Creative Talent Network Talk

6 Responses to “Memories of 2005”

1. Tony Says:
   December 24th, 2005 at 10:48 am

   Dan Lund and Tony West release “Dream On Silly Dreamer”, a documentary about the high times and tragic fate of Walt Disney Feature Animation. The film plays at numerous festivals during 2005, wins several awards including an Annie Award of merit and will be available on DVD soon.

2. Jeff Says:
   December 26th, 2005 at 4:59 am

   Losing Vance Gerry, Joe Grant, and Joe Ranft. It was a bad year to lose such great talents. The weird thing is that at the beginning of the year, I saw a black blazer, and thought to myself,”I need a new black blazer in case I might have to go to any funerals.” I did buy it and went to too many funerals in one year.

3. Brian P. McEntee Says:
   January 3rd, 2006 at 4:02 pm

   I was cleaning out a closet the other day and found a box full of rolled up movie posters. One was a poster for “A Bug’s Life.” It was sent to me by Joe Ranft after the film came out. He’d signed it, “I love you, Brian,” and had drawn a Heimlich for me.

   That was Joe. He didn’t think twice about telling another guy he loved them, because he did. He had such a kind and open heart, and losing him this past year left a big hole in mine.

   Joe was a positive guy though, and not one to dwell on the negative. I remember once when things were particularly difficult at Disney, Joe simply grinned and proclaimed, “Things will be different in May!” It was a silly and funny non sequitur, but made us all feel better anyway. My memories of 2005 are memories of Joe.

4. Floyd Norman Says:
   January 7th, 2006 at 2:36 pm

   In many ways 2005 was a year of loss. Yet, there was also a bright side. While at the Joe Ranft memorial many old friends from both Disney and Pixar came together to remember old times. It was a sad, yet joyful occasion, and it caused me to reflect on what I love about the animation business.

   It’s not about blockbusters and bonuses, but about the satisfaction of doing good work with great people. It’s guys and gals like Vance, Guy, Rowland, Gilda and Joe, both Grant and Ranft that have made my years in this business a pleasure.

5. Ellen Woodbury Says:
   January 8th, 2006 at 12:35 am

   2005 was a year of tremendous loss and change and sadness and new beginnings for me, a real emotional rollercoaster. Losing the 2 Joes and Vance forever was hard to believe and endure. Then losing Ron and John from the studio was a real downer. My realization that the dream job of animating for Disney was no longer my dream-come-true was very hard to admit and accept. (When I was hired on Great Mouse in 1985 I couldn’t fathom ever choosing to leave Disney. –why would I ever want to do that?) During 2005 I created an option for myself and took it. I wanted to work with my hands and express my own ideas. I have a new beginning as a sculptor and am happy again. 2005 was the year I reinvented myself, as so many of us in the industry have already done either by choice or necessity. It was a pivotal year for me and I’ll never forget the people, the circumstances, and the process.

6. zaneeta Says:
   July 15th, 2006 at 10:56 am

   2oo5 was the year I went back to college. I went in order to go into a medical-related profession, because we are depressingly told that the up-and-coming jobs will all be taking care of decrepit Baby Boomers.

   I have been out of Art as a profession ever since the Mouse Factory gave us all the big boot. I thought that working for myself would be wonderful, but found it to be very hard work! I was used to working dilligently all week, and then someone would come by and hand me a paycheck. But I discovered that no matter how hard you work, no one hands you a paycheck. Once in a while your hard work pays off, and you get a client who hands you a check, but it is much smaller than all your work would suggest you deserve.

   I had no intention on being an Artist ever again, because I was so burnt out. But I was lucky enough to possess the skills to do my own business graphics: business cards, brochures, flyers, and stationary. And in the process, I grew to like making art on the computer. Think of that! I had sworn that I would sooner live under a bridge and eat out of a garbage can that do artwork on a computer, and here I was, using the evil device to help make my living!

   When I returned to college, I took an Art class, and then another. After all, I had to finish my BA in Art to get a Master’s in Physical Therapy. All of the classes I took used Illustrator and Photoshop, and I discovered I was very good at using them. I had always thought drawing on the computer was like drawing with a bar of soap, but found that I can use the Bezier Curves to make very subtle shapes. In 2005 I started wanting to be an Artist again!

   Finally in 2006 I broke down and took advantage of the Computer Lab at the Animation Guild, and discovered that I have a talent for modeling in Maya. It will probably be a couple of years before any one would hire me to work in 3-D, and now I feel foolish for not taking advantage of the free training that was available to me years ago! But then again, I was so burnt out that I was eager to make a new start in an unrelated field.

   Reading other people’s blogs makes me feel like an outsider (of my own choosing). The world of Animation did not stand still while I was gone! It is good to hear about what has been going on, even if some of the news is sad.

   Here’s to the much anticipated revival of Traditional Animation! May it last until we are really ready to retire!

   -Merry Clingen

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