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EVENT Notes: Film Screening at RIC
My work will be screening at Rhode Island College as part of a Festival of Contemporary Animation, which is some of RIC's Spring Celebration of the Arts presentation. It's a two-night event in the Nazarian Center’s Sapinsley Hall featuring recent animated films by regional and international artists.
April 17, at 7pm: International Program
April 18 2009, at 7pm: Four New England Animators
Free admission
Rhode Island College
"Festival of Contemporary Animation"
The Nazarian Center Bldg 15
600 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence, RI
map link
The festival kicks off on Friday, April 17, with the International Program. The two-hour screening begins at 7 p.m. with a 45-minute selection of the “best of” the Ottawa Animation Festival 2008 – one of the top animation festivals in the world.
The second half of the international program will showcase the festival curators’ picks, including the charcoal drawings that come to life in Automatic Writing by renowned South African artist William Kentridge; the surreal tale of Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor by Academy Award-winning Japanese animator Koji Yamamura; a psychedelic mash-up of Rambo in Untitled (Pink Dot) by digital artist Takeshi Murata; a hand-drawn and cut-out animation titled How She Slept at Night by the Chicago-based comic artist Lilli Carre; and the poignant, sometimes shocking, line drawings of British artist David Shrigley in Who I Am and What I Want.
On Saturday, April 18, starting at 7 p.m., audiences will get an in-depth look at the work of four award-winning animators from New England, who will show short films and discuss excerpts from their work. The animators are Jo Dery, RIC film instructor and artist known for her expressive paper-cut style of animation; Dan Sousa, a RISD professor who uses a combination of drawing, etching, painting, and computer programs to animate dream-like fables; Lorelei Pepi (ME!), whose work includes experimental and traditional animation styles; and Nancy Andrews who combines drawn animation, live-action and puppetry.
The Festival of Contemporary Animation is organized by the Film Studies Program and curated by Maya Allison and Jo Dery. Allison is a curator of moving image-based art, and director of the 5 Traverse Gallery in Providence. Dery is an animation artist and curator of past Magic Lantern experimental film series at the Cable Car Cinema in Providence.
4.05.09
Production Notes: Watch the Film-in-Progress
Here's a recent cut of my animation film-in-progress. It isn't done yet, but I thought that I'd share it and see what people think. Like it? Let me know! I could use the support.3.29.09
"Happy & Gay" work-in-progress from Fuela Fire on Vimeo.
Production Notes: Film Screening Test
I went to DuArt film labs in NYC yesterday to see the results of my film transfer test, and it looks SUPER FABULOUS!! I had goosebumps because I was so excited by the results. Even the digital transfer manager was excited! My plan is to put my digital animation film on to 35mm film for festival distribution, which is important in 2 ways. First, in order to fulfill my goals of creating a "revisionist history document," this is really the last step in attaining that goal. Secondly, the quality of the film's tactile and visual transformation is really pretty spectacular. Film has its own very special qualities that digital does not have, and festival screenings are improved tremendously when using a high quality film print. Not all festivals can display HD yet, and regular digital video is nowhere close enough to the quality of film resolution.
My animating isn't done yet, but it was important to do the test now in order to make sure that I am on the right track. Hooray!1.07.09
Production Notes: Background Artist, Bill Robinson.
It looks like the work with my very talented background painter, Bill Robinson, is coming to an end. We've come to the final BGs, and it's about time, too. This aspect of the film has been a tremendous amount of work, and Bill has been extraordinary in his committment and devotion to the project. Bill is a talented designer and animator in his own right, and lives/works in the San Francisco area. I met Bill when he was a student of mine at Rochester Institute of Technology in NY. Here's a sample of a BG all on its own.12.15.08
Production Notes: Process and More Process.
I thought that I'd post another sample of my work process. What you see here is a combination of some characters in key poses in ruff drawing style as well as finished (breakdowns and in-betweens) animation. The beginning dance steps are pasted in from a previous shot, and adjusted to fit this shot. (This is a HUGE benefit of working digitally.) I just did the lip-synch for the cop dog. I use red as a color code to help differentiate sections of the work. Red (usually) means that I've finished the roughs and it's ready for ink and paint. I'll change the lines to black and ID the layer before I send it to IP, though.
At this point in the film there is a police raid on the nightclub, just after the fabulous and rousing "Happy & Gay" musical number. All of little gay animals scatter! Historically, the police raid was a regular occurance.
Production Notes: Oops...
My website was whacked out for about a week before someone clued me in. But, all is back to normal now. Sorry for any inconvenience!
Production Notes: Hate + Bigotry in the Guise of Religion
The emotionally devastating passage of Proposition 8 in CA and the banning of same-sex marriage in AZ and FL is a clear example of why I am doing my film "Happy & Gay." I was originally motivated by the awful arrival of George W. Bush in the White House eight years ago, and the subsequent presence of the nasty Evangelical Christian bullies by his side. I am unfortunately given much more fodder to fuel the fire of this project because of this new collection of events. The wonderful movement of Conneticut residents towards equality and recognition of same-sex couples is a blessing, and is also something to be recognized. You can read more of these thoughts in the PLAY link (blog) of my website.
