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.
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| Our yearly impromptu R.I.T. grads reunion |
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.
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.
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