ASIFA-Hollywood: The International Animated Film Society
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Creative Family
Just ran into an old painting I did about 15 years ago. It is based on some very nasty creatures from the earth`s core as told by Edgar Rice Burroughs. At the time I painted this painting I had just come back from a private screening of the restored Tarzan and His Mate.
Tom Yeates, the Tarzan illustrator and my best man; Danton Burroughs, the grandson of Edgar Rice; myself and a couple of other people headed up to MGM and completely enjoyed ourselves watching this movie with the nude scenes restored.
So what does this have to do with animation? I`m not sure that it has anything to do with animation, in another way it has everything. It sure has a lot to do with creativity and how the imagination of one person can capture the minds of generations.
How many artists have taken a crack at illustrating the works of Burroughs or Arthur Conan Doyle? For every Burroughs or Conan Doyle there are thousands and thousands of creative people that never create that one project that resonates down the ages. But they don`t stop trying.
So where am I going with this? I`m not sure but these people, all these people, in a very real sense are my family by the very act of committing to the creative process. It is a commitment, a leap of faith that makes us kin.
A few make it big, most of us hang on for years somehow making a living and trying to create because we have to. Some fall away and get square jobs and have benefits and big screen TV`s and late at night wonder if they could have been a contender. The ones that keep trying are my people.
This coming week the creative family called animation get together to honor our members that have left the ranks with their boots on. The ones that touched millions, the ones that were not really known outside the creative family, all of them my family because they have committed to the creative community called the animation family.
No RSVP needed to come hang out with your family
Just ran into an old painting I did about 15 years ago. It is based on some very nasty creatures from the earth`s core as told by Edgar Rice Burroughs. At the time I painted this painting I had just come back from a private screening of the restored Tarzan and His Mate.
Tom Yeates, the Tarzan illustrator and my best man; Danton Burroughs, the grandson of Edgar Rice; myself and a couple of other people headed up to MGM and completely enjoyed ourselves watching this movie with the nude scenes restored.
So what does this have to do with animation? I`m not sure that it has anything to do with animation, in another way it has everything. It sure has a lot to do with creativity and how the imagination of one person can capture the minds of generations.
How many artists have taken a crack at illustrating the works of Burroughs or Arthur Conan Doyle? For every Burroughs or Conan Doyle there are thousands and thousands of creative people that never create that one project that resonates down the ages. But they don`t stop trying.
So where am I going with this? I`m not sure but these people, all these people, in a very real sense are my family by the very act of committing to the creative process. It is a commitment, a leap of faith that makes us kin.
A few make it big, most of us hang on for years somehow making a living and trying to create because we have to. Some fall away and get square jobs and have benefits and big screen TV`s and late at night wonder if they could have been a contender. The ones that keep trying are my people.
This coming week the creative family called animation get together to honor our members that have left the ranks with their boots on. The ones that touched millions, the ones that were not really known outside the creative family, all of them my family because they have committed to the creative community called the animation family.
An Afternoon of Remembrance
Lasky-DeMille Barn
2100 N. Highland (At the Hollywood Bowl)
Hollywood
Saturday Jan. 29th
1 PM
No RSVP needed to come hang out with your family
Friday, January 21, 2005
Filling Space and Time
Every day I have to write something. The blank page is there looking at me and it is my self appointed job to fill this space. Sometimes it is easy and sometimes it is difficult. Lots of things are happening now that we are running up to the Annies so I should have lots of things to talk about and I do but no time to write it out.
That is what I have coming up. At least it should give me something to write about.
- I meet with Aubry Mintz from Laguna College of Art and Design for a breakfast meeting last Thursday morning. Looks like his students may be filling in some spots on the Annie Archive Video Crew. Ed Gonzalez and I will be meeting with prospective members of the video crew this Monday at Laguna College.
- Wednesday is the last Act of Membership meeting before the Annies, 7 PM at 2114 W. Burbank. If you are a Annie volunteer make sure you are there for the meeting.
