Blackout, 2013
Director, Animator
Blackout weaves together documentary audio of several storytellers who recount their experiences in Toronto during the 2003 blackout which affected the Northeast coast of the United States and large parts of Ontario, Canada. It highlights moments of generosity and spontaneous joy and festivity, and a rare opportunity to see the city in an unimaginable light.
Music and sound design for the film was by Tristan Capacchione. Learn more about his beautiful work here.
Notes about the technique
The film was mostly shot "Under-Camera" using a variety of media: Watercolour crayons on frosted film, oil paint and plasticine on glass, combined with some 2D digital animation. Under-Camera animation is essentially a Stop-Motion shooting technique where an image is changed slightly between each frame. Rather than having many separate drawings, there is one drawing (or painting or collage...) that has been changed many times.
Screenings and Awards
TIFF Student Showcase, Toronto, Canada, 2013.
Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada, 2013 - Honourable mention, Canadian Student Competition
Dok Leipzig, Germany, 2013.
Bradford Animation Festival, Bradford, UK, 2013 - Winner, Best Short Short
Toronto Animated Image Society, Canada, 2014 - Winner, Best Animation
Toronto Animated Arts Festival International, Canada, 2014 - Winner, Best Student Animation
Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia, 2014.
Athens Animfest, Greece, 2014.
British Independent Film Festival, London, UK, 2014.
DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada, 2014.
Monstra Animation Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, 2014.
Animation Block Party, NY, USA, 2014.
London International Animation Festival, UK, 2014.
Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada, 2014.
Animated Dreams, Tallinn, Estonia, 2014.
Cineglobe Film Festival, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, 2014.
Tricky Women, Vienna, Austria, 2014.
Northwest Animation Festival, Portland, USA, 2014.
Animpact, Seoul, Korea, 2014.
Bamberg Short Film Festival, Bamberg, Germany, 2014.
Animation With Love 4, Halifax, Canada, 2013.
FIA International Animation Festival, Uruguay, 2014.
National Screen Institute, Canada, 2014.
Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival, California, USA, 2014.
Short Short Story Film Festival, USA, 2014.
Frederikstad Animation Festival, Germany, 2014.
Uxbridge Short Film Festival, Canada, 2014.
Platoon Kunsthalle, Germany, 2014.
PAF Olomouc, Czech, 2014.
Animae Caribae, Trinidad & Tobago, 2014.
Bridging Festival, Canada, 2014.
Civican Cultural Centre, Spain, 2014.
Bogota Short Film Festival, Colombia, 2014.
Faito Doc Festival, Italy, 2014.
Christie Pitts Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, 2014.
St John's International Women's Film Festival, Canada, 2014.
Cape May Film Festival, NJ, USA, 2014.
Shorts Not Pants, Toronto, Canada, 2014.
Flying Film Festival, Switzerland, 2015.
Animation for All, Canada, 2015.
International Animation Film Festival Nikozi, Georgia, 2015.
Ottawa International Animation Festival, 2017. (Rescreened as part of a curation called "We All Hold Hands at the End of the World").
HafenkunstKino/Art.Vision, Germany, 2018.
Behind-the-scenes
Working at an Under-Camera set up, with the camera mounted above the workspace.
Under-Camera animation, plasticine on glass, unlit.
Under-Camera animation, plasticine on glass, lit from behind.
Under-Camera animation, plasticine on glass, unlit.
Coloured clay painted on glass, shown with and without effect of lightbox.
Film Stills
