Here are a few AMAZING photos by Jamie Bolio, our "angel" as we dubbed her and Pam for doing so much to promote Kells out here. Just look at the animation legends I got to chat to. Amazing.
The fabulous "Queen of Toontown" June Foray
One of the animators that caused me to buy a jog shuttle VHS back in college to watch the fantastic morphing and smearing animation of the genie and who was responsible for the classiest sequence in The Princess and the Frog. Eric Goldberg picked up his fourth Annie last night with a triumphant salute to hand drawn animation.
The lovely Jamie Bolio and two boyos.
The amazing Bruno Coulais composer for Kells, winner of Annie for his score for Coraline and the mighty Andreas Deja
The legendary Henry Selick.
The bowld boys from the owld sod. Eimhin (Rooster) , Richie (some film called 'Avatar" or something) , and Padraig(Rooster)
Dean DeBlois - co director of one of my very favourite films Lilo and Stitch and storyboard man of the Mulan sequence where she sneaks away in her fathers armour, I rewatched that sequence endlessly in college.
The real deal indy feature animated filmmaker Bill Plympton, this dude draws every frame himself!
A great night last night, Bruno Coulais took the Annie for best score for Coraline,and it was fun to catch up,between Kells and Coraline he has two movies he scored nominated for the Oscars . He introduced me to Henry Selick who said he really enjoyed Kells , so that was very cool to hear. Met loads of animation superstars and it was lovely to see some old friends too.
Yesterday morning we screened Kells with Jim Capobianco's lovely Leonardo short. We did a q+a afterwards together which was really fun , the two films really compliment each other we think.
http://leoanimation.blogspot.com/
Tommorow morning I head back home for a few days, then back next week for the nominees luncheon and then home until the Emerald ball in New York February 27. whew. airmiles.
On another note I stumbled on this story via Laura Veirs twitter feed - http://freethehikers.org/ thought it would be good to spread the word here.
Just thought it timely to say to anyone here in California who wants to see KELLS tommorow , ill be at the SANTA BARBARA screening at 4.30 and on Saturday morning.
After the Oscar nod (still waiting to wake up from that dream!) I really don't want people to forget that the Annies is such a massive acheivment for the whole crew and production team and co-production partners too! I'm only sorry that our short run here was so late that we could'nt enter any of the talented team in the individual achievment categories. It was amazing to even squeeze in to be considered for the main category at the very last minute (thanks Antraan, Jamie, Tina , Pam and all at ASIFA who made that happen!!!!). And being nominated for an Annie was as much a surprise as the Oscar nod on Thursday - or was that Wednesday? But as much as I'm looking forward to seeing all the american animation folks here it will be lovely to see my fellow sdgi/dga Finders Series winners from Barley Films ! Padraig and Eimhin who created the very cool Rooster, Crocodile and the Night Sky will be here on Saturday. That class act was the short that played before our very first workprint screening here back in Sept 2008 at the Dga building. Its cool to be back with the lads for the ANNIES no less!
Yet another Irish animation success story this week...!
oH and i was chuckling away to Badly Drawn Roy from Jam media on the plane on the way over! its playing on aerlingus' inflight movie service! I'd seen it a couple of times before but somehow I identified with poor scribbly Roy heading out to Hollywood to be cleaned up even more this time :)
Anyway, I want to say thanks to everyone who emailed me , and I'm sorry I have'nt gotten back to everyone yet what with work and travelling ...but I'll try and get to all those lovely mails asap!
Right, its that bizarre feeling where its nearly 5 at home and time for sleep even though i just arrived here in LA.
Actually time for a veggie burger i think ...best thing about LA - loads of great veggie grub! mmmm!
ANALYSIS: Aside from plaudits, Irish animation also earns its keep with revenues of over €40m, writes PAMELA DUNCAN
IRISH ANIMATORS are continuing to draw international attention with two Irish animated films on the shortlist for Oscar nomination, and two more shown at Sundance Film Festival.
The Secret of Kells has made the last 16 in the animated feature film section at the Oscars, while Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty has been shortlisted for nomination in the animated short film category. The final five nominations in each category are to be announced tomorrow. Old Fangs, produced by Kilkenny company Cartoon Saloon, and Please Say Something , directed by David O’Reilly, also from Kilkenny, were both shown at Sundance.
But aside from earning plaudits, the Irish animation sector is also earning its keep. Dubbed the “star performer” of the film and TV industry in this year’s report of the Audiovisual Federation, the sector’s total output reached €38.9 million in 2008, with €43 million estimated for 2009. Animation is the only independent audiovisual sector which predicts growth this year. It is now the largest provider of full-time employment in the Irish independent film and television sector, with 337 jobs in 2008.
Kevin Moriarty, chairman of the Audiovisual Federation steering committee, says that the animation industry is a perfect example of the smart economy.
There are innate advantages to animation. Firstly, there is a wide audience given that animation is easily dubbed into other languages. Good for employees is that it takes time: 30 seconds of animation can take a week. “The gestation period for productions can be one, two or three years – so . . . people have regular employment,” Moriarty says.
Cathal Gaffney, co-founder of Dublin-based Brown Bag Films, and a nominee for this year’s Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, says that the success of the Irish animation sector is bigger than the sum of its parts.
“A lot of the studios have matured and have a strong presence in the international marketplace now,” he says.
Brown Bag Films currently has 55 full-time staff, providing another 15 jobs on a freelance basis. Gaffney says that, as indigenous studios invest money back into Irish animation, they are building the industry and securing long-term work. Gaffney points to Nicky Phelan, who joined Brown Bag Films after college and worked his way up to direct the Ifta-winning short Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty .
“The people working in animation . . . they’re building a career, and you can see them moving around studios and staying in studios for a number of years. It is very heartening because it makes the animation sector very strong internationally,” says Gaffney.
