Awards and Thanks

I am no person to toot my own horn, but I thought it was high time to address the awards I received after Mongoose screened and I crossed the big stage of no return.

I received a nomination for the President’s Media Arts Award, received an award for Excellence in Animation Emily Carr 2016 and the Wacom Technologies Award for Excellence in Animation for Mongoose at the Tight Shorts screening at Emily Carr. I also received the John C. Kerr Chancellor Emeritus Award in Media Arts at graduation.

I can't even begin to express what they mean to me. Since I was less tall than I am now, I've struggled with self-doubt and recrimination, as most do. Often times it feels like I will never, ever make something I think is worthwhile, never make someone feel the way I feel when experiencing my favourite art. An award will not entirely change the make-up of my psychology, it cannot. That's something I must strive daily to defeat. But when I look at those awards, I am reminded that there are people who do support me and my work, who were always there with advice and criticism and praise, who have talked about me and believe in my potential and want to give me something to remember that one special day, a day when something I made and struggled towards was liked.   

When I see those pieces of paper, I think of all the other papers behind them: the sketches, the crumpled scripts, the endless, endless thumbnailing. But there were also the thoughtful critiques, written notes and corrections, marked essays and private meetings of long conversation and a thousand post-its. I think of all the people who never gave up on me, who even after graduation have continued to support and guide me. There is no way I could have made it here without Lorelei Pepi, Martin Rose, Megan Parker, my brother and parents, my friends and teachers in Edinburgh, and all the other guides, mentors, companions and comrades I’ve somehow found in the night. I don’t know how you put up with me, but I’m so glad to call you a part of my life. Thank you for being so generous with your effort, time, and self. There is not enough schmaltz in the world to express my gratitude and happiness.

If I must toot my own horn, let it be understood that I would have never been able to read the sheet music without a teacher, and I would have never known if I was any good without someone to play for.

One of the earliest pieces of concept art for Mongoose. I stumbled across it while looking through old work. It’s so weird, looking back. There was just so many places it could’ve gone. Including nowhere. I'm so proud to have finished.

Done!

So I've been done since the 18th, bar a little extra colour correction after it turned out someone had messed with the calibration. Since then I helped Megan Parker on her beautiful film "Weak Reception" - Plug here! Look out for my colouring and lighting work.  After that I slept for a few solid days. Now I'm starting to feel human again.

I'm actually more sad than anything. When will I get the chance to create like this again? Did I do the belief in me justice? I'm so thankful to the people who helped me get here. But mostly, I'm grateful to my slightly lumpy, too-big-for-it frame slippy mattress. I will return to your embrace soon. More updates coming on graduat...gra...grrrrrr.... thingy upcoming. Import...im...very speci....that thingy that means something soon.

Old Set WIP

 Pictures of the set WIP. Pretty much done. I do need some siding for the corners. I used craft wood from Michael's for the window and door frames, as well as the boards inside the wall. The doorknob was interesting. I had a knob whose screw was too short. Thankfully Bill (swiftly becoming my power tools guru) was able to use an interesting drill bit to carefully thin the 1/4" wood until the screw reached. Forgot to take a picture while the knob was attached. I used No More Nails as my glue. Faster drying than the the wood glue I initially purchased. Once again, thanks Bill. So much is owed to you.

EDIT: I've only just realized I accidentally posted this to the wrong blog! Ha.  Well, here we are, all proper in the right space.

Poster

Filming Time Lapse

Time Lapse Vorry from Chantal Beaulne on Vimeo.

Official Trailer

Mongoose Trailer from Chantal Beaulne on Vimeo.

Trailer First Draft

Mongoose Trailer 01 from Chantal Beaulne on Vimeo.

TIme Lapse - Puppet Building

Sorry I was missing a few of my time lapses - thought I'd include the ones I do have. Much was loss in the great computer purge to try and increase speed.

Vorry Puppter Build TimeLapse from Chantal Beaulne on Vimeo.

WIP Feb 29th

WIP March 1 2016 from Chantal Beaulne on Vimeo.

Things are starting to press on me. February hardly felt like it was here. I've pulled more all-nighters than I care to admit to, although in the end I must admit I'm not sure they're worth it. I'm often tired and have difficulty getting out of bed. I'm lucky to have a few people who make sure I get a laugh now and then. I'm eternally grateful to Lorelei, who keeps me determined to see this through. Sorry for lack of updates; there just didn't seem much to add. I'm getting some great help for the colouring. Cheers to Katie Li and Laurel Thomson, you life savers. The 2D parts need a little more integration with each other. My decision to add some light coloured backgrounds to some and nt others is jarring, I think. On the plus side, I've figured out what was causing my render problems. Case in point, I started rendering the file for this post at 4pm. It took nearly 12 hours to render, and in the end got stuck on one frame. Turns out mixing PNG image sequence files, .Mov files, and odd-sized sequences spell disaster. So I precomped it in AE and rendered it out separately. Also Media Encoder can add time as well, so rendering directly in Premiere also helped. My second render took...15 minutes. I've been dealing with 12 hour renders for 2 months. What a relief this is. On a second note, Peanut Butter sandwiches can dangerously fill you up so you forget to eat supper until 2 AM. It's like eating a cement sandwich, only slightly more likely to seal your mouth shut forever.

WIP

Everything Comp - Major Cuts 2_11 from Chantal Beaulne on Vimeo.

Some cuts were made - I realized I was repeating a few beats. The doldrum of time is beating me over the head. Not sleeping well. I love what I'm doing but the stress is simultaneously fueling and choking me. Luckily a few kind students have stepped forward to assist on some of my work. Cheers guys.