And the Oscar goes to...

Well, this year I find myself scratching my head at the Oscars. I find it hard to criticize films that are nominated mainly because I've never produced anything "Oscar-worthy" and as such, have never been nominated for an Academy Award. So, setting aside issues of competent filmmaking (following the rules of film and the principles of animation), I'm stuck just speaking about the films that resonate with me, or more to the point, the films that I would have chosen.

"Up" won Best Animated Feature. Okay. I can see that, decent filmmaking and animation. Felt the story was a touch light, but it was very touching in some parts and exciting in others. A solid, if unspectacular film. Still liked "The Incredibles" better, but that's just me. "Princess and the Frog" was good, but not good enough to win in my opinion. I was really hoping that "Secret of Kells" or "Coraline" would win. Despite the story flaws in "Coraline" and the highly stylized art design in "Kells," I still felt that they were the strongest films in the selection this year. But as I didn't like "Fantastic Mr. Fox" at all, I took a little comfort that at least that one didn't win. It's just my opinion, but I thought it looked like a one semester project from a bunch of second year film students who said "hey, let's make an animated film." Wes Anderson has produced an Oscar nominated, feature-length, stop-motion film. I have not. So, take that assessment for whatever you think it is worth.

"Logorama." Huh. O-kay. Again, not my choice. Don't get me wrong, it was cute, but the story was meandering and, in the end, it was kind of pointless. I'm not a big fan of 'slice of life' films and quite frankly, the vulgarity put me off. "A Matter of Loaf and Death" was very competently produced, but I couldn't shake this feeling of 'been-there-done-that'. The excitement just wasn't there. Eh, I bought the DVD so Mr. Park should be happy. The two films I liked the most out of this year's bunch of Animated Short Films were "Granny O'Grimm" and "the Lady and the Reaper." Yes, a very simple story, but I thought that Granny was funny and I liked the art design in both the 2D and 3D sequences. "French Roast" was okay, but again, the story was just too simplistic and I felt that it was stretched out to fill a span of time that the story just didn't justify having. I liked the character design and thought the animation was solid, but not enough there to get my vote. Having seen all the nominated shorts, "Lady and the Reaper" was by far my favorite. Loved the character design, thought the story was clever, animation was solid. And I just got the most edge-of-your-seat laughs out of it. Antonio Banderas should be proud of his people, they made a really fun film that should've won (in my opinion).

Overall, though I think last year's entries were stronger films with a much greater diversity of story and artistic styles, but there were still some solid performers in this year's batch.

Sigh. I'm glad I'm not betting money on which films win and which ones lose...

Women in Animation: Lynn Smith

I first met Lynn Smith last year (2009) at a workshop presented by the Toronto Animated Image Society and the National Film Board of Canada. Lynn's career as an animator started in 1968 when she lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1975, Lynn moved to Montreal to work for the National Film Board of Canada and became, in her terms, a 'resident alien' of Canada. Lynn is currently on the part-time faculty at Concordia University in Montreal teaching animation and cinema.


Lynn was at the workshop to teach us her own brand of paint-on-glass animation. Unlike Petrov's method, which used bicycle grease to prevent the paint from drying, Lynn uses a small amount of glycerine. Lynn also adds a collage element to her films by cutting out objects in magazines (or creating her own) and duplicating them using a color copier. She then laminates the objects (like eyes, mouths, etc) and animates them under the camera frame-by-frame along with the paint and ink.

The following is one of the films she produced for the National Film Board of Canada. It's called "the Sound Collector" and was created in 1982.



This next film is callled "This is Your Museum Speaking" which Lynn created in 1979. It's about a night watchman and his dog who discover the link between the past and the present as he travels through the museum.

During the workshop, Lynn and I had a wonderful time discussing our respective animation backgrounds. As I am a forensic animator and both Lynn's father and mine worked in the legal arena, we had a fair amount of shared history.

Of course, while Lynn and I were chatting, my friend Jon was at the workstation, creating the following animation:

Women in Animation: 2010

Given that International Women's Day falls in the month of March, I will be starting a regular yearly series of posts dealing with Women animators who I have met or whose work I find inspiring. This year, I'll just be showcasing some animators, however in the future, it is my goal to add interviews with women animators with the purpose of turning people on to their work, providing biographical information, as well as listing out any advice these accomplished animators wish to share with the community.

By starting this series, it is my hope that not only will people have the opportunity to get to know animated films that they might not have discovered otherwise, but also that girls will be encouraged to consider the field of animation for their career. Animation has traditionally been a male-dominated field since its inception, with women playing supporting roles (like the ink and paint girls of Walt Disney Studios). However, with the cost of tools decreasing, the proliferation of schools teaching animation skills and software, and the opportunity to reach a world-wide audience for pennies via the Internet, there's never been a better time for women to create animated films and share with the world their unique voice, stories, and perspectives.

Simply put, the animation community needs more women animators, scriptwriters, and directors in order for it to progress forward and fulfill its potential. Be encouraged by the stories and advice from those who have gone before you.