#Latvian experimental film

[theaskew]

Release, a short experimental film by Latvian artist Ieva Balode, with the music "Human Skin and Stone Steps" by David Toop and dance by Anastasia Lonshakova.

[paulasanimationba3]

Generally, I feel that I tend to handle pre-production and production roles relatively well. For me this means, drawing and iteration side of things. Meanwhile, my research could definitely be improved, especially regarding the themes and topics of the stories. 

Specialism:

2D Animaton- this year, I have improved my animations in terms of exaggeration, consistency of form, animating in perspective, posing, character development and performance ( although there is still room to improve)

Skills I am okay at:

Storytelling(?) - this year, I feel like I managed to effectively come up with concise, generally easy to read stories. Although, as mentioned before more research is needed in future for stories.

Layout and Background(?)- In both projects, I had an opportunity to both create backgrounds and also the concept art for them. Some  of them showed my experience in dealing with perspective. They also demonstrate my ability to apply principles of  shape language, colour and observation. Regardless, these skills could still be developed further.

Character Design (?) My character design this year demonstrates, not so much powerful design, but more so shape language that is simple to animate. Although I probably, can’t claim I am good at it. A personal project I did over the summer, has  a character design of a lion that has been intensely studied, in terms of anatomy and shape language, regardless I never got to finishing it. Realistically I probably won’t have the time to finish this project in time for portfolio submission, but it may be worth discussing with the tutors if there is a place I can find for it in my portfolio.

Concept Art(?) - I managed to do a lot of iterations of the concept art in my fable project, regardless this may need to be stretched further

Skills to SERIOUSLY  improve on:

Editing

Rigging- I finally had a go at rigging in after effects, it wasn’t entirely terrible, regardless Briana outlined potential improvements, such as rigging each limb separately. 

Compositing- I don’t know much beyond how to apply some generic filters. I am hoping that with Daniel Gies tutorials I would be able to learn a little bit more about lighting.

Animatics (?) I tend to default animate things, which creates extra work for me, also I never quite outline different values in the animatic, thus not helping the characters to stand out

Research- in both projects, this year, I used my own personal experiences to inform my stories and themes more than any scientific research. In Upside down boy, the only real character research that I did was observe Kieran, and let that inform my performance and actions of the characters. This offered me quite limited set of results. 

Goals for the Website:

Layout: I want to set everything up on one page and let menu buttons help guide the visitor

Logo: simple but animated, something that works well with the showreel intro and outro 

Colours: explore what colour scheme belongs in my this years films, I may potentially lean towards something neutral and light. Dark colours really don’t belong with the more children’s themed animations

Design- I could potentially try doing some background sketches/ design a custom menu bar that fits well with my sketchy style, thus also helping to unite the work I have in my reel. However, this could be an issue since I am makinng two very different looking animations this year.

Showreel: work I could include

Fable

Upside Down Boy

Crow and the Pitcher

Maybe a little bit of bestiary?

Potentially character performance?

Keywords I could use in my description:

Norwich University of the Arts, graduate 2D animator, visual-storytelling, BA Animation, 2020,Latvian (?),  freelance, creative, After Effects, TV Paint, character animation, children’s animation, design, final degree films, experimentation, drawing, iteration.

[roserosette]

I was tagged for posting my 9 favorite new-to-me films watched in 2016. 

The Boy Friend, 1971, Ken Russell. An absolute joy, a pink champagne and chocolate truffles film.  

Love Massacre, 1981, Patrick Tam. Alienated melodrama, Artaud, fantastic use of modern art and architecture.

The Garden of Polymitas, 2014, Martha Jurksaitis. Fruit, death and dreams in an intoxicating garden.

Avetik, 1992, Don Askarian. At times like a more sinister and impenetrable Parajanov, feverish visions of medieval Armenia displaced to modern day Germany. 

The Early 70′s Horror Trailer, 1999, Damon Packard. Shows a genuine love for a certain type of horror movie, without parody or condescension, with an abundance of bloodied chiffon.

Latvian Folklore, 1983, Andris Slapiņš. The most affectionate ethnographic film I’ve seen, as poetic as the folk songs it features. Flower crowns, ritual bonfires for protection from witches, magic in the deep sea and forest.

Suitcase of Love and Shame, 2013, Jane Gillooly. Exploring a lost and forgotten personal archive of an office affair, using photos, souvenirs and sixty hours of audio recordings.

Salome, 1976, Téo Hernandez. For lovers of languid and glamorous experimental film.

Faustine and the Beautiful Summer, 1972, Nina Companeez. A girl spends her summer vacation in the French countryside, exploring meadows and observing her neighbours. Distorted time, events that might or might not have happened, imagination and uncertain reality blending.

