Channel Frederator Blog

This week Cartoon Hangover features Tim Beckhardt’s “Pellet Gunn”, a black and white salute to indie comics and the dangers of small town boredom.

CH: Where did you study animation/film?

Tim Beckhardt: The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). I also took quite a bit of printmaking while I was there.

CH: What gave you the idea for “Pellet Gunn”?

TB: I think the central theme came from growing up in/around run-down towns with not much to do and the schemes (most destructive) you come up with to fight boredom. I had always wanted to do a film with multiple intertwined characters in one location, and the story built progressively from there.

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French animator Ghislain Avrillon’s short film “Galileo” is a bonifide hit with Channel Frederator Fans! Here is a quick interview with the filmmaker about his work.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Ghislain Avrillon: I learned animation and art at the Pivaut School in Nantes (France). My studies lasted 4 years, but only the last two were animation.
Galileo is the result of the last year. Six months of hard personal work.

CF: What gave you the idea for “Galileo”?

GA: I love poetry and the idea of freedom. This mentality orientated my choices for the scenario and graphic world. I heard a beautiful comment about Galileo : “A Modern Icarus”. Icarus has ever been a beautiful dream to me.

CF: What influences your style the most?

GA: Hmmm… I’m very interested in illustrator’s digital work. I want to approach a traditional result with digital tools.

CF: Are you working on anything new you can tell us about?

GA: I’m working on many personal [Read more…]

This week we take a look at a little film with a lot of heart - coming at you all the way from France! Don’t forget to nominate Channel Frederator and Cartoon Hangover for the Streamy Awards!

1. Go to: http://channelfrederator.com/streamys

2. Vote Channel Frederator for “Best Hosted Web Series”
Vote Cartoon Hangover for “Best New Web Series”

3. The URLS are http://channelfrederator.com and http://channelfrederator.com/hangover, respectively.

Done! Look, you voted! And now for our film…

“Galileo”, by Ghislain Avrillon: A whimsical look an imaginative young boy.

*New episode of Cartoon Hangover this Friday! Tim Beckhardt! You can now follow CH on Twitter!

*Leave lots of comments and follow CF on Twitter too!

*Want to submit? Then go for it! Click here!

WARNING: Channel Frederator is rated EXPLICIT. Man, 2010 is so *bleepin’* awesome! Oops. Sorry. Some content on CF is pretty grown up. If you’re under 18, get your parent’s permission prior to viewing.

-Bailee DesRocher

Cartoon Hangover has hit it’s stride with some awesome animated comedy courtesy of all of our our excellent contributing artists like Dave Carter, Steve Stark, Mike Geiger and this week animator/writer/comedian Nick Gibbons! Read below to learn more about Nick’s work writing for animation and why girly drinks are just tops.

Cartoon Hangover:You’ve written for several ‘toons (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Boy, Jimmy Neutron) - in what capacity to you contribute (punch up, story, etc)?

Nick Gibbons: For Robotboy I wrote 4 full episodes, as well and an entire episode of Aqua Teen. For Jimmy I wrote several interstitials that were shown in conjunction with the release of the movie. During my stint at Blue Sky Studios I sat in on brainstorming punch-up meetings for Robots, Ice Age 2 and Horton. Punch-up work is a blessing and a curse. If your joke gets in it’s great, however you never get credit. My wife has a [Read more…]

It’s a robot takeover! This weeks film has robots! And it’s called “Robots”! Carl lost his robot head! Better keep an eye on your microwave or other food warming robots! Aaah!

“Robots”, by Rajesh N. Pai: Fun gags and characters run amok in this hilarious short! Plus, robots!

*New episode of Cartoon Hangover this Friday! “Fetal Fury”!

*Leave lots of comments and follow us on Twitter!

*Want to submit? Then go for it! Click here!

WARNING: Channel Frederator is rated EXPLICIT. Man, it’s *bleepin’* 2010! Oops. Sorry. Some content on CF is pretty grown up. If you’re under 18, get your parent’s permission prior to viewing.

-Bailee DesRocher

Mountain from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

Here’s a little diddy by Channel Frederator favorite, Kirsten Lepore! Check out Kirsten’s previous CF episode and interviews!

-Bailee DesRocher

It’s finally here! The long awaited second half of this article. Happy 2010 to you! Here, I’ve conducted an email interview with the talented comedians who handle the voice work and improv magic in animator Mike Hollingsworth’s short series “Nature Break”.

CF: What is your background in comedy?

Danforth France: I moved to Los Angeles and went through the Groundlings program, learned how to improvise. Then I did a lot of standup in the months between classes. I did a lot of sketch and improv with the Groundlings and my troupe The Pretty Okay Ho-hum Spectacular on Ice, which is now long defunct.

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Freelance animator Alek Vacura’s short film “Without Arms” follows the Venus de Milo’s journey to get her “hands” on some arms. Here, Alek tells us about his process and what’s coming up in 2010.

Channel Frederator: What gave you the idea for “Without Arms”?

Alek Vacura: The idea for Without Arms came to me as I was falling asleep one night. I think some of the best ideas come when you’re not consciously trying to create them. I have always had a fascination with statues, and studied marble sculpture in Italy a few years earlier, so it seemed fitting that my thesis animation would head in that direction.

CF: What was the most challenging part of making it?

AV: Honestly, every aspect was a giant challenge. Before this animation, I had only worked on class exercises and small projects. I had never worked on a project of this scale. Everyone kept calling me crazy for wanting [Read more…]

Are you ready for some Art Appreciation humor? I SAID, “ARE YOU READY FOR SOME ART APPREESH HUMOR?!” Yeah, we are too. This weeks film, like Carl or the Fredbot, is both elegant and hilarious.

“Without Arms”, by Alek Vacura: An awesome MFA thesis film making the festival rounds!

*New episode of Cartoon Hangover this Friday! The infamous “Cuddlesticks”!

*Leave lots of comments and follow us on Twitter!

*Want to submit? Then go for it! Click here!

WARNING: Channel Frederator is rated EXPLICIT. Man, it’s *bleepin’* 2010! Oops. Sorry. Some content on CF is pretty grown up. If you’re under 18, get your parent’s permission prior to viewing.

-Bailee DesRocher

This weeks Cartoon Hangover ‘toon “Bear-Horse” comes to us from Steve Stark. What is a Bear-Horse, you ask? It’s a half human, half horse with bear-like qualities. What is a Steve Stark, you ask? Read about one here!

Cartoon Hangover: Oh my goodness, “Bear-Horse”. Where did that idea come from?

Steve Stark: I saw a picture on the internet of a bear riding a horse. Immediately after starting singing “Bear-horse, Bear-Horse!” with a buddy. Soon after I did the concept picture that’s at the end of the short. Bear-Horse was born.

[Read more…]