I needed to give my wife and my mom a gift on Mother's Day. I usually picked wild daisies for my mom on such occasion but I am far away from her.
I was driving with my family along the highway when I thought of the idea for "When I was a Bata". I actually missed our exit - I think it was around after 3 exits more when my wife said we just passed it.
There's not much to explain about this short except I finished it in 4 days. It would have been faster if it weren't intended as a surprise gift like
"The Help for Waltz". It's a pain to finish it earlier while keeping it a secret when the person I wanted to surprise is just a step away from my studio. She probably saw all the scattered pieces of construction papers, some shaped like a girl with a ponytail, all over my studio.
The first thing that I worked on with this one was Oneng's voice (my daughter). She just read the script and with just 2 takes she was finish.
After her voice, I went to the piano and played around with the music for the film. I have always been a fan of classical music and I am fascinated with the whimsicality of waltz. When I found my right triple meter, I then recorded it and prepared for shooting miniature human papers.
Once in a while Oneng would drop by my studio and peeked at how I shoot the cut outs. I am always happy when I see her eyes lit with exitement. On the farting dad part, you can actually see her on the background playing with Theo, our dog, on the rocking chair next to the library.
WHEN I WAS A BATA
THE HELP FOR WALTZ
