ASIFA-Hollywood: The International Animated Film Society
Thursday, May 31, 2007
12 Hours of Animation in 3 Minutes:
Stephen Chiodo showed up at last night`s Volunteer Meeting long enough to drop off the time laps of last month`s Stop Mo Animation Jam. It is too large to upload and I haven`t had a chance to create a smaller size file, so here are some images of the people behind the animation until I get a chance.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:38 AM
Stephen Chiodo showed up at last night`s Volunteer Meeting long enough to drop off the time laps of last month`s Stop Mo Animation Jam. It is too large to upload and I haven`t had a chance to create a smaller size file, so here are some images of the people behind the animation until I get a chance.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:38 AM
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
ASIFA Volunteer Meeting on Comic Con
Wednesday May30th - 7 PM
Room D102 (Design Center)
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Blvd
Burbank, CA
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:21 AM
Wednesday May30th - 7 PM
Room D102 (Design Center)
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Blvd
Burbank, CA
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:21 AM
By It`s Cover:
Cartoons in America are Rodney Dangerfield. No Respect. And why is that? Why must we, and by we I mean people other than myself and the cartoon fanatics I hang with, treat cartoons as just for kids? Second rate? Not worth respect? I know about the 50s and getting set in front of the TV as a baby setter surrogate while my parents had a life of there own without the kids getting in the way. But how did cartoons become so undervalued?
I have been scanning a lot of video cover art for my cartoon database and nothing shows destine like crappy cartoon cover art.
Bad Art (like what happened to Woody`s neck and Bugs, just shoot him because he is in pain and I don`t think the dentist is going to be able to save him)
Off Model (I like the drawing of the birds it has style but this is not Heckle or Jeckle, Popeye is like 3 heads tall and this is not Hunky or Spunky but at least it is on subject)
Off Color Model (the Bugs looks like Schlesinger era artwork but gray cheeks, what is that about? Not a color separation line in the artwork so just flood everything with gray.)
If the packager doesn`t give a damn then how are we going to have any respect for what is in the package?
Don`t care, it is just for kids. Why would we give our kids anything less than the best. I think the problem is that we have no respect for our children in this country. If we respected our kids than it wouldn`t matter if we treated cartoons as just for kids. But since we undervalue our children we undervalue what we make for children?
To be fair, there is some great cartoon cover art out there. Art made with love and respect. But there is no excuse for crappy cover art like the stuff above. Okay, it is not a war crime but with what it tells of about how we value our childern it is close.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:04 AM
Cartoons in America are Rodney Dangerfield. No Respect. And why is that? Why must we, and by we I mean people other than myself and the cartoon fanatics I hang with, treat cartoons as just for kids? Second rate? Not worth respect? I know about the 50s and getting set in front of the TV as a baby setter surrogate while my parents had a life of there own without the kids getting in the way. But how did cartoons become so undervalued?
I have been scanning a lot of video cover art for my cartoon database and nothing shows destine like crappy cartoon cover art.
Bad Art (like what happened to Woody`s neck and Bugs, just shoot him because he is in pain and I don`t think the dentist is going to be able to save him)
Off Model (I like the drawing of the birds it has style but this is not Heckle or Jeckle, Popeye is like 3 heads tall and this is not Hunky or Spunky but at least it is on subject)
Off Color Model (the Bugs looks like Schlesinger era artwork but gray cheeks, what is that about? Not a color separation line in the artwork so just flood everything with gray.)
If the packager doesn`t give a damn then how are we going to have any respect for what is in the package?
Don`t care, it is just for kids. Why would we give our kids anything less than the best. I think the problem is that we have no respect for our children in this country. If we respected our kids than it wouldn`t matter if we treated cartoons as just for kids. But since we undervalue our children we undervalue what we make for children?
To be fair, there is some great cartoon cover art out there. Art made with love and respect. But there is no excuse for crappy cover art like the stuff above. Okay, it is not a war crime but with what it tells of about how we value our childern it is close.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:04 AM
Monday, May 28, 2007
Just Whose Cartoons Are These?
I have been cataloging cartoons as of late. Yesterday I went through a knot of Schlesinger/Warner Bros. cartoon and the following shorts jumped off the screen at me. Look at the titles. What do they have in common?
Most of you said Chuck Jones, am I right? Yes, all these short films were directed by Chuck Jones, but there is another piece to the picture. Every one of these short animations started life in the brain of Mike Maltese.
Chuck would always, always talk about Mike Maltese and Maurice Noble and just how important they were to the creation of the cartoons he directed. But still people see only the director`s name. Why is that? Maybe it has something to do with the cult of the director that came out of the studio system meltdown in the 70s.
Whatever the reason, from time to time I just like to remind you all:
Writer: Michael Maltese
Director: Chuck Jones
Production Designer: Maurice Noble
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 9:41 AM
I have been cataloging cartoons as of late. Yesterday I went through a knot of Schlesinger/Warner Bros. cartoon and the following shorts jumped off the screen at me. Look at the titles. What do they have in common?
- Rabbit Seasoning
- Long-Haired Hare
- Bully for Bugs
- Water, Water Every Hare
- My Bunny Lies Over the Sea
- What's Opera Doc
- My Bunny Lies Over the Sea
- Duck Amuck
- Drip-Along Daffy
- Scaredy Cat
- Wearing of the Grin
- Deduce, You Say
- Rabbit Fire
- Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 th Century
- Fast and Furry-ous
- The Awful Orphan
- Haredevil Hare
- For Scent-imental Reasons
- Frigid Hare
- The Hypo-Chordri-Cat
- Feed the Kitty
- Don`t Give Up the Sheep
Most of you said Chuck Jones, am I right? Yes, all these short films were directed by Chuck Jones, but there is another piece to the picture. Every one of these short animations started life in the brain of Mike Maltese.
Chuck would always, always talk about Mike Maltese and Maurice Noble and just how important they were to the creation of the cartoons he directed. But still people see only the director`s name. Why is that? Maybe it has something to do with the cult of the director that came out of the studio system meltdown in the 70s.
Whatever the reason, from time to time I just like to remind you all:
Writer: Michael Maltese
Director: Chuck Jones
Production Designer: Maurice Noble
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 9:41 AM
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Dark Ages of Animaiton:
Still wandering in the stacks and will be hunting thought them for weeks to come. Here is a lesser gem in passing and I do mean lesser. Since I teach History of Animation at a number of Universities I need samples of all animation, not just the good stuff.
