We love to report good news! Oregon Cartoon Institute recently reported that they with receive support from Miller Foundation and Kinsman Foundation for the first project for which had sought funding,The Mel Blanc Project. The Project officially begins on June 8, with the first lecture: “Now Cut That Out!”: Portland Theaters Educate Mel Blanc.

Oregon Cartoon Institute is a consortium of individuals and organizations working together to raise awareness of Oregon’s rich animation and cartooning history. Five organizations created the Mel Blanc Project: Oregon Cartoon Institute, Oregon Jewish Museum, Ethos Music Center, Oregon Historical Society and PSU’s School of Fine and Performing Arts. Continue reading... “Oregon Cartoon Institute Launches Mel Blanc Project”
Canada has a new hero and his name is “El Tabador”, a 4-inch tall Mexican wrestler who warms your heart, tickles your funny-bone, and effortlessly works in a few good words about Koodo Mobile.
El Tabador follows in a long tradition of Lucha Libre fighters. He’s part detective, ladies’ man, and a righteous defender of justice and the creation of Portland-based Bent. To meet this brief, Bent drew Director Rob Shaw’s vast knowledge of Lucha Libre culture and worked closely with the TAXI 2 to design Tabador from first sketch to final computer-generated character. Continue reading... “Case Study: Bent Image Labs and Koodo Mobile”
In addition to a recent announcement made by Oregon’s LAIKA animation studio in early May about two new feature film projects, LAIKA also rolled out a newly designed website including the video included below. The video provides another example of the hand-made artisan craft and expertise utilizing cutting edge technology Oregon firms possess.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/23325702[/vimeo]
We want to bring you examples of what the storytellers of the Oregon animation and visual effects sector aspire to; building on our knowledge and experience from the past while embracing the technology and promise of the future. Continue reading... “Oregon’s LAIKA Studio Launches New Website and Demo Video”
Following the successful effort to create a voice for the Oregon Film and Television community in this blog, we recently convened a group of Oregon animation and visual effects professionals that we know, and asked them how a site dedicated to their segment of the industry might be received. After lots of lively conversation and great ideas, it became clear that there was great interest, and that it would be very helpful for drawing attention to the fact that Oregon has more than just great locations, amazing acting and crew talent, and not to mention, a terrific film incentive program. Continue reading... “OregonAnimation.com Blog Premieres Tonight”
Most of the attention of late has focused on feature films and the renewal of the production incentives. The press loves to write about the “Leverages,” the “Grimms,” the “Gones” and the “Portlandias’ because they bring recognizable star talent to Portland. And because they have a mystique about them; they are, for all intents and purposes, “the movies,” “Hollywood.” But we don’t want to loose sight of that portion of the production world that has provided a reasonably steady stream of work for local crew and local vendors; the COMMERCIAL. Continue reading... ““Commercially Speaking . . .””
So the cat’s out of the bag – “Grimm” is committed to shoot in Oregon for it’s first season. Kristi Turnquist wrote about it today in The Oregonian. We are absolutely thrilled to know that three television series will be shot in Oregon this summer. In the coming weeks we’ll have more information on the production including a crew call.
I do want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this happen – Gordon Sondland and the film office board, Governor Kitzhaber, the Oregon legislature, Sam Adams and the City of Portland and of course the entire film and video community. Continue reading... “Grimm Confirmed to Come to Oregon”
Media Arts Education Fund Scholarships
Intel Grant offers $2000 student opportunity
Students pursuing careers as media professionals have more opportunity to fund their studies with the help of scholarships from the Oregon Media Production Association’s Edward Gustamante Media Arts Education Fund. The Fund’s objective is to encourage excellence in Oregon’s media production industry by providing financial assistance to those expanding their education in a media related field. The Media Arts Education Fund offers scholarships typically ranging from $300 to $1000 to Oregon students working in or studying journalism, film, video, audio, photography or new media. Continue reading... “OMPA – Intel Grant Offers $2000 Student Opportunity”

We are excited that Portland will be hosting “The Wheel Of Fortune” in the not too distant future. Kristi Turnquist blogged on OregonLive.com that Vanna White will be at Pioneer Courthouse Square tomorrow showing off the new Nissan LEAF as part of a promo for the show. Not only is Portland hosting this iconic show but they also are featuring the city as part of their “green week”.
-Jane Continue reading... “The Wheel Of Fortune To Make Stop In Portland”
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/23325702[/vimeo]
In addition to this week’s announcement of their two new feature film projects, Oregon’s LAIKA animation studio also rolled out a newly designed website including the beautiful video embedded above. The video provides unique insight into who LAIKA is, and how they combine a classic hand-made artisan craft with cutting edge technology to achieve spectacular results. And best of all, they are doing it all right here in Oregon!
We think this exemplifies what the storytellers of our local film and media industry aspire to do; to build on our knowledge and experience from the past while embracing the technology and promise of the future. Continue reading... “Hand-made in Oreogn: LAIKA’s New Website and Featured Video”

CORALINE PARTNERS FOCUS FEATURES AND LAIKA RETEAM FOR TWO-PICTURE DISTRIBUTION DEAL; 3D STOP-MOTION ANIMATED COMEDY THRILLER PARANORMAN OPENS AUGUST 17, 2012
NEW YORK and PORTLAND, OR, May 4, 2011 – Focus Features and LAIKA, the two companies behind the Academy Award-nominated animated feature Coraline are reteaming for LAIKA’s next two projects. The first of the duo, ParaNorman, will be released nationwide on August 17th, 2012. The second, yet-to-be-named, picture will be released nationwide in 2014. Following the groundbreaking Coraline, ParaNorman is only the second stop-motion animated feature to be made in 3D. Continue reading... “LAIKA and Focus Features Announce Two New Feature Film Projects in Oregon”