Did something a little different this holiday season. For a couple months now, Fever has been advertising a candlelight music program at one of the churches in my area. I'm not really into "people" events, per se, but I do love attending the church candlelight midnight services on Christmas Eve. And I have been listening to a lot of Mozart and Vivaldi lately--in addition to the Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 soundtracks. So, after a little back-and-forth where I looked for legitimate excuses not to go, I begrudgingly bought the ticket a couple hours before the performance (Bah, Humbug!).
Wasn't sure what to expect and I admit to being a little crestfallen about how it wouldn't be a "true" candlelight performance--the "candles" would be those fake candles with LED lighting. Not a big deal, really, but over a short period of time you start to see repeating patterns in the "flickering" of the LEDs. Again, it's a minor quibble, but it kind of takes me out of the immersive experience when the candles synchronize for a second or two and the pulsing looks like a wave of light and shadow washing across the candles more akin to a stock ticker. It's kind of hard to explain, but the 'Beta Movement' was there, I assure you.
In the end though, it was a very nice program and I'm glad I attended. The performers were very skilled at their craft and effortlessly built a rapport with the audience. The playlist itself was solid. In addition to a couple traditional Christmas songs, they added in a little Vivaldi, some Debussy, and some Tchaikovsky. But the highlight of the evening for me was when they played a selection from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, Op 71.
Once the string quartet started playing that set, I was instantly transported to the world of animation and saw dancing flowers and faeries in my mind's eye as I heard "Russian Dance", "Waltz of the Flowers", and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy". Forty-six years after the first time I saw it, Disney's Fantasia is still one of my favorite animated features of all time and it still holds such a treasured place in my heart.
Pixar director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist Madeline Sharifian once said "Classical music makes tiny worlds feel so grand." I would add that there's just something about animation that makes classical music so accessible.
As we prepare to close the books on 2024, I hope everyone out there has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with wonderful memories of family and friends. :)
So while the weather was still good, late last month I drove out the John Ball
Zoo. It was one of the final weekends for their 'Dinosaur Hunt' event where
they had this big open-air display containing life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, along with a number of others scattered around the rest of the zoo.
They did a decent job with the interactivity. There were motion-sensors and
pressure-sensors near some of the models. And when you passed by or
intentionally moved into one of the sensor fields, the dinosaurs would come
"alive".
It was all relatively basic motion, head and tail movement, mouths opening and closing, stuff like that. We're still dealing with the limits of the
technology, you know? So it didn't bother me. And all the kids running around still thought that they were pretty cool. I could've done without the
background music though. Got tired of hearing the Jurassic Park soundtrack
real fast. But, that's what headphones are for.
As I wandered through the exhibit, I pondered some of the advice I received from the R.I.T. professor who taught me 2d hand drawn animation: former Disney animator Jack Slutsky.
One of the exercises that Jack had us do back then was go to a public place, sit down on a bench, and do multiple gesture drawings of people.
Later on in life, I would expand his advice to doing size comparisons at museums and zoos. It started with figuring out how a normal-sized human compares to a dinosaur skeleton. Then finding size-comparable animals at the zoos and observing how they moved. Obviously, there's a big difference between a T-Rex and an elephant. However, you can get a feel for certain things--like how their muscles would deal with gravity when they're moving all that body mass. Or how fast they might be able to move. I don't have a project that requires such knowledge right now, but it's a good thought exercise and I'm glad to have in my back pocket just in case I need it in the future.
Afterwards, I couldn't leave the Zoo without taking some photos of the flowers while they were
still in bloom. Winter will be here soon enough.
And the critters at the John Ball Zoo are always interesting. I spent a fair amount of time
watching the new lynx enclosure. Apparently though, Mom wasn't in the mood to play.
Then there was this chubby chipmunk outside of the lynx enclosure.
The Otters also decided not to play while I was watching them, but rather they got snuggly for an after-lunch
nap.