However, difficulties remain. Gaffney says that Irish studios succeed in spite of the absence of a strong domestic market. “We really have no option but to become an export-focused sector,” he says, adding that 90 per cent of Brown Bag’s business is export-based.
Irish studios have built up good relationships in different territories to ensure a flow of work into the country.
Through a combination of collaborations, work-for-hire productions and creating, producing and exploiting intellectual property, Ireland has made a name for itself as “a safe pair of hands”.
Paul Young is a partner with Cartoon Saloon and a producer on The Secret of Kells . In its day-to-day operations Cartoon Saloon employs 17 people, 10 full-time. While producing The Secret of Kells and Skunk Fu! it employed 75 people full-time.
Young says that “design, artistic and storytelling talent” here in Ireland coupled with the attractiveness of the section 481 tax incentive are driving the sector forward.
However, he says that it’s necessary for Irish studios to collaborate with foreign studios. The Secret of Kells , for example, was co-produced in Belgium and France, but the Kilkenny-based studio took the lead – the creative blueprints, key animation and backgrounds, storyboard, voice recording and design were all carried out in Ireland.
Young says that the goal for Irish studios is not simply to provide service work for foreign studios but to produce and own a catalogue of content which will continue to generate sales and revenue.
“That’s what the whole smart economy thing is all about,” Young says.
Studios are also exploiting technological avenues. JAM Media is in the process of further developing its “head-hunter” technology, which allows users to use their image to become the star of their own show. Chief executive John Rice says Irish studios are “punching above their weight” on the international market, aided by the tax incentive and Irish Film Board support.
Emma Scott, production executive with the Irish Film Board, which provides around €1 million for animation projects each year, says that, while Irish studios continue to demonstrate a high level of creativity, they are also astute business people who recognise the commercial opportunities which exist around holding the rights to productions. Licensing, merchandise and personalised technology are just some of the wider opportunities.
“It’s a commodity. They’re creating a product and they see it as that – it’s a creative product which they can go out and exploit on a number of different platforms,” Scott says.
Star studios: top producers
Brown Bag Films
Best known for Oscar-nominated short Give Up Yer Aul Sins . Successful TV series include Olivia for US Nickelodeon and Noddy in Toyland .
Cartoon Saloon
Producer of the Year at Cartoon Forum in 2008 and Producer of the Year at Cartoon Movie in 2009. Tomm Moore, director of The Secret of Kells , was named Director of the Year at Cartoon Movie in 2009. The Secret is one of two 2D films on the shortlist for nomination in the animated feature film category for the Oscars. The studio’s Skunk Fu! series has been broadcast in over 120 countries.
JAM Media
Achieved critical acclaim with the BBC series Roy , which centres on the trials and tribulations of a cartoon boy who lives in the real world. The series was born out of a short called Badly Drawn Roy .
Barley Films
Currently working on a feature length animation, Little Caribou .
Kavaleer
Series Garth and Bev is broadcast on CBeebies. The company has just signed a deal with Yowza to bring Mort Walker’s comic strip Hi Lois to the small screen.
Monster Animation
Series Ballybraddan was launched on RTÉ in 2009. Its Fluffy Gardens series was a global success.
The Secret of Kells, a feature-length animated film about a the nephew of a monk learning the art of illuminated manuscripts during the era of Viking invasions, was way too scary for my two kids. The KidFilm program says six and up, and they are probably right. I shut off the movie before the two and four-year-olds got too scared and ruined a good night’s sleep. The movie, however, was phenomenal. What’s lost in the proliferation of digital animation is the art of animation as hand-craft – the painterliness of animation. There are some old Disney films that really exploited the beauty of this form (I’m thinking of The Fox and the Hound), where the backgrounds and scenery are more than just a representation of the film’s world, but a play of abstracts that profoundly and delightfully affect mood and tone. The Secret of Kells is about the art of illuminated manuscripts, and the very fabric of the movie is enveloped in this style.
Brendan is a young orphan who is sent to live with his uncle, an abbot of a monastery. The abbot is obsessed with building a wall to fortify the monastery against the Viking invasions. Brendan is more interested in the work of the brothers who are illuminating the sacred scriptures. When Ireland’s most famous master illuminator arrives, Brendan becomes his pupil against his uncle’s will. As the abbot prepares to guard the future of the monastery’s physical survival, Brenden becomes the only hope for the survival of the art of illumination.
Brendan’s apprenticeship becomes a quest and it takes him into fantastical illustrated worlds of dark forces, as he searches for a secret crystal that is the aid of the artist. The story is exciting and compelling, but it is the sheer beauty and originality of the animation that makes The Secret of Kells such an engrossing watch. Even if you don’t have kids, this is probably one the best films playing in local theaters this weekend.
Pardon this review if you’ve already read the thoroughly well written review by Charles Kenny, I’ll try to take another perspective on this one. On Wednesday night, The Children’s International Film Festival hosted a screening night at the Soho House in Hell’s Kitchen. The screening room was small and I happened to be 15 minutes late and missed out on what ended up being the most comfortable leather seats I have ever sat in (for the credits, that is). I digress, sitting on the floor did not hamper the mystical experience that is The Secret of Kells.
I have to say it has been an incredible year for smaller budget and independent animated features. The main reason for this small screening was to get some buzz built up for the upcoming award season. The Secret of Kells really is a unique film because the quality on a whole is so high. Often films have to sacrifice in places where they just couldn’t make up the money. The design, sound, performance, compositing, and writing were on par with work big name studios with bigger budgets and much larger staff have produced. Now onto the film; The Secret of Kells is a story about a young orphan boy named Brendan living in a walled in town named Kells. Brendan is being raised by his stern and protective uncle who also happens to be the abbot, Cellach. One day Brother Aidan shows up in Kells after his own town, Iona, after it had been destroyed by the norsemen (Vikings). Brother Aidan feeds the wild and bright imagination of Brendan and takes him on as an apprentice to learn illuminated calligraphy. Much to the disapproval of the abbot whose main concern is to prepare for the impending attack of the norsemen on Kells.
