paabo
Independent
Animator Iris Paabo has been creating innovative animated
films for the past 16 years in a wide variety of media.
This was a rare opportunity to see a retrospective of Paabo¹s
work in 16mm and 35mm prints, including the Toronto Premiere
of her recent film "Loons Dreaming", which was
produced by the National Film Board of Canada and won the
Fedex Best Canadian Short Film Award at the 2002 Montreal
World Film Festival. Other films screened included "My
Little Brother", a cut out animated film; "Leaving
The Poisons Behind", an elegant meditation on the environment
using abstract and pictographic imagery; "Teknicly
Inkorect" and "WakeUp/WakeUp".
Iris Paabo was on hand to introduce her films and answer
questions.
|
|
Thursday,
January 9, 2003
The Making of "The Stone of Folly"
Our
special guests that night were Jesse Rosensweet, Director
of the award winning stop motion animated film "The Stone
of Folly", along with Philip Marcus, who animated the
film. Jesse and Philip discussed the creatvie and technical
process of making the film and showed some samples of the
artwork used to create the amazing medieval world of "The
Stone of Folly".
|
Thursday,
January 16, 2003
Retro-Animation Hoverboy and the Legacy of Rocket Robinhood
with Marcus Moore and David Pietila
at the John Spotten Cinema
Animators
find their inspiration in the strangest places. When Toronto
computer animator Marcus Moore was developing his film "Hoverboy"
(2000), a parody of the communist scare tactics of the McCarthy
era in 1950's America, he was inspired by the cheap limited
animation of a 60's cartoon series called "Rocket Robinhood".
The very limited form of animation used in this series gave
the stories a very bizarre and eerie feel, with characters
delivering their lines in a stiff manner that was not naturalistic
and a bit surreal. Moore took this quality and adapted it
for his spoof.
The
aim of this evening was to explore how animators appropriate
and recycle the past to make new animated art. Moore talked
about the evolution of his Hoverboy series and explored
the creative and technical process used to create it.
He was joined by David Pietila, an animator in his own right
and expert on the original "Rocket Robinhood"
series to explore the original series and trace its' influence
on Moore's film, showing that inspiration can come from
the most unlikeliest of sources.
|
At
The Co-Op!
Sunday
Feb. 16, 2003
Advanced Cartooning With Pete Emslie
Renowned cartoonist and caricaturist Pete Emslie revealed
the process of creating caricatures and anthropomorphism
(giving personality to cartoon animals). You've seen Pete's
regular column "The Drawing Board" in the TAIS'zine.
Pete has done cartooning for Disney and many other clients.
One
day Workshop, Saturday, January 18, 2003
Professional Development Workshop "How to Start Your
Own Business" with Christine Whitlock
This
one day intensive workshop was designed as a broad introduction
for those interested in starting their own business and/or
selling your skills as a freelancer. It explained how to
deal with GST, PST, legal registration, licensing, zoning
and by-laws. Emphasis was placed on saving money on taxes,
getting organized, tapping into various consultants and
government help centres. This workshop was especially useful
for anyone interested in setting up their own film production
company or planning a film shoot.Christine Whitlock is a
writer/producer/director who has also been teaching business
courses since 1981. She has two businesses that do business
consulting, write scripts, publish books and create events.
She belongs to the Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville Chambers
of Commerce.
Saturday,
January 11, 2003
Introduction To Final Cut Pro Editing Software - Instructor
Jonathan Amitay
Jonathan
Amitay introduced workshop participants to the creativebpossibilities
of Final Cut Pro Video Editing Software.
Saturday,
November 23
Posing For Animation Workshops With Charlie Bonifacio
This
workshop was an experiential session on the mechanics of
gesture, quicksketch and animation posing. The principles
of body language were discussed and the elements that contribute
to strong readable poses were demonstrated.
Charlie
is a well respected animator who worked on Disney's "Mulan"
and "Lilo And Stitch".
|
Thursday,
December 12
Anijam/Holiday Party
TAIS! celebrated the season at our Anijam/Holiday Party.
There was fun, food and drink. Anijam is a informal monthly
get together at the TAIS Animators' Cooperative where everyone
is invited to watch animated films, show their works in
progress, see equipment demos, exchange ideas and collaborate.
