SETTING the SCENE - The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout

By Fraser MacLean

Foreword by Pete Docter

Published by Chronicle Books

Price $60.00, £40 ($37.80 on Amazon)

260 Pages,   Hardcover

At first glance Fraser MacLean’s Setting the Scene: The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout looks like a lovely coffee table sized picture book, but the minute you begin to read it you realize that it is a major work, full of information on the important but often overlooked art of layout.

Fraser knows who and what he is talking about because he worked on Touchstone’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam at Warner Bros., and Tarzan at Walt Disney along with several other Disney Productions. This book takes the reader behind the scenes in this under-appreciated segment of the animation world, from the early days of Winsor McCay, the Fleischer Brothers, and 1930’s Walt Disney right up to the latest 3-D and video game technology.

The critical relationship between the character animator and the camera is emphasized along with the process that layout artists and scene planners use to plot scenes.  Detailed analysis and illustrations of the background and layout of such classics as the opening scene of sequence 2 in Pinocchio where the camera begins to move down across the tiled rooftops, through the trees and houses, to Geppetto’s workshop makes you understand why this one Disney multiplane scene is considered by many historians to have never been bettered.

Fraser had access to the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, MGM and the University of Southern California archives where much of the old Warner Bros. material is archived.  He also includes art work and photographs from Tex Avery work to the lavish photographs, layout design, and art work of Pixar and Dreamworks.

This is not intended to be a technical book that gives you techniques on creating your own layouts, but it will give you deep insights into the world of the back ground artist.    After reading the in depth analysis of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and One Hundred And One Dalmatians, I re-watched both classics with a totally different eye, noticing many details that I had obviously seen before but had never consciously noticed.  As the author says “the better they (background layout artists) are, the more their work will go unnoticed by the audience”.

The 260 page book ends with a lengthy interview of Ray Aragon given in 2009, just before his death at 83 years of age.  As I read his thoughts on the art of drawing and animation lay out I was captivated by his lifelong enthusiasm for drawing and joy of life.  His advice to his students at Cal Arts, where he taught after his work at Disney Studio, “If you’re drawing from a photograph, you can’t see around!  So you copy what you see and it’s flat.  But when you draw something that is real, you can see around it!  Draw what’s around you . . .” is sage advice indeed.

The conversation is illustrated with drawings from Ray’s numerous sketchbooks and art work from the films that he worked on.  Even if you are not immediately familiar with Aragon’s name, everyone knows his beautiful art work on Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins and Yellow Submarine.

The book includes a 10 page glossary of animation terms which are worth keeping at your fingertips for easy reference.  The comprehensive bibliography, broken into headings such as “Early Animation History”, “Biographies”, and “Practical Techniques”, makes it easy to research additional sources.

The forward by Pete Docter, long time Pixar filmmaker and Academy Award winning director of Up and Monsters, Inc, is a jovial introduction to a book that will be a delightful and informative addition to everyone’s library.  Every animation school should have a copy of Setting the Scene: The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout on their reference bookshelf and encourage their students to read it and learn from some of the great names in the animation world.  Whether you work in the industry or are an animation fan this is a book you will thoroughly enjoy reading.

Setting the Scene:  The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout can be found on the shelves of many book stores.

OR

You can order the book on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Setting-Scene-Evolution-Animation-Layout/dp/0811869873/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335485244&sr=1-1

The Rauch Brothers, Tim and Mike, have won the prestigeous 71st Annual George Foster Peabody Award for their StoryCorps animated shorts commemorating the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. They share the honor with StoryCorps, POV, the 9/11 Memorial and Musuem, NPR’s Morning Edition, and YouTube. My congratulations The Rauch Brothers  and the teams who worked on StoryCorps’ 9/11 radio broadcasts and mobile app, which was also named as part of the award. The StoryCorps 9/11 animated short series was also recently announced as an Official Honoree of the 16th Annual Webby Awards for Documentary Series. In a press release Tim and Mike Rauch said “Thanks to our partners—StoryCorps and POV—for helping us share these important remembrances, and to commemorate the 10th anniversary last September. We especially thank the courageous families that so generously shared their stories with us. We must always remember the people who lost their lives that day.”

If you have not heard StoryCorps on Morning Edition or seen it on POV be sure to check out the Rauch Brothers web site: rauchbrothers.com

Tricky Women

WOMEN IN ANIMATION

12 Essays on Women in animation and one DVD

Edited by:  Brigitt Wagner/Waltraud Gruber (Hg.)

Published By:  Schuren Verlag  (Marburg, 2011)

Price  : €24,89 (approximately $33.00 USD)

You can order the book on line at the Tricky Women Animation Festival Store (http://www.trickywomen.at/en/shop/

or from the publishers.

The Tricky Women Animation Festival have published a 189 page book honoring  women in animation.  Birgitt Wagner and Waltraud Grausgruber (Hg.), directors of the Vienna based festival have edited the twelve essays written by scholars, animators, and educators.

The opening essay is Historical Milestones: Who Gets to Tell Whose Stories?, by Jayne Pilling,  Director of the British Academy Awards as well as a historian and curator. Jayne traces the careers of pioneers from Lotte Reiniger and Mary Ellen Bute, who were able to work on their own because they were either supported by parents, husband, or well off in their own right, down to present day women including  Signe Baueman, Ruth Lingford, and JoAnna Quinn who finance their own projects and often work alone.

I particularly enjoyed The Czech and Slovak New Female Wave of Animation essay by journalist/animation researcher Eliska Decks.  When most people think of contemporary Czech animation, Michaela Pavlatova immediately comes to mind.  Michaela’s insightful storytelling, often ironic and politically incorrect views of relationships, has brought short animation to the attention of adult audiences who heretofore have relegated it to children’s entertainment.  It has also earned her  numerous festival awards and an Academy Award nomination. Pavlatova’s work has blazed the trail for an entire new breed of young Czech and Slovenian women  who are creating their own unique heroines.

