Nestor (2019) by João Gonzalez
João Gonzalez is an animator and musician based in Portugal. Nestor, his thesis from the Royal College of Art in London, vividly constructs the life of a man with several obsessive-compulsive behaviors - living in an unstable houseboat which never stops oscillating.
Nestor (2019) by João Gonzalez
Nestor (2019) by João Gonzalez
Comic Barcelona - 37th edition; Illustration by Ana Galvañ
Ana Galvañ is a freelance illustrator based in Madrid. Recently, she has published Pulse enter para continuar, a compilation of five stories that travel between science fiction and fantasy, published by Apa Apa cómics. I’m an admirer of her character design and diffused interpretation of color.
Pristine songwriting from Andy Shauf, a keen observer of life’s tiny sadnesses. “Things I Do,” from his latest full-length release, The Neon Skyline.
15th German (Göttingen) International Ethnographic Film Festival; Official seal.
Looking forward to some traveling this summer...thanks to the 15th German International Ethnographic Film Festival. I'm thrilled to be counted amongst this acclaimed collection of documentaries that critically address social, political and cultural themes. Ghost Tape #10 will be engaging with a new, European audience this May. What a remarkable program to be a part of!
Stunning stop-motion piece from artist & animation director Charlotte Arene. I can’t get over how beautifully the sound of the waves sweep back and forth in perfect time with the motion of the objects.
From the artist, interviewed by Filmnosis: “I think it encapsulates the anguish and playfulness that are both present in the film; on one hand there’s this light and funny aspect of turning household elements into a kind of seaside scenery and playing with that metaphor, but on the other hand there’s the storm and the heavy sleeping… which all tug at a darkest side of the imagination.”
Figurine by Jedadiah Cracco.
Out of more than 1,750 entries from 300 colleges nationwide, what a privilege to have Ghost Tape #10 be counted amongst the 18 award-winning "Short Form Documentaries" at the 2020 BEA Festival of Media Arts. An international festival that seeks to enhance professional standards in broadcasting, I'm honored to take part in this event. I’m grateful to my faculty instructors at the USC Department of Anthropology / USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences ~ Prof. Janet Hoskins (Advisor) and Prof. Jenny Cool ~ and to my production team who helped realize this film: Ricky Berger, Pham Thu Hang, Hoa Nguyen, Cookie Duong, Jamie Maxtone-Graham, Thiên Chip & Jedadiah Cracco. Special thanks to Margaret Barnhill Bodemer and the Journal of Vietnamese Studies for their awareness and critique of the film!
Artwork by Nathan Rapport.
My dear friend, filmmaker/comedian Lucé Tomlin-Brenner, has held a scared space for performers in Los Angeles for the past year. Cursed! is a monthly show that harnesses the power of the full moon to explore astrological themes in live storytelling. Equal parts tender and cheeky, Cursed! provides a liberating atmosphere to craft true stories on stage for a (dare I say) truly loving crowd! The emotional investment is what keeps me coming back, both from the audience and the performers, which is why I couldn’t be more proud to join this exceptional lineup for Lucé’s one-year anniversary! [Full moon emoji!]
Special thanks to Suzy and Nathan at A Love Bizarre for their hospitality in providing a home for this unique show for one whole year in Los Angeles, truly, a rare gift in of itself!
Cursed! A Full Moon Storytelling Show, One-Year Anniversary: February 19th, 2020
STORYTELLERS: Dani Adaliz / David Crabb / Vivian Martinez / Madison Shepard / Jonathan Bradley Welch / Sean David Christensen. HOST: Lucé Tomlin-Brenner
Home Study (2020) Dir: Daniel Lee; Poster design & illustration by Sean David Christensen
When I’m lucky enough to be given it, I treasure the opportunity to artistically express a filmmaker’s vision. Translating their story with illustrations and color can be such a joy, especially when my work is given the honor and trust it needs to fully realize itself, both as an original piece of art and a compliment to the film. Reuniting with my friend and former Killing My Lobster cast member Daniel Lee was a delight, whose short film Home Study will be touring film festivals later this year. Co-starring Courtney Davis and Scott Prendergast, this charming short paints a portrait of a nervous gay couple navigating the adoption process of their first child.
The Sandwich Movie, awarded “Best Animated Film” at the 13th Annual Hardacre Film Festival. Newly recovered from storage, ten years later!