- Saturday the 29th is the Afternoon of Remembrance. Don`t miss this event that starts at 1 PM at the DeMille barn.
- Sunday the 30th is the big event, the Annies. The last couple of years of have worked the front end, tickets and greeting. I'm planning on kicking back this year and just being part of the audience for a change.
- February I start visiting college animation programs in a new program to talk about the benefits of ASIFA membership for animation students.
- Next comes the ramp up for Comic Con. I lied about just being a member of the audience at the Annies, I will be buttonholing people about presentations at Comic Con. I shouldn`t have warned you about that.
Paper, What Paper?
The Annies are a project of love. Almost all of the labor is donated by hundreds of industry pros giving their time. The judging material is passed from hand to hand. From Nominating Chair, to Nomination Judges, back to Event Programming, then on to the Editor who selflessly cuts together the reel for the Nomination Screenings and the Annie reel for the Award Show.
There is a lot of handling by a lot of people and a lot of chances for something to go wrong. Surprisingly, very little does go wrong with the filmed categories. The problems always seem to happen with the paper categories, something always seems to get miss placed or out of order with Feature and TV Character Design, Production Design, or Storyboards. These people have worked hard they deserve to have their work seen.
The Annie ballots have to be in today at ASIFA. I turned mine in last night at DreamWorks. The sad thing was that I had to turn mine in with a couple of things incomplete, as did most of the other voters who had come out for the screenings. There was some mess up in the process with some of the paper categories and somethings could not be seen for judging.
Now I know that all of the work is done by volunteers that have real jobs and real lives and there is a lot of work and there is a basic chaos that sets in, in that kind of setup. Things are beings scanned and edited, and moved from volunteer to volunteer. The volunteers do a great and thankless job and are heroes but the paper categories have always been a problem by their very nature, always been the red haired stepchild. We know how to handle and produce film but paper is just a step in that process, not a finished product.
It is time to change the process. I would like to see the Pixar model followed in the future. They posted everything on a web site this year. It was right there for anybody to see. We wouldn`t have to paw through all the entries looking and comparing and holding up the start of the screening. I would like to see this done by every studio that has Character Design, Production Design, and Storyboards in competition next year. Then these people, these masters of visual storytelling, would truly get their due, would get a fair vote from their peers.
There is a lot of handling by a lot of people and a lot of chances for something to go wrong. Surprisingly, very little does go wrong with the filmed categories. The problems always seem to happen with the paper categories, something always seems to get miss placed or out of order with Feature and TV Character Design, Production Design, or Storyboards. These people have worked hard they deserve to have their work seen.
The Annie ballots have to be in today at ASIFA. I turned mine in last night at DreamWorks. The sad thing was that I had to turn mine in with a couple of things incomplete, as did most of the other voters who had come out for the screenings. There was some mess up in the process with some of the paper categories and somethings could not be seen for judging.
Now I know that all of the work is done by volunteers that have real jobs and real lives and there is a lot of work and there is a basic chaos that sets in, in that kind of setup. Things are beings scanned and edited, and moved from volunteer to volunteer. The volunteers do a great and thankless job and are heroes but the paper categories have always been a problem by their very nature, always been the red haired stepchild. We know how to handle and produce film but paper is just a step in that process, not a finished product.
It is time to change the process. I would like to see the Pixar model followed in the future. They posted everything on a web site this year. It was right there for anybody to see. We wouldn`t have to paw through all the entries looking and comparing and holding up the start of the screening. I would like to see this done by every studio that has Character Design, Production Design, and Storyboards in competition next year. Then these people, these masters of visual storytelling, would truly get their due, would get a fair vote from their peers.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
The Animals Show Up For Annie Screening #2
I of course am talking about Frank Gladstone not Annette or this great display of DreamWorks` upcoming Madagascar.
I did get Frank calm enough to ask about the upcoming Nick Park Wallace and Grommet feature. He said it would be coming out after Madagascar and gave a month but I am not going to pass that one on because I`m not sure if that info was for publication.
