So I've always had this innate desire to have my own cartoon strip. I've started and rarely finished a whole raft of ideas. However this one I like. Ok it's not strictly a strip cartoon but it fits the bill in my eyes (which have never been right). So the idea was to sketch (not being too precious) any old thing which popped into my head then stick it in the post and send it to my son. He likes getting post! There's also something strangely satisfying about the extra marks you get on the cards as it goes through the sorting office, and because I use non permanent ink there are smudges and all sorts when it arrives back.
Just finished a short film 'Codswallop' based on the postcards I've been doing. Hopefully it will be showing at a festival near you soon.
‘Codswallop’ is a subconscious drift through despair, frustration, joy and redemption.
Based on a series of stream of consciousness postcards sent by the filmmaker to their son, ‘Codswallop’ features a collection of surreal characters at crucial moments in their briefly glimpsed stories.
Our latest short film Codswallop is finished and heading out on the Film Festival run. We can't release the full version online until it's done it's rounds of the film festivals so for a sneak peak, take a trip over to Aaron Simpson's top industry blog Cold Hard Flash.
We're off for a weekend in Amsterdam. No, not that sort of weekend. We're off to the Klik! Animation Festival (12-14 September 08) because the lovely people running the festival have selected our film Codswallop for their Open Competition. It's not our first film to get into an international film festival (our films are better travelled than we are), but it is the first international one we're attending so we're really looking forward to it.
Amsterdam... where we went on the weekend of the 13-14th September to visit the lovely people at the Klik! Animation Festival. Our short film Codswallop was runner up in the Open Competition which was great. We also met Oscar winning animator Suzie Templeton and her lovely chap Rosto who were very complimentary about our film too. Klik! have this great thing where they hand out clickers, so at the end of a screening instead of just clapping, there's also lots of clicking (or Klik-ing).
Our short film Codwallop has been selected for another film festival... this time the Anchorage International Film Festival in Alaska, who were good enough to show our film The M Man a few years back. That makes eight festivals so far. Fingers crossed for more.
The Brothers McLeod's short film "Codswallop" has won an award! It was voted Best Short Short (short film under 5 minutes) at the 17th St. Louis International Film Festival. Hooray!
There are some moments that you have to stop and pinch yourself. It's because you've imagined or hoped that they might one day happen. And then one day they do happen. Today we were nominated for a BAFTA for Short Animation. Codswallop has been doing really well for us on the Film Festival circuit. We've had quite a few festivals contacting us asking us to submit it, presumably after seeing it at other ones. This latest bit of news is the icing on the cake - actually it's the jam filling and probably the sponge as well. We are shortlisted with only two other short animations - both by BAFTA winners. One is Marc Craste and Sue Goffe's Varmints, which I haven't seen but looks beautiful. The other is Wallace and Gromit's latest outing which was the most popular bit of TV in about a hundred years. Now that's what I call tough competition!
The Brothers McLeod feature on BBC Midlands Today. We were interviewed today by Giles Latcham for our local BBC news bulletin. Cool! Rather strangely Gary the camera man was the same guy that filmed us last year for BBC's Inside Out.
Our BAFTA nominated short animation "Codwsallop" has been given a "Special Jury Mention" or the rather better sounding "Mention Spéciale du Jury" at the 31st Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival.
The BAFTAs! On Jan 14th 2009 we really weren't expecting to be going to the BAFTAs three weeks later. But fate decreed it should be so. It was immediately clear from the nominees that we didn't have a chance of winning - up against Nick Park who has more gongs than a Chinese percussion factory.
However a strange alchemy takes place in your brain over three weeks where you start to believe that possibly maybe you'll win - even with your four minute experimental film up against two former BAFTA winners who’ve created 25 minute narratives. And with all the TV coverage extended over three channels BBC Three, Two then One, we thought there was a good chance all our friends and family might see us on the gogglebox too!
