GROCERY RUN, 2min., USA
Directed by Woody Yocum
Just a quick run to the store for milk and eggs….and everything we could squeeze into two minutes flat. Directed and animated by Woody Yocum. Music composed and performed by Klaus Ebert.
https://instagram.com/woodyyocum
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/grocery-run-review
Get to know the filmmaker:
1. What motivated you to make this film?
All of our shorts are collaborations between me and our great composer/master musician Klaus Ebert. Short animated film is a perfect outlet for both of us. This is our seventh short film together and we hope to continue into the distant future. I am the solo animator/visual artist on our projects. This is a blessing and curse as it is wonderful to have the freedom to experiment and take risks with new styles and approaches but animation also has a tendency to bury one in work. I have worked in the animation business for almost fifty years, starting out at Nelvana in its infancy in 1975. I have spent more than the last thirty years in LA with the last more than twenty five years at Disney TV Animation. The pressures of TV production have a tendency to confine us to roles that we are especially efficient at and decades can fly by doing a one part of the process that you know and are known for. Having the opportunity at the end of my career to explore new subjects and styles but also to do all the parts of the animation process I love, is something I wouldn’t trade.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
This film took about four months to make from starting to build the puppets to final comp and mix. Our process is a stop frame hybrid. I build the puppets out paper, wire, latex and hot glue, using tiny magnets instead of ‘tie downs’ in the feet. I have a very small shooting stage with a tin floor above which I built a large soft light box. I shoot almost all the character animation over green screen with our backgrounds as photoshop docs that I comp in After Effects.
3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
‘Paper World’ the style I am embracing is make all the characters and settings feel like they are crafted from paper.
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
My greatest obstacle is in cleaning up the inevitable flaws in my shoots. It is difficult and time consuming to track stop frame animation and this is a problem that I continue to try to search for easier approaches for/
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was thrilled! I really appreciate the thoughtful responses from each of your reviewers. They really spoke to the goals that I had in mind in crafting the world of our little story. It gave me a real boost!
6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
It’s always been my dream but for me many of the NFB films of the sixties and seventies opened my eyes to the possibilities and I was lucky enough to go the Sheridan College in Oakville in the early days of their animation program.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
There are too many to say. For my favorite piece of animation though, I would have to say Genie’s ‘You Ain’t Never Had a Friend Like Me’ song from Aladdin animated by Eric Goldberg. People will still marvel at that hundreds of years from now.
8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
I love your video reviews! I gives any filmmaker such a boost to see an audience ‘gets’ what they are trying to do. You have a really extraordinary festival and we really appreciate being part of it.
9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Film freeway is flawless! It os the machinery that makes so much possible in the indie film world.
10. What is your favorite meal?
Anything with family around the table.
11. What is next for you? A new film?
Yes, there are several in the works and I am working on refining our stop frame hybrid technique for larger productions.
