February has little to recommend it. It’s grey, cold, and dull. There’s that whole ghastly business of Valentine’s day, with its deformed army of festering hearts and tedious angels. There’s Chinese New Year, which leaves me scanning the streets disconsolately for dragon dancers and illusive suckling pigs.
And then, there’s the British Animation Awards. Every two years, they delight us with a programme of animation screenings to brighten up our darkest hours. From the 8th to the 27th of February, you can catch the Public Choice screenings at a cinema near you, and vote for your favourite from a fantastic range of animated films made over the past few years.
Look out for fresh-out-of-the-oven 4mations films The Moonbird and The Astronomer’s Sun. Then get your sketchpads out, because you only have two years to get your next masterpiece finished before the next awards.
Shake yourself out of your winter torpor!
There’s still time to submit to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, that fine champion of fresh animation talent.
The Regular Deadline for all submissions will be Monday 1st March 2010. They are particularly keen to see the freshest of animation talent and as a result animation films are still FREE to submit. That’s free, as in beer! Though you’ll still have to buy your own beer. They’re not that nice.
NEW Submission Deadlines:
Regular: Monday 1 March 2010
Late: Monday 8 March 2010
There are three ways to submit:-
- Online through the EIFF website
- Download a form from the EIFF website and mail it to them
- Via Withoutabox
Animation films are FREE to submit but please still use the online submission, Withoutabox or postal form before sending your film.
Please note all submitted films should be no more than 12 months old by June 2010 and EIFF requires at least UK premiere status.
Check out ourhighlights from last year’s EIFF animation screenings for motivation. We could be singing your praises this summer. If you buy us a beer.
The best and brightest filmmakers descended on Bristol last week for Encounters, a week of shorts, showcases, awards, and dips in the tropical waters. That last bit might be a lie, but congratulations are certainly in order for the talented animators who took away the very desirable 4mations International Newcomer in Animation Award.
Supported by 4mations.tv, Kudlian Software and Canon, the award recognizes originality and technical achievement in animation, and the £2,000 cash prize was won by Rabbit Punch directed by Kristian Andrews. Please Say Something, by David O’Reilly, was rewarded with the Jury’s special commendation.
Didn’t catch the films? Here’s what the Jury had to say about them:
Rabbit Punch
This film combines dramatic story-telling with great designs. It very accurately portrays the secret life of teenagers in a rural British setting, (a theme not often explored in animated shorts), in an economical and effective way. The story and the lead character’s dilemmas feel very real and emotionally engaging and there is a lot of tension and humour in the story-telling. It is technically adept, with excellent framing and composition.
Please Say Something
This deceptively powerful film is a kind of anti-Hello Kitty assault on the senses. Exploring the relationship between a cat and a mouse it uses very sparse and economical character designs in a futuristic setting to tell a cinematic and multi-layered story. It was extremely thought-provoking and ambitious, using fractured narrative, multiple perspectives and bold sound design.
Did you watch the shorts? Tell us what you thought!
There’s nothing better on a cold, dark, rainy day, than spreading a bit of competition joy.
That’s right! We can finally announce the winners of Month 2 of our Toon Boom competition.
Here are the four talented winners who impressed our judges Adam Gee (Channel 4 Commissioning Editor) and Hugo Sands (Managing Director of Passion Pictures)
Smigly by Allen Mezquida
Adam Gee: “Great, snappy script; cinematic feel; fresh visuals; wry satire; tight and to the point - about as much fun as you can get in 1 min 33 secs.” Hugo Sands: “A well-structured story, crisply told, with engaging character animation. ”
Happy Cloud by Ilias Sounas Adam Gee: “A little burst of bouncy, colourful cosmic joy.” Hugo Sands: “A cohesive, coherent and nicely-designed execution of a simple idea.”
Posthaste by Rob Zywietz Adam Gee: “An enjoyable interlude in a pastely water-colour world.” Hugo Sands: “Expressive drawing, skilled animation and finely-honed look make this an effective piece of film-making.”
