de kunst

Story-telling at GCF

2012-02-01T22:10:00.009-05:00

Story-telling, food, and a 'theology of dish-washing'*: all things that bring people together in really wonderful and underestimated ways.

Tomorrow evening I'll be sharing my story at the University of Toronto's Graduate Christian Fellowship on being an artist (animator), a Christian, ways in which these two things interweave, and what that looks like in terms of direction and times of transition. All without being kitsch.

I'll also be screening my graduate film, The Scarf, and explaining some of the process and story behind that as well, so if you're in the U of T area tomorrow evening (6pm) and in the mood for some soup and story-telling, come on out!

Directions and a little more info can be found here.

*Being the typist that I am, I almost let that phrase go out as 'a theology of fish-washing' instead of 'dish-washing'. I'm sure fish-washing brings people together in really wonderful and under-estimated ways too, but admit I'm a little short-handed in thinking of how.

2012-01-17T21:10:00.003-05:00

It's windy outside, I'm drinking chai, eating sardines, life is good.

Jackets & Coats, Jackets & Coats

2012-01-03T12:16:00.004-05:00

First post of a new year, and with that, first things first: Happy New Year!

I did a bit of sewing over the holidays; mostly alterations/re-purposing on 'big-people clothes' as I tend to to call them, in comparison to the usual miniature size. Happily, I worked on some of the latter as well and learned some valuable things along the way. Namely - the fabric used (a sort of corduroy) is actually a little too thick to be working with on this scale. It's deceptive because on first touch it's not an overly stiff or heavy fabric (or so I thought), but it really bulks up at seams and pairing it with a thinner silky material for the collar caused some trouble. Additionally, attaching the collar first before the side-seams (coupled with an under-stitched lining at the bottom of the jacket) really limited the ability to do any adjusting afterwards. Corduroy - this version, at any rate - also attracts alot of dust. Not so good when you're animating.

But you finish what you started and ponder all these things up for next time.

A little coat-tail.

I've also started on his over-coat, with the intention of it having the look of some sort of thick-textured, winter-defying heavy ..thing. I'm exploring different looks and am undecided between adapting a literal representation of the conceptual sketches I've done (the needle-thread one on the right), or something a little softer and more experimental, a la needle-felted (on the left). Thoughts?

2011-12-22T13:42:00.002-05:00

Geetar-playing reference and then-some.

2011-12-12T21:25:00.003-05:00

John Calvin at the AGO.

2011-12-12T08:35:00.003-05:00

A morning sketch of the moon.

On Lobsters

2011-12-07T20:35:00.005-05:00

Posting's been a little non-existent lately, leading to a bit of a costuming cliff-hanger here for which I apologize. I've been involved in some interesting endeavours the last month or so learning about textiles, fabric printing processes, muscles I never knew I possessed ("Oh, hello! I don't think we've met!"), how to fix Christmas lights, and other life-saving skills. It's been a highly enjoyable month and I'm deeply grateful for the opportunities served on my plate.

So I bring you a childhood memory:

Lobsters.

A month or two ago at a friend’s wedding my twin and I both discovered an extremely obscure memory of our first introduction to lobsters. There was an open lobster tank standing in the middle of a brown-tiled grocery store. It was filled with lobsters sporting unsecured pincers that could pinch off your fingers -(SO DON’T PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE TANK).

p.s. More Uncle Antlers costuming to come soon!

Uncle Antlers - Costuming, Part II!

2011-11-14T23:21:00.006-05:00

Pants, shirt, vest, polka-dot bow-tie.. (he's been expecting a jacket, currently in production).

I like the progression his wardrobe's been making. He may be technically dead but he's not unpleasant - his clothes are of a proper sort, and the bow-tie (polka-dots and warm pastels) makes him a little more endearing.

I opted for painting a layer of brown acrylic over the tissue-paper-covered antlers, and used ink and a toothpick to add lines and grooves.

The Bowtie:

French knots on silk (remnants of a childhood hair-scrunchie).

I added interfacing to add more durability - the fabric by itself isn't terribly strong, and this prevents it from excessive splitting between the fabric fibres when I'm poking the needle through.

Trimmed to size and ironed.

Top and sides sewn; from there I tucked under and hand-stitched the bottom closed, then scrunched the square down into a bow-tie volume and sewed the middle to maintain that shape. I was originally going to use some of the silk to form the middle band, but it would have been too bulky and I've since warmed up to the thread alternative - it adds a bit of a folksy, hand-made feel.

Uncle Antlers - Costuming!

2011-11-02T17:04:00.005-04:00

So! Costuming. Currently I'm a little under half-way through fabricating a costume for Uncle Antlers. (Vest needs finishing and tailoring, he's due to receive a velvet jacket, and an overcoat yet). I initially wasn't sure what kind of colour scheme to dress him in - any exploratory artwork has been pen sketches in black and white, and I wanted to make sure he fits into a distinct world that carries its own colour combinations and sense of atmosphere. Then I found this wonderful fabric at Value Village that is a brownish, almost-mauve-(rhymes-with-stove) colour but contains a tint of teal that shows up when the light hits it right. It's fantastic. From there I opted to go with a complementary navy for the rest of his suit, and I like the mix of a light-warm/dark-cool colour combo, along with the different textures involved.

