Showing posts with label animation/cartoon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animation/cartoon. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Zen Pencils Illustrates Cartoonist Bill Watterson's Advice
Illustration by Zen Pencils, words by cartoonist Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) given at a commencement address. Apparently part of the illustration is autobiographical for Zen Pencils. You can check out Zen Pencils HERE and a fullsize version of this comic HERE.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Vocaloid Holograph Anime Pop Singer Miku Hatsune
Voice is electronically generated (hence the vocaloid), performance is mix of extremely sophisticated holographic imagery and a slamming live band. The technology is pretty amazing; I've watched a couple of times just to watch how the necktie tracks or how they step out of the spotlight or in front of each other. Some comments here and there are grumbling about preferring music made by humans, but really, it's all made by humans; it's not like the hologram wrote her own stuff! The possibilities reel the mind. I find the anime body incarnate troubling. Still, age of wonders...
Check out the instant costume changes in this medley:
Check out the instant costume changes in this medley:
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Avatar/Pocahontas Mashup Trailer
I finally got around to seeing Avatar in 3-D Imax, which was pretty damned impressive. Though the plotline was well worn and the Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves parallels have been noted, it was a very tightly paced, gorgeous, and otherwise imaginative. As luck would have it, we finally got around to showing the kids Pocahontas a couple of months ago (we had been putting it off because we feared the worst in terms of Disney deformation, but it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be). So this mashup is well timed for me, and well done:
CFV 426 - Avatar/Pocahontas Mashup FINAL VERSION from Randy Szuch on Vimeo.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Composer Alf Clausen on writing for "The Simpsons"
The man who makes 'The Simpsons' sing
By Todd Leopold
CNN
(CNN) -- Alf Clausen never knows what to expect.
Sometimes it's an arrangement of a classic melody, such as the theme to "The Great Escape." Sometimes it's a parody of a show tune, such as "The Monorail Song" (a "Music Man" pastiche) or several numbers from "My Fair Lady." Sometimes it's an original piece, such as "The Stonecutters Song." Sometimes it's basic instrumental interludes.
And sometimes, it's all of the above. After all, we're talking about "The Simpsons."
But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Clausen, who has scored the show for 18 of its now 19 seasons (the 19th begins Sunday), is time. He doesn't get much -- during the season, about a week to write and record the musical cues. Watch a slide show of Clausen and his work »
Clausen -- a veteran composer and music director who has worked on "ALF" ("no relation," he's quick to say) "Moonlighting," "Police Story" and several films -- wouldn't have it any other way.
"The show is still really interesting," he says in a recent phone interview from Los Angeles, where he was working on "Treehouse of Horror 18." "I don't think I've ever been on a series where I walk into a music-spotting session never knowing what to expect. As a television composer, in the past I could spend a few weeks on a series and kind of get a drill for the way the score is supposed to be done. ... You can't do that with 'The Simpsons.' Every episode is a new surprise." Interactive: "Simpsons" 101 »
Clausen's most recent work is showcased on a new "Simpsons" CD, "The Simpsons: Testify" (Shout! Factory). The disc contains, among its 41 (!) cuts, "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders" (featuring David Byrne), the "My Fair Laddy" medley (from an episode in which Lisa attempted to remake Groundskeeper Willie), the "King of Cats" Itchy & Scratchy medley and "The Very Reason That I Live," another showstopper for Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob.
Grammer is a particular favorite, says Clausen.
"He is so great. He's just amazing," he says. "You can tell he has this love of musical theater and he has the vocal instrument to go with it, so I know whatever I write is going to be sung the way I've heard it."
Clausen got his start in television almost three decades ago. After a childhood in North Dakota and a college major in mechanical engineering ("nobody knew one could make a living at music," he says of the time), he got a job as a professional musician and later studied at Boston's Berklee School of Music. Upon graduation in the late '60s, he lit out for Los Angeles, where he did jingles and variety shows (including "Tony Orlando & Dawn" and "Donny and Marie").