From the late 50s to early 70s animation went through a crative slump only a Boston Baseball team could understand. There is more bad animation from this period than at any other time in the 100 year history of our sport.
There are worse animations than Courageous Cat, Jerry Beck shows them every year at Comic Con, but this Bob Kane rework of his one hit (Batman) is right down there with some of the worst.
Sid Marcus & Reuben Timmins of Trans Artist Productions put this clunker together with Bob Kane for the 1961 TV season. Hey, it was the times.
There is a reason they call it the Dark Ages of Animation. They only wanted bad at this time. It was the ideas of UPA beaten to death by people that didn`t have a clue who forced people that knew what animation really was to do stuff that was less that they could do.
Faster Cheaper! Less than less is more. And lets do the same thing with story. It`s only for kids and they are stupid. Right! And they wonder what went wrong with my generation.
It pains me to see good animator`s names on the credits of animations form this time. They had to work to eat so they had to word for Ad Agency fools with no training. It almost killed animation. And here is a little evidence of that painful time. Let`s not forget Minute Mouse, the Rodent Wonder.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:15 AM
Still wandering in the stacks and will be hunting thought them for weeks to come. Here is a lesser gem in passing and I do mean lesser. Since I teach History of Animation at a number of Universities I need samples of all animation, not just the good stuff.
From the late 50s to early 70s animation went through a crative slump only a Boston Baseball team could understand. There is more bad animation from this period than at any other time in the 100 year history of our sport.
There are worse animations than Courageous Cat, Jerry Beck shows them every year at Comic Con, but this Bob Kane rework of his one hit (Batman) is right down there with some of the worst.
Sid Marcus & Reuben Timmins of Trans Artist Productions put this clunker together with Bob Kane for the 1961 TV season. Hey, it was the times.
There is a reason they call it the Dark Ages of Animation. They only wanted bad at this time. It was the ideas of UPA beaten to death by people that didn`t have a clue who forced people that knew what animation really was to do stuff that was less that they could do.
Faster Cheaper! Less than less is more. And lets do the same thing with story. It`s only for kids and they are stupid. Right! And they wonder what went wrong with my generation.
It pains me to see good animator`s names on the credits of animations form this time. They had to work to eat so they had to word for Ad Agency fools with no training. It almost killed animation. And here is a little evidence of that painful time. Let`s not forget Minute Mouse, the Rodent Wonder.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:15 AM
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Once More Into the Stacks, My Fiends:
It has been 5 or 10 years since I hit that mark in cartoon collection known as too many damn cartoons! I have been mucking around for years pulling videos and DVDs for classes and screenings. Not really sure where anything is. And losing other suff as I sometimes find what I am look for.
This week, at long last, I decided to do something about it. No, not thin the collection. That is not an option no matter how many copies of Pantry Panic I end up with. There is always something I don`t have on the disk that means I have to keep the whole thing.
I created a data base at the beginning of this week and have started to catalog every cartoon I own. I have been putting if off for the last 3 or 4 years. I have known all along that this is what I would have to do some day, just not today. The giant looming work load has kept me hunting through the stacks.
Now that I have finally started on my journey I will take you along for the ride with posts on gems I rediscover as I cut my way though the jungle.
Here is a 1991/2003 Disk from Thunderbean (love those guys) that has a 1926 Fleischer Bros. Studio Koko the Clown bouncing ball sound cartoon that is a full year before Steamboat Willie.
The sync of sound to movement is very good but then the bouncing ball comes on the screen and nobody pays attention to the new technology. They have pretty much proved that a guy in Australia flew a heavier-than-air plane before the Wright Bros. he just didn`t have a good PR agent.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:57 AM
It has been 5 or 10 years since I hit that mark in cartoon collection known as too many damn cartoons! I have been mucking around for years pulling videos and DVDs for classes and screenings. Not really sure where anything is. And losing other suff as I sometimes find what I am look for.
This week, at long last, I decided to do something about it. No, not thin the collection. That is not an option no matter how many copies of Pantry Panic I end up with. There is always something I don`t have on the disk that means I have to keep the whole thing.
I created a data base at the beginning of this week and have started to catalog every cartoon I own. I have been putting if off for the last 3 or 4 years. I have known all along that this is what I would have to do some day, just not today. The giant looming work load has kept me hunting through the stacks.
Now that I have finally started on my journey I will take you along for the ride with posts on gems I rediscover as I cut my way though the jungle.
Here is a 1991/2003 Disk from Thunderbean (love those guys) that has a 1926 Fleischer Bros. Studio Koko the Clown bouncing ball sound cartoon that is a full year before Steamboat Willie.
The sync of sound to movement is very good but then the bouncing ball comes on the screen and nobody pays attention to the new technology. They have pretty much proved that a guy in Australia flew a heavier-than-air plane before the Wright Bros. he just didn`t have a good PR agent.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:57 AM
Friday, May 25, 2007
Calling Miss Manners:
One more, hopefully, helpful hint; Animation is a very small community folks. You really can`t afford to burn bridges. If someone goes out of their way to do you a favor, thank them for it or it will come back to haunt you later.
Last Friday I got a call from a friend who is part of a small well known studio. A teacher called him all frantic because she had to have a Class Outline, syllabus and equipment order done that day for a high school animation program. When I called her back she was all panic mode crazy and I felt sorry for her because I have been put into insane/unrealistic deadlines by front office school board apes any number of times.
She wanted answers to questions she didn`t even know. She wanted contacts. She wanted products. She wanted reviews. She wanted, she wanted, she wanted. And all of it right now, today. She had to have it today! She didn`t have time to buy my ebook that had the questions and the answers that she wanted. She needed it now, now, now!
She seemed very, very needy and in passing I wondered if a lot of the last minute deadline was her own doing but like I said, I felt sorry for her. So I scanned course outlines and syllabi and did something I never do, emailed her a link to my ebook for free. I gave her free access to 7 years of research and spent 3 or 4 hours assembling information and emailing it to her. In short I did her work for her, for someone I never met. Animation is a community and I give back to my community.
