The ASIFA Comic Con schedule has been updated. Look for the link at the bottom of the right hand side-bar as shown in the image above.
Muybridge was incapable of sleeping after the head injury he received in his stagecoach accident of the 1860`s - what a good thing that would be - We`re animators, we don`t need no stinking sleep.
So here we are on the Saturday before Comic Con and I spent most of the day sleeping. If you have been following my progress in these pages of late I have had much to say about my preparation for the two simultaneous conjunctive disasters/happenings of Comic Con and my first week of new classes at Brook College happening at the same time and how that has affected my sleep patterns or lack there of. Let me say that I am down to only 1 more syllabus and 1 more presentation to prepare over this weekend.
Not bad, and that is why I cut back on the 17 to 19 hour workdays. Me children are no longer cringing in the corners of the house with their fingers in their ears as I call down the copious blessings of fertility deities in all there more popular and graphic aspects on the head of my computer.
Students think I am too rough on deadlines, for some reason, just because I maintain that there is no acceptable reason, this side of death, for missing one, ever! I don`t want to hear about the twice dead Grandmother or the car that died on the freeway, or the fue. When I miss my deadlines then they can miss theirs. Never missing deadlines is what it means to be an artist. And I`m not really sure if death is a valid reason for missing a deadline? I`ll have to look at my handbook.
Sailing with Voice:
Bob Bergen presents the launch of his first ever Animation Voice-over Seminar AND Cruise to Ensenada, Mexico!
Join Bob on a 3 Night Cruise on board Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines "Monarch of the Seas" Friday, February 10th, 2006
Whether you are in the business, currently studying, or just curious about voice-over and the world of animation, this cruise is for you!
"Bob Bergen can really teach you a lesson. Listen, I went whole hog when I heard him doing Porky Pig for Warner. He is respected and admired in the animation industry as one of the great voice-over artists. I've recommended Bob's animation voice-over workshop to every wannabe actor I know." - June Foray
Voice Cruise
JOINT STATEMENT FROM THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND ROY E. DISNEY AND STANLEY P. GOLD
BURBANK, Calif. (July 8, 2005) -- The Walt Disney Company, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold announced today that they have agreed to put aside the differences that have characterized their relationship over the past several years. Messrs. Disney and Gold have agreed not to run a rival slate of directors or submit shareholder resolutions for the next five years. Messrs. Disney and Gold have also agreed to dismiss all their pending lawsuits against the Company. In reestablishing ties with him and his family, the Company has named Roy E. Disney Director Emeritus and a consultant. The Company also reaffirmed its commitment to the rotation of committee members and chairpersons on its Board committees as currently required by the Company's Corporate Governance Guidelines. In putting aside their differences, the Company noted Mr. Disney's long time devotion to the Company and welcomed the reestablishment of a relationship with him and his family. Messrs. Disney and Gold expressed confidence in Mr. Iger's leadership, and as Mr. Eisner retires after 21 years with the Company, they acknowledged his contribution to the Company over the years.
SaveDisney website
Christian over at Animated News is on top of the story with a number of linkes to stories around the web. more
Few minutes waiting to FTP new Comic Con schedule. Still need people. Started work at 8 AM yesterday still burning CDs at 4 AM. Too fried to figure hours. My ebook Animation on a $hoeString(TM) is updated. I will be posting info on my site after Comic Con.
Got a care package from Mr. Fun yesterday in the middle of madness. Floyd Norman`s new book How the Grinch Stole Disney . Mr. Fun don`t sugarcoat his punches (mix`n my metaphor or fives). Floyd sure has a wicked pencil on him. Great little love letter from somebody who never walks on eggshells. If you were at Disney you will completely love this, if you are any kind of animation fan you will too. (that means everybody that comes to this site) Great Stuff! Thank you Mr. Fun I read it twice during 2 different computer crash reboots.
One more presentation and 3 and a 1/2 syllabi to go.
Rare Mexican Animation to be Preserved
The Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood, by a unanimous vote, agreed last night to undertake the first phase of the preservation of a one of a kind Mexican animation. ASIFA will be funding the copying of the elements from a rare deteriorating nitrate print while it is still in a condition to be copied.
ASIFA may be a lot of hard work but times like these make me really proud to be a part of the Executive Board of this origination.
The film, "Las Abejas" (The Bees), is the only known color print of a two-color 1930s Mexican sound animation and is currently part of Mark Kausler collection. I found out about this endangered work while talking to Mark about his upcoming program at Comic Con. Here is Mark`s statement about The Bees.
Hi Larry,
Here is the story in a nutshell about "Las Abejas" (The Bees). I have a nitrate print of this Mexican cartoon in an early two-color process (1930s) that I first showed to Jere Guldin at UCLA archives about 3 years ago.
Jere contacted Mexican film archives and they only held a b/w print of the film, the color print being extremely rare. The print is brittle and old, but got through Jere's Steenbeck OK.
The story is a little like the bee section of Jean Image's feature cartoon: "Johnny the Giant Killer" (Jeannot L'intrepide). The nursery section of the hive is shown with wax cradles and baby bees inside. The villain was a wasp.
