A is for...

ANIMATION BLAST 9! This is for anyone out there that doesn't know about or just woke up from some deep hibernation or the icecaps melted to expose a new intelligable life form to the Darwinian proof of highly evolved animation magazine. Amid Amidi has been dragging his knuckles on this one for awhile now but it will finally stand tall this month to the chagrin of the Neanderthalic stone and chisel reporting news of some myopic organizations. So preview and then throw away that so called magazine of intelligent design and see who the Creator(s) really are!!! A stands for Annecy too. And Amid Amidi will also be the abomidable reporter from zee Amazing festival via the Cartoon Brew. Ack too many A's, eh! So while this bunny is getting over the passing of his kitty put on that beret and drink some whine cuz I wanna be in France. Bring back a t-shirt for me Amid:)

Sonic Sunday: Tanya Tagaq

Since the cobwebs have overtaken the light coming in from the Rose window of Sunday Inspiration, I have decided to stick the electrodes back into the specimen to hear the spasms that lie within. A couple of months ago I was driving home when I was overtaken by the sounds of Tanya Tagaq performing with Kronos Quartet. Night had taken over but the colours of the percussive voice of Tanya mixed with the Titan power of Kronos (quartet) illuminated the slow descent down the throat as I was consumed by the sound. The playful interaction of the throat singing and the instrumentation was almost primal in nature and drove me closer to the center of something inately familiar. It was of course something that I had heard before and later realized that Tanya has collaberated with that otherwordly nymph, Bjork. I had picked up the soundtrack to Drawing Restraint 9 and Tanya performs on one of the tracks on it. (Aside) ironically, Matthew Barney is someone I have been meaning to feature on Sunday Inspirtation...go here to see the trailer. The mesmerizing voice of Tanya certainly matches with the texturally rich imagery of Matthew Barney. Expand the mind and unnaturally splay open the throat to the earthy sounds of Tanya Tagaq!! Now if only they would release the performance with Kronos Quartet. Check out her MySpace audio stuff. Sonic headtuning!

Joseph Feltus

Today we fire up the giant hot air bunny balloon head and take it high up where the lack of oxygen makes us giddy! Joseph Feltus along with brother Tobias hover in the stratosphere of emptiness and regret with their latest offering Solo Duets! Beautiful puppet animation that delves into memory, reflection and longing. I would love to see this in it's entirety but we are just given a teaser and plentiful pre/production photos to give us enough air to want more. Definately, these two float between the realm of art and animation and their creative voice shines through on this graduate film from the Edinburgh College of Art. Also, check out Joseph's other films on his site and the italian duos siamese hybrid connection of FeltusFeltus.
So take another gasp and fly high on this flashback of broken dreams. Munchies optional.
(Aside) sort of looks like the Brothers Quay when they are old and retired.

Fimfárum 2

I have no idea what this film is about but I know I like it! Crazy puppet animation that looks like Rankin and Bass on crystal meth! What is it you say? Why it is Fimfarum 2 done by Jan Balej, Vlasta Pospíilová, Betislav Pojar and Aurel Klimt and it took Best Feature Length film at Anifest. Go and explore this world of big teeth, little tom and hunchbacks! Pull the string and chuckle til you run out of cord.

Regina Pessoa

Well, may a horse kick me up the arse and lodge a horseshoe up there as maybe that would give me some luck. My bleedin' computer is acting up again and that is why there has been sparse leaves to chew on from the bigheaded bunny patch. So this is just a quick post before radiation treatment on the hard drive. Maybe there will be a happy ending to this if you watch Regina Pessoa's short! Tragic Story with a Happy Ending can be seen on Arte France and received a Special Jury prize @ this year's ANIFEST! I haven't experienced the short with sound but the film itself gouges into visual terrain. The style magnifies the tragedy while Regina's design and camera moves us through the grain of the story to come out on the mossy side of the tree. Enjoy. I will have more from the Anifest when I have excavated the downfall of my civilization. Trojan horse fugged again!

Out of Picture

A book that I am looking forward to crack the spine on is Out of Picture! It is a veritable chiropractic exercise of comix creation by artists that met at BlueSky Studios. I normally shy away from the big animation house production but I get tied into knots when I see the personal expression of these unsung animators get printed onto page. Monkeysuit is the first book of this type that I wrestled with. They have soothed readers to the Nazi pain buster of Rex Steele and rubber-armed them to the stylings of Enrico Casarosa's Mia. They too are also having a lauch party @ Mocca, the place to be! Also, E-ville press's Afterworks is another neck-cracker (I said neck!) of a book to check out as they are on their second volume. So, man handle your way to Mocca and message the egos of these fine manipulators of pens and pencils. Just don't forget to breathe.

Guilherme Marcondes Part Grrrr!