Throughout the story, our young protagonist ventures into the forest on missions for Brother Aidan where our magical mystery tour takes off. It is in the forestry scenes where the art direction of the film really comes to life. The stylization is really prominent from the first frame of the whole film, especially in the forest and interaction with our nymph friend named Aisling. Though there is a clear flat style to the layouts and patterns throughout the film (inspired by the book of Kells itself), often the screen is broken in sections, and the movement of the characters through the shot define the space or imply mystical vastness or passage of time. No part of the screen was ignored and each layout seems so incredibly planned. I fell in love with the dense shots just as much as the more minimal.
The design of the film may have been distracting upon the first look, but by the end of the film it was all just so cohesive. The character animators were definitely taking on a modern sense of weight and smoothness of action. The costume design and hair movement added to the whimsical performances. I could have used some more subtlety in some of the performances.
The music and sound design of Kells were perfectly paired. The only possible low point I could find was with the song Aisling sings to cast a spell over Brendan’s pet cat Pangur. It just felt strangely long or out of place somehow. The Secret of Kells also leaves the book that is the main focus of the film, to be somewhat mysterious though it has clearly holy and powerful meaning to Brendan. Considering the film was about the protection of the Christian gospels, there wasn’t an overwhelming presence of religion in the film. It played more to the allegory of good versus evil, or dark versus light. The look of the norsemen in comparison to the innocent villagers is a stunning contrast. I left the film wanting more a little. The conclusion of the film felt a bit rushed whereas the beginning and the forest scenes were well paced.
I applaud Cartoon Saloon for putting together a feast for the eyes, as well as a warming experience of the human will through times of hardship and invasion. It isn’t often we see animated films showing the experiences of refugees living in fear and finding light in dark times. A triumph for Ireland’s film community. A great film.
“The film is one of the most beautifully designed ever, and a charming, refreshing approach to storytelling.” – John Canemaker
Some high praise indeed from something of an animation legend!
The films been gathering some great praise from the preview screenings in the States lately and Eric and Dave of Gkids have been passing the good word onto myself and Paul.
Seems a good moment to give some more shout outs to our design and story team -
One of our Bg supervisors Lily Bernard is back in the studio, working on some Bgs for our Santapprentise co-production with Alphanim , and she was responsible for lots of the beautiful prop designs too.
Also working on Santa is Adrien Mergeau another superstar Bg artist and supervisor who is heading to Sundance soon with his short film Old Fangs which we produced here in Saloon last year , and theres master sculptor Jean Baptiste Van Demme who is also painting Santa bgs , he was the man responsible for the very cool Viking designs .
Also working with us again is Todor Polson on the bgs for a commercial that Kells animation supervisor Fabian Erlinghauser is directing right now. Tod made the colour script very early on when we were just at the first stages of storyboarding .
Captain Sandwiche himself , the Kells Art director Ross Stewart is hanging out here a bit these days he recently directed and designed the very classy "Cailleach an Airgid" musical short for the "Anam an Amrain" series we made for TG4 this Christmas.
Not forgetting all our other design and story team mates of course- Maestro Barry Reynolds who made the final character designs and model sheets , supervising all the character model-stuff for the layout posing and animation we did here, and of course the multi talented Remi Chaye who worked on the storyboards with Nora and I. Screenwriter Fabrice Ziolkowski who majorly helped pull the whole story into its final form after years of development should be very proud too. And then theres the layout team,animators, compositors,production people and musicians to thank too, well too many to mention .
With all the good will and kind reviews the film is generating from the likes of John Canemaker, Charles Solomon , Jerry Beck and numerous other famous animation authoritys I hope the whole crew all over the world feel its a reflection of all their hard work and dedication .
By all accounts the screening in Hollywood on the 9th went really well. Thanks to animation critic Charles Solomon for the feedback, he gave us this link to a NPR podcast
I love NPR and its very flattering to have our film talked about by someone as distinguished as Charles Solomon on one of the best public radio stations in the world.
And Pam Koller, sent me this message -
My friend Ramsey Avery a former Imagineer at Disney and world wide theme park designer and innovator said this about the screening today, "Just saw The Secret of the Kells. Unbelievably beautiful, audacious, and compelling. If you care one iota for design or world building -- and how they make a well-told story soar -- there has been nothing better in years."
Soon, we will sell them from our website shop (with a sketch by me if you want it) , but in the mean time you can buy them from Trinity College or O'Briens website -
Amazing that the first Christmas post was 2005! This project still occupies quite a bit of my time , even if its not what I'm working on everyday. Production wrapped almost 18 months ago now,and since the first screening in France last January to now has been a whole other journey I never expected when we began.
So a Happy Christmas from me to everyone who worked on this film , everyone who watched this film, supported this film, talked about it, reviewed it or bought a DVD!
And don't forget the screening in the Egyptian theatre in Hollywood on the 9th of January!
Recently we received the Roy E Disney Award in Seattle. Not long after we heard the said news that he had died. I know he was a friend of Tony White who runs the 2d or not 2d festival. here is a link to Tony's tribute -
I never met Mr.Disney of course , but by all accounts he will be sorely missed by the animation community and even some by folks here in Ireland where he often holidayed I hear.
Behold! All year Salooners near and far have toiled on this series of music videos that will be broadcast this Christmas on TG4.
Another Saloon/Sonta co-production in the spirit of Cuilin Dualach (Backwards Boy) but this time with a variety of Salooners taking the directing and designing reigns...
Nora Twomey cut these trailers together to give you all a sampler of the stylistic variety on offer.
