Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

– The current issue of The New Yorker, the Cartoon Issue (Nov. 27) features four different covers by Chris Ware. See the covers here.

Each image depicts a Thanksgiving scene, two of them are set in 1942 and two in 2006. The stories in these images become intertwined in a comic strip that appears on the magazine’s Web site.

It is the first time The New Yorker has published four covers at once on the newsstand. Mr. Ware is a graphic novelist whose “Acme Novelty Library” series and “Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth,” display a wry sense of humor and fine draftsmanship.

He had a solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago this past summer.

You’ll remember that for Sept 11th edition, The New Yorker published an issue with two versions of the same cover.

You can also listen to illustrator, Chris Ware, discuss the covers here.

- Also in the magazine and on-line is Seymour Hersh‘s article on the Bush administration’s next moves. The Next Act. (Iran, anyone?) Worth reading. The administration is already denying the contents of this article, so you know it’s true.

- Back in October, I posted a lecture by Phil Dike on my site. Two of the pages were damaged.

Now, Hans Perk on his site A Film LA has posted those two pages corrected. What a resource Hans offers us!
Thank you, Hans. For the first time I can read the entire lecture.

- A note of thanks to Jake Friedman, who chose to interview me for the current ASIFA-East bulletin (found on-line here or here). Jake did a good last-minute job of editing a very long, rambling interview into something readable.

And then having finished the interview, he continues to promote it here. Thanks, Jake.

Jake also has a lot of other interviews & articles available on his site. While there, check out his film work.

– In a bit of self-promotion, let me point out another award won by my film, The Man Who Walked Between The Towers. Best 2D film at the 2D or Not 2D Festival run by animator, Tony White. This was the first version of this festival, and I’m pleased about taking home the first “Golden Pencil” award. (Or at least Tony promised to send it on to me.) I’ll display it proudly.

- Believe it or not, I’ve just received my first invitation to a Christmas Party.

Since the season has obviously just kicked in, I thought I’d post these pictures from a great party we had in my old studio (at 632 Broadway in the Village – NoHo to be exact). I think it was back in 1996 or ’97.

We gave a lot of parties at that studio, but this was definitely one of the best.

Most of the photos here were taken later in the party; a lot of the guests had gone home. Just as things started rocking. Literally.
(Click any image to enlarge.)

We generally moved back the animation desks and gave plenty of room for people to move about. For this party, a friend, Larry White, brought his band and they played in the center of the studio. We’d really moved the desks out so that there was lots of room to dance.

This is the crew just after the Secret Santa and just before the party.
Back L to R: Ed Askinazi – editor, Liz Seidman – prod coord, Matthew Sheridan – asst, Stephen MacQuignon (hidden) – colorist, Denise Gonzalez (in yellow) – publicity/asst, Sue Perotto (in red) – animator, Jason McDonald’s head – colorist, Masako Kanayama – production supervisor, Rodolfo Damaggio – animator, Marilyn Rosado – office manager.

34
3. Jennifer Oxley and Mo Willems
4. John Dilworth and Heidi Stallings

6 7
5. me and John Dilworth, goofing around
6. Masako Kanayama thinks it’s funny
7. Russ Adams conducts the band

89
8. A conga line has formed to the . . .
9. . . . rock stylings of Larry White.

10 11
10.Larry White (R) sings to Jason McDonald
11. Wuh !?!

b
a. Denise Gonzalez lets her freak flag fly. Masako Kanayamo, left, tries to ignore her.
b. Ed Askinazi

c
c. Heidi and I dancin’
Ray Kosarin is in the bg left. Rodolfo Damaggio & Marilyn Rosado are to the Right.

- I have a couple of articles that were printed in 1973 for the first release of the Disney “Classic”, Robin Hood.

At least, Disney calls it a classic; I’ve always had some trouble staying awake through it. The repetitive use of the xeroxed cycles gets dull, and the story is not developed dramatically enough for my taste. It doesn’t take itself seriously enough. (Disney released a much better non-animated Robin Hood in 1952 starring Richard Todd.)

There are moments of good animation, particularly Ollie Johnston’s dialogue between Sir Hiss & Prince John.

The decline had started on The Jungle Book and The Aristocats, but by and large, to me, this film proved once and for all that Disney was dead. All that was left were glimmers of interesting animation. The Rescuers made a valiant attempt to come back, but The Black Cauldron is unwatchable. (Of course, this is just my opinion.)

The first of the two articles below, is taken from a Local 831′s union paper. It was written by Ken Anderson, which is the prime reason for posting it.

1 2
(Click any image to enlarge)

3 4

The pictures in the first article are not the best quality, hence I post this second piece, which even on newsprint, gets the photos to look better.

Obviously both used the Disney marketing package to pull photos for illustration. In this second article, I’ve flopped a couple of pictures. It didn’t matter to the publication that the writing in the photos (on model charts etc.) was illegible.

1 2

3

- In the last week, Jerry Beck on Cartoon Brew posted a note about the recent editions of the comic strip, Gasoline Alley.

