“Contexting” makes its premiere in NY

http://animationblock.com/summerfest2011/

My latest animation will be playing at the Animation Block Party event at BAM (Brooklyn Art Museum) . A great venue in a great city!

 

Greenville History Museum and Columbia’s Nickelodeon Theater

SOUTH CAROLINA STORIES
SCREENING OF FILM FUND SHORTS IN COLUMBIA AND GREENVILLE
NOVEMBER 11 & NOVEMBER 17

 

The South Carolina Film Commission will screen five of the films produced
through the first two years of their Production Grant program on November 11
in Columbia, SC, at the Nickelodeon Theater, and November 17 in Greenville
at the Upcountry History Museum.

Fresh off successful runs on the international film festival circuit, this
will be the first chance to see all of these short films as one collection.
The screenings are free and open to the public.

"These films really show the filmmaking talent that is in South Carolina,
and the type of enriching, dynamic stories our state holds," said Tom Clark
with the Film Commission.  "And what better audience to appreciate these
stories then South Carolinians themselves."

According to Clark, the program - titled South Carolina Stories -  is made
up of films that tell their tales with distinctive style and creativity, and
includes renowned acting talent such as Patty Duke, Mackenzie Astin, and
Keir O'Donnell (Wedding Crashers, The Runaways).  

The short films include Civil, a breathtaking Civil War story with a twist;
Cannon Street Boys, the true story of the 1955 Cannon Street YMCA Little
League team in Charleston; Appalachian Dreams, an animation/live-action
hybrid based on the traditional crafts and music of southern Appalachia;
Song of Pumpkin Brown, a narrative account of the Jenkins Orphanage's
celebrated music program and its influence on jazz; and a segment from the
feature-film The Four Children of Tander Welch, the first-time teaming of
actress Patty Duke and her son Mackenzie Astin.

All films were produced through the Film Commission's Production Grant
program, the first-ever of its type in the nation.

The screenings will include question and answer sessions with the
filmmakers.  Following are details for each program:

NOVEMBER 11

Nickelodeon Theater
937 Main Street
Columbia, SC  29201
Starts at 8 pm

NOVEMBER 17
Upcountry History Museum
540 Buncombe Street
Greenville, SC, 29601  
Starts at 7 pm

For more information, contact Brad Jayne at
brad@creativeforgeproductions.com.

Appy gets into the Virginia Film Fest.

I love Charlottesville as it is the home to UVA and Jefferson’s Monticello.  This a great cultural hub of the South and I’m honored to have my film play at a great event.

Here’s a sketch I did on a visit last year…

from my sketch blog…

Southern Appalachian Film Fest

SOAPIFF

If you are Kinsport Tennessee, Eastern Tennessee State University, please check out the Southern Appalachian Film Fest.  My film will be screened Saturday Oct 30th at the Kinsport Public Library 10am.

Dixie Film Fest

Athens is a great college town and UGA is a great university with lively cultural events so I’m real pleased to be part of the Dixie Film Fest.  My goal with Appy Dreams was to promote the culture of clogging and this is one more gem.  I hope there’s a big crowd and perhaps I’ll get to meet some great local film makers.

Bumbershoot to screen Appy Dreams

I’m proud to announce that my film will be part of a great music and arts fest.  Bumbershoot is right up there with SXSW and Spoleto.

Appy Dreams wins award at Appalachian Film Fest

I was pleased to find that my film was a recipient of “Best Micro Film” at the 2010 Appalachian Film Fest in Huntington, WV.

Charleston Intl Film Fest

Appalachian Dreams will have its South Carolina premiere at the 2010 Charleston Intl Film Fest.

It’ll be interesting to see what native South Carolinians think of an animated clogging film.

Asheville Film Fest Pics

Eric Rogers (center) the cinematographer with Bill Nichols and me.

Bill Nichols the star of the film and his lovely wife, Marie.

I met this film maker from the Asheville Film Fest, his film, “War Stories” was screened on Friday.

Appalachian Dreams Clip

Here’s a clip of the film.  The full version is doing the film festival rounds so I won’t be posting it until next year.  I have DVD’s if anyone is interested.

Asheville Film Fesival

My film, Appalachian Dreams will be screened Saturday Nov 14th, 6:30pm at the Fine Arts Theatre in downtown Asheville.

This is a real nice fest as there are some great films, workshops, and Asheville is a cultural mecca in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Grand Rapids Film Fest

Appalachian Dreams had it’s premiere at the Grand Rapids Film Festival in August.

I’m please to note that it is also in official competition in the Asheville Film Festival and the Short Toronto Independent Film Festival.  Details to follow!

A New Tradition

My latest animation film is based on the art quilts of two extraordinary quilters, Dixie Haywood and Dottie Moore. I met the artists while attending a gallery opening at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens. This beautiful place housed their quilts and I find inspiration every time I visit. I was very excited about working with Dixie and Dottie, they were so receptive in allowing me to work with their quilts in a digital realm. I was attracted to using a traditional medium such as quilt fabric but in a digital twist.

I used Photoshop to tear apart their quilts and reassmbled them to work with animation. I found myself making virtual patterns and colors with nothing but a mouse and a wacom digital tablet. But don’t be FOOLED, it was tedious work! The computer cannot read minds and so I had to go in sometimes, stitch by stitch to faithfully recreate the illusion of fabric. After such work, I have such great respect for quilters as they apply their crafts in the real physical world.

Dixie and Dottie both take traditional quilting and break the rules subtly and abruptly. They refer to themselves not necessarily as quilters but quilt craftpersons, an interesting coinage. The music is from very talented and established banjo player, Charles Wood, who has performed with Earl Scruggs and Steve Martin on the Late Show with David Letterman. Taking all these great South Carolinians and combining them into a one complete project is what film making and animation is all about. You take the best of ALL medium and I was fortunate enough to work with these great artists. Normally my subject material is all in my head, but there is some kind of liberation when you adapt from others. It’s a huge learning process that I constantly crave. Even though I am an educator by trade, I cannot exist in this world without constantly pursuing my own learning. It drives and feeds me.

The film is currently being submitted to various festivals and I plan on posting a snippet on youtube very soon, so stay tuned!