Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

Congratulations to Candy Kugel and all the others at Buzzco, including animator Rick Broas and partner Marilyn Kreamer, for the screening of their film, The Last Time, as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. The film premiered this past Wednesday and will play four more times see schedule below) as part of the program, Let There Be Light: The Cycle of Life.

The Last Time is an animated tribute to Candy’s late partner Vincent Cafarelli, after the end of a 38 year partnership.

The remaining screenings will take place as follows:
One Last Time

Tuesday 4/23/2013 at 5:30 PM at Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 4
Friday 4/26/2013 at 6:30 PM at Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 6
Sunday 4/28/2013 at 11:00 AM at Tribeca Cinemas Theater 2

- Tom Sito will be in the USC Cinema School Courtyard on Weds, April 24th from 11;30-1:30 to sign copies of his brand new book, Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation. I think this is the first of its kind, a history of computer animation. From my miniscule standing point, it feels like too soon to be writing a history of the medium, but it’s obvious I’m wrong. All that time with NYIT and Robert Abel and LucasFilm.

My knowledge of computer animation is close to nil, so i would like to know something about it. It’s probably my largest gaping hole in my knowledge of animation, and I do feel a bit guilty about that. I keep putting my toe in the water, but I don’t seem to have much of an inclination to learn a lot about the subject.

I’ll definitely read the book once I can get my hands on a copy. After I’ve done so, I’ll tell you what I think of it. Tom’s got a nice amiable writing style, so he should be the perfect one for the subject. Looking forward to it.

Animators Lee Corey and Frank Rivera have teamed to create the new animation company Ani 2. They write that their “specialty is pre-production and animation offering a mix of hand drawn digital 2d character animation, character design and creation, traditional art, VFX, stop motion, whiteboard, 3d design and backgrounds.”

Their website shows the sample reel, gives an indication of a series they’re developing and has a complete rundown of their bios.

Ani2 Entertainment is located at:
33 West 19th Street, 4th Fl., New York, NY 10011
phone: 917-362-0096

- IFC has been airing new comedy series for the past couple of years. Interestingly enough, they’ve done a couple of animated series, none of which have outlasted their first season. Perhaps the short running series will change with the current show on the cable channel. Out There has been running since February and is a quiet winner, if you ask me. Last night they aired a couple of episodes ending with the series finale at 10pm.

The series was created by Ryan Quincy,who worked with 20th Century Fox, Nickelodeon and Disney amd has wod two Emmy Awards for his work on South Park. The show’s voice overs are by Ryan Quincy, Justin Roiland, Fred Armisen, and Megan Mullally. They’ve also had guest voices. Sarah Silverman and Ellen Page guested on the final episode; Cheech and Chong did another episode. The show is definitely in the voice over readings and the writing. Like most tv animation these days, it’s what Chuck Jones once called “illustrated radio.” The show reminds me a bit of another IFC series, Portlandia. On April 5th Ryan Quincy was selected as “Artist of the Day” by Cartoon Brew. I’m not sure I’d go with the word “Artist” when talking about most of the Cartoon Brew honorees, but “Cartoonist of the Day” definitely works.

IFC has a site for the show at Out There. You can see a souple of the episodes on line at the site. Ryan Quincy has his own site, which I prefer. It doesn’t try to sell the series too hard, though it obviously features it.

I have to admit, I’ve only seen two episodes, both last night, and was impressed. It has a nice playful, minimalist drawing style, and the writing is low key good. It’s basically about a family in the suburbs which includes a teen and a younger boy. The show focuses on these kids.

I expect the show to be renewed. and I’ll look for it.

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