Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis facts for kids

Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis are a Canadian animation team. They are famous for making animated short films. They have been nominated for an Oscar three times! Their films are often made with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

Their film Wild Life (2011) earned them an Oscar nomination in 2012. More recently, their film The Flying Sailor (2022) won several awards. It was even nominated for an Oscar in 2023 for Best Animated Short Film.

Their Animation Journey

Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis both grew up in Alberta, Canada. They first met in Vancouver at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. This is where they studied art and design.

In 2003, they moved to Calgary, Alberta. Besides their work with the NFB, they also create animations for other projects. For example, their advertisement for United Airlines, called Interview, was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2004.

In 2007, they started their own film festival. It's called the Bleak Midwinter Film Festival. It takes place in their home neighborhood of Inglewood, Calgary. In 2018, they received the Winsor McCay Award from ASIFA. This award celebrates their amazing contributions to animation.

Films They Made

Wendy and Amanda have written and directed many short films. Here are some of their most well-known works:

• Tables of Content (1986) – Wendy Tilby
• Strings (1991) – Wendy Tilby
• When the Day Breaks (1999) – Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis
• Wild Life (2011) – Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis
• The Flying Sailor (2022) – Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis

They have also worked on other animation projects for the National Film Board of Canada.

Awards and Recognitions

Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis have won many awards for their films.

Their 1999 NFB film When the Day Breaks was nominated for an Oscar. It also won Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival. Plus, it received the Canadian Screen Award for Best Animated Short and a top prize at the World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb.

Wendy Tilby was also nominated for an Oscar for her 1991 NFB short film Strings.

Their latest film, The Flying Sailor (2022), has also won many awards. It premiered at the Annecy Animation Festival. It won Best Canadian Film at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. It also won Best Animation at the New York City Short Film Festival. This film was even chosen for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

About Wendy and Amanda

Wendy Tilby

Wendy Tilby was born in 1960 in Edmonton, Alberta. She studied art and literature before going to the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. There, she focused on film and animation.

Her student film, Tables of Content, was very successful. This led her to join the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal. Her first film, Strings (1991), won many international awards. These included an Oscar nomination and a Genie Award. Wendy has also taught animation at universities like Concordia University and Harvard.

Amanda Forbis

Amanda Forbis was born in Calgary, Alberta, in 1963. She studied theater and fine art before attending the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. She focused on film, video, and animation there.

In 1990, she joined the National Film Board of Canada in Vancouver. She worked as an animation director on an educational film. Amanda has also taught art at the Arts Umbrella Children's Art Centre. She has led many animation workshops for kids.

How They Make Animations

Wendy and Amanda use different and interesting ways to create their animated films.

Strings

This film was made by Wendy Tilby alone. She used a special method of painting on frosted glass. She worked directly under an animation camera. She would apply, move, and remove colored paints on the glass for each frame. After taking a picture, she would change the image for the next frame.

Wendy used a stylus to scratch details into the paint for faces and body language. She also used her fingers, Q-tips, and tissues to move the paint around. This method means she erases the old work as she goes. This helps her keep moving forward with the film.

When the Day Breaks

For this film, Wendy and Amanda tried many new ideas. They found a video printer that could print video frames onto special paper. They would film themselves and friends with a camera. Then, they printed selected frames and photocopied them.

After that, they drew directly onto the photocopies with pencils and oil sticks. They turned people into animal characters and added animation. All these images were then filmed again with a special camera. Even though this technique was meant to save time, the film still took about four years to finish!

Wild Life

For Wild Life, Wendy and Amanda wanted a technique that didn't need them to hand-paint every single frame. They hoped to use computers more. However, they found that computer drawings didn't give the look they wanted. They realized only real paint could create the right style.

They chose a type of paint called gouache because it's very flexible. They aimed for a rough, folk art style. They did use computers a lot for animation, putting different parts together, and editing. Because they worked on Wild Life part-time, it took them six to seven years to complete.

The Flying Sailor

This short film was co-directed by both Wendy and Amanda. It combines different animation styles. They used 2D hand-drawn animation, 3D computer animation, and even live-action footage.

They decided to use 3D animation to show an exploding city. This was a challenge because they usually focus on traditional 2D animation. They worked with a 3D artist to create a virtual model of Halifax in 1917. Wendy and Amanda then created painted "skins" to cover everything. They wanted it to look like a tiny model train set combined with an old hand-tinted postcard.

They put everything together using computer animation, stock footage, and hand-painted parts. This process was very experimental and more complex than they first thought.

See also

In Spanish: Wendy Tilby y Amanda Forbis para niños