Category — Film

Scoe’s comment: 

“Three 12-hour days yielded one 30-second spot.

“You won’t see me, but any time you see a glass or ice bucket filled with perfect cubes, vodka being poured, or that quintessential cherry noir being dropped into a cocktail – 

“I assure you I was no more that 3 feet away. And that frosty smoke (smoky frost?) coming out of the uncorked bottle is Real. Cheers!”

A reminder the good old days are with us still.

© 2011 Herb Moore

“Draw until your hand feels numb…”

An Interview with Herb Moore

by Mike Foldes

The following interview with cartoonist Herb Moore was conducted via e-mail exchange in April 2011.

Q: When I look at your drawings on your web site, it seems like I’ve seen these somewhere before. How long have you been at this, and where does your work typically appear?

Herb Moore: I was a doodler in school but it was more to escape listening to the teacher than for a love of drawing, ha, ha.

Herb Moore's self-portrait.

Mike, I’ve been in this business for twenty years and have worked at almost every major studio in Hollywood, with the exception of Dreamworks and Sony, but I’ve pitched project ideas to both.  I’ve spent most of my time working at Warner Bros. and so maybe some of their style rubbed off on me, ha, ha.  I was always a fan of the Warner Bros. cartoons when I was a kid because the characters seemed to have some bite to them.  They developed some great characters and character duos.  Now I’m working on Phineas & Ferb, during the day, and it has to be one of the best productions that I’ve ever been on both because of the staff and the show itself. Finally, my website has been an opportunity to showcase some of my personal work as well as a place to host any new content that I create.  I’m soon to release a new animated short titled, “Duffy McTaggart and the 19th Hole” and I’m co-developing several mobisode series of animations for a client outside of the United States.  I’m very proud of animationsoup.net and I look forward to creating even more content to showcase at my website.

Q: Where did you study animation techniques, or did you have on-the-job training?

HM: I passionately studied animation on my own as I obtained my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.  I knew that I needed to draw as much as possible, and really had no solid guidance as to what I “should” do exactly, but I wasn’t going to be stopped.  Once I got my foot in the door at my first “industry” job, that’s when finding work became a little bit easier.  I actually learned more on the job than I possibly could have been taught in school.  I’ll admit, an education in an animation program would have helped, but really, once I got my foot in the door, and I demonstrated my desire to work hard and learn, I did fine, (and will continue to).

Q: In becoming a cartoonist, did you distinguish between what apparently came naturally to you and the classical concepts of ‘fine art’? In your mind, what’s the distinction?

HM: That’s a heavy question for a lite mind like mine, ha, ha.  As I studied “fine art” in college, I initially knew I needed to draw as much as possible and fine art allowed that, but what I gained was an appreciation for true art and what it takes to create it.  I knew that I could tell an entertaining story, as well as act funny, and I felt that I could back that up with great drawings “eventually,” as I worked at drawing, but I had no appreciation for what it actually took to create through art.  Fine art to me is the ability to create something artistically that can be appreciated in one way or another, that is unique, born out of it’s creators experiences, feelings, imagination, and is one’s own personal expression.  Wow, that’s good stuff, I have to write that down.

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Q: I take it you’ve worked with quite a number of other cartoonists over the years. Who do you recall as being most memorable, or fun to work with?

HM: When I worked at Warner Bros. several years ago, I worked with Bob Doucette who was probably one of the most enjoyable artists for me to work ever with because he was so pleasant, as well as extremely talented.  I learned so much from him and had a great time.  Currently, Rob Hughes at Disney is the most fun because he knows funny, he knows how to make people laugh with his artwork, as well as his writing.  I have never laughed so hard as when I’m working with Rob.  I have been extremely blessed to have worked with some very talented and enjoyable people who have eventually turned into great friends.

Q: What do you think of the “Beavis and Butthead” or “South Park” programs? Anime? Any favorite styles?

HM: I love animation, unless it’s totally crap and I just don’t watch crap.  Shows like “Beavis and Butthead”, as well as “South Park”, are great shows.  I was so happy when “South Park” won an Emmy a few years ago.  It’s hard for me to say I have a favorite style, but I will say this, I love independent animation productions both feature films and short form.  Some of the most creative and well thought out animation seems to come from independent productions.

Q: Herb, I imagine both hardware and software have changed a lot since you started out, and there is the fear technology is taking over for pushing pencils and papers (people). How has the business changed technically since you started out and is how is demand these days for good cartoonists? Where is that demand coming from (if it is)?

HM: Things have definitely changed but technology is simply allowing us to do more things faster.  Yes, you have to know more than just how to draw but the possiblities in animation are broader today than ever before.  Personally, I believe “demand” for talented artists and animators is quite healthy these days, in most if not all areas of animation.  And, you don’t have to live in Los Angeles or New York, etc., to be consistently busy within this industry.  The internet has obviously open up a lot of opportunities for animators and I only see that increasing.  Also, animation in the games business is growing rapidly, all due to the blossoming of the digital age.

Q: What computer programs do you find most helpful to produce your cartoons?

