ASIFA-SF NEWSLETTER
Association International du Film d'Animation
(International Animated Film Association)
December 2011LEONARD COHEN, AN UP-AND-COMING ANIMATOR FROM PARIS, HAS MOVED TO BERKELEY. HE WON TWO MAJOR PRIZES AT ANNECY AND DID THE ANIMATION FOR SPIKE JONZE’S “TO DIE BY YOUR SIDE”
Leonard Cohen’s Plato won both the Best Graduation Short and the Junior Jury Prize at Annecy 2011. His first big commercial work, animating Spike Jonze’s To Die By Your Side, is a hit at festivals and on the Internet.
When asked about working with Jonze Leonard told me, “The hard part was to manage to be close to director's expectations considering our technical limitations. We were animating pieces of cutout felt. It was a no sleep, intense, stop-motion shoot. A very small team worked on the project. Sylvain Derosne, the other animator and I were the only persons with a solid background in animation on the team, so we were very involved in the running of the entire production.”
Jonze’s name may be familiar as he is the live action director who commissioned the remarkable looking short Higglety Pigglety Pop! to accompany the DVD release of his feature Where the Wild Things Are. To see To Die By Your Side visit HYPERLINK
http://vimeo.com/leonardcohen/todiebyyourside and enter the password madt.
Leonard was a guest of the San Francisco Animation Festival when they showed his film Plato in the Best of Annecy program in November to two packed houses. Plato is a playful, creative adventure in a world of simple 2D and 3D forms. The film opens with a simply drawn person (just his outline) moving around a drawing of a square. He discards it, draws another, discards it, draws a diamond, discards it and then draws a six sided form. He realizes that by adding a few more lines it can become a cube. He then moves inside the cube (it has no top so we see him) and somehow one side slides forward and becomes a 3D cube that casts its own shadow (a cardboard/paper construction). That is the beginning of a delightful adventure with 2D and 3D forms, but while our 2D man can create a 3D world, he doesn’t seem capable of entering it. See it at HYPERLINK
http://www.vimeo.com/leonardcohen
Leonard told me, “My personal work turns around Kafkaesque situations. I am fascinated by the trouble between reality and fiction. I also love using my hands and I’m particularly interested in the magic you can yield from animation. The possibilities are infinite as soon as you start mixing things up.”
“When I started to work on Plato, my first thought was that I didn't want to be stuck in an exclusive cerebral approach to making it. I decided to start just doing animation; having fun doing it. I made tests as fast I could; forgetting concepts for a while. I wanted to animate simultaneously the drawings and the 3D forms. I drew on white erasable boards, and that's how the idea of turning flat plains into spaces developed. Then I came up with the idea of making actual volumes that look like drawings in order to increase the confusion. I was searching for magic tricks.”
“I wanted to make it with traditional animation techniques because I feel that in this age of computers making everything possible, it is more fascinating when you can feel the hand that did what you are watching. Plato combines drawings on paper and stop-motion animation. I composited it with After Effects for reasons of convenience. Samples of my tests are on my Vimeo page.”
The title Plato comes from a word trick between ‘plat’ or ‘flat’ in French, and Platon (Plato in French). So the literal translation would be "Flato". It has to do with Plato because it is the story of a man who has the intuition of another dimension and he gets the opportunity to face it, but can't manage to enter it. This is a way to express that Platonian idea that there's something above us, that we can figure out more or less but that we can't reach. You can try hard to get closer but you can never reach it. It's an unlimited quest.”
“Being in the US is a great opportunity. The American way to tell stories is very sharp, and people here really excel in their animation skills and as artists. It is the place to enter mainstream animation and to meet independent creators as well. It is very exciting being here.”
DAN McHALE’S LATEST ANIMATION IS NOW ONLINE
Spear, Fish, Boat is a thoughtful story with an unusual twist. The film was made using Flash, Photoshop and After Effects. The music is by Garageband. A slide show that sheds some light onto his process of making hand drawn images that come alive in the finished piece is also included. His creativity is apparent in all the details; with fine lines, deep colors, and loose gestures he allows his inspiring energy to come through.
McHale's animation career includes working for years at Wildbrain and Colossal Pictures. His personal accomplishments as a fine artist include exhibiting a handsome series of 36 paintings of the Hamm's brewery sign, a former landmark in San Francisco. He also enjoys writing and has performed some of his short story-telling pieces. They range from poignant to funny to satiric while remaining enjoyable and accessible. HYPERLINK
http://www.pivotartgallery.com
He is in the archive as the featured artist for 10/2011.
ASIFA-SF WANTS TO SHOW YOUR NEW ANIMATED WORK AT OUR OPEN SCREENING, FRI. JAN. 20 AT THE EXPLORATORIUM
If you let me know you plan to bring something and its title, I’ll put the information on the flyer. Or just show up the night of the show and we will show it. karlcohen@earthlink.net
DISNEY GREEN LIGHTS A SERIES THAT WAS DESIGNED AT WILDBRAIN WHEN IT WAS A SAN FRANCISCO COMPANY
Production has begun on the animated series Oki's Oasis, the first western for pre- schoolers. The concept was dreamed up in San Francisco by Wildbrain’s George Evelyn and Denis Morella with writer/executive producer Holly Huckins. They are also the team behind Disney's Higglytown Heroes. The new show stars actress and singer-songwriter Mandy Moore (Disney's "Tangled") as the voice of Oki, a kitty cat sheriff who ensures that the town of Nice and Friendly Corners remains the friendliest town in the West. The series is slated to premiere in 2013 on Disney Junior channels as part of programming blocks seen around the world.
