animatetv booklet

8/2/2019 AnimateTV Booklet

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AnimateTV was established in 1990as a unique collaboration betweenArts Council England and Channel 4to support independent productionof experimental and artists' work,selecting projects through an annualopen call for proposals. This OVO is aselection of 23 films from more than100 innovative and challenging films byBritish artists and animators .At animateprojects.org there isadditional background information,materials and essays on many of theAnimateTV films, and interviews withsome of the people who made them.Animate Projects commissions andproduces AnimateTV and other projectsfor broadcast, gallery, cinema anddigital exhibition that explore therelationship between art and animation.

PublisherAnimate Projects LimitedLondon SEl lNL, [email protected]

Design by Adam Pugh

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http:///reader/full/animateprojects.orghttp:///reader/full/animateprojects.orghttp:///reader/full/animateprojects.orgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/animateprojects.orgmailto:[email protected]


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Towards Chaos

By Adam Pugh

Let's forget about animation for a moment. Assume that the narrow conceit of adiscipl ine defined by technique has failed to serve a mov ing image of experienceand emotion - that a discipline at all, shrink-wrapped and civil ised, could nevercontain the chaotic and free . Assume that animation is, rather, a thought-structure,a philosophy, a way of seeing the world. Assume this, and 'animation' becomes partof a wider mov ing image wh ic h, together with a significant cross-section of artists'film, shrugs off the material world to pursue its essen ce. We could call it the'radical moving image '

Freed from the clutches of an industrialised, process - bound definition, this 'radicalmoving image' makes possible all that which 'animation' should do. It discovers,recovers, uncovers the phenomenal world, working not with literal representationbut with intuition, immed iacy, emotional memory; the subconscious, liminal andessential. It sees beyond.Libera ted from notions of the literal or photographic, it doesn't merely record theworld but recreates it as it sees fit, following a map, not of geog raphy or geology,but of emotion and experien ce. Heeding no clock, l imited by no rules, time as weknow it - linear, uniform, quantifiable and divisible - is twisted, deconstructed,poked fun at, becoming a circularity or a singularity or a nonentity. And from thisa meta-world dense in symbols and signs both manifest and latent is conjured; ametaphorical universe more fluid and rich than the 'real' world, summoned, andmediated only by, imagination.It's almost a prerequisite of this universe that it retains a sense of the ambiguousand un certain; that it surrenders, in part, to the unknown and unknowable. In sh ort,it courts chaos itself. Just as it is adept at conveying a sense of the inconclusive,the in-between, the unsaid and half-remembered, so it works in a way which

allows for chaos to remain an influence, and by doing so cuts straight through thecenturies of civilisation, logic and enlightenment to something which is ancient yetahi storic; the chaotic kernel of what it is to be human.It is in this way that it speaks to perception and experience, speaks the languagenot of the vi sible and recordable but of the elemental and intuitive: a humantongue. It's a radical force, returning us to a world of phenomena and encouraginga release from the literal and worldly; a reconnection with something that is, orapproaches, the spiritual. It shines further than literal, linear accounts of the worldever could we don't need recourse to words to explain it.And from there, it is necessari ly political too, because the literal and the linear arewhat ground and contain us, limiting dreams and insurrections alike. We're told lifeis linear, time is linear; that the world is a sphere yet ensnared by lines; and thatit's not about perception but what is immediately visible, quantifiable, winnable,bankable. Abou t the without, not the within. But th is unyielding straightness mustgive way, just as large trees fall where slender sapl ings bend to the wind giveway to the circular, the perceptual, the phenomenal. And that, surely, should be theultimate goal of this radical moving image. . to show us things as they might be; toshow us things as they could be; and to show us how we might change things.

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Treat the collection on this DVD, therefore, less as a selection of animated films- loaded term as that is - and rather as a glimpse of the rad ical moving imagein one of the guises it currently inhabits. Treat it as an antidote to the benumbed,moribund moving image we are served up every day . And treat it as a guide, aboveall, to possible routes through to a world of perception and experience , emotion andintuition.


