Friday, May 16, 2008

A NEW ANIMATION EXHIBIT!



Here's Jerry Beck and I at the opening earlier this evening of the new animation exhibit at the Motion Picture Academy. Of course the camera was equipped with the usual fat-enhancing lens, which somehow managed to spare Jerry.

The exhibit was great! You wouldn't believe how much Mary Blair was on the wall, and there was some choice Jones art including layouts and backgrounds from "Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera Doc." Clampett was well represented with original model sheets, storyboards and story and gag synopses. You could read an early version of the story for "Piggy Bank Robbery" which included a number of gags and villains that didn't make it to the final film.

I even liked the live-action set design exhibit on the fourth floor. It's not enough to see stuff like this on the screen. You have to see it and touch it and walk around in it. When you do, you'll realize that you've lived your life wrong and that your own home is sad and pathetic and lacking in character.





Here's (above) a reprint of the fashion girl from the previous post. I put it up again because I realized that I missed something about it the first time. You know, this girl isn't really such a bad speaker. She talks too fast, and her references are too cliched and too ghetto, but she's not without skill.

I actually like the way she posits an imaginary opponent that her arguments are directed to, and I like the way she puts on a different persona when she talks to that character. I like her confidence (drugs?) and I like the way she uses facial expressions for punctuation. I also like the way she sees the world as being populated by goofballs and people who can't see the nose in front of their faces. That's classic storytelling technique. You create a caricature of the world then make fun of it.

All these are good techniques, she just plugs in the wrong words. She should caricature specific people.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eddie, I know this has nothing to do with your post, but did you know that Will Elder died yesterday? It's tragic. I love his work, and always wanted to meet him. He will be deeply missed.

Hryma said...

Aahhhaaaaaaaaaaa! Aaahhhhhhaaaaaa! Hahaahahahhhahaaaaahhhhaha, sigh, chuckle.I love this blog.

Trevor Thompson said...

It blows my mind that there's all these cool exhibits out in California. Man, I really need to move to the West Coast.... much as I hate it.

::sigh::, but with the economy going the way it is, I won't be able to afford it for another eleven years.

I know girls like this, Eddie. She's very good at hiding the fact that she has low self esteem, but knows also that she's pretty and how to speak to the audience she wishes to cater to.

And yes, they usually do have good drugs.

- trevor.

Brubaker said...

Sounds like you had a fun time. Whish I live near CA.

Eddie, just wondering. What do you do lately? Besides this blog. Do you still work in animation?

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Anon: Elder died!? I'm really sorry to hear that. Of the original Mad crew only Davis remains.

Anonymous said...

The latest video doesnt work anymore.

Geez, I don't know about you guys but I think Twyla is a twit. If she's serious, she's an idiot, probably on drugs and just stating random "deep statements" that have been stated a thousand times before by "enlightened" people. If she's trying to be funny, it doesnt work for me. It is funny, but not for the reasons she intended.

But she's kinda hot. That's all she has going for her. I prefer your brand of philosophy.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Brubaker: Yeah, I'm in animation. I'm out of work now, so my profession is bum for the time being, but hopefully that'll end soon.

pappy d said...

Thanks for the heads-up about those exhibits.

This girl is regurgitating something she saw on TV.

It's a rhetorical style that you see in the type of informal debate pioneered by Jerry Springer. You talk as fast & loud as possible using exaggerated inflection to create a verbal momentum which is almost interruption-proof. In the absence of other show guests, you have to invent an opposition & score off them periodically or you'll lose steam. Absent the ghetto inflections it lacks flourish.

The most effective rebuttal is to grab a handful of her hair (half points for snatching off her wig) & try to punch her in the face.

If, God forbid, you ever log as many hours unemployed as I have over the years, you'll realise that it's a form of punishment for watching TV all afternoon.

I.D.R.C. said...

I hope I make that show. I'm still kicking myself for missing the Wolverton show.

...I also like the way she sees the world as being populated by goofballs and people who can't see the nose in front of their faces. That's classic storytelling technique. You create a caricature of the world then make fun of it.

That's not a caricature of the world --that's the world.

I tried to watch those girl vids but I felt my life slipping away. I am reminded of a Mamet quote: "If you didn't have a pussy, there'd be a bounty on your head."

Now that you are out of a job, you have no excuse for not putting up new drawings.

Anonymous said...

Alright, the last video is working. I agree with you. She's funny, she knows how to talk, and she's got some funny facial expressions for accents. But she really has nothing to say, and she's trying to sound black. I could see her in "Death Proof".

Anonymous said...

Eddie, not only Davis of the original MAD crew remains. John Severin and Marie are still alive.

Bob Cowan said...

Eddie- Just wanted to say "thanks" for coming by to look at some of the animation. You've got some nice stuff here!
-Bob