SOCIETY FOR ANIMATION STUDIES NEWSLETTER Volume 15, Issue 1 February 2002 th 14 Annual Society for Animation Studies Conference in Glendale 26-29 September 2002 th th SAS will celebrate its 15 anniversary by holding its 14 held at the North Los Angeles/Glendale Hilton Hotel annual conference in Glendale, California, September and Glendale Community College. 26-29, 2002. The event, whose theme is “Childhood,” is being done with the assistance of the City of Glendale, situated next to the film and television Glendale’s Arts & Culture Commission. The centers of Burbank and Los Angeles, has itself become conference will begin Thursday, September 26, with a home to an increasing number of animation series of informal events, that could include companies, including DreamWorks Animation. Nearby studio/historical tours and screenings, and end on studio include Disney, Warner Bros., Cartoon Sunday afternoon, September 29, with a gala screening Network, Nickelodeon and Film Roman. The Glendale at the landmark Alex Theatre. The conference will be Arts & Culture Commission, formed to promote the arts and humanities in Glendale, is currently working with local animation representatives to create a nonprofit animation center. IN THIS ISSUE The North Los Angeles/Glendale Hilton is located in 14th SAS Conference in Glendale (USA) downtown Glendale, in easy walking distance of many 1 fine restaurants and the Alex Theatre, the fabulous art deco movie palace which is home to the Los Angeles 2 Call for Papers conference 2002 Chamber Orchestra. Nearby Glendale Community College, where much of the conference will be held, 3 President's Report includes animation as part of its Visual Arts program. 4-6 SAS 2001 Conference Report This year’s conference committee is headed by SAS founding president Harvey Deneroff, and includes film historian Jerry Beck (Cartoonresearch.com), graduate McLaren-Lambart Award for Robin Allan 7 student Joanna Bouldin (University of California, Irvine), former animation festival directors Tom Knott 8-12 The End of Animation History (Ottawa) and Irene Kotlarz (Cardiff), as well as Mark Langer, head of Cinema Studies at Carleton University 13-15 Reports Annual General Meeting and independent filmmaker Christine Panushka, director of USC’s Animation and Digital Arts program. 16-18 Animation Teacher's Symposium Ottawa Harvey Deneroff SAS Newsletter 1 Call for papers Society for Animation Studies Conference 2002 The Society for Animation Studies invites submissions Critical Analyses of Individual Films, TV Series & of proposals for papers to be presented at its 14th Filmmakers Annual Conference in Glendale, California, September 26-29, 2002. The conference, which is being presented Politics & Animation - The uses of animation for with the assistance of the Glendale Arts & Culture propaganda and other ideological considerations. Commission, will be held at the North Los Angeles/Glendale Hilton Hotel, Glendale Community Commercials & Industrial Films College and the landmark Alex Theatre. The presentation of papers will be supplemented by Direct-to-Video - Investigations into the growth of screenings and panels featuring animation filmmakers production for the home video market. and industry executives. The opening day will be dedicated solely to a series of special events, that may Glendale, located at the foot of the Verdugo include studio/historical tours and screenings. Mountains, is the third largest city in Los Angeles County, and is a major production center for animation This year’s theme is “Childhood” and how it relates to along with contiguous areas of Burbank and Los animation, both as art and industry, and will also be the Angeles. The Glendale Arts & Culture Commission focus of a special panel discussion featuring filmmakers was formed to promote the arts and humanities in and industry executives. Papers and preconstituted Glendale and is working with the local animation panels on all aspects of animation history, theory and community to create a nonprofit animation center. criticism are also welcome. Presentations are limited to 20 minutes. Proposals, consisting of a abstract outlining The Society for Animation Studies, which is celebrating the purpose, methodology and conclusions of the its 15th anniversary, is an international membership proposed paper, should be submitted by May 15, 2002; organization open to scholars and filmmakers the Selection Committee will review all proposals and interested in animation history, criticism and theory. respond by May 31, 2002. Those wishing to chair a Information on the Society and updates on the panel should also submit their request by the same conference can be found at http://asifa.net/SAS/ or date. While the conference is open to both members www.awn.com/sas/. and non-members of SAS, all those presenting papers or chairing panels are required to become members. Harvey Deneroff Other suggested topics this year include: Walt Disney - Commemorating his 100th birthday. Proposals can be submitted Boundaries - Explorations of various boundaries in animation involving business/art, childhood / by email to: [email protected] adulthood, sexuality, media (animation/live action/comic strips, etc.), geography, disciplinary, etc. faxed to: 1-818-346-1948 Drawn vs. Digital Animation - Examination of the shift or mailed to: from traditional to digital animation, including its SAS Conference Committee aesthetic and economic implications. 