Stars align for creative collaboration
What started as an email out of the blue, has blossomed into a successful collaboration for two Southland artists.
Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) animation student Traci Meek and Wanaka-based songstress Anna van Riel launched an animated music video yesterday for a children’s song van Riel van Riel wrote and performed, called Doodlebug.
The song is a finalist in the children’s song category of the 2017 Australian Songwriting Contest.
van Riel said the collaboration came about after Meek emailed her, asking if she could help by writing some children’s songs for her final project towards her diploma.
Meek, who is originally from Alaska in the United States, was a third-year animation student. She did not have a lot of money but offered her skills as an animator to van Riel.
van Riel was blown away by how prepared Meek was when she approached her about the collaboration, she said.
van Riel said she needed animation for a music video for a children’s song she wrote, and so she agreed to compose music for Meek’s project in exchange.
When van Riel looked through a showreel of Meek’s work, she found a video clip with no music that caught her eye.
It was about two characters in a painting who see each other across the way and start doodling, which she thought would go great with her song Doodlebug.
‘‘The crazy thing was it was exactly the same length as my song. So it was destined,’’ van Riel said.
‘‘I tried to make her a deal she could not refuse and, fortunately, she looked at my website and saw the visual story for Doodlebug and loved that,’’ Meek said.
Meek had been working for about eight years on a story about a small girl who copes with emotions through imagination and the creation of some very unique friends, called Girl and the Imagination Warehouse.
Meek said van Riel came back with a whole collection of fantastic songs, which got her excited.
Since then, Meek applied for funding to the Invercargill Licensing Trust and was successful in receiving a grant.
Meek also received a grant from Southern Filmmakers’ Trust for studio time.
van Reil organised a recording session with Geoff Burn at Invercargill’s Indigo Recordings, and enlisted Libby Fraser and Liv Cochrane to sing some character voices, Meek said.
‘‘I’m still pinching myself at the awesome result we walked out with. It all went seamlessly and was so much fun.’’
van Riel has an unreleased children’s song Mr H20, which has also been shortlisted and will be animated by Meek.
New Outward Bound course
Recently, 14 students from Southland secondary schools had the opportunity to attend ‘‘Taurapa’’, a new Outward Bound course designed for the region’s young people. For 21 days, the 14 students were pushed their limits and challenged to swim before sunrise, traverse high ropes, climb rock faces while blindfolded and summit mountains in Queen Charlotte Sound. The students, from seven Southland schools - Central Southland College, Southland Boys’ High School, Menzies College, Aurora College, Southland Girls’ High School, Verdon College and St Peter’s College - were selected for their leadership and commitment at school. Year 12 Central Southland College student Brooklyn Forbes says she learned so much about leadership at Outward Bound, saying: ‘‘I am going to use all the skills I have learned to be a better leader in and around my community’’.