Everyone is welcome to bring in work to show and to suggest
ideas for anijam evenings.
|
Saturday,
December 14 (at
the Co-Op)
Introduction To Flash Animation : Instructor Jonathan Amitay
Jonathan Amitay introduced the workshop participants to
the creative possibilities of Flash Animation Software.
Flash is an accessible program that is especially good for
animation on the web, and is increasingly being used to
create animated television series. Jonathan has created
numerous political animated films using this software that
are on display on his website.
Thursday,
December 5
Mark Mayerson : Monster By Mistake
Computer
Animator Mark Mayerson, creator of the 3D animated television
series Monster By Mistake spoke about the challenges of developing,
pitching and producing an animated television series using
clips from the
series. Monster by Mistake can be seen on YTV.
Mark
has worked in both drawn and computer animation and has worked
for companies such as Nelvana, Omnibus, Michael Sporn Animation
and Catapult Productions. Some of the projects Mark has been
involved with include Captain Power and the Soldiers of the
Future, Franklin the Turtle, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam
Shovel.
|
Thursday,
November 14, 7 to 10 p.m.
Monthly
Anijam: Anijam, Demo of Hash Animation Software with Neil
Lapointe
Neil
Lapointe demonstrated Hash 3DAnimation Software.
Anijam
is a informal monthly get together at the TAIS Animators¹
Cooperative where everyone is invited to watch animated
films, show their works in progress, see equipment demos,
exchange ideas and collaborate. Everyone is welcome to bring
in work to show and to suggest ideas for anijam evenings.
|
|
Monday
November 18, 2002
Films by Gail Noonan
Independent
British Columbia animator Gail Noonan has created numerous
animated films in a wide variety of media. Her films include:
"Your Name in Cellulite" (1995) a wickedly funny
satire about the disparity between a woman's natural beauty
and the ideal promoted by the mega-billion dollar advertising
industry; "Menopause Song" (1996) a witty, irreverent
look at the benefits of menopause; "Lost and Found"
(1999) where two children, searching for a lost mitten on
a winter evening, stumble upon a cardboard shelter that seems
to be someone's home; and "Honey" (2002) a look
into the intimate world of bees. Gail was present to introduce
her films and answer questions.
|
At
the Co-op -
Sunday,
November 17
Out of Your Mind and Onto the Screen:
Workshop in Creating an Animated Film with Gail Noonan
Out of Your
Mind and On to the Screen took participants from the nebulous glimmer
of an idea to a cohesive vision of the animated film. The workshop
is structured in two sections. The Out of Your Mind section goes
from thinking of the idea to thinking of the idea as a film. The
most important element is to make the film real to yourself and
the rest will follow. The Onto the Screen part is very practical
information on how to get the film made. Topics to be dealt with
are fundraising, planning production, post production and exhibition.
Gail Noonan
is a prolific and well respected independent animator.
|
Thursday
October 17, 2002
Opening Party!!! TAIS Animators' Co-operative
We celebrated
the opening of Toronto's first Animators' Co-operative. There
were refreshments, equipment demonstrations and films by TAIS
members.
Thanks
to everyone who came out to the Party. It was a lot of fun.
Thanks to Lynne Slater for organizing the drinks, Mike Robbyns,
Ron Stevenson, Vince Vaitiekunas and Rick Dolishny for purchasing
and installing our new computers and demonstrating them at
the opening. Thanks as well to Allen Swerling for demonstrating
Classical Animation and to Stuart MacNeil for donating a copy
of Lightwaves 3DAnimation Software to the Co-op.
|
|
Thursday
October 24, 2002
Scratchatopia: The Handmade Animated Visions of Steven Woloshen
Montreal
independent animator Steve Woloshen creates inventive experimental
animated films by drawing directly on 35mm movie stock. Woloshen's
films explore the relationship between music and the visual
image in a way that is both abstract and yet very accessible.
Woloshen will be on hand for this screening to explain the
techniques and inspiration for his films. His work has been
the subject of a retrospective at both the 2002 Ottawa
International Animation Festival and Montreal's Cinematheque
Quebecoise.
