Meditating Bunny Studio Inc.

What I think makes a good director!

2010-12-04T00:43:00.001-08:00

Recently, I was asked some questions by some animation students at Emily Carr University about what makes a good director. Here are some of my responses to their questions. Enjoy!

1. What are your fundamental roles and responsibilities as a director?

All films are the direct result of the director's creative vision. The director is in charge of all aspects of creating a good film. It is the job of a director to take a weak script and make it stronger, make sure performances and animation are convincing, making sure the crew is motivated and inspired and overall all elements of music and sound design are working with the visual elements of the film. A director is first and foremost a filmmaker and should be ready and comfortable to wear multiple hats during the production of a film. Sometimes an independent animation director will handle all aspects of story, animation, and production. Therefore, it is important that the director is good at directing his/herself. Which is why I've taken a very

existentialist approach to my own animation and filmmaking.

2. How did you arrive at the position of 'director' for the first time

I became a director when I started making short animated films. Even though I was not directing huge crews, I was directing myself and that is sometimes the most difficult of all directing because you must push yourself towards trying to achieve perfection. Which is always impossible but it's important to stay motivated and focused. This is why I have coined the phrase: "Animation is meditation" Whenever you stamp your film with "a film by" you become a brand and your films become reflections of your creative vision.

3. What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of being a director?

The most difficult aspect of directing is making sure your creative vision is properly represented through the final film. Every film you create becomes an extension of you. If you just pump out films that take no effort, have terrible stories, etc. they become part of your filmography and that can never be erased. Plus you'll start form a reputation for creating bad work. The hardest part of being a director is keeping your integrity and fighting to only make good work. Sometimes that involves a battle with producers and other outside influences and sources. It's best to just stick to your guns and go with your best intuition. If you're losing control of a project of it's not becoming your own, move on and find a new project that you can be proud of.

4. Why become a director as opposed to any other job in the film/game industry?

The director has most of the creative control over a project. You are the boss. The producer can shut you down but if they've hired you, they've hired you for a reason...because they believe in your vision and approach. Therefore, you need to fight for that vision at all cost. For me, I have been fortunate to play the role of director who owns all my content. Thus, I own and control 100% of the project after it's finished. I am in the position to hire my producers which is a different type of approach. I really encourage directors to keep control of their work in this way. That way they know that their vision is properly being represented after it's been created.

5. Where do find you creative spark to create a film?

Creativity comes from the strangest places and at all times. Keep a notepad by you at all times to write down ideas and catalogue them. Find what works best for you and just brainstorm ideas for stories as you think of them. Some of my best ideas while I'm developing a film come just before I go to bed when my brain is racing with ideas and thoughts. I always write them down and organize them in the morning.

When it comes to creating new work, take a look at those archived ideas and go with the one that really jumps out at you a the time. Like I said animation is meditation. I don't listen to music while animating and let my mind and thoughts wonder. Because of that, my animation is strengthened because I'm always reflecting on my next movement. Music or any other sound can distract from that process. Sure it can drive you a bit crazy but make sure to take regular breaks. Other than that all ideas are good ideas...but not all good ideas make good films.

One Big Hapa Family and Ode to a Post-it Note Fall Film Festival Screenings

2010-09-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

ONE BIG HAPA FAMILY

85 MINUTE DIRECTOR’S CUT SCREENINGS

WORLD/CANADIAN PREMIERE:

2010 Calgary International Film Festival – Sept. 23 to Oct. 2, 2010

SCREENING: September 26, 2:45pm at the Globe Cinema
______________________________________________________________

US PREMIERE:

2010 San Diego Asian Film Festival – Oct. 21 to 28, 2010

SCREENING: Saturday, October 23, 2:10 pm at the UltraStar Theatre - Sharp
______________________________________________________________

BRITISH COLUMBIA PREMIERE:

2010 Vancouver Asian Film Festival – Nov. 4 to 7, 2010

SCREENING: Sunday, November 7, 7:00pm at the Tinseltown Theatre
______________________________________________________________

KELOWNA PREMIERE:

Public and Cast/Crew Screening – 2 screenings - Nov. 9 & 10 at 7pm

Tickets $10 available at door only - Free for Cast and Crew

SCREENING: Nov. 9 to 10, 2010 - KLO Okanagan College Lecture Theatre 1000 KLO Road – Student Services Building
Q&A with Jeff Chiba Stearns to follow screening

48 MINUTE BROADCAST VERSION SCREENINGS

WASHINGTON DC PREMIERE:

2010 DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival – Oct. 7 to 16, 2010

SCREENING: October 12, 2010, 7:30pm – Goethe Institute
______________________________________________________________

TORONTO PREMIERE:

2010 Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival – Nov. 9 to 14, 2010

SCREENING: Sunday, November 14 at 4:45pm - Innis Town Hall – Innis College

ODE TO A POST-IT NOTE

SCREENINGS:

WORLD/CANADIAN PREMIERE:

2010 Atlantic Film Festival – Sept. 16 to 28, 2010

SCREENING: September 20, 2010, 7:10pm at the Park Lane - Theatre 4
______________________________________

US PREMIERE:

2010 San Diego Asian Film Festival – Oct. 21 to 28, 2010

SCREENING: TBA
______________________________________

VANCOUVER PREMIERE:

2010 Vancouver Asian Film Festival – Nov. 4 to 7, 2010

SCREENING: TBA

_____________________________________

EUROPE PREMIERE:

2010 Anim’est International Animation Festival – Oct. 8 to 17, 2010

SCREENING: TBA
_____________________________________

New Meditating Bunny Studio Inc. Website!

2010-06-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Check out my new website. I ditched the old Flash website because I couldn't update it very easily...actually I wasn't able to update it since 2005. Therefore, I've created a new one that's easy to update!

There's lots of cool info, illustrations, and links to my various films.

Check it out at: http://www.meditatingbunny.com

One Big Hapa Family

2010-05-07T01:51:00.000-07:00

It's been almost been 4 years since I first started out on my journey to create my first feature length documentary, One Big Hapa Family. It has been a true labor of love!

Here is the synopsis:

After a realization at a family reunion, half Japanese-Canadian filmmaker, Jeff Chiba Stearns, embarks on a journey of self-discovery to find out why everyone in his Japanese-Canadian family married interracially after his grandparents’ generation.

This feature live action and animated documentary explores why almost 100% of all Japanese-Canadians are marrying interracially, the highest out of any other ethnicity in Canada, and how their mixed children perceive their unique multiracial identities.

The stories from four generations of a Japanese-Canadian family come to life through the use of innovative animation techniques created by some of Canada’s hottest independent animators, including, Louise Johnson, Ben Meinhardt, Todd Ramsay, Kunal Sen, Jeff Chiba Stearns, and Jonathan Ng. One Big Hapa Family challenges our perceptions of purity and makes us question if mixing is the end of multiculturalism as we know it.

Yellow Sticky Notes merchandise finally available!

2009-12-01T02:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time coming but at least it's here in time for Christmas...Yellow Sticky Notes merchandise at http://www.cafepress.ca/meditatingbunny in Canadian, US, international prices depending on your region! Everything available from t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, magnets, baby clothes, and dog bowls - all featuring the fan favorite 911 bunny.

Yellow Sticky Notes wins the Prix du Public at Clermont-Ferrand

2009-02-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

BC SHORT FILMS DOMINATE CLERMONT-FERRAND – Kelowna Animator Wins the Prix du Public (Audience Award)

(British Columbia) February 16, 2009 - Short films produced and directed in British Columbia were the only non-Quebec Canadian films to be selected for this year’s prestigious Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. The CFSFF, held in Clermont-Ferrand, France for the past 31 years, is the world’s largest short film market and festival - boasting attendances over 137,000, hosting thousands of industry delegates, and representing international films from over 50 countries. Amongst the 4,783 submitted international films, only 74 were selected for the International Competition and 36 were chosen for the Lab Competition. Out of 367 Canadian films submitted, only 6 films from Canada were chosen to screen in the festival’s esteemed competition. The only 3 Canadian films not from Quebec were all from BC.

