Production Update May 2016

May 29, 2016 More

Our Crew has just concluded the written version of the all important Prologue.  In a few days we will start tackling the video version, which will include 18 interview clips for the Prologue, as well as ten additional scenes for the body of show, which we’re guessing together will amount to about 26 minutes of the documentary, more or less, we’ll soon see.  Some of the 28 scenes are merely blocked out with suggested visuals, which will be fed into the production line, starting with story board artists.  But others are further along, some ready for layout and animation, and a couple, which have no animation, are close to complete.

What took us the most time was the Prologue, as we feel it is the single most important scene in the documentary.  At about nine minutes this first scene needs to accomplish several important objectives; hitting the highlights during the most creative period of UPA, from the early 1940’s to the late 1950s, introducing the main issues of their creative legacy, giving a glimpse of some of our illustrious commentators, with about a hundred more to choose from, and presenting it all in a style reminiscent of UPA and compelling enough to make an audience hunger for more.  That’s a tall order for nine minutes, but we’ve tinkered with it over the last month or so to make it what we feel will be the beginning of a riveting 90 minutes.

The Prologue will be tied together with a flow of UPA style graphics, era stills, film clips, festive colors, paint splotches, all moving around 21 sub-scenes, most of them linked to interview clips, in this order; Wake Up UPA, a brief introductory montage of UPA images with our characters “being born” in a quasi fireworks display, UPA Style, a graphic feud over various UPA styles, Any Style, Gene Deitch settles it once and for all, Big Picture, leads us from 50s creativity back to the beginnings of UPA, in 40s animation unionism, Picket Line, Steve Bosustow remembers the first seeds of UPA, Funny Moment, Giannalberto Bendazzi recounts a light moment on the otherwise gloomy picket line, Brotherhood, Tom Sito says that’s were they all connected, Geniuses, Tisha David feels UPA artists were the best in the business, Artists First, Tom Sito observes they were not just animators, Paradise, Jean-Christophe Dessaint imagines UPA to be the best place to work, Not One Stamp, and Geefwee Boedoe emphasizes UPAs vast diversity.

In Press Forward, Leonard Maltin talks about the unprecedented press reactions UPA received, We Had Fans, Bill Melendez can’t believe cartoonists actually had fans, Epicenter, Serge Bromberg feels UPA was at the very center of new animation, Horror of HUAC, Gene Deitch remembers the dark days of the McCarthy witch hunt, Urban Settings, Oscar Grillo talks about UPA leaving furry animals behind for modern people, Sausages, Jerry Beck compares UPA sausages to the big studio sausages, Knocked Them Silly, Jules Engel points out the elements that made UPA great, Top Talent, June Foray takes us into a recording session, on the Phone, Bob Kurtz went crazy looking for UPA shorts in theaters, The Tao of Boing, and John Culhane tops off the Prologue with his favorite scene of all time, in Gerald McBoing Boing.

Interviews #2

We’ve included images of these 16 interviews.  The eight at the beginning, from left to right, are: Tissa David, Jules Engel, John Culhane, and Bill Melendez, and below them are: Steve Bosustow, Gene Deitch, Serge Bromberg, and Giannalberto Bendazzi.  The eight in the collage just above are: June Foray, Oscar Grillo, Jerry Beck, and Geefwee Boedoe, and below them; Leonard Maltin, Bob Kurtz, Tom Sito, and Jean-Christophe Dessaint.

Some of the scenes for the body of the show that we’ll be adding to the video timeline of the Prologue are; how UPA got their first film job, how Mister Magoo was created, how the boing for Gerald McBoing Boing was created, how Bobe Cannon came up with Gerald’s distinctive hop/skip, a look behind the scenes with John Hubley creating fresh new characters, a demonstration of UPAs revolutionary use of color, and a charming story where Tissa David connects Grim Natwick to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, really.

And, least we forget the creative people behind this phase of the documentary production; G. Allen Black Fenway Fan, Joanna Davidovich, Rachael Saunders, Gwen Arreola, Kevin Cannarile, Andrea Rosales, Fernando Ferreira GarrĂłz, Fabian Corona, Cinzia Botinni, Patrick Dunavan, Charles Davis, Sylvie Bosrau, Terry Wilson, Destiny McCune, Tunisia Mambala, Lee Crowe, Alyssa Wejebe, Sydney Parris, Joe Sikoryak, Frank Macchia, Zabrina McIntyer, Silvina CornillĂłn, Adam Abraham, and more.

So, that’s it for May.  Hopefully, our June update will announce the completion of the first phase of video timeline.  We are looking for about 36 new Crew Members, most likely; 4 Story Board Artists, 4 Character Designers, 4 Background Artists, 4 Layout Artists, 9 Animators, 6 Transcribers and 5 Production Assistants.  Even if we receive a portion of that, we can really pick up the pace.  So, send anyone you know to our website to explore what we’re doing and hopefully to sign up too, at www.theboingheardroundtheworld.com.  We’re also looking for more production funds for our crew.  Our site handles that as well.  Onward and Upward, Tee Bosustow

Category: Back Issues, Production