What I Had to Leave Behind will be screening at DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival. Now celebrating its 13th season, this year celebrates new talent, feature film premieres and compelling stories from artists of all backgrounds, cultures, ages, abilities and identities.
I’m honored to share the screen with my colleagues in the “New York, New York” shorts block. Tickets are now on sale for both in-person and streaming.
Photo by Taylor Thompson - @strawberry_blond_
Photo by Taylor Thompson; Los Angeles - Sept. 22, 2022.
What I Had to Leave Behind writer/director Sean David Christensen with cinematographer Wenting Deng Fisher at the 2022 HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood, CA - August 18th, 2022. (Photo by Cassie Shao)
The Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival hosted a screening of What I Had to Leave Behind at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA on August 18th, 2022. It was a fun night sharing the evening with my friends and collaborators from the film: cinematographer Wenting Deng Fisher and animator Cassie Shao. Our mighty sound mixer Jackie! Zhou had three films in the shorts block we played in, including our own!
Post-screening Q&A after the “Docs II” shorts block at the 2022 HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood, CA - August 18th, 2022. (Photo by Shengwei Zhou)
Credits: Christopher Lawrence Baird (photographer), Lenin Hernandez (model), Teresa Barcelo (creative direction), Sean David Christensen (title design).
Designed titles & lettering for Joe Berry’s two-volume debut album "Motions," to be released later this year.
Photo credit: Getty Images/David Crotty.
I was honored to share the screen with so many brilliant creatives at this year’s Palm Springs International ShortFest. I feel the journey of a film isn’t complete until an audience experiences it together. With that, What I Had to Leave Behind was embraced in a way that was completely unexpected and so gratifying for me & the crew who attended. Special thanks to Getty Images & David Crotty for capturing on the red carpet how I felt that entire week: grateful and proud of whatever comes next.
Dolphin Hyperspace featuring trombonist Jon Hatamiya perform at ETA in Los Angeles; June 17th, 2022. (Photo by Sean David Christensen)
Dolphin Hyperspace performs at ETA in Highland Park (Los Angeles) as part of their “Tiny Marine Life” residency in June. It was incredible witnessing the prodigious musical talents of Jon Hatamiya on trombone, Logan Kane on bass & synth programming and saxophonist/multireedist Nicole McCabe.
Dolphin Hyperspace is a sonically adventurous jazz ensemble that blends electronic music and bebop influences into frenetic songs that crackle with mischief and joy. I’ll definitely be seeing more of them in the future, any and every chance I get!
April 20, 2021: Writer/Director Sean David Christensen on the miniature set of What I Had to Leave Behind. (Photo by Wenting Deng Fisher)
As we wrapped miniature photography on What I Had to Leave Behind last spring, cinematographer Wenting Deng Fisher had an idea for a behind-the-scenes picture. I had to crawl underneath the set, a dollhouse-scale replica of my old Los Angeles Koreatown apartment, to get to the other side and give her the best angle. One year later, I'm looking at myself through this doorway, reflecting on all that was unknown at the time for my film & I. I hadn't yet added Cassie Shao's remarkable animation or Branden Brown’s evocative score (his first for film). Not even Jackie! Zhou’s immersive sound mix or Alastor Arnold’s impeccable color. This film would just be an empty room without my crew.
Wenting Deng Fisher adjusts her camera on the miniature set of What I Had to Leave Behind.
Later this month, our film will be making its west coast premiere at the 2022 Palm Springs International ShortFest, selected to compete in the "Best Animated Short" program. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. For all those currently in the middle of a project or a pathway that seems obscured, keep moving. Don't be afraid to ask your peers for help. If and when you're blessed with their support, always give it back to your community two-fold. You're always stronger when you build together!
Palm Springs is an institution. Their thoughtful Oscar, BATFA & Goya Award-qualifying programming elevates the craft of short films. It's an honor to participate this year with my latest offering. Please check out the rest of my peers on the #shortfest2022 YouTube playlist to hear all about their wonderful work.
Charlotte Arene is a filmmaker & animator specializing in stop motion and After Effects. Having long been a fan of her intricate work visualizing memoirs, monologues and dreams, I commissioned her to direct the music video for “I Miss the Old You.” Our collaborative process took place over email and international Zoom calls, each of us exchanging reflections on the song’s themes of loss and regret. My aim as a producer was to build a sandbox with enough fertile ground to support Charlotte’s process with the trust that’s essential for a creative partnership. She describes her instincts creating something that resonates with the lyrics & melody just as strongly as with her philosophy as an artist:
La mer à boire (2020) by Charlotte Arene.
