Recent UCLA grad Giles Timms‘ film “Manifestations” is a trippy treat for the eyes and ears. Here he chats with us about his work past, present, and future.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Giles Timms: I studied animation at UCLA as an MFA grad student at the UCLA Animation Workshop within the Department of Theatre, Film and Television. I just graduated this June.

CF: Congratulations!

What has influenced your style the most?

GT: Stylistically, I really like work that is stylized, textured and painterly and so I strive to include these elements in my own art direction. I think my interest in these elements comes from my background as a painter. I also find inspiration from a lot of comic book artists and illustrators such as Ashley Wood, Mike Mignola and Rhode Montijo. One of my favorite graphic novels in terms of art direction is Mr. Punch, illustrated by Dave McKean.

For animation, I love the beautiful work of Yuriy Norshteyn, Igor Kovalyov, Koji Yamamura and Jamie Caliri.

I was also fortunate to work with Bill Barminski and Chris Louie from Walter Robot, on the Grapevine Fires music video for Death Cab for Cutie. Working with those two guys has had an impact on my working methods and style.

CF: What is your favorite part of the animation process?

GT: I’ve been extremely lucky to work with a very generous and talented composer, Ceri Frost. He gave me the music for Manifestations before I started work on the short and I found it be an amazing experience to animate to the music. So for me, having the music or a beat track to animate to keeps me honest and focused and is my favorite part of the animation process.

CF: Least favorite?

GT: Storyboarding…

CF: Aw, snap. “Manifestations” is pretty trippy - how did you develop the concept for the film?

GT: “Manifestations” actually started out as a single scene exercise/experiment I set for myself to learn After Effects. Once I had that initial scene and then Ceri’s wonderful music I started to develop the story outward from those two pieces. It really helped me to have Ceri’s music at the very beginning of the project as I was able to listen to the music and create the scenes and story in my head. The whole process though was rather experimental for me and certainly an aspect of the film is very much me trying to push myself as an animator and filmmaker. My process was also a bit unconventional in that I ended up with about 8 minutes of animation that I edited down to 4 minutes But I learned a lot.

CF: Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

GT: Yes, I’m currently finishing up a music video for Ceri for his upcoming album for the song ‘Dead All Along.’

The video tells the story of a young boy Yorick who briefly journeys in the fairy kingdom, but when Yorick returns to his family he discovers that he and his family are already dead. I’m really excited about this project and I’ve had a lot of fun making it – it’s kind of my take on an Edward Gorey inspired world, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.

Thanks for the interview, Giles! Let us know when ‘Dead All Along’ is go!

You can watch “Manifestations” right here on Channel Frederator!

-Bailee DesRocher

Character art, in color, from “The Enchiridion”.

– Eric

Santi Agustí is one talented animator! His retro, poptastic animation “Fco Aragon” combines cool music with colorful animation and we couldn’t be happier to feature it here on Channel Frederator.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Santi Agustí: I studied animation at Pompeu Fabra University, in Barcelona, with a masters degree in animation and focus on Maya, (in 2003)

CF: What has influenced your style the most?

SA: Uh… well…I really don’t recognize a clear style in my animations/illustrations… but I like a lot of Eastern European animations (and their dark stop motions!), as well as UPA films, experimental avant garde filmations, old textures, listening to some Avishai Cohen, Soil & “Pimp” Sessions, Krautrock, minimal and drone music…so maybe it’s a mixture of all that (or probably anything that’s reflected in my drawings and animations.. :-p)

CF: What is this film, “Fco Aragón”, for?

SA: Well, it was an animation to show the production process of Francisco Aragón company products, from the very early concept design of their designers to the final product found in supermarkets (they are focused on pest sprays, air fresheners, and so on). So I tried to show it in a funny way… I thought we would have a nice voice-over explaining the process, but they didn’t put it in, so there are some shots in the video that seem a bit longer or shorter..

CF: Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

SA: Yes, I’m starting a short animated piece (about 40 seconds), made with illustrator and animator Toni Reyna, which I hope will be funny to make and to watch! And some other in-negotiation projects not 100% 2D/3D animation, but mixed media, and real video. (Also seeking some financial backing for a non-animation sci-fi short film - well, not cartoon animation at all, maybe some subtle 2D and 3D animated elements– which will be quite conceptual and poetic.. )

Thank you for the interview, Santi!

You can watch “Fco Aragon” right here on Channel Frederator!

-Bailee DesRocher

Can you believe it? Ape Escape is finally debuting in the U.S. So, make sure you take a break this weekend from celebrating our nation’s independence by tuning in Nicktoons Network Sunday afternoon - 3:00 p.m. in the east; noon in the west - to watch the first of thirty-eight two-minute cartoons based on the very popular video game. While the series was produced by Frederator, Project 51, Hawaii Film Partners, and Showcase Entertainment, the big, special ape-like thanks goes to the shorts’ writers/board artists:

Mike Bell
Niki Yang
Adam Muto
Don Dougherty
Doug TenNapel
Karl Toerge
Andrew Dickman
Dave Cunningham
Mike Gray
Doug Gray
Chad Coyle
Sam Henderson
Chris McDonnell
Kenny Pittenger
Ross Kolde

An extra tip of the hat goes to Mr Toerge. Not just the supervising director, Karl pulled off the Herculean task of overseeing the show’s creative production from Day One, usually from his compound on the shores of Hawaii. Thanks for all the work, Karl.

– Eric

Episode #143. Written by Eric Horsted. Storyboard by Howie Perry.

– Eric

Tony Dusko (Mr. Dusko to his students) is an elementary school teacher, former microbiologist, artist, and creator of the animated Notebook Babies shorts. Channel Frederator caught up with him this summer to find out where he got his mad animating skills, how his films are impacting his students, and what he’s working on now.

