For careers you say you want to be remembered for your art

Have a look here on Ideastap for an interview I did about the trials and tribulations of being an animator. It's the job of the week!

It says I have "done it all", but I really haven't.

Well I just had to laugh

The article about Spin Spun Span was in last Friday's Manchester Evening News. Here's the online version, here.

He is the music man, he comes from round your way

CONGRATULATIONS TO BILLY! AND TOM!

Billy was awarded a lovely certificate on Sunday at the Walthamstow International Film Festival. The certificate was to congratulate Billy for being a great human being, but in particular for being a great musical human being. And also Tom! But Tom wasn't there because he was with his girlfriend.

Billy and Tom wrote the Poo film's song together, in case you didn't know. Billy performed and recorded the song, and that is what you hear throughout our strange animation. I've put the film up for musical prizes before, but there are not many to be honest - there are often categories for music videos, but ours is not a music video, it just has amazing music. I think it would be good if more festivals did recognise musical contribution. It is hard work composing music and designing sound, you've got to have a talent for it - and I have seen a lot of films really ruined by awful sound (although I think the director is as much at fault there)... Anyway, Walthamstow, in their wisdom, have recognised the wonderfulness of the Poo song, and so I am very happy for Billy and Tom. Well done! You both really deserve it!

Here is a photo of Billy with his parents. I think he looks wonderful.

Like Kurasawa I make mad films

We finished!

A week ago, Billy handed in the finished film to Dan at Bolton Museum & Archives. It's finished!

I waited a week with this momentous news, mainly because I was very tired. The film is now signed off, I have just taken down our shot list, and I will be putting it in the recycling because I am good like that. A few months ago I wrote up a long list of all our shots, the type of animation needed, and spaces to tick off if that animation had been animated, if it had been comped, and if it had been completed. But now it is all completed! I walked past that shot list every day, sometimes fearfully, other times hopefully.

Emily, Billy and I are all really pleased with the finished film, Spin Spun Span. It will premiere at Bolton Museum & Archives' reopening of the local history collection, which will also be its permanent home. It will be part of the permanent art collection! I find that very exciting.

Here is a production shot to say goodbye:

After Effects...ooooh. Ha! This is from a bit from the second half of the film. It shows strips of patterns from different cloths, and they roll down with the camera, as it pans down to the fly shuttle. 

Anyway, that's enough excitement for one day. To summarise: the film is finished! Hooray!

I read the news today, oh boy

Today the Manchester Evening News decided to ring me up and say hello. Over the course of our conversation, Chris the reporter asked me all about Spin Spun Span! It was quite exciting, I hope I made sense. Here's a picture of Samuel Crompton to celebrate.

For all you factfinders, there is a 7 and a 9 in this drawing, because Crompton invented the spinning mule in 1779. I do my research.

I will have my photo taken for MEN at Bolton Museum. I hope I manage to look okay in it. Sadly Emily will not be there to balance out the Anne-ness of this adventure, because she is off on holiday in Italy with Mat. 

I am not sure when the article will be out, but I guess it will be soon! Hooray!

Please, please, please let me get what I want

So far this autumn (it's not really "summer", is it), the Poo film has shown at a lot of festivals, which has been fantastic. However, there are still loads more festivals to come! I've updated our list of forthcoming screenings down on the right hand side, so I won't just repeat it here, but I am really pleased to be selected at all of these festivals. I really find it amazing that people still want to see our 90-second wonder.

I'm particularly excited about Walthamstow, because that is very local to our resident musical magicians, Billy, Tom and Dayo. They are all from Leyton, which is pretty much next to Walthamstow. It's nice to be recognised locally. Billy is going back down to London for the festival closing ceremony this weekend, so that will be ace.

I'm also particularly excited about Anim'est, a Romanian animation festival. They are screening The Illusionist, which I still haven't seen. I am hoping it makes it to my local Stockport cinema, because I can't make it to Romania. I thought Easyjet or someone would do cheap flights there, but they don't apparently, and so I can't do it really.

I'm also particularly extra excited about Chicago International Childrens Film Festival. They contacted us a little while ago to invite us to submit the Poo film. Chicago charge to enter, and Emily and I tend not to enter festivals which charge, mainly because we can't really afford it, and we'd rather spend our money on safer bets. We do pay for the odd festival, ones which we can definitely attend if selected, and ones we know are good - like Encounters or Canary Wharf, for example. Anyway, I mentioned Chicago's invitation to my mother, mainly cos I was pleased to be asked - it's a big festival - and my mother very kindly offered to pay our submission fee! So we entered after all. And we got in! So I am extra particularly also pleased, because this is a big one, and it was really nice of my mother to help us out. And because it is big and beautiful and Chicago, I am going to try and go!

And if I go to Chicago, I plan on doing this:

And this:

And also this: