USC Science Film Freshman Victory

Andy Su (Scientific Consultant), Maria Raykova (Director), Mara Guevarra, Kayla Carlisle, Jabril Mack

So the freshmen animators have made another conquest! We've been awarded second place, and the prize of $1,500, for our 10 minute cartoon about the atomical composition of life, the universe, and everything in it, which we entered in the school-wide Science Film Contest. (We were the only freshman team.) The competition was meant to unite those of us at USC studying media with the members of USC's science and math departments, in the hopes of encouraging aspiring filmmakers to help these guys educate the masses. Andy (a fellow freshman studying aeronautical engineering) was our scientific consultant, and we were directed by the talented and determined Maria Raykova.

Some of us came over-dressed.

USC Alphie Results: Animators Win Grand Prix

Yes, the USC animators, collaborating on just one entry (Aha Moments under the direction of Jabril Mack), conquered the USC Freshman Short Film Competition, beating the dozens of other live action entries submitted by the rest of the cinema school. That said, all the other entries were amazing--most incredibly funny, and some surprisingly thoughtful and emotional. It was a great competition.

My Contribution to Jeremy the Hipster God

Jeremy O'Houlihan: Hipster God

For a general cinema class I'm taking, the large student body is split into around 8 groups. Each of these groups is required to give a half hour presentation to the class this semester. These presentations will be given a theme by the instructor. We had to come up with interweaving stories using photos taken by our peers the week before. The locations in these images will tell the story.
My group combined our stories by having all of them orbit around the character Jeremy O'Houlihan--a hipster photographer who chases ghosts, is forever alone, and likes images of empty spaces because they represent his soul.
Two of my fellow freshman animators were in my group, and we decided to make an animated film combining 3 separate stories about Jeremy. We came up with our concepts animated, and edited them in one night, so both Camille and I haven't slept in over 24 hours. But it was worth it, because our video is hilarious, and the animation isn't half bad.
Please enjoy! (For full enjoyment, please watch full-view.)

Week 5: Rhythm and Pattern

When I made this Tuesday I knew my teacher wouldn't like it all that much--she desperately wants me to stop using characters. But after animating dead grass and ant-infested dirt last week, I decided this week I'd animate what I wanted.
By the way, this animation is dedicated to my father, because his birthday occurred upon the day I began this. The content doesn't match him, but he wanted my flipbook dedicated to him, so there it is.

Nirvana Poster

A poster I made this week for a 5-minute challenge film led by Will Merrick and Scott Breitbarth, with the help of a bunch of other USC students. I wish I had had more time to make this, as my painting skills were super rusty, but I think it worked out alright. I'll leave a link to where you can watch the movie when it gets posted.

Here some of my process: