'First Time Out' second shot: GIRAF3

O.k., new week, new post! Please forgive the mess...managed to do something in Blogger's template thang last week that completely screwed up the layout...I'll iron it out this week. Meanwhile, my second film fest submission sees my film going off to GIRAF3, a crazy two-day nutterfest put on by the fine folks at the Quickdraw Animation Society, our big sister in the prairies. Got the impression that this was more of an abstract film fest, with luminaries such as Richard Reeves having made an appearance at the previous fests. Still, gotta roll with them punches, and I really want the film to premiere at a Canuck fest. Wish me the luck.

OIAF '07: Signe Baumane

Tried to get one of Signe's 'Teat Beat of Sex' shorts for this post...she had a bunch of 'em to show in Ottawa, and they're due out on DVD in October. Have to get a copy for the TAIS library. Meanwhile, here's Signe being, well, Signe. An animated interpretation of a Borges poem in typical sweet, sexy style of Signe. I'll try to post Signe's Q & A session from OIAF '07 next week. Cheers!

OIAF '07 notes: Aachi & Ssipak

Back agin' with a few words on the features shown at Ottawa this year. Ottawa features are, well, they've been really hit n' miss in the past...can't even remember the features from 2005 and 2006, quite frankly. Then, something like this year happens...two really strong features showed up in our Nation's Capitol. Persepolis, I'm not gonna talk about. Cuz better folks than me have already weighed in...it's a damn important film, go see it, and grab the DVD when it comes out.

This film I can talk about though, cuz I've been waiting for freakin' YEARS for the likes of it...an unapologetic, punk-ass, balls-to-the-wall action sci-fi freakfest, Akira by way of Stephen Chow as designed by Marv Newland. Just check out that (grainy, sorry) trailer. First released in 2006, it had it's North American premiere at a fest in Seattle, and blew everyone out the door in Ottawa. Haven't seen it? It's comin' to Toronto, for the Toronto_After_Dark film festival in October. Man, my cup runneth over. Can't say much now, but TAIS will have a hand in seein' that Aachi & Ssipak get a warm welcome. Fest trailer below. Cheers!

OIAF 'O7: Yuichi Ito luvs bunnies

Quick post to letcha know I'll be makin' some slim posts this week on the fest, with more meatiness to come as soon as I've had a chance to A) recover from my vacation, B) get some quality time in with Halo 3 (see A) and C) edit my footage into something cohesive and shit. Meanwhile, here's Ito-San and his No Rabbits...man, I want these stuffies! Sorry for the sideways video...fergot to reorient my cam; Hey, it was 9:30 a.m., and I hit the sheets at 1:30...yeah, Ottawa rocked several shades of ass. Late.

OIAF '07: A merry blur...

Whoof. First off, apologies for not posting anything beyond that first small post on Wednesday...gotta bring me a wi-fi equipped lappy next time. But, fear not, for I have managed to procure some awesome snaps and excellent footage which will slowly find it's way here as I edit it over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, enjoy this sampling of snaps from the fest.



Puppet fabber Jared_Hart wants you to touch his spider. With a lil' luck, we might have him up on this side of the lake to share his mojo on the art of spider-puppet building. And other stop-motion goodness as well, of course.

Curse you, Tickled Pink toystore. Can't walk past that joint (it's in the Byward Market) without picking up a puppet from Diabolo_Puppets...a most excellent penguin, in this case. I now have two puppets with which to eventually create my puppet podcast project...mebbe I'll have time this Christmas?

Yuichi Ito thinks bunnies rock...I concur. Ito-san (that's right, isn't it?) is the
proud papa of the NoRabbits...featured in the kid's competition, although he swears they're not just for the chillins'. Oh, and to answer your enevitable question, no, I din't get no NoRabbits stuffies...nuts.