Vancouver films, Awkward by Kellie Bentz and Engine 371 by Kevin Langdale were included in the International Competition while Kelowna filmmaker, Jeff Chiba Stearns screened his animated short, Yellow Sticky Notes as part of the Lab Competition. The Lab Competition celebrates films using innovative techniques that push the boundaries of filmmaking. Yellow Sticky Notes was the only Canadian winner at the festival, taking home the Prix du Public (Audience Award) in the Lab Competition. The film was also the only North American film to win an award at the internationally renowned 2009 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival.

“This is the biggest win of my life!” said Jeff Chiba Stearns after receiving the audience juried award. “I’ve traveled to festivals around the world and the caliber of films at Clermont-Ferrand are the best I have ever seen. These are the greatest short films in the world and it was humbling to even screen next to them let alone win a major award category. It was a huge honor just to be accepted to Clermont-Ferrand!”

Yellow Sticky Notes was animated using over 2300 yellow sticky notes with nothing but a black pen. The film, that has been described as the world’s most labor intensive blog entry, is an animation meditation of Jeff Chiba Stearns’ filmmaking journey as his internal reflection on his role as an artist manifests into a discussion about major political and environmental crises. The film qualified for a Genie in the Best Animated Short category but was not nominated.

Even with BC shorts dominating internationally at the film festivals, there was no representation from Western Canada in the short filmmaking categories when the Genies were announced last week - it makes one wonder who’s choosing the nominations at the national level.

Vancouver Animation Blog Interview

2008-11-19T23:04:00.000-08:00

Check out my latest interview with Vancouver Animation at www.vancouveranimation.ca

Enjoy!

Yellow Sticky Notes Fall Film Festival Screenings!

2008-09-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

Yellow Sticky Notes will be screening at a bunch of film festivals this fall. Yellow Sticky Notes will be screening at the Vancouver International, Calgary International, Atlantic, Hawaii, San Diego Asian, DC Asian, Vancouver Asian, TallGrass, and Whistler Film Festivals.

YSN will also be screening internationally at the Singapore Animation Nation, 6st International Film Festival on Peace and Human Rights - Barcelona, Spain, and Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival International Digital Animation Short Films Competition.

Here are a few screening dates and times:

*Vancouver International Film Festival*

Screening with: General Idea: Art, AIDS, and the fin de siècle
• Monday, September 29th 9:45pm
at Empire Granville 7 Theatre 1

• Wednesday, October 1st 3:00pm
at Empire Granville 7 Theatre 1

*Calgary International Film Festival*

Screening with Simple Reflections Shorts
• Saturday, September 27, 2008
5:00 PM – Plaza ($12)

• Screening with Meadowlark
Tue. Sep. 23, 2008
9:45 PM – Globe Upstairs ($12)
617 - 8th Avenue SW

*Atlantic Film Festival*

• Frame X Frame
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
7:05 PM - Empire 8 Park Lane – 7

*DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival*

• Sunday, September 28th, 2008
4:00PM - Goethe-Institut

*San Diego Asian Film Festival*

Screening as part of the Animation Showcase
• Saturday October 11, 2:20pm
• Wednesday October 15, 7:00pm
• Thursday October 23, 9:20pm

*Hawaii International Film Festival*

• Saturday October 11, 12:00pm

YELLOW STICKY NOTES DVD FOR SALE!

2008-07-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

Purchase a DVD of Yellow Sticky Notes for $14 CAD (includes shipping and handling) by ordering through PayPal - Only NTSC Region '0' DVD's available.

Simply click on the button below and use your credit or bank card to order a DVD - international orders accepted

Also available - DVD's of Jeff's previous award-winning hapanimated film, "What Are You Anyways?" for $14 USD or CAD (includes shipping and handling) - pay via check or PayPal button below

Or order both Yellow Sticky Notes and "What Are You Anyways?" as a package for $25 USD or CAD (includes shipping and handling) - pay via check or PayPal button below

Join the Yellow Sticky Notes fan page on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=542780551#/pages/Yellow-Sticky-Notes/23140210111

Also, become friends with Yellow Sticky Notes on MySpace at: www.myspace.com/yellowstickynotes

Please contact meditatingbunny@hotmail.com with any questions

61st Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival

2008-05-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

I just got back in yesterday from the 61st Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival where my film Yellow Sticky Notes was up for Best Animation and I was up for Best Director Fiction. It is the longest running festival of its kind in North America and is like no other film festival I've ever been to. Yorkton is about a 2 hour drive from Regina. The city boasts a modest population of 15,000 residents but the city itself really embraces this yearly festival. After getting back from Tribeca in New York and Pangea Day in LA, Yorkton was a nice and strange change of pace. Great small town hospitality and warmth greeted all the visiting filmmakers and delegates. The Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival is best known for its prestigious Golden Sheaf Awards.

I was fortunate to win my category for Best Animation...which was the first time in 12 years a non-NFB animated film won. Actually I was up against 4 other NFB animations this year. Funny that a small film with a $100 budget used to buy yellow sticky notes and black markers could compete and win against films with $150,000 budgets. Yorkton wasn't all about award galas and films. I was also there pitching One Big Hapa Family to the broadcasters that were there. I met with Joanne McDonald from SCN along with Sarah Jane Flynn from Canwest where I was able to pitch my new doc. I also met John Dippong from Telefilm Executive Feature Film, Western Region and some great filmmakers like Randall Okita, Penny Ward, Steve Wolfson, Sheona McDonald, and John Bessai. Overall, Yorkton was a great time and unlike any other festival I've ever been!

Golden Sheaf Awards Gala

Partying with the some of the cast of Corner Gas and Jennifer Chen from Ouat! Media

With festival winners Randall Okita and Sheona McDonald

With John Dippong and Joanne McDonald

Pangea Day 2008

2008-05-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

I was very fortunate to have my film Yellow Sticky Notes take part in the first ever Pangea Day. From May 8th to the 10th, Pangea Day brought together 100 filmmakers from around the world to participate in an event where these filmmakers came together to create one global film community. They flew me out to LA, put me up in the Sheridan Delfino in Santa Monica and threw some great parties along with a mind blowing filmmaker retreat. The Pangea Day event was on Saturday. All the filmmakers got to go to the Sony Studios - Studio 15 (where the filmed the Wizard of Oz) to watch the live taping of the four hour show that was broadcast live around the world.

Pangea Day can be described as a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.

Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes. Details on the Pangea Day films can be viewed here at www.pangeaday.org

The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.

The Filmmaker Retreat featured many guest speakers including Deborah Scraton, Matthew Modine, Lee Daniels, Duncan North, Lawrence Bender, Marco Williams, Carline Baron, Alex Gibney, Chris Anderson, Jehane Noujaim, Queen Noor, and Ken Ralston.

The entire three days was amazing and the Pangea Day wrap-party was a blast. I met some amazing and inspiring international filmmakers during those three days, and at then end, we were all a sad to have to go home. Everyone went away from the event inspired and honored to have had the opportunity to interact and learn from each other. It was truly one of the most magical experiences I have had so far as a filmmaker!

