Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

New York is in Festival mode. The Tribeca Film Festival is here with all the flashiness that it’s offered in the past. I have to assume that there are some animated shorts playing in their festival, but I’ve had a hell of a time trying to find any via their website. Two or three titles included “Shrek”!!! Sorry.

I do know that George Griffin has a film, The Bather, playing as part of the Shorts in Competition: Documentary.

The Festival guide includes this description: A woman is observed showering behind a translucent curtain. Gradually the view is obscured by a superimposed flipbook: a sequence of drawings of a dancing woman. As a harpsichord prelude interrupts the environment of natural sounds, the dancer is freed from the pages and cavorts in a multiplicity of erotic gestures as if propelled by the throbbing contrapuntal tempo. Moving through the overlapping images a string of words suggests sources, motives, and memories.

The schedule for this short is:
4/23 9:45pm AMC Village VII 4
4/30 4:15pm AMC Village VII 7
5/2 6:15pm AMC Village VII 7
5/3 5:30pm Tribeca Cinemas theater 1

At the same time, the BEFilm Underground Film Festival graces what few theaters are left in the city. Here’s the schedule for shorts playing about town. I’ve highlighted some films by local stars.

Tuesday April 28, 7- 9PM
The Dolby Screening Room / 1350 Ave. of the Americas

The Lost Tribes of New York City (2mn), Animation, Carolyn & Andy London
You’re Outa Here (3mn), Animation, Dir. Georges Griffin
Majken (28mn), Narrative,
Dir. Andrea Ostlund
Unnatural History of Wall Street (1mn) Animation, Dir.Gary Lieb
Waste (11mn), Narrative, Dir. Bragi Thor Hinrikson
Test (12mn), Narrative, Dir. Marta Aledo & Natalia Mateo
Birth (12mn), Animation, Dir. Signe Baumane
This is Her (12mn), Narrative, Dir. Katie Wolfe
Spore 3D (2min), Spec, Dir. Isaiah Saxon and Sean Hellfritsch
Mandala 3D (4 min), Experimental, Dir. Paul Aaron Johnson
Bjork – Wanderlust (6 min), Music film, Dir. Isaiah Saxon and Sean
Hellfritsch

Wednesday April 29, 7- 9PM
The Disney Screening Room / 500 Park Ave (SW Corner of 59th St)

Mother’s Day (2mn), Animation, Dir. David Lobser
Tony Zoreill (20mn), Narrative, Dir. Valentin Potier
Missed Aches (4mn), Animation, Dir. Joanna Priestley
The Nail (15mn), Narrative, Dir. Benedikt Eslingsson
Procrastination (4mn), Animation, Dir. John Kelly
Success (10mn), Narrative, Dir. Diederik Ebbinge
This Way Up (9mn), Animation, Dir. Smith & Foulkes
Life is Hard (20mn), Narrative, Dir. Gabriel Sirbu
Life On A Limb (6mn), Animation, Dir. David Chai
Come Coco 3D (5 min), animation/live action, Dir. Santiago Caicedo

Thursday April 30, 7- 9PM
The Disney Screening Room / 500 Park Ave (SW Corner of 59th St)

Photo (10mn), Animation, Dir. Maryam Kalilzade
Mutt (7mn), Animation, Dir. Glen Hunwick
Out of The Blue (10mn), Narrative, Dir. Michael Lavelle
Just In Case (5mn), Animation, Dir. Joshua Frankel
The C in Allah (5mn), Documentary, Dir. Eileen White
Brothers in Arms (4mn), Animation, Dir. Elliot Cowan
On The Road To Tel-Aviv (19mn), Narrative, Dir. Khen Shalem
Dany Cohen’s Bengay (1mn), Spec, Dir. Willy Hartland
Les Vulnerables (14mn), Narrative, Dir. Bent – Jorgen Perlmutt
Global Warming (2mn), Animation, Dir. Igor Coric
Skylight (5mn), Animation,Dir. David Baas
Remember My Name (12mn), Narrative, Dir. Bo Duffy

Thursday April 30, 7- 9PM
The Gershwin Hotel Screening Room / 7 East 27th St.

