Article written by Adam Ansorge.
How it works:
You show up, you have a DVD with animation on it, say what it is, how long it is, bam! You’re in a show!
With over 1 & 1/2 hours of material, the annual open screening was once again a hit!
There is no judgment, few rules (like duration within reason). One could show up with any animation in any condition whether it is complete, incomplete, animatic, rough pencil test, etc. It is a great showcase to see the things that you may truly never see anywhere else. If you ever had an animation and wanted to show it to an audience, this is definitely the place to do it.
Richard Gorey, our host and master of show, started precisely at 7pm. He lays out the rules, calls out the first title on the list, filmmaker approaches the microphone to say a few words, then on with the show. Like clockwork, the program went with nary a hic-up. The animation was as I would expect: an awesome medley of talent!
What I saw:
A slick fox re-arranging letters
Robots battling over ice cream with hip-hop music
Moby!
An animated rock band kicking live-action ass
A panda who’s got a crush
A 3d vortex of 3d animation complete with 3d glasses
A break-dancing Newt Gingrich
delightful spots honoring Latin heroes
Secret stuff that I cannot mention
Marshmallow truckers
Bikini babes and sun
An amazing pencil test with a cat in love
Hand-to-hand combat
A funnel cake fairy
A documentary on animation process
A gorgeous stop motion music video with the cutest bunnies ever!
A skydiving rabbi and a crocodile who can play the drums
demo reels
Short comedies
Student projects
And lots more!…
I unfortunately do not know the names of all titles and filmmakers. Hopefully this short list of memories gives some indication as to how mixed and awesome a screening like this can be. I am happy to report that this event was once again a huge success with an attendance somewhere around 70+ give or take. This event is to me one of the very hearts of animation’s potential future and is why I look forward to this event as I have every year since 2002. If you love animation as I do, do yourself a favor and go to this event. I look forward to next year already!
Thanks Adam. I have the list of filmmakers and films, and will post them tomorrow (Monday) for all who are interested. Thanks for attending, and for sharing “Hand Film.”
Rich
This year’s annual Open Screening turned out to be a success, despite a crowd slightly smaller than we’ve had in years past. Adam Ansorge has described in loving detail what occurred that evening, but for those of you interested in what specifically was screened, here’s a list of the highlights:
Chris Niosi: “There Was This One Time”.
Jim Grue: “So Yu Think You Can Dance Around the Issue of Clean Energy”
Chris Salgado: “Attack of the Killer Grundle”
Tristian Goik: “Birthday of the Infanta”
Emmet Goodman: “I’m Not a Mover”
Andrew Kaiko: “The Foxy Scrambler”
Rob Powers: Music video/ “Moby” music video.
David Wanta: Series of Flash Shorts
Dan Ostrov: 3-D Demo Reel (in 3-D, with glasses!)
Pilar Newton: “Kaballahtoons” (series of five shorts)
Adam Ansorge: “Hand Film” and a new pencil test
Louis Netter: “Paradise”
David Perry: “Mallowman”
Rob Kohr: “Once, and Never Again”
Adrian Urquidez/Greg Ford: “There Must Be Some Other Cat”
Vera Lui: “Lui Lui in America”
Ryan Maloney: “Just Go Talk To Her”
Louis Cerritos: Demo Reel
Jose Maldonado: Shorts for “The Green Institute”
Nelson Diaz: “Role Models” (four shorts for educational television)
Avi Tuchman: Two Short Subjects
Eun Kyu Kim: “The Mouse Reaper”
Dayna Gonzalez: “The Clue-In” (Blue’s Clues demo film)
I offer my apologies to anyone whose name was misspelled. If this is the case, let us know, and we’ll make a correction right away.
I was gratified to see so many different styles represented, and there were a few surprises: most notably newcomer Dan Ostrov’s 3-D demo piece, for which he provided glasses…to everyone in attendance! Greg Ford and Adrian Urquidez’ “There Must Be Some Other Cat” was exquisitely animated, on ones! A smashing job, and so classical in feeling and in animation. I also liked “The Mouse Reaper” an unexpectedly charming fable about death, loss, and the rightness of Fate. As Adam reported, we started on time (I’m a stickler for such things) and the audience was supportive, demonstrative, and cooperative. Our projectionists, Randy and Jisa, kept things moving very quickly, and managed around a few technical issues like the pros they are. The evening ended at a reasonable hour, and I congratulate all those who shared their work with us. It’s not easy to have one’s film play for strangers, and the Open Screening offered animators a chance to see their films on a larger screen than YouTube can provide. Thanks again, everyone!
Rich Gorey