by Brad Chmielewski

Last October 2003, eleven independent animators met in a large Chelsea loft. Eleven went in, “Avoid Eye Contact” came out and sold an impressive 2000 copies worldwide. This was only the beginning for the urban animation movement. Talks of volume 2 were in the works as soon as volume 1 came out. Now the new DVD is out and Avoid Eye Contact Volume 2 is sure to follow in the same path exploring the thriving contemporary independent animation scene going on in New York City. The DVD offers a new program of films from animators spanning the last five years. “Avoid Eye Contact Volume 2” contains an overwhelming number of independent animated shorts and many of the same animators that made “Avoid Eye Contact” a great DVD. Returning in volume two is Bill Plympton, PES, Michael Overback, and Patrick Smith, as well as nine other outstanding independent animators. None of the Artists on the DVD seem to follow any trends and, although savvy, are not beholden to any technology. Each film on the DVD is an international award-winner, each with a distinct look, united only by genre and the gritty soul of New York City.

Avoid Eye Contact features sixteen animations from twelve animators; Bill Plympton, Mo Willems, Patrick Smith, John Dilworth, Signe Baumane, Michael Overbeck, Chris Conforti, Rohitash Rao, Nina Paley, Fran Krause, Christy Karacas, and PES. Each of these animators and their animations bring their own style to the DVD.

Upon first putting the DVD into the player the viewer is treated to a great animation intro. The intro on volume two is much more in-depth then the previous volumes intro. Each animator again has created a custom menu for the DVD.

Patricks Smith’s “Handshake” recently took home “Best Animation” at the Temecula Valley Film Festival. I recently reviewed “Handshake” not too long ago and it is always great to see it again. Along with the animation “Handshake” Patrick Smith has a few extras added in there. Viewers are able to see full pencil test and a home video of the music being recorded. Patrick without a doubt delivered again with some of the best extras on the DVD, definitely keep and eye out for more of his work.

Another great on the DVD is Bill Plmpton, who some have called, New York’s animation godfather. Both of Plympton’s shorts are worth seeing if you haven’t seen them yet. But don’t let Plympton be the only reason you pick up this DVD. Bill gives the viewers a great commentary track for the 2001 film “Eat.” The viewers are treated to an insight into what he was thinking when making the animation and some of the things that he had to change during production.

My favorite shorts were by Rohitash Rao.. I may have enjoyed both of these the most since I have been in a stop-motion phase these days myself. Rohitash Rao’s stop motion animation of a man seeing Jesus in his coffee entitled “Coffee” is in my top five animation shorts I have seen this year. The second short by Rohitash Rao, “MTV vs. CNN” didn’t get listed on the DVD box art and it now listed when you view the animations by film title. If you want to take a look at “MTV vs. CNN” either do a play all or visit Rohitash Rao custom menu. The animation short “MTV vs CNN” deals with a man watching MTV just because it’s on. Both of these shorts have a great punch line; they will definitely give you a good laugh. Rohitash is now busy working on his first professional animation project for an upcoming concert in New York City. I hope to see more of this work in the future.

Although I found that some of the animations ran a little long I would still recommend this DVD to the devoted animation fan, it is worth adding to your collection. For the average viewer of mainstream animation this may be a bit of a change from what you are used to seeing, so if you do not wish to venture out into the weird or eccentric you may not want to pick this DVD up. However, there are no other places I know of where you are going to find some of New York’s best underground animations all together in one place. These New York artists seem to be tapping every ounce of their creativity and they are sharing it with their viewers, and personally I find it great. After watching “Avoid Eye Contact Volume 2,” viewers are reminded that there are still single individuals out there on an independent level, producing outstanding work and a giant studio isn’t always needed for a quality animation.