Skywhales from Animation City.
“Forget about modern technology, forget about film and projectors: go back to the last century and build yourself a device on which you can view a sequence of animated drawings as soon as you have drawn them, at any speed you like, and in full colour” writes J.M. Coleman in his article about building a Zoetrope.
Doreen Wood was idly looking at the display of cards draped above the fireplace and wondered what would happen if the Three Wise Men on their camels found themselves on the wrong Christmas card; if, for example, they were to stroll down a Victorian Street complete with stagecoach and snow. Before long, several bizarre ideas had formed, all of which seemed to be possibilities for an animated film. She tells how cut-out animation brought her ideas to life.
There is background information on “Skywhales”, an animated fantasy film about aliens who live on islands of vegetation that float in the sky. The story concerns one family of these creatures who take part in the annual hunt for the Skywhales. These are huge graceful creatures that swoop past the island on their seasonal migration. A series of strange events after the hunt show us how the islanders’ lives are inextricably linked to those of the whales in an ending with an unexpected twist.
In an article about the 1983 Annecy Animation Festival Chris Krupa observes that the main feature of most of the films shown at Annecy festivals is their very personal nature. Few have straight forward narrative story lines in the manner of TV animation and most contain a political social or personal statement, sometimes obscure, sometimes clearly expressed. The overall approach is that of animation as an art form primarily and as a viable commercial product second.
The 1983 Cambridge Animation Festival is reviewed in an article by David Jefferson who observes that the shows were held in the Arts Cinema which is in the centre of Cambridge, near the market square. It is a small cinema, one might say intimate, because it is possible to look round and see everyone who is there at a glance. There is no balcony and the projection is done through a system of mirrors so that the projection box is actually on the floor above the cinema auditorium. The 16mm films were shown on a couple of projectors set up at the back of the cinema in with the audience.
See also
How to beat the BBC Micro – building a Zoetrope.
Christmas Card Cut-outs
Skywhales – background information on the film.
The Annecy Animation Festival 1983
The Cambridge Animation Festival 1983
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Animator’s newsletter gets better and better. I am pleased that you are building up the archive David. I was pleased to see more on the Annecy and Cambridge festivals. As mentioned previously, that kind of historical reportage is very useful to an animation buff like myself.
John.
Your article on Skywhales brought back great memories David. I remember being blown away by it when I first saw it on TV. It was a Christmas special and thanks to your article I know it was in 1983. Thanks for adding Skywhales to the video section. It was nice to see it again after all these years.
Cheers,
Paul.
I am pleased that my video section is useful Paul. I plan to add films to support the Animator’s newsletter articles whenever I can find them.
Best wishes,
David.
One of the BBC iPlayer intros feature a Zoetrope so it was interesting to read J.M. Coleman’s article on how to build one. It has inspired me to have a go.
All the best,
Richard.
I have often wondered what to do with my Christmas cards once the festive season is over. Now, thanks to Doreen Wood’s cut-out animation article, I know what to do.
Many thanks,
Mary.