Con-men, crypts, buried treasure... and zombies |
Monday, April 29, 2013
Stephan Franck's graphic novel Silver - just launched!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Huge cull at Cinesite - more bad news from Soho
Cinesite Europe, my former London employer and (until recently) one of the big hitters in visual effects in Soho, have just made some massive layoffs. They are now losing not just the freelancers and the specialist folks whose talents can be hired and fired, but the key people who run the departments and know how the systems work. These are the staff who are hard to re-hire, difficult to do without.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Does Size Matter in Animation?
I got an e-mail from a student, asking me if there was any way to be seen as successful without working at a big studio.
My answer: no.
For you industry people out there - when people find out you work in animation, what's The Big Question they ask?
A) Do you work for Disney?
B) Do you work for Disney?
C) Do you work for Disney?
or
D) Do you work for Disney?
I'm 50 years old, been working in animation for more than half of my life, and STILL get asked this question. For all the corporate crap that goes on at big studios, working at one means you have made it to the big leagues. And Disney is still the New York Yankees of animation studios. And like the Yankees, fans have high expectations and like to boo management.
My answer: no.
For you industry people out there - when people find out you work in animation, what's The Big Question they ask?
A) Do you work for Disney?
B) Do you work for Disney?
C) Do you work for Disney?
or
D) Do you work for Disney?
I'm 50 years old, been working in animation for more than half of my life, and STILL get asked this question. For all the corporate crap that goes on at big studios, working at one means you have made it to the big leagues. And Disney is still the New York Yankees of animation studios. And like the Yankees, fans have high expectations and like to boo management.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Bad Ex Studios
Starting out, we all fancied our careers taking the Frank and Ollie trajectory. Working at a studio for life. Meet another lifer and fall in love. Get married on the studio lot. Buy a house and fill it with studio memorabilia. Maybe a studio themed swimming pool. Name your kids after the studio's characters. As the years passed, you would create legendary film moments, be idolized by the younger generation, and retire as an animation legend.
In reality, most of us have had a series of Wile E. Coyote trajectories - flying along, feeling confident, then "PAF!" Rock face. Something went horribly wrong. A studio layoff. A studio closing. And like Wile E., you put on that flight suit and try again.
And then there are those studios you wanted to love but ended up hating. A bad ex studio. You're thinking of that bad ex studio right now. The place you were pigeonholed. Or were put down by abusive management. Or didn't fit into studio cliques. You had such high hopes. It was supposed to be the one. Your forever studio. These are the ones you never quite get over.
In reality, most of us have had a series of Wile E. Coyote trajectories - flying along, feeling confident, then "PAF!" Rock face. Something went horribly wrong. A studio layoff. A studio closing. And like Wile E., you put on that flight suit and try again.
And then there are those studios you wanted to love but ended up hating. A bad ex studio. You're thinking of that bad ex studio right now. The place you were pigeonholed. Or were put down by abusive management. Or didn't fit into studio cliques. You had such high hopes. It was supposed to be the one. Your forever studio. These are the ones you never quite get over.
Tom Sito's Book on the History of Computer Animation on Sale!
-Steve
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The night my cartoon strip almost died
Lincoln's Inn Hall - scene of the crime |
Twenty years ago I became a barrister. A barrister is a kind of English lawyer - the kind that wear wigs. Think John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda. If you want to become a barrister in England, you used to have to dine formally on 24 occasions with your fellow law students, in the dining halls of the Inns of Court, (in theory) discussing the finer points of law and jurisprudence. So I spent many evenings dining in Lincoln’s Inn hall.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Animation Sweatbox - reinforcing cultural stereotypes
Animation dailies - how it used to be |
Today the moviola is long gone, but animation dailies are still with us, and some studios still call it sweatbox in homage to the old Disney tradition.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Three Silly Chickens - Tanya Fenton's charming new children's book
Thursday, April 18, 2013
The Animator's Survival Kit - now an iPad app
FLIP has been granted a sneak peek at the latest animation app to hit the iPad - The Animator's Survival Kit. We have now road-tested the new digital ASK: below is our thoroughly biased and not at all independent view of this new electronic addition to the animator's library.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Final Touches and the Forever Rule
Finishing a film is a great big pain in the ass. All the wild enthusiasm for what the film could be has yielded to a mottled view of what it has become. By the end, you've spent so much time with every little nook and cranny of the film that you can't tell if it is entertaining anymore.
I am experiencing this right now on a short I started in 2000 (!) called Chief, Your Butt's on Fire. It's a cautionary tale based on my life in animation. I animated the entire five minutes, full on, on old-school 20lb punched Cartoon Colour stock in my spare time. It took years. My wife, Donna, scanned it all - rough, not cleaned up - and figured out a way to paint it in Toon Boom in her spare time. It took years.
First released still from Steve Moore's "Chief, Your Butt's on Fire". |
Monday, April 15, 2013
If You Can't Eat the Rich, Tax the Rich
Hey Americans, did you file your income tax returns yet? Just a reminder, your deadline is TODAY. Sure, you could pull a Weslie Snipes, but even he would not recommend that. Think the system is unfair? Well, Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale feels your pain. Ed Asner narrates this short that offers a liberal perspective on our tax system.