8:00 p.m.,
Cinecycle, 129 Rear Spadina Avenue, (rear, down the short
alleyway. East side of Spadina between Richmond and Adelaide
Streets)
Admission: TAIS members free, public
$5.00
|
At
the Co-Op -
Equipment
Orientation Sessions:
Monday
Sept. 23, 8 p.m. 16mm Oxberry Animation Stand Orientation
Session
with Jonathan Amitay
Saturday
Sept. 28, 2 p.m. Amiga Take Two Pencil Test System Orientation
Session with Greg Duffell
Saturday
October 18, 2002
Character Design for Animation Workshop with Greg Duffell
Animator Greg Duffell presented some exercises that illustrate the
principles of Character Design. In this hands on workshop participants
explored model sheets, character turn arounds, making characters
consistent and how the same character can be redrawn in several
different animation styles.
Saturday
October 26, 2002
Workshop in Scratchatopia: A 35mm animated film for $300!
The Handmade Animated Visions of
Steven Woloshen
Here's the Challenge,
Folks: Can you free your mind, realize your dreams and complete
your film for less than $300.00? Would you like to try? This hands
- on workshop revealed tips, shortcuts and strategies that will
bring your films to completion and beyond! Since 1982, Steven Woloshen
has found numerous ways to navigate and complete his cameraless
animated visions through a gauntlet of financial and creative roadblocks.
Now, 20 years later, he demonstrates axe - sharpening tools for
the independent animator.
|
Thursday
September 26th, 2002.
Posing
For Animation with Charlie Bonifacio
Charlie
Bonifacio returned to TAIS with a talk on animation posing.
Charlie demonstrated how the body is an acting machine that
can be used to express emotions in animated drawings. In his
illustrated talk he spoke on how posture and body language
can be used to tell a story. In addition he used examples
to demonstrate the art of using thumbnail drawings effectively
to explore body language.
Charlie
is a well respected animator, having worked on numerous animated
productions including series work for Nelvana and most recently
on Disney's Mulan and Lilo and Stitch. Charlie is currently
at Chuck Gammage studios doing storyboard work on a Tarzan
'direct to video' for Disney TV.
|
Thanks to Charlie Bonifacio for his great talk. Thanks as well
to the 100 people who showed up for the event and all the TAIS
volunteers who helped out that night. |
|
Thursday,
September 19, 2002
Anijam
with Bryce Hallett: Digital Ink and Paint Demonstration
Anijam
is a informal monthly get together at the TAIS Animators¹
Cooperative where everyone is invited to watch animated films,
show their works in progress, see equipment demos, exchange
ideas and collaborate. Everyone is welcome to bring in work
to show and to suggest ideas for anijam evenings.
September¹s
Anijam Guest, Bryce Hallett, creates animation for the Red
Green Show, and demonstrated the Digital Ink and Paint technique
he uses on the show.
A graduate
of Sheridan College¹s Animation Program and the Graphic
Communications program at Canadore College in North Bay.,
Bryce Hallett spends most of his time in a dark basement where
he makes a living as an independent animator/illustrator whose
work can be seen on the ³Red Green Show² and ³Anything
I Can Do² among others. Occasionally he comes out into
the terrible, terrible sunlight to do some acting and improv
around Toronto and swiftly returns to his dungeon to hibernate.
|
|
Sunday
August 25th, 2002. 11AM
TAIS
Picnic a success. Thanks Lynne!
A big
thanks to TAIS Board Member Lynne Slater for all her work
organizing the TAIS Picnic last Sunday in High Park. We really
appreciate it. The food was great as was the weather. Thanks
also to the 30 people who came out.
|
Dave
Major
|
|
Amanda
Forbis (left) and Wendy Tilby (right) |
|
|
|
Tuesday,
June 25, 2002
Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby in Person!
Animators
Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, co creators of "When the
Day Breaks" (winner of 30 International awards including
an Academy Award nomination in 2000) presented and discussed
their films.
Wendy
and Amanda met at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design
in 1985. Each went on to make a film at the National Film
Board of Canada ("Strings"
and "The Reluctant Deckhand" respectively) before
they joined forces to create "When the Day Breaks".
