From world-renowned animation studio HouseSpecial and Director Kirk Kelley comes "Armor del Amor" – this seemingly benign nature documentary focuses on the armadillo mating rituals and explores the dark underbelly of modern mammalian dating with a subtle commentary on the frustration of modern love. Director: KIRK KELLEY Executive Producers: LOURRI HAMMACKK, KIRK KELLEY, ALVARO CUBILLAS Producer: KARLY RICHTER Editor: CAM WILLIAMS Director of Photography: ERIC EDWARDS VFX Supervisor: REX CARTER Art Director: GEE STAUGHTON Line Producer: ELLIOT FREEMAN 1st Asst Camera: NOEL ADAMS Grips: CLAY CONNALLY, JAKE HAUSWIRTH Wind Whisperer: CLAY CONNALLY Stage DP: JOHN NOLAN Prop Fabricators: KATIE MELLO, MARGARET MEYER Set Fabricator: ROBERT MELCHIOR Art | Stage Dept Manager: ERICA JOHNSON CG TD | VFX Artist: KARL RICHTER Animators: BEAVAN BLOCKER, GREG KYLE Modeling Artists: JOSH TONNESEN, KENDRA PHILLIPS Texture Artist: NIKIE MONTELEONE Lighting Artist: MATT RESLIER Rigging Artist: TERENCE JACOBSON, JOHN LALLY VFX Artist: WALTER BEHRNES Compositor: JOHN CORBETT Texture Artist Intern: TYLER BAY Lighting Artist Intern: JOHNNY NAM Title Designer: STEPHEN BODIN Storyboard Artists: AARON SORENSON, TOM PRICE Graphics Artist: ALAN COOK Graphics Intern: OLGA SOKAL Production Assistants: EMMA VAN HALSEMA, ALEX WEBSTER Editorial Assistant: DINO COONS Assistant Editor Intern: RYCHELLE BEDALOV-VALDE Music Composed & Performed: DAVE DEPPER Narrator: EDMUND STONE Sound Design | Mix: LANCE LIMBOCKER Camera Package: KOERNER CAMERA Dead Armadillo On The Side Of The Road | Tad Denson A Short Stuff Production By ©2018 HOUSE SPECIAL, LLC

Armor del Amor

From world-renowned animation studio HouseSpecial and Director, Kirk Kelley comes Armor del Amor – a kind of nature ‘documentary’ that follows the mating rituals of Dasypus novemcinctus to discover the dark underbelly of modern mammalian dating.

The narrative follows a nine-banded female armadillo as she emerges from her burrow and into the lonely Texas landscape. Our researchers captured footage of this modern animal’s efforts to find a potential mate until finally, after a few missed opportunities, a match is made.

Read the press release.

Screenings:
March 28 - April 14, 2019: Mecal Pro, the Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival
March 18-24, 2019: Festival international du court métrage d'animation de ROANNE
Feb. 28 - March 3, 2019: Boulder International Film Festival - Boulder, CO
Feb. 22-14, 2019: Oregon Short Film Fest - Portland, OR

Special CG short from Portland animation studio HouseSpecial - More of our work: http://www.housespecial.com/all/ Follow us - https://twitter.com/housespecialpdx & http://instagram.com/housespecialpdx Kirk Kelley, Creative Director Kameron Gates, Director From an Original Story by Allan Turner and Kameron Gates Awards & Screenings: • Runner-up: Best CG Short 3DWorld Magazine - http://www.creativebloq.com/3d/cg-awards-winners-2015-revealed-111517613 • Screened in the Milano Film Festival • Screened at the NW Animation Fest's 2015 "Best of the Fest" show • Portland Film Festival: Screened • Siggraph 2015 - Screened at the Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater at the Los Angeles Convention Center • Best Animation Award at FilmOneFest 2015 • 22nd Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) - Screened in Films International Competition • Best Animation 2015 One Screen Film Festival • Best Minute Movie at Animation Block Party in Brooklyn • Short Film Silver at The Australian Effects and Animation Festival • Audience Favorite Award at the California International Animation Festival in the category 3D Animation • Ottawa International Animation Festival: Nominated Best Short Animation • Screened at SPARK Animation Festival • 41st Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival - THE GIANT ANIMATION AWARD • Best Animated Short - Oregon Underground Film Festival • Screened during Couch Fest Films - http://couchfestfilms.com/films "It’s hard to think of a better way to spend seventy seconds than this. Enjoy." - Christopher Rauschenberg Credits: Executive Producer: Lourri Hammack Producer: Zilpha Yost Production Coordinator: Jamie Pulliam, Julie Ragland, Evan Smith Animator: Wendy Fuller, Kameron Gates, Greg Kyle, Chris Ohlgren, Allan Steele Matte Painter: Don Flores, Kameron Gates, Saira Matthews Character Designer: Kameron Gates Environment Designer: Ian Abando, Pascal Campion, Don Flores, Joshua Harvey Storyboard Artist: Kameron Gates Technical Director: Chris Immroth, Terence Jacobson, Patrick Van Pelt Modeling: Michael Berger, Chris Ohlgren, Allan Steele, Josh Tonnesen Texture Artist: Jeff Gipson, Saira Mathew, Sari Rodrig, Josh Tonnesen Character Set-up: Terence Jacobson Lighting Artist: Thane Hawkins, Matt Reslier Rigger: Terence Jacobson FX: Rogerio Mendes, Karl Richter, Patrick Van Pelt Opening Titles: Jose Diaz Editor: Steve Miller Flame Artist: Rex Carter Flint Artist: Leif Peterson Post Production Manager: Cam Williams Tape Op: Travis Ezell Scheduler: Melissa Tvetan Sound Design and Mix: Lance Limbocker
“It’s hard to think of a better way to spend seventy seconds than this. Enjoy.”
— Christopher Rauschenberg
Inspired by the song Până când nu te iubeam Traditional Romanian, in the public domain From the Pink Martini album Get Happy Courtesy of Heinz Records ©℗ 2013 Director: Kirk Kelley Executive Producer: Lourri Hammack DP: John Nolan Editor: Michael Corrigan Art Director: Alan Cook Storyboard Artist: Vera Brosgol Art Dept Lead: Rob Melchior Character Fabrication: Sarah Hall, Katie Mello, Margaret Meyer Stop Motion Animator: Julianna Cox, Wendy Fuller, Chris Ohlgren Art Dept/Stage Manager: Erica Johnson Production Coordinator: Jenn Catalino Production Assistant: Alex Webster, Madison Bates Look Lead: Dan Casey Technical Director: Chris Immroth Modeling: Josh Tonnesen Texture Artist: Nikie Monteleone Lighting Artist: Clay Connally Rigger: Terence Jacobson CG Animator: Greg Kyle VFX Artist: Karl Richter Nuke Compositor: John Corbett AE Compositor: José Díaz Texture Intern: Faith Zeng VFX Apprentice: Andrés Galeano Nuke Intern: Aurry Tan Flame Artist: Rex Carter Smoke Artist: Leif Peterson Post Prod. Manager: Cam Williams Editorial Assistant: Dino Coons A special thanks to the Oregon Film Board

