Strange Conventions

Who was it that decided that animated children's films should be bookended with live action pieces in which the main character is shown to transform into an animated character (and back again at the end)?

Why is it that in any film in which a character who is a composer/musician performs the single greatest piece of their entire lives, is the music always uninspiring and forgettable (yet the audience in the film goes ka-ka for it)?

I was reminded of this second strange convention last night when, because of some kind of chemical inbalance in our brains, we watched the film August Rush - a film so fucking awful that it actively makes you stupider the more of it you watch.
Rebecca and I lay in an August Rush induced coma that lasted a good forty or fifty minutes before we regained enough cognitive functions to slide from the couch to the jug of vodka filled summer punch that was sitting on the table nearby.

Asked and Paid

For Sean, who asked and paid.

Cowan Hangs Next To Steadman

Well this is rather a pleasure and an honor.
A billion years ago when I was developing Boxhead and Roundhead I did some little sketches and sent them to a new pal, Uli Meyer in London.
Now they are framed and hanging right next to a Ralph Steadman.
Uli clearly has very good taste.

Thing

A New Clip

I'm momentarily distracted by other things at the moment so I've had to put down The Thing In The Distance momentarily.
Here's a new clip you may enjoy.

Short and sweet (and unfinished).

Pooing

In order to become more contemporary and cutting edge, I'll be animating something like this very soon.

Commission

Hannah, the lovely wife/girlfriend/life partner of super editor Matthias Sundberg asked me to do some Boxhead and Roundhead drawings as an anniversary present for her feller.
Here are the results.
They are both very happy, it seems.
9 x 12, pen and ink.

More Tea

A screengrab from the new stressful adventure, "The Thing In The Distance".
More hot tea.
Can't be good...

Been Waiting So Long

Well here we are again.
Once or twice a year I revisit my favorite CDs and I've come around to Tom Waits classic "Bone Machine".
Anyone who's spent any time on this blog will know how influential Waits music has been on my work.
For those who don't know his work here is a potted history in stages.
1) Kind of beatnik folsky.
2) Jazz based.
3) Blues bleeding around lush strings and horn arrangements.
4) Rock and blues beginning to edge towards his exploration of "junk" music.
5) Experimentation, country, folks, rock, noise onwards and upwards.

Personally, it's the most recent stuff I like the most.
It's all visceral storytelling and bashing pots and pans.

The first CD of his I ever listened to was Bone Machine, and this is what I'm listening to as I write this.

It was a demanding listen to someone who doesn't really know his work.
It really did open my eyes to new music and new ways of thinking that have ensured I'll never run with the pack or be a part of the mainstream.

Anyway.
Here are a couple of clips.
Tom rocking out.


Tom doing old folk, accompanied by Felix the Cat for some reason...

Me times 3

Hometown and Time Called

2 things today.

A) Last night we hove through several hours of student films at the first ASIFA-East jury screenings for the year.
Time was called several times ("time" meaning, stop the film now please).
It's very important for students to know why this is.
1) It's possible you had such an awful film that nobody wanted to sit through it.
I don't think we had a single case of this last night.
Fact is, shitty films have a fascination factor and they sometimes play longer than better films.
2) Many folks watching your films have seen LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of films, especially student films. It's easy to get a sense of how hard someone worked, or how much care and love was put into a film. Having time called on your film can mean "This is great, we know where this guy is coming from".
3) Several of the films have been seen by many folks before. They are online, or included in podcasts like Frederator. People know these films well enough and can make a call on them without seeing the whole thing.
4) We had 4 hours of screenings to cram into 3 (and still didn't fit it all in).
My point being really that having your film cut short under these circumstances is not a sign that you've made a shitty movie and often it's quite the opposite.

B) At long last, I have a film playing in my hometown of Melbourne, Australia in the big animation film festival they have there every year.

Playing Soon

I'm pleased to say that Brothers In Arms will be playing in a number of film festivals in the next few months, including Athens ANIMfest and the BE Underground Film Festival.
There are some others too that I can't officially announce yet.
In the meantime, here is a picture of a woman standing on a pig.

This

I wish my B&R films were as marvelous as this piece of brilliance from the NFB.
Perhaps it's got something to do with budget (I'm sure talent has nothing to do with it...).

Soon

I went to a fun animation event last night.
You can read about it HERE.
I'll post some more drawings soon, I promise.

Remake

While visiting Curious last week, I stopped to watch them film a remake of Todd Brownings "Freaks".
These animatronic models are remarkably lifelike, aren't they?
Their characters are called Mr Jefferies and Zo-zo.

Arse

While in the city yesterday, I spotted this parrot with a man perched under his arse.

Pants

We caught the train into the city last week and I spotted this poster for an upcoming production of The Wizard Of Oz.
The fellow playing the lion seems to have something unwholesome going on in his lion pants.
I'm not sure if it's dangerous, but he should have it seen to be a doctor or a lioness.
Click on the photo if you need a closer look...

A Clip From The New Film

A clip from The Stressful Adventures of Boxhead & Roundhead - THE THING IN THE DISTANCE.
That name is going to be a bugger to put on film festival entries...

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