Animation and Media Con Returns for Second Year

con-X-treme is taking a "kitchen sink approach" to attract fans of videogames, genre movies, anime and related media, so there’s likely something that would be of interest to CableCartoon readers as well. Some of the proceedings include:

Portfolio Review - Aspiring artists can have industry guests review their work; Workshops - Where attendees learn Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3), After Effects, Flash, Final Cut Pro, Special Fx, Poser, 3D modeling, creating Manga, etc. in a hands-on lab environment; Charity Auction - A fun celebrity-hosted auction of products and services from the animation community; Gaming - Play a variety of tabletop, roleplaying, board games, console games, or take part in sanctioned trading card tournaments; Cosplay - With three flavors of cosplay to join in; Art Show - Fan present wonderful artwork and works of multimedia greatness to the public; Anime Viewing - A  wide selection of the best in anime, brought to you by the Bay Area Animation Society…. There are also celebrity guests, live music, after-hours events and, as they say, lots more!

This year, con-X-treme will be held at the beautiful and newly renovated San Mateo Marriott in San Mateo, California.
San Mateo Marriott, 1770 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402, 650-653-6023

Carson Mell: Dispatches from Dimension X: Thursday August 28

From the SFFS: Take equal parts country-rock star, science-fiction writer, undersexed adolescent and uncomfortable malcontent and you merely crack the door leading to Carson Mell’s creative world. Mell will be in person to present his animations and music videos and read from his recently completed illustrated novel Saguaro, which chronicles the life and times of ex-rock star Bobby Bird, the fictional protagonist of a few of Mell’s short films. After Mell appeared with screenings of Chonto at this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival, we were repeatedly asked how one could see the rest of his work. Here’s the chance. As Elston Gunn of Ain’t It Cool News writes, “Hop on the cusp of an American original” and check out this new and hilarious talent.

Tickets are $12 at the door or $8 if reserved in advance by emailing SF360@sffs.org. Must be 21+ to attend. The Mezzanine is at 444 Jessie Street @ Mint, San Francisco, California 94103

Visionary from the beginning, the San Francisco Film Society today presents an energetic medley of year-round offerings that embrace the artistry and innovation of the world’s most imaginative storytellers.

Affordable, Convenient Program in New Berkeley Location

Longtime ASIFA-SF member and co-chair of the BCC animation department Lee Marrs gave the CableCartoon a tour of the new "Animation Strand" at Berkeley City College. One fifth of the school’s Multimedia Arts Program, the animation strand began in earnest about four years ago when the school was spread out over a bunch of buildings around town. Now, ensconced in a breathtaking new five-story building on Center Street, the program continues with new classes and renewed inspiration.

With all the emphasis on software and CGI, it’s refreshing to learn that the BCC program has a solid foundation in traditional animation skills. And as the top talent at places like Pixar and Blue Sky will tell you, they don’t need software jockeys, they need ANIMATORS. At Berkeley City College you can get a strong introduction to all the basics, with classes like "Introduction to Animation Principles,"  a hands-on introduction to the principles of 2D and 3D animation; "Storytelling in Animation," an 8-week class to create an animated project design using storytelling elements; and "Drawing for Animation," which teaches gesture drawing, designing key poses, drawing figures in motion, capturing motion in fast sketches, etc.

Instructor Marrs points out, "A lot of our students, particularly in ‘Animation Practices’, use the classes as a way to structure their hobby. They join the class to have a place to work on their projects, as well as a place to get feedback and meet other animators." The facilities include top of the line Mac workstations and software, as well as a pencil test station, scanners and other equipment for 2-D and 3-D animation. And of course, there are plenty of students who are "trying on" animation for size, or using the program as a stepping stone to more comprehensive programs elsewhere.

Clearly, there’s a lot of bang for your buck at BCC, and it’s worth taking a look at regardless of your level of proficiency. The fall semester is starting this week, but it’s not too late to grab a class or check out the program for next semester. The CableCartoon will be checking in over the coming months and bringing you more details of new offerings and upcoming events at BCC. For details of all the semester’s courses, or to enroll, visit the BCC website.

Announcing a new CableCartoon feature 

Starting next month the CableCartoon will inaugurate a regular series of member profiles called "Character Sheets." In each profile, you’ll get a brief introduction to one of the Bay Area chapter’s fellow animators, students, fans or pros. And you can be one of our characters: all members are eligible for a profile. If you’ve got a cartoon-related blog, class, or especially a new film to promote, so much the better.

You can let us know you’re interested and we’ll conduct a little interview by e-mail. As far as the CableCartoon is concerned, everyone in ASIFA-SF has an interesting story to tell—and we’d like everyone in the organization to get to know each other a little better. We cartoon-types need to stick together!

Hear the CableCartoon on the Air!

Who says animation doesn’t play on the radio? This Saturday, August 16, from 9am to 12noon, your humble blogger CaliforniaKid (aka JoeSoundtrack) will be a guest on the Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show. As a guest DJ, Joe will be programming the first hour with cartoon soundtracks from Teen Titans, The Brave Little Toaster, Tom And Jerry, Looney Tunes, Heavy Metal, Persepolis—and a lot more.

We’ll be playing wild and wacky background music sans sound effects and dialogue, like the Saturday Morning Cartoons you never saw. The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show is hosted by Robert Emmett who plays scores from movies, TV shows, radio and theater every Saturday morning—all the music you’ve come to trust over the course of several generations. Tune in at 89.7 FM, catch the simulcast on the web or go thru iTunes radio (under eclectic).

KFJC is the fiercely independent radio station of Foothill College that deserves support. Listen and obey!

Mr. Hyde here, returning after a long absence and tackling one big cartoon emergency after another.

The good news is that I’m back with two exciting announcements.  

The first is that the date has been officially set for the Cartoon Art Museum’s fifth annual fundraiser at Pixar Animation Studios.  Start saving your pennies, and mark your calendar for Saturday, October 11.  This is a rare opportunity for the general public to visit Pixar, chat with some of their top animators, visit their state-of-the-art employees-only theater for a special presentation from members of the Pixar crew, bid on exclusive auction items and spend an unforgettable evening while supporting a good cause.  We’ve got our teaser ad up at CAM’s website, http://www.cartoonart.org, and will be announcing more details soon.

And if you haven’t heard about it yet, please visit http://www.totoroforestproject.org/ to find out more about another can’t-miss event at Pixar this fall.  Hayao Miyazaki’s foundation, Totoro No Furusato National Fund, is a non-profit dedicated to preserving the endangered forests of Japan.  Many of today’s top animators and illustrators have created some absolutely stunning original artwork depicting their own forest spirits, and the artwork will be auctioned off at a gala fundraiser at Pixar Animation Studios on Saturday, September 6.  Additional images and links can be seen here:  http://cartoonart.livejournal.com/14231.html

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available, or drop Mr. Hyde (Andrew Farago) a line at gallery[at]cartoonart.org. 

You may want to skiddle-diddle-day to the Cartoon Art Museum to take in their latest show, From Richie Rich to Wendy the Witch: The Art of Harvey Comics, now on display thru November 30, 2008

The Art of Harvey Comics celebrates the art and characters created and/or popularized by Harvey including Casper, The Friendly Ghost; Wendy, The Good Little Witch; Richie Rich, The Poor Little Rich Boy; Hot Stuff, The Little Devil; Sad Sack; Joe Palooka; Little Dot; Little Audrey; Little Lotta, and many more. The exhibition includes original art from various Harvey comic books and merchandise by stalwarts such as Warren Kremer (1921-2003), who along with animator Steve Muffatti (1880-1968) defined the “Harvey” look.

The "hook" for readers of the CableCartoon is that in 1952, Harvey licensed Casper and several other animated cartoon characters created by Paramount Pictures’ Famous Studios, with Baby Huey, Buzzy the Crow, Herman & Katnip and Little Audrey among them. The enormous popularity of these characters spelled the end of the other genres at Harvey, and the company became solely a producer of children’s comics during that era.

Various newly created characters, such as Richie Rich, Little Dot and Little Lotta, followed the same house style to become a group affectionately known as the “Harvey World,” Though various ownership changes have occurred since the original Harvey shut its doors in 1982, the characters have never ceased to be influential, with hit movies like Richie Rich (1994), starring Macaulay Culkin, or Casper (1995), starring Christina Ricci, or the current five-volume series of Harvey Comics Classics published by Dark Horse Comics.

This exhibition runs through November 30, 2008, and features artwork by Warren Kremer, Ernie Colón, Sid Couchey, Howard Post, Fred Rhoads, Ham Fisher, Dom Sileo, Marty Taras, and many more. It’s a nice indoor holiday from the the chilly summer weather in S. F. b-r-r-r-r-r-r-!

Last weekend’s ASIFA-SF Summer Screening Party at Oddball Films was a lot of fun and the fifty members who attended had a great time.

We met a lot of interesting folks while munching on homemade pizza and sipping some excellent syrah—like the fellow who’s building zoetropes as a hobby; or the animator who’s teaching elementary school kids how to make cartoons; or the couple who’s turning their living room into a stop-motion studio for the winter. You may be surprised to learn how many ASIFA-SF members are making a second career in animation after working in unlikely professions like software management, or corporate accounting—less surprising is the number of students graduating from the half-dozen or so animation programs right here in the Bay Area—but both groups were represented.

The show got started with Tony Claar’s Clownin’’ Around (a traditional cel animation by the Academy of Art CGI instructor —who’da thunk it?). It was followed by Marty Stuczynsky’s The Magnanimous King, a comic CGI effort about a monarch and his pet ape battling over the TV remote. We got a large dose of student work from Animation Mentor (10-15 second blackouts with 3-D characters doing physical gags or mouthing movie quotes—many were hilarious). Another batch of student work from San Francisco State covered a breathtaking range of media, from watercolors, to waveforms to pencil and clay. Alan Orcutt shared a couple of his films including a silly dance routine with hatching chicks and a more thoughtful meditation on fatherhood.

The ‘toons played on into the night, with occasional breaks for snacks and even some door prizes (those who answered correctly won gifts including a Mutts comic strip collection or a Mad Monster Party soundtrack CD). But the best part, of course, was spending the evening in the company of folks who get it it—that animation is fun, thrilling, thought-provoking and more than a little goofy—but it’s art that speaks to us. If you couldn’t make it this time, hope to see you at one of our upcoming events!