Tate and Aardman Animations are running hundreds of production workshops across the UK from the Tate Movie Truck, a state of the art mobile learning space where children can explore art and animation as well as generate ideas and drawings for the film.

Galleries nationwide are also hosting workshops. You can find out if there’s a workshop near you by looking on the Tate Movie Project website.

The Tate Movie Project is an ambitious project using artworks to inspire 5-13 year olds nationwide to contribute their ideas to an animated movie. The result will be an animated film made by and for children.

Children will create every aspect of the film, from the hand-drawn characters and plot twists, costumes and comic sound effects. The Tate Movie Project website is a virtual film studio that forms the hub of the online community. Children can upload their pictures and ideas as well as voting on those already on the site. They can have a go at animation and be kept up to date on the progress of the movie.

A professional team will animate the children’s drawings using “2D Flash” in a 3D “After Effects” world. This will take place at Aardman Animations in Bristol.

The resulting movie will be screened across the UK in 2011 and it is hoped that up to a million children will be involved in the project as a whole.

More information from the Tate Movie Project website.

Now in its seventh year, the London International Animation Festival will run from 27 August to 5 September 2010. The statistics are impressive, in ten days the festival will show 250 films in 26 programs selected from over 2,000 entries from 30 countries.

A statement on the LIAF website tells us “the LIAF aims to challenge and inspire audiences with thematic, visual and technical diversity from award winners, outstanding industry veterans and those wonderful newcomers who are exploring their talent on screen for the very first time”.

One of the most popular programmes features the best of recently released British animated shorts. Before the screening, some of the filmmakers who created the films will talk about their work. Among the films are:

Cooked
Jens Blank
2010, 6’45
The story of an unlikely love triangle that springs between a walrus a seal and a lobster in an arctic sauna.

The Grand Easter Egg Hunt
Linda McCarthy
2010, 8’20
It is Easter at Small Birds Singing and the Unbelievable family are looking forward to their traditional Grand Egg Hunt.

Speechless
Daniel Greaves
2009, 7’00
A family of six sits down for a microwave meal. They communicate using technology but one of them is determined for a return to a traditional supper; good food and real conversation.

The nine International programmes have the best recently released films selected from 2000+ entries received from all over the world. These screenings are the backbone of the festival line-up and will give a current overview of the incredibly diverse, eclectic and vibrant independent animation scene. Here are some entries from the digital section:

Logorama
H5
France, 2009, 16’15
Academy Award-winner produced by Autour de Minuit. An over-marketed world built of logotypes. A dramatic taking of hostages by a corporate symbol gone rogue. A giant Californian earthquake. A shaky world built on simple symbols with complex connotations.

The Kinematograph
Tomek Baginski
Poland, 2009, 12’10
Francis, a humble clerk and a self-taught inventor, had it all, it seemed: a big house in a small town, a lot of free time and a loving wife. But…

The Trembling Veil of Bones
Matthew Talbot-Kelly
Canada, 2010, 12’42
Live-action and computer-generated imagery are combined to tell the story of a solitary clockmaker forced to confront his past in a densely layered world of intrigue and revelation.

Visit the LIAF website for more information.

UK animators won two prizes at the Hiroshima 2010 International Animation Festival.

A Family Portrait by UK director Joseph Pierce

The Debut Prize went to “A Family Portrait” by UK director Joseph Pierce for Fiftynine Productions. The jury commented that “this film was chosen for its use of humour to express a very tense situation. Its strong graphic style emphasises the equally strong narrative.”

A Special International Jury Prize went to UK director Philip Hunt for “Lost and Found” made at Studio AKA Ltd. The jury commented that it was an “outstanding combination of storyline, direction, animation and art work. This film is great”.

Lost and Found by UK director Philip Hunt.

The Grand Prix went to “Angry Man” directed by Anita Killi for Trollflm AS in Norway. The jury said they “chose this beautifully made mixed media film not only for its important social comment but for the engaging way the story is told.”

Angry Man directed by Anita Killi in Norway

The Hiroshima Prize was awarded to “Divers In The Rain” directed by Priit Pärn and Olga Pärn of Estonia for the Eesti Joonisfilm Studio. The jury said they chose this film for its rich artistic style. “It touches us, makes us laugh and makes us think. It’s a complex and beautiful film which deserves to win.”

