Birthday Bummer

We enjoyed the humour and drama of your movie. The animation was so well done in creating a flow through the movie. A lovely story line. Well done

Little Vic Meyer gets an invitation to a party. However, her mother says she can only go if her messy room is tidy by lunchtime the next time. Vic must work hard and negotiate a number of obstacles if she is to achieve her aim! This kicked off with an intro featuring a talented little girl (Pita Bol) who obviously loves the camera This also transferred into the film proper as she gave a delightful performance during a simple, yet well told story. I enjoyed the crazy, stressed hallucinations during the night and the manic performances of the people involved. Technically it was OK, good sound and some acceptable visuals. Your cut-out animation was well delivered and you got a great reaction out of the audience. Great job!

I was VERY impressed at what Pita was able to achieve, and feel proud of her, not just as her mum, but as someone who loves films, and loves the development of film-making. Trying not to be biased - I think this was a universal story, simply told, with outstanding direction and acting from a young upcoming film-maker. I thought some of you might like to know some of the fun behind the scenes 10 year old Pita wanted to make a film for the 48 hours, and as her Mum I was in mixed minds about it. I decided that she could as long as: 1. she made it with the resources she currently has (ie ipod and laptop) so that she would feel she could continue film-making without having to get "other gear." 2. She had to fund-raise the entry fee. 3. She had to be the producer, storyliner, and director, but be prepared to take advice and support from me (her over 18 mum). 4. We were to keep the weekend simple and minimalist. 5. We both had to be "nice" to each other - no matter how stressed we might get - it had to be enjoyable. These were all achieved. We had an amazing mother/daughter weekend together, filled with laughs, mutual respect, plenty of learning curves for us both, and of course some nail-biting moments. The scripting meeting was held in the bathroom. Yip, the bathroom. This was so that Pita could unwind in the bath while talking through story ideas, while I was her scribe (sitting on the toilet seat...) We edited together in my bed - this was so that I could continue cutting the rough cut while Pita snoozed in bed next to me! After all as Director she had to be on hand for the final say!! Everything was shot on ipod - if I was "operating" the ipod, we had to shoot a rehearsal, then the director (also lead actress) would view and make her directorial suggestions. Sometimes we set up the ipod on a GPS holder so that we could both be in the shot. The GPS holder was vital for her animations - she simply stuck it to her duchess mirror and set up the animations on the top of the duchess. Was her bedroom actually THAT messy to start with? - I'm horrified to say - yes it almost was!! (tho no knickers hanging from the light) I didn't want Pita using hot lighting, so we got some simple led lights, and tried our best to use the natural light available. We did clamp frost cloth outside the bedroom window to help even out the light source though! The cat was very happy to play along (for a few treats). The "girl next door" is a friend of Pita's. And yes, the Mum, was played by her Mum. Thank you for reading this, I look forward to watching Pita's film-making develop over the next 10 years :)

Amazing intro. Hilarious, loved the "And I'm over 18." Fantastic. Cool logo/sound effects. Great opening music. Loved the "You're joking" part. The cat poking its head out was a really cool shot. The fireworks/lady face too. Great performance by the "crazy mom". Loved the over-the-top music during the room tidying. The stop motion stuff was superb. Perfectly fit in the movie. The "tricking the neighbor" scene was great. Amazing ending. Pita Bol did an amazing job with this. Especially amazing that it was done with such a small/"basic" amount of gear.

I was VERY impressed at what Pita was able to achieve, and feel proud of her, not just as her mum, but as someone who loves films, and loves the development of film-making. Trying not to be biased - I think this was a universal story, simply told, with outstanding direction and acting from a young upcoming film-maker. I thought some of you might like to know some of the fun behind the scenes 10 year old Pita wanted to make a film for the 48 hours, and as her Mum I was in mixed minds about it. I decided that she could as long as: 1. she made it with the resources she currently has (ie ipod and laptop) so that she would feel she could continue film-making without having to get "other gear." 2. She had to fund-raise the entry fee. 3. She had to be the producer, storyliner, and director, but be prepared to take advice and support from me (her over 18 mum). 4. We were to keep the weekend simple and minimalist. 5. We both had to be "nice" to each other - no matter how stressed we might get - it had to be enjoyable. These were all achieved. We had an amazing mother/daughter weekend together, filled with laughs, mutual respect, plenty of learning curves for us both, and of course some nail-biting moments. The scripting meeting was held in the bathroom. Yip, the bathroom. This was so that Pita could unwind in the bath while talking through story ideas, while I was her scribe (sitting on the toilet seat...) We edited together in my bed - this was so that I could continue cutting the rough cut while Pita snoozed in bed next to me! After all as Director she had to be on hand for the final say!! Everything was shot on ipod - if I was "operating" the ipod, we had to shoot a rehearsal, then the director (also lead actress) would view and make her directorial suggestions. Sometimes we set up the ipod on a GPS holder so that we could both be in the shot. The GPS holder was vital for her animations - she simply stuck it to her duchess mirror and set up the animations on the top of the duchess. Was her bedroom actually THAT messy to start with? - I'm horrified to say - yes it almost was!! (tho no knickers hanging from the light) I didn't want Pita using hot lighting, so we got some simple led lights, and tried our best to use the natural light available. We did clamp frost cloth outside the bedroom window to help even out the light source though! The cat was very happy to play along (for a few treats). The "girl next door" is a friend of Pita's. And yes, the Mum, was played by her Mum. Thank you for reading this, I look forward to watching Pita's film-making develop over the next 10 years :)

Amazing intro. Hilarious, loved the "And I'm over 18." Fantastic. Cool logo/sound effects. Great opening music. Loved the "You're joking" part. The cat poking its head out was a really cool shot. The fireworks/lady face too. Great performance by the "crazy mom". Loved the over-the-top music during the room tidying. The stop motion stuff was superb. Perfectly fit in the movie. The "tricking the neighbor" scene was great. Amazing ending. Pita Bol did an amazing job with this. Especially amazing that it was done with such a small/"basic" amount of gear.