Ruth Lingford’s piece on the art of Vera Neubauer entitled Soft Toys, Rough Treatment was followed by Masa Ogrizek’s interview with Neubauer.  Vera is a pioneer in the art of transforming animation by women from “lovely little stories” into works dealing with female emotions.  Vera talks frankly about being cast as a feminist saying “I never considered myself as being political, but at the time I started making films the personal was political.”  Her point of view is shared by many of the next generation of female animators who are telling their own personal stories.

Four of the essays are in German while the remaining eight are only in English.  Unfortunately for me, the essay about Mary Ellen Bute is only in German. I am very interested in her work because she worked with what she called visual sound.  Unfortunately her work is barely known today as  good prints of her films are rarely shown and there is surprisingly little written about her.

I would also liked to be able to read the chapter on Russian women animators but it was also only in German.  Dina Goder, a critic writing about Russian film and animation, profiled three generations of Russian women animators.  Oxana Cherkasova began working in the mid ‘80’s, Svetlana Filippova began her career in the late ‘90’s representing the middle generation, and Yulia Aronova belongs to the new generation of women.

Women are not prominently represented in the digital design of the gaming industry.  Jennifer Jenson and Suzanne de Castell analyse the obstacles female game designers face in God Trick, Good Trick, Bad Trick, New Trick:  Reassembling the Production Line. 

Along with the essays, Women in Animation has two lovely surprises for readers.  Ten well known female animators were asked to name the three films by women they each considered to be Milestones in Animation.  The individual selections give an interesting insight into their own work.  It was intriguing to learn that such a diverse group as Sarah Cox, Gaelle Davis, Vera Naubauer, Joanna Priestly, and Marjut Rimminen all selected Caroline Leaf’s 1976 film The Street.  This was the only title to appear on multiple lists.

The second surprise is a five film DVD that is included in the book.  The DVD is worth the price of the book alone because most of these films are not seen very often.  The films are:

Le Chapeau/The Hat – Michele Cournoyer (Canada)

Flawed – Andrea Dorfman (Canada)

Blind Justice:  Some Protection – Marjut Rimminnen (Great Britain)

Pleasures of War – Ruth Lingford  (Great Britain)

Ostorozhno, Dveri Otkryvajutsia!/Caution, The Doors Are Opening (Mind the Gap) –Anastasia Zhuravleva (Russia)

All five films show life from distinctly different feminine perspectives.  I was especially pleased that Anastasia Zhuravleva’s delightful film was included in the collection.  Anastasia used buttons, pins, thimbles, and zippers, materials usually associated with women, to tell her story of rush hour on the Moscow underground.

Women In Animation is full of information on subjects ranging from the work of female pioneers in the animation industry to the gaming industry and museum installations.  The book is academically oriented and I wouldn’t recommend it for readers who just have a casual interest in animation, but for anyone wanting analytical analysis of women and their history and involvement it is an excellent reference work.  It is also a book that should be in art, animation and film schools.

This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who teaches animation to young people, have a young animator in your home or are a JUNIOR animator. I am familiar with the festival’s work and can wholeheartedly recommend it.  — Nancy

It is a pleasure to inform you that we’re launching the

version of our festival, made FOR and BY children aged 6 to 12 years.
Following the same spirit that has earned us the title of “Most abstract festival in the World”, this edition will host the same kind of activities as the “adult” one (calls for entries, workshops, screenings, installations, exhibitions and live PyRformances) under the motto “No representation, only dots and lines”.

The CALLS FOR ENTRIES are currently open, and the selected works will compete for the Jury and Audience Awards.

SHORT FILM Call for entries: abstract short films experimenting with dots and lines in various contexts. All techniques are welcome; maximum running time is 6 minutes and the soundtrack cannot feature articulated words. View the

for children at various associated venues. We’ll post all the details soon.

For those who still don’t know Punto y Raya, this multidisciplinary festival studies the essence of the artistic expression; it uses the minimum grains of all representation systems (the dot and the line) as ends in themselves, inviting creators and audiences to explore the artistic experience in its purest state: form, color, motion, tension and sound. Punto y Raya subscribes to the spirit of “Art for Art’s sake”; that unique experience that only abstraction can encompass in all its dimensions.

For more information regarding our three “adult” editions, please visit our

website. Awaiting with enthusiasm the children’s works, Warm regards, MAD pyr@mad-actions.com www.puntoyrayafestival.com Organized by: With the collaboration of: MAD [moviment d’alliberament digital]

CCCB [Centro de Cultura Contemporánea]

For me the New Year really starts when I go to ANIMA Brussels each year in the beautiful, historic Flagey.  For ten days it becomes the center of the animation world.

Festival Co-ordinators Doris Clevens and Phillipe Moins

The This is Belgium programs are always a highlight for me since they are a chance to see the newest works from of the Walloon and Flemish regions of the country I live in.  I had been curious to see Natasha, the new film by Russian born Roman Klochkov who has lived in Gent since he was seventeen.  Roman’s multi-award winning film The Administrators is a humorous, but all too true tale of government  bureaucracy run wild.  Natasha takes us into the world of immigrants trying to assimilate in a new world.

Roman makes good use of his distinctive style and sardonic humor in the tale of Nicolai, an emigrant bear from Russia who lives and works in a European zoo, living in the Russian ghetto.  He longs for his great love, Natasha, but when he is finally reunited with her things don’t go quite as planned.  As I watched the film I was sure that Roman had created another award winning animation and I was right.  Natasha received the SACD Award for the best film from the Flemish region.

The Grand Prix for the French speaking community went to La Boite de Sardines by Louise-Marie Colo.  The delightfully quirky film is the tale of a very tiny mermaid looking for love.  She finally finds it with a young fisherman but there are unexpected consequences.  The film was produced at Jean-Luc Slock’s prestigious Camera-etc. Studio in Liege.  La Boite de Sardines also received the RTBF Award.