Here's my shot of the show, the kid's from Art_Institute_Pittsburgh go all vogue on my ass. The book they're holding is "Oranges and Pliers", a cookbook assembled from recipes gleaned from different animators between 2006-2007. Ten bucks for John K.'s Meat recipe? Bargain. Here's the commercial they done put up on the YouTubes. Go get yerself a copy...'member, it's got MEAT.

People linin' up outside the Bytowne Cinema on the opening night. The feature that night was Persepolis, based on Marjane Satrapi's autobio graphic novel of her life growing up in revolutionary Iran, and the fallout of having to deal with lovin' a country in the grips of a bunch of extremist asshats. A film that manages to be profound and screamingly funny and bleak and hopeful all without comin' across like an idealogical sledgehammer. Go. Watch.

The Evil Universe J.J. Sedelmeier demands that you bow before his sartorial might. Besides workin' on a serious southern-fried 'stache, J.J.'s studio is still crankin' out commercial goodness, as well as Tek Jansen episodes. Two of 'em were in competition.

Here's Joann Quinn, she of Charmin' fame with a 35 mm reel of her short, "Dreams and Desires: Family Ties". I got some great footage of Joanna amidst assembled awestruck animation junkies at the National Gallery...after her retrospective, she spread out the collected bounty of her animation drawings on the stage for all to peruse, then fielded questions from one and all. She, of course, rocks.


One last pic from before I left, actually...this is the schwag I concocted for the show, 10 256-meg Sandisk USB keys with plastic sleeves to hold my contact info and compass carabiners to complete the package. Each one has a 218-meg Quicktime of my finished short, as well as a title card talkin' bout the production isself. Din't give 'em all away, but lucky recipients were Lev Polyakov, Pilar Newton, my profs Don Perro and Paul West, a rep from AniBoom and the Saguenay fest (which I'll talk about later) and Jerry Beck of Cartoon Brew fame. Next, I'll be submitting the short to Giraf3 (organized by Quickdraw) and Platform.

Hookay, 'nuff said fer now. I'll be posting video goodness over the next few weeks, and probably be compiling all my goodies into a DVD for the TAIS xmas party. Meanwhile, head on over to the OIAF site and check out the prize winners! Late.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

OIAF '07: First day!

First day! Got off to a damn rough start, going to the wrong damn subway station. Madi said Don Mills, I went to York Mills. What can I say, I'm a freakin' retard. Here's a few quick pics of Madi at the Arts Court building, Chris steppin' out of the office after an interview, and Joanna Quinn at the Chateau Laurier. Gotta get over to the Bytowne for the 7 o'clock screeing of Persepolis. More later!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Joanna Quinn, Teletoon pitches, and Pirate sound...

Bunch o' stuff to end the week here, kidlings. First off, if you've been by the OIAF site you've noted the Joanna Quinn retro. Well, if yer in Toronto, you get the chance to see the lady's films and mebbe meet n' greet at a free NFB event, sponsored by TAIS! Details in the poster above. For the uninitiated (a.k.a. anyone who hasn't turned on or passed by a t.v. in the past ten years, guy), Joanna is a U.K. animator famed for her flowing sketchy style and wicked sense of humour and timing...and, yeah, the Charmin' Bears...which thanks to her are pretty damn charmin'. Anybody with the skill to make a bear wiping it's ass in the woods look wholesome is a force to be reckoned with, my lil' snowflakes. She'll be holding court with NFB's animation main-man Michael Fukushima. Go. Her last film was a freakin' riot, and beautiful all the while.

Next, Teletoon is takin' pitches for their 'Detour' block. Reps will be prowlin' about the TAC and the festival proper all week, so buy 'em a pint and send in them show pitches, bitches. Go to Teletoon and click on the PressRoom link for more juicy details.

Finally, the dudes at Pirate (I'm link crazy, cuz I know how now! I is on teh interwebs!!!) got me the stereo and 5.1 tracks for 'First Time Out', just in time for me to whip up some special OIAF '07 promo USB keys (hopefully) this weekend...I'll letcha know what happens this Monday. Right, go home and play the videogames and eat the pizza.

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