So was she grateful? I don't know, because I haven`t heard word one from her since I gave her what she wanted. (sound like some drunken prom date) So here we are a week later and what do you think my opinion of this teacher (sic) is now? What kind of help am I going to be offer up to her in the future?
All it would have taken to keep the lines open to my knowledge and contacts was a 30-second respond-to-email thank you. Animation is a small world. Your mother was right about the 3 little words. Please and Thank You go a long, long way. And if you don`t use them, chances are you won`t.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 11:18 AM
One more, hopefully, helpful hint; Animation is a very small community folks. You really can`t afford to burn bridges. If someone goes out of their way to do you a favor, thank them for it or it will come back to haunt you later.
Last Friday I got a call from a friend who is part of a small well known studio. A teacher called him all frantic because she had to have a Class Outline, syllabus and equipment order done that day for a high school animation program. When I called her back she was all panic mode crazy and I felt sorry for her because I have been put into insane/unrealistic deadlines by front office school board apes any number of times.
She wanted answers to questions she didn`t even know. She wanted contacts. She wanted products. She wanted reviews. She wanted, she wanted, she wanted. And all of it right now, today. She had to have it today! She didn`t have time to buy my ebook that had the questions and the answers that she wanted. She needed it now, now, now!
She seemed very, very needy and in passing I wondered if a lot of the last minute deadline was her own doing but like I said, I felt sorry for her. So I scanned course outlines and syllabi and did something I never do, emailed her a link to my ebook for free. I gave her free access to 7 years of research and spent 3 or 4 hours assembling information and emailing it to her. In short I did her work for her, for someone I never met. Animation is a community and I give back to my community.
So was she grateful? I don't know, because I haven`t heard word one from her since I gave her what she wanted. (sound like some drunken prom date) So here we are a week later and what do you think my opinion of this teacher (sic) is now? What kind of help am I going to be offer up to her in the future?
All it would have taken to keep the lines open to my knowledge and contacts was a 30-second respond-to-email thank you. Animation is a small world. Your mother was right about the 3 little words. Please and Thank You go a long, long way. And if you don`t use them, chances are you won`t.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 11:18 AM
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Comic Con Site Updated:
The ASIFA- Hollywood Comic Con site has been updated. Look for the link at the right of the page under the past posts links.
Check out the site to see other details. Bookmark it for easy access. Come out to the planning meeting on the 30th (see below) and be part of the ASIFA presence at Comic Con.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:03 AM
The ASIFA- Hollywood Comic Con site has been updated. Look for the link at the right of the page under the past posts links.
Purposed Panels and Screenings: Nothing is set in stone yet since Comic Con Programming has not set any times or dates but here is what I have been working on.
1. THE CHIODO BROS. STOP MOTION ANIMATION IN THE COMPUTER AGE w/ The Chiodo Bros. (I Go Pogo, Tim Burton’s Vincent, Team America World Police, etc.) and other stop motion professionals discuss how computers have not replaced stop motion animation but revitalized puppet animation.
2. TO INFINITY AND BEYOND (Oscar nominated documentary director and the grand daughter of Animation pioneer Ub Iwerks) will screen her new documentary about Pixar Animation Studio.
3. MAVERICKS, MAGIC AND MCGOO, Tee Bosustow looks at the lasting legacy of his father’s studio, UPA with screenings of rare UPA films and commercials Tee will head a panel of UPA veterans.
4. DRAWING THE LINE The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson – Book signing & Audio Visual presentation with Tom Sito, former President of the Animation Union, Animaiton educator and noted animator.
5. STATE OF THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY, Guests so far: Tim Johnson, co-director of Over the Hedge; Bill Plympton, independent animator extraordinar; Sarah Baisley, Editor Animation World Network, Aki Umemoto, Creative Director of Mattel for 25 year and currently Creative Director of Base Station; Stephen Chiodo, Killer Clowns From Outer Space, I Go Pogo, Tim Burton’s Vincent, Team America World Police, etc., Aubry Mantz, formerly of ILM currently Chair of Animation at Laguna College of Art & Design (the Animation program started by Chuck Jones).
6. TREASURES OF THE ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD ARCHIVE w/ Larry Loc, a screening of rare films and a viewing of rare animation artifacts from the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archives. (This one did quit nicely last year drawing a big crowd on Sunday afternoon)
7. ANIMATION ON A SHOESTRING Learn the down and dirty tricks on how to create your own animation studio on a low budget, from the author of Animation on a Shoe String. Find out how to assemble the equipment you will need, how to build or buy equipment, and what software to use to edit and composite your project. Featuring Larry Loc, animation educator and executive board member of ASISA-Hollywood
8. WORST CARTOONS EVER MADE - Jerry Beck returns with his highly popular screening of some of the worst animation ever made. Always a giant crowd pleaser.
Check out the site to see other details. Bookmark it for easy access. Come out to the planning meeting on the 30th (see below) and be part of the ASIFA presence at Comic Con.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:03 AM
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Bits and Pieces:
My daughter, Raven, went out to the exclusive Club 33 at Disneyland last weekend. (Walt built Club 33 to entertain VIPs) I`m not really sure who scored the reservation but here is one of the napkins and a Pirates of the Caribbean pin. She didn’t get to go to the premiere but she did get the pin.
I spend the morning doing paperwork for Comic Con that I have been putting off while I get over Stop Mo Expo exhaustion. It is hard to get motivated again but time is fleeting, madness takes it toll. It`s a step to the left . . .
Speaking of San Diego Comic Con there will be an ASIFA volunteer / planning session at Woodbury University, 7500 Glenoaks Blvd. Burbank - Room D102 on Wednesday May 30th at 7 PM. If you want to be part of ASIFA and Comic Con make sure to make this meeting. I am updating the website and will let you know when it comes online.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 10:21 AM
My daughter, Raven, went out to the exclusive Club 33 at Disneyland last weekend. (Walt built Club 33 to entertain VIPs) I`m not really sure who scored the reservation but here is one of the napkins and a Pirates of the Caribbean pin. She didn’t get to go to the premiere but she did get the pin.
I spend the morning doing paperwork for Comic Con that I have been putting off while I get over Stop Mo Expo exhaustion. It is hard to get motivated again but time is fleeting, madness takes it toll. It`s a step to the left . . .
