Adam Beckett Salute
Animator and visual effects artist Adam Beckett will be celebrated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with the special program “Infinite Animation: The Work of Adam Beckett” on Monday, August 17, at 8 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. The evening will include a screening of Life in the Atom, a short film that Beckett left unfinished when, at the age of 29, he died in a fire in 1979.
Presented by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council in conjunction with the iotaCenter, and hosted by visual effects artist Richard Winn Taylor and Beckett biographer Pamela Turner, “Infinite Animation: The Work of Adam Beckett” will also feature screenings of six other Beckett films, in addition to an onstage panel discussion with his colleagues and friends. Scheduled guests include Oscar-winning visual effects artists David Berry and Richard Edlund, animator Chris Cassady, and filmmakers Beth Block, Roberta Friedman and Pat O’Neill.
The Beckett films to be screened are Dear Janice (1972, top photo), Heavy-Light (1973), Evolution of the Red Star (1973), Flesh Flows (1974), Sausage City (1974) and Kitsch in Synch (1975), all of which have been recently restored by the Academy Film Archive and the iotaCenter.
As per the Academy’s press release, Beckett was known "for his unique use of the optical printer in conjunction with the animation stand." His technical accomplishments could be found in both experimental art films and commercial fare such as Star Wars (1977), for which he headed the rotoscope and animation department, and Piranha (1978), on which he worked as an animator.
The films to be screened at “Infinite Animation: The Work of Adam Beckett” were completed while Beckett was still a student in Jules Engel’s newly formed experimental animation program at the California Institute of the Arts. Beckett’s work, which has been described as “a masterful visual universe,” reportedly had a major impact on his fellow animators and won awards at several film festivals.
In 1974, Beckett started his own studio, Infinite Animation, which he ran while pursuing his MFA and teaching at CalArts.
Tickets to “Infinite Animation: The Work of Adam Beckett” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open one hour prior to the event. All seating is unreserved.
The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
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Tags: Adam Beckett, Animation, Dear Janice, Evolution of the Red Star, Flesh Flows, Los Angeles Screenings, Science and Technology Council, Shorts
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I’m very glad to hear that this great artist will be recognized by the Academy. Beckett’s work is simply magnificent.
Adam was the first person that I meet at Cal Arts when starting animation there, 1972-74. He showed me exactly what to do to get started so that when the semester started and Jules came in, I was all set up and working looking like I knew what I was doing. Adam was the most gracious with help and hard working person that I have ever known. He was truly super-human. I and my wife Veronica will be at this screening of the height of film art honoring one of the greatest film artists that ever made films