Rescuing this trophy from storage back home reminded me of how the passage of time always surprises. Years can crawl or leap forward, in this case, the near-decade that has gone by in a blink since visiting Tipton, Iowa for their Hardacre Film Festival. Holding the award in my hand again coaxed a flood of memories, like the accumulation of colored pencil shavings and dust that collected in the valleys of my keyboard, those years ago. Animation is a medium I’m always drawn back to, its gravitational pull too strong and the desire to experiment with visual storytelling too great. I’m thankful to have come across this again, as a reminder of being rewarded for the passion to create, while learning along the way.
Purple Clown Music (2019) by Nathan Hartley Maas
Unease looms over Purple Clown Music. Composer, visual artist and raconteur Nathan Hartley Maas unravels a collection of instrumentals that fracture in disquieting spells, giving way to eerie harmonies and haunting melodies. Echoing like a rouge parade abandoned by its grand marshal, Maas's compositions are enveloped in soundscapes laced with his trademark caustic wit, as we hear the frenzy of toy robots imploding, circuits frying, and the internal mechanisms of an imaginary town sabotaging themselves in protest.
To borrow a phrase from author Larry L. King's 1968 review of Kurt Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House for The New York Times, [Nathan Hartley Maas] “...is a laughing prophet of doom.” Like Vonnegut, Maas is a weary observer of troubled times who uses language as a means to reconcile or accuse, whichever comes first. One gets the feeling listening to Purple Clown Music that Maas already knows something that we don't—perhaps a punchline to a cruel joke. There is a sense of encroaching darkness on this record, but each of its songs are like the album cover's bulbous clown heads that float above the purple smog, sentries who don't fear what's coming.
Purple Clown Music is vibrant and defiant with Maas's endlessly surprising song-craft. “Milxor E.” throbs with the stadium-sized intensity of a sporting event, while “Dutgoff Sqonnot” ripples with undulating square synthesizers reminiscent of soundtracks to early-90s CD-ROM point-and-click adventures. “Animotem Eyelif” chirps in patterns similar to electronic artists Richard D. James and Luke Vibert, resembling the warble of a warning siren you might hear in the hours just before a hurricane.
Underneath oppressive sheets of purple fog, a gravel-voiced narrator leads the listener through derelict dreams with a smile, mocking the impermanence of life. Nathan Hartley Maas has provided the indelible musical landscape for this journey—one well worth taking, if you don't mind laughing at the gathering storm.
Purple Clown Music is available to stream on nearly all digital music platforms and available for purchase through Apple Music. *Album artwork by Nathan Hartley Maas.
Originally published in Underground Film Journal, September 2nd, 2010:
Embedded above is a chillingly deceptive short film by Sean [David] Christensen called Shave. Disguised as a warm, childhood nostalgia piece, the film nicely uses the metaphor of a father shaving as a meditation on a son’s ultimate disappointment upon learning that his father is just a human being after all.
Personally, I do have a soft spot for films in which audio and visuals are presenting two separate components that are linked together thematically. Christensen uses this technique to great effect particularly towards the end when he lets the audio of his childhood video continue to roll while visually we are looking at the same pool, in a decaying, moss-covered state, in the present day. Using this combination creates a new emotional state, one in which the memory of happier times have turned to rot.
Also really nice in the film is the way Christensen cuts between shots of the swimming pool in the old video with new images of his father dipping his razor in the sink during his big shave. The cuts really flow together to create a real feeling of continuity between the two locations. Also, later in the film, a shot of the empty sink with just some residue and whiskers spread about creates the idea of the pool being similarly drained: Drained of water, drained of memory, drained of happiness.
One has to wonder about the true autobiography of the film. Christensen narrates the film himself, but did any of this actually happen to him? Are these even truly images of himself and his father? The documentary footage — i.e. what Christensen claims is his mother’s old video and even the still photos — are used to lead us to believe that the narrated story is documentary, too, and not a fiction.
However, all that we have seen is called into being suspect when Christensen admits that he is altering his own memories. He refuses to remember his father without a mustache and never allows us to see him without it, either. The one actual video of the man we take to be Christensen’s father jumping off the diving board is too blurry to discern what state his facial hair is in.
Christensen paints a particular visual portrait of his father by only showing us photos of him with facial hair. And he paints a portrait of himself through the narration of a person who refuses to accept his father for the person his dad wants to be, which hints at there’s maybe something more going on here than just a mustache.
By Mike Everleth | Underground Film Journal, September 2nd, 2010.
