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Young adults with autism create original animated film

Jonathan Kelsh (professional illustrator) Jerry Bennett (comic book artist) Justin Rice (sound engineer and musician) These guys are teaming up with autistic young adults to create the short film, "Even in Death." Debuts June 2016 Online Photo
Jonathan Kelsh, Jerry Bennett and Justin Rice are teaming up with autistic young adults to create the short film, “Even in Death.” Film debuts June 2016. Online Photo

Filmmaking professionals are working alongside young adults with autism to create an original animated short film, “Even in Death.”

Pioneered by AutismOklahoma and produced by Individual Layers Productions, the Indiegogo project,“Even in Death” is a story about a day in the life of a boy who is dealing with loss. The Grim Reaper comes and takes him on a journey that teaches him an important lesson about life and the power of love.

Although the film has sound effects and music, the script is devoid of dialogue and instead communicates through a strong visual experience.

Vanessa Grayson is one of the contributing young adults. She shared her view of the project.

“It is a sweet story about a little boy named Jonah who is experiencing the loss of his grandma,” Grayson said. “It’s about how love knows no boundaries and can extend even past death – hence the title ‘Even in Death.’ I think this story portrays a positive, light-hearted view of death, and how love can overcome anything.”

The project is created through Invisible Layers, a pre-employment program that enables young adults to gain experience in filmmaking. They work with real clients to create real commercials and videos.

Zac Davis, writer and director of “Even in Death” said Invisible Layers came up with the idea for the animated video when they were looking for a bigger project to work on.

“I wanted to do something we could go to film festivals with,” Davis said. “So I talked to Melinda Lauffenburger, the executive director of AutismOklahoma, and she was like, ‘OK, let’s put something together and see what we can do and try to make this an outreach for Invisible Layers for young adults to participate in.”

Davis teamed up with three professionals to mentor the individuals with autism as they contributed to the three elements of the production: illustration, animation and sound design. Jonathan Koelsch and Jerry Bennett are the lead designers and illustrators on the film, and Justin Rice conducts music and sound.

Autistic young woman assisting in the creation of the short film, "Even in Death." Debuts June 2016 Online Photo
A young woman with autism assists in the creation of the short film, “Even in Death.” Online Photo

Grayson is on the illustration team and has also contributed concept art for a gallery showing. Grayson said she though her specialty is in fine arts, she has enjoyed learning the digital side of art.

Davis said one of the things that impressed him the most was the young adults’ ability to learn complex programs.

“My favorite part is watching how fast they learn and just their ability,” Davis said. “I didn’t anticipate that they would pick the software up so quick. I knew they all had talent, but to learn a complex program like Photoshop or After Effects, I mean, people take college courses on that and it’s still hard to get figured out.”

The first thing the team worked on was the film’s trailer, which was produced over the course of three summer camps.

“We picked out the scenes we wanted for that trailer and those were the scenes that would be constructed,” Davis said. “We finished our trailer and now we’re actually constructing all the other in-between scenes. … We have production days where we meet and basically finish out the film.”

Davis said while everyone had input on the animation style, there was one overall goal.

“We had to structure it a way that it would be kind of democratic, but everyone also was on the same page as far as they knew what they were doing,” Davis said.

Autistic young adult assisting in the creation of the short film, "Even in Death." Debuts June 2016 Online Photo
Autistic young adults assist in the creation of the short film, “Even in Death.” Online Photo

Davis said they already knew the direction they were going to take because the young adults really like anime style, so they took that approach when they went to the summer camps.

“We went in and kind of did these preliminary sketches and drawings for the first two scenes,” Davis said. “Then we took them to the camps and there were elements that the young adults with autism got to vote on and dictate.”

The project is funded mostly through individual contributions on Indiegogo. Nearly a month into funding, the project has raised 73 percent of the $10,000 goal. Supporters can chose to give from anything from $25 to $1,500. With a month of fundraising left, the team plans to wrap the project up in April.

To see the trailer, visit AutismOklahoma’s YouTube channel. To donate or learn more about the project check out “Even in Death” on Indiegogo or visit evenindeathmovie.org.

“My favorite part was just watching them pick it up and produce work in such a short amount of time. It’s pretty incredible,” Davis said.

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