Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Happy Leap Day!
I'm celebrating by watching videos of bunnies!
And since today doesn't count, Cleveland decided to be warm, and I decided to wear pants. WEIRD.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Some Videos Michaela Made
Last night I couldn't fall asleep because I was trying to decide how many colors could be determined aqua. Anyway, I updated my demo reel, so that's cool. And I included a floral rabbit because, let's face it, bunnies are awesome because they're practically jackalopes, which are super rad, and floral will alway be in, in my opinion. Anyway, the music is by The Avett Brothers, who, like jackalopes, are also super rad.
Formatted to Fit Your Screen
In case you don't live in the Great White North, aka, Cleveland 9 months out of the year, and in case you do but you were snowed in, or in case you do and you weren't but something came up, and you didn't make it to see 360° of Sight + Sound at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, my piece looked a little something like this. Except bigger, and rounder, and on the ceiling.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Their Ghosts Remain Between The Pages.
Here it is.
The footage I shot in one day. The frames I drew in 10 days. The frames I photographed for 17 hours. The 24 pads of tracing paper I received for my birthday and Christmas. The two complete sets of Micron pens I ran dry. The reason my hands and wrists were swollen. The breakthrough.
This is about Joanna Simmons, and her highschool sweetheart, Thomas Barnes. About the notes they hid in each others books, and the books she ended up writing. It's about their time together and their time apart.
It's about ghosts. About lingering pasts manifested in forms of nostalgia.
I like where this is going. I have received so much praise for this piece, by people I honestly respect, whose opinions I value so highly. This piece was accepted into the 66th annual Student Independent Exhibition, where the jurors indicated that it be in the video room alone. That alone was a big deal. And then it went on to win the Hal & Cyndy Goodwin Grand Prize Award. I honestly still feel a bit numb, like it hasn't really sunk in entirely. All of the sudden, I have this amazing piece, the result of endless hours and endless coffees, and I'm proud of it, and it's getting amazing feedback. I almost don't know how it happened.
Friday, February 24, 2012
The Planetarium Project: 360° of Sight + Sound
Last night, a version of my rotoscope, formatted for a dome, was shown at the planetarium at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, along with 4 other super HD animations by some very talented CIA artists. And the music, by 5 composers at CIM, was heard in super surround sound. The first VIP showing was packed with important people, and I wore a super snazzy 1950s dress, and we ate about 7 different kinds of cheese surrounded by scenes of taxidermied wildlife and an ever preserved Balto. I received such wonderful feedback on my piece, and everyone is so proud that we were able to bring together these 3 institutions to create something amazing.
The animations were all completely different, more so than we were expecting. Bill Garvey's vector based, Saul Bass inspired style of a Planequarium was so fitting for the museum. Tami Liss collaged videos she filmed of shadow puppets she created herself. Romero Smith moved the audience through a 3d space filled with abstract shapes and bright colors. This was followed by an inverted version of my rotoscope, with vintage imagery in glowing lines. The show concluded with kaleidoscopic scenes by Vanesa Jeric that encapsulated the entire dome. And aside from starfish in Bill's piece, no astronomy was present.
Composers, you guys are amazing. The Cleveland Institute of Music really is full of talent. Your diverse styles are what took our animations to the next level. I don't know how you do it.
Chris, thank you so much for creating such eerily beautiful music. I would have never asked for this style, but when you decided to structure it like a ballet, I knew something great would happen. When I first listened to it I was amazed. I didn't know how to make work to live up to the complexities throughout the music. I contemplated narrative possibilities for so long, determined to find a way to create subtle suspense without allowing it to become too heavy. The more I listened to the music, the more I loved it. It has added so much to my piece, and I am forever grateful. And now there is a whole new style of music for me to consider when I need my next piece scored.
Bill Garvey
Vanesa Jeric
Tami Liss
Michaela Lynch
Romero Smith
Jesse Limbacher
Fabio Pires
Matt Smith
Lucas Strakowski
Chris Zajac
And in case you were curious, here are a couple of articles about the show.
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