Army of One. If that.

I'm something of a lone wolf. Not in an appealing, alpha dog sense - more the limping, out of shape runt who can't keep up with the rest of the pack, whose 'lone' status is out of his hands. As such I'm fending for myself in a lot of respects, questioning of late the satisfaction of freelancing. A part of me is starting to itch for a regular studio gig lasting beyond a few weeks or months at a time. Of course, who's to say as soon as that happens I won't immediately start hankering for the comparative freedom of the way things are now. The grass is always greener on the other side. You like that? I made that up. True story. You can use it if you like.
What?In the meantime I'm prepping for my visit to Cologne where "The Naughty List" will be making its festival appearance at the Cologne Comedy Festival as well as its TV debut on WDR, a network I fondly associate with several pro-shot Faith No More concerts. I'm sure they have other valuable programming too. The film closes the Köln Comedy Kurzfilmfestival broadcast this Friday (15th), beginning at 10:40pm and repeated at 1:45am on Einsfestival.The trip is in the midst of my continuing effort to redefine my professional representation and I'm getting a bunch of materials ready to pimp my sweet self, like new business cards, promo DVDs, flyers etc. As I'm still debating several options for potential sales agents - and having no studio representation to speak of - promotion and marketing is on me. It's kind of what I'm comfortable with, but self-representation is kind of like onanism with a lot more self-hatred, depression and money spent on printer ink. When I describe myself as 'award-winning animator' or list accolades for any given project I cringe and bite my fist, but it's a necessary evil. After five years it would be fatuous to say that there isn't a direct correlation between the amount I big myself up and the frequency of work that comes in or festivals that pick up my films.To supplement the "Naughty..." bumph I've put up some new web teasers for "House Guest" and "Ground Running". In the case of the former it's to help promote the DVD, delayed from last year's planned release after the film got an unexpected second wind on the festival circuit. Have a gander:

In case you didn't see it when I put it up previously, I may as well throw in a snippet of "The Naughty List" for your viewing pleasūr:

On a closing, non-me note, my pal and former "House Guest" helper elf Joanna Hepworth has her latest film "Dinnersaurs" included in this year's Animated Encounters online selection. Give it a vote because it's cute and you'll glean some dating tips:

Houseguestski

Have just found out that 'House Guest' will be returning to Serbia for the Belgrade Documentary & Short Film Festival. This is the second Belgrade-based festival to include the film after Balkanima last year, and will run from March 30th to April 3rd. Aside from that I don't have any info on when the film will be shown, as their website is down at the moment (presumably being retooled for the 2010 edition, although there is some useful info here) but I'll be sure to post an update when I know. I never miss an opportunity to talk about myself like the self-aggrandising ass that I am.Some non-me news to balance out the universe, this week is Animated Exeter, a festival I've yet to be eligible for but has included some friends of mine in the past as well as this year. Putting aside the big boys like Plympton et al, films of note include Jo Hepworth (main assistant on 'House Guest')'s new short 'Dinnersaurs', Seb Burnett & Joe Wood's 'Julian Sweeney & His Teenie-Weenie Genie' and Sophie Klevenow's 'Noesis' which I did some sound work on (See? I brought it back to me again...I'm a coattail-riding fool). They're all worth checking out.

Update: 'Sweeney...' received a commendation and 'Noesis' won the Student Animation award. Congrats y'all :)

Little Stubby Arms

Just a quick entry to draw your attention to some YouTube loveliness. This was animated by Jo Hepworth (my main assistant on 'House Guest' and all-around standup gal) for the 10-second competition I mentioned previously. Said competition was delayed and as yet still hasn't been rescheduled, but if it ever is then I reckon this'd be a strong contender. I think it's pretty cute: