Here's some pictures:
This is Jen Prokopowicz (no kidding!) She did a standout stop-motion piece I saw at the open screening the day before, so when I recognized her in the crowd I wanted to go talk to her. Her film is called "Crumpled" and involves a charmingly animated man made out of paper. Currently a student in Phillidelphia, I think she's got a great animation future ahead of her!
Yes, these are actual puppets that were used in animation in the film! They were on display just outside the Aardman discussion given by Peter Lord which I sadly had to miss.
This is somebody, probably important (left) talking to Peter Lord of Aardman (right), also on display just after giving his lecture.
David Levy, President of ASIFA East and author of "Your Career in Animation - How to Survive and Thrive". I can highly recommend the book, and I get no money for saying so.
This is a shot of the parade that lead the way to all the animation installations peppered around town. Shot from the safety of an indoor balcony. We've had several days of gorgeous weather but I'm glad it rained. I'm not happy to see the parade rained on, but I think it just wouldn't have been a properly Portland experience if the whether had stayed consistently sunny and warm.
Competition Program - Television for Children
A really entertaining program!
My vote went to El Tigre. I'm just such a huge Jorge Gutierrez fan! The design is so lush and beautiful. On top of that I really enjoy the concept behind the show. A kid with superpowers struggles between the dual legacies of his noble superhero dad and his evil super villain grandfather. The show is action packed and full of beautifully done Flash animation, I think produced at Six Point Harness. Some complain it is just too frenzied. I certainly agree the cartoon kept up a pretty frantic pace. Sometimes I think it would be interesting to resurrect someone from my grandfather's era and put him in front of today's children's programming, just to see if he goes into instant epileptic seizure. But that would be playing God, and I've promised not to do that again after what happened last time.
In close competition for my vote was Adventure Time. It's hilarious! Adventure Time lovingly embraces every children's show cliche to ironic comic effect. Incongruous cliches come together, like the Conan the Barbarian type logo in the same cartoon with Princess Bubblegum's unicorn made out of a rainbow (her Rainicorn, or something like that) and you can't turn a corner without seeing some giant monster or snowboarding on the back of a penguin. But you could expect no less from a show called "Adventure Time"! The main character sounds like it's voiced by an authentic little kid who's a terrific actor. But the animation was pretty crude and not very stylish and while some kids might enjoy it, I think it's comedy comes from an ironic place rather than a genuine desire to appeal to kids. So...vote to El Tigre.
Deal or No Deal
I attended the panel discussion called "Deal or No Deal" about how to sell your show to the networks. The panel was made up of the big cartoon network's head acquisition executives. These are the people who hear your pitch and then have the power to green light your project for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel! That made them trustworthy on matters of what and how to present your pitch, but the fact they were all producers in the same children's demographic limited the discussion somewhat. Here's some of the important highlights I took away from the panel:
Loved it! (Are you getting how great this festival is?) There was lot's of gorgeous work in several categories. Plus, I found myself seated in the special juror's row somehow. There wasn't any gate up when I arrived, but when I tried to wave a friend over, ushers prevented him from joining me. Sure enough I noticed I was sitting in between Bill Plympton and PES, scribbling in their little notebooks by the glow of their pen lights.
There were a couple head-scratchers and one abstract piece. There were a couple music videos. One from U2 (Windows in the Skies) that was really neat visually, but was kind of a turn off as it consisted of a montage of old U2 album covers and band photos. Just felt like a big add for U2 itself) There were a couple commercials that went down easy enough and a couple student films. "What happened to student films?" asked Lucas Haley of Renegade North. When did they stop being crude but charming demonstrations of potential and turn into these enormous lush productions with credits a mile long and scores performed by orchestras? No kidding! ORCHESTRAS!
Don Hertzfeldt had a new film and was in attendance. (Sorry, no photo opportunity) He's so brilliant! His film "Everything Will Be OK" is funny and moving and surprising. It was also 17 minutes long, yet made for under $5,000!
But I couldn't resist voting for "Tyger" from Brazil by Guilherme Marcondes (also in attendance but sitting next to Don Hertzfeldt and so the same photo problem) Inspired by William Blake's poem, it was just so beautiful and left me feeling so good.
A really entertaining program!
