Those Unrealized Influences

Every creative person can cite some other creative person whose work had a major influence on them.    For me, it's Chuck Jones' cartoons.   But was he really as influential as I thought?  I don't draw or time my animation like him.  I don't steal art direction from  Maurice Noble nor animate like Ben Washam.  So really, they influenced my desire to get into the business, and I am certainly a fan, but my artistic influences came from other people, people I had not always recognized.

Mickey Mouse stars in Escape From Tomorrow - but Disney is not pleased...

Mickey - as you have never seen him before.

Escape From Tomorrow is a micro budget indie horror flick filmed without permission, using hand held cameras and mobile phones, inside the Disney parks. It stars Mickey in his first ever blood soaked horror role. The real horror, you might think, will be the litigation that will surely result as armies of Disney lawyers descend on the film-makers. But you would be wrong.

Withoutabox.com - For Your Festival Submission Sanity

Did I mention my new short Chief, Your Butt's on Fire this week?   We're in festival submission mode around here, and just as film has gone digital, so has the submission process.  Thankfully, my wife discovered withoutabox.com.

This is going to sound like a big freaking commercial, but if you are an indie filmmaker, this could really help you.  On the Withoutabox site, you fill out a form about your film, then upload a web-quality Quicktime file.  When you find a festival you like, you click "qualify" and see if your form jives with that festival's submission form.   You make whatever adjustments you need to make, then click "submit" and it's done.  No making umpteen copies of your film,  no writing umpteen descriptions of you film.

Done!

Kit and Gerry Laybourne's Groovy Pad

Gerry and Kit Laybourne.
photo by Christopher Wahl for Dwell Magazine.

I was looking through the latest issue of the magazine Dwell: At Home in the Modern World checking out some of the ultra hip homes. I started reading the cover story about  a modern apartment in the Chelsea district.  It's owners are Kit and Geraldine Laybourne.

Wha?

Kit Laybourne,  author of The Animation Book, the book I devoured as a teenager, the book which fueled my desire to become an animator, and his wife Gerry, the brilliant executive (seriously) who put Nickelodeon on the map, have a place so stylish, it made the cover of a magazine dedicated to modern style.

What Is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?

What Is Wrong With The Global Development Organisation?  is a short film project executed by a group of my students, mostly at Bucks New University (my day job), but also including talent from my online school, www.animationapprentice.org.

The film was a private commission from an individual who experiences day to day the problems set out in the film, and who wanted to find a way of expressing those problems in a way that would be fun and entertaining - but with a serious message. She wants to remain anonymous because, as she put it, "if you win an Oscar I will get fired".

Rob 'n' Ron - an excellent short film from Denmark

 

Tumblehead Animation is one of a number of small studios that have grown up around the hub of the excellent Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. Founded by Magnus Moller and Peter Smith, Tumblehead have completed a series of stylishly designed and superbly executed short film projects, proving that when it comes to animation production, small can be beautiful. Below is their latest short film: Rob 'n' Ron, just completed.


Rob 'n' Ron from Tumblehead on Vimeo.

(Editor's Note: for more about Tumblehead animation, read our interview with studio co-founder Magnus Moller, and check out their excellent short film The Story of Animation, a clever and funny explanation of the animation process from concept to completion.

---Alex

Brenda Chapman Speaks at the United Nations

Brenda Chapman....she who laughs last....

On Monday, director Brenda Chapman spoke at the United Nations as part of a TEDx event BRAVE: United in Action.  What's TEDx?  According to their site, "TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring individuals together to share in the spirit of TED’s mission, 'Ideas Worth Spreading.' Our event is called TEDxUNPlaza, where x = (independently organized TED event)."

Brenda took some time out after the event to tell FLIP about it.

Remembering Roy Disney - Dave Bossert talks about his just-published biography

Dave Bossert, Producer, Creative Director and Head of Special Projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios, has just published a new book on Roy E. Disney, nephew of Walt and for decades a champion of animation at the Disney Studio. Roy is widely regarded as the man who saved the animation division at Disney from closure, following the box office disaster of Black Cauldron and the Eisner/Katzenberg takeover in the 1980s. We asked Dave to tell us about his new book.

The Best Fast Food Ad Ever

It's being called the best fast food advert ever made. Chipotle have made a sweet, funny and charming ad for their product - without ever mentioning the product itself. Instead they have commissioned an adorable short film in praise of sustainable farming.

Enjoy!

---Alex

The Return of Jamie Baker

Jamie Baker's latest.

Back in May, FLIP told you about James "Jamie" Baker's struggles to recover after suffering a massive stroke in December.  And while he is still physically recovering, there is some very good news.   Jamie has started blogging - and drawing - again.  

"Into The Animation Factory" needs your help!

Into the Animation Factory - Dave Tart's new film

Calling all Animators, Artists, and VFX Industry professionals! Pixar animator, director and all-round animation supremo Dave Tart is gearing up for a short film project titled "Into the Animation Factory"... and he needs your help!  Since one of the film's primary aims is to educate clients and audiences about the state of the industry, he needs to gather some facts. Which is where you come in.

