NEW WAVES IN ANIMATION

0 Comments POSTED: September 14, 2007 11:00 | By: Jay Dart

This year?s Short Cuts Canada programming features a slew of imaginative animation films from some very talented, emerging filmmakers. These films run the gamut of styles from high powered 3D computer graphics to delicate hand drawn sketches to traditional stop motion animation. While their approaches may differ drastically, their ability to create unique, personal films with their mediums is constant across the board. Here are a few words from some of these cutting edge animators regarding their processes and their thoughts on the state of the art.

TREVOR CAWOOD, Director, Terminus

What drew you to your working methods?
CG is a powerful tool when applied properly. However, CG inherently isn't real, and can easily pull the viewer out of the film experience. Adding real world imperfections such as journalistic style camera, and degraded film stocks lends credibility to CG.

Briefly, what is involved with your productions in terms of crew size, production schedule, etc, ...?
The crew was never more than 7 people. Two reasons for this: 1- we didn't have a large budget, and 2- we didn't have a lot of time at our locations, so we had to shoot lean. I actually think the rushed, imperfect filming style lends a lot to the look of Terminus. The film took around 10 months to complete, but it could have been done in half that time had I not been doing other gigs.

Where do you intend to go with your future films, stylistically and thematically?
I like psychological films. Films that comment on who we are, and how we got there have always been my favourites. I'd like to explore those themes in the future.

Any other thoughts you would like to share on the state of the art?
It amazes me what filmmakers are able to do with today?s technologies. Ten years ago, Terminus would have been impossible to make for the budget we had. Film makers now have access to resources that were previously only accessible by the few. We'll see a new breed of scary-talented artists in the next decade.

JAY WHITE, Director, Boar Attack

What drew you to your working methods?
It wasn't a conscious decision. To put it bluntly, I'm not a very clean worker. When I paint, my hands and clothes get covered. My sketchbooks are stained with coffee and scribbles and ketchup. I quickly realised that I was only fighting myself by trying to make "clean" animation. I enjoy the roughness, and I think it gives the film more depth and richness. It's like looking at a painting and seeing pencil lines and untouched canvas in parts. The characters in Boar Attack are actually computer animated, using 3D-CG software. A lot of 3D CG aims for perfection, but nothing's perfect. I'd like to see more 3D animation that embraces the weird glitches and errors that are sometimes produced by the computer. Why cover those things up?

Briefly, what is involved with your productions in terms of crew size, production schedule, etc, ...?
This is an easy one. Up until now, it?s been a one-man show (although other people help me with the sound). Once I'm actually animating, it takes me about one month per minute of animation. The essential ingredients of my studio are: a computer, watercolor paper and paints, sketchbooks, ink, coffee, CBC Radio 2, frustration, and laughter.

TROY NIXEY, Director, Latchkey?s Lament

What drew you to your working methods?
I've always been attracted to stories containing fantastical elements. I carried the love for those elements into my sixteen years in comics and it's only natural that I would bring the same sensibilities to my new career in movies. Of course with that in mind effects become a major part of production. I've always been a fan of movies that use a blend of practical effects and CGI to tell a story and so I approached Latchkey's Lament with that in mind.

Briefly, what is involved with your productions in terms of crew size, production schedule, etc, ...?
I would like to take the time to thank Ken Meyer and all the CGI artists for the amazing work they did. As well as doing a bulk of the animation himself Ken really spearheaded the process and kept tabs on the other nine artists who worked remotely from home after their day jobs. There is close to one hundred effects shot in Latchkey's lament and it took a little over a year to complete them all.

Where do you intend to go with your future films, stylistically and thematically?
I have five projects at the moment that are in different stages of talks and development but they all are either horror, fantasy or a combination of the two. I love the genre and look at people like Guillermo Del Toro and Terry Gilliam as huge inspiration. As far as thematically, I'm drawn to real stories believe it or not, stories that everyone can relate too. For me Latchkey's Lament is a love story told through a pair of keys.

Any other thoughts you would like to share on the state of the art?
Absolutely...do you have an hour? Seriously though with the advance in technology you don't need to approach huge studios for effects work. As I mentioned earlier, all the CGI was done on home systems. That was never possible even just a few years ago. As more and more talented artists come on to the scene you will see amazing movies coming out of nowhere. I'm really excited about that.

NEIL MCINNES, Director, Automoto

What drew you to your working methods?
We felt that 3D-CG is so pervasive that stop-motion would be a more unique approach. The idea of using found objects and sculpturally incorporating them seemed interesting to us to explore. Digital photography, After Effects and Photoshop were still used to enhance the imagery, but essentially, we felt the handmade quality gave it more of a human touch.

