Author Archives: Amid Amidi

About Amid Amidi

test

“Sym-Bionic Titan” Pushes TV-PG with “Sexy” Scene

By
on
219

Last night’s episode of Sym-Bionic Titan is causing a mini-uproar on the Internet because of this sequence:

Many commenters, including the popular blog Super Punch, are questioning why Cartoon Network showed something so suggestive on a show that is rated TV-PG. Do you think this went too far for a TV-PG show that airs at 8pm? And while we’re at it, here’s another question: does nobody on the Sym-Bionic Titan crew understand how to draw a foreshortened pose? Not that there was much sexiness to begin with in this stiffly posed and animated sequence, but drawing a character so poorly so that she appears to have a leg tumor surely doesn’t help.

Sym-bionic Titan

Pardon me while I revert to old fogey mode, but it’s sad that after decades of progress in this art form, today’s television artists can’t animate anything nearly as appealing or sexy as work created eighty years ago:

Signe Baumane on How To Be A Full-Time Filmmaker

By
on
11


A test frame from Signe Baumane’s feature film in progress

NY filmmaker Signe Baumane (Teat Beat of Sex) is working on her first animated feature Rocks In My Pockets and documenting the progress on her blog. During the past month, she wrote an incredible seven-part series about a topic that nobody ever talks about publicly: fundraising and how an independent animator can afford to make films while living in New York. Bottomline: It’s not easy.

Many filmmakers make films occasionally inbetween commercial film projects, whereas Signe takes a firm and principled stance that puts her independent filmmaking above all other activities. Her free-flowing and often funny articles touch on countless different subjects: applying for grants, why Kickstarter doesn’t work for her, accepting non-film art projects that support her filmmaking habit, and the difficulties of budgeting living expenses when one isn’t earning anything. Unfortunately, the posts aren’t categorized, but start in the October archive with Fundraising Story 1 and work your way up. Her writings provide a sobering and realistic perspective on the life of an independent filmmaker.

(Thanks, Michael Sporn, for the tip)

Is “Piercing 1″ the First Indie Animated Feature from China?

By
on
16

Piercing 1

I found out Liu Jian’s Piercing 1 when looking through the list of winning films at the Portuguese animation festival Cinanima which ended a few days ago. After reading up on it, I’m fascinated by everything about the film and can’t wait to see it. I don’t know when that’ll be, but Los Angeles folks are lucky because the film has its US premiere on December 4 at the Silent Movie Theater.

The film tells a contemporary story set during the recent financial crisis. The synopsis:

Zhang Xiaojun came from a poor rural area to the big city. He put himself through university and found a job in a shoe factory. In 2008, the financial crisis forced the closure of many factories. Zhang Xiaojun lost his job. One day, a supermarket guard beats him up, mistaking him for a thief.

In vain, he asks the supermarket manager for financial redress — his dearest wish is to return to his village to resume a simple farming life. Right before his departure, the police arrest him. The supermarket manager also has his problems. On a moonlit night, the storylines converge in a teahouse near the city rampart.

The artwork for Piercing 1 looks beautifully drawn, and in this article about the film, Jian says that he drew the entire film himself on a WACOM tablet over the course of three years. “One day, I talked to my wife about the idea of making an animation film,” he said. “With her permission, we sold our apartment, relied on our savings and we also got help from our relatives. The whole combination of money needed to produce the film was USD $100,000.”

It should be noted that most (if not every) animated feature in China is made with some sort of funding or support from the government. Jian’s film is truly independent; in fact, the lack of the Chinese government’s oversight means that the film is unlikely to ever be released in that country. Hopefully he’ll find a way to distribute it internationally. When asked about the government’s reaction, Jian said:

“I’ve gotten a mixed reaction. The film deals with a lot of negative aspects of life. Even though these aren’t China-specific, government censors are always sensitive. It seems that they’re happy that a Chinese film is gaining international acclaim, but at the same time, with the negative themes in the movie… right now they’re not doing anything to block the film, but they’re not doing anything to promote it, either.”

More information about the film can be found at its official website. If you’ve already seen it on the festival circuit, please share your thoughts in the comments.

UPDATE: This review of the film by Thierry Meranger appeared in Cahiers du Cinéma.