With Ted Chung and Marc Osbourne - Director of Dreamworks Kung Fu Panda

Filmmakers at the Filmmaker Retreat

The Filmmaker Retreat setup at the Sony Studios

Pangea Day set

Actress Cameron Diaz

Actress Meg Ryan

Dave Stewart performing at the Pangea Day event

Pangea Day finale

At the Pangea Day Wrap-Party in Beverly Hills

With Matt Groening - creator of The Simpsons

Tribeca Film Festival 2008

2008-05-20T23:32:00.000-07:00

This year I had my US Premiere of my animated film Yellow Sticky Notes at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Truly one of the biggest film festivals I've participated in, I was able to attend the full festival run from April 23rd to May 4th.

Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan through an annual celebration of film, music and culture. The Festival’s mission focuses on assisting filmmakers to reach the broadest possible audience, enabling the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promoting New York City as a major filmmaking center.

Yellow Sticky Notes played in the Window Seat shorts program. 4 of the 5 screenings sold out. The screening that didn't sellout was still 3/4 full. The film screened to great reception from the audience and we had some great Q&A sessions. Almost every filmmaker who had a film in the program was present for at least 2 or 3 of their screenings. Since I was at Tribeca for the full run of the festival, I was able to be at every screening.

The parties, galas, and receptions were nothing short of amazing. Lots of free booze, free food, and tons of smoozing. I met a lot of talented filmmakers, press, distributors, festival directors, and film lovers. It was a great atmosphere. Even though every day was filled with interviews, press, screenings, receptions, and parties, I still managed to find time to do some tourist stuff. I attended tapings of the Late Show with David Letterman, Conan O'brien, checked out a Yankees game, walked around Central Park, and saw the Statue of Liberty.

Overall, it was a great experience. Enjoy some of the photos from my trip!

With Saturday Night Live actress Molly Shannon

With Jessica, Brian and Joe - filmmakers in the Window Seat Shorts Program

View from the Tribeca Shorts Filmmaker Party

Hanging out with some filmmakers at the Tribeca Short Filmmaker Party

Baby Mama Gala Party - April 23, 2008

With animation filmmaker Bill Plympton - Bill has been a big inspiration to my work and is one of the reasons I wanted to create independent classical animation!

The Entertainment Weekly Shorts Interview - check it out at http://www.ew.com/ew/video/festivals?lineupId=1519676937&videoId=1536208306

Actor Robert De Niro - Tribeca Film Festival Founder

The Awards After Party at the Mansion

Awards Wrap-Party - with Shiloh Strong, Rider Strong, Sheryl Santacruz, and Leetal Platt

Me with Genevieve Vincent - Yellow Sticky Notes' composer

April/May US Screening dates for Yellow Sticky Notes

2008-04-01T00:37:00.001-07:00

Here's some screening dates for the US...if you have friends in these areas please tell them to come out and see Yellow Sticky Notes! Thanks for the support!

Tribeca Film Festival - Manhattan, New York
As part of Window Seat Shorts Program:
Friday, April 25, 1:45 pm, AV7-04
Sunday, April 27, 6:45 pm, A19-03
Tuesday, April 29, 3:45 pm, AV7-07
Saturday, May 3, 11:15 am, VEC-03
Sunday, May 4, 7:00 pm, VEC-05
Venues:
AMC Village VII (AV7) - 66 Third Avenue (at 11th Street)
AMC 19th Street East (A19) - 890 Broadway (at 19th Street)
Village East Cinemas (VEC) - 181 Second Avenue (at 12th Street)
Order tickets at http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org

Newport Beach Film Festival - Newport Beach, California
As part of the Animate Me Shorts Program:
Friday, April 25 at 4:15pm
Order tickets at http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com

Disorient Film Festival - Eugene, Oregon
As part of Homegrown Shorts Program:
Saturday, April 26th at 1:15pm
Venue:
Bijou Art Cinemas
Order tickets at http://www.disorientfilm.org

VC Asian Film Festival - Los Angeles, California
Dates to be announced:
Check out http://www.vconline.org/festival for updates on screening times and dates

Good news! Yellow Sticky Notes has recently been awarded the:

- 2008 Youth Jury Honourable Mention: 12th Freeze Frame International Festival of Film for Kids of All Ages

- 2008 Remi Award Winner for Best Animated (Classic Cel Animation): 41st WorldFest - Houston Remi Awards

Citizen Shift - One Big Hapa Family Production Blog

2008-02-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

I've been commissioned by the National Film Board of Canada to maintain a production blog for my next documentary One Big Hapa Family. I will be adding posts every few days about the progress of my next production. So far it's been quite the battle to get things going. Especially with all that's being going on lately with Yellow Sticky Notes and getting distribution for "What Are You Anyways?" So, getting One Big Hapa Family going has been tough to say the least. Anyways, this is my first venture into live action and the first documentary I've ever created. It should be an interesting adventure. I invite you to follow my adventures at:

http://citizen.nfb.ca/blogs/category/one-big-hapa-family

Here's an example of my first post on February 15th, 2008:

Being based in Kelowna, I’m heading off to Vancouver tomorrow to meet with my producer, Ruth Vincent about my documentary One Big Hapa Family. This will be the first time we will have met after I revised my original proposal a few weeks ago. Needless to say, after I revised the proposal, it was over 7 pages long…and according to Ruth, 4 pages too long.

So far I’ve secured funding with my first version of the proposal last year by obtaining grant money from the British Columbia Arts Council, National Association of Japanese Canadians Endowment Fund for Cultural Development, and the National Film Board through a Filmmaker Assistance Program grant. The original proposal was intended to make a short documentary. Around 8 - 12 minutes long. After some discussion with Ruth a few months back, we decided this concept could possibly work for TV. So I went about revising the proposal for a 44 minute broadcast hour documentary. We’re hoping to submit the new proposal with the hope of obtaining a pre-license fee and maybe even securing a second window broadcaster.

Here’s a synopsis for the revised One Big Hapa Family documentary:

One Big Hapa Family is a 44-minute high definition live-action with animation documentary that highlights a Japanese-Canadian family reunion. The documentary explores why over 95% of Japanese-Canadians are in interracial marriages, the highest out of any other ethnicity in Canada, and how their children perceive their multiracial identities. Animation and narration are used to transition from narrative story structures to interview formats while exploring a unique outlook on Canadian multiculturalism from the perspective of Japanese-Canadian children of mixed decent, interracial couples, and opinions from Japanese elders who lived through WWII.

This blog will be a diary focusing on the pre-production, production, and post-production One Big Hapa Family. Being half-Japanese and half-European decent, the topics covered in One Big Hapa Family are very personal to me. In my animated film, “What Are You Anyways?” I explored my own experiences growing up of mixed-Asian decent in the small Canadian city of Kelowna. The film had phenomenal success screening at over 40 international film festival and winning 7 awards. Recently I just finished a new classically animated film, Yellow Sticky Notes, which premiered at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival where it won the Animasian Award for Best Animation. The film was created using over 2300 yellow sticky notes and animated straight ahead with only a black ink pen.

My filmmaking is created using thousands of hand drawn images. With One Big Hapa Family, this will be my first venture into the realm of live action. I’m bound to make a ton of mistakes along the way and I know making this documentary will be a true adventure that will push my filmmaking to the limit. This blog will serve to entertain, educate, and inspire people to see just what it takes to make a long form documentary from a guy who’s used to making all his films by hand with a pencil and some paper. This blog will be candid, honest, and real and highlight the process of creating a broadcast documentary from a guy who knows nothing about making a documentary!

Yellow Sticky Notes Wins an Elan Award - Press Release

2008-02-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

Vancouver - During the 2008 Elan Awards, Video Game, Animation Industry and Digital Art Students turned out in full force to celebrate Canadian supremacy in the fastest growing entertainment industry in the world. Canadian video game developers and publishers, animators and studio heads and the brightest students and top academia gathered at the 2nd annual Canadian Awards for Electronic and Animated Arts (CAEAA) held at The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts in eager anticipation to learn the winning names behind some of the biggest games and shows in North America.

