COVID Dystopia is an official Selection of the Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival

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COVID Dystopia will be screened in the Virtual Pittsburgh Shorts Film Festival between November 14 and November 24, 2024. It will be available to watch in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. It is one of the short films in the 40V – Chiller Theater Block 2 – VIRTUAL -Shorts24. A general admission ticket is $18.

I will be flying into Pittsburgh for the final day of the festival to attend the awards ceremony. You never know. It should be a fun black tie and black N-95 mask affair.

Hopefully I will have time to watch a few films that I haven’t seen at other festivals.

COVID Dystopia: He Shot Us All

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Being unvaccinated is like playing Russian Roulette with just one chamber empty.

With the presidential election fast approaching,  we have a candidate running for president who was responsible for trying to overturn the results of a fair election.

Will we have a free and fair election this time around? Of course not. The only advantage this time around is that he does not have the power of the office behind him.

This scene only had a depth map applied to add dimension. Spinning the chamber would have been far more complicated than it was worth. The shot lasts less than a second which is just enough time to register an impression of what is happening.

COVID Dystopia will screen at the Orlando Film Festival on November 1 and 7, 2024. The November 1 screening is at 4:15pm and the November 7, 2024 screening is at 2pm, both in theater 9. At 8pm on November 7 is the Awards Ceremony which I will also attend in case I need to pick up another award. The Orlando Film Festival runs from October 31 to November 7 at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE 155 S. Orange Ave, Downtown, Orlando FL. A one day pass is $20 and you can see a whole lot of films in one day. When I attend a film festival I treat it like a movie marathon. If you go to a screening, I will be easy to find as the one person in a KN-95 mask. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

Orlando Film Festival Awards Ceremony

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Last night I attended the Orlando Film Festival Awards Ceremony. COVID Dystopia had screened earlier in the day. That morning Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the presidential election. Trump appears in about 10 of the darkest scenes in the film. The horrific first months of the pandemic came flooding back.

I found it odd that no one stood on the red carpet as we all waited for the doors to open to the awards ceremony. It got incredibly crowded as time went on and the red carpet seemed like wasted real estate. One couple did have their picture taken and they stayed on the red carpet afterwards. The theater entrance was at the end of the carpet, so I made my way up there. Since I was alone it was easy to move anywhere I wanted.

Then an announcement was made that we should all line up n the red carpet. I was second in line behind a couple. I offered to take a picture of them with the long line behind them. Tech issues inside the theater kept the doors closed. Any time I am forced to stand in a crowd I get uncomfortable. How was the seal on my KN95 mask. A man coughed as he walked past. Maybe my goatee was too long and would break the seal. Masks work but they aren’t inflatable of no one else is wearing one.

We were finally let in. I made my way to the very back row of a decent sized theater. Most people crushed together up front. Where I sat gave me plenty of social distancing and made sure no one was breathing down my neck. Trailers were to be shown of the top feature films. Unfortunately, a screen kept cropping up accusing the user of being a bot. He would have to log in. We have all been accused of being a bot at some point and were are used to proving our humanity  by picking out photos of bikes or bridges. The audience went wild shouting to the tech to log in. I started singing “Send in the Bots” to the music of “Send in the Clowns” in my head. “Where are the bots? Send in the bots.”

When the time came for the Best Animated Short category, I was so pleased to see COVID Dystopia on the big screen as a nominee. I had to scramble to get a photo, I have trouble figuring out how to use the camera. I am more used to sketching but there was no time for that. The audience applauded all the nominees.I had seen maybe half of the nominated films. Scavengers was an awesome film from the UCF animation students. A small army had worked on that film, so it was a real contender.

Then the winner was announced and it was COVID Dystopia! I wasn’t expecting that. I had to walk all the way from the back row to the front of the theater. The steps on the way down were oddly spaced and I didn’t want to trip. Daniel Springen, the executive director of the Film Festival filled the time by explaining to the audience that they needed to see the film, he liked the pacing and how contemporary it was. I wish I had turned on my voice recorder to save the moment but I was numb and in shock.

