Asifa India is excited to bring experts from Disney as a part of its IAD’21 celebrations. They are inviting everyone to experience a ‘Master class’ and ‘Behind the Scene’ from the Award-winning animated short film Us Again from Los Angeles, US. It is an amazing opportunity to interact with the top rated crew of Disney’s animated short film – Us Again.
Us Again is an American 3D computer-animated short by Disney Animation, directed and written by Zach Parrish and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Asifa India presents Us Again ‘Behind the scene’ on 10 December.
Here are the details:
Topic – Dance to the Tune of Disney’s animated short film – Us Again
Date – 10 December 2021
Time – 8.30 pm-10.00 pm IST
You will meet director Zach Parrish, producer Bradford Simonsen and other team key team members including Suki Lee, who will take you to the behind the scenes of the mesmerizing film. Us Again is the first original theatrical short film produced by Disney since 2016. In the 90-minute session, they will have experts share their work – including writing, making of the film, and a Q&A where you can have a meaningful conversation!
Here’s the official Us Again synopsis:
Set in a vibrant city pulsating with rhythm and movement everywhere, an older man and his wife rekindle their youthful passion for dance, life and each other on one magical day. The years melt away as the joy of dancing propels them across the exciting cityscape of their youth and revives fond memories and ambitions.
Director Zach Parrish (head of animation on Big Hero 6, and director of the Disney+/Short Circuit film, Puddles) taps into his personal story and love of dance, and joins forces with award winning choreographers/dancers Keone and Mari Madrid (World of Dance champions), and acclaimed composer Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel), to create this experimental musical fantasy. Brad Simonsen, associate producer on Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Encanto, served as producer.
About the director: Parrish was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and has a strong childhood memory of telling his first grade teacher that he wanted to make cartoons when he grew up. As a high school sophomore, he realized that he could combine his love of animation with his love of computers, after seeing Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. and having an “emotional response” to a one-eyed green ball named Mike Wazowski. He felt that animation was magic, and wanted to learn how to do that trick that would make audiences laugh and cry. Zach attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in Animation. He landed his first professional gig at the acclaimed visual effects company, Rhythm & Hues, while simultaneously continuing to advance his skill set through the online animation school, Animation Mentor.
He went on to work at Sony Pictures Imageworks (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Alice in Wonderland), before joining Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2010 as an animator on Tangled. This was followed by feature credits on Wreck-It Ralph (supervising animator), Big Hero 6 (head of animation), Zootopia and Moana (animator), and Ralph Breaks the Internet (workflow supervisor and animator). Zach credits his amazing parents and loving family for always supporting his dreams. He is engaged to a fellow artist at Disney and wedding plans are in the offing.
About the producer: Simonsen lends his expertise and diverse experience in the worlds of animation and visual effects, along with a personal connection to the film’s “youthful magic theme,” in his role as producer of Us Again. He first joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2012, and has served as associate producer on two Oscar-winning features, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia, as well as the 2018 Oscar-nominated film, Ralph Breaks the Internet and most recently Encanto. He also recently produced the animated short film, Weeds, which garnered festive acclaim and Academy consideration. He is currently Producing the Baymax series for Disney Plus with Roy Conli.
Among his notable live-action film credits are Jack the Giant Slayer (digital producer), Alice in Wonderland, Real Steel, and Beowulf (digital production manager), and the animated films, Open Season, Polar Express and the 2003 Oscar-winning short The ChubbChubbs! (for which he also voiced the character of Meeper).
Simonsen attended the University of Washington School of Business in Seattle, where he earned a degree in Marketing and Human Resource Management. During that time, he was also active in the school’s drama department as an actor, writer and occasional producer of stage plays.
Upon graduation, Simonsen moved to Los Angeles where he launched his industry career as an assistant director. He segued from production to feature film development with an assistant role at Jan De Bont’s production company. This was followed by a stint as director of production at Robert Redford’s film banner, where he worked on such titles as The Legend of Bagger Vance, Spy Game, The Motorcycle Diaries, and The Haunting of Hill House among others. Developing an interest in visual effects, Simonsen landed a job at Sony Imageworks in 2001, where he coordinated the production of The ChubbChubbs! and went on to work as digital production manager over the next nine years. From 2010-12, he worked as a digital producer at the award-winning Digital Domain production company.
About Suki Lee: Lee is a first generation Korean American who was born in Seoul, South Korea and comes from a big supportive family. Her love for art and animation led her to study Illustration for Entertainment Design at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. Soon after graduation, she started her first gig as a concept artist for video games. She has been providing set extension, digital matte painting, concept design, illustration, visual development, and art direction services to the entertainment industry for film, feature animation, toy design, commercials and theme park design over the past 18 years.
She is currently working at Walt Disney Animation Studios with the following Disney feature credits on Ralph breaks the Internet (set extension artist), Frozen 2 (set extension artist), Us Again (head of environments), Encanto (set extension supervisor). Outside work, she loves to travel whenever possible to get inspiration and learn more about unique cultures, food and history.
So, be a part of Asifa India’s celebrations on 10 December 2021 as they take you on a ‘behind the scene’ ride of the Disney animated short Us Again and hear the making details from the experts!