I thought I should include some links to work I was doing before I started this blog. At the end of last year I was involved in two animation projects. One was a graduate film for NFTS animation director Daniela Negrin Ochoa and the other was my entry for The Great Animation Challenge 2010.

I worked for over four months with Dani on her NFTS film, El Macho, as a Photoshop and After Effects colourist. It was a great experience and I learned so much about the process of making films at the film school. It was a relief too (after so much hard work) to see that the finished film was amazing. I had the pleasure of attending one of the graduate screenings and found that El Macho is seven minutes of fantastic observational humour, engaging characters and beautifully drawn animation.

Obviously though, when you’re watching the trailer below, pay special attention to the colour and the shadows, because they are the coolest bits.

El Macho Trailer – Dir: Daniela Negrin Ochoa – NFTS 2011

My own film, Graffiti, was completed just before I started work on El Macho. It won first prize in The Great Animation Challenge 2010 and was screened at Shorts On Walls with the other short-listed entrants. The challenge was to create an animation sequence using one of the stand-up comedy sound clips provided. I chose a clip from Eddy Brimson – it took me in a strange direction. This is what one of the judges said…

“Dissonant outsider art imagery gives an edgy appeal to the most weird entry. I liked the unexpected logic defying juxtaposition of some imagery. Pervy in many ways. Full of surprises- the bushes looked quite ethereal. Unlike other entries it seemed to be trying to break away from the story and do its own thing, which was far more interesting – A CLEAR WINNER” – Saint John Walker, Head of Animation & Games at Skillset