This may be redundant for many of us since I know there's a lot of cross-pollination between the TAG Blog and Animation Nation. But in case you're not aware of it, Animation Nation's ninth annual meeting will be held this Sunday, April 1, at the Burbank Historical Society, 1015 W. Olive Ave. in Burbank.
Many people new to AnimationNation.com wonder what the 4.1 stands for in the AN logo.
It's a not so secret code for April 1st.
AN endeavors to make April 1st of every year a day of celebration for artists, animation enthusiasts and creative people in general.
On the afternoon of April 1st, artists at studios the world over are asked to take the afternoon off. To empty the studios and to come together in groups.
We first did this in 1999. It was called the Great Alliance. It was held at Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California. At the time, the community here in Los Angeles was factioned. There was a lot of finger pointing going around that was detrimental to our commonwealth. It was playing into the hands of an executive management community that was in the first throws of dismantling our industry as we knew it, after many years of creative and commercial successes followed by increasing managerial problems that were paid for at the expense of the creative community here in LA and elsewhere.
April 1st is a day in which animation artists are asked to unite for just one afternoon in a show of collective power. To remind the world that without artists, there would be no animation industry.
On April 1st, artists, creative technicians and assorted movers and shakers here in LA come together and share a common unifying experience.
They converge.
-- Charlie Zembillas, from the main page at AnimationNation.com
Charlie deserves our kudos and support for the time and effort he's put into the most vibrant, fascinating, infuriating and liberating forum for animation talent on the Internet.
If you haven't been a part of this, maybe now's a good time to start. Details are here.
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20 comments:
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Does anyone still go to that site? Now that the eternally batshiat-insane proprieter has successfully run every professional worth hearing from the site, it is solely populated by students and moronic fans.
What was once a successful watering hole of the industry has been turned into a dust bowl. Mostly thanks to the paranoid delusions of its administrator.
I have to agree...
I left it long ago after being blocked out and any professional I knew moved on in frustration.
there are better sites to share information now on animation, but the vision for this site got lost, and it seems anyone worth hearing got shut out.
There seems to be two types of animation websites that allow and encourage discussion and debate -- those that try to avoid inflaming anyone (and as a result, aren't worth reading), and those run by people with passion and opinion (and as a result have passionate advocates and passionate enemies).
I know lots of pros who make AN a regular stop on their daily internet forays.
Just got to Cartoon Brew.com. It's a far better site with a far more open mind.
Aside from the TAG Blog, that is!
BRING ON MORE OF THE HOLIDAY CARDS! Those were AWESOME!
You guys are nuts. Plenty of professionals, around the world, still visit animationnation. I find out more breaking news and information from that site than any other. Combined with cartoon brew, jim hill, and awn I am kept abreast of the daily goings on in the industry and kept entertained!
Look Kevin, we know you hang there but I just read the rant against the union the owner put up. This site has been anti-union from the beginning so lets not pretend. I don't think anyone cares so good luck to them.
I'm much more of a lurker than a poster on AN, and there are reasons why "infuriating" is one of the adjectives I used in my original post.
But I'm of the opinion that any forum for animation professionals to speak their mind and hear others speaking their mind is a good thing, whether it's AN or a TAG membership meeting.
I can tell you that there are more of Ralph Hulett's Xmas cards than the ones Steve posted last year.
And I don't think it would take much encouragement to convince SH to put them up again for the holidays.
Maybe April 2nd could be the day for everyone who's ever been booted off AN for disagreeing with the site owner to get together. Now THAT would be a large gathering indeed...
Makes the Christmas party a "special event" too since they invite the "person" who did it to the union party. Is the union endorsing the AN walk out ?
And yes we know it is on Sunday this but historically a call for people to walk off the job. Is the union endorsing that ?
To the last anonymous, Jeff's post speaks for itself.
I wouldn't say that AN's anti-union,per se. Hell they sure seem to show up for the Xmas party!.. But some of Charles' buddies who always chime in in his defense (re:controversial threads on various issues) definitely come off anti-union and have no idea what they're talking about.What's worse, the most obnoxious one isn't even in the biz.Annoying.
The AN "revolution" whimpers along.
At least at the TAG blog we can speak our minds Jeff, can't say the same at all at AN.
Yeah-- I was one of the first on AN years ago, but have since fallen off as a regular poster because of the same-o same-o. Though I think Charles is a basically good guy,he locks topics just when they get heated, and frankly, more interesting. While I hate that his feelings have been hurt over crits of his board, I feel that he just makes it worse by posting pathetically sarcastic, defensive rants that have people logging off in droves.. He does need to lighten up a bit, then we'd all have a better time on there.
Why the hell is this guild doing promoting for these people ? I don't hate that his feelings are hurt at all. He has been intentionally abusive to people over the years and has attacked the union. Jeff, AN was not a place for union members to freely speak their minds. The entire motive of that forum was to see the union destroyed so that independents would take over. There never was any question of this, it's all provable and I am mystified by the guilds sucking up to him. No more AN promotion on this blog please.
As usual, the animationation gives strong credence to the term "whinimators." Chuck Z. might be well meaning, but the Union Holiday Party is far larger, has more contacts and better conversation.
You're a righteous dude, Charles. You've done more to initiate serious debate about what's been going on in animation than anyone else. We even changed our name from "union" to "guild" because of what you started. This wasn't your fight but you took it on because our union wouldn't and couldn't. I wish we had more people like you with the balls to stand up and at least try and do something about the problems in animation. A lot of us admire you for what you've done. Thanks for AnimationNation and thanks for sticking to your guns.
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