11/24/2023 0 Comments Sea of monsters yellow submarineIts pop-art visuals were augmented by such special-effects techniques as multiple exposures and rotoscoping, in which animated characters are created by tracing a movie with real actors frame by frame in what's been called "painting on movies." Most anyone who's seen "Yellow Submarine" remarks on its vivid and bright colors ? in the landscapes, characters and most everything else. In short, they liked the look and creativity. "When they saw what we were doing," Balser said, "they wanted to participate." (George Harrison, the other Fab Four member, was off in India.) Paul McCartney, Balser said, came around often and made suggestions ? "he was very interested in film and animation." Similarly, Ringo Starr looked over the stuff they were doing. television.īut curiosity must have killed The Beatles, because they began dropping by the TVC studios where "Yellow Submarine" also was done. They reportedly disliked their film "Help" ? and hated the self-titled Beatles cartoon series that the TVC animation studios in London had done for U.S. Similarly, The Beatles initially were cold to the project. He appreciated it more after he saw it years later and realized that, in the big picture, his nits didn't really matter. And it was perfect for the Flower Power era of the late 1960s."īalser didn't always heap praise on "Yellow Submarine." As it turns out, both he and The Beatles took time to warm to it (though The Fab Four was quicker in that regard).īalser said he came away from the project thinking, "I spent a year of my life doing a piece of crap."īut, he quickly added, "that's because when you do a project, you see every error." It was nitpicking spotting, for example, uneven areas of color and light flashes marring some of the cels. "The beautiful color and excitement of the film was just a thing that captured the imagination of everyone. "It's all gorgeous and fun to look at," said Balser, now 85 and living in Marina del Rey. Grumette, probably like many people out there, saw it soon after it first came out but hasn't revisited it in years.īalser, who indicated he'll likely do a question-and-answer session with Thursday night's Libbey audience, sings praises for "Yellow Submarine" now, calling it "an iconic film." "Yellow Submarine," he said, fit the opening-night standard for a suitable family film, and its re-release earlier this year is wonderful icing, timing-wise. "The films are always better than the year before, and I say the same thing every year because it's true." This year's event received several hundred film submissions from around the world, according to festival artistic director Steve Grumette. Lifetime achievement awards will be given to actress Bonnie Bedelia ("Heart Like a Wheel," the "Die Hard" films) and cinematographer Jack Green, perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated work on the 1992 revisionist Western "Unforgiven" with director and frequent collaborator Clint Eastwood. 1 with screenings of more than 75 films, including 58 in competition a new "Focus Earth" series of films on local and global environmental and humanitarian issues and panels and workshops on various cinematic disciplines such as acting, screenwriting and makeup. Thursday in Libbey Bowl (itself another recently restored piece of art). Balser, who served as a color adviser on the restored version, raves about its quality, adding, "It looks so friggin' beautiful now."īalser will be on hand as an honoree when that remastered edition of "Yellow Submarine" launches the 13th Ojai Film Festival as the traditional opening night free public screening at 7 p.m. Some 44 years later, the film is riding a new wave of recognition thanks to a remastered, high-resolution version that was released this spring. Looking back, he observed during a recent interview, "It was one of the greatest years of my life." He was the animation director on the free-spirited, psychedelic-toned film (and, he says, its co-director). For 11 months in 1967-68, Bob Balser pumped color and pizazz into the Blue Meanies, the Sea of Monsters and the world's most famous rock 'n' roll band.īalser was there, cels in hand, as The Beatles rode to the rescue in a quirky underwater craft in the classic 1968 animated film "Yellow Submarine."
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