A Tom Sito sighting in NYC - Monday, September 16 at 7:00pm

Tom Sito's latest book

On Monday, September 16 at 7:00pm Tom Sito, author of Moving Innovation: The History of Computer Animation (and friend of FLIP), will be at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, NYC.

Tom will be "telling stories, spinning yarns about CGI and signing a book or two". He also adds that "some NY CG legends have promised to come too" - although their identities remain undisclosed. The evening is free and open to anyone to attend.

An Artist in the Producer's Chair ....Wha?

Shannon Shea has made his career of the past thirty years doing make-up effects on films such as Predator, Terminator 2 , Jurassic Park,  Drag Me to Hell, and Men in Black 3.  He has had plenty of experience in dealing with producers, and now he steps into their shoes with the film Scream at the Devil.  He talked to FLIP about his experience in the producer's chair. 

FLIP: What made you want to take the leap into producing?

Shannon: Actually, it was kind of a mistake.  In an effort to save my dwindling health care through Screen Actor's Guild,  I decided I would start auditioning for acting roles (my primary performance through SAG was puppeteering).  So, I received a notice for a film that was shooting in Los Angeles, I met with the director and, as most people do in tinsel town these days, he "IMDB'ed" me.  When he saw my credits he asked if I would come on board as a VFX supervisor rather than an actor (promising me more money than if I acted for a day or two).  I liked him and agreed under one condition: I would be a VFX PRODUCER, not supervisor.

Endtrip from Holland

Endtrip is the work three graduate students from University of the Arts Utrecht (HKU), Koen de Mol, Olivier Ballast, and Rick Franssen. It is freaking amazing.

Endtrip from Endtrip on Vimeo.

The flimmakers describe Endtrip as "an animated short film in which we experience a breathtaking trip through the bizarre and fantastical unconsciousness of a drug overdosed girl. This visually stunning journey offers a stereoscopic 3D glimpse into the extraordinary and strange workings of the mind. Reality and fantasy become intertwined into a dream where nothing is as it seems and we can only expect the unexpected."

Animation Apprentice - Under Attack!

There be monsters

Last night my website at www.animationapprentice.org started acting weirdly, and today it went down completely. Since I am running an online school, this obviously isn't great news for the students, or for the business in general. Somewhat surprised by this (it has never happened before), I rang my web guru, who built the site, and who manages the servers. This is what he told me: "We are under attack".

Mr. Future, At Last We Meet

I told you about my new short, Chief Your Butt's on Fire last week, and how it took thirteen years to complete.  My last shorts, The Indescribable Nth and Fractured Fairy Tales: The Phox, the Box and the Lox, were both completed in 1999 - that's right, the 20th century.

Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century, the year to which Marty McFly time travels in Back to the Future, and don't you know - it really IS the future.   When my wife looked into film festival submissions, film was not an option for many of them.  They wanted something called a DCP - Digital Cinema Package.  Why?  BECAUSE IT"S THE FUTURE!

My new "film". 

Bill Mumy, Jeff Etter, and Thrill-O-Rama

After years of working in animation, Kevin Davis opted to go to film school at UCLA.   He tells FLIP about how he came to create videos with the unlikely pairing of Bill Mumy - yes THAT Bill Mumy - and one of the most outrageously funny animators you will meet, Jeff Etter.  

by Kevin Davis

Thrill-o-rama Films all started when I was attempting to complete my UCLA thesis film, Of Robots and Rednecks.  I was inspired by Professor Bill Barminski's After Effects class.  He had just completed a set of very creative music videos for Death Cab for Cutie, and I was impressed with what you could devise and complete with a very small production crew and an even smaller budget.  In After Effects you could pull off an infinite variety of funky camera moves and effects that, back in the MTV heyday of 80's music videos, would have been next to impossible to pull off.

At about the same time, Actor / Musician Bill Mumy had seen an Of Robot and Rednecks preview on YouTube, and liked it.  He later told me to that it was, "Twilight Zoney", which made my day.  He then asked me if I would like to do a music video for his upcoming CD, Until the Big Bang Whimpers. His timing couldn't be more horrible, due to my deadline for my thesis film, but I couldn't turn down a chance to work with one of my childhood heros.

Gary Conrad, Debi Derryberry, and a Talking Banana

Gary Conrad is a 30-year industry veteran and the Emmy and Annie Award nominated director of  The Fairly Odd Parents.  He recently completed his side project - a documentary called Debi Derryberry: Cheery and Fun and talked to FLIP about his film.

FLIP: What drove you to make Cheery and Fun? 

Gary: Growing up in Kentucky, I made one Super 8 movie after another and loved it.  Since graduating CalArts in 1984, I've been lucky to make my living in the animation business, but I've continued to make short films on the side, purely for the fun of it.  A few years back, a short documentary I made about a toy collector in Torrance, California was selected to screen in a couple of film festivals, which was a kick.

