Kicked off the Friday with the power. The Power of Animation to be exact. Guest spokeswoman Kerry Drumm came in to speak about the power of animation in public information films, from as early as the Second World War, to inform and educate us. Around the war, there was a need for information to be delivered at much quicker pace. This opened the doors for short films (5 minutes or so) to become a trailer to support news and feature films at the cinema. Which was a perfect oppertunity for animation to develop, mostly to concentrate on boosting morale in the war and trying to get families to contribute.

One of the most recognised characters from that time is Charley, who spoke on behalf of the nation and would ask questions which were circulating amongst the nation at the time. In one episode called ‘Black Magic’ he asked why the price of coal and other goods were rising. Unfortunately I couldn’t find it on Youtube, only black magic charley freestyles, yo yo yo. So here is a nice picture of Charley on his bicycle.

As the years went on, the information being given out obviously changed a lot and animation was really starting to be seen a lot. A character which appeared at the start of the 70s which is well remembered from the time (apparently) is Charley the Cat (the cat is no relation to the Charley on the bicycle). The ‘Charley Says’ series was one of many which were now starting to address safety, and were particularly aimed at children / families. ‘Charley Says’ follows the activities of a young boy and his talking cat Charley (voiced by Kenny Everett). Anyone who loves drum and bass are probably familiar with the sounds Charley makes without even realizing, the sounds of which are used in Charly by The Prodigy. See Charley in action below.

We were also shown a lot of information films I have actually seen myself, such as adverts to do with bullying, Oxfam, Christian Aid, wearing condoms and AIDS. Any subject which can be mundane and sensitive can be communicated very effectively through animation. Something which I remember being mentioned is how animation is essential for films about domestic violence, because then they could avoid characters in the films being similar in appearance to those whose distress their victims.

After the Power of Animation, there was an interesting conversation with Al Jean, executive producer of The Simpsons, which was probably one of the most interesting talks of the week. The questions raised were mostly about his career and involvement with the Simpsons.

Another Official Selection, well 2 infact, this time for the Music Videos / Short Shorts. Irritatingly I can’t find any of the short shorts which I wanted to put up on here (Don’t you guys want anyone to see your work?!), except 1. About Simon’s Cat.

The Music Video Nominations were very different from each other, in terms of genre as well as visuals. I will put 3, yes 3, of them below for you to watch. First two of which I just really liked and the 3rd is the winner of the Award. I think what put me off the winning video slightly is that I find the song quite annoying. It has grown on me, mind.

ThayKahy: So Close to the Sun

Julien Ribot: La Chambre Renversée

Susie Asado: Hello Antenna

To cap off the day, we watched the animated feature film Peurs Du Noir (Fears of the Dark). It is a film split into a series of harrowing nightmares, each directed by a different director and use a variety of techniques for each one. See the teaser below.

I don’t really know what to make of Peurs Du Noir, there was some ‘shocker’ parts, but I don’t think it really sucked me in, possibly because the number of nightmares that I found interesting didn’t out number the ones which I found a bit dull.

Well that was Day 3! Only one day of my short week away left to summarise.

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Read about the other days of the Bradford Animation Festival below:

Bradford Animation Festival 2008 – Wednesday
Bradford Animation Festival 2008 – Thursday
Bradford Animation Festival 2008 – Friday
Bradford Animation Festival 2008 – Saturday