VIDEO ROUNDUP: Koji Yamamura, ‘Motown Magic,’ ‘Bird Karma’ And More

A round-up of recent video pieces, including animator interviews and behind-the-scenes looks at animated productions.

The Japanese arts program Toco Toco spent time with animator Koji Yamamura (Mt. Head, A Country Doctor):

After visiting his atelier, we will follow Yamamura in the Jiyugaoka area, where he set his atelier and opened the Au Praxinoscope store, which aspires to diffuse independent animation culture and sells dvds, books, and illustrations. As a professor at Tokyo Arts University, Yamamura was a founding member of the animation department where he supports post-graduate students in the creation of their worlds.

Netflix made a mini-doc Taking Up Space about how it is working to bring diverse voices to its animation production:

Representation is extremely important for young people, which is why shows like Motown Magic matter, and why black writers, animators, and voices behind the scenes are so very important. Here’s what it looks like when black folk come together to create beautiful animations and build each other up along the way.

A shot progression reel of the Oscar-contending Dreamworks hand-drawn short Bird Karma directed by William Salazar:

A behind-the-scenes look at the unique production process of Sam Gainsborough’s British student film Facing It, which combined clay animation with live actors. The National Film and Television School short won the student prize at Animafest Zagreb and the public prize at the Ottawa animation festival. It is currently nominated for an Annie Award for best student film:

A behind-the-scenes look at the production of Adult Swim’s new horror-comedy stop-motion series The Shivering Truth debuting on December 9.