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Fit Perpetual Motion in the Landof Milk and Honey (6'22", 2004 )A film by AL and ALFeaturing James BrownSimu lat ing a grandfather's lifelong endeavour tocreate a perpetual motion device and supply freepower for the people . During a telephone call withthe Lamb of God, Britney Spears sa bota ges theproject and sets in motion her own drive for infin ty.The con fli ct produces a series of alchemical eventswhich have on ly one co nse quence, a land flowingwith milk and honey . Bluescreen live action and30/20 CGI composite video.-) alandal.co.uk

Purple Grey (7'50", 2006)A film by Sebastian BuerknerSound Design Rainer HeeschSound Mi x Sion TammesContributors Caroline Achaintre,Becalelis Brodskis & Camille Brooks

Twis ted fantasies, associations and flashbacks offeran enticing escape, and even a mundane roo m maybe made more by mentally morphing spaceand time. But in this insta nce the unhindered andinfinite virtual flood of imagery and meaning turnsinto an insensitive, dreary obstruction. All imagesand animation generated in Adobe Flash .-) sebas tianbuer kner.com
http:///reader/full/alandal.co.ukhttp:///reader/full/sebastianbuerkner.comhttp:///reader/full/sebastianbuerkner.comhttp:///reader/full/sebastianbuerkner.comhttp:///reader/full/sebastianbuerkner.comhttp:///reader/full/sebastianbuerkner.comhttp:///reader/full/sebastianbuerkner.comhttp:///reader/full/alandal.co.ukhttp:///reader/full/sebastianbuerkner.com


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Furniture Poetry (5'15", 1999)A film by Paul BushMusic Andy Cowton"What prevents me from supposing that this tableeither vanishes or alters its shape when no oneis observing it and then when so meone looks at itagain it changes back?" Wittgenstein, On Certainty.Pixi llat ion of tables, chairs, shoes, jug s, teapo ts andalmost anything and everything lying around thehouse.

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3 Ways to Go (4'16",1997)A film by Sarah CoxLighting and Camera Keiran McguiganEditor Rod MainSound Designer Justin AdamsA trinity of dying, as people approach separate,untimely deaths.Hand-e xposed film, drawing on film, conventionalanimation and live action are employed to extend thefilmic experience of the ir imagined last moments.- ) worldofarthurcox.co .uk

13 (5'25", 2004 )A film by Simon FaithfullSound Joe WilsonProducer Nick HerrettA melanchol y journey through a nebu lous urbanlandscape - the film's elliptic and fantastica lprogress along a universe parallel to the A13 trunkroad take s place in the mind of a dyi ng do g sniffingits way back to its birthplace in Bark ing . A series ofor iginal drawings made with the artis t's Palm Pilot,on location, are layered and assembled to produce aseries of animated gifs.- ) i r T 1 0 n f a i t f u l L o r g

Tad's Nest (4'48", 2009)A film by Petra FreemanMusic by Sofia GubaidulinaAccordion Geir DraugsvollSound Design Pete HowellProducer & Editor Tim Rolt

Tad 's Nes t - the place where eels mature beforebeing compelled to return to a location using onl ymemo ries of sertsations to guide them.Paint on glass, recording pictu re changes with adig ital stills ca mera.
http:///reader/full/worldofarthurcox.co.ukhttp:///reader/full/worldofarthurcox.co.ukhttp:///reader/full/worldofarthurcox.co.ukhttp:///reader/full/worldofarthurcox.co.ukhttp:///reader/full/worldofarthurcox.co.ukhttp:///reader/full/worldofarthurcox.co.uk


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Proximity (3' 53", 2006)A film by Inger Lise HansenCollaborators Hilde Malme, Greg Pope, HelgaFjordholm, Patrick Jolley, Farhad Kalantary, HorstMalkenbur, Emily RichardsonSound Design Stu rIa Einarson

An upside-down view creates a myste ri ous and disorienting space. Shot on Super 16mm film, with the camera placedupside-down on a small dolly and moved 1cm at atime by hand, and shot frame by frame . The trackwas 15 metres long and was placed in differentpositions in different climates on the same flatbeach in North Jutland, Denma rk.

The Life Size Zoetrope (6'33", 2007)A film by Mark Simon HewisProduced by Katie DanielsSound Design by Chris BarnettDirector of Photography Annemarie Lean-VercoeMusIc by The BooksNarration by Chris McCalphyThe ce lebratory life sto ry of one man, told via aone-take live action shot of a human zoetropecontaining the film. Made with 36 printed book s ofeach animated loop, shot live action on a Ro und Upfairground ride .-) marksimonhewis.com

Feeling My Way (5'32", 1997)A film by Jonathan HodgsonRostrum Camera Jeremy MoorsheadAn account of a two mile journey made from ho meto wo rk on foot, sha ring the traveller's exper iences- his idle thoughts and rep et it ve neuroses - andseei ng his mental reactions to the trials an dtriviality of daily life. Video footage printed outusing an inkjet printer is com bin ed with drawings,text and paint.- ) h o . q g s ~ n f i l r T l ~ o . r T l

The Black Dog's Progress (3'14", 2008)A film by Stephen IrwinMusic by Sorenious BonkThe sad story of the Black Dog is told with a seriesof hand-drawn flipbooks . The scene grows denseras looped scenes accumu late and the narrativedeve lops.Over fifty fl ipb o(}k animations are assembled withina single shot, eac h repre senting a different scene,that co ntinu e to pla y on a loop as the narrativedeve lops.- ) smalltimeinc.com

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Kingdom Protista (5'lS", 2000)A hIm by Andrew KottingAnimation by Andrew LindsayEditor Russell StopfordMusic Toby McMillanIn dimensions that fall between those of bacteriaand the smallest of an imals there exists a realm oflife so diverse that you have to sit and wonder. Thisis the Kingdom of Protista.

