" An amazing coincidence in Madrid " Part 2 - Manchester

return tickets to Manchester

Liz is particular helpful in giving me all the details in regards to how to get to their studio from London. She sent me all the relevant diagrams and maps together with very clear instructions. It is completely idiot proof (good for me~)

Manchester Piccadilly station

This is by far the most spontaneous adventure I have ever done, and I am glad that I decided to go for this trip, at least now I can write a story about it…haha!

On that foggy Friday, i woke up at 8:15am in the morning and took the 9:38am train from Euston to the Manchester Piccadilly station.

view from my train window

that's me enjoying the ride!! The seats are very comfy~

city of Manchester

I arrived Manchester at 1:00pm and then I took the metrolink (the tram) to the navigation road station. From there, I walked 20 minutes to the studio of Hot animation.

outside the studio

Liz Whitaker - the director of Bob the builder and Pingu, she is super nice to me. I didn’t remember her face much, as it was so dark when I met her in the festival car that night back in Madrid. She got crystal blue eyes and long red hair. She reminded me of Meryl Streep and Kd Lang mix together. She did have a bit of an ascent, and from what I found out, she was originally from Newcastle.

Liz first showed me her office, which looked like a Kindergarden classroom, with a barrier inserted at the door, which is to stop her two big dogs from jumping out of her office. We sat down and began to talk. I really wanted to know more about her. She told me that she started off from Art school doing painting, after graduation, she did a 3 years course in animation. During the course, she learnt and tried out different kinds of animation. Amongst all the different animation genres, she loves stop motion animation the most. Since graduation, she has always been working. Most of her works are very hands on, not computer generated at all… making props, costumes for fashion figures, character models…she also worked in Amsterdam for a while on an animation series, after that job, she was employed full time at Hot Animation as a full time director. So far, she has been animating for more than 20 years.

Liz's autograph in my Animadrid Catalogue

I have prepared a lot for this visit, I bought a Bob the Builder Dvd and a Pingu Dvd for her to sign...and of course the big Animadrid catalogue. I’ve also gave her my films DVD and also some souvenirs from Hong Kong. I am glad that Mum picked up some gifts with me to give out to some very nice people that I met during this trip!

my two signed DVDs

She started showing me every part of the studio, and explaining to me the whole production process of the two animated series, starting from story creation, scripting writing, lip sync breakdown, storyboarding, art direction, puppets making....etc.

She took me to all the sets, and showed me all the props and puppets of Bob the Builder and Pingu, not only that I get to see the puppets, she even let me touch them , move them and feel the joints and skeleton of all the puppets!! I GET TO SEE HOW THE ANIMATORS WORK, and I get to ask them very practical and technical questions That is very good for me as I can really learn something from it!! All the puppets are kept in a very organized way, especially for the Pingu series, as the character in every frame of the animated movement is actually a separate model. So for example for a 6 frame jump movement, there will be 6 Pingu models. This style of animation is called “Replacement Animation”.

Pingu go fishing

The studio space is huge and there are around 75 people working there. (they will hire freelance animators when needed) I get to see all their cameras and motion control rigs, which is also memorable. I have wrote down a lot of questions for Liz and all her answers are very inspiring!

During the whole tour, animators will buzz Liz on her walkie talkie to check up on their shots, and we will rush to their set and watch the playback! Liz will give some feedbacks to them and we will move on to the next stage. Geez…that REALLY is the ultimate studio tour experience! In each set, Liz will explain certain aspect of the show, like the props, the sets or the models. For their productions, they are still taking every frame with a 16mm film camera, They will then take it to telecine and convert it back to a digiBETA master for editing and post production. I asked them why not shooting it in digital (like in the recent film Corpse Bride) is to ensure enough video resolution for the end product. But she did mention to me that they might be moving to HD resolution in the future.

This tour has really changed my view in stop motion animation . After I have touched and played with the models, I find that doing stop motion animation is actually quite fun!! And the feeling of accomplishment after finishing a shot would be much more than when I animate in COMPUTER GRAPHICS, because you are animating a real object!

