Today, July 23rd

After nearly 5 years The Animation Show returns to New York with a huge live event kick off for a new tour. We’re thrilled to be back this time opening at the IFC Center. Friday July 25th (8:20 show) will be a grand kick off event with our video preshow and Q&A featuring animator Dave Carter and Animation Show producers. Tuesday July29th animator PES will be onhand for a Q&A as well hosted by animator/writer Dave Levy (8:20 show). Tickets are onsale now!

This is the last live event for our current tour so please come out and bid adieu to another grand year of terrific shorts. Our DVD releases never duplicate the theatrical so once this program is gone, it’s gone forever.

The new tour isn’t just landing in NY this week. Look for big premieres in Sacramento at the Crest and Denver at the Starz Filmcenter all starting July 25th!

Yesterday, July 22nd

The mass migration to San Diego has begun. This year the largest sci-fi, animation and comic convention in the US is set to burst at the seams. It looks like events and guest speakers are still being added and four day passes to attend sold out weeks ago. We haven’t had a chance here to comb through it all with everything else going on but quite a few sites have. Check out Cinematical, Cartoonbrew and Comic-con’s official page for some highlights and the full breakdown. This year we’re back with long time Con partner Bill Plympton holding down camp at booth 5356. We’re draggin the kitchen sink down to the convention this year so expect a firesale on all sorts of Animation Show goodies. Brave the heat the and great unwashed, costumed hords to say hello!

If you’ve been following along on the site this year you’ve read a bit about this shows current departure from previous tours with our first commissioned short films. The first of the four that came together was with Stop-motion titan PES. The description for this film gave us a sense of where he wanted to take things for this culinary quickie but we really didn’t have a solid picture of the project until it arrived on our doorstep to as “Western Spaghetti”. Taylor recently caught up with PES and had this to share. For more production pics head over to his facebook page for a gallery of behind the scenes.

THE ANIMATION SHOW YEAR 4 Theatrical
PES
Animator, “Western Spaghetti” (2008)
Interviewer: Taylor Jessen
Date: 6/9/2008
Via phone from New York

Animation Show: You’re at a post-production house right now. Tell me where and what you are post-producing.

PES: Actually, I’m editing a new commercial for Scrabble’s 60th Anniversary. They just put out this diamond edition, all the trays, you know, all the tiles and stuff are contained inside the box. It’s kind of like, made to travel. It’s their 60th anniversary, so…

AS: The mind reels at what the PES animated short based on the Scrabble set will be like.

PES: Well, you know, when you do a commercial, it’s not really my idea. I’m just really acting as the director. So it’s a totally different thing than conceiving and then shooting a film.

AS: So someone came to you with a precis and you’re a hired gun, basically, on this one?

PES: Yeah, I mean advertising you know, in general, like, the advertising agencies, they work for sometimes months, even a year, sometimes to sell concepts to clients. So I don’t have to deal with any of that part of it.

AS: Was that the modus operandi of some of your other commercials as well, because, I mean, you really have a personal stamp on the bits you were doing for, I believe there was a Coinstar spot and the Orange ads that you did. They seemed like they were really springing directly from your head.

PES: Well, always in commercials, there’s always a chance to put that personal kind of touch, you know, little humorous things here or there, but by and large, I’m always looking to see the best concepts I can get from advertising agencies. Because the better you start with, the better the end product will be. So, I like to put myself in a situation where I’m working on good concepts that I only have to make better, rather than try to take a concept that I don’t really think is that strong and turn it into something, that rarely works.

AS: So would you consider yourself in a pretty lucky position now that you’re getting a lot of things thrown at you and you can kind of pick and choose?

Entire Interview Here

Last Friday, July 18th

Watch out world… another superhero team-up is in the mix! Baman Piderman is by Alex Butera from Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Movie goers taking a break from the 24/7 Dark-Night-O-Thon can catch us this week in Kansas City, Omaha and Hartford Connecticut. Next week is huge with a visit to Comic Con and openings in New York, Sacramento and Denver to name a few. More soon.

-Via Drawn

Wednesday, July 16th

It’s only a matter of time until animator Dave Carter is a household name here in the US. His ability to capture a performance visually and translate it to animation is truly inspiring and the interview below is a great glimpse into that process. The good citizens of New York can meet Dave in person Friday July 25th for our big kick off at the IFC Center. Taylor caught up with him recently via phone and had this to share.

THE ANIMATION SHOW YEAR 4 Theatrical
Dave Carter
Animator, “Psychotown” (2008)
Interviewer: Taylor Jessen
Date: 4/6/2008
Via phone from Australia

Animation Show: I’m talking to Dave Carter, the creator of Pyschotown. And the first
question I have to ask you, Dave, not just because it affects your process as an animator but because it affects this very phone call, is that you are deaf. You have a cochlear implant. Can you talk about the extent of your deafness? How is your hearing now? And when did you first hear?

