My Ottawa Brief

Don't forget, I'm getting ready to head off to Ottawa for the Animation Festival this Thursday, and since I've been in contact with a couple of you who are going, I thought I'd post here a brief overview of what I'll be checking out. Maybe we'll bump into each other, you never know. Be assured that I'll post more in-depth reviews of the movies, short films, and panels once the festival is over. I may even have a chance to post while I'm in the Great White North, so who knows?

Here's a brief rundown of what I'm thinking about seeing:

THURSDAY:
I get in around noon, so I'll miss the entire first day and half of the second, but I hit the ground running by seeing the Short Competition 5 at 3pm.
Feature Competition: EMPRESS CHUNG at 7pm.
And I'm looking forward to seeing AVOID EYE CONTACT 2 at 11pm.

FRIDAY:
I'm curious about the workshop Disney Animation's CG Character Animation: Past and Present at 9am. There's not a whole lot of "past" there, but it'll be interesting to check out, I'm sure.
Pink Panther retrospective at 10am.
I'll be going to the Animator's Picnic at 12:30, which is a big fun event where everybody goes and hangs out with all the filmmakers and students. Stop by and say hi. Be nice, though. I'm fragile.
Internet Competition at 5pm.
Feature Competition: THE DISTRICT at 7pm.
Short Competition 3 at 9pm.

SATURDAY:
Short Competition 2 at 1pm.
Short Competition 4 at 3pm.
Pee-wee Herman's Playhouse Animation at 7pm. A showcase of some of the animation from the TV show. Looks to be fun!
Jerry Beck's The Worst Cartoons Ever at 9pm.

SUNDAY:
Masterclass with Michael Dudok de Wit at 9am. I love this guy's work. Looking forward to this.
Workshop: Abstracting the Hyper-Real at 11am. Oh, yes. I'll be going to this as part of my research in working on that infamously delayed third post on THE POLAR EXPRESS and the use of mo-cap and realistic characters in CG. Many notes will be taken during this workshop.
Kids Competition at 1pm. Henry Selick's MOONGIRL will be screened. Hey -- he'll be there, too!
Short Competition 1 at 3pm.
Closing Ceremonies at 7pm, and then Best of the Fest at 9pm. These two run hand-in-hand, and are a great way of seeing what others thought were the best of the festival.

So, there ya go. I'm so excited about going I could just piddle me pants, but I'll try and refrain. Like I mentioned before, I came back from Ottawa last year on such a great animation high, I couldn't stop talking about it. The event gave me a new perspective on the possibilities of animation, that not everyone is so focused on the CG route. If you are on the fence about attending any of the screenings, please heed my call and go. It's a great way of supporting the animation community, plus you get a nice big helping of inspiration. So many incredibly talented artists and animators will be there, I dare you to come away not feeling inspired.

See ya there!