Ponyo

The amazing Hiyao Miyazaki and his animation team at Studio Ghibli agreed to work with the Disney Animation Studios to create Miyazaki's re-telling of the traditional fairytale of the Little Mermaid.

It is the tale of a magical goldfish (voiced by Noah Cyrus) that wishes to break free from her overbearing, wizard of a father (voiced by Liam Neeson), and become human to maintain a friendship with a five-year-old boy (Frankie Jonas) in a nearby seaside village. Although he has loving parents (Tina Fey and Matt Damon) his father is rarely home so they have their own issues to work out.

Interview segment from AWN.COM's Bill Desowitz

AWN: How do come up with your worlds?

Hayao Miyazaki: I do all my work on storyboard, so as I draw my storyboard, the world gets more and more complex. And as a result, my north, south, east, west sense of direction kind of shift and go off base. But it seems like my staff as well as the audience don't quite realize that this is happening. Don't tell them about it.

AWN: How important is it to get elements [about preserving the environment] into your films?

HM: The most important thing is, I think, that even within such an environment, children grow up, they learn to love and they enjoy living in that environment.

AWN: What was the original inspiration for Ponyo?

HM: I think John Lasseter knows as well, but it's really hard to explain what becomes the motivation or the instigation to do a film. I feel like I'm searching in my subconscious with a fishing net and I happened upon catching a goldfish in that net and that was the inspiration for starting to make this movie.

read more here...

New AstroBoy Poster!

The Playhouse project

what will you draw on Dublin’s Liberty Hall?

re-blogged from http://www.culch.ie/2009/08/26/playhouse/
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

What would you draw on one of Dublin’s most recognizable buildings? Your name in lights? A giant tetris animation? A stickman walking? A giant pen? Is that unrealistic? It’s basically filling in lots of squares! It’s your canvas and you can do as you wish with it.

Daft.ie and the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival – September 24 to October 11 – are taking one of Dublin’s tallest buildings and allowing you to play with it. All you have to do is download their software and animate your thoughts to be broadcast onto the city skyline.

Just head on over to here and use playhousefan as password. That’s pre-launch information, that.

It’s easy enough, honest. Who knows what you could put up there!

Basically Liberty Hall will be a a 50 metre, low resolution, TV screen. You can create animations with sounds and music via the website and get them onto the building. Powering the display are 100,000 low-energy LED lights, installed into 330 windows on the south and west faces of the building. These lights can illuminate each window as a solid colour turning it into a tiny pixel that’s part of a giant display.

A narrow strip of ultra-bright LEDs were installed into every window frame along with a small controller box. The controllers connect to the central computer using existing CAT5 network cabling in the building – meaning the team didn’t need to install any additional wiring.

Peter Donegan will no doubt be glad to hear that the LEDs used are super-efficient. Each floor of the installation uses less energy than a standard kettle. Overall the lighting technology carried a tiny footprint, meaning it could be installed for a full two months before the project started without impacting the people that work there.

There’s a big team behind the project, born from a series of conversations and connections made in the Science Gallery . Originally inspired by the Blinkenlights installation in Berlin, Playhouse raises the technological bar with the ability to produce colour animations. SOme of the people involved include Adrián Acosta, Brian Fallon, founder of Daft,ie, Carina McGrail, Tim Redfern, Jack Phelan, Jonny McCauley and Ruaidhrí Devery from Fluid.ie.

You can find out all this over on the Playhouse website or follow the Playhouse project on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/playhousedublin

Here’s a look at what they did at Blinkenlights in Berlin:

School Starts Once Again

Hi SMFA animation folks! It's time for the 2009-10 school year to kick in, and we're looking forward to some great new changes. There are new state-of-the-art digital cameras in our studio, so be sure to check them out. Many thanks to Joel and Greg for taking care of that for us!

A REMINDER to all SMFA animation students: YOU can post on this blog site. Check the studio for password and ID.

VANCOUVER OPERA LAUNCHES ANIMATION CONTEST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: June 1, 2009
Contact: Ling Chan, 604-682-2871 x 4842
lchan@vancouveropera.ca

Vancouver Opera’s extensive network of social media sites as well as official contest rules can be found on their homepage at http://www.vancouveropera.ca.


VANCOUVER OPERA LAUNCHES ANIMATION CONTEST
Opera teams up with animation studios to reach next generation of fans

VANCOUVER, BC ~Vancouver Opera announces Operabot, an animation contest for their Golden Anniversary Season. Contestants are challenged to create animated shorts from one of the four operas from the VO 2009/2010 season. Entries will be posted to YouTube and open to voting, with the final winners chosen by a panel of judges from leading Vancouver-area animation studios. Prizes include animation software computer gear, gaming packages, mp3 players and digital cameras

The contest is found here: http://www.youtube.com/group/vancouveropera

“With the long-running success of our opera manga series by Roy Husada and Fiona Meng, we thought this was the logical next step,” said General Director Jim Wright. “We can’t wait to see what people come up with!”