Oki's Oasis uses the legend of the Old West to reinforce ideas about being good friends and neighbors. It teaches positive values including forgiveness, honesty and sharing. The series uses heartfelt storytelling to promote learning and character development. Sheriff Oki and her deputy woodpecker, Peck, watch over their pleasant little frontier town. “Oki and Peck work hard to keep it that way and when trouble comes a-callin', they make sure it doesn't stay long.” Each 11 minute episode will include an original song (two episodes per half-hour show).
Oki's Oasis is a production of W!ldbrain Entertainment with offices in LA and Canada. W!ldbrain is a DHX Media company and is developing the series in association with Disney Junior. Morella and Huckins are executive producers of the show (Evelyn will join them as co-executive producer once his work in England on Disney’s Jungle Junction wraps at the end of March). Meanwhile George tells us, “Yes, I am indeed sipping lots of tea. I've learned from my gracious English hosts how to make a proper cuppa.”
JOHN LASSETER HONORED WITH A STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME
His star is located in front of the historic El Capitan Theatre. Lasseter's star is the 2,453rd one on the Walk of Fame.
CORRIE FRANCIS PARKS RAN A SUCCESFUL KICKSTARTER FUNDRAISER FOR “A TANGLED TALE”
A Tangled Tale is being animated using sand. She reached her goal of $8K ahead of schedule and ended up with $11,811. The overage will be used to create a soundtrack featuring music by San Francisco’s Mark Orton and the Tin Hat Trio. An article by Corrie giving tips on how she ran a successful Kickstarter campaign is the final article in this newsletter. HYPERLINK
http://kck.st/ATangledTale
MISSING ANY ISSUES OF OUR NEWSLETTER?
The post office sorting machines are trashing some of our mail and carriers sometimes screw up. If you don’t get your copy by the 6th or 7th of the month, e-mail me a note including your mailing address and I’ll send out another. We try to get issues mailed by the first of the month. karlcohen@earthlink.net
Local Events
Sunday, December 4, 7 pm, JOHN KORTY’S ANIMATED FEATURE “TWICE UPON A TIME” (1983)
made with George Lucas as his executive producer. Korty directed this ambitious animated film, a comic fantasy about the creatures that create good and bad dreams. It has a devious plot to remove the Magic Mainspring from the Cosmic Clock. Korty's "Lumage" process involved intricate cutout figures, collages of luminescent fabric and a large complex multiplane camera stand. 75 minutes plus Q and A
COMPLEMENTARY SCREENINGS AT ILM OF “TIN TIN,” “KUNG FU PANDA 2” AND “PUSS IN BOOTS” IN DECEMBER
Paramount has invited ASIFA-SF members to see Tin Tin, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots at screenings at ILM. You can attend screenings of Tin Tin , Mon. Dec. 5 at 7 PM and Sat. Dec. 17 at 2 PM. Kung Fu Panda 2, Friday, Dec. 16, 7PM and Puss in Boots, Mon. Dec. 12, 7PM. All screenings will be in 3D. You must RSVP to attend. (800) 905-6918 or HYPERLINK
http://www.paramountguilds.com
COMPLEMENTARY SCREENING OF “RANGO” IN BERKELEY
Thursday, Dec. 15, 7pm, at the Saul Zaentz Media Center, 2600 Tenth St. RSVP (800) 905-6918
ASIFA-SF’S ANNUAL 12TH NIGHT PARTY SUNDAY, JANUARY 8 - ENJOY OUR 12TH NIGHT POTLUCK PARTY PLUS SEE WINNERS OF THE ASIFA-EAST 41ST ANNUAL ANIMATION COMPETITION, THE LONGEST RUNNING ANIMATION FESTIVAL IN THE US AND LAUGH AT DON ALBRECHT’S MOST OUTRAGEOUS MOMENTS.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS
MOVIES.COM’S INTERVIEW WITH BRAD BIRD SHOWS HE IS A MAN OF PRINCPLES AND INTEGRITY
They discussed with him why he hasn’t rushed to do a sequel to The Incredibles. He isn’t pursuing that, but he would take it on as a project if he can write and direct it. He has thought about a sequel, but “I don’t have a whole movie yet, and the last thing I want to do is just do it just because it would open big… I would love to do another film with Pixar.” His Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol opens Dec. 21.
45 ANIMATED SHORTS HAVE QUALIFIED IN THE RACE FOR THE OSCAR
The Academy screened the 45 works in LA and people who attended the screening voted for their favorites. The top ten films will make the “short list” that will be screened for members in LA, SF and NY (possibly elsewhere too). Their votes will determine the 5 nominated films. All the nominated films will be announced on Jan. 24.
A Morning Stroll by Grant Orchard (Studio AKA)
A Shadow of Blue by Carlos Lascano
Birdboy by Alberto Vasquez (Abrikim Studio)
Chopin’s Drawings Dorota Kobiela (BreakThru Films) Poland
Correspondence by Zach Hyer (Pratt)
Daisy Cutter, Enrique Garcia and Rubin Salazar (Silverspace)
Dimanche / Sunday by Patrick Doyon (NFB)
El Salon Mexico by Paul Glickman and Tamarind King
Enrique Wrecks the World by David Chai
Ente Tod Und Tulipe (Duck Death and the Tulip) by Matthias Bruhn (Richard Lutterbeck – Trickstudio)
Fat Hamster by Adam Wyrwas (BreakThru Films) Poland
Grandpa Looked Like William Powell by David Levy
Hamster Heaven by Paul Bolger (BreakThru Films) Poland
I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, Matt O’Callaghan (Warner Bros.)
