Tantalising Title Sequences....

Designer: George Wallder

Designers: top - Kenneth Brown, bottom - Geoffrey Martin

Designer: Bernard Lodge

Designers; Alastair McMurdo/Ivor Weir

Designer: Bernard Lodge

Animator Profile: Peter Foldes

Hungarian Peter Foldes remains an unsung hero of animation. Starting his career working with John Halas, he went on to produce his own films, including one of the most influential animated films ever made 'A Short Vision', a depiction of the horrors of nuclear war. It was originally screened on US television in 1956 as part of the Ed Sullivan Show and caused outrage due to it's graphic content. The film still retains it's power today:



 His subsequent films pioneered the use of computer animation, which he used to great effect to convey his long-running theme of metamorphosis and transformation. His first experiment with this technology was Metadata (1971) and can be considered the first computer animated film:

The most well-known of his films from this period is Hunger (1974), winner of the short film Jury Prize at Cannes and Academy Award nominee. It used a technique known as tweening to merge one image into the next:

Below are some tantalising glimpses of films as yet unavailable, Je, Tu, Elles (1969) and Visages de Femmes (1969). Both show the distinct style of line-work that Foldes developed.

Scans taken from:

Art in Movement by John Halas & Roger Manvell, Studio Vista, 1970

Computer Animation by John Halas, Focal Press, 1974

The wonderful graphic resource 50watts.com has featured Peter's work several times, see here.

Animation: Ryszard Czekala - The Roll Call

Things seem to have turned nightmarish at the--dream--machine of late: Brexit Britain, Trump in the White House and the spectre of fascism rearing it's ugly head once more....I find myself turning to the artists whose work stands as a warning to not let history repeat itself. Ryszard Czekela's 1970 animation 'The Roll Call' offers up such a warning, a stark, disturbing glimpse inside a concentration camp and a powerful reminder of why this should never be allowed to happen again.

Goldsholl Associates

Morton & Millie Goldsholl ran Goldsholl Design & Film Associates from the 1950s to the 1970s, becoming one of Chicago's leading graphic design agencies. The studio became well known for their animations and graphic films, ranging from corporate identity showreels to personal, experimental projects. Their use and layering of film making techniques is astounding, combining photo-montage, rapid-fire editing, documentary narratives, scientific and medical imaging, animated info-graphics and everyday abstraction. The resulting films are visually sumptuous, packed with information and beautiful imagery. 

The Goldsholl Collection is online at the Chicago Film Archives here. 

Animation: The Flower

Zdzislav Kudla - Kwiat (The Flower) 
1973
Studio Filmow Rysunkowych

A man lost in the desert falls in love with a flower.

Ctulhu Conundrum...

Stills from a short film by Leo Hofman entitled Falling Monuments. They are taken from an article about the Annecy 73 animation festival from Graphis 168 and so far I have been unable to track this particular gem down. Almost looks like a Max Ernst collage come to life. The adjoining description only fuels my intrigue: “This eight-minute colour film depicts the visitation of a town by a mysterious, destructive force. Architecture in dissolution, peopled by strange forms and machines. A knowledge of the rediscovered Ctulhu stories of the Englishman Lovecraft is essential to a complete understanding  of this film.” Gots to get my hands on this one, any help would be greatly appreciated!