Steven Woloshen
Encyclopedia
Steven Woloshen in Montreal
, is a film animator and a pioneer of drawn-on-film animation.
Woloshen first attended Vanier College
, where he worked with Super-8 film and video, then specialized in 16 mm independent film techniques at Concordia University
in Montreal. He has since created animated and experimental films, which have been shown at screenings and festivals around the world.
Working in camera-less animation since 1982, Woloshen has used scratches and lacerations on film to create emotional content.
Woloshen is a Montreal
-based camera less animator who has been making films since the late ‘70’s. He studied film at Concordia University
, where he initially made documentaries and collage films, but the freedom and accessibility of scratch animation won him over. Since 1999 he has worked exclusively in 35mm CinemaScope, an oddity in the independent film world that is made possible by his otherwise thrifty means of production. His works have screened worldwide at festivals including the Montreal World Film Festival
, Tampere International Short Film Festival, Annecy Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival
, and I Castelli Animati in Rome
.
Woloshen is heavily inspired by music, particularly jazz, and has made numerous short abstract works in which the images are created in synchronization to a music track. While most of his films are exuberantly colored, Me Me Ma Ma (2000) is done in spare black and white. White scratches resembling rubbings, chalk drawings or electronic static jitter across a black background, matched to the driving beat of a techno music piece. Bru Ha Ha! (2002) takes a piece by Erik Satie
and translates it into abstract imagery. The deep, masculine sound of a tuba appears in blocky shapes of colour, contrasted with delicate white squiggles corresponding to a woman singing. The tuba and voice play off each other as if in conversation, male and female. Dave Brubeck
’s jazz classic “Take Five
” is the inspiration for Cameras Take Five (2002), in which fluid lines represent the saxophone voice, moving over top of color fields of electric blue and green interspersed with playful shapes and doodles. These are vibrant, light-hearted works, which capture the spirit and energy of the music.
As in jazz, improvisation and chance are important aspects of Woloshen’s work. Because his films are self-funded and the tools of his craft (film leader, markers, inks, brushes and craft knives) are readily available, he can seize on an inspiration and act on it immediately. He writes: “I think spontaneous urges and desires are the best part of handmade film making.” Woloshen even constructed a portable scratch box so that he could do scratch animation during breaks on his job as a driver in the feature film industry.
As fun as Woloshen’s musical salutes are, for me the strongest and most satisfying of his films are those which depart somewhat from this method, such as The Babble on Palms (2001) and Two Eastern Hair Lines (2004). The Babble on Palms features various found-footage scenes of everyday life, accompanied by music by Ali Akbar Khan
. The outline of a hand appears over all of the scenes, partially blocking our view. The hand is treated with constantly changing decoration such as dots and spirals, and patterns and colours reminiscent of both the solar system and cells under a microscope – the universe is contained in our hand. The film suggests a thread connecting all people, but also the limitations of our viewpoint and the individuality (the “hand print”) that sets us apart.
Two Eastern Hair Lines also employs found footage, and is composed primarily of scenes of two or three people – a man and woman in a room together, two men seated across a desk from one another, a couple seated side-by-side. Parts of the images are framed, blocked out, or painted over, dividing and isolating the figures from each other. Set against a 1939 Chinese
recording, “Parting at Yang Kwan,” Two Eastern Hair Lines is full of longing. It reflects on the unbridgeable distance between people and the difficulties of communication. As Woloshen writes in his description, “Sometimes the rifts between us are as wide as rivers, and sometimes as small as hair lines.”
Woloshen was recently the subject of a retrospective screening at Saw Video Gallery, hosted by the Canadian Film Institute. He is also featured in a new anthology on animation, The Sharpest Point: Animation at the End of Cinema, edited by Chris Gehman and Steve Reinke and co-published by YYZ Books, the Ottawa Animation Festival and the Images Festival.
Since his return to filmmaking in 1996, after a hiatus of more than a decade spent working in various capacities in the film industry, Steven Woloshen has been extraordinarily productive, seemingly increasing his output year by year even as he faces the usual obstacles that tend to slow an independent filmmaker’s career (parenthood, the need to earn a living, lack of financing). It’s clear that the years he spent working on film sets and in labs were far from wasted: Woloshen’s work “post-hiatus” is extraordinarily assured compared to his promising films from the 80s, showing enormous progress in aesthetics, graphic technique and understanding of lab processes. (Most of his work now is in 35mm, and often in CinemaScope
, an unusual format for this kind of animation.) Since 1999’s Get Happy, it seems, Woloshen has found his rhythm and his method. And happily, following the huge festival success of Ditty Dot Comma (2001) and a subsequent retrospective at the 2002 Ottawa International Animation Festival, his work has been increasingly seen and recognized at festivals, cinematheques and other venues around the world.