I'm going for a formal and classic suit-style (almost tux-status, what with his shirt darts and a coming-soon bow tie) with references from early 1900's mens' wear. I ran an outer seam down the front of his pants to stress the crease and maintain its crispness; tailored structure. Also, I'm very proud to have made a lined vest in this scale.

Airbrushed base colour.

Added grit: acrylic paint, eye-shadow powders, and dirt.

Antlers and vest buttons...

2011-10-26T17:37:00.004-04:00

Pictured, above: A (slightly) bulked-up Uncle Antlers, and my dad's model trucks (a love for miniature runs in the blood). As for feet, I've gone the magnetic route for securing him to sets so as to keep my options open at this point, and they're detachable (brass-stock on the bottom of his legs and top of his feet) so that there's a possibility for different rigging alternatives when it comes to actual animating.

Next week - some posts on costuming!

Uncle Antlers (a progress)

2011-10-21T11:11:00.004-04:00

I've been meaning to make this fellow for a while. Starting with a rough scale drawings of his desired proportions, I've assembled a nice little epoxy-and-wire skeletal base which will then be bulked up with upholstery foam.

And his antlers - I'm still exploring the best means of producing these. I initially figured they'd be sculpted in clay, but when I gave that a shot I found it looked too chunky and 'heavy' to maintain any sense of gracefulnss. So I stiffened them a bit with gap-filling glue and plumber's epoxy, then added a layer of black tissue paper on top for a bit of contrasting texture to the smoothness of his head. The black's a bit too dark though, so I'm considering either adding a lighter layer of tissue paper on top, or painting details and a more accurate colur over the black. Suggestions?

2011-10-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

I'm startin' something new..

wedding illustration

2011-10-12T21:42:00.007-04:00

T'is a dark and stormy night (out here at any rate), and whilst I sip hot cocoa let me share some recent work with you.

I was an 'event illustrator' for a wedding a few weeks ago (very awesome idea and alot of fun to be a part of), and below are some of the little 'snippets of the day' that resulted:

a new puppet!

2011-09-27T21:37:00.005-04:00

A puppet commission I finished fabricating recently, to be used in an online training tutorial.

(Substance: Armature wire, plumber's epoxy, sculpey, upholstery foam, liquid latex, houndstooth neckerchief).

2011-09-19T18:15:00.004-04:00

HEY! I'll be helping out at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in (you guessed it) Ottawa this year, so if any of you dear readers are puttering around in the TAC area Wednesday afternoon or the Arts Court Thursday evening, come and say hi!

2011-09-14T15:05:00.003-04:00

I won a fish on the weekend. His name was Atticus. He liked parsley and clocked out too soon.

2011-09-05T20:19:00.004-04:00

drawing of the day: your local neighbourhood watch.

Edit: Discovered some very kind press on my film (The Scarf) on animateclay.com, check it out here!

Lip Synch-o

2011-09-01T13:06:00.003-04:00

A stop-motion lip synch test I did a little while ago for the Irish studio Flickerpix:

It starts out a little choppy but as it progressed I got more into the flow of things. Also, a brief little character test piece for my opossum puppet:

Opossum Test from Carla Veldman on Vimeo.

The Scarf boards (and a new fest!)

2011-08-15T18:19:00.007-04:00

I realized not long ago that I never did put these up. Adding tone recently for portfolio purposes and the film's acceptance into the Montreal International Black Film Festival makes for a timely post. Enjoy!

ode to lyd, and other people

2011-08-14T21:15:00.009-04:00

I've been meaning to post this all week! and I've been meaning to write this ode for far longer. My best friend-and-cousin Lydia got married last weekend. She is one of the few people I know who has that rare and precious gift of truly listening; she is patient, loyal, practical, and gracious. I am tremendously thankful [and extremely happy] for her!

There is an art to watching kraft dinner on the stove, and my brother has mastered it.

And a portrait of my sister. She is hilarious, and we are twins.

p.s. I'll have some animation up again soon, and that's a promise!

2011-07-29T23:48:00.011-04:00

My siblings and I held snail races one summer with the neighbour kids, no lie. I don't think anyone won.

2011-07-27T21:07:00.003-04:00

Contrary to popular belief, the King is alive and well and donating paltry sums to good causes.

summer in the city

2011-07-24T08:00:00.005-04:00

There was a girl playing recorder (that most brilliant of instruments) across the street yesterday. Her grandfather was sitting nearby listening but not watching just staring off in the distance and there's such a large gap between being 6 and being 60, I wonder what he was thinking about.

on balloon animals

2011-07-22T13:53:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you but I've always thought balloon animals pretty cool. I saw a kid at an art fair while in Groningen clutching one of these and he looked absolutely ecstatic.

a little more on Uncle Antlers, as he'd like to be called

2011-07-18T18:47:00.005-04:00

Om Johannes

2011-07-12T09:30:00.005-04:00

I met my Oma's brother (Om Johannes) while on my Holland travels; that made quite an impression on me.