HM: I use Sketchbook Pro for creating and developing ideas, such as backgrounds and characters, and then I do my animations in Adobe Flash.  I often use Photoshop in creating or touching up artwork for my website or for presentation.  I’ll also use Adobe Premiere to assemble my animatics as well as my final output of my latest animted short film.

Q: Any tips for the aspiring cartoonist?

HM: Well, yes.  Not only do you need to draw until your hand feels numb every waking hour of the day, and you must continue to study great shows, films and great stories, but you have to be technologically prepared for drawing on digital tablets, like the various Wacom tablets, and you have to know a variety of software, and then be able to manipulate your images in different ways.  Younger people have such a great opportunity to impact the world through their creations because we’re linked together now more than ever, so be prepared.

Visit Moore’s web site at: http://www.animationsoup.net

Film Clips from Leonora

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Eliane Lima’s

LEONORA

“A dark drama of sexual sorcery and crippled creatures in the throes of a primitive passion that defies decency! A shadowy work of naked fury that will plunge the viewer into a cesspoolof sinister slime and shocking shame! Experience the excrement of Satanic savagery as it smears across the screen in a rage of voluminous vitriol. A work of brutal beauty and torrid terrors that will titillate the timid with its vision of a world gone mad with sensual secretions. Experience the wetness and rejoice in its recuperative re-birth!”

— George Kuchar

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Catch the Ragazine preview here:

Leonora (preview) from Eliane Lima on Vimeo.

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About the filmmaker:

Eliane Lima is from Sao Paulo, Brazil.  In the early ’90s, she met Brazilian philosopher Claudio Ulpiano, became his student and friend, and decided to leave the music business in which she was engaged at the time. In 2007, she went back to school, attending Binghamton University in upstate New York, where she received a BA in Cinema. She is in her second semester of  the MFA Film program at San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA.

Her film Djinn was included in film festivals in New York, Los Angeles and Cuba, and recently was an official selection in Sacramento International Film Festival with a screening at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA. Djinn won two prizes in Los Angeles, The Best Student Short Film and Audience Choice at 2010 HollyShorts Film Festival; it was screened at the 2011 Liverpool Biennial, UK, and represented Brazil in the International Art Event, Identity Exchange 2011, at SFAI.

Leonora, a 6 minute, super 8 and 16mm, color and BW film, was inspired by the film Begotten and George Kuchar’s class, and was produced with the support of SFAI Film Department and an Eastman Product Grant from Eastman Kodak Company.

Lima is working on a trilogy, Fantastic Spaces in Cinema, inspired by “The Garden of the Forking Paths,” by Jorge Luis Borges, that includes studies of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, David Lynch’s Inland Empire, and Jan Svankmajer’s Alice.

Her short film Albertine is “on the side” while she finalizes support.

Review: Dhobi Ghat

By Zaira Rahman

Dhobi Ghat is a short movie – barely 90 minutes of an interesting work of art. The movie is written and directed by Kiran Rao. It was her first effort as a director. She has worked immensely hard on the details, and the script is definitely one of the strongest parts of the movie.
The film is about four characters belonging to different social classes. All of them get a chance to interact with each other in different circumstances in Mumbai. The movie revolves around their interactions and how their relationships will develop, even though they belong to very different social classes.
Aamir Khan plays the role of Arun — a renowned painter and recluse. Arun keeps to himself, not even making appearances at his own exhibitions. Aamir Khan, one of the most talented actors of Indian cinema, is Rao’s husband and producer of the film. He didn’t disappoint his fans in this portrayal, brilliantly essaying the role of a reclusive painter by delivering extremely natural dialogue that sets him apart from tmany other actors in India who are way too loud, flashy and commercial.

Prateik on the other hand is a poor dhobi guy — Munna. He works in the dhobi ghat (an open air laundromat) during the day, and as a rat at killer at night to earn extra money. But he likes to work out, dress up well and dreams of working in Hindi movies. Munna seems to be a Salman Khan fan – as he worked out regularly, there was a Salman Khan poster in his house and he also wore a replica bracelet, similar to what Salman Khan wears in both his real and reel life. Prateik is a born artist and truly represents the fact that acting runs in his blood. Like his parents Smita Patel and Raj Babbar – he delivers dialogues in a natural flow and gives apt expressions as and when required. Although he portrays the role of a poor boy, his character is quite sorted out and hard working from the beginning till the end.

Monica Dogra plays the role of an American banker (Shai) who has come to Mumbai while taking break from work. She belongs to an elite family. She believes in equality and becomes friendly with Munna despite their huge class difference. She asks Munna to show her the dhobi ghat and other places so that she could photograph them. She and Arun have a few romantic sparks. Arun, however, becomes agitated quickly before their relationship could go any further and there a gap develops between the two. Shai does think that there is an unfinished business between them and wants to sort things out. Monica Dogra’s character is an integral part of the movie, but her over all screen presence and appearance is not that memorable.  Though as you watch the movie, you do get used to seeing her.