Oscar Wilde/Company of Thieves (5mn), Music Video, Dir. Jason Hinkie
People Are Animals (2mn), Animation, Dir. Chris Papa
The Japanese Sandman (11mn), Narrative, Dir. Ed Buhr
Little Face (10mn), Narrative, Dir. Matthew Walker & Benjamin Lole
Feast (3mn), Animation, Dir. Jihyun Ahn & Adel Kerpely
Spacemen Three (13mn), Narrative, Dir. Hugh O¹Conor
Dog With Electric Collar (6mn), Animation, Dir. Steve Baker
6.5 Minutes in Tel Aviv (6.5mn), Narrative, Dir. Mirie Baraness
Dany Cohen’s Rhinestones (1mn), Spec, Dir. Willy Hartland
Coal Spell (8mn), Animation, Dir. Sun Xun
Jukka (12mn), Experimental, Dir. Emmanuel Trousse
Hope Springs Eternal (7mn), Animation, Dir. Ron Noble
Orange Juice (12mn), Narrative, Dir. Ronan Moucheboeuf
Galaxy 3D (3 min), animation, Dir. Santiago Caicedo
A Sign(6mn), Narrative, Dir. Josephine Mackerras

Friday May 1, 7- 9PM
The Disney Screening Room / 500 Park Ave (SW Corner of 59th St)

Glory To The Conquerors of Space 3D (7mn), Animation, Dir. Ryan Suits
Breaking and Entering 3D (3mn), Experimental, Dir. Korinna McRobert
Breath (2mn), Experimental, Dir. John Thompson
Lost & Found (5mn), Narrative, Dir. Catherine Bolliet & Jerry Chen
CU@ED’S (13mn), Narrative, Dir. Casey Stangl
Santa: The Fascist Years (4mn), Animation, Dir. Bill Plympton
Kate Wakes (17mn), Narrative, Dir. Jasmine Kosovic
Sleeping World (30 s), Spec, Dir. George Kyrtsis
Caught In The Net (10mn), Narrative, Dir. Stephanie Kleinhenz
Couch Therapy (1mn), Spec, Dir. Jen McGowan
Vandalen (16mn), Narrative, Dir. Simon Steuri
Red Rabbit (8mn), Animation, Dir. Egmont Mayer
Side Effects (9mn), Narrative, Dir. Chuck Rose
Animated American (15mn), Narrative, Dir. Joe Haidar
Surprise (18mn), Narrative, Dir. Fabrice Maruca

Saturday May 2, 7- 9PM
The Dolby Screening Room / 1350 Ave. of the Americas

AWARDS CEREMONY

Bonaroo 3D (2min), Spec, Dir. Elliot Jokelson
Downlove 3D (7 min), narrative/experimental, Dir. Euripides Laskarides
Porque Hay Cosas (12mn), Narrative, Dir. Lucas Figueroa
Descendants (10mn), Animation, Dir. Helko Van Der Scher
The Thaw (6.5mn), Narrative, Dir. Jean Francois Nadeau
KJFG #5 (2mn), Animation, Dir. Alexei Alexeev
Struck (7mn), Narrative, Dir. Taron Lexton
That Hand Film(1mn), Animation, Dir. Adam Ansorge
Uncovered (15mn), Narrative, Dir. Matthew Linnell
Germans In The Woods (3mn), Animation, Dir. Rauch Brothers
Made In Japan (5mn), Narrative, Dir. Ciro Altabas
Poker (.5mn), Spec, Dir. Irene Borrego
Pal/Secam (15mn), Narrative, Dir. Dmitri Povolotsky
The Royal Nightmare (4mn), Animation, Dir. Alex Budovsky

INTERMISSION

Awards Ceremony

My favorite post of the day comes from one of my favorite blogs, Blather from Brooklyn by Annulla. Take a look at the little gems she has posted.

– Yesterday’s NYTimes blog, The Carpetbagger, featured a short piece on the expansion at Pixar. The source of the Times’ information was the Pixar Blog which admits to the construction. The cost of construction, “does not include labour and other associated costs, which will undoubtedly run into the millions of dollars also.”

