Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving day.
Another cinematic star has left us this year, and I want to take this opportunity to give thanks for all the brilliant film work he’s given us.

– Robert Altman died Tuesday, November 21, 2006. I wanted to post some thoughts yesterday, but wasn’t able to do justice to the man in so short a time. Please forgive my rambling thoughts on the man, but I want to say something about his landmark career and the influence it has had on me.

Robert Bernard Altman was born on Feb. 20, 1925, in Kansas City, Mo. He worked in Kansas City doing small training films before moving to Hollywood. There, he did a lot of television work on shows ranging from Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Maverick,” and “Peter Gunn,” to “Bonanza,” and “Route 66.” Once he did his first film, Countdown, starring James Caan and Robert Duvall, he was on an express track. That film was shot on a very low budget and led to others including his breakthrough film, M*A*S*H.

The success of M*A*S*H. brought a bit of money and power and allowed him to do other projects such as Brewster McCloud, which was as far away from mainstream as you’ll get. He was able to do at least a film a year, and often two, right up to his death. Released only this Summer was A Prairie Home Companion which starred the diverse cast of Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan and Woody Harrelson.

It’s wonderful to be a New Yorker. So often you’ll pass celebrities on the sidewalk or see them in restaurants and other moments of yours (and their) normal life. Over the years, I’ve seen Robert Altman on the street at least half a dozen times.

The first time we passed was back in the 70′s as I was entering a screening of some Anime films, he was exiting the screening room. I held the door open for him, dressed in a rust-colored buckskin jacket with fringe-a-plenty and a cream-colored cowboy hat.
The last time I saw him was in August at a theater when I saw the play, The History Boys, on Broadway. He sat a couple of rows behind Heidi and me and looked as if he enjoyed the play, though he didn’t look particularly comfortable.

For so long, I truly respected what he did and always sought out his films, but I didn’t always enjoy the experience. I loved his use of sound and overlapping dialogue, his mobile camera and intentionally casual approach. And such great acting – always. The films, themselves, weren’t always entertaining, to me, – except on a technical level. Too often they were self-conscious or self-important.
However, that all seemed to change around the time of The Player and even before that there were exceptions for me:

Three Women was intelligent, different, well-acted and had a brilliant score by Gerald Busby. The visual look was stunning.

Popeye had first rate performances by Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, beautiful songs by Harry Nilsson, and a great score by Van Dyke Parks.

Short Cuts was brilliantly acted with virtuoso performances by Madeleine Stowe and Julianne Moore. It was an incredibly literate and articulate adaptation of Raymond Carver‘s short stories.

Gosford Park had a brilliant script by Julian Fellowes and outstanding ensemble acting by a large cast of Britain’s finest actors. It smashed the Masterpiece Theater mold while mimicking it.

The Player took Hollywood filmmaking apart piece by piece and had fun doing it. The script by Michael Tolkin was wonderful, and all the elements came together to make a dark, enjoyable romp for Altman.

The key to Altman, for me, was that with very few exceptions he made films that wouldn’t have been made otherwise. As a matter of fact, with his death, a reliable source of cinematic “Art” is lost to us. Even his slightest film, such as The Company, would never have seen the light of a projector.
This is not something you can say about many directors.

He also supported new talent and enabled many to get their start in film. Shelley Duvall, Keith Carradine, Cynthia Nixon, Alan Rudolph and so many others jump-started their careers in Altman’s films. Actors, in fact all talent wasl treated like gold, and he used every ounce of all the talent around him on the set. This, in film, is a rarity. If only for that he should be applauded.

A.O.Scott has a good appraisal of Mr. Altman’s work in yesterday’s NYTimes.
The obituary by Rick Lyman is also well written.
Jaime J. Weinman wrote a nice piece on Tuesday.

– The Museum of Modern Art will be celebrating the pioneering work of Norman McLaren by screening some newly stuck 35mm prints of some of his key works.

This also celebrates the recent issuing of a new DVD set of McLaren’s complete works by the National Film Board of Canada.

Norman McLaren: Master’s Edition

MoMA will present this eleven-film program on Nov.29th and 30th, which demonstrates the imagination, vitality, and versatility of the artist’s animation.

The program includes Opening Speech, Stars and Stripes, Hen Hop, Begone Dull Care, A Chairy Tale, Lines Horizontal, Blinkity Blank, La Merle, and Neighbors.

