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2023 |
(There is no planet B) |
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2023 |
One person can affect and inspire many lives, and we are all more or less connected. A short film inspired by a love for the curious sculptural form of trees, and the "magic" of lone trees in an empty landscape. |
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2023 |
An experiment in style; a short film about caring for each other, thinking about Family, and "family"... |
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2023 |
No-one really dies while they live on in someone's memories. This is not in fact an easy concept to animate! |
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2022 |
Benny, Jenny & McElhenny. Sheds with a dream, and determination. The film of the book; written as an illustated story and then adapted. Which turns out to be an enormous challenge. A huge undertaking, inspired by a comic book online course that a friend suggested I might study during lockdown, and a series of 366 "Daily Shed" illustrations. |
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2022 |
Just sheds, dancing to the song of the blackbirds, being their best sheds. Online here |
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2021 |
A metaphor - obviously - about following your dreams and the importance of someone's believing in you so that you can believe in yourself. More-or-less autobiographical. | ||
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2021 |
Time is running out... a one-minute watercolour-style challenge. an organic and not very linear narrative, and an attempt at fitting original music to the images...a process of explore, evolve...delete. and some fish. |
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2020 |
An experiment in chalk-style drawing, inspired by the depressing state of lockdown and the baggage we carry with us which keeps us from flying |
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2020 |
In her old cottage surrounded by concrete flats, a prickly old lady is trying to get on with her life in peace. The neighbourhood boys can spot an easy target... A short film about kindness and inspiration. | ||
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2019 |
Home is where you are safe. but then what if Home becomes a prison? - or what if Home is what you carry with you everywhere, that makes you feel secure - a virtual home made of memories, friendships, love... An idea from a piece of writing... | ||
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2019 |
An experiment in making waving grasses which inevitably turned into an anthropomorphised watering can, a hero's-journey and an understanding that if you are a scarecrow, everything else tends to look a bit like a crow. There's probably a message. The message is probably "find yourself" |
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2019 |
Hunting? Farming? Putting people in boxes? A tiny film about cages, birds, and the balance of nature. An experiment starting from a spare sequence of "walk cycle" (ugh) |
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2019 |
...from a conversation with a friend, from musing, experimenting, playing around with - er - ideas...and from wrapping your friend up in brown paper and string (so you can't tell its gender, age, colour...it's just a person) | ||
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2018-9 |
Cross when you see the green man. But what if it's a green woman? a green person? what if we didn't assume everything was male unless proved otherwise? What if we could see ideas floating around like fish and catch one... Shown at BALTIC is Curious, July 2019 |
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2018 1'00" |
Taking a line for a walk. Experimenting with magic. Thinking about the process of inventing yourself... ALSO - the slim, toned 1-minute version. same horse |
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2018 |
A public information film. Things that can go wrong with your community event... A silent animation made as an experiment in "a simple direct style" |
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2017 |
round and round and round...will our hero ever get anywhere, what is he looking for and will he find it... and what does it all signify? An experiment with cycles, inspired by a clockwork tin toy. This movie was selected for Sunderland Short Film Festival 2018 |
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ongoing 2017- |
... a magazine for elizabethan and jacobean girls. A series of 1 minute (ish) movies exploring some of the themes in Shakespeare's MacBeth from the perspective of the women. Loosely based on woodcuts of the period. Wildly educational. Mildly anachronistic. Can also be enjoyed by boys. EXCITEMENT - prizewinner, and lovely feedback from Sir Kenneth Branagh no less! |
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2017 |
Girls just wanna have fun - but which ones are the girls? and does it matter? Come to Toonies Bar... A short examination of sexual/ gender sterotypes in animation. With drinks. Screened at BALTIC is Curious 2019, and at Pride Socially Engaged Art Salon, Brighton 2019 |
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Garden
2016 |
Magic Realism! Guerilla trees! Wasps! It could be a dream...but that would be a horrible cliche. It could be a wish come true...but then again...
A story from the thinking stone. |
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The Slow Lane
2016 |
A tiny road movie, about a tiny community. Mostly black-and-white/grayscale with some muted colour. Inspired by wondering round the bog roads of Mayo, and thinking about the A19. This movie was selected for Sunderland Short Film Festival 2017 |
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Other
2016- 2021 |
Two worlds inhabiting one space, we could learn to live together, or just throw rocks at each other...until something else comes along to upset the balance. Re-edited and simplified in 2016, as "Other" |
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Blue-sky
2016 |
a tiny 75 second animation , based on Islands, made for, and screened at the Amy Johnson anniversary festival in Hull . interesting re-editing challenge... | ||
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Islands 2015 5'44" |
Practically feature length for me! A short film about community, self-sufficiency, beauty...and really big rocks. Inspired by a visit to the terraced farms of Madeira, among other things... | ||
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Apple Size Golden Clitoris 2015 5'55" |
Music Video for Title track on the album by Jan Allain, singer, songwriter, and one-time fellow student at Brighton. A new departure for me (starting from the soundtrack up) and a shift of style - Not quite narrative, not quite abstract - I refer you to the lyrics! whole animation available on youtube | ||
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Referendum 2014 1'00" |
Scotland and England...special relationship?...watch some bugger come along and spoil it...Another tiny animation made for the BBCs Draw the News project | ||
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Blue Moon Cafe 2014 1' 00 |
when egg and chips collide... winner of the Leamington undeground Cinema festival 60 second Max challenge (2015) . Also selected for Wimbledon Short Film Festival 2015 | ||
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Growing 2014 2' 06 |
Compost your old life, and grow a new one.
Inspired by the 2014 "Carrying the Fire" re-wilding festival/ conference. Selected for Sol Cinema at the Festival of Thrift, Darlington 2015 |
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Fresh Air 2014 2' 50" |
Maudie lives in an old people's home. Nothing to do but sleep and follow the rules, but Maudie wants to feel the wind in her face... A silent movie with interesting noises. Selected for the Sunderland Short Film Festival 2015. |
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The Bathroom Cabinet of Dr Calamari |
A tale of terror, deceipt and criminally faulty plumbing. A film made in collaboration with Paul (voice of the shed) Baldwin. We co-wrote the story, he did the sound (design/ record/ edit) and I did the visuals, mash-up and direction. Voiceovers by father-son team Damien and Jack Chicken, and Sharon Paterson. |
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Freedom 2014 1' 00" |
Freedom to be who you are, to think what you think and feel what you feel? Pick your own context. Pick your own fish. A tiny animation made for a BBC open submission project Freedom 2014. | ||
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Baby 2014 2' 38" |
Aw! a new baby... but what if Baby isn't quite what you imagined? Doesn't quite fit in? A cautionary tale. A silent movie featuring original soundtrack by percussionist Nik Alevroyiannis. Selected for Wimbledon International Short film festival 2014, and for Breeze Creatives, Durham 2014, Screened at BALTIC is Curious 2019 |
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Eeny Meeny Miney Malcolm 2013 7' 33" |
"Sliding Doors, but with cake" Malcolm is not happy. And his trousers are too tight. Go on a diet? or buy some new trousers? Or just eat cake and wait to see what happens... One path might lead to happiness... |
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Heat 2013 1' 00" |
What's keeping Grandpa warm? A tiny animation, Winner of the first Guardian Witness 1 minute film assignment online. | ||
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North 2013 4' 20" |
Colin's life is in a rut. Every day, walkies, fetch the ball, dinner... Every night, dreaming of adventure. Then one evening, slumped in front of the TV, he glimpses a vision of pure beauty that inspires him to expand his horizons and go North... Selected for Leamington Underground Cinema festival 2013 , and for " North:Mapping Cinematic Norths " conference, Sheffield May 2013 |
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Box |
Inside the box is another box...and another... and while you are watching the box, it is watching you. But what is happening in the real world, and has anybody noticed? Selected for Wimbledon Short Film Festival 2013 and Bradford Animation Festival 2013 |
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Life With Sheds 2013 14' 39" |
A documentary. Learn about the history and evolution of sheds; Watch the shed beauty contest and be amazed by the parade of historical shed paradigms. And meet Woody, a philosophiocally inclined domestic garden shed, and hear his own story of trees, existential angst and woodlice. Starring the vocal talents of Paul Baldwin as Woody, Ronan Paterson as the Narrator, and testimonials from several sheds and shed owners . | ||
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Painting 2011 3' 22" |
The mysteries of the creative process; a (tues)day in the life of the artist . Soundtrack includes Richard Hakin reprising the role of snooker commentator, and music by Alex Tustin, performed by community samba band Streetbeaters . Selected for Animated Exeter: Screen Out Loud 2012 Screened at Star & Shadow women's film night, 2013 |
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Wee(d) 2011 3'15" |
A short story about gardening, the nature of reality and virtuality in the digital era, and radish. Slightly autobiographical. Shed-free. Screened at Star & Shadow women's film night, 2013 |
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The Voice of The Shed 2011 4' 20" |
A (male) shed tells the story of his relationship with his garden, and his human, and attempts to explain the mysterious nature of shed-time and -space. Voiced by the inimitable Paul Baldwin. Selected for the Saisbury Animation Open 2011 and for Animated Exeter: Screen Out Loud 2012 Screened at Star & Shadow women's film night, 2013 |
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Women and Sheds 2010 10 x 1' 00" |
10 x 1 minute movies, animated over a soundtrack of original stories narrated by the authors. 9 women tell stories about their relationships with their garden sheds. A (female) representative of the local shed community responds, offering an insight into what sheds may want in return. Part of a shed "jukebox" installation. Selected for "In Abundance", Kestle Barton . Also 3 of these selected for inclusion in Norwich Film Festival 2012. | ||
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Women and Sheds Mixdown 2011 10' 50" |
A single movie, re-edited and animated using the same stories. Selected for Fundada artists film night Wakefield 2011 |
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The Sea 2010-11 5' 17" |
While Bea walks out on her job and goes round the world, her old friend Annie stays home, ironing Derek's trousers, eating cake, and dreaming. Will she ever get to see the sea except through her kitchen window? Voiced by Paul Baldwin, Julie MacBean and Chris Morland. Selected for Holmfirth Festival 2011 |
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Snooker 2010 2' 01" |
A short film about male and female stereotypes, snooker, and petty revenge. Voiced by Paul Baldwin, Julie MacBean and Richard Hakin. Contains a shed. | ||
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Paper 2009 4' 30" |
Animation: The last paper of the day at the conference and no-one understands a word, but everyone is strangely affected... Satire on the differences between art and art theory/ people and fish. Voiced by Paul Baldwin, Mark Hill and Warren Harrison. Selected for Kino European Short Film festival Manchester 2010 and for Fundada artists film night Wakefield 2011 |
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The Dragonfly Effect 2009 4' 36" |
Animation: What happens when people are confronted with something remarkable and beautiful... Originally silent, re-edited in 2010 with a sound score. Selected for the Treberfydd Summer Show, 2011 |
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Kitchen 2008 3' 30" |
Animation: The people have all left the kitchen, and the spoons want to play. |
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Toe TV 2007-8 2' 20" |
Animation: Take care of your feet, or they will find a way to get back at you... |
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8 and a half(#2) 2007-9 8' 30" looping |
The light from the sun takes 8 and a half minutes to reach the earth. |
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