In the past few years there has been a marked increase in feature films that deal with mature topics aimed at adult audiences.  Arrugas (Wrinkles), directed by Ignacio Ferreras, who was born in Spain and now lives in Scotland, is a tender and insightful film about Alzheimers.  Emilio is a retired bank manager suffering from the early stages of the disease.  When his son and daughter-in-law put him in a care home Emilio strives to maintain his dignity and adjust to new “friends” very different from those he would choose for himself.

The film treats a very difficult subject that will touch all of us at one way or another sometime in our lives without melodrama or predictable stereotypes.  The animation may not be the films strong point but the story, based on an award winning graphic novel by Paco Roca, and characters will stay with you long after you leave the theatre.  It is gratifying to see that audiences are responding to animation treating serious subjects as shown by Arrugus receiving the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature Film at Anima.

I originally saw Jib - The House in Annecy last year and I enjoyed it even more when I watched it again.  The story revolves around Ga Young, a young girl who moves to a run-down district of town when she loses all of her money in a mutual fund.  Ga Young discovers spirits that occupy the houses and she communicates with them through a magic bell that drops from a cat’s collar.  The spirits’ lives depend on the presence of people and they will die in an empty house.

As urban renewal threatens the district, Ga Young fights to save her neighbourhood and the spirits that live there.  The animation is rather simplistic but the use of still photographs, as opposed to animation, gives a real sense of the neighbourhood and adds an interesting dimension to a plight that is becoming  prevalent in a lot of cities where urban renewal and displacement of the poor is becoming all too common.

Jib – The House was directed by five students from the Korean Academy of Film Arts.  The Academy stresses cooperative feature filmmaking which accounts for the five directors listed in the credits.  It is a unique approach to student film making that seems to work at the Academy.  Students from the same school created the charming The Story of Mr. Sorry in 2008.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find the opening night film, From Up On  Poppy Hill directed by Goro Miyazaki very exciting.  Set in Yokohoma in 1963 this coming of age film about a young girl lacks the intriguing story and intricate art work that I have come to expect from Studio Ghibli.  One thing that wasn’t missing was the beautifully animated sea scenes for which the studio is so well known, but the characters were wooden and the animation not up to the quality I expect from the studio. Goro still has a ways to go before he can walk in his father Hayao Miyazaki’s shoes.

Midori-Ko is a new breed of Japanese animation.  Big eyed, snubbed nose cute little girls are replaced by Keita Kurosaka’s surreal and sinister characters.  Kurosaka’s brown charcoal and crayon drawings intensify the wildly imaginative and often frightening world of animals, people, and hybrid vegetables that  surround Midori-Ko. The title character, a young woman, tries to engineer a “dream food” that can put a stop to the famine that is raging in a futuristic Tokyo.  Her life is completely changed when she encounters a strange creature.  This film is definitely not for children and is eerie as any horror film.

When I see bad animation I usually don’t write about it, but George the Hedgehog is SO bad that I am compelled to warn my readers not to go near it.  The Polish feature directed by Wojtek Wawszczyk is billed as a “distant cousin of Fritz the Cat”, but unlike Fritz the humor is completely banal and there is no way George can be compared to R. Crumb’s notorious character.  This film is just pointless and gross, not clever and funny.

The Futuranima programs are presented by animation by animation professionals and they cover a broad spectrum of the animation industry.  They talk about their career experiences and current projects.

Most enjoyable of the seven programs for me was the 1½ hours that I spent listening to revered layout artist Roy Naisbill and animator/layout artist Fraser MacLean talk about Setting the Scene:  The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout (which also happens to be the title of Frasers new book).  Roy and Fraser met and became friends while working on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Their relaxed conversation was packed with information.  Roy’s career began as an SFX animator on 2001: A Space Odyssey while Fraser spent time at Disney.  The duo used numerous film clips to illustrate their points, and the highlight for me was Roy talking the audience through his layout for the classic opening sequence of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?  His explanation of the use of shadows in the Baby Herman/Roger chase scene illustrated to the audience that what seems like a small matter to the viewer is a vital part of the finished film.

Roy Niasbitt showing his layout designs to audience members (photo: Renaud Fang)

Unfortunately Roy had to leave the day after their presentation, but Fraser was at the festival several days longer.  He was often to be found in the festival café sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge about animation layout with students. I was lucky enough to be there when talked about his work on various films and showed us his drawings for the projects. I will never look at shadows and backgrounds in animation the same after their master class. I have just received a reviewing copy of Setting the Scene: The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout and look forward to reviewing it.

Fraser MacLean and Nancy

 The program What Comes After A Degree?, designed for animation students to learn some of the realities of life after school, had a large audience.  Recent graduates Steven De Beul of Beast Animation and Jeremie Mazurek of Enclume spoke about their respective paths to success.  They also showed examples of their work as animator, producer, and director.

Spanish and Swiss animation was in the spotlight this year with numerous retrospectives, special presentations, and guests.  The two part Best of Spanish Animation presented 23 recent works.  A few years ago most people weren’t aware that Spain has a vibrant animation industry but with the recent success of films such as Chico & Rita and Birdboy, a new group of young animators has brought Spain into the animation spotlight.

Samuel Orti, better known as Sam, is a perfect example of this new breed.  He has gained worldwide recognition as a master of claymation.  Sam has worked at Aardman Studio on various projects including Wallace and Grommit and Chicken Run.  Along with his freelance work he is also the founder of the Spanish production studio Conflictivos.  Sam’s film Vicenta was short listed for the Oscar this year.