Speaking of San Diego Comic Con there will be an ASIFA volunteer / planning session at Woodbury University, 7500 Glenoaks Blvd. Burbank - Room D102 on Wednesday May 30th at 7 PM. If you want to be part of ASIFA and Comic Con make sure to make this meeting. I am updating the website and will let you know when it comes online.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 10:21 AM
Monday, May 21, 2007
Mark Kausler blogs:
Mark Kausler is currently deep into his second personally financed short cel animation because he simply loves the look of cel painting on 35 mm film and no one else is doing it. Mark doesn`t really seem to fear or hate computers but he has not always bothered with computer technology. It is good to see him join the computer age with It`s the Cat available on Brew Films. (see below)
Today I found out that Mark has joined the blogging community when Cartoon Brew linked to his report on the estate sale of Disney legend Ollie Johnston.
Here is Mark in the Ollie Johnston chair and hat that he picked up at the sale.
Of more interest to me are his remembrances of Huge Harman and Mark`s role is saving the Bosko pilot Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid. There is so much animation history locked inside Mark`s head it is good to have him putting it out for the world. I have bookmarked his page you should too.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:05 AM
Mark Kausler is currently deep into his second personally financed short cel animation because he simply loves the look of cel painting on 35 mm film and no one else is doing it. Mark doesn`t really seem to fear or hate computers but he has not always bothered with computer technology. It is good to see him join the computer age with It`s the Cat available on Brew Films. (see below)
Today I found out that Mark has joined the blogging community when Cartoon Brew linked to his report on the estate sale of Disney legend Ollie Johnston.
Here is Mark in the Ollie Johnston chair and hat that he picked up at the sale.
Of more interest to me are his remembrances of Huge Harman and Mark`s role is saving the Bosko pilot Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid. There is so much animation history locked inside Mark`s head it is good to have him putting it out for the world. I have bookmarked his page you should too.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:05 AM
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Killer Titles:
I watched Casino Royale last night after I got home from The Tree Huggers Ball and the best part of the movie by far was the FrameStore CFC titles designed by Daniel Kleinman. http://www.framestore-cfc.com/commercials/index.html
I don`t mean to demean these opening titles by just saying that they were the best part of the movie because the movie itself had some real problems like very sloppy editing and story flow and even story. These titles would stand out even on a much better movie.
People, both inside and outside the industry, tend to overlook title animation. There have been some incredible title animation over the years like The Incredibles, The Pink Panther, A Series of Unfortunate Events and nobody seems to take note at the award shows or in the media. Maybe it is because too many people think of titles as something that fills the screen during last minute popcorn buying time?
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 11:22 AM
I watched Casino Royale last night after I got home from The Tree Huggers Ball and the best part of the movie by far was the FrameStore CFC titles designed by Daniel Kleinman. http://www.framestore-cfc.com/commercials/index.html
I don`t mean to demean these opening titles by just saying that they were the best part of the movie because the movie itself had some real problems like very sloppy editing and story flow and even story. These titles would stand out even on a much better movie.
People, both inside and outside the industry, tend to overlook title animation. There have been some incredible title animation over the years like The Incredibles, The Pink Panther, A Series of Unfortunate Events and nobody seems to take note at the award shows or in the media. Maybe it is because too many people think of titles as something that fills the screen during last minute popcorn buying time?
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 11:22 AM
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Confession and Observation:
Let`s start with the confession, I read People Magazine. Okay, I know, it is trashy and tabloidish but I never buy them. My wife brings the old ones, that are removed from circulation, home from the library. I guess that makes me like a rock star, a drug addict that gets his stash for free, I fail the pee test but at no cost and I get my fix even if it is a little late. That is why I am reading the February issue in May.
Dina Babbitt, second wife of animation legend Art Babbitt, is alive today because she is an artist. Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele gave her a reprieve from the gas chambers of Auschwitz so that she could paint portraits to help prove that Gypsies were an inferior race. (when your life is on the line . . . )
It got me thinking about the large number of artist that owe their life to their talent. Almost all of Bill Scott`s air reconnaissance crew were killed in battle while he was safe animating at Fort Roach. Floyd Norman was painting murals while the rest of his platoon were on the battle fields of Korea. My teacher, Dick Ayres, painted cartoon images on the noses of bombers which didn't leave him much time to get shot at. I am sure that there are hundreds of thousands of artist that directly owe their lives to art.
When you get down to the tooth and claw of natural selection, art is a trait that we instinctively protect. Then why don`t we respect artist more in the market place?
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:40 AM
Let`s start with the confession, I read People Magazine. Okay, I know, it is trashy and tabloidish but I never buy them. My wife brings the old ones, that are removed from circulation, home from the library. I guess that makes me like a rock star, a drug addict that gets his stash for free, I fail the pee test but at no cost and I get my fix even if it is a little late. That is why I am reading the February issue in May.
Dina Babbitt, second wife of animation legend Art Babbitt, is alive today because she is an artist. Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele gave her a reprieve from the gas chambers of Auschwitz so that she could paint portraits to help prove that Gypsies were an inferior race. (when your life is on the line . . . )
It got me thinking about the large number of artist that owe their life to their talent. Almost all of Bill Scott`s air reconnaissance crew were killed in battle while he was safe animating at Fort Roach. Floyd Norman was painting murals while the rest of his platoon were on the battle fields of Korea. My teacher, Dick Ayres, painted cartoon images on the noses of bombers which didn't leave him much time to get shot at. I am sure that there are hundreds of thousands of artist that directly owe their lives to art.
When you get down to the tooth and claw of natural selection, art is a trait that we instinctively protect. Then why don`t we respect artist more in the market place?
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:40 AM
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
It was very green last night at the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences for the ASIFA screening of Shrek the Third.
All the food was green. The bright green chips I could get behind but the very, very green cheese and the acid green drink made me fearful. Shrek is German for fear and anyway I wasn`t here to eat.
A capacity crowd filed in to see the latest in the Shrek franchise. I am not a big sequel fan but I was pleasantly surprised with a more character driven plot and a move away from the one gag after another machine gun approach that marked Shrek and Shrek II.
I liked it more than Shrek II that suffered from too many copycat films doing send ups of the very popular original Shrek.
I need a few more viewings before I can decide how close I judge it to the high water mark of that original Shrek movie. It always is a good sign if I can`t wait to get back in the theatre after seeing a film.
