It's also interesting to note that Ferro comes from an animation background. He started working at New York animation studios in the early-Fifties at shops like Elektra, Academy, and Gifford Kim, as well as starting his own outfit Ferro, Mogubgub & Schwartz. Ferro credits his animation training for teaching him the value of each individual frame, a concept which became crucial when he began developing his quick-cut techniques. Here’s an ARTICLE by Steven Heller examining Ferro’s career and here is Ferro’s own WEBSITE which is packed with film clips and articles.

Stockholm’s freshest animation studio Filmtecknarna has created one of the most excellent music videos I’ve seen in a long while - “Take Me Out” - for the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand. It’s directed by Jonas Odell. The video, in addition to being highly entertaining, is jammed with all manner of references to early modernist art movements such as Dada, Surrealism and Constructivism; in one shot there’ll be a De Chirico-esque background, in the next a pulsating El Lissitzky-inspired construction. Says Odell from a studio press release, “The band referenced a lot of artists and groups of the DADA movement, and all this is stuff that I always loved, but never found a chance to incorporate in a project, so naturally this was a dream project to work on. I dived headlong into the sea of art history and emerged at the other side soaked in references, trying to figure out ways of turning this into a contemporary piece, but the wonderful thing about this period in art is that it does feel completely modern. It is all about the moment, and it still feels very ‘now.’” After you’re done seeing the video, check out more of the studio’s work at Filmtecknarna.com.

The wildly talented Ed Bell now has his own website at EdBell.net. Ed’s been working in animation since the days of Bakshi’s MIGHTY MOUSE: THE NEW ADVENTURES, and in the past few years he’s been up north directing some fine commercials for Wild Brain (Wrigley’s “Urban Hip Hopper,” Sprite’s “Voltron,” and Nike’s “Playa’s Delight”) as well as directing the Emmy-nominated live-action documentary UNCHAINED MEMORIES (HBO). If you want to experience more of his artistry, Ed’s going to debut a sketchbook in San Diego - a 64-page collection of sketches called GIRL BOOGIE which will be available exclusively at the Maverix Studios booth (D1/D2 inbetween rows 600 and 700). Maverix is a Bay Area collective of animation/comic book artists so show them some love while down in SD.

The fun starts in two days…Howard Green at Disney sent us this update on THE INCREDIBLES panel:

Pixar Animation Studios offers a sneak peek at its much-anticipated new computer-animated feature, “The Incredibles” (coming from Walt Disney Pictures on November 5th), as it spotlights the career and creative genius of Brad Bird.Join Brad (”The Iron Giant”), producer John Walker, and moderator Mark Cotta Vaz (author of The Art of Finding Nemo, etc.) as they discuss the filmmaking process and present the World Premiere of a scene from the film, along with other surprises. Those attending this presentation will receive an exclusive Comic-Con poster for “The Incredibles” designed by the legendary Mike Mignola. Mike and Brad will be on hand for a special limited signing immediately following the program. Other giveaway items too for those in attendance.

JimSmithCartoons.com!!! Need I say more. As California governor Schwarzenegger might say, this is most definitely not a website for “girlie men.” The site is just getting started and so far there’s a preview of Jim’s amazing new personal project called CHESTACLESE and info on how to order his sketchbook. You can also pick up his sketchbook in San Diego at the Asylum Press booth (#2103 in the IP Pavilion) where Jim will be signing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He’ll also be showing animated clips of CHESTACLESE. While there be sure to check out the comics of the talented Frank Forte who runs Asylum Press and is responsible for bringing Jim Smith on-line.

Here’s Badly Drawn Boy’s “The Year of the Rat” music video as directed by Canadian animator Monkmus. I wasn’t familiar with Monkmus’ work, but a quick search on-line reveals that he’s represented by Klasky Csupo’s commercial division ka-chew! You can see more examples of his work HERE. Pleasant and appealing work if not particularly groundbreaking.

This past weekend, the Design Museum in London opened an exhibition about designer Saul Bass (running through October 10). The retrospective presents a look at his entire career, but focuses on how Bass “transformed the film title into an art form.” Bass was responsible for many classic film titles including ANATOMY OF A MURDER, VERTIGO and WEST SIDE STORY, as well as the animated closing credits to AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. The museum’s website is DesignMuseum.org.