The Room

What remains, unedited, of the first episode of a serial by several hands, subject to a form of supervision-control by Fischinger. It opens with an extremely happy image (a "creative hand" which subsequently returns from time to time) — with shading and movements which appear to have been achieved by the use of the Rotoscope — characters who evoke the commedia dell’arte, in a somewhat joyless tone, but visually dramatic and with echoes of "caligarism". Enno Patalas would like to visit the other surviving episodes, better to understand the spirit of the operation conceived by Louis Seel, designer emeritus and the inspiration of the project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

The first Studies were synchronized with records (Fischinger made a total of 13 Studies all without sound). It was only with the introduction of sound, beginning with Study No 6 that the films did full justice to this musical principle. The play of the white lines, the arcs, and the upside-down U’s running hither and thither like ballet dancers was brought into perfect synchronization with the music, and thus the films offered an abstract illustration of the melodies. Study No 6 is certainly the best of his films in terms of forms. - Hans Scheugl and Ernst Schmidt, Jr. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2001.

Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese.

Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trousers created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal.

Wallace's whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and Gromit is framed for sheep-rustling in a fiendish criminal plot.

A deer, disillusioned by the consumerism that defines his life. A lizard, ostracized from society, forever wandering. A chance meeting in the middle of a field. Who will survive? And who will transcend existence? Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.

Directed, assembled by Hy Hirsch.

A surrealist translation of Catholic devotional postcard imagery set into unsettling motion. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2008.

Animated short film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.

"I think of Odalisque as my first film. It was completed after film school and I worked with just a graphite pencil, a small group of colored pencils and animation bond. It is a trilogy of amorous dreams coming from the imagination of a woman recalling her childhood, her beloved twin so difficult to separate from and becoming an adult sexual person. The aria Sempre Libera from La Triviata by Verdi opens the film and the poem Leda and the Swan by WB Yeats ends it. It was great to work with Michael Riesman who created the sound track. I loved working in NYC in those days with Robin McDaniel, Rebecca High and others." Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2017.

"I relocated to the Redwoods of Sonoma County upon graduation and in that relocation process the animation for Sonoma began. The design was built around the concept of the long wide horizontal 'pan' shot to express the concept of a dynamic landscape that passes across the screen like a traditional Chinese Scroll Painting. The deep personal meaning relates to the 'relocation' that was occurring within my own being after having done 2½ terms of active combat in the jungle as a carrier enlisted with the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army" -D. Pies. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

The animation, music, and optical printing of Kitsch in Synch was produced by Beckett and the students in two classes he was teaching at CalArts. Although a group project, it is clear that Beckett was the director. The playful, catchy soundtrack is used to create a cycle of building tension and release. The brightly colored shapes create approximate symmetrical formations and become more densely layered, with glimpses of iconographic objects and even live footage near the end. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with the iotaCenter, in 2007.

An mutoscope motion picture installation commissioned for the 86th anniversary of the Guggenheim museum. Later preserved and turned into a short film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

Legacy takes the audience on a rapid-fire journey through the evolution of the world, starting with a cosmic bang, evolving through billions of years of plants, animals and the creation of natural resources, ending with man and his bounty – “sitting on his world contemplating his coconut”. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

The entire film is divided into four consecutive chosen approaches—the fourth section devoted to a reiteration and extension of the original material. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

A children's fable about the power of advertising, the meaning of life and ultimately the test of a mother's love. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.

Directed by Hy Hirsh. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

This animated short focuses on the lives of three eccentric people living on a farm in the Ukrainian countryside. Told in a non-linear, stream of consciousness style, the film depicts the deceitful relationship between a master and his two servants.

Beckett cycles through a limited number of drawings, but adds new information to each drawing every time we see it, giving the sense of a world that is infinitely rich and also obviously contained tightly within the edges of the paper. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2007.

In Flesh Flows we see a balance of Beckett’s keen drawing ability, in the probing erotic forms, and his technical acuity, which transforms the carnal images into a compelling, transcendent experience. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2007.