January Workshops - Only Mornings Left!

Our Saturday afternoon workshops are SOLD OUT!

If you're thinking about taking classes in January, call today to secure your slot in the morning workshops.

Winter 2005
Saturday Mornings, 9am - Noon
January 8, 15, 22 & 29

Visit the Animation Workshop website at http://www.animatusstudio.com/workshops to print out a form or pay online using Paypal.

Video to DVD Transfers offered at Animatus

Film and Video Transfer to DVD

Family Events

Transfer your home movies, anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, and vacations.

Business Documentation

Convert sales and business presentations, trade shows, building construction, and conferences.

Convert your old video tapes to DVD. Video formats include VHS, 8mm, Hi-8, S-VHS, and Mini-DV.

NOTE:
The quality of video to DVD recordings is based on the quality of your original material. If your original is a VHS or 8mm tape, then you will get VHS or 8mm quality. If your original is from a HI-8, S-VHS or Mini DV, you will get better resolution video & digital quality sound.

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Prices start at $20.00

Up to 2 hours transferred to DVD from a single tape.

Includes:

Video transfer to DVD

One indexed title of your program

B&W label with title

DVD Case

Additional copies $15.00 each

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Multiple Tape Conversion to DVD $39.99

Up to 2 hours transferred to DVD from combined multiple tapes.

Includes:

Video transfer to DVD

One indexed title of your program

Label with title

DVD Case

Additional copies $15.00 each

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Custom DVD Production

Starts at $50.00 per hour.

If a simple video transfer is not exactly what you looking for, we may make a custom, feature rich DVD for you.

You might consider:

Start menu (still)

Time markers (chapters)

Slideshows (from flash or memory cards)

We also offer editing to your source material before recording it on DVD.

You may want to:

Merge or split video fragments

Cut out unwanted sequences

Add scene transitions

Add special effects

Replace or edit soundtrack

Other extras include:

Menus with background music ($20)

Printed DVD label in color ($10)

Color DVD case insert with title and/or artwork ($35)

Color Insert (inside) using Glossy paper ($20)

Chapters ($5 per)

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Film to Video Transfers Also Available!

Animatus Studio also offers 16mm, Regular 8 & Super 8 film conversion to video and DVD.

Rates

8mm: 12¢ a foot

Super 8: 12¢ a foot

16mm: 12¢ a foot

Minimum transfer charge: $15.00

After the transfer from film, DVD rates of $20.00 per disc apply.

Contact us to see how we can help you!

High Falls review at Radford Reviews

Friend of the studio Ben Radford had some nice things to say about the High Falls Film Festival, Angela's seminar, and Animatus. Here's an excerpt from his website:

quote:

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The seminar that drew the largest crowd was by lesser-known (but not lesser talented) 3-D animator Angela Eliasz. Eliasz was a hometown girl who began at Rochester’s own Animatus Animation Studio. The talk was introduced by Fred Armstrong, head of Animatus. Eliasz showed clips from her work on film such as The Haunted Mansion, Stuart Little 2, and Final Fantasy. She discussed computer animation techniques and new advances in the field, as well as the days or weeks of painstaking effort that goes into mere seconds on the screen. (I also took an introductory animation class at Animatus in 2003; the studio is amazing, brimming with animation and cartoon figurines, cels, equipment, movie posters, and strange gadgets that could just as easily be medieval kitchen utensils as animation tools. Animatus Studios can be reached at www.animatusstudio.com, or phone 585-232-1740.)

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Read the entire article at http://www.radfordreviews.com/rr.html

Next Step Magazine Interview with Fred Armstrong

Here's an email interview that Fred did for Next Step Magazine a while back, concerning careers in animation. I just happened upon the link through a Google search...

quote:

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NSM: What kind of education do students need to go into animation?
Fred Armstrong: A basic background in drawing helps, even if you are going into 3-D animation. A degree in animation helps, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get it from an art school.

NSM: What skills should high school students practice to succeed in animation?
FA: Art classes, English (if you plan on writing your own stories), computer skills, math (for timing, exposure sheets and much more) and, last but not least, people skills for communicating ideas and understanding directions.

NSM: Where do animators work?
FA: Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks and ILM are the main companies on the West Coast. There are quite a few smaller companies as well. The West Coast is where the majority of animation is made, but there are a lot of smaller companies throughout larger cities in the U.S. that have 2-D and 3-D animation studios.