I've also been exploring the world of ink lately; it takes some adjusting to as I'm used to the hard point of a pen (or sometimes pencil); a brush tip of course is much more pliable and my hand isn't as sure as I'd like it to be, but all in the good name of practice and growth.

Annecy!

2011-07-06T23:33:00.016-04:00

The promised Annecy post, in pictures from my travel sketchbook!

Airport & other random observances while generally in transit. Annecy: it was great simply being there. The entire lower portion of the city was swarming with animators, animation-lovers, and the audiences went all out during the screenings. Met all sorts of incredibly interesting and highly talented animation folk- Mark Sperber, Paul Briggs, Max & Ru of Tiny Inventions, and Samantha Leriche-Gionet to name a few, as well as other student film-makers from the world over. Also took in crazy amounts of animated films. Very inspiring.

View of the older part of the city and mountain range from the vantage point of an old castle partway up the hill.

Food staple of the week!

Geraniums

Train pulling out of Annecy, on the way to London St Pancras.

A pigeon in Regent Park, with birdberry stains. I spent a few days up in London after Annecy, visited MacKinnon & Saunders in Manchester and had a lovely time there - extraordinarily talented artists, and on top of that, extremely kind.

Received an excellent suggestion from Peter Saunders regarding local sight-seeing; Chetham's Library, the oldest public library in the English-speaking world!

Made my way over to Holland following England - saw a lunar eclipse in Zeeland, walked to Germany and had a really gezellig time visiting relatives, learning family history and hometowns of my grandparents.

Waiting for my plane at Schipol to return to Canada, travellers moving in herds.

All in all, a really superb trip. For anyone who's entertained the idea of attending Annecy, GO!

2011-07-06T22:59:00.006-04:00

And some pictographs, for your viewing delight:

La Grande Salle

The older part of the city is nestled along the lakeside and canals run through it; it's absolutely enchanting.

View from La Plage.

The Scarf is online!!

2011-06-22T13:37:00.006-04:00

I'm back from Annecy, where my graduate film The Scarf played in the official selection of graduation films! Met an abundance of insanely-talented artists and drank in hours of seriously inspirational films, (I'll have some sketches and whatnot up in a few days).

In the meantime I'm very pleased to present said graduate film, The Scarf:

(Or see it directly on Vimeo here).

Off to Annecy! (& other adventures on cobble-stoned shores)

2011-06-04T12:36:00.003-04:00

I'm leaving today for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France where my thesis film will be playing in the graduate screenings. (Needless to say, 'tis all very exciting!)

Kalle Mattson (Thick As Thieves)!

2011-05-19T22:26:00.005-04:00

So the project I've been working on with friends Kevin Parry and Andrew Wilson over the last half year is officially finished and making its online debut; a 'little arts & crafts history of the world' as it were:

You can check out more production stuff on director Kevin Parry's blog here.

The Scarf (the breakfast scene)

2011-05-16T10:48:00.006-04:00

An excerpt from my graduation film The Scarf, which will be playing at Annecy 2011.

TCAF

2011-05-10T19:55:00.005-04:00

Went to the Toronto Comics & Arts Festival this weekend; that was excellent. Comics are a medium I'm not intimately acquainted with (as of yet) but some of my style has slowly been gravitating in that direction, and this weekend was if anything inspiring. It's always exciting meeting a bunch of talented people in one place.

The Thing About Old Technology

2011-05-04T22:36:00.010-04:00

..is that sometimes it comes back to bite you - I can't get the frames off my machine!

..Anyone have a floppy disk they're not using?

Le Annecy Count-Down (34 Days!)

2011-05-01T22:29:00.004-04:00

Well, first day-o'-May and just a little over a month before I leave for Annecy!! Crazy-excited!!! I look forward to being floored by phenomenal films and meeting awesome animation artists, as well as drinking in some European culture in general - it's been too long, too long indeed. There's a hop-over to Holland in the works, and a possible excursion to England as well. I'll be sure to pack my sketchbook!

All alliteration aside, I'm really looking forward to this adventure. It's been an interesting year since graduation and I'm terribly curious to find out what's next. In my own efforts, I've got another (short, short) film in the works, and have recently made the move to Toronto.

Also, this is Myrtle. Do say hello.

2011-04-24T22:28:00.004-04:00

I went to a church where the people were progressive and hip and had lost their sense of wonder, and there was something inexplicably tragic in that. I went to a different one this week and it was quite lovely. I would have scribbled a caricature of the pastor but I didn't 'cause I think I was sitting beside his wife.

sheets like birds

2011-04-17T23:31:00.004-04:00

A little more exploration of Uncle Antlers.

