susanimation

At last and finally, the Animated Bishop project, which I have been working on for a year, is complete.

Like all good films, it has been a nightmare to finish, with new problems to solve at every step of production all the way up to delivery and installation. I had no idea, when I took the project on last summer, that it would push my practice as far as it did. It has been a fantastic experience and I already feel ready for a new, even bigger challenge. Directing? No problem. Project managing? Absolutely. Herding cats? My cat whistle is polished and ready.

We went to a swanky do at the Bishop’s Palace to celebrate the completion of the film and all the other development work going on at the Palace. I met Prince Edward, ate a pork roll and watched our film in situ in the long gallery. It was a great night.

If you want to watch the full film, it’s playing at the Bishop’s Palace in Wells for the foreseeable future. You should go there anyway because it’s a lovely place. Meanwhile, here’s the trailer.

I’ve just created a new area in the studio, which I am calling ‘Beautiful Corner.’

It’s a nice contrast to the collection of horrific ‘bathroom mirror’ sketches that I am producing at the moment. They are based on faces that I pull in the bathroom mirror every morning purely to amuse myself. I thought having a go at sketching them might help my drawing skills a bit. Instead, they’ve revealed my right hand’s long-hidden hatred for my face.

Still, I think it’s a good thing to try and look your worst sometimes – it’s never as bad as you think and once you’ve done it you can get on with things that matter.

Here is my collection of inspirational quotes – if I find myself running low on ideas I simply read through these and I’m ready to let the creativity flow again.

Once again I return to my blog like a child returning to the now silent cage that just a few months ago housed the hamster that they apparently always wanted and promised to look after.

Is anybody there?

Luckily, my hamster is only metaphorical and therefore easily resurrected. My intention this year is to update the blog at least once a week, which means doing something once a week that is worth writing about…

…like moving into a studio!

I’m now sharing a wee space in Hamilton House with my good friend and talented animator, Amie Nowlan (check out her MA film here)

So far, I love it here. Even though I believe that there should be some overlap – you should be open to inspiration and creativity wherever you are and whatever you’re doing – having one dedicated space to let all that stuff in your head spill out into a piece of work is really significant. And I get to surround myself with all my coolest stuff:

And this is just the beginning…

In other news, Remembering Formby has been chosen for the Public Choice Programme as part of the British Animation Awards! I am thrilled that people seem to be taking a shine to the safety guru.

The Public Choice Programme will be shown at 21 different venues around the UK and the audience gets to vote for the animation they like best. Dates and venues can be found on the Formby blog and the BAA website

Bye bye for now.

The Office

Working for yourself means you get to choose your hours and your workplace. If you work best sitting in your pants on a roof at two in the morning, then good luck to you. I like to be at home and have something playing in the background – music, or more often, a comedy series or film, as long as it’s something I’ve seen before. The Muppet Show is a good one.

Sometimes, if you live and work in the same place, you can end up not leaving the house for days, and then when you do it feels like you’re playing some kind of horrible video game, like an Eastenders version of The Sims.

Something that a lot of creative people will tell you is this: if you get stuck in a rut, get out. Get away from wherever you do your work. It’s a good thing.

You there, here’s the second thing:

Thing 2: Research

(This is the bit where I get carried away.) You begin, very sure about what you need to find out (you probably have a list.) Then you think about what might be useful to know, stuff that might really enhance the project. Then you spend weeks going down millions of little cul-de-sacs of knowledge, gradually moving further away from the relevant subject, and all these little cul-de-sacs seem infinitely more interesting than the thing you were researching in the first place. I think that’s the best thing about it – it keeps you curious (even when you’re between projects.)

If you’re like me, you will go through this for all of your projects. As a result of accumulating these pockets of unconnected rubbish, you will become more desirable as a pub quiz team member.

Hey y’all

Here’s the first thing I like about my job. I don’t know how many there will be overall (I’m up to 4 so far.) I thought it might be useful to write down in case anyone wants to know what it’s like to be me. It’s worth bearing in mind that the best things about my job tend to be the most troublesome too.

Thing 1: Variety 

Every job you get is different, which means you are constantly learning, having to find new solutions to new problems and discovering different ways to communicate. Personally, I find that when I finish one project, I want to get as far away from the style of it as possible, so I end up going in the complete opposite direction for the next one.

Hello Internet,

Sorry you haven’t heard from me since June. I managed to trick some people into paying me to animate, so that’s what I’ve been doing all summer. I’ve been lucky enough to work with New Digital Partnership on one project, and the other is a film for the Bishop’s Palace in Wells, which won’t be ready until next summer. I’m working with some MA animation students at UWE and so far it’s going very well. I’ll make sure to keep you updated.

I am also extremely excited and honoured to be working on a special video for some super-special people, but I want to keep the details secret for now. Rest assured you’ll see the result of this before Christmas.

In other news, Remembering Formby has been accepted into 3 festivals! Details can be found here.

Coming up soon: Things I enjoy about my work (oooh, insightful!)