Animation filmmaker and Kelowna resident, Jeff Chiba Stearns, took home an Elan award for Best Animated Short Subject for his film, Yellow Sticky Notes at the awards show, described as the Oscars of the Canadian video game and animation industry. The February 15th evening event was hosted by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. Awards were presented in 36 categories in three sectors of the Electronic and Animated Arts industry: animation industry, video game development, and student talent development. Each winner was presented with an Elan – a statuette similar to an Oscar but constructed of a majestic man and a woman resembling Greek gods holding up the world.

This is the second year in a row Chiba Stearns’ animated short films have won in the category of Best Short Animated Subject. In 2006, during the first annual Elans, his classically animated short film, “What Are You Anyways?”, a autobiographical recollection of Chiba Stearns’ life experiences growing up in Kelowna with a bi-racial background won in the same category. Yellow Sticky Notes, created on a budget of $100, was animated directly on over 2300 yellow sticky notes with nothing more than a black ink pen. After realizing that yellow sticky note “to do” lists were consuming his life, Chiba Stearns finally decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for the last nine years. Animation meditation is blended with image, text, and an original musical score by Genevieve Vincent through the creation of a classically animated experimental film. The entire process of animating on these sticky notes took Chiba Stearns over nine months and was created through an animated stream of consciousness.

After a world premiere of Yellow Sticky Notes at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival in November, where it took home the Animasian Award for Best Animated Film at the festival, the film continues to gain accolades worldwide. Yellow Sticky Notes has begun its worldwide theatrical release by joining the infamous Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation 2008 tour. As well, the film continues to tour on the international film festival circuit.

“I am extremely honored and excited to receive an Elan for Best Animated Short Subject at the 2008 CAEAA Awards. It means a great deal to be recognized by my peers in the Canadian animation industry for the work I am doing in independent classical animation. Yellow Sticky Notes is a very personal film and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to showcase it internationally. I can only hope for continued success with all my future projects and that my work will continue to touch the lives of people around the world.”

Currently, Chiba Stearns is in pre-development of a 44-minute documentary on mixed-race identity and interracial marriage entitled One Big Hapa Family. The documentary explores the explosive statistic of how 95% of Japanese Canadians are in interracial marriages and asks Japanese children of mixed decent about their multiracial identities. Look for new film by Chiba Stearns to be released in early 2009. Check out www.hapanimation.com for current updates.

For those in based in the Okanagan area, Yellow Sticky Notes will be screening for free as part of the Kelowna Art Gallery Film Nights series. The film will screen on Feb. 28th at 7pm at the Kelowna Art Gallery with the feature length documentary Social Genocide. Jeff will be on hand to introduce the film and conduct a Q&A session after the screening. DVD’s of Yellow Sticky Notes are also available for purchase at Komatsu Japanese Market in Kelowna and the Nikkei Place Museum in Burnaby.

Clip 2 from Yellow Sticky Notes and YSN joins the Spike and Mike's Animation Tour!

2008-02-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a longer clip from the award-winning film Yellow Sticky Notes! Also, just so you know, keep an eye out for Yellow Sticky Notes hitting a city near you as part of the 2008 Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. Yellow Sticky Notes isn't all that sick or twisted but it's been getting rave reviews from people who've seen the show in Detroit and other US cities so far.

If you are interested in buying a DVD copy of the film, they are $12 (which includes shipping) and available by emailing me at meditatingbunny@hotmail.com

Clip from the film Yellow Sticky Notes

2007-11-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a clip from my latest animated film, Yellow Sticky Notes. The original film is 6 minutes long. This particular clip is an animated self reflection of my thoughts on 9-11. Keep checking my blog for updates on screenings of Yellow Sticky Notes! Also check out www.myspace.com/yellowstickynotes for screening info in your area.

Yellow Sticky Notes wins Animasian Award at the 2007 Reel Asian International Film Festival!

2007-11-22T12:40:00.001-08:00

ANIMASIAN ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT THE REEL ASIAN:

“Being awarded the first annual Animasian Award means a great deal to me and it was completely unexpected, due in part, to the fact that I world premiered my film Yellow Sticky Notes at the Toronto Reel Asian this year. I had no idea before I screened the film to an audience for the first time, if people would even like it. I was extremely happy to find out that the audience and judges responded very well to the film. Personally, the film was such a personal extension of who I am and who I’ve grown to be, that I didn’t even care if anyone liked the film or not. By animating on over 2300 yellow sticky notes, it was a great way to express my hectic lifestyle as an animation filmmaker and reflect on past world events and environmental issues. Although, I must say, I am relieved to know that people enjoyed the film at the festival this year!

I really want to thank the Reel Asian for all their support and believing in my projects. In 2005, my film, “What Are You Anyways?” screened at the festival and was invited to attend my screening. During the festival, I was blown away by the hospitality of all the staff, volunteers, delegates, and fellow filmmakers. So when I came to submitting my new film off to festival again, it meant a lot have the film selected to premiere at the Reel Asian this year. I can’t thank the directors, programmers, and staff enough and especially all the board members for the hospitable nature of treating all the filmmakers with so much respect, showing us a great time, and just the celebration of Asian-made films in general. They have created a festival that celebrates the filmmaker just as much as the films and is one of the few film festivals that still focuses on recognizing and rewarding the hard work filmmakers put into making films.

I also want to thank all the jury for their insight and critique and I especially want to thank Ann Marie Flemming for creating the Animasian award this year as a celebration of animated films at the Reel Asian. I think this is definitely something that all the animators in the room can share, that passion and drive to create something as repetitive and crazy as animation. Animation is an imaginative and beautiful artform unto itself and should definitely be recognized on its own separate from live action and documentary. The Animasian Award is a great step forward to supporting all the brilliant animated films showcased at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival for years to come!” – Jeff Chiba Stearns

PRESS RELEASE:

After a three-year tour promoting his award-winning animated film, “What Are You Anyways?” around the world, filmmaker and Kelowna resident Jeff Chiba Stearns returns home with a new classically animated film, Yellow Sticky Notes. After a world premiere of the film at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival on November 16th, Jeff will screen the film for the first time to a Kelowna audience as part of The Ryan Donn’s CD Release Party at the KLO Campus Theatre on Saturday, November 24th at 7pm. The event will also be a DVD release for Yellow Sticky Notes. The film screened to great reception in Toronto and took home the Animasian Award for Best Animated Film at the festival. Created on a budget of $100, Yellow Sticky Notes competed with animated films with budgets as high as $150,000.

The film was created by animating directly on over 2300 yellow sticky notes with nothing more than a black ink pen. After realizing that yellow sticky note “to do” lists were consuming his life, Chiba Stearns finally decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for the last nine years. Animation meditation is blended with image, text, and an original musical score by Genevieve Vincent through the creation of a classically animated experimental film. The entire process of animating on these sticky notes took Chiba Stearns over nine months and was created through an animated stream of consciousness.