Lovely hearing Matthew Urango (Cola Boyy) on Nicolas Godin’s latest single. I grew up listening to AIR’s frosty, ethereal oh-so-French pop, and listening to a familiar voice swimming alongside Godin’s keyboards in this video by Greg Barnes is inspiring. I had the pleasure of discovering Cola Boyy’s music after working with him on his “Penny Girl” music video, directed by my oh-so-French friend, photographer David Luraschi. I’m elated to see great things happen for great people.
CREDITS
Director: Greg Barnes / Production Company: Black Dog Films / Producer: Holly Wolfers / Executive Producer: Martin Roker / Production Assistant: Harry Morgan / Runners: Isabelle Ramsden, Ollie McCoy- Page / Director of Photography: David Wright / Focus Puller: Jerry Pradon / Loader: Juan Minotta / Gaffer: Leon Psyzora / Art Director: Will Olds / Costume Designer: George Oxby / Editor: Greg Barnes / VFX: Rav Matharu / Colourist: Jonny Tully @ Big Buoy / Cast: Anna Sari, Rick Kiesewetter
WHO (2019) Album cover designed by Peter Blake.
1st: SDC - 136,063 points
Making the most of my layover.
Beautiful hand-drawn textures washed over computer rendered models; A wonderful example of digital and analog mediums swimming together in nervous waves.
Made at Art Camp
Directed by: Art Camp & Saad Moosajee
Technical Director: James Bartolozzi
Design: Saad Moosajee & Zuheng Yin
Art Direction: Jenny Mascia
3D Animation: Saad Moosajee, Zuheng Yin, Chanyu Chen
Simulation and Effects: James Bartolozzi
Supporting Design: Chanyu Chen, Andrew Finley
Cel Animation: Jenny Mascia, Britton Korbel, Mac Ross, Jeremy Higgins, Danae Gosset
Production Manager: Matthew Kagen
Production Coordinator: John James Russo
Stop Motion Photographer: Jared Pershad
Storyboards: Mac Ross, Jenny Mascia
Cel Animation Consultant: Danae Gosset
16MM Film Consultant: Oliver Lanzenberg
“A story about motherhood and loss in an abstracted world of childhood memory.” Understated, devastating visual storytelling from animator Jenny Wright - an elegant example of the power and impact of a single line on the page.
Animated by Jenny Wright
Composer: Matt Huxley
Sound Designer: Ben Goodall
I’m thrilled for my friend Cassie Shao, awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick for her visionary reimagining of “I’m Not Ready” by Maggie Dave. Featured on “Ladies With Lenses,” a curated staff channel that celebrates the best work on the Internet by womxn behind the camera, Shao’s delicate and abstract expression of my lyrics makes the song new again with each viewing.
“I’m Not Ready” (2019) by Cassie Shao
“I’m Not Ready” (2019) by Cassie Shao
Directed & Animated by Cassie Shao
Produced by Sean David Christensen
“I'm Not Ready” written by Maggie Dave
Vocals & keyboard: Sean David Christensen
Synthesizers: Mark Christopher & Ricky Berger
Vocals engineered by Ricky Berger
Mixed by Ricky Berger & Mark Christopher
Mastering by Trevor Case
Magic from friends Katia Badalian and Jacob “Kuba” Bojsza for “Deep Blues” by Dan Atta, in their words: “The 16mm Kodak film explores feelings of isolation and inner turmoil, even when we’re surrounded by family. Yearning to break the chains of obsessive thought, “Deep Blues” reminds us of the transcendent power of letting go.”
Editor’s note: I just bought & downloaded this song for my mp3 player, for jogging at night. Can’t wait to feel the full force of Dan’s guitar as I move through my neighborhood. Thanks Dan!
Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready (2019) by Cassie Shao
Cassie Shao is a visionary talent in animation. I had the great pleasure of meeting her through USC’s John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts after a screening of her breathtaking thesis film, There Were Four of Us:
A dizzying blend of claustrophobic environments that fold backwards with vivid bursts of color and hand-painted debris, Shao’s work traces the jagged edges of dreams with startling clarity. Shortly after getting to know her and learn more about her work, I invited her to visualize “I’m Not Ready,” a debut single from Maggie Dave (my band, with artist Mark Christopher). I was humbled and honored by her expressive and delicate exploration of the song, one that now sounds brand new each time I watch her video.
Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready arrives October 23rd. Watch this space!
“2019 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival” Poster art and design by Sonny Kay
I love the artistry of the official poster celebrating the 2019 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, the longest running all-documentary film festival in North America. Designed by Sonny Kay, his entrancing, layered work is just as compelling as this year’s program of curated non-fiction shorts and features.