Richard Reeves (animator)

Richard R. Reeves was born in Weymouth, England and has been living in Canada since 1960. He attended Sault College of Applied Arts & Technology, majoring in printmaking.

His early artwork explored painting, printmaking, photography, and music which led him to animate directly onto the filmstrip as a long and narrow canvas 'sound painting'. His début animation 'Linear Dreams' was produced by drawing both the sound and picture directly onto the film.

Reeves worked at Quickdraw Animation Society as Film Production Coordinator for many years. He also taught super8 and 16mm filmmaking at the Gulf Islands Film and Television School. He has mentored and provided workshops in many countries around the world.

He explores abstract animation as a visual music by drawing both sound and picture onto film. Richard has collaborated with artists for live performances involving dancing human projection screens, 16mm violin, interactive animation installations, online animation jams and large outdoor projections. He continues exploring film as a space time art form.

• 'Story from the Stone'

  1991 / 1 min. / 16mm,

  inspired by pictographs at Writing on Stone Park, pastel on paper.

• 'Major ReBeouf's Lost and Found Film'

  1992 / 3 min. / 16mm,

  mythological story, created specially for “Return to Exceptional Pass”, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff.

• 'Garbanzo'

  1993 / 2 min. / 16mm,

  abstract colors and forms to original jazz music, painted directly on to film.

• 'Zig Zag'

  1994 / 1 min. / 35mm,

  zig zag pictures dance to zig zag sounds, etched directly on to one piece of film.

• 'Linear Dreams'

  1997 / 7 min. 35mm,

  images from the minds eye, music from the minds ear, sound and picture drawn on film.

• 'Sea Song'

  1999 / 4 min. / 35mm,

  an animated look into the sparkling ocean at night, sound and picture drawn on film.

• 'CFMDC trailer'

  1999 / 30 sec. / 35mm,

  a trailer for the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre made by

  drawing both sound and picture directly onto motion picture film.

• '1:1'

  2001 / 2.5 min. / 35mm,

  exploring the one-to-one relationship between sound and picture as visual music.

• 'O.I.A.F. Signal Film'

  2002 / 24sec. / 35mm,

  cameraless animation film introducing the Ottawa International Animation Festival, including a live performance with four

  animators producing optical sound track to film at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa Canada.

• 'Element of Light'

  2004 / 4.5 min. / 35mm,

  inspired by the elements of nature.

• 'Aura'

  2006 / 2.5min./ 35mm,

  contemplation of aural and visual perceptions,

  commissioned work for the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto.

• 'Yarwood Trail'

  2009 / 4 min. / 35mm,

  inspired by the artwork of Walter Yarwood, sound and picture drawn onto film.

  commissioned work for the Toronto Animated Image Society commemorating the Painters 11.

• ‘Once Upon a Mountain’

  2014 / 3min / 16mm,

  based on true story of mountain climbing in the Canadian Rockies. animated watercolour paintings.

• 'Twilight'

  2018 / 2 min. / 35mm, handmade optical sounds and drawing onto film.

  inspired by the two lights (twi-light) found inside of film projectors.

• 'TV'

  2018 / 2 min. / 35mm, handmade optical sounds and drawing onto film.

  transformational vibrations: Inspirational mark making as a visual representation of handmade optical sounds.

• 'Four Elements of Change'

  2019 / 5.5min. / 16mm cameraless and 16mm black+white hand processed film,

  Four short films inspired by theme of climate change created for 'Shifting Ground', group exhibition at Langham Cultural Centre, Kaslo BC, Canada.

• 'Intersextion'(work in progress)

  2020 / 4min. / 35mm, handmade optical sounds and drawing onto film.

  two abstract energies fall in love, unite as one then disappear into a vanishing point.

• 'Birds' (work in progress)

  2020 / 1.5min. / 35mm, drawing sound and picture onto film.

  conceptual tone poem expressing thoughts of birds.

Collections of Film Prints :

• National Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa.
• National Film Board of Canada, Montreal.
• IOTA Centre for Visual Music, Los Angeles, CA USA.
• Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre.
• KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg e.V. , Germany.
• Cinematheque Quebecois, Montreal Canada.
• Newfoundland Filmmakers Coop, Canada.

• 2019 - Jury Stellar Award for Best Experimental Film : Black Maria Film Festival, USA.
• 2018 - Best Non Narrative Animation : GIRAF festival, Canada
• 2005 – Directors Choice Award : Black Maria Film Festival
• 2003 – Jury Citation Award : Black Maria Film Festival, USA
• 2001 – Award of Merit : Oberhausen Short Film Festival, Germany
• 2000 – Directors Choice Award : Black Maria Film Festival, USA
• 1998 – Best Canadian Animated Film : Ottawa International Animation Festival
• 1998 – Best Abstract Film : Zagreb International Animation Film Festival, Croatia
• 1998 – Jury Award : Brisbane International Animation Festival, Australia
• 1998 – Juror's Choice Award : Black Maria Film Festival, USA
• 1998 – Best Sound Design : Ann Arbor Experimental Film Festival, USA
• 1998 – Award of the Academy of Fine Art : University of Zagreb, Croatia
• 1998 – Award of the Artiria Gallery : Zagreb, Croatia
• 1998 – Award of Merit : San Francisco International film Festival
• 1998 – 2nd Prize Experimental Film : World Animation Celebration, USA
• 1997 – Best Canadian Short Film : Atlantic Film Festival
• 1997 – Best Experimental Film : Sea to Sky Film Festival, Canada
• 1997 – Best Animated Film : Victoria Independent Film Festival
• 1997 – Best Animated Film : Alberta Motion Picture Industry Awards

• Drawing for Animation : Paul Wells : Basics Animation 03, UK.
• The Animation Bible : Maureen Furniss : 2008 : ISBN 978-1-85669-550-3. pg.164-165, pg.176-179.
• Animania: 100 anni di esperimenti nel cinema di animazione. DiMarino, Bruno Author, Pesaro Italy.
• Take One Magazine : Experimental Film / summer 1999; Goslawski, Barbara critical review and interview.
• Animation as Music : pg.98 / 1999; Kreutz, Rune Animation Historian and Instructor, critical review, Hogskulen i Volda Norway.
• Frames per Second Magazine : issue 14 pg.29/ 1998 ; Robinson, Chris Artistic Director for the Ottawa International Animation Festival, critical review.
• The Film Strip Tells All: (Animation World Network) ; Dr. William Moritz, Animation Historian and Cal Arts Experimental Animation Instructor, https://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.6/3.6pages/3.6moritzfilms.html
• Recipes for Disaster : Helen Hill, http://www.filmlabs.org/docs/recipes_for_disaster_hill.pdf

website: * http://flickerfilms.ca/

• http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.6/3.6pages/3.6moritzfilms.html
• https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Animation_Bible.html?id=gncWAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y

*http://www.filmlabs.org/docs/recipes_for_disaster_hill.pdf