Massive kudos to the ever-brilliant Aaron Wood
for the fantastic overhaul of the site. Why,
it's the perfect excuse to get all caught up on our Skwigly-doings! Including: Episode 71 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast, where Steve and I discuss the next Manchester Animation Festival, Klementhro's divisive online reception and the enticing visuals of Cuphead. As always it is but mere blathering pre-amble to our brilliant guest, who in this episode happens to be Father and Daughter director Michaël Dudok de Wit chatting about his superb, 2D animated (mostly) feature The Red Turtle, out now in UK cinemas. Stream below (or download):
Also up now is episode 3 of Intimate Animation: Season 2, in which Laura-Beth and I ponder Annecy's upcoming Tribute to Erotica, reminisce about melted shoes and we welcome Canadian comic artist/filmmaker Diane Obomsawin. Diane's recent film J'aime les filles (I Like Girls) is a somewhat abridged adaptation of her graphic novel that visually recounts stories of various women’s affection for other women. The film won the Grand Prize for Independent Animated Short at last year's OIAF and will be screening as part of the Official Selection for Annecy 2017 later this month, as well as at Animafest Zagreb next week. Again, stream below (or, again, download):
Check it all out at http://www.skwigly.co.uk - bookmark it, share it, tell friends and foe alike!
So funny story.
Back when I was in uni, when I wasn't recording nightmarishly cringey songs I was recording actual nightmares.
I didn't say it was a 'funny ha-ha' story.
At any rate, I was in full-on thrall to the oeuvre of one Mr. David Lynch, as I think is somewhat obligatory to a certain percentage of all creative arts students, and that naturally bled into my own work in the midst of my fumblings at some sort of individual artistic direction.
Now the return of Twin Peaks is imminent and in celebration I've reached back 15 odd years and pulled out some aural horror for you all to enjoy. Presenting for a limited time: Lodge Coffee!
The tracks featured on this release originally appeared as bridging soundscapes between the main album tracks on the presently-out-of-print first Struwwelpeter LP You're All So Precious, recorded and released in 2003.
They were created using a variety of digital and analogue techniques as a tribute to the sound design and composition work of such talents as
Alan Splet, Angelo Badalamenti and Lynch himself, taking particular inspiration from the soundtracks to Eraserhead and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
Sleep well!
Crikey, what a week. The first few days of the new job have been quite splendid, although the studio is a ways away so I have very little time to do anything bloggy around the commute. It's all more than worth it, however, and I'm really looking forward to talking more about it when it's released and I'm contractually able to, which will be a little while so hold tight.
When last we spoke, one-sided conversation as ours often tend to be, I'd just launched Klementhro online. On certain sites, it appears to have gone down well:
On others, less so:
While I'd concede Gizmodo commenters are perhaps not the film's target demographic I do have to side with them on the whole ghost-not-being-sarcastic thing.
At any rate it got the film some unexpected visibility which has largely been a positive. Most of all I'm delighted to say that it got picked for Short of the Week which I consider a genuine honour - for obvious reasons I keep abreast of a fair few blogs and shorts curation sites and SOTW has been consistently top-notch since it first began, so many sincere thanks to the team and especially Rob for the lovely write-up (also bonus points for being the first person to my knowledge - including me - to ever actually count the logs).
I mentioned in the last post that there was an upcoming screening next month, which will take place at The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick for Short Sighted Cinema's one-day film festival The Shortest Nights. The screening that features Klementhro will be Outlands and takes place at noon on Sunday June 18th. I'll still be in Annecy that day so can't swing by myself but it looks like a great event so check it out, why doncha?
I'm not sure how to end this largely self-congratulatory post so I'll just embed the latest teaser for the new Twin Peaks. I had nothing to do with it, I'm just excited about it.
In the past week on Skwigly there have been a couple of long-overdue (in so much as they're about people I've wanted to feature for a fair few years now) pieces gone up that are both worth sharing. Firstly I've posted up a Q'n'A with Dutch animator Joost Lieuwma of Frame Order. I first met Joost back in 2011 for that year's edition of ITFS Stuttgart, where my film The Naughty List was playing out of competition. That particular trip turned out to be a turning point in several ways - it yielded my first Skwigly features, something that's obviously become a major part of my life, and started a chain of events that got my film in the hands of one my biggest industry heroes, in front of an Annecy audience and, eventually, on TV. Those aside I have a very clear memory of how the quality of the work playing in competition deeply inspired me, far more so than any other festival had up to that point. Among said films was Joost's hilarious and brilliant exercise in simplicity Things You'd Better Not Mix Up, and as the year's passed he'd continue to make equally wonderful work such as Leaving Home, How Dave and Emma Got Pregnant and Panic! (co-directed by Daan Velsink) which I was honoured to see screening alongside my last film Klementhro when I finally made it back to Stuttgart last year. Since then Joost has been knocking out a series of brilliant micro-shorts called Cartoon-Box, one of which will be playing at Stuttgart tomorrow (alas I didn't have anything to submit to this year's edition but knock wood Sunscapades will make the grade in 2018). Have a read of the interview here and treat yourself to some of his work, you won't regret it.
