Playing Ghost Review

I would like to point you in the direction of this review written by Bethany Burns, after Playing Ghost screened at the Santa Barbara Film Festival last week:

http://sbccfilmreviews.org/?p=17840

"It is a simple film , with a simple message: Never forget your lost loved ones, but in your grief make sure not to neglect those who may need you in life.  It was beautifully shot, and choreographed. You can see the distinct detail in everything from the bags under the mothers eyes to Amy’s hair blowing in the wind outside.  The emptiness in her mothers dark black eyes pierces you to your core. Anyone who has experienced the loss of someone close to them might find themselves welling up by the end of this 10 minute film."

I'm also personally very honoured by the comment left under the review. It is amazing to read such kind words about the film!

Playing Ghost WINS Best Animation at SFF London!

Me picking up the award for Best Animation at the Student Film Festival London.

The past few weeks have been amazing. I've been incredibly busy during January, as I finished off three jobs all with a similar deadline. 
First of all, I finished my time with NFTS' upcoming graduate Alastair Mccoll on his 2D flash animation film Birdworld. It was a lovely time I had and I look forward to showing you some of it when the trailer comes out.

Secondly, I did a concept poster for a feature film to be pitched at the Berlinale. And thirdly, I finished illustrations for Peter Howell's ebook "Your Music on Film". Please click the title or the image below if you'd like to have a peak and/or purchase a copy.

After this I have been travelling. One of the places I went to is Angers in France for the amazing Premiers Plans festival. Premiers Plans is a bit overshadowed by Clermont Ferrand which happens a week after, but completely undeserved. It is a fantastic, personal and professional festival that I would urge anyone to go to. The feedback from the audience to Playing Ghost was amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed being there. Please find more info here: http://www.premiersplans.org/

Q&A after the screening with me second on the right.

Another festival I attended was the Student Film Festival in London. Despite being only in their first year, the festival was well organised and much fun. The screening, though in a tiny theatre, was one of the best I've ever attended. Another graduate director from my year, Sean Branigan, also screened in our screening. This meant that with our films came a whole NFTS family along to the screening, so it was almost like a wonderful reunion.

However not just that made this screening one of a kind, also the response of the audience was something I hadn't experienced before. I'll not go into details, but it truely was unique! The Q&A after this screening was also much fun, and I really enjoyed it.

But the cherry on the cake came of course, when the next day at the closing ceremony, Playing Ghost won the award for Best Animation! And it got also nominated for Best Cinematography, as the only animation!!

We are very proud, and would like to thank everybody of and at the SFF London for their wonderful support to our little film!

30 days?

Been so busy the past few weeks. Have several jobs I'm doing (animation, illustration and design!), and have moved yet again. Yet even tho I've been working mental hours, I couldn't resist doing a tiny drawing for myself. Ben Whitehouse started this 30day drawing challenge thing, where no.1 is yourself. I dunno if I can make it to do drawings for the next 30 days, but maybe if I limit my time I will..

Anyways.. If you meet me in the streets now, this is most likely what I'll be wearing...

My ETSY shop!

it took me long enough, but after many requests for prints, I have finally decided to open an Etsy shop! 
I'm currently only selling a few prints in the shop, but feel free to contact me here or via info@biancaansems.com to request another print you'd like to have. 

FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMBS

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http://www.etsy.com/shop/Avalantis

Animator at work!

I LOVE being an animator. I love love love it. It's tedious work, it rips you apart and drags you into the deep black pits of hell despair, but when you're finished, and you crawl back out of the mental institute and look back at your work - you think: "Hey.... that's actually pretty cool."

Yes it is!!

Because you created something, that could not be alive without you and your magic animation abilities.

You are the Frankensteins of this world!

So high five yourself because you deserve it!

A lot of people don't understand why you would want to be an animator, when making something takes so much effort and BST (blood sweat tears), but remember:

DON'T WAIT FOR THE STORM TO PASS
LEARN HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN

Which I guess fits for more life lessons than this....
I REALLY enjoy the process of animating. I enjoy the pace, the concentration, the atmosphere.
I enjoy that animation is this perfect marriage between science, art and psychology (calculating the frames needed to make a certain movement that will express a specific emotion of both the character as well as trigger an emotion from the audience).

Anyways, all I really wanted to show you was two little timelapses of me at work that I recently dug up from the crap that clogs my computers. 

The first one is me at work at Trickstudio Lutterbeck in the summer of 2007, during my internship. I should have really thought of not chewing on liquorice during the timelapse, as I seem to be doing some high speed gum chewing.

The second one is me, Maja (cinematographer) and Sam Turner (animator) at work on Playing Ghost. First we are setting up an underwater & bedroom shot. Then me animating, and then Sam animating much more efficiently... and awesome. Recorded by Jack Tilley, an upcoming NFTS graduate.

I hope you enjoyed them :]

Classic composer

Since a few weeks I'm working on an illustration job for composer and NFTS tutor Peter Howell (best known for his work on Doctor Who). He has written a great ebook for composers who are interested in composing for film & tv. Watch this space for news when it comes out!

He asked me to draw the character of a classic composer in several situations to support the relevant text.
We worked through a few designs for the character, and this is the design he chose in the end:

Doesn't he look like a nice chap?

Fiets

When I came to England, I couldn't bring much, but we did bring my bike! It's not the best bike out there, but it has character.. It has been in a film, and has fans in the (high) schools here (literally, people take pictures of it, and I had fan girls shouting from across the road "We love your bike!! We love YOU!!").

So this is an ode to my bike.
(Fiets = bicycle in Dutch.)

Two Awards for Playing Ghost!

                                                                        **

God, I've been absent! I'm coming back soon, with more news and pictures, but for now I wanted to tell you all, that 'Playing Ghost' has won two awards!

- BEST GRADUATION FILM at Cinanima
- GRAND JURY AWARD at Hollywood International Student Film Festival

**Trophees may not represent actual awards.

Mellisea's birthday!

Today it's my sisters birthday!

I made her a little celebration webpage that you can view/listen to HERE.

It should be on her own website soon, as that is my birthday gift. But for now it's on here :]

As for the picture; there is a photo of my sis when she was young, very defiantly holding up a goat. But basically she is too small to hold the whole goat up, so half out of the picture is my mum holding up the other part of it. Poor goat! 

What I Wore Today

Zero points for doing the most unrealistic self-portrait ever but I wanted to try the minimalist style. Or something.. Ye.. there really isn't an excuse. It's not a self-portrait really. It's clothes that matters.... 

LOOK AT THE CLOTHES!

So yes, most of my outfit is charity shop, because the clothes are nice, cheap and the money goes to a good cause. It's a win-win-win! 

Also 'The 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear' is so awesome! Possibly the best book I've read all year. It's on of those books you will always be remembering how you felt when you read it for the first time, unfolding the story as you read. READ IT! I would read it again now - in an eye-blink. (Thought I wouldn't take it with me like here 'cause the book is too huge.)

Anyways, I probably won't be making any of these again soon, because I'm wearing too many patterns these days. This nearly killed me :[