And for our foreign fans, although the Gaelic will be largely impenetrable I believe the music will carry itself nicely with the visuals and you will be able to avail of the DVD release in 2010 from our Saloon Shop!
Last Saturday we lost out to Mia and the Migou at the Efas. Even if we were a little disappointed , we were happy such a beautiful film from the ever fabulous Folimage took the prize and proud to be one of only three nominees. It was a great night at any rate and the missus even snagged akiss from Eric Cantona
The Secret of Kells has just grabbed an Annie nomination for Best Animated Feature and Tomm Moore, co-founder of Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny, Ireland, describes how he brought this lovely and magical 2D movie to the screen. Inspired by Ireland's most precious artifact, The Book of Kells (a stunningly beautiful medieval manuscript containing the Four Gospels), the movie concerns a 12-year-old boy living in an abbey that comes of age amid Viking attacks and mystical wonders.
Bill Desowitz: What inspired you to make a movie about the legendary Book of Kells?
Tomm Moore: Well, it was a long time in the making. I had the first idea with a friend in college and we were thinking after seeing Mulanand The Thief and the Cobbler that we could find something in Irish arts to base as an animation. We never could do it as a student project so it became a pet project on the back burner here at the studio. But we thought it would be interesting to translate that into 2D, hand-made animation, which would be suited to the style. And the stories and legends from around that period seem pretty ripe. We went through different drafts of the script, some more of the history and some more of the fantasy and found a blend between the two.
BD:How did the financing come together?
TM: We pitched it at Cartoon Movie when Les Armateurs and Vivi Film were in the middle of The Triplets of Belleville and they showed 10 minutes and it was a big hit and they liked our pitch and thought it could be their follow-up. And at that same Cartoon Movie Canal + got involved too, so they were the kind of anchor finance. And then once the French financing started to come into place, we started to raise the Irish finance and then, finally, the Belgian. So in the end, it was about 2 million Euros from each country.
Because Ireland was the country that developed the project, we ended up being the lead creative studio and France ended up being the lead production studio.
Cartoon Saloon in Ireland was the lead creative studio, with the rest of the animation divided in France, Belgium, Hungary and Brazil.
BD:So, how was the animation divided up?
TM: We did about 15 minutes of sample animation, designs, all of the key posing and most of the backgrounds here at Cartoon Saloon [Blue Spirit in Angoulême, France did the rest of the backgrounds]. And then we divided the rest of the animation around Europe and Brazil: Walking the Dog in Brussels, Belgium; Lightstar Studios in Sao Paolo, Brazil; and Kecskemet Film in Hungary; ink-and-paint at Digital Graphics in Liege, Belgium; the in-betweens and cleanup were done in Brazil; and all of the compositing and editing and even the final sound post were done in France and Belgium.
BD:That's quite a step up for you and your company. What was it like tackling a feature?
TM: Yeah, it was really an adventure and it was pretty massive. I traveled a lot and learned a lot. Mainly, we kind of got neurotic about preparing everything and it paid off in the end because a lot of people said that they found the film very consistent and were surprised that it was made in so many countries, and I'm proud of that.
BD:What kind of pipeline did you have?
TM: We worked with HoBSoft developed by a couple of Danish guys for Asterix and the Vikings. When anyone at a studio finished their work, they would upload it and I could see it and bring it into the Avid. That was our main production tool because the pipeline was all over the place.
CG was incorporated into any moments that were detailed or complicated. Occasionally Flash was used and then mapped into 3D geometry.
BD:And the CG components?
TM: That was all done in Belgium. Digital Graphics took all the CG elements that were integrated with the characters. And then Walking the Dog took key sequences like the battle with [the giant] snake. They worked on Triplets and I was quite impressed with how they made 3D look like 2D.
BD:What else?
TM: At the end, the key role page was drawn and was originally a manuscript from a thousand years ago but an illustrator cleaned it up and pulled it apart in Blender so it could move. And then when the Vikings attack, a lot of the little extra characters that look like brushstrokes were done in CG. Any time anything was detailed and complicated, it was CG. We even had some background characters animated in Flash and then mapped onto 3D geometry.
BD:Was the biggest challenge arriving at an appropriate look?
TM: Yeah, we had so many different styles at the start. The art director, Ross Stewart, is a friend of mine from school, and we worked together for years on the look because we never thought the project was going to go into production. But by the time we did actually go into production, we developed more styles than we could use, and we had to pare it all down in a few months and come up with a consistent style. So, hopefully, we'll publish an Art of book someday so people can see it all.
But we made a simple rule from the start: the medieval world is really flat with false perspective and lots of color like medieval art. That was the majority of the movie. And then for the dream sequences, we went even flatter and simpler. We tried to do something like Monty Python. And then when there was danger, we'd go into 3D like the Viking attack.
BD:And the character design?
TM: We started off with a much more classical Disney look, but, as the backgrounds were developed more for the medieval look, the characters had to be simplified. It made more sense to make them match the backgrounds that we had designed. And Didier Bruner, the producer in France, really pushed us to have very flat characters, more like medieval icons. More like Eastern European animation.
The Character Design team consisted of my self and Barry Reynolds, who rejoined the team after working with us on the original pitch trailer as a designer and animator, Barry made the final designs and modelsheets . Barry's contribution was very important on the film, he made all the additional designs of animals and characters as well as supervising the model on the layout posing.
He was ably assisted by Martin Fagin who was our Clean Up supervisor and who designed the final line and worked closely with Digital Graphics in Liege to plan the "stained glass" effect of thicker outer lines which was added digitally.
The Vikings were designed by Jean Baptiste Van Demme .
Finally Lily Bernard , one of our Bg supervisors made the colour models for all the characters. It very much a collaborative effort to arrive at the final look, big thanks to the whole team!