“Yellow Sticky Notes, a funny, lively and insightful look at the life of a working artist and activist – all told through thousands of yellow sticky notes. An original idea, impeccably executed, and all those years and pieces of paper were well spent.”
– Glenn Sumi, Now Magazine - Toronto Reel Asian International Jury statement

“2300 drawings, 4x6 inch yellow sticky notes and a black ink pen – A small internal reflection on one’s role as an artist manifests into a discussion about major political and environmental crises.” – Heather Keung, Programming Manager of the Reel Asian International Film Festival

“I’m excited to have the Kelowna premiere and the DVD release of my new film Yellow Sticky Notes along side my good friend Ryan Donn’s CD Release Party. This will be a great evening celebrating the arts through the collaboration of music and film! Yellow Sticky Notes is one of the first animations to be created entirely with only post-it notes and I can’t wait to have a chance to share it with my hometown community. After the success in Toronto, I can’t wait to see how the film’s success continues on the international film festival circuit.” – Jeff Chiba Stearns

Taiwan International Animation Festival

2007-10-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a Canada Council travel grant, I traveled to the Taiwan International Animation Festival in Taipei, Taiwan, recently to promote Canadian animation, share my film, “What Are You Anyways?” with Taiwanese audiences, learn about Taiwan’s mixed-ethnic background, meet other influential international animation filmmakers and artists, discover Taiwanese independent animation techniques and storytelling, connect with the Taiwanese animation education system, visit Taiwan animation studios, and be inspired by Taiwan’s unique and diverse arts culture. In the 11 days I was in Taiwan I am proud to say I was able to accomplish every goal.

Attending the Taiwan International Animation Festival (TIAF) in Taipei, Taiwan, was a great experience for me to promote Canadian film, culture, education, and my film, “What Are You Anyways?” to audiences throughout Taiwan. I was in Taiwan from September 27 to October the 8th, 2007. The festival was held the Shin Kong Cineplex in the trendy area of Ximending. It’s like Tokyo’s Shibuya district. The TIAF showcased over 600 short and feature animated films over 9 days (Sept. 28th to Oct. 7th) filled with screenings, parties, presentations, panels, workshops and an animation exhibition gallery at the Huashan Cultural Park. The animation exhibition was awesome with a retrospective on Will Vinton. I got to hangout with the original California Raisins puppets!

The Taiwan International Animation Festival programmed my film for two screenings as part of the Kaleidoscopic World of Animation ‘Who I Am’ program, Monday, Oct. 1st at 10:20am and Thursday Oct. 4th at 6:40pm where I also conducted a question and answer period after the film screening. The audience for both screenings was humble with about 50 audience members per screening. The Q&A was energetic with a lot of enthusiastic audience members asking questions about the film, my animation filmmaking process, Canadian animation, and Canadian animation training. All Q&A sessions were translated between English and Mandarin by professional translators. My film, “What Are You Anyways?” was also subtitled by the festival into Mandarin so it could be understood by all audience members. When I arrived at the festival, they provided me with a liaison, Yu-nan Chou, who met me at the hotel and accompanied me to all festival functions and events. The liaison also acted as an interpreter so I could interact with local festival guests. She also toured me around Taipei between festival events and discussed with me Taiwan history and its rich cultural influences, which is a blend of aboriginal, Chinese, and Japanese culture.

While at the TIAF, I became great friends with the programmer Sharon Wu, who I first met at the 2005 San Diego Asian Film Festival. Sharon is a peer who is also an animation filmmaker and animation educator who worked previously as an instructor at CalArts in LA. As part of the festival, Sharon invited me to sit as a panelist on an Animation Educational Panel organized by the TIAF. I was on the panel with Eric Riewer from France, Sharon Wu and David Ehrlich from the America. I was representing the Canadian animation education system as I am also a part-time classical animation instructor at the Centre for Arts and Technology Kelowna. I spoke about the changing landscape of Canadian animation education and the different types of animation schools from public university programs like Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and private college programs like the one where I instruct in Kelowna. I also spoke about the changing climate in the Canadian animation industry with the advancement of Flash created programming. The panel event was very well attended with over 60 young aspiring Taiwanese animators in attendance. After the lecture many of the students approached me for more information about applying to Canadian animation schools and to speak with me about my animation experiences in Canada. As well, it was also important for me to hear the other panelists discuss how animation is taught in their countries, thus, helping me gain a new perspective on animation education around the world.

Before I went to Taiwan, I was in contact with the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, which is the name of the Canadian Embassy in Taiwan. Chloe Chen, the manager of events and outreach, general relations of the CTOT organized a series of Taiwan university lectures and Taiwan animation studio meetings during my stay. On October 3rd I had two university guest lectures. First I traveled with Chloe to the National Central University in Chung Li City to visit the Department of English. There I visited the English class of professor Wenchi Lin who also organizes the Canadian Animation Film Festival that travels around Taiwan. I presented a two-hour lecture on mixed-race identity, hapa issues, and animation filmmaking process to his class of around 40 students. I also screened my film, “What Are You Anyways?” and my latest rough cut of my new film Yellow Sticky Notes. Both the films and the lecture were well received by the students and they were very involved in a heavy discussion with me after the talk. Professor Lin was also interested in helping me find a Taiwanese and Asian distributor for my film, “What Are You Anyways?” as he wants to see other universities and schools in Asia using the film in their curriculums to learn about Canadian multiculturalism and mixed-race identity issues in Canada.

From there, Chloe and I traveled to the south of Taiwan to the Tainan National University of the Arts, which is home to the Graduate Institute of Animation. Once there, I lectured for the entire graduate student body of about 50 students and faculty. I lectured for two hours on my animation film work, animation process, and the Canadian animation industry. As well, I screened my films and afterwards was involved in a very insightful Q&A session with the students and instructors. Professor Yu Wei Cheng, one of the original founders of Cuckoo’s Nest Studio, gave me a personal tour of the universities animation facilities and I met with his faculty afterwards. There I met visiting professor Steve Brown from the California Institute of the Arts and Dr. Chi-Sui Wang. The meeting and lecture went so well, that Professor Cheng mentioned that I should come back and teach a semester at the university as a visiting professor. I know coming back to Taiwan would be an amazing adventure!

On October 4th, Chloe organized a lecture at the National Taiwan University of Arts where I conducted a lecture for the Dept. & Graduate School of Multimedia & Animation Arts. There I presented a two-hour lecture to Associate Professor Jay Shih’s Experimental Animation Class about my animation process and Canadian animation. I presented my films and again the students were engaged by the topic of the lectures by responding with an enthusiastic question and answer session following the lecture. Afterwards, Professor Shih invited Chloe and I to lunch where we discussed in more depth the relationship with Taiwanese animation schools and the Taiwanese animation industry. From all my university visits and discussions with the professors of animation, I learnt that there is little to no cooperation or communication between the animation education system and the industry in Taiwan. Most university programs are focused more on creating creative animation students rather than industry animators. Therefore, the developing animation industry in Taiwan is having a hard time finding animators who understand animation industry techniques and software. While in Taiwan, I tried to be a link towards helping the animation schools work together with the industry studios that I would later visit since I work hard with studios in Canada to make sure the students I instruct have the necessary skills and creative talent to work in the industry and/or become successful independent animators.

While at the festival, I had the pleasure of meeting up with fellow Canadian animator, Howie Shia, with whom I share very similar animation philosophies and filmmaking techniques. We both work with classical hand drawn animation and similar mediums. Chloe Chen from the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei booked tours and meetings at various Taiwanese animation studios for Howie and myself. The first studio we visited was ODD Incredible. There we met with Connie Kuo (Producer), Alan Tuan (Director), Will Wu (Designer), and Eric Tuan (Illustrator). We presented our projects to each other, shared ideas, and talked about the Vancouver animation community since ODD was considering moving to North America. Chloe also took Howie and I to Inext where we met with Producer Tracy Kwok. Tracy gave us a tour of the studio and we discussed their latest projects. The last studio we visited was F.Rhythm 3D Animation Company where we met with Gloria Kao. There we watched their latest project Memory Loss and we worked with her on how to turn the short project into a feature length CG film project. While there we also met with Frances Chien, the Manager of the Industry Support Division in charge of the animation industry in Taiwan. Frances offered to help us with setting up meetings and tours with any other studios if we ever traveled back to Taiwan.

