The Mew-sician

A Cat and Mouse Tale by Madeline Sharafian

Who

I made this film on my own, with music composed by Daniel Wood and animation and storyboard help from my CalArts teachers Chong Lee and Matt Willames.

What
The film is about a cat and a mouse who share a musical adventure.

Why
I chose to make this film because I wanted to make a short piece that would test my (very new) animation skills, but I also needed it to be under 90 seconds for school requirements. But, to be honest, the concept came when my roommate left me a silly picture of a cat on a keyboard on my desk, and i just storyboarded something silly from there! I took the most inspiration from Matt Willames, my teacher, who taught me to keep things honest and alive.

How
I used the program TV Paint for the animation and some limited After-Effects for compositing. These programs are all very new to me, so I had to keep everything simple, because if I tried to get fancy, I’m sure I would have had a mental breakdown by the film deadline!

Next Project
CalArts students are required to make a film every year, so I am taking this summer to start coming up with my next idea. I’m kicking some ideas around, but nothing concrete yet!

Which animated film would you like o have made?
Miyazaki’s “Porco Rosso” is a beautiful movie. I would have been honored to be a part of it.

Voice you thoughts on “The Mew-sician” in the comments…