Tom Sito gets his name back:

Tom Sito has been out of the country directing a CGI film. This means he is no longer doing the Blog at Gang of 7.

But the Blog thing is a habit hard to break. Imagine his surprise when he went to register his URL to find that a studio he had worked for had registered his name as a domain and for some reason kept paying the registration fee long after he stopped working for them.

A little bit of phone talk a little bit of waiting and they returned his name. Now you can find his Blog on the net at http://www.tomsito.com. Stop in and read what he is doing.  ¶ 7:44 AM

  John K Event August 10th
John Kricfalusi will be hosting a fundraising event for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive at Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks on August 10th at 7pm. John will be screening rare cartoons and talking about "When Cartoons Were DRAWN Funny". Seating is VERY LIMITED, so if you want to attend, make your reservations soon.

Van Eaton Galleries is located at 13613 Ventura Bl in Sherman Oaks. There is an $8 donation to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive at the door, and you must reserve a seat in advance. To RSVP, please phone 818 788-2357 or email your name and the number of guests in your party to vegallery4@aol.com.  ¶ 2:58 PM

 

Road to Recovery:

Getting back on my feet after Comic Con is always a slow process. I run on adrenaline and will power for weeks coming up to the event and then kick it into high gear for the 5 days on the convention center floor. And then it is over and I am back in the realer world reeling and sleepy and with real world things to do, like teach classes Monday and Tuesday when all I want to do is sleep. All I need to do is sleep.

But I have so much to do. I still need to go through the receipts and call some people and return some emails and mail out copies of the Evening With project to Bill and Floyd and update my website and catch up on reporting on what happened at Comic Con before no one wants to read about it anymore. May have already missed that deadline.



One of my former students told me of a stop motion guy (all my students know my love of stop motion) on the dealer`s floor and then dragged me over to see his stuff. (I don`t really get to see much of what is going on because I have to keep everything on track with the ASIFA booth and programming).

We head on over to meet Jason Hite and check out the sets on display for his short stop mo animation, Statis. www.hitestudios.com Lots of Matrix and Giger touched images. Good solid craft in the set construction. Very impressive.

Jason shakes my hand and then looks at the name on my badge. You`re Larry Loc (this is happening more and more as my ASIFA panels start to bring in bigger crowds and I am starting to get use to it a little) I used your ebook to figure out how to do a lot of my movie! (now this has not happened before. I have been doing my, little, how to book for the last 5 years and this is the first time someone with a finished film has said it was a help in the creation of that film).

I haven`t figured out how to deal with this yet so I had Jason sign my copy of his film. I enjoyed Stasis very much (dark beauty and very moody) and when I got to the extra features I was happy to see that he had a big how to making of section on his disk.

When I was a distorted youth trying to get weird things on film it was handouts from Dick Smith and books by Tom Savini that pointed me in the right direction. It is nice to see that it is still going on, from creator to creator down the ages.



Setting the Record Straight:

I got an email for Kris Heller who appeared on the Dream On Silly Dreamer panel I moderated at the Comic Con last Thursday.

I have to admit that when I saw the sea of people in the audience I got nervous and failed to make ANY mention of what my husband, David Karp (who was also invited to be on the panel) is doing and why he couldn`t be there.

Kris, this isn`t quite as bad as forgetting to thank your husband when you get the Oscar and I can fully understand the shock of nearly 2,000 people coming out to see a movie that you may not have thought was of interest to anyone outside the animation world. This was a bigger crowd than the LA Premiere at the Alex Theater. So here you go: David is adapting a Western written by author Robert E. Howard. Cool! Which western? I love Howard`s westerns they are so raw and twisted.

The Dream on Silly Dreamer screening was one on my big successes this year at comic con. The room was almost maxed out on a Thursday night (the worst night of the con to fill a theater. the event after us had about 500 people).

After the panel 150 people lined up to have their DVD covers signed. We had to move the panel and the line out into the hallway where Dan and Tony and the rest of the panel sat on the floor and signed covers and answered questions from 8:30 to almost 10 o`clock.

That doesn`t happen. Comic Con crowds always have somewhere else to be. Even on a Thursday night. It just goes to show just how important this work really is. (You can`t see it because my arms are crossed but I am wearing a Silly Dreamer T-Shirt in the Sleeping Beauty photo at the top of the page, thanks Dan)  ¶ 8:20 AM

 

One of the true treasures that I picked up at Comic Con (okay, it was handed to me by Garrett after my State of the Industry Panel) is Garrett Gilchrist`s recobbled Theif and the Cobbler.

His restoration of the Richard Williams masterpiece that never got made is a true act of love for the film that might have been. Even with storyboards and pencil test footage standing in for unfinished scenes this film is far more watchable than any of the released versions.

