Cartoon Brew TV #21: Together! | Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation

brewmasters
JERRY BECK bio & contact view posts by jerry		AMID AMIDI bio & contact view posts by amid

Cartoon Brew TV #21: Together!

October 14, 2009 12:22 am

We’ve got a new short on Cartoon Brew TV today: Together! (2009) directed by David Sheahan. This was a thesis film created at Pratt Institute. David is participating in the comments section below so fire away if you have any questions. Also, be sure to visit his website TastyHand.com where he’s posted concept artwork and the original music that he composed for the film.

Here are director’s notes from Mr. Sheahan:

In the real world, you would never expect things to go well in the personal lives of bugs. You probably wouldn’t care. But this unhappy insect couple are fascinating and familiar. Yet at the same time, they are the squashably despicable stars of my film Together!

It’s fun and and traditional to hang a cartoon around a collection of gags and slapstick. I toyed with making that kind, but story drives this film. There is just enough symbolism in Together! to punctuate any gut reaction with a question mark. The main symbol is the television, representing the sinister side of the illusions that so often guide our lives. We all know that the glowing screens we watch make a nice, sticky trap.

It’s tricky to place my influences. Today, Madame Butterfly. Tomorrow, Meet the Feebles. So far, I’ve heard S. Clay Wilson. Amid mentioned Ralph Bakshi. I love late-Thirties and early-Forties American cartoons. I try not to imitate them though. That would bore me.

I benefited from getting to know New York animators while working on Superjail!, and from the talented students around me, all of whom I look up to in one way or another: Maya Edelman, Javan Ivey, Katie Cropper, Jake Armstrong, and Kat Morris (among many others). Thanks to all.

Related Cartoon Brew Posts

Cartoon Brew TV: Together!

Cartoon Brew 2008 Favorites: Jerry’s Picks

CARTOON BREW FILM OF THE WEEK: TIM TOM

The Best of Cartoon Brew: Jan/Feb 08

CARTOON BREW FILM OF THE WEEK: LES AILES DU PAPILLON

54 comments posted in BrewTV

« « The Art of Joseph Mugnaini | Cartoon Brew TV: Together! » »

