Animated Inspiration: the Films of Patrick Jenkins

Here's an exciting treat for everyone: today, Canadian animator Patrick Jenkins has posted two of his NoirLand films online for viewing on Film Annex.

I've purposefully not embedded his films 'Sorceress' and 'Labyrinth' as I hope that you'll navigate to his Film Annex page and watch them there. On his page, not only has Patrick embedded images from 'Sorceress', but he has also embedded 'Labyrinth' in addition to a list of links to other posts he's written that describe his paint-on-glass technique.

If you'd like to watch the two NoirLand films in the order that they were released, watch 'Labyrinth' first and 'Sorceress' second.

Lastly, this past February, I posted an interview with Patrick which can be read here.

Animated Thoughts: TAIS 2013 AniJam or "what I did on my pre-summer vacation..."

After submitting a short on the subject of "UFO's" to the annual TAIS AniJam, it was finally time for the drive to Toronto to see if the ten-second gag would get a laugh or not. A couple chuckles is really the most I can hope for. Every year, the TAIS ten-second film topic is announced and every year I wrack my brain until I figure out one good idea--which usually morphs into at least three or four really funny ideas--before I procrastinate, set aside the project in favor of billable work, or simply pass out due to exhaustion. And yet, a day or two before the film is due, something goes off in my brain telling me that I have to create a silly little gag film that reflects my off-kilter sense of humor, all so I can represent as the only American member of TAIS by driving to Toronto for the weekend. The ten-second shorts that I produce never live up to the raucous, gut-busting films that I see in my imagination as I invariably accept ten-seconds of animation that is far, far less then it could be since I'm only spending a few hours working on them the night before they're due. On the one hand, I'm reminded that this is why I did so poorly in undergrad, but on the other hand, I fool myself into thinking that I'm prioritizing my projects since the paying gigs are what helps me pay off the student loans with a little left over for that monthly Adobe Creative Cloud membership. However, these little ten-second gag films are what allows me to maintain whatever artistic sensibilities I have, so if ten-seconds every Spring is all it takes, who am I to complain? Especially since it means a weekend trip to Toronto where I can be a part of the most vibrant animation community in the Great Lakes region.

Friday began as it usually did, with me leaving home around 7 a.m. and making the five hour drive to Canada's largest city with a list of stuff to do over the weekend. After arrival and check-in at my hotel (and receiving yet more proof at the border that my purchase of a NEXUS pass was an extremely wise one when I was waived right through security), I braved the construction in downtown Toronto to arrive at the St. Lawrence Market for lunch. A jar of gourmet mustard purchased for my brother and a pea-bacon sandwich later, I reviewed my list of used books and bookstores and then started walking through the underground city. This year, the plan was to continue the research started at the MSU and R.I.T. libraries and save myself overdue library book fines by hunting down my own copies.

The first find of the day was at 'BMV Books' just north of the Eaton Centre: the 2004 printing of "Animation Now". I have the hardback 2007 reprint, unfortunately, that printing removed sections on CalArts, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, La Poudrière, and Supinfocom nor did it come with the sample DVD of animators' films. While I like the smaller footprint of the hardback 2007 copy, still I wanted the earlier printing to fill in the gaps left from the later printing. I also discovered a near-mint copy of the "Nelvana Story" and the hardback "Animation Magazine: the 20-Year Collection".

The good thing was that they were very reasonably priced--only one or two dollars more than what I could get online and all were in excellent condition. The bad thing is that two were hardback copies, all three books were a combined eight pounds, and together were the size of a large dictionary. Still elated from my discoveries, I made the admittedly poor decision to not go back to the hotel and drop the books off before continuing my search through all the used bookstores in Downtown Toronto that I could find. My visits to 'Silver Snail', 'ABC Books', 'She Said Boom Books and Records', and a couple others not on my list were fruitless--some good finds, but nothing I didn't already have. Had hoped to find something good at 'She Said Boom' since that was where I found Karen Mazurkewich's "Cartoon Capers" a couple years back, but there wasn't anything there and the girl working the counter was pretty rude, so I went on my way.

The Bloor Street location of 'BMV Books' was much more rewarding as it was there that I found a slightly-used copy of Giannalberto Bendazzi's "Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation". Knowing that Bendazzi is going to be releasing an updated copy of this book later this year, I didn't want to encounter the same issue as I did with "Animation Now". I'm confident that the additional information that Bendazzi is going to add in the updated version will be worth it, however, just in case he has to remove existing pages to make it all fit within a reasonable page count, I'd rather have my own copy now.

Satisfied with the day's deals, I returned to the hotel for a change of clothes. Needless to say, sitting in front of the computer for over ten hours a day over the past four years isn't a very good workout to prepare yourself for a day of walking all around downtown Toronto in close to 80 degree weather!

