Animator's Nightmare Blog: MAF - Day Three (Mum Pass: Part 1)

[Semester 1] Animation Event

Cosgrove Hall Films

Into The Archives: C.H.F.

When it comes to children’s TV the UK is a world leader, whilst the countries modern animation output is celebrated the world over, it draws from a strong legacy left from some of the finest animated shows ever devised for young audiences. From 1976 onwards some of the most memorable characters to come from the UK came out of Cosgrove Hall, a local company based in Chorlton.

Join us as we celebrate the legacy of Cosgrove Hall as we delve into the archives and look back at some of the object and stories that demonstrate the lineage of one of the greatest animation studios to ever exist. If you’re a fan of dynamite dodging Danger Mouse, dopey dragon Chorlton and his wheelie companions, the theatrical exploits of Mr Toad or the vampire duck with stars in his eyes – Duckula, this event is not to be missed. Come and see how these cultural powerhouses came to be with a panel of archivists and people who worked at the studio, as we go into the archives with Cosgrove Hall.

*Bridget Appleby*	…is an Illustrator, Sculptor, Designer, Art Director, Director, Producer and Concept Originator. She worked as ‘Creative Producer – Model’ for Cosgrove Hall Films for 30 years and then freelanced for 10 years. Since retirement, she has been a regular member of the Royal Television North animation awards jury, the Bolton International Film Festival, and speaker/lecturer on the stop-frame productions of Cosgrove Hall Films. Bridget was also a founding member of Stop Frame Animations, the original company set up by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall in 1970, which went on to become Cosgrove Hall Productions/Cosgrove Hall Films.
*Jess Wheeler*	…is an independent producer with a background in stop-motion animation. Having started by producing her own short films, she has now been producing the work of other artists for over 4 years, both independently and on behalf of Cosgrove Hall Films Archive. Her short film Euphorbia (2017) was acquired for broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the Random Acts series and her recent short Growing Plains (2021) was broadcast on BBC Arts. As Animation Producer with CIT & Cosgrove Hall Films Archive, she has led on their artist development programme, producing original film work and designing engagement projects that partner with a wide range of artists and communities across Greater Manchester. Other producer credits include animated short Jaybirds (2019) produced in association with Little Dot Studios for Channel 4, La Vita Olistica (2021) with original music by The Orielles, and Forest Coal Pit (2021) shot on Super 8, produced through Ffilm Cymru Wales & BFI NETWORK in association with BBC Cymru Wales, recently shortlisted for the Grierson Short Film Award. These short films have played in competition at festivals including Edinburgh International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and Aesthetica Film Festival.
*Wes Wood*	Owner of Animation Toolkit, designs, develops and manufactures stop motion armature kits and parts for industry and consumer. His roles at ITV and the BBC as a Creative Director has developed children’s brands and their on-air channel identities and promotional materials for over 15 years.
*Dr Steve Henderson*	…is the Director of Manchester Animation Festival and a founding member of the team. He is also the editor and co-owner of skwigly.com, the UK’s biggest online animation magazine and community. Steve has a PhD in Animation Archives and British Children's Television Animation from Loughborough University.

Short Films Directors Q&A

I was late for my first shift “Short Films Directors Q&A” because of traffic. When I got to the Home Cinema I asked Annette if I could switch shifts “Delegate Desk (Ticket office) for Into the Archives” (As I really wanted to attend that event) which her shift was to scan in stragglers’ tickets for 20 mins after it had started. When I got into the talk I only got to see 45mins worth because my next shift was starting afterwards (See Meet the Puppets below)

Meet the Puppets: C.H.F. Archive

Student Films Panorama

Poor Antonio

Antonio is stuck to his routine. During the night, he works in a recycling plant and during the day stays with his family with whom he doesn’t really get along. One day, while working, he discovers that he can begin to make decisions about his life and change it to his will.

Original Title:	Pobre Antonio	Director:	Mariana Guerreiro Ferreira, Eudald Rojas Lluís
Country:	Spain	Year:	2021
Length:	00:08:06	Technique:	Stop Motion
	Language:	Spanish

Me and my mum, enjoyed Poor Antonio even though it was in another language because the storyline was very interesting.

Meet the Filmmakers

Float

A penguin drifting through the polluted waters of a flooded Earth must see if he has what it takes to survive the new ways of the world.

Director:	Jaden Heller	Country:	Turkey
Year:	2022	Length:	00:04:29
Technique:	CGI, Experimental,	Language:	English

Float was very weird and confusing for me and mum.

The Other Shore

A Mexican family flees its country during a stormy night.

Original Title:	L’Autre Rive	Director:	Julia Wolff, Alexis Giraud, Lison Lacour, Elora Toussaint du Wast, Gustave Soloy
Country:	France	Year:	2021
Length:	00:05:20	Technique:	Digital 2D, Other,
	Language:	No Dialogue

The Other Shore was interesting, but I didn’t really understand the story.

Animation

Bogdanka

Inspired by Slavic mythology, Bogdanka is a tale of a young woman soon to be wed. In a world where choice is an illusion, she gets a chance to make a decision of her own.

Director:	Julia Wiza	Country:	United Kingdom
Year:	2022	Length:	00:03:38
Technique:	Digital 2D,	Language:	Polish

Bogdanka was a weird confusing story but I enjoyed how it was animated.

Aeons Ark

vimeo.com/art-trailer

Aeons Ark is a futuristic flood epic which depicts the destruction of a future world by a momentous flood.