I Was the Child of Holocaust Survivors by Anne Marie Fleming (NFB)
Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest by Kevin Sean Michaels USA
Kahanikar by Nandita Jain (National Film and Television School) England
La Luna by Enrico Casarosa (Pixar)
Little Postman by Dorota Kobiela (BreakThru Films) Poland
Luminaris by Juan Pablo Zaramella (JPZaramella Studios)
Luna by Donna Brockopp (Rainmaker) Canada
Maska by Timothy and Stephen Quay (Sem-ma-for) Poland
Muybridge’s Strings by Koji Yamamura
My Hometown by Jerry Levitan, Written and Narrated by Yoko Ono (Eggplant)
Night Island, Salvador Maldonado (BreakThru Films) Poland
Nullarbor by Alister Lockhart
Papa’s Boy by Leevi Lemmetty (BreakThru Films) Poland
Paths of Hate by Damien Nenow (Platige Image) Poland
Romance by Georges Schwizgebel (NFB & Studio GDS)
Specky Four-Eyes by Jean Claude Rozec (Vivement Lundi)
Spirits of the Piano by Magdalena Osinska (BreakThru Films) Poland
Thank You by Pendleton Ward and Thomas Herpich (Produced by Cartoon Network in partnership with Frederator)
The Ballad of Nessie, Stevie Wermers (Walt Disney Studios)
The External World by David O’ Reilly
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg (Moonbot Studios)
The Gloaming by Nobrain (Autour De Minuit) France
The Lost Town of Switez by Kamil Polak (Human Ark) Poland
The Magic Piano by Martin Clapp (BreakThru Films) Poland
The Monster of Nix by Rosto
The Renter by Jason Carpenter (CalArts)
The Smurf’s A Christmas Carol, Troy Quane (Sony Pictures)
The Tannery by Iain Gardner (Axis Animation)
The Vermeers by Tal S. Shamir
Vincenta by Samuel Orti Marti
Wild Life by Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby (NFB)VISIT WWW.ASIFA-SF.COM FOR WEEKLY UPDATES
EIGHTEEN FEATURES HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED FOR THE ACADEMY AWARD IN ANIMATION
Unless some are rejected for not complying with the Academy’s rules, there will be five features nominated in January. The 18 films are: The Adventures of Tintin, Alois Nebel, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Arthur Christmas, Cars 2, A Cat in Paris, Chico & Rita, Gnomeo & Juliet, Happy Feet Two, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, Kung Fu Panda 2, Mars Needs Moms, Puss in Boots, Rango, Rio, The Smurfs, Winnie the Pooh and Wrinkles.
Alois Nebel is a rotoscoped film from the Czech Republic that was also selected as the Czech entry in the Academy’s best foreign language film category. Wrinkles is a Spanish film for adults about two senior citizens living in a nursing home (based on the comic book Paco Roca).
A POLISH ANIMATION STUDIO HOSTED A ONE NIGHT SPECIAL EVENT IN LA TO PROMOTE THEIR SHORT “LOST TOWN OF SWITEZ” AND TO SHOW OFF THEIR STUDIO’S ABILITIES
It is an impressive short and was one of the highlights of The Best of Annecy program that was shown in Nov. in the SF Animation Festival. The studio Human Ark held their screening and reception at Landmark’s Westside Pavilion on Pico Blvd. to show off the quality of their work. The Lost Town of Switez blends computer generated 3D animation with classic animation painted with oil paints. The large paintings were composited into a multiple-plane 3D computer generated environment. The film uses two distinct styles of paintings, one that refers back to 19th-century Slavonic paintings that give the illusion of perspective and use color in a realistic way, and another that has the stylized flat look seen in religious Russian Orthodox icons of the past. The film, a surreal fantasy about a man who journeys by stage coach through a forest at night and finds himself in the midst of a sky filled with flaming arrows, has won numerous awards at festivals. The screening invitation suggests they want to be considered for Annie and Academy awards. For more information HYPERLINK
http://WWW.SWITEZ.COM
YOU WILL PROBABLY ENJOY SEEING “YOGA FOR WINE LOVERS”
It has a simple concept, simple animation style and a simple soundtrack. The results are simply delightful. HYPERLINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxPuyrfHA3o
SEE “STORM” ON THE INTERNET
The person who turned me onto this excellent 9-minute poem from Australia told me, “I’m thinking of it as the modern day Howl.” This impressive work was written and performed by Tim Minchin, directed and animated by DC Turner and produced by Tracy King. HYPERLINK
http://www.stormmovie.net
HYPERLINK
http://www.timminchin.com
HYPERLINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGuXCuDb1U
A 1950S TV COMMERCIAL THAT IS SHOCKING!
HYPERLINK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q1gksqqhLU
LISTEN TO FIVE INFORMATIVE RADIO PROGRAMS ON MUSIC FOR ANIMATION
The Animating Music series focuses on The Fleischer Era, HYPERLINK "http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/2011/aug/23/animating-music-steamboat-willie-winnie-pooh/" Disney's Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, HYPERLINK
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/2011/aug/24/animating-music-carl-stalling/
Carl Stalling's Golden Age, HYPERLINK
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/2011/aug/25/animating-music-cartoon-rock/
Cartoon Rock and HYPERLINK
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/2011/aug/26/animating-music-scoring-simpsons/
Scoring The Simpsons. HYPERLINK
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/clusters/2011/aug/22/animating-music/
“PUSS IN BOOTS” IS A BOX OFFICE CHAMP
It remained in the number one spot for two weeks (it only dropped 3.1% in gross income the second week which is unheard of), and the next week it was in the number three spot.
