First things first - Radio 1 debutedFaith No More's new single 'Superhero' last night. This is the one I've been most vocal about being on tenterhooks to hear - having been at its first ever live performance last year - and it's so unbelievably goddamn great the English language frankly comes up pathetically short when it comes to existing adjectives that might describe how utterly elated I am.
Their new LP Sol Invictus (their first since 1997) isn't out until mid-May, so fingers crossed my skull doesn't pop in anticipation before then.
Another reason to be cheerful was discovering my animation had made an unexpected appearance on The Anthony Cumia Show when my old O&A/Jim Norton short (the dancing chicken one) recently got played by accident. To my relief it got a good response, have a watch here my friends:
While I'm still typing things I'll point you in the direction of Skwigly where fellow cartoon-making personage Matt Walker has done this month's site banner:
Matt Walker
Also worth mentioning the other two excellent 2015 banners, Rumpus for January and Tony Johnson for February. Talented bunch we're amongst, us Skwigly lot:
What, you never seen two celebrities chippin' about or sumthin'? Tssst.
This is myself and Lyle 'Chip' Chipperson, international sensation. After a superlative set of his in Montreal this past weekend I managed to get a quick snap with the brilliant comedian and performer Jim Norton, known for his standup, The Opie and Anthony Show and, of course, this animation I did back in 2011:
He's lost a lot of weight since then (from "gahn t'the jahm'n ate'n beh-tehr") so if I ever have time to do another one I'll have to redesign his character to have a neck.
O&A has been a background staple of my working life since 2008 and, as some may be aware, it appears to be no more after Anthony Cumia fell prey to the media hypocrisies they've so astutely ridiculed over the years and got his over-passionately-tweeting self fired. I could rant about it but many others have voiced my exact issues with far more articulacy and wit than I could, especially magical man-giant and all-around top bloke Penn Jillette:
Sad times. But I got to meet Chip regardless, and Ant's starting a new show on August 4th which I expect will be pretty decent, so the world appears to still be turning.
It's been many moons since I last updated my showreel, being distracted by the very employment it led to. Deep, eh?
I may have also been distracted by Breaking Bad a little bit. And, far more alarmingly, Catfish. But I'm all out of episodes for both, so unless I overcome my violent aversion to the voice of the narrator and fall into a destructive spiral of Come Dine With Me reruns, my time has freed up a bit.
The last few years I've updated the same reel by swapping old, ropey footage for new, swanky footage, keeping the main structure intact. Having been assured by many previous and prospective employers alike that it was overlong by at least a minute, this time around I redid the entire reel from scratch to get a concentrated 90 seconds of my absolute favourite shots:
Consequently I had to be pretty ruthless, and a lot of the earlier films of mine - House Guest, Ground Running, The Naughty List and my ode to Opie & Anthony Chicken Chokes You - have been whittled down to a few seconds of footage each - ol' zombie duck barely gets a look-in nowadays. After a hideous commission that started the year off (represented above only with a fleeting, modified shot of a cat running - nothing else from that doomed project need ever see the light of day) I've had a pretty good year of short commercial projects as well as the ongoing HuHa webisodes which, coupled with my love affair with Toon Boom, have been a great shot in the arm and give the reel a lot more stylistic range. Other projects thrown in the mix include work for Channel 4, Slurpy Studios, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and New Impulse Media. I'm still holding back on the Bullies footage as, even though it's all animated and awaiting a distribution plan of action, for the time being I want to keep it under wraps until the final version's been seen in full at least a couple of times. Some HuHa clips represent the same animation style so it'd be somewhat superfluous anyway.
I also wrote the music specifically for the reel, I wanted something quite punchy with a simple enough 4/4 to make effectively editing the clips a bit easier. At the moment the piece is merely titled "Hire Me Already" and features some nods to a certain band I may have professed to admiring once or twice.
For no other reason than I have a YouTube channel, it's also up on my YouTube channel. So if, for whatever reason, your machine or device or doodad doesn't like Vimeo you can watch it there instead:
I figured the expiry date on my first two
films has been up for awhile and it’s a bit daft that I don’t have official
full versions of them online. Especially as my third has been up for nearly a
year. Granted, that was the only one that had any real demand I suppose, but I
don’t want it to get lonely, resent me and not take care of me in my old age.
That’s just too meta and weird.
Sooo anyway, you can now watch my first
film “House Guest” (2008) in full HD (although the first-season-of-“Beavis-and-Butt-Head”-quality-linework
is treated far kinder by these little SD blog windows):
Strange to think that
this blog started as part of the UWE MA the film was made for. Four years on
I’m still inexplicably not heralded
as the Winsor McCay of the 21st century. Wuddup wi’dat, yo’s?
My second film was “Ground Running” (2009),
most of the animation for which was done very shortly after “House Guest”, then
it pottered around a couple fests in pencil-test format for a year or so before
I added some bits and coloured it in the following year. I never really pushed
this film because by the time it was finally done it didn’t really line-up with
my artistic direction (if that’s what you can call it). Both these films are
pretty rough for me to watch but there’s the odd moment here and there I’m
quite proud of. "Ground Running" from Ben Mitchell on Vimeo.
And what the hell, just as a reminder
here’s film #3, “The Naughty List” (2010):
Quick TV plug - if for some reason Vimeo is
acting up in Spain and you simply can’t last a week without seeing it, the next
broadcast by those lovely people at Canal+ Xtra HD will be this coming Sunday 7th
at 6am. So either get up extra early or stay up extra late.
Finally, while 2011 was pretty much
work/“Throat”-centric, I did manage to whip up this mini-short out of my love
for O&A. This one’s also been up for a while but at this point I may as
well just make this entry a retrospective.
All being well, 2012 will indeed be the
year I finally finish production on “Bullies”. Then the whole torturous quest
for validation may begin once more.
Ah, it's all good. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it so much.
A week after going up, "Chicken Chokes You" has amassed 1000+ views across YouTube and Vimeo. In the world of online video that's obviously a mere drop in the ocean but for me it represents a big leap forward. While it's admittedly riding the coattails of Yimmy and the b-b-boys, the feedback regarding the animation itself has been really encouraging. Many thanks again to everyone who passed it on, yellow treats for all! To karmically balance out the universe following a week of vainglorious self-promotion, here are a bunch of other O&A animations from a while back that stand out to me. I'd say it's a safe bet that very few of these are safe for work:
There, that dirty feeling's starting to abate now...
The Vimeo version has a couple bits edited out to keep it 'general audience' and not alienate potential employers and clients. But for the thick-skinned there is also an unedited Youtube version which has already garnered a bunch of views and kind words. If you enjoy it please be a dear and Tweet/share/like/comment/endorse liberally. So endeth the tale of my Li'l Yimmy cartoon. Coincidentally I learned today that he has a new standup album 'Despicable' coming out on the 8th, there's no way it won't be good so I'd advise you check it out:
Here's the last batch of stills from "Chicken Chokes You" before the finished film goes up (knock wood it'll be done in the next day or so). I'm in the last-stretch, sleep-as-little-as-possible stage of production, which will inevitably lead to a crippling anticlimax depression once I'm finished. Nature of the beast, but this has been a real blast the last few weeks.
More stills from "Chicken Chokes You", the O&A animation I'm barreling through these days: The action alternates between Jim Norton (with Opie and Anthony) in studio, and the story he's telling in which he, as a farmer, is thwarted by poultry. It's like a very condensed "Chicken Run". The main visual references for putting together the studio assets and backgrounds come from Opie's Youtube channel where he posts segments and appearances he films himself. This one, in which Jimmy presents his idol (and mine) Ozzy Osbourne with 18lbs worth of birthday gifts is possibly the greatest thing that's ever happened ever, in the history of ever. Enjoy!
I'm aiming to have my O&A animation done by the beginning of March and things are looking good, schedule-wise. Unexpectedly, given that I started it as kind of a goof, looking at the finished shots as they come in I'm happy to say this has some of the best animation I've ever done. I know I'm still in the adolescence of my career but there are shots here and there that really seem to be a tremendous leap forward visually. It's a good sign for the feasibility of my next planned traditional animation short 'Everything Esther', which is a long way from even beginning production but this experience has rendered it considerably less daunting. Here are some stills:
Everyone who's familiar with Jim Norton knows he's just adorable. He's the only person on Earth who can pick up trannies or engage in watersports and make said activities seem cute and endearing. He's also known for projecting a dysmorphic self-image that makes my own seem buff and masculine by comparison (which is no mean feat). So the Yimmy character design is more a visualisation of this grotesquerie than an actual caricature of the man himself. Anyway, here's the lovable scamp in action. The last couple of shots are a nod to Chris Reccardi, one of the more visually daring post-John K "Ren & Stimpy" directors. That's all you get for today. I'm sure you'll find the emotional resources to muddle through.
Here are some line tests for "Norton & Friends", my O&A animation. As with my three prior shorts I'm going the longer route of pencils-on-paper rather than tablets. I just prefer the process and I don't have to compromise my style this way, plus I don't really have a deadline so fuggit.Here are a batch of atypical walk cycles. Right now it kinda looks like they're skating but it'll hopefully make sense in the final composited shot.Again, out of context this one's a little hard to fathom but it's strangely hypnotic. Some quick cutaways: The last one I'm really happy with, especially given that I have no idea how chickens move and I can't dance for shit. I rarely animate on 'ones' (25 frames-per-second as opposed to 12.5) but in this case I reckon the fluidity of movement suits the pacing of the short. More, less chicken-ey, more Jimmy-ey tests next.