10/14/09 12:31am	Tristan says:
	That was wonderful.
10/14/09 1:59am	Jeremy Polgar says:
	This is incredible. I’m beyond happy it exists. Consider me a fan of David Sheahan.
10/14/09 3:46am	Matt S says:
	That was great! Awesome movement and it had that great bouncing gooey fluidity that reminded me of the final scenes in Akira. The story was entertainingly twisted too.
10/14/09 5:14am	Crystal (RB) says:
	That was Brilliant. I know I’m speechless.
10/14/09 5:59am	Rohit Iyer says:
	That was quite something. It reminded me a lot of “The Big Snit”, in the best possible way: funny, tragic and wholly creative! Thank you, David Sheahan!
10/14/09 6:01am	sean says:
	Awesome cartoon. I loved it. Did you use paper or a tablet, or combination of both? I especially loved the character design and the camera moves in z-depth over a flat image (i believe the opening shot). Great use of space and color and the animation was excellent. Well done. My morning coffee is looking stranger than usual……I’m taking it black today. Can’t risk sour milk, or death.
10/14/09 6:06am	Adam Ansorge says:
	love it!!
10/14/09 7:06am	Mike Rauch says:
	I kept hearing about this short, but hadn’t had a chance to see it yet. What a knock out! This is my favorite episode of CBTV yet, but also one of my favorite shorts of the past year or two. Nice work David!
10/14/09 8:00am	EunQ says:
	That was great…really cool colors and design and everything. And I never thought I would feel for a roach character!
10/14/09 8:10am	AJ says:
	Fire everyone in positions of power in animation and put David Sheahan in charge!
10/14/09 8:27am	Katie Cropper says:
	DAVID! I love your film so much, really I hope it gets more days in the sun like today :D
10/14/09 8:36am	Fred Cline says:
	Fun and inventive, cynical and twisted. It reminds me of some of the better indie animation of the 1970’s (I say that affectionately). I like it indeed!
10/14/09 9:26am	Tom Pope says:
	Great!
10/14/09 9:51am	Dan Meth says:
	Amazing work, David! Beautifully animated and weird as hell! Can’t wait to see more from you!
10/14/09 9:59am	Matt O'Connell says:
	This is amazing! Really nice characters and animation.
10/14/09 10:06am	Bryan Brinkman says:
	Saw this at the Pratt Senior show last May and was absolutely blown away! So beautifully drawn and composed. Really glad its online to share now.
10/14/09 10:30am	Mike Johnson says:
	Gleefully, awesomely, twistedly brilliant! Haven’t laughed this hard at anyting in a long long time! Loved the character design, the voices were perfect and the overall production design was just…amazingly gooey! Very nice work…I really look forward to whatever comes from you in the future, David!
10/14/09 10:40am	Rotgut says:
	Some good stuff there but it kinda left me cold. Not a fan, sorry
10/14/09 11:18am	Satorical says:
	A lot of people need beauty in their art. They miss out on a lot.
10/14/09 11:34am	Javan says:
	YAY! Now I can watch it Whenever I Want! This is amazing D-O!
10/14/09 11:48am	Madison Russell says:
	That was ridiculous, gross, and hilarious all at the same time. My main question is were you looking at any references for the movement? Sometimes I have a hard time getting that cartoonish exaggerated quality, so any suggestions you have on that front would be lovely.
10/14/09 11:52am	bone says:
	BEAUTIFUL! To say the least.
10/14/09 12:55pm	Felicia Spano says:
	I had the pleasure of meeting David interning at Augenblick and we’ve had some great discussions and I’ve learned alot simply talking to him. Super nice guy and obviously SUPER talented. Way to go, buddy!
10/14/09 1:31pm	Brett W. Thompson says:
	Wow!!! I absolutely love it, it’s amazing!! I’m really curious to know more about the process- someone already asked about tablet use. How long did it take? Was it Flash like Superjail? David, thanks for making this, it’s hilarious and wonderful and full of personality!
10/14/09 3:19pm	Gina Kamentsky says:
	Super great, I love the fluidity, line and story.
10/14/09 3:26pm	greaney says:
	wow, that was awesome…
10/14/09 6:05pm	Gio says:
	Crazy shit, I loved it. I love the fact that their apartment is right near a gutter AND theres shit being pumped there! haha.. David I have a question, how did you color this? Did you use paper animation at all? All flash? whats the word?? thanks man, cant wait to see more.
10/14/09 6:12pm	Chris Allison says:
	Awesome short, David! Hope you keep making them without the pressures of school telling you to do so!
10/14/09 6:19pm	Doofus says:
	This was amazing. This is really something else. :D
10/14/09 6:56pm	Chris Smigliano says:
	Boy, was that strange! We NEED more strange….
10/14/09 6:58pm	Paymore A. Tension says:
	#21? are you counting back down to 0?
10/14/09 8:56pm	Max W. says:
	So cool, very exciting animation
10/14/09 9:28pm	corey says:
	This is the most amazing animated short I’ve seen in a long time! Original & refreshing
10/15/09 5:41am	Adz says:
	Hi David, how long did it take you to animate this? It’s so funny, I’ve watched it 3 times.
10/15/09 10:13am	Allan Shelby says:
	It’s amazing Dolores-your work is great and original….
10/15/09 11:35am	James Sugrue says:
	Congrats Dave! Your film was the best of the bunch at Pratt!
10/15/09 1:01pm	David Sheahan says:
	Hey guys, thanks for all of the responses! sean: It was a combination. I started animating Candice on paper to get the hang of her cellulite or whatever the bug version of that would be called. But then I went to using a stylus, to save time (which I may or may not have done, but that was the intention). madison: Yeah, I videoed myself acting out Candice, just getting a feel for her, mainly before deciding exactly what her lines were! It was a lot of fun. At first, I drew her skeleton so as not to get confused by the exterior bulges. brett: It wasn’t done as efficiently as Superjail! But I didn’t zoom in as far, either!
10/15/09 1:04pm	David Sheahan says:
	ps, sorry it has taken me so long to get in on the comments. I’m at the Ottawa Film Festival. If anyone’s up here, you might see me shuffling down the sidewalk or slamming coffees!
10/15/09 3:24pm	Dan Mountain says:
	DAAAAVVVEEE!!! i love your stuff, and always have. i cant wait to see what the next psychotic yet charming thing you do next! i hope its an animation!
10/15/09 3:30pm	e-squared says:
	wonderful! the character design is reminiscent of gahan wilson’s artwork from national lampoon magazine…was his work an influence of yours, david? absolutely brilliant! thank you for this disturbingly funny, thought-provoking film!
10/15/09 7:25pm	Deaniac says:
	Wow. This blew my mind. Fantastic animation, nice backgrounds and amazing music. And kudos for the macabre character designs. That spider was freakishly disturbing at 3:29-3:30. shudders Did you really use Flash to create this? Because it looks too good to be made with that software. Overall, great job. Keep it up.
10/15/09 11:51pm	jake armstrong says:
	I know I’ll probably tell you this tomorrow, but that was SERIOUSLY ONE OF THE COOLEST SHORTS I’VE SEEN. I’m really glad I could finally see it again. You turn the forms really exceptionally well, have a good style, and that story is so strangely original. I also like the music and sound a ton. Really, great job Dave.
10/16/09 7:28am	bucketmouse says:
	This is fantastic.
10/16/09 9:33am	Emily says:
	Loved it, but it felt a little choppy- it could have used a faster frame rate and a little more in-betweening.
10/16/09 9:35am	marina tsaplina says:
	dave, now that you’ve found your voice i hope we all will get to see and hear many more of its’ strange, twisted, beautiful melodies. haha, amazing! you should post up the 3 previous versions of it- because those animatics were fantastic as well !
10/17/09 6:37am	Shmorky says:
	good job, kid. Time well spent.
10/19/09 10:40am	Will Krause says:
	Big Smiles!! I really liked your character designs and color work. And the coffeepot’s way of walking too!
10/21/09 8:25am	Fran Krause says:
	David, you’re cartoon is totally “Davidish”
10/21/09 9:15am	David Sheahan says:
	Oh good Fran, because I was thinking of becoming a therapy llama. http://rojothellama.com/sitemap.aspx
10/27/09 11:34am	John Dilworth says:
	David, You made a heck of a cartoon. God damn, I’m going to get sick drunk in your honor. All my Dilly vibes to you.
11/9/09 1:28pm	Michael Giltz says:
	David, Glad I finally got to see some of your (twisted) work. Deus Ex Manolos? Best singing roaches since Joe’s Apartment. Michael
12/11/09 5:29am	Peter de Seve says:
	POW! That is some brilliant stuff! Visionary, in a freakish, disturbing way.
01/30/10 8:20am	Guz says:
	David, amazing short! So well-animated! I love the camera angles and how it’s animated. You say a lot on those little subtle twisted animations like the one with her eyes in the beginning. Amazing, man. Congratulations!
02/5/10 4:16pm	Mene Tekel says:
	I’m a big fan of Superjail! so I almost expected the same animation style. This was very different, but good. Did your style change over time or did the animators change?

Write a comment.
Name: (required) Email: (required) (will not be shared) Website:
Comment: