What performance art companies like New York's Wooster Group did to create a forum for unusual stage talents like Spalding Gray, The Sprocket Ensemble project attempts to do for the rich new talents of independent filmmakers and animators. A collaborative performing arts endeavor between composer/performers of live music and directors of short film and animation, The Sprocket Ensemble liberates the excitement of live concert performance to create a new milieu for the appreciation of diverse new forms and talents in the cultural development of American film. The Sprocket Ensemble's collaborative series of screenings set to original live musical performance is entitled Ideas in Animation.

Links to Films with Nik's Music

Click the links to see these wonderful films by two very talented filmmaker friends

Nina Paley's Fetch!

****Nina's new feature film Sita Sings the Blues, which uses some of my music, is now out and is appearing at film festivals - Berlin, Tribeca, Trickfilm (Stuttgart) and Annecy among others. See Nina talking about her work and Sita here ****

Boobie Girl by Brooke Keesling

Workshops and Lectures

An important facet of the Ideas in Animation project is Nik's committment to exploring the important relationship between animation and music through involvement with festivals, and with educational and civic institutions, in giving informative and entertaining talks and workshops.

I will be at the 2008 Trickfilm Festival in Stuttgart talking and screening films on Saturday, 3 May at theater Metropole 3. This will be an in depth look at the use of music and of the various working relationships between directors and composers of nine short animated films made between 1929 and 2002. This type of workshop is becoming popular at festivals, with a great response from animation professionals and animation enthusiasts alike!

After Stuttgart, I will be going to Lisbon for the Monstra Festival to give music workshops on creating music for film and on accompanying films live. This is quite popular with students and young musicians, but is open to interested participants of any age.

Coming soon! - Annecy Plus 4

Friday 13 June, 2008
8 p.m. – Music & Films begin at dusk
Le Venitien Bar and Lounge, Square de l’ Eveche
(by the canal, less than 500 meters from the Bonlieu)

Annecy Plus  has rapidly becoming a real crowd pleaser full of fun, fun, fun  so be sure to save Friday evening  13 June  for animation surprises, music and a drink or two with your fellow animators.

For additional information , contact: 
Nancy Denney-Phelps, at nik at niksprocket dot org
or leave a message in my  mail box at the festival press desk.

Annecy Plus 3

Friday 15 June, 2007

This year Annecy Plus3 moved to a  new home at Le Venitien Bar and Lounge on the Square de l’ Eveche. 

Bill Plympton, mastermind of Annecy Plus, was not at the Festival this year, since he was hard at work on his new feature length film Idiots & Angels, but he entrusted the preparation and programming to Nancy Denney-Phelps, producer of music for animation, journalist and member of the ASIFA International Board.  Nancy put togethere an evening packed full of fabulous animation from the absurd to the sublime, with something to delight everyone.

The evening opened with a special welcome recorded by Bill at his New York studio and ended with his new short film Shut Eye Hotel which Bill says “will do for sleeping what Jaws did to swimming”.

In between we took a ride on an airplane with a stewardess trying to satisfy a group of cranky passengers in Finish animator Ami Lindholm’s The Irresistible Smile, got the feminine point of view on sex from Signe Baumane in her highly acclaimed Teat Beat Of Sex and were treated to a new segment of Nina Paley’s work in progress feature length animation Sita Sings The Blues.  From the magical world of Serbian animator Rastko Ciric, we saw his Metamorph, and if one Ciric is good, then two is great, and his talented daughter Iva Ciric contributed her award winning Princess On The Wall. 

Back for their third year at Annecy Plus, Nik Phelps and the Annecy Sprocket Ensemble Band (Nik on reeds, Rolf Bächler on drums, and Jesper Fleng playing guitar) entertained the crowd before the show and during the intermission.  And again this year Jonas Raeber of Swamp Film Studio in Lucerne, Switzerland provided the high quality projection, and animator Jordie Doubt from Berne, Switzerland  created the graphics and  program  Special thanks goes to Stephane Vernay, owner of  the events and communication firm Sunset Evenements (Sunset Events ) in Annecy, for arranging our new location and handling details  prior to our arrival in town.   .