More on my radio show animation project, with the working title "Chicken Chokes You". The clip I'm animating is from "The Opie & Anthony Show", undoubtedly SiriusXM's best program in terms of relevance and unfiltered humour. Growing from borderline-unlistenable roots as a 'shock jock' double act, it's morphed into a uniquely authentic outlet for political debate, social satire and theoretical musings interspersed with molestation humour and ridiculing the less fortunate.The duo consist of former nice-guy-doormat-turned-embittered-sociopath Greg Hughes (Opie) along with former tin-knocker-turned-casually-racist-cradlesnatcher Anthony Cumia. Their third mic is standup comedian Jim Norton, with whom I'd been vaguely familiar through his collabs with Louis CK and Lewis Black when I first saw him perform at a charity benefit at Gotham in New York a few years back. I subsequently became a huge follower of his books, performances and O&A in general.I'd say the show's initial appeal was its ability to hit nerves with me that I'd assumed a quarter-century of bitter douchebaggery had eroded, but the more I listened the more I felt a legitimate affinity with what they were doing. It's the same fundamental comfort that I take from hearing performers like Doug Stanhope (as well as the aforementioned CK and Black) that beneath the unending bullshit we're fed by the media in all its forms there are a small handful of people who are scathingly honest. Or, more likely, their opinions and thought processes just happen to coincide with mine, which of course makes them geniuses. I think that's how it works. Ironically the audio I picked to animate is Jim Norton's 'light' side at work, hilarious when juxtaposed against his usual brutal tirades and confessions of sexual deviancy. I'm not entirely sure how the short will play out of this context, but here's the original audio (thanks to kennethjohnali for uploading the clip):
The show has previously shown a lot of enthusiasm for fan-made animation, holding their own animation festival back in '08 and encouraging some really gifted creatives such as Allthingsmedia and the staggeringly prolific, Terry Gilliam-esque Cokelogic. So if I'm gonna follow through on this I really want to be proud of the result beyond just having some new showreel footage. Watch this space.
Thrown into the mix of day-to-day work, funding applications and self-promotion I'm working on a micro short that'll hopefully scratch my itch to keep on with the traditional 2D stuff. Given that my next short 'Bullies' will be far more contemporary (read: economical) and less in the vein of my usual style, I wanted to take something on that would keep me practiced and possibly give me an excuse to venture into looser, Kricfalusi/Clampett-esque animation. I'll elaborate further in the coming weeks but for now I'll just say it's set to audio from a radio show that I listen to a lot when I work so I figured it'd be logical to tie the two together. Here are some rough sketches and layouts:
A week after going up, "Chicken Chokes You" has amassed 1000+ views across YouTube and Vimeo. In the world of online video that's obviously a mere drop in the ocean but for me it represents a big leap forward. While it's admittedly riding the coattails of Yimmy and the b-b-boys, the feedback regarding the animation itself has been really encouraging. Many thanks again to everyone who passed it on, yellow treats for all!
Everyone who's familiar with Jim Norton knows he's just adorable. He's the only person on Earth who can pick up trannies or engage in watersports and make said activities seem cute and endearing. He's also known for projecting a dysmorphic self-image that makes my own seem buff and masculine by comparison (which is no mean feat). So the Yimmy character design is more a visualisation of this grotesquerie than an actual caricature of the man himself. Anyway, here's the lovable scamp in action.
Here are a batch of atypical walk cycles. Right now it kinda looks like they're skating but it'll hopefully make sense in the final composited shot.
Again, out of context this one's a little hard to fathom but it's strangely hypnotic.
More on my radio show animation project, with the working title "Chicken Chokes You". The clip I'm animating is from "The Opie & Anthony Show", undoubtedly SiriusXM's best program in terms of relevance and unfiltered humour. Growing from borderline-unlistenable roots as a 'shock jock' double act, it's morphed into a uniquely authentic outlet for political debate, social satire and theoretical musings interspersed with molestation humour and ridiculing the less fortunate.
The duo consist of former nice-guy-doormat-turned-embittered-sociopath Greg Hughes (Opie) along with former tin-knocker-turned-casually-racist-cradlesnatcher Anthony Cumia. Their third mic is standup comedian Jim Norton, with whom I'd been vaguely familiar through his collabs with Louis CK and Lewis Black when I first saw him perform at a charity benefit at Gotham in New York a few years back. I subsequently became a huge follower of his books, performances and O&A in general.
I'd say the show's initial appeal was its ability to hit nerves with me that I'd assumed a quarter-century of bitter douchebaggery had eroded, but the more I listened the more I felt a legitimate affinity with what they were doing. It's the same fundamental comfort that I take from hearing performers like Doug Stanhope (as well as the aforementioned CK and Black) that beneath the unending bullshit we're fed by the media in all its forms there are a small handful of people who are scathingly honest. Or, more likely, their opinions and thought processes just happen to coincide with mine, which of course makes them geniuses. I think that's how it works.
Thrown into the mix of day-to-day work, funding applications and self-promotion I'm working on a micro short that'll hopefully scratch my itch to keep on with the traditional 2D stuff. Given that my next short 'Bullies' will be far more contemporary (read: economical) and less in the vein of my usual style, I wanted to take something on that would keep me practiced and possibly give me an excuse to venture into looser, Kricfalusi/Clampett-esque animation. I'll elaborate further in the coming weeks but for now I'll just say it's set to audio from a radio show that I listen to a lot when I work so I figured it'd be logical to tie the two together.
