''Voices'' is a 1985 four-minute

16 mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

directed produced and animated by

Joanna Priestley Joanna Priestley (born November 25, 1950) is an American contemporary film director, producer, animator and teacher. Her films are in the collections of the Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Priestley ...

with sound design and production by R. Dennis Wiancko. It was made with ink, watercolor, and pastel drawings/paintings on paper (index cards).

Synopsis

''Voices'' is an exploration of fear of the dark, old age, obesity, monsters, and global destruction. According to Northwest Film and Video Festival juror Marv Newland, "Priestley gets across a series of personal phobias in a refreshing and humorous fashion. We get a superb, contemporary animated film with salutes to historical cartoon figures scattered throughout." Ed Emshwiller described the film as "showing great joy and delight in being alive" and a "message with style".

Production

Priestley began work on ''Voices'' in Portland, Oregon, in spring 1983, after completing ''The Rubber Stamp Film''. She wrote the script, rehearsed it and hired cinematographer Jan Baross to shoot the live-action 16 mm footage that was used for rotoscoping. In September 1983, Priestley moved to Valencia, California, to attend California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where she was the teaching assistant to Jules Engel, head of the Experimental Animation Department. ''Voices'' became one of three films, along with ''Jade Leaf'' (the first computer film made at CalArts) and ''The Dancing Bulrushes'' (co-directed by

Steven Subotnick Steven Subotnick is an animation teacher and award-winning independent animator. He received a BFA in Film from UCLA. He later received an MFA in Experimental Animation from California Institute of the Arts. While at CalArts, he was mentored under ...

), that were presented at Priestley's thesis review. She received an MFA in Experimental Animation and the Louis B. Mayer Award. Priestley used pencil, India ink, felt pens, watercolors, and gouache on index cards to animate ''Voices''. The movie was made over a three-year period. The index cards were shot on 16 mm film (Kodak ECO stock) with an old Bolex camera that was purchased at a flea market. Priestley used a simple, homemade animation stand that was a gift from Portland filmmaker

Jim Blashfield Jim Blashfield (born September 4, 1944, Seattle, Washington) is an American filmmaker and media artist, best known for his short films such as ''Suspicious Circumstances'' and ''The Mid-Torso of Inez'', and his music videos for musicians Talking He ...

Soundtrack

R. Dennis Wiancko created the soundtrack for ''Voices'' by using music clips and homemade sound effects. For the squeaky sounds when the cat rubs its tail came from manipulating a rubber suction device in a snakebite kit. Wiancko collected source material with a Tascam stereo cassette recorder and layered the sound master together on a quarter-inch open reel recorder.

Release

''Voices'' was released in 1985 and premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The film was re-released on DVD in 2006 by Microcinema International. ''Voices'' was screened in many retrospectives of Priestley's works, including at

REDCAT Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts center for innovative visual, performing and media arts in downtown Los Angeles, located inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. Opened in November 2003 ...

in Los Angeles in April 2009, Stuttgart International Animation Festival and British Film Institute (BFI) National Film Theatre in May 2017, Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 18, 2019, and Fantoche International Animation Festival (Baden, Switzerland) on September 3, 2019.

Awards

*National Independent Film Competition: First Place (US) *National Educational Film Festival: First Place (US) *Odense International Film Festival: Special Jury Prize (Denmark) *Algarve Cinema Festival: Best Animated Film (Portugal) *Tel Aviv International Film Festival: First Place (US) *Big Muddy Film Festival: Best of Festival (US) *Canadian International Animation Festival: Special Merit Award (US) *Northwest Film and Video Festival: Best of Festival (US) *CINE Competition: Gold Eagle Award (US) *Chicago International Film Festival: Bronze Hugo Award (US) *USA Film Festival: Finalist (US) *Sinking Creek Film Festival: Cash Award Winner (US)

Film festivals

*Telluride Film Festival (Colorado, US) *Hiroshima International Animation Festival (Japan) *Zagreb International Animation Festival (Croatia) *Hong Kong International Film Festival (China) *Los Angeles International Animation Celebration (US) *Denver International Film Festival (US) *Olympia Film Festival (US) *Black Maria Film Festival (US) *Stuttgart International Animation Festival (Germany) *Films des Femmes: Festival International de Créteil (France) *San Francisco International Film Festival (US) *Montreal International Women's Film Festival (Canada) *New York Filmmaker's Expo (US) *Bumbershoot Film Festival (US) *Flaherty Film Seminar (US) *Womanimation! Film Festival (US) *Big Cartoon Festival (Moscow, Russia)

Touring programs

*The Festival of Animation (US) *Black Maria Film Festival Tour (US) *Northwest Film Festival Tour (US)

References

External links

''Voices''
at the Internet Movie Database {{Subject bar , portal1= Film , portal2= Visual arts 1983 films 1983 animated films 1980s American animated films 1980s animated short films American animated short films Films directed by Joanna Priestley 1980s English-language films English-language short films