A more classical Disney look for the characters was abandoned in favor of a very flat look in keeping with the backgrounds.
TM: I've already got some development money from the Irish Film Board and from media here for my new feature, Song of the Sea. It's an Irish story about the selkies -- people that can turn into seals. It's about a little girl that's the last selkie and she has to find her way back to the sea from the city, and on the way back she gathers up all the remains of the fairy folk that are still hanging around in modern Ireland. They're lost and invisible to us and she helps them back to their own world. I suppose the benchmark for this one is My Neighbor Totoro. We are working on the script and for me the big lesson is to get everything ready up front. And hopefully start the storyboards next year.
The Secret of Kells is the tale of an Irish town’s fight for survival against the relentless tide of Viking invasion. At stake are not only the integrity of the settlement and the lives of its people, but more importantly, its way of life and its culture. The Vikings are not just a political and military force, they are a faceless monster intent on devouring Ireland and all things Irish. There are two schools of thought on how best to deal with the threat of the norsemen. The abbott, the ostensible leader of the town, insists that a wall must be built to keep the invaders out. The monks under his charge say that this is a futile gesture, and the only thing which can truly defeat the Vikings is time. The best course, they say, is to flee before the onslaught and ensure that the knowledge in their care is kept safe. Brendan, the film’s young hero, must choose between the two differing approaches and grow within the bounds of his decision. In charting Brendan’s progress, “Kells” mirrors traditional heroic folklore, but it does so with a deep undercurrent of pertinent themes. The film can be appreciated for its surface story and also for the ideas which bubble beneath. Thanks to this dichotomy and to the rich visual presentation, The Secret of Kells deserves a much broader audience than it will likely receive.
In its use of indigenous folk tales and rustic settings, “Kells” is reminiscent of the work of the great Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki, the man who gave us My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and the Academy Award winning Spirited Away. As in Miyazaki’s films, “Kells” is more reliant on the rhythms of folklore than it is the rote storytelling of modern Hollywood. Brendan’s journey from inquisitive boy to accomplished scholar features side trips into the world of faerie, and a battle with a monster more ancient and terrifying than the approaching Scandinavians. Much of the boy’s growth occurs metaphysically in a way which runs contrary to the world of the abbott and his wall. The arc of Brendan’s tale also owes much to the Hero’s Journey outlined by the famed mythology expert, Joseph Campbell. The path which the protagonist walks is a well-worn one, trod also by the the great heroes of literature who preceded him. But “Kells” does not borrow lightly from myth and folk tale, and its story is not a simplistic one. For instance, there is an unspoken irony in the fact that Brendan receives aid from the world of faerie since the knowledge he is seeking to preserve will, in time, disallow the existence of faeries. For those with a discerning eye, the film runs deeper than is implied by its surface veneer. On the other hand, The Secret of Kells, with its folkloric tone, connects with the audience on a primal level -- the same level upon which we once responded (or to continue to respond) to a well-told bed-time story.
The deceptive simplicity in the narrative presentation is mirrored wonderfully in “Kells’” brilliant art direction, A conscious choice has been made here to avoid the dimensionality found in most of the Disney features. A deliberately flat style has been embraced, and it not only suits the material, it constitutes a refreshing change of pace. For obvious reasons, the characters look very much like the people portrayed in illuminated manuscripts. Despite this fact, the artists have managed some animation which can stand with anything found in more conventionally art directed features. In particular, Aidan the master illuminator, and Aisling the faerie girl have been brought to life with consummate skill. The backgrounds these characters inhabit are so rich in detail that they are often used to aid in furthering the story, or in transitioning between scenes. The Secret of Kells feels designed to function exactly as it does, and that is a thing which movies rarely accomplish. In fact, “Kells” uses the medium of the animated cartoon better than any other film in recent memory.
The Secret of Kells is a fine film with a noble theme. The notion that preserving and disseminating knowledge are the best safeguards against evil is a welcome one in a time where rational thought seems to be losing its value. ASIFA was right to nominate “Kells” for Best Animated Feature, and the film deserves to be seen by as many people as it can reach.
Hello from Essen in Germany, we are here for the European Film Awards, Being one of three nominees for best animated feature is massive for us especially as the other nominees are of such high quality, Mia et le Migou and Nico and the way to the stars, it will be a fun night.
last night Ken Loach had a conversation about film, politics and all kinds of stuff before screening his film starring Eric Cantona! It was a very moving conversation and in the end he asked the audience to make some noise about Western Sahara and the plight of one their leading human rights activists who is currently on hunger strike in Lanzarote airport. i dont have much way to make noise but the eyeballs on this blog are the most direct access i have to the most people so heres my tiny contribution to making her plight known....
and heres a link to the guardians coverage of whats going on ...
Western Sahara activist on hunger strike at Lanzarote airport
Aminatou Haidar, campaigner for indigenous Sahrawi rights, expelled over refusal to accept Moroccan nationality
Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar in Arrecife airport on Lanzarote. Photograph: DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images
Western Sahara's most prominent human rights activist has gone on hunger strike at a Spanish airport after being expelled from her home country by Moroccan authorities.
Aminatou Haidar, who is viewed by her supporters as the "Sahrawi Gandhi", was deported to Lanzarote from the disputed territory of Western Sahara on Saturday. Morocco has occupied the former Spanish colony since 1975, refusing a say on independence to the indigenous Sahrawi population, including some 100,000 people still living in refugee camps in the desert in south-western Algeria.
Haidar, a 42-year-old single mother, was detained at the airport in Western Sahara's administrative capital, Laayoune, on her return from the US, where she was awarded the Train Foundation's Civil Courage prize of $50,000 for her struggle for the Sahrawis' right to self-determination. After refusing to declare her nationality as Moroccan on the airport arrival form, the police confiscated her passport and she was flown to the nearby Canary Islands.
