An Inspiring Warning

This was already posted on Cartoon Brew, but I found it very inspiring.

The Revolution Will Be Animated from Marine Lormant Sebag on Vimeo.

It is a short documentary by Marine Lormant Sebag about Nina Paley's struggles and resolution with copyright. For those who don't know, Nina Paley's feature film, Sita Sings the Blues, is a marvelous undertaking, which she produced and funded all on her own. The rest is explained in the clip, but it is an interesting insight into how indie filmmakers like Paley and Bill Plympton make their living, and the confines one could face from a business perspective. There is a lot to be aware of here. I'm not sure what Paley was thinking from the very beginning. As a devoted music fan, I am aware of the dangers of using copyrighted music against my own art. While some big distributors are able to secure the rights to some music, it is difficult with indie filmmakers searching for distribution. Clearing the rights to just two songs could consume half your budget.

Just something to be clear on. I don't know if this would be harder, but I would much rather collaborate with a famous songwriter or composer, than borrow a famous song. It may sound like a pipe dream, but it also sounds a hell of a lot more logical.

Sleep, Movies and Persepolis

This is a late post, and its not even the post I wanted to make. But my schedule is reaching that point. The point where I am working on my film into the early morning hours, and my sleep patterns get all screwed up. I originally wanted to do a post on Chuck Jones, but I didn't have enough time to put all the images together. So for now, I am throwing this together.


Amid Amidi, Cartoon Brew's other half and (now) New York commentator, posted something on Cartoon Brew last week that really excited me. It was an article written by David Levy for the ASIFA-East newsletter, about the rise of independent animated features coming from New York. Music to my ears. With Persepolis getting lots of attention, I side with Mr. Levy in seeing this as a sign of an on-coming revolution. An evolution in animated features. I suggest you read it.

Among the filmmakers mentioned are Michael Sporn, Bill Plympton, Nina Paley, Paul Fierlinger, and Dan Kanemoto. I am suprised Amid neglected to mention Pat Smith, as Pat is working on a feature of his own at the moment.


I visited Michael Sporn's studio months ago with a class. There, he informed us of a feature he was working on, based on Edgar Allen Poe. I hope it goes well, because as Sporn's style has evolved over the years, its got the potential to hold an audience's attention for more than an hour. And I think his style is a relaxing place to go to.



Nina Paley and Paul Fierlinger also have interesting films coming along. Nina Paley has a style that is quite charming and embracing, so I am very curious to see the very personal Sita Sings the Blues. And Paul Fierlinger managed to snag some top-notch British actors for his film about a man's relationship with his dog. Very impressive.


Bill Plympton has been making his own features for years. They have been quite rocky for him, however, as they seem to go in limbo when released, and never make much money. The image above is a feature he did four years ago, Hair High, which I saw and believe to be his best feature. His most recent feature, Idiots and Angels, might be a little more effort in embracing it. Still, its nice to have something different, and after hearing Mr. Plympton talk about it with us, its clear that he is thinking more like a filmmaker than an animator now.


In the midst of my depressing schedule, I managed to go see Persepolis. I saw it early at the Ottawa Festival back in September. It is truly unlike any other feature out there. Even though its directly based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel, its still refreshing to see an animated feature today that is black/white and introspective. It is a deeply moving and emotion story, with moments of wonderful humor. I know some animators have complained about the style of it. But the style makes the movie work, and its probably one of the more complete features of the last ten years.




The start of a revolution? I absolutely hope so.

The Animation Show ~ Year 3

I have just returned with some friends (mostly the Pratt Key-Frame Club) from the New York screening of the ANIMATION SHOW. For those who don’t know what this is, it is a touring collection of international animated short films (hope you can take all that in). The founders of the tour are independent animator Don Hertzfeldt, and Mike Judge, the creator of BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD and KING OF THE HILL. Though neither were in attendance, the show did have two of the featured animators, Bill Plympton (GUIDE DOG) and PES (GAME OVER).

Below are my write-ups for most of the films. These are still fresh in my head, but my opinion is likely to change over time.

(Images are from the ANIMATION SHOW website: http://www.animationshow.com/)
you can also view clips of the films there as well.


EVERYTHING WILL BE OK
Don Hertzfeldt’s films are amazing. Underneath the stick figures and pencil squiggles, his films are blessed with wonderful yet dark humor, priceless expressions, and a keen sense of surrealism. But this film takes all those elements to a whole new level. It tells of a lonely man who becomes ill, and all the confusion as to whether or not this is the end of his as he sadly knows it. In all the confusion, the film takes on a dark, almost psychotic undertone, in which the sound effects are deliberately louder than the voice over narration (brilliant!). A new level of sophistication on Hertzfeldt’s part. Truly one of my favorite filmmakers.

9
Director Shane Acker’s 9 is not new to me, but that does not mean I didn’t enjoy seeing it again. The first time I saw this was with my Dad at a screening for Academy Award nominated short films, and we were both blown away. This eleven-minute beauty takes us to a dark, dusty world with cute little men made of potato sacks and magnifying gear. The animation is as expressive as anything else done in the world of CG (and for me, it is always about expression). A truly remarkable piece, currently being turned into a feature with the help of my idol, Tim Burton.



OVERTIME
The first time I saw this was here at Pratt when they were screening stuff from the Ottawa Animation Festival of 2005. It immediately grabbed my attention, and it still holds it. For one thing, it was the first CG film I had ever seen to be done completely in black and white. And the story was both inventive and touching. It tells of a group of sock puppets who come to life to mourn the loss of their maker. Now that is my kind of story. One with humor, expression, and real emotion.



DREAMS AND DESIRES
In a single word: genius. British animator Joanna Quinn is one of my all time favorite animators, as well as one of my favorite all around artists. Her animated shorts are golden. This film shows her reaching a whole new level of sophistication in both plot and execution. With traditional drawn animation and computer assistance, she crafts a film that is mostly taking place from the viewpoint of a moving video camera. And the story is one of pure British charm (which I admire very much); telling of a woman who tries out her film making aspirations at a friend’s wedding, only to cause a shambles for the already dysfunctional family and wedding guests.
On a personal note, I am disgusted that this did not get recognized for this year’s Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Animated). Just goes to show how low these awards get.



GUIDE DOG
Bill Plympton currently holds the titles of the most successful independent animator, and the godfather of New York independent animation. This is definitely one of his best films, mainly because of his appealing little dog character. According to Plympton, this dog has become his own “Mickey Mouse,” which I sort of agree with. I find the little fellow to be very appealing and, out of all Plympton’s characters, the one easiest to connect with. I enjoy watching it, especially in Plympton’s trademark style of coloring and animating.

GAME OVER
New York animator PES is definitely an unusual talent. One whose talent is based off of his offbeat yet highly inventive way of animating food and assorted house hold items. Here, he inventively uses them to perform an old 1980’s style video game, famously known as Pac Man. I can’t really say anything else about this film, except that I love being amused by which food/objects play what.

RABBIT
I am not particularly fond of this film. On a technical level, the rendering is nice, and the concept is interesting. But overall, I found myself unable to connect with it. It was just too flat for my tastes, and personally, I don’t enjoy seeing children murdering innocent animals. That just doesn’t sit well with me.

CITY PARADISE
Although I found this to be much more appealing than RABBIT, I have some difficulty with this film. I don’t quite understand what is going on in parts of it, and I find my attention drawn in too many different places. Something about the coloring didn’t feel right to me in certain areas. I loved the animated leg movements though. Those were nice.


Me with most of our group outside the Roseland Ballroom.