NSM: What’s the biggest challenge in animation?
FA: Getting your foot in the door somewhere to get the experience you need. In my case, it’s bringing in good high-paying commercial jobs into my studio.

NSM: Do cartoonists write their own story boards, or is that left to someone else?
FA: Some do and some don’t. It depends on the artist and the company they work for.

NSM: What’s your advice to high school students looking to pursue animation?
FA: Try creating some animation and see if you like it. It can be very labor-intensive and quite tedious. It can also be quite technically challenging. That said, it can be a very gratifying field. There are not too many jobs out there where you can get paid to bring things to life with a pencil or computer.

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Animatus Avatars now Available

Need an avatar for your message board or instant messaging identity? Now you can use Animatus characters to express yourself!

We've got Derf, Matty, Thor, Odinn, Freya, Loki, and Hanna:



Not to mention Su, Mo, Granny, Rico, Crazy Girl, and Punky Boy:



And who could resist the Fresh Toones worms, Dave, Fred, Semore Wantmore, or Sal Monelli?



Visit the It Came From Animatus pics page for smaller (65 pixel) ones.

DRYDEN EVENT: Dreamland Faces Animation & Music

Can't get enough animation? Here's an upcoming screening at the Dryden Theater...

DREAMLAND FACES present PIONEERS OF ANIMATION

This fun-filled 90-minute program for all audiences will feature some of the most inventive, entertaining, and influential American cartoons from the silent era, featuring: Felix the Cat, Bobby Bumps (and his Goatmobile), Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and very early puppet animation.

Here's what will be screening:
SCALING THE ALPS (Paul Terry and Mannie Davis, US 1923
DOMESTIC DIFFICULTIES (Bud Fisher, US 1916)
WEARY WILLIES (I. Freleng and Walter Lantz, US 1929)
TRAPPED (Max Fleischer, US 1921)
BREATH OF A NATION (Gregory La Cava, US 1919)
FELIX THE CAT FLIRTS WITH FATE (Otto Messmer, US 1926)
FELIX THE CAT TRIPS THROUGH TOYLAND (Otto Messmer, US 1925)
PRISCILLA AND THE PESKY FLY (W. D’Artigue Hopkins, US 1916)
THE OLD FAMILY TOOTHBRUSH (Sering D. Wilson, US 1925)
BOBBY BUMPS AND HIS GOATMOBILE (Earl Hurd, US 1916)
plus early Disney and a few surprises!

Rochester natives Dreamland Faces, featuring Karen Majewicz on accordion & Andy McCormick on musical saw, will provide spellbindingly unusual accompaniment.

Tuesday, November 16, 8:00 PM
Dryden Theatre, George Eastman House, 900 East Ave.
Tickets: $6, $5 students, $4 members

HFFF Animation Workshop Screenings

The High Falls Animation Workshop was a great success. This year's piece is entitled THANKS TO THE FOLKS WHO LED THE WAY, and it pays tribute to four icons of women's history: Madame Curie, Amelia Earhart, Mother Teresa, and Wangari Maathai.

Nine girls (ages 10-13) from Rochester's Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School worked with the Animation Workshop to produce this piece, set to music by Dave Puls.

There are two chances to see the children's animation...

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM: SHORTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Saturday, November 13 11:15 AM - 12:45 PM
The Little Theatre, 240 East Avenue
Tickets: $6.00
Find out more at
HighFallsFilmFest.com

And also as part of the Saturday Gala Screening:
GALA AWARDS PRESENTATION AND FILM SCREENING - OFF THE MAP
Saturday, November 13, 7:00 PM
Tickets: $20.00
The Dryden Theatre, 900 East Avenue

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Rochester's Channel Ten broadcast a news item about the festival workshop. Follow the link to watch the Quicktime video.

Animation Workshop Website Make-Over

Jeepers! The Animation Workshops never looked so good!

Those workshop pages were getting pretty crowded with stuff. Now we have a new layout that hopefully helps to describe the classes a little better. All the student work has been grouped together for fun downloading, too.

Keep in mind that our January session usually sells out! Sign up now to ensure your slot. Makes a great Holiday gift!

Check out the Animation Workshop Website at http://www.animatusstudio.com/workshops