His film, Cameras Take Five, was included in the Animation Show of Shows
.
Painters 11 esp. Jock Macdonald
.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, is a film animator and a pioneer of drawn-on-film animation.
Woloshen first attended Vanier College
Vanier College
Vanier College is an English-language public college located in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1970 as the second English-language public college of Quebec's public college system...
, where he worked with Super-8 film and video, then specialized in 16 mm independent film techniques at Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
in Montreal. He has since created animated and experimental films, which have been shown at screenings and festivals around the world.
Working in camera-less animation since 1982, Woloshen has used scratches and lacerations on film to create emotional content.
Woloshen is a Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-based camera less animator who has been making films since the late ‘70’s. He studied film at Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
, where he initially made documentaries and collage films, but the freedom and accessibility of scratch animation won him over. Since 1999 he has worked exclusively in 35mm CinemaScope, an oddity in the independent film world that is made possible by his otherwise thrifty means of production. His works have screened worldwide at festivals including the Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
, Tampere International Short Film Festival, Annecy Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival
Ottawa International Animation Festival
-History:In 1976, the Canadian Film Institute founded the biennial Ottawa International Animation Festival . First held August 10 to 15, 1976, the OIAF created a gathering place for North American animation professionals and enthusiasts to ponder the craft and business of animation...
, and I Castelli Animati in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Woloshen is heavily inspired by music, particularly jazz, and has made numerous short abstract works in which the images are created in synchronization to a music track. While most of his films are exuberantly colored, Me Me Ma Ma (2000) is done in spare black and white. White scratches resembling rubbings, chalk drawings or electronic static jitter across a black background, matched to the driving beat of a techno music piece. Bru Ha Ha! (2002) takes a piece by Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
and translates it into abstract imagery. The deep, masculine sound of a tuba appears in blocky shapes of colour, contrasted with delicate white squiggles corresponding to a woman singing. The tuba and voice play off each other as if in conversation, male and female. Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
’s jazz classic “Take Five
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz piece written by Paul Desmond and performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on their 1959 album Time Out. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1, and August 18, 1959, this piece became one of the group's best-known records, famous for its...
” is the inspiration for Cameras Take Five (2002), in which fluid lines represent the saxophone voice, moving over top of color fields of electric blue and green interspersed with playful shapes and doodles. These are vibrant, light-hearted works, which capture the spirit and energy of the music.
As in jazz, improvisation and chance are important aspects of Woloshen’s work. Because his films are self-funded and the tools of his craft (film leader, markers, inks, brushes and craft knives) are readily available, he can seize on an inspiration and act on it immediately. He writes: “I think spontaneous urges and desires are the best part of handmade film making.” Woloshen even constructed a portable scratch box so that he could do scratch animation during breaks on his job as a driver in the feature film industry.
As fun as Woloshen’s musical salutes are, for me the strongest and most satisfying of his films are those which depart somewhat from this method, such as The Babble on Palms (2001) and Two Eastern Hair Lines (2004). The Babble on Palms features various found-footage scenes of everyday life, accompanied by music by Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
. The outline of a hand appears over all of the scenes, partially blocking our view. The hand is treated with constantly changing decoration such as dots and spirals, and patterns and colours reminiscent of both the solar system and cells under a microscope – the universe is contained in our hand. The film suggests a thread connecting all people, but also the limitations of our viewpoint and the individuality (the “hand print”) that sets us apart.
Two Eastern Hair Lines also employs found footage, and is composed primarily of scenes of two or three people – a man and woman in a room together, two men seated across a desk from one another, a couple seated side-by-side. Parts of the images are framed, blocked out, or painted over, dividing and isolating the figures from each other. Set against a 1939 Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
recording, “Parting at Yang Kwan,” Two Eastern Hair Lines is full of longing. It reflects on the unbridgeable distance between people and the difficulties of communication. As Woloshen writes in his description, “Sometimes the rifts between us are as wide as rivers, and sometimes as small as hair lines.”
Woloshen was recently the subject of a retrospective screening at Saw Video Gallery, hosted by the Canadian Film Institute. He is also featured in a new anthology on animation, The Sharpest Point: Animation at the End of Cinema, edited by Chris Gehman and Steve Reinke and co-published by YYZ Books, the Ottawa Animation Festival and the Images Festival.
