Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus Hosts
Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Film Animation Salon

Brooklyn, N.Y. — With the upcoming fourth annual Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Animation Salon, Square Footage Animation Collective, a group of eleven animators, will showcase their work at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus.

Hosted by the Campus’s Media Arts Department, the event will take place on Thursday, May 6 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Spike Lee Screening Room. The suggested donation is $3; students and senior citizens, free.

The group has produced their own DVD, "Avoid Eye Contact," featuring the best of New York City animation from the last decade.  Included are legendary animators such as George Griffin and Academy Award nominees Bill Plympton and John Dilworth. These masters are accompanied by industry heavyweights such as John Schnall and Patrick Smith, and the latest up-and-coming animators like Mike Overbeck and Jesse Schmal.

Their DVD contains 17 short films and behind-the-scenes commentary from each artist, giving rare insight into the artist's thoughts and methods. The animators’ work is primarily in 2-D technique, with some using computer colorization. There are also several computer-based and 3-D shorts. 

At a time when the big studios are abandoning traditional animation, these New York urban animators have a clear vision of where it’s going.   Square Footage plans to produce a series of animation DVDs and their Web site (www.squarefootagefilms.com) features information on the individual animators and their work, reviews, artist photos and animation stills.

In addition to screening their work at the salon, the animators will discuss their production techniques and histories, and share their personal stories about how they have carved out careers for themselves in animation.  

 The Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Film Salon series is aimed at promoting intergenerational learning and cultural exchange, media literacy and awareness of career opportunities in the film industry.

For more information, call Rodney Hurley at (718) 488-1052.

Long Island University opened its Brooklyn Campus in 1926, welcoming a diverse population at a time when other major universities enforced quota systems against racial and ethnic minorities. Some 30,000 students currently are enrolled at the university’s three residential and three regional campuses, including more than 11,000 at the Brooklyn Campus. Located at the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, the Campus is accessible to all major bus and subway routes and the Long Island Rail Road.