Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (cels) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are either traditional animations or computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation only refers to moving images. Modern computer animation usually uses 3D computer graphics.
Visual effects is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action footage or CGI elements to create realistic imagery is called VFX.
Ryan is a 2004 short animated documentary film created and directed by Chris Landreth about Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who had lived on skid row in Montreal as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. Landreth's chance meeting with Larkin in 2000 inspired him to develop the film, which took 18 months to complete. It was co-produced by Copper Heart Entertainment and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and its creation and development is the subject of the NFB documentary Alter Egos. The film incorporated material from archive sources, particularly Larkin's works at the NFB.
The Blender Foundation is a Dutch nonprofit organization (Stichting) responsible for the development of Blender, an open-source 3D content-creation program.
Phil Tippett is an American film director and visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, he has assisted ILM and DreamWorks, and in 1984 formed his own company, Tippett Studio.
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello is a 2005 Australian animated short film. It was developed and produced in association with the Australian Film Commission; developed and produced with the assistance of Film Victoria and produced in association with SBS Independent. It was supposed to be succeeded by three other feature films: Jasper Morello and the return of Claude Belgon, Jasper Morello and the Ghost of ALTO MEA, and Jasper Morello and the Ebeneza of Gothia.
Elephants Dream is a 2006 Dutch animated science fiction fantasy experimental short film produced by Blender Foundation using, almost exclusively, free and open-source software. The film is English-language and includes subtitles in over 30 languages.
Clem Arnold Lawrence Arre is a Filipino comic book writer, artist and self-taught animator best known for his graphic novels The Mythology Class (1999) and Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat (2006). He was born in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Michael Arias is an American-born filmmaker active primarily in Japan. Though Arias has worked variously as visual effects artist, animation software developer, and producer, he is best known for his directorial debut, the anime feature Tekkonkinkreet, which established him as the first non-Japanese director of a major anime film.
Big Buck Bunny is a 2008 animated comedy short film featuring animals of the forest, made by the Blender Institute, part of the Blender Foundation. Like the foundation's previous film, Elephants Dream, the film was made using Blender, a free and open-source software application for 3D computer modeling and animation developed by the same foundation. Unlike that earlier project, the tone and visuals departed from a cryptic story and dark visuals to one of comedy, cartoons, and light-heartedness.
Ton Roosendaal is a Dutch software developer and film producer. He is the original creator of the open-source 3D creation suite Blender and Traces. He is also known as the founder and chairman of the Blender Foundation, and for pioneering large scale open-content projects. In 2007, he established the Blender Institute in Amsterdam, where he works on coordinating Blender development, publishing manuals and DVD training, and organizing 3D animation and game projects.
Kathy Smith is an Australian independent animator, painter, new media artist, and Professor with the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Smith chaired the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts from 2004 - 2009 & 2010 - 2014.
Bingo is a 1998 animated short film directed by Chris Landreth. The short is based on the stage play Disregard This Play by the theater troupe The Neo Futurists. It uses surrealistic imagery and dialogue to tell the story of an ordinary man who is surrounded by characters who insist that he is someone named "Bingo the Clown" even though he is not. Eventually, the man is worn down by their unwavering insistence and comes to believe that he is Bingo the Clown.
Sintel is a 2010 animated fantasy short film. It was the third Blender "open movie". It was produced by Ton Roosendaal, chairman of the Blender Foundation, written by Esther Wouda, directed by Colin Levy, at the time an artist at Pixar and art direction by David Revoy, who is known for Pepper&Carrot, a free and open source webcomic series. It was made at the Blender Institute, part of the Blender Foundation. The plot follows the character, Sintel, who is tracking down her pet Scales, a dragon. Just like the other Blender "open movies," the film was made using Blender, a free and open source software application for animation, created and supported by the Blender Foundation.
Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis are a Canadian animation duo. On January 24, 2012, they received their second Oscar nomination, for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) animated short film, Wild Life (2011). With their latest film, The Flying Sailor, they received several nominations and awards, including for the Best Canadian Film at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and on January 24, 2023, they received a nomination for the 95th Academy Awards under the category Best Animated Short Film.
Bobby Yeah is a British stop motion adult animated body horror short film written, directed and animated by Robert Morgan. It was made independently and completed in 2011, and later uploaded on Robert's YouTube Channel in HD in 2017.
Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle, developed under the code name Project Gooseberry, is an animated absurdist sci-fi fantasy short film directed by Mathieu Auvray, written by Esther Wouda, and produced by Ton Roosendaal. It is the Blender Institute's 5th "open movie" project, and was made utilizing the Blender software. The film focuses around a depressed and suicidal sheep named Franck who's offered "all the lives he ever wanted" by a mysterious salesman named Victor. On August 10, 2015, it was released to YouTube. The film was originally intended to kickstart a feature-length film. A short film sequel was written and designed but never brought to production. In 2020, Roosendaal announced that the one film would be the total of the project.
Spring is a 2019 animated fantasy short film written and directed by Andreas Goralczyk and produced by Ton Roosendaal and Francesco Siddi. It is the Blender Institute's 12th "open movie", and was made utilizing the open-source software, Blender. The film is about a young shepherd and her dog confronting ancient spirits in order to bring about the change of seasons. The film was funded by the Blender Foundation, with donations from the Blender community. The film and any material made in the studio was released under a Creative Commons License.
Wild Summon is a 2023 animated short film directed by the filmmaking duo Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, also known as 'Karni & Saul'. The 14-minute eco-film narrated by British singer Marianne Faithfull depicts the life of a female salmon, in the human form of a free diver. Premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film, Wild Summon has been featured in a number of international film festivals, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the Raindance Film Festival, where it won an award for Best Short Film. In January 2024, filmmakers Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman came aboard as executive producers of the film.
