[CS] Wednesday Talk April 25: CALDERA, by Evan Viera and Chris Bishop - A Screening!

[Paula Harmon]

Wednesday, April 25 CS WEDNESDAY NOON TALK   in the ASH Auditorium

Evan Viera, Director, and Hampshire Alum
Chris Bishop, Co-Writer, and Hampshire Alum

ORCHID ANIMATION presents the short animated film
*/CALDERA/*            http://vimeo.com/37526983

Film summary: An adolescent girl struggles to balance the dual edges of 
her psychosis. In the refuge of a mystic oceanic cove, the vibrancy of 
her mind is embraced and she is able to form bonds with the lifeforms 
and light of the environment. This enhancement she enjoys, however, is 
opposed by a demonic manifestation: a dark figure with powers that 
mirror her own. The being appears wherever her own brilliant glow is 
allowed to take root, tearing the world around it into jagged debris and 
bleeding red light. To contain these violent extremes, the girl must 
dampen herself with medication. A dosage of three white pills drains the 
color from the world and her own dazzling green eyes, allowing her a 
muted existence in the insipid gray metropolis where she resides. So 
diminished is her powerful mind that all she perceives is a vacant 
monotony devoid of natural elements. With her only choices being the 
purgatory of a shambling half-life or the unknowable consequences of her 
unrestrained mania, this unique girl rejects her medication to choose a 
path beyond that of this marginalizing society.

Biographical statement: Evan Viera is an award winning and emerging 
filmmaker/composer. His work has shown internationally and has been 
selected by some of the most competitive festivals. "CALDERA" is Viera's 
first film out of college and had it's world premiere at South by 
Southwest in March of 2012.

Caldera Production History
Caldera was written in the summer of 2008 by Hampshire College Alumni 
Evan Viera and Chris Bishop, drawing on their personal relationships 
with victims of mental illness. The two struggled to balance their 
teaching positions at Hampshire College and UMASS while working on 
pre-production out of a spare room in Evan's apartment. Once the writing 
and storyboarding was complete, it became clear that they lacked the 
resources necessary to actually bring their vision to the screen. 
Meanwhile, Chris Perry, the pair's former animation instructor at 
Hampshire College, was in the process of launching the Computer Graphics 
Incubator Program; a collaborative project that would give students the 
opportunity to intern with visiting artists in need of the facilities 
the college could provide. Caldera proved to be a perfect fit, the two 
man team gained the technology and personnel it needed while the college 
gained a source of real-world experience for its students. In 2010, Evan 
and Chris launched a highly successful Kickstarter fundraiser which 
allowed them to expand the team further, incorporating various 
professionals from around the United States. The resulting interface of 
the academic world with the independent animation industry has yielded a 
diverse network of expertise and input; allowing the completion of an 
ambitious animated short while providing a model for future 
student/artist collaboration. http://vimeo.com/37526983

Director's Statement
I made Caldera to attempt to ask questions about the nature of 
psychosis. How can individuals with disorders integrate themselves into 
a society in which they cannot function? If an individual must 
self-medicate before his or her behavior can be considered acceptable, 
what role has society inadvertently claimed over them? The creative 
capacity formed in the crucible of a unique psyche may be difficult to 
see from outside; what potential is lost by dulling the incredible minds 
that house them? This film is inspired by individuals struggling with 
psychotic disorders, and with it I hope to honor and acknowledge the 
brilliant minds forged in the haunted depths of psychosis.

In The ASH Auditorium            A light lunch will be available at noon

-- 
Paula Harmon, Administrative Assistant
School of Cognitive Science
Hampshire College
893 West Street Amherst, MA 01002
phone: 413.559.5502
fax: 413.559.5438
http://cs.hampshire.edu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/cs/attachments/20120420/a00b19a7/attachment.html>