Artist Spotlight on Tehillah Alphonso

Acclaimed vocalist and a capella arranger Tehillah Alphonso describes her creative process writing & performing background vocals for "Worry" by Maggie Dave. Celebrated for her vivid vocal harmonies and ingenious blend of pop, jazz and gospel melodies, Alphonso has performed at Carnegie Hall as a part of the 2015 Honors Performance Series Choir and in the New World Center in Miami as a 2016 YoungArts Popular Voice finalist. Before graduating from the USC Thornton School of Music, Alphonso served as a member, arranger, and co-director for USC’s premiere a cappella group and four-time ICCA champions, the SoCal VoCals.

"Worry" (Visualizer) by Cassie Shao featured on GoodMoves.tv

One of the premiere curated galleries of motion graphics on the web, GoodMoves.tv recently featured Cassie Shao’s visualizer for “Worry.” Her signature style, hand-painted 2-D illustrations that warp and ripple with dreamlike lucidity, continues to be celebrated by the creative press and further establishes her artistry as a formidable presence in the animation industry.

Anima Fest Gdańsk - International Animation Film Festival (Dec. 27-30th, 2020)

Celebrating the best in animation from around the world, Anima Fest Gdańsk - International Animation Film Festival will stream their event online this year for audiences in Poland. A diverse program featuring shorts (experimental & narrative), feature films and more, “Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready” (Dir. Cassie Shao) will compete in the International Music Video Competition alongside offerings from France, Spain, Brazil & China, among others.

“Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready” (Dir. Cassie Shao)

Portland Film Festival interview with Sean David Christensen

Earlier this year, Maggie Dave lead singer/songwriter Sean David Christensen sat down for a virtual conversation with the Portland Film Festival. Discussing the making of “I’m Not Ready,” the acclaimed music video created by Cassie Shao, Sean described their collaboration and Shao’s distinctive visual style that defined this memorable work.

Cassie Shao directs animation for Hedgehog music video

Maggie Dave animation director Cassie Shao lends her visionary artistry to the latest music video for Beijing-based indie rock trio, Hedgehog.

From NOWNESS Asia : “Inspired by life in quarantine in a cheap hotel in Shanghai, ‘Bat’ envisions a future in which adults are prisoners of children, who are kept in small rooms and perform repetitive tasks day after day, such as repairing and making toys for children.”

"I really like this simple, direct and beautiful way of expression,” says director Haonan Wang. “At that time, the aesthetics were very rich, with colors and exaggerated images everywhere; Not stingy, very dynamic, and very different from the current pursuit of flatness and grayscale. I think it’s fun to present this story in this format."

Production: Round2Film / Director: Haonan Wang / Writer: Haonan Wang, Heran Wang / Producer: Jinming Zhong / Cast: Naughty Xiao / Production Designer: Luyue Meng / Director of Cinematographer: Wenqiang He / Gaffer: Zhengfei Wang / Stylist: Luyue Meng / Wardrobe: Luyue Meng, Huizhen Zhong / Editor: Haonan Wang, Minxing Liao / Director of Animation: Cassie Shao / Director of Puppetry: HIKARU / Colourist: David Rivero Martin (Digital Domain Ltd) / VFX Artist: Pengfei Dang

Shoutout LA: Interview with Sean David Christensen

Sean David Christensen’s latest interview with Shoutout LA. The lead singer of Maggie Dave shares his thoughts on collaborative harmony, songwriting, and the importance of supporting your artist friends:

“I choose to see success through the lens of collaborative harmony, particularly with my career as an artist & producer. Any claim I can make to my ‘success,’ is owed to the trust given to me by the remarkable individuals I’ve had the honor of collaborating with over the years. By emerging together from the creative process with a bold statement, be it a film, song or show, if I’m able to amplify the unique strengths of all those involved while creating something singular and memorable – we’ve accomplished something truly special. You can’t do that on your own.”