Bless you Garrett Gilchrist. People interested in Theif should be able to contact him through his website http://www.orangecow.org/.  ¶ 8:00 AM

  Comic Con Photos:



Marcus on Wednesday, a quite monment before the storm



Jon Reeves and Tobias Loc kicking back a little before opening



Bob Schreck, Senior editor DC Comics and director of a movie I worked on in 1981



The guy who created the comic book character Concrete



Dealer`s floor before the doors open



Bernie Wrightson, the artist that created Swamp Thing




Doors are open, repeat the doors are open





Dan Weeks of Laguna College of Art & Design takes part in the ASIFA Animation Jam






Ron Randall, Comic Book Artist and one of the guys in my Kubert School class 30 years ago.







Dan and Tony (Dream on Silly Dreamer) Their Thursday night screening and panel draw almost 2,000 people)



Jerry Beck`s Worst Cartoons



My Son, the morning after comic con. Right after he got out of bed in the morning. This is what I felt like but I had to go teach a class. In fact I have to get ready for 2 more today.

Yesterday I made my first phone call about Comic Con 2007. (Kent at Flipbook about next year`s Animation Jam)

NOTE: There will be no ASIFA Volunteer`s Meeting This Month.   ¶ 11:32 AM

  News from the front line: Date Line Comic Con



Pedro Santana takes part in the ASIFA Animation Jam. One of 11 people, (including Eric Goldberg and, well, me) to take part in creating an animation jam over the comic con weekend.

A lot of people were very, very excited to watch Master Animater Eric Goldberg at work. Didn`t get the same type of crowds when I jumped on the system after an animator didn`t show up, (lines at
registration) but I had a great time.

The State on the Animation Industry panel was packed past the gills and they had to turn away lots of unhappy people. The the lucky few inside the standing room only panel got a sneak peak at Eric Goldberg`s new
Buddhist short about 3 monkeys and the fruit. Amazing! ! ! ! Amazing! ! ! ! It was done for a Chinese Museum.

More on this and lots of other comic con stuff later because right now I have to get busy and head back to San Diego for the last day the the Comic Con. The horror, the horror.  ¶ 4:38 AM

  Archive: More Petty Girls Today, by popular demand we posted more pinups by George Petty...



Media: George Petty's 1947 Calendar

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive  ¶ 12:59 AM

 

The Evening With interview DVD is finished and will be at sale at Comic Con. It is so cool.



The Animation Jam is running Friday to Sunday.

Cels, Cels, Cels. Books, T-Shirts. Strange animation stuff. My eBook. And much more.  ¶ 10:11 PM

  We still have some time slots open for the ASIFA Comic Con Animation Jam.

. . . . Time Slot. . . . . . . . . . Animator
1. Friday. . . . . .10-12:30. . . .David Burgess
2. Friday. . . . . 12:30-3. . . . .Dan Weeks
3. Friday. . . . . 3-5. . . . . . . . .Angelo di Nallo ?
4. Friday. . . . . 5-7. . . . . . . . ._ _ _ _ _
5. Saturday. . .10-12. . . . . . . Eliza Frye
6. Saturday. . .12-2. . . . . . . . Nimmer Abbas
7. Saturday. . . 2-4:30. . . . . .Eric Goldberg
8. Saturday. . . 4:30-7. . . . . ._ _ _ _ _
9. Sunday. . . . .10-12. . . . . . A. Khanna
10.Sunday. . . . .12-2 . . . . . . _ _ _ _ _  ¶ 8:47 PM

  That Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Rushing Freight Train:

This has been one of the roughest runs up to Comic Con I have ever had. (or maybe I block out all the other years and try not to think about them) No, my wife confirms this as the roughest Comic Con prep (or maybe she tries to block them out too).

Anyway my family, Ruth and Tobias and Raven, have put up with me through the whole messy process and still seems to tolerate me even after the back to back to back 16 hour days facing a computer screen and the phone calls and more phone calls and emails and the latest re-write of Animation on a $hoe$tring (tm), 5th Edition, which is finished at last and burned to CDs. Gods be blessed.



Ruth and Tobias and Raven, you guys are the greatest. I couldn`t have done it without you. Thank you so much for tolerating my seasonal madness. I guess you want me to do all of the cooking and cleaning and yard work for the next couple of 3 months just to win back in to your good graces. I will see what I can do about that, starting right after I recuperate from San Diego.

Speaking of San Diego, I am still looking for some animators to take time slots for the Animation Jam.

Open ASIFA Comic Con Animation Jam Time Slots:

• Friday 12:30-3
  
• (MAYBE) Friday 3-5 (Angelo, call me I need to know if you are taking this time?)
  