Bob the Builder's Mambo Number 5~

This paragraph is for Rob -
One of the interesting places that she showed me was the sound department, they do all their sound works in-house and guess how many people works there?.....just two girls, and they basically do everything: foley, sound editing, dialogue recording, sound design, and temp mix, their gear is top notch, they are using pro tools HD and got a mixing console, foley suite, recording studio and all that!!

I was telling Liz how there are no claymation or stop motion animation industry in Asia and that is good for them because Asia don't have the talents to do it yet, so they are pretty much safe from the whole globalization trend where all the massive production are shifting to the international factory - China! I got a feeling that all the animators that works there are all very hands on and don’t like depending on 3d or any kinds computer graphics animations...haha!!

It took Liz 3 hours to show me around and she told me that she don’t usually give visitors a tour, it’s the producer that would normally do it, so that was really a special privilege for me and I am thankful for that.

on my way back to the Navigation Road tram station (manchester)

I leave their studio at 5pm. We say goodbye and gave each other one big hug!! Then…I looked at my watch…..geez..i got to run to catch my train!! So I rush back to the train station and had my 2 hours train ride back to london....after the whole day....i was just completely smashed!! For the whole day, I’ve only had a burger and some fries in the train ride back home ….but WOW…

what a day!


I would never have all these experience if I didn't get in that festival car that night or talking with the Croatian Couple the following day in Madrid.

Sonja & David, you guys are my lucky star, thankyou!

~ The End ~

" An amazing coincidence in Madrid " Part 1 - Madrid

the story of meeting Liz Whitaker (the director of Bob the Builder
....not Thomas the tank...haha!! Similar style i agree) is a complete conincidence!

Bob the Builder



opening sequence of Bob the Builder

Pingu

"Eskimo Disco 7 - 11"
that they have just finished a music video featuring Pingu , very nice!

i was in madrid attending the festival, and the final night of the festival, We (guests) were put into the festival car that takes us to the venue!...some one at the back was screaming ...

" who is that gentlemen sitting in the front? ".some drunk lady was asking me.

I briefly introduced myself " Hi, my name is Thomas Leung and I am from Hong Kong, I am here with my film .... and Sonja (the nice croatian animator) added " Sukki's Story is his film " and "she just said " I am Liz, nice to meet you! "

the remaining journey was really short and the rest of the conversation was this girl asking the german guy sitting with us in the car if he is making lots of money, a very good life and stuff like that. I never know who she is, what she does and how she looks.

when we get out of the car, that girl was already gone~

the day after, i was about to check out of the hotel and was having this converation with the nice croatian couple! during our conversation, i realize that the girl from last night was - THE director!!I feel that i missed one great chance to chat with her during the festival, and i should have ask her questions about her works! they encouraged me to contact her while I was in London, and i thought....why not!

the last day when I was at the airport, I just email Liz with her email address from the festival catalogue.

the following day, I was already in London, online in an internet cafe at OXFORD street, i got Liz's reply!! that was really one of the best emails that i received lately!!

" Hello Thomas,

I'm more than happy to talk with you, however, our studios aren't actually located in London but in Manchester. If you would like to visit our studio then you can get a train from Euston station (in London) to Manchester Piccadilly, it's about a 3 hour journey, then a tram to Altrincham.

It would be easier for us if you came on Thursday or Friday this week, I'm afraid I would only be able to spare you a couple of hours as I'm starting a new episode of Bob and so am busy but your welcome to look round the studio and meet Bob and Pingu!! If you'd like to come let me know and I will send you more details of how to get here.

Cheers liz x "

i thought...3 hours is nothing! I sure can go back and fourth manchester in a day! And, it will be a cool adventure story to tell you guys! So, i go crazy googling and planned my whole trip in an hour! the day after, i went to Euston Station to get my train ticket and everything was ready to go!!