The contest runs June 1, 2009 to Nov 1, 2009 and is open to residents of Canada and United States. Official rules can be found at www.vancouveropera.ca. All entrants will receive tickets to the opera, so everyone is a winner!

The contest was inspired by the active animation industry in Vancouver and a similar contest run by Chicago Opera Theater in 2008. VO has included one of the Chicago finalists that inspired the Vancouver contest as a sample on their blog, www.vancouveropera.blogspo

t.com and at the contest website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XahS-rjEDL8

Vancouver Opera is a leader in social media initiatives, including Operalive.ca multimedia site, Blogger Night at the Opera, Opera Ninja a live backstage twitterer and Operagator an opera news aggregator.

Utilizing Web 2.0 channels, including an active blog, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube channel, Vancouver Opera is committed to reaching the next generation of opera lovers using the media of the times.

Vancouver Opera is also a leader in using visual arts as a medium for opera, including a long running Opera Manga series by Roy Husada and Fiona Meng, and commissioning of award-winning visual artists like Edel Rodriguez and Michael Abraham to create original artwork for VO season productions.

Vancouver Opera’s extensive network of social media sites as well as official contest rules can be found on their homepage at http://www.vancouveropera.ca.

Quay Brothers at the Coolidge

Puppet Masters

By GREG COOK | April 29, 2009

If you don't know the films of the Quay Brothers, you don't know animation. Three decades ago, identical twins Stephen and Timothy Quay developed a cult following with eerie stop-motion puppet shorts, such as 1986's Street of Crocodiles, which Terry Gilliam has called "one of the 10 best animated films of all time," and clips on MTV. Their style resembles a musty toy box and a rusty toolbox come to life. Everything on the Quays' screen moves with an uncanny, unfathomable, haunting, insect-like logic.

Through April, the Coolidge Corner Theatre has been screening a retrospective of Quay films and projects featuring, among others, an animated dream sequence they put together for Julie Taymor's 2002 movie Frida and their own live-action feature flicks Institute Benjamenta and The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes. The tribute will culminate with the brothers coming to town next week to receive the 2009 Coolidge Award (past winners: Meryl Streep and Zhang Yimou) on May 6, and to screen and discuss excerpts of their films the following day. "Dormitorium," a companion exhibit of their animation sets, will be at the Fourth Wall Project through May 21.

The 61-year-old brothers grew up in suburban Philadelphia, but they've long lived in London, where the Phoenix reached them by phone. "We were artists who could actually draw and paint, and we got frustrated with that medium because there's no depth to it, there's no sound, no movement, light," they told me, as one voice got confused with the other. "So we thought naturally that we wanted to discover cinema. And the best way to do that would not be live action, but to do it on the tabletop, where you could control everything, and if you failed no one would have noticed.

"Having grown up in America," they said, "we would not have gone the route of Disney and the cartoon as comedy and entertainment. We [instead] felt [animation] had its roots in fairy tales, blood, Brothers Grimm on a more savage level, psychosis, sexuality. That became territory we felt puppets had not quite charted. And that's something we wanted to do. You know, in a quiet way."

The 2009 Coolidge Award will be presented on May 6, at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard Street, in Brookline. For general-admission tickets, go to coolidge.org/award or call 617.734.2500.

"Dormitorium" will be on display Monday through Saturday until May 21, from 1 to 7 pm, at the Fourth Wall Project, 132 Brookline Avenue, in Boston. For more information, go to fourthwallproject.com/index.html or e-mail info@fourthwallproject.com.

The ICA Boston "NEW ENGLAND ANIMATORS" 2nd Screening

The SMFA has THREE participants in this special screening event of regional animation filmmakers: visiting faculty Lorelei Pepi and SMFA graduate Norah Solarzano are both screening their animated films. Faculty member Joel Frenzer will be the screening event host on Thursday night. Ticket prices to the event are listed below. The collection of work of all participating filmmakers is quite strong and engaging, and definitely worth the trip.

On Thursdays the admission to the ICA EXHIBITIONS is FREE! You and your friends and family can come prior to the New England Animators show (7:30pm,) and enjoy the interesting and controversial Shepard Fairey exhibition.


ICA Boston "NEW ENGLAND ANIMATORS " 2nd Screening
Thursday, May 7, 7:30 pm


TICKETS
$10 general admission; $8 members, students, and seniors.

