The Animation Options Blog

I’ll be at the fmx/09 conference this coming week in Stuttgart, hosting the “Focus on China” program and participating in the following presentations. Don’t miss the premiere of the “Road to Home” development teaser, in glorious HD resolution.

Tuesday, May 5th

“CULTURAL REVOLUTION, TAKE TWO” - 3pm, Meidinger Saal

When is a nation of more than 1.3 billion people a scrappy underdog? When it is China seeking to reclaim the animation legacy pioneered by the Wan Brothers in the early 20th century. Shanghaied by Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution and then crushed by the juggernaut of Japanese anime, Chinese animation has been reeling for decades in a punch-drunk, outsource-fueled haze of stifled creativity. Until now. A new generation of Chinese animation filmmakers - versed in influences from Chuck Jones to Tarkovsky - has entered the world stage, eager to reclaim lost creative territory with films that are in turn thrilling, hilarious, gorgeous and thoughtful.

“A LONG MARCH ON THE ROAD TO HOME” - 4pm, Meidinger Saal

Currently in development, “Road to Home” is China’s first environmentally-themed animated feature film. Set on the Qinghai plateau, the film portrays the unique cultural characteristics of Western China while addressing universal themes of identity and co-existence, taking the friendship of a young girl and a wolf cub as its throughline. Directed by Lijun Sun with creator Wen Feng from a screenplay by Yi Yan, “Road to Home” features painterly landscapes and engaging characters, and is representative of the new wave of original Chinese animated feature films.

Friday, May 8th

“THE BEIJING FILM ACADEMY PRESENTS…” - 2pm, Raum Mannheim

The Beijing Film Academy is a world-renowned institution of cinematic education with cutting-edge facilities, comprehensive specialties, distinguished faculty, and innovative research & production. The Animation School of the Academy was one of the first nationally-accredited Animation Teaching and Research Bases in mainland China, descending from an animation specialty program established in 1952. Animation School Associate Professor Wen Feng and Guest Professor Kevin Geiger will discuss the current focus and future directions of the school, with recent examples of student and faculty work.

Hope to see you there.

Kevin Geiger
Beijing

The 2008 National Senior Research Class in Animation Script Writing wrapped up today here at the Beijing Film Academy, and I was honored to be voted “Best Instructor” by the class of Chinese animation professionals.

See the Animation Options press page for additional info and pics.

Today was the first full day of the SIGGRAPH 2008 conference in Los Angeles. One of the unexpected pleasures is this year’s Art & Design Gallery. My old friend Yoichiro Kawaguchi (pictured above) had an impressive display of new work including colorful, sea-creature-inspired resin sculptures done up in his inimitable surrealistic style. It was interesting to see how these have evolved from some crayon sketches that Kawaguchi showed at his talk in Taipei during the fall of 2005.

My favorite portion of the gallery was the “Design & Computation” area - examining analytical & generative methods for design, and exploring design & fabrication technologies. Rapid prototyping was in pervasive use, featuring structures that could only be expressed with the aid of digital technology. The curation was suitably low-key, letting the work speak for itself (very profoundly at that). Of particular note is the conceptual and aesthetic intersection between textiles and architecture (”woven buildings”), which was very evident in this show. While the work may strike some as impersonal, it is to me the purest expression of a thought possible. And given our daily interaction with textiles and architecture, very “personal” indeed.

After lunch, I joined most everyone else at the conference over in Hall B for Ed Catmull’s keynote address. Ed touched on a number of topics in his reflective, erudite address on “managing the creative environment”. One of the first things he brought up is the widespread lip service that everyone in our industry pays to the “Story is king.” mantra - whether they are creating good stories or not. (In fact, it was funny during a later talk to hear a speaker rattle off, “Of course, we all know story is king.” as though he just had to get that obligatory observation out of the way.)

Ed discussed many aspects of animation production that I cover with my consulting clients, including: how successes mask problems, how complexity is best addressed with rigorous organization but free communication, the importance of community, and the primacy of people over ideas. However, one thing I’d like a bit more information on is the creation of a “safe” creative environment for artists and directors. Ed made the point (which I’ve heard many times before) about how directors are not required to act on notes from their colleagues and/or executives - that directors are trusted to make the best decision for their films based upon a consideration of critical notes weighed against their vision for the project. So, what then brings about the removal of a Jan Pinkava or a Chris Sanders? Who makes this call, and based on what criteria? And if the precedent of the axe is looming, how “safe” can any creative ever truly feel? (I posed these questions directly to Ed and John at a meeting once upon a time, but never really got an answer.)

Inquiring minds want to know!