Nutz is a whimsical look into nature and my experiences hiking and camping out in the splendors of the Pacific Northwest. With this project, I wanted to emulate the timing and pantomime style of Chuck Jones and Tex Avery. The main character, Nutz, reveals his emotional state through poses and dance. Tex Avery often reflected his unique style of pose through fast transitions and snappy timing. Characters would often “snap” into a pose with very little cushion or in-betweens. My goal was to present a character who would be very energetic, but hold a strong pose. The foil or antagonists of this story were the Squirrel and Chipmunks who symbolize the status quo. “Nutz” is basically a story about breaking out of one’s shell, (or nutshell figuratively and metaphorically speaking). Nutz tries to express himself amidst a forest of conformity. The struggle and frustration comes to a head when Nutz loses his head, causing him to wander aimlessly to the edge of peril. Ultimately it is through the salvation of fellow seeds, that the hero is able to seek refuge on an independent sea stack or creative sanctuary. The resolution is quickly foiled by the persistence of the furry mob that builds a bridge to this refuge and infringe upon the poor soul. Ultimately through the destruction of the sanctuary, Nutz becomes deeply rooted and sprouts into a tall maple. The film was inspired by a sea stack I saw while camping out on Rialto beach on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. A sea stack is a monolithic rock that stands out in the ocean. It is a result of the strong wind and sea elements that wear away at the original coastal cliffs. At Rialto, a particular sea stack has a lone pine tree atop of it. Like the native coastal tribes, I found inspiration from the local terrain and wanted to create a folklore from this experience. Aesthetically I was striving to create a hybrid of 3 dimensionality with 2 dimensional techniques. By creating the characters in 3D I was allowed to focus on performance and posing and freed from the rigors of painting and hand rendering thousands upon thousands of frames. The backdrops were created by hand using a tablet that mimics the traditional elements of painting. Through these two separate techniques I was able to create a unique blend of a digital and traditional method of filmmaking.
