We have 30 days

Hey friend,

Before I get to Stitches Come Out updates, I have BIG news: our crowdfunding campaign launches today!

The amount we’re raising will help me build the set/puppets/props AND mostly pay my wonderful and talented team what they’re worth. I strongly believe in everyone getting paid for their labor.

As I navigate my path to animation studio owner in the landscape of AI and industry upheaval, your contribution to this queer independent project means the world.

We believe that hand-crafted stories still have a place in this world, and if you do too, contribute to this campaign. 

Want another way to support? Follow the page for free and send this to ten other people you know. Once we hit 250 followers we get access to digital screening software. At 350 followers we’ll receive distribution mentorship and several free film festival submissions.

Onto the updates for the film.

Since I last wrote to you, I’ve cut, painted, and laid 428 tiles, finished the first draft of my animatic, drank a lot of seltzer in order to use the cans for washer/dryer drums, and created a puppet prototype of our hero, Liam, for our Seed&Spark pitch video. 

Let’s start at the end: the pitch video! My husband and co-producer, Ezra, and I drove all around Poughkeepsie, Vassar, and my art studio getting every shot. Fun fact: the scenes that are “inside a laundromat” are filmed in the laundry room of a Vassar dorm. We didn’t muster the courage to set up cameras and lights while people tried to do their laundry. Vassar students, we figured, would be used to an artistic interruption.

Ezra and I always drive each other crazy during these intimately collaborative and creative sessions. Ultimately, we disagree a lot, laugh even more, and end up with something much better than just one of us would have made alone.

A lot of my writing stems from experiences and conflicts I understand intimately, and while I love doing that work, it’s been rewarding to work on a project that tries to understand Ezra’s feelings and ways of being in the world.

It was also fun to make a little puppet that looks like Ezra!

The different expressions that Liam will have throughout the film as of right now

The final puppet will have replaceable limbs, lots of different faces, and take longer than three days to make. Still, it was incredible to see a simpler version of this little guy come to life. While making Liam I realized I’ll need to use some different and sllightly darker fabric. 

It was wonderful

Lastly, I worked with Joenell to finish the animatic! This is a series of drawings edited together with sound to give us a sense of how the story is working before building the sets, puppets, and props and animating them(or bringing the to life here).  and bringing them to life. A plan like this is essential for animated projects because it’s a lot less time consuming to cut, add, and alter at this stage. Still, it’s an incredible amount of work. Joenell thumbnailed (super loosely sketched) and drafted the preliminary shots set by the script. I was on edits, the ending shots, and editing. Together, we produced more than 900 drawings for this part of the project.

And it was SOOO worth it.

Once it was timed with sound I sat and watched my little story three times in a row. I preceded to show it to all of the eight other people in my house. It was so exciting to see that people were laughing, worrying, and feeling along with the characters in this story. 

That’s all I have for you this month. If you made it this far and haven’t checked out our Seed&Spark page, do so here. 

Yours, 

Sara