I urge you to attend since there aren’t often screenings of these films in 35mm. Maybe it’s just me, but somehow, it doesn’t feel the same in dvd or ipod.

We’re living in a world where everything has to be handed to us. When an artist, such as McLaren, comes along with films that are slightly abstract and force us to use our imaginations, films that have a strong intellectual content, we have to bask in the glow and absorb the inspiration.
(Images enlarge by clicking them.)

Wednesday, November 29, 6:00;
Thursday, November 30, 8:30.
The Celeste Bartos Theater

– To move to an artist of a different sort, I received a comment on my Splog (original post here) from Thaddeus Seymour who is the son-in-law of TV art instructor, Jon Gnagy. I’d written a post about Gnagy and talked about the impression that his art instruction made on a young me.

Thaddeus wanted to announce that he and wife, Polly, have put together a new site memorializing Gnagy which includes ten episodes of his show in YouTube format. Manna from heaven.

This may serve as a trip down memory lane for many; it may serve as art instruction for others. Either way it’s entertaining and informative about a television program that was big in the 40′s & 50′s.
Go here for the site.
Go here to order a Jon Gnagy kit.
Thank you Thaddeus and Polly Seymour.

– A short note left on my blog shared the news that George Cannata is a teacher at the Art Students League.

Aside from the impressive animation biography, Mr. Cannata has a somewhat prestigious art training, himself. He began his art training at the Art Students League at the age of fourteen, studying with George Grosz. He graduated from the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and studied lithography with John Baldwin and drawing with Rico Lebrun at the Instituto Allende in Mexico.

The class description reads as follows: This class covers all aspects of drawing and composition,” he notes. “Both figurative and abstract approaches are explored in a variety of media. Students work from the model and from imagination. Individual and group critiques are frequent as I wish to produce a lively exchange of ideas. My desire is to open new avenues and to guide the students past any obstacles or inhibitions that may be preventing them from reaching their full creative potential. The class is open to beginners and advanced students.”

Classes are Monday-Friday 1:00 – 4:45pm and cost $185 per month. It’s a good way to develop the muscles while working with a great instructor.

- I’ve come to love the regular installments of Floyd Norman’s column on Jim Hill Media. Currently he writes about Retta Davidson. It’s nice to see a few articles appearing on-line about some of the females in animation history. Of course, Retta Scott‘s name sets off waves of curiosity. It’s interesting to hear about another Retta who thrived at the Disney studio without much fanfare. Thanks to Floyd for serving attention.

- For those who haven’t seen the latest John Kricfalusi animation music video for Jack Black‘s Tenacious D, go here.

It’s a bit hard core, but has some wonderful elements in it. Kricfalusi developed a wonderful, vibrant relationship between characters and backgrounds in Ren & Stimpy. In this music video, he takes it to new levels and does some smashing work. The “multiplane” levelling works in the many ways it’s used; I particularly like it when it’s done subtly and quietly. That works well against the raucus style of animation; nice dynamic tension in that.
It’s nice to see some life in the medium.

– For the past couple of days, Hans Bacher has been posting some great material on his site, It’s-a-wrap.

He’s been writing about the London Amblimation studio.
This, of course, was the studio that produced the interesting feature films for Steven Spielberg‘s company pre-Dreamworks.

(I think Balto is one of the real classics that got away. Just listen to the acting by Kevin Bacon in the title part, and see how well some of the animators were able to live up to that. By the way, I was surprised to find that there are fan sites devoted to this film. here and here)
(Hans’ “Brechtian” art for CATS. Click to enlarge)

Hans has posted a lot of stunning art, photos of the studio & staff, and given some background information on the studio and its employees. There’s even a photo of Spielberg talking to directors Simon Wells and Phil Nibbelink.

A post devoted to some of the art from Cats that was good to see. I’d heard so much about this film, and I’ve read Tom Stoppard‘s script. (He is one of my favorite playwrights.) Andrew Lloyd Webber was quoted as saying, “As for Cats, you’ll have to ask Universal – we’re trying to get those rights back . . . Tom Stoppard wrote the screenplay, and it has the cats absolutely nailed. . . I noticed various lines that popped up in his Shakespeare In Love. They were too good to waste.”

I’d like to have seen how the artists might have pulled it off with this script.

– Hans Perk has done it again.

