Adobe First Frame 2008
2008 Intro Animation (0:55)
Huckleberry Lain - MFA 2009
2008 Films
Swimming Moon (04:13)
A being is driven to madness by the full moon, discovering a sensitive, beautiful, and deep dream world.
In 2005, Nahomi Maki received a Bachelors degree with an emphasis in Conceptual and Media Art at Kyoto City University of Arts. Currently, she is busy creating her MFA thesis, Silver Fossil, an animated film mixed with live action images.
Nahomi Maki
MFA 2008
A Morning (02:00)
A girl reads a clear book in a morning.
Qingyuan Wang grew up in the coldest and most northern part of China between latitude 43°25 and 53°33. She received her BA in Advertising and Art History from Beijing University. As an MFA student in the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts, she is pursuing her animated dream and particularly developing her love for character design.
Qingyuan Wang
MFA 2009
Cyclical (05:58)
Cyclical is a spiritual, cultural, emotional, and audible journey that follows African people from ancient Africa to contemporary America.
Terilyn V. Lawson is an aspiring director/producer of animated and live action films. Upon completion of her thesis film Cyclical, she received her MFA in Animation & Digital Arts at USC. She believes that, regardless of the media, a message must be present. The message may be comical, serious, or abstract, as long as the audience is not left with fewer brain cells than before it viewed the work.
Terilyn V. Lawson
MFA 2006
www.terilynvlawson.com
Violent Growth (02:45)
We force the dark memories out of our mind, and in our greed even blissful memories become fictions.
Ria Ama is an artist with a background in traditional Japanese sumi painting and graphic design. She has a BFA in Textile Design from Parsons School of Design and is currently a 2nd year MFA student at USC’s Hench-DADA.
Ria Ama
MFA 2009
www.riaama.com
Breath (01:55)
Man is always afraid of disappearing, but the atoms that make up the human body are not the things that disappear.
Hsiao-wen received her BS and MFA degrees in Taiwan. In 2006-‘07, she explored experimental animation at the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts as a Visiting Research Scholar. Her quest is to combine a love of animation with her concern for the earth. Currently, she is animating medical films in Taiwan.
Hsiao-wen Chiu
Visiting Scholar 2006-7
The Stonecutter (07:22)
The Stonecutter knew he could find happiness, if he could only be more than just a stonecutter.
Will Meyer has recently completed his MFA in Animation & Digital Arts at the University of Southern California. He received a BS in Film Production from Emerson College in Boston. He recently worked at Sony Imageworks as an Associate Technical Director and is now freelancing as a rigger and animator.
Will Meyer
MFA 2007 Animation Minor
www.flavoroftheweak.com
Breaking the Ice (02:03)
A young boy playing in the snow forms an unlikely friendship.
Elliot Grossman earned his BA at the USC School of Fine Arts while pursuing a concurrent study in animation through the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts. His senior film, Breaking The Ice, tells a concise, character-based story that takes a playful look at awkward first impressions. Elliot currently works professionally as a character animator at Heavy Iron Studios in Los Angeles.
Elliot Grossman
BA 2007 Animation Minor
Abridged (03:35)
A Long-Distance Affair.
Arjun's interests center around understanding movement, its representations, and its role in storytelling, and he aspires to be a character animator. His professional experience includes a Technical Director internship at Pixar Animation Studios. Originally from Pune, India, he studied Computer Science and Economics as an undergraduate at Stanford University.
Abridged has screened at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival and the Tiburon International Film Festival, and also received the 2008 USC Phi Kappa Phi Student Recognition Award.
Arjun Rihan
MFA 2008
String and Girl (05:30)
3A string shares her memories with a little girl.
David Bazelon received his MFA from the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts in 2007. His films have focused on composing imagery with bizarre transitions and effects. He has worked on numerous music videos and commercials and had an award-winning short at the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival. Since graduation, he has been working at DreamWorks Animation with Crowd FX.
David Bazelon
MFA 2007
www.davidbazelon.com
CARL 57 (03:12)
In the final moments of Carl's lilfe he recalls the 1950s nuclear testing in Nevada.
In addition to making animated films, Ryan Chen has worked for Electronic Arts, the USC Annenberg Center for Communication Labyrinth Project, and the USC Integrated Media Systems Center to develop educational games using Valve's source engine. He earned a BFA in film and digital media from U.C. Santa Cruz. Currently he is finishing his thesis and working on a dome theater project with the California Science Center.
LA Shorts Fest.
Ryan Chen
MFA 2008
Treasure (02:40)
Based on the filmmaker’s childhood memory, a little girl finds a "treasure" in her driveway. Spirits are high until she faces a harsh reality.
Melissa Bouwman is an animator, video producer, and educator currently seeking her MFA in Animation & Digital Arts at USC. Her interests lie in traditional and digital cut-out animation, experimental narrative, and installation. Prior to her studies at USC, Melissa enjoyed a career as a high school teacher, college professor, workshop leader, and artist in the schools.
Melissa Bouwman
MFA 2009
The Parable of the Thoughtless Man (06:35)
A man is attacked by the act of change in his life of daily routine.
Huckleberry Lain mostly dabbles in experimental film. Lain attempts to fuse digital with analog by pushing the boundaries of both technologies. He has been known to act in the films of George and Mike Kuchar, Katja Loher and Marie Losier.
Huckleberry Lain
MFA 2009
www.huckleberrylain.net
Rain Reflection (02:01)
A man discovers a new perspective through a magical encounter with a raindrop.