Early this morning I believed I awoke to haphazardly check my email only to find a nice notice by Guilherme Marcondes alerting me to his newest animation burning bright on the screen. "Tyger" is an urban jungle romp through the hyghways and byways of Sao Paulo using a clever use of photography, puppets and animation. In a semi-awakened state I half dreamt this beautiful short that shows the ferocious leaps and bounds that Guilherme's talent has improved to tackle this project. The black and white characters that transform into various creatures in the wake of the Tyger was designed by Samuel Casal (great stuff) and the animation was done by Birdo Studios. The amazing puppet of the Tyger was made by João Grembecki and I love the fact the puppeteers were included like ninjas that stalked the city manipulating the predator and giving it life. The city (like Detroit) is reclaimed to nature with every passing stride and we become the prey in the shadow of this luminous beast. As I have said before, the oven of Brazillian animation, like this one, is on red hot and searing itself to the flesh of this innovative digital body of work that has become it's feeding ground. Thanx Guilherme!

Princess

One more slice of the knife and the post-mortem on this cadavre will bring us right up to speed on all things cool. Twitch films puts the chalk marks around Anders Morgenthaler's feature film debut Princess! Here is the synopsis:

The story of August who loses his beloved sister Christina, a former porn star known as The Princess. He adopts Christina's five-year-old daughter Mia. Weighed down by grief and guilt, August breaks down and with Mia in tow, he embarks on a mission of vengeance to erase Christina's pornographic legacy.

It looks sort of like 'The Professional' meets the Movie Channel at midnight. There is an Adult Accompany rating to go here to see the trailor. Leave it to the Danes to manage to pull off a Manga inspired porn action thriller at Cannes. I am sure zee Inspector will luv eet! Now I am caught up and will open the mouth wider to dig at the morsels that I have found lately. Starting tomorrow.

Stephane Ricard and Book of Numbers

Leave it to Fous d'Anim to get the gerbil back on the wheel and spinning convulsively. Stephane Ricard is a new specimen for me to stuff in the jar and label "genus absurdis". For it is on the shelf of dada and surrealism that his animation is set. Tonight when you sleep go and visit his site and let the giant granules of sand lodge themselves in the corners of your eyes.
Also, just a fun Gilliam-esque site is The Book of Numbers. This is done by the dynamic polish duo of Artur Stefanski and Kasia Michalska, a.k.a. Bubblynumbers. Flip the pages on this animated collage fest o' fun while carelessly wasting "the Man's" time and pretending to work on that final report about bottom line profits and other signs of the Apocalypse.

Badgered and Peurs du Noir

This is some loose hair ends that I have been meaning to put up in an excruciatingly tight pig-tail...
Badgered is a nice animated short done by Sharon Colman . Lots of cool sites have already posted about this Oscar nominated short, but, I just wanted to put this up for all the students that are finishing up their first or second year to show this simple but effective film. It is also nice to have Daniel Greaves as your mentor too! Enjoy.

Okay, another film that has lurked around that is of special interest to me as it crosses both the comix and animation boundaries is Peur(s) du noir. There is now a nice teaser on the site that gives us more of an illumination of this impesta nocte (dead of the night) film. I hop around like a drunk bunny with a small bladder when thinking of this film. With the likes of Blutch, Charles Burns, Lorenzo Mattotti, Dupuy and Berberian contributing to this film how could you not want to wet the bed just like when you were a kid and afraid of the dark. Too bad I'll have to fly to France to see it. Tabernack!

First Second

Okay, let's get the M.R.I. fired back up to look past the nasty parasitic souvenirs I brought back from Havana and slice up the sequential layers of the churning publishing belly of First Second. A great new haven for parasites and comic geeks alike as their catalogue is a veritable tropical breeding ground of the W.H.O.'s who of visual plagues. From the virulent European strain of Lewis Trondheim, Joann Sfar and J.P. Stassen to the Asian variety of Lat, First Second has it all. The best is their blog that features guest artists such as Eddie Campbell and Grady Klein sharing drawings and page previews. Shake and stir this new cocktail strain and become infected with the new world fever.
UPDATE: I just noticed that most excellent specialist of everything cool, Chris Butcher, beat me to the radioactive punch...so go here for his review of Trondheim's A.L.I.E.E.E.N.!!

Jeana Sohn

Another artist that caught my eye as I was wrestling with the Giant Robot whilst sipping my latte is Jeana Sohn. Seeing her work reminded me of Genevieve Castree's (see post below). Neutral backgrounds with the figure entangled in the detail of nature. Jeana's world is more graphic (almost cut-out) than Genevieve's but the scenes and subject matter are very close to one another. Put the two under the microscope to see the creepy similarities. Forboding goodness for everyone.

