Bent Image Lab’s David Daniels just returned from Anima Mundi 2011 – the huge international animation festival in Brazil where he was a featured special guest, invited to teach classes in his unique animation inventions and to be honored with a retrospective of his career work.

Anima Mundi is an international animation festival that takes place in both Rio De Janerio (this year: July 15 – July 24th) and Sao Paulo (this year: July 27 – July 31st). Daniels taught classes in Strata Cut animation in both cities and had huge turnouts: 150 people attending in Rio De Janerio and 80 people attending in Sao Paulo.

 
“I showed the simple ideas behind time sculpting, and then went into advanced blocks with complicated motion that showed walk cycles, spinning heads, etc.  I showed clips of Buzz Box, Journey Through a Melting Brain, Freaked and other strata clips,” says Daniels on his Strata Cut class. “We cut up strata blocks in real time (live with a Dragon camera) on one side of the stage, while I showed how they are built on the other.  My lovely wife Colombe went with me and was a great help with the demonstration knife.”

 
One group of excited Brazilian animators even tried mixing what they learned in Strata Cut class with a few ‘caipirinhas’ in hand. “A group of young and especially energetic Brazilian animators stayed up drinking and trying strata cut out on their own after taking my class,” says Daniels. “They sent me tapes and photos of their work.  It was great to set in motion instant inspiration in so many others!”

 
“We have been advised by many animators to include the item Strata Cut in the “animation technique” field of our next entry form …because many works in that style will surely come!” says Festival Director Marcos Magalhaes.

 
Daniels’s retrospective which was part of the festival’s “Animated Chat” also drew huge numbers of people wanting to hear and learn about Daniels’s genius while creating the entire field of Strata Cut animation and his extensive body of work in stop motion, CG and live action. “People are surprised to learn that I do crazy visual clay gymnastics while also directing conventional character animation.  I invented both motion sculpting ‘time blocks’ and then later developed and directed the original M&M characters and TV spots,” stated Daniels to the audience.

 
130 people attend in Rio, and over 200 people show up in Sao Paulo for David’s “Animated Chat.”

 
Anima Mundi was a rewarding experience for Daniels both because the festival organizers were so thoughtful, genuine and humble about their role as conductors of such a large and growing event, but also because of the animation fans who attended and the other artists he got to meet. “The audiences were very receptive, interested and found the work compelling,” David notes. “They had a high animation I.Q. and asked a lot of very interesting questions. It was a blast to see their faces when they started to catch on about how the animation was created as sculpture, and revealed as shapes moving over time, etc.”

 
“I must confess, sometimes it is very difficult to run a festival like ours. Especially this year, Anima Mundi preparation was a nightmare due to bureaucracy and other problems. Frequently I feel like I should be animating instead of turning crazy preparing the festival,” says Festival Director Cesar Cohelo. “But then [David] arrived…He brought his talent and enthusiasm along with. And so everything starts to make sense.  We feel that we’ve been doing something right and then the next festival’s preparation begins all over again.”

 
Daniels also got to mix and mingle with other artists such as Animators Miwa Matreyek and Becky Bristow, Anime Filmmaker Shinichiro Watanabe and President and CEO of Magic Dumpling Entertainment Kevin Geiger.

 
“I’m glad to be back home, but I will never forget this festival, or the inspiration I now feel to make new animation.  It was such a special place with people I will always remember,” says Daniels.  “And oh yes, just as you would expect, Rio and Sao Paulo were spectacular and fun on my days off, when I went around as just another wide eyed tourist!”

 
See below for pictures!