Robert Seidel

Achtung! Almost one year ago to the day I wrote about Robert Seidel's _grau. His film went on to win the best experimental animation at last years Ottawa Animation festival. So, I am pleased to inform you of his latest music video he did for the U.K. band Zero 7 feat. Jose Gonzalez called 'Futures'. So, even though the entries for the experimental category of this year's OIAF doesn't grab my attention...although I could be proven wrong again...you can watch this organic morphing kaleidoscope of 'the Fall' of Eden and the decay of the Garden as it time-lapses in front of you. I am looking forward to seeing Robert's next project and it is good to see a band take on a more non-commercial project even though it is for a DVD extra. But, ya gotta start somewhere. (thanx, Motionographer)

Manu Larcenet

Let's see what's on the nightstand table this week: Ordinary Victories by Manu Larcenet! I don't know what it is...too much cheese and wine but the comic and animation scene in France is turning my lemons into lemonade. Hi Kev. Anyway, Manu rubs noses with the hip bande dessinee crowd and is part of the epic of Donjon with Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar. This book hooked me in with the humour by the second page and kept me enthralled with the character til the end. I love his cartoony style set against the slice of life storyline of secret pasts, self-doubt, creative freedom and the capturing of everyday life under the light of art and progress. It is something that I find myself gripped with right now...except the secret past thing but anything could happen. Well, I am going to go off and play some video games and ...well you have to read the book for the next part:) Also, visit his blog!! Cool doodles and notes about the seedy underbelly of the french comic world. Filled with snails but in france that is considered yummy!

Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley

Well, here we are and it isn't a Sunday! The bunnyhole is back and open for business with lots of pleasure as the genetically modified golden carrot of factory life is quickly coming to end. Now, the scary ride of real life is clammering up that fateful hill as I look down on Who I am and What I Want! Which segway's nicely into the countdown to the OIAF 06...if you are not going then the hand of Chris Robinson will pluck yer head right off (see above). Well actually no...but his scientists are working on it. Be warned!! Not only am I just a wannabe pimp but Chris beats me to the proverbial punch of showing off the best shiners of independent animation...which leads us to Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley. Here is his left hook review here. The wonder twin power of this dynamic duo is activated by muttering slurs in a dark alley. My first exposure to Chris Shepherd's work was with his film, Dad's Dead. This live-action augmented world where animation heightens the emotional tension of angst and misguided youth was like that first drag of a cigarette in the back of the portables. Pass the dark meat, please. Mix this with the raw art of David Shrigley and you get a new orifice openning up and decapitated heads (no really, see above). You may know David's work from the video he did for Blur which was animated by Shynola. Even though some may NOT like his art because of its crudeness and 'my kid could do that' mentality it nevertheless touches on some raw nerve. In comics, it would be akin to Jeffrey Brown's work. Art isn't pur-dee all the time. It is ugly and crude and sometimes not even about the picture. I talked about it here. Anyway, Who I am and What I Want is a must see for me at the festival. So, put mortar and pestle together for this crudite of animation delights. Why does it always come back to sex and food? C'est la Vie!

Sonic Sunday: Bell X1

I know it seems that this has become a sonic sunday kinda habit but my computer is down yet again and I only get a chance to access this digital soapbox every week. I promise the animation will go off like a furball violently dislodging from yer throat as soon as I get my computer up and running again. But for now, I offer up a cool graphics company called SSSR who has done a bang up job on a band I have been following ever since I saw them perform at Eamonn Doran's in Temple Bar way back in the day. The band then was Juniper but now with some shedding they are Bell X1 and I am happy to say that they sound cooler than ever! Damien who? It is great to see they are getting a hip animation house to create the visuals to their sound. SSSR nicely combines different visual styles and 'Rocky took a Lover' is a good example of this. It is a great look to a song that has been stuck in me head for the last couple of weeks now. I have had the pleasure of hanging out with David Geraghty from the band and it is good to see that he is still going at it.

