SPARK RELOADED
September 16 - 18, 2022
Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre
181 Roundhouse Mews
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2W3
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SPARK RELOADED
LOAD YOUR CREATIVE BRAIN WITH FRESH INSPIRATION
September 16 - 18, 2022
After 2.5 years of pandemic protocols, resuming in-person events is sparking a lot of excitement. To celebrate, we are hosting a one-of-a-kind weekend full of activities, 16 – 18 September, that we’re calling SPARK RELOADED. The Roundhouse in Yaletown will be the creative hub that weekend, allowing all of us to refresh, revitalise and reconnect with the greater community.
The SPARK RELOADED weekend will feature an opening night Mixer & Keynote Speaker, two full-day Masterclasses, a Career Fair and more.
CAREER FAIR
For information on our Career Fair, please visit our Career Fair web page.
SCHEDULE
| DAY 1 | FRIDAY - SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 |
| 6:00 pm | OPENING NIGHT INDUSTRY MIXER |
| 7:00 pm | OPENING NIGHT ON THE OUTSIDE, LOOKING OUT with Rob Valley · Moderator: Keith Blackmore |
| DAY 2 | SATURDAY - SEPTEMBER 17, 2022 |
| 9:30 am | MASTERCLASS BRENDA CHAPMAN: DEVELOPING STORY & CHARACTER FOR ANIMATION with Brenda Chapman · Moderated by Keith Blackmore |
| DAY 3 | SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 18, 2022 |
| 9:30 am | MASTERCLASS RON CLEMENTS: WRITING & DIRECTING FOR ANIMATION with Ron Clements · Moderated by Keith Blackmore |
Friday
Friday - September 16, 6:00 PM
OPENING NIGHT
INDUSTRY MIXER
Cash bar.
Friday - September 16, 7:00 PM
OPENING NIGHT
ON THE OUTSIDE, LOOKING OUT
with Rob Valley · Moderator: Keith Blackmore
In this very special presentation, Robert will demonstrate some of the key steps in going from graphic novel to animation, taking examples from Pear Cider and Cigarettes, the Gorillaz music video he made in collaboration with Jamie Hewlett, as well as Zima Blue from Love, Death + Robots. This will give audience members the chance to see how his animation style has developed over the years and better understand his vision as a director.
Ticket holders get one (1) complimentary drink ticket. Sorry, no food or beverage allowed in the theatre.
End time: Approximately 8:30 PM
VENUE: PERFORMANCE THEATRE
Love, Death + Robots: Zima Blue © 2019 Netflix US, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday - September 17, 9:30 AM
MASTERCLASS
BRENDA CHAPMAN: DEVELOPING STORY & CHARACTER FOR ANIMATION
with Brenda Chapman · Moderated by Keith Blackmore
End time: 5 PM
Note: There will be a break for lunch (lunch not included) and a couple of short breaks to stretch between modules.
Signing Session will begin shortly after the class. Only those who've attended Brenda's masterclass will be allowed in the queue.
Admission includes GST and online transaction fees.
IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE STORIES
This exceptional class offers a rare and exciting opportunity to learn from one of the industry's top storytellers. In this masterclass, Chapman will take attendees on her journey, the lessons she learned, and teach how to find one’s own story and characters.
OVERVIEW
In this masterclass, Brenda Chapman will teach you how to tell your story by drawing on your own life experiences.
Session 1
BRENDA’S LIFE IN ANIMATION
Chapman discusses her 37-year career in animation through some of the stories and characters that she worked on, and the animator giants who influenced her.
Session 2
IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE STORIES
Seeing yourself as a storyteller. Thinking outside the proverbial box and breaking the same-proverbial rules may be what you need to bring your unique voice to a story… and to do that, you need to know the fundamentals of story. Chapman will discuss the basics of story and how they allow you to know what you’re doing when you start breaking the rules.
Session 3
DEVELOPING PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Chapman discusses how she used her personal experiences and inspiration to enrich the films on which she worked. Chapman will look at the pros and cons of how to use personal experiences to develop into stories or enhance an already existing one.
Session 4
BUILDING CHARACTERS
Developing characters is an important part of storytelling. Your protagonist and secondary characters can carry the story for you, but only if you know them inside-out, and give them the tools and depth they need to do so. This final lesson explores the process of character development.
Sunday - September 18, 9:30 AM
MASTERCLASS
RON CLEMENTS: WRITING & DIRECTING FOR ANIMATION
with Ron Clements · Moderated by Keith Blackmore
**ATTENTION**
Online reservations are now closed. Regular tickets available at the door.