Haidar told the Guardian by telephone that Spain was "complicit" in her predicament, both for admitting her to Lanzarote and then refusing to let her leave.
"I will carry on my hunger strike until the Spanish government accepts its responsibilities and allows me to return to my homeland, where my children live … or I die," she said.
Prison in Western Sahara was preferable to detention in Spain, she added.
Haidar has wide experience of incarceration. In 1987, aged 20, she was "disappeared" and tortured by the Moroccan secret police for more than three years for advocating independence. In 2005 she was jailed for seven months after being beaten by a Moroccan policeman during a demonstration protesting against the Moroccan occupation.
The Spanish foreign ministry said could not allow Haidar to return to Laayoune because she had no passport. The Moroccan government, which considers Western Sahara to be its southern provinces, even though this has no foundation in international law or formal recognition from any other country, has denied any wrongdoing. Instead, it has accused Haidar of treason and of being agent of the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi nationalist movement that fought a 16-year desert war against Morocco with backing from Algeria.
The conflict ended in 1991, with both parties agreeing to a UN-sponsored referendum on self-determination – including an option for independence – for the Sahrawi people. But Morocco has consistently blocked the vote, and the Polisario remains in exile in Algeria, behind a massive sand wall manned by tens of thousands of Moroccan soldiers.
In recent years King Mohammed VI has said independence is no longer on the table, with autonomy now the best available option for Sahrawis. On 6 November, in a speech marking 34 years of Moroccan presence in Western Sahara, he hinted at harsher action towards anyone still questioning the claim of sovereignty.
"One is either a patriot, or a traitor," he said. "Is there a country that would tolerate a handful of lawless people exploiting democracy and human rights in order to conspire with the enemy against its sovereignty, unity and vital interests?"
The expulsion of Haidar, who was also awarded the 2008 Robert F Kennedy human rights prize for her struggle, is part of a wider crackdown on Sahrawi activists. On Monday Human Rights Watch condemned the Moroccan government for blocking "unauthorised" visits by foreigners to the homes of Sahrawi campaigners in Western Sahara. Seven other Sahrawi activists being held by Morocco after visiting the Polisario camps in October have been described as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.
Wow, a great but exhaysting couple of days here in the US. On Saturday Tony White surprised Ross and I after the screening with the Roy E.Disney award. Its a great honour for us , to be on a short list of recipients from previous years such as Don Hahn , Richard Williams and Roy himself. Tony, Saille and all involved in the 2d or not 2d festival have been really lovely and welcoming , its been fantastic to discover Seattle a little bit too - somewhere I've been curious about for years and years.
Yesterday I got up at 5 am and flew down to LA for the Asifa screening in the AMC in Burbank. So, many people showed up, it was lovely. I actually sat thru' the film again, for the first time in ages, well maybe just since Belfast. I reckon I must have been at a screening almost once a week this year, but its always differentw ith a new audience. This time it was with some amazing artists and their families from the LA community. Jerry Beck of Cartoon Brew lead the Q+A afterwards , which i really enjoyed though mayeb I rambled a bit in my jetlagged exhausted state! But it seemed to go well despite that!
Thanks again to everyone here Stateside.
We do a talk in Digipen today, then grab a last bite of good veggie grub here in Redmond at the Teapot and its off home for a couple of days.
Then on Friday its off to the European Film Awards...no rest for the wicked!!
NEW YORK, NY - Dec 2, 2009 - Film distributor GKIDS announced today that it has just released four never-before-seen online clips of the award-winning animated feature THE SECRET OF KELLS by director Tomm Moore. THE SECRET OF KELLS is vying for an Academy Award in the Best Animated Feature category and has been praised by audiences, critics and animation fans worldwide. The clips are now available on YouTube, www.gkids.tv, and other online video sites. YouTube links for the four clips are below:
ANNIE AWARD NOMINATION - A groundswell of support for THE SECRET OF KELLS within the animation community has resulted in a surprise nomination by The Annie Awards for Best Animated Feature, announced December 1. http://www.annieawards.org
All other nominees are wide release, major studio pictures including "Up", "Coraline", "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", "Fantastic Mr. Fox", and "Princess and the Frog". THE SECRET OF KELLS has already been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the European Film Awards (winner to be announced December 11), is winner of the Audience Award at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Festival, and was the first animated film in history to win the Edinburgh Film Festival. THE SECRET OF KELLS opens in Los Angeles Dec 4 for an exclusive one week Academy-qualifying run at the AMC Burbank 8. The film opens nationally March 2010.
GKIDS President, Eric Beckman said, "The grassroots support for this film is phenomenal. Everyone who has seen the movie has fallen in love. After the Creative Talent Network Expo screening literally dozens of animators came up and asked to help spread the word-and the result is the ASIFA nomination alongside "Up" and "Coraline" and other major studio releases. The fact is, "Kells" is a breathtaking and totally unique film and absolutely deserves the Oscar nomination. We may not enjoy the marketing budgets of some other titles in the running, but we are 100% committed to building bottom up support and getting audiences to discover this amazing film."
"The Secret of Kells" Exclusive One Week Engagement Dec 4-10 AMC Burbank Town Center 8 201 E Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91501, 1-888-AMC-4FUN Friday, Dec 4 at 7pm Sat-Sun, Dec 5-6 at 2pm Mon-Thurs, Dec 7-10 at 7pm Q&A with director Tomm Moore following Sun Dec 6 show www.kellsmovie.com
SYNOPSIS: Magic, fantasy, and Celtic mythology come together in a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes, in this sweeping story about the power of imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times. Young Brendan lives in the Abbey of Kells, a remote medieval outpost under siege from raiding barbarians. One day a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest, where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil? SECRET OF KELLS is a France/Belgium/Ireland co-production of Les Armateurs, Vivi Film, Cartoon Saloon and France 2 Cinema and features the voices of Brendan Gleeson ("Harry Potter", "In Bruges"), Evan McGuire and Christen Mooney.