Sonic Sunday: Teach Yourself Piano

Well, last night we were treated to the all-you-can-eat music buffet of Teach Yourself Piano. Not only can you siddle on up to the heaping portions of sweet and sour songs on there freshly minted CD Sweet Waltz, Bitter Waltz but you can listen to bite sized samples on their tasty new website. The house was full but appetites were growling for the main event that was their CD release party. They did not fail to deliver. Sarah's vocals sound better and better every time I hear her and the kick off was spiced up so hot with musical guests that it added that extra tear to that slow pot now set on boil. And even though I have been on a steady diet of T.Y.P. they served up each song with newness and mixed in some surprises. Kevin's instrumental compositions showed off his seasoned musical chops and were one of the highlights of the night for me. But the best was when everyone got on stage and played 'Fabulous' and the hall shrank down to the Atkinson's living room for one of their infamous parties. There would be so much good food and people would just jam away as everyone added in their sound. I guess that is why I associated food with their music. Boil everything down and their music is my comfort food that are good friends and good times. I know I weigh in heavy on the bias scale but it works for Cheney and Haliburton. So sit back in that big Armchair and let that pant botton out as we sing karaoke after filling our faces at the International House of Atkinson.

David B.

Just a quick post today as the nervous tick of "getthehelloutsidecuzitssonice" is biting me hairy arse. I thought I would start sharing some of the good books I am reading whilst hanging out on the patio and sipping my Mojito. David B. has been the recent cat in my head chasing that gerbil on the wheel. Babel is the spin-off series from his award winning book Epileptic (buy it now if ya don't have it). The story still revolves around his relationship with his brother and his ailment but now the story wheel squeaks to the rhythm of myth, history and dreams. The larger 'Ignatz' format combined with the dual black and red tone printing fits perfectly now into the series fold. David's storytelling along with his bold graphic style against the red backgrounds show his command of the sequential language as he stands atop this tower of Babel. Here is an excerpt interview with him from the recent Comics Journal and an article from the one and only Bart Beaty from the Comics Reporter. Also, don't forget to check out David's stuff in the MOME anthology!! Great stoof or I should say C'est Bon huh huh huh!!

Sonic Sunday on a Tuesday: Tom Waits

Let it be known that this Mule variation is just me as an ignorant ass getting kicked in the throat by the one and only Tom Waits. I know, I know that everyone in the world is a fan of his and that my slow uptake is met with the same old whiskey drenched adjectives and gravel laden lyrics that meander deep into the backwoods. But, I just saw him in concert and I thought it would be interesting to see if there was any animation that captured his scarecrow-like gestures and that distinctive sabulous voice that rumbles and rasps through the cracks of that (wind)pipe. Unfortunately, there is hardly any. The only one that does the trick is this animation by John Lamb and Bruce Lyon in the late 1970's (shown above). "Tom Waits for No One" (via YouTube or download here) is a rotoscoped video that won an Academy award for scientific and technical achievement for Lamb and Lyon. HERE is an excellent write-up and interview with John Lamb about the video and the process. Other than that there is nothing that comes close to harnessing the dark energy of that vocal creation.
However, Tom has composed music for some animated feature films (which will remain ogreless) and a short film by Chris Wedge, Bunny. You can watch it here in it's entirety!! Also, he composed music for that disturbing film about everyone's favorite outside artist, Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal.

Distinctive and untamed is the voice that remains to be Tom Waits but his lyrics and his music will inpire and drown the dreams many. Enjoy.

The Global Student Awards

Here I am peeking from behind the operating room curtain watching all the people in the viewing gallery leave from this botched experiment. But, don't fret as I am still picking at the scab of art and animation and I am working on a new format for this soapbox of mine.
So, here is a few trix to keep you bunnies occupied until the smoke clears. Stash magazine sponsors the annual Global Student Animation awards (last years post). I am not sure if the voting is still on but go and watch the finalists work in the categories of animation, motion design and vfx. Lots of nice student work here to while away these hot summer days.

Pick up those scissors and run don't walk along this biased line of independent animation.

