Behind the Scenes of Netflix's 'Canvas', 'Cops and Robbers' and 'If Anything Happens I Love You'

NOTE: Watch this session on our VIEW 2020 On-Demand Portal.

Behind the Scenes of Netflix’s Canvas, Cops and Robbers and If Anything Happens I Love You

Friday, January 15th, 2021 (10am PST / 6pm UK / 19:00 CET). Click here to register for free to participate.

Featuring directors and producer:
Moderator: Ramin Zahed, Editor-in-Chief Animation Magazine 
Go Behind the Scenes of Netflix's First Three Animated Shorts. A great story can come in any size, shape or length. In Fall 2020 Netflix introduced its first three animated short films, each bringing a unique social action story and diverse animation technique:
  • If Anything Happens I Love You (now on Netflix), an elegy on grief that became a TikTok sensation, directed by Will McCormack and Michael Govier;
  • Canvas (now on Netflix), a personal passion project of 5 years directed by Frank E. Abney III and produced by Paige Johnstone;
  • Cops and Robbers (now on Netflix), directed by Arnon Manor and Timothy Ware-Hill and written and performed by Ware-Hill in response to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery (based on the poem in this script).

 

Frank E. Abney III is a California native who grew up with a passion for storytelling, drawing and movies. After graduating from The Art Institute of California - San Francisco, he began working as an animator on game, film and TV projects like Tomb Raider, Disney’s Oscar-winning Frozen and Big Hero 6 and DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 3 and The Boss Baby. He then joined the team at Pixar, where he has collaborated on Coco, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, and Soul. Abney recently executive produced Sony Picture Animation’s Academy Award-winning short Hair Love with Issa Rae, and is currently directing an animated feature film at Netflix.

Paige Johnstone has worked in animation since 2015 with production credits on Academy Award winning and nominated films from DreamWorks Animation and Pixar. As a producer, she focuses on creating meaningful content that can inspire others to see themselves on screen and behind the lens. In addition to working on Pixar’s Coco, Soul and the upcoming Luca, Johnstone has produced the animated short film, "Canvas".

Timothy Ware-Hill is a native of Montgomery, AL, where he received a BA in Theater Arts from Alabama State University. From there, he was accepted into the UCLA MFA Acting Program. Most of his career has been as an actor in film/tv and Broadway. He recently received an MFA in Screenwriting from National University. Ware-Hill is a 2nd Place Winner in the 2020 CineStory Foundation Feature Fellowship, and a Semifinalist in the 2020 Academy Nicholl’s Fellowship, for his feature screenplay, Tyrone and The Looking Glass.

Arnon Manor is an independent filmmaker, writer, producer, and director. His recent credits include producing and directing the indie web-series, Mondays. Arnon grew up in Europe, where he started his career as a CG animator and visual effects artist, then moved to the US where he has continued to create and oversee the visual effects on countless features as an artist, supervisor, producer and studio executive. His range of visual effects credits include comedies such as This is the End, The Interview, 21Jump Street, action such as Captain Phillips, Fury, The Equalizer, and CG hybrid-animated movies such as Stuart Little 2, Garfield and Peter Rabbit.

Will McCormack & Michael Govier are making their directorial debut with, “If Anything Happens I Love You”.  McCormack and Govier are producers, writers, actors and directors.  McCormack wrote “Toy Story 4” and “Celeste and Jesse Forever”.  Govier has written multiple short films, plays and performed on tv and commercials.

Ramin Zahed is Editor in Chief of Animation Magazine.