Press Release from Charged Studios

NY: CHARGED STUDIOS is proud to announce that ‘Falling Up,’ an independent animated short produced through its Artists In Residence Program, was honored this month with The Audience Choice Award at the 2011 Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF).

The award-winning animation/CGI/live-action commercial and film company’s collective of multi-disciplined talent collaborated on the 9-minute film, taking it from concept through design, pre-production, modeling, stop-motion animation, production, audio, music and post.

"Falling Up" is the first short film to be produced under the umbrella of the Charged Studios’ Artist in Residence Program, which makes it winning the Audience Choice Award at its first festival even more exciting,” notes Adam Pierce, owner of Charged and executive producer of the film.

Adam Miller, Charged Studios' cinematography, shot the film in the company studio on its Canon 30D(DSLR). Lead Animators Kevin Coyle, Eileen Kohlhepp, and Adam Pierce worked on LunchBox.  Djuna Wahlrab, the writer and director of "Falling Up," edited the short on Final Pro.and After Effects to . The sound design was created by Evan Benjamin and Bruce Pross on ProTools, which was also used by music producer/engineer James Auwarter to mix the audio.  Composers Jon Guerra and Josiah Wahlrab created the original score for "Falling Up" on Pro Tools and Logic Studio.

"Falling Up" tells the story of a young man facing the adult world for the first time. The protagonist is enthusiastic about his prospects, yet the boy within him is disappointed when he sees his future unfold. The clash of ideals causes the child within the man to literally tumble out of his adult body and its world, and fall into the land of his youth.

As he wanders through his childhood he relives some of the most formative rituals children experience as part of the process of “growing up" and struggles to hold on to his youthful idealism as he inevitably makes the journey back to manhood and the realities of the adult world. The audience is drawn into the "magic" of the child's world and experience the many ways that people are pushed to leave them behind and move into a more realistic and mature phase of life.”

“I pictured “Falling Up” as an animated piece from the very beginning, but I decided to use stop-motion specifically because it best served my story and its target audience: adults,” notes writer/director Djuna Wahlrab. “I find stop-motion has the ability to transport even the most stoic adults to a place of wonder. Watching stop-motion, we relinquish our hold on reality and for a brief moment give into the magic and wonder of the world around us.

“Supporting and collaborating with talented young artists is the fulfillment of a personal goal,” notes Pierce. “Working with Djuna, our DP Adam Miller and all the amazing artists who helped bring the film to life was a truly rewarding and liberating experience. Collaborating with this team provided Charged Studios’ collective of talent with the opportunity to broaden its creative aesthetic - and that fresh perspective adds a new dimension to our work in other genres. We're committed to balancing our spot and broadcast work with a mix of other compelling long form projects in the future.”

“Falling Up” first started gaining momentum in 2006, when Djuna began working with Charged Studios on national commercials and broadcast projects while trying to find the time and resources to take her animated short to the next level. The potential of Djuna’s innovative concept and her passion for the film inspired Pierce, an accomplished animator and filmmaker in his own right, to re-tool his company’s business model and integrate the Artist In Resident Program into its structure.

Djuna  has been fascinated by the process of moviemaking since childhood, and followed her passion, teaching the craft at Stivers School For The Arts in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio. She credits her students with introducing her to animation and teaching her the basics of the art form.