One job led to another, but as often happens with the business, Clausen found himself at loose ends when his show was canceled. A friend mentioned that a rather new comedy called "The Simpsons" was looking for a composer. Was Clausen interested in doing an animated comedy?
Clausen was not -- "I wanted to get more into movies of the week and feature films as a drama composer" -- but he went for an interview with "Simpsons" creators Matt Groening and Sam Simon anyway.
"Matt said, 'We look upon our show not as a cartoon, but as a drama where the characters are drawn, and I'd like it scored that way,' " Clausen recalls. His audition assignment was the first "Treehouse of Horror."
Now Clausen is a regular, with a steady -- if occasionally frantic -- workweek. As scripts are developed, he'll meet with the writers to see if they have certain ideas in mind that would require special music. Meanwhile, he has a regular meeting with producer Al Jean and other staffers to go over an episode, scene by scene, noting the spots that will contain music.
There are usually 30 to 35 cues per episode, he says -- more than one a minute -- and may contain music the show has licensed (which Clausen needs to arrange for his 35-piece orchestra) or emotional prompts.
"It's a pretty tight deal," he says. There's a week to create the compositions and arrangements, a recording session on Friday, mixing early the next week and then on the air Sunday.
Fortunately, Clausen finds it easy to get into the spirit of the show, with its loving parodies of musical styles. "I have a very, very deep love for Broadway musicals," says Clausen, "and I'm a big jazz lover, a big-band lover, I like contemporary classical works." He also gets to use his own orchestra, called (naturally) the Alf Clausen Orchestra.
His work hasn't been unnoticed: "I've had music teachers come up to me and thank me for keeping the sound of the live orchestra in front of students on television," he says.
Ironically, given the way the show is produced, Clausen has little contact with the main voice cast or some of the guests. ("When it's time to record the cast, I'm busy doing a score," he says.) But there are the perks. Clausen's gotten to conduct a session with the late Tito Puente, as well as do a session with Bono and U2, who sang Clausen's song "Garbageman."
And if you're going to compose, there are worse places than "The Simpsons," which probably will be airing Clausen's work in reruns for decades to come.
"There's a lot to do. I don't think I've ever seen a job quite as demanding on a composer-songwriter as 'The Simpsons' is," Clausen says. "But it's all very healthy, so I have no problem with it."
By Todd Leopold
CNN
(CNN) -- Alf Clausen never knows what to expect.
Sometimes it's an arrangement of a classic melody, such as the theme to "The Great Escape." Sometimes it's a parody of a show tune, such as "The Monorail Song" (a "Music Man" pastiche) or several numbers from "My Fair Lady." Sometimes it's an original piece, such as "The Stonecutters Song." Sometimes it's basic instrumental interludes.
And sometimes, it's all of the above. After all, we're talking about "The Simpsons."
But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Clausen, who has scored the show for 18 of its now 19 seasons (the 19th begins Sunday), is time. He doesn't get much -- during the season, about a week to write and record the musical cues. Watch a slide show of Clausen and his work »
Clausen -- a veteran composer and music director who has worked on "ALF" ("no relation," he's quick to say) "Moonlighting," "Police Story" and several films -- wouldn't have it any other way.
"The show is still really interesting," he says in a recent phone interview from Los Angeles, where he was working on "Treehouse of Horror 18." "I don't think I've ever been on a series where I walk into a music-spotting session never knowing what to expect. As a television composer, in the past I could spend a few weeks on a series and kind of get a drill for the way the score is supposed to be done. ... You can't do that with 'The Simpsons.' Every episode is a new surprise." Interactive: "Simpsons" 101 »
Clausen's most recent work is showcased on a new "Simpsons" CD, "The Simpsons: Testify" (Shout! Factory). The disc contains, among its 41 (!) cuts, "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders" (featuring David Byrne), the "My Fair Laddy" medley (from an episode in which Lisa attempted to remake Groundskeeper Willie), the "King of Cats" Itchy & Scratchy medley and "The Very Reason That I Live," another showstopper for Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob.