After a shower and nursing some blisters, I discovered that it had started raining. Even with an umbrella, I was going to get all wet again. So I stopped by the local Anime store (no love there, but admittedly the DVDs I'm looking for are pretty hard to find) then trudged through the rain to dinner at Hero Burger, and finally returned to the Grange Hotel. I spent the rest of the evening watching the last four episodes of "BTOOOM!" before doing some work in my production journal on the paint-on-glass film that I 'owe my Auntie Martine'. The Grange Hotel may be spartan, but their rooms have wireless routers. Makes for easy, uninterrupted streaming of anime over my iPad. "BTOOOM!" is another example of how far ahead of the game the Japanese are when compared to my American bretheren when it comes to breaking out of the animation age ghetto. The story may be slightly recycled from "Battle Royale", but it's still filled with solid storytelling geared for a more mature audience. Afterwards, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was able to solve a couple problems with my storyboards. I guess sometimes all you need is a change of scenery to jar your creativity and allow the ideas to flow through your pencil.

Saturday was research day for new material for my sister blog "Animated Women" (no pun intended). After breakfast, I went to the Toronto Reference Library to scour their film and animation section, much like I did at R.I.T. and MSU. Having been warned ahead of time by Patrick Jenkins that the Toronto Comic Arts Festival was in full swing, I tried to arrive as early as possible. But even then, there were hundreds of people mulling around, buying product and getting autographs from independent (and some not-so-independent) artists in the comic book scene, like the Hernandez brothers and J. Scott Campbell.

Was kind of unimpressed with all the crowds of people at the TCAF tables set up on the Library's main floor, so I went up to the fifth floor, which was much quieter and far less crowded! Still, it was five flights of stairs after being sore from all the previous day's walking. Again, not one of my more well thought out plans, but that's where the film and animation section was. There wasn't a whole lot there that I hadn't seen before, but I was able to review a couple books that are on my short-list: "British Animation: The Channel 4 Factor" by Clare Kitson, "French Animation History", by Richard Newpert and "The World History of Animation" by Stephen Cavalier. It was in Cavalier's book that I discovered a reference to the only book on cut-out animation that Terry Gilliam wrote: "Animations of Mortality". Gilliam, while still working with Monty Python, wrote this surreal little book in the United Kingdom back in 1978 and it only had one print run. It was also a book that I had seen on Friday as I searched through used bookstores--but I couldn't remember which one. Nightmares of running around Toronto a second time swam through my head and the clock was ticking as I was meeting Lynn Dana Wilton for dinner at 4:30 p.m.

As the cosplayers and furries were starting to increase in number, I needed no greater reason to leave the throngs of TCAF attendees behind. So, I hastily exited the library and retraced my previous day's path in nearly reverse order starting with 'She Said Boom'. The book was not there, however, a different yet equally rude employee was. After deciding never to darken their doorstep again, I went back to' BMV Books' on Bloor Street. And sure enough, there it was. Turns out I had passed it over when I saw the slightly-used copy of Bendazzi's "Cartoons" on the shelf below. The copy purchased, I returned to the hotel for another shower. After two candy bars, some serious hydration, and watching a guilty pleasure, the latest simulcasted episode of "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute" (season two) streamed via CrunchyRoll's iPad app, I went to meet up with Lynn for dinner at the Kit Kat before we attended the TAIS AniJam screening.

Time flew by as we talked about our films, the motivations behind our projects, the state of the industry, and traveling to festivals. It was only through dumb luck that I checked the time on my phone during one of the very few lapses in conversation. We had talked through dinner and were left with only ten minutes to walk to the Cinecycle before the TAIS program began! Not more than once on the brisk walk up Spadina did I wish that I had more opportunities to break bread with colleagues--if for no other reason than the conversation.

There were some great films during the screening, and I loved how there was a wide variety of media and technique, but my favorites had to be the following:

"Hula Hoop" by Tess Martin was ninety seconds of visual wow! The story is a metaphor for the age old 'circle of life' tale animated with sand. But, in several places, the fluidity of the animation and precision with which the characters stayed on model left both Lynn and I wondering if some parts of this film were rotoscoped or if she had snuck in some computer animation. It's really refreshing to see some of the older, non-digital media used, but even more so when it's executed as well as this.
Hula Hoop from Tess Martin on Vimeo.


"The McIntosh Apple" by Janice Schulman was only a minute long, but this cute little mini-documentary about a "Great Canadian Invention" told the origin story of the McIntosh apple using a palette of bold lines and colored pencil textures.