On an unrelated note, experience has taught me that the little voice of discouragement both A) is a liar, and B) means you're probably on to something good.

The Scarf at Naked Frames

2011-04-04T21:53:00.006-04:00

HEY! I forgot to mention this earlier, but The Scarf will be playing as part of the Naked Frames' lineup this Thursday, April 7th, 9pm at the Revue cinema in Toronto. I'll be in attendance, hope to see you there!

2011-03-21T21:23:00.004-04:00

One illustration of several I did for a little side-project; pencil crayon. Oh Life Drawing I do miss thee.

p.s. Haven't posted much in the way of stop-mo lately and I hope to have some things up soon, but head on over here in the meantime for a little something to pique the curiosity; a really neat project I've been collaborating on with friends.

Film Fests!

2011-03-10T09:45:00.005-05:00

Excellent news! The Scarf has made it into a few more fests: the Hearts & Minds Film Festival in Delaware, the Viewfinders International Film Festival for Youth in Halifax (previously shown as part of their Festival In a Van in the fall), and last but not least, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France! VERY exciting!!! (Did a little victory dance, as illustrated above) - more info as it comes!

psst! Some (from what I understand!) kind words about the Canadian films in this year's Annecy line-up here.

a little bit of misc. and not too much colour

2011-02-27T17:01:00.006-05:00

A collection of doodles from miscellaneous times and places. To a certain extent I have a habit of drawing anywhere except inside my sketchbook.

'(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)'. My head's clearer these days.

2011-02-14T21:07:00.002-05:00

the meeting.

2011-02-05T18:52:00.001-05:00

2011-01-16T22:07:00.005-05:00

New story idea I've been circling around lately, not sure where it will be going yet.

Diorama!

2011-01-09T14:52:00.008-05:00

Something I made a little while ago but hadn't gotten around to posting. Pen, watercolour, paper, wire, and cardboard.

things for the sake of enjoyment

2011-01-07T23:48:00.007-05:00

I was talking to a friend today who, amongst other nuggets of brilliance, suggested taking up a daily routine of writing. Writing, simply for the sake of writing, and this is a fantastic suggestion. It immediately transports me back to a time in fifth grade when we were occasionally (even habitually?) given the assignment of writing - not that essay business you tread through in the years to come - but writing for itself, for pure enjoyment. We could write about anything, I absolutely loved it, and I'm going to take that up again.

haHA! Finis!

2010-12-27T11:34:00.021-05:00

Quite happy to say I finished this little guy. This is not to imply he was a pain to work on (it was a decent challenge and one that was enjoyed), but I think I dragged it on longer than I should have and I like finishing things off within a reasonable amount of time before jumping on to something else.

I'm pretty happy with how he turned out; being more of a learning-curve project, I started with a loose image in mind and wasn't entirely sure how the final product was going to shape up. If I made a second version, I'd opt for a larger size (looking back, I don't know why I made him so small - he's not tiny, but still pushes the small end of the spectrum for practicality vs. design functions. (Ex: Feet magnet size - had I made his body somewhat larger, it would have emphasized the what-I-hoped-to-be 'tiny feet' look a bit more, his legs could have been made a little thicker without looking bulky in comparison, sewing the fur on might have been easier, and so on). Also, I would have focussed on a more replacement-friendly design: as it stands, this one isn't so much. Overall though he works for my purposes, and I think he turned out rather cute.

Getting a nice even skin tone with my new airbrush.

Adding the deets.

Cutting out the fur: made a paper pattern, used an old fur coat sleeve I got from my great-aunt who had unfulfilled aspirations of turning it into some sort of hand muff. For all I know, it could very well be actual opossum fur. I got in some experience working with fun-fur during a short little stint at Banjo Puppets, and that helped with knowing how to work with the fur here (small snips close to the leather so you don't end up giving it a haircut at the same time, and de-fluffing after cutting).

I was originally going to give him fur all around; fur under-belly, fur legs. Found out (as I kinda suspected) it gets way too thick for the size I'm dealing with. Felt turned out to be a nice alternative. Felt, if it's used out of a proper context or setting tends to look cheap and tacky, but I think it works fine here since it has a rough texture that offsets the fur nicely. (Comparatively smoother, but not T00 smooth).

Made a small stitch down the back to keep the fur in place, which helped when stitching down the sides as well.

And reference!

santa claus & sketchbook excerpts

2010-12-21T20:17:00.006-05:00

Santa Claus: I'm pretty sure there's a small demographic of older men out there who have a particular dislike for the guy.

p.s. more puppet stuff to come soon!

2010-12-16T21:47:00.003-05:00

..sofa sandwich.

2010-12-12T16:36:00.003-05:00

2010-12-02T22:03:00.002-05:00

Came across some cannibalism in TO today.