--------------- to be continued -------------------

RECAP #3 a nice walk in Madrid City~

one of my best tip for all you world travelers is to buy a book about the place that you are going! When I was planning my trip, my Dad said...." you are only going for a short time, and you don't need to buy a book ", lucky that I didn't listen to him! At least, with the book, i got the map of the train and a few articles about where is where, which is the most famous tourist spots and stuff!!

my book is pretty good and they even have a recommended traveling route, and i followed!

these nice buildings are everywhere in Madrid, which is a photographer's heaven!!

while I was walking in the city, it was just a mater of changing lenses for my camera, lucky that i brought my fish eye lens as it gives some interesting perspective to my shots!

this is the plaza MAJOR, beautiful place, and there are a lot of restaurants next to the corridors of ths square. But since most of the restaurants' menus are in spanish only, i picked the one that has English~ And for your information, the most famous food in Spain is called Jaemon, which is a special kind of ham, quite nice, and I enjoyed it!

it is good to be travelling on your own, you get to control your own pace! but one day, I will be travelling with a couple of best friends~


this is the statue in the middle of plaza major~

a panorama shot of plaza major (created with autostitch) -free shareware for PCs, let me know if you want it. All you have to do is to shoot the whole panorama environment, with a few overlaping area. All you have to do is to import the photos in the program and it will does it all!

my first meal in the city - scramble eggs with mushroom and garlic vegetable soup

RECAP #2 " ANIMADRID is huge!! "

this is the main festival venue - MIRA TEATRO, my film had a screening there on the 1 Oct at night at 7:00pm. This really is a huge exhibition space. It features a lot of exhibitions and one of them is a model exhibition featuring a Spanish claymator Pablo Llorens. As we progress in this blog, i will talk more about some big findings on claymation from me.

Back to this screening venue, it is around 20 minutes walk from my hotel, and there is also a free shuttle bus that go back and fourth to this venue. But it's really a nice walk....especially at night, not scary at all!

I didn't realize that it is such a big event in Madrid, they have festival cars to bring guest (me) to the screening venues.


and there are signs hanged all around the Ponzuelo area!


i just love to see my shadow in different parts of the world


this is my festival gear - a festival pass with my photo (right), a lot of complimentary tickets (left), a big festival catalogue (i got 3 of them, one for Rob, one for me and one for getting autographs from fellow animators!)

this is the dining room that we have our free dinner in the hotel, it was always empty....but it gets busier when a screening ends. I did meet a few good friends here! But when no one's around, it is a bit scary, if you have watched (the shining - dir: Stanley Kubrick) where they have this empty ball room in the hotel, well, i kinda feel like i am there~


foodwise, not that great...for a food picky freak like me....this garden salad is probably the most disgusting food i have ever had.

after i had my first dinner, i went back to the screening venue to watch some selected oscars shortfilm winners, here is the list of some of my all time favourites:

- the Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation [dir: J. Canemaker]
- Father and daughter [dir: M.Dudok de Wit]
- The ChubbChubbs [dir J. Barnbrook]
- Harvie Krumpet [dir A. Elliot]
- Ryan [dir C. Landreth]

i am very impressed with this line-up, most of the works i have seen it before on video / cinema, but its a different feeling when you watch them in another country, it's like meeting an old friend. As these films actually inspired my works a lot!~

RECAP #1 " DEPARTURE "

I went to the Hong Kong airport earlier than usual, as i have heard so much about extra security checks for all flights to London Heathrow. But turns out that it wan't that bad, i just can't bring my eyedrop. I ordered a noodle soup and enjoying the view of the airport and listening to 903

me looking at the BA 747 that's going to take me to London. This flight is so empty and I can even have my own row of seats and sleep in my so called "bed".

this is my room in Madrid, at Hotel Ponzuelo, a 4 star hotel, very nice. It took me 3 hours to get there. I didn't take a taxi, i took the train and a bus. It takes me quite some time to find out which line to take, how much are the tickets and where the platforms are.....you know, i 've never been to a place where English is no use at all~ So, one advice for you who wants to travel spain....learn a few lines of spanish!! Take my word for it.

