COVID Dystopia: Screening at the Iowa Independent Film Festival

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COVID Dystopia will be screening at the Iowa Independent film Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa on September 6, 2024 from 4pm to 6pm at The Lake Theater. It is right next door to the corner drug store.

In making travel plans I found the tiny puddle jumper airport does not have a car rental, si I am hoping that lyft will be able to get me around.I actually read an article online that said lyft does not exist in Clear, Lake Iowa. I will have to trust that can not be true or a taxi service at least must exist. The walk between the town is 3 and a half hours. I am not doing that but maybe I could find a bike rental. In some ways traveling to the middle of nowhere is terrifying but it is also thrilling.

The other Film Festival theater that is screening films is a 20 minute drive east at Mason City, Iowa. The awards ceremony and several after parties are in Mason City.

I decided I will stay in Clear Lake, Iowa. I found a very affordable hotel that overlooks the lake and is walking distance to the Lake Theater. I might bring my swim trunks although the water might be rather cold in Iowa come September.

My sound tech has offered to do a complete sound redesign for the film. That will not be ready by the time of the Iowa International Film Festival screening, but I am excited to see the film take another creative step forward.

It is exciting traveling to cities around the world to screen the film and spread the message that we might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

I am deep into designing a 200 page hardcover book that includes 600 of the COVID illustrations along with concise write ups for each day. One question at the Cleveland International Film Festival was, do I plan to make a longer version of the film? The book is that long form project. It allows a reader time to pause and think about the insanity that ensued. The film. COVID Dystopia hits like a slap in the face and is so fast paced that many can not keep up. In a way that is the point. I was the only artist trying to keep up and record what most want to ignore.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: MGM Studios Entrance

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This is another lunchtime sketch inside Disney’s MGM Studios. On the weekend I took some time off and wandered through Epcot people watching and sketching. Such excursions helped keep me sane through the pressure cooker that was the internship.

I managed to get a sun burn on my forehead since I forgot to wear my baseball cap while sketching.

I tried to arrange a haircut with a Disney barber but was told I would need to return in a week because I didn’t have a reservation. Just figuring out basic survival needs is a learning process.

The next assignment was going to be figuring out how a horse walks. It was hard enough figuring out how two legs worked in a walk and now I had to face 4 legs. Well, if the horses can figure out the mechanics of walking, then so can I.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Halloween Plans

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This is a sketch of the waiting area outside Honey I Blew up the Kids. the attraction at Disney’s MGM Studios was a kids play area with the playground being made up of giant objects, like huge blades of grass, giant ants and a very large dogs nose.

Plans were under way for the Halloween festivities. Disney animators took Halloween very seriously. There was to be a costume parade and then a children’s costume parade. Well lets face it, animators are children. Then there were games and BBQ on the animation patio which was built on to the parking lot trailer.

I worked much of the day since it was raining outside. I was working on a “Singing in the Rain” walk sequence. It was broken but I spent the day re-timing some sections of the animation to get it to flow better. Working such long hours was starting to wear on me. I needed time away from the studio, but that would have to wait for another day.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Popcorn Line

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I went to see the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas directed by Tim Burton. Part of the reason I went is because there was one of the fanciful sets and some of the character puppets on display at Disney’s MGM Studios where I worked. The set was larger than I would have imagined and quite impressive.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but what truly blew me out of my seat was the trailer for The Lion King which was in production in the studio I was working in. The trailer was simply the opening sequence of the movie and it was absolutely thrilling. Who knew that hand drawn images could pack such an emotional punch. I was hooked. I knew that I needed to be part of what this small army of artists was producing.

I am moved to tears any time I see the Lion King opening. The sequence is such an amazing celebration of life. Part of that emotional response must be because I always wonder if I ever will truly find my place in this miracle of life.

 

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Mickey’s Starland

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For the next animation assignment I was researching bubbles, brooms and bathwater from The Sword and the Stone. Effects animation seemed incredibly challenging but I slogged my way through the animation.

Years later I would be applying some of the principles learned in my own animation.