The night before the BAFTAs there was a nominee's party at Asprey's the jewellers on New Bond Street. We went with wives Lucy and Louise and sister Caroline (pictured above). Very swish, and slightly cramped in places, rubbing shoulders with the rich, the famous, the facelifts and the other 90% who like us were of no interest to the paparazzi and autograph chasers huddled out front. I spoke briefly to Nick Park congratulating him on his inevitable win. I should have spoken to Terry Gilliam. Saw Dev Patel, Sharon Stone and Mickey Rourke. Mickey was completely rock and roll, with his battered face, shades (even though it was night), Rolling Stones hair, shiny suit and, bless him, some very posh slippers with golden crests embroidered on the toe end.
The following day went by with this and that until the evening, when we got dressed up to the nines and got in a taxi and ordered the driver to take us to the BAFTAs. I think he was rather excited. We were dropped at the end of the very long red carpet and walked towards the Royal Opera House past the likes of Claudia Winkleman and various other celeb interviewers waiting for Brangelina.
Awards ceremonies are always rather tedious to watch on television, but sat in the stalls of the Royal Opera House, there as a nominee and surrounded by celebrities, it seemed like quite an event… although you do realise just how few people are actually celebrities. There were 1500 people attending – actors, directors, effects, production, PR, investors, blaggers, bloggers, gangsters (probably), and they even let in some writers and animators. Of those 1500 I probably recognised about 50 people max as celebs.
The moment came for our category – the third one announced (but not on TV – short films and short animation don’t count as real BAFTAs apparently – not that I’m bitter. Except I am. How long would that have taken to show? About five minutes out of their three hour BAFTA TV marathon. Ooo! But we don’t want to encourage new filmmakers or anything do we Mr BBC! No that might encourage innovation or new people to get involved. Whoa there! That’s dangerous talk. I think this digression has lasted long enough now - actually I don't. I could go on quite a lot longer. But. You know how I feel.)
A camera was duly shoved in my face to judge my reaction to winning or losing. It was a very intense moment indeed. For a split second I thought we could do it. And then they read out Wallace and Gromit. Of course they bloody did. I knew it when I first found out we’d been nominated. I’d just convinced myself it was possible in between. You have to keep smiling. Even though you’d probably smile anyway if there wasn’t a camera in your face. You’d just “not have to think” about smiling.
Afterwards we were shipped en masse to the Grosvenor House in coaches, which was an amusingly practical and unstylish way to get around. I sat watching the back of Armando Ianucci's head trying the think of something interesting to say to him other than - hello - I like your stuff. The dining room for 1500 people looked spectacular like something out of a 1930s gangster film. I was looking around to see if Robert de Niro was there holding a baseball bat. But no. As well as the majority of tables down on the main floor where all the big guns and the gangsters and molls sat there were a few tables up top around the balcony. You guessed it, that’s where they hide the short animation and short film people. Boo hiss.
This was where a slight glumness set in for a while. Inevitable since we’re borderline megalomaniacs. Also we now felt like we’d accidentally arrived at a large wedding where we didn’t know the bride or groom or many of their friends and family. A mix up with the tables meant we had to squeeze up and let a rather offensive PR guy and his plus one onto our already crammed table. He proceeded to tell us all about himself and how he had been to the BAFTAs loads of time and wasn’t he wonderful. Then we had to argue with the waiting staff about the vegetarian meal they’d buggered up for my wife. This all left a rather unpleasant aftertaste.
One brief reversal came when Sue Goffe and Marc Craste introduced themselves to us – fellow nominees in our category for the beautiful “Varmints”. I’d like to have spoken to them more, but we were a bit flummoxed by the whole occasion by this point. A party then followed on from the meal. I had to ask Stephen Daldry where everyone was going because I didn’t have a clue. He seemed very nice. I should have finished my film script, then I could have given that to him at the same time.
After watching pop band ‘The Feeling’ butcher ‘Walk This Way’ we knew it was time to call it a night. We returned to our hotel, tired, spun out, but still gloriously BAFTA nominated. It’s all rather bonkers, but still very interesting to have seen inside this exclusive club even if we didn’t quite feel part of it yet.
