Friday, April 5, 2013

when magoo flew



"When Magoo Flew," by Adam Abraham, is a history of the UPA studio (United Productions of America), that has long held mythical status for me and many animators, along with later offshoots such as the Hubley studio. The notion of animators dedicated to new ideas, sophistication in content, and risk-taking approaches to graphics and art, is one that inspired me as soon as I started learning about it. Occupying a relatively short-lived but highly combustible and exciting place and time in history, UPA participated in America's post-WWII creative outpouring, alongside figures such as Charles and Ray Eames, and allied themselves to innovative trends in contemporary art and industry. Not without their human shortcomings (and perhaps even notable in these), but with energy, verve, intelligence, and idealism - what more could you ask for...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

an evening of WIP

motion heads is hosting an evening of Works-in-Progress by local animators, including ourselves.

space is limited, so this will be a "by invitation only" event, but we are looking forward to seeing new stuff, previously un-seen stuff, and possibly even other stuff, in an atmosphere of convivial potluck dining.

date and time to be confirmed, so stay tuned...

~ Chris Head

motion heads is hosting an evening of Works-in-Progress by local animators, including ourselves.

space is limited, so this will be a "by invitation only" event, but we are looking forward to seeing new stuff, previously un-seen stuff, and possibly even other stuff, in an atmosphere of convivial potluck dining.

date and time to be confirmed, so stay tuned...

~ Chris Head

------------------------------

wip update, after the fact:

a convivial time was had at chez nous last evening as colleagues and friends gathered to reveal their secret or not secret projects in progress at Motion Heads' potluck lasagna fest, "This is what I am Working On or Finished Not So Long Ago."

Ellen showed a short piece with Mona Lisa hard up for a decent date with no luck amongst her male painter candidates, John gave us his gritty, organ detective story, Marie screened a short piece based on a story her father liked to tell about taking the sun to Canada, Karl revealed bits and pieces of projects involving photograph-based animation of natural (and other) elements, Michael shared and demo'd examples of games he's  working on/has worked on, and Motion Heads played our pencil test animatic for "The Ogre and the Mermaid."

pretty cool to see what others are doing, and thanks to all who gathered the gumption to participate. it can sometimes be lonely, creating in a vacuum, and this was a breath of fresh air and fresh perpective, especially if you've been staring too closely at your drawing board, your monitor, or your navel for too many days, weeks, or months.

looking forward to the next one...

Sunday, December 2, 2012