Briefly, what is involved with your productions in terms of crew size, production schedule, etc, ...?
The crew on Automoto was approximately 50-60. It took about a year with an extremely modest budget. Everyone worked for small honorariums or on a volunteer basis. It was really a labour of love across the board. Without a more reasonable budget, it is unlikely that we could produce another film, under the same circumstances. We used up a lot of favours on this production, but everyone involved thought we were moving in an interesting direction. The camaraderie was unfailing. It was a dream job in that the Winnipeg Film Group gave us total freedom with the idea.

Where do you intend to go with your future films, stylistically and thematically?
Three dimensional stop-motion has really opened up the doors to new possibilities and we would like to do more in that direction. Also the idea of combining it with CG and live action is something that we are seriously considering. The process of stop-motion is closer to live action than the two-dimensional animated films we had previously done.

Any other thoughts you would like to share on the state of the art?
With all the possibilities today in the amalgamation of the techniques of the past and the digital realm, it?s a great time to be a filmmaker. If you can't get excited about it, you don't have a pulse.

ANDREW MCPHILLIPS, Director, Blood Will Tell

Briefly, what is involved with your productions in terms of crew size, production schedule, etc, ...?
This film took a long time. There were a lot of tests, while at PDI/Dreamworks. I worked with two great producers, Virginia Wilson and Laura Lockwood. I then stopped (for career reasons) and came back to the project a few years later when I moved to CORE in Toronto. I kind of realized then that most of my film had to be redone. If I was to spend all my free time making "Blood Will Tell" it had to be unique, or feel that way to me. I spent the next two years, during my off hours from CORE making what is now, Blood will tell. The film was entirely funded while in Canada. I should add that when I came back to the project, two of the original people form the PDI days, Noah Klocek (matte painting) and Bob Koch (animation) had been working independently, in their own time, finishing their work on the film. They are both amazing artists and I think people can see that in the film.

Where do you intend to go with your future films, stylistically and thematically?
Thematically, I think "Blood Will Tell" came as bit of a reaction from working on a lot of successful, family oriented animated features at work. I didn't want any cute characters in this project. I just wanted something that was super dark, disturbing and beautiful. "Blood Will Tell" didn't have to be commercial, I just had to like it. It was all about trying to make a better looking and sounding film than anything I had worked on before. As far as the future, there are two new personal projects on the horizon and in contrast to Blood Will Tell, the most important themes are story and character. One of those personal projects is an illustrated novella, which is currently being edited. The other is a live
action/animation hybrid short film which is currently in visual development.

Any other thoughts you would like to share on the state of the art?
Personally, I think the big thing to happen in live action and animated features will be the increased use of real-time game engine technology as a pre-production step. I am suprised at the financial commitment that studios have to make when green-lighting live action projects without a clear understanding of where their money is going to be spent, and with no clear idea of what the final film will look like. Pre-Vis informs everyone, from set designers, DP's, writers, editors, producers and directors, about the film before millions of dollars are committed to actually making it. It is a creative step that can really shape a lot of the film. Rather than spending money on endless scriptwriting and development cycles, in my personal opinion, I think we will see studios insisting on cheap, photo-real, rendered visualizations of entire films before fully committing to them financially. Game technology has come a long way. It is just a matter of time until studios see how they can use this technology to improve budget forecasting for productions while clearly and completely visualizing their films far ahead of production.

CAM CHRISTIANSEN, Director, I Have Seen The Future

What drew you to your working methods?
I am completely sold on digital film making , inspired by films like "Sin City", "Waking Life", "Renaissance" , "300" that are visually interesting and relatively cheap to produce. To me this direction opens ridiculously exciting possibilities to independent film makers where cost is not a barrier. My movie is a first effort to learn some of the skills needed to achieve my larger goals and to try and develop my own style etc..

Briefly, what is involved with your productions in terms of crew size, production schedule, etc, ...?
This production was limited to a very small number of people. Mainly myself and a friend of mine on the animation side. We shot some motion capture footage with Kris Demeanor and Kyrsten Blair a dancer for movement ideas. It was made over a month of long hours..

Where do you intend to go with your future films, stylistically and thematically?
I am doing another Bravo!FACT at the moment called "I Wanna Be Evil" and I am interested in combining live action/greenscreen footage with my other animation ideas. I want it to be "F'k'd up and cool" is the general plan. (Being from Calgary home of FUBAR we like to just "giv'r" in our films) Stylistically I still very interested and inspired by stylized 2d / 3d hi/low. I also am developing a fun project called 5 hole : Tales of Hockey Erotica by Dave Bidini of the Rheostatics that is about hockey and sex.. (what more do you need..)

Any other thoughts you would like to share on the state of the art?
I encourage other filmmakers dive into digital film making as it is in a golden moment of technological accessibility where the only thing stopping you is ideas. How great is that?