Finally a note on celebs. There was one moment in the evening where we saw Meryl Streep hug Penelope Cruz while both stood beside Daniel Craig. I wondered for a second if some kind of celebrity critical mass might be achieved, and an atomic explosion might destroy us all. But no! And so finally finally… here is the list of celebrities seen with our own ocular visual receptor organs.
Mickey Rourke, Stephen Daldry, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Goldie Hawn, Armando Ianucci, David Baddiel, Jonathan Ross, Jonathan Pryce, Ian McKellan, Kate Winslet, Simon Beaufoy, Patrick Stewart, Kylie Minogue, Mick Jagger, Daniel Craig, Emma Watson (Hermione), Sharon Stone, Steve McQueen, Ron Howard, Brendan Gleeson, Noel Clarke, David Frost, Michael Sheen, Danny Boyle, Dev Patel, Amy Adams, Terry Gilliam, Nick Park, David Sproxton (Aardman founder), Meryl Streep, Kirsten Scott Thomas, Michael G. Wilson (one of the Bond producers), Gemma Arterton, Penelope Cruz.
Our BAFTA nominated short continues to attract attention. Codswallop has been accepted into the prestigious Annecy festival in France. It will be in competition with 40 others short films selected from around the world.
Our BAFTA nominated short animation Codswallop continues to appear at more film festivals. We're very pleased to announce that it is in competition for the McLaren Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
It's 11.30am on Monday and I'm still experiencing mild anti-climatic feelings from four days in Annecy. It's like that feeling you get after a great holiday when you can't quite believe you're back home and working. Which is exactly what I'm doing (or technically avoiding by writing this blog entry).
We've never been to the animation festival and conference in Annecy before, but it's easy to see why people go back year after year. The setting is beautiful, the comaraderie is excellent, the Grande Salle cinema in the Bonlieu building has a screen larger than Scotland and seats nine million people... the list goes on.
We attended the screening of our own short film 'Codswallop' on the Wednesday night in the aforementioned Grande Salle. It seemed to go down very well, with plenty of clapping, whooping and thankfully a total lack of paper aeroplanes being hurled at the screen while it played. We did the whole 'get up and bow' thing at the end also, which was fun in front of so many people.
The programme also featured seven other shorts including Slavar, a powerful animation about modern slavery in Sudan, which went on to win the big short film prize 'The Annecy Cristal'. It was one of those films that makes you so angry about the way some people are treated by others, that you think perhaps everyone in the world should just stop what they're doing, get together, sort the problem out, and then get back to work. If only it worked like that!
The programme also featured Cordell Barker's Runaway, a great story about a runaway train and the interactions of the different class of passengers. It had a real Chuck Jones feel and went on to win a Jury's Special Award.
As well as screenings, conferences, and meetings there were also a few exhibitions. Greg and I only got to see one which was from the Panique au Village feature. We're both big fans of A Town Called Panic (UK name) and hopefully the film will get some distribution over in the UK.
I didn't get to see too many screenings with all the hobnobbing and meetings, but I'm pleased to say I did manage to see Australian feature Mary and Max (which jointly won Cristal for best feature at the festival with Coraline). Mary and Max is a sad but heartwarming tale about two lonely penpals. It's from Adam Elliot, writer and director of Harvie Krumpet. Thanks to Sam McCarthy from Open Book who donated her ticket to me (the screening was a sell out).
On Thursday morning we went back to the Bonlieu to be interviewed by festival director Serge Bromberg who was great. He didn't pull his punches in his questions. I hate nothing more than an obsequious interviewer, and he was definitely not that. Also anyone called Serge is great in my book.
I will write more tomorrow about some of the wonderful persons that we met while out there... otherwise this blog entry will become a novel.
I'm particularly fond of the characters I created for Codswallop so it's nice to let them out once in a while - here's 'Two Hats' with an interesting philosophical dilemma.
Annecy thoughts part deux. Yes it's a couple of weeks now since we got back from Annecy (sadly!) but here's another update on what we did and who we met!
Who would have thought it possible to meet so many people in such a short space of time? Largely thanks to the UK Trade and Industry stand being so well organised there was a high concentration of British creatives in one spot.
