THE OIAF: An Overview
Put on your reading glasses and buckle in! I tried to make this short, but thanks in advance if you make it all the way to the end.
My first time at the Ottawa International Animation Festival! Throughout my career, I always assumed that, if my employers felt my attendance would be beneficial, they’d have sent me (they didn’t). That speculation made me miss out on years of involvement in the animation community. Personally, my animation community has always been the production team I’m currently working with. Whether we’ve been trudging through the war-torn muddy trenches of a production pipeline, or letting off steam for late night drinks, these were my people whose bonds were forged through teamwork & sheer resilience. We’ve shared in the triumphs and we’ve also suffered the slings and arrows. The golden trophy is an entertaining show that the world gets to (hopefully) appreciate. For me, the chef’s kiss is not only getting to work on a great show, but getting to be a part of a great team. Fortuity has made this the norm for most of my career. That is, until it all disappeared.
Since my separation from the (working) animation world, it’s been a real struggle for me to return to what I see as my calling: Animation Series Director. Since I was 14, I always knew exactly what I wanted to do, and I’ve been lucky enough to spend a good chunk of 30+ years doing it. But… just perhaps… in my focus to return to a working animation team, I neglected to realize that there’s other ways to connect with like-minded people without being employed together. Which brings me to the OIAF.
Believe me, I was as surprised as some of my colleagues were to find me scanning passes and working as an usher at screenings shoulder-to-shoulder with 17 year olds. Even more than that, lugging heavy boxes across floors of the OAG as part of the Wrecking Crew, sweating through my volunteer T-Shirt. I didn’t just volunteer for the OIAF, I volunteered for a big slice of humble pie. In doing so, I think I saw the full spectrum of the animation community from students trying to break into the industry, to ushering big-wig producers to their seats. Doing it through the anonymity of anyone knowing that I was (in a past life) the Series Director of Paw Patrol made it even the more fun for me… that is until I got outed on Sunday afternoon. Thanks Josh ;)
The awesome part, is that I got to be a part of both worlds. I got to work as a volunteer AND I got to hang out with old friends and meet with some new industry producers. I got to experience the full spectrum of the animation community and be actively involved in all of it. That animation itch that I’ve been trying to scratch for the past year and a half had been scratched. I’ve been involved in other things: Weekly figure drawing sessions. Painting. Producing and animating a short. Story boarding. All of these things are awesome, but they still lie in quiet, darkened rooms without much interaction (maybe not so much the figure drawing). It’s been awesome to integrate myself back into the animation world, if only for a brief time.
Kudos to all the people who put together the festival, who volunteered (including many people who didn’t know anything about animation, but were curious to learn), and for the working professionals who are lucky enough to carry the flickering torch to keep this industry alive. All of you are appreciated and I look forward to seeing some of you next year, and, with luck, others in the very near future… hopefully working alongside of.
