Commissioned through Radar Music Videos, This Little Light of Mine was creatde as a music video for the Emmy Award-winning singer/song writer Faith Rivera. The music reflects the hopes and vision that have swept America and stirred every heart, and it’s got a soulful, fresh, & fun rockin’twist.
It took me 2 weeks to complete the promo. Since it’s a low budget project, I did all the animation by my own. The video has dramatic colors and energetic movements. It’s all designed by Adobe Illustrator and animated by After Effects.
This video is featured on Radar Music Video front page at the moment, and also featured at Vimeo Staff Pick Channel. MTV Iggy is going to feature the video online with an interview too.
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“I was looking for a special way to mark my dad’s 70th birthday, to celebrate his life at a time when it’s not always easy being with him – with alzheimers and dementia the only thing he can remember, curiously, are the words to songs from his youth. When I saw Ann’s film ‘Between The Lines’ I knew I’d found what I was looking for and asked her to make a short film based on some of the stories from my dad’s childhood and youth.
“The process itself was rewarding. Family members ‘donated’ stories from which I selected a handful, and I borrowed photos from various family members as a starting point for Ann to work her magic. She needed to, because the stock of photos was, to put it generously, not very good. She worked wonders though, finding other library images, adding drawings, animation and design to make an enchanting film.
“I had three aims in commissioning the film: that it would be a good quality film in its own right; that it might make my family (and others) laugh – my dad would love that; and to jog my dad’s or other people’s memories about his early years. I really didn’t expect it to meet, let alone exceed all these aims. It’s clearly a very personal film for me and my family, but I hope anyone watching it can enjoy it and be reminded of their own family stories too – cherish them, they’re precious.”
— Ed McKeon
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short film
’Fooling Around & Horses’ is a short film commissioned by Ed McKeon, directed by Ann Xiao. It’s a memory film for his Father, Jim McKeon, who is affected by Alzheimer’s disease and suffers from memory loss. The film is set in Jim’s childhood in Battersea, London in the 1950’s. The film was shown at Jim’s 70th birthday, as a wish to help him recall the lost memories of his childhood. The animation is a surreal collage of old family photos, 1950’s London scenes and personal memories.
短片由Spnm制作人Ed McKeon委托，Ann Xiao导演，为Ed已经失去记忆的父亲Jim McKeon创作的怀旧影片，背景是Jim成长中的1950年代伦敦Battersea地区的童年，以及青年时代的趣闻。影片是轻松调侃式的，正符合Jim年轻时幽默好动的性格。短片在Jim McKeon的70寿辰放映，愿望唤起Jim对童年的记忆。动画使用家庭相册的老照片，与50年代氛围的伦敦场景拼贴，用略微超现实的风格体现回忆。配乐则使用了Jim年轻时代最熟悉的英国老歌。
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presentation
The Jilin College of Arts in China, invited Ann to present her animation work to the tutors and students at the Animation & Comic department. The presentation included images and video footage from the commercials, short films and music videos she had been working on in London between 2003-2008. Ann also displayed a number of sketches and treatments, which had not been published before.
受到吉林艺术学院邀请，Ann向艺术学院动漫系的老师和同学展示了她的动画作品。讲座包括2003－2008年间Ann在伦敦创作的广告，短片和音乐电视，其中还展示了从未发表过的大量动画草稿和投标方案。
animation installation
When cotton is used for art, what does it become? Eleven avant-garde artists were invited to create an installation for a unique exhibition entitled Cotton USA Natural World at Bridge Art Center in Beijing.
Ann was asked to create a piece of installation around Marie Claire bed linen. Sleeping Beauty features a romantic bed in a cotton room, with films projected on to it, showing a girl’s sweet dreams, in which she is playing on clouds, ambling in a flower-filled forest and floating through space.
2008年12月11位潮流设计师和艺术家受邀在北京桥艺术中心展示他们为美国棉花Natural World艺术节创作的棉花艺术品。
Ann的动画装置“睡美人”建造了一个棉花房间和一张浪漫的床，当动画影片放映在床上，睡美人的梦境里充满了有趣离奇的情景，因为太舒服，梦结束了睡美人也不见醒来。
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