One man's JUNC is another man's muse

On sifting through the internet space garbage I came upon this morsel from JUNC gallery...
Genevieve Castree and Allison Cole. I first wrote about Genevieve in my first few experimental inquiries here and have been making charts on her rise in the field of comics since. Her drawings have become more detailed, isolated vignettes of dark matter wrapped in warm wool clothing. Uncomfortably silent (wordless) and thought provoking. Genevieve's drawings are then contrasted nicely to the cutout style of Allison Cole. Bright colouring book pictures belie the seven deadly sins that are captured in this series. Allison's work masks the human condition of lust and greed under a rosy pane of glass while playfully waiting for the ball to break it into the shards that lie within. So go and check out this Junc and deviate from the norm. Be sure to look at Genevieve's art (one shown above on my wishlist) @ the Beguiling. Also, while you are there you can view Jordan Crane's exhibit, who is an undying stalwart of indie comix. Drain the red ink out the viens and become one of his minions.

An Tain

Well, it has been a slow circle chase of the tail to get comfortable again in my virtual cage. But, here is something that has dilated my pupils and got the foam to the mouth again...An Tain! Me sheep lovin' mate at Cartoon Saloon, Barry Reynolds, has finally got something for me to show the rest of the class (and not just a rash either). He sent me the pencil sketches for An Tain awhile ago and they looked smash up but now with the added colour by Adrien Merigeau and words by Colmán Ó Raghallaigh it all makes sense now...if ya can read Oirish!
Anyway, go and check out this graphic novel and buy it just for the crackin' art but don't tell Barry that as his heead is big (hydrocephalic) enough. Oh and visit Tomm' blog, The Blog of Kells, to keep up with the round of pints of production of the Saloon's feature film. Snap Craic'in Poop.

Back from Holidays

Hola! I am back from a well needed vacay away from everything. And boy, did I find that in Havana. Beautiful decay sums up our expedition into the belly of the whale, where rum is cheap and smoke belches out like a green cigar. I am just trying to settle back in and digest the adventure and will resume the regularly scheduled menu of tropical fruits and rants shortly. So sit down and suck back a mojito as the heat lamp goes up to feral on the HB channel and Hemmingway does belly flops in the cranial pool.

Benji Davies with bonus rant

Here is a quick snatch from the babies carriage, The Grotlyn by Benji Davies. I know I have been on a British tea and crumpets kick lately but they have such great on-line access and support of their animators. Mind you that the funding for animation isn't what it used to be in the U.K. but it seems though they have kept the foot on the ball and continued with co-op schemes such as Animators in Residence. This is how the Grotlyn got made with the partnership of StudioAKA and A.I.R. which is sponsored by the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television and Channel 4. (Aside) you can see former A.I.R animator Ali Taylor's short, Puleng, in the Super Short Festival posting below. These types of partnerships should be something the CBC and the NFB should be looking at to emulate and support the growing Canadian animation talent stuck in limbo. I realize that they have that Maple Shorts thing and the Hothouse scheme respectively but the results of both of these have been colder than winters of my youth. It is time we really address the issue of jobs, support and independent distribution here that can meet the needs of the talent we have cultivated for the last 20 years. I know there are groups like the Quickdraw Animation Society, studios like Global Mechanic and media exposure and support through BRAVO! but the fact of the matter is that it stills falls too short. Rant rant rant...anyway, I will stop for now because the issue is too big to address on this blog format of mine. Damn, I need a vacay...oh yeah I am going on one. Viva Habana! Don't worry it is nothing a Mojito can't help with:)

Cath Elliott

Even though I haven't been posting that much the last couple of weeks, I have been looking at alot of animation on the net. Festivals are in full burning steam ahead in the eyes as you try and make it through the marathon screening crawl. From Annecy to Zagreb the picks are in and out for an eye orgy of independent sweat and creative juice flow. I know this blog is like that annoying flickering hair at the top corner of the film screen but if you have gone to a fest and have some highlights that you want to share, please feel free to give me a hoot and howler. So, here is me hoot and howler of someone's work I saw at a festival a few years back and have happily tripped on the murder weapon to land at the scene of the crime. Cath Elliott has been a suspect on the festival scene since graduating from the RCA and setting up her own company, Little Giant Pictures. I saw her film, Scientification, which you can view on her site along with many others. I stumbled onto another of her films, Inside Out, @ the Super Shorts Film Festival. There on the festival site you can watch a multitude of animated films, go here and choose animation category. There are too many bodies to i.d. but my highlights are Siri Melchior, Max Hattler, Marc Craste, Richard James, Ali Taylor and Ignacio Ferreras!!! Before you do that be sure to also check out Cath's illustrations, still wet from her blood tipped pen. I really like her scratch of the tooth and nail explorations of her films. Now, go and line up against the wall and hold the stuttering numbers in front of you and smile for the camera. I know your gonna be all over this one Ben!