I would love to see everyone else’s lists!

[edgarcher]

Voices of unknown origin appearing on radio frequencies were first noticed in Scandinavia by the military in the 30s and were put down at the time to secret Nazi transmitters. But the voices spoke in unknown and mixed tones. And after the war, no records of secret Nazi transmissions ever came to light. The voices didn’t stop after the war. But their repeatability and their transient nature precluded study. That is, until the tape recorder came into common usage in the 50s. A group of radio hams in Chicago studied the strange transmissions. Male and females voices speaking in polyglot mode and lyrical tones. But it was not until 1959 that a Russian-born Swedish citizen radio and TV producer and film maker Frederich Jurgenson noticed intrusions on tape and commenced his own systematic study. A disturbing fact soon emerged. The voices zeroed in onto the Swede, addressing him by name, revealing a knowledge of his thoughts and actions and claiming to be the voices of deceased friends and acquaintances. The news spread rapidly. And soon, experimenters and scientists all over the world were attempting to duplicate Jurgenson’s work. Prominent among them was the Latvian Psychologist, Konstantin Raudive. The effect on parapsychologists was dramatic, accustomed to investigating the blind forces of the poltergeist and endless and somewhat boring card and dice experiments that were confronted at once with living voices, which answered back. Speech being a mark of intelligence and a highly structured artifact. Taken by surprise, the British Parapsychologists, without conducting experiments, rejected the objectivity of the voices, explaining them as breakthrough from taxis, police messages, or simply mechanical noises in the tape recorder. But their European counterparts were more cautious and possibly, with greater technical resources, they soon found out that they were indeed confronted with voices of unknown origin on tape.

[calartscinemotion]

Aigars Ceplitis VR Workshop by Louise Pau (MFA 2, Experimental Animation)

Latvian Filmmaker and professor Aigars Ceplitis came for a brief yet crucial 4 day workshop to explore narrative possibilities in 360° 3D spherical video with students from the School of Film/Video.

With virtual reality only steps away from permeating the market, those fortunate enough to have access to equipment and technical know how to create content have not hesitated in establishing their own visual grammar and marking their territory in this new arena - often so without narrative concerns and physiological considerations.

Early in the workshop, Aigars laid a solid bridge for us by introducing narratological concepts such as focalization and space, bring to the forefront the importance of thinking about narrative structures as the starting point to working in any medium.

The conceptual grounding was useful in that it helped us slowly formulate a new language in VR without being clouded by the traditions of cinematic language yet still retaining the narrative structure as a skeleton to build upon.

After being submerged in narratological concerns, Aigars then guided us in shooting our own 360 film, from conceptualization to final edit. It was very helpful to be able to shoot from a 360 camera as a group. Certain onset rituals have to be adjusted to suit the new technology, a new set of parameters to be followed in the editing suite.

With new 360 camera and software coming up in the market, Aigars emphasised the need for patience when dealing with new technology and to focus on thinking how to step into this new platform as an extension of our old, whether it be live-action or animation. Rightly so, our patience had been tried when dealing with extra big files, lagging and glitches while trying to view and shoot 360.

COMMENTS FROM WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT: Flora Xia (BFA 1, Experimental Animation) Aigar's workshop was more than a run-of-the-mill technical instruction for some new gadgets. 360 film and VR are on the cusp of becoming the media that will define the next few decades. He taught us that we have the possibility to be pioneers of this new format, the architects the language of 360 film. In this fast-paced industry we should all be looking for ways to transcend the grammar of traditional cinema.

On a personal note, I believe that it is wise for artists and filmmakers to start investing their time in thinking of ways to work in Virtual Reality as an extension to their own practices. Right now careless content owns a portion of the platforms and it is up to artists and filmmakers to generate content that could elevate this technology to an artist’s tool.

For me the workshop was a good blueprint on how to approach introducing VR filmmaking in our School -  to ground us in narrative concepts then let us apply the knowledge through fieldwork. Perhaps the struggle between thinking in traditional cinema and VR could be resolved by going back to a basic foundation of understanding how narrative works, a study which will still be relevant regardless of the comings and going of different technology.

I would like to end an excerpt from an interview with JULES ENGEL, founding director of the program of Experimental Animation:

ZOLOWTOW: ...and I'm curious--do you think that video, TV, and the other kind of electronic forms are going to replace canvases and prints and the still images?

