Untold Tales

‘Mouse in Transition’: Detour Into Disney History (Chapter 6)

Before I got hired at Disney Features, I sold a few magazine articles and developed a love of writing for print, where there was nothing between writer and reader but words on a page. When I became a Disney employee, I realized I was surrounded by animation veterans with vivid memories of the rambunctious days at the old Hyperion studio, and the creative struggles that went into making "Snow White," "Pinocchio," and the other early features. Talking to older Mouse House staffers, it dawned on me they could provide great source material for articles.

Stop Motion

Meet Tobias Stretch And His Life-Size Stop Motion Creatures

There are many ways to create animation, and most of them are tedious and life draining. It's pretty common to find animators incorporating some combination of chair and desk as a prison of their practice, where they trudge through their work while simultaneously wasting away. Tobias Stretch has no appetite for that lifestyle, and uses the world as his stop motion playground.

Cartoon Brew Pick

‘House Wanders, Bird Water Full’ by Veronika Samartseva

Veronika Samartseva is an animation director from Germany, who specializes in analog animation techniques. Her award-winning films have been shown at international festivals worldwide. After her graduation from HFF Konrad Wolf Babelsberg, Veronika joined the Berlin-based animation collective Talking Animals. Recently she started teaching animation at the BTK University of Design.

Awards

This Sunday in NYC: 45th Annual ASIFA-East Animation Festival Awards Ceremony

There is just one annual animation award in the United States that is older than the Oscars and that's the ASIFA-East Animation Festival. This year's ceremony will mark the 45th year in a row that the festival has been presented. It takes place this Sunday, May 18th, at the New School's newly built Tishman Auditorium (63 5th Avenue in Manhattan).

Interviews

Interview: Ralph Bakshi on the Animation Industry, Then & Now

Ralph Bakshi pulled himself away from his drawing desk in New Mexico to chat with Cartoon Brew about his legacy, his latest project "The Last Days of Coney Island," which he recently funded on Kickstarter, and what he really thinks about the computer’s role in animation these days.

iPad

A Filmmaker Tests Out The NFB’s $1 Animation App, StopMo Studio

The NFB StopMo Studio app for the iPad provides essentially everything you need to jump into creating an animated film. You won't have any issues getting comfortable with the user interface if you've worked with animation programs before, and it seems more than approachable for newcomers young and old. Once you open up the program, you're welcomed with a short and succinct tutorial that covers the basic tools, and then opens up to allow you to explore the rest of the options available.

Recaps

‘Ping Pong’ Recap: ‘Smile is a Robot’

Determined to unleash Smile's potential, Coach Koizumi devises a relentless schedule of training that culminates in a death match pitting old veteran versus young hopeful. Smile's resistance finally cracks under the pressure, and he begins to get serious. Meanwhile, the appearance of a new rival - the tough-looking Ryuichi Kazama - sets the stage for a later showdown.

Business

British Studios Locksmith and Double Negative Plan To Make CG Features

There are big developments in the UK animation industry in the wake of a much-heralded tax break received by the British animation industry that went into effect last year. Sarah Smith, the former creative director of features at Aardman Animations, is setting up a studio named Locksmith Animation. She bills it as the UK’s "first high-end CGI feature animation studio," and it is focused on creating a long-term slate of films for worldwide distribution.

Cartoon Brew Pick

‘Yellow Sticky Notes: Canadian Anijam’ by Jeff Chiba Stearns

An ‘Anijam’ is a collaborative animation where various artists create individual short animated segments that are linked together to make one larger film. For the first time in Canadian history, 15 of Canada’s most acclaimed independent animators have come together to create a collaborative animated film. "Yellow Sticky Notes: Canadian Anijam" is an innovative and global approach to animation filmmaking and unites animators from coast to coast, from Vancouver to Halifax and all parts in between, to self reflect on one day of their lives using only 4x6 inch yellow sticky notes, a black pen and animation meditation.

Shorts

Second Season of Mickey Mouse Shorts Will Debut in April

A second season of Mickey Mouse shorts will begin airing April 11th at 9pm (ET/PT) on the Disney Channel. Each new short will be available the day after its cable premiere on WATCH Disney Channel, Disney.com, iTunes, and YouTube.

Business

Patreon Offers a New Way to Crowdfund Animation

There are countless crowdfunding sites nowadays, but none have offered a viable alternative that challenges Kickstarter and Indiegogo's dominance. Patreon may change that though. The crowdfunding site offers a twist on the crowdfunding model that may prove attractive to filmmakers who want to produce content regularly.

Anime

Book Review: A Fresh Take on Anime History by Jonathan Clements

Jonathan Clements’ "Anime: A History" differs greatly from more populist overviews of anime available in the English-language market. This book is not about the anime texts themselves, but the surrounding industry: Clements delivers a tightly-packed account of anime production, distribution and viewership from the silent era to the present day.

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