Upon acceptance I was handed a microphone. I my Disney Feature Animation background and someone from the audience shouted out, “I loved Brother Bear“. I mentioned my collaboration with local musician Andy Matchett and talked about how I sketched rehearsals for his Apocalyptic play Key of E. After handing the microphone back to Daniel, he said something that lead me to shout out how the election of Donald Trump had made the film suddenly very relevant again. I said something bout how the 45th had mishandled the early stages of the pandemic and Daniel rightly chimed in that the festival does not support any one political viewpoint.

I had paid $60 dollars or so for a foam core mounted movie poster. I was sad the poster had not won an award for best poster. After the ceremony I worked to unstick the poster from the movie theater hallway. There were eye hooks screws into the top of the poster but they were unutilized. Then I walked around and collected COVID buttons and cards. Quite a few buttons were picked up, I was surprised. Everyone I passed congratulated me. I am not used to being the center of attention. I realized that all recognized me since I was the only person wearing a mask. They might think of the mask as a bit of theater, but it is my new reality, I wear it to all indoor events and think of it like a cummerbund of bow tie. A well fitted mask it my new formal look.

COVID Dystopia: Shot Us All in the Dick

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In this shot, all the sperm tails were animated in sync to the beat of the music. I considered offsetting the timing, but decided that having them working in unison made more sense. The added benefit of course was that I only had to animate the tail wag once and then I could duplicate it and move each to their respective sperm head.

The added depth map and camera move makes the sperm swim to screen left.

COVID Dystopia will screen at the Orlando Film Festival on November 1 and 7, 2024. The November 1 screening is at 4:15pm and the November 7, 2024 screening is at 2pm, both in theater 9. At 8pm on November 7 is the Awards Ceremony which I will also attend in case I need to pick up another award. The Orlando Film Festival runs from October 31 to November 7 at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE 155 S. Orange Ave, Downtown, Orlando FL. A one day pass is $20 and you can see a whole lot of films in one day. When I attend a film festival I treat it like a movie marathon. If you go to a screening, I will be easy to find as the one person in a KN-95 mask. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

COVID Dystopia: On the Red Carpet

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On Sunday November 3rd at 8pm there was a second screening of COVID Dystopia at the Orlando Film Festival. I had quite honestly not realized there was a screening Sunday, so I hadn’t promoted it like usual with a Facebook invite.

I feel it is important to always go to any screening to be there for the question and answer sessions that follow the screening. I went early to get a sketch done in the theater lobby. There was a red carpet set up so film makers could pose in front of all the corporate logos. I took a selfie but haven’t had an official shot taken yet. I have one more chance with my final screening on Tuesday. I shared a shot of myself in front of the COVID Dystopia movie poster and that shot got more engagement than any of the trailer of stills from the film I had shared. It wasn’t my smiling face that got the likes because I was as usual wearing my formal black KN-95 mask. One of the staff took the photo. I usually cross my arms for such a shot, but the lanyard got in the way, So I ended up putting one hand on my hip. On this trip to the festival I finally brought along some COVID Dystopia cards and buttons. The cards have an early poster on one side and the lyrics to the other side. The buttons have a laurel and “COVID Isn’t done with us yet”.

I figured an 8pm screening might be better for getting a crowd in the theater. I was wrong. The producer for the animated short Matty Cat sat in the back and there were two others seated house right. I had met the producer at the first screening where there were lots of filmmakers and about 5 audience members. I joked with him about how I had hoped for a more packed audience. We had a very pleasant conversation about the trajectories of our careers, and lives, then the films started.

Seeing all the films a second time I got to better appreciate things that worked well in each film. With the first screening I cringed every time animation seemed flawed. I put that aside and just looked at textures, lighting and all the aspects that I could learn from should I once again commit to making an animated short.

The two person audience filtered out when the lights went back up so there was no point to a question and answer session. One of the staff however asked us both questions. He was fresh out of film school and just breaking into the film business. Talking to him was awesome since he was in touch with all the Hollywood gossip and so passionate about wanting Independent films to make a mark. There is a horror film that was just made with a budget of $15,000 and it made about 6 million dollars in theaters. That is a one in a million shot but it is what keeps filmmakers motivated.

