The Big-Ass Pistachio from Outer Space

The Big-Ass Pistachio from Outer Space follow the story of Carl, an accountant whose place of employment is demolished by the titular pistachio. Finding himself suddenly unemployed, Carl spends his time attempting to unravel the mysteries of this abnormally large tree-nut.

As mighty oaks grow from tiny acorns, mighty animators grow from big-ass pistachios. The Big-Ass Pistachio from Outer Space was my first short film at UNCSA. At the time it was also far and away the most ambitious project I had attempted. In the course of creating this film I learned the seldom-mentioned thirteenth principle of animation: time management. Everything was shot live-action in two days and then painstakingly rotoscoped over the course of five weeks, with the exception of the invading pistachios themselves. As a director it was my job to pull all of the elements together: set, actors (fellow classmates), studio space, and props. The actors and other people on set were quite confused because they thought it was a live-action short!