End time: 5 PM
Note: There will be a break for lunch (lunch not included) and a couple of short breaks to stretch between modules.
Signing Session will begin shortly after the class. Only those who've attended Ron's masterclass will be allowed in the queue.
Admission includes GST and online transaction fees.
LESSONS FROM A LIVING LEGEND
Legendary Disney Director, Ron Clements, will introduce attendees to the methods of writing and directing for animation. From concept to final film, attendees will gain insights into how the roles of the writer, director and story-artist all contribute to the development in making the best animated film possible.
OVERVIEW
This masterclass will strengthen your storytelling and directing skills, while helping you develop a compelling and viable story that you can control.
Session 1
RON’S LIFE IN ANIMATION
Clements discusses his 45-year career in animation through the award-winning films he has written, directed and worked on.
Session 2
ANIMATION
An examination of the classical Disney approach to animation and character development.
Session 3
VISUAL STORY TELLING
Clements will discuss his approach to storyboarding and screen writing.
Session 4
DIRECTING FOR ANIMATION
The final session will feature Clements' approach to directing, from script to screen, visual storytelling, character development, as well as music.
BIOGRAPHIES
Producer, Writer, Director // 'Twas Entertainment
(Come Away, Brave, Prince of Egypt, The Lion King)
Brenda Chapman started her career as a story artist at Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1987, contributing to her favourite fairy tales: The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Chapman later served as head of story, the first woman to do so in an animated feature film, for Disney's animated classic The Lion King — for which she won an Annie Award. Chapman also worked in story and development for other Disney animated films such as The Rescuers Down Under, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Fantasia 2000.
In 1994, Chapman then helped launch DreamWorks Animation Studios, where she became the first woman to direct an animated feature, The Prince of Egypt.
In 2003, Chapman joined Pixar Animation Studios where she created, wrote and directed Brave, becoming the first woman to win the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature as well as a BAFTA and Golden Globe. Come Away, Chapman’s live-action debut, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Currently, Chapman is writing and developing a couple of animated features, working on a novel, a memoir and a children’s book, as well as various other projects.
Vancouver-born and raised, Keith Blackmore is a passionate supporter for all things animated in the Vancouver area. A producer for the SPARK ANIMATION Festival, Keith has presented, interviewed and moderated at many festivals and studios. Most recently, he was on the Film Jury for the 2022 Taiwan International Student Design Competition, the largest student design competition around the world. Keith is also the host of the monthly Vancouver Civic Theatres’ film series, Silent Movie Mondays, at the opulent and historic Orpheum Theatre.
Besides his work with the Spark CG Society, Keith continues to educate and inspire students at the Vancouver Film School, in his weekly History of Animation classes.
Rob Valley is an award-winning illustrator, animator and director whose unmistakable visual style stands apart with its particularly angled line-work, sharp shadows and selective colour palette. Rob’s career has spanned far and wide: designing and directing a string of Gorillaz music videos, character design for feature films like Disney’s Tron: Uprising, as well as directing commercials for Nike, Levis and Coke amongst others.
His short film Pear Cider and Cigarettes — which he illustrated and animated himself — won an Annie award and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017. In 2019, Rob directed the critically acclaimed short film Zima Blue as part of the Netflix anthology series Love, Death + Robots. Most recently, Rob has won 3 Emmy awards, including Outstanding Short Form Animated Program on season 2 of Love, Death + Robots — Ice. He continues to work on a variety of short and long form animated projects.
Ron Clements is a renowned storyteller and filmmaker at Walt Disney Animation Studios. With his longtime collaborator, John Musker, Clements has written and directed iconic feature films that have become part of Disney’s legacy, including beloved classics like The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Treasure Planet, Hercules, The Princess and the Frog, and the Academy Award®-nominated feature, Moana.
Clements traces his interest in animation to his first viewing of Pinocchio at age 9. After graduating from high school, Clements came to California to try his luck at animation. Because there were no openings at Disney, he worked for several months at Hanna-Barbera while studying life drawing in the evening at the Art Center. With persistence and determination, Clements was finally accepted into Disney’s Talent Development Program, an animator training ground and workshop. There he served a two-year apprenticeship with famed animator Frank Thomas and worked on a few projects on the side. His early work in character animation can be seen in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too, The Rescuers, Pete’s Dragon, The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron. The rest, as they say, is history.
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