Ottawa International Animation Festival '06

Well, all the souls have been weighed in and sorted! So, without much further ado, HERE are the sacrificial films showing at this years Ottawa International Animation Festival to help celebrate their infernal 30 years of sinful pleasures. Fire up the projector and get ready for the visual gluttony that has all the major players cooking. From the likes of George Griffin, Mati Kutt, Theodore Ushev, Priit Tender, Joanna Quinn, Andreas Hykade, Jonas Odell and Ulo Pikkov (and many more) will serve it up cold and raw. I can't wait to slide down in the hot seat of the blackened theater to be force fed these delectable morsels while demons play Oscar Peterson music tattooed on my arse. Fun for the entire family indeed!! Don't forget to download the podcasts now available.

Sonic Sunday: Brave New Waves and Mutek

Let's drop the needle and give that brain a poke to feel the stimulating noise of some Brave New Waves. My summer vacation might have come to a dietary end but I have managed to stay up late and gorge on the aural treats from the fridge of CBC Radio 2. Patti Schmidt straps on the headnoise and takes us deep underground every week night to stress and gauge the level of our musical boundaries. Avant-garde to noise to electronica, BNW is the self proclaimed disclaimer of the disclaimed. So push that finger into the left frontal lobe (right above your eye) and get happy to some Brave New gammaWaves. Mix and stir that with some live shake and bake yer gelatinous North American ass in the sonic oven known as MUTEK. This international festival of music, sound and new technologies falls in Montreal every spring to rain on your mainstream parade. Even though it is over for this year, let the electrodes twitch that nerve of curiosity to prod at the artists that made up this years experimental audiovisual overload. You can listen to a podcast of it here from Radio 3 and read and watch about it on Vu d'ici. There you can see via YouTube a performance by a favorite of mine 1-speed bike. And since I am in Montreal, I couldn't go without mentioning La Société des arts technologiques [SAT]. They just had their FantASIA film festival and you can read a good review of it from those great purveyors of everything cool, FPSmagazine. Also, check on the SAT site for upcoming events that will make you salivate for no good reason. Note to self: move to Montreal!!

Neural

This is a deviation from the norm here on this freakshow train but this is for my friend Kevin Atkinson who is getting married today. If ya didn't know, I have a secret fascination with New Media art and here is a great site to fire the electrodes to 010 with all things nanotechcool. Neural should be a site you visit on a regular basis to fill that empty cyborg gap. Weta you know it or not we will still think you are the shizzle of geekdom. cheers.

N.F.B. free for all

Take off to the Great White North, ya hosers! The gloves are off in this N.F.B. viewing bench brawl of the most popular all-star players to help celebrate their 65th anniversary. So, put that red or blue Sweater on and break out the NFB animator trading cards to watch your favorite animation back in action. From the likes of Richard Condie to Cordell Barker and Christopher Hinton's Flux (shown above) to Caroline Leaf's The Street, they are all there for your viewing pleasure. And it's free!! Pick two and put them in a head to head shoot-out or hook up it up to that projector t.v. and have an animation party. Whatever you do, whether it is viewing these for the hundreth time or the first, remember that it is these animated shorts that have made the N.F.B. the Hanson brothers of the film production league. Although, you could argue that they have lost their powerhouse status as only a hand full of these films are from the last 16 years but this is a celebration of their history. Gone are the glory days of carte blanche creator driven films but instead the era of co-productions are the norm as the game is watered down. But hopefully, the N.F.B. will strive to be at the forefront of independent animation as it's history so poignantly points out. Animator trading cards what a good idea!!
(via CartoonBrew and Warren Leonhardt)

Joanna Quinn

Everyone knows the work of Joanna Quinn. Whether it is a 'frisky' cat or the dancing Charmin Bears, everyone knows the commercial work of Joanna Quinn. But, like all good animators she quietly sits away in the corner drawing to her hearts content. I don't know if it because she doesn't have a strong internet presence or that everyone is still getting down with the shiny bling bling of 3D animation, but, Joanna's independent films are something to press your face against while taking in her body (of work) beautiful. Rowr. Her latest film, 'Dreams and Desires', won the Special Jury prize and Audience award at Annecy this year. Which is fitting as it is almost 20 years ago that her first film, Girls Night Out (1986), won at Annecy. In fact, Joanna has won almost every major animation award or has been nominated for it. Come in a little closer. At first glance Joanna's animation is beautiful. Caricatures befitting Daumier at times and the movement of form in a loose, free style. It is raw 2D animation...pencil on paper! As a complete package though her work packs the full wallop like the robust women that frequent her films. Laugh out loud, knee slapping hilarity ensues as the slice of life piece is passed around for all to enjoy. Joanna explores issues of womanhood and ideas of beauty personified in the character of Beryl. It is a nice touch to see Beryl has aged in this latest film. So, whether it is a Girls Night Out or the Wife of Bath to Dreams and Desires, Joanna and her work are not only positive role models but just plain brilliant animation. Pull the covers back and snuggle up beside the fleshy world of Beryl and don't be afraid to blush because now everyone will know about the private work of Joanna Quinn. Wouldn't it be nice to see a dvd with a collection of her work on it? Well Knight me as I wear my big cod piece and call me Sir Wishalot! Rowr!