Cordell Barker

Well, since I have already snitted about Richard Condie , we might as well let the whole bogie out of the nasal passage and throw in the cat. Cordell Barker was another integral fly in the ointment of the Manitoba NFB animation spray-unit. His great interpretation of the Harry S. Miller song, The Cat Came Back (via YouTube), was both an instant classic and an Oscar nominee in 1989. With the success of this film Cordell shifted into the commercial realm but in 2001 he proved to still be coming back around with Strange Invaders, garnering him another Oscar nod. View a clip of it here. Although, Cordell's style bears a strong handed influence from Richard Condie and even Paul Driesen, the humour is all his own! You can let loose the Dogs of War but the Cat will always wear them down in the End!
(thanx Alambique)

Gaelle Denis

One director/animator that I have failed to mention thus far is Gaelle Denis. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Art (UK) and her film City Paradise, her first professional film, has been winning festivals all over the world. It is a nice mix of live action and digital fx to create a world in between the rain. She tells a story of awkward discovery into a secret world below the cloud laden metropolis of London. Gaelle was part of Ars Electronica last year and you can view via webcast in Forum III her talk that she gave there. Too bad my brain is still lethargic from all the food and chocolate from the weekend to really give Gaelle the write up she deserves. A delicious film full of feature length potential and I look forward to her next project. I am wishing that I could go to Annecy this year but I think the only way I will be able to is to smack my head whilst going swimming. Who knows maybe I'll learn french in the process.

David Lea

Z'ho me lil' starlings! Stab your sharp beaks into the flesh of this music video by David Lea, Heartstopper for Emiliana Torrini. Take the strips of loss and despair and build a nest by the seaside so you can watch the delicious puppet animation. David Lea is a director for Passion Pictures, which is a British production cave inhabited by a clan of hunter-gatherer type of animators that re-invent the wheel of 24fps. He has done music videos for Radiohead and the Offspring as well as adverts for Greenpeace. You can watch the Heartstopper video and his other works by navigating the Passion Pictures site...Animation: Directors: David Lea. Also, check out this early video, Shadow Teaser and I think he also worked on the cool Demestos ad (via boards). So peck away until only the bones are left.
And I would like to say Happy B-day to the Monkeyboy. Arse, feck, drink and grrls! Here's to despair.

There is HELLP! right in your BackPocket

Speaking of damned souls in the maw of hell...here is a nice lil' CG short about a demon trying to cool off in the thermal nether regions. Hellp! is a product of the Vinton Studio scheme, Project:Backpocket, for a team of students to create (like Gods) there very own world from start to 'Ragnorok' ending. In this Pantheonic case it is Kishore Vijay, Sean Danyi, Ryan Yokley, Jessica Vliet, Andrea Shear, Jesus Chambrot, Benjamin Vu and Josh Parpan. Phew! Hot hot. The opening sequence by Josh Parpan will singe your nether regions with it's beautiful graphic style. Amid is right when he remarks about not worrying about 2D animation when there is people like Josh around. I also like the stylized 3D character design and the Burtonesque feel of this short film. Though the story is not sinful enough for me, it is a great example of this type of production model that should be emulated more here in North America. With free (will) reign and support students learn about the follies of film production under the supervision of the Studio. Let's see if Laika Entertainment will remember it's own footsteps or fall from grace.

Al Columbia

Today, I thought I would share a small bloody morsel of Al Columbia. Al Columbia is one of those artists whose output is relegated to out-patient status but whose influence carries weight behind his scalpel sharp pen. A mix of David Lynch meets the Fleischers describes his dark hybrid world. I found his work in Blab and that cool defunct anthology Zero Zero in which I scoured every cadavre to find every known strip of his work. His comics are like intentially sticking your hand in acid and then finger painting. His Biological Show comic were and still are a huge influence on me. They are still around so you should keep an eye out for them and his graphic novel Doghead. Doghead is a Bill Sienkiewicz inspired piece that shows the influence of Al's mentor but with stories like "I Was Killing When Killing Wasn't Cool" for Zero Zero #4 (via Comics Reporter) you can see his style come into it's own and show the slow unfolding darkness that makes Al one of the best. I don't bemoan his skant output or gnash my teeth for another Biological Show. Just go out and find what you can of his work and hope that he gets over whatever it is that makes that ticking in the head come back and put out another story for us to bury our blood soaked faces in to.

Ottawa International Animation Festival

After dealing with exploding water tanks and herding the hydrocephalic animals back off the ark, we can get back to the more important stuff...cartoons. And what a better way than to end the week in announcing the apocalyptical bed wetting event, the Ottawa International Animation Festival 2006! They are celebrating their 30th anniversary of screening independent celluloid convulsions for our viewing pleasure. This year's OIAF is coming out of the starting blocks faster than damned souls into the maw of hell with the fiendish poster designed by Gary Baseman (above) and the planned retrospectives of Bob Clampett, Bruno Bozzetto, John Straiton, Jeff Scher and Konstantin Bronzit. Also, if you think your short film is sinful enough to make it into this animated orgy of Boschian proportion, than fill out the entry form here ,sacrifice two virgins and call me in the morning.

Kevin Titzer

Here is another cool link sent in by Fishbaitkate! Behold Kevin Titzer!! Very Nice.
Check out his MySpace and his Flickr accounts also. Now, I must go to bed and dream of scary puppets.

Toronto Animated Image Society

Well, I don't know how new their new site is but go and check out the new-to-me TAIS website. I see not only are they sponsoring and giving a workshop for the Steve Woloshen retrospective but they are having Drew Lightfoot give a stop-motion workshop at the end of the month. The TAIS is a very cool non-profit co-op that is starting to become Ontario's answer to the Calgary's Quickdraw Animation Sociey. If you live in the Toronto area I would definately recommend joining the ranks and using the animation facilities that they can provide you. Just for the visiting lecture series alone it is worth the membership. Check out the monthly events and GO!

Steve Woloshen live @ Ontario Cinematheque

This Wednesday, April 5th at the Ontario Cinematheque there will be a retrospective of Steve Woloshen films. Here are a few thoughts about this relatively unknown Canadian animator: Firstly, Steve is a true independent animator as he is one of the few artists that funds his art through his day job. No grants or funding bodies dictate when or where his ideas can be created. With that said, the medium in which he chooses to experiment with is scratch film abstract animation. I can almost hear the groaning. Well, it is almost laughable in Canada at least not to be forced to watch Norman McLaren films ad nauseum like some Clockwork Orange rehab clinic for the narratively depraved. Blinkity Blank becomes Blankity Blank for alot of students! Maybe, this is why Bill Plympton poked fun at abstract animation film at Annecy last year. I dunno. We have to be able to laugh a little at the absurdity in which people view abstract animation. I mean Bill has been riding the same style and humor train for his whole blankity blank career. Rebuttal aside Steve Woloshen along with Richard Reeves, Barbel Neubauer,Stephanie Maxwell and many others are taking scratch film to a new generation of animators. One of the biggest hurdles for abstract animation as Paul Bush (who uses scratch film technique for his film, The Albatross) remarks, is that the images become secondary to the music/soundtrack, i.e. free jazz. I agree with this statement as the music itself is often experimental and therefore another hurdle for the viewer to leap over. This is illustrated by the fact that Steve's latest film Curse of the Voodoo Child was well received at last years OIAF and I think that is part because of the familiarity of the song within pop culture. Juxtapose this with Chris Hinton's, Cnote, as it's energy and exuberance of image in relation to the jazz soundtrack is a two-fold barrier in front of the viewer. By this I DO NOT at all mean to imply Chris's work is subpar but I am just trying to give an access point in which people can see the mark as the MARK. For more, see the Pimp...Scratch here. I have digressed too much here. Go and see Steve Woloshen and his films at the Cinematheque and get synced to the experimental stylings of this cool independent animator.

Something in the Wine Part III

Well this is only my third glass and I am already besotted and waking up like the cheap date I am next to the French animation scene. I mentioned Overtime (Dirs. Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland & Damien Ferrié 2004) before. Now, here it is for you to lament over. Nuff said.
Gimme another Sam!

Frames per Second flips for Phil Mulloy

Let's get caught up on some important things here! First, great stuff at FPS magazine for scoring an interview with Phil Mulloy (he had a retrospective of his work in Quebec and Montreal) and they have broadcasted it on the Podcast speakers for all the students to listen to!!! Also, there is nice video clips to boot. One of Phil's earlier films, Give Us This Day (1982), will be shown at the London Socialist Film Co-op (hey Michael) on April 9th. So if you find yourself wandering the streets of London...do go:) It is great to see another spotlight pointing at this escapee of cinema. Underground animators get so little attention but it looks like this year belongs to Phil as his films are being shown around the world with the recognition that they deserve.

