C'EST LA VIE: CHRIS J. MELNYCHUK

hello there! the frame-a-thon fundraiser film is up online right now here: http://vimeo.com/30877717

my section is somewhere in the middle. the whole thing is really amazing though and has a lovely flow to it and each section kind of channeled the same air and made it really cohesive as a whole. chris' story is an incredibly touching one, and hopefully you all find it as inspiring as I did. 19 animators worked on this together over the course of about a month and it premiered at the Glenbow Museum on opening night of their animation exhibition, Watch Me Move.

there is still an opportunity to donate money to help fund a scholarship for independent animators in Chris' honour:

http://www.indiegogo.com/Chris-J-Melnychuk-Memorial-Scholarship

If you have the means, please consider donating! Thanks!!

PETER & THE SPACE BETWEEN - NOW ONLINE

I totally forgot to mention that Peter & the Space Between is now online here.

It's a part of the CartoonBrew Student Fest, and I was lucky enough to one of the people chosen to show! It's been a wonderful experience, and, as part of the showcase, have had my film screened in Los Angeles, as well as New York.

I'm going to catch up with messages once I figure my way around Vimeo, and I apologize for being such a pooface. I've been on vacation trying to relax before the next project. I'll put some concept art up for my nex project over the course of November, so come back to check it out!

Lovingly yours,

Sitji

CHRIS MELNYCHUK MEMORIAL PROJECT

I was intending to update this earlier, but I just came back from Disneyland and I've been pretty pooped. This past week has been crazy because I've been on a roadtrip along the west coast of the States with my friend, Kim.

While she was driving, I was working on a project for Quickdraw Animation Society. They're fundraising for the Chris J. Melnychuk Memorial Scholarship, which supports emerging animators with their projects. The project itself is to help complete a part of Chris' last film - documenting his struggles with tongue cancer.

I was lucky enough to work on my section with Kristen Campbell, and though it was difficult finding time/wi-fi to communicate with one another, I think the project turned out pretty good. Here are some images from it:

It was pretty stressful to be on vacation and still working on this, but it all worked out! It premieres at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary on October 15 for the "Watch Me Move" launch party.

If you'd like to donate to the scholarship, please click here! Thank you!

END OF QUICKTRACK

My short film, Bloom, just finished rendering (well, finished rendering 12 hours ago). Today was my last day at the program, and I feel as if this is one of the experiences in my life that in 20 years time, I will recall upon it with fond memories. Having just graduated from school and to experience such an amazing residency program... to be paid to make whatever film I wanted and to have it projected at an outdoor venue as part of a larger festival... I honestly couldn't ask for more.

The bonus parts were working with such great people! The mentor, Richard Reeves, was a great inspiration and kept our spirits high. He brought fruit every week and that was just so nice. The producer, Michael Welchman, made sure we were on track and bought snacks for us every week. Food is my kryptonite so obviously I'm starry-eyed whenever they walk into the studio with food for us. Both of them proved to be essential in my own production: helping me set up and tear down sets/rigs, buying materials, and doing whatever else that was necessary to help us make these films! The participants Lydia, Martin and Mohammed were a pleasure to work with and I wish them luck in their future endeavours. I don't care to ramble too long but I'd be remiss to mention the wonderful working environment created by the rest of the Quickdraw staff (KT, Caitlind, Erin, Evangelos, Jenny)! All your positive attitudes and daily doses optimism made the 3 month long production much easier to handle. I'm going to miss you all terribly, but I'll be back in November, so ... I'll be back.

I truly appreciated this experience, and on a more self-involved aside, I felt I grew immensely both as an film maker and as a person.

If any of you have the opportunity to apply for the QuickTrack Residency Program, please do it! It is honestly one of the most wonderful things offered to new film makers (and the cash don't hurt none). The website for the society is:

http://quickdrawanimation.ca/

...and the blog that's been set up for the program I'm in can be found here:

http://quicktrack.wordpress.com/

Now that the ramblings all over, here are some stills from my new short film/installation:

It will be premiering / screening at the Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary during GIRAF, Calgary's animation festival in the first week of November. If you are in the area at that time, please come! I hear there will be free hot chocolate :)

DOODLEZ

Here are some Harry Potter portraits I doodled for now.. Hope you like it!

Mr. Draco Malfoy

Mr. Ron Weasley

Ms. Luna Lovegood

3 MONTHS AGO

I've been away from this blog for a few months now, but I haven't been lazing about! I was accepted in an artist-residency program in Calgary with Quickdraw Animation Society. The likes of Malcolm Sutherland and Chad VanGaalen have gone through here (name dropping!). The program that I'm a part of is new though, and what we're being commissioned to do is create short animations that will be projected on buildings during GIRAF, Calgary's animation festival.

The project I decided to do is called Bloom, and you can take a look-see at some things we've been doing at the blog:

http://quicktrack.wordpress.com/

I'll be posting little images here after next week, if you'll stick around! It's neat, I swear!

JUNE MARATHON

What with school ending and everything, some friends and I have decided to do a June Art Marathon! This means that we will all fully finish an illustration, animation test, animation asset, film exercise etc for every day in June.

I'll post up my part of the marathon here, but everything will be compiled at http://thisisartattack.tumblr.com

Hope ya'll enjoy!