They Look Right Through You (2013)

 

Whether a cat person or a dog person, you probably think you have a relationship with your pet. But does your pet feel the same way? Do we know how our animals see us? Or are our relationships with them ultimately a leap of faith? This animated short uses interviews to explore the extent and limitations of human-pet relationships, and how we communicate, feel for and understand each other. Above you can see the film and below you can see short making of film of the marker-on-glass technique.

A film by Tess Martin; Music by Spencer Thun; Color Correction by Charlie Daugherty

Interviewees: Amanda Potter, Brandon LaPrade Bye, Craig Thompson, Krizten Breiderich, Susie Tennant, Stephen and Linda Martin, René Puanani Hirata

Special thanks to Susie Tennant and Stephen Martin for sharing their stories

Thank you for letting me into your animals’ spaces: Julia Montagnet, Amanda Potter, Sarah Stuteville, Sam & Sandra Sakura, Louis and Georgia Watanabe, Cassidy Dimon , Marisa Vitiello and Tom Yoder

This film was made possible by: 4Culture, City of Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Artist Trust, I-Park Foundation Residency

Screenings:

  • Seattle International Film Festival, May 18, 19 & June 9, 2013
May 022013
 

SIFFest2013_selectionlaurels

I’m happy to finally announce that you’ll be able to see my work at the Seattle International Film Festival this summer! Two of my short films, A Walk in the Woods and They Look Right Through You will be screening, as well as Barzan, the full-length documentary to which I contributed seven minutes of sand animation. This will be the World Premiere for They Look Right Through You, and the Northwest Premiere for the other two!

Still from A Walk in the Woods

Still from A Walk in the Woods

Still from They Look Right Through You

Still from They Look Right Through You

Here are the screening times:

They Look Right Through You
Playing in front of the feature documentary Furever
Sat, May 18, 6:00 PM – SIFF Uptown Theater
Sun, May 19, 11:00 AM – Harvard Exit
Sun, June 9, 6:30 PM – Egyptian Theatre

A Walk in the Woods

Still from Barzan animated segments

Still from Barzan animated segments

as part of the Seattle Supersonic Shorts program
Mon, May 27, 11:00 AM – SIFF Uptown Theater

Barzan (dir. Alex Stonehill and Brad Hutchinson)
Thurs, May 23, 6:30 PM – Harvard Exit
Sun, June 2, 12:30PM – Kirkland Performing Arts Center

Nov 282012
 
Animal film chugs along...

The film I’m working on (called They Look Right Through You) is chugging along nicely. I’ve been animating furiously in advance of a preview screening I have coming up (more info on that soon!). As some of you know the film is about human-pet relationships, and it is anchored by two long stories, one about [...]

Oct 272012
 
Studio developments

I haven’t been posting a lot because I’ve been squirreled away in my studio working hard on my current film, which I think is going to be titled ‘They Look Right Through You’. I finished one very short snippet last week, which I’ve exported and embedded below as a special treat. I’ve also included photos [...]

Oct 102012
 
Artist Trust GAP grant! Plus Awards party Nov 1st

I’m super thrilled to announce that I have received an Artist Trust GAP (Grants for Artists). This yearly award is given out to 60 artists a year, though only three to Media artists (as long as it hasn’t changed since last year). I received one back in 2009 – in fact, that was the very [...]

Sep 052012
 
Haddam Neck Fair/animating/Mass MOCA

Pretty busy few days. On Sunday afternoon Chef Jacob drove us to the local Labor Day Fair. There were farm animals, horse pulls, music, rides, and of course, fried food. Pretty typical all-American fair, which the non-American artists greatly appreciated experiencing. Monday was full on work. I re-shot a time lapse of a couch because [...]

Sep 022012
 
Back to animating

The past few days I’ve gotten back into my animation routine. This means I spend hours sitting in one position at my animation table while I listen to podcasts non-stop. I’ve caught up on This American Life and Snap Judgment, two of my favorites. What I’m working on is making the marker-animated animals that I [...]