Punto y Raya Animation screening at SMFA

The Film-Animation area of the SMFA will be hosting the evening screening of the Punto y Raya Festival, this Tuesday Nov. 30 at 7pm. The evening is also a chance for the local New England Animators, a collective of professional locals to meet local college students that are also interested in animation.

Co-Curator Noël Palazzo will be hosting the event screening, which has been traveling internationally, away from their home in Barcelona, Spain. The Iota Center, a public arts organization dedicated to abstract cinema and visual music, located in Culver City, CA is the other side of the collaboration, and is headed by animation filmmaker/artist, Larry Cuba.

The screening is a collection of the "Best of 2009" abstract animation films.

Animation Notboek

Evelien Lohbeck’s multimedia artwork noteboek (2008), has been selected as a Top Video in the Biennial of Creative Video, the showcase organized by the Guggenheim Museum and YouTube.
| | read more at Rhizome.org | |

Stop-Mo Puppets from Animation 1!

These puppets are all from the SMFA Animation 1 class of Fall 2010. We did stop-motion animation, and learned how to make armatures, fabricate body shapes and make costumes. We used extra-strength magnets in their feet to bind them to thin sheets of steel on the tabletop of the sets.

Best of Ottawa 2009 Screening

FREE SCREENING
Monday, Sept 20th
studio B113 (animation studio)
12:30 - 1:30-ish

Come join us for a selection of some of the best animation work appearing at the Ottawa Animation Festival. This is one of the most successful, energizing and well-known animation festivals in the world!

Tony Oursler exhibition

Tony Oursler
Peak
7 October - 4 December, 2010
201 Chrystie Street

Opening Reception
Thursday, 7 October, 6-8PM

Lehmann Maupin
201 Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
Telephone 212 254 0054
info@lehmannmaupin.com

Lehmann Maupin presents Peak, an exhibition of new works by Tony Oursler, on view at 201 Chrystie Street, 7 October – 4 December 2010. Peak continues the artist’s exploration into the ways in which technology affects the human psyche. Focusing on humankind’s obsessive relationship to computers and other virtual platforms, the works in this exhibition are microcosmic scenes that convey the varied nature of these relationships, such as obsession, escapism, isolation and sexual fetish. The installations reference dynamic systems and models, such as flowcharts, Rube Goldberg machines and astronomical orreries. Oursler’s projections combine glass, clay, steel and other raw materials with a synthesis of performance language and rhythmic editing.

Oursler explores Masahiro Mori’s “The Uncanny Valley”, which theorizes that as inanimate objects become closer in appearance to the human form and face, mankind will find them increasingly disturbing and therefore cast into the realm of the uncanny. Oursler redefines Mori’s theory by investigating our contemporary Internet usage, viewing the Internet as a mechanical reflection of our human psyche, inducing a compulsive relationship despite its disturbing effect. The dynamic developing between humans and the virtual apparatus becomes and is an epistemological mirror of the human consciousness and, thus, is uncanny in its nature.

Puppet update

Second to last post on Prague puppet making, I believe. I have had a great couple of days in the magical world of the czech language, in colder than expected studios with inspiring sets, puppets and animators. Yesterday I went to the foam latex studio of puppet maker extraordinaire, Jarozlav Bezdek.

I spent the day making the hands for a puppet I have designed and will complete by the end of this week. The hands will be, in their final form, made out of a foam latex material, which is softer and lighter that the latex available in the plaster shed.
The process of making puppet hands is quite simple, as I learnt, but it requires some materials which might not be so easy or cheap to acquire. First, I experimented in clay to model the right hands for the puppet I had in mind. I went through a couple designs, finally deciding on some rougher larger hands that will hopefully look a bit more like wood than latex. The best way to model hands of of clay is by carving them out of a block. Making them through an additive process took a bit more time and resulted thinner than I expected, too thin for the wire that will be fitted inside.


