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Origin of the Species

  • Eileen O'Meara
    Director
  • Eric Siegel
    Producer
  • Eileen O'Meara
    Producer
  • Eileen O'Meara
    Animator
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Eileen O'Meara

Eileen O'Meara is an American artist known for her award-winning, hand-drawn films “Agnes Escapes from the Nursing Home”, “That Strange Person”, and "Panic Attack!".
She produced and directed commercial spots for clients including HBO, UNICEF, and Motown, and received grants from the NEA, California Arts Council, and Women in Film Foundation.
To see more, go to:
http://eileenomeara.blogspot.com

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Director Statement

I worked with producer Eric Siegel making several animated show opens for Channel 1.

For this one ("Foot Candle/Origin of the Species"), I wanted to do a creation myth where an aging hand (first a baby, then child, then adult) would pass through the sky and make different landscapes appear.

When I was trying to figure out the best medium to use, I was fortunate enough to meet an artist from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. He generously showed me the technique for casting human body parts and making wax hands, feet, and faces.

This was a messy project with lots of trial and error.

To shoot it, we rigged the hand on a gooseneck above the scene with a 2x3 foot watercolor in the background. I used a blowtorch to melt the wax face, hands, and feet -- one frame at a time, moving the gold hand as we went. We shot it backwards, so instead of melting, the scenes *magically appear*.