Monday, March 10, 1997
FESTIVAL:
Events include
competition, workshops, job networking, awardsBy Stephanie
Sheh
Daily Bruin Contributor
While some are awaiting the Academy Awards this spring, the
animation community is eagerly anticipating an awards ceremony of
their own  the first annual World Animation Celebration.
Animation directors, producers, artists, actors and fans will
gather in Pasadena on March 24 -30 to celebrate the art of
animation. The World Animation Celebration boasts of job
opportunities, new technology expositions, parties, workshops and
seminars, and hands-on opportunities, as well as animation
competitions.
At the core of the celebration is the film festival, or the Los
Angeles International Animation Competition, for which over eleven
hundred entries have been received. The festival consists of six
days of animated film screenings from various categories. A variety
of animators are entered in this year’s competition, including all
four of this year’s Academy Award animation nominees.
"The competition has forty categories," explains festival
marketing director Frankie Kowalski. "The jury has viewed over one
thousand films and cut it down to two hundred and four films which
are now being viewed by a grand jury who will select the
winners."
"We have companies from all over the world who’ve submitted
their films," adds festival director Leslie Sullivan. "Every
country is represented … And animation tends to be a world-wide
art form. You don’t necessarily need to understand the language to
know what’s going on, because so much of it is visual. So you
understand when somebody is clunking somebody else over the head
whether it’s funny or it’s not. Wiley Coyote and the Road Runner
translate very well into a foreign market, because things that are
funny are funny."
Since animation is such an international medium, it follows that
there are similar festivals around the world. Annecy, France has
had a festival every other year for thirty years. Yet, this year’s
World Animation Celebration will be the first of its kind in
America.
"Essentially we are trying to create that same type of
atmosphere here in the United States, because a lot of people
cannot travel abroad," Kowalski says. "Our goals for our world
animation celebration are art, talent and opportunity. We’re not
competing against them. We’re just trying to create an
all-inclusive environment where people can have fun, celebrate the
art of animation, get to meet new people, and see old friends. It’s
almost like a grassroots kind of thing."
In addition to the Los Angeles International Animation
Competition, there are other competitions. MTV, who is looking for
new characters, is doing a character screen-test. Nickelodeon has a
storyboard competition and Klasky Csupo (Duckman) is holding a
screenwriting competition. The total value of all prizes is
$150,000.
For those who are not quite ready to participate in the
competitions, there are a wide variety of seminars and workshops.
These classes range from animation programming to voice acting. The
Miller Freeman company, which is heading the New Animation
Technology Exposition, will also offer tutorials in various digital
formats.
Participants in the World Animation Celebration are not limited
to competing or taking classes. They can actually create a feature
length animated film by taking part in World Animation 2000,
facilitated by the Bridges Institute of Visual Arts. This animation
marathon will involve two thousand students in teams of ten at two
hundred tables working together to create an animated film in one
day.
"It’s a very good learning experience," Kowalski says. "There’s
a lot of high energy as well as having industry professionals
there. It’s a good way to network, and it’s a fun way to learn the
art. Each second of animation is twenty-four frames, so if a table
needs to do ten frames per second, you have to sit there and
literally color each frame. It was like working on this big giant
coloring book. It’s really a lot of fun. It’s a good way to learn
more about animation and make a decision if this is where you want
to further your career."
If students should decide that they want to pursue a career in
animation, Sullivan feels that now is a good time to become
involved in the industry. Animation is in a boom phase; there is a
lot more interest in animation, and it is now recognized as a
serious art form.
"Well, I think the reason that animation is growing is that it’s
really becoming a respected part of the entertainment industry,"
Kowalski expands. "Notice now that Disney movies have the clout to
get Demi Moore to do voice-over talent for their movie, where as
opposed to ten years ago, people didn’t want to do that. People
didn’t want to have anything to do with animated projects.
"The second reason that animation is booming is (because it’s)
not only booming in traditional animation, but in digital
animation. Almost everything that you see on television has some
sort of animation in it. Whether it be special effects, or CD ROM
games or animation on the internet, all of the technologies are
coming together, which is creating more of a demand for digital
artists."
Sullivan supports this demand for animators. She says, "With all
of the advents of various cable outlets and various places that
animation is shown, there is a great need for animators. And that’s
part of the reason for the Job Opportunities Expo. Also, studios
are scrambling because they can’t find enough animators out
there."
The exposition provides an environment for these studio
producers to recruit talent. Major studios will be there to look at
portfolios and talk to people about opportunities for employment
within the animation industry.
"(We are) giving students the opportunity to network with the
industry professionals as opposed to them going to some stodgy
office and showing their portfolio," Kowalski says. "We are
creating a fun environment for them to do that. So we are trying to
create a real fun environment not only for students but for the
fans and industry professionals as well."
ANIMATION: The World Animation Celebration runs from March 24-30
at the Pasadena Civic Center. For more information, call (818)
991-2884, e-mail Animag@aol.com, or click into
http://ww.bedonline.com/animag
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