Divers In The Rain directed by Priit Pärn and Olga Pärn of Estonia

The jury Chairperson, Vivien Halas, said the jury had a hard time narrowing down the number of films and there was livery discussion as each of us defended our favourite films. “We evolved a very democratic system of voting and in the end we were united in our choice of winners. For the Special Prizes, we agreed that each of us would select our favourite film out of those so far without a prize. Our criteria was based on the design, animation techniques, sound track and of course innovation and creativity. Thank you for all your hard work and such good films. It has been a pleasure to watch them.”

The complete list of winners can be seen at the Hiroshima Animation Festival website.

This Wrong Trousers Day the nation will be wearing their Pyjamas on Friday 25 June 2010 to raise money for sick children in hospitals and hospices across the UK.

Simply wear your favourite pyjama bottoms to school or work and donate £1 for the right to look wrong!

Register for the event now to receive a free fundraising pack, full of information about the event and activities to take part in on the day!

Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation, is a national charity that raises money for sick children in hospitals and hospices throughout the UK. Since 2003 they have helped over 45 hospitals and hospices.

Nick Park, creator of Wallace & Gromit, is a trustee of the Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation.

Wrong Trousers Day Update:

The Wrong Trousers Day event and an eBay checkout promotion helped to raise a fantastic £22,700 for Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation!

The next year’s Wrong Trousers’ Day will be on 24th June 2011.

Ray Harryhausen with Serpent Woman from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

A special contest celebrating the life and works of Ray Harryhausen, who turns 90 on June 29th, 2010, has been announced by Stop Motion Magic.

Ray Harryhausen is regarded by many as one of the greatest stop motion animators and special effects wizards of all time. During his long career Ray Harryhausen has taken movie goers on adventures through mythical lands with heroes like Jason and Sinbad, and has shown the monsters that lurk beneath the sea.
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The 11 Second Club holds a monthly character animation competition in which animators from all over the world can participate. The challenge is to animate a character speaking a line of dialogue provided by the club. During the competition participants can share their progress with each other and evaluate each other’s work. At the end of the month, everyone votes for the submission they consider the best for that month. The idea is to give animators a chance to practice their skills in a fun, challenging environment.
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Barry Purves

Oscar and BAFTA-nominated animation director Barry Purves will lead a two day discussion and celebration of puppets in all their many and varied forms, from the most basic rod puppets to stop motion animation figures.

The event entitled PASSION, PROCESS and PERFORMANCE takes place on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 February 2010 at the Norwich Puppet Theatre, in Norwich, UK.
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Animation Festivals website.

If you are a professional or student animator looking for a list of forthcoming animation festivals then the Animation Festivals Directory may be the answer. Their website is run by a small, but dedicated team, who aim to provide the International animation community with a constantly updated directory of festival listings. The website is completely free to use; their only request is that if you see a listing that is either out of date or incorrect, you let them know. That way the community constantly benefits.

Unless you have been in the animation industry for a number of years and built up your own database of festivals, there are very few places, if any, where you can find up to date festival listings all year round. The Animation Festivals Directory was born out of this need for a comprehensive directory of animation festivals around the world.
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Girls Night Out

The National Media Museum, Bradford, England are staging an exhibition entitled ‘Drawings that Move – The Art of Joanna Quinn‘. It started on 16 October 2009 and runs to February 28th 2010. It features art and graphic work from films produced by Joanna over the last 25 years.

The exhibition is an incredibly detailed and extensive view, not only of the artwork itself but of the processes involved in the production of an animated film from initial scripts, storyboards, character designs etc. through to completely finished films.
The show traces Joanna’s development from her early days as a Graphic Design student at Southgate College and Middlesex University through to the foundation of her company Beryl Productions. It also shows the events and artists that have had a major influence on the evolution of Joanna’s particularly distinctive drawing style and animation technique.
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Hiroshima City will host the 13th International Animation Festival HIROSHIMA 2010 from August 7th to 11th.

Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima, said; “This festival of ‘Love and Peace’ will bring together the spirit of Hiroshima – the desire for lasting world peace – with the central aim of the Association Internationale du Film dAnimation (ASIFA). ASIFA was established with the goal of contributing to the peaceful coexistence of humankind through the art of animation, a form of communication that transcends national and linguistic boundaries. It is among the most significant international cultural events held in Hiroshima.
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