ABOUT GKIDS: GKIDS is a distributor of award-winning animated entertainment specializing in titles that cross over between art-house and family audiences. Recent theatrical releases include Michel Ocelot's acclaimed "Azur & Asmar", in partnership with the Weinstein Company, and Nina Paley's animated multiple-festival-winning animated feature, "Sita Sings the Blues". Upcoming GKIDS releases include Tomm Moore's animated Oscar contender "The Secret of Kells", and European Film Award nominee "Mia and the Migoo" by Jacques-Remy Girerd. GKIDS is also longtime producer of the New York Int'l Children's Film Festival, North America's largest festival of film for children and teens. NYICFF jury members include Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Susan Sarandon, Gus van Sant, and Matthew Modine. The GKIDS.TV website is a place where children, teens, and adults can watch, rate, review, buy and share award-winning film and animation from around the world.
Contact: Dave Jesteadt 212-528-0500 dave@gkids.com
So, tommorow I am off to Seattle to the 2d or not 2d festival and on Sunday I fly down to LA for the screening in the AMC in Burbank where I'll do a Q+A with the famous Jerry Beck of Cartoon Brew. Be there or be square.
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Fundraiser The SECRET OF KELLS at the AMC Burbank 8 on the following dates:
Friday, December 4, 2009 7:00 pm Saturday, December 5, 2009 2:00 pm... See More Sunday, December 6, 2009 2:00 pm: w/a post Q&A with Director Tomm Moore Monday, December 7, 2009 7:00 pm Tuesday, December 8, 2009 7:00 pm Wednesday, December 9, 2009 7:00 pm Thursday, December 10, 2009 7:00 pm
Buy your tickets online and $4 per ticket will be donated to the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. To purchase tickets, please visit http://www.facebook.com/l/f11ce;www.gkids.tv/intheaters. Select "ASIFA HOLLYWOOD" from the green pull down menu at the top of the site labeled "select my school or organization,” then buy the tickets for whatever screening you’d like to attend."
We had a great Q+A with Charles Solomon and the screening seems to have been very popular last night too. Hopefully the good word of mouth will spread out here :)
Amazing!!! I'm pretty sure this is the same technique that Donnachada Daly uses in his non glasses 3d images too..that weird magic eye effect. So it was'nt a crystal after all perhaps???
-
Researcher uncovers secrets of Kells 'angels'September 2, 2009 By Lauren Gold -->
Professor John Cisne looks at folio 85v in "The Book of Durrow," a manuscript with microscopically detailed illumination. Image: Lindsay France/University Photography (PhysOrg.com) -- The Book of Kells and similarly illustrated manuscripts of seventh- and eighth-century England and Ireland are known for their entrancingly intricate artwork -- geometric designs so precise that in some places they contain lines less than half a millimeter apart and nearly perfectly reproduced in repeating patterns -- leading a later scholar to call them "works not of men, but of angels."
But behind the artwork's precision is a mystery: How did illustrators refine the details, which rival the precision of engravings on a modern dollar bill, centuries before microscope lenses were invented? The answer, says Cornell paleontologist John Cisne, may be in the eyes of the creators. The Celtic monks evidently trained their eyes to cross above the plane of the manuscript so they could visually superimpose side-by-side elements of a replicated pattern, and thereby, create 3-D images that magnified differences between the patterns up to 30 times. The monks could then refine any disparities by minimizing the apparent vertical depth of the images -- ultimately replicating the design element to submillimeter precision. Cisne proposed the idea in the July 17 issue of the journal Perception (Vol. 38, No. 7). The paper suggests that the technique, called free-fusion stereocomparison, which takes advantage of the brain's ability to perceive depth by integrating the slightly different views from each eye, was known nearly a thousand years before it was articulated by stereoscope inventor Sir George Wheatstone in the 19th century. Cisne analyzed the most detailed illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, created between 670 and 800 A.D., including the Book of Kells (circa 800 A.D.); some have as many as 30 lines per centimeter.
Detail of folio 85v of "The Book of Durrow"The artists stayed mum about their techniques, possibly because their talent gave their Celtic church an edge over the Roman church in the competition for disciples. "If you're in the middle of a propaganda war, [it helps] if the angels are clearly on your side," Cisne said. But they left a few clues, he said, including the high degree of symmetry and repetition among many of the most intricate patterns and the elements' spacing, which is usually at about the distance between an average person's pupils. "It turns out that if you can draw accurately enough, you can easily get a magnification of the lateral [horizontal] distance something like 10, 20 or 30 times -- about the magnification you could get under a dissecting microscope," Cisne said.
Really amazed by this expo, very well organised, and so many animation superstars walking around here!
I was sorry I had'nt brought any of the comics with me, and then I met Niklas Anderson master layout dude who worked with us on Kells and he said he saw them for sale in the expo. I walked around and there was actually a big pile of both volumes at Stuart Ngs table. Amazing! He got them in France.
Hope we can get an english language publisher around the time of the release here next year.
Just a couple of thank yous to Pam Koller and Jamie Bolio and all the other friends of the film out here in L.A. who have been helping to spread the word on Kells thru the animation community. They are linking in with Asifa and working with our distributors to help make sure people get to see Kells here in the AMC in Burbank when it does its qualifying run . Hopefully that will get a positive buzz going for the release next year as well.
In Dreamworks amazing campus yesterday I was flicking thru Variety and saw a picture of Aisling and Brendan at the waterfall in there. Which was a bit surreal. Mentioned in an article about the 20 qualifying features this year. So many great films, hard to believe that theres two handdrawn feature in the running, four stop motion and such exceptional CG entries , when we began production on Kells traditional animation seemed resigned to TV specials for stop mo and tv series for hand drawn . So its interesting at least to see life in the old dogs yet, however it would be a really great day when the technique was not seen as remarkable and it was excepted that some stories simply suit being told in different techniques.
