Dancing with gender | Master graduation film – graduated with honours | Nominated for 'Wacom Talent Development Award' During my Masters in Animation I focused on the importance of representation, in particular on non-binary representation for this project. Our society is extremely binary designed, we think in ‘female’ and ‘male’ boxes, but not everyone identifies with these terms. The concept the term ‘non-binary’ is for many still difficult to understand. With this film I want to make knowledge and understanding for this term easily accessible. I’ve interviewed 14 non-binary people for this project, I’ve talked to them about their experiences and which forms of representation have helped them or which forms they would love to see more off. All the interviewees mentioned the same thing: there barely is any non-binary representation and we need more positive representation. Representation is important on-screen, but just as much in the creative process. For this film I made my process as inclusive as possible. The music is made by non-binary composer and creator Sem Hak. Music: Sem Hak Voiced by: Freddie Lian, Jesse van den Berg, Dree van der Berg, Ryan Ramharak, Femke van Rhijn
Making ofFrom start to finishFirst animation tests, searing for gender fluidity in drawings.
'Find Me in the Clouds' in an animated short made in collaboration with Art Beyond the Ink and Nizar Bredan. Nizar’s beautiful piano piece ‘Journey’ was awarded a music video by Art Beyond the Ink. They reached out to me to design and animated this project. The animation showcases the dream of a young girl and her mother as they climb up into the clouds before facing the world down below. Produced by Art Beyond the Ink Story by Art Beyond the Ink Music by Nizar Bredan Design by Studio IJlie Animation by Studio IJlie StoryboardFor a good four months I was fortunate enough to work with an incredible person at the Master Institute of Visual Cultures. When the time came for her to go her own way, the team and I wanted to give her a going away present. This animation represents the gratitude we feel and is a massive thank you for all the support she offered during those months. Storyboard Playgrounds opening titles | Art Department 2021.
This particular animation is made in collaboration with four others, in the name of ‘Any Mate’, an animation studio I was part of during my Masters of Animation. I was the producer, director, writer, storyboard artist, rough & clean animator for this project. I wanted to create a fun ninja-action-90’s-animated-intro-series feeling. I thought that would be great way to introduce the names of the speakers at Playgrounds | The Art department. I wanted the characters to contribute to diverse representation in animated content. This animated piece is only a part of the whole opening titles of Playgrounds | The Art Department. Music: Mark Vays Co-producer: Cox Janssens Art director: Femke Janssen Any Mate: Cox Janssens, Anna Valkanou, Femke Janssen, Rachelle Bakker & Jorinde Hol Safe-house in White | Poem by Ross Sutherland This particular animation is made in collaboration with four others, in the name of ‘Any Mate’, an animation studio I was part of during my Masters of Animation. I was the producer, final editor, rough & clean animator for this project. Every member of Any Mate was assigned a piece of the poem. Everyone animated their own rough and later also cleaned this to create the final look of the animation. My piece is from 1:18 till 1:36. Voice, poem & music: Ross Sutherland Art Director: Anna Valkanou Writer & Storyboard Artist: Femke Janssen Any Mate: Cox Janssens, Anna Valkanou, Femke Janssen, Rachelle Bakker & Jorinde Hol From start to finish
Eye museum's 75th birthday video.
This particular animation is made in collaboration with four others, in the name of ‘Any Mate’, an animation studio I was part of during my Masters of Animation. I was the producer & background cut-out artist for this project. Eye Film Museum turned 75 years in April 2021! We were fortunate enough to create a celebration video for them. Cox Janssens came up with the idea to combine the old with the new, to combine film and animation! For this animation we were allowed to dive into their archive and create this ‘Dancing through the ages’ celebration short. It was a lot of fun! Art Director, Writer & Co-producer: Cox Janssens Character Designs: Cox Janssen, Anna Valkanou, Rachelle Bakker Cut-out Character Animation: Cox Janssens, Anna Valkanou, Rachelle Bakker, Femke Janssen Background cut-out artist: : Cox Janssen, Rachelle Bakker, Femke Janssen, Jorinde Hol Media coverage: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-6783354243140067328-1lfS?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Dreaming together is a super-short about imagination. Imagination is a powerful tool, I think it’s a great way to connect with one another. I wanted to create a super-short which shows the bond between parent and child and how imagination can play an important part in that. From start to finish
Bisexuals sitting on a chair | Voice by Jamie Raines (Youtube: Jammiedodger)
This piece is a lip-sync character animation challenge. I took a piece of Jamie’s video and created a short animated scene out of it. I really wanted to give the scene humor and absurdity. I like to do challenges/short project like this, they are a lot of fun! Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCNQ96d5510&t=2s Wear Your Masks! | Voice by Jessica Kellgren Fozard (Youtube: Jessica Kellgren-Fozard)
This piece is a lip-sync character animation challenge. I took a piece of Jessica’s video and turned it into a duck delivering an important message. I wanted to give the scene humor and absurdity, combine human voices with rotoscoped footage. Jessica’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlRf77D0bc Rotoscope video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k-EAMBuM8 Arms Unfolding | Song by Dodie
For this piece I wanted to try out rotoscoping. I took a short part of Dodie’s song ‘Arms Unfolding’ (which meant a lot to me at the time) and videotaped myself. This piece represents letting go and forgiveness. |