7 Comments »   posted in Shorts, Student, Sachio Cook, SVA

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Fifteen years in the making.
35,000 hand drawn, hand-painted cels.
Shot onto 35mm movie film on a rostrum camera.

This is Neil Boyle’s The Last Belle, a recently completed short that will be playing on the festival circuit in 2012. If the mind-bending subway shot in the trailer reminds you of Richard Williams’s The Thief and the Cobbler, that’s no accident. Boyle worked as an assistant animator to Williams and the layout artist on Boyle’s short, Roy Naisbitt, also laid out the wild perspective scenes in The Thief and the Cobbler. Boyle discussed the path he’s taken to making this short on his website:

“I came into the animation industry on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and at 20 years old I was one of the youngest there. I was lucky enough to learn from the Disney veteran Stan Green (who had been assistant to the legendary Milt Kahl on many classic Disney films) and I became assistant animator to Richard Williams who was (and remains) amazingly generous with his vast knowledge of animation lore and technique. I was in the middle of all this, the archetypal kid-sponge, sucking up all the information I could. And then one day I went to bed and woke up 40 years old. Or so it seems. Then I was surrounded by a new wave of 20 year olds who – unlike me at that age – were already masters of their craft: the digital age of animation. So I had (and have) a lot more learning to do. The Last Belle is the project I’ve used to bridge the gap between old and new. A chance not just to read about the ‘old ways’, but to try them all out for real, guided by veterans of the craft.The interesting next step is to combine the old with the new and see where it takes us…”

More info and a blog with fascinating making-of details can be found on TheLastBelle.com. Enjoy it while you can because this will surely be among the last hand-drawn, cel-painted films shot on 35mm.

30 Comments »   posted in Shorts, Neil Boyle, Roy Naisbitt, The Last Belle, UK

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John Canemaker’s “Moon and the Son” on DVD

January 11, 2012 8:59 am

John Canemaker’s 2005 Academy Award-winning animated short The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation is finally out on DVD. While Cartoon Brew readers are no doubt familiar with Canemaker’s tremendous body of work as an animation historian, his career as an independent animator is equally substantial, with his most impressive work being this deeply affecting 28-1/2 minute portrait of his Italian-American immigrant father and the troubled relationship he had growing up with him.

The DVD is a great self-contained lesson in filmmaking. It comes packed with a 16-minute documentary about the making of the film, the entire first rough cut which Canemaker narrated himself before John Turturro came on board, and two image galleries containing the storyboards and concept artwork. The rough cut in particular is revealing and shows how Canemaker expanded the dialogue and added to the ending, which both made the film more impactful. The storyboards in the image gallery are a wonderful addition, but I often found myself wanting to see the storyboards in greater detail since DVDs aren’t an ideal format for presenting still artwork. The DVD is available is on Amazon for $30.

6 Comments »   posted in DVD, Shorts, John Canemaker, The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation

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“Adam and Dog” trailer

January 11, 2012 12:05 am

Just a heads up on a new personal short by Disney visual developement artist Minkyu Lee. It was just nominated for an Annie Award, but it hasn’t been widely seen yet. Minkyu sent us the trailer with this note:

This is a short film that me and a group of my close friends made. It was put together by artists who work at various studios, including Disney Feature, Dreamworks and Pixar; The animation is done by myself, Jennifer Hager, James Baxter, Mario Furmanczyk, Austin Madison, and Matt Williames. Glen Keane also helped by being a consultant on the film, and also doing some visual development. It is a completely independent film without any major studio involvement. We are really excited for people to see it, and wanted to share.

Here’s a few scenes to whet your appetite:

49 Comments »   posted in Shorts, Minkyu Lee

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“More Than Winning” By Nick Fox-Gieg

January 10, 2012 6:56 am

“They gave me a gun, a pick, and a hand grenade, and said ‘Win at any cost,’ and I said ‘Right.’ There’s nothing I love more than winning…”

Indie filmmaker Nick Fox-Gieg has great taste in choosing material for his shorts, and More Than Winning, based on a story by Susan Murray, continues that streak.

4 Comments »   posted in Shorts, After Effects, Flash, Nick Fox-Gieg

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“Hollow” by Oliver Franklin Anderson

January 7, 2012 12:05 am

Hollow, by Cal Arts Experimental Animation grad Oliver Franklin Anderson, uses photographs, artwork and live actors to create a haunting mood piece. The film has been accepted as an Official Selection at Slamdance 2012.

4 Comments »   posted in Shorts, Oliver Franklin Anderson

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WEB PREMIERE: “Wild Life” by Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby

January 6, 2012 12:10 am

One of the true highlights of the festival circuit this past year was Wild Life by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, who were nominated for an Academy Award in 1999 for their short When the Day Breaks. We are pleased to present—courtesy of our sponsor The National Film Board of Canada—the exclusive on-line debut of this Annie-nominated short.

Told in a robust, rustic style that captures the spirit of the new frontier, Wild Life won the 2011 Canadian Film Institute (CFI) Award for Best Canadian Animation at the recent Ottawa International Animation Festival. Set in 1909, the film is from the POV of a dapper young man sent from England to Alberta to attempt ranching. It soon becomes clear that nothing in his refined upbringing prepared him for the harsh conditions of the New World. Wild Life is also part of the new NFB dvd compilation Animation Express 2.

Credits after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »

31 Comments »   posted in Shorts, Amanda Forbis, NFB, Wendy Tilby

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