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!!!

So Close

                               

Ermahgeeeeeeerd!

(Olive crushing me with her baby fat.) 

I'm presenting my thesis before my advisors next Friday.
Animation is all done. *mother-daughter woot*

Rendering, compiling, and color-correcting is taking an eternity, but the little one has taught me that baby steps are always the way to go.

Training Day(s)

Good sleepers are born, not made. Olive, unlike most babies, hates to sleep. Instead, she prefers to spend her free time practicing her Indian accent and watching "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." I kid. That's what I do in my free time. No, really. Olive is strangely really anti-napping, and in the evening, she's like the J.Lo of babies - requiring a truck load of assistance and amenities to fall asleep. In spite of my husband and I providing a abundance of sleep-inducing goodies, the munchkin still has difficulty going the eff to bed. The little monster needs to be rocked and held. She needs to sleep in our room - more specifically, on our bed. Le hubby would sometimes complain while I, deep down, adore having her sleep with us. She's a great cuddler! But now that she's a crazy crawler, in order to ensure her safety, I've agreed to put an end to her bad habits and our mother-daughter co-dependency. Olive, mommy's sorry, but your sleep-related privileges are coming to an end.

Le hubby and I began sleep training last week. In the evening, we plopped the munchkin into her crib (situated in our bedroom as it is where she sleeps best), shut the door and left! We promised each other not to "save" the baby until the next morning - 6am at earliest. So much easier said than done. Olive woke up about two times during the night, and each time I heard her crying for help, I wanted to cry. I'd reach for the baby monitor to see what she was up to, and as expected, there she was, standing in her crib, hollering for dear life.

                                  

Ermahgerd! If she cried for an hour, I was awake for that hour. Last week was rough.

Le hubby was able to sleep through the commotion just fine. Dads. Yes, well, we're in week two, and I'm slowly getting used to the sound of her "self-soothing." And Olive? She's actually starting to get used to sleeping on her own. Sure, she still wakes up at least two times during the night to scream for help, but the duration of her crying has definitely shortened from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes. This may not be much to you parents with good self-soothers, but in our household, this calls for a juice box toast. I'm so proud of my munchkin. Give her two more weeks, and perhaps we'll have this sleeping thing down... Here's hoping.

* Photo of Olive looking unimpressed was taken by Monica of Shoots & Giggles. 

Are We There Yet?

With less than two weeks left to complete my thesis, I'm starting to feel panicky. I feel like I'm running a marathon that's never going to end, and it's an awful feeling! Beans wants to help, but the canine has no opposable thumbs. After Effects requires them.

On my own and freaking out. Should any of you encounter me in these next two weeks, reconsider saying "Hello." It's like that Peter Cetera Chicago song, "Look Away".  

"If you see me walking by, and the tears are in my eye, look away... baby, look away."

Seriously. I just might bite your head off. GRRRRR.

*Above: A sneak peek of one of many inappropriate scenes in my thesis. didn't bother to allow the computer to render properly, so D'OH... the quality of these two images is bound to be totes shitty. deal with it!)

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.

Titillate

Another test shot from my thesis, Boo Hoo Baby.

Will be drawing in all wrinkles After Effects once the darn thing get animated.

Mama needs some wrinkles.

If You're Happy and You Know It

My thesis. Progress is being made.
Sure, I'm still fabricating a bajillion pieces of cardboard props.
You know... pieces that won't be put into motion until mid-July.
While I really do enjoy the fabrication process, I'm also really looking forward to animating again.

Miss Olive.
She is so cute. So fat. So naughty.
To think she's all mine!
Parenthood has been a simultaneously heart-warming and maddening experience.
Wouldn't trade this little monster for the world.
Though had you asked me last night around 2am when she was refusing to sleep, I just might have. 

Online-shopping.
Never thought I'd become an addict.
But ever since the munchkin came around, I can't stop looking at mini clothes.
Loving Gilt.
Olive would be naked otherwise.
How cute is this "Zelda Dress" by Ses Petites Mains?
I wish they had it in MY size.

Vintage artwork.
I've collected a bunch, but few have been nailed up on our walls.
Haven't had the time.
Nor the wall space, for that matter.
Olive created her very first abstract expressionist masterpiece last week in pre-pre-preschool,
and it takes up quite a bit of space.



Painting sans clothing.
Prodigy in the making.

Boo Hoo Baby

Storyboarding my thesis. Hoping to present it to my thesis review crew next Tuesday. Thought y'all might like a sneak-peek. Inspired by true events. Obvi...