Progression

2010-11-28T16:16:00.024-05:00

More progress on the puppet. I've been relegating this fellow to the back burner for a while, but hopefully no more. It's been a bit hectic lately: the first two or so weeks of November I was helping out two puppet-makers in Toronto, brushing up on my sewing skills, introducing myself to industrial rotary cutters and machines, learning the art of cutting Fun Fur (which indeed lives up to the name), inserting plastic eyeballs and consuming a whole lot of tea. Good times.

Prior to that I attended the Montreal Stop-motion Film Festival. I enjoyed meeting other stop-mo aficionados - including Oscar-nominated stop-motion animator and director Barry Purves!, viewing recent outpourings of stop-motion films made within the last year or two, and taking in the local culture of Montreal. The weekend following I attended a screening of my film at the Rendezvous with Madness film festival put on by Dufferin Arts here in Toronto. I participated in an after-screening discussion panel with Canadian film-maker Maureen Judge (The Scarf screened with her documentary feature The August Years of May & Gloria, very sweet film dealing with a mother-daughter care-giving relationship during the onset of Alzheimer's), a community support worker, a clinician of Baycrest, a caregiver, and a very kind moderater. This was the first time I'd done any sort of panel participation, and I really appreciate the discussion Rendezvous brings to the table - watching something you've made with a crowd that has a personal interest in the subject matter and addressing the core of what the films are about, was an incredibly valuable experience. An altogether wholesome and solid fest.

I google-searched my film some time ago and discovered it played at
ASIFA-Atlanta's 'Roll Yer Own' screening, which I'd submitted to in April. I never heard from them and assumed it hadn't been picked up, but as it turns out my film not only made it in but also won best-in-show! From there it played in Australia for International Animation Day - which is October 28th and also happens to be my birthday; a very good day indeed. The Scarf is also travelling with the Atlantic Film fest's International Viewfinders Festival, an outreach program that visits schools in rural communities of Atlantic Canada to show films and involve the students in filmmaking workshops. Very neat idea. My film will also be featured in Singapore's very first International Children's Film Festival (more details when they come)!

Anyways, back to this guy:

Magnets: I went back to magnets in the feet for this one, though these are slightly smaller (not as strong, but I think with four feet he should be alright).

One good thing about living out here - Niagara for the time - is that my family has a bit of a pack-rat streak in it (are these things genetic? Nature versus Nurture?) and chances are if you hunt hard enough for anything, you're bound to find it. Story of the Fishing-line.

p.s. The ears are comprised of black-wrap foil sandwiched between a layer of fabric and ribbon, so they're theoretically animateable.

keep your head on your shoulders

2010-11-27T23:23:00.002-05:00

.. that's usually a good place for it.

2010-11-16T21:37:00.003-05:00

November is a month that constantly cranes its neck forward.

Festival-ing Specs

2010-10-28T22:52:00.006-04:00

I'm excited! My film will be playing as part of the New Film-makers Los Angeles at Sunset Gower Studios in December, next weekend my film will be playing at 4pm on November 7th at the Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival here in Toronto (at which there is a possiblity of my joining an after-screening discussion panel), and this weekend I'll be attending the Montreal Stop-motion Film Festival Montreal Stop-motion Film Festival , where my film will be playing on Saturday at 1pm. If you happen to be in any of these areas at said times, come and say hi!

promotions! promotions! & progress

2010-10-24T12:58:00.010-04:00

“I was watching BET one night, and they were interviewing a man about jazz music. He said jazz music was invented by the first generation out of slavery. I thought that was beautiful because, while it is music, it is very hard to put on paper; it is so much more a language of the soul … The first generation out of slavery invented jazz music. It is a music birthed out of freedom. And that is the closest thing I know to Christian spirituality. A music birthed out of freedom. Everybody sings their song the way they feel it, everybody closes their eyes and lifts up their hands.”
- Donald Miller

Promotion No. 1: Blue Like Jazz is an honest, humourous, and poignant exploration of 'non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality', and I expect nothing less from the film. That said though, it needs support! and its Kickstarter campaign (funded entirely by individual contributions) is coming to a close Monday evening.

Promotion No. 2: My mentor Chris Walsh just posted a neat little zombie animation he made in time for Hallowe'en, check it out here and additional information here!

And progress:

I received an early birthday present this year in the form of an air brush, and I put it to good use with painting the oppossum's head. For the most part the results turned out pretty decent. I'm new to air brushing, and one thing I'm going to do next time is rub the surface with an anti-static sheet so it doesn't attract all kinds of dust while it's drying. Another thing to be figured out is how to fix problem areas that might arise after additional details/features have been painted. I mixed acrylic paint with a bit of water, so re-applying paint (either with areas masked off and re-spraying, or perhaps with a very fine brush) to small areas that have been scratched etc. might be problematic. Overall though it lends a smoothness to the painted surface that I like, I know the lighting I'll be using for this fellow will be fairly low and won't involve any super close-ups, and this puppet is predominantly meant as a learning-curve project (I'll be getting into adding fur down the road!)

around about

2010-10-19T23:30:00.004-04:00

2010-10-19T23:16:00.005-04:00

Mein kot.

