British Animation Awards Public Choice

Anyone who likes Adam Buxton or animated yellow blobs on legs may be pleased to know that my film Little Face (which features both), that I co-directed with Ben Lole, is being screened tomorrow  night (the 9th February 2010) at the Watershed at 6pm as part of the British Animation Awards: Public Choice 3.



If you go along you will also have the opportunity to vote for your favourite film, which may or may not be Little Face. A list of all venues and dates for the BAA: Public Choice screenings can be found here.

I perhaps should have blogged this sooner to give people more time to change the plans they have already made for tomorrow night but unfortunately I didn't.

my baa

The awards at the British Animation Awards are all individual pieces of artwork by various artists and animators. This year I was asked to make one so I did a painting that you can see below.

It is currently obscured by the layers of plastic and cardboard that I wrapped it in ready for the journey to London in care of the Royal Mail. I will post a proper picture of the painting when they are all officially unveiled. In the meantime just create a mental picture of it with the help of the following fact: It is mostly blue and depicts ninety sheep.

Congratulations to Emma Lazenby for her BAFTA nomination! Her new film Mother of Many has been nominated in the Short Animation category. Well done Emma!



In unrelated news, I hosted a Ghostbusters evening on Saturday night. Both Ghostbusters films, Chinese takeaway (representing the last of the petty cash), marshmallows (pretended they were Stay Puft) and gin (because, you know... it's a spirit). It was the sort of evening I always imagined I would have to enjoy alone until I suggested it. Most exciting of all was that the evening was attended by a BAFTA nominee!

what I have been doing and what I wish I could do

I have just finished a two and a half minute animation for Friends Provident insurance that I have been working on since just before Christmas. It was all about ribbons representing our journey through life. I will post it at some point if I am allowed to.
 

Now that is done I have a few short films scripts I need to get written while I have a gap between jobs. I am quite anxious to make another short film now and have a few ideas and oppurtunities that I need to follow up.

On an entirely unrelated but far more blog worthy note here is a fantastic video I just found, depicting a journey through the known universe. That is a journey I would like to take. It's produced by the American Museum of Natural History which is one of the significant reasons why I wish I lived in New York.

Even though I have embedded the video it is best to watch it on youtube in HD.



You see? Fantastic.

Watching it made me think of a book I really love and will now recommend - Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

the life and death of salary man snowman (kim)

What follows is a sequence of pictures depicting the snowman I made last week when it snowed. I was on my way to work and found this big almost untouched area of snow. I decided to build the biggest ball I could manage and two hours later the ball had become this snowman. I was quite pleased with him and was hoping to depict his slow liquid demise over the following days. I decided to call him Kim. Sadly he came to a decidedly violent end...

06/01/10 Morning

For scale purposes here is a picture of me standing next to the snowman Kim soon after completion.

06/01/10 Evening

 

That evening I was pleased to see that the snowman Kim was still intact, although he had gained anatomical accuracy at some point during the day, as well as the words 'save me'.

06/01/10 Evening

 

Here is a profile shot showing the aforementioned anatomical application. Note the tire mark of a bicycle tread at the base.

07/01/10 Morning

 

The following morning snowman Kim had lost his gender specification. It is unclear how.

07/01/10 Evening

 

By the evening snowman Kim was no more.

 07/01/10 Evening

 
Having surveyed the scene of the crime I pieced together what I believe to have taken place. Having decided to ignore the words 'save me' a group of at least two (two being the minimum required to form a group) people attacked snowman Kim violently from the right hand side (snowman Kim's left) with a succession of kicks and punches (maybe even a drop-kick or two). The head probably went early on and was subsequently stamped to pieces, leaving nothing but an eyebrow and a bit of nose left for identification. Snowman Kim was also whacked with bits of evergreen tree, leaving various remnants of pine needles and trigs lodged in his neck and torso. Having failed to fell the remains of snowman Kim's body the group moved on. Probably to knock down a carefully stacked tower of cards or put cigerettes out on an infants birthday cake.

It is unclear what time snowman Kim was destroyed but he barely lasted past 24 hours, if that.

The good news is my new year resolution is to update this blog more often. It looks nicer now so I can bare to do so.

salary man snowman

I couldn't get the blog link on my website working for a while. It is working now though.

It snowed today (and a bit last night). This is a great event. It took me three hours to walk to work. First I strolled around the park, then I stopped to make a snowman, and then I threw snowballs at the ice on the river.

I built this salary man snowman as a tribute to all those who have to work today. Technically I am one of them so I have a few hours to make up.

reboot

Just been re-designing my website and this blog to make it in to something more pleasing to the eye. There are still a few creases to iron out and an extra layer of polish to add but it's already much nicer then the previous one I think.

the great pumpkin

It has been quite sometime since I have updated this blog. I have been meaning to update my entire website and have been neglecting to post anything in the meantime. Here's an interim post however.

I have been preparing for some moderate Halloween celebrating, the primary activity of which will be watching a candle burn out inside the Charlie Brown pumpkin I carved.

BS1 matthew walker

If you visit the College Green/Unity Street BS1 area on google maps and look at street view you will see me on my bicycle, cycling to work. Incredible.

out of focus group c

On Friday the 13th, which was five days ago, Little Face was screened in front of a public audience for the first time at Adam Buxton's Out Of Focus Group C at the BFI on the Southbank. It was a thoroughly entertaining evening of stand-up, music, poetry, Famous Guy and Little Face.

Joe Cornish and Adam Buxton's Baad Dad were sitting in the row in front of us. I don't know what they thought of Little Face but afterwards Adam said he liked it although found it hard to watch himself in films. But he did say he liked it and for that I am pleased.

Played hangman on the train afterwards. We worked out that during the 1.6 hours of play we averaged 3.2 minutes per game.