“I’m Going to Disneyland” by Antoine Blandin

By
on
13

Twenty-year-old animation student Antoine Blandin chose an ambitious subject matter for his short I’m Going to Disneyland that pushes beyond typical student film territory. Domestic violence and child abuse are difficult subjects to pull off in animation, and Antoine does a lot with the topic in just over two minutes. I might even argue that it’s more effective than the other domestic violence cartoon making the festival circuits this year, Anita Killi’s Angry Man, simply because Blandin’s grim and austere visuals don’t distract from the story and feel more authentic to the point he’s making. The film was made at the Angoulême, France-based animation school EMCA. There’s a smart write-up about the short at Kuriositas.com.

Ask Amid Anything

By
on
4

Amid Amidi

As someone who never chats online, and is frequently inaccessible via e-mail and Facebook, I thought I’d try out this new app called VYou, that allows me to interact publicly with Brew readers via video responses. Basically, you can ask me any question you like, and I’ll choose some of them to answer when I find the time. Feel free to ask me about the industry, animated films, my book projects or personal stuff. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep the VYou app accessible on my bio page for now. (IMPORTANT: Do NOT ask questions in the comments below. They will be ignored. Questions have to be submitted through the VYou app HERE.)

UPDATE: I’m overwhelmed by the number of questions you have for me. I’ve started answering some of them and will answer many more in the coming days. Submit questions and view answers on my bio page.

Happy 85th Birthday, Walt Peregoy!

By
on
14

Walt Peregoy

Happy birthday to the great Walt Peregoy who turns 85 today. His color styling on 101 Dalmatians is legendary, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He’s done tons more great work throughout his career. Peregoy continues to be an accomplished fine artist, and an exhibit of his personal paintings are showing in Burbank for another week or so. I’ll try to make sure he sees this page today so please send your birthday wishes.

Walt painted the backgrounds on the film below, The Shooting of Dan McGrew. The colors are especially majestic if you can see a 35mm print projected:

(Thanks, Joe Horne)

“Building Toss” by Jared D. Weiss

By
on
13

A bear, a cat and a cyclops are tossing each other around…sounds like the setup to a crummy joke, but it’s actually this soundless animation loop created for a class assignment by School of Visual Arts student Jared D. Weiss. The only reason I’m posting it is because the animation made me laugh…five times in a row. It’s difficult to do goofy animation that is both awkward and well animated. Sesame Street director and Pixar veteran Bud Luckey calls it “dumb-ass animation,” and frankly, I can’t think of a better term. Whatever you want to call it, Jared does it quite well.

PS: If you want to make it even funnier, try watching with the Benny Hillifier.

“Summer Wars” by Mamoru Hosoda

By
on
32

Above is the trailer for Summer Wars, one of the fifteen films that qualified yesterday for the 2010 Animated Feature category of the Academy Awards. Unlike most of the other films on the list, we’ve never written about it on the Brew so I thought it would be worthwhile to share some information about it. The film was directed by Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) and animated at Madhouse.

It was the 38th highest grossing feature during 2009 in Japan where it grossed $17.4 million. It’s been well reviewed (see Todd Brown’s review at TwitchFilm and Patrick Galbraith’s review at Otaku2). The film has screened at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival, was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and has won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year and the Sitges Film Festival’s Gertie Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

FUNimation, in association with GKids, is releasing the film theatrically in the US beginning next month. Here are the current theatrical dates:

Dec 3-8 Chicago,IL- Siskel Film Center
Dec 10-16 Los Angeles, CA — AMC Covina 30
Dec 24-30 San Francisco, CA- Landmark Bridge Theater
Dec 29-Jan 4 New York, NY- IFC Center
Jan 5-12 Boston, MA- Museum of Fine Arts
Jan 7-13 Denver, CO- Starz Film Center
Jan 7-13 Santa Fe, NM- CCA Cinematheque
Jan 14-20 Los Angeles, CA- Laemmle Sunset
Jan 21-27 Philadelphia, PA- Landmark Ritz at the Bourse
Jan 23-Feb 3 Honolulu, HI- Academy of Arts,
Jan 28-Feb 3 Seattle, WA- Landmark Varsity

(Thanks, Samuel Einhorn)

Only 3 Animated Features to Receive Oscar Noms

By
on
57

Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the animated features that have been accepted for consideration in the Animated Feature category of the Academy Awards. (We’ve posted the Academy’s press release in our CB Biz section.)

