No Stalling His Calling

I am a planner. Few elements, if any, are improvised or left to chance in any of my films. Script-writing process and storyboarding together, are the roadmap to what will someday be an emotional journey for an audience member.

“Be Kind” was one of my first experiments in storytelling with paper on film. Adobe and Marshmello put on a contest in conjunction with the release of a Halsey x Marshmello song called “Be Kind”. However, this was at the peak of the pandemic and lockdowns across the US. So my options on what to film were limited. I had a box of paper buildings and other set pieces from my first foray into paper filmmaking stored in the basement. My wife and I talked out a throughline of a yellow flower (a stand-in for kindness in our concept) passed from person to person in various stations of life, and then returned in an adapted way to its original maker. But the figures in “Be Kind” never moved, never spoke, and were black silhouettes against a white set. So with a win under our belts, I knew it was time to iterate. And that’s where GRUFF was born.

GRUFF is a personal short film about how to love someone who doesn’t outwardly show love. It’s about my late father, and now I wish I had loved him back when he was still around. The film is in full colour, its characters can articulate, emote, speak, and blink. It’s a fully experimental film where 2D illustrations come to life in 3D environments. At the suggestion of both fans and friends, I began a crowdfunding campaign to help cover costs while I finished the film for a few months.

With that incredible encouragement, I’ve set aside the next months to iterate, experiment, and further the art form. Most importantly, I aim to craft an honest, personal story that can offer others the closure and solace I so deeply sought when starting this adventure.