Directed by Astra Burka and animated by Pasquale La Montagna, "My Titanic Uncle" was a wonderful "drawn on glass" documentary that told the tragic story of Burka's great-great-uncle Adolphe Saalfeld--a man who survived the sinking of the Titanic but was never able to overcome the stigma of being a survivor.


The screening ended on a high note with "Like Rabbits", the sequel to Osman Cerfon's delightfully twisted "Sticky Ends". A trailer for the continuing tale of the 'fish headed man' can be seen on Vimeo.



Madi Piller and Chuck Wilson

Special notice must be made for TAIS President Madi Piller's film "Animated Self-Portraits" where she contacted a plethora of Canadian animators with the instruction of creating an animated self-portrait using a cycle of only twelve drawings. While the film has not been released online, Acme Art and Works has posted the DVD packaging artwork on their website.

Afterwards, it was time to have a drink at the Cinecycle's bar and chat with fellow animators before dropping Lynn off at her home, driving back to my hotel, and falling asleep before my head hit the pillow. As nice as it was to see everyone again, the highlight of the meet-and-greet after the screening had to be bumping into Graydon Liang of the Canadian Animation Blog who has been advising me as I make the transition to shooting traditional animation with a DSLR camera. Walking away with another two pieces of the image-flicker puzzle, hopefully, I'll get to start filming my paint-on-glass film sooner rather than later.



Sunday arrived way too soon and immediately became a mixed bag for me. My plan to visit the Toronto Zoo was almost thwarted by a marathon that shut down nearly every entrance to the Gardiner expressway around Spadina Avenue. But, after finally making it to the Zoo, an hour behind schedule, the beautiful weather broke and it started to hail as I walked up to the admissions booth. The rest of the trip to the zoo consisted of me leaning into my umbrella against the rain and wind as I rushed from one enclosed display to the next. But, the critters inside the displays seemed to be a lot more active than the ones outside, and the weather kept most of the people away, so I had some time to collect photo and video references for animals that I usually only get to see in passing. My main reason for visiting the zoo was thwarted when I discovered that the newly renovated Asia section had been shut down to finish preparations for the giant panda display which would be opening in six days. Doom on me.

One of the more interesting things that happened there was when I encountered a girl who was drawing a peacock. A short chat revealed that she was a student who wanted to go to CalArts. So, at her request, I looked at her portfolio and gave her encouragement on her drawings--which displayed an excellent grasp of perspective, proportion and gesture. But as I walked away, I was angry at myself for not having a card that I could hand her to promote the interviews on my AnimatedWomen.info blog--the interviews being far more encouraging and informative than anything I could muster in a five minute conversation.

So, slightly crestfallen, I drove back to the hotel figuring that I'd walk around Kensington Market and maybe visit the chocolatier before going to dinner.

Patrick Jenkins

However, as fate would have it, when I returned to the Grange and checked my e-mail it turned out that Patrick Jenkins had sent me an invitation to come up and see his studio if I was still in town. A short jaunt on Toronto's public transportation later, and I got to spend the better part of the afternoon visiting with Patrick as he showed me his animation setup and provided me some first-hand advice on how he solved the flicker issue with his DSLR camera setup. Afterwards, he showed me the preliminary storyboards and test shots for his third NoirLand film. Not more than once during the afternoon, I was kicking myself for not bringing my digital audio recorder from home and continuing last February's interview.

After dinner, I was tired from yet another day of walking, so I picked up a drink on the way back to the Grange and watched the latest simulcasted episode of "A Certain Scientific Railgun S" on Funimation's iPad app. Again, sleep came easy that night as I reflected on the main advantage of being wired in to the net: 24/7 access to animation, be it through Crunchyroll, Funimation, the NFB's iOS app, or a plethora of other services more than willing to take my money in exchange for sending me animated film wherever I am in North America.

Monday morning rolled around sooner than expected and it was time to go, though I probably could've used another day or two in Toronto. There were still several used bookstores that I hadn't visited, but they would have to wait until this Fall when I stop through on my way to the Ottawa International Animation Festival. I bade farewell to the Grange for another few months and took the streetcars to breakfast at Marche Movenpik--one of the few landmarks still remaining from the days back in the '70's when my parents would bring me and my sister here for vacation. On the way back, I walked past the former location of 'Ginsburg & Wong', a Jewish deli/Chinese restaurant that was one of the three restaurants that my family would always visit on our vacations. With TAIS moving their offices away from the waterfront, the NFB Mediatheque closing their center on John Street, and the Silver Snail moving their store to Yonge Street, I drove home wondering how many places in Toronto that make it feel like a home away from home will soon only live in my memories?