This visit to the zoo left me with a lot to think about. I have to admit, once again I was more interested in how the technology worked than the novelty of the exhibit itself. Might look up motion and pressure sensors and see how they operate--more to the point, how they could be tied into animation installations. Chapter 24 in Maureen Furniss's book deals with animation in art and it does cover animation installations--like the ones Elainie Lillios and Bonnie Mitchell used to bring to KAFI back in the day. Would be fun to set one up for my students to experience once we get to that chapter. Even moreso to show them how it's done. Another tool for their animator's toolkit.
I hadn't planned on going to Ottawa this year. Too much going on, too much money going out--home repairs, car repairs, and the like. And it's not like I hadn't had a little vacation time between TAAFI in the late winter and Gen Con during the summer. But when a colleague offered me space in his hotel room, well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. If you're going to make a nine-hour drive to Ottawa, you'd be hard pressed to find someone better than animator and ASIFA Secretary Jim Middleton to travel with.
Thursday - on the way to Ottawa
Blue skies, clear weather, smooth sailing. Kept an eye on
social media to see who was here and who was having trouble making the journey
to the Great White North. Pilar Newton-Katz & Glenn Ehlers were already there. Sarah Donahue-Galasso was
dealing with bus trouble. Fortunately, she and her students would be on their way
soon.
The bed and breakfast was a very good choice – just two blocks south of the ByTowne. Shortly after checking in, we walked over to the festival to get our passes and saw Thomas
Reynolder. His new book is built around the merger of augmented reality and the
phenakistoscope, complete with a smartphone app. Very cool project! Saw his Stampfer Dreams in the competition screenings later that weekend.
The Spanish film retrospective had some solid entries. But
the real gem of the evening was Flow. What a beautiful film. Perfect example of
the “show don’t tell” principle. Wonder if it was made with Unreal Engine... with those lush backgrounds and environmental FX. No dialogue, just body language.
Would love to show this film to my class. Might share the trailer with them. Check it out below to see what I'm so excited about.
Friday
Got up early enough to make it to a pair of panel discussions--ones that are relevant to the "career advice" lecture I give my class on the last day. Spoke to Aubry Mintz on the way in this morning. Glad to hear he’s doing well.
'Staying Strong in Tough Times' and 'Navigating the Animation Pipeline: Industry Roles & Career Strategies' were chock full of valuable information and insights into an industry that is currently taking a beating. No getting around it, times are difficult for the animation industry right now. We've seen these ebbs and flows in the past though. So I'm optimistic about the future, it's always about slogging through the valley while you're preparing for the good times to return.
Afterwards, Jim and I walked to the picnic. Was fun as always –
good food, better company. On my way out, Sarah waved me over to chat. Caught up
with her and Glenn and had the chance to meet some of her students.
Our yearly impromptu R.I.T. grads reunion
Well a short nap later and it was off to the "Threads and Fibers" textiles in animation screening. The films were interesting. The curator opened with a
little history. Wasn't anything like the historical embroidery animation work that I've done, but the films were still engaging nonetheless.
While waiting for the Canadian Panorama, had to chance to
touch base with fellow ASIFA Central member Josh Harrell and Bryce Hallett from TAIS. Not many Toronto people here, sadly. Lynn Dana Wilton couldn’t make it. And neither Bryce nor I had spoken to Ellen Besen in
quite a while. Need to write and see how she's doing.
The Canadian Panorama was hit-or-miss. Opening film Not Enough Womb for the Two of Us by Cameron Kletke was very clever. Some of the other films... well, there was a lot of really
good technique there but a number of the stories felt kinda preachy. Didn't speak to me where I was at. I kept drifting back to Not Enough Womb... Solid bit of filmmaking. Keep it short, keep it funny!
Saturday
Pleasant enough day. Weather was beautiful. Walked over to
the NAC for the Animation Expose. Very few studios there—think I counted three. I remember seeing Jam Filled and Mercury
Filmworks, but it was mostly schools and a vendor (or two). Disappointing, but was understandable that the big USA
studios ducked out this year. Hollywood is taking a beating right now. Hope the day’s lectures and panel discussions made up for it to all
the students that drove in from the States and across Canada looking to get their portfolio reviewed or make some job connections.
Afterwards, we
walked to the Arts Court to see if there were any animation installations or virtual reality stations. No luck
on either front but met up with Josh again and bumped into David Chai. Rest of the afternoon was competition screenings with a diversion to the
used bookstore next to the ByTowne Theater. Picked up two C.S. Lewis books on my list and a collection of
Khalil Gibran’s poetry. Interesting stuff. Short and digestible. Very reminiscent of the poems they used for the Prophet.
I had a really nice dinner at the Keg. Gotta love some of those old haunts. Jim and Deanna had
another event to get to, so I made my own way around Ottawa. Met up with Jim
and James Murray for the Drink & Draw event, but not until after I chatted up
Andrew Doris and met Jamie Gallant. My drawing skills were as rusty as ever.
But I was seeing some areas where I could improve. Called it an early night.
Think the best film I saw that day was Pinocchio by Jonny Crickets--got a solid laugh out of that one. It's been posted on YouTube: Part One and Part Two--definitely NSFW though.
Sunday
The day began with the World Panorama and was followed up by Competitions 4 & 5. Again, some really good films there. Hung out and Jim and Deanna again, before they had to leave for
another event. So I wandered around the market, had my yearly Beavertail, walked around a little more, then it was off to dinner. Man cannot exist at the festival on popcorn alone!
Met up with Jim afterwards
for the Best of the Fest screening. Then we went to the closing night party to say our goodbyes. Chatted up Thomas and Pilar. And I met Chris Dainty on the way out – got to
tell him how much I enjoy the sponsor reels that he and his team animate every year. Then it was back to the
hotel. Going to be a long drive tomorrow. And a difficult time packing. I stocked up on books at the AniBoutique. Need some reading over the winter. I think the histories of Nelvana and Norman McLaren will definitely fit the bill.
Monday
The drive home was uneventful. Always a good time when
traveling with Jim though. So many great conversations about film, animation, and
teaching. Left me with a lot of ideas for my class and future animation plans. I may ponder some of those bucket list trip ideas, but a visit to the Ottawa International Animation Festival is always a good decision.
Well, fall is here and with it the fall semester at CMU. Once again, the College of Art and Media graciously invited me to teach the History of Animation. This year, I did a number of things differently, foremost among them was starting my revisions in April.
As we've moved the class from a 300-level to a 200-level, there are more freshmen and sophomores taking my class. The rationale was to get this information to potential animation students as early in their academic career as possible--providing them a much larger toolkit of knowledge and skills at a time when it would provide them the most options for projects in their future classes. So a lot of my supporting material is geared towards teaching them about techniques: how Joan Gratz invented claypainting, how the multiplane camera works and its evolution into the CAPS system at Disney, what a "setback" camera setup is. Things of that nature.
To that end, I scoured eBay to find some interesting visual aids for the class, most notably a vintage Magic Lantern (around 100 years old) and a Chromotrope from the 1800's. Am still looking for an affordable phonograph in order to play some of my Edison Amberol cylinders in class. Playing the music on MP3's just doesn't have the same feel to it.
Of course, there was some housekeeping that needed to be done. Years ago, I purchased Moustapha Alassane's DVD so I could show his film Bon Voyage Sim. Downside is that they didn't include subtitles for 'Sim'. So I had the dialog translated into English. Should resolve a lot of those "I don't understand what's going on here" comments.
And as I continue to locate and purchase the highest quality prints of these films to show my students, this year I bought a used Laserdisc player. Showing the Harmon and Ising film Tale of the Vienna Woods has been on my list of things to do. But the only copy I've ever found is on a four disc LaserDisc set. So, before plunking down the cash on the Happy Harmonies LD set, I had to make sure I had something to play it on. Thank you again, eBay.
The class still isn't where I want it yet. Future plans include building working scale models of Max Fleischer's setback camera and Disney's multiplane camera... as well as a working model of Oskar Fischinger's wax-slicing machine... and possibly an easily portable setup whereby I can show a "hologram" projection of Hatsune Miku... but those are projects for a future class.