NEW ENGLAND ANIMATORS
Karen Aqua, 'Twist of Fate'
Steven Gentile, 'My Girlfriend Sleeps Like Superman'
Chip Moore and Jon Goldman, 'Swim'
Gina Kamentsky, 'Lil’Basenji'
Lorelei Pepi, 'Happy & Gay'
Norah Solorzano, 'Blindspot'
Steven Subotnick, 'Jelly Fishers'
Daniel Sousa, 'Drift'
Kara Nasdor-Jones, I 'Slept with Cookie Monster'
Bryan Papciak, 'Steeple'
Jerry and Orrin Zucker, 'Speed Date'
Julie Zammarchi, 'The Passenger'
Agnieszka Woznicka, 'Birdy'

ICA
100 Northern Ave
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 478-3100
www.icaboston.org

"Handmade Puppet Dreams Vol. I"

Heather Henson's "Handmade Puppet Dreams Vol. I"

film screening and artist appearance

April 27, 2009, 7pm, FREE

RISD MUSEUM - CHACE CENTER - MICHAEL P. METCALF AUDITORIUM
From the humorous to the horrifying, this zany collection of film shorts showcases the rising stars of cutting-edge puppetry. As part of our year-round programming, FirstWorks welcomes RISD alums Heather Henson and Emmy nominated puppet designer Paul Andrejco for an Artist-Up-Close screening of “Handmade Puppet Dreams, Vol. I”. Daughter of the beloved puppetry pioneer Jim Henson, Heather introduces a new generation of puppeteers through her handpicked series of independently produced film shorts, exploring unique approaches to animation through a spectrum of puppetry styles.

Produced by Providence's FirstWorks! An Arts organization. Contact us to reserve your seat!

Waltz With Bashir: Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes Look: The Making of Waltz with Bashir

Monday, April 13

6:30 PM Artist Talk: David Polonsky, Art Director

7:15 PM Screening of Waltz with Bashir

RISD Auditorium, 17 Canal Street

NFBC Films Online

The NFBC (National Film Board of Canada) has made a wide collection of their of films available for online viewing. It includes lots of animation, documentary, fiction and trailers. Find still image collections downloadable wallpaper for your desktop and media for purchase. The NFBC is THE VITAL and very important supporter for animation filmmaking in Canada.



Also, check out HOTHOUSE. Hothouse is an extension of the NFBC that is geared towards developing new talent. New filmmakers are brought in to make a film under the guidance of more experienced producers and mentors. Their program is a 12-week paid apprenticeship in full-on, all-inclusive, real-world animation filmmaking. Watch out for their announcement for the next round of Hothouse Workshop. it could be YOU going for 3 months to Canada to make a 1-minute film!

Matin Ramirez- exhibition in Boston

For those of you that find appeal in the art of the insane, Martin Ramirez (1895-1963) spent the last 15 years of his life confined in a California state hospital, suffering from schizophrenia. Many have come to think of him as a vital and very important contributor to art of the 20th century. He is known for the obsessive drawings of trains, tunnels, fantasy creatures and Latin cowboys all framed by the pulsing zig-zag patterns of walls and doorways. Here is a slide show of his drawings.

“Martin Ramirez: At the Center, In the Eye"

Through May 2
Nielsen Gallery
179 Newbury St.
Boston, MA

Rhode Island College is presenting a Festival of Contemporary Animation as part of the year’s Spring Celebration of the Arts presentation. The two-night event in the Nazarian Center’s Sapinsley Hall will feature recent animated films by regional and international artists.

April 17, at 7pm: International Program
April 18 2009, at 7pm: Four New England Animators

Rhode Island College
"Festival of Contemporary Animation"
The Nazarian Center Bldg 15
600 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence, RI
map link

The festival kicks off on Friday, April 17, with the International Program. The two-hour screening begins at 7 p.m. with a 45-minute selection of the “best of” the Ottawa Animation Festival 2008 – one of the top animation festivals in the world.

The second half of the international program will showcase the festival curators’ picks, including the charcoal drawings that come to life in Automatic Writing by renowned South African artist William Kentridge; the surreal tale of Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor by Academy Award-winning Japanese animator Koji Yamamura; a psychedelic mash-up of Rambo in Untitled (Pink Dot) by digital artist Takeshi Murata; a hand-drawn and cut-out animation titled How She Slept at Night by the Chicago-based comic artist Lilli Carre; and the poignant, sometimes shocking, line drawings of British artist David Shrigley in Who I Am and What I Want.



On Saturday, April 18, starting at 7 p.m., audiences will get an in-depth look at the work of four award-winning animators from New England, who will show short films and discuss excerpts from their work. The animators are Jo Dery, RIC film instructor and artist known for her expressive paper-cut style of animation; Dan Sousa, a RISD professor who uses a combination of drawing, etching, painting, and computer programs to animate dream-like fables; Lorelei Pepi, whose work includes experimental and traditional animation styles; and Nancy Andrews who combines drawn animation, live-action and puppetry.

The Festival of Contemporary Animation is organized by the Film Studies Program and curated by Maya Allison and Jo Dery. Allison is a curator of moving image-based art, and director of the 5 Traverse Gallery in Providence. Dery is an animation artist and curator of past Magic Lantern experimental film series at the Cable Car Cinema in Providence.

The Spring Celebration of the Arts is sponsored by the Performing and Fine Arts Commission at Rhode Island College

Free admission.