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• Animagic: A truly interactive museum experience Animagic: A truly interactive museum experience Eugene Mamut, co-founder with his wife, Irina Borisova, of Animagic, a new museum in Lee devoted to animation, visual effects and art, was asked recently about his software recommendation for animation. He said it didn't matter. "Do something. Put it on the Internet and Pixar will find you." For Mamut, good animation comes not from the software, but from the talent that creates it. One would expect a museum devoted to animation to have large computers, but, like his perspective on software, Animagic places its emphasis on talent and not technology. Indeed, the computers at Animagic are not much more powerful than the computers many of us have in our homes. This museum's excitement comes from the talent and passion of its co-founders. Mamut won a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, popularly known as an Oscar, in 1986 for inventing the Compu-Quad Special Effects Optical Printer. His movie credits include "Predator" (1987) and "Ghost Dad" (1990).
Borisova is an artist who makes puppets, illustrates books and creates ceramic figures. She also works as production designer for Out of Hand Animation, an animation studio in Great Barrington. Animagic is not very large -- just three rooms arranged one behind the other. The first room is a small art gallery and gift shop. The second room is the exhibition space devoted to animation and special effects. The third room is a workspace. The collection contains movie posters, clay figures with references to the commercials in which they appeared, Mamut's award from the Academy and five computers, either Macintosh or Windows-based machines. Animagic celebrates the gifted animation talent here in the Berkshires. One wall of the exhibition space has pictures and other information about the Berkshire people and companies that provide the animation for Hollywood movies, theme park rides and television commercials. The exhibition has a "tree" of Berkshire animation beginning with Doug Trumbull. After Doug Trumbull established himself in South County, animators and visual effects people from New York and Boston followed him. Although Doug Trumbull's studio has become the Visions Institute of Suffolk University and Mass Illusion moved to San Francisco, several other studios remain: Kleiser-Walczak (North Adams), Powder Keg (Great Barrington), Out of Hand Animation (Great Barrington), and the Chamberlain Group (Great Barrington). These studios produce animation, visual effects and models for an international client base in the areas of feature films, commercials, thrill rides and custom medical models. Visitors can watch video clips of commercials and movies on Animagic's computers, including a Santa’s Village clip in 3-D. One clip of Winnie the Pooh has small clips inset into the main image showing how the puppeteers animated the characters in real time. Mr. Mamut explained how the computer hid the puppeteers by inserting the background between them and the puppets. Visitors can also see examples of different types of animation such as slit-screen effect, claymation, cell animation and cut-out animation. The museum lifts film's magical veil to reveal the carefully planned and executed work necessary to create the visual effects that astonish us. These effects, however, cannot happen without understanding the fundamentals of filmmaking. The highlight of a visit to Animagic is a two-hour animation workshop. Everyone who participates in a hands-on workshop gets to make a short animated video that they can take home to show their friends and families. On a recent visit, my children, Emily (age 11) and Allegra (age 8), had an opportunity to participate in a workshop. They began by each creating a clay figure under Borisova's supervision in the workshop at the back of the museum. They made a clay flower with a smiling face and multi-colored petals on a thick stem with a large leaf. While they created their models, Mamut turned the exhibition space into a small studio. A small plywood board became a stage. The backdrop was a faux brick wall attached to the back of the board. He positioned a small Web cam, a little camera that looks like a large eyeball, at the foot of the stage and attached it to an i-Mac computer. Then, he arranged the lighting, making sure to cut out any extraneous light coming from the front of the room. Emily placed her model on the stage. Allegra worked the computer. Mamut worked with Emily to direct her in moving her model. After each small movement of the leaf, Mamut directed Allegra to click on the frame with the mouse. He watched the scene carefully, making sure that Emily did not inadvertently cast any unwanted shadows across the stage. When all the movements were put together, Emily's flower bent side to side and waved its leaf like a hand beckoning someone to approach. We then watched the video to see how all of the work came together. Emily and Allegra then switched places. Mamut directed Allegra's animation and Emily’s camera work. Allegra’s flower folded its petals around its smiling face as it bowed to the camera. Emily carefully captured each small movement on camera. We then watched the video. After Emily and Allegra recorded the movement, Mamut had them use i-Movie, standard software with the i-Mac, to complete the video. They copied the clip so their flowers would repeat their respective movements several more times. He then had them add a title to the beginning of the video and then let them select music to accompany the video. The software allowed them to capture the music by laying down an audio track alongside the video track. The video was complete.
I could tell by their smiles that they were pleased with their work. The workshop gave them a better understanding of the complete animation process than just looking at a series of animation cells. Mamut then transferred their video from the i-Mac to videotape for them to take home and show their mother. Our visit, including the workshop, was almost three hours long. Calling Animagic a museum, although technically correct, does not convey its true essence. This is not a passive museum experience. Don't go only to watch videos. Do that in the theaters, at home, or on thrill rides. One does not go to Animagic to see the equipment to make animation and visual effects; its emphasis is not to awe the visitor by technology. Go to Animagic to learn and ask questions of two very talented people. Animagic is a learning studio. As Mamut and Borisova use their talents to create a memorable visit, use your talent to play and give life to your imagination. In so doing, you become more alive as well. My children were excited when they left and gave it a resounding endorsement. "It was GREAT!" and "It was fantastic!" they said. Animagic, 77 Main St., Lee, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. The two-hour workshops include training, materials and a take-home video. The cost for the workshop is $20 per person and is limited to five persons. Mamut and Borisova recommend making reservations for the workshops. There is no charge for visiting the museum. Animagic also has a small gift shop that carries unique gifts to spark the imagination as well as housing a small art gallery. Check the Web site, www.mambor. com/animagic, for their monthly schedule of events including workshops and lectures. Call 243-2051 or 841-6679 for more information. |
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