just one more.

who let this interesting individual in the studio...

; )

Frederic Back

Frederick Back died on Christmas Eve.

Thank you for your films, Frederic Back. More than an animator. A gentle and determined soul, a force for good in this world, and a quiet yet outspoken hero to those whose lives you touched.

winter's snowy ribcage.

every year around this time.

you turn the heat up.
the outside world starts looking like old age.
you eat too much.
and tea drinking starts in earnest.

flurry of snowflakes
flurry of activity
time to bid the year goodbye
and set your sights on the year to come.

2014
- reset horizon.
- finish this derned filum.
- look for pine trees and mountains.
- start the real studio.
- explore the world beyond the living room.
- dig deeper.
- reverse old habits.
- make big mistakes.
- follow them up by striking a path.
- eat lots of fruit.
- take time to look at the clouds, the stars, and waves.

the bluebird of 1421.

more classroom shenanigans.

student in blanket

it's that time of the semester again.

leger and t-rex

about to be mangled.

leger at pma.

the view from the acropolis.

so thank goodness there was a thanksgiving break - a chance to do something "wild and crazy," as it were, break out of the routine, and check out the work of some early-mid 20th century art freaks, causing trouble for the middle class (an easy target, after all).

admittedly for me, it was almost more interesting reading about what leger and his buddies were theorizing about than viewing some of the work, although it was a well-curated exhibition, and the links to advertising were quite interesting, and the "ballet mechanique" was a re-thought-provoking vision of film as a new medium, unfettered by convention, in the hands of surrealists. all that said, I do appreciate a good calder and a good miro, as they weren't so into the urban thing as leger, and overall more dream-like than industrial - although calder's connection to the circus was one of the things he shared with some of his contemporaries in 1920's paris...blah blah blah, eh.

I'm ready for more.

fall winter.

thanksgiving break

...and not a moment too soon!

it's already late tonight, but I couldn't help but spend a little time on transferring the ogre mermaid shot list over to google docs to make it accessible to the crew to update on their own.

looking forward to time devoted to the film over the next few days.

a walk in the woods

a film karl and I made a couple of years ago, tearing up leaves and playing with rocks out in the wissahickon. it's supposed to be a little scary. unfortunately so far, no one has told us that they've been scared. not even a little perturbed.

o.k. maybe a little perturbed.

this piece slipped noiselessly into cinematic oblivion right out of the cradle, which is one reason I am resuscitating it here. I hadn't made a karl film before, and my apparent lack of midas touch (although I do like it) makes it plausible we may not do another one (though I hope that's not the case), and only confirms my suspicion that great art goes unpunished.

 
A Walk in the Woods from karl staven on Vimeo.

time for fall

tissue aminals

and this is very wunnerful:

paper tissue animation

cosi morning

...and some of these people were actually sitting there.

and yesterday in Chestnut Hill...

how'd he get everyone to help him with this...

John Lewis: The Bear & the Hare

Teamwork...

ahhh..."big budget."

starbucks & cake.

breathing in the wissahickon

quay brothers at uarts

the Quay Brothers screened their new film "[UN]MISTAKEN HANDS: EX-VOTO F. H.," at UArts this evening, along with their adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's "Maska."

they were in good form, with quick wit and revealingly unrevealing answers during the question and answer session afterwards. I especially liked the comment one of them made about their films having a spine, but with maybe six arms, all on one side.

and I thought, "better get back home and work on the film."

the iPad finds a high-profile user.

in David Hockney.

a closer view.

scribbles from the side of the brain.

grabbing the hairy thing.

"its" alright.

collaboration.

darts player.

drawn in a plane.

green folk.

still trying to find a use for the iPad...

claire around the world.

Claire's latest adventures.

animation is...

storytelling in movement design.

movement means life, and life has a story to tell.

what do animators do? animators conceptualize movement, taking reality and interpreting it, reflecting life via motion, the sense that a thing has a path to take and make from the random choices that confront us every moment. animators create that unpredictability that life brings.

world out there.

sometimes you wonder if it's safe to venture out.

"stuck in the middle"

I love reading Ru's comics, because, having grown up in Hawai'i in mixed circumstances and then having traveled to different places for extended and repeat visits, what she writes about makes a lot of sense to me.

"Stuck in the Middle": comic by Ru Kuwahata of Tiny Inventions.

But it looks like this might be the last one, so enjoy it while it lasts!

tools of the trade.

back in the studio for an afternoon of drawing and coloring with janellen.

janelle is coping with animating particles by hand.
ellen is painting seascapes in the paint program.
chris animated the ogre turning away in disgust (probably saw the latest news report about the government shutdown).

anyway, nice to be back with the others, wheels are a'turnin' once again...

a few shorts from ottawa '13

...selected for my junior collaborative animation workshop to view. they are working on a music/animation collaboration at present. some of the pieces here are not music-oriented, just made an impression.

• Manabu Himeda, “Na Ni Nu Ne No No” www.youtube.com/... 
• Yuki Nakauchi, “Celebration and Chorale” vimeo.com/... 
• Ryoji Yamada, “Waiter” www.youtube.com/... 
• Rosto, “Lonely Bones” vimeo.com/... 
• Edmunds Jansons, “Choir Tour” vimeo.com/... 
• Saki Iyori, “Ohayo Carotene,” vimeo.com/... 

just one more...

back from ottawa, sep'13 from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

back on the front steps of Hamilton Hall after another fun and eye-opening experience at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, September 2013.

time in ottawa

and so another great trip draws to a close...everyone seemed happy, and I did enjoy myself as well. tomorrow morning it's the drive home and the readjustment back into the regular routine. how lucky we are to have the chance to dream for a few days like this...

80 degrees in canada.

byward market from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

in front of the spider

ottawa sep '13 from Christopher Magee on Vimeo.

Canada, here we come...

heading to the Ottawa International Animation Festival, bright and early on Wednesday morning.  : )

get out your layered clothing, bring your thick skin and a pair of earplugs to weather chris robinson's cynical "humor," and be prepared to watch what everyone's been making in their own little caves!

youpiiiiiiiii!

reflection

cracked sky in the street.

other things I do

making music at cake and the beanstalk.