Animated People: Patrick Jenkins

So there I was, a little over a week away from teaching a paint-on-glass workshop for ASIFA/Central when, out-of-the-blue, Patrick sends me a pre-release DVD containing his film "Labyrinth" so I could show it in my workshop in addition to the handful of clips from the other paint-on-glass animators that I had found on the internet.

Membership in the Toronto Animated Image Society has brought many positive things to my life: opportunities to learn new animation techniques, cameradie with like-minded people, colleagues to discuss production problems with, just to name a few. However, one of the most favorite of mine has been the opportunity to spend time with animator and filmmaker, Patrick Jenkins. Over the course of my membership, I have had many opportunities to visit with Patrick, watch his films, and learn from his years of filmmaking experience.

Most recently, I had the chance to exchange e-mails with Patrick and have an in-depth discussion of his career, his films, and his thoughts on the future of animated filmmaking. The following is the result of that discussion.

Patrick Jenkins
Click on image to visit Patrick's website

Q: How long have you worked in the field of animation?

A: When I was in art school studying visual art in the late seventies, I made experimental films that used a lot of single framing, but I never thought of it as animation, it was just one of the techniques I used to make my films. Eventually, around 1984, I drifted out of experimental film and into animation and basically taught myself how to do it. So that’s coming up on 30 years in the field of animation.

I really enjoyed watching “Rocky and Bullwinkle”, “Warner Bros.” and those early black and white “Popeye” cartoons as a kid, but I never thought of becoming an animator. Back then, I thought of myself as a budding artist and drew all the time. I still tend to think of myself as an artist who uses animation, rather than an “Animator”. I don’t really have a lot of interest in working in the animation industry. I’d rather just do my own work.

Q: Your previous work spans traditional paper-based techniques, stop motion, and cutout, was there any overriding reason why you choose to make the jump to paint on glass for this story and your previous works: Labyrinth and Tara's Dream?

Artist at work.

A: I choose the technique that I think will suit the subject of the film I’m making. In 2004, after making flipbooks, cutout animated films, computer animation; I rethought how I was doing things. When I went to art school I wanted to be a painter and contemporary painting is one of my big areas of interests. I love to work with real paint and I wanted to come up with an animation technique where I could paint the animation.

At the same time, I had the notion of doing a surrealistic film noir movie that became “Labyrinth”. So I was trying to find a new way to do paint on glass animation. I did experiments with a black piece of Plexiglas which forms the background and the characters and imagery are painted on top of the Plexiglas with white gouache paint, mixed with glycerin to keep it wet.

Q: How did you learn paint-on-glass animation?

A: I basically taught myself paint on glass animation along with some advice from Wendy Tilby and later George Ungar, both of whom have made paint on glass animation.

"Labyrinth", 2008.
Click image to see clip.

Q: How did Labyrinth come about?

A: “Labyrinth” was based on an illustrated cyberpunk sci-fi story entitled “Hardboiled” that I was trying to write in the late 80’s. It was a futuristic detective story, mashing sci-fi with film noir. I never finished it, but I saved the drawings that went along with it, and that was the inspiration for “Labyrinth”. In the storyboarding process I dropped the futuristic idea and created a metaphysical film noir story where the detective encounters strange phenomena from other worlds. I’ve always loved film noir so it was great to explore that genre and take it to a different place. For instance when someone dies in the film, we see their spirit leave their body. The afterlife is present throughout the film. I pieced the story together from a set of images, discovering the story in the act of storyboarding.

Q: As Labyrinth was inspired by your story 'Hardboiled', what was your inspiration for Sorceress?

A: Well the stories for both “Sorceress” and “Labyrinth” evolved out of a series of sketches. When I started to plan “Sorceress”, I did some drawings of two girls and I wondered, “Who are these girls?” Then I had to find out what was the relationship between them. Eventually, as the story evolved, I found out that they were sisters.

What I’m trying to say is that the story is built in the storyboard process. It’s not written out first. I do drawings of sequences that intrigue me and piece the story together that way. It’s a messy process, full of trial and error but it’s how I do it. I’m always looking for different ways of presenting a narrative. I think of “Sorceress” and “Labyrinth” as mystery plays where the characters are trying to figure out and survive their peculiar world.

Q: You mention that your creative process involve a ‘series of sketches’ and ‘drawings of sequences’, after your idea starts to coalesce into a finished story, do you write out your stories and produce storyboards from there or do you skip the script and sketch out the entire story visually?

A: There’s no script, it’s very much a storyboarding process as opposed to a scriptwriting process as I’m more of a visual thinker than a literary thinker.

"Sorceress", 2012.
Click image to see trailer.

Q: Was the story in Sorceress meant to be an extension of the noir universe you created in Labyrinth or a stand-alone film?
A: Yes, when I finished “Labyrinth” I wanted to do another film to explore this world I had created which I call Noirland. It’s also the name of the punk club in “Sorceress” where the sisters go to hear a concert.

However I wanted to explore a different aspect of this world so I thought it would be interesting to have two girls as the main protagonists and as I mentioned take them on a mythological adventure story. My interest here was how the mythic coexisted with the urban environment of the city. The synopsis is: Two sisters head to the big city to see a concert. When the younger sister is kidnapped, the older sister embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her sibling from a wicked Sorceress.

So yes it is an extension of the world of “Labyrinth” but the films are stand alone pieces in the sense that you don’t have to have a knowledge of the other film to enjoy it.

Q: Given the success that Sorceress has seen in the festival circuit, do you have another film in the same 'Noir-style' planned?

A: In my mind “Sorceress” and “Labyrinth” are part of a trilogy. The third film that is percolating in the back of my mind is a science fiction film. I’ve storyboarded some of it.

Q: As you now have animated multiple narrative and non-narrative films using the paint-on-glass technique, which do you find easier to produce: animating to a set storyline or abstract non-narrative animation?

A: Well both approaches intrigue me. I generally tend to do more narrative work but occasionally I’ll do something abstract. For me the biggest challenge with abstract filmmaking is trying to solve the question of what is driving the film forward, if there is no narrative. Somehow you’ve got to bring the audience into this abstract world and take them somewhere. That’s incredibly hard to do without a narrative.


"Inner View", 2009.
Click image to see clip.

In “Inner View”, which is a homage to the paintings of Canadian abstract artist Kazuo Nakamura, I used paint on glass to make his paintings grow or appear on the screen, as if an unseen hand was painting the picture before your eyes. Nakamura loved science and the natural world, so I decided that I would start the film in the nature, with leaves blowing in the wind, chimes ringing, and a drop of water hitting the surface of the water. Then the film enters Nakamura’s world and we see his paintings germinate in front of our eyes. All the images are based on an actual Nakamura painting. In a way it’s not an abstract film at all, more of a document of his works. I loved doing that film, partly because I had loved his work since I was in high school. It was made as part of the Toronto Animated Image Society’s “Eleven In Motion” Project, eleven films based on the art of the Painters Eleven.
For “Amoeba” I solved the problem of how to structure the film by basing it on a piece of music by New York composer John Zorn called “Shilhim”. It’s a very short and highly energetic piece of music performed at breakneck speed by his Klezmer/Free Jazz band called Masada. What I liked about the piece was that it feels like the music grabs you by the ears and takes you on a manic trip, almost like you were sucked into a tornado. So the music is propelling the viewer through the piece. My challenge was to make the imagery on the screen interact with the music. It was a hard piece to keep up with visually because it has a really fast tempo. I also liked that although the piece is energetic it also had a dark side to it but that’s life too.

"Amoeba", 2010.
Click image to see clip.

I had the pleasure of seeing it on the big screen when it was in competition at the Anima VI, the Córdoba International Animation Festival, in Argentina in 2011. The sound was really cranked up and the whole screen lit up like a light box with all this vibrant energy. That was pretty cool! It had the feeling like the film was out of control, which was the quality I was intending, like a rampaging force of nature.
So even when I’m doing abstract or slightly more “out there” work, I’m always interested in how do you lure the audience into the odd world of the film.

When I do narratives, I tend to examine genres. For instance “Labyrinth” explored film noir. Many people like the world of film noir so I thought that was a good way to draw them into the universe of the film. Then I play with the form of the genre. In “Sorceress” I was looking at what I called a mythological adventure story. So again I use trappings of pre-existing film genres to bring the audience into the film.

"Tara's Dream", 2010.
Click image to see clip.

A hybrid of this is “Tara’s Dream” which I animated straight ahead without a storyboard just letting images come to my head. In the film we see a woman named Tara who for some reason can fly. She flies towards an apartment tower and into a window, after her cat has leapt of the sill and then she glides over to sit at a table and look into a bowl of liquid and the sequence starts all over again. Then I had fun with placing 5 different versions of the sequence, slightly out of sync with each other on the screen at the same time, so that the film becomes a meditation on time passing.

So both narratives and abstract films have their own challenges. Sometimes it’s fun to do a film like “Tara’s Dream” so that the film emerges from the animation process, rather than being totally preplanned at the storyboard stage.

"Tara's Dream", 2010.
Click image to see clip.

Q: Once your scenes are filmed, how much time do you find yourself working in post-production before you have the completed scene? Does your paint-on-glass technique reduce or increase the post-production efforts?