“HAPPY FEET TWO” GETS A LUKE WARM REVIEW IN THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
It began by saying, “Even with the addition of new characters, such as the ones voiced by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, George Miller's animated sequel just isn't very funny. What appeared fresh and fun back in 2006 now feels like recycled goods in Happy Feet Two... Commercially, however, there's no reason this splashy sequel won't perform similarly to the original, which pulled in $385 million worldwide.” The SF Chronicle reviewer was even blunter, he hated it.
AARDMAN MIGHT OUTSOURCE A PRE-SCHOOL TV SHOW
Aardman is awaiting a decision from the British government on whether they will issue them a 15 to 20% tax credit like those available in Canada or France. Aardman Animation has been lobbying for the tax credit for children's animation. If they don’t get it the show Ploo could be done in Ireland for 25% less or in Germany for 15 to 20% less. The BBC has ordered the first season of the show (52 episodes, each 5 minutes long).
$1.2 BILLION ANTI-PIRACY SUIT FILED IN RUSSIA
A Russian couple are accused of illegally distributing Hollywood films on two websites including Shrek the Third. They operated their business for nearly 18 months (2007-’08). The Hollywood Reporter says, “The plaintiffs don’t expect that the damages could be actually paid to them, but hope that the case could create an important precedent that would help to fight online piracy in the future.”
ZEMECKIS IS PUTTING TOGETHER HIS NEXT MOCAP FEATURE WITH SONY
Sony Pictures Animation and Imagemovers are adapting Chuck Sambuchino's novel How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack into a live-action/animation feature. He plans to direct this guide for home owners whose garden ornaments turn on them. Zemeckis has also made news by quitting the job of director of the feature Here There Be Monsters.
GLENN BECK IS TRYING TO DEVELOP AN ANIMATED TV SERIES FOR CONSERVATIVE AMERICA
Beck was kicked off Fox so he started GBTV on the Internet. He has a live 2 hour show and is planning other program content. The Hollywood Reporter says he is working with Howard Gordon's Icebox to develop an animated series. They are presently talking about the concept of the comedy. GBTV has over 230,000 paying subscribers.
UNIVERSAL IS TRYING TO DEVELOP A WOODY WOODPECKER FEATURE
Illumination Entertainment, the Universal-based animation house behind Despicable Me and next year’s Dr. Suess’ The Lorax, wants to turn Walter Lantz’s redheaded bird into the star of a feature. What they might turn him into is anybody’s guess. The first version was an obnoxious anarchist who destroyed Andy Panda. He later calmed down and even had a girlfriend.
SEE AN IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF OCCUPY POSTERS
HYPERLINK: http://occuprint.org/
COMPOSER PHILIP GLASS CREATED THE MUSCAL SCORE FOR FIVE SHORTS WITH ANIMATED BACKGROUNDS
"Partita for Solo Violin" premiered at New York's Symphony Space in October. According to the press release the dancers and musicians were on five films directed by choreographer Benjamin Millepied. The films were produced by Nice Shoes, a full service production house that mainly produces high-end TRV commercials. They animated “the backdrop in the various films, which are compelling blends of Glass' seven-movement suite and droll narrative sequences… Glass' haunting score (is) an exploration of human longing for connection in the digital age.”
WILL ANIMATED ADS SELLING CANDY TO KIDS RETURN TO TV?
A Federal Trade Commission official told a House sub-committee recently that they plan to weaken the industry’s voluntary junk food advertising guidelines after listening to complaints at recent hearings. An editorial in the NY Times (11/18/11) said the F.T.C. feels the guidelines should not apply to ads aimed at older kids (ages 12 - 17) except in “in-school marketing activities.” The rules should also be lifted on selling seasonal candy on TV and the Internet. This is bad news for health experts concerned with the growing obesity problems of our nation, but it might help animation studios producing commercials. The junk food industry and their lobbyists used to spend almost $2 billion a year promoting unhealthy foods and beverages sold to kids.
NANCY DENNEY-PHELPS HAS AN UNUSUAL POSTING ON HER BLOG
She was in Volda Norway as a member of a selection committee for the Fredrikstad Animation Festival in October while Nik presented a workshop on music for animation. The university there was having an animation festival with several noted guests including Marcy Page from the National Film Board of Canada. My favorite section of her long article was about trips into the rustic mountains and fiords by boats and cars. At one point she writes, “The hills are dotted with little stone cabins with grass growing on the roofs. Daughters of local farm families stayed there during the summer when they brought the family cattle and sheep to graze in the mountain pasture lands. Once a week a family member would arrive with fresh supplies and take the milk away. Now the beautiful little cottages, often built against a gigantic rock, are used as private holiday cottages.”
“As if the sheer beauty of the mountains were not enough, our host took us to the historic Hotel Union Oye. Built in 1891 for the aristocracy and upper classes of Europe… Queen Victoria was among the renowned guests. Kaiser Wilhelm II…” Due to space limitations in this issue there is no room to run the report so read her article (illustrated with color photos) at HYPERLINK
http://sprockets.animationblogspot.com/
ANOTHER SATIRICAL DEPICTION OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD RESULTS IN THE MAGAZINE’S OFFICE BEING FIRE BOMBED
The office of the French humor magazine Charlie Hebdo was hit with a Molotov cocktail in Nov. after they put the cartoon on the cover. Victor Navasky, author on Naming Names and former editor and then publisher of The Nation, pointed out in an opinion piece in the NY Times (11/13/11) that the public reacts stronger against political cartoons than they do about written satire.
