Animation: Finalist
Sean Monahan
Minneapolis College of Art & Design

Rebirth

Profile
Sean Monahan is an animator from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. His focus is 2D and experimental animation, and he has applied this focus in an internship for Nickelodeon. Although animation is his prime passion, he has studied in Ireland and has handled many freelance jobs in graphic design, illustration, and documentary filmmaking. In his work, he believes he must not only entertain, but also make the viewer think and analyze.

Communication objective
"Rebirth" demonstrates a unique approach to the hand-drawn music video. It touches upon social commentaries and current events using symbolic imagery. This provides the viewer a template for his or her own conclusions and thoughts, so that the animation is different for each individual viewer. 

Tools used
I hand drew and shaded more than 1,000 animation frames and scanned them.  I used Adobe® Photoshop® to raise or lower the curve, and then created alpha channels and saved each drawing file according to its frame number. I used Adobe After Effects® to create compositions from the separate frames. I made all my layers 3D layers and placed the animation sequences within the simulated 3D space. I then animated camera movements inside After Effects®. I used Adobe Photoshop® to create the buildings that assemble themselves piece by piece, and I employed Adobe Illustrator® to create the title and credits.