Anyway , the other mad Kells related thing that happened yesterday is that Pauls brother in London texted to say he saw Aisling posters on the side of London buses!! She is the kind of mascot for the London Childrens Film Festival this year!
So even two years almost after we finished productin we still seeing the film creeping out into the world in all sorts of unexpected ways.
Just letting folks know that we are planning a Saloon shop on our site to sell DVDs (signed by me with original sketches by myself) , books, etcetera. Please leave a comment if think you would be interested...good to get an idea of how many to stock up on. We might sell out . You never know. ahah
Andrew Murray one of our summer interns took some of the original art from Kells back with him for a display in his college. Here it is in Situ. It is some animation by David Bols in Belgium from the goose chase, Posing by Barry Reynolds, bg layout by Niklas Anderson and an x-sheet!
The rest of the original artwork will be archived soon in Trinity college no less...
The Oscar animated feature race is getting crowded, with an old-school handdrawn toon ("The Secret of Kells") and a Spanish-made CG talking-critter movie ("The Missing Lynx") pushing the category over the 16-film submission threshold needed to support five nominations.
GKIDS picked up U.S. rights to "The Secret of Kells" just three days before the Oscar submission deadline and plans to open the 2D toon for a one-week qualifying run on Dec. 4 at the AMC Burbank 8 in Los Angeles, followed by a wider release in March 2010.
The story of a ninth-century boy who rebels against his guardian's orders and helps to illuminate a famous Irish manuscript, pic garnered numerous accolades abroad, including an audience award at the Annecy toon fest and a nomination for the European Film Awards' animated feature prize. GKIDS is a for-profit offshoot of the New York International Children's Film Festival focused on distributing quality family-oriented films programmed at the annual kidpic showcase.
"GKIDS came along organically as (the organizers) and filmmakers coming to the festival felt that some really wonderful films were not being distributed in the U.S.," GKIDS prexy and NYICFF co-director Eric Beckman said. NYICFF hosted the U.S. premiere of "The Secret of Kells" at a special event last summer."The Secret of Kells" was directed by Tomm Moore and backed by French-Belgian-Irish co-producers Les Armateurs, Viva Film, Cartoon Saloon and France 2 Cinema.
The U.S. distribution deal was negotiated by Celluloid Dreams, who are also handling international sales, after an earlier domestic license with Empire Film Group fell through. GKIDS also has French-Italian co-production "Mia and the Magoo" (another EFA animated feature nominee) in the pipeline, though the company plans to prepare an English-language dub before releasing in 2010.
As for "The Missing Lynx," the CG toon completed its Oscar qualifying run last Thursday, playing seven days on a single screen in Encino, Calif. The story of an endangered feline trying to evade a big-game hunter, pic is being distributed in North America by Phase 4 and was produced by Kandor Moon in Granada, Spain, with the roles originally performed in English and later dubbed into Spanish.
Pauly has started blogging his fantastic weekly political cartoons from our local paper The Kilkenny People.
After many years away from the drawing board, producing our projects here in Cartoon Saloon , its been great to see Pauly's inky stylings on a weekly basis again.
We have moved to a new distributor for the US - GKIDS http://www.gkids.tv/films/ They have great films like Azur and Asmar, Mia and the Migou and Sita Sings the Blues on their books and we are very happy to be working with them.
They plan a US release next year around St.Patricks day with a few screenings leading up to that starting in the new year. They have also put Kells in for an Oscar run this year.
Its a crazy competitive year with so many great animated features eligible this year we know a nomination is a long shot but we thought we might as well go for it any way. You never know....
Back in the Kingdom, where I was married many moons past.
Lovely intimate festival, had a packed screening today with loads of enthusastic school kids and also a lecture in the Tralee IT.
After screening the film all over the world this year , its great to show it to Irish kids again, but the questions and observations are often very similar no matter what country we show it in!
Plenty of impressive short films on show here , lots of films made on tiny budgets but with impressive results.
The European Film Academy has announced the three nominations for its Animated Feature Film Award, to be presented at the 22nd European Film Awards on December 12 in Germany.
Tomm Moore’s The Secret Of Kells (France), Jacques-Rémy Girerd’s Mia And The Migoo (France) and Kari Juusonen & Michael Hegner’s Niko & The Way To The Stars (Finland/Germany/Denmark/Ireland) were selected by a jury made up of EFA board members.
They will now be submitted to EFA members who will vote for the winner.
The Secret Of Kells, which was the big winner at the Cartoon Movie Tributes in March, is about a 9th Century Irish Abbey which is threatened by Vikings. Mia And The Migoo tells the story of a young girl’s encounter with a mysterious creature on her journey to find her father. Niko & The Way To The Stars is about a young reindeer who is still learning how to fly.
Honorable Mention: The Secret of Kells The Icon award jury: "The jury would like to award an honorable mention to "The Secret of Kells", a film that stands out in the competition because of its unique design, its brilliant mixing of history, mythology and fantasy, as well as its boldness in using a medieval manuscript as the source of its inspiration, therefore acquiring a depth and a flavor quite unique in the animation sector."
The first prize went to the amazing "Let the Right one in" .
Another Viborg trip comes to an end. I just wanted to post about what a special place this is. The students have an amazing space tow ork and have consultants from sucha range of background sto look to.
Its been really inspiring for me, to spend time in the energy of this place, do some drawing in different styles and some life drawing, and meet such enthusastic people, students and teachers.
I hope I have been of some use to the students because their influence has certainly left me fired up about my own projects again!
The amazing Bruno Coulais composer for Kells, winner of Annie for his score for Coraline and the mighty Andreas Deja
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
