Andrea James

CalArts: 20 Years of Experimental Animation, 1970 – 1990

When I first started in advertising, I had the pleasure of shooting a live-action commercial with director Mike Patterson. The series was for a very mundane household product but was very successful. Mike is best known as an animator, and he was at visual effects house Rhythm & Hues at the time. The spots had a lot of in-camera effects that turned out great.



At the time Mike was already legendary for creating the famous a-ha video for ”Take On Me,” one of the greatest music videos of all time. That work was based on an animation project he did while at Cal Arts titled “Commuter.” I had seen “Commuter” before, and I was looking for it the other day. I was delighted to find it online with a treasure trove of other great projects from 20 years of experimental animation at Cal Arts.

If you want to see some amazing experimental animation from pre-computer days, before motion-capture, before digital rotoscoping, check out the curated collection on the Cal Arts site:

CalArts: 20 Years of Experimental Animation, 1970 – 1990

Besides Commuters, I recommend (in no order) Luma Nocturna, Travellers Palm, Phases, Pink Triangle, Te Utu, and The Trap.

They also have showcases of recent work.



Andrea James Facebook group

Andrea James YouTube channel

Andrea James on MySpace

Exit mobile version