Sam

I had an opportunity to watch Sam work his magic when he demonstrated his claymation techniques in his three day workshop for professionals and students. Film goers had the chance to get an up close look at characters and sets from Sam’s films in the exhibition room which was totally given over to his work.  His intricate constructions with attention to the smallest details must be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

As part of the focus on Spain a Spanish-Belgian professional meeting for animation producers was organized by Brussels Invest and Export along with AWEX to encourage co-productions and collaborations between the two countries.  The daylong meeting offered a chance for pitch sessions, one on one meetings, and presentations on funding opportunities as well net working opportunities.

In the Country of the Helvetions, a collection of 16 short films, spotlighted the beautiful craftsmanship that marks Swiss animation.   The program gave the audience a chance to see classic films by such well known animators as Georges Schwizgebel, Jonas Raeber, and Isabelle Favez.  Isabelle was a member of the Belgian National Competition jury this year and presented a retrospective of her touching, humorous works.

Nancy and Georges Schwizgebel toasting his Best Professional Short Film Award

Isabelle Favez being interviewed by Stephanie Coerten (photo: Renaud Fang)

The Animation department of the School of Art and Design in Lucerne is the only one of its kind to offer studies at the University level.  Otto Alder, co-director of the animation program, introduced a program of recent films from the school which showed why the students’ high quality of work has been recognized at festivals worldwide.  A highlight of the program was Michaela Muller’s 2009 film  Miramare.  The film takes us into a slice of life on the Mediterranean borders of Europe, where holiday tourists relax in the sun while illegal immigrants struggle for a chance at a better life.   Michaela used beautiful, fanciful painted on glass animation to tell a very serious story of the harsh realities of the real world.

Otto is well known in his own right as an animation historian.  He has served as programmer for several festivals, is co-founder of the prestigious Fantoche Animation Festival and has served as a jury  member at many International Festivals.  In 2009 he organized the Lucerne International Academy.  An impressive array of experts in the field of animation was brought together by Alder to encourage deeper dialogues on animation.

ANIMA Brussels is held yearly during Carnival Holiday week so students are not in school.  Mornings and afternoons were donated to family programs.  Several years ago the festival treated the very youngest animation fans to a program of short animations from the classic The Little Mole series by Czech animator Zdenek Miler.  This year seven short films from Miler’s Cvrcel (The Cricket) series took us along on the adventures of the dapper, violin playing little cricket.  The theatre was packed with very small children who were enchanted by the films.  Their parents were equally enthralled as they relived memories from their own childhoods.

French director Jean-Francois Laguionie’s Le Tableau was one of the most visually stunning feature animations I have seen in quite a while.  The story of a painter who leaves his painting of a castle, flower garden, and an eerie forest unfinished is equally charming.  Three types of characters live in the picture: Toupins who feel superior because the artist has fully painted them, Pafinis who are missing some colors, and Reufs who are only sketches.  The Toupins have enslaved the Reufs and three Pafinis , Ramo, Lola, and Pen, set out in searcher of the human painter so he can complete the picture and restore order to the world.  Le Tableau is directed at children but the two other adults that I watched the film with were as enchanted as I was by the beautiful film.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Lady and the Tramp and I had forgotten what a delightful film it is.  The story of two dogs from the opposite side of the tracks that fall in love can’t help but go straight to your heart.  Lady and her adoring Tramp sharing a spaghetti dinner is as sweet and touching as any love scene ever put on the silver screen.  Even though the film was made over fifty years ago time has treated it very well.

After the screenings youngsters could try their hand at the workshop for children.  When I visited the workshop there was a room full of young people busy working on a robot film.  The project was set up under the direction of William Henne and the the Zorobabel Animation Collective.

The Children’s Workshop hard at work on their robot movie

I am a big fan of Estonian animation so it was a delightful surprise to see Mati Kutt at the opening night party.  Mati is one of a group of talented puppet animators working at the renowned Nukufilm Studio in Tallinn.  The last time that I visited the studio Mati was working on his latest film, Taevaland (Sky Song) and I had an opportunity to see the story board and some of the puppets.  I have been anxiously waiting to see the finished film and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

On the surface the film is about Postman Rain who is delivering a letter to the moon, but the film is about so much more.  The web site says that the film is “an ode for all those who like to fly” and fly is exactly what I did as I watched this superbly surreal work.  Mati’s craftsmanship shines through in his beautiful puppets which are works of art in themselves.  He can turn everyday objects into fantastic creatures, like one made from a straight razor which is my particular favorite.  Sky Song is a multi-layered film that needs several views to peel away layers and I have a feeling no matter how many times I watch it I will always see new things.

ANIMA Brussels is one of twelve member festivals of Cartoon, the European Association of Animation Film, that nominates a film for the Cartoon d’ Or.  This year the award was presented in September to The Little Boy and the Beast, a serious, sensitive look at the effects divorce has on children.  German directors Johannes Weiland and Uwe Heidschotter have made a film that both children and adults can relate to and I am pleased to see them recognized for their work.  Festival goers had a chance to see The Little Boy and the Beast along with the other four nominees at the Cartoon d’Or 2011 program.

Blu is a familiar name in the world of graffiti animation and now a new breed of young animation artists are bursting onto the urban scene rubbing shoulders with graffiti and street art.  Street Animation was an opportunity to get an international look at what is being created with miniature cameras out on our pavement and walls.

The ten days of ANIMA Brussels were so packed full of films, friends, and special events that it was impossible to see and do everything.  I am sorry that I only got to see a few minutes of the Cosplay events.  Animated Night, the Saturday night film extravaganza that continued into the wee hours of the morning, screened over 40 short animations. Between each group of films there was dancing to a contraband and drinks in the lobby/bar.

Cosplay participants

A group of Belgian animation students spent the week at the festival creating a group film about Aids phobias.  The ambitious project looked really good when it was screened at the closing night ceremony.