He mentioned the French artist Honore Daumier was jailed in 1832 for doing an unflattering caricature of King Philippe as Gargantua (above image) and that Julius Streicher, editor of the Nazi newspaper Der Sturmer, notorious for its vicious, anti-Semitic caricatures, was the only war criminal executed by the Nuremberg tribunal who was not a high ranking Nazi official.” He then suggested several theories as to why some people can find cartoons threatening while others consider them silly, trivial or irrelevant humor. In the 1990s I wrote a piece about a cartoon that killed several people. It referred to Muslim riots that resulted in deaths in the East Bank over a young Israeli woman depicting the prophet as a pig and distributing copies of them in Muslim areas.
TOY STORY LAND OPENS IN HONG KONG’S DISNEYLAND
It is part of an expansion plan that will enlarge the park by 23% and cost $468 million. The park has underperformed since opening in 2005. Disney hopes the business will become more profitable by boosting the number of attractions and shows to over 100.
ENTER AN ASIFA SUPPORTED FESTIVAL
Animafest Zagreb, The 22nd World Festival of Animated Film, seeks shorts under 30 minutes long. It will be held from May 29 to June 3, 2012 in Zagreb, Croatia. No entry fee. Entry deadline is February 1. HYPERLINK
http://www.animafest.hr/en
Note: Annecy’s deadline is Feb. 15 for June 4-9 event.
UNUSUAL GIFTS FOR THE UPCOMING HOLIDAY SEASON “SAUL BASS: A LIFE IN FILM AND DESIGN” BY PAT KIRKHAM
Bass designed lots of memorable animated title sequences for Hollywood features. The animators he worked with include Bill Hurtz, Bill Melendez, Fred Crippen and John Whitney Sr. It contains nearly 1,000 illustrations and 440 pages. It retails for $70, but sells for $45 at Amazon.
“THE ART OF PIXAR: 25th ANNIVERSARY” BY AMID AMIDI
It contains complete scripts and selected art in color from the studio’s first 25 years. Amazon sells it for $31.50 ($50 list price). They also sell Amid’s The Art of Pixar Short Films which retailed for $40 when it came out. Buy it now for around $16.
ED HOOK’S “ACTING FOR ANIMATORS”
The new expanded edition includes a CD and Amazon sells it for $17.
UNUSUAL DVDS FROM THUNDERBEAN
Go online to see their complete line of DVDs. They are reasonably priced and are available through Amazon. The print quality is good. Here are three interesting sounding discs:
*“MAKIN’ ‘EM MOVE” It features rare behind the scenes films that show the process and behind the scene glimpses of obscure studios during the golden era of animation. It includes How Animated Cartoons are Made, 1920, a rare film produced by the Bray Studio; Old Chinese Proverb: A Picture is Worth 1,000 words-(excerpt) Jerry Fairbanks Studio; Clair Weeks in India producing India's first animated feature, Makin' 'Em Move, a rare Terrytoons production from 1939; Otto Mesmer at the Douglas Leigh Sign Company (Messmer created Felix the Cat), a RKO Newsreel, 1937, that shows tricks of the trade for fake Mediums; as well as footage of the Disney Studio producing Snow White, plus an early 40's film from Jam Handy (Detroit) that made animated commercials for General Motors and additional shorts.
*“STOP MOTION MARVELS” is a collection of 44 rare short films. There are four sections to the DVD: Early Experiments, All Sorts of Shorts, Commericals, and The Kinex Collection (featuring 19 rare stop-motion shorts produced for Kodak from 1928 through 1930).
*”GROTESQUERIES: GHOSTS, GOBLINS & OTHER MAGICAL MOVING PICTURE ILLUSIONS” is a devilish concoction of ghosts, goblins and other magical moving picture illusions from the Dawn of Cinema through the 1930s. Among the 13 macabre short reel amusements and 10 wicked bonus features is Le Spectre Rouge a 1907 hand-colored fantasy by Zecca; a beautifully restored pin-screen classic of the macabre, Night On Bare Mountain by Alexander Alexeieff; Poe's Fall of the House of Usher; highlights from a live 1979 presentation of The Phantom Of The Opera performed by the Kinephonic Ensemble; The Ghosts' High Noon, based on a Gilbert & Sullivan song from a comic-opera and more.
ANIMATION FROM PAST “ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS”
The Animation Show of Shows, organized by Ron, who also runs awn.com and Acme Filmworks in LA, is a labor of love. Each year he travels to international animation festivals seeking out great films and meeting the animators. In recent years he has made many of his favorite films available on DVDs at extremely reasonable prices. There are three films on each DVD and individual DVDs are only $5! Deluxe, boxed sets of six DVDs are $30. A total of 36 different DVDs are available. Available online at HYPERLINK
http://www.filmporium.com
"A treasure trove of inspiration and animation magic.” Nick Park
THIS ORIGINAL PAINTING MAY STILL BE FOR SALE
La Luz de Jesus Gallery in LA celebrated its 25th anniversary recently with an exhibition of over 120 artists. If you are interested in Jose Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros’ “After Leaving” (pictured), they were asking $1,800 for this is oil on canvas (19.5 x 15.5”) The gallery is located at 4633 Hollywood Blvd.
