American Cinema Editors (ACE) announced today the nominations for the 74th Annual ACE Eddie Awards, recognizing outstanding editing in 14 categories of film, television and documentaries. The winners will be announced live on Sunday, March 3 at UCLA’s Royce Hall at a special brunch celebration hosted by draq queen, performer and queer activist Nina West (Hairspray national tour). The animation nominees are:
Best Edited Animated Feature Film
- Elemental — Stephen Schaffer, ACE
- Nimona — Randy Trager, ACE; Erin Crackel
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — Michael Andrews, ACE
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie — Eric Osmond
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem — Greg Levitan, ACE
Best Edited Animated Series
- Blue Eye Samurai “The Tale of the Ronin and The Bride” — Yuksa Shirasuna
- Bob’s Burgers “Amelia” — Jeremy Reuben, ACE; Stephanie Earley
- Scott Pilgrim Takes Off “Ramona Rents a Video” — Keisuke Yanagi
AfroAnimation (afroanimation.com), the largest annual event featuring diverse and underrepresented animators, gamers and creators, has announced that the 2024 summit will take place in Burbank, California at the LA Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel from April 10-12.
The 4th Annual AfroAnimation Summit (AAS 4.0) will include a focus on gender representation in the industry, spotlight the gaming and V/R industries, launch a new international film ceremony celebrating diversity in animation and the arts, and bring together the largest coalition of industry leaders and animation studio executives, artists, and creative talent to date, to help drive an increase in inclusive representation throughout the entertainment industry.
Event activations include: Live Illustration Competition, Dolby Music Cafe, Immersive Gaming Experience, Internship Corner, Icon Awards Luncheon, FRWD Awards Dinner, and an Independent Short Film Competition. Event sponsors include: Sony Pictures Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon, LAIKA Studios, Xence Labs, and more.
PETA Kids is honoring the popular animated children’s television series Bluey, which airs on Disney+ in the U.S., and creator Joe Brumm with its Bug Bestie Award for teaching kids everywhere to have empathy for bugs — who, just like us, don’t want to be squished and have “a mummy and daddy who would miss them,” as pointed out in the Season 3 episode “Slide.”
In the episode, Bingo and Lila’s fun time on a backyard waterslide comes to a screeching halt when they notice a leaf bug crossing the slide and stop themselves so they don’t squish her. They gently move her out of harm’s way into the grass but are again interrupted — by a ladybug, followed by ants, and finally a grasshopper. After deciding that they would feel bad if they squished any of the bugs, Bingo and Lila decide to play “bug inspector,” with one making sure that the slide is clear before the other takes a turn — but they have to act fast to save a caterpillar when Bingo’s dad, Bandit, rushes down it. Later, the rescued caterpillar is shown turning into a butterfly and landing on Bingo and Lila’s joined hands.
“With their compassionate actions, Bingo and Lila demonstrate that it’s not ‘trifficult’ to show consideration for even the smallest beings among us,” says mom and PETA Director of Animals in Film and Television Lauren Thomasson. “PETA applauds this episode’s kind message and encourages kids and parents everywhere to remember that every bug is someone who deserves kindness.”
Kids and their caregivers can learn more about insects, spiders and bugs and how to give them protection in our homes and in the wild at petakids.com.
SIGGRAPH 2024 (s2024.siggraph.org) has announced the first confirmed Keynote Speaker for the upcoming edition in Denver, Colorado: Dr. Mark Sagar.
The double-Academy Award winner, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Soul Machines and Director of the Laboratory for Animate Technologies at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute will lead attendees through the questions and considerations that arise when creating the interactive illusion of life in digital characters, prompting you to discover how we understand, quantify and model our own nature.
About Dr. Sagar’s talk on “The Essence of Animation”:
Is it possible to bring an interactive digital character to life who can “think,” “feel,” have experiences and act with volition? Prepare to embark on the biologically based journey where we explore the challenge of giving an artificial character its own inner life.
