There’s magic in The Berkshires of western Massachusetts - and not just in the scenic beauty and cultural haven the area enjoys, but in the attraction the area seems to have for talented people in the animation and special effects industry.

The Berkshires has established itself as one of southern New England’s top destination areas along with Boston and Cape Cod. Visitors come each year to enjoy the rolling green hills.

But there’s another reason to visit The Berkshires - the Museum of Animations, Special Effects and Art.

Irina Borisova and Eugene Mamut founded Animagic in the town of Lee, Massachusetts in 2002. The two hail from Ukraine and are well-heeled in the development of animation and special effects.

Irina is an accomplished animator and artist, and Eugene has won many awards for his work on feature movies. They’ve been a core part of The Berkshires animation and special effects community since 1996, and they started Animagic as a way to share with others the amazing world they’ve both helped to create.

Though both are still actively engaged in many projects they devote a lot of time to the Museum of Animations, Special Effects and Art they’ve created and have opened to the public.

The Museum conducts guided tours, which are free, and conducts 2-hour workshops for $20 (reg. $40) which includes all materials, ideas, instruction, and a tape. These are entry-level workshops, so if you’ve never done anything like this before - don’t worry, you’ll have a blast.

The 20-minute guided tour is by appointment only, and so call the number below to claim a spot.

On the tour you’ll learn how many of the more astounding effects of recent years were created and see the devices used to create them, and these include, the “living painting technology” used in “What Dreams May Come” and the “360-degrees-bullet” effect used in “The Matrix.”

The 2-hour workshop will walk you through creating a model, making an animation movie, recording it and adding sound, music, and title, and then transferring it to a tape to take home.

More advanced workshops are offered as well.

There’s even a museum shop where you can purchase hard-to-find-toys, and the Museum can be rented for birthday parties. For information about contacting the museum and directions go here: http://www.mambor.com/animagic/index.htm

The Museum of Animation, Special Effects and Art is close to many other destinations you can read about in a special Massachusetts attractions page here.

I’ll be reviewing another destination or resource in New England for you in a few days time so please bookmark and return to this site or subscribe to the automatic RSS feed here.

Cliff Calderwood
Editor
New England Vacations Guide