Another feature you should have a read of is Laura-Beth's recent conversation with Bristol-based director Emma Lazenby. Emma's work, generally centered around medical subjects (although she recently served as Art Director on the recent Disney series Nina Needs to Go! that some other buddies of mine worked on) has always proved to be thoughtful, charming and a great example of how animation can be used to put across more sensitive topics without necessarily being stoic or clinical. Back in 2010 her ArthurCox/Channel 4 film Mother of Many deservedly won itself a BAFTA and it remains a particularly strong marriage of visuals (with some uncompromisingly non-cinematic yet accessible depictions of childbirth and midwifery) and sound, boasting a wonderful percussive soundtrack by David Schweitzer.
Since then she has gone on to form ForMed Films, other films of note including One of a Kind, A Little Deep Sleep and My Mum's Got a Dodgy Brain. In the interview - which you can read here - Emma also talks a bit about her upcoming project Perinatal Positivity for which she'll be raising funds over the next few weeks. Learn more about how you can get involved by giving the video a watch below:
Then in the evening I'll be joining Steve for another edition of the Skwigly Animation Quiz, where teams are invited to put civility and decorum to one side as they pillage the prize table in as vicious and depraved a manner as possible. The quiz is free but you might want to book a ticket to make sure there's a space for ya - also worth mentioning that it will now take place at 8:15pm rather than 7pm as I'd originally stated on here.
Also among the various screenings are some brilliant films by recent Skwigly interviewees and general animation chums such as Kim Noce, Anete Melece, Sara Barbas, Chris Shepherd, Liam Harris, Luc Gut and many more, so be sure to check out the full programme. We'll be milling in and around Chapter over the Saturday and Sunday so if you see us come say hello.
Don't forget that a week today, in celebration of Saturday being the film's 100th screening, Klementhro will debut online! Keep 'em peeled.
Australian animation director and designer
Alex Grigg has produced work for clients such as Super Deluxe, Netflix
and Cartoon Network. Presently working at Mighty Nice in Sydney, Alex’s
independent work includes the multi-award-winning Ghost Stories contribution Phantom Limb.
The podcast also features exclusive insight about the independent production approaches for the anthology from other participating talents:
Charles is a Pennsylvania-based freelance
animator. As well as his involvement with the Late Night Work Club, he
was recently involved with fellow LNWC founder Scott Benson‘s indie game project Night in the Woods.
Having received an MFA in Experimental
Animation from the California Institute of the Arts and a BFA from the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Sean has since worked on
projects including We Are Your Friends, Consuming Spirits and the Annie Award-winning animated sequences of He Named Me Malala. Alonside his independent films he has worked with clients including Disney Channel, MTV, Arctic Monkeys, VH1 and Adult Swim.
Since receiving a BFA and MFA from CalArts
for Experimental Animation, LA-based animator Jeanette has gone on to
programme and participate in festivals including Slamdance, Platform,
KLIK!, Fantoche and the Los Angeles Film Festival. In 2014 her student
film Trusts & Estates was nominated for an Annie Award. On
top of her independent film work Jeanette is also the Co-Founder,
Director and Artistic Director of the GLAS Animation Festival.
Presently living and working in France as
an illustrator, animator and VJ, Louise Philia Druelle (AKA Loup
Blaster) grew up in Calais and studied animation at ESAAT and Volda
University College. In March 2012 she started BBBLASTER, an illustration, animation and music project.
Nicolas moved to the UK from Montreal to study at the Royal College of Art where he produced the popular student films Somewhere and Loop Ring Chop Drink.
During his career he has worked with dozens of clients including
Google, la Cinémathèque Québécoise, Universal and Time magazine. He also
works as a director at Nexus.
Thanks muchly to all the brilliant interviewees for their time and insight, as well as composers Skillbard and David Kamp for the use of their music in the episode. Don't forget that the Independent Animation book itself is available to buy now from pretty much everywhere else that sells books - though at the time of writing you can get it direct from CRC Press with 20% off plus free shipping!
The various dedicated Faith No More blogs I keep track of have let me know that the band's second (though often presumed first) album Introduce Yourself is a sobering thirty years old today.
I have a special fondness for this one, primarily as it was the first full album of theirs I ever bought (roughly 21 years ago) but also because, despite predating the era of the band where they teetered on mainstream fame, it genuinely boasts some of the best songs they ever wrote, at times reaching the same musical heights as their magnum opus Angel Dust.