safe flight back to Hong Kong

there are just so many museums in London, and I managed to visit one of them - The British museum

Big Ben

I was on my way to Manchester in a Train to visit an animator friend Liz Whitaker who directs Bob the Builder and Pingu~ It's a pretty cool ride actually!

one of my dreams was to go to SOHO and take a picture of all the post production companies that I like and RUSHES is one of them!! They even gave me a tour of the whole building and i get to see their motion control rig~

from now on, i will be regularly updating this blog on all the detail events happened during my trip! there will be more artcles and photos and i hope that you will enjoy them!!

last post

today, i had a very long day...

first..buckingham palace, then green park, hyde park, kensington palace, london bridge, just imagine...walking from 10 > 5pm really...didnt take a bus...it is actually really full on!!

and at night, went to meet a hk designer girl who was having her exibition over here in london - Gwen yip - http://www.gwenyip.com we had a nice chat and dinner and that ends my day nicely!

oh, and last night i had a technical nightmare, in which i was at ida's house trying to upload some photos, and their computer can only read the photos from my madrid trip and no pics from my london trip....i freaked out and wasnt in a good mood afterwards...i can't really sleep last night....worry about this problem.....

so, today, first thing that i do is to go to a photo place and try to transfer all the photos onto a CD, and it worked!! it was such a relieve really!! i think the next time, i should have multiple smart media, so in case one fucks up....i can still have my other backups.

ah well...today might be the last post for this trip, as i will be going back to hk tomorrow, my flight is at 9pm, so i have to be at the airport at 7pm, but i want to be there earlier to prepare for the crazy security check...so i might just be at the airport around....5ish just to be safe. so that means i have to start my heathrow trip 4ish....and that means i have to leave my hotel at around 3ish...not much time to have fun really.

one last thing that i am going to do is to send out all the postcards that i bought today!!

ah well....goodbye london, goodbye madrid...and all the nice memories in this trip

i will come back for sure!

some photos at last!!

one full pack day at manchester!

firday was like a special highlight in this UK trip.

i wake up 8:15am in the morning and take the train to manchester piccadily station at 9:38am
i arrive manchester at 1:00pm and i took the metrolink the tram to navigation road, where i walk 20 minutes to hot animation, which is the studio that i am going to visit!!

Liz Whitaker - the director of bob the builder and pingu, she is super nice to me.

she start showing me every part of the studio, and explaining to me the whole production process of the two series, starting from story creation, scripting writing, lip sync breakdown....etc.

she took me to all the studio space and introduce me to all the sets, props and puppets of bob the builder and pingu, not that i can see the puppets, she let me touch them and feel all the joints and skeleton of all the puppets!! I GET TO SEE HOW THE ANIMATORS WORK, and i get to ask them very practical and technical questions and that is very good for me as i can really learn something from it!! they are so organize to all the puppets, all the different animation movement cycles are all put together in a very organized way!!

the studio space is huge and there are around 75 people working there. i get to see all their cameras and motion control rigs which is also memorable. i have wrote down a lot of questions for Liz and she systematically answer all of them which is fantastic!!

i have prepared a lot for this visit really, i bought a bob the builder dvd and a pingue dvd for her to sign...and of course the big animadrid book that I am going to send you one robbie!! i also gave her my films and also some souvenirs from Hong Kong of couse!! i am glad that my mum picked out some gifts for me to bring here as they are all given out to some very nice people that i met during this trip!

Liz told me about her background, that she start from art school doing painting, then did a 3 years course in animation. and from there, she has always been working, starting from making models to props, fashion models and animation. she worked in holland for a year and then she was employed full time in this hot animation studio as a full time director! She has been animating for 18 years now!!

oh, and one of the interesting places that she showed me was the sound department, they do all their sounds inhouse and guess how many people are working there.....just two girls, and they are doing all the foley, sound editing, dialogue recording, sound design, and temp mix, their gear is top notch, they are using pro tools HD and got a mixing console and all that!! you really should check them out next time when you are in Manchester really!!

and i was telling Liz how there are no claymation or stop motion animation in asia and that is good for them because Asia don't have the talents yet to do it, so they are pretty much save from the whole globalization trend where all the massive production are brought to the international factory - China! and i got a feeling that all the animators there are very hands on and dont really like 3d or computer graphics animations...haha!!

Liz spend 3 hours to give me this grand tour and she said she dont usually give people a tour, and usually a producer would do it, so that was really my special privilege!! and I am very thankful for that.

i leave their studio at 5pm, rush it back to the train station and have my 2 hours train ride back to london....after the whole day....

i was just completely smashed!!

reply to Joanna Quinn

HI Joanna,

great to hear from you!!

you know, that night at the ANIMADRID awards ceremony, i really want to come and talk to you but you were already surrounded by so many people~....and then i missed you .... haha... i must come back to UK as it's such a beautiful place and of course Wales!! I really want to be like you...being able to work around the world, that must be so exciting for you!!

i would love you to have a copy of all my two shortfilms as i would love to hear your feedbacks!!
I am still very green the world of animation and i would love to talk to you more about it if we have a chance.
oh, and one more thing, is there any chance that I could get a hold of your films for my own watching? can I purchase it from somewhere? please let me know as your films really blows my mind, i instantly fell in love with them and I want to watch it over and over again to learn from it~

it is such an honour for my film to be in the same screening program with you really!
anyway, looking forward to hear from you!

got to go grab a bite and then i am going to the british museum~~

cheers
Thomas

reply from Joanna Quinn

Hi Thomas

Sorry not to have replied sooner...I have been away from my computer! I was very sorry to have missed you because I would have loved to have had a chat.I loved your film and when I was watching it I was hoping you were at thefestival so I could meet you! What a loevly person you must be.

I wasn't at the festival much either because I was teaching in a collage inMadrid all week! I'm back now but going to Ireland tomorrow, so I'm sadly going to miss you! I do remember you in the lobby at the hotel but I didn'tknow who you were...I

should have asked but it's always a bit embarrassingin case you say you made a film that I haven't seen and vice versa and thenit goes all quiet...especially as I hadn't seen most of the films!

I hope you had a good time in Europe and sorry you never saw the greenmountains of Wales. You'll have to come again!

All the best
Joanna

Manchester, here I come!

i will be spending my whole day in manchester tomorrow (13-10) friday

so, unless i got access to internet there, there will not be any post tomorrow¬

SOHO is fuckin awesome!!

today, after meeting with future shorts about the contract stuff...(i still havent had lunch yet)....and i went to rushes post production to have a grand tour!! nickki showed me the whole studio inside and out...and she end up introducing me to one of the guys at the rushes studio that does motion capture....i've spend roughly 2 hours in their studio just keep asking question in regards to motion control working in london and other stuffs!!

it was really a dream comes true when he lets me direct him for a test with the motion control rig, which i suggested doing a 180 degree overhead pan with this hair gel bottle....WOW...that made my day really...while i was seeing the whole motion camera rig moves...when the little motors are moving up and down, camera rotating, tilting, panning.......tears coming out of my eyes and i was really really happy at that moment!! i just couldnt stop smiling all the way!!

oh...and guess what, i 've managed to grab all the digibeta tapes that we submitted for submission, so that could save us a few bucks of doing some more dubs in the future!! Nickki said...i am probably the best filmmaker that actually came all over to london to collect the master tapes...haha!!

what i might do now....is grab a bite, no.....actually i will award myself with a nice dinner, then go back to sleep earlier to prepare for my manchester trip tomorrow morning!!

until next time

email to tim hope

hi there,

how are you going?? hope everything is fine on your side!!

my name is Thomas Leung and I am an animator from Hong Kong, and now, i am just travelling in london for holiday and I was just wondering if i could meet one of your directors - Tim Hope?
I have been watching his works for a very long time and i really really loved it and always give me inspirations!! I was wondering if you could kindly forward this email to him to see if we could meet?

