Inspiration for animation fans, students and professionals
Films
Quirkyeurochasemation
Oct 18th
Meet Buck (2010)
I had an idea for a short film recently.
I’m thinking of a quirky, European-style, animated film with an elaborate chase sequence as the action set piece.
Turns out – I might be too late to get on that particular bandwagon.
There have been quite a few excellent films released recently that could easily borrow that same description.
And then I thought: I’ve discovered a new sub-genre!
I think I’ll call it “quirkyeurochasemation”.
At the heart of the quirkyeurochasemation movement are the students from two of the great French animation schools: Gobelins and Supinfocom.
Here are some beautiful examples of quirkyeurochasemation (with links so you can watch them).
Après la pluie (After the rain)
Any other examples of quirkyeurochasemation that I forgot to add to the list?
Let me know in the comments.
24 Animations in 24 Hours
Oct 6th
What’s your first reaction to the challenge: “Make 24 animations in 24 hours”?
If you’re anything like me, the words “why”, “how” and finally “wow” come to mind – especially when you see the result.
Animator and musician duo James and Hania Lee responded to the challenge and came up with this mind-blowing effort.
I was lucky enough to see their animated short Tarboy at a festival in Sydney a while ago, and it’s obvious that these guys are genuine ninjas.
So many beautiful ideas and short concepts.
Some of them work. Some don’t. But when you’re working at this speed, it hardly matters.
Congratulations on the outstanding work.
So. What’s your next animation challenge?
Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch Trailer
Jul 27th
The official trailer for Sucker Punch has been released.
And boy, does it rock!
Burlesque dancers, swords, guns, gangsters, dragons, planes, robots, samurais, robot samurais. Holy cow! Did I miss anything?
A big shout out to all the animators and visual effects artists that have been working on this film. Congratulations! It looks stunning.
A special tip of the hat to Nicole Herr, one of my animation mentors and someone I still rely on for inspiration and advice.
As Nicole said, she seems destined to work on every Zack Snyder film from now until the end of time. So far she has worked on Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and now Sucker Punch under her belt.
Brilliant trailer. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Sucker Punch is scheduled for a March 2011 release.
Melbourne International Film Festival 2010
Jul 15th
The Melbourne International Film Festival is almost upon us, and it looks like they have a great selection of films in their animation program this year.
There are a number of really interesting short films and some great animated features as well.
I love the sound of First Squad: The Moment of Truth – As the forces of the Third Reich clash with the Red Army on the Eastern Front, a hidden war is waged between Nazi occultists and a Russian psychic.
Brilliant!
But for me, I think the highlight is Waking Sleeping Beauty – a documentary about the renaissance in Disney animation that began in the 1990s with films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.
The Melbourne International Film Festival runs from July 22 to Aug 8, 2010.
Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated at Comic Con 2010
Jul 13th
Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated at San Diego Comic Con 2010
If you’re heading to San Diego Comic Con in July 2010, check out the booth for Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated.
Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated is an internet collaboration where artists and animators all submitted work to remake George Romero’s 1968 classic zombie film: Night of the Living Dead.
Artists had complete freedom to work in any medium, with only two rules:
1. It must be in black and white.
2. It must keep the soundtrack in tact.
Join a panel of contributing artists as they screen Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated on Thursday July 22nd at 9:30pm in Room 5AB at Comic-Con.
Directly following the screening, the contributing artists will hold a panel discussion covering their varied media and involvement in NOTLD:R. They will also be taking questions and signing autographs.
Confirmed panelists include : John Chesnut and Josh Barnett ( claymation and cut-out animation), Jacquelyn Bond ( watercolor paintings ), Grant Fuhst (mixed-media artwork ), Sean Williams ( hand drawn animation ), Zina Lahr ( toy modification/ experimental animation ), Brad Uyeda ( stop-motion animation ), Anthony Amos ( digital animation ), and Eric Schock ( comic book illustration ).
I really enjoyed contributing to the film, and it’s great to see so many different animation and illustration styles showcased in a single movie.
Disney’s Tangled Trailer
Jun 11th
Disney has released the trailer for their new animated feature film: Tangled.
Based on the story of Rapunzel, this modern version transforms our trapped princess into a fiesty fighter.
It may be a different take on the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale – but there is one thing you can’t argue with: the animation is superb.
Hats off to Clay Kaytis and Glen Keane (among many others) who have made the transition from hand-drawn animation into this spectacular 3D medium.
Can’t wait to see Tangled in cinemas later in 2010.
Short film advice from the makers of The Cat Piano
Jun 4th
The Cat Piano (2009)
The Cat Piano is an award-winning short film made by The People’s Republic of Animation.
If you haven’t already seen it, check it out at The Cat Piano website.
Not only have directors Eddie White and Ari Gibson made a brilliant film, but they were also kind enough to document their animation process on their website.
By all means, read through their entire blog archives, but here are some nuggets of advice I picked out.
Artwork
Get your concept art together quickly – even before storyboards.
Having a distinct style can be a great way to attract attention early in the development.
You can overcome lack of budget by working with a small team and having a strong style. Style doesn’t cost much, but adds a lot for a little money.
Voice Talent
Pick who you want, based on whether they suit the project.
Eddie and Ari were bold enough to approach Nick Cave to provide the narration for the film – and he agreed.
What made it possible was to create a pitch for the voice talent, with artwork, scripts and as much information as possible on the project.
More is better and gives the actors confidence that this is a project they would want to be involved with.
Experience
It’s worth noting that this wasn’t their first animated short film.
They had made others Fritz Gets Rich (2005), Carnivore Reflux (2006) and Sweet and Sour (2007).
They had been releasing roughly one short film per year.
Finance
The main thing external funding brings to a short film project is that the extra cash can make the production go faster.
While making the film, new animators were gradually added in order to speed things up.
Depending on where you plan to screen your short, some film festivals give small sponsorships to help encourage directors finish their films on time.
It’s probably not surprising, but investors are more likely to give money to people they’ve invested with before and had good results.
Schedule
Based on their initial blog post in June 2007, The Cat Piano was targeted for a late 2007 release date. As it turned out, they finished in 2009.
The People’s Republic of Animation are a working studio, so it’s probably not surprising that when paying jobs came in they would take priority.
Other than adding additional staff, which requires money, one great way they found to speed up production was to get the right equipment. Even borrowing equipment like Cintiq displays were a way to get more work done in a shorter amount of time.
Congratulations guys on a fantastic short film.
Thanks for sharing your experience, and I can’t wait to see more of your work.
Related posts
Two biggest mistakes made by animated filmmakers
Azereus Rising
May 20th
David Weinstein and a relatively small team of talented artists have produced this incredible proof-of-concept short film called Azereus Rising.
David Weinstein and co-writer Eve Nelson are looking to go down the same path as other short films that were designed to attract attention and secure a feature film deal.
Shorts like 9, District 9 and even the recent Ataque de Pánico (Panic Attack) have shown that creating a short, self-contained story can lead to bigger and better things.
But while you’re waiting for the feature film, enjoy this fantastic short.
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