GROWING PAINS
"...the film invites us to contemplate the inevitable nature of death and the profound impact it has on those left behind. Ultimately, DelVecchio’s animation is a poignant reminder of the universal experience of loss and the enduring power of memory to shape our lives." Short Films Matter, 4/5 star review (x).
Growing Pains is an animated short film that explores the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding death. Through its gentle visuals and ethereal atmosphere, it aims to quell the common grief associated with losing a beloved person or place as one grows up and moves on. Influenced by the melancholic aesthetics of illustrator and animator Holly Warburton, the film follows a young girl as she experiences constant loss due to the unrelenting passage of time: her grandmother, her childhood home, her youth, her mother, and eventually herself. Despite its themes surrounding death, Growing Pains does not wish for its audience to wallow in existential dread but instead aims to inversely portray a fear of death as an immense love for life.
The Growing Pains exhibition was on display at the Penny Stamps School of Art and Design in Ann Arbor, Michigan from April 19th to May 4th. More information can be found here.
Growing Pains won an Integrative Project Award, in which faculty and peers at the Penny Stamps School of Art and Design vote to recognize a student for the superior quality of their Integrative Project based on the entirety of the process: researching the concept, testing/prototyping materials, creating, critiquing, revising, finishing and installing the final project.
BRAINSTORMING
CONCEPT ART
STORYBOARD
FINAL CREATIVE PORTFOLIO
FOR POPPOP
I created this animated piece in the fall of my junior year as a University of Michigan animation student. The summer prior, my grandfather William passed away. It was the first time I had lost someone I was close to and had known for my entire life. I struggled to understand how someone could be here one moment, and gone the next. Shortly after, I came across a quote on the internet:
Reading this has completely changed my perspective on death and passing. I kept picturing my grandfather as a child, being carried off to bed after falling asleep. I wanted to create a piece that did not depict "Death" as evil or frightening, but something that nurtures and comforts. Stylistically, I was deeply inspired by Holly Warburton's work. There is such an atmosphere of intimacy in each of her pieces, even when the subject appears to be alone.
MOODBOARD & STORYBOARD
ANIMATIC
ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is the oldest avant-garde and experimental film festival in North America, founded by George Manupelli in 1963. Internationally recognized as a premiere forum for independent filmmakers and artists, each year's festival engages audiences with remarkable cinematic experiences.
I was inspired by the mechanics and aesthetics behind vintage slot machines. The spinning motion felt like a unique way to show the passage of time, from when the Festival was founded to the current day. I also associated this motion with a spinning film reel. Combining the mechanics of a slot machine and the mechanics of a film camera resulted in this strange invention with a ridiculous function. In the spirit of the Festival, I decided to use the stop-motion animation software, DragonFrame, and collage elements ("papermation") to make this creation feel tangible and align with the Festival's celebration of experimentation.
WIMEE'S WORDS
From April to September of 2023, I interned as a 2D animator with Michael Lynn Animation Studio. Using Adobe After Effects and the 2D rigging plugin Duik-Bassel, I animated four scenes in the third episode, successfully following the storyboard and incorporating all necessary audio/voiceover, character rigs, and assets. This project solidified my interests in working with clients and my love for collaboration. I was grateful for the opportunity to create alongside professional animators and other talented interns to produce such fun, artistic content!
FUNNY PAPERS MUSIC VIDEO
This piece is a tribute to the late Mac Miller, a musical artist out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Pittsburgh myself, Miller is my favorite artist of all time. His vivid and imaginative lyrics have inspired my work since I was in high school. I never missed a chance to incorporate my favorite lyrics of his into my sketchbook. "Funny Papers" is a song that has stuck with me for so long - I used to picture how it might look in visual form, and ultimately decided to create an animated music video for it.
The unreleased song, "Funny Papers" off of Mac's unreleased album, Balloonerism, focuses on themes such as loss of innocence, addiction, life, and death. Throughout the song, Mac tells two stories: one of a depressed, divorced banker at the end of his life, and one of a newborn boy, Gabriel, at the beginning of his. By telling two different stories, each focusing on either life or death, Mac paints a picture of how our lives can drastically change, and the guilt and fear of corrupting a "pure" soul.
MOODBOARD
STORYBOARD
STYLE FRAMES
PROCESS
At the end of the piece, a friend of Mac's expresses his hope for people to remember Mac for who he truly was, and not for his addiction and struggles. Despite the underlying worry and guilt present in "Funny Papers", it is deeply moving that the legacy Mac ultimately left behind was one overflowing with love and positivity.