One of my brothers found a couple old Kodak cameras there once, and last summer the youngest one came back with a 'Do-It-Yourself' home dissection kit - the frog and fish were old and rubbery.

The Railway Steam Galop Has Arrived!

2010-10-15T10:28:00.015-04:00

I've just spent the last week or so on the finishing touches of The Railway Steam Galop, a short film I worked on over the summer with animator, NFB veteran, and Sheridan professor Kaj Pindal. The film had its first public screening yesterday at the school, and it looked - and sounded! spectacular. This was (for everyone involved) our first foray into HD, and the output is pretty slick. I had a truly wonderful time working on the film and with those involved, and while I'm a little sad that part is over there's a very satisfying feeling that accompanies the knowledge of another completed project, and one well-done. (The previous two being my thesis film, and Chris Walsh's True Family Story. The Railway Steam Galop is now off to Denmark for the Ribe Animation Festival (founded by Kaj), and from there, who knows?

In other news, The Scarf will be showing at the Redemptive Film Festival, the Montreal Stop Motion Film festival (more details to come for both), and at the 9:45am Family & Folktales screening, October 26th, of the Chicago International Children's Film Festival!

It's been a little busy the last couple days so I haven't been able to post more on the puppet or start on a second one, but I hope to have more progress up soon.

A few stills, excepting the clock, that didn't make the final cut:

2010-10-04T21:38:00.002-04:00

2010-09-21T22:32:00.002-04:00

Behold! I'm starting something new!

Ben Cameron on Change, Transformation, & Renewal in the Arts

2010-09-21T11:14:00.005-04:00

'The Arts; whatever they do, whenever they call us together, invite us to look at our fellow human beings with generosity and curiosity. God knows, if we have ever needed that capacity in human history, we need it now!'

I'm inspired.

condiments

2010-09-17T18:21:00.002-04:00

The Scarf at Rendezvous With Madness!

2010-09-17T10:29:00.005-04:00

Hey all! The Scarf will be playing at the Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival in Toronto November 5-13th. Rendezvous With Madness is 'the world’s first and longest running film festival dedicated to showcasing cinematic representations of mental illness and addiction', and I'm really pleased to be a part of that. I'll pass along more deets when I get them.

2010-09-10T22:44:00.010-04:00

Ode to my solid friend Simeon, fellow lover of bad puns and good metaphors.

and a misc. collection of doodles, more or less recent-ish.

p.s. I hope to invest in a better scanner sometime in the near future. This one reduces pen lines into horribltje crumbly-ness.

Last weekend (I think it was last weekend) I entered two of my drawings in one of the local fall fairs, both won firsts! (I was the only one in my categories, heh heh). Next year I'm going to enter everything I own.

Time Portals

2010-09-07T22:22:00.005-04:00

I dreamt two nights ago about a sandstorm time portal in the prairies. If you held your breath long enough you could be attending college in 1973. Grainy browns and reds.

'The Scarf' at the Atlantic Film Festival

2010-09-01T19:03:00.005-04:00

More good news! The Scarf has been accepted into and will be screening at the Atlantic Film Festival! It will be playing at 10am at the Oxford theatre on September 22nd, so if you're in the area make sure to take a look-see!

WOOO!!

2010-08-31T19:56:00.005-04:00

I have just learned that 'The Scarf' has been accepted into the Chicago International Children's Film Festival !! This is my first acceptance, and I am very excited! The festival takes place October 22nd-31st; I shall pass along further details when I know more.

Good News!

2010-08-25T15:42:00.007-04:00

I'm truly pleased to announce that 'The Scarf' will be an addition to Shalom Manor & Gardens' resources, including uses in staff training. I'm particularly indebted to the help of Sherri Davis, manager of Recreation & Volunteer Services, for taking the time early last September to discuss and share her perspective on Alzheimer's with me, something I believe I've meshed with by concluding that people are defined by more than their current state of being.

ba-dUm-ba-dUm-ba-dUm-badUm..

2010-08-15T13:44:00.004-04:00

(In advance, I'd like to apologize for the awkward cutting and insidious frame-blending found here). That said, these were a couple shots/experiments Kaj and I did wherein we had the camera track the oncoming trains: Kaj put together a little make-shift train car that the camera could sit on as it rolled along the track pieces, which created some pretty wild wobbling. I've been curious for some time as to how stop-motion with a 'hand-held cam-corder/home video' approach might look, so this was a neat chance to test this out, albeit with trains as a subject. In the end these didn't make the final cut, partially because the shaky look didn't fit as well with the surrounding shots, and also due to Kaj's objection that they made the trains appear a bit skittishly toy-like again, something that we tried to avoid in selling the weight and movement of the trains throughout the film.

We wrapped up shooting and the bulk of editing by the end of July; 'The Railway Steam Gallop' is now in its sound and music phase, and anticipated to be completed sometime in the fall. I'll keep ya posted!