Best part of starting all this work early is that I now have a little extra time on my hands. So I'm going back and watching some films that are on my 'to do' list, like Walter Ruttmann's Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, Bambi, Fantasia, some of the Noveltoons and Happy Harmony shorts, and the old Alice Comedies that Walt Disney produced back in Kansas City.
After swearing up and down that I probably wasn't going back to Gen Con any time soon, or if I did, it would only be for a day, I ended up biting the bullet and buying that 4-day pass.
It was the 50th Anniversary celebration of Dungeons and Dragons and there was going to be a plethora of historical panels with the folks who made the game.
My plan was to drive down to Indianapolis, stay overnight, say 'hi' to some friends, do a little shopping, and then drive home. But, as fate would have it, I had enough cash saved up to do three days in Indianapolis so decided to make the most of the experience.
Gen Con is one of those places where the artwork takes center stage--even to all the games. You could have the best game out there, but if the artwork is 'meh', well, it's hard to catch the eye of potential players (customers). So, I set out with camera in hand and a willingness of spirit to soak in all that wonderful sci-fi/fantasy artwork.
Catalyst Game Labs had some nice treasures in their display case but "The Battle for New Avalon" was the theme for the annual CamoSpecs diorama. If you look closely, you can see the the Republic of the Sphere forces backing up the Davion Guards against the Sword of Light.
As always, the detail on those miniatures is always top-notch! Wish mine looked that good.
There was a fair amount of interesting art at the con--lots of it was on banners.
I'm not into Pathfinder, but Paizo's artwork is always top-tier.
The 50th Anniversary of D&D "museum" was both overwhelming and underwhelming. Given how the Con pulled out the stops for the Gen Con anniversary back in 2017, I was expecting more than a number of display cabinets with some D&D artifacts--back then they built a facade for the Horticultural Hall and had tons of historical artwork and gaming books and artifacts from the history of gaming.
Now, a lot of the books and papers they had in the display cabinets "were" pretty cool. And I did like the "D&D by the versions" display. Overall I think Peterson and Kammer did an okay job with what they had, but it was not what I expected given the enormity of the anniversary of D&D.
Every year, there's group art project. Not much to say here, I just thought it was pretty neat.
Was a real treat to meet Gary Gygax's son Luke (and his wife Bouchra) during the "Growing Up Gygax" presention. Real quality people. Would love to talk to them again.
Spent some quality time looking at the miniatures competition.
Am truly humbled by the skill and the patience it takes to produce work of this quality and on this scale.
Not a lot of statues at the con this year, but there were a couple good ones in the dealer room.
Heh. The annual balloon sculpture turned out to be a promo for a Gnome game.
As I left, I had to say 'good bye' to the life-sized UrbanMech that has become a mainstay of the Catalyst Game Labs experience at Gen Con. Don't know when, or if, I'll be back. I still feel the siren-song of that bucket list trip to all the great art museums of the world. But Gen Con will always hold a special place in my heart.
As time marches on, I've been watching more and more Anime television series. Personally, I find that a lot of the stories are more engaging for people in my “middle-age” demographic. Fortunately though, we have been seeing an uptick in animated shows geared for the more mature viewer here in the States, mostly through streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime (see: Invincible, Critical Role, and Love, Death & Robots). However, I do still see us walking a long road before we witness Brad Bird’s view of animation fully realized in the American consciousness as it appears to have already done so in Japan. As Mr. Bird so eloquently said back in 2015: “Animation is an art form and it can do any genre”--including stories for the middle-aged crowd.
Hence, my watching a lot of Anime. Of course, Anime is not immune to the overuse of certain tropes, like “the harem/reverse harem”. And everyone chases trends. Here in the States, it’s been “superheroes” for quite a while. In Japan, "the overpowered protagonist who wakes up in an alternate world" continues to be all the rage. Now don't get me wrong, some of the shows with those tropes and trends can work and can work pretty well--see: Is it Wrong to try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (both the Familia Myth and Sword Oratoria storylines), the Sword Art Online/Gun Gale Online series and movies, or the "Certain" series: A Certain Magical Index, A Certain Scientific Railgun, and A Certain Scientific Accelerator. But from time-to-time you do get the feeling of “been-there, done-that”.