Jerry Beck lead a question and answer session after the screening.
Director / Writer Chris Miller
and Productor / Writer Aron Warner answered a group of insightful questions from a knowledgeable industry crowd.
And I got a free Donkey mask. Who could ask for more?
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:28 AM
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Thought I`d pass this along from our old friend Porky Pig, Bob Bergen. Here is a way to get 20% off on tickets for his one man show.
VOICE-OVER ACTOR BOB BERGEN in
NOT JUST ANOTHER A PRETTY VOICE!
(The Story of A Nice Jewish Boy Who Wanted To Be Porky Pig)
NOT JUST ANOTHER A PRETTY VOICE!
(The Story of A Nice Jewish Boy Who Wanted To Be Porky Pig)
Hey gang!
So, the good news is I was asked by the theater to extend my one man show! The bad news is, my schedule prevents me from being able to do this. SO-I have to close at the end of the month. Discount tickets are still available!! Here's the scoop:
1) Click this link
http://www.plays411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=838 which should take you directly to the reservation page of my show. If it doesn't, go to www.plays411.com and follow the steps that take you to the listing of shows till you see Bob Bergen in Not Just Another Pretty Voice.
2) On the reservation page you'll see an area that says promotional code.
Enter 004. This will get you 20% off the regular price.
There's only a handful of discount tickets available each night, so once they are gone they're gone.
Best!
Bob Bergen
www.bobbergen.com
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy)
Saturday, May 12, 2007
F.A.R.F.U.R M.O.U.S.E, Farfur Mouse, Farfur Mouse.
Okay, I was going to try to stay out of this wide spread Internet discussion. But now the LA Times is calling for Disney`s lawyers to attack Hamas` Al Aqsa TV`s Tomorrow`s Pioneers, kids` television show. Just how smart is that?
Disney can`t stop the Chinese from ripping off Disneyland and China is a nation, they are in one place, Disney knows were to find them, so how is Disney and their lawyers going to stop a somewhat rouge organization that often responds to criticism with guns and bombs? That has got to be going though the minds of the people in the Disney boardroom. They don`t play the copyright game.
Highjacking Mickey Mouse, the icon of all that is Western and capitalistic with a million, million images already in place and using him in the indoctrination of children, shows an understanding of media that is cold ruthless genius. It is an attack through the media as well as an attack on the minds of their own children. The end justifies . . .
How can anybody hope to deal with this kind of ruthlessness with a mere lawyer? Easier to stab the wind. They, the Arab World, the Palestinians, Hamas, the people who have been set up to play villain in this current world Sanrio, can not deal with the Western might in a one on one exchange of force and the Western mindset can`t seem to come to terms with any other course of action.
In the winter of 1972 I was in the old city of Jerusalem with Peter, my roommate from the Kibbutz. Through a long and very strange course of events we became friends with Ali, the owner of an up scale store in the old city. Ali invited us to his store/home near Lion`s gate for coffee one Sabbath morning. One thing came to another and the discussion turned to the Palestinian question.
Peter, who was Jewish, and orphan, and was immigrating to Israel after being severely wounded in Vietnam said My people have no home, for 2,000 years we have roamed the world. At last I have come home, we have come home. No one will take that from me.
Ali, who I later learned was into some very heavy stuff, said My father owned this land, his father before him and his father`s father`s father before him. I will fight to my last drop of blood for my land.
Me, the goy in the middle, looked back and forth between my two friends and marveled that they had both just calmly stated that they would kill each other. I drank my coffee and knew that this would never be over.
I am not arguing that using Mickey Mouse to teach children to be terrorists is not the most insidious form of evil but realize Mickey was already in this war for the minds of children as the icon of all that is the West. Remaking children in our own image is alway the ego sin of all adults.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:56 AM
Okay, I was going to try to stay out of this wide spread Internet discussion. But now the LA Times is calling for Disney`s lawyers to attack Hamas` Al Aqsa TV`s Tomorrow`s Pioneers, kids` television show. Just how smart is that?
Disney can`t stop the Chinese from ripping off Disneyland and China is a nation, they are in one place, Disney knows were to find them, so how is Disney and their lawyers going to stop a somewhat rouge organization that often responds to criticism with guns and bombs? That has got to be going though the minds of the people in the Disney boardroom. They don`t play the copyright game.
Highjacking Mickey Mouse, the icon of all that is Western and capitalistic with a million, million images already in place and using him in the indoctrination of children, shows an understanding of media that is cold ruthless genius. It is an attack through the media as well as an attack on the minds of their own children. The end justifies . . .
How can anybody hope to deal with this kind of ruthlessness with a mere lawyer? Easier to stab the wind. They, the Arab World, the Palestinians, Hamas, the people who have been set up to play villain in this current world Sanrio, can not deal with the Western might in a one on one exchange of force and the Western mindset can`t seem to come to terms with any other course of action.
In the winter of 1972 I was in the old city of Jerusalem with Peter, my roommate from the Kibbutz. Through a long and very strange course of events we became friends with Ali, the owner of an up scale store in the old city. Ali invited us to his store/home near Lion`s gate for coffee one Sabbath morning. One thing came to another and the discussion turned to the Palestinian question.
Peter, who was Jewish, and orphan, and was immigrating to Israel after being severely wounded in Vietnam said My people have no home, for 2,000 years we have roamed the world. At last I have come home, we have come home. No one will take that from me.
Ali, who I later learned was into some very heavy stuff, said My father owned this land, his father before him and his father`s father`s father before him. I will fight to my last drop of blood for my land.
Me, the goy in the middle, looked back and forth between my two friends and marveled that they had both just calmly stated that they would kill each other. I drank my coffee and knew that this would never be over.