In keeping with the street art theme, the theater lobby and the walls upstairs in the café/bar were a perfect gallery for the large art works by the Versus Art Group.  Versus (Lucie Burton, Izemo, Hero, Los Hermanos, and Denis Meyers) are part of a loose collection of Belgian Street Artists who work under the motto “Making Belgium beautiful one piece at a time”.  Belgium has a rich tradition of street artists and you can see creative examples on the Belgian Street Artist web site at: 

I owe a grateful thank you to everyone who made my 10 days at the festival such a wonderful time.  Once again this year festival organizers Doris Clevens and Philippe Moins put together a wonderful combination of films, special events, and guests.  I am indebted to press and guest co-ordinators Karin Vandenrydt and Noemie Meert for making my job so pleasant and easy by showing me numerous acts of kindness.  A special nod of appreciation to Stephanie Coerten who introduces all the screenings, interviews guests on stage and presides over the closing night ceremony.  I am continually amazed that with all the hours Stephanie spends running between screening rooms that she has time to do her homework so she can ask filmmakers just the right questions.  I am already looking forward to the 2013 edition of the festival.

Our lovely presenter Stephanie Coerten (photo: Renaud Fang)

You can see more pictures and see a complete listing of all the festival events at:  www.animafestival.be

2012 Juries and Award Winning Films

International Competition JURY AWARDS:

International Competition Jury: Anik Le Ray – France, Isabel Herguera – Spain, Erik van Drunen – The Netherlands

GRAND PRIX ANIMA 2012
The Wonder Hospital - Beomsik Shimbe Shim

BEST PROFESSIONAL SHORT FILM AWARD
Romance - Georges Schwizgebel

BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM AWARD
Kuhina - Joni Männistö

BEST CHILDREN’S SHORT FILM AWARD
Dodu - O Rapaz de Cartao (Dodu - The Cardboard Boy) - José Miguel Ribeiro

BEST MUSIC VIDEO AWARD
Björk “Crystalline” - Michel Gondry

BEST ADVERTISING AWARD
Canon “Parade” - Dante Ariola

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE, SPONSORED BY FEDEX
Arrugas - Ignacio Ferreras

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S ANIMATED FEATURE
La Colline aux coquelicots / From up on Poppy Hill - Goro Miyazaki

FLUXYS AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Luminaris - Juan Pablo Zaramella

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM
Flamingo Pride - Tomer Eshed

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST CHILDREN’S SHORT FILM
L’Envol du chat - Clément Doranlo

ANIMATION NIGHT AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
A Morning Stroll - Grant Ochart

PARTNERS AWARDS:

BETV AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Colorful - Keiichi Hara

National Competition JURY AWARDS:

National Competition Jury: Paulette Smets-Melloul – Belgium, Isabelle Favez – Switzerland, Steven De Beul - Belgium

GRAND PRIX OF THE FRENCH COMMUNITY
La Boîte de sardines - Louise-Marie Colon

SACD AWARD
Natasha - Roman Klochkov

SABAM-AWARD
Duo de volailles, sauce chasseur - Pascale Hecquet

TVPAINT AWARD
Shattered Past - Boris Sverlow

PARTNERS AWARDS:

BETV AWARD
Adonaissance Trip - Madeline Feuillat

RTBF AWARD
La Boite de sardines – Louise-Marie Colon

CINERGIE AWARD
Dans le Cochon tout est bon - Iris Alexandre

AniFest Rozafa

Animation festivals for and or by children are always special events and the third edition of the AniFest Rozafa International Animation Festival is no exception.

The festival has competitions for animations made for children, films made by children, and works by animation students.  Last year 191 films from 55 different countries were screened with the competitions judged by a jury made up of 30 children.   The Festival has issued a call for submission for 2012 beginning on February 1 until June 10^th.

In addition to the screenings there will be workshops and seminars.  During the 2011 festival a two minute animation was created by the children’s workshop.

You can read more about the festival and the competition rules as well as down load an application on the web site at:

www. Anifestrozafa.com/home/

You can contact the festival at:

info@anifestrozafa.com

If the gray skies of winter are getting you down, then it’s time for a trip to CHILEMONOS Animation Festival in Santiago, Chile from 25 to 29 April 2012.  If you can’t get away your film can enjoy the trip if it is selected to be screened.

CHILEMONOS has issued a call for competition entries in three categories:

International Short Fiction Animation

Work by Chilean Animators

Animations by Chilean Students

Films completed from 2009 to present are elgible for consideration by the selection committee.

You can read the entry regulations and download an application at:

www.festivalchilemonos.cl

Unfortunately the information on the web site is only in Spanish but the entry form is easily understandable.

You can contact the festival staff at and they will respond in English if you  do not speak Spanish and have trouble understanding the regulations or have questions at:

festival@chilemonos.cl

For five days every year the historic town of Fredrikstad, Norway becomes the center of Nordic/Baltic animation.  The festival brings in an illustrious roster of names from the international animation community and this year was no exception.

I am a fan of Ren and Stimpy but had never met John Kricfalusi.  He turned out to be as delightfully wacky and fun as his characters.  During his Masters of Animation presentation he talked about characters and films that inspired him and he showed animation classics from UPA and Disney among others to illustrate his points.  He also shared excerpts from his favorite live action Hollywood films which he considers just as good, if not a better inspiration for cartoonists as classic cartoons.  I was fascinated to learn what a big influence film noir played in his life.

The next day The John K Special Screening featured his own films, including a 35 second “couch into” he created for a Simpsons episode.  Following the screening he did a drawing session.  A lot of people went home very happy to have an original John K caricature of themselves.

John Kricfalusi at the drawing table

Designer and director Tod Polson gave a fascinating presentation on The Noble Approach.  After graduating from Cal Arts, where he won a Student Oscar for his short film Al Tudi Tuhak, Tod was hired by the legendary Oscar winning team of Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble to help develop various projects including a number of Looney Toons shorts as well as an Emmy Award winning version of Peter and the Wolf.  Later Tod, Maurice, and several of Maurice’s assistant formed their own company called Noble Toons.  Polson accompanied his talk about his dear friend and mentor Maurice Noble with numerous photos of their travels together as well as Noble’s paintings and drawings.  He is currently working on a book about Maurice’s life and career.