After the hands were modeled, I stretched out a rectangular panel of clay, about 1/2 " thick or half the thickness of the hands I made, and I traced the outline of the hands on the sheet of clay. Use a different color than the hands, so you can better separate the two later. I carved out the shape of the hands following the outline and fitted them in there. Then, with L shaped metal corners surrounding the hands, I covered the hands in plaster. After it dried I flipped it over and removed the layer of clay. The hands remained attached to the plaster. I covered the other side of the hands in plaster in the same way as before, adding a layer of soap in between to separate the two sides. A couple pieces of clay are used also after the layer of soap to make it easier to get the hands out of the mould.
The puppets I was learning to make have only 4 fingers because of the mechanism that is used to attach them to the armature. The wire used for the fingers was made of very soft lead. Do not lick the lead, it will make you sick! When the mould is dry, the clay hands are removed and the wire is fitted into it. The latex mixture is poured into either side of the mould and eventually baked in an oven to complete the process. Contact me if you are interested in making some puppets or puppet hands out of foam latex in the near future, or if you have any questions about the process or the vague descriptions I wrote where I brush over important details !



I'll post soon on armature design and technical drawings.


Happy animating. Make some puppets and watch THIS!

-angela

Czech Puppet Animation

Hello SMFA Animation people!
The last couple of posts are an excellent introduction to my post! I am currently in Prague doing a workshop on Czech puppet design and puppet animation. Its a ten day schedule where we learn about the way that stop motion animation has been traditionally done in the Czech Republic. Well, all that we can fit in such a short time frame. For the last two days we have been making a short animated film with the same style of puppets that were used in Jan Balej's film "One night in one city". It has been an amazing experience to be able to work with these puppets. The are created with a special armature specially designed to allow the most controlled movement of the puppet. The armatures is made of two wooden parts and several metal joints and extremities. The wooden pieces are placed in the center of the puppet, at the chest and at the pelvic area. They join together the specially designed pieces that form the legs, arms, neck and torso of the puppet, which are mainly created as a series of joints.
This particular example does not have the top wooden part. But you can see that the puppet construction is much more sophisticated than a wire armature. The joints at the knees, the ankles, the elbows, etc., are set so there will be no discrepancy in the way the puppet bends his body when he moves.
Later in in the week I will have a lecture on puppet armatures, so I will be able to post a more detailed description of how it all works and where the parts are made. What I know for sure is that the professional armature is relatively expensive, priced at 15000 Kc, the equivalence of 882.5 USD.
For now, I am just enjoying the animation process, in the Hafan studio, where the Czech film, "Fimfarum" was shot.

Raoul Servais-Amelia D.

Haha, I bet some of you thought I was going to do my post on Jan Svankmajer, but I'm not. Suckers.
Raoul Servais was born in the Belgian city of Ostend in 1928. He is mainly known for the film "Harpya", which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in France in 1979. "Harpya" was also the first and last film to use the technique of mixing animation and live action together as one.
His work is surreal, with odd camera angles and strange subject matter, and it is really fun to watch. I recently saw one of his earlier films, "Sirene", and it looks like something that could have been made today. It has precise movements of the machines and the delicate form of humans rolled balanced in quite a harmonious way. Go watch it. You'll love it.

spike jonze film online

um this isn't exactly history of animation but I was just wanting to say that Spike Jonze made a short film (inexplicably paid for by Absolut) and it's online now. It's about robots falling in love and stuff.