They then go on to add that the rest of the Disney studio is laying off workers, while they, Pixar, are expanding.
Très generous.

The Times comments: “But it’s hard to argue that Pixar is being in any way excessive with these plans. The studio, acquired by Disney in 2006 for $7.4 billion, has been planning the expansion for years, and desperately needs it: its current space, while opulent by some standards, is crammed far beyond its designed capacity.”

– Mark Osborne, one of the co-directors of Kung Fu Panda, reminisces on AWN about classes with Jules Engel at CalArts. This is a heartfelt piece that I enjoyed reading. If you haven’t found it yet, you might take a glance. The piece was written to coincide with the celebration of Jules’ work which was held last Sunday; fortunately the words live past that date.

I like the fact that there are groups keeping Jules’ name alive. Aside from the positive comments from past students, there is also the Jules Engel Appreciation Group on Facebook. I wish some of the other important figures in animation’s history had equal attention. Maybe that’s part of my reason for writing on this blog.

- To that end, let me share these four drawings by John Hubley of a baby for a Ruffles commercial. I haven’t seen the spot, done in the late 60s, but I have seen lots of toddlers drawn by Hubley. It’s amazing how different all of them are. Each child has a real personality and charm that I find extraordinary. How many kids have we seen in the past twenty or so years in Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/Bluth features that are all so identical. Their feature films like to post the names of all the production babies at the end of their films, but I’m not sure any of the animators actually see their babies, at least based on the characters we’ve seenanimated. (Think of that cloying cliché of a toddler in the otherwise excellent short, One Man Band.)

I haven’t found two such tykes from Hubley’s hand that resemble each other – or other cartoon children.

(Click any image to see the full animation drawing page.)

A decent animator can’t help but know what to do with such models.

- Animatsaya in English is a site I visit frequently even though it doesn’t change that frequently. It’s a site that gives a good insiders view of Russian animation. Currently, I think they’re doing some of the best animation worldwide. Not too long ago, Niffiwan, the site’s host, offered a translation of a Russian article about the effect of the financial crisis on Russian animation. Naturally, the results were devastatingly bad.

However, toward the end of the piece, several prominent animators were asked their opinion, and I thought that Yurij Norstein offered some valuable words. Hence, I repost them here:

It has always been difficult for an artist, but today is doubly difficult. Always difficult, because the artist, in general, is a person who finds it difficult to live with himself. Today is doubly hard, because the lack of money and the constant attention to the question of “how to get money” kills art by half.

But it is also obvious that it is very difficult without a community. If we lose each other, then we will all be worth one kopek, and it is unlikely that we are individually worth something and can do something. I, of course, am talking about my own experiences at “Soyuzmultfilm”. And although we did not have ideal relations, though we argued with each other, we were still a community, and our only desire, emotional and mental, was to make a film be as good as possible.

The last thing we thought about was the market, what would sell … If you remember, say, the Renaissance, an artist back then sought primarily to make something. This is why the artist must be at the head of everything.

I suggest you visit the site and read the entire article. Things in your community may not be as bleak as you thought.

- Jeff Scher has one of his lively animation pieces in the NYTimes, in case you haven’t seen it recently. This is an ode to Spring. “Welcome Back.” It’s another excellent spot by Jeff, and I urge you to view it. We have to support the animation on newspaper sites. It’s the way of the future, and the newspapers should know it. The only way that can happen is for the pieces to get hits. Go there.

- Thad Komorowski has some positive words about a Fox & Crow cartoon, (they’re not easy to find) and Bob Jaques has an excellent post about Paramount animator, Tom Golden.

- Here’s some photographed drawings from The Lady & The Tramp meatball sequence.
These are taken from a photostat I have which was prepared for some book publication.
I don’t know if it ever made it to the book, but the drawings are too sterling to ignore.
I believe Frank Thomas animated the dogs and John Lounsbery the humans, and there are frame grabs of this sequence in John Canemaker‘s book, Disney’s Nine Old Men.

(Click on any image to enlarge.)

