Because the Audition is an animation about a character trying to act a part in a play, this required the performance to function on two levels - the hammy overacting of the character playing his role in the play, as well as the insecurities, pride, and hopes of the character's real personality that seep through during his performance. To achieve this a lot of preparation and planning went into the film before the computer was ever switched on.

This involved a process of acting out the scenes live, which were then studied with diagrams, sketches, and video taped sequences. I spent a good deal of time cavorting about my living room pretending to sword fight or something similar, and then trying to capture that pose looking in the mirror with a sketch book in one hand and a pencil in the other. A very entertaining way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I would hope that other animators would be able to see themselves humorously mirrored in the frog's audition. Whether it is a festival competition, a bid for a job, or a demo reel, animators are constantly auditioning their acting abilities. Someone once said that all art is self-portrait, and in that respect I certainly can empathize with how the frog feels out in the middle of the stage under a spot light.

You can see the Audition at the following festivals:

• Siggraph where it was chosen as one of 14 works worldwide to be showcased in the TechnOasis, and at
  
• Animago where it won a prize (hoo boy!).
  
  

Stay tuned for more listings!