Channel Frederator Blog

After dazzling us with “First Kiss”, featured in Episde 16, Jim Mortensen is at it again with a completely different style for his new film, “Emerge” which depicts the way pixels can move and form very interesting patterns. Like The ‘Hoff!

Says Mortensen, “Emerge was a half-challenge from Mo Willems; he said, “you job is make other people be interested in something you love”. So I took three things I’m fascinated by, emergent behaviour, StarLogo (from the MIT media lab) and the music of Aleksi Eeben, and tried to make it funny.”

Jim also sent me this terrific depiction of Frederator “emergence”

[Read more…]

As a technically challenged individual who saved a blank disc OVER the finished copy of her term paper two hours before it was due (yes, it’s possible. Trust me), Joseph Shakula’s short “HELL Computers” really resonated with me.

What propelled Joe to make this short?

“I was hired by an agency about a year ago to do some concept work for a commercial spot for Dell. I did pretty much what you see in the animation but not with all the evil add ons… it was a nice clean happy animation. After the concept was rejected (which was of no surprise, Dell is pretty vanilla when it comes to advertising) I had a cool little animation but it wasn’t much of a portfolio piece. Eventually I came up with the “Hell Computers” spoof. Computers are such an amazing tool and can really be used to achieve all sorts of awesome things, but [Read more…]

Featuring the voice of legendary comedian Fred Willard and legendary Playboy Playmate Shae Marks, John Springelmeyer’s submission of “Bowel Ointment With Captain Ribman” explores the “depths” of everything we always wanted to know about bowel ointment but were too afraid to ask.

Silly? Quite. Irreverent? Very. Channel Frederator material? Definitely.

I have been a huge fan of Fred Willard since I saw “Waiting For Guffman” years ago, so it was great to hear his comic talents being put to good use.

I happened to find out recently that bowel ointment is one of the Top 5 stolen items at drug stores. Fortnately, with Captain Ribman at your side, no one should ever be afraid to purchase their very own bowel ointment with pride.

Thanks so much John, for submitting this “informative” film.

Melissa

When I was five years old and tortured my mother to buy the slop called “Maypo” I had no idea what it was, only that I loved those commercials and loved Marky Maypo.

I had no idea that any actual human made cartoons or who the heck John Hubley was or that I would ever care. Or that Mr. Hubley understood things that the expert ad men didn’t when he used the actual voice of my contemporary –his four year old son– to give his films a zing that nothing else had.

Or that 26 years later I would be the person to approve my mentor Dale Pon and his partner George Lois updating the slogan with Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, and Adam Ant to “I Want My MTV!”

–Fred

(Many thanks to Amid Amidi and Cartoon Brew.)

If you can’t find a Valentine, blow one up. Director Mark Gustafson, known for his ground-breaking stop motion commerical Nissan “Toys,” offers his take on store-bought love. Nelson Lowry, who Art Directed on Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride”, adds a gritty touch to the production. Gustafson has a killer resume and evidently a few Clios, Emmys, and Cannes medals decorating his office. “Joe Blow” premiered (appropriately) in New York’s Museum of Sex.

Formerly called Vinton Studios (of “California Raisin” commercial fame), the newly named LAIKA is a force to be reckoned with in the commercial and film industries.

I was failry familiar with their commercial characters (M&Ms being one of my favorites!), but watching “Joe Blow” has given me new appreciation with the way LAIKA is able to meld fabulous stop motion and CG with unique storytelling.

Thanks to everyone!

Melissa

This is a picture of the 1951 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, Edwin M. McMillan. If here were alive today, I’m sure he’d tell you what a thrill it was to win all that dynamite money.

Nearly as thrilled, I’m sure, will be the winner of this March’s Channel Frederator Cartoon of the Month - the very first one. The way it stands now, it’s a good bet it’ll be the folks at Blur with their uber-popular short, “Rockfish”. Of course, all could change. Either way, we’d love for you stop by the site and vote away after you see each week’s episode. Do it for ol’ Ed.

– Eric

Culture reporter Amber Ray recently did an interview with Fred for Metro (61 daily editions in 88 major cities in 19 countries in 18 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia). We thought we’d share some of it before it gets published:

What is the philosophy behind Channel Frederator? Why create an animation podcast specifically for adults?

“Frederator Studios started in 1998 to make ‘original cartoons,’ not cynical animated adaptations of a popular live action movie or the latest toy trend. We feel that we’ve successfully been able to meld the concept of ‘personal films’ (no need to limit it to the Sundance Film Festival) and popular cartoons.

“Channel Frederator came out of our conversations with television viewers. There’s so much wonderful animated filmmaking talent around the world, and a great audience demand for it, but old school television doesn’t really have much room. We felt if we could put some of the cartoons we [Read more…]

An interstellar fishing trip turns into an adrenaline fueled adventure in Blur’s short, “Rockfish”. It was short-listed for an Academy Award, and continues to garner numerous awards around the festival circuit. Written and directed by Tim Miller, Creative Director and founder of Blur Studio, the comic-book influenced adventure has been accepted into more than two dozens top festivals worldwide and won four awards for outstanding animation.

Vin Diesel’s production company, One Race Films, is teaming up with Blur Studio to make a CGI movie based on “Rockfish.” Variety reports Diesel will voice a lead character in the film, which is expected to target an older audience. Diesel and George Zakk will produce with Tim Miller.

As many Channel Frederator viewers can attest, Blur’s work is consistently outstanding. If you haven’t done so already, check out Episode 1 for “In the Rough”, orEpisode 15 for “Aunt Luisa”. It has just been announced that Blur’s newest [Read more…]

We’re spicing things up here at Channel Frederator beginning now. Each month we’ll be designating a “Channel Frederator Cartoon of the Month”. Announced during the first podcast of the following month, the CFCM will be determined by viewers’ votes on our Website. Not only will winners get the honor of saying they’ve got the Channel Frederator Cartoon of the Month, they’ll also earn the right to say they’ve got the Cartoon of the Month on Channel Frederator. Also, winners can use the nifty badge above on their Websites.

Who loves you more than Channel Frederator?

– Eric

In this animated film, an innocent greeting between two people is quickly transformed into a tangled struggle, illustrating the twists and turns of a full-fledged relationship.

A quick bio by Patrick: Filmmaker Patrick Smith wanted to be a professional skateboarder, but hurt himself and became an animator. His films have been featured on MTV, several Spike and Mike Collections, and over a hundred other international film festivals. He’s also the creator of the Zoloft Dot character, which he conceived under the influence of alcohol, a known depressant.

If there’s one thing that Patrick Smith isn’t lacking, it’s a point of view. I am always impressed by the strength and visceral quality of his animation. Says Smith, “Handshake was a fun film to draw. I consider myself an expert on relationships, and it was great to illustrate the emotions and experiences I’ve had. The film can be abstract at times, just like real relationships can [Read more…]