You Complete Me

Never thought this day would come, but my thesis is FINISHED. I am presenting it to my advisors this Friday back at UCLA, and then *crossing fingers* I will officially receive my Masters. (I walked in graduation over a year ago - pregnant with Olive - but never received my actual diploma because I hadn't turned in my final film.)

This labor of love was inspired by my difficult munchkin, whom my hubby and I love and adore, but struggled dearly to appease during her first months in this world. All characters and props were fabricated from the Amazon cardboard boxes her baby gear arrived in. Pieces were then scanned and manipulated in After Effects and Final Cut. (I had initially hoped to shoot them in stop-motion under a down-shooter camera, but ended up having to learn After Effects when I realized the project would be more feasible if made that way.)

While the short is minimally-animated, spastically-timed, and probably leaves you thinking, "Wahhh? That's it?!?" I am still proud to have, simply, finished. It wasn't easy making time in my packed child-rearing day to grind this out. And it wasn't easy uploading this film online for the whole world to see. (Feeling kinda' naked.)

I hope you like it.

P.S. Thank you, Alexis and Jeff, for making this possible. I could not have pulled this off without you two!!!

Show and Tell

Final peek at my thesis.

Hopefully, the next time you see anything new from my short, you'll be watching it in full!

Decided to go with sepia tint backgrounds as colored backgrounds got distracting. 

Cardboard + After Effects + a little help from my friends = MAGIC

Old Dog, New Tricks

Those who know me know that I am somewhat of a dinosaur when it comes to technology.

I still: 

Cut checks,

shoot on cameras that require film, 

send snail mail letters, 

and read actual, physical books.

Much like a grandparent, when there's a choice, I gravitate towards the analog.

That said, I am shocked that my friends, Alexis and Jeff, have somehow managed to teach me to use After Effects with success...

Above: A peek at what's to come. 

My thesis is due end-August, so come end-August, whether I like it or not, I'm going to have something to show. *raise the roof* Below: Another test shot. This one with the Mama.