I was a selected winner for the Stage 32 Short Film Program, with my film Requiem.Generation.Breaker. The entire event was absolutely astounding! I loved being there and I felt a true love coming from the many participants. It was an honor to be among them and truly a moment that I will hold in high regard for the rest of my life. Here are some questions off of the event, for all who want to know.
1) What Inspired the Film?
I was inspired artistically by Martin Wong and Naofumi Osawa“Miche.” Their works helped me design the world of the film. I was also inspired by the story format of the Greek tragedy. A story that had the characters go through astounding cruelty, yet they still champion humanity as they move forward. My animation style was inspired by the works of Genndy Tartakovsky, and the many artists on the anime Demon Slayer (Go Kimura, Nozumu Abe, Masayuki Kunihiro, etc.)
2) What was the biggest challenge you overcame during the making of your film?
Drawing all of those pictures. Every frame of the characters was hand drawn and since I was the sole animator on the project I had to make sure to do it all and to not overwork myself. Fortunately, I found my groove to do all of the work and not lose myself in it.
3) What a fantastic "silent film"! But it wasn't really silent, was it? The music, the sound effects, the sound design - it all played together to create a visceral experience. How did you coordinate your silent sounds with your images? Did the music inspire the film or did you have to compose music to fit the visuals?
Well the first thing I made was the script, Then I made the demo of the song. After that, I made the storyboard, and then I went back into the song and added sound effects and other flavorful musical ideas. I treated the process as a dance. The audio and visuals would do a sort of call-and-response to elevate the features of each other. And from that, a visceral experience could be born.
4) What are you hoping to do next (and maybe who you'd like to meet?) I'm actually working on an animated web series called Jade's Diary. I'm planning on making this piece visually dazzling. I'm excited to use all the skills I have acquired in Requiem. Generation. Breaker. Also, I would love to meet Genndy Tartakovsky. His works always astound me, so even a conversation with him would be invaluable.
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Congratulations on being selected a winner for the Stage 32 Short Film Program and thanks for the insight on Requiem! It sounds like a very intriguing short film.
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Congrats Derwin!!!! I want to see it!!!!
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Congratulations Derwin Hayden! Awesome!!!
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It was amazing. I was happy to be in your company at the Festival!
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Congratulations on being a winner of the Stage 32 Short Film Program, Derwin Hayden!!! "Requiem.Generation.Breaker" is an incredible title! Thanks for sharing the questions and answers. I'm sure they'll help other filmmakers who want to make this kind of short film/music video.
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Where can we watch the film?
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Dope... Congrats!!
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Incredible accomplishment! Congratulations Derwin Hayden!!!
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Watch Requiem Generation Breaker here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kgUsNfqGTg
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Wow! "Requiem.Generation.Breaker" is wild, Derwin Hayden! I can see it being a hit animated series. You and your team did a phenomenal job!
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Congratulations Derwin Hayden!! I'm glad that it was such a positive experience for you. Thank you for sharing these insights from your journey.
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Congrats :) This is an an awesome post. Thank you for being you!