More often than not, before
every season starts I'll make a list of six or seven shows that I want to take
a look at and see if they're worth following through to completion. My plan
allows for viewing the first two (maybe three) episodes to see if they're worth
my time and the list gets culled as the season progresses.
I have to say: this past season had some pretty solid entries into the market.
I ended up paring my list down from around ten to five--though of those
ten, there's two that I do plan on going back and finishing later this year.
The series on my 'must see' list ended up being:
Train to the End of the World, HIGHSPEED Etoile, Kaiju No. 8, and BARTENDER Glass of God (all streamed on Crunchyroll) and Delicious in Dungeon (streamed on NetFlix). The two "honorable mentions" that I plan
on finishing were A Sign of Affection and Obsolete--though
both of those shows were from prior seasons, streamed on Crunchyroll and
YouTube respectively.
Train to the End of the World. Now, you might think from the trailer
that this is one of those stereotypical 'cute girls doing cute things' Anime.
Well, you'd be wrong! From the opening sequences, this Anime takes a hard left
turn into the surreal. The whole story follows four girls (and their dog) as
they take a train from their home town all the way to Ikebukuro in order to
find one of their missing friends. The catch here is that the entire world has
gone crazy due to the implementation of "7G" wireless connectivity. But the
girls are determined and hijinks ensue at every stop on the way. Now while the
banter is entertaining, as is the trouble the girls find themselves in, it's
the attention to facial expressions and body language, the "acting", that
really makes the series work for me. No matter what challenges they face, they
never cease to behave like teenage girls who are at that midpoint between
childhood and maturity. And when faced with a bizarre landscape (which they'd
been dealing with for two years by the time they decide to make their trek)
that is filled with equally bizarre perils, over and over it's their
friendship that carries them through to the end. It reminded me of the "Certain"
series in that regard: kids that are thrust into an adult world, who have to solve
more-or-less adult problems. But they solve those problems as you expect a child (or teenager) would, not in the manner that an adult would--even though they're trying their hardest to act mature at the time.
All-in-all, I found it to be a fun, thoroughly quirky show. From the start, you never
really doubted what would happen by the end of the last episode, but it was an enjoyable
journey to take. Do be warned though,
it does get a little silly and a little cheeky in some spots so I wouldn't let little kids watch
it.
I don't like watching sports. Never have. Don't like playing them either,
though I guess I can see the appeal of playing sports... kind of. But it holds
no interest for me for various reasons not really relevant to this post. Now
sports movies? Well those I find rather engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed the
live-action car racing movie Gran Turismo (based upon the true story of
a videogame/simulator and aspiring race car driver Jann
Mardenborough)--enjoyed it so much I watched it twice.
HIGHSPEED Etoile was another one of those entries. The initial premise
was recycled: a ballerina who was sidelined by an injury gets involved in racing
instead--same premise as in the Anime Rideback from back in 2009. The
main characters from both series even have the same name. But this time it is
racing in a future where a new power source allows race cars to propel
themselves at a level of speed and skill never seen before. Other sci-fi
tropes integrated into the show have a number of the race cars enhanced by AI
as well as hologram announcers at the racetracks, a-la Vocaloids. This appears
to be a 3d CGI animated show with 2d cel-shaded rendering. The character
animation is pretty stiff but the racing sequences are very realistic--I mean,
as realistic as they were in the live-action movie Speed Racer. Perhaps "well
done" would be a better choice of words. What attracted me to this show
is that Rin is not automatically good at the task she's presented with, unlike
so many modern (boring) stories nowadays. No, Rin's performance behind the
wheel evolves over time as it builds upon her athleticism and coordination
from years of studying ballet. And while she does come off as a bit ditzy and
clueless, as the show progresses, she grows as a character and loses her
naivete. Some folks might not say that this is a "must watch" show, but it "is" another fun
ride. If you liked the Emile Hirsch version of Speed Racer, you'll probably
enjoy this series.
