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Bent Image Lab Signs Director Yu

Director Lisa Yu, a rising talent with a unique sensibility for stop motion animation, is the latest addition to Portland-based animation/live action production studio Bent Image Lab's stable of directors. While stop motion animation is most often used in comedy or lighthearted applications, Yu's 2002 independent short, VESSEL WRESTLING, applied the technique to make a dramatic and thought-provoking film about passion and sex. The short's arresting imagery won her numerous accolades and awards, as well as the attention of the partners at Bent.

"I look for directors who come from independent and experimental filmmaking," suggests Bent partner Chel White. "Those who are not afraid to take chances and try new things. When I first saw Lisa's filmI was floored by her sheer talent and braverywe are determined tocreate some incredible spots."

"It didn't take me long to decide about signing with Bent," recounts Yu. "Once I saw their reel I knew I wanted to work with them. There is a fantastic quality about their stop motion and their live action. Their work has a way of pulling in the viewer in ways you rarely see. Bent is not only the best possible platform for my commercial career, but working with them is going to be a unique collaborative and learning experience"

Launched just nine months ago, Bent has already gone on to produce many notable commercial projects attributable to Bent's unmistakable mixed-media style (such as Reese's Pieces' CENTER OF ATTENTION and Klondike's Slim-A-Bear campaign, THE ISLAND OF UNEXPECTED GIFTS, for Oregon Lottery).

Yu is a graduate of Harvard, where she majored in social studies. She also studied at the UCLA Animation Workshop. In 2002, VESSEL WRESTLING won the 2002 Slamdance Best Experimental Short Award, the Best Short Film award at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Special Jury Award for Animated Short at South by Southwest, among others. Yu has also served as animator on music videos for Stevie Wonder (TREAT MYSELF), Tool (PARABOL/PARABOLA) and Shakira (WHENEVER, WHEREVER). Working with Bent will be her first foray into the spot world.

Bent Image Lab (www.bentimagelab.com) is a hybrid animation laboratory/live action production studio headquartered in Portland, OR. Named Bent because it bends rules, light and the imagination, the team is highly skilled in many creative disciplines. Their mission is to generate the future in mixed-media/ animation/live action, and their credo is "Never twice the same solution."

Bill Desowitz's picture

Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.

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