Making of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'

Also check out Andreas Dejas' blog posts about his work on Roger Rabbit:

// Deja View: Who Framed Roger Rabbit 

Before and After - Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Very sad news about Bob Hoskins.  Here's a great behind the scenes vid from Who Framed Roger Rabbit that shows what a master Hoskins was at his craft.





via Io9

Early Version of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1983)

More behind the scenes material here:
// Making of  "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" 

The Develpment Of The Digital Animator

To my friends in LA! Check out this upcoming lecture on the development of computer animation! There are some big names on the panel.

Monday, May 21, 7:30 p.m.

Samuel Goldwyn Theater

8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Ticketed seating is unreserved.

//The Develpment Of The Digital Animator

'Panel moderated by animator and historian Tom Sito

When "Toy Story" burst onto the scene in 1995, its computer-generated imagery was, for many, a bold new technique in animation. However, the development of computer-generated motion picture animation was a lengthy and meticulous process that had its first public exposure with the mesmerizing swirls of the opening titles for "Vertigo" (1958). Of equal importance to the technical developments were the influential animators and designers who devised artistic uses for engineering advances. Join our panel of some of the pioneers of digital animation as they revisit the long path from laboratory to cineplex.'

Scheduled panelists:

Rebecca Allen is a media artist, designer and director whose groundbreaking animated work ranges from landmark music videos to dance films, interactive art installations and Emmy Award-winning opening titles. Her collaborators include Kraftwerk, Mark Mothersbaugh, Carter Burwell, Peter Gabriel and Twyla Tharp. She is currently professor of Design|Media Arts at UCLA.

Philippe Bergeron is a CG animator and president of PaintScaping.com, a 3D projection mapping company. He co-directed and animated one of the first CG characters in the short "Tony de Peltrie," the closing film of SIGGRAPH '85. He also worked at Digital Productions and Whitney/Demos Productions.

David Em began producing digital art in the 1970s and has worked as an independent artist in research laboratories such as the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group. He is the first digital artist to have his papers collected and preserved by the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art.

Tim Johnson is a director and animator who began his career at Chicago's Post Effects. At Pacific Data Images in the 1980s, he animated the first digital Pillsbury Doughboy. His feature directing credits include "Antz," "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" and "Over the Hedge."

Jeff Kleiser is the co-founder of Digital Effects, New York's first CG house. He later co-founded both Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company and Synthespian Studios. His credits include "Tron," "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid," "Stargate" and "X-Men: The Last Stand."

Bill Kroyer is an animator and director whose credits include "Tron," "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" and "Scooby-Doo." He received an Academy Award nomination for his 1988 short film "Technological Threat." He is currently Director of Digital Arts at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.

John Lasseter is Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Pixar Studios. His directing credits include Pixar's first short, the Academy Award-winning "Luxo Jr.," and the feature films "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Cars" and "Cars 2."

Tom Sito is a veteran Hollywood animator and historian. His screen credits include "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King," "Shrek" and "Hop."

Phil Tippett is an Academy Award-winning visual effects animation director whose creditsinclude “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Spiderwick Chronicles” and several of the films in the “Twilight Saga.”

Diana Walczak is a CG animator and director who co-founded Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company and Synthespian Studios. With Jeff Kleiser, she created the first female Synthespian performer, Dozo, for the 1989 music video "Don't Touch Me." Her credits include the digital opera "Monsters of Grace" and the feature films "X-Men" and "Surrogates."

Roller Coaster Rabbit: Ink And Paint Dept. (1990)

Also check out the behind the scenes of:

// Making of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'

SCREENING: PERSISTENCE OF VISION with Filmmaker Kevin Schreck

Special Screening: PERSISTENCE OF VISION
Filmmaker Kevin Schreck via Skype
Playing at the Rafael Film Center
Thursday, November 21, 7:00

'The untold story of the greatest animated film never made, Kevin Schreck's fascinating documentary traces the quixotic quest of visionary animator Richard Williams, who toiled more than three decades on his masterpiece, The Thief and the Cobbler, only to have it torn from his hands. Working out of London and beginning his dream project in 1964, Canadian-born Williams won Oscars for animating A Christmas Carol (1971) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), and earned universal acclaim for his credit sequences for the Pink Panther movies, but he re-invested all his resources into his Middle Eastern fable. This "heartbreaking documentary about a staggering genius" weaves together mind-blowing animation, archival footage and exclusive interviews with key animators and artists to bring to light a lost, precious chapter of animation history. Producer/Director: Kevin Schreck. (US 2012) 83 min. plus discussion.' via CFI

The Development of the Digital Animator (hightlights)

For those of you (me included) who missed this lecture here are some of the highlights.

//  The Development of the Digital Animator

Panelists Jeff Kleiser (Visual Effects Supervisor: X2, X-Men: The Last Stand), David Em (Digital Artist), Rebecca Allen (Media Artist/Designer/Director) and Diana Walczak (GC Animator: X-Men, Fantastic Four) share how they got started with digital animation at The Academy's Development of the Digital Animator at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater on May 21, 2012. Panel moderated by animator and historian Tom Sito (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid).

Who Framed Roger Rabbit Q&A with Richard Williams // BFI 2014

More on Richard Williams work here:

// Richard Williams