• Friday 5-7
  
• Saturday 4:30-7
  
• Sunday 12-2

I haven`t heard from Eric Graf yet this weekend but he should be hard at work burning DVDs. Man, has he put in the hours and quality work on this project. The whole project looks so good and it is all because of his hard work. Be sure to pick up your copy of An Evening With Bill Melendez & Floyd Norman DVD available at Comic Con.  ¶ 3:13 PM

  Archive Slide Show

See the world's most jaw droppingly amazing blog post at...
The Top Ten Reasons To Contribute To The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive  ¶ 12:47 AM

  Thursday Catch Up:

Two days solid I have been setting at a computer doing inner-document hot links finishing up my eBook for Comic Con. Just have to link the video example files and then burn the disks.

In that time I have been a bit on the burned out side. I posted a wrong bit of info about the Jerry Beck booth signing. It is Saturday 11 PM to 12 Noon in the ASIFA Booth 5434. Sorry Jerry. Stop by and pick up some Jerry swag.

Signed off on the menus for the Evening With DVD interview project yesterday. Eric Graf of Video Resources has done an outstanding job. The menus are set up for someone teaching History of Animation. What pure joy, this menu system is better that anything coming out of the studios. No forced intro. No studio agenda. Just point and click on a clear title and you are at the story. The disk art looks great. The box art is all stuffed and waiting for disks. Stop by the booth and pick one up for just $15. The money goes to funding the Archives Project and the interviews with Bill Melendez and Floyd Norman are rich with killer stories.

Still have open spaces on the Animation Jam. I am having a hard time getting anybody to animate before or after Eric Goldberg. I had one animator go screaming from his keyboard when I asked him if he wanted the time slot. So now I`m looking for some pro brave enough to step up to the plate. Saturday 12 noon to 2 PM or 4:30 PM to 7 PM.  ¶ 8:00 PM

  The Top Ten Reasons To Contribute To A-HAA Ren & Stimpy creator, John K. describes the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive as "the greatest cartoon/animation resource anywhere". Others have described it as "life changing" and "the best thing to happen to animation since the invention of the three-fingered hand".

The Archive has been in operation for six months, and to celebrate, I've created a post jam-packed with concentrated cartoon goodness... a "top ten list" of reasons why students, scholars, film buffs and artists should support the Archive Project.

This single, compact post acts as a jump page to ASIFA-Hollywood's greatest treasures- hundreds of images, articles and videos that will amaze and inspire you. Bookmark this page and visit every link. You'll find it hard to believe that all of this material has been gathered together, catalogued, digitized and archived within the past six months by ASIFA-Hollywood's dedicated crew of volunteers.

The International Animated Film Society: ASIFA-Hollywood is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization. It depends on donations from its membership and the general public to support and expand its Archive Project. Visit the top ten list and see what we are doing... I think you'll want to be a part of it. We're asking everyone to link to this page and tell their friends about the wonderful treasures in the ASIFA Archive.

Meta: The Top Ten Reasons To Contribute To A-HAA

There will be a screening of some of the best films in our collection at the San Diego Comic-Con Room 7B on Sunday, July 23rd at 2:30pm. I hope you can make it.

Thanks for you support and encouragement.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
www.animationarchive.org  ¶ 2:34 AM

 

I have been looking for a reason to put back up this Eric Goldberg 3-frame animation. The updated schedule of booth appearances is up at our ASIFA Comic Con site. (click on the image) Eric is in the booth Saturday and Jerry Beck will be in the booth Friday giving away buttons from his new animation Hornswiggle. (the only place you can get them at Comic Con, or so he says)  ¶ 5:01 AM

  Comic Con 2006 ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Jam:

Animators already Signed Up for Comic Con 2006 ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Jam are:

• David Burgess: Friday - DreamWorks/PDI
  
  
• Amarpal Khanna: Friday and part of Sat. - Art Institute of Los Angeles-CA, Faculty
  
  
• Eliza Frye: Saturday or Sunday - New Calarts Grad.
  
  
• Nimmer Abbas: Friday, Saturday or Sunday - student of Animation at the UCLA
  
  
• Eric Goldberg: Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Aladdin, Fantasia/2000
  

I like the mix, new students, faculty, master animators in CGI and 2-D. If there is a spare moment I might even animate something.

Should be a lot of fun. I love the Merv Newland AniJam stuff. It is so raw and alive, not worked to death and over thought. That is what I am hoping to put together over the Comic Con weekend.

