GIRAF3: nope.

Sweet joosy jebus. Here's sumthin' every animator looks forward to seein' in his inbox on a cold, wet October mornin'...another rejection letter. Yay!

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Dear Neil,
Thank you for your submission to the 3rd Annual Giant Incandescent Resonating Animation Festival (GIRAF3). We regret to inform you that your work entitled, “First Time Out” was not selected for screening at our festival.

We were impressed by the amount and quality of submissions we received, and unfortunately our programming resources only allows us to program a certain number of films. We strongly encourage you to submit again to GIRAF4, as we will be expanding our festival to accommodate even more screenings next year.

As a thank you for submitting to our festival we would like to offer you a complimentary one year associate membership with Quickdraw Animation Society. This Membership will keep you posted on upcoming events, workshops and opportunities at QAS. It will also give you free access to our library of over 3000 animations and books.

The 3rd Annual Giant Incandescent Resonating Animation Festival, takes place this November 2 + 3, 2007 at Quickdraw Animation Society. GIRAF celebrates the spirit of independent and underground animation, showcasing Canadian animators and presenting animations from around the globe. GIRAF is the only festival of its kind in western Canada; it plays an essential role in the promotion and education of animation in our community.
We look forward to reviewing your work in the future.

Sincerely,
Keith Murray
Programming & Communications Coordinator
Quickdraw Animation Society
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Hooboy. O.k., sure, it may have been a mismatch. 'First Time Out' is big robot combat action and QAS, like TAIS, tends to skew more towards the art side of animation (hey, Richard Reeves...thanks for that there DVD, dood!) Plus, apparently the ratpack over at QAS got theyselves a shitload o' cheese this year. From Keith:

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Hey Neil,

Sorry we didn't get a chance to fit you in this year. We had to turn down a lot of really amazing stuff, we were really overwhelmed with submissions this year and just didn't have the budget to program them.

I'm sending out a press release today, i'll make sure you get it.

cheers,

Keith
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Still a kick in the balls. Whelp, there goes me dreams of premiering my film in a Canuck fest. Phuck it, I'm gonna post it to YouTube and my Frederator Raw account tomorrow, then y'all can see what I've done been fussing about. Plus, I'll give y'all the rundown on the GIRAF3 lineup...cuz I'm not really a pissy bitch. Not really. More later.

The TDog Barks at Midnight...o.k., 2:41. Fred 100

It's 2:41 a.m. on Oct. 3rd, the day after Frederator 100, and I gotta get this off me chest.Plus, I accidentally put the wrong ep of 'Ask a Ninja' on my Play-Yan, so I had to go and get it off the compooter.

It's yer 100th ep. You coulda done so damn much with it. Kept what you guys felt were the best toons you saw submitted this year and spring 'em on us en masse. Do a student show with those wacky CalArts and VanArts kids, and the other great student work we've seen on Fred. A 'Best of Fred' show covering the cream of the crop, yer faves from ALL the eps. Another 'FredEx' style anijam or a viewer's fave collection. 100th ep. Ripe with potential. So much you could do to celebrate the fact that 100 episodes later Frederator represents one of the best ways to see short-form indy animation online.

Instead, you give the whole ep to one dood. One freakin' dood. I could go off on a tear about Doug Bressler here, but I won't...cuz he makes me laugh. Hard. His 'Ask A Ninja' eps are still some of my faves...not the greatest animation mind, but when you've got his sense of comic timing and his instinct for visual gags (retarded bear in the circus), the rest don't matter for shit. Doug ain't the issue.

Neither is Weird Al. Weird Al is a geek god, a dorkling demiurge who helped me laugh my way through the eighties, which were a long dark time for me. Like the Sheppard subway line on a February morning dark. Nope, Al ain't the problem either. Ya could have given the whole ep to any animator whose ever had a short in Frederator's run, and this pooch would still be barkin'.

No, my issue is this. The whole freakin' episode goes to one guy...JUST ONE GUY?!? And to top it off, it's not his best stuff, Al's neither. This big, long 11-minute plus rambler that goes on for ever, doesn't have a punch, and arrives nowhere in particular. And to top it off, this vid has been circulatin' round online since Aaron Simpson posted it in the Cold Hard Flash blog, what, eight flippin' months ago? This is how you choose to celebrate the 100th episode of Frederator? A music vid that doesn't show off the best the animator and the musician have to offer, and one that's almost a year old, widely played online and off. That's what you've got?

Wasted, guys, totally. Next time a landmark episode is comin' up, do a poll online, or sumthin'...take some freakin' suggestions, doods. Cuz this shit was weak. Weak, weak, weak.

And, yah, I know...free podcast put together for the love of doin' it every week. I love the idea of Frederator, still do. Anything you guys want from this pooch to boost the podcast, name it. Still, I gotta call foul. You've got better, I know, I've seen it. I've got the episodes archived, guys. It's great stuff, and I'm
lovin' it, but not this episode.

O.k., I feel better now. Don't worry Fred, still luv ya, but damn, the shit you pull sometimes. All right, let that flamin' feelin' begin.

TAIS Interviews: Dan Pinto

O.k., everybody what knows me knows I'm a sucker for animation, videogames, motorcycles, martial arts...and anything cute. Seriously, take a look at some of the crap on my desk...12 year-old girl or 37 year-old animator?





But this post ain't about me n' my desk clutter. (Meowth Rawks!) You know who does him some good cute? Dan Pinto, that's who. Frederator fans will know his work...ep. 96 featured his freaky-cute film "Hedgehug". A few words from the man hisself...

1) It's yer thesis film, correct? Tell us about yer school a bit.

I went to University of the Arts in Philadelphia. I majored in Animation. It's a small intimate department with a bunch of cool teachers. I even got to study under Paul Fierlinger.

2) What's the deal with the Nicktoons thang?

Umm... I got into the Nicktoons Festival. I got invited out to California but couldn't go. A bunch of other awesome shorts got in. We competed. I didn't win anything. The End.

3) What're ya workin' on now?

I start working (real paid work) soon. I got commissioned to do a global-warming PSA, and I want to start my next film.

4) Any chance of seein' yer stuff on a future 'Avoid Eye Contact' compilation?

I don't think I'm that good...yet.

5) Speakin' o' which, whassis I hear about workin' with Signe Baumann?

I start working for her this week. It's gonna be awesome!

6) A final word for your adoring public.

I don't think i have a public, much less an adoring one.

Somebody get this kid a public. And a spot on the next "Avoid Eye Contact". Seriously lookin' forward to what he and Signe come up with. And it's great to see new doods able to get their stuff seen by Nick, even though he din't walk away with the goods; Lil' advice from T-Dog...eyeballs watching yer film trumps a silly trophy any day o' the week. Hopefully, we'll see more Dan stuff on Frederator and the Youtubes in the future. And hedgehogs rawk.