Animated Realism: A Behind The Scenes Look at the Animated Documentary Genre

Description

With the development and accessibility of animation tools and techniques, filmmakers are blurring the boundaries between documentary filmmaking and animation. The intimacy, imperfection and charm of the animated form is providing live-action and animation directors with unique ways to tell stories, humanize events and convey information not easily adapted for live-action media. Animated Realism presents animation techniques as they apply to the documentary genre with an inspirational behind-the-scenes look at award-winning animated documentaries. Animators and documentary filmmakers alike will learn how to develop a visual style with animation, translate a graphic novel into a documentary and use 3D animation as a storytelling tool, all in the context of creating animated documentaries. With insight and inspiration, Animated Realism includes interviews from industry luminaries like John Canemaker, Oscar Winning Director of The Moon and the Son, Yoni Goodman, Animation Director of Oscar Nominated Waltz with Bashir and Chris Landreth, Oscan Winning creator of Ryan. Packed with beautiful, instructive illustrations and previously unpublished material (including storyboards, photos and hand-drawn sketches) and interspersed with interviews - this is an exceptional source of inspiration and knowledge for animators, students and fans alike. With a companion website featuring animated shorts from leading animated documentaries, animators, students and documentary filmmakers will be able to analyze and apply Oscar-winning animation techniques to their own films.

Judith Kriger is a Los Angeles, CA-based independent filmmaker and animator. She has worked professionally in the entertainment industry for over twenty years on various projects for film, broadcast, video games and the web. Ms. Kriger's credits include: Cats and Dogs, Antz, A Simple Wish, Bebe's Kids, South Park, Ren and Stimpy, The Family Dog and various Doughboy commercials. Ms. Kriger produces, directs and animates her own independent films and is currently working on an animated project about the Hebrew alphabet. She is an Assistant Professor of Film and Television at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. Ms. Kriger teaches introductory and advanced courses in 3D animation and visual effects production.

"I want to mention a newly released book that I just came across, 'Animated Realism: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Animated Documentary Genre'. Written by Judith Kriger (Focal Press),this is the first book I know of on the subject. Kirger focuses on the work of 7 animated filmmakers who have created works in the documation genre: John Canemaker (The Moon and the Son), Paul Fierlinger (Drawn from Memory), Yoni Goodman (art director on Waltz with Bashir), Chris Landreth (Ryan), Bob Sabiston of Flat Black Films , Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre of MJSTP Films, and Dennis Tupicoff (Chainsaw). Kriger presents us with a short biography of each filmmaker, an overview of their oeuvre, brief interviews which uncover their source of inspiration, current (2012) projects, working processes, and funding and distribution strategies. The book is heavily illustrated with beautifully reproduced pre- and post-production stills, and successfully contributes to our deeper understanding of this burgeoning style of filmmaking."--Animation World Network