The last Orlando Film Festival showing of COVID Dystopia will be on November 7, 2024. The November 1st screening 2pm, theater 9. At 8pm on November 7 is the Awards Ceremony which I will also attend in case I need to pick up another award. The Orlando Film Festival runs from October 31 to November 7 at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE 155 S. Orange Ave, Downtown, Orlando FL. A one day pass is $20 and you can see a whole lot of films in one day. When I attend a film festival I treat it like a movie marathon. If you go to a screening, I will be easy to find as the one person in a KN-95 mask. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

Macbeth Act II

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Macbeth with music by Giuseppe Verdi was presented by the Orlando Opera at Steinmetz Hall in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Perf0rming Arts.  During the intermission I finished up adding watercolor washes to my first sketch.

The second Act opened up once again in the witches cave. I am loosing sight in my left eye which causes me to see two overlapping images. I decided to use my opera glasses to do a second sketch. The advantage of the opera glasses is that the double vision is no longer a problem. One actor or actress fills my vision as I sketch. The problem is to keep my head still as I sketch and resist looking don at the sketch. Both of my fountain pens failed as I sketched and I found that colored pencils became blunt too fast. Despite the technical issues I enjoyed sketching each with in turn, knowing full well it would be a quirky result. I think I will do drawings more often using the opera glasses. It puts me right on top of the action.

Macbeth

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Orlando Opera presented Macbeth with music by Giuseppe Verde at Steinmetz Hall in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts ( 445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL), on October 25 and 27, 2024.

The opera opened with the conductor walking out and conducting the small orchestra in the pit.  A witches cave which had a black scrim with 2 openings at the top of the two ramps. I suspected there must be more behind the scrim so I resisted sketching the openings, instead sketching the audience. The theater went pitch black, so I used my iPhone to illuminate the sketch. The witches predicted the future to two generals.

The scrim opened to show the kings castle. Lady Macbeth convinced her husband that he must murder the king to rise to the throne. He had a vision of a dagger and realized that this was his future. The king was murdered in a large projected silhouette, and Macbeth walked on stage with very bloody hands.

The lyrics were in Italian. Since I was sketching, I didn’t have time to read the subtitles above the stage. The emotion behind every aria however was clear. I have seen several productions of Macbeth as written by Shakespeare, so the story line was familiar. I let the music guise my hand as I struggled, putting lines on the page in the dark.

COVID Dystopia: 1500 Minotaur’s Tear up the Street

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This was definitely one of the more challenging scenes to animate. I worked each of the Minotaur runs backwards so the scene would end looking like the final painting.

I animated all the minotaurs once and then realized that the resolution of the animation was too low. I had to re-animate in 4k.

Yesterday was the first screening of COVID dystopia at the Orlando Film Festival. I arrived several hours early to watch another block of films. When I arrived one of the staff recognized me and pointed me out to the tech guy. He was having trouble downloading the film MP4. I walked with him back through the maze of hallways to the tech booth. I knew that I had sent the link and made the MP4 fully acceptable. Looking at the Film Freeway site we discovered that the Film Download button was missing. Though I knew the film was easily accessible since other festivals had no problem with the download, I was stumped but agreed to run back to my studio to attack the problem from that end.

I ran several blocks and then got a call from the tech. He had gone to the festival producer who had turned off the film access button for staff. This was an annoying start to the day, but I was thankful that the emergency was averted without a half hour drive back to the studio. The screening of my film went off flawlessly. Other animated films however had many tech issues. One film was submitted in 4K and only one quarter of the film showed up on the screen. The film had sexy Drone Hunters and you might only see a tit or the curve of a hip on screen. Another issue that occurred with many of the films was that they were way too loud. Stella, a former Disney Feature Animation effects artist had ear plugs. I spent much of the time plugging up my ears with my pointer fingers. The bombastic sound tracks might die down for a moment but then they would blaze back and I would have to plug my ears to save my ear drums.