I am going to manchester tomorrow but will come back on the same day! I am going back to Hong Kong monday night. (16th oct)

really looking forward to hear from you!!

cheers
Thomas

meeting with the disbtibution company

I 've just had a nice meeting with Luke, who is the guy responsible for my distribution contract and he is very nice!

What i have clarified from talking to him is that they have their own theatrical network around the world, and they organizes regular screenings (in cinemas), which i think is very good for reaching a wide amount of audience.

in terms of the rights, they do not submit film to film festivals, so i can still do all these myself. And that means for theatrical rights, that would be non - exclusive. For rights on other mediums like tv stations...internet...etc...they are asking for exclusive rights on that, just so that its easier for them to keep track of all the distribution rights. For me that sounds reasonable. it is tough when my films are being distributed to tv stations with a few distributors and that might get a bit crazy.

For the sales (revenues generated), they will take certain amount (which cap between 200 - 150 pounds) and then for the remaining, they will spilt 50 % with me. Apart from the initial delivery of the masters, i don't have to pay for any of the future expenses like tapes and dub, and they will do all that for me. that sounds very good to me.

To clear the rights, they will send me a template and i might get you guys to sign it so that it is more official and will make the lawyers happy.

after meeting with them, i feel very good about it because i wont be able to send my films to all these mediums and i think they can really help out. the amount that they take from the revenue is reasonable considering all the cost that are needed (it's so expensive when making digiBeta dubs)

i 've also asked them what will happen in the future when i have signed the contract, is that whenever a tv station / company that wants to show my films. put my film in their dvds / broadcast, i will put them in contact with future shorts and they will sort it all out for me. It's like i have my own sales representative! pretty cool!

what's next is that i will get the release forms and get them all signed by you guys, and then i will contact them to draft a final contract for me and then we can get the ball rolling. So, don't worry, i didn't rush and sign anything, not yet!!

going to manchester tomorrow and meet the director of Bob the builder tomorrow, bought the dvd at HMV yesterday and i am so excited!!!

girls in london and madrid

whenever i am walking on the street or in the subway (metro)....i just can't help myself looking at them.....their are features are just so nice....their hair, their blue/ green eyes....their body...it's just so nice!! the only thing that i didnt do is to talk to them....ah well...

3rd day in london

this is a very productive day,

spend the morning finding myself the accommodation for my last two nights in london, and i got myself a nice bed and breakfast single room that cost me 45 pounds a night, not bad for a downtown location.

after that, i went to have a descent lunch....i went to spaghetti house...not like the one in Hong kong, but a real italian restaurant run by italians. I had spaghetti bolognese and it was so nice....much better than the burgers at mc donalds or the chickens at KFC.

after lunch, i went to eshton station to buy my tickets to machester!! yes i am going there to see an animation director who director some popular children animation like bob the builder... http://www.bobthebuilder.com/uk/index.html speaking of that i have to go buy myself some bob the builder dvds for her to sign!! for the manchester trip, my train leaves at 9:30am and reach there at 1pm. so, i will meet Liz Whitaker the director and after that, i am just going to walk about manchester~ i will go back to london that night.

called ida today and we might catchup either on saturday or thursday night depends on her schedule.

for me, my plans for the rest of my trip are all set!

today, after internet cafe....it is 4:30 pm now....i will go to buckingham palace, hyde park, kensington palace, princess diana memorial...then going to the screening of the distribution company that wants to distribute my two shorts, that is at 7 pm....after the screening, will have dinner and then go home a bit earlier today!

tomorrow, meeting with future shorts and discuss contract and then visiting rushes post productions at 2:00pm.

speaking of that....i did something that i 've always wanted ..... just walk around soho and take a picture of all the post production companies there that i can find....moving picture company, the MILL....framestore CFC...hehe i was like in heaven yesterday!!

then on friday, its manchester, and then for the weekend, i will basically dedicated them for museums!! (british museum or if i can mange, tate museum as well. )

i love doing this travel blog as while i am writing it, i am actually planning for my trip as well!!