To mark the occasion here's me foolishly attempting to cover one of said tracks onstage a few years back in loving tribute:
I was blessed enough to meet singer Chuck Mosley when he played in a Bristol a few months ago and treated us to an acoustic medley of songs from Introduce Yourself (as well as a fantastically bizarre instance of him covering the Mike Patton-era Faith No More track 'Take This Bottle').
Cheers to my boy Lee for taking what will be one of my favourite photos probably until I die.
Not really much else to say other than enthuse that if you've never encountered it before why not go ahead and treat yourself to a listen?
As some may recall, last yearKlementhro followed in the footsteps of its predecessors Ground Running and The Naughty List by getting itself screened at the Skepto International Film Festival. I've just been informed by the lovely folks over there that it will screen again on April 29th for a special pre-festival 'Best of 2016' event in Sassari, North Sardinia. Exact venue/time info a-comin' soon.
As a little bonus bit of good news, these recent additions to the upcoming screenings means that, come the film's appearance at the Cardiff Independent Film Festival in May, it will have cleared 100 public screenings, which was my self-set target to hit before putting the film online. So assuming nothing changes in the interim, the date it goes up will be Monday May 8th. Pencil it in, people - this time Klementhro's coming to you!
Some updates to brighten an actually-quite-sunny-already weekend. Sunscapades is making slow but encouragingly steady progress. I've been blessed with having some absolutely fantastic background and close-ups painters who've really been helping to nail that 90s series vibe I'm going for with it. If you want to keep up with how it's coming together and get some sneaky peeks as they go up you can now follow me on Instagram. Here's a wee smattering of the goods you can come to expect:
It's also worth reminding y'all that there's a Skwigly Instagram that's been set up for a while now so if you're in a followin' mood then why not get in on that too.
Speakin' o' Skwigly, the end of March officially marked five years of the Skwigly Animation Podcast. It's been quite a half-decade, with co-host Steve and myself amassing literally days' worth of exclusive interviews and insights from the best and brightest of the animation industry. So naturally to mark the occasion I've put together a selection of bits where it's just the two of us pissing about in between interviews.
Traipse down memory lane in this compilation of conversational “highlights” including:
The second season of mine and Laura-Beth Cowley's more recent Skwigly podcast series Intimate Animation is continuing on also, with Kim Noce of Mew Labjoining us for episode 2. Since graduating from the NFTS with her 2005 animated documentary short After,
Kim has gone on to direct eight independent shorts, seven commissioned
films for the BBC, C4 and the BFI among others, as well as ten animation
installations, including The Evening Her Mind Jumped Out of Her Head for Watford Borough Council. Recently Kim was among several directors commissioned to direct Love in Idleness for the Shakespeare400 Still Shakespeare
series. The films took inspiration from original research by Sally
Barnden and were produced in partnership with London Shakespeare Centre,
Film Club at Th1ng and Sherbet.
Also discussed in this episode is Kirsten Lepore's curious new film Hi Stranger, made for the second Late Night Work Club anthology Strangers. Her contribution went viral in a big way a few weeks back and you can learn more about how it came together in my interview with her: Stranger Things: A Conversation with Kirsten Lepore
You can hear a longer version of the interview as well as more from the other Strangers contributors in a podcast special that will be going up soon (I'd originally planned to time it with a public screening event I'm involved in but as that's been pushed back until later in the year I'm aiming to get it up sooner) so watch this space.
In the meantime there's a new episode of my video interview series Lightbox in which I meet Kyle Carrozza, a nice fella whose frenetic contribution to the Cartoon Network series line-up Mighty Magiswords just made it to the UK this weekend. Have a watch and learn more about how it came together, it's quite interesting how its path to becoming a full series was a somewhat atypical one.
I know at this point you're all literally screaming "But what's happening with Klementhro?!" until your voice boxes are raw and bloody, so I'll put you out of your misery. I'm happy to report the film's getting a surprise screening in competition at Cortoons Festival Gandia. The festival takes place in Valencia, Spain and while I'm not 100% clear on the exact time and venue info just yet I can tell you it's held from April 27th to 30th and that my film will be part of the 1-4 minutes screening category. More when there's more.
Don't forget that shortly afterward it will screen on May 6th at 5:15pm as part of Cardiff Animation Nights' competition strand at the Cardiff Independent Film Festival at Chapter. Immediately afterwards at 7pm Steve and I will be hosting one of our inimitable Skwigly Animation Quizzes that are always good fun, so be sure to check that out also.
That morning Laura-Beth's new film Boris-Noris (on which I helped out hither and thither) will also be playing at CIFF as part of the Animated Family Shorts screenings put together by Cloth Cat. Keep your eyes on the online program in the coming weeks for more specifics and ticket info. The film has had a great start so far, already having screened in the States and the UK with other upcoming screenings including 7 Petits Cailloux (Tinqueux, France) and Zlín Film Festival (Kudlov, Czech Republic).
Eef, that was a big one. Okay folks, go back to enjoying your Sunday.