20722 Lull St. National Cinemas - Studies of individual countries and regions, such as India, Latin America and New York Canoga Park, CA 91306-2035 USA City, as well as the role international organizations such as Cartoon. SAS Newsletter 2 President’s report Glendale together with their contribution for 2002 and In September 2002, the14th Society for Animation preferably for 2003 as well. Members who wish to Studies Conference will be organised in Glendale. This is cancel their membership must have done so before 1 in the neighbourhood of the spot where the first April otherwise they are due to pay for 2002 as well. conference was held in 1989 in Los Angeles. In these Payment details are at the back of the publication. fourteen years, the conference has been held three times Since 1 January 2002 there is now one currency for a in Europe and once in Australia. Of the ten times in large part of Europe, the Euro. Payments are made via Northern America, the conference has been held twice in a separate bank account with International Bank Canada. The last time that the conference was held in the Account Number and Swiftcode to the Treasurer of USA was in 1998, at Anaheim, Chapman University. We the Euro-zone, Jeanpaul Goergen, not difficult and have succeeded in holding a conference fourteen times in cost saving. All the details are on the last page. The succession, and that in itself is quite an ach ievement. membership fee has not been raised for years!!!!! Harvey Deneroff, who founded the SAS fourteen years Board ago, is the organiser of this 14th Conference. Whereas it In 2000 David Ehrlich resigned as member of the initially looked as though it would not be possible to Board. I indicated at the time that the Board was to be hold it in the USA this year, he has been able to amass expanded by a member from Asia. As of 1 January sufficient resources and people. You will find more 2002 Gigi Ho has joined the Board. A short description information and the call for papers in this Newsletter. of her work is included in this number. At the back a new list of Board members has been drawn up with a Montreal number of address changes. The 13th Conference in Montreal passed off successfully. Suzanne Williams Rautiola has written a report on the General Meeting conference. We are deeply indebted to the National Film Roger Palmer took the minutes of the last Annual Board of Canada, Concordia University and the general Meeting held in Montreal. All members were Cinémathèque Québècois for their cooperation. The list sent the accompanying papers just before the meeting. with the papers that were presented will shortly be added The approved activity plan and the minutes are to the list that you can find on our web sites. included in this number. The Student Animation Film Festival Ottawa (SAFO) preceded the conference and various visitors to the Reactions, articles, queries, can all be submitted for the conference attended the seminar on animation study following Newsletter, closing date: programmes. A presentation by Maureen Furniss is 1 May 2002. included in this number. Robin Allen was very surprised to win the Norman Ton Crone McLaren – Lambert Award – but also very pleased. The February 2002 laudatio, given by Michael Frierson, is included in this number. One interesting paper is included in this Newsletter: The End of Animation History by Mark Langer. Members The number of members has not declined, new members have joined in the past year and this is very encouraging. Sadly, however, a large number of members have not yet paid their membership fees for 2001. It is impossible to keep doing this work if members do not pay their financial contributions on time. Tho se who have not paid their membership fees must do so before 1 April SAS Newsletter 3 Conference report 13th Society for Animation Studies Conference October 2001 Montréal, Canada The participants to the 13 Conference of the Society Weldon, and Christine Tang. Each animator for Animation Studies were greeted in Montréal by a presented an overview of his/her techniques and work beautiful, crisp fall day, when one could enjoy the then allowed the SAS participants to touch various rich colors of the maple tree across from our animation tools – such as the pinscreen – or see a accommodations, the Hotel Maritime Plaza. shot as it was established on a preprogrammed Although there was intermittent rain during several camera crane. days of the conference, it did not spoil the beauty of the city nor keep us from the variety of activities Despite a hectic schedule, the animators very planned by our conference organizers, SAS President graciously answered a variety of questions and Ton Crone, Marcy Page of the National Film Board provided as much information as time would allow.