After premiering last week at the Berlinale, we are now treated to the first footage of Sylvain Chomet’s upcoming feature The Illusionist. The 2D film from the Oscar-nominated director of Les Triplettes de Belleville introduces us to a struggling illusionist and his relationship with a young woman. Based in Scottland, it’s based on a story by the late Jacques Tati, a French director/actor/mime. The footage begins with an interview with Chomet (in French) and then around the :40 second mark, they introduce some footage.

Pixar and ILM veteran Kyle Balda graduated from the world-reknowned CalArts in 1991, but in this video below he visited what is perhaps the best animation school on the planet – Gobelins L’Ecole de L’Image. As part of his own 3D Masterclass, Balda interviewed Eric Riewer, head of the film animation department, and in 10 minutes you learn a few of the many reasons why Gobelins graduates such amazing artists every year. You’ll also hear how The Annecy International Animation Film Festival played a role in the formation of Gobelins, and what prospective students must accomplish to gain access. Riewer boasts that Gobelins has “the toughest entrance exam of any animation school in the world,” which is comprised of a 3-hour animation test and a storyboard test. I also found myself nodding along as Riewer discusses brevity. Around the 8-minute mark of the video, he talks at length about how student films should strive to be short (1-2 minutes), and why.

The 20th anniversary of Wallace & Gromit has Google’s UK website all dressed up for the occasion (inset). It’s one of only 3 “doodles” to be made outside Google headquarters. Not to be outdone, the team at Aardman has prepared by asking Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park 20 questions, on a wide variety of topics. Enjoy!

The Cleveland Show is a ratings hit for FOX, but I simply haven’t found a passion for it yet. I suspect its because of the show’s shitty origins. Click below to see what the hell I’m babbling about…

by Dan Forgione

Back in February, Lineboil highlighted this traditionally animated short currently in production by Dean Kalman Lennert. I loved the little bit that I saw online, and because Dean is a fellow NY’er, as well as that fact that I have a soft spot for almost anything traditionally animated, I thought it would be great to interview him about the film and share it with all of you.

Also, recently, I had the unique opportunity to see a full WIP of the film without sound, and with some rough animation, and it’s all coming together very nicely and on it’s way to becoming a beautiful film.

As a bonus, Dean was kind enough to share 2 exclusive clips from the film including a completed rough shot that was done by Stewart Shaw. So check them out and then continue on to read more about Dean’s film, Dear Anna Olson.

Shot 15

Shot 28

DAN FORGIONE: First off, tell us a little about yourself, and how you originally got into animation.

DEAN KALMAN LENNERT: I started working professionally in 1986 when a fellow stop-motion animator recommended me as a model fabricator for a Diet Slice commercial. By the end of that project, I had moved onto the animation team doing both stop-motion and 2-D effects. But I first got bitten by the animation bug at the age of 9 when I watched a segment on the PBS show Zoom about how to create your own cartoons using paper cut-outs and the family home-movie camera. I substituted some model dinosaurs for the cut-outs, made that first film and have been hooked ever since.

DAN: Can you give us a brief synopsis of the film, Dear Anna Olson?
Read more »

A pair of animation powerhouses recently sat down to discuss the upcoming release of Ponyo. Writer/Director of the 2D animated feature Hayao Miyazaki was interviewed by none other than John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar. Walt Disney Pictures is releasing the English-language version of the Studio Ghibli film on August 14, 2009.

In this 2009 SIGGRAPH interview below, Academy Award winner (Ryan) and self-professed control-freak Chris Landreth discusses advancements in CGI technology, the “uncanny valley” and his latest film The Spine.

… and here’s a 4-minute making-of piece about The Spine, which was produced by the National Film Board.

… and here’s a clip from Image Metrics that has Landreth all excited – what he says is the final nail in the Uncanny Valley coffin: