Oneida's latest venture is animation productions (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Oneida's latest venture is animation productions

Posted: September 27, 2006
by: The Associated Press
By William Kates -- Associated Press
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413730

VERNON, N.Y. (AP) - The Oneida Indian Nation of New York is using 21st
century computer technology to preserve the ancient oral stories of its
past.

The nation started its own video production company in 2003 and now
after several successful ventures, Four Directions Productions is
embarking on a project to turn some of the tribe's historic tales into
animated video stories.

''We are bringing Oneida legends to life,'' said Dale Rood, a member of
the OIN Men's Council who serves as the company's executive liaison and
studio operations director.

''We want to do more than just entertain the next generation. We want to
teach them - and others - about the Oneida culture,'' said Rood, as he
watched lead animator Shaun Foster add a special effects sequence to
''Raccoon and Crawfish,'' which will be the company's first animated
short feature.

''And maybe even most important, it's another way to tell the story of
the American Indian from the Indian perspective,'' he said.

Four Directions Productions expects to release ''Raccoon and Crawfish''
in February, said Foster. Running from seven to 10 minutes, it is taken
from an Oneida fable intended to illustrate the dangers of lying.

In the story, the raccoon feigns death to catch some crawfish to eat.
One crawfish falls for the raccoon's trick but tells the other crawfish
in his colony that he has heroically killed the raccoon. When all the
crawfish come to look at the dead raccoon for themselves, the raccoon
springs his trap and eats all the crawfish.

''We're just a small beginning studio but we are aiming for Pixar-type
quality,'' said Foster, a reference to the animation production company
that made ''Monsters Inc.,'' ''A Bug's Life'' and ''Toy Story.''

The idea is to produce a half-dozen or so similar animated stories and
put them together on a DVD for sale and distribution. Rood sees such a
DVD as a perfect fit for grade school classes studying American Indian
history.

''This is our Native folklore told in a way that no book can
represent,'' Rood said.

Four Directions Productions has 10 employees, including four animators.

The production company is one of five units of Four Directions Media,
one of the diversified business groups the Oneidas have put together
using profits from the nearby Turning Stone Resort and Casino. The
Oneidas, who employ about 5,000 people, also run a string of gas
station/convenience stores, a deep-discount retail store and an
electronic games manufacturing plant among their enterprises.

Four Directions Productions was formed three years ago to produce a
one-hour documentary, ''The World of American Indian Dance,'' that
aired on NBC. It was the first production to air on network television
to be created, funded, directed, produced by and to star American
Indians.

While most of Four Directions Productions' past work has focused on
in-house projects for the casino and the tribe's other businesses, the
company has branched out with commercial success.

Among the production company's initial projects were a three-minute film
featuring Maria Tallchief, Osage, who was a prima ballerina; and two
short public service announcements to promote the Institute of American
Indian Arts. The 30- and 15-second spots featured actor Graham Greene,
an Oneida from Canada who appeared in ''Dances with Wolves,'' and in
television roles on ''Northern Exposure'' and ''Red Green.''

The company's first non-Indian contract was with Ferris Industries for a
promotional video.

It also has produced a television commercial for Turning Stone that
aired on the YES network in New York City.

Currently, production is done in a converted two-story house located
about 10 miles from the tribe's casino.

While stocked with cutting-edge equipment, Rood said the company will
soon need a newer facility with larger, more sophisticated studios.