For my next project I decided I would write a narrative film.  I was trying to come up with an interesting character and unusual story.  I was feeling stuck.  Then I saw a Baby Banana singing with his Mama Duck and Daddy Gorilla accompanied on a pink guitar by a four foot ten cartoon star named Debi Derryberry in pursuit of fame and fortune.  Uh, I no longer felt I needed to make anything up.

Remembering EPCOT's Cranium Command - Both Versions

There are some great posts on The Disney Project blog about Jerry Rees'  work for Disney Imagineering, including EPCOT's Cranium Command, where you go inside the mind of a boy as he goes about his school day in real time.  An animatronic figure interacts with characters representing different parts of the body, which constantly react to what is being seen through the boy's eyes.  It was an extremely complex show, logistically.

Like many of Jerry's jobs for Imagineering, Cranium Command was a rescue mission.  As The Disney Project blog puts it, "The project, already halfway through production at Colossal Pictures, was unanimously loathed by everyone at Disney. Jerry was tasked with reviewing the project, assessing its weaknesses, and fixing them."

I, personally, have the unique distinction of being the only animator to have worked on both versions of this show.  In January of 1989, Colossal Pictures producer Heather Selick hired Vince Davis and me as sort of animators-in-residence at their San Francisco studio.  She put us up in apartments on Union St in North Beach, just below the Coit Tower and just two uphill blocks from an area full of blues bars, cafes, Italian restaurants, City Lights Bookstore, and  really old strip clubs with creepy guys in big suits trying to get passersby to go in.  Far out!

Chief, Your Butt's on Fire

Trailer for "Chief, Your Butt's on Fire" from Steve Moore on Vimeo.

I am pleased to announce the completion of my brand new short, Chief, Your Butt's on Fire.  I decided to make it the old fashioned way, fully animating the whole thing myself, by hand, like in my student days.  The only concession to technology would be scanning the drawings, and painting and compositing digitally.  It took 13 years to do.

Tom Joad: Animator

Regular readers know that sometimes I have to disguise my true stories because the people involved are still around, and, like me, still working.  Usher House Studios is no particular studio, an amalgam of them all.  Toddy Totsworthy is no particular production manager, but a Mrs. Potato Head arranged to meet the story's needs.  That said.....

"Your footage count is flat-lining!  And what we're getting is pretty limited.  I mean, your animation.... it's cute.  It's nice.  There's a lot of people trying to work here, y'know, and the guys upstairs, they look at the numbers.  Spreadsheets. And how can we get more for our money.  I've got guys doing twenty feet a week and you're averaging less than one! "

This long, lumpy shit curl was served up hot for me by good old Jennifer "Toddy" Totsworthy, the production manager at Usher House Studios. I had it coming to me. How dare I ask for my first raise in my five years?  It was 2001, and I was lucky to be working, period. When Disney dumped their 2d "team",  there was a glut of A-list talent floating around looking for work.  People were losing there homes, and in a few heartbreaking instances, some committed suicide.  The production heads knew the score and offered no compassion,  lording it over us like we were migrant workers in The  Grapes of Wrath.  To them, hiring an animator was like hiring someone to pick grapes, any warm body will do.  And what you picked in the past was irrelevant.

Independent Producer Max Howard reveals the secrets of producing independent animated films

Max Howard

Animation producer Max Howard began his career in animation working on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", after which he joined Disney in Florida to set up their fledging Orlando studio. Since then he has worked for many of the biggest animation studios, and for the past decade has forged a career as an independent producer, as well as consulting for the animation industry and giving lectures and workshops all around the world. FLIP asked him to talk about what it takes to produce an independent animated film.

It's Official - Art Story is the First Animated Feature Film to be Funded at Kickstarter....

Art Story, the independent animated film directed by Aaron Blaise and Produced by Chuck Williams. is officially the first animated feature film to be funded at Kickstarter.

Chuck and Aaron have raised $365,000, enough to start work on their film - a hugely impressive start. Their goal was $350,000 and they have comfortably exceeeded that sum.

Revealing The Hidden Story Behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Ross Anderson is a writer and journalist who is currently working on telling the definitive story of the making of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - the pioneering film that is 25 years old this year. FLIP asked him a few questions about his new book, and also about how Rabbit fans and alumni can get involved with the project, and help Ross to tell the complete story of this modern animation masterpiece.

Charlie Chaplin has Left Leicester Square

by Jane Wright

Jane (Smethurst) Wright did traditional, hand drawn special effects back in the 1990's on features like Prince of Egypt and The Thief and the Cobbler.  She wrote to FLIP with a story of obsolescence that any old school animator can relate to, and maybe get a chill from....

Last weekend I made my way to Leicester Square for the sole purpose of taking a photograph of London’s much-loved Charlie Chaplin statue. Not being a tourist I hadn’t been there for ages; even so, looking around I wondered if I’d entered a time warp and stumbled onto the set of It's a Wonderful Life and into Pottersville by mistake. I was dismayed at the soulless place I now found myself in. Worse still, Charlie had gone.