Animation Block Party, Part I

The last couple days have been pretty crazy for me. My sleep patterns are all screwed up because of the last two nights.



Currently, I am in the middle of the Animation Block Party, which lasts four nights this year (last year, it was only three). My film, Ivan's Act, made it into the first night’s screening, which is pretty exciting for me. It marks the first time my film has been accepted by someone else into a screening. An even bigger surprise was that Friday night’s program booklet used a picture from Ivan’s Act for its cover.




Friday night’s screening took place outdoors (it was originally supposed to take place on a rooftop, as part of Rooftop Films). Most of the work was alright, not a lot of memorable work. Bill Plympton’s Shut-Eye Hotel was by far the most professional film of the night, although I don’t think its one of his best. Ivan’s Act played to what I felt was a daft response, possibly because its not as crass as most of the other work. Casey Safron, one of the head curators of the ABP, assured me that Ivan had a good reaction, so I shouldn’t be too dissuaded. It doesn’t bother me too much, as I have learned a great deal more since making it.

The Saturday night screening took place at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater in Lower Manhattan. With a shorter program, I found some of the work to be much more interesting than the previous night’s. There were at least four films that I found very accessible, one in particular was a Zoo comedy, which had a remarkable design reminiscent of 1950’s design (which I am currently fascinated with). I will write up another entry on the last two nights. The last night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music usually has the best work.

In the meantime, I have done some pastel art for my thesis. I am planning out the coloring of the film, while at the same time trying to design some new characters. Designing characters is rather frustrating for me, especially since I don’t have the whole story figured out (I have the plot figured out, but not the total story). It takes a while before I figure out how to make character movable (one of my Achilles heels).







I will be spending the rest of the summer doing pre-production artwork, while trying my best to figure out the story. Andy London has been very helpful with me in that area.



Stay tuned for Animation Block Party, part II.