By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/28/2013
Worth a read today: the New York Times profiles five rising animators in the American animation scene. The five featured artists are Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe), Minkyu Lee (Adam and Dog), Jason Ruiz (Murder Police), Justin Roiland (Rick and Morty), and Timothy Reckart (Head Over Heels).
By: Jerry Beck,
on 2/17/2013
Minkyu Lee conceived his Oscar-nominated short Adam and Dog while attending the Film Directing program at CalArts. Lee, 27, spent nearly three years making the film, all the while working a dayjob at Disney on the features Winnie the Pooh and Wreck-It Ralph. He squeezed in time on his own film during nights and weekends, but his ambitious vision (Adam and Dog is fifteen minutes long) eventually necessitated a four-month sabbatical from Disney so that he could devote full attention to his Biblically-inspired tale.
Lee was not only the film’s director, but also its producer, storyboard artist, designer, lead animator, and background painter. The backgrounds, painted in Photoshop, are one of the film’s highlights. The dramatically lit compositions contrast lovingly textured elements of nature with wide expanses of open space. It is an unlikely vision of the Garden of Eden that suggests at once comfortable familiarity and ethereal majesty.
Lee shared the following selection of background paintings with Cartoon Brew:
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 11/9/2012
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has shortlisted ten films for the Best Animated Short category. From these ten selections, five nominees will be selected:
Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee, director (Lodge Films)
Combustible, Katsuhiro Otomo, director (Sunrise Inc.)
Dripped, Léo Verrier, director (ChezEddy)
The Eagleman Stag, Mikey Please, director, and Benedict Please, music scores and sound design (Royal College of Art)
The Fall of the House of Usher, Raul Garcia, director, and Stephan Roelants, producer (Melusine Productions, R&R Communications Inc., Les Armateurs, The Big Farm)
Fresh Guacamole, PES, director (PES)
Head over Heels, Timothy Reckart, director, and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, producer (National Film and Television School)
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, David Silverman, director (Gracie Films)
Paperman, John Kahrs, director (Disney Animation Studios)
Tram, Michaela Pavlátová, director, and Ron Dyens, producer (Sacrebleu Productions)
For the record, I tweeted a few days ago about the four films from this year’s qualifying animated shorts that I felt were truly Oscar-worthy. Not a single one was selected for the shortlist, but don’t let that stop you from seeking them out. They are all fantastic shorts that engage and challenge the viewer in a meaningful way:
