Why Make a Film?

As you may already know, I've dropped enough hints here that I'm currently working on a short film on my own. I guess you can call it a cartoon, since I'm paying homage to the great cartoons of the 40's and 50's. I've been studying a great deal of those films, most specifically Tex Avery's SYMPHONY IN SLANG. (See previous posts HERE and HERE.)

Let's start off with the obvious question at hand: Why am I doing this? On top of my full time job as an animation director at LAIKA/house, along with my blogging duties on The Ward-O-Matic, not to mention my permanent titles as husband and father on the personal side -- why on earth would I want to forge through in making an animated film?

Why not?

There is a great short film by legendary designer and filmmaker Saul Bass called WHY MAN CREATES -- it won an Oscar for Best Short Film in 1968 -- about this sort of thing. Bass explores several venues regarding the issue of creativity in this film. The main jist of WHY MAN CREATES is that there is a desire by mankind to emphasize the individual, to stand out from the typical crowd and make a mark upon this earth. As human beings, it is in our blood to establish who we are and where we've been. From the ancient cave drawings to Greek temples to towering skyscrapers -- throughout entire generations, all of it is basically saying the same thing: I WAS HERE. The most simplistic and base ideal known to man -- identity. Knowledge of self, knowledge of awareness, knowledge of existence. And out of that self awareness, man creates.



For the Artist, this desire to create consumes his/her entire being. It is an uncontrollable urge that makes him want to record his surroundings in ways only he knows how.

That's pretty much the academic take on it. Honestly? I just want to work on something that I can call my own. To create characters in my style, and animate them however I want. To be able to work on something where I don't have to answer to anyone. I'm calling the shots here. No art directors, no producers, no creative directors to answer to! Freedom. Liberation. Joy. And once it's done, there'll be such a feeling of accomplishment you can't even imagine. I look forward to that moment -- it's what will drive me throughout the entire process of making this film.

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More about WHY MAN CREATES:


One lone ping pong ball stands out among the crowd in a segment of WHY MAN CREATES titled, "A Parable."




The film is split up into eight different segments -- the first one, "The Edifice," features a great bit of animation by Fred Crippen who used to work at UPA back in the 50's. It contains one of the longest pans in animation history, I'm sure, as the camera pans up, up, up, through the centuries. We witness the basis of all our creative output by a single cave drawing of a hunt: a recording of an event that sets forth a chain of events that ultimately ends up at the top of an enigmatic column. There's some great humor and satire in the piece, setting the pace for the rest of the film.




Saul Bass finds a great balance in this film between the humorous pieces and serious debate about the creative process in general. In one section, we hear several scientists and doctors talk about the various projects that they've been working on for years and how it's lead them to dead ends. The voice over then asks each interviewee the big question: "What are you going to do now?" It's wild to hear one answer rather sullenly: "I don't know."


In the section "Fooling Around," Bass stops the film to poke fun at a woman being interviewed.


Here's what Bass thinks of critics.

You can order a copy of WHY MAN CREATES directly from the Pyramid Media website. A word of caution, however -- it's mighty pricey. Little bit of trivia about this film: a young, budding filmmaker was credited as the camera operator. Who might this filmmaker be? Why, none other than George Lucas.

More on Saul Bass's career HERE.
Nicely designed site utilizing some of Bass's graphic elements HERE.

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I've given it much thought about whether or not I should share my thoughts during the course of production of my short film here on this blog. Problem is, I can never find enough time to work on the thing. It's beginning to bother me, but I'm trying not to let it get me down. I did start up a production blog for the film, but don't bother looking for it. It's private and I've only invited a few family members. Once I get the ball rolling with actual artwork to show, maybe then I'll make it public and share with you all the concept of what I've been working on all this time. In the meantime, just keep checking the Ward-O-Matic and maybe I'll drop a few hints about the project from time to time.

Gay Purr-ee

Gay Purr-ee, Adapted by Carl Memling. Pictures by Hawley Pratt, Harland Young and Herb Fillmore. 1962. This Little Golden Book is based off the UPA motion picture, which was released in the same year. I was taken aback by this book since I never knew that they had even made a book for the film. And strangely enough, this is not the only one. There was another LGB published, but features Mewsette's storyline. Click here to check it out.

Hawley Pratt was Friz Freleng's layout artist for many years, working at Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng. I should say that Hawley should not be confused with Pete Hawley, who was a well-renowned illustrator. Harland Young is still alive and paints for a living. Not sure if Herb Fillmore is still alive, but I did find a few prints of his paintings (scroll down a bit).