Here’s a beautiful cel set-up from Bob Cowan‘s collection.
Though it’s obvious the background is from another scene,
there’s an odd connection between the two that works for me.
Just another gem found on his great art blog.

A short while back I found a couple of Van Buren animation drawings for sale on Ebay. I bought them and have been waiting for the new DVD from Steve Stanchfield and Thunderbean Animation. Toddle Tales is a gem of a dvd, and I was able to locate my drawings in the cartoons available.

I already have several copies of The Sunshine Makers, which is probably the most famous of the Rainbow Parade cartoons. This was a film that was apparently done for Borden’s milk, and features one of the screwiest animation stories ever.

A bunch of little guys (named “Joy” on the model sheets) deliver bottled sunshine (which looks a lot like milk) somewhere. We never see who’s receiving the sunshine, but carts of these elves are delivering it.
Other little guys (named “Gloom”) don’t want the sunshine delivered. We see one of these top-hatted characters shoot an arrow at a Joy guy, and gloomy gus ends up getting bathed in sunshine.

My drawing reveals him taking off his outer clothes to bury them.

(Click any image to enlarge.)

Labelled by animator(?) Joy and Gloom Aug 3 1934

The other two drawings I bought were a mystery to me. However, I was easily able to find them in the cartoon A Little Bird Told Me.

Burt Gilette & JIM TYER directed the film, and the music is by Winston Sharples,
who scored most of the Paramount cartoons later in life.

This is an equally odd short. A live action (it looks like second-rate Our Gang of the early 30s) child gets caught eating jam. His sister wipes him clean. However the bird in the tree tells all about it.

Apparently, there’s a bird newspaper just out the kitchen window. Walter Finchell is assigned the story by his owl editor. Here’s where my drawings come in. The owl editor comes out to hand over the story.
One of the drawings is an exact match. The other is close.

Thunderbean also includes a few model sheets on the dvd. Here’s one of my editor owl.

- A recent post I’d done on Fire Escapes brought the suggestion that I show some Water Tanks, another key to the identity of NYC. It took only five minutes for Steve Fisher to send two photos, one above and the other below.

Of course, in New York, any way you turn you can see some water tower or other in many different shapes and sizes.

(Click any image to enlarge.)

Many buildings feature more than one tower.

Some towers seem to be layered on different levels.

Some are lifted far from the roof trying to get them higher.

This tower is oddly long in shape. Again , like many others you see
it’s built on a sort of pedestal so that it’s as high as they can get it.

Here, courtesy of Steven Fisher is a water tower in SoHo that burst
mid winter. All the water froze on the side of the building.

Here’s the very same tower after it and the building have been
restored the next Spring.

In the end they become a part of the City’s silhouette, an important part of the character. Like many elements in the city, they become
just part of the background and rarely noticed for their own sake.

One last picture.
Steve Fisher sent me a photo of what remains after the
water tower has been removed – in a slapdash fashion, I might add.

- Michael Barrier has an interesting piece on his site reviewing two Disney books: Amid Amidi’s The Art of Pixar Shorts and Don Hahn’s The Alchemy of Animation. I certainly agree with what Mike has to say. I’d already commented on Amid’s attractive book on this site back in February; as a matter of fact, I actually wrote about all of Amid’s books. I haven’t seen Don Hahn’s new book yet, but, if it’s like his last book, my general feeling was that I wish he’d dig a little deeper. He has a lot to say and he has the ability to write. I’d really like to see him write about the job of producing a Disney animated feature. He’s in a select club, and it’d be interesting to hear his heartfelt comments. Maybe someday.

- Ponyo on the Cliff, as you may already know, is going to be released theatrically by Disney in an English language version on Aug. However, if you’re as manic about Miyazaki’s work as I am, you may want to send, in advance, for the Japanese dvd which will be released in July. It includes English subtitles. That edition is available for pre-order now at Amazon.jp.

There will be two versions of this DVD. There is a basic edition and there is a nine disc set that includes the film, a twelve-hour five-disc making of documentary, and a two disc live performance from Miyazaki’s regular composer Joe Hisaishi. That peculiar documentary is also available on its own, in case you want to wait for the American version of the film and just want this extra. It would appear to me that the extras do not have English subtitles.

