Diana Robertson Uses Grant to Create Short Puppetry Horror Film
from FSU Art BFA ’20 Diana Robertson:
At the end of the Fall 2020 semester, I submitted a proposal for a short puppetry horror film, Chaotic Hour, to Xperimental Puppetry Theater 2020 at the Center for Puppetry Arts. My film proposal was accepted and I was given a grant and the official role of director for it. During the course of my time working on Chaotic Hour, not only was I directing but I was also fabricating each creature puppet by hand, puppeteering, composing the score, shooting the film, digitally animating, and editing the film myself. While I had a little experience with each “role”, besides directing, before starting on the film, doing each one for Chaotic Hour only improved my level of skill for each. That, and my personal style in not only the fabrication methods but the overall aesthetics of my creature puppets and the stylized imagery of how I visually composed the film developed greatly too.
Throughout the process, there were a number of issues that arose from time to time, but none that could not be solved or overcome with a new idea that surpassed the original idea in quality. And as for memorable moments that occurred, being able to present the creatures for the film to my peers in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program and seeing them interact with them in person is the one that I enjoyed the most. Since Chaotic Hour was made remotely, the program itself being in Atlanta while I worked in Tallahassee, having in-person reactions and feedback that was so positive and incited genuine interaction gave me a good and proper idea of how some may react to the film once it premieres.
While I am not quite sure as to what exactly is going to happen with the premiere event/showing week in Atlanta with the impact the Coronavirus is having on public gatherings, I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to grow as an artist with support from Xperimental Puppetry Theater. Going forward, the experience I gained through this opportunity will be used and the ideas of other possible films that arose during production will be put to use in the near future, especially while I am still at Florida State University.
