Channel Frederator Blog

“The Dragon’s Claw”, directed and animated by Robert Bruce, featuring music by Justice of the Unicorns, won Best Animated Music Video at Animation Block Party 2009. And also, sad little animals-turned-ipods.

Where did you study animation/filmmaking?

Robert Bruce: I studied filmmaking at Binghamton University which focuses mainly on experimental film. I started teaching myself how to animate a few years ago just by reading tons of books and analyzing my favorite animated movies frame by frame.

What are your favorite films?

RB: I’m currently a bit obsessed with Samurai films, Spaghetti Westerns, and Film Noir. They usually have such wonderfully complex characters. I guess a few of my favorites are “Hara-kiri”, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, and “Touch of Evil”.

What gave you the idea for “The Dragon’s Claw”?

RB: To be honest, I don’t really know. I just listened to the song on a loop and began making a rough animatic. It was a bit of [Read more…]

Clive McFarland’s short “Tom’s Fridge” is strange and sentimental. A sweet appliance-based film like this hasn’t come along since The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars…

Where did you study animation/film?

Clive McFarland: I learnt a lot of useful things at Liverpool School of Art & Design. (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/lsa/graphicarts)

What have you the idea for “Tom’s Fridge”?

CM: I found something encouraging everyone to recycle their fridge if it was over ten years old as it wasn’t energy efficient and was bad for the environment. I wondered if it would be so easy to say goodbye to your fridge if you had lived with it for ten years.

[Read more…]

This week’s animation spotlight with Anton Bogaty is pretty sweet. Below is a brief Q & A about the films in this episode.

To read more about Anton, check out his past CF interviews here and here.

Channel Frederator: In the episode you say that “Dee” was a song inspired by the singer’s relationship with his grandmother. Can you elaborate on your process - how that information lead to a giant floating robot full of zombies?

Anton Bogaty: I squandered a lot of the time that I had to work on the video by jumping between several animatics, trying to decide which storyline to go with. Daniel Harmann mentioned how the song was inspired by the passing of his grandmother and I had three different animatics that involved the deterioation of and eventual passing of a grandparent. The storyline of the girl chasing down a floating craft of some sort was an old idea that I [Read more…]

Ernest Kim’s “Oh, My Captain!” is a simple, seafarin’ film about a landlubber captain who finally takes to sea.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Ernest Kim: I studied at SAIC. I just graduated from there.

CF: What gave you the idea for “Oh, My Captain!”?

EK: During the fall, I had done a small comic for a class. Then during my last semester, out of a combination of a short deadline and wanting to do something new, I ended up working on “Oh, My Captain!”. One idea lead to another and I ended up where I ended up. I have to thank Erin for helping with the music, especially since she was already busy with her own studies.

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Animator Jim Dirshberger collaborated with artists Kelly Tunstall and Ferris Plock to create “The Seafarers - Sea of Love”, a story set on the high seas. This tale has it all: Action! Adventure! Animatronic genitalia?

CF: Tell us a little somethin’ ’bout yourself.

Jim Dirshberger: I’m a filmmaker/animator living in San Francisco. I’m currently directing an animated web series called the Forest City Rockers and I produce short films which can be seen on my website.

SF is a kind city with lots of great artists who are eager to collaborate, it’s a great place for an animator like myself. The artists, Ferris Plock and Kelly Tunstall, were not only eager but they’re also extremely talented. I’m very fortunate to have worked with them.

CF: I love the design of the Seafarer’s seafarin’ jalopy. Where did you draw your inspiration from for the style of the film?

JD: I approached this as an adventure story. Most of my inspiration came [Read more…]

Your insides - the final frontier. Seems like it would take a lot of work and brainpower to uniquely interpret the inner workings of the human body (and then some). Zhivko Dimitrov, director of “Body” tells us how he did it.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Zhivko Dimitrov:Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. I was on the Communications Design program, so it was really a melting pot of typographers, photographers, digital media geeks and other weirdos - not your typical animation school… Didn’t really teach anything about animation, but a fair deal of insight on conceptual thinking and experimentation. Took me a while to realize those matter so much more, but I think just in time to make the most of it [Read more…]

Justin Weber’s swingin’ flick “Juiced and Jazzed” is a hit on the festival circuit and the web. Grab a flask of your favorite hooch and read on!

Channel Frederator: Why did you choose a female protagonist? Gentlemen can be led astray too - am I right fellas?

Justin Weber: I think I always had a female character in mind for the cartoon. I was using the Charleston music and going with the 1920s prohibition theme, and that naturally led me towards the iconic flapper girl character. Lulu is very much inspired by Betty Boop. Also, I had been wanting to do a short that featured a female character.

CF: What was your favorite part about making the film?

JW: Coming up with all of the different story ideas and actions to fit with the music. It all started with the music, and I let the ideas flow from there. Once I got into animation, I was having [Read more…]

If you haven’t flipped out over Greg Condon’s “Here Come The Guns” now’s a good time. Get it - “flipped out”? You’ve watched the vid right? So you get why that’s funny, right? Oh, read the interview already.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Greg Condon: I did major in animation at an art school and had a few great teachers, but my real education was making stop motion movies with my friend Lawrence in high school. Making those movies for fun, I developed working styles and routines I still use on projects today.

CF: How long did it take to film “Here Come the Guns”?

GC: It took between 2 and 3 months to finish. The band, Choo Choo La Rouge, was very active (and helpful) in the look of the video and there was a lot of back and forth till we got something we were all happy with. Of course we all [Read more…]

Michael Stevenson is a super talented award winning animator and pigeon expert. Half of that is a lie. Read his interview and figure out which half.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Michael Stevenson: I did a couple years of animation at San Francisco State University. When I was shopping for colleges I discovered that SF State contained this hidden gem, a two-year animation emphasis that could piggyback on a Cinema degree. Although it was a small and woefully neglected program, our teachers were phenomenal and we were given boatloads of freedom to experiment and learn. I spent one year taking 2D and computer animation classes, and another year teaching myself stop motion and making my film.

CF: What are your sources of inspiration?

MS: Real life events are by far the best source of inspiration. Most of my work reflects the structure of a fish story - it starts off as experientially genuine, and [Read more…]

Photographer and filmmaker Christophe Collette’s “Ce Soir” is a haunting stop motion music vid for the Montreal band Monogrenade.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation/film?

Christophe Collette: I did not study animation or film, I studied photography for a bit at Concordia University, in Montreal and at the National School of Photography in Arles, France.

CF: What are your sources of inspiration?

CC: Contemporary photography, films, books, the internet, travelling, friends.

CF: What was the most difficult part of making “Ce Soir”?

CC: Probably finding the right location… Our art budget was really limited, we really needed a fantastic location to make this work… I looked for this house for two weeks, driving the countryside endlessly…

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

CC: I DPed a fantastic promo for Most Serene Republic with director and friend Ben Steiger Levine. You should keep an eye out for it, I think it will be amazing.

Thanks for the [Read more…]