Peter Peel doesn't win something

I forgot to write anything about the Encounters Film Festival that was a couple of weeks ago. It was another good one. I had a slightly cut down version of The ongoing life of Peter Peel in DepicT! this year which was nice. All the filmakers did a little Q&A which was quite fun too. Sadly I didn't win but there were some nice comments about Peter on the DepicT! website though...

Sam Moore says:

I like the design and structure of this.

It’s also a really beautiful sentiment – I love the idea that by doing a really badly paid inconsequential job you could also do something extraordinary and amazing (or not).

The perfect expression of animation in fact …

and

William Westaway says:

Just watched all the films – this is the winner. Yes I also agreed with some of Billy’s comments however this film combines the weird and beautiful. Unique animation with touching sentiment – that white blob thing is the dreamer in all of us.

In theory we will all get what we want, but in life it never always works out that way.

Nailed Felix!

I know it's only a silly little film but I like it when people have thoughtful reactions to things I make like that.

This one is the best of them all though...

JJ Pierre says:

This is VERY appeeling.

Tate Movie Project wins at the BIMAs

Last week the Tate Movie Project website (which I'm doing the animation/character design and occasionally some writing for) won an award at the British Interactive Media Awards for the website and microsite category. The trophy was very heavy (about the weight of a bag of sugar) and red - it's nice. Here's a photo (taken by Gavin Strange, the wonderful senior designer on that same project). I think this was Aardman Digital's first award so it's a special one!

8 Minutes Idle gets greenlit

A little while ago I did some designs for some proposed animated sections for 8 Minutes Idle - a feature film Sarah Cox (of Arthur Cox Ltd) was hoping to produce as a feature film based on Matt Thornes novel. The project made it throught the pitch stage and it got green lit for production the other week so it will actually be getting made! Mark Simon Hewis is directing but in the meantime I've been doing some doodly illustrations for their (pre)production blog which you can see/read here! I'm really excited about this one.

Peter Peel is in DepicT! 2010!

My short animation, 'The ongoing life of Peter Peel - can, can, can't', is in the shortlist for DepicT! at Encounters this year! This was a little project I did while I didn't have any work on almost exactly this time last year. It wasn't funded by anything other than the grim prospect of foreseeable-future-unemployment and wintery-misery so I am very pleased it got selected! I made a website for it and everything but I've neglected that for too many months now. I should get going on that again soon. You can see it here though: www.PeterPeel.com

Also (if you like it) please feel free to give Peter Peel some stars on this page on the DepicT! website to help him out on the audience award!

If you haven't seen it before you can do below, or on that link there ^ Enjoy =)

The Flick Flip Flick project

Last night I went to the launch of Flick Flip Flick at UWE. The project was to get some animators in Bristol to do little flipbooks that could be printed by the Centre of Fine Print Research! You can find out more information here - it's a nice little thing and I think they're looking for more people to have a go if you're interested. Below is a picture of mine printed and on the wall and you can watch a little SWF of it if you click the bug image above...

Ronnie, the TATE Movie director, on CBBC!

Here's a little clip from CBBC today of some animation I did of Ronnie promoting the TATE Movie project! This is a project I'm working on with lots of pretty clever people at Aardman with the TATE gallery to help any child in the U.K. be part of a film that will be shown in cinemas across the country. Have a look at www.TATEmovie.co.uk/

I didn't get a Blue Peter badge

There's going to be a thing about the TATE movie on Blue Peter on Tuesday 14th! Andy Akinwolere came into Aardman the other day to do some filming and talk to Sarah (who's directing it all) and I spent a few days animating Ronnie, the director, saying some stuff to the presenters; to find out what he says make sure you tune in at 4.30 to watch it! I will watch it... even though they wouldn't give me a Blue Peter badge.

Toronto Zoo Polar Bears - be sure to see them ads

Last month, maybe the one before, I spent a couple of days working on a commercial directed by Matthew Walker for Toronto Zoo. There were four spots in all but you can see the one I did below:



Was a lot of fun to do especially because it's a bit like Matt's short film John and Karen which I really like and which you can see a clip of here: http://vimeo.com/1922334

Directed by Matthew Walker, produced at Arthur Cox for Aardman animations for Lowe Roche for Toronto Zoo.

The TATE Movie Project!

For a few months this year I've been working away on the character design and animation for the TATE Movie Project website. Today is the launch day so you can go see it all and have a look around the virtual film studio at www.TATEmovie.co.uk!

To find out more about what it is all about there is a good article on Creative Review - will be interesting to see how it all turns out!

It's directed by Sarah Cox of Arthur Cox Ltd; Robin Davey did the backgrounds; and it was all put together by lots of clever people at Aardman Digital who are hopefully resting their brains for a little bit now.

Nice mention of Francis Cooper from Atlanta

Came across a nice little mention of The surprise demise of Francis Cooper's mother by Mark Flindall, the programming co-ordinator of Atlantic Film Festival...

A movie I recently programmed that I consider to be a great personal discovery: We definitely didn’t premiere it, not even close, but I really loved the short The Surprise Demise of Francis Cooper’s Mother. It really felt like something special, and it’s also a pretty good distillation of my personal taste in film. It’s deeply weird, animated, has cats in it, perfect narration, and the suggestion that life goes on no matter how stupid, insane or unsuitable for life we may be. Which is actually kind of an amazing statement. Did I mention it has cats?

http://www.filmfestivalsecrets.com/2010/06/programmer-profile-mark-flindall-atlantic-film-festival/