Anders Nilsen

It was in 2003 that Leesa and I met Anders Nilsen and his partner Cheryl Weaver at the inaugeral T.C.A.F.! So it came as a shock to both of us when we saw the forthcoming 'comic' from Anders as a comemoration of Cheryl's fight against hodgkins lymphoma. Don't Go Where I Can't Follow is a journal of notes, sketches and photos of her fight and untimely passing. Art is what we talked about three years ago and the struggle of being an artist today. Since that time, Anders has become a force to note about in the world of comix and graphic novels, from the pages of Mome to Dogs and Water and my favorite big question of Big Questions. His work, even in it's minimalist of forms, touches upon the aimless journey of life and all the frail steps that question or punctuate our emotional process(es). Meaningful? Only in absurdity and in the human condition does the rounded questions get more blurred and wander off into the distance. Maybe, I make his work sound too philosophical but in the end it is about man vs. man, man vs. nature and in this latest offering man vs. self and the healing of the creative process. Seek out Anders work and look out for his Monologue for the Coming Plague from Fantagraphics and The End (tentatively scheduled for next year). Required reading for the Bigheaded.

Jan Svankmajer

There is only one animator that comes to mind when I here the descriptive words 'animated meat'...and that is Jan Svankmajer!! Lunacy (Selini) is the latest tongue-out-of-mouth offering from the abattoire filmhouse of Svankmajer. Click here for the trailor. Obviously, I wallow in the formaldahyde pool as a devote specimen with fake painted eyes at the surreal visions of Jan Svankmajer but then again, who isn't!!! Get on board the mystic train and befriend the rotting piece of flesh beside you as we journey into what has become the distinctive cut of human psyche this side of the Vltava River. Again, it is the familiar territory of live-action and animation that Jan takes us into. Lunacy is loosely based on two short stories from Edgar Allen Poe with the Marquis de Sade being a main character and inspiration. Cross pollinate that with Svankmajer's unique insight into the human mind and current political climate and you get this allegory of 'philosophical horror'. If you want to taste more of his work, you can go and watch some down through YouTube. But, don't just dig in...savour the imaginative process of this Master of Animation and buy his stuff for your 'Stuck on a Island' essential dvd collection. See I wrote this whole damn thing without saying Alchemy. Shazam!!

Sonic Sunday: Thinkbox

Over the past couple of months I have been travelling around and neglecting the carnivorous plants growing in my blogosphere. Recently, in my Little Shop of Horrors I am playing the experimental ambient sounds of Thinkbox to quell the hunger of my Audrey II. Congrats to my hometown dial turners and beat manipulators for an overdue retrospective of their sonic experimentations in our local hotbed that is also the home of Richie Hawtin. They had their closing performance at the end of last month at the Art Gallery of Windsor. So let the sound wrap around as the heady rhythms of Chris McNamara, Rob Theakson, Mark Laliberte, Bill Van Loo, Chris Bissonnette and Steve Roy engulf you down to your shoegazing self. And while you are travelling down the tube take in the visual fever that accompanies the music. The strong visual presence of this collective is part and parcel of the whole organic feel of what makes them each a unique automaton being counted in the flow meter of photosynthesis. Stay tuned as I have brought back plenty of sacrificial victims to feed into this Venus fly trap blogosphere to get this head turning like the poltergeist horror that it has become. Projectile peas optional.

