ye olde days of teenage angst

and probably the best gift I've ever gotten in the mail - a mink scarf!

blue-bellied skink

This is a skink. It is kind of like a salamander, and we often found it in the gardens.

Also, never underestimate the importance of couches.

I went to the High Park Zoo for the first time on Sunday - checked out the reindeer and the peacocks in particular, and the smell brought back pleasant farm memories.

Are the animals happy in the High Park Zoo? This is a question all of us should ask.

Are the animals happy in the High Park Zoo.

 If they are, one can't complain too much. Food, shelter - they've been blessed and provided for and aren't wandering the streets. Not all living things have the privilege of a place to lay their head.

But if they're not? Do they hang in limbo or get the hell out? Return to their origins in search of the elusive place to call home? Should the brain grow sharp and the spirit dim? And would a return to wilderness reverse this, or merely slip into another form of degeneration?

It sure does feel strange being back in (quote-unquote) civilization. And in the meantime, here is a sketch of the kerry-cattle. They had quite the fan-club of flies.

Film Course & Fest

I had the pleasure of seeing The Scarf included in a University of Toronto film course coinciding with TIFF last night. Many of the questions and observations from its participants and facilitators were ones I hadn't heard before, hadn't even consciously been aware of during the creation process. They're a keen group.

You think you know a work because you created it, but it reveals more than what you knew when it was made. I've read this in Madaleine L'engle's work before but until recently had never experienced it.

The Scarf has also had a surprisingly long tail. It's been two years since completion, it's done a run on the festival circuitry and still seems to be finding new places to go. I'm very grateful for this.

In other news, Words That Feed The will be having its premiere screening at the Burlington Animation Festival on September 29th. Last I heard there are still a few tickets left, so snatch those up while you can! It looks like a good film line-up, and I (as well as a number of the other film-makers) will be in attendance.



A few more chickens!
I absolutely loved these ladies. If chickens by themselves aren't amusing enough to watch, these ones had lost most of their tail-feathers and they looked like a bunch of half-baked meals on legs.

Chickens!

3 hens a-layin'

bk-bck. bk-bck.

Mr. Rooster

The Pecking Order (& rooster flanked by his favourite ladies)

One of the chickens had a devil-eye!

The Railway Steam Gallop

The Railway Steam Gallop just finished playing at the Hiroshima International Animation Film Festival in Japan this week. I had the absolute pleasure of working on this film with Kaj Pindal (Sheridan professor, NFB veteran, and a very funny man) as principle animator under his direction and tutelage, shortly after graduating. It was an incredible experience learning and working alongside him, and tremendously fun as well - Kaj always has a good story or pun hiding in that smile of his.

I don't think I ever properly promoted the work-in-progress or the final piece, so below are a few making-of pictures (courtesy of Owen Colborne, photography technologist who came in to snap a few shots):

Editing stages & director approval

A final shot

Kaj fiddling with an engine. On the back wall are the storyboards, highlighted shots having been completed.

Hard at work

Below is a little snippet of some of the folks behind-the-scenes in the early stages of prep work; painting bystanders, setting up shots, testing equipment (via Chris Walsh, producer).
KajPindalTrainFilm_Day1 from Chris Walsh on Vimeo.

And the final film:
The Railway Steam Gallop from Carla Veldman on Vimeo.