Another horrible failure

You may have heard a collected groan come from the direction of Bristol at about 3 o'clock this afternoon as a job fell through, was axed, canned, given the heave-ho and terminated.

Oh well. Above are some designs I did for it.

Francis Cooper in Encounters

Have you always always really wanted to see 'The surprise demise of Francis Cooper's mother' in Bristol, the very city it was made? No? Well if you did then you can because it's made the official selection of Encounters Short Film Festival 2009 in November.

Heavy showers

What has happened to the weather?



If you fancy brightening up your day you can watch the latest Arthur Cox showreel which was recently posted on YouTube.

Something that brightened up my day was learning that Keith Reynolds won Best International Dark Comedy Short (2008) at the New York Film and Video Festival last year without me knowing.

Until now.

IRN-BRU's Sir Swigs-a-lot on the Internet

I've uploaded the final version of the IRN-BRU/Sir Swigs-a-lot/Mighty Glass television commercial I directed...



A Scottish exclusive and my first advert. Shown in-between Poirot - another first for me too.

Directed by Felix Massie
Animated by Felix Massie and Stephen Whittle
CG Animation by Matthew Walker
Composited by Jonathan Biggins
Produced by Hilary Light at Arthur Cox Ltd in collaboration with The Gate Films and The Leith for A G BARR.

Phenomenal®.

IRN-BRU's Sir Swigs-a-lot on TV

Do you live in Scotland? Do you have a TV? Do you watch Jeremy Kyle, Emerdale, and/or Coronation Street? If you do, and subject to change, you can watch an IRN-BRU advert I directed at Arthur Cox. It'll be on ITV Scotland and Channel 4 Scotland.

Look for it tonight at 1945, 2055, 2115 and 2350 on ITV. Or half midnight on 4.

If you don't live in Scotland then don't worry; you can fly from Bristol I.A. to Edinburgh in less than an hour. Also I'll hopefully be able to put it online soon.

Rushes Soho Shorts 2009

Am off to Rushes in London tonight for the Francis Cooper screening here. Hopefully some others during the weekend too.

Keith Reynolds is also being shown at Short and Sweet on Monday.

In case you were wondering - both have opted for the Oyster card over the day pass option.

Exclaim! festival review

Robert Bell from Exclaim! has done a little write up of The surprise demise of Francis Cooper's mother after it played at the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival in June:

"It seems that when people think of family, they immediately think of dysfunction, loss, disappointment and memories of better times, at least according to this grouping of short films. While probably most notable for the inclusion of a short Feist and Cillian Murphy, it's animation with car accidents and dead cats that proves most enjoyable...

...'The Surprise Demise of Francis Cooper's Mother' is the animated short that stands out. In it, a woman accidentally kills someone with her car, a man accidentally kills his cat and another man overanalyzes the death of his mother. It's clever, insightful and amusing all at once."

You can read the full festival review on the Exclaim! website. Glad he liked it.

La Revolució Dels Petits Gestos ha començat

Have spent the last few weeks directing my first television commercial. Can't show anything yet but will do as soon as I can.

But I can show you this:



It's the commercial I animated on at Aardman during the end of May/beginning of June. The moral is something like "The revolution of small actions". Lovely. Directed by Tim Ruffle.

At the weekend I drew some pictures for my new film and worked on getting a first draft together too - still a long way off sadly. Also did some work on Emma Lazenby's film. A pregnant woman rocking on a Swiss Ball.

Francis Cooper is off to London

Francis Cooper is going to London three times this summer. For Rushes Soho Shorts end of July, London International Animation Festival in August, and for a Short And Sweet screening next week.

All good news except he's now faced with the difficult decision of whether it would be cheaper to use his Oyster card or buy a day pass.

Cippi in... (again)

Linked to these last year but found some nicer quality ones on YouTube. Some Italian gum adverts directed by Matthew Walker for Arthur Cox and Aardman. It is quite important to understand that when Cippi (that's the chipmunk) chews the gum it allows him to have icy farts (obviously). Here are two I animated on:

Say Freeze


Stuck On You


You can see more on YouTube or on the official Cippi website.

I once played football with an Italian man who found out I worked on these and he gave me a high five.