We met a bunch of folks including Sam McCarthy and Laura Seymour from Open Book, Tim Frost from Bull and Gate, Andy, John and Rowland from Tank Creative and the guys from GS (Grupa Smacznego). We also bumped into many other familiar faces over the three days we were there: Jamie from Karrot, Jo from Hit (who I almost didn't recognise without her floppy hat!), and producer geniuses Jackie Edwards (now of Cbeebies) and Helen Brunsdon (ex-Aardman). Greg even met Nick Park and had a brief chinwag.
On our first night we randomly chose the Captain Pub for a drink. We'd met Sarra, animation student from the Midlands, and Justa from GS in Poland (from the studio that animated Harry and Toto) and headed down there after the screening of Codswallop. Little did we realise that by some mojo magic we'd landed at the Brits favourite evening haunt. We returned to the Captain Pub the following evening and might just have had a little too much to imbibe.
We were also very fortunate to meet Tim Frost, a very talented illustrator, who had a wonderful children's pitch - World of Burt - printed out in the form of a kids' storybook. Check out his flickr account for lots of lovely illustrations.
Sam and Laura from Open Book run a film night called Paper Bag - you can find out more here.
Just a quick note to say Codswallop went to the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. They slightly reworded our synopsis... but only in a very complimentary way, so we don't mind.
"Based on a series of postcards made by the directors to send to their children, Codswallop is a splendid repertoire of images about frustration, happiness and redemption presented in a constant flow that redefines the screen’s margins as a story-containing space."
It's sad we couldn't make it to the festival, especially since Sitges is a favourite holiday spot of Gregs.
Sometimes it's hard to keep track of where your films have been, so occasionally I google "codswallop festival brothers mcleod" to see if I've forgotten to mention any... and I have. Codswallop went to MIAF - in Melbourne in June - and what's more (and we didn't know) it picked up an award while there. It received the Audience Award for International Progam 3 where it was up against 13 other short films. Excellent news!
There's at least three up coming screenings at festivals in the UK, Ukraine and USA, but more when that news is officially released!
Our short Codswallop continues it's tour of the universe. One of the interesting things to keep an eye out for is how different countries translate the almost untranslatable word of "Codswallop" itself. For example... Tonterías (Mexico)
and Disparate (Portugal).
Here's some more festivals where Codswallop will be/is/has been:
Well hasn't it been a funny old year! It started out with a BAFTA nomination for Codswallop in the short animation section opposite Aardman and Studio AKA (who very generously asked us to work with them later in the year), then we shared in a Webby with the rest of the Tate Kids team, as well as being Webby Official Honorees our Sticks series.
And today we found out that we've been nominated in two categories at the Children's BAFTAs for the work we did with the Tate (once again up against Aardman and Studio AKA). Phew! You could say that we're more than just a little bit chuffed.
The Moon Bird is not yet a month old, but already it's heading out into the world to fend for itself. It's already been selected along with our other short film Codswallop to be part of the British Animation Awards' Public Choice programme.
The shortlist of eleven films for Best Sound Design has been posted on the British Animation Awards website and we are included twice... once for The Moon Bird, and once for Codswallop. Hooray! You can hear some of the music for The Moon Bird on our music player.
The Moon Bird has won the Best Made in the Midlands award at the Stoke Your Fires film festival. We are very chuffed to have won, but sadly couldn't be there to collect it. So far we've managed to avoid any of the festivals where we actually win.
In other good and bad news from the British Animation Awards, Codswallop was shortlisted for Best Short Film, but failed to make the final three. The finalists were rather randomly revealed on the Forbidden Planet website a few days ago.
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Our BAFTA nominated short animation "Codwsallop" has been given a "Special Jury Mention" or the rather better sounding "Mention Spéciale du Jury" at the 31st Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival.
The Moon Bird is not yet a month old, but already it's heading out into the world to fend for itself. It's already been selected along with our other short film Codswallop to be part of the British Animation Awards' 
The shortlist of eleven films for Best Sound Design has been posted on the 
