Today, apparently, is ‘Blue Monday’ and I am slightly helplessly drawn to these images of spring-time buttercups. They glow for me in times of grisly winter darkness, and point ahead to what we have to look forward to when Spring arrives. Working on this little film is turning a blue Monday into a lovely, warm, hope-filled yellow one.
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Case Study | Evolution Stories at the Museum of Zoology
One thing I love about my job as a film maker and animator is the site visit. Meeting clever experts in their native habitat to learn about their world first hand is just such a pleasure. My work for the Museum of Zoology was just such a case, and I often think about my first visit to this beautiful collection.
Mid-refurb, as I walked in, I looked up at ancient skeletons covered in large, protective paper sheets, past fresh, empty cases awaiting their clean specimens. Above the balcony, sea life skeletons hung from the first floor ceiling, and I felt as though I was diving into a completely other world – submersed. My contact Roz told me about the massive mammoths, giant turtles and sloths, and as we stood underneath a huge extinct rhino skeleton, how and why all these are preserved, their age, where they came from, and why they died out. Shivers ran over me as my sense of size and significance found humbling perspective.
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The Story Behind my 'Hearts on Hearts' Film
Thrown together one confused afternoon in August. Poor in quality but high on emotion, this low-fi little film of hearts on hearts has had amongst the best responses of anything I’ve ever shared. These hearts don’t wait for their polish before being ready.
This is for all of us who are feeling confused and unsure what to do next.
”Keep going,” these little messengers eagerly say.
Read MoreThank you, NYC
How do you find New York?
In July, I made my first visit to the big apple, and made every effort to experience it on my own terms even (especially) in hitting some of the iconic sights. In making pictures, it's a great challenge to capture everything we know a place is, yet bring yourself to the picture too! I really wanted to explain what it was like taking part in the NY thing, as well as being true to my personal reality which is about space, and peace, and breathing in and out.
The thing with NY is, we all know what it looks like as the backdrop to so much of our movie culture. There is a huge temptation to make something look like another picture I've seen, but I struggle with the point of doing that because what really needs to happen is we work on explaining experiences in our own voices. That's how we get past the homogenous, corporate exterior of what we're fed, and remain connected as human beings.
It was a massive challenge making a mini-portrait of my personal journey in NY—no more than one minute—and so much I had to leave out! I had a go though, without a plan, just to feel my way around with a camera, to see what would happen.
The place is frantic.
But amidst the street vendors clattering under hanging yellow traffic lights, and grubby subway rides downtown, I paid attention to quieter things too – to stay connected to moments and places where I could breathe and stop a while to digest that big, juicy bundle of apple-like life.
Thank you, New York, you and your Central Park roses were ridiculously, fragrantly lovely.
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This was all shot on an iPhone SE and edited in After Effects. Music: 'Raindrops' by Grapes, under a CC License.
Seashore Slowdown
Here's a little (tiny) film I made to say 'thank you' to those small seashore moments of summer—trying to capture something of that easy feeling when you're sitting at the water's edge with your toes in the shore break and breeze on your face—and bring it on home. I've been trying to stretch myself to work with film as well as pure animation techniques, so these clips are just me getting used to what my iPhone can do for quick, sketchbook captures. It makes me smile – right back in the oh-so-simple escape of it all!
Hope it helps you keep your inspirations of summer flowing too.
[wpvideo civ1aE6K]
{Soundtrack: 'Woman' by Rocovaco, under a Creative Commons License}