He has post a copy of The Pointer – one of the finest Mickey Mouse cartoons – on his site and has overdubbed a click track to match the drafts he’d already posted.

Watching this and Thru The Mirror (previously posted on his site) with added click tracks is one of the best viewing experiences you can have if you’re interested in animation. Thanks Hans.

Go here to see The Pointer.
Go here to see Thru The Mirror.

- On Saturday, the NY chapter of the MPAcademy got to see the accepted submissions of the animated shorts. From the 32 shown, a shortlist of 5-10 films will be selected. At a January screening, these will be reduced to the nominees (3-5) which will be announced late January.

About a third of the films were screened at Ottawa, and some of them won awards there, hence I’ve seen a lot of them prior to this screening. A couple of films stood out for me, and I’d like to comment on them.

Sure shots:
Joanna Quinn‘s Dreams and Desires: Family Ties
This is the first time I’d seen the film, though I heard a lot about it. The short features beautiful drawing, delicate animation, a funny story. It’s won a number of big awards at festivals. This is a no-brainer. The film is going all the way.

Regina Pessoa’s Tragic Story With Happy Ending is an attractive 2D film with a great soundtrack.
The art is stunning; it looks like animated etchings. The story is a little murky, but that may be something some people will find in its favor. The film has won a lot of big awards at many festivals. It’ll definitely make the shortlist.

Others that I liked:
Andreas Hykade‘s The Runt was at Ottawa, and stood out at this screening. Bright styling with strong colors. It has a dark story that gets a bit difficult toward the end. A good film.

Don Hertzfeldt‘s latest film, Everything Will Be OK has a complex story that is definitely original for animation. It’s more like a short story with good animated stick-figure illustrations. He certainly pushes the limits of this style in the film. It’s an excellent work; intelligent and adult.

Adam Parrish King‘s The Wraith of Cobble Hill is a clay-animated, B&W student film that slowly tells an original story. There’s some good character development. It’s quite touching and the story forgives some of the basic animation techniques.

Torill Kove‘s The Danish Poet is all story, and it’s well told. There’s a bit of poetry blended in, appropriately given its subject.

Of the CG films, I really liked two:
Géza M Geza’s Maestro Is a beautifully told preparation for the actor about to go on. A clever film with a beautifully rendered style.

One Rat Short from Charlex had a touching story and told it with a lot of feeling. I found a couple of the transitions a bit confusing but was impressed with the work overall.

Other films:
I found the Dreamworks film, First Flight, quite touching. The character design isn’t totally original (the everpresent Tom Oreb lives in the bird.) It’s a bit sentimental and cute, but one of the best efforts from this studio.

Other 2D films:
Michael Dudok de Wit‘s The Aroma of Tea is a quite beautiful and delicate film. I’m not sure how this abstraction will go over with Academy voters, but I found it excellent.

As a matter of fact there were a couple of wholly abstract films, and I was pleased to see this. Not all of them were as successful as Michael Dudok de Wit‘s work, but he is undoubtedly a master.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten to mention some others screened, but there was a bit of a glut – watching seven hours of animated films one-after-another -with many of them blending into each other.

I am somewhat disappointed that a couple of films weren’t among those screened. Run Wracke‘s Rabbit is brilliant, and i suspect would have done well among these contenders. (You can see a QT version of this here.)

Unfortunately, in all there were no surprises. My favorite was Joanna Quinn‘s extraordinary film, but that was hardly a surprise for me. Everything she does is extraordinary; she should have won an Oscar years ago.

In NY, we still don’t get to vote for the feature submissions. Hopefully, that will eventually change. Though watching all those bad features to vote for the few good ones is a daunting task. I suppose it’s no different than voting for the live action features. Their are few good ones for all the flack we watch.

Actually, I do love voting for the live-action shorts. Many of them are usually top-notch.

Thanks to the Academy’s Patrick Harrison for organizing such a well-run program and for making us all comfortable.

- The 8th Annual Animation Show of Shows will play in NYC on Friday, Nov 10th at 11am.

