5Q's w/Jon Peters "MERMAIDS ON MARS" Director
#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it in less than 140 characters?
A: A boy travels through a portal to Mars where he learns the planet's secret. A magical stop-motion animated film to delight children and adults.
#2: What do you want the Borrego FilmFestival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?
A: Based on the children’s book by author Nancy Guettier, Mermaids on Mars is a musical stop-motion animated film created with a talented veteran feature crew from films like Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars.
#3: What is your movie making background? Tell us about yourself.
A: Jon Peters is founder of Athena Studios, which focuses on stop-motion animation and visual effects. He first became interested in stop-motion animation when he saw Ray Harryhausen's work on The 7th Voyage of Sinbad as a child. It took 45 years for Jon to fully realize his dream to form a stop-motion studio, but as Jon says "the best things in life are worth waiting for,"
Jon started his career as an industrial designer and professional model-maker. His work as a producer has won numerous awards for his studio. Jon was an elected Board Member of the Northern California Chapter of the Visual Effects Society and is Producer of the stop-motion animated feature film Auntie Claus (currently in development).
#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?
A: Learning how to back into the budget of the film and use those constraints to drive the creative process.
#5: What does the future hold for your film and you?
A: The producer and Athena Studios are looking at turning Mermaids into an episodic children’s series. We would work on shows for that. We are also in development on a stop-motion feature film entitled Auntie Claus, based on the award-winning children’s book by the same name.
Visit the Mermaids on Mars site at www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information
Jonathan Ojeda goes behind the scenes and explains what a sound designer does on an animated film. He talks about creating audio environments for Mermaids on Mars that envelop the viewer and can take people to new worlds. Jonathan describes his start in the business and discusses the challenges he faced bringing Mermaids to life. Visit the Mermaids on Mars website at: www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information on the film.
Jorge Martinez, editor and lead compositor, goes behind the scenes and explains the numerous roles he undertook in the production of Mermaids on Mars. He discusses his approached to editing and effects and what some of the challenges were in the production. . Visit the Mermaids on Mars website at: www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information on the film.
Vincent DeQuattro, post production supervisor, goes behind the scenes and explains the intense amount of work that took place after animation to deliver the 300 shots needed for the award-winning stop-motion short Mermaids on Mars. He discusses how he started his career in visual effects and how he and his team at Athena Studios approached compositing, effects and color on Mermaids. Visit the Mermaids on Mars website at: www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information
Kat Alioshin, co-producer of Mermaids on Mars, takes us behind the scenes and explains what it takes to put together a stop-motion film. She talks about her introduction to the world of stop-motion and the challenges of keeping a film running on time and within budget. Visit the Mermaids on Mars site at www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information
How do you make Martians and mermaids dance? You get a super-talented choreographer to teach them. In this behind the scenes video on the making of the stop-motion film Mermaids on Mars we'll see how choreographer Karen Kovac helped the animators on Mermaids bring puppets to life during the musical numbers in the film. Karen will discuss the joys and challenges of choreographing stop-motion puppets. Visit the Mermaids on Mars site at www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information
Character designer Steph Laberis takes us behind the scenes of the stop-motion short Mermaids on Mars and explains her approach to designing characters for animation. She discusses some of the challenges of taking 2D animation design into a 3D world. We also learn if Steph is on Team Mermaid or Team Martian. The answer may surprise you. Visit the Mermaids on Mars site at www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information
Puppet fabrication supervisor Victoria Rose Most talks about the making of the stop-motion animated film Mermaids on Mars. She discusses the fabrication process and how she got interested in a career in visual effects and animation. Visit the Mermaids on Mars site at www.mermaidsonmarsthefilm.com for more information