Oh, and another thing

I did a guest post for the NFB blog about working on my film, Meltdown.

Click on the bears to seeee iiiiiit 😀

Animating is fun.

What’s today, thursday?

I’ve spent the last three months in a windowless studio about the size of an industrial walk in cooler.

There is plasticine on EVERYTHING that I own.

Animation, background, compositing done… Only Robin Williams can portray accurately what I looked like emerging from my lair yesterday

But.

It’s.

DONE.

It’s complete! It’s rendered! It’s been shipped off and wrapped up and all that. And I feeeeeeeeeeeeel amaaaaaaziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing

My time at the NFB has been absolutely amazing. Everyone here is amazing. This whole situation of what’s happening here is amazing. Everyone is super friendly and there are so many different amazing projects that are being worked on! Not to mention that people like Janet Perlman and Paul Dreissen work DOWN THE HALL from me. Like…. 8 steps. Wait… I’m gonna go measure to make sure

Okay, it’s 19 steps to Janet and 24 to Paul. Maybe someone with longer legs could make it in 8 steps, but it’s not very likely.

Still though. For a little while I had a studio room at the NFB. How freakin amazing is that?

Proof!

 

That’s me yo.

Cause I like to stay organized

You can see how very clean I kept everything. I’d love to show you more but I signed a very official looking contract saying I wouldn’t.

Before I came to the NFB I was so intimidated by settings like this. I thought I’d come in and be this green horned, big eyed little graduate with silly ideas and little real experience and I wouldn’t be able to keep up with anything and anxiety anxiety anxiety.

Just a childhood dream, NO PRESSURE.

Nope. The people who work here are so grounded and friendly and helpful and genuinely interested in the projects that other people are working on! It’s incredible to have so many different films happening at the same time. I always felt that if I had a question or needed an opinion or was just curious about what someone else was doing, I could ask. And I did! And I met people and learned things and was part of it and eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I feel kind of invincible.

And a little bit like I don’t know what to do with myself.

You know when you’ve got this thing, this big thing that takes over your life and you pour your soul and everything you have into it and you just can’t wait until it’s all there and you’ll have something amazing to show for it? And then you finish it. And you have something to show, and it’s amazing and wonderful and exciting, and a little sad.

I’m sad it’s done.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m SO HAPPY it’s done! But I’m a little sad it’s done.

It’s like when you finish a really really good book and after the last page you put it down and heave a big sigh of contentment and think…

well now what?

Hmmm… now what?

The park I think.

Yup. The park. And sunshine. And comic book stores. And coffees and beers and new friends and drawing and dancing and haircuts and ….

SUMMER!

I want this.

Outdoor concerts are the best kind of concerts

This is where you can find me through the whole month of July everybody.

oh YEAH! It’s SUMMER time!

Okay, I’m not sad anymore.

Let’s Go!

WELP.

I did it.

I got the apprenticeship.

This. is. HUGE.

I shall be spending March – May working at the NFB in Montreal animating my short, Placement (working title).

Oh, did I mention where I would be working?

THE NFB.

This place —> http://www.nfb.ca/

…People.

The five year old in me who used to dance around to the Log Drivers Waltz is currently… dancing around to the Log Drivers Waltz. I am seriously doing that right now.

I’ve got so much to do in the next three weeks!! Find a place, make some mock-ups, make sure I actually know how to DO this thing I proposed, it’s all so much.

And I’m SO EXCITED!!!!

For now, here’s a picture of me and Francis on our way to the big leagues

 

Okay, I’m off to cram some french into my brain now… Stay tuned!

bigthingsbigthingsbigthingsbigthings

Francis goes for an interview!

So it’s just about time for me to send in my application for the NFB animation apprenticeship. It’s gonna be one of those all-night editing parties for me!

I’m working with this story about a polar bear named Francis who applies at Parks Canada for the position of “wildlife”. I won’t go too into it, in case it makes it through.

The whole thing is like, this interactive choose your own adventure claymation deal. Even if it doesn’t get accepted for this apprenticeship, I think I’m going to make it anyway. I’m falling in love with Francis more and more every day ❤

FINGERS CROSSED

Anywho, here’s a look at some concept artwork!

I’ve also made a model of Francis out of clay. He isn’t painted yet, and is made out of sculpey so he’s not animatable, but he is pretty dern cute.

Tonight will be spent baking and painting Francis and furiously editing my one page proposal which is, as always, over a page and still doesnt say everything I want it to.

BUT FIRST!

I’m off to the ACT in Maple Ridge where my film, Basic Space, is going to be playing as a little featurette before Woody Allen’s A Midnight in Paris! PLUS! I’m gonna be doing a director’s Q&A!

How cool is that?

😀

Cause it’s not creepy at all.

Penguins.

Today I got a new book

In an attempt to flesh this blog out a little bit more, I’d like to share with the internet the exciting knowledge that today I acquired a new book.

But not just any book! Oh no. Today I got Craig Thompsons’ new graphic novel, Habibi.

And it. is. GORGEOUS.

Not only that, but I got it at PulpFiction, used, for $25!!

Some beautiful person out there bought the book, read it, hopefully appreciated the hell out of it, and gave it back to the bookstore so that some down on her luck, light in the wallet girl like me could take it home and love it forever.

I fell madly in love with this mans’ work when I first read Blankets, my all time favorite graphic novel. He is everything that I aspire to be as an illustrator.

I can’t decide now if I’m going to spend the afternoon reading or drawing. Probably both.

You all should do yourselves a favor and go get this book.

And then there were puns.

I blame Nora.

This is also for Nora.
Hey Nora.

For Lauren

 

You asked for it.

I gotta get my comic-ing muscles back into shape.

Recently I watched my very first episode of Dr. Who ever. I’ve yet to become too entangled in it, but I did think of this.