Traditional character/hand-drawn animator (and current Disney visdev artist) Minkyu Lee has been working on a personal film over the past two years, a short that from the looks of the footage I've seen proves it's possible for beautiful and polished work to be achieved by a very small number of individuals, if the people involved--and especially the person in charge--has the chops to pull it off.
Obviously Minkyu Lee does. This has the look of what we tend to call "classical animation". By the way, Minkyu painted all the backgrounds himself. There are only 6 key animators listed in his credits, all are friends and fellow CalArts grads with the notable exception of James Baxter(I think his work is immediately apparent in the short trailer). In additon, a dozen more artists not listed below, all of an obviously high caliber, helped finish it on their own time and in addition to their day jobs.
I saw this posted on animator Matt Jones' Facebook page and felt compelled to share it.
The backstory-all of it that I think I know-is that since the death in 1991 of the legendary French singer-songwriter and world class roué, Serge Gainsbourg, the walls of his home on rue de Verneuil in Paris have been used by fans as an ever-changing palette to express their love and regard for this epic character. Seeing the various scrawlings, pictures and messages, put to Gainsbourg's music and literally parsed as they are in the clever film process used is not only hypnotic but for me quite moving.
Apparently (difficult for me to make out as I don't read french) there's a film in production that is making some use of this graffiti via animation done by a studio named Zebulle. And at the end of the piece appear some great drawings by an artist named Joann Sfar, who's making a film on Gainsbourg which is incorporating the Zebulle animation...I think. I've seen his book "The Rabbi's Cat", but unfortunately don't own a copy of any of his work-which makes me think I'd better place an order at Stuart Ng's when my piggy bank is replenished. I think a post about bande dessinée and french animation is called for at any rate.
And speaking of the fair nation of France, yesterday I was at a screening of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's short listed animation nominees, among which was a really wonderful short written and directed by the veteran, ex-Dreamworks animator Fabrice Joubert, "French Roast".
This captivating film has fantastic atmosphere, staging and character animation-in its lead character in particular. While watching it I wondered, "Didn't Bibo have something to do with this?" and sure enough, he produced it. Another familiar name designed it: Nico Marlet. And yet another: one credit goes to the charming and wonderfully talented animator and illustrator Aurélie Blard-Quintard; a visit to her blog is a must.
Illustration by Aurélie Blard-Quintard, from her blog "tea-time, isn't it"?
I just love this short. Here's a link to watch it all. And here's more good stuff about how Nico's designs were translated to the screen (one of the best 2D to CG translations I've seen) from the French Roast production blog. Amusez-vous bien!
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