A Big Snit

Lately, I have been feeling a growing numbness with animation. This is about the fourth time I am trying to write this post. I have been struggling to look for the high point words in the line of eeee's before me. It is like I am trying to make some sort of sound that audibly hurts when heard. But unfortunately, I keep on hitting the snooze button too many times.
This enigma when sawed in half is a search for Richard Condie. Despite the shaking of my eyes at the animation industry growing more irritating daily, I found some sort of happiness amongst this 'trademarked nuclear war(tm)' of commercial proportions. A calm in the bulging eyecandy fx storm, if you will, that has brought a zen like peace to my mind. Yesterday, we were having dinner at a friends house when someone asked 'what is Richard Condie up to?, then all of a sudden people started launching into their favorite part of the Big Snit and Getting Started. Here were young and old alike pantomiming the pantomimed hilarity of these classic short films. Seeing people laughing and reciting lines was like a rush of blood to the numbness of my phantom animation limb. The Big Snit was a huge influence on me and my spasmatic relationship with animation. Richard Condie gives that pins and needles sensation and reminds me of what animation is about. Humour, poignancy and human imperfections that makes the Big Snit memorable 20 friggin' years later! His career spans 30 years as an independent animator and his other films warrant merit also but it is because of the Big Snit that I am still biting at the t.v. cord! Where are you Richard Condie? Thank you for your films and those great off-screen sound effects. Now I will shut up and eat my Carrost:)

Bunnywax

Well, thanx to Fishbaitkate for unsticking me out of this lethargic goo. She sends in this link of John Casey. When all layers of the skin are pulled back to expose the hidden creatures underneath...there it is captured in Bunnywax for all to see. John's sculptures remind me of Scott Radke's puppets on the more manical side and his drawings have a feel of Renee French's work. His characters seem to emerge out of the natural material (eg. basswood) and then sealed into unnatural existence by the acrylic and paint on it. So, put the latex gloves on and sink your fingers into the knotted holes and pull out a clump of Bunnywax. Mmmmmm.

Sigur Rós imagination

Okay, I will admit that I have been stuck in some ennui left on the winterblahs floor. So I thought I would just sleep until summer comes and listen to Sigur Ros on permanent repeat. Fortunately, they have some dreamy looking videos to entertain as you are stuck in their fairie ring of eternal song. The latest that I have seen is a short film called Umb and it is set to their song Flugufrelsarinn. It was done by Liron Damir for his final graduate project at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. The look and feel of the video captures the ethereal and hypnotic sound and transports the viewer into a realm of melancholic reverie. It is akin to Marc Craste's video for Mum crossed with Philip Hunt's short film Ah Pook is here! Nice work, Liron!
Put the headphones on, put your feet up and get swallowed into the realm of Sigur Ros.
As for Fishbaitkate and Kiwi who just bought tix without me than void the above! Backstabbers:)

Chris Landreth in Toronto

Well, this is the 200th slice of the hydrocephalicbunny pie and what a better way to celebrate than to talk about Chris Landreth. The fantasmosite FPS (go daily and give them your money!) has posted that Oscar winner, Chris Landreth will be talking at the University of Toronto tomorrow (March 23). But don't fret if you can't go as there is going to be a live webcast here: http://epresence.kmdi.utoronto.ca/...Just follow the "Looking for a live webcast from KMDI?" and the scheduled panel discussion for Dissolving Boundaries with Chris and crew. I was fortunate enough to attend a masterclass with Chris Landreth before the glory of his Oscar title. It was a slice 'em and dice 'em look into the creation of RYAN. Chris talked about how he had to retrain the animators at Seneca college not to animate pose to pose but to take a more natural anatomical line of action. That is, he showed classic movie clips where the characters dialogue would not be analogous to their body language. He also talked about very technical aspects about modelling the face more according to facial muscle movement and the ways of rigging a character. So, if you can take the time to go and see him I highly recommend it! Here is a good interview with Chris via AnimationTrip. Here is to another 200 posts and getting that outta jail card early:) Oh and I wanted to mention that the Dissolving Boundaries talks include Gunther Von Hagen's Body Wold's exhibit, which I think is a great juxtapose to Chris's film.

Neko Case + Julie Morstad

Well, for the roadtrip up to Toronto last week I bought myself Neko Case's new album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. I have been a fan of hers since Furnace Room Lullaby and seeing her live at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. This new album was flat on listening to it for the first time but with each listen it has grown more and more on me like smooth finger-like branches on my back. Even though I miss the quirky sinister lyrics on this more straight-ahead kinda album there is no arguing that Neko can lay down the vocals that'll make you purr like a cat. The added bonus on this album is the cover art and some inside art by Vancouver artist, Julie Morstad. Upon reading her bio I found out that she also dabbles in animation and that I saw her short film, Chuckwill's Widow, at the Ottawa Student animation festival in 2003. Her illustration style is like Edward Gorey meets the Royal Art Lodge. Disturbing, odd and fun work all wrapped up in a nice delicate style. Julie has done work with Paul Morstad who is a cool independent animator in Montreal. I don't know their relation to one another but it is a nice link anyway!! So listen to the Fox Confessor and bring on the visual flood of Julie and Paul!
p.s. Neko is a sweet visual artist also.
UPDATE: Check out Paul Morstad's website that Leesa so obviously pointed out to me! D'OH!