What She Wants (5', 1994)A hIm by Ruth LingfordEditor James GormleyMUSIC Lol CoxhillA woman travelling on the underground is bedevilledwith images of desire; a hIm about sex andshopping, the social deployment of sexuality, andcapitalism in detumescence. Created on an Amiga1500 home computer.

Ferment (5', 1999)A hIm by Tim MacmillanTime-Slice Photography Andy KempEditor Malcolm MacmillanProducer Grace KittoIn a quiet city square an old man clutches hische st and falls to the ground, and t ime stands sti llWe travel from the square, down streets, throughbuildings - the human condition unfolds In glimpsesof frozen moments . The time-slice technique waspioneered by Tim Macmillan as a student at BathAcademy of Art and the Slade School- ) timesl icehlms.com

Cowboys:t Slim Pickin's, That's Nothin', Outrage(3 x 3', 1991)Films by Phil MulloyMusic by Alex Balanescu & Keith TippettGrotesque Wild West goes vaudeville. Prairie talesin stark, dark ink to outrage and illuminate. Th ree ofa series of six hlms that comment on contemporaryvalues throug h reinterpretation of the myths of theold Wild West. Drawn in brush and ink .-) philfTllJ110y.com

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Sunset Strip (3'30", 1996)A fi lm by Kayla Parke rDubbing Mixer Paul RobertsSound Designer Stuart MooreA day-by-day diary of a whole year's sunsets,painted onto a continuous strip of 35mm film. 365setting suns, 12-frame, half-second days, rendereddirectly onto a 35mm film stock using a variety ofmaterials, including nail varnish, magnolia petals,hair and net stockings.

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Yours Truly (8', 2006)A film by Osbert ParkerCo-writer Ian W GouldstoneEditor Matthew McKinnonKey Animators Laurie Hill & Meghana BisineerCelluloid characters are ripped from archive footageand reassembled in a surreal city of last century'sdetritus to tell the story of Frank and Charlie.16mm 'in camera' reconstructions of photo cut-outsand real objects in miniature 3D environments .

Go West Young Man (3'43", 1996)A film by Keith PiperFather's voice Hayden FordeSon's voice Wilbert JohnsonMusic and Sound Design Derek RichardsProducer Janice Cheddie

A father and son resist the stereotypes of theirrace and gender in a personal and historical surveyof bias and prejudice. Created on an Amiga homecomputer, the film parallels their dialogue with amontage of historical moments that have influencedWestern perceptions of Black masculinity.

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Magnetic Movie (4'56", 2007)A film by Semiconductor:Ruth Jarman & Joe GerhardtPhotographed and Recorded at the Space SciencesLaboratory UC Berkeley, USAVLF Radio Recordings by Stephen P McGreevy

Natural magnetic fields are imagined as chaotic,ever-changing geometries as scientists from NASA'sSpace Sciences taboratory excitedly describe theirdiscoveries. Animated photographs, using soundcontrolled CGI and 3D compositing.-) semiconductorfilms .com

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Who I Am and What I Want (7'23", 2005)A him by David Shrigley 8. Chris ShepherdVoice Kevin EldonAnimation Alan Andrews, Siren Halvorsen8. Ellen KleivenMusic Martin YoungSound Designers Barnaby Templer 8. Jake RobertsProducer Maria MantonBased on Shrigley's book of the same name, somemay say Who I Am and What I Want is a snapsho t ofthe human condition. Others might think Pete is Justplain weird . Either way the him is an experience youwon 't fo rget.

l i n . k Y p ' i ~ ~ ~ o - > dayidshrigley.com

15th February (6'35", 1995)A him by Tim Webb'-In collaborallon with Janice BI99sPoem written and narrated by Peter Read IngLlghllng and Camera David Green, Colin Hawkins 8.David Pritchard

Love gone wrong in 294 cuts. Symbolism and sadismmeet live action and stop motion in this tale ofrhythmic reje cti on and its aftermath.

~ a . . . . - Rabbit (8'30", 2005).. . . yaw.' A him by Run WrakeWi, .... ;'.H(I'I , Assistant Animators Martin Morris, Barnaby Hewlett

8. Murray John. .: . ~ ~ .. Ed itor Rich WhiteMusic Howie B 8. Craig RichardsA modern mystery film of lost innocence, greed andnature1950s educational stickers, illustrated by GeoffreyHigham and published by Philip 8. Tacey Limited,discovered in a junkshop, provide the ingredientsfor this adult fairy tale. Mixed media, includingfound images and hand-drawn abstract animation,compiled in After Effects.-> runwrake.com

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10/11

Death to Animation

By Dick ArnallI believe it's time to kill animation. Not the animation we watch, bu t the word weuse to label it.Everyone out there knows that animation means 'invented ' characters brough t tolife on the screen by an animator. But those of us inside the world of the movingimage, also use the term 'animation' to refer to just about anything that isn't directlive action, created by just about any alternative means for just about any aesthetic,narrative or conce ptual reason . We lump together all these techniques, forms andambitions, cal l them animation and, frankly, to say the least, it's just not helpful.In the UK the term 'animation' seepe d into mass consciousness during the secondhalf of the 1960s . Up to then we mostly had cartoon and it was mostly madefor kids. But the arrivat of Yellow Submarine in 1968 changed all that, with itspsychedeli c surrealism and visual references ranging from Sa lvador Dali to AndyWarhol. Not to mention a dozen sc intillat ing song sequences - mu sic videos yearsbefore they were invented . This fea ture film clearly wasn't a ca rtoon for childrenwith families in tow . So, in the spirit of that exc itable decade, the culture industrydeemed that this was a grown-up ca rtoon, and called it 'animation'Of course, even in the 1960s, those of us who were ser iou s about film knew therewas nothing novel about cartoons for adults. There was already a half-centuryhistory of animators and artists making thoughtful, mature, often mixed-mediaworks - Len Lye, Walerian Borowczyk, Stan Brakhage, Saul Bass, Jan Svankmajerand hundreds more. So when I started a British film festival in 1967 to give aUK audience better access to their films, I very deliberately called the event theCambridge Animation Festival. I wanted to sign post a defiance of Disney's culturalhegemony and challenge the prevailing popular pre sum ption of funny, gag-richca rtoons for kids .1B

And here we are in 2005, four decade s later, in a world filled with funny 'ca rtoon'characters from Pixar, Aardman and Klasky Csupo, and guess what, it's all calledanimation now l Animation has become the new term for character-based, sto rydriven, frame-by-frame cartoon family entertainment. Which is fine and fun in itself,but where does it leave those of us who want to use similar too ls and proce ssesfor less conventional ambitions?Someone I know well has just been commissioned by a European broadcaster tomake a series of short authored films about the social and cultural associationsaround the hymns we used to sing in sc hool assembly. She will be constructing hervis ual narrative from old family photographic albums, archive footage, illust rations,stop-frame model and digital cut-out, all treated, layered and melded into a rushof visual memory. Animation? Erm, well yes, there's no other word to describeit. But it's one she avo ids using at all cost because that immediately requires alengthy backtrack ing ... "Actually, I won't be making 24 drawings a seco nd, the filmswon't have characters, they won't be funny ..."The UK-based animate project is all about questioning received notions ofanimation practice The submission guidelines for the annual round of commissionsfunded by the project could hardly be more provocative. "You do not have to bean animator to apply. Animation is not, and nev'er has been, exclusively driven byframe-by-frame process but by notions of synlhesis. Animation can be image repre sentation through spatial or timeline manipulation - or anything that could notbe directly recorded in front of a live-action camera. animate supports innovativecontent and 'agenda' as well as new forms and techniques." But regardless,every year some submissions bl ithely assume that animate might fund Harry theHedgehog's depressingly fam iliar cartoon frolics .

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However I'm not Just proposing a new label for experimental artist practice. Thereare also epic blockbuster visions like the intensely invented and constructedworlds of Lord of the Rings and Sin City, seminal concepts like (British-born)time-slice that be came the climactic bullet-time moments in The Matrix series, thehigh-energy visual mash-ups for narrative spin in Amelie or Lock, Stock and TwoSmok ing Barrels. These all use conceptual boldness and a ra ft of animator's tr icks&. tools to invent and manipulate the image, but the context and agenda is muchmore complex and thoughtful than making straightforward animation.

So, as I said at the start, 'animation' really is not a helpful label any more. Let'sreturn to 'cartoon' to describe regular character-based storytelling, whether it's TheSim psons, Wallace &. Gromit or Toy Story. Death to 'animation' It's time to find anew word fo r "the extended moving image" .August 2005

Dick Arnall was independent production advisor for AnimateTV from 1990 - 1998,and produced the project from 2000 until his death in 2007.

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