“Five months prior to Sean offering me the visualizer for ‘I Miss the Old You,’ I’d taken a deep dive into the huge boxes of photographs and negatives stored in my parent’s basement. I was looking for childhood pictures of my older sister to animate them into a short film. It was to be my wedding gift for her and her fiancé.”
“As an animator, the experience was exhilarating. As a sister, it was extremely moving. What I felt as I went through these hundreds of photographs was surprisingly akin to sorrow, and it was still lingering at the back of my mind when I first listened to Sean’s song and imagined how I could respond to it.”
Concept art & animation notes by Charlotte Arene. (Photo courtesy of the artist.)
Sean’s sister flies a kite at a family picnic, circa 1990. (Photo courtesy of Christensen family archive.)
“I knew I wanted to work with photographs again, and Sean was very open and generous when I asked if I could work with some of his childhood pictures. We exchanged via email, made a selection, and discussed how I could stage them. Early on, I was fixated on the idea of a force of some kind, pulling those photographs away from a desk or a wall…a physical representation of that tug I felt when I listened to the song. It started off as a gravitational pull, then evolved into a surfing motion. Finally, it settled on a strong wind. It’s funny, in retrospect, how the idea got lighter.”
“The minute this image took root, I saw something in three pictures of his sister I hadn’t noticed before: she was holding onto a string, so fine I had missed it at first. The string led to something upwards and out of frame. Then it hit me. She was holding a kite. The image just fell into place and I knew this would be the perfect photograph to animate. I’m glad it resonated with Sean and I’m very grateful to him and his sister for allowing me to use it.”
Tara Edwards (The Tissues, Coleco Club) poses with the But I’m a Cheerleader VHS pendant necklace.
Tara Edwards (The Tissues, Coleco Club) models one of my "VHS Sleepover Necklaces," handcrafted miniature videocassette pendants inspired by films that help us recognize ourselves and give voice to our dreams and desires. "It kinda reminds me of being in high school,” says Tara. “Secretly renting and watching wlw (women loving women) movies with a girl I liked late at night. It’s also unabashedly camp, punk, DIY, in-your-face and femme, which embodies queerness to me and reminds me of the queer icons I looked up to then. I think it makes me feel nostalgic and comfortable."
I hope to make more of these. I’m touched when one of my pieces can resonate so deeply with someone.
I adore the feeling of handwriting on screen for a film’s title sequence. Whenever I’m asked to contribute mine for a music video, I slow my process down and start on paper. Listening to the song on headphones, I practice the shape of each letter, pouring a lot of consideration into how my design blends with the lyrics and the melody. I embraced this opportunity to collaborate with director Andrew Donoho again, after we’d worked together on “Find My Way” with Paul McCartney & Beck. It’s my hope that my lettering leaves behind a soulful impression on the visual accompaniment to each song I’m a part of, creating memorable experiences for the viewer.
Main title design for "George Ezra - Anyone For You," directed by Andrew Donoho.
End credit sequence from "George Ezra - Anyone For You," directed by Andrew Donoho.
Black marker on sheets of office paper. Also pictured, my headphones with the song on repeat.
It was a joy working with multireedist and composer Branden Brown on his first film score for What I Had to Leave Behind. A graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music Jazz Studies program, I discovered his gift for composing at one of the school’s jazz concerts, all of which, had been converted to pre-recorded livestreams during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Coincidentally, I was able to virtually attend more concerts than I had been able to do so years before in person, and the experience forever opened my mind and ears to these remarkably talented musicians.
July 17th, 2021 - Composer and saxophonist Branden Brown tunes his instrument in the scoring stage of BioSoul Music; Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Sean David Christensen)
Branden assembled an exceptional ensemble to perform his original jazz score, which he conducted from behind his player’s podium as the saxophonist. Joining him in the BioSoul Music scoring stage were trumpeter Ethan Chilton, bass clarinetist Eric Croissant, drummer/percussionist Lauren Ellis and bassist Cyrus Elia. Adding later on to the score, remotely, was keyboardist Magdalena Daniec of Joy Guerilla. The session was engineered by Daniel Weidlein.
As we wait for our film festival premiere and an opportunity to share What I Had to Leave Behind in its entirety, please enjoy Branden’s musical score that evokes the film’s contemplative themes of remembrance and letting go of the past. (Music animation by Cassie Shao. Photography by Wenting Deng Fisher.)
Adjusting a detail on my miniature “land train” designed for Animal, a darkly comedic sci-fi short directed by Lauren Adams. (Photos by Kate Esme Ünver)
I hadn’t fully comprehended the size of my latest miniature, a five-and-a-half-foot long “land train,” until I sat down behind it for a photoshoot at Dreaming Tree studio in Burbank, my friend Kate from The Daily Mini behind the camera. Transporting it to set on the morning of December 12th, each plastic squeak as it rattled in the back of my Nissan Versa hatchback stirred up memories of cradling school projects, dioramas, in back of my mother’s car, worried that they’d fall apart at the slightest bump in the road. But we made it, all 65 inches of this dystopian sci-fi semi truck painted in battleship grey for the upcoming sci-fi black comedy Animal, directed by Lauren Adams.
Set against the canvas of a collapsed, alternate history America, the film's characters pilot a massive self-driving, windowless ship for the monolithic company "PostHaste." We follow these two women as they cargo tons of freight across a desolate expanse of abandoned cities as they deliver supplies for an ongoing and ambiguous rebuild of the country. Or, so says the company. The ship was modeled from a floor plan of the life-size interior set built for the actors, which was then scaled down to 1:24 to maintain its proportions. I was inspired by the unsympathetic nature of PostHaste and its complete lack of regard for the human pilots' safety in piloting their ship. You may see there are no safety measures on the vehicle: No guard rails or warning labels that you might ordinarily see on massive industrial equipment to protect the manufacturer against litigation from personal injury. In this dystopian future, the ship represents (even from a color standpoint) this massive, grey unsympathetic force that plows through anything, even people, to make more money. The size and heft of this miniature is a pointed commentary on that theme in the script: Packages must be delivered, no matter what the human cost.
The crew of the miniature unit shoot on Animal (from left to right): Miniaturist Sean David Christensen, miniature unit cinematographer Wenting Deng Fisher, director Lauren Adams, set decorator/set PA Manon Crespin & co-writer/producer, Jeff Roberts.
The cockpit of the miniature is a partly deconstructed model kit of two semi trucks designed by AMT Models. These were used to match the life-sized interior of the ship, shot on a soundstage months prior. The other materials I used were wet media board, basswood, wooden dowels and bits of recycled plastic to "bulk out" the form. I handcrafted the shape of the front windshield and side windows to match the life-sized film set, so the edit would be as seamless as possible between the miniature and the actors inside the ship. For the windshield, I used a piece of lighting gel (ND filter) to simulate a tinted window. I didn't want the audience to be able to look inside. There's something sinister about not being able to see what's going on behind the “steel curtain” of this imposing vessel. The completed ship is just over five feet long when fully connected, made up of a cockpit living quarters section and two shipping containers joined together by "mechanical joints" made of basswood. These joints mask the seams in between each car, and create an illusion of this ship being one continuous machine, a force of industrial brutality.
Image by Bryan Ahonen, courtesy of Radiolab & WYNC Studios
Earlier this year, Simon Adler of Radiolab & WYNC Studios reached out to me to discuss my film Ghost Tape #10 and its exploration of the US Army’s PSYOP campaigns waged against the Northern Vietnamese (NVA) during the American War in Vietnam. We both reflected on the cruelty of these “ghost tapes” that were created, weaponizing the fear of wandering souls against the psyches of fatigued Vietnamese soldiers far from home. With this latest entry in his new Radiolab series “Mixtape,” Simon has crafted an intricate piece of storytelling as only his celebrated creative team can, with rich texture and testimony from those who left behind their own “footprints of war” (phrasing courtesy of author David Biggs). Special thanks and continued gratitude to my MVA instructor and faculty mentor at the USC Center for Visual Anthropology, professors Jenny Cool & Janet Hoskins, for their support of my research and the ensuing film created there.
