Amazing Video Interview Collection

Courtesy of Mark Evanier, here is a link to a page of rare video interviews with animation personnel, many of whom were not usually the focus of attention.  Subjects include Willie Ito, Milt Gray, Larry Harmon, Irv Spence, Bill Berg, Norm Blackburn, Alex Lovy, Lew Keller, Bill Hurtz, Philo Barnhart, Leo Salkin, Ward Kimball, Carl Urbano, Hicks Lokey, Al Bertino, Rudy Larriva, Grim Natwick, Pete Alvarado, Tom Ray, Owen Fitzgerald, Lloyd Vaughn, Lillian Astor and Bob Carlson.

Evanier has some background about Paul Maher, the person responsible for the interviews, here.

Brad Bird quote

"There are great animators just as there are great actors I gave a talk once using [digital] animation from the [1996] movie Dragon Heart. I showed two sequences and asked the audience which they believed; they said one sequence but not the other, as they said it looked fake. I said, "Yes, but why?" They couldn't tell me. The interesting thing was, it was the same technology and the same [animation] model; the only thing different was the animator. You can be convincing without being real."

Brad Bird is everywhere right now, promoting Tomorrowland.  This interview has a fair amount to say about animation.

Don't Pitch a Buyer, Pitch the Audience Video

In March of 2014, I had the pleasure of giving a talk at Animatic T.O, an informal lecture series founded by Barry Sanders and continued by Andrew Murray when Barry took a job in Halifax.  Grayden Laing of the Canadian Animation Blog videotaped the presentation and now it's available online, courtesy of Grayden and John Righton.

I developed the talk into a series on this blog.  The first part of that series has been read almost 10,000 times to date.  Since giving the talk, my opinions haven't changed.  I've seen nothing in the intervening time to suggest that creators are getting a better deal anywhere.  I would love it if someday, a stranger walked up to me and told me that as a result of my talk, he or she kept ownership of their property and are making a living from it.  Hope springs eternal.