I am not arguing that using Mickey Mouse to teach children to be terrorists is not the most insidious form of evil but realize Mickey was already in this war for the minds of children as the icon of all that is the West. Remaking children in our own image is alway the ego sin of all adults.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:56 AM
Friday, May 11, 2007
I am a major fan of the work of the late great Kelly Freas. If you look closely at the scan of the Ace Double-Back cover you will see his autograph in silver. I spent a lot of time at his table at San Diego Comic Cons over the years. I love his line work and I love his cover painting even more. He had a very distinctive palette and great layout and figure. I have bought more than one Science Fiction book because of his cover paintings. (You can`t go wrong he alway read every book before he would paint the cover)
This last Wednesday I was at the Laguna Colllege of Art & Design industry mixer and bam, there is Kelly`s palette and even a whole lot of the whimsy of his figure and layout. (Okay, along with a little O’Keeffe`s Lawrence Tree on the left of her flyer but even that looked like Kelly painted it) So I made a special point of talking to Jessica Bulinski and she had never heard of Kelly Freas. Well she has now. I say she is going to be someone to watch in the feature. Oh, and she is looking for illustration work too now that she graduated.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 12:56 PM
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Interview with Stop Motion Director Tennessee Reid Norton
Newly posted interview from last month`s Stop Mo Expo.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 12:21 PM
Newly posted interview from last month`s Stop Mo Expo.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 12:21 PM
Yesterday I spend time at the Laguna College of Art & Design industry open house. Talked to some Pixar recruiters that were in for the day. Talked to the head of their new gaming program that is schedule to come on line in 2008.
Congregations to my former student Khoa Le for winning the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Student Award. That has got to look great on the resume and the Chuck Jones drawing of the end scene of Duck Amuck all nicely framed with the award plaque is going to look great of your wall. Khoa is a character animator, the former president of the animation club and now that he has finished school he is looking for work.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:45 AM
Congregations to my former student Khoa Le for winning the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Student Award. That has got to look great on the resume and the Chuck Jones drawing of the end scene of Duck Amuck all nicely framed with the award plaque is going to look great of your wall. Khoa is a character animator, the former president of the animation club and now that he has finished school he is looking for work.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:45 AM
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Looking Back Through Grape Colored Glasses:
I know that I am way behind times. The Stop Mo Expo is old news but I have just recovered enough from putting on the event to go looking out on the web to see what happened and what people thought about it.
Here are a couple of links to reports on the event including some YouTube video interviews with some of the presenters.
Tennessee Reid Norton, Misha Klein, Stephen Chiodo, etc
Interview with Stop Motion Director Misha Klein
Here is a blog entry that goes into detail about the different panels. He goes into nuts and bolts reaction to the information given which is the next best thing to watching the video of the event. Something that I won’t be able to do until way after Comic Con when I get around to editing said video.
Halfland
(sour grapes)
I put on the the Stop Mo Expo because I really wanted to see an event like this but I was so busy during the event making sure everything went well that I didn`t get to really enjoy the event as much as the people who came to it. So here I am trying to do detective work after the fact on an event I put on. It is kind of sad. If I could just figure out a way to get other people to put on the events I want to see. Or clone myself. Or something.
(/sour grapes)
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:55 AM
I know that I am way behind times. The Stop Mo Expo is old news but I have just recovered enough from putting on the event to go looking out on the web to see what happened and what people thought about it.
Here are a couple of links to reports on the event including some YouTube video interviews with some of the presenters.
Tennessee Reid Norton, Misha Klein, Stephen Chiodo, etc
Interview with Stop Motion Director Misha Klein
Here is a blog entry that goes into detail about the different panels. He goes into nuts and bolts reaction to the information given which is the next best thing to watching the video of the event. Something that I won’t be able to do until way after Comic Con when I get around to editing said video.
Halfland
(sour grapes)
I put on the the Stop Mo Expo because I really wanted to see an event like this but I was so busy during the event making sure everything went well that I didn`t get to really enjoy the event as much as the people who came to it. So here I am trying to do detective work after the fact on an event I put on. It is kind of sad. If I could just figure out a way to get other people to put on the events I want to see. Or clone myself. Or something.
(/sour grapes)
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:55 AM
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Animation on a $hoe$tring Sample Book Posted:
One of the good things about not being too under the gun in planning a major event, like I have been for the last 6 months, is that I can catch up some of my own work.
I have just posted the online sample of version 6 of my ebook. This is a striped down version of the 272 page book with only a few (47) pages and files active to show content. The idea is to show the value of the book without giving away all the information so that hopefully someone will want to buy the book
and I won`t have to sell my children for scientific experiments.
To check out the sample click on the image above or go to http://www.agni-animation.com/shoestring.html
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:30 AM
One of the good things about not being too under the gun in planning a major event, like I have been for the last 6 months, is that I can catch up some of my own work.
I have just posted the online sample of version 6 of my ebook. This is a striped down version of the 272 page book with only a few (47) pages and files active to show content. The idea is to show the value of the book without giving away all the information so that hopefully someone will want to buy the book
and I won`t have to sell my children for scientific experiments.
To check out the sample click on the image above or go to http://www.agni-animation.com/shoestring.html
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:30 AM
Monday, May 07, 2007
Answer:
I promised you the answer to the following question after my History of Animation class had a chance to take their final. Here it is along with a little history.
There are a number of reasons the Fleischer Studio closed. Dave Fleischer was having an affair with his secretary (he later abandon his wife and family for her) The affair divided Max and his family from Dave, Dave`s secretary, and Dave`s first wife. Dave was also a gambler. In fact the $20,000 dollars to start the studio came from a bet Dave placed on a horse. When times got tough Dave ran book out of the Miami studio. Neither of these events made Paramount very happy with Dave and the Studio.
Cash was tight for a number of reasons. Paramount had forced the Fleischers into animating licensed material like Popeye and Superman that left the Fleischer Studio out of the major cut of the marketing money that they use to get from Betty Boop. They also kind of forced feature animation on to the studio and Gulliver was a style and story mess with characters from 3 different worlds sharing the screen. There is no way that the King and Princess are related, much less from the same species. Hoppity is a little better but still has some real cringe worthy moments. A lot of them in song.
Paramount forced Fleischer to settle the strike. The strike pissed of Max Fleischer to the point that he moved the whole studio to Miami. (Florida was a right to work state, no unions) Paramount fronted the money for the move, the new studio, and the running expenses that were higher than paying union scale because they had to almost bribe animators to move South.
Paramount took controlling stock as collateral for all the money that they were fronting the Fleischer Studio and at some point they closed the studio, fired both Max and Dave and moved everybody back to New York as Famous (sic) Studios. Thus died one of the all time great studios.
Therefore the answer is d. All of the above.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:37 PM
I promised you the answer to the following question after my History of Animation class had a chance to take their final. Here it is along with a little history.