What a privilege it was, to design titles for Paul McCartney's "Find My Way" music video, featuring Beck. Directed by Andrew Donoho, this kaleidoscopic visualization of the lead track from McCartney III Imagined is a fantastical exploration of the 1960s with quite a few surprises along the way. The creative team & I found inspiration in Jean-Luc Godard’s Vivre sa vie and other films from the French New Wave, whose title sequences favored blown spacing between letters and sharp typography to communicate an austere modernity.
A handful of songs from one of my favorite albums of 2020, Beginners, is given an intimate presentation in Yellow House Sessions with guest artist Christian Lee Hutson. His delicate craft of melody paired with scalpel sharp lyrics always cuts through.
Photo by Daniel Prakopcyk.
Title design for SOUR Prom; Dir. Kimberly Stuckwisch & Toby L
I got invited to Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR Prom this weekend by my dear friend and celebrated music video director Kimberly Stuckwisch. I was the title designer for the 28-minute concert film, framing the dizzying and dreamlike ball set to Rodrigo’s anthems of teenage heartbreak.
Photo by Wenting Deng Fisher.
Here I am dusting the miniature set of What I Had to Leave Behind, my latest film. In my (comparatively massive) hand, I’m wielding the same 1/2 inch acrylic paintbrush I used to paint this dollhouse-scale apartment. I should’ve made a dust pan before I started sweeping, too! Photographed by my director of photography, Wenting Deng Fisher, we wrapped filming in April 2021 with these miniature unit shots to help tell the story of this hybrid live-action/animation diary film. Featuring animation by my friend Cassie Shao, an original jazz score by Branden Brown and sound design by Jackie! Zhou, I’m looking forward to completion this summer and building whatever comes next!
The miniature set of a teenager’s bedroom, built to marionette puppet-scale, for A Puff Before Dying, a tongue-in-cheek PSA about the dangers of driving under the influence. (Writer/Director: Michael Reich, Mike Pinkney; Yellow Veil Pictures.)
It was a joy to create scenic art with my friends at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater for this innovative short film. Everything was built to marionette scale, a bedside lamp here, a hairdryer there…A Puff Before Dying, with a cast of four handcrafted puppets, is a tongue-in-cheek romp about the dangers of driving under the influence. PSA directed by the fiendishly clever Michael Reich & Mike Pinkney of Yellow Veil Pictures. Premiering at the Midnight Shorts competition at SXSW earlier this year, I was so proud to be a part of this hardworking, visionary crew. Click here to learn more about the film.
The doomed heroine of A Puff Before Dying. (Writer/Director: Michael Reich, Mike Pinkney; Puppet design and fabrication by Bob Baker Marionette Theater.)
I contributed title designs for Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen’s collaborative anthem “Like I Used To,” given electric cinematic life by the ever inventive director, Kimberly Stuckwisch.
Directed & Production Designed by: Kimberly Stuckwisch (@stuckwisch) / Produced by: Ian Blair (@ian_swank_nsour_blizair) / Cinematography by: Justin Hamilton (justinphamilton) / Costume Design by: Phoenix Mellow (@phoenixmellow) / Edited by: Ellis Bahl (@ellisbahl) / VFX Supervisor: Ryan Ross (@ryromofo) / 1st Assistant Director: Hayden Rusk (@haydenrusk) / Production Manager: Jon-Michael Burgess / 1st Assistant Camera: Joshua Kirkwood / Gaffer: Julian Janigo (@360grip) / Key Grip: Darrin Stuckwisch (@beastieboyness) / Swing: Michelle O'Shea (@michelleelizabethoshea) / Makeup Artist: Rebecca Abram / Hair Artist: Mara Roszak (@mararoszak) / Construction by: Jack Massura (@jackmassura) / Color by: Kaitlyn Battistelli (@kaitlynbattistelli) / Title Design by: Sean David Christensen (@seandavidchristensen)
an Invisible Inc production (@inv.isibleinc) / Special Thanks to Zebulon, Lisa Hiatt, Jessi Williams, and Ryan Ross for donating locations and Elisa Randazzo of Cameo Clothing for donating clothing.
Title design and animation for Jungle Red, a short film directed by Jeremy Scott for debuting the Moschino Fall/Winter 2021 Collection. I was brought aboard this project by my dear friend and filmmaker Kimberly Stuckwisch, who produced this cavalcade of high fashion and cheekiness with co-producers Geoff Yim, Ian Blair and Brooke Pace.