As well, Howie and I were also able to accompany Loic Wong from the Institute Francais and French animator Alexandre Heboyan to visit Gamania Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd, one of Taiwan biggest gaming and animation studios. Mainly known for their video game development, Gamania had just started up a television animation production studio. While there we met with Delores Fu(Production Coordinator), Helene Chang (Line Producer), Molly Lin (Planner), Ophelia Huang (Planner), Sanvy Hsieh (Director), and Pongo Kuo (Creative Director). When we arrived we were introduced to the cartoons Gamania has in development and production. We were able to offer our insight on their show reel and exchanged ideas. We got to tour their newly created television animation studio and were able to see their new hit cartoon series Hero:108. We met as well with many of their creative directors and designers. I was impressed by their sense of design and concept work. Although, their animation movement and fluidity still needs room to grow and improve. Again, I learned this could go back to the miscommunication between the animation education system and the animation studio system in Taiwan, a gap that will need to be bridged if Taiwan animation studios ever want to create a blossoming television/feature animation industry like in Vancouver or Toronto.

Howie and I spent a lot of time with Loic and Alex. Maybe it was because they were French and we felt a connection to them since they reminded us of French Canadians. Loic, being into great food and atmosphere and knowing where all the hot spots were in Taipei, took us to some pretty amazing restaurants, lounges, and bars. One of the first nights, we went to check out a pretty ultra posh lounge in the Warner Village. After a few fancy cocktails, we headed downstairs to the super trendy Room 18. Being pretty much the hottest club in Taipei, it cost about $500NT to get in. Roughly the cover works out to about less than $20 CAN. Although, each drink afterwards is around $200NT so roughly about $7 CAN. Not bad considering you get two free drinks when you get in. The bartender took over 10 minutes to make my classic Bombay martini. He kept working on it until it was perfect by using a straw and tasting it until it was exactly right. Overall, the music was nothing progressive but the atmosphere was posh and hip. A few foreigners were there but mainly the crowd was local. A few days later, Loic took us to a great Japanese restaurant called James Kitchen. It was a little hole in the wall restaurant but probably some of the best authentic Japanese food I’ve ever had. Afterwards we headed to The Cube for an after dinner drink. It was a small place with a comfortable sheik atmosphere. From there we headed to a trendy Japanese restaurant called Dozo. Basically, this was the most amazing restaurant I have ever been in my entire life. It was beautiful, large, and the interior design was the best I have ever seen for a restaurant. The food was amazing too! I went there twice while I was in Taiwan and on the Friday night when I went with Howie Shai and Mark Walsh the restaurant had Taiko drumming while we ate and drank sake. Dozo is a must visit if you ever find yourself in Taipei. Relatively, the food in Taiwan is cheap. The dinner and drinks at Dozo cost us each around $30 CAN. In Vancouver it would have easily been over $100 CAN. Plus, the sashimi was some of the best I’ve ever had and you can’t beat the atmosphere.

While at the festival, I met many animation industry and independent animation contacts. Because there were not very many international guests, this allowed me to make many personal friendships with many of the guests. I stayed at the Rich Garden Hotel, which was the official hotel of the Taiwan Int’l Animation Festival. There, I had the opportunity to have breakfast with the other guests attending the festival. This gave me a great opportunity to speak one on one and in more depth with some very influential animation professionals I met. I talked and created friendships with many prominent and influential animators and artists such as Steve Anderson (Disney director), Mark Walsh (Pixar supervising animator), Philip Tan (Spawn comic illustrator), Alexandre Heboyan (Dreamworks animator), Nelson Shin (V.P. ASIFA International and inventor of the light saber in Star Wars), Kristof Serrand (Dreamworks supervising animator), Paul Vester (Award-winning experimental animator), and Stephen Chiodo (Master stop-motion animator). As well, I also spent time with other animation independent filmmakers, Hirokazu Hosoymana, Brandon Huang, and Howie Shia just to name a few. I also met producer Jade Lee from the Leader Asia Pacific Creativity Centre who works with some of Taiwan’s greatest film directors, including Ang Lee. A great treat was talking with Thailand animation filmmakers, Kompin Kemgumnird (Director) and Auchara Kijkanjananas (Producer) from Kantana Animation Studios after they had just completed the first all Thai produced feature 3d animated film Khan Kluay. It is my hope to bring their amazing film to Canada and share this amazing story to the audiences of the Okanagan Film Festival in which I am the Vice President.

Also, while at the festival, I also met with Alfred Sesma director of Spain’s ANIMAC Animation Festival. We talked about Spain’s animation industry and the film festival and I gave him my films, “What Are You Anyways?” and Yellow Sticky Notes for possible inclusion in next year’s ANIMAC. As well, I had the great pleasure to attend many animation lectures/presentations organized by the TIAF. I watched presentations by Mark Walsh (Creating Believable Characters), Kristoff Serrand (How to Learn Animation), Alexandre Heboyan (The Making of Azure et Asmar), Philip Tan & Sharon Wu (Roaming in the World of Comics and Illustrations), and Steve Anderson (From Story Artist to Animation Director). I found many of these presentations to be extremely inspiring and I gained a vast amount of animation knowledge and technique from these master animators and artists. All of which, I can incorporate into my animation filmmaking and teachings. As well, I was able to watch many great animation shorts programs with animated films from around the world. As part of the festival, there were many programs devoted to strictly Taiwanese independent animators. From watching these programs I was able to understand the Taiwanese filmmakers’ unique and stylistic approaches to making animated short films. At the Taiwanese animation awards night, I was able to meet many of the filmmakers and discuss filmmaking and animation methods with them.

Because my film work explores mixed-race identity as a main theme, one of my main goals while visiting Taiwan was to talk to the Taiwanese people I met about mixed-race identity. Loic Wong of the French Institute, who I spent some time with, discussed with me his experiences growing up in France with mixed Chinese and French backgrounds. From our conversations, I learned we were the same age and that we both shared similar experiences growing up mixed-race even though we grew up in two completely different counties. From my conversations with Taiwanese, I discovered that Taiwan is a culture blended with many various influences from Japanese, Chinese, Portugese, and even Dutch backgrounds. Many Taiwanese are a blend of all these various ethnicities and much like the blended culture of their ethnic backgrounds, I discovered it is also very active in all aspects of their food, arts, and architecture. In Canada, people of mixed-racial background will usually describe themselves in terms of fractions. Such as, I am half-Japanese and 1/8th German, Scottish, Russian, and English. In Taiwan someone of mixed heritage simply consider themselves just Taiwanese. They do not find the need to describe their ethnic background but rather just accept that they are all Taiwanese. Also, in the south of Taiwan, many of the natives blended with the Dutch settlers who came to occupy the region hundreds of years ago. Very similar to the Meti in Canada, many of the children were mixed. Although, from what I learned, people from the south of Taiwan, although they look mixed, will never admit they possess any Dutch ancestry because of the mistreatment of the Taiwanese aboriginals at the hands of the Dutch settlers. As well, the political situation in Taiwan fascinated me with their lobbying to join the UN and the influence China has over them. I find the mixed culture in Taiwan fascinating and I will continue to study and research in more depth the issues and identity concerns of Taiwanese citizens. While in Taiwan, I was able to learn so much about the history, culture, and political atmosphere in Taiwan from my festival hired liaison, Yu-Nan Chan. She helped teach me how Taiwan actually parallels Canada in many ways. One day I would love to see people of mixed-race in Canada be able to be like the Taiwanese by just being able to tell other Canadians that they are just that Canadian instead of having to list their blended details of their ethnic backgrounds to describe themselves.