17. Why did the Fleischer Studio close?
- a. Dave Fleischer`s gambling and womanizing outraged Paramount
- b. Gulliver`s Travels and Hoppity Goes to Town Tanked
- c. they ran up big debts moving the studio to Florida to get away from unions
- d. All of the above
There are a number of reasons the Fleischer Studio closed. Dave Fleischer was having an affair with his secretary (he later abandon his wife and family for her) The affair divided Max and his family from Dave, Dave`s secretary, and Dave`s first wife. Dave was also a gambler. In fact the $20,000 dollars to start the studio came from a bet Dave placed on a horse. When times got tough Dave ran book out of the Miami studio. Neither of these events made Paramount very happy with Dave and the Studio.
Cash was tight for a number of reasons. Paramount had forced the Fleischers into animating licensed material like Popeye and Superman that left the Fleischer Studio out of the major cut of the marketing money that they use to get from Betty Boop. They also kind of forced feature animation on to the studio and Gulliver was a style and story mess with characters from 3 different worlds sharing the screen. There is no way that the King and Princess are related, much less from the same species. Hoppity is a little better but still has some real cringe worthy moments. A lot of them in song.
Paramount forced Fleischer to settle the strike. The strike pissed of Max Fleischer to the point that he moved the whole studio to Miami. (Florida was a right to work state, no unions) Paramount fronted the money for the move, the new studio, and the running expenses that were higher than paying union scale because they had to almost bribe animators to move South.
Paramount took controlling stock as collateral for all the money that they were fronting the Fleischer Studio and at some point they closed the studio, fired both Max and Dave and moved everybody back to New York as Famous (sic) Studios. Thus died one of the all time great studios.
Therefore the answer is d. All of the above.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 5:37 PM
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Strike One:
Tom Sito Blog has a story today marking the 70th Anniversary of Animation Artists going on strike for the first time (against the Max Fleischer Studio in New York). To follow that theme a little farther here is question # 17 from the final I am giving my Laguna College of Art and Design Students tomorrow.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:55 AM
Tom Sito Blog has a story today marking the 70th Anniversary of Animation Artists going on strike for the first time (against the Max Fleischer Studio in New York). To follow that theme a little farther here is question # 17 from the final I am giving my Laguna College of Art and Design Students tomorrow.
I will give you the answer after Monday`s class.
17. Why did the Fleischer Studio close?
- a. Dave Fleischer`s gambling and womanizing outraged Paramount
- b. Gulliver`s Travels and Hoppity Goes to Town Tanked
- c. they ran up big debts moving the studio to Florida to get away from unions
- d. All of the above
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:55 AM
Friday, May 04, 2007
It`s The Cat at Last:
Today I downloaded Mark Kausler`s It`s The Cat from Cartoon Brew Films http://www.cartoonbrewfilms.com/. I love It`s The Cat. It is one of my all time favorite animations. But until now there has been no way to get a copy.
At last I will not have to think of yet another reason to get Mark to come out to one of my classes just to get another chance to see this film. (There always are lots of other reasons to get him to come out to visit my classes anyway)
There are a small number of rare films on this site including John Hubley`s Flat Hating and Frank Tashlin`s stop motion film The Lady Said No.
Great content, I just wish that their films were not offered only in the extortionary software Quicktime. A piece of software that I really dislike that is almost useless unless you pay to upgrade it every 2 months at $29.95 a pop. This is not the place to go into how much I really, really hate Quicktime. Let me just say that I wanted this film so badly that even Quicktime couldn't stop me.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 9:34 PM
Today I downloaded Mark Kausler`s It`s The Cat from Cartoon Brew Films http://www.cartoonbrewfilms.com/. I love It`s The Cat. It is one of my all time favorite animations. But until now there has been no way to get a copy.
At last I will not have to think of yet another reason to get Mark to come out to one of my classes just to get another chance to see this film. (There always are lots of other reasons to get him to come out to visit my classes anyway)
There are a small number of rare films on this site including John Hubley`s Flat Hating and Frank Tashlin`s stop motion film The Lady Said No.
Great content, I just wish that their films were not offered only in the extortionary software Quicktime. A piece of software that I really dislike that is almost useless unless you pay to upgrade it every 2 months at $29.95 a pop. This is not the place to go into how much I really, really hate Quicktime. Let me just say that I wanted this film so badly that even Quicktime couldn't stop me.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 9:34 PM
Thursday, May 03, 2007
ASIFA Members Shrek Screenings Announced:
click for larger image
The RSVP number should be in your email box.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 12:42 PM
click for larger image
The RSVP number should be in your email box.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 12:42 PM
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
An Army of 300
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Barnsdall Gallery Theater
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
300 took an army of talented visual effects artists to
adapt Frank Miller?s epic graphic novel based on the
Battle of Thermopydae to the big screen. Come see
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor on 300 as he
along with key effects personnel from Pixel Magic,
Hydraulx, Screaming Death Monkey, Scanline, and Buzz
Images will lead the audience through epic imagery as
they break down major scenes in the film.
PRESENTERS
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor, 300
Tyler Foell, Visual Effects Supervisor, Pixel Magic
Jeremy Hunt, VFX Sup., Screaming Death Monkey
Stephan Trojansky, VFX Sup., Scanline
Chris Wells, CG Supervisor, Hydraulx
Derek Wentworth, Production Digital FX Sup., Buzz
Images, Inc.
PROGRAM
6:30 pm-7:30pm Outdoor Reception - Food Provided -
beer, wine, and soft drinks available to purchase.
7:30 pm- Presentation Begins
FEE/REGISTRATION:
The event is free to LA ACM SIGGRAPH members, and $15
for non-members. New members who sign up on-site and
pay the $35 annual membership fee (checks or cash
only) do not have to pay the $15 fee. Anyone can
become an LA ACM SIGGRAPH member. You get in free to
ten meetings a year. Download the membership form in
advance from
http://la.siggraph.org/html/membership.htm
DIRECTIONS/PARKING
101 to Hollywood Blvd. Exit
Go East 1.2 miles to 4800 Hollywood Blvd.
The venue is located between Edgewood & Vermont
http://www.laparks.com/dos/historic/barnsdall.htm
Drive up hill and park free along the circular road.
If there is no more parking along the circular road,
park in the lot at the bottom of the hill and walk up
the stairs.