Renowned Hollywood producer Don Hahn talked about his career as producer of such Disney classics as Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  A highlight was hearing of Don’s experiences as assistant producer on the ground-breaking Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

In 2009 Hahn made his directorial debut with Waking Sleeping Beauty.  The documentary chronicles the people and circumstances that led to Disney’s animation renaissance in the 1980’s and ‘90’s.  He concluded his presentation by introducing his documentary and giving insights into the events that led up to making the film.  Waking Sleeping Beauty has been shown at numerous festivals and been written about extensively so I don’t feel that I need to add anything else about it.

Don Hahn and Nancy

Although Suzie Templeton’s career consists of only three films she is already regarded as a master of modern puppet animation.  Her 2008 interpretation of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf garnered her an Oscar and she has won numerous other international awards including the Cristal d’Annecy.

The audience had the opportunity to hear Suzie talk about her work in an interview with Norwegian animation authority Gunnar Strom.  As part of the special event Suzie’s films Dog, Stanley, and Peter and the wolf were screened.  I am particularly fond of  Dog, 2001, a sensitive story about a boy and his father trying to come to terms with the death of their mother and wife.  The film won the Grand Prize at the Ottawa International Student Animation Festival as well as a BAFTA (the British Academy Award).

Suzie Templeton and daughter Rosie enjoyed the animation on the TV sofa

As part of the day long Masters of Animation series, multi-talented director/artist Rosto engaged in a delightfully relaxed chat with Joakin Pedersen, Project Manager at The Animation Workshop in Denmark.  Rosto talked about his never ending quest for new frontiers in a career that has encompassed everything from short films to music videos and beyond.  Mind the Gap, a mixed media project that started with an on line graphic novel and continued with music, print, and films is on-going on Rosto’s blog,

OPENING NIGHT

The Official Festival Opening began with a welcome from Festival Director Trond Ola Mevassvik and greeting from County Council person Ole Haabeth, Tron Ola then presented the guests and juries to the audience.

The opening night film was a new feature film from Aardman Animations.  I was really looking forward to the Scandinavian premier of Arthur Christmas, a co-production with Sony Pictures Animation.  Senior Supervising Animator Alan Short and Seamus Malone, Supervising Animator, introduced the film.

I really wanted to like Arthur Christmas as I respect the work of Aardman Animation  and it is their first feature film directed by a woman, Sarah Smith.  The story of Santa and his dysfunctional family started out all right but rapidly deteriorated into Arnold Schwartznagger meets Battle Star Galactica.  Santa’s oldest son and presumed heir Steve persuades Saint Nick to shed his reindeer and sleigh in favor of a high tech space ship.  When younger brother Arthur, who has been relegated to the lowly job of answering children’s letters to Santa, discovers that one little girl who he had promised a bicycle to had been missed by Santa, the film turns into one long chase, pitting Steve and Santa in the star cruiser against Arthur, who is aided by a slightly dotty Grandfather Santa in sleigh and reindeer. The result looks more like a Hollywood blockbuster than the beautifully crafted films I expect from Aardman Studios.

I talked to audience members, several of whom echoed my thoughts.  One said “I don’t want my child growing up thinking that Santa delivers gifts in a high tech spaceship instead of the traditional sleigh and reindeer”. I’m I sorry to say that I have to agree with him.  Nik’s comment was that it turned Santa into Fed Ex.  But don’t despair, Peter Lord’s long awaited pirate film is nearing completion and that will be an event to celebrate!

The opening was followed by a reception at the festival café where I had my first chance to talk to other guests.  I was particularly delighted to meet Seamus Malone.  He is a director of Aardman Studio’s clever claymation Shaun the Sheep series which was created by Nick Park.  It is a big favorite of mine and my animated film dog critic Remi.  He gives it four paws up and we both love the hilarious adventures of Shawn, the leader of the flock, Bitzer, the long suffering sheep dog, and the totally oblivious farmer.  It is shown on BBC every weekday afternoon, and I understand that it plays worldwide so if you have never seen it be sure to check it out.  Seamus told me that a new series of Shawn’s adventures will premier soon.  He also drew Shawn and Bitzer in my sketch book, which I really treasure.

John K drawing Arthur Christmas Senior Supervisor Alan Short

The Nordic Forum

The daylong Nordic Forum for Professionals has become an important part of the festival.  Nordic studios and producers present their projects and it is an opportunity to learn firsthand what the new films and television shows will be from this very diverse region.  This year’s presentations ranged from Kristian Pedersen’s moving Poetry in Motion films to a talk by two representatives from Caoz, the leading 3D studio in Iceland.

Animated poetry has become increasingly popular over the past few years and Pedersen’s visual interpretation of Erlend O. Nodtveldt’s poem Norangsdalen is a beautiful, moving representation of this art form.  Nodtveldt’s poem tells the story of one of Norway’s narrowest, steepest valleys.  The area is notorious for its frequent avalanches and landslides.  In 1912 an enormous landslide dammed the river valley causing it to flood and submerge a farm and the surrounding small forest.  Today the spot is known as Lake Lygnstoylvatnet and the stone foundation of the farm house and barn, as well as tree stumps can still be seen clearly in the lake.  Kirstian’s moving images were especially poignant to me because on my previous trip to Volda the month before I had been taken to the very spot where you look down and see the remains.  It was a very eerie and moving reminder of the power of Mother Nature.

Sverre Fredriksen is a friend and I am a fan of his unique short film When I Am King which I wrote about in my Volda article.  The Nordic Forum showed me an entirely different side of this talented young man’s work.  He is animation director and lead animator on The Alzheimer Experience.  The ten episodes of this interactive video are posted on line to help increase awareness about this devastating illness that touches so many lives.  Each video provides scenes from the point of view of the patient, family members, and care givers.

