Film Synopsis

RED & blue is a short story about personality and perseverance.

Each day two little balloons hold a race. The protagonist, Blue, is quiet and soft spoken. He loves to race even though he isn’t fast, and never wins. The antagonist, RED, is a bully. RED wins every race and constantly picks on Blue.

Blue still loves to race. He tries to be RED’s friend, but the bullying continues. Blue finally decides not to race anymore and flies away. As he is flying away, he learns about himself, and quite by accident, how to fly much faster.

Project Concept

Red and Blue is a short film that addresses social issues of bullying as well as the importance of individuality and self esteem. The film’s story is structured and told as a rhyming discourse. This style of storytelling was used to create the backstory, narration, and compositional timing. Among technical achievements of this student production are rigging techniques such as, incorporating facial animations into textures, and using wrap deformers to augment animated movement.

Festival Screenings & Awards

• AniMazing Spotlight — 2nd Quarter Winner
  Hollywood, CA, USA, November 2009 (Film Festival)
• Ohio Independent Film Festival — Official Selection
  Cleveland, OH, USA, April 2009 (Film Festival)
• West Chester Film Festival — Best Animated Film
  West Chester, PA, USA, June 2009 (Film Festival)
• Red Stick Animation Festival — Official Selection
  Baton Rouge, LA, USA, April 2009 (Film Festival)
• The 4^th Annual Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival — Official Selection
  Los Angeles, CA, USA, October 2009 (Film Festival)
• Comic-Con International — Official Selection
  San Diego, CA, USA, July 2009 (Film Festival)
• The 6^th Annual San Diego International Children's Film Festival — Official Selection
  San Diego, CA, USA, July 2009 (Film Festival)
• The 3^rd Annual San Francisco International Children's Film Festival — Official Selection
  San Francisco, CA, USA, February 2009 (Film Festival)
• Hubbub: The Las Vegas Global Animation Festival — Official Selection
  Las Vegas, NV, USA, January 2009 (Film Festival)
• Flint Film Festival — Official Selection
  Flint MI, USA, Oct 18 2008 (Film Festival)
• Columbus International Film and Video Festival — Honorable Mention
  Columbus, OH, USA, November 2008 (Film Festival)
• Nick Toons Film Festival — Finalist
  Burbank, CA, USA, October 2008 (Broadcast TV)
• Mid-Ohio Comicon Film Festival — Best Animation, Tied for Best Short
  Columbus, OH, USA, October 2008 (Film Festival)
• SIGGRAPH Space Time Student Gallery
  Los Angeles, CA, USA, August 2008 (Film Festival)
• Blue Plum Animation Festival — Best Student Animation, Best of the Festival Awards
  Johnson City, TN, USA, June 2008 (Film Festival)
• Wexner Center Film and Video Showcase — North America PREMIERE
  Columbus OH, USA, May 2008 (Film Festival)

Director's Bio —Tyler Ayres

Tyler Ayres received a BS in graphic design from the Ohio State University in 1998. He worked in the graphic design industry for many years before returning to Ohio State for his MFA in digital animation. His short film RED & blue recently won Best Student Animation and Best Of Show at the Blue Plum Animation Festival. It has also been screened at SIGGRAPH computer graphic conference in Los Angeles, the Wexner Center’s Ohio Short Film and Video Showcase, Nick Toons Network Animation Festival, Mid-Ohio Comicon film festival (winner Best Animation and tied for Best Short), and the Flint Film Festival.

Contact Tyler at ayres.20@osu.edu