The colors are a little washed out on this book, thanks in part to both age and my terrible scanner. I'm currently scouring the market for a decent one.


Gay Purr-ee on IMDB.
Gay Purr-ee on Wikipedia.

Here are some scans of the book for you to enjoy:












Oh man, I love those trees. Nice work on this page.


I love that guy there. Tell me that all French gardeners dress and look like this, please?




This is a nice page here. Love the layout and deep colors.









More fun vintage goodies like this can be found at The Retro Kid. I've got another LGB ready to upload and post about probably later on tonight. Stay tuned. You'll dig it. Very fun.

Inside UPA

I wrote the following review for Drawn!, but decided to post it here, with a few added words because I think the book's worth it. Amid and Tee's hard work should not go unnoticed.



"When I die, I don't want to go to Heaven, I want to go to UPA." –Warner Bros. director Friz Freleng

Inside UPA is the brainchild of Amid Amidi, who's amazing Cartoon Modern (previously) was a triumph, earning the Theatre Library Association's award for 2006 Best Book about Film, Television and Radio. That's quite an honor. With his new book, Amid approaches the subject matter in an entirely different manner. Whereas "Cartoon Modern" was all about the art of animation in the 50's, "Inside UPA" is completely devoid of art. It's all photographs. Ah, but what a goldmine these photographs have proven to be.

"Inside UPA" offers us a rare peek inside one of the most innovative animation studios of all time. Holding the book in my hands, I couldn't help but sense a connection between the book and the studio itself. Just like the studio, "Inside UPA" is diminutive in size (64 pages, measuring 7.5" x 8.7" with a soft cover with French flaps) but what it provides the reader is monumental. Within the walls of UPA a legacy was formed that shook the foundation of traditional animation thinking at the time. Here, within the pages of "Inside UPA", we are able to look upon the faces that formed that legacy.

I've seen a great deal of photos taken at studios at that time and practically all of them were for publicity sake, with animators posed and staged as if they were part of the decor. Most of the photos presented here in "Inside UPA" eschew such pretentiousness. It was obvious to me that in some of the photos the subjects were very aware of the photographer, but even in some of those shots, the director, animator or background artist seemed comfortable with the environment. Amid tells us that there was a sense of great pride working at the studio, and you can tell after thumbing through this book. The artists are shown working, creating, thinking, discussing, all within the cleanly designed walls of the studio, a perfect specimen of midcentury modern architecture at the time (now razed), designed by architect John Lautner.

UPA has been such an enigma for me because practically all the names that are usually associated with the studio (Bobe Cannon, Zach Schwartz, David Hilberman, Steven Bostustow, John Hubley, to name a few) were just that: names. Here, Amid, along with the help of Tee Bostustow and others, finally gives us a chance to place faces with the names. There are a great deal of pages that show the employees of UPA hard at work, but I also enjoyed the ones where they were shown unwinding and just hanging out. We get to see Steven Bostustow go over a Paul Julian background from "Tell Tale Heart" with director Ted Parmelee. We see director Pete Burness share a laugh with Mr. Magoo voice Jim Backus. We peek in on designer Charleen Peterson and background painter/designer Sam Clayberger as they are knee-deep in work. And in one of my favorite shots, we see director John Hubley sketching dancer Olga Lunick for reference on "Rooty Toot Toot." The book provides us the opportunity to sit in on story and staff meetings, impromptu discussions, even parties and dinners.

Right at the heart of the book, there is a full page shot of the entire staff, circa 1950. The opposite page is blank, save for this quote by background painter and production manager Herb Kynn:

"Everyone [at UPA in the early years] had respect for the other person. Everyone was relaxed, and free to contribute, and there was a great warmth and compatibility, which generated this enthusiasm, which ended up on the screen."

"Inside UPA" gives us a chance to see that enthusiasm up close and personal.

All proceeds of the book go to production of the feature documentary, UPA: Magoo, McBoing Boing & Modern Art. The book is published in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. Fifty of these copies come with a bookplate signed by UPA veterans who are still alive. It also includes a six-page filmography compiled by UPA biographer, Adam Abraham, which lists not only UPA's theatricals and TV shows, but also industrials and commercials.

More links:
Inside UPA on Cartoon Brew (with a couple of spreads from the book)
UPA exhibit at MoMA 1955