|
|
|
|
POSTS FOR “October, 2006“Cartoon Brew's home for up-to-the-minute, unedited announcements and press releases direct from industry sources.
October 20, 2006 12:10 am
Another beautiful and amazing student film from France’s Supinfocom. Also check out the official website. No Comments » posted in Old Brew October 19, 2006 7:59 pm
![]() The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive’s Steve Worth has posted a collection of beautifully drawn pencil and Prismacolor storyboards created by the late Louise Zingarelli for the feature COOL WORLD. The artwork is accompanied by personal memories of Zingarelli and her career. Well worth checking out. UPDATE: Animator Mike Kazaleh emailed these memories of Louise Zingarelli: I saw your link on the Brew to Steve Worth’s ASIFA post about Louise, and it brought back memories. I had worked with Louise Zingarelli on “Tattertown”, “The Butter Battle Book”, and “Cool World”. Meeting Louise was like finding a long lost sister. She was a lovely person and a tremendous talent. I remember on Cool World she was often flustered at the fact that many people on the staff didn’t “get” the designs for the girls. She had exaggerated the girls’ figures in all her drawings, but the combination of the fact that rotoscope was used, and the fact that several of the animators were very literal minded, the cartoony exaggeration never made it to the screen. I remember there was one guy in particular who was some kind of Milt Kahl wannabe. Louise and I watched a pencil test of his first scene of Holly, and we were horrified to see that he had drawn her with LONG, SQUARE, FLOPPY HANDS! We had an assistant fix it before Ralph saw it. Maybe we shoulda let him see it. No Comments » posted in Old Brew October 19, 2006 6:34 am
A few weeks ago, I commended New York animator Pat Smith for making this comment in an ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE interview:
David Levy, president of ASIFA-East, didn’t agree with Pat’s original statement or my subsequent praise of it, and he wrote an op-ed in the ASIFA-East newsletter explaining the benefits of pitching. His piece, which I recommend reading first, can be found here. The gist of the commentary is the following: “If someone’s ultimate goal is to helm his or her own series creation, then the way to do that is to write, create, and pitch as often as possible. That is how one develops those muscles.” I wholeheartedly agree with Levy’s first two suggestions of things a young artist must do regularly – writing and creating. However, his recommendation to pitch as often as possible is where we must respectfully part ways. Pitching, in my opinion, is one of the most creatively destructive and degrading activities that a developing artist can engage in, and continual pitching is a surefire way to guarantee that you never make great TV animation. In his article, Levy maintains that pitching frequently is a positive thing; he offers this justification: “So too, does a would-be TV series creator serve his or her purpose by working other’s TV productions, pitching as often as they can, and fostering their own reputations to ready themselves for the moment when their creations connect with an executive.” But in that sentence, Levy pinpoints exactly what is wrong with today’s TV animation industry: television creators who come up through the system learn how to connect exclusively with executives. Connecting with an executive, however, is hardly the same as connecting with an audience. Television animation suffers today largely because too many creators have a skewed sense of priorities and believe that satisfying execs (who most often don’t even understand the medium) is more important than satisfying audiences. People often wonder why cartoons were so much more entertaining during animation’s Golden Age. Perhaps because back then filmmakers were given the freedom to communicate directly with audiences without creative filters who altered their work before it reached its intended audience. The great Golden Age directors like Jones, Freleng, Clampett, Avery, Hanna, Barbera, Hubley, Tashlin, Cannon, McKimson, Burness, Harman and Ising were trusted by their superiors and allowed to create animated shorts as they saw fit. The resulting cartoons were not just successful in their own time but still entertain audiences half a century later. Today, it is impossible for artists working in TV animation to express themselves creatively in the direct fashion of those earlier directors because of processes like pitching, development and focus grouping, which have all been rendered useless thanks to years of misuse and abuse by executives. The pitching process itself, which was once a beneficial collaborative exercise used between artists to make ideas stronger, has been subverted into a mechanism that exists only to allow executives an entry point into the creative process. If ever there was an argument against the backwardness of contemporary TV animation development, one simply needs to turn on the television. Regardless of network, there is a sameness of product across the board, a striking lack of vision, a virtual absence of appealing and engaging characters, a consistently bland execution of concepts, and a general gutlessness in the majority of TV animation. Animation producers wisely don’t make their development process public, but in the rare instances that they allow audiences a window into