Fifteen features qualified:
* “Alpha and Omega”
* “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”
* “Despicable Me”
* “The Dreams of Jinsha”
* “How to Train Your Dragon”
* “Idiots and Angels”
* “The Illusionist”
* “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole”
* “Megamind”
* “My Dog Tulip”
* “Shrek Forever After”
* “Summer Wars”
* “Tangled”
* “Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue”
* “Toy Story 3”

Under Academy rules, “in any year when 8 to 15 animated features are released in Los Angeles County, a maximum of 3 motion pictures may be nominated.” Had one more feature qualified, the number of nominees would have expanded to five features.

The biggest losers in this scenario are the indies like Bill Plympton’s Idiots and Angels, Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist and Paul and Sandra Fierlinger’s My Dog Tulip, as well as the sleeper anime hit, Mamoru Hosoda’s Summer Wars. A field of five nominees would virtually guarantee one or two of them a nomination, but they face an uphill battle now. It’s not impossible though. In 2003, Chomet’s The Triplets of Belleville scored a nomination in a field of three, and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s Persepolis did the same thing in 2007. They’ll have to claw their way to the top against a crowded field of big studio contenders like Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me, and Tangled.

Bob Foster is The New Animation Guild President

By
on
17

Bob Foster

Over the weekend, The Animation Guild, Local 839 IATSE, which represents animation artists throughout Los Angeles, announced its election results. The new president is Bob Foster who has had an impressive forty-year career in the industry. I’d occasionally run into Bob when I lived in LA, and he always impressed me with his knowledge of animation and cartoon history. He’s as much a fan of the art form as he is someone who works in it, and that’s a commendable trait.

Foster ran uncontested, and replaces computer animator Kevin Koch, who is stepping down as president after nine years. I don’t want to read into this too much, but it should be pointed out that most of the recent jobs listed on Koch’s online resume are non-union studios (Blue Sky Studios, Super 78 Studios, Snoot Entertainment, Medical CyberWorlds). While the union doesn’t prohibit its members from working at outside shops, it can’t be an inspiring message to rank-and-file members when its last president consistently worked outside during the past few years.

Looking at it from a different perspective, however, Kevin’s career path simply reflects that of a modern animator. The union largely represents studios that create TV and feature animation, and as I wrote in the second half of this article, the fragmentation of the industry means that younger generations of artists can’t be expected to commit themselves to specific formats as in the past. How the union will adapt to reflect these changing realities of its membership remains to be seen.

“Megamind” Holds Top Box Office Spot

By
on
25

Megamind

For the second weekend in a row, DreamWorks Animation’s Megamind finished atop the North American box office with a final take of $29.1 million. Its total gross now stands at $88.8 million. The drop from last weekend was a respectable 36.7%; comparatively, How to Train Your Dragon had a second weekend decline of 33.7% and Shrek Forever After declined 38.9% in its second frame.

On the other end of the animation spectrum, Paul and Sandra Fierlinger’s My Dog Tulip earned $4,250 from three theaters. The film has grossed $113,000 after eleven weekends, pushing it past many recent limited animation releases like Fear(s) of the Dark, $9.99, and Tales from Earthsea. Also, Nine Nation Animation, a collection of indie shorts that we wrote about earlier, earned $3,489 from two theaters, raising its total earnings to $12,973.

“Dr Tom ou La Liberté en cavale” by Stephen Vuillemin and Emmanuelle Walker

By
on
7

It’s no secret that some of the most consistently polished animation being made by students today comes from the French animation school Gobelins. Less often noted is how they are at the forefront of rejuvenating hand-drawn animation with fresh and exciting styles. The content of their films doesn’t do much for me, but in terms of artistry, their shorts consistently push the envelope and offer more creative ideas than a lot of professional work I see. Their graphic approach is the polar opposite of the trend towards slavish realism in Hollywood feature animation, and while many Gobelins grads go on to work in features, others keep exploring the possibilities of artistic, original, and beautiful cartoon design.

Which leads us to this new music video created for the release of “Dr Tom ou La Liberté en cavale,” a tribute to composer Franck Langolff. It’s directed by Gobelins grads Stehen Vuillemin and Emmanuelle Walker and designed by Aurélien Predal. There’s so many confident filmmaking decisions in the piece from the animation to the color to the production design. They make it all look so effortless.