Kaiju No. 8 wasn't what I expected given that it was produced by
Production IG, the powerhouse that brought us Ghost in the Shell. There
ended up being a bit of zaniness in Kaiju No. 8 that I found a bit
offputting. I went in expecting a serious look at a world beset by giant
monsters hellbent on destruction and the people who stood in their
way--including the para-military force that destroys them and most
importantly, the crews of workers that have to clean up the aftermath (and
carcasses) of the Kaiju. This show struck me as something that Studio Trigger
would release as visually and performance-wise it had more in common
with Kill la Kill or Gurren Lagaan than Ghost in the Shell. I almost stopped watching three episodes in, but stuck it out
and Kaiju No.8 ended up being worth the time spent. This is a show with
some great action sequences and the story ends up being one with a lot of
heart as it follows a middle-aged Kaiju disposal worker in his attempts to
live out his dream of becoming a member of the Anti-Kaiju Security Force. In
the end, despite the show's occasional overexaggeration of Kafka Hibino's
performance I found myself rooting for Kafka and looking forward to the second
season.
Bartender Glass of God is one of those shows that is a slow burn. The
pacing is relaxed yet there is an underlying tension to the story. The
characters and their motivations are revealed across the series--much like
watching a slow-motion video of a flower blooming. It's honestly a very
meditative show to watch. The story follows Ryū Sasakura, a bartender who is
on a quest to mix the "Glass of God"--meaning: that perfect drink for each of
his customers. The conflict comes from a hotel owner who wants him to work at
his high-end hotel instead of at the bar that where Ryū currently resides. And there
are minor conflicts among the side characters that only serve to reveal more
and more about Ryū's character and history. This show is a reboot from
2006's Bartender. I'm not sure if I like this series as much as
the first one from 2006, but I would definitely say I like them both, just for
different reasons.
Now Delicious in Dungeon is the show I've been waiting for. I've been
following the manga ever since I discovered it during a break from watching
(and reading) Isekai Shokudō--or in English: Restaurant to Another World. Setting aside the fact that Isekai Shokudō is on my "must see" list
of Anime, I learned about Delicious in Dungeon (Japanese title:
Dungeon Meishi) when I saw it on the bookshelf while looking for the
latest manga and light novel translations of
Restaurant to Another World. I tried it on for size, as it looked
interesting, and I was not disappointed. The story follows a number of
adventurers who are trying to rescue (resurrect) one of their friends who got
eaten by a red dragon at the lower levels of this magical dungeon. But with
little money to work with, they are faced with the prospect of never seeing
their friend again or being forced to eat the monsters they kill in order to
survive the expedition. Like what the trailer suggests, this show is nice and kooky.
If you're into cooking shows and Dungeons & Dragons (as I am), you'll find
this a fun romp--especially when you find yourself searching out a number of
YouTubers who have made recipes similar to the ones in the show. A word of
warning though: while this show is very fun and looks lighthearted, as the
story progresses it does get pretty deep and mysterious. There's a lot of
meat there, so if you're expecting something light and fluffy from beginning
to end, you might want to look elsewhere. It's a 24 episode run on Netflix
and, in my opinion, is well worth the time spent. I've watched both the
English sub and English dub episodes several times. I can recommend both. And
if you have a minute or two to spare, I highly recommend the original animated
music video made by Bump of Chicken for the song Sleep Walking Orchestra, which
was used for the show's opening title sequence.
Well, the season draws to a close and there's only one episode of
Bartender Glass of God left for me to watch. Then once again I'll be
pawing through lists of seasonal shows on Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, and Hulu as I look for those shows that not only pique my interest but
hopefully become one of the rare gems that adorn my DVD collection.
Back in 1994, on the first day of classes that Fall quarter, Erik and Marla gathered us first-year grad students together in a room and went over what the program entailed and what the next three years would look like (back then it was a three-year M.F.A. program and R.I.T. was on the quarter system).
During his lecture, Erik made a statement that has stuck with me over the past thirty years:
"You can make a million dollar film with a $10 piece of software and you can make a $10 film with a million dollar piece of software."