Even though I had a lot of meetings, guest lectures, and festival events to do while in Taiwan, I did manage to have a bit of fun. The second day in Taipei, Yu-Nan, my liaison, took Howie and Faith Lin (TIAF International Coordinator) to a cosplay restaurant. Basically, it reminded me of the Taiwanese version of Hooters. Except, all the servers were girls who dressed up as French Maids. It was nuts! They would call you master and constantly fill up your water so you could stare at them. It was definitely quite the experience. I wanted to take a picture but I was told that pictures were not allowed in the restaurant. When I told Mark Walsh about this restaurant, he was so intrigued it became our mission to go back before we all left. We tried to go back but the weekend before we were scheduled to fly out, Typhoon Krosa decided to wreak havoc in Taipei. The typhoon was quite the experience. I have never seen rain or wind like that in my entire life. Although, surprisingly enough there were still people riding scooters on the streets. We all had to attend the closing night party so we ventured from the hotel in a taxi to the theatre. During a break in the films, Mark and a few of us, ventured out on the streets to experience the craziness of the typhoon. Although, not as dangerous as I thought, it was still pretty powerful to be outside in the middle of such a storm. Branches were flying around and store signs were being blown off the sides of the buildings. After our quick adventure outside, we headed back to the theatre for the closing party. Afterwards, everyone from the festival, staff and filmmakers, headed to Partyworld. Basically, Partyworld is a 30 story high building that looks like a huge hotel. But instead of hotel rooms, there are hundreds of karaoke rooms! You rent a private room where you can party and sing karaoke all night long! It’s amazing and the booze and food is really cheap. Mark, Howie, and I had fun singing our favorite Backstreet Boys songs. After our session of being karaoke allstars, we noticed the typhoon had calmed down. So we went to 711 and bought some more alcohol. In Taiwan, you can buy alcohol in 711 at anytime of night and drink it directly in the store. So we did! With a long day of storm chasing, partying, and karaoke we called it a night and headed to the hotel for some well deserved sleep.

The next day they had reopened the airport, which meant we would be able to fly out. My flight was in the afternoon, which meant that Mark, Philip, Howie, Yu-nan and I would be able to sneak in a lunch at Moe Point (the maid café) which was closed the day before because of the typhoon. We almost thought Mark wasn’t going to get a chance to experience the maid restaurant. So, as you could imagine, Mark and was extremely happy to finally get a chance to see what all the fuss was about! Actually, he enjoyed it so much, he couldn’t stop laughing for over ten minutes when were first seated. This day the girls were actually dressed up as whatever they wanted. Some were dressed still as French maids, but our server was dressed up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. After eating some half-decent pasta, I said my good byes to Howie, Mark, and Philip and headed back to the hotel with Yu-nan to get my stuff. Faith Lin met me at the hotel and saw me off as I jumped in the limo and headed off to the airport.

I traveled to Taiwan with over 50 copies of my film. I presented a DVD of my copy to most everyone I came in contact with. Every university professor, animation studio, filmmaker, and friend I met received a copy of my film as a gift. It is my hope that they will share my film, “What Are You Anyways?” with their students, colleagues, and friends. In the end, I had no more copies of my film left and returned back to Canada with DVD’s from the other filmmakers I met, compilations of student animations from the universities I visited, fond memories, and even better yet, new friends and peers who I would never have met if it weren’t for the experience of attending the 2007 Taiwan International Animation Festival!

Things are a lot bigger in Taiwan!

Super Nip lives as a children's show entertainer?!?

Cosplay rules!

Watch out for man digging!

In Taiwan the ninjas drink Cocacola Zero to stay fit!

No smoking and hanging yourself allowed

Taipei night markets are like Chinatown on speed!

Yummy!

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial

Dragon at Long-shan Temple

Long-shan Temple

Spiderman's arch nemesis finally found in Ximending

In Taipei, if you don't own a scooter, you just ain't cool!

Ximending!

After a whopping world record breaking 37 second elevator ride, this is the view from the top of Taipei 101 (91st floor)

Taiwan memorial

Typhoon Krosa from outside the Rich Garden Hotel where I was staying

(all photos and video taken by Jeff Chiba Stearns - all rights reserved 2007)
(photos, video, and text are property of Jeff Chiba Stearns and may not be published, copied, distributed, exhibited anywhere else on the internet, or publicly displayed. Any other use of these photos or text other than this blog, is strictly prohibited)

Off to the Taiwan International Animation Festival!

2007-09-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

I'm madly scrambling to prepare for my trip to Taipei, Taiwan to attend the Taiwan International Animation Festival starting this week. They will be screening my film, "What Are You Anyways?" I am leaving to Taiwan Sept. 25th and returning on October the 7th. I was fortunate to acquire funding for the trip through the Canada Council for Arts Media Travel Grant which helps cover the cost of flights and accomodations. While I am there, my schedule has become pretty hectic filled with delivering guest lectures at Taiwan universities, attending screenings, question and answer periods, gala parties, special film events, animation studio tours, and participating in panel discussions.

Here is a look at my Taiwan schedule so far:

Date Time Event Place
September 27 05:55 Arrive Taipei
September 28 17:30 Opening Film First Theater of Shin Kong
September 29 11:00 Exhibition Opening Huashan Culture Park
September 30 10:30 Educational Panel HuaShan Culture Park
October 1 09:30 Guest Lecture Shi Hsin University, Dept. of Film Study
October 1 10:20 WAYA screening Second Theater of Shin Kong
October 2 18:30 Award Ceremony First Theater of Shin Kong
October 3 09:30 Guest Lecture Chung Li City, Dept. of English Literature
October 3 14:45 Guest Lecture Tainan University of the Arts, Graduate Institute of Animation
October 4 10:00 Guest Lecture National Taiwan U. of Arts, Animation Dept.
October 4 18:40 WAYA screening Second Theater of Shin Kong
October 4 20:20 QA Second Theater of Shin Kong
October 6 18:00 Closing Film First Theater in Shin Kong
October 7 16:15 Leave Taipei

Yellow Sticky Notes

2007-09-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

I've just completed editing the animation for my next animated film, Yellow Sticky Notes. Yellow Sticky Notes is an experimental classical animated film with an interesting subtle narrative. 2300 drawings were animated straight ahead on 4x6 inch yellow sticky notes with nothing but a black ink pen. The film looks at my self reflection of major world events through the use of animation meditation. The film blends image, text and music to create a social commentary through animation. I realized that over the last nine years I have been so busy trying to accomplish my daily "to do" lists written on sticky notes that I was ignoring the world around me. So nine years later, I decided to self reflect on events like 911, the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, etc. by animating on the same sticky notes that caused me to ignore them. The film is 6 minutes long. All that is left to do is send it to Boston where Genevieve Vincent will be creating the film's musical score. I am hoping to have the film completed by October 2007.

Synopsis:
After realizing that yellow sticky note “to do” lists were consuming his life, filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for the last nine years. Animation meditation is blended with image, text, and an original musical score by Genevieve Vincent through the creation of a classically animated experimental film that was drawn straight ahead with only a black ink pen on over 2300 yellow sticky notes.

(copyright 2007 Jeff Chiba Stearns)

Canadian Awards for Animated and Electronic Arts

2007-09-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

In September 2006, I took home the award for Best Animated Short Subject for my film, “What Are You Anyways?” at the first annual Canadian Awards for Electronic and Animated Arts (CAEAA). The awards show, described as the Oscars of the Canadian video game and animation industry, was hosted by actor William Shatner of Star Trek fame on Thursday night, September 14th, at the world class River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond, BC. Awards were presented in 37 categories in three sectors of the Electronic and Animated Arts industry: talent development (New Media and Animation Art Schools), animation, and video game development. Each winner was presentedwith an Elan – a statuette similar to an Oscar but constructed of a majestic man and a woman resembling Greek gods holding up the world.