36th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival - Cassie Shao & "I'm Not Ready"

Cassie Shao's visionary music video for "I'm Not Ready" is announced as part of the 36th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival! The largest festival of its kind in Southern California, LAAPFF is an Oscar-qualifying film festival for the Short Film Awards, and features an exciting lineup of productions by Asian American & Pacific Islander artists from across the globe. Thank you to Visual Communications for their amplification of Cassie's work and the more than 225 filmmakers celebrated across five weekends (Sept. 24 - Oct. 31) for this special online event!

Animation from Sean David Christensen

While Maggie Dave collaborates with world class animators from around the globe, lead singer Sean David Christensen is also known to dabble in the craft. Here is SDC describing his creative process behind the official music video for "Closer to Blue" by Astronaut Ice Cream:

"This was my first attempt at rotoscoping, a process of hand-tracing or coloring frames of film (in this case, digital photographs) to create a mimesis of human movement with realistic action. 16 individual drawings of singer Heather Marie Ellison's face were sequenced in a loop to create this dizzying effect, one that complimented the swirling nature of the synthesizers in the song. As inspiration, I recalled these animated Mickey Mouse outlines that would slowly rotate at the beginning of all Disney VHS tapes from the early 80s. Strange how those childhood memories find their way back to the surface!

LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival & Nevada City Film Festival

Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready (Dir: Cassie Shao) at LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival

Cassie Shao’s brilliant music video for “I’m Not Ready” was announced on two lauded festival lineups this week. At the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival, Shao’s work will make its Ukrainian premiere alongside 26 other international offerings in the “Commissioned Film Competition.” At the “Sundance of the Sierras,” the Nevada City Film Festival will host the music video in their innovative online program, complete with filmmaker Q&As.

2020 Pictoplasma in-Isolation

Very proud of our friend Cassie Shao today, whose work was announced alongside 77 cutting-edge international animated shorts at 2020 Pictoplasma in-Isolation. Her music video for “I'm Not Ready” is a stunning addition to this vanguard of innovative and visionary work presented this year. Bravo, Cassie! This year at Pictoplasma, the festival boasts "4 thematic programs full of psychedelic eye candy, virtual popcorn and ingenious storytelling—with many of the international filmmakers staying awake in their respective time-zones to meet you for live behind-the-scenes chats and realtime interaction." It's such an honor for us to be counted among these visionary artists, each joining together from isolation to celebrate the art of animation and character design.

About: Pictoplasma is the world’s leading platform for contemporary character design and art. The project pushes forward interdisciplinary discussion, development and promotion of a new breed of visual vocabulary—from illustration to animation, game to interactive design, urban to graphic arts.

Making and Eating Perfect Scrambled Eggs

“Making and Eating Perfect Scrambled Eggs,” a Spotify playlist by Mark Christopher of Maggie Dave, features an eclectic mix of artists to groove to in the kitchen. Inspired by Mark’s time as a college radio DJ, this playlist hearkens back to his days of creating shows based on conceptual or irreverent themes.

Cassie Shao at 2020 Annecy International Animated Film Festival

Cassie Shao, director and animator of Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready, joins the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival this week with her brilliant experimental short There Were Four of Us. Competing in the “Graduation Short Films” category, hers is one of only 44 international works selected for awards contention.

"Dan Croll: Special Delivery" on Spotify

Listen to Dan Croll: Special Delivery now on Spotify! A masterfully curated collection of songs by the acclaimed singer/songwriter, we had the pleasure of recently being included on this Spotify playlist. Refreshed every Sunday, we hope you’ll welcome his eclectic mix of contemporary classics (not a self-serving compliment) into your music rotation!

Fest Anča International Animation Festival, August 27th-30th, 2020

What a surprise to discover this week that not only will I'm Not Ready be competing for the "Music Video Award" at the 2020 Fest Anča International Animation Festival, but we made the front page as well! Created by the visionary animator Cassie Shao, our video will join nearly 300 works from 65 countries in this international celebration of groundbreaking animation. Shao's critically-acclaimed There Were Four of Us is also in competition for the "Anca Student Award." Way to go, Cassie! It's great to see so many other animators we love on the lineup as well, including Joao Gonzalez and his nervous meditation on obsession and isolation, Nestor.