ENGEL: No, I don't think it will replace it. No way. I think painting is going to be here. And video is going to be here. And film is going to be here. And sculpture is going to be here. And it's all going to be here, and they're just going to work parallel. (INTERVIEW ON MAY 1976, ‘JULES ENGEL ORAL HISTORY’)

[paulineinriga-blog]

Cultural places to discover in Riga

  Kino Splendid Palace: This unusual cinema is located in a former theatre. There is a stage in the main room. The décor is amazing! They play various kinds of films and host some film festivals.

  Kino Bize: This place is an alternative and experimental cinema hidden in a courtyard. To get in, you have to ring the bell and someone will let you in; it seems like an apartment. They show mostly Latvian and international arthouse films. 

Madame Bonbon: This shop sells fancy clothes, shoes and accessories from international brands. It is located on Alberta Street, a famous Art Nouveau street. The shop is designed as a beautiful and remarkable vintage apartment. Madame Bonbon is full of surprises in every room: the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom. The items are displayed with great taste.

  Robert’s book: This second-hand bookshop is also a café and cultural center located in a charming backyard. This shop sells books in English, coffee, and sometimes shows films followed by a discussion. You can explore travel books, foreign literature, famous novels and so on, while enjoying a cup of tea or coffee. The atmosphere of Robert’s Books is relaxing with its cosy rooms. It is the perfect place to hang out with your friends or find a nice book!

[human-relationships-stuff]

Locarno Fest First Look Industry Event To Focus on Baltic Cinema

Locarno Fest First Look Industry Event To Focus on Baltic Cinema

The Locarno Festival is focusing its First Look industry initiative on films from the Baltics, and turning its Signs of Life section, dedicated to edgy experimental cinema, into a competitive sidebar. First Look, which is dedicated to films in post, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Baltic cinema, with a focus on Estonian, Latvian and… Read more »

[theaskew]

Viktor Timofeev, Portal Of Zin I, 2016. Music by Simon Kounovsky.

[frederator-studios]

Meet Juris Lisovs, Creator of “Both Brothers”

When he was two years old, Juris Lisovs’s mom took him to a psychologist, concerned that something was wrong with her toddler: he was obsessively drawing circles with a crayon for hours on end. The doctor assured her that all was well, better than that, even: she had a little artist on her hands! Flash forward a few decades, and Juris - a self-taught animator from Latvia -  is the creator of our 7th GO! Cartoon, “Both Brothers”. A huge fan of American animation, he is determined to make it in the US market, and we here at Frederator are proud to take part in his journey. Below, Juris talks conformist bunny rabbits, the egalitarian aspects of YouTube, and finding inspiration in your best buddies.

Where did you learn to animate?

I’m still learning! I’ve always drawn, but it wasn’t until I discovered YouTube tutorials on animation that I realized I could tell stories in that medium. YouTube is a great resource, because you have industry professionals creating instructional videos that anyone, anywhere can access. It provided me with learning opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

That’s so cool that you’re self-taught. Did you consider going to school for art or animation?

There’s really nowhere to study animation in Latvia; our population is only two million people! I considered going to school elsewhere in Europe, but the programs are very artsy and experimental-focused. I’m much more motivated to tell character-driven stories. I would have loved to study in the US, but it’s so crazy expensive!

You can say that again. How do you pay the bills in Latvia?

I work as a freelance designer and illustrator. It’s great doing art for a living, even with such random gigs as designing for tote bags. I make time for my own projects, though.

How did you come across Frederator and the opportunity to pitch to GO! Cartoons?

I was watching “Bravest Warriors” on YouTube and thought, “Maybe this production company accepts new cartoon ideas”. And surprisingly, they did! Frederator is one of the only studios that accepts ideas from outsiders. It’s rare, and awesome. I hesitated and doubted myself before sending my “Both Brothers” pitch because I was afraid of rejection; the idea was very close to my heart. But when I realized that I had nothing to lose, I presented my idea, and the rest is history.

What are you working on currently?

I’ve teamed up with a Latvian producer to make a short film called “Cycle of Life” that we hope to enter into international festivals. Quite different than my Frederator project: it’s very plot-driven. We’re currently putting together a bunch of materials - storyboards, screenplay, character designs - to apply for government funding to make it. It’s a competition for financing, so fingers crossed that we’re successful!

Cool! Sending you all the ~positive vibes~. What’s the short about?

It’s a metaphor for our society’s problems, explored through the life cycle of a bear.

It’s pretty abstract, and goes off onto little tangents - it’s certainly not a linear story. I wanted to explore how traditional education and the pursuit of wealth can really diminish people’s individuality and creativity. For example, there’s a part where all of these different species of baby animals are put into a mixer at school and mashed into a mass. They all emerge as identical bunnies. There’s a character who dreams of becoming a photographer, but in his pursuit of the literal carrot in the sky - which represents money - he gives up his creative ambitions. It’s about how chasing an income might disconnect you from your passion. Speaking of connectivity: I also want to explore the unhealthiness of phone and social media absorption. I’m alarmed by the depression and isolation that comes with it. There’s a part where a character grins for a selfie, and her face falls right after it’s taken. There seems to be so much performing of happiness in the selfie era.

