Raúl daSilva
Encyclopedia
Raúl daSilva is a TV commercial producer, business documentary filmmaker, writer and an expert in the field of photoanimation
.
, 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 Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Serling had died in the O.R. of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital. His summer home was a boathouse on Cayuga Lake near Ithaca.
With the urging by actor Sterling Hayden
who had been a master of tall ships in his youth, daSilva released his critically acclaimed film 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 Jamison 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. The film has been distributed throughout North America since 1985 and was also broadcasted 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.
daSilva currently resides in New Haven, CT, where he operates Studio Merrywood and works on his fiction projects and writing website articles.
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 FATE Magazine.
Photoanimation
Photoanimation is a technique as old as the motion picture industry, in which still photos, artwork, or other objects are filmed with the use of an animation stand...
.
Biography
Raúl daSilva began his film career in 1965 at the Jamison 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 MotorsGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, Merck & Co.
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
, Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, 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
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
, Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, and Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
. He met one of his mentors, TV pioneer writer Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
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 Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Serling had died in the O.R. of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital. His summer home was a boathouse on Cayuga Lake near Ithaca.
With the urging by actor Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
who had been a master of tall ships in his youth, daSilva released his critically acclaimed film of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
's Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1975. For the film, he used the technique of photoanimation
Photoanimation
Photoanimation is a technique as old as the motion picture industry, in which still photos, artwork, or other objects are filmed with the use of an animation stand...
, a technology that he learned at the Jamison 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
Photoanimation
Photoanimation is a technique as old as the motion picture industry, in which still photos, artwork, or other objects are filmed with the use of an animation stand...
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
John Lasseter
John Alan Lasseter is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering....
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. The film has been distributed throughout North America since 1985 and was also broadcasted 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.
daSilva currently resides in New Haven, CT, where he operates Studio Merrywood and works on his fiction projects and writing website articles.
As director
- Conflict and Resolution (1980)
- Nat Hurst, MD, a 20th Century American Physician (1976) (TV)
- Rime of the Ancient MarinerRime of the Ancient Mariner (1975 film)Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a 1975 film by director Raúl daSilva. It is a photoanimated-live action visualization of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name, featuring a direct reading given by renowned British actor Sir Michael Redgrave...
... aka The Strangest Voyage (USA: TV title) - Hidden Battlefield (1973)
- No Whistles, Bells, or Bedlam (1973)
- The Silent Drum (1973)
- Craftsmen in Concert (1969)
- Rochester, First Person Plural (1969)
- Yesterday (1968)
As miscellaneous crew
- Fear No EvilFear No EvilFear No Evil is a made for television movie. It and Ritual of Evil are both unsold pilots for a proposed television series which would have been called Bedeviled. Both starred Louis Jourdan as David Sorrell, a psychologist and authority on the occult who became involved in supernatural...
(1981) (creative consultant)
... aka Lucifer (Philippines: English title)
... aka Mark of the Beast - Standing TallStanding TallStanding Tall is the 14th album by the jazz group The Crusaders after they changed their name from The Jazz Crusaders, and their 3rd studio album with MCA Records...
(1978) (TV) (script consultant)
As writer
- Nat Hurst, MD, a 20th Century American Physician (1976) (TV) (written by)
- Yesterday (1968) (writer)
As producer
- No Whistles, Bells, or Bedlam (1973) (producer)
- The Silent Drum (1973) (producer)
Books written
- 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 FATE Magazine.
- 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.