Production Notes: Happy & Gay
Getting closer to the dance hall ending. Here's a sample of what my "sketch" process looks like as I'm working thru the animation. The red line is a ruff temporary line, and the black is line work that will be cleaned up into the final line. This doesn't have complete lip sync applied yet.11.02.08
Production Notes: Happy & Gay
Working hard on the animation. Getting closer to finishing up the theme-song musical number! The still is of a drag king cat and a drag queen dog that are in the PansyLand nightclub. Oh, the reveries...09.03.08
Bizzy: MacDowell Colony Fellowship
I've just come back from a stint at the MacDowell Colony, where I was a Fellow in residence for a month. It gave me a wonderful chance to have ultimate focus and support for working on my film. The nights included some amazing presentations and performances- this picture is from a fabulous night of jazz by some of the MacD fellows.7.25.08
Production Notes: Happy & Gay
TESTING!! I have done film tests for output from digital to 35mm B+W film. I am waiting to see the results screened at the lab in NY (DuArt.)
I also tried the DIY routine. My friend Joey Kolbe helped me use the SMFA oxberry camera to shoot off the surface of my iMac. I made a rig to hold it perfectly horizontally while on the oxberry table. 6.10.08
Bizzy
Oh No! EBAY! I have bought a few old film prints of early cartoons. I thought that having some of the "real deal" in my hot little hands would help with the R&D process. This is addictive... must stop....
6.1.08
Production Notes: Happy & Gay film score
The soundtrack is finally mixed. Danny Blume, of Good and Evil, was our engineer. Danny's studio did the original recordings in Brooklyn. This time, we were up in his studio out near Woodstock, NY. The sound is great!! A few things popped up that made me re-think the edit. A few certain instruments come forth that weren't so pronounced before, and they create a different focus. No major changes- just small.
Check out Danny Blume's MySpace page, and hear his music! He's a wonderful musician in his own right. Thanks Danny!5.28.08
Bizzy: Related Artists
Brian Carpenter is the musical GENIUS behind my film's (Happy & Gay) musical score. His band, Beat Circus, performed the tracks. Beat Circus is close to releasing their second CD, Dreamland, which is scheduled for a January 2008 release.
Expect and don't expect- the music is wild and surreal, seeping with vintage creakings and sideshow hauntings. The melodies are real, though, and the stories buried within are seductive. You can hear music and learn more at their MySpace site.
12.21.07
Bizzy: Cool!
Betty Boop is a real woman! This drawing proves it.
An artist named Michael Paulus did a series of 22 studies of cartoon characters and their assumed skeletal systems. 12.19.07
Production Notes: Happy & Gay website
The website for my film "Happy & Gay" is now up. Please check it out! happyngay.com 12.4.07
Production Notes: Happy & Gay financing!
Yay! Two grants have come through! The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, and a Rhode Island School of Design Faculty Development Grant. Thanks super thanks hallelujiah!
The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation supports arts projects of gay/lesbian focus that are either scripts, writing, or media, focused on depictions of the gay and lesbian lifestyle in a positive manner and be based on, or inspired by, a historic person, culture, event, or work of art.11.15.07
Production Notes: Happy & Gay previous financing
"Happy & Gay" has received an LEF Foundation's Moving Image Grant ! ! ! ! Hooray ! ! ! Now it's time to hire a couple of people to help out in production. I've targeted some talented grads from Harvard just for that purpose. The goal is to finish this film in its entirety by next October.
The Filmmakers Collaborative is my fiscal sponsor, which means that they particpate as my accounts manager while I use this grant funding.
05.15.06
Production Notes: Happy & Gay support
"Happy & Gay" has received non-profit fiscal support from the Filmmakers Collaborative. This will allow me to apply for grants that require a fiscal manager, which is a tax-exempt entity (501c) that receives the grant money and passes it on to me. The FC looks to be a great group of local professionals that are active and engaged in supporting film production.01.15.06
Production Notes: Happy & Gay sound recording
We've recorded the final overdub music for H & G! We had brilliant musicians come in to the sound room in Harvard's Carpenter Center, and help us clean up the performance and add some pizzazz. Musicians included classical violinist Harumi Rhodes, bassonist Erica Schattle, and percussionist Matt McLaren. Our recording engineer was John Koczera.12.4.07
Production Notes: Happy & Gay vocals recording
Vocals were recorded at Harvard's carpenter Center for the Arts. We had recording engineer John Koczera at the helm for technical deeds. Vocal artistry came from the lovely and talented chanteuse Leah Callahan, fresh and exotic balladeer Brian King (What Time Is It, Mr. Fox,) my composer Brian Carpenter (Beat Vaudeville,) and even one of my Harvard students, Charlie Miller even pitched in. Myself, I did a fat butch hippo, a Holy Roller, and Fido the dog.06.18.05
Production Notes: Happy & Gay music recording
We recorded the amazing music score this month! Members of the Beat Circus Vaudeville Orchestra performed it at Brian Carpenter's (composer & director of Beat Vaudeville) favorite recording studio in Brooklyn, NY: GoodandEvil. Danny Blume, recording engineer and co-owner, was our master magician for the day's frolics. The musicians that came to heat up the room (literally) were: Brian Carpenter, trumpet Jim Hobbs, alto saxophone; Matt Darriau, Bb clarinet; Josh Roseman, trombone; Brandon Seabrook, banjo; Katt Hernandez, violin; Ron Caswell, tuba; and Matt McLaren, drums.04.25.05