2010-08-15T08:32:00.003-04:00

vanTuyl's house at night, lotsa light.

the only thing missing was his snoring

2010-08-08T22:06:00.002-04:00

2010-08-04T20:58:00.002-04:00

Hey, hey!

2010-07-21T20:59:00.005-04:00

I'm pleased to announce that my thesis film 'The Scarf' is now a recent addition to the resource library of North York General Hospital's geriatric services, the Senior's Health Centre in Toronto.

ψυχή -ωσις

2010-07-18T23:01:00.011-04:00

..I don't know how this story ends.

2010-07-12T22:42:00.002-04:00

2010-07-06T18:18:00.002-04:00

Allllll Aboard!

2010-06-26T20:51:00.007-04:00

Here's the latest from The Railway Steam Gallop, the stop-motion short film I'm working on with animator Kaj Pindal. It was a lot of fun shooting this scene as much of the previous shots build up to this moment of tension where the trains just miss eachother " - by a MILLImetre!" It's also been a super-neat experience and pleasure working with Kaj so far, who is an endless source of ideas, experience, advice, (good stories!!), and not to mention humour. Anyways, enjoy!

2010-06-20T17:52:00.004-04:00

a very brief overview of set construction

2010-06-16T21:00:00.002-04:00

(initial concept to final shot).

Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance

2010-06-13T12:32:00.008-04:00

I received Barry Purves' 'Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance' as part of my graduation present, and I think I can say with all honesty that it's probably the best book I've read within the past year or so - if not longer, in that it truly encouraged an excitement and embracing of something I'd previously had only brief (though not forgotten) encounters with. I initially borrowed the book last summer and was immediately enthralled with the fact that it's not simply a basic overview or dry list of techniques - it's a very personal and insightful reflection on the world of stop-motion animation and what it's like, as an artist, to breathe in the unique joys and challenges of that medium on a daily basis.

A Post on Props

2010-06-12T22:32:00.011-04:00

Initial prop concepts and designs for my film. These included a miniature rubik's cube; a somewhat contentious piece to figure out in terms of sizing and functionality. I created a small one that featured a functional top layer (two very tiny magnets inserted between the top layer and the rest of the cube that allowed some swivel). For all purposes though of a close-up, I had to make a much larger one in order to get the framing and lighting (and capability of movement) that I wanted. More on that later.

A variety of props. As a note, the freezer was a lot of fun to make as I aimed to endow it with features of the typical family freezer - around here at any rate; freezer burn, rotten bananas (these are for baking purposes and every time we clean out our freezer we find about 10 of them), and vegetables stored in milk bags.

As a solution to the rubik's cube problem I created two larger ones (a little bit bigger than actual size) out of three pieces of styrofoam each. The first version turned only horizontally, and the second one, turning only vertically, was made to match up visually with where the first one ended so that I could replace it halfway through and create the illusion that it was a fully functional cube. The fingers were made of clay and alternately pinned to the cube or propped up with one of those helping-hand mechanisms. The cubes themselves had a piece of brass stock inserted into the bottom, and could be slid onto another one held in the gripstand.

Overall I think the transition worked pretty seamlessly, as can be seen in the final shot:

2010-06-04T20:42:00.008-04:00

This is what I'm currently keeping myself busy with, and so far (as I think you can tell in the clip), it's been a blast!

2010-05-30T19:17:00.003-04:00

why are you here, Grandma?

2010-05-25T21:33:00.004-04:00

2010-05-20T21:59:00.006-04:00

Looking back at all these, I've realized none of them actually ended up in the final film, and LeRoy (the little guy) had to get cut out. The story took a different turn somewhere along the way, but that's not to say it didn't end up in a decent destination.

I think I'd like to make a film about brothers.

2010-05-09T23:51:00.004-04:00

2010-05-04T20:38:00.004-04:00

(an early story beat from The Scarf, more to come..)

2010-04-24T22:41:00.008-04:00

School is finished, the film is done.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and its process of creation was incredibly enjoyable, on so many levels. One aspect I found particularly impactful was showing it to others (largely when it was still in the story-reel stage) and learning how many of them were able to relate to the subject matter. 'The Scarf' (my film) explores the ways in which a young boy's relationship with his grandmother is affected by Alzheimer's disease, and one thing I've really valued is the amount of conversation and discussion that's often followed as a result.

My film is a quiet one.
It goes in quietly, and it goes out quietly,
but from what I gather it's not forgotten.

The Adventures of Mister Applehead

2010-04-10T13:39:00.006-04:00

This is a little video I made with my younger brother Paul this morning; he's worked on the apple puppet since last December when I ventured into puppet-making and has been wanting to try all this animation business for himself. Involved with this was an integrated laptop camera, Stop Motion Pro (trial), good ol' Lego, and our dining-room table. It goes by pretty quick - I left the timing and movement up to him, only overseeing some of the follow-through with the truck collision (kept it pretty basic), but everything else was his doing - he even thought to block some of the sunlight initially hitting the white explosion card - so we may have a stop-motion animator in the making:)

Right now he's running around outside in the wind and sun with a kite-tail tied to the back of his hat.