A: Well I only animate about six hours a day as paint on glass animation can be tiring and really hard on the body. The rest of the time I’m editing or compositing the imagery and adding some special effects. Lately I’ve been starting at the beginning of the film and just working right through the film in the order in which it appears on the screen. The exception to that rule is a scene that re-occurs at several different points of the film; then I animate all the action that occurs on that location. For instance in “Sorceress” the sisters go to and come back from the big city on bus at an isolated gas station in the desert. All the action that happens there is shot together.



'Gas Station'
"Sorceress", 2012.



Concerning post-production, all the sounds are added later with Foley or sound effects. Paul Intson, a Canadian musician, composes the music for most of my recent films. Paul has an incredible feel for what music will enhance the picture. Usually Paul will see the footage as the animation is being done so that he can mull it over.

I’ve already set the visuals to the way I’d like them in the final film so there’s not a lot of color correcting involved in post-production.

'Kim and Tina'
"Sorceress", 2012.

Q: Setting aside the pre- and post-production processes, how long did it take to animate Sorceress? Did you find much of a difference in the time it took to animate Labyrinth and Sorceress?

A: I worked for 12 months to animate Sorceress. It was a much more complicated film to animate as some of the scenes were more challenging. Labyrinth took place at night but for Sorceress, I had scenes in the daylight, which took much longer to animate as all the color in the characters had to move with them.

Q: Given that you've worked with traditional film cameras and also a computer-based/DSLR setup, how do you feel that the recent leaps in technology have enhanced or detracted from your filmmaking experience?

A: Oh I love it. I like how the digital tools let you build a film step by step. You can try out some ideas, fairly cheaply.

Q: Do you work using gouache and glycerin for a particular reason when you could make the jump to a tablet/mouse setup with digital tools like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or Painter which could simulate your technique?

A: Yes I like working with my hands, touching the paint. I’m not against digital tools. I use them as part of my working process. I just like doing things in the real world. Ha.

"Flipbook Animation"
by Patrick Jenkins

Q: What advice would you give to filmmakers who are just starting their education in the art of animation?

A: I’m not sure how to answer that question because every person who works in the arts takes a unique path through their career. I think it’s important to identify where you want to go and go to the school that will help you achieve those goals. That being said, I’m a firm believer in just teaching yourself how to make films by simply making lots of films.

Q: Given the lower cost and increased accessibility of digital tools, do you think that it’s important for students to study these old techniques like paint-on-glass, direct on film, or sand?

A: I think it’s important for students to look at a broad range of animation techniques because each technique has a unique aesthetic quality and I think it’s good to be aware of that.

Q: You were a previous president of the Toronto Animated Image Society, were you also one of the founding members? And if so, why did you decide to create the Toronto Animated Image Society?

A: Yes I was TAIS President for 3 years and then the TAIS Administrator for nearly 2 years when we set up the production centre. I wasn’t a founding member; Ellen Besen, Gerry Paquette, Barry Parker, Vivi Ludlow, Arnie Lipsey and others set it up in 1984. They invited me to be in a group exhibition of art from animated films in 1989 called Art In Animation at the John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto, which was a fantastic experience and I’ve been a member ever since.

In 1998, TAIS had been on a short hiatus, so I revived the organization. I was interested in having access to a community of people interested in the art of animation, as making animated films can be a pretty solitary activity. I was learning a lot about animation in the process, so it was personally very rewarding.

"Tara's Dream", 2010
Click image to see clip.

Q: Given that we've seen the NFB closing their Mediatheque location in Toronto and funding for the arts is being reduced all across Canada, what do you see as the future for independent, non-commercial animation in Ontario?

A: We’re fortunate in Canada to have the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council that give grants to filmmakers. There’s not a lot of money available and there is a lot of competition for those funds. I’ve been fortunate in the last 10 years to get funding for some of my films.

As for the future of independent, non-commercial animation, all I can say is that I came into animation from the visual arts, so I’m interested in exploring themes that interest me like “what is life?”, “why are we here?”, so I try to stay focused on that exploration. I just try to stay focused on making work.

There are very few outlets, outside of film festivals that show short form animation. Television, with the exception of Bravo!, by and large don’t show short films. I think it’s a very big problem for independent animation as no one is seeing it and animators can’t derive any revenue from the exhibition of their work.

Q: You state that there are few venues for short animated films, so what are your thoughts about monetizing your films via newer digital outlets like iTunes (or the NFB’s online rental store/app mechanism) especially versus older-ish outlets like VHS and DVD?

A: I would really welcome that possibility. I’d like to see something like Netflix do short films. Digital distribution seems to work really well for Features but not so much yet for shorts. I would really be into that.

Q: Do you think that crowdsourcing sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are viable venues for fundraising short animated films (versus feature-length animated films produced by well-known animators like Bill Plympton or Signe Baumane)?

