Monday Vide: The Ant & The Grasshopper

In case you missed it this weekend, here's the piece we did for Need to Know on PBS with the great cartoonist Roz Chast.

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

So, I'm a little miffed they did that bizarre letterboxing.  We're usually pretty diligent about PBS deliverables.  In the rush of the production we worked to HD 1920x1080 standards -forgetting that PBS sometimes requires titles be 4:3 NTSC safe (which is about 1/4 of the screen tighter on all sides).

When we got the specs -on the day of delivery -it asked for "all animation" within NTSC 4:3 action safe.  I'm hoping that they just meant type within NTSC title safety and reduced the piece to meet those standards.  That's a drag, but at least makes sense.

Here's the proper full frame.




Anyway, other than the tech issue, the gang at PBS was exceeding receptive and upbeat about this piece. The writing and voice are great, but I see it and just think about how good it could be with adequate resources.

Programming Alert

We're scheduled to have bit on "Need To Know" on PBS tonight.

This one is with the great Roz Chast.  It's 1:45 and we made in less than a week.

Don't expect great animation -though there are some nice bits of AfterEffects/cut out animation -but the story is funny and Roz' voice is terrific.

Record Session

Had a quick record session yesterday at Channel 13.

The great New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast came in to narrate a little piece we're doing together with Gail Levin for PBS.

That's Gail on the left and Roz on the right.