Voices (1985 film)

Voices
Promotional poster
Directed byJoanna Priestley
Produced byJoanna Priestley
Edited byJoanna Priestley
Music byR. Dennis Wiancko
Production
company
Priestley Motion Pictures
Distributed byMicrocinema International (2006)
Release date
  • 1985 (1985)
Running time
4 minutes, 7 seconds
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Voices is a 1985 four-minute 16 mm short animated film directed produced and animated by Joanna Priestley with sound design and production by R. Dennis Wiancko. It was made with ink, watercolor, and pastel drawings/paintings on paper (index cards).[1][2]

Synopsis

Voices[3] is an exploration of fear of the dark, old age, obesity, monsters, and global destruction. According to Northwest Film and Video Festival juror Marv Newland, "Priestley gets across a series of personal phobias in a refreshing and humorous fashion. We get a superb, contemporary animated film with salutes to historical cartoon figures scattered throughout."[4] Ed Emshwiller described the film as "showing great joy and delight in being alive" and a "message with style".[5]

Production

Priestley began work on Voices in Portland, Oregon, in spring 1983, after completing The Rubber Stamp Film. She wrote the script, rehearsed it and hired cinematographer Jan Baross to shoot the live-action 16 mm footage that was used for rotoscoping. In September 1983, Priestley moved to Valencia, California, to attend California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where she was the teaching assistant to Jules Engel, head of the Experimental Animation Department.[6] Voices became one of three films, along with Jade Leaf (the first computer film made at CalArts) and The Dancing Bulrushes (co-directed by Steven Subotnick), that were presented at Priestley's thesis review. She received an MFA in Experimental Animation and the Louis B. Mayer Award.

Priestley used pencil, India ink, felt pens, watercolors, and gouache on index cards to animate Voices. The movie was made over a three-year period. The index cards were shot on 16 mm film (Kodak ECO stock) with an old Bolex camera that was purchased at a flea market. Priestley used a simple, homemade animation stand that was a gift from Portland filmmaker Jim Blashfield.

Soundtrack

R. Dennis Wiancko created the soundtrack for Voices by using music clips and homemade sound effects. For the squeaky sounds when the cat rubs its tail came from manipulating a rubber suction device in a snakebite kit. Wiancko collected source material with a Tascam stereo cassette recorder and layered the sound master together on a quarter-inch open reel recorder.

Release

Voices was released in 1985 and premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The film was re-released on DVD in 2006 by Microcinema International.[7] Voices was screened in many retrospectives of Priestley's works, including at REDCAT in Los Angeles in April 2009,[8] Stuttgart International Animation Festival and[9] British Film Institute (BFI) National Film Theatre in May 2017,[10] Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 18, 2019,[11] and Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) on September 3, 2019.[12]

Awards

  • Algarve International Film Festival: Best Short Film (Portugal)[13]
  • Chicago International Film Festival: Bronze Hugo Award (USA)[14]
  • CINE Competition: Golden Eagle Award (USA)[15]
  • Northwest Film & Video Festival: Best Short Film (USA)[16]
  • Ottawa International Animation Festival: Special Award of Merit (Canada)[17]
  • Sinking Creek Film Festival: First Prize Award (USA)[18]
  • National Independent Film Competition: First Place (US)
  • National Educational Film Festival: First Place (US)
  • Odense International Film Festival: Special Jury Prize (Denmark)
  • Tel Aviv International Film Festival: First Place (US)
  • Big Muddy Film Festival: Best of Festival (US)
  • USA Film Festival: Finalist (US)

Film festivals

  • Telluride Film Festival (Colorado, US)
  • Hiroshima International Animation Festival (Japan)
  • Zagreb International Animation Festival (Croatia)
  • Hong Kong International Film Festival (China)
  • Los Angeles International Animation Celebration (US)
  • Denver International Film Festival (US)
  • Olympia Film Festival (US)
  • Black Maria Film Festival (US)
  • Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany)
  • Films des Femmes: Festival International de Créteil (France)
  • San Francisco International Film Festival (US)
  • Montreal International Women's Film Festival (Canada)
  • New York Filmmaker's Expo (US)
  • Bumbershoot Film Festival (US)
  • Flaherty Film Seminar (US)
  • Womanimation! Film Festival (US)
  • Big Cartoon Festival (Moscow, Russia)

Touring programs

  • Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation 1987 (US)
  • Black Maria Film Festival Tour (US)
  • Northwest Film Festival Tour (US)

References

  1. ^ Picture Start (Firm) (1986). Award-winning American animation, 1980-1985. Champaign, Ill.: Picture Start. OCLC 15144318.
  2. ^ Furniss, Maureen (1998). Art in motion: animation aesthetics (illustrated, reprint ed.). Indiana University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9781864620399.
  3. ^ Animators Unearthed - Joanna Priestley-Animation World Network
  4. ^ Robinson, Anna (2008). "Darfur Movie Showcase: Sudan Horror Depicted + Joanna Priestley + Zoe Beloff Films". Alt Film Guide. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  5. ^ James, Caryn (October 26, 1988). "Review/Film; Taking an Animated Dip In Psychological Waters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "Joanna Priestley Class of 1985". CalArts.
  7. ^ "Animator Joanna Priestley Celebrates 20 Years on DVD Set".
  8. ^ "Joanna Priestley: Fighting Gravity". Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "Joanna Priestley to Appear at Stuttgart, British Film Institute".
  10. ^ "Indie Animator Joanna Priestley Announces European Screenings".
  11. ^ "Joanna Priestley Guest Retrospective".
  12. ^ "Retrospective Joanna Priestley".
  13. ^ "Algarve International Film Festival 1985 - Nov30-Dec2". IMDb.
  14. ^ "Chicago International Film Festival 1985 - Nov30-Dec2". IMDb.
  15. ^ "CINE Competition 1985 - Nov30-Dec2". IMDb.
  16. ^ "*Northwest Film & Video Festival 1985 - Nov30-Dec2". IMDb.
  17. ^ "Ottawa International Animation Festival 1985 - Nov30-Dec2". IMDb.
  18. ^ "Sinking Creek Film Festival 1985 - Nov30-Dec2". IMDb.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.