With the Oscars just round the corner, award season is in full swing. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Cartoon Saloon’s The Secret of Kells, which wowed us at Annecy last year.
Closer to home, we were delighted with 4mations director Emma Lazenby’s BAFTA success last week with ‘Mother of Many’. Beating stiff competition, her team at Arthur Cox took home the Best Short Animation award for their rich tale of childbirth combining painting on glass, hand drawn and Flash animation with After Effects. And to top it off, producer Sally Arthur gave birth two days later to a baby boy. Many congratulations to both!
Don’t miss the charming interview with a slightly bewildered Emma on the BAFTA website - you’ll even discover the unusual place where she intends to keep her trophy!
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:
It’s BAA time again! The British Animation Awards are ready to help spread the word about all that’s new and splendid and wonderful in British Animation. The awards cover everything from student work to commercials, children’s entertainment to experimental art films, music videos and more.
And there’s still time for you to get in on the action! We’re looking for the best animation shorts you can throw at us.* The Month 2 competition is running until midnight on the 9th of September. That’s midnight TONIGHT!
Our big-wig judge will be Hugo Sands, Managing Director of Passion Pictures, one of Europe’s leading independent production companies. Want a chance to show him your work? Our handy submission form only takes 5 seconds to fill in. So what are you waiting for?
We have seen, we have heard, and we have adored - that’s right, we can finally announce the winners of the 1st month of our Toon Boom Studio competition!
Without further ado, here are the four talented winners, whose superb animated shorts impressed our big-wig judges Adam Gee (Channel 4 Commissioning Editor) and Nigel Pay (Director of Academy Award winning Tandem Films): Read the rest of this entry »
We have seen, we have heard, and we have adored - that’s right, we can finally announce the winners of the 1st month of our Toon Boom Studio competition!
Without further ado, here are the four talented winners, whose superb animated shorts impressed our big-wig judges Adam Gee (Channel 4 Commissioning Editor) and Nigel Pay (Director of Academy Award winning Tandem Films):
Blip by Sean Mullen and Ben Harper
Adam Gee: “Simple but gorgeous, with shades of Wall-e.”
Nigel Pay: “Charming, well animated story set within a clear visual framework, has all the ingredients a grad film should have as two aliens fight it out to own the planet.”
Good Bye London by Murray John
Adam Gee: “Energetic use of live action which helps capture a particular experience of living in the city.”
Nigel Pay: “Fun, vibrant animation/pixillation pop promo extravaganza, Camden never looked better, and no room for Banksy!”
The Birdwatcher by Ross Phillips
Adam Gee: “Has its own inexorable logic leading to the one blackly humourous ending possible.”
Nigel Pay: “A new take on twittering, but getting blacker by the minute. Another grad film that ticks all the boxes as Birds v. Artist takes a sinister turn.”
Hey by Eatliz Animation
Adam Gee: “A skillfully executed fantastical vision, built around beautiful pastel-toned imagery.”
Nigel Pay: “Technically excellent and well crafted 3D animation in a very filmic short with seamless editing and composition.”
With a wonderfully varied shortlist of a remarkably high standard, congratulations to the other 4 shortlisted directors:
The London International Animation Festival returns in its sixth edition with an exciting, intriguing, inspiring, sometimes controversial, thoroughly comprehensive collection of animation from 27 August to 6 September. Don’t miss the UK’s largest festival of its kind in the UK, screening the best, new animation from every corner of the world to London audiences, represented in a series of amazing programmes and satellite events.
Word up animation home-persons. We’re never still here at 4mations.tv. We’re busy bringing you handy hints, invaluable insights and super useful lists. You’ll always find them in our sidebar. Check out our sweet new features:
Attention animators. You have until the 25th of August 2009 to make a sting for E4!
Get your 10 second animated masterpiece of mayhem, mischief and fun on the telly-box! E4 are running a competition to make an on-air sting. Why not animate something cool, funny and weird for your chance to win?
The 1st Prize winner will receive a cheque for £5000 and two runners up will each receive £500.The finalists will also be invited to an fancy awards ceremony in London town where the final winner will be announced.
Find out more about the rather lovely E4 sting competition.
Some of you have been saying “Where is the classic game of strategy, death and trigonometry also know as Suicide kittens?” And come to think of it “Where is the pirate octopus with his hands full, also know as Booty Juggler?” to which we reply with a resounding “Huh, oh yeah, sorry dudes.”.
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