The screening went well, and was well attended but not completely full. We got to look at the production and character design artwork but did not get to look at storyboards that somehow did not make it to the theater last night. The storyboards will be there tonight at the third and last of this year`s Annie Award screenings.
Reminder, ballots are due at ASIFA on the 21st. We will be accepting ballots at tonight`s screening which would save you a stamp.
I of course am talking about Frank Gladstone not Annette or this great display of DreamWorks` upcoming Madagascar.
I did get Frank calm enough to ask about the upcoming Nick Park Wallace and Grommet feature. He said it would be coming out after Madagascar and gave a month but I am not going to pass that one on because I`m not sure if that info was for publication.
The screening went well, and was well attended but not completely full. We got to look at the production and character design artwork but did not get to look at storyboards that somehow did not make it to the theater last night. The storyboards will be there tonight at the third and last of this year`s Annie Award screenings.
Reminder, ballots are due at ASIFA on the 21st. We will be accepting ballots at tonight`s screening which would save you a stamp.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Its a Wonderful Life
I was at the Frank Wells Theater last night for the first of the Annies screenings. I always have to ask myself just what the world of animation would be like today if the helicopter hadn`t gone down.
Tonight would we be moving over to Dreamworks and the second of the three Annie screenings.
Original posting for-your-consideration
Tonight would we be moving over to Dreamworks and the second of the three Annie screenings.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
DreamWorks Animation - Campanile Theatre
1000 Flower Street, Glendale, CA 91201
6:30pm - 8:30pm
*) Best Animated Feature
*) Best Animated Short Subject
*) Best Animated Television Production
*) Best Animated Television Commercial
*) Best Home Entertainment Production
Original posting for-your-consideration
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Annie Award Nominations Site / Incredibles
Just got this link from Disney/Pixar with all of the Annie nominees` work. I wish all of the studios would do this. It would make it a lot easier to fill out my ballot.
Dear ASIFA-Hollywood Member,
The Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios are proud of the
16 Annie Award nominations for THE INCREDIBLES!
Since we think it's important for you to be familiar with each of the
nominees work before voting, we have created a website specifically
to help you, the ASIFA-Hollywood member, view the specific work done
by each of the Pixar artists who are nominated.
Please click on the link below to view THE INCREDIBLES site:
http://www.buenavistapicturesawards.com/annieawards/
Thank you for your consideration.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
John Gibbons Saves SpongeBob`s Square Pants
The Annies are coming at us like a freight train and so are my business taxes that I have to have out by the end of this month. Very strange year cash flow wise and my accounts are a mess and they are going to be a bear but you don`t need to hear about them.
I am in the process of putting together a digital video archives shoot for this year`s Annies. There is so much that goes on at the show that should be saved for the future or at least for blackmail. Like this photo of my friend John Gibbons who was the man of the hour last year with some quick thinking that literally saved Tom Kenny`s square pants.
We will be working in Mini DV and DV formats, Mini DV being the preferred. We are still looking for a few more film techs, a camera or two, and a lot of equipment for the crews. So if you are interested in being a part of the crew or have equipment to loan contact me larry@agni-animation.com
All Video Crew members and other Annie volunteers should make sure to show up at the January 26th Act of Membership meeting at 2114 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank starting at 7 PM. This really is the right meeting place this time, I swear it is.
I am in the process of putting together a digital video archives shoot for this year`s Annies. There is so much that goes on at the show that should be saved for the future or at least for blackmail. Like this photo of my friend John Gibbons who was the man of the hour last year with some quick thinking that literally saved Tom Kenny`s square pants.
We will be working in Mini DV and DV formats, Mini DV being the preferred. We are still looking for a few more film techs, a camera or two, and a lot of equipment for the crews. So if you are interested in being a part of the crew or have equipment to loan contact me larry@agni-animation.com
All Video Crew members and other Annie volunteers should make sure to show up at the January 26th Act of Membership meeting at 2114 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank starting at 7 PM. This really is the right meeting place this time, I swear it is.