You can view this unique project created in The Netherlands and available with English subtitles at:

Producer Hilmar Sigurdsson and director Gunnar Karlsson from Iceland’s Caoz gave the audience a look at Legends of Valhalla – Thor.  The studio is making Iceland’s first 3D animation in co-production with Germany and Ireland.  Based on the 13^th Century Heimskringla (History of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturluson, the film takes some poetic licenses that are definitely audience appealing.

The film will tell the familiar story of how Thor got his powerful hammer while taking us behind the scenes of his family life.  Odin is an absentee father, Thor’s mother, Jord, represents the earth and is a giant of a woman.  She is also a blacksmith.  This type of film doesn’t generally appeal to me and the 3 D didn’t add much, but the multi-layered story should entertain the entire family and it got me curious to see the finished film.

All too often a film “guaranteed to entertain the entire family” leaves parents yawning in their seats but Legends of Valhalla – Thor has some humor aimed for the adults in the audience along with a story of a one parent household that, unfortunately, many children these days will relate to.

The Award Winners

I was a member of the festival’s 2011 selection committee for Short Animations and Commissioned Films so I was looking forward to watching our choices again with a live audience.  Unfortunately this wasn’t the strongest year for Nordic/Baltic short animation but the packed audiences enjoyed the two Short Film programs judging from their reactions.

The awards jury selected PL.ink as the Best Nordic/Baltic film and I completely agree.  Norwegian animator Anne Kristin Berge’s 3 minute fast paced film is a ride through an inky world where a minimalist painter loses his toddler inside of one of his paintings.  The artist climbs inside the canvas to rescue his child from the ink monsters, with the help of an inky flying machine.  Anne Kristin, a friend of ours, is the mother of a very active young daughter so the inspiration for PL.inkj is self-evident to anyone who knows her.

Director Marc Reisbig’s film Lexdysia, the story of a dyslexic boy struggling to read a letter from his father who is at sea, was not the most inspired combination of live action and stop-motion but those shortcomings were compensated for by the script. As a sufferer of dyslexia myself I felt that the director put into pictures what is so difficult to explain in words. The message was a strong, realistic interpretation of this affliction and would touch any child who suffers from this difficult handicap.

The films in Student Competitions are often much more interesting and creative than in the professional category.  Students can take risks that professional animators working for a studio or with other people’s financing can’t take.  This year the student films were no exception, ranging from the dark and macabre to the very funny.

Helena Frank’s Graduation film from The National Film School of Denmark, Heavy Heads, is a black comedy about loneliness, solitude and a woman seducing a house fly.  The style is minimalistic with a tiny body dominated by a very large head and the story is very Kafkaesque.

Finish animation student Joni Mannisto’s drawn animation Kuhina (Swarming) begins innocently enough as a child strolls along in the woods.  When he finds a dead bird and begins to play with it the story takes a macabre turn as the bugs inside the bird turn the tables on him.  Kuhina won the Golden Gunner for Best Student Film.

Denmark’s Animation Workshop’s students constantly turn out high quality creative animation and Captain Awesome: The Rumble in the Concrete Jungle is yet one more success for the Workshop. Ercan Bozdogan’s super hero is about to save the day once again when an upset stomach forces his urgent need to find a toilet.  What should be a simple matter turns into a series of hurdles to clear and shows the human side of our hero as he has to choose between saving little old ladies or taking care of his own needs.

Bo Mathorne, also from The Animation Workshop, earned a Special Mention from the Jury for The Backwater Gospel.  This tale of a small, isolated community in the 1930’s dust bowl, a minister hell bent on ruling his congregation with an iron fist and an undertaker who always arrives in town just before death makes an appearance is very cleverly told in song by the town’s minstrel.

I find very few Commissioned Films Competitions interesting but AIDS ‘Smutley’ was a definite exception.  This French Aids awareness video features Smutley, everyone’s favorite promiscuous cat who jumps on anything that moves and has unprotected sex.  Done with a Fleischer Brothers black and white animation style and with catchy  period style music, the film puts a smile on the audience’s face while reminding them to be responsible sex partners.  I wasn’t surprised when Smutley went home with a Golden Gunnar for Commissioned Films.

Fredrikstad Animation Festival is one of the ten European Animation Festival’s whose Grand Prix winner is automatically nominated for the Cartoon d’ Or.  The prestigious award is accompanied by a 10,000 Euro prize to be used by the winning director to launch a new, more ambitious project.  The 2012 Fredrikstad Nominee is Mankeli (The Mangel), an 11 minute film by Jan Andersson and Katja Kettu from Finland.  The puppet and mixed technique animated poem tells the story of Mangel, a male angel who falls from the heavens into a tree which he falls in love with.  Unfortunately, all does not go as Mangel plans when a wood cutter decides to fell the tree.

Features

This young festival continues to add events each year.  On Saturday a day-long screening of animation features was designed for the residents of Fredrikstad, with films that the entire family would enjoy in the Kino at special reduced prices.

I watched two of the Animated Saturday features, Knerten I Knipe (Knerten in Trouble) and The Adventures of Tintin.  Knerten in Trouble is the third and final film in the  series based on the books of the revered Norwegian children’s writer Anne Cat Vestly.  Knerten, a pine twig, is an imaginary friend of a lonely boy named Brother.  Knerten comes to life when the two are alone together.  Knerten and Brother have vowed to always be best friends but when the pine twig meets a lovely birch sprig named Karoline and falls in love with her, life changes for all of them.  This is the second in the series that I’ve seen, neither of which had English subtitles but they are designed for young children so I haven’t had any trouble understand what is happening in these delightful films.  Karoline made a special appearance in the theatre lobby posing for photos with children of all ages.

