The Back Stage Magazine of August 6 1976 provided detailed listings of many animation studios in New York City at the time. This series of posts will go by each studio on the list one by one, and will gather every bit of information that I can find about each of these studios and the people who lead them. This is a salute and tribute towards everyone's hard work and bravery while navigating through the turbulent industry in NY. A way to preserve and secure these amazing people's legacies and their amazing artistry.
Action Productions, INC.
Location: 16 W. 46 St.
Projects: Animated productions
Staff: Stop-motion and special effects: John Gati (October 6, 1927 - July 30, 2002),
Production: Jerry Brownstein
Director: Hal Lippman
"At this studio, John Gati produces fine stop motion effects for various advertiser clients. His latest extravaganza, produced for Scott Grass Seed, will show vegetables growing using time-lapse photography over a period of three months. Five Mitchell camera will record the vegetables' growth one frame at a time. Gati is also starting work on a Polaroid spot that will use a number of effects, including strobe images."
- Howard Beckerman, Filmmakers: Film and Video Monthly, July 1980, https://asteriskpix.blogspot.com/2010/07/whats-everybody-doing-in-1980.html
"Small Is Beautiful for John Gati at Action Productions
Two jobs recently completed at New York's Action Productions bear out the Schumacher adage about the Lilliputian view of life : small is beautiful . Using a miniature of a Long John Silvers Restaurant enabled John Gati to get a clean look, with no distracting real life buildings or electrical wires to confuse the picture. Working with Leo Stuckhus, VP of Abbott Advertising in Lexington, Kentucky, who was creative director on the job, Gati injected the four seasons for the openings and closings of commercials advertising the national restaurant chain. Another spot had a 16-inch 112132-type metallic robot in a blue beret-palette in one hand, paintbrush in the other-painting the logo for the Michigan-based People's National Bank & Trust Company. The animated robot, made by well-known Long Island model maker Tom Newberry, was operated by the armature inside and moved frame by frame. "We are back with Lucas and Harryhausen," notes Gati. 'They do that and we do, too ." After completing this spot, Gati flew to last month's international festival of puppet animators held in Odense, Denmark . Among the entries were Gati's "Flutey and the Knights," a pilot for a children's TV series ."
- MILLIMETER/SEPTEMBER 1981 http://www.vasulka.org/archive/RightsIntrvwInstitMediaPolicies/IntrvwInstitKaldron/PaintSystemsSurvey/DigiArt.pdf
"Fast Action For Action Productions
There's a new production company in town called Action Productions, at 16 W. 46 St., 391-2747.
Jerry Brownstein is the production manager.: John Gati, stop motion/special effects; Hal Lipman, Director; Arlene Sang, Representative and Fay Spinelli the General Manager.
If the names sound familiar to you, it's because just last month you probably were calling most of them at Directors Group where you will still find John Ercole and his prod mgr. Jim Allen
There'll be some additions made officially at Director's Group in the near future."
- Back Stage, Nov 14, 1975
"John Gati, Director of Special Effects for Action Productions, is on camera shooting a special effects sequence of merging water droplets for Phillips' Milk of Magnesia's "Lively People" TV commercial. At far left, Anestos Tritchonis, Art Director/Producer from Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample, supervised."
- Back Stage, (Mar 26, 1976)
Action Productions President Jerry Brownstein recently prepared his children, Lisa & Karen for their first TV spot. Agency was ITAG Adv.. Mexico City for Del-Campo Chocolates. Agency producer, Matthew Rusti, Director, Hal Lipman and special effects, John Gati.
- Backstage, Oct 7, 1977
"Real 'Stop Action' Takes Weeks of Work
John Gati of Action Productions recently moved to 14 East 39 St., just completed a true stop action commercial for People's National Bank & Trust Co.
Using space models and a special landscape which he designed and built, Mr. Gati completed the commercial in two weeks. Yes that's how long it takes Mr. Gati and his crew of four people to do a real stop action commercial, moving models bit by bit, fraction by fraction.
Agency was Stockwell Marcuse, with Paige C. Curtis, as creative director., Wolf Brucker, Art director., Tom Gibson, account exec. Jerry Brownstein was producer for Action Productions."
- Back Stage, (Jan 23, 1981)
"From (Beck) Underwood: My only formal training in stop motion was in a class at SVA, taught by old school animator John Gati. I modified a porcelain doll into my first animation puppet. The resulting film, That Creepy Old Doll was completed in 1998 and shot on 16mm film. This short travelled to festivals around the world."
- http://glasseyepix.com/new-in-the-cinezone-beck-underwoods-creepy-old-doll-trilogy/
"In the area of object and figure animation and stop motion, John Gati, the Director of Special Effects, for Action Pictures in New York is unsurpassed. John has been working at his craft for 26 years and has won many awards for technique and innovation.
The art of Object and Figure Animation requires enormous craftsmanship. Basically, it resembles conventional (drawn) animation in that it follows the rule of “creating the movement” by the process of frame by frame photography. But as opposed to eel animation, which occurs on a two dimensional (acetate) surface, Object Animation is similar to live action photography taking place in a three-dimensional area.
John Gati’s creations succeed in making the product itself (the object) become the hero of the commercial, which is one of the basic tenets of good “sell” advertising. Complicated rigs and special dimensional lighting are required to make this form of animation truly work. It requires enormous intricacy to sustain the fantasy of “life” for these objects. John works with such materials as foams, wires, rubbers, vinyls, plastics, silks, clays and waxes to create the illusion of “reality.” Working in the tradition of the great artists and artisans of the past, John — like McLaren and Trnka and Geesink — has created a wondrous world of living and moving objects that reflect a “life all their own. Among his most recent successes are Fleischman’s “Egg Beaters” and Speidel’s “Faces In the Watch-bands. ”
created by John Gati of Action Pictures."
