Coyote Confidential: A Taos New Mexico Blog

Governor Richardson Announces Winners of the 2008 Governor’s Cup Short Animation Competition

Winning animated shorts will be produced in New Mexico this summer

SANTA FE - Governor Bill Richardson today announced the two winners of the 2008 Governor’s Cup Animation Documentary Competition: Jeff Drew of Albuquerque and Frederick Aragon of Taos. The two winners will each receive $10,000 towards their short animated projects which will be produced in New Mexico this summer.

“These filmmakers represent some of the best of New Mexico’s media talent,” said Governor Bill Richardson. “The film industry is growing rapidly in our state and I’m pleased to support the animation community.”

Funded entirely by Pangea Pictures Corporation and the National Geographic All Roads Film Project, each winner will receive a $10,000 budget toward the creation of their short animated project, use of software, trainees and equipment from state schools and Pangea Pictures.

Eric Witt, Director of Media Arts & Entertainment Development for Governor Bill Richardson, noted the ongoing success of the Governor’s Cup competition. “Bringing the work of New Mexicans to a larger audience remains a top priority,” he stated. “This competition has repeatedly discovered some of the most promising media artists in the state.”

The winner of the Pangea Pictures prize is ONE SQUARE MILE OF EARTH, by Jeff Drew. Jeff is an animator, director and illustrator who has developed a signature moving-collage style, seen in many commercials and in illustrated covers for The Weekly Alibi. Working with the Albuquerque-based comedy duo The Pajama Men (Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez), Drew describes ONE SQUARE MILE OF EARTH as “a cut-and-paste moving collage world filled with an array of furry, scaley and sometimes slimy characters.”

The winner in the National Geographic All Roads category is COYOTE TALES: MYSTERY’S NIGHT by Frederick Aragon. This short animation tells the tale of Coyote, who has never been able to make someone love him – and his journey to change that. Aragon is a musician and storyteller with a background in graphic design, illustration and animation. He has created two CD’s of original stories and music, and expands his animating career with COYOTE TALES.

The winners were chosen by a five-member selection panel.

The All Roads Film Project is a National Geographic initiative, which provides a global platform for indigenous and minority-culture storytellers to bring their lives, experiences, and cultures to new audiences, through seed grants, film festivals and a photography program. “We're excited to work with Frederick Aragon for the All Roads category of the Governor's Cup,” stated Francene Blythe. “Telling traditional stories in new ways is one of our priorities at All Roads."

Learn more about this and other state film events visit:
http://www.nmfilm.com/
Learn more about National Geographic All Roads Film Project visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/allroads/

Here is the finished example of storyboard 23. It will most likely change in the final version. But now I can move on the next step in production.

To see an enlarged image of this graphic click here:
http://frederickaragon.com/gallery.php?folio_id=8

To see Mystery's Night submitted storyboards, click here:
http://frederickaragon.com/gallery.php?folio_id=6
Learn more about this and other state film events visit:
http://www.nmfilm.com/
Learn more about National Geographic All Roads Film Project visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/allroads/

Wednesday afternoon I received a phone call from the State of New Mexico Governor's Council on Film & Media Industries. “Mystery’s Night,” my submission to the 2008 Governor’s Cup Animation Competition and the National Geographic All Roads Film Project for short animated films, is one of 10 finalists. I am scheduled to do a final presentation next Wednesday, May 21, at the NM Film offices in Santa Fe. I have fifteen minutes to convince them that my project deserves the $10,000.00 prize. The prize money will enable the winner to complete their film with monetary support for equipment and other peripherals, with distribution by the state and National Geographic.

Next week I am scheduled to shoot my first scenes in the film “Descansos” on Tuesday . . . and then the next day I present “Mystery’s Night.”

Thanks to all of you for your support and friendship. I will be writing about these events in next week’s posts.

To see Mystery's Night submitted storyboards, click here:
http://frederickaragon.com/gallery.php?folio_id=6

Learn more about this and other state film events visit:
http://www.nmfilm.com/

Learn more about National Geographic All Roads Film Project visit:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/allroads/

In the song Coyote leaves the magpie to become a drop of rain. I want to show the beginning of a stormy weather and added it to the lower left side of the storyboard. I want Coyote and the magpie to fly above this weather pattern. However, my art director did not see that at all. She saw a pattern of mountains with weather around it. I absolutly did not see that illusion at first. This morning there it is clear as day. This is something I will have to revisit when I do the finals for all storyboards. The images keep evolving as I work. All of the images on this and past examples are in layers. This allows me to manipulate and move an individual layer. When complete I will flatten the final image to one layer in Adobe Photoshop.

All I need to do now is paint Coyote and place him on the back of the magpie and move on to storyboard 24.

To see an enlarged image of this graphic click here: http://frederickaragon.com/gallery.php?folio_id=8

To see Work-In-Progress storyboards of "Mystery's Night" click:
http://frederickaragon.com/gallery.php?folio_id=6

This is the magpie ready for Coyote to jump on and seek his loved one. I have put a background of stars and the moon. Next I will be coloring and adding Coyote and the weather he and the magpie fly in. Again, all coloring and filters were added from Adobe Photoshop.

To see an enlarged image of this graphic click here: http://frederickaragon.com/gallery.php?folio_id=8

To see Work-In-Progress storyboards of "Mystery's Night" click:
http://frederickaragon.com/gallery.php?folio_id=6

In the song, Coyote sings, “I’ll fly on a mischief’s wings.” In my story,
the mischief is a black-billed magpie. Here is the black-and-white
rendering of the magpie taking Coyote away. If you have never seen one of
these birds, they are remarkable. They come from the corvid family (crows
and ravens are also corvids) and are quite resourceful. They seem to hang
in gangs and harass, steal, and get into trouble. From afar, magpies look
black and white. When you see them close up or happen to find one of their
feathers, you will see their "black" feathers are an abundance of cold and
hot tints on a bluish-black background. I want this character to change
the mood from the warm glowing setting of Coyote's cave to that of the
cold and stark outdoor landscape. Cold and stark, but the magpie still has
the hues of fire and ice in its feathers. Adobe Photoshop will be used on
the black-and-white scan for coloring and effects. With the magic wand
tool, I selected feathered areas to gradient in the rainbow effect, then
painted the shadows between the feathers, created a few colored highlights
on the edges--and stopped. I needed to see it on a black background to
visualize the look I am seeking. After placing the image on a widescreen
background, I have an idea of how to proceed to with light and shadow on
the bird.

See, I am not the only one talking about critics.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24375798/

Welcome to Page Sullivan of Page Sullivan Real Estate Group. Page will provide us with her views on Taos and surrounding areas as a community member and avid outdoors enthusiast. Page has lived in Taos, New Mexico, for 30 years and is still loving it. She explains, "Taos is unlike anyplace else on earth. Here, you get to be who you really are and who you want to be."