Director:	Sophie Maria Vickers	Country:	United Kingdom
Year:	2022	Length:	00:06:29
Technique:	CGI, Digital 2D, Experimental, Special Effects,	Language:	N/A

Aeons Ark was just a bizarre animation in general. The strange world was encapsulating.

The Most Boring Granny In The Whole World

youtube.com/Boring-Granny-Trailer

Greta is bored with her grandmother, because anything that is fun is not allowed there - and because all granny’s hobbies are boring: hoarding souvenirs and looking at photos of the deceased. When granny sleeps, Greta plays her funeral. The film initiates a sensitive conversation about death and memory.

Original Title:	Die allerlangweiligste Oma auf der ganzen Welt	Director:	Damaris Zielke
Country:	Germany	Year:	2022
Length:	00:07:02	Technique:	Other,
	Language:	English

The Most Boring Granny in the Whole World was the best animation out of all the student films even though the little girl started playing Granny’s funeral.

Shot Progression

The Process of Making of

Little Talks

A series of moments and conversations from travelling.

Director:

Talla Malyukova

Country:

United States

Year:

2022

Length:

00:03:23

Technique:

Collage, Digital 2D, Experimental,

Language:

English

(subtitles embedded)

Little Talks was hard to get my head around.

Heave

Heave is a haptic and musical movie about a romantic encounter.

Original Title:	Houle	Director:	Timothée Sarran
Country:	France	Year:	2022
Length:	00:04:59	Technique:	Abstract, CGI, Experimental, Stop Motion,
	Language:	French

Heave didn’t have a story at all and has hard to watch.

Downfall

vimeo.com/downfall-trailer

Enya's journey trying to make it as a dancer is hindered as her behaviours drag her downhill.

Director:

Rona Fayad

Country:

Lebanon

Year:

2021

Length:

00:03:28

Technique:

Abstract, Cell,

Rotoscoping,

Language:

No dialogue

Downfall made me fall asleep a little, but the technique of the animation was cool.

Nudity

In a fabric society, a young figure diverges from rigid gender binaries to explore where their identity

lies.

Director:	Jáchym Bouzek	Country:	United Kingdom
Year:	2021	Length:	00:06:30
Technique:	Stop Motion,	Language:	English

I loved the technique of Nudity, but I didn’t understand the storyline.

The Pack

After being harassed by hounds all day, Marion, a young woman in her twenties, recounts her story to a policeman, hoping to be understood. For her, the hounds are responsible, for him, she is the one responsible.

Original Title:	La Meute	Director:	Louise Cottin-Euziol, Lou-Anne Abdou, Antoine BlossierGacic, Charline Hedreville, Agathe Moulin, Victoria Normand, Gabriel Saint-Frison
Country:	France	Year:	2021
Length:	00:06:09	Technique:	CGI,
	Language:	French

The Pack was sad and scary however the models in the CGI world were sculpted beautifully.

Once More With Feeling

Through postcards of statues, we see heroes rise and the actions that led them to being elevated.

Director:	Pallavi Agarwala	Country:	India
Year:	2021	Length:	00:04:22
Technique:	Collage, Cut Out, Experimental, Stop Motion	Language:	None

I liked the technique of Once More with Feeling but wasn’t for me.

Noise Film

Molly goes about her daily working routine, always wishing for the comfort and quiet of home.

Director:	Merlin Voss	Country:	United Kingdom
Year:	2021	Length:	00:03:14
Technique:	Digital 2D,	Language:	No dialogue

Noise Film was animated beautifully, and I enjoyed the noises (although some of the sounds hurt my ears). It wasn’t my favourite animation for the screening.

Animated Answers: 3D Printing

3D printing opens up a whole new paradigm for animated filmmakers who get to flex their creativity and create new visions using this rapidly advancing technology. Helping us navigate the world of 3D printing our panel of experts are on hand to listen to your questions and offer their animated answers.

*Ainslie Henderson*	…is a writer / director / animator / who in, 2012 was awarded a BAFTA for his co-writing of The making of Longbird Ainslie’s films I Am Tom Moody and Monkey Love Experiments were both BAFTA nominated, and have won over 60 international festival awards, including; Best British short at Encounters, Disney, best student film at Ottawa, the special jury crystal at Annecy and Edinburgh International film festival’s McLaren award. Moving on – His music video for the band ‘James’ has clocked up over 2 million plays on Vimeo, and was awarded the UK’s best animated music video in the UK Must video awards. He and creative partner Will Anderson produced the animated content for Martin Greens ‘Flit’, which toured Internationally and was awarded four stars in the Guardian newspaper. Ainslie has a particular love of stop motion and is currently emerging from the woods in deepest darkest Northumberland, having completed Shackle ;a 10 minute, outdoor, BFI funded, stop-motion epic.
*Laura-Beth Cowley*	…is a mixed-media freelance animator based in Bristol. Her short films have been screened internationally as well as broadcast on the BBC. She is a founding member of the Weird Eye Collective and has taught and lectured at multiple educational institutions in the UK. Laura-Beth has also written for various online and print magazines and is the Features Writer for Skwigly Online Animation Magazine. Currently she is enrolled on a PhD programme at the University of the West of England exploring the use of new technology within the stop-motion animation process.
*Wes Wood*	Owner of Animation Toolkit, designs, develops and manufactures stop motion armature kits and parts for industry and consumer. His roles at ITV and the BBC as a Creative Director has developed children’s brands and their on-air channel identities and promotional materials for over 15 years.
*Anthony Fallows*	…is a 3D Digital Modeller at Mackinnon & Saunders.
*Richard Pickersgill*	…is Workshop Supervisor at Mackinnon & Saunders.