The short was created through the California Federation of Teachers, a labor union. It was written and directed by Fred Glass of the Labor and Community Studies Department of City College of San Francisco. This was not his first foray into film. His documentary on the history of the California labor movement, Golden Lands, Working Hands, aired on PBS in 1999.
The short was created through the California Federation of Teachers, a labor union. It was written and directed by Fred Glass of the Labor and Community Studies Department of City College of San Francisco. This was not his first foray into film. His documentary on the history of the California labor movement, Golden Lands, Working Hands, aired on PBS in 1999.
Vladimir Todorov's eBook released at last
Vladimir Todorov is an animator, and designer (and friend of FLIP) whose credits include Harry Potter, Beowulf, Eragon and Polar Express. He has just released his much-anticipated book Moon Rock at amazon.com You can buy the book here, and read our interview with Vlad about how Moon Rock was put together, here. Many congratulations to Vlad on getting his book to market.
---Alex
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The Unknown Art of Henrietta Edwards
Henrietta Edwards is not an illustrator whose work you
will be familar with. She received no formal training, never published her work,
and did not even consider herself an artist. Most people who knew her were
probably not aware of her talent until, soon after her death from cancer in
2006, her husband Richard printed a small collection of her drawings, and
distributed a few copies to her friends.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Animation Block Party - Get Your Hunched & Goofy On!
Disney Layoffs, The Day After: Now What?
Yesterday, I read the news about the Disney layoffs on Facebook. With so many industry friends, industry news hits there hours before blog writers can compose an article (in my case, many hours). Facebook is live feed. And just like watching live feed of O.J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco cruising down the 405, we don't really know the whole story, but the speculation is fantastic.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Loud Commercials - There Oughta be a Law.....What? There Is?
"Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) rules require commercials to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany. In the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, Congress directed the FCC to establish these rules, which went into effect on December 13, 2012."
I hereby use this platform to formally invite the FCC to watch TV in my house. Not a night goes by without reaching for the remote because of a loud commercial. The most worn button on my remote is the mute. Want to blast some loud music into my house, Home Depot? Be mute! What? You're the Pizza Hut ad that comes after the loud Home Depot commercial? Sorry, I can't hear you because you're mute too. And you too, T-Mobile. And Chili's. And Ford Fusion. And fuck you, Flo from Progressive Insurance. And fuck what's next on NBC. All because the assholes at Home Depot CAN'T KEEP THE NOISE DOWN!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tim Watts on Margaret Thatcher, puppets, and Spitting Image
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Farewell Lady Thatcher
People in England of my generation call themselves "Thatcher's children". Whether you are left or right politically, her influence was undeniable as she re-shaped the dialogue of both politics and economics in Britain.
She was mercilessly satirised by cartoonists, especially by the TV series Spitting Image that seemed made especially for her and her confrontational style of politics.
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Lou Costello of Graphic Designers
Done as an ad for Libbey Plumbing and Heating, they had t-shirts made. The printer re-drew the image, tracing it in pen. Ugh. My first such experience with silkscreen printers. |
I have an annual ritual where someone asks if I can do a logo/t-shirt design for them. Usually it's a friend, a kind local, or a friend of a friend who is doing something they are passionate about. Since I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff I say "Sure!"
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Roman Cartoons! (with some fruity language)
Cartoons - Roman style |
Both towns were completely covered in ash - and were thereby preserved for posterity even as the rest of Roman civilisation fell to the barbarian hordes (that's you and me).
Saturday, April 6, 2013
ToonTown Reunion - 25 Years after The Rabbit
See how many Toon Town graduates you can spot in this Roger Rabbit re-union photo just posted on Facebook by Producer Max Howard (5th from left on the back row). I can see Tom Sito on the left, as well as Producer Don Hahn, and master animator Andreas Deja in the back, among many other familiar faces and old friends. And I think I see director Bob Zemeckis standing next to Nik Ranieri, fourth from right in the back row.
Friday, April 5, 2013
So, Farewell Then, Vernon Dursley
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Animation Workshop - a student's view - by Mikkel Brøns-Frandsen
Kwaidan - 2nd year trailer project - animation by Mikkel Brøns-Frandsen |
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Dig
There are certain shows from my childhood that have stuck with me over the years despite not having seen them since. Ken Mundie's Hey Hey Hey, It's Fat Albert special is one of them. Fred Wolf's The Point is another. And then there's Dig.
Dig is a special that ran on Saturday morning a couple of times in 1972. It was the story of a boy and his dog who go on 'a journey into the Earth" guided by a large rock. I was nine going on ten when it aired, but it stuck with me. I remembered the main characters, and I remember the song "Take a midnight ride - down the rock bottom road - bumpty bumpty bump bump."
Monday, April 1, 2013
Stuff-ed
In the four months since my father died, I have been dealing with his Stuff. For fifty-five years he lived in that house with my mom. They initially moved in to take care of Dad's Aunt Annie and Uncle Joe, who built the house around 1930 and died in it in 1959, within weeks of each other. Dad inherited the house and raised three sons there.
Talk about Stuff!