They have continued to collaborate on commercials and commissioned
projects and are currently developing a new short film.
|
Workshop
with Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis
Amanda
Forbis and Wendy Tilby, co-creators of "When the Day
Breaks" demonstrated a variety of techniques they have
used in their films including:
- Paint
on Glass
- Cut-outs
- Paint
and pencil on Photocopied video frames
|
Thursday,
June 6, 2002
Cordell Barker in Person!
Award
winning Winnipeg based animator Cordell Barker showed his
work in animation including "The Cat Came Back"
and "Strange Invaders" (both nominated for Academy
Awards), that he produced at the National Film Board of Canada.
As an
added treat Cordell also showed the numerous tv ads that he
has done in Canada, the US and England.
|
Thursday
May 30, 2002
Equipment Acquisition Committee Meeting
This meeting
was open to all TAIS members interested in discussing the
equipment we will be purchasing for the Co-op.
These
were some of the areas that we were trying to cover:
- Stop
Motion (computer and film)
- Classical
(film as well as digital ink and paint)
- Computer
Animation (2D and 3D)
- plus
any other approach that you'd like to suggest
|
|
Past
Workshops
Sat.,
May 25, 2002
Advanced Puppet Making with Todd Peterson
This
was a follow up workshop for those who took Todd's introductory
puppet animation workshop. In this workshop they could add
foam flesh and a plasticine skin to complete their puppet.
Todd also acted as a resource for people who have further
questions about planning and animating a puppet film.
|
|
|
Saturday,
June 8, 2002
Workshop with Cordell Barker
Creating An Animated Film Part One:
Cordell Barker: Strange Invaders, A Case Study
Cordell
Barker illustrated the process of creating his Academy
Award nominated film "Strange Invaders". Hel showed
original artwork
and storyboards to give attendees a glimpse into the techniques
and creative process that he went through to create his movie.
|
|
|
Sat.,
May 4 and 11, 2002
Classical Animation Beginner's Workshop with Allen Swerling
A 2 session
workshop, a crash course in classical animation with
Allen Swerling, director of the Kickstart Animation School.
|
|
|
Tues.,
May 7, 14, 21, 28, 2002
Under
the Camera Animation with Jonathan Amitay
4 sessions,
a hands-on workshop of Under-Camera Animation
techniques with Jonathan Amitay.
|
|
|
Sat.,
May 25, 2002
Advanced Puppet Making with Todd Peterson
A follow
up workshop for those of you who took Todd's introductory
puppet animation workshop.
|
|
Other
Past TAIS Events
|
Wed
May 15, 2002
Inspired Moments: Advanced Storyboarding
with Sam Agro
Sam
Agro talked about the intricacies of the art of storyboarding
a film. Sam's introductory talk a year ago was so great that
we had him back to further explore the art of storytelling.
|
|
|
Wednesday,
May 1st, 2002
Annual General Meeting and Cartoonie
Night
This
was a chance to tell TAIS want you want. To tell TAIS what
we've done right or wrong, and what to do next...
TAIS board member & treasurer Greg Duffell also showed
some cartoons from his personal collection.
|
|
Wednesday,
April 17, 2002
Kai
Pindal
TAIS
welcomed renowned animator Kai Pindal to talk about the films
he has
made over his 50 year career. Kai created animated films for
the National
Film Board of Canada from 1957 to 1990 and is presently teaching
animation
at Sheridan College in Oakville. He spoke about his independent
films
and his work for the NFB. Films to be screened include "I
Know An Old
Lady", "What On Earth?", "Karate Kids",
"Peep And The Big Wide World" and many more.
|
 |
|
Sat.
March. 16th, 2002
Storyboarding
Workshop with Sam Agro
Storyboard
artist Sam Agro showed how to put together an effective storyboard.
Participants brought their own storyboards in for feedback
and Samalso had an exercise for them to work on. Sam has created
storyboards for John Kricfalusi "Ripping Friends"
series and numerous feature films.
|
|
|
Sat.
March. 23rd, 2002
Making Puppets for Stop-Motion Animation with Todd Peterson
- Encore Presentation!