"The official selection of Fest Anča’s 13th edition embraces diversity, offers films from renowned as well as up-and-coming creatives, large Slovak film sections, and the very latest animation trends...The international competitive program comprises a selection of stand-out animated films completed in the last two years, highlighting short films, music videos, and non-competitive screening sections." A unique event with so much breadth of programming, we can't wait to take part later this fall (fingers crossed)!

47th Athens International Film + Video Festival: October 12th - 18th

I'm Not Ready by Cassie Shao joins The Academy Award-qualifying animation program at the 47th Athens International Film + Video Festival this Fall! Championing the vanguard of experimental filmmaking for nearly five decades, AIF+VF is one of our favorite festivals, and we're thrilled that Cassie's vision can join their legacy of bold programming. This year, 2,200 films were submitted to the competition. From these; 235 films from 41 countries were chosen to screen in 2020. What an honor!

The innovative percussion of Ian Wurfl

“I think it relates to my approach to percussion on multiple levels,” says Maggie Dave drummer Ian Wurfl, “the first being the importance of fun and silliness. I take music very seriously, but it's creations like these that remind me that patrons of pop music are looking to be entertained and have a good time.”

To the delight of the audience, Ian debuted his unique creation, the “fruit bar,” at Harbor Party’s rollicking tribute to yacht rock. Dancing in the crowd, I reflected on the joy of collaborating with an artist like Ian, whose innovative and carefree approach to rhythm and his role as a percussionist energizes our music with unexpected glee. A craftsman with consummate precision behind the drums, Ian isn’t afraid to “shake things up” from time to time: “I was inspired to make it [the fruit bar] by the banana shaker that Landon, the male lead singer, often uses. I was watching him at the last show and I got a vision, almost identical to what ended up getting created, in my mind. The steps of how to actually get to the final product weren't there, but I had a very clear end goal.”

Ian Wurfl pieces together the “fruit bar.”

As Ian slid down into the audience from the stage, he quickly converted the fruit bar into a limbo stick that concert-goers enthusiastically shimmied under, his surprising performance inspiring an impromptu conga line that broke out with gales of laughter, each link in its human chain bobbing in time with the music. More than just a visual gag, it was enlightening to hear Ian’s perspective on his homemade instrument’s deeper purpose: “The fruit bar is also an artistic statement in itself, and that's how I feel about percussion. There are so many choices to made at any given moment, and the artistry of any percussionist informs these decisions, for better or for worse. Every single note I play is an artistic statement, one whose goal is to uplift and inspire the music. This shaker is just another tool in my toolbox to do just so, and hopefully my artistry will inform me about when to pull the hammer out instead of this...or actually, a tambourine…because a hammer probably isn't generally useful for making music!”

“Froots & Vedgis 4 Sail” by Ian Wurfl…will we see the “Hammer Bar” next?

Ian Wurfl is a drummer & percussionist who received his Bachelor of Music from the USC Thornton School of Music. He has performed alongside many celebrated musicians, including John Fogerty, Jacob Collier, Farzad Farzin, Chaka Khan, Steve Vai, Jason Charles Miller (Godhead) and Pepe Aguilar. He lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Learn more about his craft at ianwurfl.com

VoyageLA: Meet Cassie Shao

Learn more about the creative process of animator Cassie Shao, director of Maggie Dave - I’m Not Ready, in this revealing and thought-provoking interview from VoyageLA:

“Making animations about my dreams, and the reality told through dream imagery have been extremely fun. I enjoy creating the otherworldly perspective. As I try to achieve that, I went down the road of mixing and blending all mediums I could think of and capturing the texture of everything I see fit. I find chaos and contradictions the most charming, and they are emphasized continuously more. I do realize that it creates some sort of distance as if examining something very personal from ten feet away, and it steers the audience away from designated emotions; but sometimes with this distance, sparks curiosity.”

Read more from VoyageLA - here.

Slamdance 2020: Cassie Shao's "There Were Four of Us"

Cassie Shao, director & animator of I’m Not Ready, is heading to Park City! There Were Four of Us, her experimental character piece that explores trauma and grief through the life of dreams, will be joined by award-winning animated works in Slamdance’s expertly-curated collection of shorts. Congratulations, Cassie!