The films scheduled include:
He Who Cheats Doesn’t Win (Rajiv Eipe, Kaustubh Ray)
Danish Poet (Torill Kove)
Gentleman’s Duel (Francisco Ruiz, Sean
McNally)
A My love (Alexander Petrov)
Shipwrecked (Frodo Kuipers)
No Time For Nuts (Chris Renaud, Michael Thurmeier)
Tragic Story With Happy Ending (Regina Pessoa)
Lifted (Gary Rydstrom)

Some of the filmmakers will be in attendance to answer questions afterwards including:
Torill Kove
Marcy Page
Regina Pessoa
Abi Feijo
Chris Renaud, and
Michael Thurmeier

FREE ADMISSION ! Come early, only 260 seats!

- There’s another excellent piece at the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive blog. They share with us a nicely illustrated presentation and translation of the biography of the Wan Brothers, who first started animating in China in 1925.

They are the artists behind the Princess Iron Fan, China’s first feature-length film completed in 1941. On the site, you can view both Uproar In Heaven and the documentary biography of the brothers.

– For those who haven’t seen the Yuri Norstein segment from Winter Days, it has been posted by Daniel Thomas MacInnes at Conversations on Ghibli. Give yourself the two minutes to watch it.

The piece, in a slightly longer version, is on YouTube as well.

There’s a small clip of this work on the Norstein dvd, but watch it in its entirety.

Daniel also posts several other beautiful segments from this amazing film by Kotabe & Okuyama and Takahata here.

- Turner Classic Movies is about to show a couple of animated features on their jam packed schedule for November.

On November 12 at 8:30, they’re screening Brad Bird‘s feature, The Iron Giant. It’ll be nice to see a version of this without endless commercials on television. (Though the DVD release is excellent.)

On November 12 at 10:00 pm, they’re showing Grave of the Fireflies. For information about this film, I, once again, suggest you go to Conversations on Ghibli.

On November 12 at midnight, Lotte Reineger‘s The Adventures of Prince Achmed will screen. This is the first animated feature, a silent film made in 1927, and if you haven’t seen it at least once, watch it, tivo it or tape it.

Look out for November 12th.

- TCM also continues with the Cartoon Alley series on Saturdays:
Nov 4th at 11:30 AM: Features three Tex Avery George and Junior Cartoons:
Henpecked Hoboes (1946), Hound Hunters (1947) and Half-Pint Pygmy (1948).

Nov 11th at 11:30 AM: Features three WB Bugs Bunny Cartoons:
A Wild Hare (1940), Elmer’s Pet Rabbit (1941) and Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt (1941).

Nov 18th at 11:30 AM:: Features three MGM Spike Cartoons:
Counterfeit Cat (1949), Ventriloquist Cat (1950) and Garden Gopher (1950).
(This is repeated Tuesday Nov. 21st at 6AM.)

Nov 25th at 11:30 AM: Features three WB Bugs Bunny/Cecil Turtle Cartoons:
Tortoise Beats Hare (1941), Tortoise Wins By a Hare (1943) and Rabbit Transit (1947).

– On Nov 24th, the day after Thanksgiving, Ray Harryhausen is featured. TCM is going to air a number of his fantasy features.

8:00 PM 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, The (1958)
10:00 PM Jason And The Argonauts (1963)
12:00 AM Mysterious Island (1961)

However, the real treat will be the shorts sandwiched in between these features. Harryhausen did a number of fairy tale films that are rarely seen and will certainly be the highlight for the night.
This will be a television premiere that seems to be going unnoticed. Again, get out your Tivos (or in my case tape.)

These can be seen at:
9:45 PM RAPUNZEL (1951)
1:45 AM KING MIDAS (1953)

Flushed Away has opened today. With it there are the reviews. In NYC you get strikingly contrasting views. The NYTimes’ A.O. Scott gives it a glowing review (“…it strikes me as unlikely that any British action picture released this year will surpass “Flushed Away.”). The NYDaily News’ Jack Matthews is so-so over it. 2½ stars.

I hope Dreamworks makes a bundle and realizes they’ve lost future work with Aardman, an honest and respectable animation studio working with dignity in a world of muck.

– Back in 1985-86, Tissa David spent at least half of her time in Europe – Holland, to be specific. She was animating and directing an hour television version of The Midsummer’s Night Dream. She continued animating while in her apartment in New York and shipped the drawings out to be colored and shot.

The film took characters from the Shakespeare play, mixed them in with a live-action orchestra which was playing Mendelsohn’s suite, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and brought the animated characters into a fully animated sylvan setting where much of the story takes place.

About a third of it was a combination of live-action and animation, and the remainder was a dance to the music, interpreting the story. There were no words spoken to this version of Shakespeare.

