Scientific Breakthrough to Eliminate Camera,
Actors from Production Process

San Francisco, CA--After countless hours of research and development, animator and cartoonist Nina Paley has announced her discovery of new 'minIMAX' technology. The new technique includes hand-drawn animation inked directly onto 70 millimeter film. Unlike traditional animation, in which drawings are inked and painted on animation cels and then photographed to film, "minIMAX" utilises the film itself as cel. While leaders of the alternative entertainment industry laud the development, some cinema ethicists are questioning the new technology. Causing the greatest concern is the elimination of cameras from the minIMAX production process. "Cameraless Filmmaking actually yields lively, brilliant images," Ms. Paley reassured the vast crowd of reporters swarming her Mission District laboratory. Funding methods for production are also under scrutiny. While stock market investors are urging minIMAX to go public, Ms. Paley is holding out for "in-kind" donations from large-format film producers and manufacturers. "What we really need right now is exposed footage," says Paley. "Out-takes, over- and under-exposed takes, things that never made the 'final cut.'" Some of the film will be scratched and painted on, and some will be used for "minIMAX Rotoscopic Imaging," a technique that extracts the movement from a live shot without infringing its copyright.

Animator/Cartoonist Nina Paley researches Inverted Stereoscopic Imaging for minIMAX technology. Copyright infringement is in fact the greatest barrier to minIMAX production. Although print scraps subjected to minIMAX processing are usually rendered unrecognizeable, their use could nonetheless make Ms.Paley vulnerable to lawsuits from paranoid producers. "We're hoping to get donations directly from producers who hold title to their images and can give us explicit permission to use their out-takes," adds Paley. 5-perf, 8-perf and 15-perf 70mm scraps are needed. Interested producers, editors, camera operators and others should contact Nina Paley at nina_paley@yahoo.com. A demo reel, featuring a hand-painted 35mm animation called "Cancer," is also available from the artist.