My vote went to El Tigre. I'm just such a huge Jorge Gutierrez fan! The design is so lush and beautiful. On top of that I really enjoy the concept behind the show. A kid with superpowers struggles between the dual legacies of his noble superhero dad and his evil super villain grandfather. The show is action packed and full of beautifully done Flash animation, I think produced at Six Point Harness. Some complain it is just too frenzied. I certainly agree the cartoon kept up a pretty frantic pace. Sometimes I think it would be interesting to resurrect someone from my grandfather's era and put him in front of today's children's programming, just to see if he goes into instant epileptic seizure. But that would be playing God, and I've promised not to do that again after what happened last time.
In close competition for my vote was Adventure Time. It's hilarious! Adventure Time lovingly embraces every children's show cliche to ironic comic effect. Incongruous cliches come together, like the Conan the Barbarian type logo in the same cartoon with Princess Bubblegum's unicorn made out of a rainbow (her Rainicorn, or something like that) and you can't turn a corner without seeing some giant monster or snowboarding on the back of a penguin. But you could expect no less from a show called "Adventure Time"! The main character sounds like it's voiced by an authentic little kid who's a terrific actor. But the animation was pretty crude and not very stylish and while some kids might enjoy it, I think it's comedy comes from an ironic place rather than a genuine desire to appeal to kids. So...vote to El Tigre.Deal or No Deal
I attended the panel discussion called "Deal or No Deal" about how to sell your show to the networks. The panel was made up of the big cartoon network's head acquisition executives. These are the people who hear your pitch and then have the power to green light your project for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel! That made them trustworthy on matters of what and how to present your pitch, but the fact they were all producers in the same children's demographic limited the discussion somewhat. Here's some of the important highlights I took away from the panel:
- They all agreed the most important thing is CHARACTER. They all complained about hearing pitches that involve wacky situations with a weak main character.
- KNOW YOUR CHARACTER. Be able to talk conversationally about him/her/it. Any question that could be asked about your character, you should be able to answer off the top of your head.
- The character should be interesting enough to be entertaining even sitting alone in his room. And in fact it was pointed out as an example that the Sponge Bob pilot did exactly that. Sponge Bob wakes up in the morning and goes through his morning routine for 10 entertaining minutes. Another demonstration was how many hilarious South Park scenes involve the guys waiting for the bus.
- Never read materials you brought in when you pitch. They want you to look them in the eyes and talk to them about your show.
- Realize that you're selling yourself as a creative person as well as your property. They're looking for a cartoon AND the creative lead who's going to run that cartoon.
- Don't bring too much material. I was surprised to hear that. They love to look at lots of drawings but there's no reason to include a huge show bible. It's their job as developers to help your show with that and it's actually not exciting for them if you think that work is already completely done. I was also surprised to hear that a seven minute pilot show can hurt a pitch more often than help it. Bring in under a minute of animation that gets your idea across.
Loved it! (Are you getting how great this festival is?) There was lot's of gorgeous work in several categories. Plus, I found myself seated in the special juror's row somehow. There wasn't any gate up when I arrived, but when I tried to wave a friend over, ushers prevented him from joining me. Sure enough I noticed I was sitting in between Bill Plympton and PES, scribbling in their little notebooks by the glow of their pen lights.
There were a couple head-scratchers and one abstract piece. There were a couple music videos. One from U2 (Windows in the Skies) that was really neat visually, but was kind of a turn off as it consisted of a montage of old U2 album covers and band photos. Just felt like a big add for U2 itself) There were a couple commercials that went down easy enough and a couple student films. "What happened to student films?" asked Lucas Haley of Renegade North. When did they stop being crude but charming demonstrations of potential and turn into these enormous lush productions with credits a mile long and scores performed by orchestras? No kidding! ORCHESTRAS!
Don Hertzfeldt had a new film and was in attendance. (Sorry, no photo opportunity) He's so brilliant! His film "Everything Will Be OK" is funny and moving and surprising. It was also 17 minutes long, yet made for under $5,000!
But I couldn't resist voting for "Tyger" from Brazil by Guilherme Marcondes (also in attendance but sitting next to Don Hertzfeldt and so the same photo problem) Inspired by William Blake's poem, it was just so beautiful and left me feeling so good.
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