I attended the event with faculty from the Centre for Arts and Technology Kelowna where I instructs classical hand drawn animation courses. The evening was complete with red carpet, limousines, and Hollywood treatment. The Gala event, with over 700 guests, was similar to the Golden Globe Awards with an Oscar-like glitzy reception and black-tie dinner at one of the best new theatres in North America with industry sponsors participating in the development of the show and celebrity guest presenters.

It is expected that the Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts will become the standard by which Canada and the rest of the World recognizes the amazing talent and product that this country is delivering to an enormous and ever-growing market.

MTV Canada Interview

2007-08-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

MTV LIVE: Jeff Chiba Stearns Interview

In November 2007 I attended the Regent Park Film Festival in Toronto. The fest was kind enough to fly me out and my filmmaker friend Allan Tong let me crash on his couch while I was there. I got in Wednesday night and Allan and I stayed up late discussing film. Not good since I had to be up early and at a screening of my animated film, "What Are You Anyways?" the next morning. Thursday was nuts. I had two screenings with over 200 kids in each screening. I've never seen such a diverse audience before. Every ethnicity was in that room! I've never had such a great reaction to my film before either. The kids were laughing, hooting, and cheering through out the film. In between screenings I met up for lunch with fellow Hapa filmmaker, Karen Suzuki, and we talked about Hapa things and filmmaking. She's almost finished her feature length doc on Hapas titled, Hapaness. I also ate the fattiest omlette ever. I could see the butter oozing out every time I cut off a piece. After lunch it was back for a 1:30pm screening. I finally finished my last question and answer around 3:30pm that day and then it was off to the MTV studio for a live interview on their show MTV LIVE.

I was greeted by Teddy, a producer of the show, and taken to get my make-up done. Which was good since the bags under my eyes were especially baggy due to being hung over and jet lagged. After that I sat in the green room (which wasn't at all green) and waited to go on air. The actual set was amazing considering it used to be a Masonic Temple. It was in a large concert hall with a live audience. The interview went great. Aliya Jasmine Sovan did the interview and she could relate to the mixed-race experience because she herself is a huge blend of various ethnicities. Although, when she introduced me, she said I openly called myself a half-breed...which is a term I actually really hate. It was great to talk a bit with her after the interview about her experiences growing up mixed-race. Super nice girl and cute too! After the interview I stuck around and checked out the band performing on the show, Mutemath, who played an amazing set. A really fresh sounding band and innovative.

After the MTV taping, I got back to Allan's and we hit up some Vietnamese food. Friday was nuts too. I headed off to the Japanese Cultural Centre for some meetings. I did an interview with the Nikkei Voice newspaper while I was there too. Then I headed up to Regent Park to do an interview for a multicultural documentary called the M word. Right after that, I had to conduct an animation workshop with some grade 8 students at the Nelson Mandela Park Public School. Finally around 3:30pm I was off for the day. First thing was to find some food. I was so busy, I didn't have time to eat anything all day. Toronto definitely isn't short of great food. It is seriously the most ethnically diverse city I've ever been to. Everywhere you look, there is a different type of restaurant. Ate some amazing East Indian fast food across from the Muchmusic studio. The butter chicken is amazing! Across the street, Muchmusic was taping an episode of their show Much On Demand. I wandered over and checked that out. Lots of screaming teenagers which annoyed me so I left. That night I met up with an old roommate who had just moved to Toronto. Went to some bar called Spirits. The waiter totally ripped us off of $20 after we paid because he said we were short...although we had given him the entire amount of the bill plus good tip. So we ended up giving him another 20 just to shut him up. That's the TO for ya! Although, we succeeded in getting pretty wasted and finding my way back to the apartment was pretty crazy.

Saturday was pretty good. Had a screening at 4pm so I got to sleep in a bit. Wandered around downtown Toronto and Chinatown for a while. Man, if you need illegal DVD's that's the place to be. Stopped by the Reel Asian Film Festival offices and had lunch with Deanna the director of the festival and her husband at a great French restaurant. After lunch I hit up Kensington Street. If you need vintage clothes, that's the place to be. The 4pm screening of my film went great. Screened with a great film called Peace Tree by Mitra Sen. Great Q&A from the audience. Afterwards I headed home.

My good friend Norman Yeung, also a filmmaker, called me up and invited me out with his friends. We headed out and ended up at a place called the White Orchid. Its an old Karaoke Bar that has been transformed into a night club. It was full of art kids dancin' it up to some Drum and Bass. Jagar was on sale and so I succeeded in getting Norman and I really drunk. By the end of the night we ended up at some Toronto indy rock band's house. Everyone was singing Karaoke and eating fortune cookies. Weird. Norman and I caught a cab back downtown. As we head back downtown, I look over at Norman and he's sitting there holding a plastic bag. I have no idea where this bag came from but he proceeds to puke in the bag at least three times. Each time appologizing to the cab driver and explaining that he didn't get any on the seat. We finally get home to Queen Street. Norman drops his bag of puke on the street and stumbles home. I finally get back to the apartment and pass out!

Sunday, I had planned to go to Niagara Falls. Although I didn't get out of bed till noon so I didn't go. Finally I get my stuff together, eat the left over butter chicken in the fridge and head to the closing film at the Regent Park. There I meet my buddy David Eng, also a filmmaker. We head out after the screening and get a coffee and cake at a great little place up in the Annex district. For a Sunday night that place was vibrant with life. I get home that night and packed up for the Monday departure back to Kelowna. Overall, great trip, lots of catching up with old T-dot friends and made a few new ones. Definitely looking forward to going back soon!

"What Are You Anyways?" (Trailer)

2007-08-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

"What Are You Anyways?"

Created in 2005, "What Are You Anyways?" has gone on to screen at over 40 international film festivals and win 7 awards including the Elan for Best Short Animation at the Canadian Awards for Electronic and Animated Arts 2006. This September I will be traveling with the film to Taipei, Taiwan to the 2007 Taiwan International Animation Festival where the film will be screening. I can only post a trailer for the film since the NFB distributes the film for private and educational sales. Full length DVD's can be ordered at www.nfb.ca

The film is 11 minutes long and is still finding success on the film festival circuit along with being used in school across North America. The film deals with mixed-race identity, racism, multiculturalism, tolerance, and finding pride for one's ethnic background. The film was funded by the CBC, NAJC, and NFB and has aired on the CBC twice in 2005, once in a primetime slot.

SYNOPSIS
Follow the adventures of the Super Nip as filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns explores his cultural backgrounds growing up a mix of Japanese and Caucasian in a small white-bred Canadian city. This short classically animated film looks at particular periods in Jeff’s life where he battled with finding an identity being a half minority - from his childhood origins to the epic showdown against the monster truck drivin’ redneck crew. “What Are You Anyways?” is a humorous yet serious story of struggle and love and finding one’s identity through the trials and tribulations of growing up.

(copyright 2005 Jeff Chiba Stearns)

Kip and Kyle

2007-08-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Kip and Kyle

Made back in 2000 while I was at the Emily Carr Institute studying animation, Kip and Kyle is the first film I ever made and took me over three months to animate. I went into a kindergarten classroom and recorded children at play. Two boys playing in a sandbox in the corner of the room intrigued me with their exaggerated actions as they played with toy cars. I took a 30 sound clip of them playing and animated it. I wanted the piece to be as energetic as the boys playing, so I made sure that the animation was really rough, with boiling lines, and full of life. The animation was created by animating directly on paper using only a black ink pen. The film was aquired by the CBC in 2004 and aired on their program ZeD, March 1st, 2004.

(copyright 2000 Jeff Chiba Stearns)