Tag Archives: Cartoon

No comments

Want to make an animated film? Apply to NFB’s Hothouse program for emerging Canadian animators!

  By

hothouse-logoWant to make an animated film?

Apply by December 11 for the chance to be part of the NFB’s

Hothouse program for emerging Canadian animators

NFB studios across Canada to take part in Hothouse’s 11th season

November 26, 2015 – Toronto – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is seeking submissions for its Hothouse apprenticeship program for emerging Canadian animators, now in its 11th season.

Canadian filmmakers and artists can apply at http://films.nfb.ca/hothouse by December 11 for the chance to be one of six participants in a 12-week paid apprenticeship program with NFB animation professionals—a one-of-a-kind experience working with the NFB’s Oscar-winning Animation Studio.

This year’s mentoring director is Malcolm Sutherland, a Montreal-based director, animator and designer for film, television, web commercials and music videos. A participant in the very first Hothouse, he’s the first alumnus to return as project mentor.

In another first for Hothouse, NFB studios across the country are getting in on the act as well: grassroots filmmaking and community-building are this year’s mantras as participants work remotely through their nearest NFB production centre, while the Animation Studio in Montreal remains the creative engine.

The theme for Hothouse 11 is Found Sound 2.0―a reboot of last year’s successful theme, in which organizers trawled the Internet for audio clips that were intriguing, unusual, unnerving, or somehow full of subtext and hidden meaning. This year, there’s a new twist: participants can either use one of 14 pre-selected audio clips or submit an audio clip of their own choice. Found sound begs for satire and subversion, so applicants are encouraged to think of the audio as a springboard for their own creativity: don’t be afraid to re-interpret, comment on or play with the original meaning.

In addition to Sutherland, some of Canada’s most acclaimed new generation of animators got their start in Hothouse, including Patrick Doyon, nominated for an Oscar for his NFB animated short Sunday/Dimanche, and Howie Shia, whose NFB short Flutter received the Open Entries Grand Prize at the Tokyo Anime Awards.

 

Submissions must be received by 5pm EST on Friday, December 11, 2015, and must be sent via e-mail (no snail mail submissions will be accepted). The six successful candidates will be notified by Friday, December 18, 2015. The program will run from February 1 to April 22, 2016.
For more information, visit http://films.nfb.ca/hothouse.
Hothouse continues to be about re-imagining ways of making animation: ways that are faster, more flexible, and that embrace the many possibilities in the animation process while maintaining creative and technical excellence. With Hothouse, the NFB is looking for six talents who are willing and able to jump head-first into this intensive experience.

Associated Links

Hothouse program

Malcom Sutherland

Patrick Doyon

 

Stay Connected

Online Screening Room: NFB.ca

Facebook: facebook.com/nfb.ca

Twitter: twitter.com/thenfb

 

Media Relations

Melissa Than

NFB Publicist

Tel.: 416-952-8960

Cell: 647-248-9854

E-mail: m.than@nfb.ca

Twitter: @NFB_Melissa

 

About the NFB

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) produces groundbreaking animation at its studios in Montreal and at NFB centres across Canada, as well as via international co-productions with many of the world’s leading auteur animators. The NFB is a leader in developing new approaches to stereoscopic 3D animation and animated content for new platforms. The NFB has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 14 Canadian Screen Awards, 11 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.

 

2 Comments

Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft

  By

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What is your name and current occupation?
Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Well I suppose I will go in order and explain why…The first would be my first job in animation…the movie “Hercules” at Walt Disney Feature Animation. I had completed a 3 month training internship, and was hired on to this film to work with Supervising Animator, Brian Ferguson, on the character “Panic”. He was the one who gave me my break, and taught me so much. His love for animation was infectious and I felt so lucky to be mentored by someone with such talent.  Next would be the movie “Tarzan” also at Disney. On this film I mentored with Supervising Animator John Ripa on the character “Young Tarzan”. I had seen an animation test John had done and just knew I had to work with him. I went to his office and asked if I could assist him, and he told me yes, but under one condition… when a student of animation, or anyone seeing knowledge asked for help, that I would pass on what he had taught me. He said James Baxter had made him give that same promise and he had tried to keep it. I learned so much from John and will be forever grateful for the teaching, the time and the kindness he gave me. He was completely generous with his knowledge, and never let an opportunity for teaching pass by. This made working on the film so exhilarating for me. I will never forget it. And yes, I have tried to keep my promise.  Later I would move into television and was honored to be a part of Fred Seibert’s shorts program at Nickelodeon, “Random Cartoons”. I created two shorts..the first was “Yaki and Yumi” and the second was “Girls on the GO!”. It was an incredible experience making my own films. This is where I believe I went from being a draughtsman to a filmmaker. I completely fell in love with telling stories and the whole process of making a film. I also discovered a love for television type storytelling, and cartooning rather than animating.  And of course the show I am currently on, Phineas and Ferb. I am writing and storyboarding on the show and am also an Emmy nominated song writer too(still shocked about that)! I am really proud of the work that we are all doing on the show. I have really grown as a storyteller from watching my peers and working with some insanely talented people. I laugh every day at my job! I am surrounded by some of the funniest people I have ever met and I love the challenge of keeping up! It’s never a dull moment, and I think the fun we have with each other has a big impact on the way the show is turning out. It is fun to be on a show that is loved by so many people and I am honored to be a part of it.

How did you become interested in animation?  
My grandfather loved cartoons and drawing. He would sit down with me and draw. He always encouraged me and would patiently sit by my side and teach me little things he knew. But I feel like I was Continue reading

One Comment

Matt Novak

  By

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

What is your name and your current occupation?
Matt Novak. Children’s Book Author and Illustrator. (Occasional animator)

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Can’t really say I’ve had any “crazy” jobs. In high school and college I was a puppeteer and an actor. Our puppet troupe was called “Pegasus Players” and we performed at amusement parks, birthday parties, flea markets, farmers markets and anywhere else that would pay us a few bucks to make kids laugh. Also, acted on stage and in a nationally syndicated radio show called “Willow Crossing.” I played the part of a freckle faced kid named Billy, which was very convenient since I was a freckle faced kid at the time.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think my favorite animation project to have been a part of would hands down have to be “Beauty and the Beast.” To be part of the team that created the first animated film to ever be nominated for “Best Picture” That’s pretty cool. Of course, I’m proud of ALL the books I’ve created as well.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I grew up in the small coal mining town of Sheppton, Pennsylvania. (Population at the time, about 700) I was always interested in animation. Even before kindergarten. It was the closest thing to magic that existed in my world. As I grew up I watched a lot of cartoons and devoured any books about Walt Disney and the animation process. Tried making some Continue reading

No comments

Jennifer Adkins

  By

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What is your name and your current occupation?
Jennifer Adkins – Freelance Artist/Animator
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was a junior processor for a mortgage company just before the bubble burst. It was interesting to say the least.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I worked on a HTTYD build your own dragon promotion game. It was a fun time of cutting out dragon parts and then putting them back together again to make them fly and breath fire. My current and most ambitious project is a animated interactive computer based training for a non-profit hospital. It has been a trial of endurance but very rewarding.

How did you become interested in animation?
From very early on I loved to draw. I watched Disney and Don Bluth movies repeatedly and note every movement. I had plans to create Continue reading

No comments

Paul Thompson

  By

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

What is your name and your current occupation?
Paul Thompson and I’m a motion graphics artist.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Can’t say I had any jobs you would term as crazy, I was programming before motion graphics and that got a bit boring.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I quite enjoy doing assembly instruction videos and as far as I can find on the web it seems I have done more than anyone in the world. I’m quite proud of the fact that this is obviously the future and I was one of the first to be involved in this kind of thing.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
Since I was a child watching cartoons, especially Spiderman! I got a present for Christmas when I was a child which was a Disney projector that you held to your eye. You turned a handle and it Continue reading
No comments

Chris Cookson

  By

What is your name and your current occupation?
I’m Chris Cookson and I am currently a freelance animator, I work in Flash mostly but sometimes I get some AfterEffects and Photoshop work.  I’ve been lucky enough where everything I’ve done before animation has been some kind of visual based work. The first job I did out of high school was making animated assets for the LED sign demo room at Trans-Lux (yes, that Trans-Lux of the 1959 Felix the Cat cartoon). It was a uniquely fun experience, they had this old LaserDisc system that would trigger all kinds of signs to light up in cue to music and audio, the audio was very much a product of the ’80s but they wanted me to modernize the visuals and make some colorful stuff for their new centerpiece display.  Apart from that, I’ve done a good amount of web design work in my formative years. One of my clients was a Cuban percussionist who was really into anime and kung-fu movies. He even offered to pay me for making his site with a samurai sword, which to 15-year-old me, was the coolest thing ever. Though, if I were to ever come home with a samurai sword, my parents would probably kill me, likely with that very same samurai sword.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
In terms of cool projects, a psychedelic TV ad for Linda McCartney’s line of frozen vegan foods has been really satisfying. What I loved was the ad had a different style than the usual aesthetic I get but had a lot of understated weirdness and quite a few distinct shots to work on. I got to meet Paul McCartney’s son-in-law and Rick Astley’s wife while on the project too which made me geek out pretty hard. A couple of months after I finished work on the spot, I started to see posts about it show up on sites like Motionographer, The Huffington Post and was linked by a lot of the sites I follow on Twitter, which made me feel real warm and fuzzy on the inside.  I’m also really proud of a lot of the smaller commercial projects I have worked on at Shoulderhill Creative. For those, it’s great to work with a couple of my classmates from art school and since it’s not a part of a giant team, I feel a lot more creative ownership over what I’m making. It’s absolutely wonderful to have a chance to work more within my own style and have more room to experiment with the colors and see what kind of little visual jokes I can put in to the advertisement.  Other projects like William Caballero’s documentary short film “How You Doin’ Boy? Voicemails from Gran’pa” were really great to be a part of. For that, he wanted me to make a squiggly text treatment based off of his grandfather’s handwriting to go up on screen in sync with actual answering machine messages left from his grandfather. Having the freedom to design the word treatment, as well as play around with text sizes was really fulfilling, the tone of some of the messages allowed me to really go crazy in some spots too, pushing the graphic element of it, trying to get it to match his grandfather’s own personal tone.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Stamford, CT and I’ve always wanted to either be a cartoonist or animator for pretty much my entire life. I taught myself how to use Flash when I was 12-years-old and would constantly look for an excuse to use it any chance I had, whether it be for making buttons or logos on the aforementioned web design projects I got or making short films whenever the opportunity arose. After making more and more stuff, over the years, my skills started to Continue reading