Karoline greets young fans

I have been a fan of the Belgian author Herge’s Tintin Adventure Series since I was a child so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the new Steven Speilberg film The Adventures of Tintin:  The Secret of the Unicorn.  The film is based on The Secret of the Unicorn, which is the first book in the Tintin series not to have political themes.  It focuses entirely on an adventure story.

I feared the worst, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  It took me a while to get past the motion capture which was extremely distracting at first.  I was pleased to see they kept the original story but two things did bother me a great deal.  Snowy (Milou  in French), Tintin’s faithful terrier companion makes all of the wise and witty comments in the book.  In the movie he only went arf.  I missed his perceptive comments and it would have added so much if Snowy’s comments had been inserted in a thought bubble over his head.  Also, Snowy’s muzzle was the wrong shape.  Maybe this is a small detail but any true Tintin fan will notice it at once.

I saw Tintin in Norwegian with no English dialogue or subtitles but the plot was easy to follow.  I will see the film again in English just to make sure that the dialogue is true to the original.

Other Events

Art work from Sverre Fredriksen’s music video When I Am King, for Dutch indie rocker Tim Knol was exhibited in the lobby.  It was fascinating to get a close look at the sets and characters which Sverre created using a technique called pyrography (a combination of wood burning and soldering on wood).

Also on Saturday there were workshops and activities throughout the city.  When I visited the drop-in workshop, which was set up inside a super market in a large downtown shopping mall, it was full of children learning to make zoetropes and short stop-motion films under the direction of award winning animators Eirin Handegard and Inni Karine Melbye.  Most of the young participants had never animated before and it was very exciting to see their enthusiasm.

Another first this year was a very ambitious project, Ani-Camp North.  In co-operation with the E-6 Ostfold Media Workshop the festival invited a group of young people ranging in age from 12 to 15 years old, along with their instructors, to a 5 day workshop.  The students, from all over the Scandinavian and Baltic area, produced 4 films in 4 days.  Local E-6 instructors Gitte Ous and Katz Plunkett were joined by Swedish animator and comic designer Stefan Eriksson and French puppet animator Eric Vanz de Godoy.

Eric Vanz de Godoy works with an Ani-Camp student

The finale of the Animated Saturday events was the early evening closing ceremony for children and youth.  To start off the ceremony, the film Amundsen, There and Back, made by Fredrikstad elementary school children under the direction of Katz Plunkett, premiered.  The film chronicles the adventures of Roald Amundsen, famous Norwegian explorer of the Polar Regions.  He led the first expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910-1912 and was also the first person to reach both the North and South Poles.  The 4 films made by the Ani-Camp students were shown as well as the short pieces created by the drop-in workshop participants.

The Children’s Jury was called to the front to announce the Golden Gunnar winner for the Best Nordic Baltic Children’s Film.  Their choice was Captain Awesome:  The Rumble in the Concrete Jungle.  This year the festival in conjunction with the local newspaper, Fredrikstad Blad, and Fredrikstad Kino launched an on line audience vote for the Best Feature Film.  The winner of the coveted statue , Tintin, was announced at the end of the ceremony.

Time always seems to fly by at the Fredrikstad Animation Festival.  All too soon it was Saturday evening and time for the closing ceremony and the awarding of the Golden Gunnar’s to the films in competition.  I was delighted when the jury announced that the winner of the Best Nordic/Baltic Short Film was Anne Kristin Berge for PL.ink.   Norwegian animator Anne Kristin’s talents are recognized in Scandinavia and I hope that this award will bring her work to the attention of a wider audience.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Life Time Achievement Award.  The recipient is selected by the Festival Board of Directors in recognition of meritorious service to the world of animation.  The entire audience was on their feet applauding and cheering when Board Chairman Jan Gisle announced that the 2011 recipient was Gunnar Strom.  Founder of the Fredrikstad and Volda Festivals, beloved teacher at Volda University College, and mentor to many young Norweigen animators, Gunnar is indeed a worthy recipient.  The Fredrikstad award statue was created by noted sculptor Piotr Sapegin and inspired by Gunnar, so it is only fitting that Gunnar now has his very own Golden Gunnar.  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful festival.  The members of the Juries and a complete list of all winners are at the end of the article.

A big thank you and job well done goes to Festival Director Trond Ola Mevassvik and Co-director Magnus Eide.  They create a well run, event packed festival with new surprises every year, and treat each guest with gracious Nordic hospitality.  I look forward to my visit next year to see what new treats they will have for us all.

Festival director Trond Ola Mevassvik and coordinator Magnus Eide

You can learn more about and contact the Fredrikstad Animation Festival at: http://www.animationfestival.no/

…………The Award Winners………….

Lifetime Achievement Award
Gunnar Strøm

The real Gunnar with his Golden Gunnar

The Lifetime Achievement Award is decided by the festival board: chairman Jon Gisle, and board members Julie Ova, Trine Vallevik Håbjørg and Bjørn Heidenstrøm.

Best Nordic Baltic Student Film
Kuhina/Swarming
Joni Männistö – Turku Arts Academy

Special Mention:
The Backwater Gospel
Bo Mathorne – The Animation Workshop

Best Nordic Baltic Commissioned Film
AIDES ‘Smutley’
Josh Thorne – againstallodds

Special Mention:
The Pirate
Olov Burman – Meindbender Animation Studio

Special Mention:
Gullblyanten 2010 / The Golden Pencil 2010
Christian Ruud – Toxic

Best Nordic Baltic Short Film
PL.ink
Anne Kristin Berge – Storm Studios

Grand Prix
Mankeli / The Mangel
Jan Andersson, Katja Kettu – Indie Films

Audience Award
Escape of the Gingerbreadman!!!
Tod Polson – The Animation Workshop

Best Nordic Baltic Children’s Film
Captain Awesome: The Rumble in The Concrete Jungle
Ercan Bozodgan – The Animation Workshop