Canvas is a new short film seeking funding on Kickstarter. Learn more about this interesting project in our interview!
PS4Blog: Good afternoon! Thank you for joining us. Could you please help us get this interview going by telling our readers a bit about yourself and your work?
Thanks for having me, Antonio!
Sure! My name is Frank Abney, and I’m a husband, a Father of 2, and an Animator/Filmmaker. I’ve been animating professionally for about 12 years now. I got my start helping on short films, then working on games, a little TV pilot work, then BACK to games on the Tomb Raider reboot.
After that I got the opportunity to go down to Walt Disney Animation Studios, then DreamWorks, and now I’m at Pixar! The films I’ve worked on at these three studios are Frozen, Big Hero 6, Kung Fu Panda 3, The Boss Baby, Coco, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4. Outside of the studio, I’m always developing ideas or characters, even when I probably shouldn’t, hahaha.
PS4B: On that note, you’re currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund Canvas, a short film with a strong message. What can you tell us about this project?
Yes, the Kickstarter for my short film Canvas is now live! The project is about a painter trying to get his inspiration back, after suffering a major loss. Many of us have dealt with great loss, and it can affect many areas of our life. In this case, our main character is fighting to bring himself back up by trying to paint again, but he just can’t seem to connect the brush with the canvas.
PS4B: Once the funds are secured by way of the Kickstarter campaign, what are the plans regarding the film’s length?
The film is currently sitting at around six and a half minutes, which is about average these days for animated shorts. Some from the big studios are usually approximately five minutes, but I’m more interested in making sure the film says what it needs to say.
PS4B: I noticed that there is no reward for an art book (digital or physical) detailing the process of making Canvas. Is this a reward you might consider adding to the campaign?
Yes, this is a reward that I’ve brought up with our team. As soon as we have cost info, and a solid plan of what we want to say and include, we’ll try to make that happen! I think it could be pretty amazing to have, as we’ve had some amazing artists working on this film!
PS4B: And that’s all the time we have for today. Would you like to add anything else before we go?
Well first, thanks for having me! I just want to say how important it is to create. If you have a vision, or just a small idea floating in your head. Find a way to bring it out. You never know who you may inspire in the process. There will be some out there that will try to shut you down, or simply don’t want you to succeed- if you encounter that, just use it as fuel! Flip it, and use it! 🙂
