That 'monthly roundup' idea didn't pan out, did it?

I've been kinda quiet 'cause, well, shucks, I don't have a whole lot to say these days. I'll rattle off some general updates to keep this site from going into atrophy.

The epic, protracted journey of Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires has reached its conclusion (some five years after I joined the film's post-production team in its latter months) with a suitably-retro home media release. I don't really buy blurays, except for the occasional animation one, but the sheer strength of craft that went into this is a pretty good justification to pick it up and by some accounts I've read this version looks a little nicer than its streaming alternatives.

Another journey's end worth mentioning is my stint with the fine folks at Shy Guys Studios wrapping up after four-and-a-bit years. It's probably the longest I've been at one place (albeit while juggling a ton of other gigs on the side, as my gluttony for punishment dictates) and it led to some really fun projects including graphics and titles for a bunch of TV shows, animation for educational/health films (the one above was a lot of fun) and my most recent film Speed which managed to tick a few more festival selections off my personal wishlist. As with all the best gigs the real highlight was the people I got to meet through it and I hope we'll manage to work alongside one another again down the line.

Elsewhere the world of Emojitown is growing like gangbusters, having just hit a million followers on its main YouTube channel and over 125k on its more recent TikTok channel. I've been working with WildBrain Spark as a consultant and contributing director/producer on its social media shorts which have accrued a stunning 250+ million views since the end of last year. It's a pretty incredible thing to see this kind of response to a brand new IP, so fingers crossed things continue as it's been a fun world to be a part of and occasionally inject my weirdness into.

Things are still active and busy over in the land of Skwigly (I certainly post there a lot more than I do here) with some National Film Board of Canada/Annecy coverage highlights including a chat with Métis filmmaker Terril Calder (Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics) and conversation with multi-Oscar-nominated duo Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby (When the Day Breaks, Wild Life and The Flying Sailor). Also in competition at Annecy is Magical Caresses, an NFB series on demystifying masturbation by Le Clitoris director Lori Malépart-Traversy, who returns to our podcast Intimate Animation to discuss the project. Stream below or download here. 

Other coverage to check out includes an interview with Hamish Steele who recently adapted his progressive YA graphic novel series Deadendia into a new Netflix show Dead End: Paranormal Park (some brilliantly talented folks worked on this one), Laura-Beth's interview with Sam O'Leary, who did an incredible job paying tribute to the shit-your-pants-scary animated PSAs of yore in the series 7 finale of Inside No. 9 (cheers to Mr. Shearsmith for the RT), a trifecta of interviews for Autism Awareness Month with Jorge R. Gutiérrez, Dani Bowman and Grainne McGuinness courtesy of writer Martyn Warren and new contributor Ryan Gaur's editorial pieces on streaming vs cinema, the upcoming Futurama reboot and the feature film Lightyear.

Ryan joins the latest episode of the Skwigly Animation Podcast with a segment interviewing Lightyear director Angus MacLane and producer Galyn Susman. We also feature a chat between Laura-Beth and director/writer Loren Bouchard, co-director Bernard Derriman and co-writer/producer Nora Smith of The Bob's Burgers Movie. Again, it's streamable below and here's your download link, ya lucky so-and-so.

I think that's all the talk-about-ables for now. This summer might see things get a bit less quiet as there are a bunch of project announcements on the horizon, so, y'know, stay mildly alert.

Roundup: February 2022

My pals at the Manchester Animation Festival have kicked off a new series of year-round social/screening events MAF Presents, which began earlier this month with their first programme They Love Me, They Love Me Not that kindly featured my latest film Speed. If you're up North be sure to keep your eyes on their site and socials for updates on upcoming events as I'm sure you're itching to get back into the swing of that whole human contact thang.

On a similar note, the wonderful Cardiff Animation Nights gang have resumed their in-person events as well as carrying on the online screenings they started during the pandemic, so be sure to follow what they're up to as well. Even more exciting is the return of the Cardiff Animation Festival, whose third edition will take place at their usual Chapter Arts venue April 7th-10th, knock wood, with an online version going through to the 24th. There'll be more specific programme info to come but in the meantime I can confirm I'll be there to host the filmmaker Q&As and Laura-Beth Cowley's recent project Crafty Witch is among the festival's official selection as part of the Shorts 7: After Dark category. Pop it in your schedules!

Also on the events front, the biennial British Animation Awards - on which I mucked in as preselector/jury - will be happening on March 10th at the BFI Southbank with signal events in Bristol, Cardiff, Salford and Stirling if a Thursday night trek to London isn't doable but you still want to check out the festivities. All being well I'll be at the main event so hopefully will see some of y'all in the big smoke; I won't hug you but we can affectionately exchange finger-guns. Otherwise be sure to check out their site for the various viewing and ticket options they have.

Before any of that will be Speed's inclusion as part of Anima Brussels next weekend. Since the announcement of the official selection I now know it will be part of the second Animated Nights block on Saturday, March 5th, kicking off at 10pm in Flagey Studio 4 and 10:30pm at Palace. I'm properly gutted that I won't be able to make it in person as seeing Sunscapades as part of the same programme a couple years ago was an absolute blast, but right now the faff of getting in and out of Belgium would just be too disruptive to make it feasible. Fingers crossed I'll make it back over there before too long.

Following on from last month's UK streaming release of Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires, it will be traveling further afield as of March 1st with its arrival on streaming platforms in the US, Canada and Australia. It's a job I have a lot of fond associations with and it's really nice that all the hard work the crew put into it will get some wider visibility. Check out what viewing options are available to you here.

Over on Skwigly I've delved a bit further into the production of the incredible Netflix film The House (the directors of which I interviewed last month) via an interview with Nexus Studios producer/co-founder Charlotte Bavasso. As well as discussing the film itself we also go into the early days of the studio and what the future may hold - it was a real treat to chat with her and I hope you find her insights as inspirational as I did.

Having been out of print for a little while I'm pleased to see that We Still Care A Lot, the tribute album I contributed to in honour of the late Chuck Mosley, has finally gotten itself a digital release. You can check out the full album over on Bandcamp.

Not a whole bunch else I can explicitly talk about but if you happen to be one of those trendy youngsters who lurk about on TikTok you might want to go ahead and follow this little IP that's on the grow. The keen of ear may even detect a familiar vocal performance in the video below:

Finally, these pipes have gone viral.