Last updated on January 8, 2010
A few weeks back, I was sent a link to a student film out of Sheridan, Handle With Care, by Asim Zaidi. My first thought was that I can’t post everyting I’m sent, but then I realized: I don’t get sent all that much. Also, this guy took the time to fire this my way, and good on him for some good old fashioned self promotion.
I asked Asim to send me some info on the film, which I’ve included below.
What do ya’ll think?
Handle With Care – 3D Short Film from Asim Zaidi on Vimeo.
From Asim:
About myself,
I studied New Media – Image Arts at Ryerson University, when I completed my
BFA I came to Sheridan College and did the 1 year Computer Animation program
and later continued to the 1 year Digital Character Animation program which
I graduated from this year. Before getting into 3D, I used to run and
maintain a computer games and hardware review website with a partner for 6
years. I started this up in high school, designed / programmed it myself and
continued it till I entered Sheridan. So I come from a very web oriented,
tech savy background. I enjoy FPS console games, Gears of War and Halo
series being my favourites. I have a passion for being at the Gym, it’s now
my favourite pastime after animation.
About the film,
When researching for an idea for a short film, I knew I wanted it to be
sci-fi oriented because I love that genre. At the same time, I love the
stuff that Pixar comes up with. I wanted to make a funny but adorable
character and my attention always went to Kronk from Emporer’s New Groove.
So I tried to take that personality, mix it up with a little bit of Tom
Hanks’s situation in Cast Away, and throw in some Bruce Willis from
Armageddon for the action. There was way too much I wanted to put into the
film but I had to trim it down so the current film basically shows the
viewer a moment in time into this character (Jim’s) life.
My overall goal was to make a film that was entertaining, and then to
animate it as well as I could. I wanted it to look and feel like a real film
and not a student short. Unfortunately we have limited time and resources to
finish these films, so I only got to plan it for two minutes. Our
recommended cut off time was 1 minute. I had to trim out a lot more acting
and action with the character inside the ship, and a neat introduction that
would have shown his lifestyle more in the beginning. I think that is what
changed the most from when I started and finished, I wasn’t able to show
more of the character’s life in this ship. But what I ended up with in the
end was a quick entertainment package that delivered some humor and action,
or at least that’s what my faculty advisor Mark Simon tells me.
My other goal was to show my overall skills as a generalist with a strong
focus on modeling and animation. My major challenge came with lighting. I
enjoy lighting a lot however I had a fair number of cuts, various angles,
and moving cameras. It made it a lot more challenging to light and
composite.
Synopsis,
2009 Student short film done at Sheridan College. We visit a moment in time
where a captain of a small cargo ship going through his routine travels
encounter’s some unexpected space turbulence and must get himself and his
companion to safety.
References/Inspiration: Armageddon (film), Emperor’s New Groove (film),
Firefly (TV show)
Film Credits:
————————————————–
Voice of Mike Fabris
Music by Bence Kutrik
Orange doll model/rig by Casey Kirkpatrick
Character face texture by Han Ung Lee
Computer voice by Gillian Chubb
That was really nice! Some great acting on the part of the main character. Great environment.
I’m with you Robbie. This is a pretty slick looking student short. I’d even go so far as to say it holds up well against some of the studio fare coming out these days. Asim discussed the challenges he had lighting it, but he really rose to the occassion, in my opinion. There are aspects of it that aren’t really my cup of tea, but it’s a very well made film.