Maurice Sendak 1928-2012

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

The great children’s book author Maurice Sendak has passed away.  He was 83. I always liked the way he used black edges around figures in many of his drawings. His most famous work, ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ was always my least favorite. I never liked those particular drawings. They seem confused and fuzzy. I always took the most inspiration from his more controversial book, ‘In the Night Kitchen.’ Its drawings seemed to me to have a calm effortless quality. In fact, when I began this site years ago I often referred to Sendak’s work for simple pointers on illustration. His ‘Nutshell Library’ is the one that goes back the farthest into my own childhood memories. Its incredible simplicity and perfect match of words to pictures make it one of the great all time children’s collections.

Children’s books will suffer for the absence of Mr. Sendak and his incredible genius.

Here’s a relatively recent video with Sendak talking about his work and his admiration for poet William Blake.

Ray Bradbury on Writing

by Cimaxion

Ray Bradbury talks about the function of the writer in civilization and some of how he approaches his work. I often think this writer says stupid things and writes tepid uninspiring books for simple children. But there’s not much here for me to disagree with.

 

Be One With Thoreau’s Walden in a Computer Game!

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

Hmmm… well gee I dunno about this. Seems just like something a crew at a university might come up with. Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Walden’ as an interactive real-time 3D game that allows you to walk in Thoreau’s ‘virtual footsteps.’ Well all I can say is that the graphics better be bloody goddamn good or I’m not even stepping out the virtual door. A rose better look like a rose and not an artichoke, know what I mean? Did nasty little Thoreau know that he was leaving virtual footsteps? Would he have wiped them out if he did? Surely we can follow some sort of footsteps through his book. Wouldn’t that be the preferred means?

And another thing, this silly game better allow me the privilege to trample Thoreau’s lovely spot in Emerson’s backyard. I’d better be able to dig up some bushes and cut some trees if I want to. Could I expand on the cabin? I bet not. I bet these USC folks are utterly humorless about this silly project and envision me casually sauntering around and looking at leaves like a lobotomized moron with an interest in the Dalai Lama. I watched the Lama himself on CNN the other night. He said he gets turned on by women. My admiration for him went up a few notches. I also like that he wears blue glasses.

Here’s some clever wording from our friends at USC:

Walden, A Game simulates both personal and environmental life, modeling the basic personal needs outlined by Thoreau, as well as some of the more experiential concepts he described. Furthermore, the game takes advantage of the detailed notes that Thoreau took about the pond, and its surrounding landscape, flora and fauna.

The Thoreau that I know would have given this author an excellent ‘experiential concept’ by putting a shovel to the side of their head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZEQilshSA0

Carry That Weight: Super 8 Film by Andrea Nevi for Italian Tribute to the Beatles

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

Andrea Nevi of Italy directed this short film that is apparently a music video for a band called Mama’s Gan. The band has recorded a female tribute to the Beatles and this is their version of ‘Carry That Weight.’ I like it and I like the film a lot. I also like that beautiful face of the actress who is probably a member of the band. Incredible! I think I might fly to Italy to meet such a face. Every shot in this film is magnificent, but it’s that face around which the film pivots. I don’t think it is very easy to film a beautiful face. I know I always get very distracted whenever I try. I end up dropping my camera and forgetting all about what I’m doing.

Nevi’s film is a free-flowing beauty shot in Super 8. It won ‘Best Italian Film’ at the International Super 8 Film Festival 2011 in Milan, Italy.

Jam Tomorrow: Animation by Hayley Jukes

by Cimaxion

London animator Hayley Jukes made this stop-motion portrayal of an artist dealing with the various problems encountered when everything in one’s world contains life. Animators give this life to things and can’t always control the outcome. I particularly like the untied sneakers, the coffee urns, and the interesting sofa. Also, I just realized today that some of the music seems to be from a circus. Jukes appears to be making something in a simple way, framing shots so that she can perform and animate in what appears to be a single-handed effort. But she has a natural sense of composition that interests me for its ability to convey a mood. This is not the kind of film one makes to impress people. It’s the kind of film one makes to express something. It has that directness of technique and enthusiasm for mechanical discovery that I see in old avant-garde films of the 1920s and 30s. Jukes is using a very analog fun with cameras and objects style in a digital era and has the requisite talent for all true animators: the ability to imbue things with life.

http://vimeo.com/39724250

L’Amour, Toujours L’amour: A Short Film by Daniel Ablin

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

Ah yes! Oui! Bon! Merci! The urge to do away with one’s mate in favor of an improved version with more passion never leaves us, does it? But of course when French lovers murder one another it is just so full of life, wit and oh I don’t know what!

This clever and charming film is by Daniel Ablin and features an actor from the Comédie Française, Christian Blanc. The woman is played by Mireille Rivat. The film doesn’t push too hard, favoring a delicate touch with its humor, and it keeps the silent film thing just enough under control and just modern enough to avoid annoyance.

Stanley Kubrick’s First Film: Day of the Fight

by Cimaxion

This is Stanley Kubrick’s first film. In 1951, he was taking photographs for Look magazine but decided he could make a short documentary film for less money than the average production cost. Working with high school friend Alexander Singer, Kubrick filmed a boxer’s preparation for a big fight. It’s a concise and effective documentary with some excellent coverage of the match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cfgiZXyFBjM

Capsule: A Short Film by Tony Altamirano

by Cimaxion

Tony Altamirano’s film as been an official selection at the New York City International Film Festival 2011, Beverly Hills Shorts Fest 2011, Capital City Film Fest 2011, and the San Francisco Frozen Film Fest 2011. It’s a neat little science fiction surprise with a twist. I like its point of view on the imagination’s ability to transform reality even while putting one in mortal danger.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: Oscar Winning Short Animation

by Cimaxion | 1 Comment

This is the 2011 Oscar winning short animation, ‘The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.’ It’s the first film from Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was co-directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg

The film is also an iPad app that combines animation with an interactive picture book narrative.

Here’s a Cartoon Brew interview with the filmmakers..

Documentary: Los Angeles Meets the Megalith

by Cimaxion

Artist Michael Heizer’s enormous new work on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art required a 340-ton boulder as its centerpiece. The boulder had to be transported over 100 miles from its quarry. At first, I was very interested in this rock. It’s huge! But soon I became more interested in the city’s reaction to the rock. So this film documents the final few miles of the rock’s journey, but it also documents the people who came out to be a part of the great Los Angeles rock transport. The film is part documentary and part personal impression. The simple fact of the matter is that the rock’s arrival is an unusual milestone in the life of this city. You can tell that simply by looking at the faces in my film.