OMPA and McMenamins’ Great Northwest Film Tour present… “Adventures in Plymptoons!”

Portland declares May 26 date “Bill Plympton Day”

The Great NW Film Tour is a new series geared toward independent releases, kicking off at McMenamins Mission Theater on Saturday, May 19

In a partnership with the Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA), McMenamins presents The Great Northwest Film Tour, giving new films a place to be shown, gather momentum and burst out onto the scene. At regular intervals, The Great Northwest Film Tour will host directors, actors and/or producers at our McMenamins hotels and theater-pubs with their latest work – could be a documentary, an action film, animation or beyond. Guests will be able to watch a premiere piece of film work, and maybe engage in a Q&A or listen to some music beforehand, all while enjoying McMenamins ales, wines, spirits and more.

First up is a film entitled Adventures in Plymptoons!, celebrating the life and work of legendary Portland animator Bill Plympton with a week-long series of screenings throughout McMenamins theater-pubs from May 19 through May 27, 2012. All screenings include a Q&A with director Alexia Anastasio and  producers Steve Tenhonen and Kevin Sean Michaels with special guests and activities to celebrate “Keeping it Weird” in Oregon. Tickets are on sale now and are $9 in advance, or $11 day of show. McMenamins is also offering special hotel packages on night when the Tour hits one of its hotels – the package includes lodging for two, two tickets to the film, two beers, a large popcorn and breakfast the following morning. Rates vary by property.

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Newly announced!
The City of Portland has declared Saturday, May 26, to be Bill Plympton Day. Events will begin with a parade from Laurelhurst Park to McMenamins Bagdad Theater, culminating in a screening of the film Adventures in Plymptoons!, including a Skyped-in visit from Plympton himself.

Sat., May 26: Bill Plympton Day Parade
1 p.m. * Gather in Laurelhurst Park, near the marching band – all are welcome.
2 p.m. * March over to the Bagdad Theater
3 p.m. * First screening of “Adventures in Plymptoons!” — you must have a ticket to go to the screening!

While Bill cannot be in attendance on this day, we will Skype him in to the event. Director Alexia Anastasio and Producer Kevin Sean Michaels will be at every screening to do an intro to the film and a Q&A.

More information below: Read more >>

New Startup “The Digits” is Greenlighted for Rebates from the Oregon Governor’s Office of Film & TV

Last week, web series creator Scotty Iseri received some good news on the startup venture he’s bringing into existence in September 2012; The Oregon Governor’s Office of Film & Television granted Iseri’s newest project, The Digits, to be the office’s first Next Generation media project to receive production rebates through the Indiginous Production Fund.   The Digits is an interactive “Appisode”, that involves a trio of lovable live action characters who travel the galaxy fighting evil. Iseri’s mission with The Digits is two-fold in helping 7-to-13 year olds love math and to feel good about their intelligence.   The Oregon Governor’s Office of Film and Television has overseen production rebates for such high profile series as Leverage, Portlandia and Grimm. The state’s recognition of Iseri’s work underscores the project’s potential to boost the local economy through hiring local talent, creating elaborate scenery, props and buying other goods and services to produce The Digits.   Vince Porter, executive director of the Oregon Governor’s Office of Film and Television echoes the relevance of supporting new media. “We’re very interested in Next Generation storytelling,” he said. “We’re proud to support an ambitious project like The Digits as an example of new entertainment business models that can have a positive effect on the way children learn. The fact that it’s happening here in Portland is incredibly exciting.”   Iseri, a native Oregonian, couldn’t be happier with the news from the state film office. In 2009, Iseri gained global web fame with Scotty Got an Office Job, a comedic web series that chronicled the absurdities of working in cubicles and with officemates. The series ran for 3 seasons, the 3rd being sponsored by Klick, an international marketing company based in Sydney. The viral success caught the eye of tech writer Liz Shannon Miller, who called Scotty “an inspiration” for freelancers worldwide, which was picked up on GigaOm and then the NY Times. Read more >>

