Take a quick glance at some of the people I met up with yesterday while stumbling around the annual Animator's Picnic and later, while trying to get warm at the Arts Court cafe and Aniboutique. Old friends, new friends, a pretty uninspired procession of eviscerated gourds. Oh, and have I told you, it's cold here? Aye?
There were some tough films in this competition. Three stood out for me.
The highlight of my second day in Ottawa was finding a working ATM. But the “treat” of the day was sitting in on an intimate discussion with former Oscar-winning Pixar and current Laika writer/director Jan Pinkava. Friendly, engaging, entertaining and brilliant – utterly charming. Made me feel like audience extra at a taping of “Regis and Kelly.” And it’s really, really cold here.
Every year I think Chris Robinson can't take it any higher. But every year he ramps it up a notch. This guy is the master of the post-modern introduction. You had to be there to feel the bizarre energy, to share in the intense, quizzical, weird couple of moments. Then we were back to reality.
Is it just me, or do Canadians like to congregate and talk hockey while blocking the entrance to every elevator, hallway, doorway and turnstile in the vicinity? It seemed every single path I took yesterday was impeded by some throng completely oblivious to those trying to navigate past them. Oh, plus I saw some good films!
I met with Linda Simensky, the Vice-President for Children’s Programming at PBS. We had strawberries and tea as she graciously shared her 20-years experience on the international scene in public broadcasting, what produced locally stays local and what gets to go international. (More about that later). But things got ugly when I asked her to define “edutainment”. Here was her response:
It's a two hour train ride from Montreal, Canada's cosmopolitan capital to Ottawa, the national capital. Forget the stock images of the Parliament buildings, the Mounties, or the concrete barriers in front of the block long US embassy. What makes Ottawa unique are the furry critters. There are more beavers, squirrels, bunnies and ground hogs than in any urban capital on the planet. Not to mention the moose!
So here I am in Ottawa, and the film I submitted this year to the festival was rejected. Not only this year but none of my films have made competition here. Not only that, but I'm blogging on the festival and my blogs are really positive. So I'm thinking, maybe I should put in some heavy doses of criticism so the folks at the OIAF won't think I'm kissing their royal Canadian asses. But I don't care if they think that. Let them. I'll blog what I want.
With so many fantastic events overlapping with one another, the Ottawa International Animation Festival really suffers from "too much schedule."
With so many fantastic events overlapping with one another, the Ottawa International Animation Festival really suffers from "too much schedule."
When you come to the Ottawa International Animation Festival, bring a hat. Even when it's sunny, the weather in Ottawa will bite you in the ass.
When you come to the Ottawa International Animation Festival, bring a hat. Even when it's sunny, the weather in Ottawa will bite you in the ass.
From the Taiwanese studio and web broadcaster NMA.tv comes their latest animated news “piece,” Brett Favre's Pecker the Talk of the Town. Pardon my cheap pun. It can’t be avoided – you’ll understand once you watch the video.
Time Magazine asks why parents cry during animated kids movies, Alan Becker's newest installment of Animator vs. Animation hits the web and Ray Grigg's political documentary I Want Your Money, highlighted by animated US Presidents past and present, hits selected theaters.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 will be held from December 15 to 18 at the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul Korea.
This is the third edition of SIGGRAPH Asia, following its debut in Singapore in 2008 and a successful show in Japan in 2009. Having staged SIGGRAPH in North America for 37 years, the
Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) presented SIGGRAPH Asia to bring digital innovations from around the globe to the region, while tapping into its vibrant and emerging digital media landscape.
5th Animarte – International Animation Festival
Animarte is a showcase that focuses on short animated films. The show tours cities in South America bringing some of the best animated shorts from around the world. The show is offered free of charge and we try reach large audiences. We believe in bringing animation shorts to the largest number of people possible to spark their creativity and open their minds to this innovative form of art.
5th Animarte – International Animation Festival
Animarte is a showcase that focuses on short animated films. The show tours cities in South America bringing some of the best animated shorts from around the world. The show is offered free of charge and we try reach large audiences. We believe in bringing animation shorts to the largest number of people possible to spark their creativity and open their minds to this innovative form of art.
Animarte is a showcase that focuses on short animated films. The show tours cities in South America bringing some of the best animated shorts from around the world. The show is offered free of charge and we try reach large audiences. We believe in bringing animation shorts to the largest number of people possible to spark their creativity and open their minds to this innovative form of art.
Contra Captain James T. Kirk, it is imagination, rather than space, which will forever remain the final frontier. And it is the science fiction and fantasy genres where imagination stretches to the furthest outposts of this frontier and beyond.
Sponsored by Autodesk®, CGarchitect, and NVIDIA, the Rendering Revolution contest is a global still image architectural visualization competition in celebration of the Autodesk ® 3ds Max® 20th Anniversary and advancements in GPU-accelerated rendering solutions.Participants must create an architectural scene that incorporates the 3ds Max 20th anniversary logo in a recognizable (and creative) form and produce a still image of that scene.