Brilliant!!

alright got to go and see the buckingham palace now, tata

message to Katerina

hi Katerina,

how are you going?? I hope you have made your safe journey back to Moscow!!

it was an honour to meet you and i wish i brought my electronic translator with me so we could communicate a bit better, but I am sure that we will have a chance in the future!! I would love to talk about your works in animation and watch your films and this is something that i really look forward to!!!

i am now in london and i will go back to Hong Kong next week, and then i will write you a longer email and of course sending you all the photos that we took!!

i hope you can understand my email~

looking forward to hear from you and please keep in touch with me!!

with love,
Thomas

an email to my animation teacher - Maree Woolley

Dear Maree,

thanks for the info about the copyrights!

haha!! you really showed Joanna Quinns showreel this morning? what a coincidence!!

well...i have just sent her an email to tell her i would like to go and see her! Let's see if she will reply....i was reading from the festival catalogue that she might be working and living in Wales...i am not sure.

haha animation gurus.....they are just like ordinary people!! i met a croatian couple which are so nice!!hehe i will tell you more about it later!

i am now contacting Liz Whitaker, she directs Bob the builder and a new one called Pingu...her studio is in manchester and i might go and see her this friday!!

anyway, will keep you posted and if i get to see Jonna, will ask for her works....u know there are so many films that i saw in the festival that i want to keep a copy myself!!

here's one for you...."the danish poet" after watching that...my heart stops....

ok, talk soon,

cheers
Thomas

1st day in london!

here are a list of things that i might go to see today!

basically i am just going to take it easy today and just have a nice walk to familiarize myself with the city!!

-trafalgar sauware
- westminster
- buckingham palace
- tate museum

wow!! it should be exciting !!!

last day in madrid

i am going to london this afternoon....geez...the time really flies.

just want to note down a few keypoints here ....as there are so many things happened in the last couple of days and i am worried that i will forget....will write in detail when i get back.

- met so many animator friends and contacts. I wish i made more dvd copies of my films, now,
i ´ve got only one left.

- the funny holland guy with his film rufus!!

- met a nice croatian couple, they are here in madrid to present their stop motion animation soldat. i wish we met earlier as i ´ve had such long chats with them for the last two days of my festival times.

- the russian girl in madrid that i had a little crush on...that is really really sweet.

- nice pedro that let me sleepover at his place

- watching so many films and getting so inspired!! ( around5 hours a day at the cinema )....just constantly watching films that blow my mind and being touched.

- visited museo du prado

- had a nice day in the madrid city with mei lan

- me being very good with the subway system and able to get around by myself without getting lost (that´s very rare for me when travelin)

the next post from me would be in london...here I come baby yeah!

cheers
Thomas

2nd day in madrid

hi there,

first post of me in madrid!! i have to say that it is a pretty cool place, except that i seemed to be the only that is speaking english...ah well...5 years in melbourne trainned me to speak without language..

for the first day, i didnt use taxi, i tried their metro system which is damn easy....but still took me a while to figure out where is where. I think have know how to get myself around now!

For the animation festival, i went to 3 screenings on the first night, from 5 till 11pm...and i was smashed!!! SUKKI´S STORY is going to be screening tonight and i am damn excited!!

i am now in an internet cafe and those of you that have never been to spain....for some reason their keyboard is so different...i cam find the ¨at¨ symbol for my email....

i went to Puerta del Sol, Plaza Major, had lunch there! Marvellous view!! very very laid bacK!

I will finish checking and replying my emails and then i will go back to the animation festival..

until next time

Preparing for my trip!

I am about to call Miss Kristen to confirm my accommodations in the UK!

I hope that she managed to find one for me tonight!!