I Die

This past Friday, for five whole minutes, I was not a waste of space. *gasp* I screened my film for Matt Groening... WITH Matt Groening. No need to tell me. I already know. I am a very lucky girl...

As my short played, I held my breath. Dear God, it's me, Margaret, er, Debra. It's me, Debra. Please, let Matt laugh. If he does, I will have succeeded. If he does... Holy-shit. (Mind my language.) My prayers were answered! For he did. Laugh, that is. And it didn't even sound forced.

After the show, the filmmakers got to meet him. (6 films, 7 people.) Matt could not have been kinder. He shook my hand. He shook le cub's. Matt wasn't afraid of cooties...

He gave each of us his "stalker card" (business card). Alexis and I are totally going to forward him our favorite Youtube videos. Kittens, Inspired by Kittens will be the first that I send. Am kidding, of course. Kinda. Sorta.

But in all seriousness... Meeting Matt meant more to me than he could possibly imagine. After the screening, he provided each of us with invaluable feedback. The cherry-on-top of an already unbelievable sundae. Matt loved Mortimer. A "scene stealer" who deserves his own show documenting his adventures. I sat in the audience, speechless... "I DIE!" I thought. Of sheer joy and bliss...

On a side note, I've decided to name my the Nikon D70 "Matt." It's the least I could do. Photos from the event to come. I just need to figure out how to work "Matt"...

Gushing

screened my short for matt groening with matt groening.
details to come :)

Til Death Do Us Part

Til Death Do Us Part from Debra Chow on Vimeo.

ALL DONE. (Well, no... tweaks still need to be made, but this is what I screened at last week's Festival of Animation at UCLA.)

Tip: To avoid having to watch the video lag (BOOOOOO), let the entire short run through once (buffer, buffer, buffer - on mute?!?) before your official viewing. Enjoy!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE BROTHER!!!
You're officially old.

YIPPEE!!!

ALL DONE. *fist-pump followed by victory dance to zapp's doo wa ditty* Click HERE to listen if you don't know what song I'm referring to.

Babies

Babies have been all the rage lately, haven't they? Several of my friends are currently preggers - as are several of my blogging buddies. Yes, well, I too, have been productive over these past few months. In fact, my baby's due tomorrow! His very long name can be seen above.

Running Out of Steam

I wish I were Ethel. No. Take that back. I don't. Enjoyed a lovely dinner with le cub (he's in town!) along with some awesome his and her's retail therapy. (Le cub received an email from Martin + Osa. 50% off the entire store... we couldn't resist.)

Last few shots... Sucking it up.

...

It's three in the morning and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a...

*THUMP*

DAMN YOU, GRAVITY.

Taste the Rainbow

Test shots for the train scene.

Set kinda looks like a package of Skittles exploded. Hope y'all dig color.

Crossroads

I'll let you decide whether my subject heading is referencing a Bone Thugs & Harmony song or that wonderful lil' flick Britney Spears starred in before she went crazy.

Set-building for my train scene. Made these two pieces out of wood dowels, clay, cardboard, wire, and plastic discards...

Pop Rocks

Remember these? I painted them. I think I used too many colors... It's as if these rocks were hit by a rainbow....... JENNY.

I Think I Can

Am in the final haul. Feel like I have been and am still running a mega-marathon... and I'm FINALLY nearing the end! T-12... I think I can... I think I can!

One last scene to build and shoot. The train scene. Don't know what I'm referring to? Watch my super old and rough animatic HERE.

And once that's done, it'll be time for edits... GO-GO-GO!

Chugging

But given my situation (my only assistant is a canine without opposable thumbs), I have no one to rely on but HGTV and me. Inspired by shots of miniature model train set landscapes, I've spent the afternoon painting birdhouses purchased from art supply mecca Michaels in hopes of pulling together a quick small town skyline for the aerial shot in my train scene. Here's a shot of my progress thus far... (I'm carving out window and door shapes with paint!) It'll all look much better when I'm done, but I'm liking how it's coming together as is...

I Will Rock You

I need rocks for my train scene. You'd think that'd it'd be easy to just go outside and find some, but the rocks in my neighborhood just simply aren't cutting it. That said, I've made some using some lightweight hydrocal casting plaster. These babies are now set and waiting for a coat of paint...

One More Time

One last scene to build and shoot... and then EDIT, EDIT, EDIT!!! Editing is going to take me an eternity, but I'm really looking forward to getting all my raw footage down...

GO GO GO!

Think I'm going to award myself with a mani-pedi now *GRIN*

Experimenting...

Dear Gravity,

I hate you.

Cheers,
Ethel (and Debra)

Skeledog

Mortimer during the kite scene... *teehee*

Someone's Having Fun

It's 1:33 in the frickin' a.m., and I'm finally having fun. I really enjoy animating Mortimer... A lot his actions weren't actually boarded in my original animatic, but it's been so much fun improvising his movement. That he's so close to the ground and is at lower-risk of falling victim to gravity's evil pull makes the process that much sweeter. I ruff him.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

I'd be "lion" if I were to tell you that the animating process is an easy one...

It's 2:48 in A.M., and I'm in my garage... breathing life into clay puppets.

Brad Bird once said, “Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one." Uh-oh.

Get Your's Before It's Too Late!

UCLA Festival of Animation 2010
June 5th - Two Showings
RSVP (for free) HERE.

Til Death Do Us Part will be screened!!!

Scaredy Cat, Er Dog

My, what a fascinating dog... thinks Beans


Perhaps we can be friends... thinks Beans.


Me likes a good caboose... thinks Beans.


HOLY SHIT! cries Beans.


To be fair, this choo-choo does move fast.


The situation worries Beans.

Testing my Lionel train set (soon to be shot for "Til Death Do Us Part" in the living room :)