"The Renter" uses digital hand drawings to tell the powerful story of a boy who feels deserted.
Most people have heard of Pixar and Warner Bros. in the context of award-winning animation. But those who track the Who’s Who of animators now must add Jason Carpenter to the list of those to watch.
Carpenter (BADN / BID 1997) is one of five nominees for a 2011 Annie Award, which next to the Oscars is the most prestigious award in the animation industry. The nomination is for his short, “The Renter,” about a boy who must learn to use human connection as a way to overcome his fears. (View a trailer.)
Carpenter, who attended the Design Camp while a high schooler in Greensboro, NC, and now lives in Santa Monica, CA, works with his brother, Michael (BID 1999) in their animation studio, Carpenter Bros. Animation. Carpenter took off two years from paid animation work to complete the 10-min. animation, which he drew digitally by hand in Adobe Flash and Photoshop and composited in AfterEffects. Due to the financial sacrifice he and his wife made, Carpenter wondered if it would pay off.
“For every project that gets noticed there are tens of thousands that don’t get any attention,” Carpenter observed. “We should have more support of the arts.”
“There’s no question in my mind which of the nominees is the most emotionally captivating, artistically innovative, and viscerally beautiful,” wrote Amid Amidi of Cartoon Brew.
The awards are sponsored by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. The winner will be announced on Feb. 5, 2011, at a ceremony at Royce Hall in the UCLA campus.