- Arthur Ross, Millimeter, 1977, http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=2293
"The result of a twelve week course in stop motion animation at The School of Visual Arts, "(That) Creepy (Old Doll)" is my first 16mm animated film. My instructor, John Gati, provided me with an amazing introduction to the painstaking discipline of stop motion animation. With the help of a little aluminum wire and a lot of patience, I was able to bring to life a few members of my collection of antique dolls and props, as well as create a fantastic little puppet character named Jasper."
-Beck Underwood, http://www.zuzu.org/jasper.html
"SVA, 1993-1996. My personal story with character animation was like a magic dream. I came to America in 1993, and it was a dream come true that I met Mr. John Gati in SVA animation masters class. He loved his class, and I learned so much from him; not only technique and skill, but how to work from the heart to make beautiful characters."
- Miwha Lee, https://www.linkedin.com/in/miwha-lee-56a39659/
"Back in the days when I was scouting New York for any possible job in the animation industry, my love of puppet animation came to the rescue.
Through ASIFA East I’d met John Gati and had talked with him through many trips on the subway (we both lived in Queens at the time), about 3D animation. John made his living with model animation for commercials, though his love was full-out puppets. At a dry time for me, he offered 2-3 days work helping him on a commercial spot for Care*Free Sugarless gum.
The Care*Free gum had to undress itself (take off the wrapper) and jump on a scale. Trident gum, did the same on the other end of the scale. Which weighed more? Care*Free, of course.
I prepared the packaged gum, wired it up for 3D movement and helped in the shoot. Just as we were completing the spot, word came down that Trident was changing its package. We had to do the spot again. Another two days of work for me.
Midweek, another spot started on the other side of the studio (a large open room with a lot of cameras, movieolas and equipment. Lou Bunin had just started animating a Lucky Charms commercial with a puppet elf. This was a test commercial General Mills wanted to view to see how the character worked in 3D. (Obviously, they didn’t do the change.)
For a couple of days, I got to watch and talk with Lou seeing how real characters were animated. It was memorable for me, a neophyte in love with all things animated."
- Michael Sporn, http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=530
" Effects 1969
16mm, color, sound, 2 min
JOHN GATI
A two minute film-study made by the most recent optical-light-shapes technique as art-form. This study also includes techniques of reflected, projected and time-lapse phototgraphed images. All of them designed, built and photographed by John Gati.–J. G.
"This short production is a fine example of an area of creative art on film done without paint pots or paint brushes.
"EFFECTS is a two-minute short, without story content. It is true to its title: EFFECTS... it is abstract forms in constant interplay of rhythmic patterns and radiant colors with an occasional flow-through of a live human form."–Op Cel"
"Emotions At Sunset 1973
16mm, color, sound, 5 min
JOHN GATI
By form, this film is an experiment of mixed cine media. The fusion of live action with abstract self-animated motions, special effects and symbolic scenes. By content, the film's main thought is about happiness. The plot is divided in three parts: illusion, disillision and reality. An experiment of style, where the mixing and super-position of live action with abstract and symbolic animation as emotive expressions obtained successful results.–J. G."
- https://film-makerscoop.com/filmmakers/john-gati
"My name is Leslie Bubik Jr. My mom has a sister Edith and Edith married John Gati. An animator, in New York who over time became a very good Animator, I was told. Edith married a Jew and My mom married a Catholic and that is how I have Jewish cousins and relatives, also in New York.
I wish I could find an animator for my software at www.doltware.com My uncle is gone not but he will a well known animator. And He would have done it for me for free. He died a number of years ago. His name was John Gati, in New York. He told me a very interesting story. There was a kid who wanted my Uncle to see his work and he has no idea why it was him this kid kept bugging. My Uncle told me that this kid was persistent and was waiting outside one of his classes as He was also teaching at Cornell University. So my Uncle had a little time and saw this kids stuff. My Uncle was astonished how good it really was. And He is sure that it was not because of him that the kid went forward but it was my Uncles advice that made this kid very happy. Who was the kid??? Spielberg!!! Perhaps Spielberg could help me make a convincing video to help sell my software. Perhaps you know someone who can help me. Interesting true story, I wonder if Spielberg would remember my uncle?"
-Comment from http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.com/2007/02/mickey-mystery.html
"John Gati, Hungarian Film producer and director. Member International Animation Film Association (program director since 1982, journalist festivals since 1980). Born October 6, 1927 Budapest, Hungary. Died July 30, 2002 (aged 74)"
- https://prabook.com/web/john.gati/240912
"GATI-John. Passed away at 7:30PM on Tuesday, July 30, 2002. He was 74 years old. His wife Edith, his sons Paul (a violinist) and William E. (an architect) survive him. He was a violinist, photographer, Holocaust survivor, motion picture producer, director, cinematographer, professor and a great human being. He loved unconditionally and was greatly loved. He felt his greatest achievement was his family and he was a loving and dedicated father and husband.
GATI-John (Janos). The members of the Hungarian Feszek Club mourn the passing of the President of our Board of Directors. He was a respected leader for the Club's goals and ideas."
- New York Times, August 2, 2002, https://web.archive.org/web/20150922145828fw_/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/02/classified/paid-notice-deaths-gati-john.html
No comments:
Post a Comment