Dave Carter: Well, I didn’t hear anything until I was eight. So nearly up to then I was pretty much living in complete silence. And so ultimately that’s kind of had an effect on the way I see the world and obviously everything is so visual. And it still very much – even if I’ve got the implant nowadays. Yeah, so I guess it’s programmed this sort of visual orientation, way of seeing things.

AS: So I guess you learned to lip-read from an early age.

DC: That’s right, yeah. I never learned sign language, so – because my mother decided that her mission was going to be – that would ostracise me from the real world so she insisted that I learn to lip read. So yeah, that’s been my main mode of communication.  And lip reading has sort of paid off in a good way because I’m pretty good at lip syncing because I can tell when it’s not right when I’m animating it.

AS: You have a real clear speaking voice, all things considered, so how did you get to
where you are now? Was there a lot of therapy involved?

Entire Interview Here

Tuesday, July 15th

That’s right! Over the last month and for the next two weeks you can catch a handful of shorts chock full of Animation Show love at the center of it all in Manhattan’s Time Square. MTV’s 441/2 screen (named after it’s location between 44th and 45th streets on Broadway) is one of the largest HD screens in the world. All to let the good folks of NYC know that we’re coming to the IFC Center July 25th for a massive premiere. More details to follow.

Rob Shaw and Paul Harrod of Bent Image Lab experiment with a little card play in this new spot for BC Dairy Foundation. Bent just updated all of the recent videos and projects on their official site. Check em out.

-Via Motionographer

Wednesday, July 9th

During the last few Animation Show Q&A’s a number of different videos have been referenced and I wanted to pass along some more background incase you wanted to share with audio visual treats with friends.

Ankle Injury directed by Yukfoo. The song is by Fujiya and Miyagi.

Black / White directed by Blind. The song is by the Raveonettes

I’m Impressed directed by Bent Image Lab. The song is by John Linnell

Salmon Dance directed by Dom & Nic with visual effects by Framestore CFC. The song is by The Chemical Brothers

Myriad Harbour by Flourescent Hill. The song is by The New Pornographers.

D.A.N.C.E by Jonas and Francois from “75” Production. The song is by Justice.

It’s time again to answer a few e-mails and comments that have come in over the last few weeks…

Hello there. I am a nineteen-year-old animation student in sunny Los Angeles, California. I am a huge fan of the show and just about everything Mike Judge has ever done. I saw this year's show at the Nuart (though not on the opening night, to my great sadness). My complaint isn't about the show itself, which was vastly better this year than last year, but about the selection of animation show t-shirts on this website. I notice the minimum size you offer is Medium, ranging all the way to XX-Large. I personally am gravely offended by the implication that the only people who like independent animation are obese and very visibly uncool. Let's not continue to perpetuate such a stereotype. I will be waiting for my small shirt.
Yours sincerely,
J

Yikes! We totally offer small sizes for shirt J. There is one specific shirt that’s only in Large and XL because it was a very limited batch and that color shirt was only available in the two sizes. If folks are interested though we’ll continue to explore more variations. We’ve actually found that most of our theater goers and the animators we work with are quite fit and trim. I guess obsessive people have peculiar eating habits.

Hey, I was just wondering the full details on the IFC Center showings of Animation Show, like which filmmakers will be there and at what showings? Thanks!
Yours sincerely,
E

I think showtimes for the IFC won’t be 100% locked until a week ahead of time. I would guess a 7:00 (ish) and 9:30 (ish) showtimes. We’re really looking to blow things out for NYC with animator Q&A’s a few times a week during the run. We open on Friday July 25th with Dave Carter and the Animation Show squad in the house. This will be a Q&A to remember! I think Monday or Tuesday (July 28 or 29th) we’ll have PES out and I’m still trying to connect with Bill Plympton for something at the end of the week. We’ll shoot out a screening newsletter when tickets are ready to go onsale so sign up for the NYC letter.


I was wondering when the Portland, OR Animation Show will be opening?
Yours sincerely,
A

Good grief me too. The Cinema 21 in Portland has been our home on and off for the last six years and we really want to open there again with this show. But as a single screen they’re strapped down to the big studio’s whim for releases. The date we had back in June was pushed because of Mongol and now we’re hoping for fall. We’ll update when it’s a go.


is there going to be a Milwaukee show this year!!!!!
Yours sincerely,
S

There is going to be a Milwaukee show. Yes, yes! It’s looking like September 9th we’ll return to the Times Cinema. We’ll post up on the schedule page and send out a newsletter when that’s locked.