Grammer is a particular favorite, says Clausen.
"He is so great. He's just amazing," he says. "You can tell he has this love of musical theater and he has the vocal instrument to go with it, so I know whatever I write is going to be sung the way I've heard it."
Clausen got his start in television almost three decades ago. After a childhood in North Dakota and a college major in mechanical engineering ("nobody knew one could make a living at music," he says of the time), he got a job as a professional musician and later studied at Boston's Berklee School of Music. Upon graduation in the late '60s, he lit out for Los Angeles, where he did jingles and variety shows (including "Tony Orlando & Dawn" and "Donny and Marie").
One job led to another, but as often happens with the business, Clausen found himself at loose ends when his show was canceled. A friend mentioned that a rather new comedy called "The Simpsons" was looking for a composer. Was Clausen interested in doing an animated comedy?
Clausen was not -- "I wanted to get more into movies of the week and feature films as a drama composer" -- but he went for an interview with "Simpsons" creators Matt Groening and Sam Simon anyway.
"Matt said, 'We look upon our show not as a cartoon, but as a drama where the characters are drawn, and I'd like it scored that way,' " Clausen recalls. His audition assignment was the first "Treehouse of Horror."
Now Clausen is a regular, with a steady -- if occasionally frantic -- workweek. As scripts are developed, he'll meet with the writers to see if they have certain ideas in mind that would require special music. Meanwhile, he has a regular meeting with producer Al Jean and other staffers to go over an episode, scene by scene, noting the spots that will contain music.
There are usually 30 to 35 cues per episode, he says -- more than one a minute -- and may contain music the show has licensed (which Clausen needs to arrange for his 35-piece orchestra) or emotional prompts.
"It's a pretty tight deal," he says. There's a week to create the compositions and arrangements, a recording session on Friday, mixing early the next week and then on the air Sunday.
Fortunately, Clausen finds it easy to get into the spirit of the show, with its loving parodies of musical styles. "I have a very, very deep love for Broadway musicals," says Clausen, "and I'm a big jazz lover, a big-band lover, I like contemporary classical works." He also gets to use his own orchestra, called (naturally) the Alf Clausen Orchestra.
His work hasn't been unnoticed: "I've had music teachers come up to me and thank me for keeping the sound of the live orchestra in front of students on television," he says.
Ironically, given the way the show is produced, Clausen has little contact with the main voice cast or some of the guests. ("When it's time to record the cast, I'm busy doing a score," he says.) But there are the perks. Clausen's gotten to conduct a session with the late Tito Puente, as well as do a session with Bono and U2, who sang Clausen's song "Garbageman."
And if you're going to compose, there are worse places than "The Simpsons," which probably will be airing Clausen's work in reruns for decades to come.
"There's a lot to do. I don't think I've ever seen a job quite as demanding on a composer-songwriter as 'The Simpsons' is," Clausen says. "But it's all very healthy, so I have no problem with it."
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Alan Watts on Music and Life (Animated)
Music, Teleology, and Life, a lecture by Alan Watts (1915-1973) animated by South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Also available here.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Disney Introduces its First Black Princess
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called "The Frog Princess," which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio's first black princess.
The company unveiled the plans at its annual shareholders' meeting in New Orleans.
John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and the Disney-owned unit Pixar Animation Studios, said the movie would return to the classic hand-drawn animation process, instead of using computer animation that has become the industry standard. He called the film "an American fairy tale."
"The film's New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture," Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook said.
The movie will be scored by Randy Newman, who also wrote the music for Disney's "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc." and "Cars."
Newman performed a song from the score for the shareholders.
John Musker and Ron Clements, who co-directed "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and "Hercules" will co-direct the movie. The pair also wrote the story for the film.
Disney said its new animated princess -- Maddy -- will be added to its collection of animated princesses used at the company's theme parks and on consumer products.
The film is set for release in 2009.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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