I think Jere was awaiting word of possible funding for the preservation of this cartoon from the Mexican State Film Archives. There was talk of combining the b/w footage with the color, as there were frames missing here and there. So far, nothing further has happened.
It would be great to see this subject preserved, as it seems to be one of the few surviving examples extant of an early Mexican cartoon in sound and color. I would give you more information about the filmmakers, but the print is in storage right now.
Best Regards,
Mark
It makes me very proud to have had a small hand in helping to save this rare bit of animation history.
Now I know that Bob Bergen is just the voice of Porky Pig he is not really Porky but when I think of him running from one conference room to another to save our bacon (sorry) I envision Porky Pig animated by Frank Tashin plowing his way through the swarms of Lord of the Rings, Anime, and Star Wars dress up fan geeks. It is a good vision. I will play it back in my head over and over in these last hectic days before comic con.
So here it is 229 years and 2 days after the Declaration of Independence was postdated to give the mail riders time to get to all of the 13 colonies and I am trying to think of a way to tie that in with animation.
I have spent the day updating my Animation on a $hoe$tring (TM) ebook on creating your own low cost home animation studio. This is the 4th edition. Lots of research finding links and prices to animation equipment.
One of my favorite animation lightbox / animation disc combos has gone the way of the Dodo and all the site is selling now is pseudo-Hindu new age stuff. There has got to be a story behind that one.
After this I have 4 syllabi to write for 2 different colleges both of which have classes starting right after Comic Con. Deadline brings out the best in us or what does not kill you makes you stronger. Sorry Nietzsche, I just don`t buy that one.
12:30-2:00 ASIFA Presents: State of the Animation Industry - A panel discussion about where animation is and where it is going with some of the top names in the field. Donovan Cook (director of the first Mickey Mouse feature: The Three Musketeers), Eddie Mort and Lili Chin (Mucha Lucha), Aki Umemoto (Creative Director of Mattel Toys) Jon M. Gibson (Freelance animator and long time gaming reporter), and Matt O`Calaghan (director of Curious George). Moderated by Larry Loc. Room 3
6:00-7:00 Pitching An Animated Series - How do you get your cartoon on the air? Selling an animated series isn`t as easy as it seems. The process is as creative as it is frustrating—and equal parts unpredictable—but is there a magic bullet to developing a sure-fire hit? The major networks get thousands of pitches every year, so is there a secret recipe to getting your idea on the top of the pile? Maybe—and these are the people to tell you: Eric Coleman, VP for animation, development and production at Nickelodeon; Heather Kenyon, senior director of development original animation, at Cartoon Network; and Mike Moon from Walt Disney Television Animation; and creators Lauren Faust (Milky Way & the Galaxy Girls), Jorge R. Gutierrez (El Macho), and Gabe Swarr (Big Pants Mouse), all of whom are industry veterans currently in development on projects with the aforementioned executives. This will be an hour chock-full of wisdom, woes, and all the wacky stuff in-between, moderated by animation writer/creator Jon M. Gibson (also in development). Room 6B
I love silent animation, if you do too then come along to this one.
5:30-7:00 ASIFA Presents: History of Silent Animation - Larry Loc teaches animation and animation history at Cal State Fullerton and Brooks College and is a member of the executive board of ASIFA-Hollywood, the International Animated Film Society. Join him for his yearly screening of rare silent animation classics. Room 7B
You have to see Jerry Beck`s worst cartoons. There is nothing like 2000 people singing the theme to Might Mr. Titan at the top of their voices
10:00-11:00 Jerry Beck`s Worst Cartoons Ever - If Ed Wood were an animator, these are the cartoons he would have made. Animation historian Jerry Beck presents an all-new selection of some of the worst animated films ever made. This hilarious program showcases the terrible stories, awful artwork, crappy dialogue, and horrible animation of television cartoons from the 1950s and 60s. Past favorites such as Super President (a one-man weapon of mass destruction), Mighty Mr. Titan (a physical fitness propaganda cartoon show), Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero (a space cadet with far-out adventures), and Clutch Cargo (he with the live-action lips) will be joined this year by Rocket Robin Hood (and his band of "Merry Men"), Bucky & Pepito (hands down, the worst cartoon series ever made), Rankin-Bass`s King Kong (move over Peter Jackson!), and many others. Room 6A
Over at the Gang of 7 blog Tom Sito pimps a great Academy`s Science and Technology Council panel and presentation on the art of animation, Friday, July 29th, 7:30 p.m. the Academy`s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. http://www.g7animation.com/news/
Academy Award nominee, council and animation branch member Bill Kroyer will lead the evening`s dialogue with an inside look at 2-D and 3-D animation tools of the trade, examining the impact these tools have made and continue to make on the animator`s craft. The evening`s special guests will include Academy Award winner Brad Bird ( The Incredibles ), Aladdin Genie animator and animation branch member Eric Goldberg, Academy Award winner Jan Pinkava ( Geri`s Game ) and Lord of the Rings Gollum animators Richie Baneham and Steve Hornby. They all will share their views on the complexities of the animator`s tools through case studies and will discuss how new tools continue to shape the animated performance. Clips of obscure and iconic character animation will be showcased throughout the evening, and a panel discussion led by animation branch member Tom Sito will complete the program.
You sold me Tom. Sounds like a goody.
