One local artist put paintbrush to paper to green screen for a children's show that follows the story of two Tlingit aboriginal warriors travelling the Northwest coast in search of an artifact.
Burnaby resident Susan McCallum garnered international distinction at the Banff World Media Festival last month for her involvement in the Yukon television production, Anash and the Legacy of the Sun-Rock.
"I designed the artwork and helped create a world," McCallum said in a phone interview with the Burnaby NOW. "It's shot in front of a green screen."
McCallum provides the watercolour paintings and ships them to the animation company based in Edmonton, where they are transformed into the special effects and displayed on the green screen the actors perform in front of while shooting.
"They do a fantastic job of special effects," she said, of the Edmonton company, Rat Creek Design. "It looks so realistic. I painted it realistically, and I don't do it often, but obviously it was successful."
McCallum specializes in watercolour painting and was able to work out of her studio for the show.
"It was an email relationship," she explained. "They send me lists of hundreds of things to paint. It requires a lot of research and I fax them sketches to see if it's exactly what they want."
The Yukon-based production was up against others from Australia, Germany, U.K., China and Toronto.
Despite the tight race, the show took the top Rockie award as Best Youth Production - Fiction.
"I had a lot of fun doing it," she said. "I lived in the Yukon for 20 years. . I moved there when I was 18 and fell in love with the land and the people. I really immersed myself in with the culture."
The 13-episode production (two seasons) was noted, by the jury, for its quality and unique story told in live animation style with watercolour backgrounds and actors, according to McCallum.
"I've been working on it for four years," she said. "I'm really focusing on getting more green screen work."
McCallum is an artist in residence for the Vancouver school district and has many programs on the go working with children and painting - including a program she created for fetal-alcohol spectrum disorder teens, which has one group painting going up in the provincial law courts building in downtown Vancouver.
Anash and the Legacy of the Sun-Rock was also recognized at the Rosie awards for Best Children's Program or Series, and it won the Best Narration award at the 2011 Alberta Film and Television Awards last May.
McCallum said her work experience was fantastic due in part to the team she gets to work with; including writer, director and producer Carol Geddes; Kim Clegg, director of animation from Rat Creek Design; and Josh Miller, executive producer.
For more information about the show, visit www.anash interactive.com.
To contact McCallum, email [email protected] or call 604-430-1355.
"I would like to thank all the people that have encouraged me with my art through the years and giving me the privilege to translate their stories into art," she added. "A special mention to my strong, supportive family that has believed in me. It is a blessing to make a living at your life's passion."
