The Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts has done it again – picked a theme for its featured exhibit that promises to entertain and educate us, this time on all things stop-motion animation.

This unique art form blends storytelling, meticulous craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology to bring static objects to life. Picture The California Raisins, James and the Giant Peach, Ted, Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, all examples of popular stop-motion. And here’s the best part—many of the animators, producers and VFX pros associated with these projects will be speaking at the festival in a desire to shine a spotlight on the career opportunities for the next generation, while honoring the talent behind the scenes.

Here’s a rundown of the schedule of the live lectures in the Headlee Theatre at Lakewood Center. Check out the Festival website for more details, including the After Hours short films.

Friday, June 20th – 11am – Tippett Animator, Webster Colcord – introduces rarely (or never) seen clips from his career starting with Will Vinton Studios in the 80’s to Tippett Studio today. Some of the projects he has participated in include The California Raisins, James and the Giant Peach, the Matrix, Deadpool, Ted, to Disney’s Skeleton Crew and more. Check out his talk “Monsters, Mayhem, and Mistakes: a Career in Hollywood Animation

Friday, June 20th – 1pm – Aardman Junior Animator – Hannah Brooks will be providing a live lecture from the UK, sharing how she animates Gromit & Morph. In her eight years of clay animation, other films include Early Man, Shaun the Sheep and The Epic Adventures of Morph. Ever watch a Wallace & Gromit movie and wondered how do they do that? Come check it out. No flight to England or passport required.

Friday, June 20th – 3:30pm – Animator legend, Bill Plympton – Are you a Simpson’s fan? Check out Bill’s couch gags, and hear about his “Guard Dog” as he is hosting a masters class on 2D animation. Recommended for future animators, get personal tips and tricks. One bonus, every attendee gets a free sketch.

Saturday, June 21st – 11am – LAIKA’s VFX Compositing Supervisor, Michael Córdova – As a Visual Effects artist, Michael has created images on films from Star Wars to Star Trek, Iron Man to Avatar. Today, Michael brings 27 years of Visual Effects experience to LAIKA, a Hillsboro-based animation studio, as Compositing Supervisor. Prior to joining LAIKA in 2011, he worked for 12 years at Industrial Light & Magic. Don’t miss Michael’s “Building Worlds with Pixels and Puppets: 27 Years with ILM and LAIKA”

Saturday, June 21st – 1pm – Lead Animator, Anthony Scott weaves from Gumby to Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, this animation rock star is sharing his 30 year animation journey of nuggets while working on Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, James and the Giant Peach to Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. Emmy Award winning, for Outstanding Main Title Design on United States of Tara.

Saturday, June 21st – 2:30pm – Animation Director, Brian Hansen from ShadowMachine, – Brian has animated on 8 Oscar nominated feature films and more recently was the Animation Director on the TV show “In the Know” for Peacock. Brian will share his energy and walk you through the talents needed in order to be the off screen actor, bringing the words and action from the script to life.

Saturday, June 21st – 4pm – Producer, Melanie Coombs from ShadowMachine – Producer of award-winning film and television including Oscar® winner Harvie Krumpet, Annecy Grand Cristal winner Mary and Max and CoProducer on Oscar® winner Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Melanie will be sharing her wisdom on Technology and Stop motion on “In the Know.”, the TV show she produced for Peacock.

The festival also features more than 110 artists in George Rogers Park as well as multiple artist exhibits at Lakewood in the Open Show Pavilion Tent and several youth and invited artist exhibits inside Lakewood as well as food and entertainment. So, plan on making a day of it.

The Festival of the Arts is just one of the many reasons Lake Oswegans love living here. We can introduce you to many more. If you’re interested in moving to Lake Oswego, give us a call. We’d love to put our experience to work for you!

Kevin Costello kevin.costello@cascadehasson.com 503.939.9801

Riley Costello riley.costello@cascadehasson.com 971.322.6205