Dark Circus and the Making of My Senior Graduation Film
I'm currently working on a traditionally animated short film called Dark Circus. It's a little tale about a girl named Macey who is eager to escape her safe and ordinary life at home. The circus is in town and she dreams of joining the show. One night, Macey is lured there by an acrobat only to learn that the circus isn't quite what she expected. Dark Circus contains a cast of colorful characters in a magical new world with flying cats, giant windmills, mysterious performers, and a very sinister circus.
Current Work Reel (as of Jan 16, 2011)
Sketches and Studies
Background Rendering
Music and Soundtrack
Three songs in the film will be performed by a group of toy musicians called 'Little Bang Theory'. The three songs from their CD "Elementary" are as follows:
Garden Party
Dada Boy Overture
Toy Suite #3
All other audio in the the film will be my own instrumentation.
Garden Party
Dada Boy Overture
Toy Suite #3
All other audio in the the film will be my own instrumentation.
Artist Statement
I have worked on two traditionally animated films and I can now confidently say that it is my medium of choice. Another medium I like to use is magic. I love to create strong, beautiful, and dramatic places and then let the characters have adventures within them. When I make a film, I am designing an experience that would be either unlikely or impossible to have in the real world-- not to the point where it is too outrageously strange that it can’t be understood, but as if the life we live in now were found in the bottom of a magician’s hat.
One of the themes I try to incorporate into my films is the idea of family. The idea of family is well-understood topic that my audience can connect with and relate to. Whether it is pushing the extremes of sibling rivalry or the importance of a loving household, family and close connections are an important key in most of my film. Another favorite theme is adventure and pushing the boundaries of physical limitations. I find doing the physically difficult/impossible to be fascinating, a favorite example being flight. I want to share the dreamlike experience of rising above the world below and seeing it from a new view. Flying, changing shapes, leaping from building to building are just a few examples of the adventure and action I like to bring to my audience. A final favorite theme is touching the dark side of life. We’re used to the bright everyday current of existence but we all know that there is always a dark side of the moon. It can be a sinister place or in the mind of any average Joe. We see it all the time, so what if that dark side came out to see us? What traps would it set for us?
My traditionally animated short film, Dark Circus, is a smorgasbord of the things I love, including a daydreaming delivery girl, a scary circus, a magical flying cat, shadowy acrobats, a giant windmill, and a dark night to never forget.
One of the themes I try to incorporate into my films is the idea of family. The idea of family is well-understood topic that my audience can connect with and relate to. Whether it is pushing the extremes of sibling rivalry or the importance of a loving household, family and close connections are an important key in most of my film. Another favorite theme is adventure and pushing the boundaries of physical limitations. I find doing the physically difficult/impossible to be fascinating, a favorite example being flight. I want to share the dreamlike experience of rising above the world below and seeing it from a new view. Flying, changing shapes, leaping from building to building are just a few examples of the adventure and action I like to bring to my audience. A final favorite theme is touching the dark side of life. We’re used to the bright everyday current of existence but we all know that there is always a dark side of the moon. It can be a sinister place or in the mind of any average Joe. We see it all the time, so what if that dark side came out to see us? What traps would it set for us?
My traditionally animated short film, Dark Circus, is a smorgasbord of the things I love, including a daydreaming delivery girl, a scary circus, a magical flying cat, shadowy acrobats, a giant windmill, and a dark night to never forget.