Last week was fairly busy, with me trying to complete the "Hair High" animation. A lot of my interns left for August, so I had to bring in bunches of new people to get all the shots to John Donnelly, my cameraman, by the first of September.

This is by far the biggest film I've ever made. So many drawings, so many shots. And, most of the film is on 2's and 3's, as opposed to the 4's and 5's of my previous features.

I met with Maureen McElheron and Hank Bones to score the film, and I'm looking to license some old classic songs if the price is right.

The highlight of the week was my appearance at the Woods Hole Film Festival - a charming, intimate festival near Cape Cod, run by Judy Laster. I did a one-day animation seminar and then screened a few clips from "Hair High" in the evening.

The high point was a day-trip to Martha's Vineyard - here you see me jumping off the famous bridge from the movie "Jaws". I barely made it back with my limbs attached - you can see I have a fear of sharks. I bought those bland-colored trunks so I wouldn't attract sharks - a lot of good it did me.

This week's cartoon, "The Escalator Guy", was inspired by the similarities of an escalator to the beginning of a roller-coaster. That's where a lot of my ideas come from - taking one life experience (or cliche) and comparing it to another, totally separate cliche - you'll find there's lots of humor in those situations. I later used the gag in one of the "Plymptoons" shorts.

I'm now off to Portland, Oregon to do my "Hair High" show at the Guild Theatre on August 12 at 7 pm - tell all your friends -

See you later.

Bill