Will Vinton and His Animated Shorts

Here's an article I wrote in 1983 for a magazine called Design for Arts in Education. I also shot most of the photos.

Addendum: On April 2, 2024, I received the following email, with the subject line "Eli Noyes," from NY Times writer Michael Rosenwald:

Hi Rick,

I'm working on an obituary about Mr. Noyes. I read your fabulous journal article about animation and wanted to make sure I described you correctly. Is this right: "Rick Cooper, a former production manager for Will Vinton Productions, a claymation film company, wrote in the journal Design For Arts in Education."

Please let me know. And thanks. Mike

I replied:

Hello Mike,

Yes, that is correct—and thank you for asking. Wow, I can’t believe someone actually read that article. : )

Thanks for the blast from the past!

Cheers,

Rick 

...and he replied:

It was fascinating! Thanks for getting back to me. 

I was so excited, I had to tell the world...so after the article appeared in the Times the next day, I sent my friends and family this email: 

If you subscribe to The NY Times you can see a quote attributed to me in this obit for clay animator Eli Noyes: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/arts/television/eli-noyes-dead.html

I’m in the Times, therefore I am? : )

          Rick