A metro red line stop is at Vermont/Sunset for more
information go to http://www.metro.net
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:03 AM
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Barnsdall Gallery Theater
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
300 took an army of talented visual effects artists to
adapt Frank Miller?s epic graphic novel based on the
Battle of Thermopydae to the big screen. Come see
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor on 300 as he
along with key effects personnel from Pixel Magic,
Hydraulx, Screaming Death Monkey, Scanline, and Buzz
Images will lead the audience through epic imagery as
they break down major scenes in the film.
PRESENTERS
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor, 300
Tyler Foell, Visual Effects Supervisor, Pixel Magic
Jeremy Hunt, VFX Sup., Screaming Death Monkey
Stephan Trojansky, VFX Sup., Scanline
Chris Wells, CG Supervisor, Hydraulx
Derek Wentworth, Production Digital FX Sup., Buzz
Images, Inc.
PROGRAM
6:30 pm-7:30pm Outdoor Reception - Food Provided -
beer, wine, and soft drinks available to purchase.
7:30 pm- Presentation Begins
FEE/REGISTRATION:
The event is free to LA ACM SIGGRAPH members, and $15
for non-members. New members who sign up on-site and
pay the $35 annual membership fee (checks or cash
only) do not have to pay the $15 fee. Anyone can
become an LA ACM SIGGRAPH member. You get in free to
ten meetings a year. Download the membership form in
advance from
http://la.siggraph.org/html/membership.htm
DIRECTIONS/PARKING
101 to Hollywood Blvd. Exit
Go East 1.2 miles to 4800 Hollywood Blvd.
The venue is located between Edgewood & Vermont
http://www.laparks.com/dos/historic/barnsdall.htm
Drive up hill and park free along the circular road.
If there is no more parking along the circular road,
park in the lot at the bottom of the hill and walk up
the stairs.
A metro red line stop is at Vermont/Sunset for more
information go to http://www.metro.net
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:03 AM
An Army of 300
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Barnsdall Gallery Theater
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
300 took an army of talented visual effects artists to
adapt Frank Miller?s epic graphic novel based on the
Battle of Thermopydae to the big screen. Come see
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor on 300 as he
along with key effects personnel from Pixel Magic,
Hydraulx, Screaming Death Monkey, Scanline, and Buzz
Images will lead the audience through epic imagery as
they break down major scenes in the film.
PRESENTERS
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor, 300
Tyler Foell, Visual Effects Supervisor, Pixel Magic
Jeremy Hunt, VFX Sup., Screaming Death Monkey
Stephan Trojansky, VFX Sup., Scanline
Chris Wells, CG Supervisor, Hydraulx
Derek Wentworth, Production Digital FX Sup., Buzz
Images, Inc.
PROGRAM
6:30 pm-7:30pm Outdoor Reception - Food Provided -
beer, wine, and soft drinks available to purchase.
7:30 pm- Presentation Begins
FEE/REGISTRATION:
The event is free to LA ACM SIGGRAPH members, and $15
for non-members. New members who sign up on-site and
pay the $35 annual membership fee (checks or cash
only) do not have to pay the $15 fee. Anyone can
become an LA ACM SIGGRAPH member. You get in free to
ten meetings a year. Download the membership form in
advance from
http://la.siggraph.org/html/membership.htm
DIRECTIONS/PARKING
101 to Hollywood Blvd. Exit
Go East 1.2 miles to 4800 Hollywood Blvd.
The venue is located between Edgewood & Vermont
http://www.laparks.com/dos/historic/barnsdall.htm
Drive up hill and park free along the circular road.
If there is no more parking along the circular road,
park in the lot at the bottom of the hill and walk up
the stairs.
A metro red line stop is at Vermont/Sunset for more
information go to http://www.metro.net
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:03 AM
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Barnsdall Gallery Theater
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
300 took an army of talented visual effects artists to
adapt Frank Miller?s epic graphic novel based on the
Battle of Thermopydae to the big screen. Come see
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor on 300 as he
along with key effects personnel from Pixel Magic,
Hydraulx, Screaming Death Monkey, Scanline, and Buzz
Images will lead the audience through epic imagery as
they break down major scenes in the film.
PRESENTERS
Chris Watts, Visual Effects Supervisor, 300
Tyler Foell, Visual Effects Supervisor, Pixel Magic
Jeremy Hunt, VFX Sup., Screaming Death Monkey
Stephan Trojansky, VFX Sup., Scanline
Chris Wells, CG Supervisor, Hydraulx
Derek Wentworth, Production Digital FX Sup., Buzz
Images, Inc.
PROGRAM
6:30 pm-7:30pm Outdoor Reception - Food Provided -
beer, wine, and soft drinks available to purchase.
7:30 pm- Presentation Begins
FEE/REGISTRATION:
The event is free to LA ACM SIGGRAPH members, and $15
for non-members. New members who sign up on-site and
pay the $35 annual membership fee (checks or cash
only) do not have to pay the $15 fee. Anyone can
become an LA ACM SIGGRAPH member. You get in free to
ten meetings a year. Download the membership form in
advance from
http://la.siggraph.org/html/membership.htm
DIRECTIONS/PARKING
101 to Hollywood Blvd. Exit
Go East 1.2 miles to 4800 Hollywood Blvd.
The venue is located between Edgewood & Vermont
http://www.laparks.com/dos/historic/barnsdall.htm
Drive up hill and park free along the circular road.
If there is no more parking along the circular road,
park in the lot at the bottom of the hill and walk up
the stairs.
A metro red line stop is at Vermont/Sunset for more
information go to http://www.metro.net
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 6:03 AM
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Yesterday I had a new experience. I went to show the Thief and the Cobbler the recobbled version and everybody had seen it. This is good news. It means that Garrett Gilchrist`s restored version is now the version of choice. That teachers in animation schools are showing the version closest to what Williams planned as a good example of animaiton.
Here is the strange thing. My students had never seen the Disney version. When I showed them the princess singing and dancing scene they could not believe it. They thought that it was a parody. They did not believe that this was part of the movie as it was distributed.
I am not sure what this means but I think it is a good thing. And once again, a great thanks to Garrett Gilchrist for a job well done.
Larry Loc (ASIFA Blog Guy) ¶ 7:15 AM