Amanda Tasse is a 2nd year MFA student in Hench-DADA. She combines traditional techniques, such as painting and stop-motion, with 3D and 2D digital technology. She has created animation for documentaries and broadcast graphics, mainly through compositing in Adobe After Effects, and has worked in production design for live-action. Amanda enjoys modeling, lighting, and designing the overall look and mood of projects. She aspires to be an art director.
Amanda Tasse
MFA 2009
http://atasse.blogspot.com
Summer Storm (06:00)
Two kids (and a little brother) save the world with science!
Valerie LaPointe recently received her MFA in Animation & Digital Arts at the University of Southern California in Spring 2007. She now works as a story artist for Pixar Animation Studios. Summer Storm is her thesis film created using stop-motion and digital techniques.
Valerie LaPointe
MFA 2007
www.valerielapointe.com
Shooting Stars (03:18)
After committing a great accident, a mischievous boy redeems himself by creating the stars.
Brittany Biggs co-wrote the script, created the initial story concept, and designed the characters and objects in Shooting Stars. Recently, she participated in the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) Internship in Tokyo, Japan, where she completed a short, animated film for TBS’s CatChat program for children. Currently, she is completing her thesis film and working as a TA for the USC Institute of Multimedia Literacy (IML) Program.
Brittany Biggs
MFA 2008
In addition to co-writing the Shooting Stars script, Ryan Chen was responsible for the direction, animation, motion capture, editing, modeling, lighting, background designs, compositing, and sound design. He earned a BFA in film and digital media from U.C. Santa Cruz. Currently he is finishing his thesis and working on a dome theater project with the California Science Center.
Ryan Chen
MFA 2008
www.ryanwchen.com
The Gloaming (03:04)
The Gloaming takes office space to an eerie dimension following the misfortune of a worker ensnared by sinister visitors during the nightshift.
Andrew Huang’s films have screened at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the Art Futura Show, and SIGGRAPH 2006. His work has been featured in various publications including Motionographer, DAZED, Animation World Magazine (AWN), and CGWorld. He graduated from USC with a BA in Fine Arts and a minor in Animation & Digital Arts. Huang is now represented by Endeavor Agency and directs music videos and commercials with Trouble Makers, a commercial production company based in Paris.
Palm Springs International Shorts Fest
Taiwan International Animation Festival
LA Shorts Fest
Andrew Huang
BA 2007 Animation Minor
Dear Fatty (07:00)
A little girl wrote a letter to her lost pet hamster, Fatty.
Hsin-I Tseng is a native of Taiwan who received her MFA from Hench-DADA in 2007. At USC, she channeled her fine arts background into traditional hand-made animation, computer, and special effects animation. She is planning a career in the animation industry, focusing on compositing, stop-motion, and digital animation, and has already worked on music videos and TV commercials. She also plans to create her own independent pieces.
Hsin-I Tseng
MFA 2007
www.hsinitseng.com
Urban Oasis (02:07)
A young robot dreams of leaving for the city.
Dave Horowitz is a 2nd year MFA student in the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts. He has wanted to be an animator ever since watching Wallace and Gromit in The Wrong Trousers at the tender age of ten. He enjoys crocheting, thrift store shopping, and hunting the elusive narwhal. Dave aspires to work in production design and visual development.
Dave Horowitz
MFA 2009
www.dave-horowitz.com
Viola: The Traveling Rooms of a Little Giant (08:47)
Shih-Ting Hung just completed her MFA in Animation & Digital Arts and is currently working as a music video director. Viola: the Traveling Rooms of a Little Giant is her first visual effects film. She has also been involved in numerous productions as a digital artist, including Norah Jones’ music video, Sinkin' Soon and the Tim Burton produced film, 9.
Shih-Ting Hung
MFA 2007
www.shihtinghung.com
Installations in DGA Lobby
Sally (1:10 loop)
A character study of a young girl.
Deborah Allison is a 2nd year MFA student in the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts at USC. She has a strong background in figure drawing and uses it to explore humanity through character animation. As an avid video game player, she also pursues the interactive possibilities of animation and uses her god-like Double Dribble skills to hustle gamers on the side.
Deborah Allison
MFA 2009
Nowhere Here (1:40)
Like fireworks, our lives are ephemeral. The light we give is up to us.
Ria Ama is an artist with a background in traditional Japanese sumi painting and graphic design. She has a BFA in Textile Design from Parsons School of Design and is currently a 2nd year MFA student at USC’s Hench-DADA.
MadCat 11 Women’s International Film Festival, 2007
The 6th Miami Short Film Festival, 2007
Victory Media Network, 2007
Ria Ama
MFA 2009
www.riaama.com
rice (65:00)
Documents the accumulation of rice placed manually onto an empty background at the rate of 1 grain per frame, 24 grains per second, over an extended period of time.
Sophie Ohara studied Film and Literature at Bennington College and recently completed her MFA in Animation & Digital Arts at USC. She specializes in 2D animation, ranging from hand-drawn to stop motion and cut-out animation. Her work explores the quiet existences behind things ordinary, familiar, and loved. rice was shot in stop motion using digital stills.
Sophie Ohara
MFA 2007
www.sophieohara.com
1 (1:58)
A psychosexual abstraction that mixes nature, machine and the human form.
Ben Shalom received his Bachelor's Degree in Video/Film Art at California State University Northridge in 2002. He recently received his MFA in Animation & Digital Arts in 2007. 1 is Ben's first traditional stop-motion film and was inspired by the reggae of Augustus Pablo during the animation process.
Ben Shalom
MFA 2007
www.geminimax.com
Contact
Lisa Mann
Instructor of Cinema Practice
Exhibitions Director of Hench-DADA
emann@usc.edu
Tel: 213.821.4396
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