Bruce Bickford
Encyclopedia
Bruce Bickford is a maker of animated films who works primarily in clay animation
. From 1974 to 1980 he collaborated with Frank Zappa
. Bickford's animation was featured extensively in the Frank Zappa videos Baby Snakes
and The Dub Room Special
. Zappa also released a video titled The Amazing Mr. Bickford
, which was entirely composed of Bickford animations set to a soundtrack of Zappa's orchestral music.
Bickford's animations depict surreal scenes based on his unique worldview. Often outwardly seeming to be somewhat disconnected from the world around him, Bruce Bickford's work is extremely subjective in its content and concepts, making for some disturbing and shocking imagery. Much of his video work depicted fast-moving, fluid-like transformations of human figures and disfigured faces into odd beasts on surreal structural settings with impressive camera effects (moving around within his stop-motion animation).
His life and work were featured in the 2004 biographical documentary film Monster Road, directed by Brett Ingram, which has won numerous film festival awards and garnered acclaim in many countries.
He is currently working on Boar's Head/Whore's Bed (line animation, 4500+ frames and counting), Tales of the Green River and Castle 2001, a feature-length
film which is animated using 3D shapes made out of bits of paper.
A new DVD was released by Bright Eye Pictures in early 2008, titled Prometheus' Garden. It includes the first film that Bickford had complete control over, the 28-minute Prometheus' Garden, originally completed on 16mm film in 1988. The DVD also includes Luck of a Foghorn, a new 30-minute documentary about Bickford by the director of Monster Road. http://www.brettingram.org/film/PGOverview.php
Mr. Bickford was the first ever guest to appear on the internet radio show Pussyfoot. http://www.thehomeofpussyfoot.com
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
. From 1974 to 1980 he collaborated with Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
. Bickford's animation was featured extensively in the Frank Zappa videos Baby Snakes
Baby Snakes
Baby Snakes is a movie which includes footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage antics from the crew, and stop motion clay animation from award-winning animator Bruce Bickford....
and The Dub Room Special
The Dub Room Special
The Dub Room Special is a film produced by Frank Zappa for direct-to-video release in October, 1982. The video combines footage from a performance at the KCET studios in Los Angeles on August 27, 1974, a concert performed at The Palladium, NYC on October 31, 1981, some clay animation by Bruce...
. Zappa also released a video titled The Amazing Mr. Bickford
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
The Amazing Mr. Bickford is a video released by Frank Zappa in 1987, containing orchestral pieces by Zappa set to the clay animation of Bruce Bickford.-See also:*Adult animation*List of stop-motion films*List of animated feature-length films...
, which was entirely composed of Bickford animations set to a soundtrack of Zappa's orchestral music.
Bickford's animations depict surreal scenes based on his unique worldview. Often outwardly seeming to be somewhat disconnected from the world around him, Bruce Bickford's work is extremely subjective in its content and concepts, making for some disturbing and shocking imagery. Much of his video work depicted fast-moving, fluid-like transformations of human figures and disfigured faces into odd beasts on surreal structural settings with impressive camera effects (moving around within his stop-motion animation).
His life and work were featured in the 2004 biographical documentary film Monster Road, directed by Brett Ingram, which has won numerous film festival awards and garnered acclaim in many countries.
He is currently working on Boar's Head/Whore's Bed (line animation, 4500+ frames and counting), Tales of the Green River and Castle 2001, a feature-length
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
film which is animated using 3D shapes made out of bits of paper.
A new DVD was released by Bright Eye Pictures in early 2008, titled Prometheus' Garden. It includes the first film that Bickford had complete control over, the 28-minute Prometheus' Garden, originally completed on 16mm film in 1988. The DVD also includes Luck of a Foghorn, a new 30-minute documentary about Bickford by the director of Monster Road. http://www.brettingram.org/film/PGOverview.php
Mr. Bickford was the first ever guest to appear on the internet radio show Pussyfoot. http://www.thehomeofpussyfoot.com
Filmography
- 1964/65 - Animated model cars and crude clay figures on 8mm film. 10 minutes.
- 1969 - Tree clay animation. 2.5 minutes.
- 1970 - Clay battle scene with more detailed figures. 2.5 minutes.
- 1971 - Last Battle on Flat Earth clay animation. 4 minutes.
- 1972 - Castle stuff and bar room scene. clay animation. 15 minutes.
- 1973 - Start of the Quest clay animation short. 3 minutes.
- 1974 - Little Boy in School ( featuring Gus Reeves as a child) clay animation short. 4 minutes.
- 1974 - A Token of His Extreme (Frank Zappa)
- 1979 - Baby SnakesBaby SnakesBaby Snakes is a movie which includes footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage antics from the crew, and stop motion clay animation from award-winning animator Bruce Bickford....
(Frank Zappa) - 1982 - The Dub Room SpecialThe Dub Room SpecialThe Dub Room Special is a film produced by Frank Zappa for direct-to-video release in October, 1982. The video combines footage from a performance at the KCET studios in Los Angeles on August 27, 1974, a concert performed at The Palladium, NYC on October 31, 1981, some clay animation by Bruce...
(Frank Zappa) - 1987 - Video From HellVideo from HellVideo From Hell is a video released in 1987 by Frank Zappa. It is a compilation of pieces of music and video from a series of projects that Zappa presumably planned to finish and release for home video, including a companion video for the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series of albums, but...
and The Amazing Mr. BickfordThe Amazing Mr. BickfordThe Amazing Mr. Bickford is a video released by Frank Zappa in 1987, containing orchestral pieces by Zappa set to the clay animation of Bruce Bickford.-See also:*Adult animation*List of stop-motion films*List of animated feature-length films...
(Frank Zappa) - 1988 - Prometheus' Garden. 27 minutes.
- 2004 - Monster Road
- 2008 - Prometheus' Garden DVD