Raúl daSilva
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Raúl daSilva | |
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Born | Brooklyn, New York, New York, U.S. | June 12, 1933
Height | 6 ft (183 cm) |
Awards | Gold Medal, New York International Film and TV Festival 1975 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Gold Venus Award, Virgin Island International Film Festival Golden Eagle, Cine Film Festival Cindy Statuette, IFPA Chris Statuette, Columbus International Film Festival 1975 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner |
Raúl daSilva (born June 12, 1933) is an American filmmaker, writer and photoanimation specialist.[1] He produced the photoanimated film The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an adaptation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, in 1975.
Biography[]
Raúl daSilva began his film career in 1965 at the Jam Handy Organization of Detroit, Michigan. Starting as a writer in the animation department, Raúl moved to live action and became a director of several hundred short films for clients such as General Motors, Merck & Co., Chevrolet, and The Boy Scouts of America. It was at this time that he became a producer-director of television commercials and director of public relation films.
daSilva has been an adjunct instructor on the script scenario at St. John Fisher College and a lecturer in screenwriting and directing at NYU, Rochester Institute of Technology, Brooklyn College, and Ithaca College. He met one of his mentors, TV pioneer writer Rod Serling at Ithaca College where they both lectured. Following that, he worked with Serling on film productions and when the celebrated playwright died at age 50, daSilva was asked to write Serling's eulogy by the . Serling had died in the O.R. of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital. His summer home was a boathouse on Cayuga Lake, near Ithaca. A re-write of the eulogy was published as "My Friend, Rod Serling, His Legacy" in the July/August 2008 issue of Fate Magazine.
With the urging by actor Sterling Hayden who had been a master of tall ships in his youth, daSilva released his critically acclaimed film adaptation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1975. For the film, he used the technique of photoanimation, a technology that he learned at the Jam Handy Organization’s animation department. This allowed him to inexpensively bring to the screen the efforts of illustrators from the 19th and 20th centuries who sought to breathe life into the timeless epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. After some research he discovered that British actor Sir Michael Redgrave had once taught the epic poem as a schoolmaster. After contracting the actor daSilva flew to London to have Redgrave narrate the epic poem. With over two years in production, the film demonstrated the most complex work in existence today on the craft of photoanimation due to the mixed combination of movements and exposures between the vertical camera and the compass rose movements of the camera stand compound or platform where the graphic material is placed. With the craft becoming computer driven the complexity used at that time is no longer possible today, similarly, as stated by Pixar/Disney's creative genius, John Lasseter who has said that the subtle and complex character renderings of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs can not be done using a computer but must be rendered by hand.
The production was widely acclaimed by critics and recognized by six international film festival juries throughout the United States that awarded five first place prizes to the film. In this effort, Raúl renewed interest for this 1798 epic poem that speaks to the sanctity of all life on Earth.[2][unreliable source?] The film has been distributed throughout North America since 1985 and was also broadcast in Australia.
In addition, daSilva has written magazine articles on spirituality and has presented lectures throughout New York City on the eternal spirit in the ephemeral human experience.
Raul daSilva currently resides in New Haven, Connecticut, where he writes freelance articles and fiction projects. He also writes website articles.[3]
Filmography[]
As director[]
- (1980)
- (1976) (TV)
- Rime of the Ancient Mariner... aka The Strangest Voyage (USA: TV title)
- (1973)
- (1973)
- (1973)
- (1969)
- (1969)
- (1968)
As miscellaneous crew[]
- Fear No Evil (1981) (creative consultant)
... aka Lucifer (Philippines: English title)
... aka Mark of the Beast - (1978) (TV) (script consultant)
As writer[]
- (1976) (TV) (written by)
- (1968) (writer)
As producer[]
- (1973) (producer)
- (1973) (producer)
Books written[]
- Man of Miracles, The Transcendent Ingo Swann,[4]
- Ingo Swann, Revelations,[5]
- My Mystical Life with Rod Serling: A Real Twilight Zone.,[6]
- The Screenwriter's Life Saver: 17 pages of essential first aid tips for screenwriters, at every level, from beginner to master. [7]
- The Seed" Fiction, graphic novel,[8]
- The Corner Where Night Begins & 16 Other Stories, short story anthology, a salute to his late friend and co-worker, Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone genre
completed and currently with literary agency. The prologue to this book, "My Friend Rod Serling and His Legacy", is published in the July/August 2008 .
- Making Money in Film and Video: (1st and 2nd editions) Simon and Schuster, 1986 and Butterworth-Heinemann. 1992.
- The World of Animation [Recipient 1st place, national Book Festival Award) Eastman Kodak, 1979
- The Business of Filmmaking, Eastman Kodak, 1978
- SOUND: Magnetic Recording for Motion Pictures, Eastman Kodak, 1977
- The Motion Picture Production Manual, Eastman Kodak, 1972
- In Flight Aerobics and Transitions Senuta Publishing Co. 1969.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ American Cinematographer, June 1969
- ^ Raúl daSilva. "A New Generation Meets the Ancient Mariner". Retrieved 18 July 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Importance of Quality Script".
- ^ MAN OF MIRACLES: The Transcendent Ingo Swann: PART ONE OF FOUR PART MEMOIR.
- ^ Ingo Swann: Man of Miracles, Part 2: Revelations.
- ^ My Mystical Life with Rod Serling: A Real Twilight Zone.
- ^ The Screenwriter's Life Saver: 17 pages of essential first aid tips for screenwriters, at every level, from beginner to master.
- ^ The Seed.
External links[]
- Raúl daSilva at IMDb
- 1933 births
- American documentary film directors
- Living people
- People from Brooklyn
- Film directors from New York City