CARTOONS THAT TIME FORGOT
Barnes & Noble is selling the Ub Iwerks Collection for only $4.99 in their bargain bin, filed under “C.”
RON DIAMOND PRESENTED A WONDERFUL ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS WITH FOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORS PRESENT
While summer means animated Hollywood blockbusters, fall brings to the Bay Area Ron Diamond’s exceptional programs of animated shorts with some of the artists present. The four who came to San Francisco this year to talk about their work were Georges Schwizgebel from Switzerland, Juan Pablo Zaramella from Argentina, Damian Nenow from Poland, and Amanda Forbis from Canada.
Ron Diamond’s Animation Show of Shows is unique in that it is presented for free in private halls for the benefit of students, independent animators, lovers of animation and animation professionals (including people who nominate and vote in the Annie and Academy Award competitions). This year he presented the show in Northern California at ILM, PDI/DreamWorks, Pixar, Electronic Arts, Dolby (for ASIFA-SF members), San Jose State and at George Lucas’ idyllic Big Rock Ranch (his TV animation unit). A few days before, he showed the program in Seattle and Portland. After San Francisco it was on to Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and other cities on the East Coast. Ron did over 40 screenings in a month’s time. As he moves around the country different guests join and leave the troupe as few have time to spend four weeks on the road.
By not charging an admission fee and by not showing it to the general public Ron is able to assemble a truly remarkable program that includes films that will be considered for Oscar nominations. To date 19 of the films in his past shows have received nominations from the Academy and six went on to receive Oscars (Father and Daughter, 2000; Harvie Krumpett, 2003; Ryan, 2004; The Danish Poet, 2006; La Maison en Petite Cubes, 2008; Lost Things, 2010)
The 2011 edition features nine films plus unannounced surprises. The films are La Luna by Enrico Casarosa from Pixar; Paths of Hate by Damian Nenow from Platige Images, Poland; Schlaf by Claudius Gentinetta and Frank Braun from Austria (Audience Award at SIGGRAPH 2011); Luminaris by Juan Pablo Zaramella, Argentina; Wild Life by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, National Film Board of Canada; Romance by Georges Schwizgebel, Switzerland (co-produced by the NFB of Canada); The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce & Brandon Oldenberg, USA (Grand Prize winner at SIGGRAPH 2011); Journey to Cape Verde by José Miguel Ribeiro, Portugal and Mobile by Verena Fels, Germany. Ron’s surprise extras included Bill Plympton’s Guard Dog Jam and Perry Chan’s Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest.Films by the visiting guests
Luminaris by Juan Pablo Zaramella from Argentina is a wonderful humorous pixilated fantasy that honors the spirit of Norman McLaren. The trailer for it on the Internet gives a hint of his amazing craftsmanship. Zaramella is a major player in commercial art and animation in Brazil and his Luminaris won the Audience Award at Annecy 2011. It has also received numerous other awards in Rio De Janiero, Seoul, Korea, and elsewhere. See examples of his work on YouTube and Vimeo.
At the Dolby screening Zaramella discussed problems he encountered shooting pixilation outdoors. He had to wait for days at a time to get a cloudless sunny day so lighting would be the same throughout the film. I later found out he shoots with a Canon 400D with Dragon Stop Motion. He is working on a feature version of his short Journey to Mars (Viaje a Marte). That short has won more than 45 prizes.
http://www. zaramella.com.ar
In Paths of Hate by Damian Nenow, a graduate of the Lodz Film School, he designed and directed an impressive World War 2 aerial dog fight that ranges from quiet artistic moments of abstract vapor trails arching through the sky to intense images of blood thirsty monsters in a battle to the death. It and two other films were screened in Dolby 3D. Several people commented later that it was the best use of stereoscopic 3D they had seen as it was subtle, not 3D that tries to throw things in your face. The film has won prizes at Annecy, SIGGRAPH 2011, Comic Con (San Diego), Dallas and at other festivals. A trailer for it is on the Internet. It was made in Poland by Platige Image in Warsaw, the studio that won a great deal of recognition for Tomek Basginski’s award winning “Fallen Art.”
Nenow said the film’s concept started to develop when he was still in film school, about five years ago. He grew up loving airplanes and envisioned a surreal duel of prop airplanes in which the pilots become self destructive beasts that lose their humanity and are intent on killing the other. It intentionally opens in the middle of an air battle so it appears to be a segment of a longer film. Nenow says his pacifist message is universal so he didn’t want the film to refer to a specific battle or pilots.
Wild Life, by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby is a delightful tragic comedy about a proper young British gentleman who fails in his attempt to establish a new life in Canada’s prairies. This fine production is more accessible to audiences than Tilby and Forbis’ earlier award winning work so expect it to win a lot of prizes. It has already won the Best Canadian Film Award at Ottawa 2011, Best Canadian Short Film at the Atlantic Film Festival and other prizes.
Amanda Forbis told the audience that it is somewhat ironic that in the past there was pressure from the National Film Board to create films that reflected Canadian culture or history. Their Oscar nominated When the Day Breaks (1999) resisted that request. Now the NFB no longer pressures them to consider that approach and they have produced a highly successful and popular work that reflects upon Canada’s past.
Georges Schwizgebel’s Romance from Switzerland (co-produced by the NFB of Canada) is a wonderful work of art about a woman who sits next to a young man on an international flight and has a series of wild, fast moving daydreams about a romantic relationship with him. The artwork flows beautifully to a fast moving scherzo, the second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op.19. The images flow in a natural progression in time to the music, but you may not realize they are not necessarily logical. It is a wonderful dream like progression of visual experiences, an outstanding work of art.