Erik's lesson was short and sweet: it's not the equipment you use, it's the skill of the filmmaker that makes all the difference. Now that I'm teaching, I often see students getting hung up on what's the latest and greatest piece of animation software. And on the one hand, I think it's important to know what the studios are using, but that shouldn't stop one from making their film. It's easy to get caught up in the arms race of having to possess the latest computer, the newest camera, or the most recent software update--much to the detriment of improving ones skills as an animator and a storyteller.
Erik also placed a heavy premium on story. Back then, he told a number of us "it all begins with a story." I fondly remember the times when he would start lectures with phrases like "so there's this guy...". Years after his passing, Bill Landers (the Chief Engineer for R.I.T.'s College of Art and Design) had a plaque installed in the Gannett Building to memorialize Erik and his contributions to both the Graduate Computer Animation program and the Scriptwriting program at R.I.T.
At a number of the school reunions in the past, I've had the opportunity to touch base with Bill and reminisce with him about our time with Erik. We both share a knowing smile when Erik's emphasis on the importance of story inevitably comes up in the conversation.
As I have watched a plethora of animated films over the years, and have made a couple myself, I'm often struck by the thought that no matter what genre the animation uses or what form the film takes, there's always a story there to be told.
I had a rare weekend off so figured I'd take a day and feed my soul.
Fortunately, there were opportunities here in-State. But rather than drive
down to Detroit or over to Flint in order to appreciate an art museum (or
two), this time I drove in the opposite direction to see what Grand Rapids had
to offer. I was not disappointed.
First stop: the Frederik Meijer Gardens in order to see the butterflies before
that particular exhibit ends for the season, then a little hiking around the
grounds. Gotta get those steps in. However, before the other events, as I'm on
the quest to find the perfect egg salad sandwich, I had to take a moment and
fuel up at the cafeteria.
Not bad. About a 6 out of 10. A little too heavy on the greens.
Then, it was off to go hunting for some butterflies!
Next, I went hiking around the grounds to see the Japanese garden.
It was still early in the season, but there were some flowers in full bloom.
And I spotted an escapee from the indoor butterfly exhibit.
"Fly, be free!"
I had plans to visit the John Ball Zoo and experience their Lantern Festival,
but I really wanted to go there closer to sunset in order to get the full
effect. Which left time to stop over at
Max's South Seas Hideaway, a tiki bar in the heart of Grand Rapids.
The food and drinks are tasty. And while I'm not really into the "tiki bar"
scene, Max's has some really beautiful artwork in what looks to me like the
Midcentury Modern style, and that's what I go there to see.
After taking a bunch of photos (and finishing off the Pu Pu Platter), it was
time to go walking again. Which meant a quick drive over to the John Ball Zoo.
This was the first "lantern festival" I'd ever seen first hand and it was pretty
impressive. The Zoo had timed entry in order to manage the flow of foot traffic,
however once you got in, you could go around the Zoo as many times as you
wanted. The exhibits themselves were arranged by environmental themes:
prehistoric animals, undersea animals, insects, etc. Most were a set color and
pattern, but some had undulating lights, some would move, and others had some
interactivity built in such that if you stepped on a pressure plate, they would
move or change color. They even had a flower that was hooked up to a smoke
machine so when the kids stepped on it, it would blow a burst of "pollen" at
them. And three times a day, they had a troupe of chinese acrobats doing
traditional performances--like balancing acts or magic tricks. Fun stuff.
In looking at the displays, I enjoyed all the shapes and colors and forms of
the "lanterns", but if I'm being honest, I would've loved to be a fly on the
wall when they set up and tore down the displays just so I could see how
they were done. I'm sure that a lot of it was basic LED lighting but the
animatronics and the interactive components add a lot to the show.
By day, I'm a mild-mannered forensic animator, but during evenings and weekends, I work on my own animated films and various artistic endeavors for clients. I'm a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology's M.F.A. Computer Animation program and a current member of ASIFA, MATAI, and the Toronto Animated Image Society.
Building upon the 2008-2009 project for the NY MET and Bard Graduate Center, I am currently animating gold-and-silk needlework stitches and managing lesson webpages for an online course presented by Dr. Wilson-Nguyen for her Thistle-Threads Historical needlework website.