I kind of likes seeing my film with live action horror films at other festivals. Seeing in in a full animation block forced me to sit through some terrifyingly bad animation. People were weightless and when they talked they just flapped their jaws, not always in sync with the words.

I will attend the second screening of COVID Dystopia at the Orlando Film Festival on November 7, 2024 at 2pm, in theater 9. At 8pm on November 7 is the Awards Ceremony which I will also attend in case I need to pick up another award. The Orlando Film Festival runs through November 7 at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE 155 S. Orange Ave, Downtown, Orlando FL. A one day pass is $20 and you can see a whole lot of films in one day. When I attend a film festival I treat it like a movie marathon. If you go to a COVID Dystopia screening, I will be easy to find as the one person in a KN-95 mask. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

COVID Dystopia: Corpses Clogged up Every Creek

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In this shot from COVID Dystopia, all the hazmat wearing men are animated as they carry caskets and load them onto the truck.

Now looking at the scene, I wonder if the semi driving down the highway at full speed, might swerve and jack knife when cut off by traffic. Caskets would crash and scatter all over the highway. I have no idea why such scenes flash into my head.

I went to the opening night of the Orlando Film Festival last night and saw Tapawingo which was a fun low stakes film set in the 1980s. It had Napoleon Dynamite vibes. I was laughing out loud at times and it reminded me of my first job which was sorting junk mail. Two thumbs up. It is screening one more time on Saturday Nov 2 at 8pm, and the director will be attending that screening.

I found it fascinating that the film was going to be filmed in Las Angeles but the city shut down due to COVID. The film was later filmed in Virginia. I am always surprised when people refer to the pandemic in the past tense.

Today I will be attending the screening of my film COVID Dystopia at 4:15pm in Theater 9 in the CMX Plaza Cinema Cafe 155 S. Orange Avenue, Downtown, Orlando FL. I am hoping that the write up in Florida Politics and the NPR radio interview will also bring out a few friends. Actually I might have scared off the NPR folks since I spoke at length about the lasting effects of repeat COVID infections. I forgot that my goal should have been to promote the film not save lives. Some flowery talk about how art can alter a persons world view would have been more appropriate. Oh well, there is no undo button.

I just found out there was a mass shooting at the Halloween festivities in Downtown Orlando on the night of the Orlando Film festival opening. I was walking through  the intersection where the shooting happened two hour before it happened. Had I decided to stay for the Film Festival After Party or if I had decided to start sketching the chaos and amazing costumes on the streets. I might very well have been at the location when the shooting happened at 1:07am. 2 people died and seven were injured. The show must go on, I am off to my film screening in a couple of hours.

COVID Dystopia will also screen at the Orlando Film Festival on November 7, 2024 at 2pm, in theater 9. At 8pm on November 7 is the Awards Ceremony which I will also attend in case I need to pick up another award. The Orlando Film Festival runs through November 7 at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE 155 S. Orange Ave, Downtown, Orlando FL. A one day pass is $20 and you can see a whole lot of films in one day. When I attend a film festival I treat it like a movie marathon. If you go to a COVID Dystopia screening, I will be easy to find as the one person in a KN-95 mask. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.

COVID Dystopia: Copses Rained

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The former president signed his name and sent it to every American at the height of the lock downs. He was truly obsessed with the idea that he was better than Abraham Lincoln. He always wanted to be seen with the man.

This scene has a depth map, camera move and subtle animation of the former president  raising his hands.

COVID Dystopia will screen at the Orlando Film Festival on November 1 and 7, 2024. The November 1 screening is at 4:15pm and the November 7, 2024 screening is at 2pm, both in theater 9. At 8pm on November 7 is the Awards Ceremony which I will also attend in case I need to pick up another award. The Orlando Film Festival runs from October 31 to November 7 at the CMX PLAZA CINEMA CAFE 155 S. Orange Ave, Downtown, Orlando FL. A one day pass is $20 and you can see a whole lot of films in one day. When I attend a film festival I treat it like a movie marathon. If you go to a screening, I will be easy to find as the one person in a KN-95 mask. We might be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with us.