The film is at times beautifully painted in rich colors, while other segments are painted in black, white and grays or drawn with colored pencils. When Georges was asked about the significance of using three different ways of rendering his art he explained the black and white sequences are images imagined to be on the in-flight video monitors. As for his use of colored pencils, he was simply interested in experimenting with them. Later he told me he adds something to his acrylic paints to prevent then from drying quickly but didn’t say what it was. He likes to change parts of the same painting over and over to create his animated sequences. Georges has almost finished his next film, a three minute film that celebrates the 300th birthday of the philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Other films in the Show of Shows
Pixar’s latest short La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa, is a lovely fantasy and audience pleaser. Mobile by Verena Fels from Germany is a charming , lighthearted work made with lovable looking stuffed animals. Chaos is created when the cow comes alive and throws things off balance.
The most unusual surprise for me, was seeing Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Fores. It is a powerful emotional work that is based on the experiences of an 8 year old girl who survived the Nazi concentration camps. The reason I was surprised is that the animator is Perry Chen, who is only ten! His simple artwork is perfect as the story is told from the young girl’s point of view. Perry did have professional help on the project from Bill Plympton, who created the storyboards, and his director Kevin Sean Michaels. Ms. Zhu Shen, Perry’s mother, was the producer. The film has already been shown by several festivals. It won a Special Jury Award for "Extraordinary Vision" at the Flyway Film Festival in Wisconsin.
TIPS ON RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN TO RAISE MONEY FOR A FILM
by CORRIE FRANCIS PARKS
When I first started playing around with sand animation this year, and found an underwater romance rising to the surface, I had no idea that it would lead to a major crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter. As the film developed, I knew I wanted it to be more than a low-budget studio exercise. It would be my first professional film and potentially a groundbreaking addition to the sand animation canon. I knew it needed finishing funds worthy of these goals. But I also knew I would never be able to convince one production company to give me even half the amount I needed to meet my budget. Sure, I could have cut corners, begged friends of friends for favors, cracked open my piggy bank and prayed no rainy days would come. That’s how independent films are made, right? Call me an idealist, but I believe in a better world where artists pay their rent on time because someone pays them a living wage.
Fast forward a few months, 149 wonderful people and 11,811 of their dollars later. A Tangled Tale is now swimming in a comfortable budget and my piggy bank is safe. I've had a couple filmmakers contact me already, saying my success has encouraged them to consider Kickstarter for their upcoming films. So, I thought I would share a few observations in hopes of fueling that flame.
Preparing for a crowd-funding campaign is a big deal! More than half of all Kickstarter projects fail to hit their goal (and consequently don't get any money) so I really had no idea how this would turn out. Basically you are pitching your project to the Internet. You have to take into account short attention spans and trigger-happy ‘like” button clicking. I think the idea behind backing these creative projects is that people want to become a part of something outside themselves. If you can engage a viewer long enough to show them their role in your creative process, chances are they will be willing to part with some of their hard-earned cash. There are a ton of resources on the web for putting together a good pitch (start with Nathaniel Hansen’s HYPERLINK
http://www.nathanielhansen.com/film-fundraising/the-ultimate-crowdfunding-to-do-list-before-you-launch/
I looked at a lot of other Kickstarter projects, both successful and unsuccessful, read several articles, talked to one person I knew who had successfully crowd-funded her film and pretty much took all their advice.
The trickiest part for me was deciding how much to go for. With Kickstarter’s all-or-nothing model, you don’t want to aim too high and not reach your goal because then you end up with nothing. However, once you hit your goal, the momentum of the campaign declines a lot (less guilt on the part of the people who haven’t ponied up yet) so setting the goal too low may mean you end up with a bare-bones budget. Some projects do exceed their goals by astronomical figures, but they are rarely films. Music albums, gadgets and games can go into the thousand percentiles because they are basically discounted pre-sales for a potentially awesome product and usually very affordable (Kickstarter is a fun place to go Christmas shopping). Films on the other hand, don’t have much to offer other than a DVD, so getting creative with the rewards is important!
Here’s how I determined my funding goal: I started with my ideal budget for the film which was $13,000. This included a large contingency for sound design, an expanded marketing and printing budget, and some allocation for film festival travel. I figured from my personal sphere of influence I could get around 100 backers. Kickstarter states their average pledge is $70, so obviously that didn’t match up. I re-crunched the numbers, cutting out non-essentials, assuming I could get a few good deals, factored in the cost of rewards and fees and came up with a workable budget of $8000. It would be tight, but I could finish the film and get it on the festival circuit and figure things out from there. It would need more backers or a higher average pledge to make it, but if Kickstarter worked the way it’s supposed to, there would be backers outside my immediate circle to make up the difference.
Managing the project was another big adventure. Like many artists, I’m not much of a self-promoter, so I had to find ways to keep sharing the project over and over without losing my authenticity. I also wanted to share something meaningful with my potential backers. This meant creating new content by writing project updates, offering special rewards at landmark moments, making some new rewards when the funding flat-lined.
I had 450 people on my email list, and after every email, I saw a jump in the pledges. I asked people to share the project with 2 of their friends in a personal email or phone call. 35% of my backers are people I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure many are a result of those emails and phone calls. Many of my backers have known me for years and probably would have pledged whether or not they got anything in return. Still, most people will pause before they hand out $100, but if they know they will get 2 DVDs and something to hang on their wall for it, suddenly it’s a bargain for doing something they want to do anyway.
We hit our $8,000 goal with 3 weeks left in the campaign and sure enough the pledges flat-lined. Even offering new rewards and email reminders didn’t seem to have an effect. But things ramped up again with a week to go. Some people (including me) work better with a looming deadline and in the last 24 hrs we added over $1000 to the budget. Of course there were a few people emailing me after the project closed lamenting how they had missed the deadline. I told them to just send me a check!
I've been AMAZED at the groundswell of support for this film and am so grateful. The best part is that all the money will be cycled back into the economy to musicians, sound designers, and environmentally-friendly printers; all small-scale operations that need the work. I hate asking artists to work for free, for the "love of a project". I get asked that a lot and I have a hard time saying "No" when I need to, so the ability to pay people for their work makes me SO happy!
And the best of the best part is that now that I have 149 people supporting me with their hard-earned money, I had better make a damned good film, and follow through on the rewards I promised! There is no financial accountability within the Kickstarter model. I could easily take that $11,811, buy a first class ticket to South America and spend the rest of the year on the beach. But accountability is more than just expecting a return on an investment. It’s a relationship. I think it's a testament to the nature of crowdfunding that more than half of my backers gave less than $50. It doesn't matter if they gave $1 or $1000, they all wanted to be involved in A Tangled Tale and that is what motivates me to make sure this is an incredible film. So thanks, Kickstarter, for making the world a better place, one project at a time!
Find out more at HYPERLINK
http://www.atangledtalefilm.com
ASIFA-SF IS A VOLUNTEER RUN ASSOCIATION
Newsletter Editor: Karl Cohen
Contributors include Corrie Francis Parks, Nancy Denney-Phelps and other friends of ASIFA-SF
Cover illustration by Ricci Carrasquillo
Proofreaders: Pete Davis and Sarah Chin
Mailing Crew: Tara Beyhm, Dot Janson, Shirley Smith and
Denise McEvoy
Webmaster Joe Sikoryak
Special thank to. The G Man who sends out our e-mail updates, to Nancy Denney-Phelps for representing our chapter on the international ASIFA board, to Tara Beyhm our VP and to our treasurer Karen Lithgow.ASIFA-SF is a chapter of: Association Internationale du Film d’Animation with almost 40 chapters around the world. Local membership is $25 a year.
Our website and blog is: HYPERLINKhttp://www.asifa-sf.org/
Mail can be sent to: karlcohen@earthlink.net or to PO Box 225263, SF CA 94122
ASIFA-SF PRESENTS
OUR ANNUAL 12TH NIGHT POTLUCK PARTY
PLUS
WINNERS OF THE ASIFA-EAST 41ST ANNUAL ANIMATION COMPETITION
THE LONGEST RUNNING ANIMATION FESTIVAL IN THE US
AND
A TRIBUTE TO DON ALBRECHT
A SELECTION OF OUTRAGEOUS MOMENTS FROM HIS BEST WORK
SUNDAY, JANUARY. 8, 6 PM
At Oddball Films, 275 Capp, third floor (Capp runs between Mission and South Van Ness, on Capp near 18th St.), free, bring a friend, films start around 7:30
Come celebrate, network, eat, drink and laugh. ASIFA-SF will provide the basics. Please feel free to add to the treats. This is a great show of shorts by Bill Plympton, Patrick Smith, David Levy, John Dilworth, David Chai, Mo Willems and other fine artists. The ASIFA-East awards were presented in May in NYC.
PROGRAM
BEST IN SHOW: Accumulonimbus, Andy Kennedy
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM: Guard Dog Global Jam, Bill Plympton
BEST MUSIC VIDEO Dot Dot Dot: Around the World(And Back), Bryan Brinkman
BEST EDUCATIONAL FILM Sesame Street:Word on the Street, David B. LevyINDEPENDENT FILMS
1st Place: Grandpa Looked Like William Powell, David B. Levy
2nd Place: Enrique Wrecks the World, David Chai
3rd Place: Barko, Allison Craig
Excellence in Animation: Masks, Patrick Smith
Excellence in Design: Nosy Bear, Fran Krause
Excellence in Humor: Bunny Bashing, John R. DilworthCommissioned Over 2mins.
1st Place: Danny & Annie, The Rauch Brothers
2nd Place: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Pete List & Mo Willems
3rd Place: The Human Voice, The Rauch Brothers
Excellence in Animation: The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, Pete List & Mo Willems
Excellence in Design: The Buddha: Enlightenment, Asterisk Animation
Excellence in Humor: Christmas Shoes, Brian Musikoff & John KuramotoCommissioned Under 2mins.
1st Place: Chilevision La Verdad, Juan Delcan
2nd Place: Midtown Twist , Gary Lieb
3rd Place: Catalyst, Bill Plympton
Excellence in Animation: Farley in Thinking of You, Greg Ford, Doug Compton, Adrian Urquidez
Excellence in Design: Urban Stencil, Christi Bertelsen
Excellence in Design: Martha's Vineyard Film Festival Bumper 2011, Vaccese & Noelle MelodySTUDENT FILMS
1st Place: To Have and To Hold, Jessica Polaniecki
2nd Place: Book Girl and Cabinet Girl, Jane Wu
3rd Place: Prayers for Peace, Dustin GrellaOPENING FILM by Dan Meth
We will vote for the winner of our audience award after the program.
