Channel Frederator Blog

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 [Read more…]

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?

[Read more…]

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 [Read more…]

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 [Read more…]

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.

The artist must be able to draw, animate and direct- as well as commit to a 4-6 week exclusive production schedule. Interviews will be held in Los Angeles and San Diego ( in San Diego during Comic-Con July 22nd and 23rd) during the summer of 2009. Submissions should be in the form [Read more…]

Miriam Nagi introduced Frederator to a sweet story (and the world’s cutest cloud) in her short “Krishna’s Garden”. Here she tells us about the film and the artists that shaped her unique style.

Channel Frederator: Who or what has influenced your style the most?

Miriam Nagi: I am mostly influenced by old Indian Mughal paintings and Persian miniatures as well as the painting techniques of the impressionists such as Monet and Renoir. Also by artists like Poly Bernatene, Petra Stefankova, Sanjay Patel,and Joey Chou.

[Read more…]

Animator Daniel Lundquist’s film “Boris” has be shown at film festivals all over the globe, including Annecy 2009 and the World Wide Short Film Festival. Here he he tells us a little about the boy who would grow up to drum with everything he’s got.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Daniel Lundquist: I studied animation at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design from 2003 to 2007.

CF: What has influenced your style the most?

DL: I have been influenced by many animators, probably the most by Max Fleischer. But I also love Disney and Pixar. My favorite feature film of all time is “The Triplets of Belleville“.

CF: What gave you the idea for “Boris”?

DL: “Boris” started as a story that I wanted to tell of a man who drummed with his head because he had no arms. The rest of the story formed around that.

CF: Any projects coming up that you can [Read more…]

Jayne Vidheecharoen is a top-notch animator by nature and by trade. She recently animated the music video for “When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade” by UK band, The Boy Least Likely To.

Channel Frederator: Where did you study animation?

Jayne Vidheecharoen: I’ve been doing stop motion and flip-book animation for fun since I was little and always loved drawing and animation. But I couldn’t imagine having to draw the same things over and over again all day long.

So I went to the University of Washington for Visual Communication Design. About halfway through school I discovered motion design, which seemed like a good hybrid of design, illustration, and animation. After graduating I got a job at Digital Kitchen where I’ve been able to learn the most about animation from coworkers. I actually got to work on the Lemonade video at DK as a personal project, which was great. I don’t think it would [Read more…]

O. M. G. Everyone is sweating in their everyparts.

It’s officially summer and it is hecka hot outside, folks (yeah, spellcheck, I know “hecka” and “everyparts” aren’t real words… wait… it says “spellcheck” isn’t one either… hm).

Tired of your swimmies already? Beat the heat and chill out with our ‘toons. Stroll down our boardwalk of fun films and see if you don’t cool off a degree… or ten.

Ahhhh….

“When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade”, submitted by Jof Owen – Ultra cute music video for UK band Boy Least Likely To, directed by Jayne Vidheecharoen.

“Boris”, submitted by Daniel Lundquist – Strange hand drawn tale of a boy who majorly hearts drumming.

“Krishna’s Garden”, submitted by Miriam Nagi – I never thought of clouds as cute, but they are. Especially when they cry. Trust me.

WARNING: Channel Frederator is rated EXPLICIT. Change is good. You know what hasn’t changed? The quality of our content. Some [Read more…]