There was some love life drama among the interns but I was above the fray since I was a newlywed. I was married in the month of October before being called down to Orlando Florida. Instead of building a new life in New York City I was of on my own finding out what life might be like in Orlando. After the internship I was the only  intern to leave since I had to wrap up things inn NYC. I had a book that was being published and had to figure out what to do with the apartment. It is a shame the apartment could not be sublet since it would have been nice to return to NYC after a decade of helping make animated films for Disney. Now it would be an impossible dream to live in the NYC neighborhood we once lived in.

Disney Feature animation Internship: Thunder Mountain

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At the animation studio I had finished working on Mr. Zed. Mr. Zed was the affectionate name we used to refer to a simple animated character that just had a ball for a head, a bean for a body and spindly long legs simply defined with two lines.

The next assignment was to work on effects animation. Effects are much more fluid, abstract and unpredictable.

I spent time in the animation library and studied Fantasia to figure out how a cloak might move on a figure. I was fascinated by effect but it was not easy. All the other interns were busy doing and redoing their walks. I decided that when I was done with an assignment I would put it aside and move on. It was the best way to stay sane. If I chased absolute perfection I could drive myself crazy. I do believe that the internship experience was set up to see who cracked and who stayed o course. My mind was set on the long game.

The sketch was from a weekend exploring the parks. This was in Magic Kingdom.

Disney Feature Animation Internship: Near Dumbo

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It was a hard day’s work in the animation studio. The interns sketched a baby and a doberman pincer in the life drawing class. Both made terrible models since they squirm and move about so much. Sketches were done quickly with non being longer than 5 minutes. Actually we didn’t time anything since they never stayed still. As an animator we needed to understand the motion and we got plenty of that.

I was animating a character walking in a high wind. The character was wearing a rain coat which flapped in the wind. The rain coat was the challenge. Like I said, I never take the easy route when trying something new.

The sketch was from another park day. I tended to look upward so as not to be distracted by the ever flowing mass of humanity.

Disney Animation Internship: Ice Cream Gertie

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Meg Ryan and Demi Moore visited the Disney Feature Animation studio on October 11, 1993. I was not sure if they were looking for voice acting parts or were just on vacation. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors.

In 1996 Demi Moore provided the speaking voice of Esmeralda in Disney’s animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Maybe Meg and Demi were auditioning for the same part.

I finished the 3 walks and runs I was working on. That put me three days ahead of schedule. I decided to go back into the scenes and add facial expressions and other details. So much of what I was doing was about mechanisms and I wanted to get some emotion into the scenes. After work I went to Epcot to watch the fireworks. The shuttle that I took to the studio each day also stopped at Epcot, making it a convenient stop.

Gertie was in Disney’s MGM Studios. On the opposite side there was a standard Ice Cream shop cut into her belly. I doubt I ever tried the ice cream, it was cheaper at the employee commissary. I was more interested in seeing Gertie from the lagoon side.

Disney Animation Internship: NYC Street at MGM

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I often went to sit on the NYC set at Disney’s MGM Studios when I had a break from animation. I missed the hustle and bustle of the big city which is where I lived before heading down to Orlando. The hustle and bustle of the tourists in the them park was not quite the same.

The view of the Empire State building was fine, but it was painted on a flat and propped up at the end of the pretend street. Having the Ma Bell truck in the street was a nice touch though I would have preferred an ambulance which is much more flashy and loud.

I spent half of this weekend day sketching in the park and the other half animating walks and runs. I liked working in the studio on the weekend because it was much more quiet.

Disney Animation Internship: Muppet Fountain

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On Saturday I got into the Disney Feature Animation Studio at 9am and left that night at 9pm. I experimented with three different run cycles and abandoned two of them.

I also worked on a walk cycle which was meant to be a caricature of how Frank Gladstone, our instructor walked. I don’t know if anyone noticed that subtlety.

Since it was October thoughts turned to Halloween at the end of the month. I didn’t have transportation. I took the Disney shuttle bus to and from the studio. Disney Animators took Halloween costumes very seriously. I didn’t want to show up to the Halloween party with no costume so I was desperate to get my Viking horned helmet shipped down.