Production is straight ahead form first scene, Friday morning, to last scene, Sunday Afternoon. Each animation starts with the last pose from the animator that came before them. No copyrighted characters are to be used as they will gum up the works on the legal level and make the limited DVD hard to produce and ship to the animators who worked this project.

Animators will need to fill out the animation jam release form with a shipping address to get a DVD of this project mailed to them once the jam is edited. There will also be footage of the animators working / film in process stuff for DVD bonus features. We will be putting the panels we video on the disk too, State of the Industry, Dream on Silly Dreamer Panel, and Tinker Bell Voice Acting Try Outs.

Not sure what we will do with the finished DVD. Maybe a bonus for Archives Donations or something like that. It is more about creating it than what to with it afterwards. That should take care of itself once we get the animators their copies.

If you are an animator there is still time to get a slot on the system. larry@agni-animation.com Or stop by the booth 5434 and sign up.  ¶ 11:53 AM

  What Has Been Going On While I Blogged Not Neither Did I Sleep:

The ASIFA Comic Con pages have just been updated including a map of the booth location.

Eric Goldberg has been added to the Saturday ASIFA State of the Animation industry panel. Still looking for animators to fill time slots over the weekend.



ASIFA at Comic Con

A lot of stuff has been going on during the time I have been doing a rewrite on my eBook Animation on a $how$tring. Got all the pages into Acrobat. Still need to do all the linkage and interactive indexes. I need to switch over to writing syllabi tomorrow.

Did label art and final notes on the Evening With interview DVD today. Eric Graf is doing a great job. Got the box art back yesterday.




An email from Tom Sito today. Good news, he is back Blogging with a new site. I have missed his blog.

Subject: Tom Sito website

Dear Larry,
Hello from hot and amazingly muggy Taipei. I hope you are coping with all the stress of planning the Comicon presentations. I'm not sure if I told you, but I am here directing a 3D short
for their National Museum. Anywho, I just wanted to let you know that I changed my blogg address to my new website, http://www.blogger.com/www.ThomasSito.com. For July 5th I got up in the middle of the night to write a reminiscence of Raggedy Ann & Andy. You might like it.

Hope all is well. Keep cool.
-Tom

This one came in a couple three days/daze ago: Finally, an easy place to get Fischinger.

Subject: News item: NEW Oskar Fischinger DVD release

OSKAR FISCHINGER: TEN FILMS DVD



Center for Visual Music announces the first DVD in a series: Oskar Fischinger: Ten Films. This long-awaited DVD contains ten of Fischinger`s classic animated Visual Music films including:

Allegretto
Motion Painting No. 1
Study nr. 6
Kreise
Spiritual
Constructions
Walking from Munich to Berlin
and more.

Special Features include home movie footage of Oskar and Elfriede Fischinger in Berlin c. 1931, never-released early animation experiments and tests, a selection of photographs and paintings by Fischinger, Film Notes by Fischinger and a Biography. The DVD features high definition digital transfers,
digitally remastered audio, and many preserved films. NTSC, region-free. $30, private home use. Produced by Center for Visual Music, Los Angeles. Ordering and other info is at:
www.centerforvisualmusic.org/DVD.htm

If you love animation, or modern art, or computer graphics, consider it a must.

- Leonard Maltin (reviewed on his Video View syndicated radio show June 28)

Decades before computer graphics, before music videos, even before Fantasia (the 1940 version), there were the abstract animated films of Oskar Fischinger (1900-1967), master of absolute or nonobjective filmmaking. He was cinema`s Kandinsky, an animator who, beginning in the 1920`s in Germany, created exquisite visual music using geometric patterns and shapes choreographed tightly to classical music and jazz.

- John Canemaker (New York Times)

CONTACT:
Center for Visual Music
Los Angeles
213-683-1514
www.centerforvisualmusic.org

Not sure what I can add after what Leonard and John said but me too. It
is a must.  ¶ 10:34 PM

  Archive: Tenggren's Grimm's Fairy Tales Today, we began digitizing an extremely rare first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren...



Media: Tenggren's Grimm's Fairy Tales Pt. 1

I'll have more from this amazing book soon.

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
www.animationarchive.org  ¶ 8:28 PM

  Jim Tyer Fireworks for the 4th of July!

Here's some cartoony-type fireworks courtesy of Terrytoons' Jim Tyer!



Filmography: Jim Tyer's Barnyard Actor

Have a great day
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
www.animationarchive.org  ¶ 7:52 PM

 

Pounding away on updating my e-book, Animation on a $hoe$tring (tm). I am on chapter 10, Computer Animation. Working half the night and most of the day. Have 3 syllabi to write before next week and, thank the gods Eric is doing the editing, the Evening With interview DVD to finish and package. Oh Comic Con, what fun.  ¶ 5:37 PM