One of the unspoken rules of Cartoon Brew is that I will link to any piece of animation that combines fruit-people, furries and the song “I Wish I was in Dixie.” I’ve never had to do it until now though:
Michael Nason’s other photo-collage/mixed media animated videos are also worth a look.
The winners were announced last night at the 40th annual ASIFA-East Animation Festival. The top Best in Show prize was awarded to the short film Q&A by the Rauch Brothers, comprised of brothers Tim and Mike. The film, which also competes in Annecy next month, is a gentle, funny and touching real-life conversation between a child with Asperger’s Syndrome and his mother. The other prize-winning film that really stood out for me was the Nullsleep music video “Dirty Rom Dance” created by Plasticflesh (aka Stieg Retlin). The 8-bit artwork style is dime-a-dozen nowadays which makes it all the more rare to see somebody take that visual approach and do something truly original and inventive with it. The video won for Excellence in Soundtrack, a dubious compliment in my opinion; the video game-y music is fine but it was the filmmaker’s pitch-perfect melding of hyperkinetic imagery with sound that truly made this film stand out, not to mention the incredible design and storytelling delivered via a limited palette. Neither Q&A nor “Dirty Rom Dance” are available on-line but keep an eye out for both of them.
Jonathan Bairstow created Prophet and Lo$$ in 1988 as his graduation film at the Royal College of Art. It’s safe to say that the film, loosely based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, has stood the test of time. I only discovered it recently (for shame!), and its hypnotic use of cycles and rich visuals keep drawing me back for repeat viewings. Nowadays, Bairstow runs the commercial studio Sherbet, which he co-founded in the mid-1990s.
New York’s biggest animation award, the ASIFA-East Animation Festival, takes places this Sunday, May 3, at 6pm. This year is extra special as its the 40th(!) annual edition of the show. The festivities, comprised of an awards ceremony, film screening and reception, are FREE to all. It happens at the New School’s Tishman Auditorium (66 W. 12th Street). I attended last year and thought the event had a great vibe–casual, low-key, and lots of fun–which is an accurate description of the local animation scene as well.
Hamster Squaredance is one of the more visually distinctive music videos I’ve run across in a while. It was created for the musician Mr. Hayday by New Zealand-based Laurent Antonczak and Patricia Burgetsmaier. The lengthy description of the project on their Vimeo page does leave me slightly confused though:
The framework of “Hamster Squaredance” explores an aesthetic and conceptual relationship of rhythm and narrative by developing a new visual approach for displaying on small screens, mainly iPHONE. Furthermore “Hamster Squaredance” explores a new narrative structure (short-duration, screen limitations, narrative synchronised with music) and reinterprets the aesthetics of computer game industry from the early 80s into nowadays trend. While using basic, modular and simple graphics, which denote the early stage of computer development and its graphics, it develops yet highly crafted visuals, using the most advantageous elements of photography, illustrations and mix-media technique.
Finnish studio Anima Boutique produced this series of refreshingly stylized CG spots for Kopparberg cider drinks. The director and designer of the spots, Eliza Jäppinen, tells me that they “were lucky enough to work with an art director, agency and clients who wanted something new, and also meant it.” She first created a series of illustrations for a print campaign and subsequently these spots were produced in CG. Credits besides Jäppinen include:
2D Animation: Heli Ellis
3D modeling & Animation: Olli Rajala (Anima Commerical)
3D animation: Olli Rajala (Anima Commerical)
Producer: Anttu Harlin
Sound: Timo Anttila (Humina,
Zeeland team: Migu Snall, Mikko Vaija, Anna Korpi-Kyyny, Riitta Bergman
I’ve posted the last part of my 2009 animation and cartoon book sale. Rare goodies straight ahead on the book sale page.
I’m continuing the great animation book purge of 2009. Everything I posted earlier today is already sold, but I’ve just posted more cool stuff by Jack Kinney, Eyvind Earle, Ernie Pintoff, Bob Dranko, Chris Jenkyns, Ken Anderson, Charles Schulz, Harvey Kurtzman, Friz Freleng, etc. Help me empty my life by going to the book sale page. Even more stuff coming soon!
Tonight is the second annual Toronto Animation Industry Night presented by Toronto Animation Live. I’m not familiar with the organization hosting the event; their stated purpose is to serve as a networking organization “dedicated to the growth and development of the Toronto animation industry.” This evening’s event, which combines networking, music and screenings, begins at 7pm at the Century Room (580 King St. W). Tickets are $5 at the door if you rsvp by email to info at torontoanimationlive.com. Otherwise, it’s $10 at the door for walk-ins. Their ad promises complimentary food and beverages. If you have attended the previous one, or if you attend tonight, let us know what you think of it in the comments.
Cassidy Curtis, an animator at PDI/DreamWorks, and his wife, Raquel Coelho, created this charming pixilated short that also serves as a document of a pregnancy. The extensive notes on how they made it are worth reading:
Animating over such a long period of time, using an increasingly pregnant woman as one of your puppets, means basically throwing out everything you might normally do in an animated film. For example, early on, we had this idea that we should wear the same clothes every time, for continuity’s sake. But as Raquel’s pregnancy developed, we soon discovered that the extra effort required to change in and out of our uniforms was going to interfere with the goal of shooting as many frames as possible, and might even prevent us from finishing the project at all. We dialed down the perfectionism, and in the process ended up having a lot more fun with it.
(via A Cup of Jo)
We first wrote about Jun seo Hahm‘s series of super-short shorts Karnival back in 2007 when it was starting up. Since then, Jun has completed the series with ten episodes, all created in his distinctive hand-drawn vectorized style. Some of the later ones, like Flashlight Dog and Toaster, really make me smile with their perfect combination of the whimsical, cute and disturbing. The ten shorts can be seen at Karnival.tv.
Yoni Goodman, the director of animation for Waltz with Bashir, created this public service announcement for the human rights organization Gisha–Legal Center for Freedom of Movement. It’s a good example of how to use animation to communicate an important political issue with clarity and precision. There’s also a short making-of video in which Goodman talks about the piece, as well as a website for the film at ClosedZone.com.
(Thanks, Mats Grorud)
Videokrauting, created by Italians Nicola Ferrarese, Corrado Agnese, Valentina Mantello and Marzia Pellegatta, is a tribute to videogames animated entirely with sauerkraut. References are made to Tetris, Pac-Man and Prince of Persia.
They’ve also made Super Mario with beans and Asteroids with tomatoes. My favorite work by these filmmakers is an original creation however–D’Altra Parte è Così by Nicola Ferrarese. This two-minute film (posted below) uses simple stop-motion tricks to transform the ordinary and mundane–a spoon and other everyday objects–into a nail-biting action-packed episode.
(via Kotaku)
Did you know Chuck Jones made an adaptation of The Jungle Book? Sadly, I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t. It’s even available on DVD.
This clip below offers a taste. Like most of Jones’s work from the 1970s, it’s dripping with cloying preciousness. And yet, it’s difficult to dislike it. Even Jones at his Jonesiest is a cut above the rest of the animation that came out of Hollywood during that decade.
(Thanks, Jupey Krusho)
Golden Age animation artist Homer Jonas (1928-1979) now has a Facebook fan page courtesy of his son, artist Jeff Jonas. The Facebook page includes artwork from Jonas’s work at Disney (101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty), as well as unpublished artwork, gag drawings, and vintage photos. Jeff says he’s planning to add more items in the future.