Animator
Todd Peterson gave this 4 hour hands on workshop to make a
stop-motion puppet. Participants learned some of the techniques
of animating puppets. Todd has extensive experience in the
puppet animation filed having worked for Will Vinton Studios
(creators of the California Raisins). The goal of this workshop
was to show some of the ways of building a puppet. Todd's
last workshop sold out and was a ton of fun, so we had him
back to do another one.
|
|
|
Sat.
April 6th, 2002
Creating Appealing Cartoon Characters with Pete Emslie
Cartoonist
Pete Emslie gave this 4 hour workshop on the art of creating
appealing cartoon characters. You've seen his column "The
Drawing Board" in the TAIS newsletter. Pete has extensive
experience in the cartooning field, having cartooned for Disney
and other clients.
|
|
|
Wednesday,
March 13, 2002
Bloor Cinema , 506 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Richard
Williams - Master Animator -
Mini-Masterclass and Book Signing
TAIS welcomed Richard Williams, director of "Who Framed
Roger Rabbit", to Toronto for this special engagement.
Williams
has been in the animation business for more than 40 years
and is the author of the recently published book "The Animator's
Survival Kit" A Manual Of Methods, Principles And Formulas
For Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion And Internet Animators.
Richard Williams will gave a mini-Master Class showing samples
from his films and demonstrating animation principles.
Image
on right: Ellen Besen and Richard Williams at the event.
|
"The
Animator's Survival Kit-
Why This Book?"
|
|
Sat.
& Sun., March. 2nd & 3rd, 2002
Richard
Reeves' Cameraless Animation Workshop
Richard
Reeves' workshop gathered to create an animated film by painting,
bleaching, scratching and drawing on raw 35mm movie stock,
and create a soundtrack by drawing on the optical sound area
of the movie strip. Richard Reeves' hand painted films "Linear
Dreams" and "Sea Song" have won prizes at film festivals around
the world.
|
|
|
Saturday,
February 23rd, 2002
On The Move: The Art of Independent Animation Workshops Series:
Making Puppets for Stop-motion Animation with Todd Peterson
Animator
Todd Peterson led this 3 hour hands on workshop to make a
stop motion puppet. He taught some of the techniques of animating
puppets. Todd has extensive experience in the puppet animation
field having worked for Will Vinton Studios (creators of the
California Raisins). The goal of this workshop was to show
the participants some of the ways of building a puppet.
|
Wednesday
February 20, 2002
Night of the Living Independents: Animated films by Jonathan
Amitay, Patrick Jenkins & Elizabeth Lewis
Independent
animators Jonathan Amitay, Patrick Jenkins and Elizabeth Lewis
showed their films and talked about their work.
Stop
motion animator Jonathan Amitay showed his classic films "Oh
Dad!" and "Chain Reactions in Virtual Reality" as well as
new computer based work including "Drums Along The Dried Up
Rivers" and "Landfills Of The Mind".
Elizabeth
Lewis, who is known for her beautiful hand drawn pencil crayon
films, in which objects morph and change before our eyes,
showed "Villanelle", that illustrates a poem by Earle Birney
and a demo reel containing selections of her work.
Independent
animator, Patrick Jenkins, showed his recently completed documentary
"Ralph: Coffee, Jazz and Poetry". This documentary is a portrait
of Vancouver neo-Beat poet Ralph Alfonso and contains 4 animated
sequences illustrating Alfonso's poems.
Wednesday
Jan. 30, 2002
Directing Animation with Tony Tarantini
Tony
Tarantini, a fourteen year veteran of Nelvana Animation Studio,
currently Assistant Director on "George Shrinks", talked about
the process of directing an animated series. Tony drew on
his vast experience in the industry and lectured on the role
of the director as the key creative force. The visionary in
any animated project, the director is crucial to the success
of the film. He is currently teaching third year animation
at Sheridan College, helping 80 students produce short animated
films.
Wednesday,
December 19
Creating Animation for Interactive Television and Spanish
Animation
Spanish
born Director & Producer Raquel Benítez talked about the challenges
and methods of creating animation for the medium of Interactive
Television. As well she talked about animation in Spain and
showed examples of the work of Spanish Animators. Raquel (along
with Carmen Llanos) ran the "ANIMAR" Animation Festival in
the Balearic Islands, as well as the Cartoon Forum of the
European Broadcasters in the Canary Islands. Raquel, is President
of Comet Entertainment Inc., which is producing some animated
t.v. series. Raquel and Carmen moved two years ago to Canada,
to establish this company.
