In a breakthrough for short film distribution Chris Mais’ animated student short SMILE, the runaway crowd favorite at last Thursday night’s Animation Showcase for the Newport Beach Film Festival, has been made available at Apple’s iTunes online audio/video store. The film is CGI and utilizes motion capture technology and a musical score provided by a 45-piece orchestra. Mais has completed an undergraduate degree in computer animation at Chapman University and, in a move characteristic of a well-rounded student, is moving on to earn a graduate degree in hand-drawn animation at UCLA. A full press release follows.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Mais – Writer/Director
amaised@aol.com
(562) 761-9662
iTunes Gives Student Animator Something To SMILE About
Orange, CA—After 3 years of hard work and determination, animation student Chris Mais finds himself on the cutting edge of short film distribution. His award winning animated senior thesis, SMILE, has debuted in the iTunes music store as part of an indie animation launch. “This is the most exciting opportunity a student filmmaker could ever wish for. It is a chance to reach a worldwide audience,” says an enthused Mais. Apple iTunes, well known for music downloads, has quickly emerged as the preeminent showcase and distribution channel for short films and animation.
SMILE tells a simple, effective, and heart tugging tale of friendship between a balloon and a bendable smiley face toy. Motion capture, 3-D laser scanning, and digital cinematography were all utilized to breathe life into the digital characters of the film. “This project was a labor of love and it is rewarding to have reached this phase of the project, where the work is done and I have the chance to show it to audiences.”
Mais was offered a distribution contract after an acquisitions representative from Shorts International, the world’s largest short film specialist, viewed SMILE at the Palm Springs International Festival of Shorts last fall. “SMILE is very accessible which means that it is sellable in multilingual markets,” says Linda Olszewski, head of American Acquisitions and Development for Shorts International.
In addition to generating revenue, iTunes distribution will provide Mais with a marketing strategy for exposure to develop SMILE into a TV series or feature as well as introduce him in worldwide territories as a director to watch.
Mais has already utilized the internet to find a fan base for SMILE. The SMILE MySpace profile, which features a trailer and video documentaries, has had over 100,000 visitors since April. In addition to the popularity of SMILE on the net, the film has been a blockbuster on the film festival circuit, racking up 10 awards and appearing at 25 major film festivals around the world.
PC and Mac users can check out SMILE as well as other indie animated shorts in the short film section of the iTunes music store. For more information, go to www.smilethefilm.com or visit SMILE on MySpace at www.myspace.com/smilethefilm.