The fourth character is played by Kriti Malhotra – another new comer. She plays the role of Yasmin. Arun finds a few tapes in his new flat in which he sees Yasmin talking to her family. She was a young girl who recently got married, missed her family a lot and was always alone. Arun is inspired by her natural way of expressing things. He felt her emotions, her pain, her loneliness and tried to understand her life through her tapes. Yasmin lived in the same flat in which Arun lives now.  Kriti Malhotra had a very inartificial way of conversing. The way she goes on talking about the things that we often ignore in our daily lives is very thought provoking.

For Kiran Rao’s first directorial work she did well.  The story and the script were quite well thought out. Aamir and Prateik were fantastic to watch. Though before the movie was released, it was promoted that it is Prateik’s film, but if you watch closely, almost all the characters are equally important. The girls were relatively unknown actresses and performed well in this niche film. The cast selection was impressive, as each actor did a good job of portraying his or her class. “Dobi Ghat” is a clean movie, and not at all commercial. Most art film fans and people who look for movies with some depth will like it.

About the reviewer:

Zaira Rahman is the author of “Pakistani Media: The Way Things Are”, available through Amazon.com, and “If Mortals Had Been Immortals & Other Short Stories.” Rahman is a writer, blogger and human & animal rights activist in Karachi, Pakistan.  She writes frequently about Bollywood film productions.

 Biograph: The Southern Tier

Andrei Guruianu, Poetry

John Brunelli, Photography

Artist-Photographer John Brunelli and poet Andrei Guruianu recently teamed up to produce a book documenting with poems and photos the present state of being of the upstate New York area around Binghamton, known collectively as The Southern Tier. In a forward to their book, “How We Are Now,” Guruianu writes of engaging ”in artistic dialogue that benefits both artists and audience,” in other words, a collaborative effort in which one and one make three.

Many of the depictions, in both word and image, characterize changes taking place not only in the aging rust belt cities of the northeast, but also in communities around the world. Here, the new has become old. but there is also the moment of silence or longing captured that in and of itself becomes monumental.

The Last Man Standing

 I am tired of living in a dying village
counting what hasn’t been lost yet
until I am withered and I fall asleep

 … tired of looking outside the window
at dust of the past and plow of the future
kicking up choking on even more dust.

 I am tired of always opening
my two swollen eyes in an empty white room
from which I am conspicuously absent.

 … tired of my inflated non-being
standing there taking up too much space
like a reflection in a hall of carnival mirrors.

 I am tired of distorting the truth
to satisfy an-already-come-to conclusion
writhing in the strangle hold of consequence

 … tired of sweeping the trail day and night
Eternity complicit in the crumbs I find
between the guilty pages of a red carnet.

Perfect Blue Houses

This could be the poster town of uncorruptable good.
The old scent of coffee chasing a distant memory.

 This could be the river screwed into a time and place,
the lights unharvested and steady covering the rust.

 This is silence housed in layers of paint and clapboard,
falling leaves that muscle in on the turf.

 This is the formula for hiding what is empty.
Nights of many matches burning down to your fingertips.

Where I Lay My Head… 

 When I say girl I am referring to an ideal. 
It crumbles like a weakness in the face of standards.
Impossibly perfect alignments— 

flesh and stars 
steel and patent leather 
hair the color of your own perspective

When I say girl I mean the roundness of blue,
the soft angle of shoulders. 
Two arcs of light folded over the edge of darkness. 

When I say girl I wish to seal a forgotten promise,
begin telling the story whose ending is yet to be written. 
Under a requisite black sky; everything veiled and out in the open.

“How We Are Now” was published by Split Oak Press, Vestal, New York, with financial assistance from the Chenango County Council on the Arts. Copies are available for $10.00 each from the press, and from Brunelli or Guruianu. See also, www.johnbrunelli.com and www.andreiguruianu.com.

Giving a Hand, Not a Handout

From “The Iraqi Seed Project” Newsletter, Vol. 1

Background: Iraq and the Fertile Crescent are often referred to as the birthplace of agriculture. Crops such as wheat, barley, lentils and chickpeas were first cultivated there over 7,000 years ago. After years of war, sanctions and environmental degradation many Iraqi farmers are now struggling to feed their families.  Today Iraq imports much of its food supply.  Wheat, which originated in the region, is now imported from the United States and Australia, and Iraq is now one of the fastest growing markets for US agricultural exports.

The Iraqi Seed Project seeks to document the daily reality of farmers on the ground and to honor the rich history of farming in the Fertile Crescent. The hope is to connect Iraqi farmers and agricultural policy makers to counterparts abroad who are working to promote crop diversity and environmentally sustainable growing practices. 

The Iraqi Seed Project will consist of a short film, interactive website and real life exchange; it is intended as a creative work as well as useful resource to those working in the field.  The project currently is in pre-production, with plans to begin filming early this spring.

• The film explores daily life on an Iraqi farm • The website shares  research in the form of video interviews, essays, articles, and discussions related to the history and current realities of farming in Iraq • The exchange - part of The Iraqi Seed Project’s mission is to facilitate a real life exchange between farmers in Iraq and farmers abroad.  Seed swaps, workshops and correspondence are just some of the intended ways to accomplish this.

For more information contact Emma Piper-Burket, emma@iraqiseedproject.com,  or visit the group’s profile in Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media Database