It was
a very informative night. Raquel was more than happy answer
questions and had a lot of information to share.
|
 |
|
Thursday
December 6, 2001
Holiday Party And Open Screening !!!
TAIS!
celebrated at our Holiday Party and Open Screening. There was free
food and cash bar (beer and wine) and a selection of animated cartoons
were shown. Everyone was welcome to bring an animated film to show.
|
Thursday,
Nov. 1st
Independant Animation and
the NFB
with Derek Lamb
TAIS
welcomed Derek Lamb, former filmmaker & Executive Producer
of Animation at the NFB for an evening of screenings and insights
into independent filmmaking.
Derek Lamb is the Academy award producer for Every Child,
and Dean of Film at Harvard University. He has worked on American
Sesame Street segments, and worked with Edward Gorey on the
PBS Mystery Opening sequence, Produced and Directed films
for Street Kids International, and is Producer of the Meena
O Meena series for PBS. The list is much longer, containing
many more kudos and awards.
TAIS would like to thank Elizabeth Lewis and Ellen Besen for
arranging this event.
|
|
|
Thursday,
Sept. 20th at 8:00 pm
Chilly
Beach Web Animation with Doug Sinclair
Doug
Sinclair covered the inception and evolution of Chilly Beach
(which is the longest-running animated series on the Web),
the technical and creative challenges involved in animating
for the Internet and how they were overcome, and the even
greater challenges the series now faces as it translates into
the television medium.
It
was a very informative meeting. Doug was more than generous
with sharing his experiences and fielding the many questions
we had.
See:
"Chilly Beach"
|
|
|
Sunday August 12, 2001
The
TAIS Annual Picnic.!
Hi
Everyone! I just wanted to say Thanks! to those who came to
our TAIS Funday Picnic at Sunnybrook Park! It was a beautiful
day to spend with over 30 TAIS members and family/friends.
The potluck brought some interesting morsels, and we grilled
away with burgers, hotdogs, and peppers! We even had an ASIFA
visitor from Montreal, Ted Dillon, who managed to put the
firepit to use with bags of personal papers! I hope you all
had as great a time as I did.
A special thanks goes to Ron Stevenson for rounding up all
of the picnic food basics, and of course, his Annual Waterballoon
Bash! My shoes are still drying on the line! Thanks for coming
out, folks!
Barbara Whitmer
President, TAIS
|
Sunday,
June 17th, 2001
The
Grantwriting Workshop by Kaspar Jivan
It
was a success! Thanks to the eight participants in the Grantwriting
Workshop who joined us at the NFB! Kaspar gave an informed overview
of the organizations involved and how to create successful grants.
THANK YOU, Kaspar! We hope to be able to call upon your knowledge
and skills in the future! We'll miss you!
Monday,
May 28, 2001
|
Sack-o-Flour
with Lightwave:
A Short Character Animation Study
Join
TAIS member Rick Dolishny as he tackles the famous
animation tutorial from sketches to modeling, animation and
rendering. Following the success of his popular "Animation
Master Made Really Really Simple" TAIS workshop from
2000, this lighthearted session is offered to traditional
animators curious about 3D, or 3D animators interested in
learning more about Lightwave. Free for members.
|
|
Wednesday
April 25
Our
No Holds Barred Open Screening!
Show
Us Your Stuff!
Thanks
to the 45+ people who showed up to our open screening last
night. It was a blast with many fine animated films shown.
Thanks everyone!
|
|
Monday,
April 30th, 2001
Our Annual General Meeting (and a few cartoons).
Another year
has passed and it's time for our Annual General Meeting. Come and
hear reports from our Treasurer and President and participate in
the election of our new Board of Directors. We need your input!
Tais has an exciting and challenging future ahead of us due to our
recent grant successes and we need your input on the Co-op Project.
We need as many members as possible to come out to the meeting!
And, as if that's not enough, Greg Duffell will be showing some
Animated Film Classics from his personal collection. If you were
at his Eclectic Surprise Hollywood Cartoonie show last July you
know you'll be in for a treat! Tais members only!
|
