Hiccup

Ali Assaf — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:32:56 +0000

When I saw Ratatouille and The Incredibles I was blown away by how individual each of the human characters looked- really stylised and bold. And I wondered..could I do the same.. but in 2D? So I set about doing a short with a character design that felt 3D- to exaggerate and caricature to that degree- and have strong volumes and facial structure.

So here are some character drawings/ key poses from that short film called HICCUP. The short was to have a simple premise:

The President of the United States would be behind his podium at the White house ready to give the world a special and urgent address. But every time he’d go to speak, he’d hiccup violently, wildly gesticulating- losing his cool demeanor. (My version of the American president was meant to be like the ones you get in movies. IE. A powerful and confident leader, NOT the buffoon in power atm) As soon as he’d regain his composure, it would flare up again, making him angrier and angrier. When he finally does get it under control he’d look smug. Go to open his mouth AND…a sniper rifle’s aim would appear on forehead and he’d get assassinated.

Well, I thought it’d be funny

New home for an old devil

Ali Assaf — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:39:34 +0000

DEVIL IN ME can now be found on video site Vimeo. (Like Youtube, but much better quality video and sound) Enjoy!

Making of ‘Big Red’

Ali Assaf — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:02:37 +0000

Making of ‘Devil In Me’

Ali Assaf — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:38:01 +0000

Produced as part of The National Gallery London’s Transcriptions scheme, DEVIL IN ME is a musical short based upon the painting ‘Saint Michael triumphs over the Devil’ (1440-1495) by Bartolome Bermejo.

In the painting (see below), Archangel Michael is shown about to slay the Devil- an uncomfortably irresistible and mischievous-looking creature.

These characters are defined by their conflict. Using this as a starting point I thought it would be interesting to twist the story- to subvert the status in this power struggle- and put the devil back on top.

The resulting film DEVIL IN ME puts the audience in the place of St Michael as he is attacked by the devil. Predatory and provocative, the Devil addresses us directly…in song.

Character Design

Unlike other depictions of the devil in The National Gallery, Bermejo’s seems eerily contemporary. With its gleaming red eyes, lascivious tongue and mischievous smile, his devil is (ironically) rather appealing.

In designing the devil for the film, my aim to was to keep as close to the charm of the painting, but to simplify for the sake of character animation.

Storyboarding

My aim was to create a short one minute piece that showcased the personality of this devil character. In doing a musical number he (the devil) was able to tell the audience exactly who he was and what he wanted.

My influences in writing/performing the song and consequently boarding the animation were Rocky Horror Picture Show meets a Disney musical number.

In Rocky Horror, Dr Frankenfurter (Sweet Transvestite) is a man who revels in who he is. Confident, salacious and provocative, he rubs it in people’s faces and makes them want him. It was this attitude that I wanted to mirror in the devil.

Studying several musical numbers from 90s Disney Films, I got a sense of how they stage action, use colour for dramatic effect and cut to a beat. I tried to implement these ideas into the direction of the film.

Showreel

Ali Assaf — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:23:53 +0000

Hello World, welcome to my site!

VIEW MY REEL HERE!

Graduating from Central St martin’s Postgraduate in Character Animation this summer, I’m a freelance 2D animator with a fondness for making bold, expressive (and often musical) character-lead short films. I’ve got a strong knowledge of Adobe Cs3 (including Flash and Premiere) and I’m available for Traditional/Flash animation and storyboarding.

So have a look around- through the links to your left you’ll find my films and life drawings…and hopefully this blog will start to grow as I add more new work.

Thanks for stopping by
ali.creative@gmail.com