Anyways, enjoy!

finito!!

2010-04-09T20:49:00.004-04:00

Our first deadline (for marks) in regards to our films was today; I forewent a little sleep and got things all finished off with the exception of a finessed version of music.

It feels good.

2010-04-02T22:08:00.003-04:00

I'm sunburnt,
but refreshed.

2010-03-26T21:26:00.001-04:00

where the sidewalk ends

2010-03-12T23:48:00.010-05:00

One of the scenes I'm finishing up with in terms of animating progress. I used tie-downs for my puppets (save one where you don't see his feet) and I figured this was a good shot to illustrate that. Since I wanted smaller (i.e. non-clown-looking) feet for my puppets, I forewent practicality to a certain degree and embedded small nuts into the bottom of my puppets' feet. For shots where you'd see their feet, I drilled matching holes in my set for a bolt (with another nut to secure it tightly) to go up through the deck and into the bottom of the puppets' feet, thus securing them to the set.

The more practical route is using strong magnets in the feet, but that makes them kind of clunky, aesthetically, since you need magnets powerful and therefore large enough to keep the puppet in place. As a result you don't have to drill all kinds of holes in your set, refill them with clay when they're not in use, or plan out your foot positions so tightly. Still, I don't regret going the tie-down route, since it's got a stronger aesthetic appeal, I only had a few shots featuring visible feet, and I could often cheat walking movements with the puppets mounted on a magnetized platform in shots where they weren't showing anyways.

A view of the underside of Leonard's feet (amidst all that clay gunk you can make out a nut; in the foreground is one of the bolts poking through, and the small dip in the sidewalk behind it is the clay used to hide the holes when they're not in use).

Tie-downs in action. And my rock garden. (I've been helping myself to rocks from outside the cafeteria for weighing the deck down - so far no one's missed 'em yet).

Aaaand, a still from the scene.

a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands..

2010-03-05T21:10:00.004-05:00

(yes, please).

2010-02-18T16:01:00.002-05:00

The Significance of Lighting

2010-02-12T19:26:00.008-05:00

As seen here: on the left you have your overhead, flourescent-y ceiling lights, at right, individial studio lights and gels which help create an intentional atmosphere.
This is one of the more recent shots I've done; I'd say I'm roughly half-way (give or take) through animating.

Since starting out I've learned that sometimes saying/animating something simply works better than saying something elaborately, that most things take longer than expected, and that white shirts are NOT the animator's friend.

All in all in all, it's going well.

p.s. many thanks to Aldines Zapparoli for her awesome lighting help.

2010-02-04T21:55:00.002-05:00

One Week Later... (& studio shooting set-up)

2010-01-24T22:56:00.011-05:00

Aside from looking somewhat undead, it's not doing too badly.

And a sample of my studio set-up:

This was from the first shot I did, (second shot in the film). I've got my back-set (grandma's room), her bed, and the foreground hall-way pieces hot-glue-gunned down to my animating 'deck', the suitcase butyl-ed (think sticky-tack that's actually sticky) to the bed, and the puppets screwed onto little wooden platforms with magnets on the bottoms, which are then held onto the set via magnet wands underneath (stronger magnets on short, thick wooden dowel - you can see Leonard's poking out there under the deck by the hallway pieces). My puppets are tie-downs, meaning they've got nuts inserted into the bottoms of their feet so I can secure them into place with a bolt going through the set floor. In shots where you don't see their feet though, that's a bit of an unneccessary nuisance to contend with, hence the wood contraption (compliments of Chris Walsh).
The black foil and foamcore you see on/above the set pieces help direct some of the light in the shot to frame it in a way that directs the eye to the middle of the composition, where all the action takes place (you can sort of see that on the screen there). The bluish back-piece there being held up by the grip-stand is the sky, acrylic mixed with dish-soap (it thickens it up nicely so I can slather it on in a painterly type of style) on plexi-glass.

The lighting set-up I have going here (also compliments of Chris) I can't comment on a whole lot; I don't know much of the technical jargon for light names and wattage and the like, but basically those two big ones there (foreground light at the far right, and the next one to its left, further back) are bouncing light off the low, white ceiling to create a soft look that fits the mood of the scene. It's a bright and hopeful morning, and the orange filter on the first light adds some nice warmth to it.

Little Lessons in Safety (Or, Things I Already Know)

2010-01-15T18:42:00.010-05:00

Well, this was a bit of a step up from a paper-cut:

Whilst attempting to adjust a grip-stand (sort of like a tripod, except they hold on to things) in the studio this afternoon I was concentrating on loosening a tight lever and, in a stroke of pure genius, forgot to hold on to the top part of the stand which then crashed down rather promptly on and pinched one of my fingers. It`s swollen and blue, and a bit cold from ice/frozen chicken, and I probably won`t be animating any more of this weekend, but it could have been worse.
Stop-motion animation, needless to say, comes with a whole new terrain of safety issues.