Tuesday 27 August 2019

Getting Lippy

http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/671456375-skwigly-skwigly-podcast-92.mp3
In episode 92 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast we look back at 30 years of Lip Synch, the game-changing series of short films from Aardman Animations. A short film ‘package’ produced by Aardman for Channel 4 in 1989, Lip Synch expanded on the techniques used for earlier shorts series Animated Conversations and Conversation Pieces, consisting of five early outings for now-established directors: War Story, Going Equipped (Dir. Peter Lord), Ident (Dir. Richard Starzak), Next (Dir. Barry Purves) and the Oscar-winning Creature Comforts (Dir. Nick Park, later of Wallace and Gromit fame).
Following on from our 25th anniversary coverage, to mark the occasion special guest host Alex Dudok de Wit brings us an exclusive chat with Peter Lord, Barry Purves, David Sproxton and Richard 'Golly' Starzak.
Also discussed in this episode: The enduring legacy of the animation great Richard Williams – known for such industry milestones as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Animator’s Survival Kit and The Thief and the Cobbler – who sadly passed away this month.
Stream above or download here.

Friday 23 August 2019

Out in the world

https://ositio.com.br/eventos/o-sitio-apresenta-mostra-mumia/

A couple of quick screening updates as I sensed the world was proverbially chomping at the proverbial bit. Firstly Sunscapades will be getting itself another Brazilian outing at O Sítio Art and Technology in Florianopolis as part of a special presentation curated by the fine folks at the MUMIA Underground World Animation Festival, who previously screened the film in competition during their 16th edition last year. O Sítio Apresenta: Mostra Múmia takes place August 27th at 7:30pm and is free as free, so be sure to get your fine Brazilian posteriors over there.
https://sakhalinfilmfestival.ru/en/programma/2019/short-animation-for-adults/lapsus/

A rarer event these days is a public screening for our old pal Klementhro, who'll be paddling over to Russian shores in the nearer future for the Sakhalin International Film Festival: On The Edge. You can catch the film as part of the Short Animation For Adults screening at Komsomolets Hall 10:30pm this Sunday August 25th, then repeated at 5:30pm August 28th at the Chekhov Center.
That's all I got. Scram.

Tuesday 20 August 2019

Love, Death and Rabbits

http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/668215769-skwigly-intimate-animation-3-01.mp3
In the first episode of a brand new season of our podcast series Intimate AnimationLaura-Beth and I meet illustrator, animator and designer Caitlin McCarthy. Since graduating from Camberwell Caitlin’s work in illustration quickly expanded to experimental moving image projects and animation, ultimately leading to her involvement with London-based production studio Strange Beast – alongside such artists as previous podcast guest Anna Ginsburg. Having created animation for clients including VOW, Red Bull, School of Life, Nike and New York Public Library, Caitlin’s work also often deals with themes of love and intimacy, includes animated segments for The Female Orgasm, an episode of the Vox/Netflix production Explained as well as the independent short films Paraphilia and Coldsore, the latter of which will be screening at Bristol’s Encounters Festival next month.
Also discussed in this episode: The curiously short lifespan of Lisa Hanawalt's promising new adult animated sitcom Tuca and Bertie as well as ongoing Netflix shows Bojack Horseman, Big Mouth and Love Death + Robots. We also pay tribute to the late great animation legend Richard Williams, whose body of work includes bringing the iconic modern animation ‘bombshell’ Jessica Rabbit to life. Download here or stream above.
http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/222985464-skwigly-podcast-33.mp3 
On that subject it's been a very emotionally-charged couple of days seeing on social media just how impactful the work of Richard Williams has been and how many top-tier players in the industry owe a debt of gratitude to his work and legacy, from The Animator's Survival Kit to Who Framed Roger Rabbit and beyond.
I was enormously privileged to get to speak with him during my coverage of the Encounters Film Festival's 2015 edition at which he premiered Prologue, an Oscar/BAFTA-nominated offshoot of a continuing passion project made at his Aardman base where he spent his final years. This would sadly turn out to be his final appearance on the podcast, but as with all our interactions he was warm, witty, open and honest and I remain immensely grateful for the opportunity. We'll be discussing his work more in the next episode of the podcast but in the meantime I wanted to give this chat another share - again you can stream below or download here.
The last time I saw Richard in person was a year or so ago during a presentation of Aardman's character animation course graduates in which he gave a very impassioned speech about how impressed he was with their work, which I can only imagine made their decades.
He will not be forgotten anytime soon, that's for sure.