Mike Blum recently finished producing/directing a series of eight 2-3 minute CG animated shorts for
Comedy Central. Premiering on Comedy Central's broadband
"Motherload" website in November 2006, the series,
The Adventures of Baxter & McGuire, has been nominated for an
Emmy Award for Outstanding Broadband Comedy Program and raises the bar for web-based original content. The series is also part of a half-hour block of shorts on the Comedy Central TV network. Entitled
Web Shows, the series premiered in March 2007.
From August 2004 through March 2006, Mike served as Technical Supervisor for Toy Story 3, where he oversaw and coordinated all aspects of information technology development and technical process management for the show. Prior to
that, he served for 10 years as software supervisor for internal tool
development at Walt Disney Feature Animation where he oversaw design
and deployment of numerous animator-friendly tools used in more than a
dozen films ranging from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Dinosaur
to Chicken Little. He earned his Masters degree in
Computer Science from the University of Utah where he designed
animation tools for long form productions and his B.S. in Computer
Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
In 1998 Mike took the leap from the technical to creative ranks by
producing, directing, and animating Salad Bowl...A Carrot's Tale,
an after hours film project completed at Disney. His second directorial
effort, Oil & Vinegar, qualified for consideration for an
Academy Award, has received international acclaim at festivals, and is
currently being distributed around the world. In 2004 Mike produced his first live-action film, Blessing.
Still playing the festival circuit, the 15 minute, 35mm film
attracted some of the top talent in Hollywood including famed casting
director, Mali Finn (Titanic, L.A. Confidential, The Matrix Trilogy,
8 Mile); Emmy award winning editor, Scott Gamzon (Party Monster,
The Apprentice); and actor, Omar Miller (8 Mile, Shall We Dance?).
Since premiering in March 2005, The Zit has
screened at over 100 world-wide festivals, won more than a dozen international awards and has received accolades from the likes of Bill Plympton (Oscar nominated animator/director) who raved "The
Zit is an over-the-top,
hilarious film - I wish I'd done it."
Filmography
Awards:
- Emmy Award Nomination for "Outstanding Broadband Comedy Program"
- The Zit, 2005,
Writer/Producer/Director
Awards:
- 1st Place, Best Short Film, FirstGlance 8: Philadelphia Film Fest
- Audience Award, Filmstock International Film Festival
- Audience Award: Best Animation, Orinda Film Festival
- Best Animation, Great Lakes Film Festival
- Finalist Best Children's Film, Bradford Animation Festival
- 2006 Best Video/DVD: YALSA (Young Adult Library Association)
- 4th Quarter Finalist, Golden Star Short Film Festival
- Winner, Cloud 9 Short Film Festival (January 2006)
- Audience Award: Best Animated Film, Delray Beach Film Festival
- Finalist, Best Animated Film: Alice's 3 Minute Film Festival
- 2nd Place, Audience Award for Best Short Film: East Lansing Film Festival
- Winner, IndieJunior Award: Lisbon International Independent Film Festival
- Finalist, Audience Award for Best Short Film: Indianapolis International Film Festival
- Winner, Best Comedic Animation: International Festival of Cinema and Technology
- Honorable Mention, Best Animation: International Festival of Cinema and Technology
Awards:
- 2nd Place, Best Animation at the Pacific Coast Film Festival
- Audience Top 10, Hardshare FilmFest, 2000
- IFILMPro "Filmmaker to Watch", 2002