(concept art for "Cycle of Life”; the meat grinder has since become a mixer)

Who are some of the biggest inspirations of your work?

Steve Cutts, especially for this current project. He’s a great role model for making art that’s critical of society. As for cartoon creators, I really admire Butch Hartman (The Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom) and Genndy Tartokovsky (Dexter’s Lab, Samurai Jack). Matt Groening too - I’m a big fan of The Simpsons.

Let’s talk “Both Brothers”: were Klod and Tod inspired by people in your life?

Definitely. Tod is a representation of my own ego. And Klod is based off of my best friend Martin’s best qualities.

Does he know that Klod is based on him?

Oh, yeah. I made two web series with these characters to put on YouTube, and he voiced Klod in both. He loves the character, and it’s cool that he’s been there for this whole journey with them.

(Martin, Klod’s inspiration, on the left; Juris is on the right)

Do you snowboard like Klod & Tod?

I actually never have! But Martin loves to, so he inspired that part of the story. They actually do close down the resorts here in Latvia when it’s too sunny and there isn’t enough snow, so that was based on his experiences! We talk every winter about going - one of these years he’ll convince me.

Where did the idea for “Both Brothers” originally come from?

In high school, my friend was driving me and a couple other friends, and he was complaining that the sun was too bright, he couldn’t see. He said something like, “Stupid sun, why can’t it just go away?”. It made me think, “hmm… what if it did?”. Careful what you wish for!

How much did your idea change throughout the pitch –> production process?

It didn’t change all that much. The main thing was when I started out, Klod and Tod would have very similar reactions to things - like both reacted with anger to the resort being shut down, rather than Klod being more sad about it in the final version. I was reading books about storytelling as production started, and I thought more about how I could differentiate them, and give them more distinct ways of speaking and acting. So those changes were made, and I think it made their dynamic more interesting.

What could we expect from a “Both Brothers” series, were it picked up?

I’d try to make every episode a miniature movie. There’d be more characters introduced, especially in their school environment - how they interact with other kids. They’re meant to be around 12 years old. I know that there’d be a very scary and angry neighbor that they fear; and we’d meet Klod’s pet pig that he saves from a slaughterhouse.

What’s your favorite thing about “Both Brothers”?

That the short got made! It’s crazy to see your vision materialize. I am thankful to everyone who was involved in making it. Frederator put together an amazingly talented group of people.

Did you ever consider trying to get “Both Brothers” made as a Latvian show?

Latvia does have a long history of animation; but these days, there may only be one TV cartoon made by and for the Latvian market. For a while, I wanted to push forward the creation of more. But my thinking has changed; the opportunities and mindset are better in the US. I’ve always loved American culture and programming, and it’s my dream to work in Hollywood. Ideally, I could make a show in the US that would cross cultural boundaries and find popularity in Latvia, and elsewhere too.

What are your favorite cartoons?

The Simpsons, Gravity Falls, Regular Show, We Bare Bears, and Ed, Edd n Eddy.

Did you always want to be an animator growing up - and what would you be if you weren’t?

As a kid, I never thought that I’d work in animation. I wanted to be an actor for a while, a soldier, all sorts of random things. It was in high school, when I started making films, that I realized I’ve been creating art and telling stories all my life. If I weren’t pursuing animation, I think I’d be a photojournalist, specializing in documenting the realities of war zones and remote locales affected by war. I’d want my work to represent the world as it is: showing the human impact of armed conflict. The reality that you never really see on the news.

That’s a big leap from kids cartoons. What are your interests outside of animation?

I really enjoy nature; Latvia’s very flat, so we don’t have many hiking trails, but it’s one of the greenest countries in Europe. Right outside of my house is a forest with a lake. Especially now that our already low population is moving toward the capital, there is a lot of green space to explore in relative solidarity. I like philosophy, politics, keeping up with world news, and watching documentaries. And I enjoy writing.

What are you writing currently, aside from your short film project?

I’ve been writing a screenplay for a live action film. It’s a drama about a man who survives a wolf attack on a frozen lake, and it’s set over the course of a single day. I’m writing it in English - my third language after Latvian and Russian - which makes it tougher and slower-going. But that won’t stop me!

Great talking with you Juris, thanks for the interview! Sending all the *good luck* we can for your film financing competition. Excited to see what the future has in store for you!

- Cooper