Bruce Alcock

Last updated

Bruce Alcock is a Vancouver-based, Newfoundland-born multimedia filmmaker, creative director, and founder of animation studios Cuppa Coffee Studio (with Adam Shaheen) and Global Mechanic. Born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, he has directed several animated short films including At The Quinte Hotel (2005), an animated film set to a 1968 CBC Radio recording of Al Purdy reading his poem Quinte Hotel. The film, which combines stop-motion and traditional animation, received the Canadian Film Institute Award for best Canadian animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. [1] [2]

Contents

Alcock in 2010 Animator Director Producer Bruce Alcock Visits VFS (5037036734).jpg
Alcock in 2010

Alcock went on to make several short films with the National Film Board of Canada: Vive la rose (2009); Impromptu (2013), nominated for the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Animated Short at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards; and the 2014 multimedia short film 54 Hours, co-directed with Paton Francis and written by Michael Crummey, produced for the 100th anniversary of the 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster. Alcock has also created handmade experimental animation for on-air promotions for MuchMusic and directed numerous commercials. [1] [3]

Alcock was invited to France in June 2016 to present his life's animation work in advertising at The Annecy International Animated Film Festival. In celebration of the Annecy Festival's 75th anniversary, Bruce Alcock representing Global Mechanic, alongside eight other studios were featured for their contributions to animation in advertising. [4] [5] [6]

Career

In an interview with Roundhouse Radio, Alcock discussed his start in animation while living in Barcelona, and apprenticing with animator Dirk Van de Vondel. Alcock and Van de Vondel fortuitously met in a life drawing class, which led to Alcock helping Van de Vondel with a film. Now, as co-owner of Global Mechanic, Alcock leads an unusual and successful business model. In addition to his work in art, film and animation, Alcock has launched other business startups and spin-offs, including interactive wine tasting platform Quini. As Creative Director at Global Mechanic, Alcock's current animated projects in production include two PBS children's TV series, Ruff Ruffman and Plum Landing. Ruff Ruffman is a science-based show that stars a "foolish looking, giant orange dog" who inspires children to do "task based science projects." Plum Landing is a sustainability-based show that features an alien, who gains an understanding of the earth by sending the cast of kids on tasks throughout the show. [5]

Throughout his career, Alcock has created an impressive body of commercial work. Alcock's design-based TV commercials "have led to award-winning campaigns for clients like Coca-Cola, Molson, Chrysler, Bell and Proctor & Gamble." [7]

Although Alcock is known for his work on advertisements, he is also known for his work on TV shows, independent films, apps, video games and art projects. [8]

Alcock's art projects include typographical animation for the dance/theatre/poetry/music piece, The Four Horsemen, and set and projection work for, I Send You This Cadmium Red, based on the correspondence between John Berger and John Christie. [9] [10]

Alcock also designed the font Soupbone, distributed by FontShop International. [11]

Animation studios

Alcock and Adam Shaheen founded Cuppa Coffee animation in 1991. In 1995, Alcock moved to Chicago to head Tricky Pictures, a subsidiary of Backyard Productions. In 2000, Alcock founded Global Mechanic in Vancouver. Since 2004 he co-owns the company with CEO Tina Ouellette. [1] [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

Marv Newland is an American-Canadian filmmaker, specialized in animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Břetislav Pojar</span> Czech puppeteer, animator and director

Břetislav Pojar was a Czech puppeteer, animator and director of short and feature films.

Ishu Patel is an Indian-Canadian animation film director/producer and educator. During his twenty-five years at the National Film Board of Canada he developed animation techniques and styles to support his themes and vision. Since then he has produced animated spots for television and has been teaching internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Pictures Imageworks</span> Visual effects and animation studio

Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is a Canadian visual effects and computer animation studio headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and Montreal, Quebec, with an additional office on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California. SPI is a unit of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group.

<i>Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman</i> American animated television series

Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman is an American live-action/animated television series that aired on PBS Kids Go! and is largely targeted toward children ages 6–10. It is a reality-game show hosted by Ruff Ruffman, an animated anthropomorphic dog who dispenses challenges to the show's real-life contestants. The series ran from May 29, 2006, to November 4, 2010 on PBS across five seasons and 100 episodes, and featured 30 contestants. Although a sixth season was planned, with auditions taking place in January 2010, WGBH announced on June 14, 2010 that the series would end due to lack of funding. In June 2008, the series received its first Emmy for Best Original Song for its theme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annecy International Animation Film Festival</span> Annual film festival in Annecy, France

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became an annual event in 1998. It is one of the four international animated film festivals sponsored by the International Animated Film Association.

Adam Shaheen is a British-Canadian artist, animator, television producer and screenwriter. He is the founder and owner of Cuppa Coffee Studios where he developed and produced original programming. He was the executive producer of Cuppa Coffee's award-winning broadcast design and commercial studio.

Cuppa Coffee Studios is a Canadian production company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Cuppa Coffee was founded by Adam Shaheen in 1992. It specializes in both stop-motion animation and 2D animation, winning over 150 international awards. Cuppa Coffee is currently developing live-action content through Cuppa Coffee USA.

