I’ve not had much of a chance to check out the Flatpack Festival schedule yet. All I know is that it will be superb and will be worth attending to the fullest possible extent.

For example, the first thing I’ve looked at is a talk by Barry Purves:

Barry has animated and directed many prominent television series such as The Wind in the Willows, Rupert Bear, Bob the Builder and worked on feature films like Mars Attacks and King Kong. His own, often controversial, animated films have won over sixty major international awards and received OSCAR and BAFTA nominations

Which sounds ruddy impressive and interesting to me.

Also, just up on the Flatpack blog is the little sting that’ll be featured between screenings. It was animated by David Mourato, uses an original design and sound editing by Dave Gaskarth and Birmingham City University‘s Visual Communication department were involved in some way too.

Intriguingly, graphic designer and illustrator David Gaskarth does not really practise what he preaches. His mantra is visual clarity, his idols such practitioners of Swiss Modernist typography as Josef Müller-Brockmann. Müller-Brockmann’s socialist ideals also greatly appeal to Gaskarth, who did a BA in illustration at Bristol University, followed by an MA on ‘graphic propaganda’ at Birmingham University. In 2005, he co-founded the collective Cyrk – the name Gaskarth, who grew up in Birmingham, also trades under as a freelance. His work ranges from promoting film and music events to animation, Web and snowboard design.

(Via @flatpack)