CREDITS
Direction: Stephen Vuillemin and Emmanuelle Walker
Designs: Aurélien Predal
Animation: Lucie Arnissolle, Olivier Lescot, Manuel Tanon-tchi, Stephen Vuillemin, Emmanuelle Walker
Additional matte paintings: Anne-Laure To
Music and lyrics: Norman Langolff, Gaby Concato and Sylvie Arditi
Production assistant: Martin Casalis
Production: One More Production

(Thanks, Ed Bell)

Gallery on Baum Sells Cartoon Art Forgeries?

By
on
60

Tony Greco drawing

Tony Greco, who run Pittsburgh’s The Gallery on Baum, has had a tough year. First, there was a lengthy exposé in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that claims most of the cartoon, animation and illustration art he sells is forged. Then, Charles Schulz’s wife made a statement that the Peanuts art Greco sells are forgeries. Then, cartoon art bloggers like Mike Lynch and Joakim Gunnarsson began piling on and writing that the artwork the artwork is fake, with Gunnarsson even saying that, “Luckily the fakes are so poorly done that real collectors will stay away from these fakes.”

The way people are bashing this poor guy, you’d think he was a delusional nutjob sitting at home tracing poor imitations of other people’s work over a light box. Greco says that’s certainly not the case. His story is simple: he inherited all of the artwork from the fine art department of Kaufmann’s Department Stores back in the 1960s. He’s also not going to allow any of the artwork to be authenticated by artist estates, living artists, historians, or museums because he knows that everybody is out to get him. Greco told the Post-Gazette:

“They don’t want to believe someone like me could have all this great stuff. The art world is very cliquey, and I’m an outsider they can’t control. They’re scared of me because I have so much, they don’t know where it ends. And you know what? It never ends. If I let it all out, it would depress the market overnight.”

Plus, Tony says that he’s been doing this kind of stuff since he was a kid:

“Everyone’s an expert, but it’s just their opinion! I’m the one who’s been doing this the longest, since I was a kid. I have the most stuff. I’m the real expert!”

So exactly what kind of cartoon art does Tony sell on his eBay store?
Continue reading →

The Importance of Documenting Your Animation Career

By
on
23

Animation home movies

A few evenings ago, Don Shank (production designer of The Powerpuff Girls and Pixar’s Day and Night) used his Twitter account to write a message–in 140 character bursts–that is definitely worth reposting. Here’s what he wrote:

“I remember almost twenty years ago working on Ren & Stimpy and asking a friend ‘should I bring in my super 8 camera and film all the crazy shit going on.’ Definitely! He says. I didn’t. Regret!!!! Back then it was ‘just Now’ who cares about ‘now’. Modern times. Current day. But now now back then is twenty years ago! How great would it be to see all those people back then? Plus, real behind the scenes (un-sped-up) animators working is almost never filmed and shown. In favor of the movie star talking about how they ‘created’ the character. My advice… Film you and your buddies in your normal everyday life. In Twenty years you will thank you (and me hehe).”

I couldn’t agree more. Somebody, someday, somewhere, is going to be interested in what you’ve done. With the ease of one-click digital film recording nowadays, there’s no excuse to not spend some time filming yourself and those around you at the studio. In fact, a lot of people are doing it, like Claudio de Oliveira who filmed the Disney animators working on Tangled and the crew at New Zealand’s Mukpuddy studio. It may be difficult to immediately appreciate the value of these recordings, but there is priceless information in every piece of film. Its true worth accrues with every passing year and may not reveal itself until many years down the line.

As someone who’s spent a lot of time documenting this art form’s history, I can only think back to all the frustrating interviews when I’ve asked animation veterans whether they’d taken any photos of their co-workers and workplaces. Among them were artists who worked daily with Tex Avery, Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera, Chuck Jones, Bobe Cannon, John Hubley, and Walt Disney. Inevitably, they’d tell me that at the time, they never considered what they were doing to be important enough to warrant documenting. And they never dreamt that fifty or sixty years later, people would be celebrating their work.

To end on a bright note, I’m currently working on a project for which there exists hours of home movie footage that an animator recorded during the Thirties, Forties and Fifties, none of which has been seen for decades. It’s the stroke of good luck that historians dream about and which rarely happens. Who knows what sort of treasures are contained within these dusty 16mm film reels. I can’t wait to find out.