Cartoon Saloonin'

Phew! I guess I am really losing my touch when I am finding out about Cartoon Saloon's, Book of Kells plog on other boards. Sorry, for not staying in touch Barry. Me mate, Barry Reynolds is the lead character designer on this film and a fine pewl player. I am so glad that these guys have gotten this project off the ground! Check out this studio and see one of the reasons why Irish animation is going to become a potent shot of potcheen that'll knock ya arse over noggin'. Gobsmacked design for the entire inbred family!!

Ann Arbor Film Festival

Well, I am back from the big-headed city of Toronto. Saw alot of cool stuff and spent way to much money...on parking!! Anyway, I just want to plug yer attention into the high voltage socket of the Ann Arbor Film Festival. They have updated their website with a short synopsis on each film and all the added events that are happening. I will highlight some of the films that will be showing there starting Monday. But for now, I must lie down again as the leprechauns are still step dancing on me cranial attic floor.

Sonia Bridge

Sorry for the lack of posts lately but I am preoccupied with everyday shananigans. Blarh!
Anyway, here is an oldie but goodie I had sitting in my folder...Sonia Bridge. Her 'Post Mark Lick' is a shortfilm that you want to write home about. It is kind of ironic that my 'new' computer died and I have had to go back to my old stand-by to keep the digital umbilical cord attached that I have been reconnected to some older films that I had bookmarked from years past. I can't remember if I saw this in an Royal College of Art demo reel or on it's own. Nevertheless, I was struck by it's saturated colours and collage effects that are all done the old fashioned way of celluloid manipulation (no CG here). Just the alchemical process of film and the projection of light that transforms this simple object into the greater sum of it's parts. A shout out to a fellow Canadian and just wondering what she is up to now?? On that note or I should say mark...I am going to Toronto to take in the newest Quay film, so, I will catch up with things on Friday.

R.I.P. Walerian Borowczyk

I realize this is a little late in posting but I just want to point attention to the passing of Walerian Borowczyk. I will admit that my encounters with Boro has only come in by way of reading about him and not from seeing his films. But, with that said, anyone that can claim to be the precursor/influence on the likes of Jan Lenica, Jan Svankmajer, Brothers Quay and Terry Gilliam is okay in my books. Here is the article/obit from the NYTimes. Look him up and dig at the mind of this surreal film maker. His films Renaissance (pic above) and the Theatre of Mister and Mrs Kabal are recognized as modern masterpieces of animation. Hopefully, with his passing there will be some exposure and more viewings of his films.

Runwrake

So now, we focus on one of the big winners of the British Animation Awards...Runwrake! He won Best ShortFilm and Best Film at the Cutting Edge. I don't know how I haven't mentioned him before but nevertheless here he is and his film RABBIT! Nice cut-out style animation that looks like old school book illustrations brought to life in his unique off-kiltered way. You can view a snippet of this short on his site or view images on the ANIMATE! site, the great purveyeurs and supporters of u.k. animation. Also, there is a limited free download from Lovefilm, although I couldn't get it to work (maybe only available to the U.K.?) If you can get it there is some great stuff on there including Fallen Art by Tomek Baginski. So, through the Animate! site there is a nice link to an interview with Runwrake and Osbert Parker (Film Noir) on Ideasfactory. Check out Runwrake's short film, videos and illustrations too. Congrats!

British Animation Awards

Well this years winners of the British Animation Awards are in
and the top honour for Best Feature goes to Corpse Bride!!
The luster of the bow-tied Oscar quickly faded for Aardman's Tale of the Werebunny. Other winners include:
Best short film: Rabbit, Runwrake
Most cutting edge film: Rabbit, Runwrake
Best comedy: Bromwell High

Best TV special: Angry Kid, Aardman
Favourite music video: Gorillaz

Best Student Film: Astronauts, Matthew Walker

People's Choice (tied): City Paradise, Gaelle Denis and Who I Am And What I Want, David Shrigley & Chris Shepherd.

This is not the full list but I am sure that will be posted up on the B.A.A. website shortly.

Jonas Odell

"Aldrig som första gången!", pardon my Swedish! No it isn't an obsenity it is the new award winning short by Jonas Odell. "Never Like the First Time!" won the Golden Bear at this years Berlin International Film Festival. Jonas is co-founder and director for Filmtechnarna which has been the 'IT' studio for eye-popping music videos. His video for Franz Ferdinand really catapulted Jonas onto the world stage and I was worried that the production of his own films would be put to the wayside. So, it is good to see him still doing his thing. You can view all of his short films on the Filmtechnarna site but the one that turns my head inside-out and back again is Revolver. Soundlooped non-narrative glitch that'll give yer head a twitch. Jonas has found his niche in Futurism inspired collage but eye candy aside it is his synthesis of various artistic styles loaded in the needle of this new digital age that is the real shot in the arm contribution that he is making. You can see all of his videos here via Videoville. Now you are in the loop with one of the coolest directors and studios working today.

Chester Brown

Stop the genetically modified press!! Hitch a ride on the nearest tornado to get yourself to Oz as the great wizard of comix is going to pull back the curtain to reveal the secrets of his craft. That's right, Chester Brown is the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library and from April 3-June 23 you can send in your manuscript or meet with the man himself to learn the how-to's of creating comix. Here are the guidelines. Limited space is available so send those masterpieces of flaming skulls and warrior munchkins in for a front row seat for this rare oppurtunity to meet with the giant floating head of Chester Brown! Actually, he is a nice guy with a quiet demeanor. If you don't own any of Chester's books there is hope as the Emerald City of the Beguiling has the ruby red slippers for you. I recommend Louis Riel for quick access but for the devotee, pick up D+Q's reissueing of Ed the Happy Clown!
p.s. put your vote in for the Shuster awards (don't worry there is no Harper connection to this one)

Animation portfolio mishaps

I found this hilarious post on Chris Butcher's site, Comics212, and thought I would share with the rest of the class. Jim Zubkavich is a college prof. at a school in the Toronto area and is amidst the 'Clockwork Orange' torture of reviewing portfolio submissions. Take out the eyedrops and read the 'what not to submit' list that Jim has posted on his Livejournal. It is painful and side-splitting at the same time. 'I am a creative explosion waiting to happen'!!
Damn throw in some unicorns with guns and sign me up.

Nicolas Salis

Today, we explore the inner ticking of Nicolas Salis(fr). When I saw his film La Derniere Minute (The Last Minute) I was taken aback by the cinematic feel of it. The synopsis of the story is about a time altering heist set about by a pair of twins that appear to be in different time frames (past and future). Set in a parallel steampunk world, the ticking of the iconic clock in the middle of the city pulses the punctuality of life. The twins plot to put the proverbial wrench in the cogworks of this omnipresent controller. You can see a clip of it on his site if you go to films section or better yet you can go to Foret Bleue (fx studio) and see a longer clip to get a feel of this 15 minute short.
The Last Minute has a nice CG look and immersive atmospheric quality to it but I think I like the look to his previous film R. Mertonensis which is a live action/digital fx world. This and his other film 'Allegro', is something akin in feel to Jeunet's 'City of Lost Children'. Time is ticking away so run the rat race around the maze to find this fine french cheese waiting for you at the end.

Congrats to John Canemaker and Aardman

Congratulations to John Canemaker for winning the Academy Award last night for his short film, The Moon and the Son!! I had the pleasure of seeing this film and meeting him last year at the OIAF. A poignant film and a nice guy that gets the nod for top honours. Not only does it shut out the CG films but adds another feather to the cap of animation documentaries that have become a powerful and innovative genre for this medium. Also, a round of Wensleydale for everyone at Aardman for winning the best feature film category. Nick Park and Steve Box pulled this Werebunny out of the hat for a mind tranfering full length version of my favorite duo of crackin' adventure. Side note: Shaun the sheep will be getting his own telee series.

Bread and Puppet

This one is for Fishbait Kate. Happy Birthday!! Bread and Puppet theater. Subvert the ordinary and create dissent! Here is an idea here. Yeah! yummy bread to go with the Ethopian fud!

Renee French

Bu-bunnies bunnies bunnies bunnies b-u-n-n-i-e-s!!! Okay, I got that out of my system. Welcome to the shaded world of Renee French. I am very much looking forward to getting Renee's new graphic novel, The Ticking, published by Top Shelf. Since, I haven't read it yet, I point out this review of it. I love the grey tone of her artistic style but also the grey areas that lie in between beauty, the grotesque and malformed. I first got introduced to her work when I picked up her Marbles in my Underpants for my girlfriend. I got hooked along with her. We, unfortunately, gave our copy of Marbles away to a friend and haven't been able to find another copy since. So, if anyone out there would like to sell (although I can't see why) their copy or if they have an extra they wish to part with drop me a line. Also, you can read her on-line strip Micrographica on Serializer. So keep that one creepy eye open for any of her g-novels and/or order the Ticking from your local dispenser of sequential goodness! bunnies!

Guilherme Marcondes

This is in case you missed this short film, Into Pieces, last year when it was floating around the net by Guilherme Marcondes. Guilherme has a nice site that you can view all of his personal and commercial works. He was a director and animator at Lobo films and is currently freelancing. He is currently working on a film based on William Blake's 'The Tyger'. Brazilian animation and graphic design is on boil and making steam that is spinning the globe around.