Do you have a link to the previous years website design with the waves? Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
S

Weird. No.


Where can I get posters for the 3rd and 4th Animation Show?
Thanks much -
G

San Diego Comic Con will be your next opportunity for show posters followed abruptly by e-bay I imagine.


Hi gang,
I recently saw a commercial on MTV2 for The Animation Show. It had a polar bear talking to a penguin in a living room. I thought it was great... do you know if that's an actual film?

Yep, the short you mention is called “John and Karen” by Matthew Walker and is currently touring in our Animation Show 4 program. Check out the schedule page for updates on when it’ll hit a city near you.


I went to Key Cinema, a small theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana and watched the new Animation Show #4. I like it, especially "The Unpaid Hooker" short. Because I like simple and funny. The paintball was also cool too, in a different way. Overall very nice! I am a fan of Beavis and Butt-Head, Aqua-Teen Hunger Force, much of the Adult Swim line-up, many South Park episodes, Ren and Stimpy adult etc, and enjoy some amateur projects like the cartoons on NewGrounds.com and HomestarRunner.com.
I have been thinking of making a computer animated cartoon series for a while. I am focusing on the character humor content more than the artistic graphic ability. So the simple shorts of the Animation Show volumes are inspiring to me!
Yours sincerely,
D

Thank you for writing D! Keep at it and send us a link or DVD if you get some headway on our series.


I have written you three times and still heard no response. I’m trying to reach Mike Judge for casting his new film. Attached are my headshot, resume and agents information. I would like to read for Dale or the Kenny. If you can not forward this to Mike you must notify me.
Regards,
B

God damn actors. I don’t even think “the Kenny” is a character in Mike’s new feature. We’re not connected at all to Mike’s current production so I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree. You get points for the pissy urgency though.


Hello!
I have a question, i'm from europe and want to buy The Animation Show box vol.1 & vol.2. Is it possible to get a European version of the DVD? otherwise it will not work on my DVD-player.

I’m afraid it isn’t. We’re not available on PAL. Our DVD will probably play on your computer DVD player but there aren’t currently plans for a world wide release. We gotta get folks here in the US to take a wider interest first, yahoo!

So Animation Show what’s next?
P

Travel, travel, Comic Con, travel, NYC, travel, sleep.. vacation.

Thank you all for your e-mails and comments folks. Sorry if we haven’t written you back directly. E-mail has become a daunting giant between travel, phone calls and everything else. If you have questions you can’t find an answer too though drop us a line and we’ll write back or post a response here in the news area.

Tuesday, July 8th

Steve Dildarian’s short film “Angry Unpaid Hooker” has caused quite a stir in our current touring program. There is dialog in this short that crawls into your head to wait and spring forth at inopportune moments. Lunch with family members: THEM “This coffee is so expensive” YOU “I know, half the blow job money is gone!”.. Ok, I’m not doing it justice but it’s damn funny stuff. Writer and archivist Taylor Jessen chatted with Steve recently and had this to share…

THE ANIMATION SHOW YEAR 4 Theatrical
Steve Dildarian
Animator, “Angry Unpaid Hooker” (2007)
Interviewer: Taylor Jessen
Date: 5/30/2008
Via phone from Los Angeles

Animation Show: A quick life story please, a short precis of where you’ve been and how you got to where you are now?

Steve Dildarian: Oh, I’ve always done advertising until recently – grew up in Jersey, went to Glassboro State and then School of Visual Arts in New York. I’ve forever been doing TV commercials, a lot of beer commercials. Budweiser’s been my main thing for a long time, and then through that, got some other opportunities, and started drawing, and then a bunch of different things that led me to making this short animated film. So, kind of series of events lead to me stumbling into animation by accident, almost.

AS: When did you say to yourself “Good grief, I gotta get into advertising” and when did you say “Hey look at me, I’m in advertising?”

SD: You know, honestly, I knew in high school that I was going to do comedy writing of some kind, and went to college actually to try to get into TV writing, then just kind of switched. I think it seemed more realistic for me to go to New York instead of L.A. at the time. So I thought advertising made sense, and before you know it, I started doing well in some of my classes. So in the back of my head, writing TV shows was always plan A, but once advertising kind of took off, it was hard to turn back. I started doing Little Caesar’s commercials when that was popular – “Pizza Pizza.” Then the Budweiser lizards thing caught on and that ran for years. So, you know, I was enjoying it enough, and getting enough creative freedom, where I never missed not doing TV. You know, a lot of the advertising I ended up doing was more like comedy writing and sketch writing. So I had no complaints.

AS: That’s really interesting that you felt more free. I mean, weren’t the client breathing down your neck at all?

Entire Interview here