To keep up with news of this material, you might want to be watching Daniel Thomas MacInnes‘ excellent site, Ghibli Blog. It was recently remodelled and has an attractive new format. You’ll find 6 excellent clips from this Miyazaki film on this site. (Go here and scroll down a bit.)

- Here’s another site that I’m sure you are all aware of, but it doesn’t hurt to keep mentioning it. The National Film Board of Canada has on their site quite a few of their classic films for viewing, for free. If you’re not aware of these films or haven’t seen them, then got there and look. There are some absolute classic gems there in good editions.

Make sure you at least see the following shorts:

Start with these two Caroline Leaf shorts:
The Street
Two Sisters

Then go at random to any of these:
The Sweater – Sheldon Cohen
The Big Snit – Richard Condie
Cat’s Cradle – Paul Driessen
The Great Toy Robbery – Jeff Hale
The Romance of Transportation in Canada – Colin Low
The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin - Janet Perlman__________________________Caroline Leaf’s brilliant film The Street
Walking – Ryan Larkin
When the Day Breaks – Wendy Tilby Amanda Forbis
Christmas Cracker – Norman McLaren, Gerald Potterton, Grant Munro, Jeff Hale

and, it goes without saying that you should know by heart the following Norman McLaren shorts:
Begone Dull Care
A Chairy Tale
La Merle
Hen Hop

Now, if I can make a request of the NFB: please add the Hubley short, The Cruise, to this list. It’s rarely seen and an important film in the canon of Hubley’s work.
Hubley’s The Cruise

- In case you’ve missed all the press releases, Fox has a new show premiering on Sunday evening at 8:30 PM Eastern. Sit Down Shut Up comes from the mind of Mitchell Hurwitz. He was the creator of Arrested Development, a writer on The Ellen Show and The Golden Girls. His writing compatriots come from the staff of Two and A Half Men. The voice cast is filled with a lot of talented comedians.

A lotta heavy-duty TV credentials.

There’s a NYTimes article in Friday’s paper which includes a confusing clip. And here’s another article in Saturday’s paper.
The NYDaily News review is headlined: From the Grossout School of Comedy and gives it three stars.
Variety‘s review includes the line: “Seemingly preoccupied with impressing teenage boys, the show should possess scant appeal outside that demo.”

Hmmm.

- Far and away, one of the most consistently excellent and important animation sites out there is Hans Perk‘s extraordinary AFilmLa. The documents Hans posts regularly are just incredible. Where does he find them?

Currently he’s running a patent filing for “The Blend“. Mary Louise Weiser, head of the Ink and Paint Department at the Walt Disney Studios in 1939, registered two patents for inventions she claimed for the Disney studio.

.
Hans posts all of the patent documents and a brilliant photo of Mary Louise Weiser.

By the way, I also note that the comments on Hans’ site are always so few. It’s impossible to believe that so few have anything to say about the material that’s found there!

- This post concludes the images from The Magic Flute, a book by Emauele Luzzati. The illustrations are reworked sketches and drawings done for the animated feature he did with animator, Giulio Gianini in 1978.

13
(Click any image you’d like to enlarge.)

14

A large part of the book is composed of two-page spreads.

- Emanuele Luzzati teamed with animator Giulio Gianini many times to produce some of the most beautiful films of the 60s & 70s. Their feature version of The Magic Flute completed in 1978 was also adapted into a book by Luzzati. He’d done the sets and costumes for a version of the opera in 1963.

The film didn’t get the attention it deserved, and it remains hard to locate. A small snippet is incorporated into a video on YouTube. (The animation doesn’t come on until about a minute of the piece.)

I originally saw the film when it once aired on local WNET (PBS station). It wasn’t repeated and video wasn’t available back then. However, I do have the children’s book which Luzzati published from his designs for the animation.

Here are the first half of the illustrations in the book.

(Click any image to enlarge.)

1
I left the type in the illustrations, though it’s a bit hard to read.

2

3

4

9

10

11

12

To be concluded tomorrow.