Tissa animated and directed this film. Kalman Kozelka photographed it, did endless effects and xeroxed the art, Ida Kozelka painted the cels, and Richard Fehsl drew/painted and animated the backgrounds. The bg’s are inked on multiple levels of cels, which moved in a multiplane setting. The art was shot from above and below; all the cels acted as their own mattes to create a beautiful luminescence in the final images.

The film was a coproduction of Channel 4, NOS. and SudDeutch TV. I have a vhs copy of the program and would like to pull some stills, but I think the tape is hidden in storage. However, I have a lot more of the art from this show and will post more soon. Each setup uses as many as five cels and is large – all bg cels are prepared for pans and are larger than 12 fld. It takes several passes to scan the art and some of that light effect is lost in the scanning (it’s not bottom lit as well as top lit).

(Click on any image to enlarge.)

- Coming up out of the subway, at 7am this morning, I was greeted by the specter of Halloween. An adult video store just at the mouth of the subway exit/entrance had a skeleton dressed in a natty tuxedo – the doorman to its own hell. (It looked highly varnished – I’m not sure if once a real person might have occupied those bones or if I was not awake enough to recognize that it was made of plastic.)

But then NY has become Halloween central these past dozen or so years. Now that I am situated in the West Village, I notice that it dominates the area for a few days. Streets have already been cordoned off with those blue wooden horses Police use. There’s going to be an extravagantly excessive parade marching all around this area tonight.

This parade of costume wearers used to be the provenance of the gay crowd in this arty neighborhood. It used to be more fun back then with its low-budget creativity designed to make you smile. Now, it feels as if the New Jersey crowd crosses over to participate. Lots of teens and young twenties, drinkers and parents come to make noise and crowd the streets in preparation for a party night. Somehow, it also seems to have lost its innocence. At least, there doesnt; seem to be as much laughing.

Regardless, the streets are set up for a lot of police to inhabit the neighborhood and a lot of people to come fill those streets at sundown. It’s funny, now, that this morning I’d thought the extra police in the subway were a sign that another terror alert had taken place. (It is a week before the election, and the Republicanistas do like scaring some of us.)

Silly me, it isn’t an Amber Alert; it’s orange and black.

- Let’s see.
. First there was an interview with Patrick Smith on AWN.
. Then Amid Amidi commented on Cartoon Brew.
. Then David Levy wrote an editorial on the ASIFA-East newsletter/site.
. Then I had a couple of comments on David‘s comments.
. Then Amid was back to comment on David,
. Stephen Worth had a lot to say on my blog.
. Mark Mayerson commented on his site.
. Amid posted a number of the emails sent to him and led to sites & blogs that commented.
- And he continues to post more and more input on the subject.

Phew!

All that being said; I think there was a lot of good conversation on the subject. I was particularly taken by what Chris Robinson had to say on Cartoon Brew:

This obsession animators have with getting a tv series drives me crazy. Why is it your goal to have a tv series? Who said animation has to have regular characters, actors, and narratives? Your mommy? I see how it influences and ruins so many short films we receive at the OIAF because these works have not one ounce of personality, they are projects made to try to appease the desires/wants/needs of what they think SOMEONE ELSE wants…they are not making art, they are seeking markets to fit into.

This is a very high-minded response to the entire question of pitching vs making an independent film, but it’s the heart of the matter. You’re doing one or the other, but not both. Series samples are just that – samples. They’re not EVER fully developed. The maxim goes that a series doesn’t develop fully until the 2nd or 3rd year. An Independent short is all there is. (Usually. I can only think of one example of a series growing out of a truly Independent short – Bob’s Birthday. (I’ve discounted the Christmas card from the South Park people.) The only example I can think of a pilot acting as a stand-alone film is The Chicken From Outer Space.)

In essence, I think, Chris Robinson is right: Art is Art (a high & mighty term for most animated films), and commerce is commerce.

– Today, at Noon, a series of current family films will show at the Museum of Modern Art. Admission is free on a first come first serve basis. They have one of these each month. There’s a particularly interesting screening coming Dec. 9th.

Josh Staub‘s cg film, The Mantis Parable, is among those featured today.

- Tomorrow, Sunday Oct.22nd at 2pm, the Museum of Modern Art will screen Nina Paley‘s short film, The Stork.