CREATIVE STATEMENT
There are very few occasions where I’ve had the chance to “work pure.” What do I mean by that, you ask? Well... as a chronic over-thinker, I’m always in danger of boiling the flavor out of my ideas; but that didn’t happen with Blah. This infectious little cartoon -- which by all regular standards, is rudimentary in its execution -- is a pure creation. I did not over-think it, nor did I over-plan... which therefore makes the subtext of my short all the more honest.
Blah began as two projects for my 2001 animation course at West Virginia State, eventually assembled together. Back then, much like today, I was spinning many plates in my schedule; and when faced with deadlines for my animation class, I decided that my work (in this case, cut-out animation) should be VERY simple. In other words, less animation and more concept.
So I arrived at the animation stand with just a few cutouts each time, and proceeded to improvise the actions of my main character, only knowing that he would say just one word. For the second project, I added one more character, and had a little more instinct on where I was going. And since then, Blah has been my little reminder about what you can accomplish when you just let yourself create.
I could blather on about the subtext concerning relationships and bravado, as well as the defamilarization of colloquial language for effect, blah blah blah... but I feel it’s more important, as always, to thank so many people (and students) for the kindness they’ve given to Blah over the years. And in particular, I thank my professor and friend Steve Gilliland for his continued support. Without him, there would be nothing to Blah about.
Sam Holdren
Creator