The Pulse of Living Beings: An Evening with Jim Trainor

Working almost exclusively on 16mm for his entire career, Chicago filmmaker and animator Jim Trainor’s preferred technique is Sharpie on typing paper. This is the medium he used to create THE ANIMALS AND THEIR LIMITATIONS, a series of pulsing line-drawn animated films featured at this year’s Experimental Film Festival Portland. Exploring the natural/animal world, the series uses a witty balance of scientific exposition and humorous narration often coming from the animal itself (one piece screened in the 2004 Whitney Biennial in New York). It is also the medium he used to explore the animalistic, psychopathic behavior of a 1940s serial killer in the 1997 film THE FETISHIST, his first widely distributed work, which has a running time of 38 minutes, is composed of 20,000 separate drawings, and took 11 years to complete. Tonight, as an introduction to his interests and working methods, Trainor screens THE FETISHIST to decipher how he uses the dream state, metaphoric fantasies, and other approaches to investigate derailed social behavior. He follows with work-in-progress clips from his latest project, THE PINK EGG, a live-action feature film, complete with a script and actors. The subject matter is still social behavior, but here it plays out in the life cycles of seven main characters, all of them wasps and bees. How this “funny, austere horror movie” continues his artistic trajectory is the focus of an extended Q&A session and discussion.

FEES

Tuition:	$35.00
Equipment/Lab Fees:	$0.00

LOCATION

Northwest Film Center School of Film

934 SW Salmon Street, Portland, OR (Corner of 10th & Salmon)

JIM TRAINOR

JIM TRAINOR is a filmmaker and animator living in Chicago and teaching at the School of the Art Institute. The 2010 recipient of the prestigious Alpert Award in the Arts and numerous other honors, he is a featured visiting artist in this year’s Experimental Film Festival Portland. His many films have screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Sundance, and in the Whitney Biennial, as well as many other venues. In addition to the films mentioned above, he has also completed HARMONY, THE MAGIC KINGDOM, and THE PRESENTATION THEME.

TRAINOR screens a program of his films from THE ANIMALS AND THEIR LIMITATIONS as part of the Experimental Film Festival Portland, 7 PM on May 24, at The Mouth @ Zoomtopia, 810 sW Belmont. For full program details, visit www.cinemaproject.org

You can view Trainor’s “The Bats” below:

Second Story Creates Interactive Sculpture for TEDx

Portland’s Second Story interactive studio recently created a special interactive video sculpture for display at the Portland TEDx after-party.  As you can see in the making-of video above, the sculpture went from floor to ceiling and allowed guests to interact by translating their movements into a colorful digital visual display.  Second Story explains the project further:

Positioned at the center of a large art gallery, the installation embodied the spirit of the conference theme, “Uncharted Territory.” Topographic forms and kinetic shapes move along the vertical panorama of the sculpture and as guests approach, they become immersed in the flowing landscape. Depth-sensing cameras read human forms in real-time, creating topographic contours that pulse upwards along the 40-foot surface, literally projecting ourselves and our visions into uncharted territory.

The theme of the conference holds a special resonance for Oregonians, and the physical form was designed to reflect and amplify the natural environment. Conceptually, the structure finds inspiration in the poetic juxtapositions of the Cascade Range, where angular volcanic rock formations meet the fluidity of the skies and rivers. The details of the structure appropriate the tools of exploration: sails, ropes, rucksacks, tents, traditional knots.

As an integrated installation, we tried to design an experience that recreates the optimism of exploration and the hope one feels from constantly looking forward.

“Fireflies” – Kickstarter Launch Party / Open House

invites you to our Kickstarter Launch Party / Open House RSVP via: Upcoming or Facebook Subscribe to the Fireflies mailing list to stay up to date on the film and see if we reach our Kickstarter goal. Also, sign up to be a part of StopMotionPDX , a resource for stop motion filmmakers.  If you are interested in donating, please click here.

Hinge Digital Brings the Carfax Car Fox to Life in CG

Northwest Animation Festival, May 18-19
@ the Hollywood Theatre

“VFX Revolution” May 17th – Presented by WebVisions

VFX Revolution: How the Internet and Digital Devices are Reshaping Visual Effects and Film

Thursday, May 17, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM (PT)
Location: Bagdad Theatre, Portland, OR

Anyone with an interest in VFX will not want to miss this opportunity to see and hear first hand what is currently going on directly from some current experts in the field.  In less than 40 years, computer graphics and digital devices have transformed film experience with techniques such as digital compositing, motion control, computer-generated characters and photo-realistic images incorporated into live-action footage. Join a panel of film and visual effects experts as they discuss the new visual effects tools and techniques that have not only revolutionized the industry but have globalized the industry.

