Animation Influence One: Don Hertzfeldt

I have been very influenced by Don Hertzfeldt. But not in a way most people would think, I don't really do crazy random humor, like his earlier work. While I really love those films, what I'm really influenced by The Meaning of Life and Everything Will Be OK. I would mention in there I Am so Proud of You, but I haven't watched it enough times yet and it's style is basically the same as the first chapter. I have been influenced by the atmosphere his films create. The beautiful sadness that surrounds his characters and scenes. The way Hertzfeldt percieves the world with this curiosity for finding the everyday and putting it in a different light has changed the way I percieve things as well. It gives his stories a reflective quality that makes everything in the world a little more beautiful, even if it is sad or strange. Everything Will Be OK was one of the main catalysts into creating Dear Dad, Love Maria which was originally going to be written and shown in a similar style to EWBOK. Now my film is very much more similar to The Meaning of Life, with my use of color. Either way, I really have a lot of respect for Hertzfeldt's work and his storytelling has influenced me and will continue to influence me for years to come.

DDLM Trailer 1

DDLM Trailer 1 from Vince Mascoli on Vimeo.

I plan on adding a few more shots and replace the in-progress ones with their finals. I like the trailer though. It feels epic to me.

Pencil Test - DDLM

Maria Explains Full Animation from Vince Mascoli on Vimeo.

New pencil test for DDLM. Maria is trying to reason with her father.

Fran Krause Visits

Fran Krause, NYC independent animator, came and gave a lecture at my school. I really like going to these things, I wish we could have more. Just having these people who know so much more than you there just makes you want to talk to them and pick their brain. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about employment in the animation industry and he gave a lot of good advice. I really am disappointed I wasn't able to show him my current animatic for Dear Dad, Love Maria because of my 4 PM class, but I think I'm going to email it to him when I finally do the clarification work that I need to do.

For those who don't know who Fran is, he has created a number of cartoons with his brother Wil that have gone around to different festivals, including one of my favorites from Ottawa The Upstate Four. It's a pilot he made for Cartoon Network. Here's another fantastic pilot he made for Cartoon Network, Utica Cartoon:



Doing a post like this has made me decide to post an influences blog. I'll work on a list and then put it up in a few days.