A: I think crowdsourcing is a great tool for fundraising for certain types of projects where the concept can be easily communicated. Animator friends of mine have done some of those campaigns it is a lot of work to raise money that way.

Q: What kind of things are you working on now?

A: Well, as I mentioned I’m working on the storyboard for third film in the Noirland series. I’m also doing some experiments with some new techniques such as stop motion object animation and pinhole camera. I’m shaking my artistic practice up a bit, which should lead to some interesting new paths for my work. I’m still interested in paint on glass animation, but I’m looking for ways to take it in new directions.

Patrick Jenkins

*  *  *

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Patrick currently has DVDs of his paint-on-glass films on his website's store, including "Animation Noir" which has the first two films in his Noirland trilogy: "Labyrinth" and "Sorceress". Additionally, you can purchase copies of his flipbooks, several chapbooks, and additional DVD's of Patrick's work which include his earlier animated films, his instructional video for kids, and two of his documentaries which showcase sculptor Mark Adair and independent animator, Jonathan Amitay.

In addition to the information provided in this interview, I encourage everyone to visit fellow TAIS member Grayden Laing's website "Canadian Animation Blog" where he showcases two videos featuring Patrick: one where he interviews Patrick about his thoughts on filmmaking, and the second where Patrick demonstrates his paint-on-glass animation technique.

* All photos used in this interview are copyright Patrick Jenkins and used with the owner's permission.

Animated Thoughts: TAIS SummerJam 2012

June had arrived, so that meant it was time to make my yearly visit to Toronto for the TAIS summer screening. Due to a scheduling conflict with the first ever TAAFI festival, our screening was moved to the beginning of June instead of our usual last weekend of June. That was the first major change that I encountered during this trip, but sadly it wouldn't be the last.

I am sad to report that this was the final TAIS summer screening to be held at the NFB Mediatheque. It turns out that the National Film Board of Canada will be closing several of its Mediatheque locations including the one on John Street. And if that wasn't enough of a kick in the gut, the building that housed TAIS and all our production equipment was sold by the city to a developer. So, our board of directors is currently looking for a new location as we've received our walking papers. While I understand that change is inevitable, losing those two locations still hurts my heart.

My first TAIS workshop was with Martine Chartrand at the NFB Mediatheque on John Street. Since then, I've returned to both the Mediatheque and the TAIS production offices several times each year to take workshops, attend screenings, and be a part of the vibrant animation community that both TAIS and the NFB support in Toronto. While I do not know of any plans to re-open the Mediatheque in a different area in Toronto, TAIS will be moving to a new location in the not too distant future. One can only hope that the new location will provide some benefits that overcome what we are losing -- like a small theatre to screen our films.

But, on Friday evening, I arrived at the Mediatheque for the TAIS competition screening--blissfully ignorant of the massive changes to our beloved community. Like earlier screenings, there was a wonderful variety of subject matter and techniques to be found in the films. I absolutely loved Patrick Jenkins' new paint-on-glass film "Sorceress" and as usual, my 10 second AniJam entry film got a good round of laughs. Afterwards, during the after screening party, I spent a fair amount of quality time talking to Lynn Dana Wilton about our web presences, professional reactions to her Women in Animation interview on my blog, and a couple of our ideas that have been floating around in the ether. I'm pleased to report that Lynn has had a few job offers based upon her increased web presence (including my interview of her and her new Vimeo page). However, schedules must be kept and Lynn had to catch a train back home. So, after the Mediatheque closed and we said our goodbyes, a small group of us drove over to Chinatown for dinner and discussion of the films. This afterglow experience has come to be one of my favorite parts of the TAIS events. I love hearing about what everyone else is working on and it's a great opportunity to cross-pollininate ideas and techniques with other animators.

Well, through the magic of the Internet (and the willingness of animators to use said Internet to promote and distribute their films), here are some links to films that I really enjoyed.

"Sorceress" by Patrick Jenkins
Admittedly, I'm biased because Patrick has become one of my favorite independant filmmakers over the years. However, Patrick's film "Sorceress" continues his exploration into a film-noir world of paint-on-glass animation.


"Sticky Ends" by Osman Cerfon
While it's a little too dark for my tastes, this film has an impeccable sense of timing and wit that carries it's subject matter past the realm of gruesome into that rare spot reserved for Wil-e Coyote and the Roadrunner cartoons.


"Snowdrifter" by Mack Carruthers
Cute character, decent animation with a funny payoff at the end of the film.


"Luminaris" by Juan Pablo Zaramella
It's rare that you see pixillation much less pixillation that is done well. This was a very fun film that provides an interesting snapshot into the heart of Argentinian bureaucracy.


"More than Winning" by Nick Fox-Geig
 I like the stream-of-consciousness images paired up with the tight, focused narration.
More Than Winning from Nick Fox-Gieg on Vimeo.

Also, check out his film "The Orange" on his Vimeo page if you get the chance.

"(Re)Cycle" by Lynn Dana Wilton
Having seen Lynn's film on a television during her TAIS workshop, it was really fun to see how well her designs and animation played out on a large, theatre-sized screen.


And here's my entry in the AniJam "Technical Difficulties" theme:
Now granted, I was gearing my film towards the crowd, but it still got a genuine laugh nonetheless.

Well, as the TAIS and NFB screenings were Friday and Saturday evening, I had lots of time during the weekend to walk around Toronto and see the sights, as well as funnel a little spending cash into the local economy whenever I saw the rare item that I could live without, but choose not to -- like the Gundam 08th Team mecha and hovertank figures I found at the Silver Snail. It was a close race between that and the 6" Gigan PVC figure, but having seen those for sale on Amazon.com, I figured I could pick one up later. When would I ever see a mint Gundam 08th Team figure with the hovertank all the accessories for $20 Canadian? If they had a Mothra figure in stock, it would've been a far more difficult decision. Del Toro's film "Pacific Rim" can't get finished fast enough!

But, more often than not, over the weekend I found myself revisiting locations from my memories of past trips as far back as 1975: the CN Tower, the Eaton Centre, the underground city, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the NFB, LeMarche Movenpik, the former location of Gingsburg and Wong, and the Lake Ontario waterfront. I walked away with no epiphanies other than the cliche about how the only constant out there is change.

On Saturday, I walked over to the Picasso exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (thanks again for the ticket Madi). While I've always been more of a Monet and Renoir fan, I was awestruck by the variety of Picasso's work, especially the contrast between his paintings using lush, defined brushstrokes versus the ones that represented figures using geometric color patterns. The AGO did a great job arranging the paintings, drawings and sculpture chronologically and they even provided a handout that explained what was going on in Picasso's life during each period and how it influenced his art.

Since the NFB's evening animation screening wasn't for a couple hours, I walked down to the CN Tower and had lunch at the Horizon's restaurant overlooking the waterfront. As my thoughts tried to process the future loss of the NFB over an incredible view of Toronto, I took the time to stand on the glass floor. Nothing like gut-wrenching fear (or a near death experience) to shock you out of a dark place. My mind moving back towards a balanced center, I snapped some photographs of the trains at the foot of the Tower, then walked down by the harborfront and did some reading. A short streetcar ride back to Queen and Spadina and I arrived just in time to see all the ambulances and firetrucks on the way to the Eaton Centre. Turns out that there had been a gang shooting in the food court that I walked through the previous day. The shooter's target was dead and several bystanders were caught in the crossfire. Darkness, it would seem, was determined to make it's presence felt.

That evening, I made my last trip to the NFB Mediatheque for their animation screening "Creations, Obsessions, and Sensations". It was filled with classics like "Hot Stuff", "Every Child" and "Great Toy Robbery" as well as newer films from classic directors--like Paul Driessen's "Oedipus". While the films were good and the company was better, the weekend ended up overcast when Madi told me the news that TAIS had been served notice that their building was sold to developers so we had to find a new location by the Fall.

Sunday I drove home. I left Toronto with a sense of melancholy since it would be the last time I'd experience TAIS and the NFB in it's current state. As the Gardnier Expressway was closed down, I had to find a route along the East side of Toronto through Greektown and over by the science center before I could find an open entry onto the 401. As frustrating as it was to get out of Toronto, the different sights made me think about how much of the city I have yet to see. So when the TAIS board moves us into a new location, there will be new sights to see and things to do before and after the next workshop. So I would end my trip on a high-note, and put an end to the melancholy, I stopped by the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory (now with quail) and got some beautiful photographs.

Get Animated Workshop: Paint-on-glass

On Saturday, July 16th, I'll be teaching a workshop on the Paint-on-glass technique of animation at the Grand Rapids Media Center.

WHAT: Animation using the paint-on-glass technique

WHERE: 1110 Wealthy St, Grand Rapids, MI 49506

WHEN: Saturday, July 16th, starting at 9:00 a.m. and running until 1:00 p.m.

WHO: For further information, please feel free to contact the GRCMC or myself, or you can visit the Grand Rapids Media Center's website.

HOW MUCH: Admission for this event is $20 for non-members and $10 for GRCMC members. Advance tickets can be purchased at the GRCMC event website.

ANYTHING ELSE: Yep! I've just received permission from Canadian animator Patrick Jenkins to show his award winning paint-on-glass animation "Labyrinth" (info is about half-way down the page).