Portland Community College Plans Animation Degree, Backed by Laika

In an exciting development for the Oregon animation community, Portland Community College announced plans to offer an animation degree beginning in 2025, partly funded by a $60,000 donation from Oregon film studio Laika.

Laika announced Tuesday that it will give $30,000 to the PCC Foundation in each of the next two years to help fund three new classes in animation and stop-motion filmmaking, and the new degree in animation and motion graphics.

In addition, Oregon Film supports a paid placement at Laika for a PCC student each year through the Creative Opportunity Program. Continue reading... “Portland Community College Plans Animation Degree, Backed by Laika”

LAIKA is an Industry Trailblazer in the Pacific Northwest

The award-winning feature film studio based just outside of Portland, Oregon uses cutting-edge technology and innovative processes to create stop-motion animation in a way no other studios are. And the company’s culture — focused on DEI and growth opportunities — is driven by team members who share a passion for telling great stories.

“We have a collaborative culture and a great deal of diversity in terms of creative voices and ways of working across the studio,” said David Burke, LAIKA’s chief marketing and operations officer. Continue reading... “LAIKA is an Industry Trailblazer in the Pacific Northwest”

Storyboard Training for CG Television

Oddbot Animation and Women in Animation Portland announce the launch of their Storyboard Training workshop led by Emmy award-winner Matt Danner. This FREE in-person event will be held at Wacom on Saturday, April 20. This workshop is perfect for artists seeking to transition to CG Television and new artists eager to gain experience in the field.

All are welcome!

Apply here.

This program is partially sponsored by Oregon Film. Continue reading... “Storyboard Training for CG Television”

BAMPIRE: New Bambi horror movie produced in Eugene, OR!

BAMPIRE, a new Bambi horror movie produced and filmed in Eugene, Oregon was just announced on Indiegogo! The film is an independent horror comedy directed by Taylor Morden (The Last Blockbuster) and written by Zoë Wassman both of whom are based in Eugene, OR. The Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign features first-look footage as well as limited edition merchandise and the ability to pre-order copies of the movie. 

A full description of the project is available at: www.bampiremovie.com

Continue reading... “BAMPIRE: New Bambi horror movie produced in Eugene, OR!”

#OregonMade “In the Know” Comes to Peacock January 25th

Oregon-based Oscar winning animation studio ShadowMachine’s collaboration with Mike Judge, Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner comes to Peacock this month. The stop-motion animated comedy series is called “In the Know.”

Lauren Caspian is public radio’s third most popular host. He’s a well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod, just like you and me. He’s also a stop motion puppet. Each episode follows the making of an episode of Lauren’s show In the Know, in which Lauren conducts in-depth interviews with real-world human guests. Lauren collaborates with a diverse crew of public radio staff. Continue reading... “#OregonMade “In the Know” Comes to Peacock January 25th”

Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio – Coming To The Portland Art Museum June 10th

Guillermo del Toro on the set of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, 2022. Image courtesy Jason Schmidt/Netflix

The Portland Art Museum will be hosting the Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio exhibit this summer. The exhibit is “a celebration and exploration of the inventiveness, passion and artistic cooperation that goes into making a cinematic vision come to life.” The exhibit started at MoMA in New York and is now opening at the Portland Art Museum on June 10th and will run through September 17th, 2023.

Continue reading... “Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio – Coming To The Portland Art Museum June 10th”

Portland’s Kurt Rosenberg Brings “The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth” To Oregon Short Film Festival

The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth” will have its  US in-person premiere on Feb. 26th at the Oregon Short Film Festival at the Clinton Street Theater.

The musical short film was Executive Produced by Portland-based composer and filmmaker Kurt Rosenberg, based on his song of the same name. It was brought to life with stunning animation by Joël Gibbs of ARMADA studio.

This visually beautiful animated film is reminiscent of the old sea shanties found on the British Isles, a music genre that Kurt Rosenberg loves to listen to and compose. Continue reading... “Portland’s Kurt Rosenberg Brings “The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth” To Oregon Short Film Festival”

#OregonMade “Pinocchio” Racking Up Award Wins, Including An Oscar!

Guillermo del Toro‘s take on the classic story of “Pinocchio” has been honored with plenty of nominations (over 100 – see the list) and dozens of wins during this awards season, and ultimately won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature! Some of the more well-known wins have been across a few different categories at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the Lumieres, and the Annies, the list goes on.

The Portland animation studio, ShadowMachine, collaborated with writer-director, del Toro (“The Shape of Water”, “Pan’s Labyrinth”) on this new, and darker, version of the age-old favorite fable for Netflix. Continue reading... “#OregonMade “Pinocchio” Racking Up Award Wins, Including An Oscar!”

Peek Behind-The-Scenes On #OregonMade “Pinocchio”

#OregonMade “Pinocchio,” directed by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, has released a beautiful behind-the-scenes peek at the making of this stop-motion animated musical.  “Pinocchio” is a co-production of del Toro, The Jim Henson Company, and Portland-based ShadowMachine. ShadowMachine also created the popular Bojack Horseman and The Shivering Truth, among other shows. The film features Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, and Gregory Mann, other cast includes Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman, Christoph Waltz, and Tilda Swinton.  Continue reading... “Peek Behind-The-Scenes On #OregonMade “Pinocchio””

Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild” To Premiere At TIFF

 

Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild” was the only animated film to make the recently announced Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) lineup. It will premiere in the Special Presentations section of the festival. “Wendell & Wild” is directed by Henry Selick, (“Coraline“) and co-created with writer and filmmaker Jordan Peele (“Get Out, Us”), Keegan-Michael Key, and Lyric Ross star (voice.)

Read more.  TIFF runs September 8-18, 2022

Continue reading... “Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild” To Premiere At TIFF”