how they develop ideas, like the Disney Channel’s recent series of Shorty McShorts’ Shorts, the results are comically and embarrassingly awful. It also makes painfully evident how detached the pitching and development process is from the reality of what audiences actually want from cartoons. A clue: it sure as hell isn’t this or this. While today’s TV animation development process doesn’t offer the same opportunities for creators to develop their artistic voices as in animation’s Golden Age, there are ways to circumvent the process. The best option is to develop your chops outside of the industry before attempting to pitch your own television series. Take, for example, the creator of one of the most successful cartoons of the past decade: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. Stephen Hillenburg was nearly thirty years old before he even started working in the industry. Prior to that, he had studied marine biology, taught kids, and studied experimental animation at CalArts – hardly the resume of your average TV series creator. True, Hillenburg spent a number of years working on other TV series. It would be naive to believe that one shouldn’t have industry experience before creating their own show. Rather my suggestion is that one should enter the industry only after they have matured creatively and developed an artistic voice independent of influence from TV executives. I don’t think I need to mention that the longest-running animated series of all-time – THE SIMPSONS – also has a creator who came into the industry after he knew what he wanted to say. In Matt Groening’s case though, he didn’t have anything to say visually and he has used his opportunity to express an almost exclusively verbal vision. All this leads back to my original thought in which I applauded Pat Smith’s comment that artists should spend more time creating independent shorts instead of TV pitches. Independent shorts teach potential TV show creators a priceless lesson: how to communicate directly with audiences instead of with executives. Just as importantly, independent shorts allow a filmmaker to prove that their vision works with audiences (take for example Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s short THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS). And with a proven success (or successes), the filmmaker gains greater leverage in maintaining their vision throughout the TV production process. It’s a longer, but ultimately more creatively rewarding, road. The encouraging news is that more and more of today’s talented artists are coming to this same conclusion and finding that there are ways to work in the industry simultaneous with developing a personal approach through independent short-form projects. Some of the artists pursuing this path include Pat Smith, Chris Harding, Seamus Walsh & Mark Caballero, Gregg & Evan Spiridellis, Nick Cross, Guilherme Marcondes and Joel Trussell. There’s no reason or excuse for toiling helplessly within a system that is clearly broken, and it’s encouraging that artists are increasingly recognizing the futility of the TV animation development process. I strongly believe that the ranks of these artists will continue to grow over the coming years and ultimately that means better TV cartoons for everybody. Your thoughts? Email to amid (at) animationblast (dot) com. (Please indicate whether I can post your thoughts and whether you want your name included or prefer to remain anonymous.) Responses to “Pitch or Not To Pitch?” Character designer and show creator Bob Harper writes: In regards of whether to pitch or not to pitch, I feel that you and Pat have valid concerns and arguments as does Dave. I do not think that pitching constantly for the sake of pitching is worth while. One could get a reputation of creating dud after dud and seem pesky. However, if your goal is to create a TV series, at some point you do have to pitch, and practice does make perfect. Ottawa International Animation Festival artistic director Chris Robinson writes: This obsession animators have with getting a tv series drives me crazy. Why is it your goal to have a tv series? Who said animation has to have regular characters, actors, and narratives? Your mommy? I see how it influences and ruins so many short films we receive at the OIAF because these works have not one ounce of personality, they are projects made to try to appease the desires/wants/needs of what they think SOMEONE ELSE wants…they are not making art, they are seeking markets to fit into. And look…I’m not against tv..but the best tv shows were NOT made to fit in..they were works that were fresh, new (just look at Seinfeld, The Office, most HBO shows etc..). Animation director and show creator Mark Mayerson has a blog post HERE where he describes his experience in television series creation and why he won’t be doing it again. Toronto-based animator and director Blair Kitchen has a blog post about the importance of investing in one’s own ideas. He writes: “For some strange reason, so many artists are horrified at the thought of investing in their own ideas. They feel like they need someone with money to tell them that it is OK for them to carry on with their vision. They complain that no one will invest their money in their idea, when they aren’t even willing to invest in it themselves. I don’t get it.” Animation producer and ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive director Steve