5:30-7:00pm – Pre-event Mixer sponsored by Yammer
7:00-8:30pm – Panel discussion

This event is free to WebVisions attendees.
Purchase/Reserve Tickets Here…

Speakers include:
Jeff White, Industrial Light and Magic
Ramiro Gomez, Hinge Digital
Brian Van’t Hul, LAIKA studios
Fred Ruff, Bent Image Lab
Jim Clark, Hive-FX

Event Sponsors:

WebVisions
Autodesk
3DPDX
52 Ltd
Oregon Film
NW Film Center

Portland Animation Now! – at the Cinema Pacific Film Festival

The NW Animation Festival is proud to bring you a special encore presentation of Portland Animation Now!—this weekend at the Cinema Pacific film festival in Eugene, Oregon.

short films from 20+ Portland animators

Date: April 20 @ 7pm
Runtime: 95min
Venue: Bijou Art Cinemas
Address: 492 East 13th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401
Tickets: $8 general public, $6 students/seniors
CLICK HERE to buy advance tickets

Amazing short films from Portland’s powerhouse animation scene! Highlights include…

Kubla Khan by Oscar-winner Joan Gratz: An interpretation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous opium-inspired poem—claypainted by the animator in a drug-free state.Ursula 1000 – Rocket by Eric Kilkenny: A love story told as a fever dream involving stolen works of art, dualistic robot terminators, and a giant floating head who seriously needs his moustache trimmed. Ruby Rocket, Private Detective by Sam Niemann & Stacey Hallal: It had been a long night and Ruby Rocket, Private Detective needed a stiff one—then HE walked in. Missionary by Mike A. Smith: Geopolitical allegory as cartoon slapstick, featuring eggs and fearsome hand-on-stick technology. Old-Time Film by Barbara Tetenbaum & Marilyn Zornado: Handset type, printer’s ornaments and antique engraving come to life in the first film created entirely through letterpress printing. Operation: Fish by Jeff Riley: After a series of goldfish abductions, a secret agent is dispatched to bring the fishnappers to justice, and possibly save the world!

CLICK HERE for more info …

BENT Does Coke in Europe

Football (Soccer) insanity is personified in a new 3D collaboration between Santo, (Buenos Aires, London, Milan) and Bent Image Lab, (Portland Oregon). Helmed by mixed-media maestro Carlos Lascano, “Spirit of the Euro” is an outrageous romp through stylized landscapes of Eastern Europe with an eccentric cast of chameleonic characters. The Coke-drinking, silly dancing, trumpet blowing, costume wearing, song chanting, stranger hugging football fans are a unique combination of CG animation and real actors’ eyes—a first for Coca-Cola, and a ground breaking technique for cinema 3D stereo. “I can’t say enough about working with Santo and Coca-Cola,” explains Bent Executive Producer/Partner Ray Di Carlo, “They always have really great creative, and are willing to experiment to push the limits of animation.”

Lascano, Bent, and Santo were the perfect team to approach this outrageously crazy creative spot which encompassed great storytelling, emotional charged content and technical innovation. Marrying live-action human eyes with 3D animation is a complex process but, as director Lascano says, “It’s worth the effort because it brings life to the eyes and a deeper human connection to the animated characters.” This stylistic approach was achieved through a culmination of techniques that Lascano and Bent Image Lab have developed independently and collaboratively.

The main character in “Spirit of the Euro” is a crazed football fan dressed in red and white Coca-Cola colors who flies a giant football shoe that runs on bottles of Coca-Cola and spews out a refreshing exhaust of carbonated bubbles in the shape of soccer balls. The soccer ball bubbles shower the city, transforming its many residents into fun loving crazy fans. “These characters needed to capture the viewers’ attention and the spirit of the game,” says Lascano, “but as the driving force behind the transformations, the main character also needed to possess both an irreverent attitude and an irresistible charm.” Read more >>