Hail the Brothers Quay

Funny how life sometimes feels like it is stuck in some stop motion world filled with hollow-eyed dolls, creatures assembled from your bones and that annoying hair that vibrates incessantly at the crown of your forehead. No. Well, stop taking those pills and let the Brothers Quay treat you in absentia. With porcupine needle in hand head on over to the AWN and stick it into Taylor Jessen's interview with the expatriot twins who were in L.A. for a lecture and retrospective of their work. If you do not know who Stephen and Timothy Quay are then get yourself to the sanitorium and frantically scribble 'I am a loser' until your fingers bleed and the dead opera lady sings. Here are some St. Quay relics that we put the token in to illuminate the leathery skin--IFFR wish I could see this!! Also, Jack and Diane and no do not think John Meloncamp but a movie they are doing some animation for starting this summer. All hail the Brothers Quay.

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Hyacinthe

Here is just a quick slice and splice of the winner of the best video award @ Annecy. Sébastien Cossett and Joann Sfar's underground eye popping strangle(r) hold of Thomas Fersen's "Hyacinthe". This is a nice cross breeding of Joann's graphical stylings set into motion to this slice of life story of Hyacinthe (lady of the house speaking!) and the Monsanto-like results that occur. So swap them factory farmed cows in for the genetically modified seeds of Joann Sfar and gang to take the vine downward into the disturbed ground. See what creature is spliced into the genetic strain to make up this modern day Frankenstein.

Annecy winners

I have rigged up a self-torture device that looks like some medieval Rube Goldberg contraption that would make Flaggellants bleed with envy as I bemoan the fact of missing out on going to Annecy this year. So, it is with tar and feathers that I parade out like the village idiot to happily announce this years winners:
The grand prize goes to a specimen that hasn't strayed too far from this curiosity cabinet--
Regina Pessoa and her short film A Tragic Story with a Happy Ending. Also, Run Wrake's Rabbit, which you can now view on the BBC film network, took a special destinction award!! There are many winners so go and check out the full list here. I will open up the door of the Iron Maiden to pierce your heretical soul and enlighten you to some of the saints and sinners of the biggest animation inquisition in the world. So put on that 'Mask of Infamy' and bring your tortured self back for a pagan dance on this cranial altar of sacrificial offerings.

Rob Sato

I have been toiling in the bunny patch so that I can grow my genetically modified army of cabbage patch drones. But then, I realized in so doing that I have neglected the propaganda crusade of unearthing delectable morsels to share with yous'all. Well pack your lunch and march in single file to bury those cut off crusty edges in the back garden with Rob Sato. I took shovel in hand to start the uprooting of what I consider one of the most overlooked comics of last year, Burying Sandwiches. Fortunately now Rob has his own greenhouse to showcase the fruits of his blackened thumb. With that check out his freakish flora form art that grows wild with seeded imagination. Also, the sample pages of his comic are ripe and ready to sink your canine teeth into. See why this beautiful yet simple story of anorexia is more subtle in tone than the black and white marks on the page.

Sunday Inspiration: Kara Walker

Yesterday, under the blistering gaze of the afternoon sun my shadow became long and agitated. It soon left as I sat and lazed unable to lift myself from beneath the burden of the struggle of labour. The shadow(s) play but underneath the silhouette it can convey a story of complex starkness. Unlike Peter, we get a chance to enter into the history of the South through magnifying lens of Kara Walker. Paper beats rocks but she doesn't cover the hardships of the past up with a white sheet but perforates it to reveal the negative spaces around it. Life-sized images of escaped silhouettes confront us with violence, brutality and murder in a playful punctuated tableaux. Just like in first year animation class where you have to convey action in an 'easy to read' silhouette, Kara captures the caricatured forms and unbridled actions of the cracked 'Song of the South'. We have already backlit the art and craft of Lotte Reininger and Michel Ocelot's shadow puppet animation. But unlike the elegant cameo vision of these two artists Kara uses the cut-out technique to free the idealizations and stereotypes and rewrite the visual language of this black and white imagery.
Kara has exhibited extensively and is included in the Art Now 2 book and the pbs Art:21. So play in the shadows and run the Races of the past as this bunny has already pulled the trigger.

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.