Lamentation

At the heart of Până când nu te iubeam is a Romanian love ballad of devastating beauty and ethereal loneliness. It is both apocalyptic and cyclical. We can never grab hold and follow a narrative per se, but instead are drawn deeper into the vortex of the lament. - Director Kirk Kelley

The short film is inspired by Portland’s own world-renowned Pink Martini’s rendition of the sorrowful Romanian ballad Până când nu te iubeam (Before I Fell in Love with You), with vocals by Storm Large. Director Kirk Kelley employed traditional stop-motion animation, in-camera VFX and CG elements combined with high-speed footage captured in practical environments. As the film unfolds, Kelley takes the musical instruments needed to perform the arrangement and drowns them in sensuality, longing and sadness, creating a story that is as mesmerizing, cyclic and hauntingly obtuse as the ballad.

The production was produced with support from The Oregon Film Board’s Indigenous Oregon Production Investment Fund (iOPIF). The short film has screened at numerous festivals around the world including Amsterdam Film Festival (Winner – Best Music Video), Berlin Short Film Festival (Winner – Best Music Video), Best Short Fest – Ontario (Winner – Best Short Film), Silveron International Film Festival (Winner – Best Music Video), Austin Short Film Fest, Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival, London International Short Film Festival and the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival.

Traditional Romanian, in the public domain
From the Pink Martini album Get Happy
Courtesy of Heinz Records ©℗ 2013

Director: Kirk Kelley
Executive Producer: Lourri Hammack
DP: John Nolan
Editor: Michael Corrigan

Find more - Credits, a translation and our press release.

Conceived & Directed by Aaron Sorenson From HouseSpecial - a Short Stuff™ production See what a 2.5D set transforms into when the camera is perfect: https://vimeo.com/156767442 Creative Director: Kirk Kelley Executive Producer: Lourri Hammack Production Designer: Alan Cook DP: John Nolan Editor: Steve Miller, Cam Williams Line Producer: Nicole Fitzhugh Production Assistant: Alex Webster DESIGN Character Designer: Aaron Sorenson, Alan Cook Background/Environment Design: Craig Bowers, Don Flores, Sharon Huang, Kristy Kay, Phillip Spehar, Tod Polson FABRICATION Character Fabrication: Katie Mello, Margaret Meyer, Chris Ohlgren Set/Prop Fabrication Lead: Greg Fosmire Set/Prop Fabrication: Gary Logue, Katie Mello, Margaret Meyer, Josh Pearce, Emma Van Halsema STAGE Animator: Suzanne Twining Swing/Electric/Grip: Jake Hauswirth Wrangler: Rob Melchior Art Dept/Stage Manager: Erica Johnson CG & POST PRODUCTION FX: Patrick Van Pelt Opening Titles: José Díaz, Stephen Bodin Matte Painting: Stephen Bodin Flame Artist: Rex Carter Editorial Assistant: Dino Coons MUSIC & SOUND Original Music Produced By: Mophonics Original Music By: Roberto Murguia and Róisín Malone Creative Producer: Kristoffer Roggemann Creative Director: Stephan Altman Sound Design & Mix By: Lance Limbocker, Limbocker Studios A special thanks to the Oregon Film Board For screening and pr, contact us at hello@housespecial.com
“There is an amazing amount of detail throughout the short that the crew lavished on the sets, props & puppets.”
— Aaron Sorenson, Director