The Canadian Screen Award for Best Animated Short is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian animated short film. Formerly part of the Genie Awards, since 2012 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Conroy</span> American actor

Jim Conroy is an American actor and television writer known for appearing on television shows and movies, such as The Cuphead Show!, Jellystone!, Kenny the Shark and Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, as well as numerous radio commercials and video games. He has worked for WGBH, Hanna Barbera, The Walt Disney Company and Discovery Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titmouse, Inc.</span> American animation studio

Titmouse, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Los Angeles, California founded in 2000 that develops and produces animated television programming, feature films, music videos, title sequences, commercials, and short films.

<i>Village of Idiots</i> 1999 Canadian film

Village of Idiots is a short animated comedy based on the classic humorous Jewish folk tales about the Wise Men of Chełm, directed and animated by Eugene Fedorenko and Rose Newlove, written by John Lazarus, and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Fedorenko is the Academy Award-winning animator of the 1979 NFB short Every Child. In 1999, it was one of four films in the 1st Annual Animation Show of Shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Mechanic</span>

Global Mechanic Media is an interdisciplinary creative studio headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is known for creating various digital and traditional media, feature and short films, television series, commercials, games, installations, interactive experiences, titles, and original photography using many different techniques. Global Mechanic was founded in 2000 by Creative Director, Bruce Alcock and is currently owned with his wife, CEO Tina Ouellette. Specialties include animation, branding and design.

Triggerfish is a computer animation film studio based in Cape Town, South Africa and Galway, Ireland. The studio is best known for its animated feature films Adventures in Zambezia (2012), Khumba (2013), and Seal Team (2021), as well as the work they have done on television specials created for UK producers Magic Light Pictures. In 2016, Stick Man was awarded the Cristal for best TV production at the Annecy International Animation Festival. In 2017, Revolting Rhymes again won the Cristal for best TV production at the Annecy Festival, and was nominated for the Best Short Film (Animated) Oscar at the 2018 Academy Awards. In 2019, Netflix announced that Triggerfish would produce its first African animated TV series. In 2020, Zog won the International Emmy for Best Kids Animation. In 2021, The Snail and The Whale won Best Special Production at The Annie Awards, while Triggerfish received the Mifa Animation Industry Award at Annecy for "the pioneering role that the company has played in animation in South Africa, and Africa most widely.” In 2022, their third film, Seal Team, made the Netflix Top 10 Films global list for its launch week.

Subconscious Password is a 2013 3-D animated film by Chris Landreth offering an imaginary, comedic look at the inner workings of Landreth's mind, as he tries to remember someone's name at a party.

<i>Window Horses</i> 2016 Canadian film

Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming is a 2016 Canadian animated feature film written and directed by Ann Marie Fleming, and a graphic novel by Fleming, Window Horses: The Poetic Epiphany of Rosie Ming.

<i>Animal Behaviour</i> (film) 2018 Canadian film

Animal Behaviour is a Canadian animated short film directed by Alison Snowden and David Fine, which was released in 2018. The duo's first animated theatrical short since their 1993 Oscar-winning film Bob's Birthday, the film centres on a group of animals who meet weekly for a group psychotherapy session in the offices of psychiatrist Dr. Clement.

<i>The Physics of Sorrow</i> 2019 Canadian film

The Physics of Sorrow is a Canadian animated short film, directed by Theodore Ushev and released in 2019.

<i>Short Circuit</i> (TV series) Disney animated series

Short Circuit is a series of American independent animated short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Similar to the SparkShorts program launched at sister animation studio Pixar, the series is a program in which the employees pitch their ideas for a short and work with fellow employees to create the short if selected, and is meant to take risks in both visual styles and storytelling.

<i>The Flying Sailor</i> Animated short film inspired by real events

The Flying Sailor is a 2022 Canadian independent animated short film directed by Oscar-nominated directors Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis. The film debuted at the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and has received several nominations and awards, including a nomination for Best Animated Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards, and winning the award for the Best Canadian Film at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Animators Unearthed: Bruce Alcock". Animation World Network . 4 January 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "At the Quinte Hotel". University of Toronto Magazine. Summer 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Bradbury, Tara (29 March 2014). "Film takes new approach to sealing disaster". The Telegram . Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 Plein Feux sur le travail de Bruce Alcock (in French). Radio-Canada. 2 May 2016. Event occurs at 16:44. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Bruce Alcock". Sense of Place. Roundhouse Radio. 13 May 2016. CIRH-FM . Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Annecy > Programme > Index". www.annecy.org. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Bruce Alcock". Art of Time Ensemble. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Veniat, Edwine (31 May 2016). "Vancouver à la conquête du festival d'Annecy". La Source. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Nestruck, J. Kelly (25 December 2011). "The top 11 of 2011: Toronto, Stratford and Shaw". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Nestruck, J. Kelly (7 November 2014). "Soulpepper's Spoon River: pure, uplifting hootenanny". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Bruce Alcock". www.fontshop.com. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.