Channel Frederator: What made you decide to leave the world of microbiology to pursue teaching?

Tony Dusko: Basically I was bored. And I wasn’t having any fun. When you teach kids, every day is different and dull moments are few. It is a very tough job, but a fun job with lots of rewards.

CF: You studied art and have an artistic background, but were there any pros/cons to studying animation later in life?

TD: Well the challenge of studying something later in life is that you often have a full time job, so traditional university courses are usually out of the question. However, if you are motivated, independent study can be an efficient way to learn a craft because you don’t have to take courses that have nothing to do with your goals, such as archery or dinosaurs. I got lucky in my independent study in that I found a mentor, Paul Fierlinger, who was willing to take me on as a sort of private student. Paul has been a huge help. He has been in the business for decades and was one of the original Sesame Street animators, so he is sort of a hero to me as an educational filmmaker. I was also lucky in that he lives only an hour away.

CF: How do you decide which topics to address in your films?

TD: That is an easy question. The topics in my films come out of the needs of my students. For example, we were having issues this past year about spreading rumors and so I made “Rumors Hurt”. My students are also a driving force for me to get the films done because then I can put them into service and see how effective they are. They become my own focus group. I love showing them a new film. It is a great feeling, especially when my gags work. And then of course I enjoy using the internet to share my films with lots of other people. I was sure that there had to be lots of other kids out there being hurt by rumors too.

CF: Which film is your favorite? Which one is the most popular among your students?

TD: I really like “Some Facts about Owls” . I think it is an attractive film to look at and I think there is some really funny dialogue in it. My brother Mark contributed a voice and his silly sense of humor as well. One of my most popular films with my students is “Bio-bunny”. I used it to drive a school-wide campaign to reduce our trash and showed it on morning announcements every day for a week. The kids loved the character so much that I made a costume of Bio-bunny and had a student wear it and go all over the school to visit classrooms.

CF: Has introducing animation to your classes encouraged students to be artists when they grow up?

TD: My work constantly encourages students to try their hand at drawing and even animation. And in fact, they don’t want to wait until they grow up. My style is actually largely inspired by child drawing and I suspect that this allows them to think that they can do it too. And actually, this past year I had so much interest that I set up a simple animation station in my classroom and allowed kids to use it in their free time. They made some great little films.

CF: Any cool plans for this summer?

TD: I will be doing a lot of drawing and writing and hopefully some surfing in Costa Rica if it works out. I also have a film in a New York festival that I would like to attend.

CF: Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

TD: Due to the success of “What is a Friend”, I am working on a sort of sequel that communicates what a true friend is as compared to a false friend. It will explain to kids that a false friend might not be good for them. So many people of all ages have really connected to “What is a Friend” and I think that friendship is such a connectible topic for all of us.

Thank you for the interview, Mr. Dusko!

You can check out Tony’s films “What is a Friend?” and “Some Facts About Owls” right here on Channel Frederator!

-Bailee DesRocher

Episode #109. Artwork by Steve Lambe.

Bonus! Steve’s original concept art:

– Eric

From Larry Huber and Sylvia Edwards:

Join us for a celebration of the life and work of Jaime Diaz

JAIME REYES DIAZ
January 6, 1937 - June 20, 2009

Where: Nickelodeon Gym, Burbank, California
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Time: 6pm

Apex Cartoon Props & Novelties 1998 (Oh Yeah! Cartoons, Nickelodeon)
Art director/Director

Kameleon Kid 2000 (Oh Yeah! Cartoons, Nickelodeon)
Co-creator with Russ Mooney, Art director, co-Director

Dr. Froyd’s Funny Farm 2008 (Random! Cartoons, Nickelodeon)
Co-creator with Bill Burnett, Art director, Director

Gaucho Pampa 2006 (Jaime Diaz Studios Argentina/GIMC Korea/Animotion Works, Inc.)
Creator, Art director, Director

Summer is in full effect, but that doesn’t mean you have to let that big, sexy brain of yours go to waste! We’re bringing you some educational cartoons that are so much fun, you may get ambush-taught! Plus we’ve got some plain ol’ silly stuff, too. And let’s not forget everyone’s summer crush, the Fredbot.

So get out of sun and get some learnin’ done. Briefly.

“What is a Friend?”, submitted by Tony Dusko – Bored with microbiology, Mr. Dusko became a teacher and used his artistic skills for good! This is one of many adorable shorts about topics like being polite, taking care of pets, doing homework and dealing with bullies.

“Manifestations”, submitted by Giles Timms – A story of love… in all the weird places.

“Fco Aragón”, submitted by Santi Agustí – Colorful, retro, poppy short by freelance artist Santi Agustí.

“Some Facts About Owls”, submitted by Tony Dusko – Mr. Dusko again! Get your learn on about owls and make sure you check out his website for fun facts, tips, and cartoons!

WARNING: Channel Frederator is rated EXPLICIT. Change is good. You know what hasn’t changed? The quality of our content. Some of this stuff is pretty grown up. Get your parent’s permission prior to viewing.

-Bailee DesRocher

Hey kids! Below is a press release from LA based animation studio Titmouse, Inc. They are launching a documentary series about the animation process. Twelve (2D) animators will compete to have their five minute short fully funded, produced and submitted for the world-wide festival circuit. Details are below!

-Bailee DesRocher

Animation studio Titmouse, Inc., is offering an amazing opportunity to artists from around the country with ideas for a short animated film. The chosen films will be fully funded and the process will be documented from start to finish as part of a TV show being produced called 7200 Frames.

Titmouse, Inc. is a family of like-minded, action-oriented artists & creators dedicated to all that is bad-ass. They blur the boundary between working hard and playing hard in the service of doing what they truly love – making cool shit. For more information on rules and requirements please consult www.7200frames.com