This has long been one of my favorite comic strips. When Dick Moores (original assistant to Chester Gould on Dick Tracy) took over the strip, I thought the artwork, specifically the compositon, kept getting better and better. Very clean and open and sharp.

I remember seeing a book on filmmaking where I first learned how NOT to cross the 180. This cross cutting information was illustrated with a 4 panel strip from Gasoline Alley. How perfect! The strip was always quite cinematic; excellently illustrating good film technique from panel to panel.

Gasoline Alley really started when playboy, Walt Skeezix found a baby on his doorstep Feb. 14, 1921. The boy was named Skeezix, and over the years Skeezix Wallet grew naturally, and an audience grew with him. It was played out like the first soap opera – and it probably was.

The strip was understandably enormously popular.
(Click any image to enlarge.)

In 1941, Whitman publishing followed several other books for “girls and boys” with a novel about Skeezix Wallet and Nina Clock which was written by Frank King. I haven’t yet read the book (even though I’ve had it for a while), but I love owning it.

The pages are printed on newsprint – designed for deterioration, I think. The illustrations by King were done specifically for his book.

The book’s first double page spread

1 2

3 4

5 6

the endpage

– Since first seeing them in the 50′s, I’ve been a fan of the films from the Gene Deitch period at Terrytoons. You know, Clint Clobber, Sidney the Elephant, Gaston Le Crayon and Tom Terrific. Call this a guilty pleasure.

The animated logo included a linear face which had some scribbled hair that animated to read “Terrytoons” when a door closed on it.

(This is the logo used as a title card.
From ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive.)

I have copies of the drawings for the animation of the type. Here they are:

1 2
(Click any image to enlarge.)

3 4

5 6

7 8

910

1112

– 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.

- Yesterday, the NY chapter of the Motion Picture Academy screened 32 films to vote on a short-list in preparation for the nominations. It took seven hours of animation viewing, and there were about 20 of us – I didn’t actually take count – in the small Dolby screening room. I was going to comment today, but find I need more time to sort out my thoughts. I’ll do a short commentary tomorrow.

- Anyway, today is photo Sunday.
Having recently pored over some of the artwork from Raggedy Ann & Andy (the NY contingent of the 1977 feature film), I wondered if I had any photos that I could post. There weren’t many that I could find quickly, but the few I did find are here.

The first two stills were taken for the John Canemaker book, “The Animated Raggedy Ann & Andy.” I think only one of the two appears in the book.

(Click any image to enlarge.)
Obviously, that’s Dick Williams with me looking over his shoulder. Oddly I remember being in this position often during the film. It’s probably the first image I have of the production when I look back on it. Dick and I had a lot of conversations (about the film) with him “going” and me listening.

When I did actually grab time to do some drawing, this is my desk. It sat in a corner of a room – across from Jim Logan and Judy Levitow. There were about ten other assistants in my room, and there were about seven rooms filled with assistants on the floor. I had to spend time going through all of them making sure everybody was happy.

This slightly out of focus picture shows Dick Williams (R) talking with Kevin Petrilak (L) and Tom Sito. That’s Lester Pegues Jr. in the background. Boy were we young then!
These guys were in the “taffy pit,” meaning they spent most of their time assisting Emery Hawkins who animated the bulk of the sequence. Toward the end of the film, lots of other animators got thrown into the nightmarish sequence to try to help finish it. Once Emery’s art finished, I think the heart swoops out of that section of the film.

This photo isn’t from Raggedy Ann & Andy, but it just might have been. That’s the brilliant checker, Judy Price showing me the mechanics that don’t work on a scene on R.O.Blechman‘s Simple Gifts. This is the one-hour PBS special that I supervised after my Raggedy years. However, Judy was a principal on Raggedy Ann, and we spent a lot of time together.
Ida Greenberg was the Supervisor of all of Raggedy Ann’s Ink & Paint and Checking. She and I worked together on quite a few productions. I pulled her onto any films I worked on after Raggedy Ann. She was a dynamo and a good person to have backing you up.
I’m sorry I don’t have a photo of her from that period.

This is one of my favorite photos. Me (L), Jim Logan, Tom Sito (R). Jim was the first assistant hired after me – I’m not sure I was an assistant animator when they hired me, but I was being geared for something. The two of us built the studio up from scratch. We figured out how to get the desks, build the dividers, set up the rooms and order the equipment.
To top it all, Jim kept me laughing for the entire time I was there. I can’t think of too many others I clicked with on an animation production as I did with him. He made me look forward to going into work every day.
We frequently had lunch out, he and I, and I think this is at one of those lunches when Tom joined us. It looks to me like the chinese restaurant next door to the building on 45th Street. Often enough, Jim and I would just go there for a happy hour cocktail before leaving for the night.

I should have realized how important that period was for me and have taken more pictures. Oh well.

- I’d like to post a piece by James Stevenson that appeared in his book, Something Marvelous Is About To Happen. It’s a great take on comic strip cartoonists and the relationship they have to their strips. Here it is, The Last Days of Tootie and Fred.

1 2
(Click any image to enlarge.)

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10

1112