Tuesday, December 15, 2015

THR's Full, Uncensored Animation Roundtable 2015


Pete Docter (Inside Out), Steve Martino (The Peanuts Movie), Roger Allers (The Prophet), Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur), Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa), Richard Starzak (Shaun the Sheep Movie) talk filmmaking during The Hollywood Reporter's Animation Oscar Roundtable.



Monday, November 30, 2015

Talks at Google: The Peanuts Movie

Director Steve Martino, screenwriter Craig Schulz, and story artist Karen Disher stop by Google to talk about "The Peanuts Movie"



Monday, October 26, 2015

Dragon’s Lair: The Movie!




How amazing is this!!!



The Traditional Animation Show with Don Bluth & Gary Goldman

New Episode of The Traditional Animation Show is online!! In this episode we interview animation legends Don Bluth and Gary Goldman!! Find out about their past, present and future plans. This is Part 1 of 2. Part 2 coming soon with a special animation lesson by Don Bluth and a HUGE announcement!! Stay tooned!

Posted by Traditional Animation on Thursday, October 22, 2015

Don Bluth & Gary Goldman Interview - Part 2

Check out the final half of The Traditional Animation Show with Don Bluth and Gary Goldman!! Find out their AWESOME NEWS and get a professional lesson by Don Bluth himself animating Dirk the Daring from Dragon's Lair!!!

Posted by Traditional Animation on Sunday, October 25, 2015



Also check out

//  30th Anniversary of Dragon’s Lair – Don Bluth Exclusive



Thursday, October 22, 2015

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Scorsese on Scorsese (2004)



This documentary has been around for a long time but it's so good!


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

BBC Documentary: In Search of Steve Ditko (Co-Creator of Spider-Man)

Steve Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist and co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man. Below is the BBC documentary In Search of Steve Ditko. It highlights Ditko's influence and contributions to the comic book industry.

Also for more history and backstory check out DIAL B for BLOG's two part feature on Steve Ditko.

Part One /  If This Be My Ditko

Part Two / Doorway To The Unknown 













In Search of Steve Ditko (Part 1 of 7)

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Glen Keane: Future of StoryTelling 2015



The Future of StoryTelling (FoST) aims to answer this question by bringing together leaders from the worlds of media, technology, and communications to explore how stories are changing in the digital age.

// Future of StoryTelling Summit 

Also check out the vids on the FoST YouTube Channel




Wednesday, September 09, 2015

BBC Series: The Secret of Drawing

'This four part series, presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon, explores how drawing has shaped our lives. Join him to discover the history of drawing and its relevance to the modern world.' via BBC

View Episodes 1-4 here


// The Secret of Drawing

1: The Line of Enquiry
2: Storylines
3: All in the Mind
4: Drawing by Design




Tuesday, September 08, 2015

PBS Special: Walt Disney Life and Legacy (2015)



// American Experience: Walt Disney

'Coming to American Experience September 14 & 15 is the unprecedented look at the complex life and enduring legacy of one of America’s best-known storytellers – Walt Disney. Featuring rarely seen footage from the Disney archive, scenes from some of his greatest films, and interviews with biographers, animators and artists who worked on his early films, as well as the designers who helped turn his dream of Disneyland into reality, this two-night, four-hour film reveals the makings of the man who would leave an indelible mark on our nation’s cultural history.' via PBS




Clip: Working for Walt Disney




Also worth a read:

// Displaced Disney Tech Worker: How They Replaced Me, Other Americans, With Cheap Foreigners On H1B Visas



Friday, September 04, 2015

Mad Max: Fury On Four Wheels


Back in 2011 when I was working on Happy Feet 2 at Dr.D Studios in Sydney I got a chance to see George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road pre-production presentation for Warner Bros. It was set up in a large room in a corner of the studio for a few weeks. On display were some of the concept vehicle models (including the large War Rig model that's in the vid), character model sheets from Weta Workshop and various props. They also had 17mins of test footage on loop showing some of the dramatic stunts and choreography for one of the chase sequences. It was an amazing presentation and quite a juxtaposition with dancing penguins we were currently animating!









Check out concept artist Christian Pearce's Deadly Sleds


// Deadly Sleds




Monday, August 24, 2015

Inspiration of the Day: 'Entreat Me Not to Leave You' by Dan Forrest

We draw inspiration from many things but music for me is at the very top of the list. Today I listened to two amazing works by contemporary composer Dan Forrest. They are super inspiring and will definitely move your heart and spirit. My Dad who sings in the Knoxville (TN) Choral Society actually introduced me to Forrest's music a few years ago. His choir has performed a number pieces by the composer.


"Entreat Me Not to Leave You" by Dan Forrest / Performed by University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Concert Choir




"Good Night, Dear Heart" by Dan Forrest  / Performed by The Bel Canto Company Choir (Piano played by Dan Forrest)


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Career Advice from Bryan Cranston

Here's some solid tough love career advice from Bryan Cranston. These nuggets of wisdom are not only for aspiring actors but apply to all artists especially animators/vfx. His closing comment at the 4:10 mark is gold... what I've been saying for years.



Wednesday, August 12, 2015

New Website Dedicated to the History of Illustration



The Norman Rockwell Museum has just launched a new website History of Illustration. It is a dedicated resource that covers a wide range of artists and genres.



Saturday August 15th the Norman Rockwell Museum will be live streaming the launch party on YouTube here:

// History of Illustration Website Launch Party