Three Times by David Gilbert and Maxim Lucas Adam Gee: “Good mix of graphic and photographic, building to a satisfyingly chaotic climax.” Hugo Sands: “This has very pure, while slightly ‘homemade’, aesthetic using a simple-looking technique. But lot of work has gone into this with impressive results.”
Congratulations are also in order for the other 3 shortlisted films:
Where are my bills? Where are my unwanted brochures? Where’s the rubbish I bought off ebay?
If, like me, you’ve been cursing the postal strike, you’ll be glad to know it has an upside. Animated Exeter have extended the deadline for submissions for the BEST OF THE WEST and SCREEN OUT LOUD entries to:
The 4mations Digital Shorts films are finally nearing the end of their assembly line. It’s been a dark, sweaty, animated summer for many of our Directors.
You’ll remember ‘Slow Joe’ from the interview we featured a few months ago with its directors Steve Boot and Phil Gray. With their Digital Short all wrapped up, they’ve put their zombie pigeon back in their coop and have shared a little highlight of their film with us:
Intrigued? Here’s what Steve had to say about the production…
There’s nothing I like more than being in a dark room with a doll, but then that’s because I’m a stop-motion animator. In fact one of the things that made me want to become a stop-motion animator was watching the old late night “4Mations” series on Channel4 and seeing films such as “The big Story” , Paul Berry’s “The Sandman” and Jeff Newitt’s “Loves me Not” . So I’m proud to have been chosen to be part of this commission. It’s been a brilliant and worthwhile experience and here are some of my highs and lows.
Highs
Being grouped together with some of the most amazingly talented animators from the other regions. It’s been great to look at their blogs, interviews and websites and see their films evolve alongside ours.
The development. It’s an exciting part, so many problems to solve, so many challenges. This is were we got to throw a lot of ideas around and really stretch our imagination.
The filming. I’m happy being in a dark room with a doll for company (have I said that already?), this is the fun part, making it all come to life.
Lows
Being grouped together with some of the most amazingly talented animators from the other regions. Sometimes I just look at their blogs/websites to punish myself, why do they all have to be so talented!? Why isn’t ours as good as theirs?
The development. It’s a stressful part, the film could go off in so many different directions, so many questions to answer, why this? Why that? What if?….. I think my head’s going to explode.
The filming. It’s a lovely summer’s day and I’m in a dark room with a doll, again!
Enough with the lie-ins and extended brunches already. Forget about going to the gym or that walk through the park, there’s nothing like a Sunday afternoon for some festival submission action that will bring a smug glow to your face. Submit now to:
What? The Taiwan International children’s Film Festival promotes quality TV and film productions for children, with up to $28,000 of prizes up for grab, including a Best Animation category.
They are looking for mini-masterpieces with an emphasis on “animation, music, experimental stuff, handmade oddities, and that kind of thing”. Submissions should be under 20 minutes long, produced since January 2008, and fully cleared, including any music rights.
We’re lucky here at 4mations. We sit in large, comfortably upholstered chairs, receiving offerings from the internets - animated films, yes, comedy gems, sometimes, but also offers of credit, diplomas, and piles of medication that would make the NHS blush.
I’m particularly suspicious when reviewing non-film submissions, so when “Icycle” landed in our submissions pile, I hovered dangerously over the delete button.
I’m glad I didn’t. Because how else would I have played a naked middle aged business man riding through an ice age, collecting bubbles on a BMX? (Take that, keyword spammers).
I could tell you many things about this game. How every part of it is lovingly crafted, the backgrounds elegantly simple and stylishly textured, the animation full of life and humour. How the sound design, by Stilton Studios and Studio 42, is chillingly atmospheric and effective. Or how Reece Millidge of ‘Damp Gnat‘, the talented animator and compositor behind the game, taught himself Flash and spent 4 months over a period of 4 years making Icycle, in between full time gigs at Nexus Productions, making sure the unfunded production would allow him to develop his own illustration and art direction skills.
I could tell you all this, and make us all marvel at Reece’s commendable dedication and remarkable talent, but I’d have to get out of this plush chair and stop playing this blasted, fun, addictive game. So go and play it, will you? Because I have bubbles to collect work to do.
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