The Whale Story from Tess Martin on Vimeo.
A fisherman experiences a moment of connection with a female humpback whale in the waters off of San Francisco. Is this an example of inter-species communication or a mysterious fluke? This true story is retold in paint on a 16 foot high wall with the help of the passing public in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park. Above you can see the full film and below a timelapse of the film’s production.
Directed and Animated by: Tess Martin; Additional Animators: Webster Crowell, Stefan Gruber, Britta Johnson, Amanda Moore; Actor: DK Pan; Music & Audio: Spencer Thun; Interviewees: Jenny Asarnow, Alec Deason, Emily Eagle, Marc Hobbs, Ilana Holmes, Britt Madsen, Tristan Parker, Anthony Sonnenberg; Volunteers: Katie Durant-Storey, Alma, Khasawnih, Shannon MacIntyre, Britt Madsen, Doug Mora, Houria Rollosson, Venus Volante
This story was originally heard in the Radiolab podcast ‘Animal Minds’ and was animated primarily over one weekend in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park.
Made Possible by: Sound Transit, 4Culture
The Whale Story was completed in January 2012 and animated on a 16 foot high wall in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park. This public art project was commissioned by Sound Transit’s STart program, and is part of the Seattle Experimental Animation Team’s four year stint on this segment of wall (dubbed Wallrus). See a making-of video below.
Screenings:
I’m happy to say that my nine minute short They Look Right Through You has been accepted into the Animated Documentary category at Fest Anca International Animation Festival in Slovakia, June 27-30, 2013. This will be the International Premiere (the World Premiere is at SIFF right now)
I will also have two films in the Revelation Perth International Film Festival in Perth, Australia, July 4-14, 2013: The Whale Story and Hula Hoop.
Enjoy!
Lillian Nickerson of CityArts Magazine reviews the show last Thursday to which I contributed three animated shorts. Read the whole thing to see how Eamon Epsey and Lisa Krause’s puppet show went down (I loved it!), but check out this neat paragraph: “Up next was a series of animated short films from Seattle animator Tess Martin: [...]
I’m excited about the multi-artist event tomorrow night at Richard Hugo House, where I’ll be screening three films: Hula Hoop, The Whale Story, and Still Life (brand new film!). This also promises to be a great event for puppetry. Tickets are only $5 and it starts at 7PM! Maybe see you there?
I’m happy to announce that my latest short short Still Life will be premiering on Thursday, April 25th at 7PM at the Richard Hugo House. Come see it on the big screen alongside two other shorts, The Whale Story and Hula Hoop as well as other mind-blowing puppetry/comics performances from artists Erin Tanner, Tim Miller [...]
So many screenings coming up in the next two months! I will be in attendance at some of these, so stop by and say hello! Here are the details: The Whale Story, screening at CineVic Short Circuit Film Festival, Victoria, BC, April 19th, 7:30PM. The Whale Story, Hula Hoop, Still Life (World Premiere!) and more [...]
I’m happy to be involved in this excellent-looking event organized by cartoonist and Short Run festival co-founder Kelly Froh at the Richard Hugo House on April 25th. It’s called Ishi’s Brain, and will feature a shadow puppet show by Eamon Espey, adapted from his new graphic novel Songs Of The Abyss. I will be screening [...]
Both The Whale Story and A Walk in the Woods will be screening in the Yukon! At the Dawson City International Short Film Festival to be specific, on March 29th and 30th respectively. This is certainly the most remote place my films have screened. Dawson City is up in the north west corner of Canada, [...]
The Whale Story will be screening at the Tricky Women Film Festival in Vienna in the Animated Documentaries program on March 8th. It will be screening alongside one of my favorite shorts from SIFF last year, Places Other People Have Lived by Laura Yilmaz. It will also be playing alongside Female/Femelles by Marie-Josée Saint Pierre, [...]
My short film A Walk in the Woods, completed in September 2012, will be premiering at the Strange Beauty Film Festival in Durham, NC on January 26. The Whale Story will also be screening in the same program.
Last year I curated a program of 12 animated shorts from Seattle called Inter-Action. It’s since screened in Seattle, Portland, New York, and I went on tour with it to 9 locations in Europe in October 2011. Now the program, with one substitution, is coming to Montreal, and screening at the Cinematheque Quebecoise on February [...]