Worth shared these thoughts on Michael Sporn’s blog: Executives don’t make cartoons. Animators do. Part of the reason TV animation is so messed up is because animators have allowed networks and executives to take over job functions that properly belong with creators and directors. Pointing out the idiocy of executive interference isn’t dwelling on something that we’re not in a position to control, it’s pointing out a blatant error in the production system that is compromising the quality of animation. ASIFA-East president David Levy offers these additional thoughts: Great discussion everyone! I whole heartedly agree that no one should pitch for pitching sake. You’ve got to have real passion and believe in each idea to present it in a pitch meeting. Otherwise you’ve wasted everyone’s time, including your own. It comes down to how you define success. I’ve not sold a TV pilot idea to date, although I’ve pitched an average of twice a year since 1999. Yet, each attempt helped me zone in on the craft and skill of how to best organize and present my ideas. I’ve made great relationships with some development excecutives I clicked with and met some I would not care to pitch again. Pitching is not only shopping your idea for a network to buy, it’s also discovering which network/exec is the best fit for you. Storyboard artist Louie del Carmen responds to my commentary with some thoughts of his own on his BLOG. An excerpt: Here is an exact quote to me from a studio exec whom I pitched to (i’ll spare this person the embarrasment by leaving them nameless): “What I like about your show is what I hate about it” I’ve since tried and given up trying to even make any sense of that. Animator Keith Lango also posts on his BLOG about his poor pitching experiences with studios. His bottomline: “I’d rather make something that I enjoy than something that is merely a vehicle for some corporate media-employee to get a promotion. So I weigh in on the side of the ‘pitching to TV networks is a big waste of time and effort’ in this debate.” Vancouver Film School student Corey McDaniel has a unique take on the matter: I’m a student at Vancouver Film School’s classical animation program. I have been throwing around the idea to my instructors that I want to pitch show ideas to networks once I get done with school. The reactions have been all positive for the most part but it feels like at the same time I’m being warned by a blind, weary old traveler not to enter the dark wood for death awaits me with nasty big pointy teeth. Show creator Steve Schnier (FREAKY STORIES) gives this perspective: As I wrote in the comments on Mark Mayerson’s blog – my experiences pitching have been mostly very positive. I’ve created, pitched and sold a show and continue to pitch new shows. The series got on the air was very similar to my original concept – and the changes that were “imposed” on me, were I honestly feel, mostly improvements. British animation artist Jamie Badminton writes: In response to Chris Robinson particularly, I feel that if an artist has something meaningful to say, a TV series is potentially the ultimate way to communicate those ideas to an audience. If you can create a cast of characters that viewers start connecting with every week, in theory, it is soon possible to delve deeper and explore their humanesque complexities and begin to tell rich, meaningful tales. As a child especially, you start relating to your favourite familiar characters in the way you care and listen to your best friends; if, as a creator, you lead those characters through a meaningful life-altering experience (however small it may seem from an adult P.O.V.) it will undoubtedly resonate more strongly with the audience than a one-shot story ever could. Animation fan Ed Thompson writes: I am writing to offer my views on this subject, which comes from a different perspective than most of the replies that you have already posted. I am not involved in any aspect of the animation business myself, so I have no experience with having to pitch an idea and no personal stories (good or bad) to tell. I am just a cartoon fan. British animation artist Jim Bending writes: I’m in total agreement with you. David Cantollo, co-creator of Pocoyo, had a terrible struggle during the pitching stage. The executives wanted to get rid of Pato the duck for example. He describes it here and here. David wrote: “We really didn’t like these meetings. Not because we didn’t have a good relationship with them (although we weren’t the best of friends either) but it was basically because we had nothing in common … we were like night and day. We didn’t understand each other at all. The meetings were really dull, no smiling, they simply wanted a different series to us.” Animation veteran John Halfpenny writes: It seems to me, that laying the blame for all this on some bone-headed executives is missing the point. Animation history is littered with cycles of creative flight bottomed out by low budgets and tight schedules. My own animation “career” has been a checkerboard of swearing off television, only to be drawn back in when the time was right. Yes, it is true that original vision can only be gained by working on your own projects. Whenever I leave the business, I work on developing some new aspect of my artistic equipment. I’ve spent time pursuing illustration, live action and music. Inevitably though, I will always be drawn back into animation. It’s what I do. Just not when there’s a conservative government in power. No Comments » posted in Old Brew October 18, 2006 6:00 pm
![]() Time for another update from animator/sculptor Jason Peltz who sends us the first image (above) of the painted Hornswiggle maquette he is working on. It’s really looking good and I’m delighted that Jason has agreed to create a small number of the them so I can offer several for sale. I have a small waiting list of readers interested in getting one of these limited edition maquettes. If you’d like to be on that list drop me a line at jbeck6540-at-aol.com. The price will be $75. and Jason says he’ll have them ready to ship the week of November 1st. Another update next week. No Comments » posted in Old Brew October 18, 2006 5:35 pm
![]() The latest film from director Michel Ocelot (Kirikou) called Azur et Asmar will open in France next Wednesday, October 25th. Looks like a mix of 2D cut-out style animation and 3D. It’ll certainly be worth checking it out. But as usual, no U.S. release is planned. Here’s the trailer and the synopsis.(Thanks, Sean Dicken) No Comments » posted in Old Brew October 18, 2006 12:15 pm
![]() It’s a shame the latest Scrat short was removed from GoogleVideo yesterday, but today the Blue Sky artists have another treat for us. Check out the Blue Sky Studios Challenge, a new joint artists blog. Artist Jake Parker explains: Some of us at the studio are actively participating in our own little jam blog. Every week we set a topic and then everyone does their take on it. It’s open to the whole studio so sometimes you get designers, and other times you get production assistants contributing. For the most part it’s Animators, story artists and designers who participate. Man, this is fun. Check their SpongBob challenge and the Pixar character challenge (and wouldn’t it be great to see Pixar artists take on the Blue Sky characters). The images above and below are from the favorite 1980s TV characters challenge. Beautiful work. ![]() No Comments » posted in Old Brew October 18, 2006 9:47 am
![]() At long last, Bill Plympton’s latest animated feature HAIR HIGH premieres tonight in New York City. It is screening for one week (Oct. 18-25) at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater (155 East 3rd St, between Ave A&B). This is, in my opinion, Plympton’s strongest animated film to date, featuring a compelling narrative in addition to loads of great laugh-out-loud visual gags. The film is difficult to describe though this synopsis does a pretty good job: “An outrageous Gothic myth from the 1950’s, HAIR HIGH is the legend of a teenage couple murdered on prom night who return as undead skeletons one year later for revenge. The film is a unique romantic comedy with a zombie-horror twist.” Plympton makes the idea work and he makes it work well. Every guest at the premiere tonight will receive a drawing from Bill, and he’ll be making additional appearances at the theater throughout the week. Cast members and other guests (including the “Krazy Kock” chicken mascot) will also appear at the premiere. Online tickets can be pre-ordered HERE. The official film website can be found at HairHigh.com. No Comments » posted in Old Brew October 18, 2006 9:20 am
![]() The other night I had a chance to screen the 3-D version of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. All things considered, the folks at ILM who converted the film (which was not shot in 3-D in the first place) did a pretty good job. And since it wasn’t designed for 3-D there weren’t many opportunities to have things go deep into the background or pop off the screen, but the effect holds up pretty well throughout the picture. A new introductory countdown piece (featuring a pumpkinhead jack-in-the-box) is the best 3-D gag in the picture. The new Walt Disney Pictures logo looks pretty cool in three dimensions too. This online featurette tries to explain what they did to achieve the new 3-D effects.The original Henry Selick film was always a lot of fun (and let’s not forget Joe Ranft’s important contributions to the story) – and Danny Elfman’s operatic score is one his greatest achievements. A new Special Edition soundtrack album (I snagged a freebie at the screening) contains Danny’s original demo tracks and some great covers by Fionna Apple (Sally’s Song), Marilyn Manson (This Is Halloween) and Fall Out Boy (What’s This?).The new Nightmare opens in theaters this Friday, October 20, along with Pixar’s 3-D short Knick Knack. |
EVENTS
RECENT BREW TV EPISODESBy Sitji Chou. A man tries to understand the futility of creating human connections when they’ve been impeded by the microcosmic void between material particles. By Nikolas Ilic. A story of a Scottish sheep farmer who shears his sheep and tosses them cliff side… By Dylan Hayes. Lesson 1: Everyone gambles, not everyone loses. Lesson 2: The world is full of traps. Lesson 3: You cannot win if you don’t take risks. By Jean Yi. A personal and humorous exploration of being the ‘Nice Girl’ and coming to terms with the label and all its different meanings. ANIMATION TWEETS
What animation creators are saying on Twitter.
SITES WE LIKE
© 2012 Cartoon Brew LLC. Cartoon Brew is a trademark of Cartoon Brew LLC. All other names and trademarks appearing on CartoonBrew.com are the property of their respective owners. The written content on Cartoon Brew is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 Creative Commons license.
|