I can't figure out how the computer-headed robot's mouth is being animated, but I feel like it's probably something really simple.

http://www.imheremovie.com/

oh and here's the trailer, I think:

Walt Disney of the East- Stephen Bevilacqua

Jiri Trnka was consider to be Disney of the east. Through his provoctive puppet animation, Trnka became one of the most infulenical animators of our time. He graduated from the Prague School of Arts and Crafts. He created a puppet theater in 1936. This group was dissolved when World War 2 began, and he instead designed stage sets and illustrated books for children throughout the war. After the end of the war, Trnka started an animation unit at the Prague film studio. Trnka soon became very recognized as the world's greatest puppet animator in the traditional Czech method, and he won several awards including Cannes in 1959 and 1964 for Best Short. The last film Trnka work on earned him an BAFTA was RUKA (The Hand). It was a tragicomic story of a little man who hopes to make a flower-pot for his beloved flower and present hand that forces the man to create a portrait celebrating it. It is a horrifying protest against any violence restraining human freedom, emotions, creative force or life. It is one of the milestones of Czech and world animation. In 1984 the American Film Academy declared it the fifth best animated picture in history. Jaroslav Bocek, and admire of Trnka, points out

"Walt Disney had, in fact, dominated animated cartoons throughout the thirties. It was not only that the market was flooded with films from his own studios, but also that he had influenced the technique and style all over the world. A cartoon film was automatically thought of as a Disney film, and any work in Europe in this field was always along his lines….Then came Trnka and the Trick Brothers. Years later, Stephen Bosustow, the American critic, was to call Trnka ‘the first rebel against Disney’s omnipotence.’

Disney’s omnipotence had helped other animators to learn the basic elements of the craft. His cartoons had given them technique and skill. But what they lacked was a style and concept of their own. These Trnka was to supply in his very first film, made immediately after the war."

Talk to The Hand! Anthony Bevilacqua

Born in 1912, Jiri Trnka's stop-motion animated short film The Hand is a harrowingly gorgeous and tragically whimsical political statement in regards to his own personal disgust as both a freethinker and artist who is grappling with the severe effects of oppression and censorship while under narrow-minded, tyranical rule. Completed just three years before his death in 1969, Czech animator Jiri Trnka released this controversial work in 1965, cleverly disguising the underlining themes of The Hand with intricately detailed visuals as well as an adorably sympathetic central character. As the most simplistic version of the story goes, A humble little man who wishes to make a flowerpot for his most cherished flower is continuously bombarded by an ever present and disruptively intrusive giant hand. Perceived within the art community as fearless, provocative and humanistically relevant, The Hand quickly made animation history and eventually received worldwide acclaim, being called a milestone for Czech expressionism and even one of the greatest animated films of all time.

This is a link to The Hand:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Dw09LVNm4

How The Grinch Stole My Heart

Chuck Jones's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" is a favorite among the Gorals, and its viewing on Christmas Eve has been a family tradition for years. Personally, I think the cartoon is a too-often overlooked Chuck Jones gem.

The short was originally aired on December 18, 1966 on CBS. It was telecast annually until 1987 by CBS until its ownership was acquired by TBS, who still broadcast the cartoon every year. The short has also appeared on Cartoon Network and The WB.

The short was produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios and The Cat in the Hat Productions. I am unable to find a whole lot of information on The Cat in the Hat Productions, like whether or not Dr. Seuss was involved, but what I did find is that the company was formed in 1966, their first short film being "The Grinch." "The Cat in the Hat" was their third film and was not produced until 1971. TCitHP doesn't seem to be around anymore, although I can't confirm that, but one would think this to be true seeing as their last film was "The Hoober-Bloob Highway," made in 1975.

Back to "The Grinch," and for all you cinephiles out there, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" was narrated by none other than Boris Karloff. Oh, what a silly person to narrate a children's story. Boris Karloff is probably best know for his roles as Frankenstein's Monster in "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein," as well as The Mummy in "The Mummy." Surely, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" added some color and humor to Karloff's dark and macabre resume. A quote:

"uuuuuuuuuunnnnnggghhhhh"

-Boris Karloff as "The Mummy"

Also, the song "Fahoo Forays," sung by the Whos, was written to sound as though it were being sung in Latin. My top secret infiltrators at IMDB tell me that letters were received by MGM from viewers asking for the Latin to English translation. Fooled!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPBS7dVrE1U&feature=related

Jim Carrey sucks.