Since his return to filmmaking in 1996, after a hiatus of more than a decade spent working in various capacities in the film industry, Steven Woloshen has been extraordinarily productive, seemingly increasing his output year by year even as he faces the usual obstacles that tend to slow an independent filmmaker’s career (parenthood, the need to earn a living, lack of financing). It’s clear that the years he spent working on film sets and in labs were far from wasted: Woloshen’s work “post-hiatus” is extraordinarily assured compared to his promising films from the 80s, showing enormous progress in aesthetics, graphic technique and understanding of lab processes. (Most of his work now is in 35mm, and often in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
, an unusual format for this kind of animation.) Since 1999’s Get Happy, it seems, Woloshen has found his rhythm and his method. And happily, following the huge festival success of Ditty Dot Comma (2001) and a subsequent retrospective at the 2002 Ottawa International Animation Festival, his work has been increasingly seen and recognized at festivals, cinematheques and other venues around the world.
His film, Cameras Take Five, was included in the Animation Show of Shows
Animation show of shows
The Animation Show of Shows is a traveling selection of the year's best animated short films, curated and presented by Acme Filmworks founder, Ron Diamond. It began in 1998 with the aim of showing the most original, funny, intelligent short animated films from all over the world and presenting them...
.
Filmography
- Son of Dada 1982. 16mm. sound.
- Didre Novo 1983. 16mm sound.
- Pepper SteakPepper steakPepper steak is a stir-fried Chinese American dish consisting of sliced beef steak cooked with sliced green and/or red bell peppers and other seasonings such as soy sauce and ginger, and usually thickened with cornstarch...
1984. 16mm. sound. - Get Happy 1999. 35mm. sound. CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
- MeMeMaMa 2000. 35mm. sound.
- Ditty Dot Comma 2001. 35mm. sound. CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
- Bru Ha Ha! 2002 35mm . sound
- Cameras Take Five 2003. 35mm. sound.Featured music by Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
. CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically... - The Babble on Palms 2002 35mm . sound
- SNIPSnipSnip may refer to:* SNIP, a fictional robot in the television series Snorks* Snip , a Dutch aircraft made in the 1930's* Snip , a fictional character in the television series Ace Lightning...
2004. 35mm. sound.Featured music by Fats WallerFats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
. CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically... - MinuetMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
2003 35mm . sound - Two Eastern Hair Lines 2002 35mm . sound
- RebuttalRebuttalIn law, rebuttal is a form of evidence that is presented to contradict or nullify other evidence that has been presented by an adverse party. By analogy the same term is used in politics and public affairs to refer to the informal process by which statements, designed to refute or negate specific...
2005 35mm . sound - The Curse of The Voodoo Child 2005. 35mm. sound . CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
- Changing Evan 2003. 35mm. sound.Featured music by Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
. CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically... - Phont Cycle 2006 35mm . sound
- Shimmer Box Drive 2007. 35mm. sound.Featured music by Buddy RichBuddy RichBernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
. CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically... - RH Factor 2008 35mm . sound
- Chronicle Reconstructions 2008 35mm . sound
- Zero Visibility 2008 35mm . sound
- ScrapbookScrapbookScrapbook can refer to:* Scrapbooking, the process of making a scrapbook* Scrapbook , a Mac OS application* Scrapbook , a Switchblade Symphony album* Scrapbook * ScrapBook, a Firefox extension...
2008 35mm . silent - The Homestead Act 2009 35mm . sound
- Fleeing Rotland 2009 35mm . sound
- Vista 2008 35mm . silent in VistaVisionVistaVisionVistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
- PlaytimePlaytimePlay Time is French director Jacques Tati's fourth major film, and generally considered to be his most daring film. It was shot in 1964 through 1967 and released in 1967. In Play Time, Tati again plays Monsieur Hulot, a character who had appeared in some of his earlier films, including Mon Oncle...
2009. 35mm. sound . Featured music by Oscar PetersonOscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
. CinemaScopeCinemaScopeCinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
. Tribute to the paintings of Canadian
Painters 11 esp. Jock Macdonald
Jock Macdonald
Jock Macdonald was a member of Painters Eleven , whose goal was to promote abstract art in Canada.-Early life:He was born in May 1897 in Thurso, Scotland...
.
- The Rosetta Stone 2010 35mm . sound
External links
- Drawing on film explained at the National Film Board of Canada
- Six films by Steven Woloshen
- "The Unsung Heroes of Animation" by Chris Robinson
- read AWN review of Changing Evan (2006)
- "Fun With Science" biography by Chris Robinson.
- read "In Search Of The North American Direct Animator - Species and Variants" by Devon Damonte
- National Film Board of Canada's Hothouse 5 project