“The Specter of Ægir” animation is released

I’m so happy to finally be able to present the animated adaptation of my short story and audio drama “The Specter of Ægir”!

WARNING: This video utilizes a strobe / flash effect that may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

Many of you know that I teamed up with Joshua Muntain last year to create a project for his “post production” class at Villa Maria college where his students animated moments from the audio drama. I was able to compile their animations into two large chunks – it’s honestly one of the coolest things I’ve seen happen with one of my stories.

To me, “Ægir” is a strong example of why it’s important to tell smaller stories while tackling larger, more ambitious projects. It helped me remember the power of having wins and what that feels like while working toward becoming an established writer. After being written, “Ægir” grew into a way to collaborate with creatives when I really couldn’t rally the troops and shoot films like I used to in the past. It allowed me to team up with my friends, my old boss, so many young animators, was published in an independent magazine, and it sparked the idea for a much larger project, a podcast that I haven’t shared anything about yet. All this from one little story!

It goes to show that the important thing here is that we need to find ways to create things that speak to us and then share them with the communities that are nearby, not communities that are far away that we may never reach. The more I do that, the more I remember how good it feels.

Enjoy this animation! Round two of this course begins in a few weeks, I’m looking forward to sharing the next story, audio drama and animations.

Learn more about the project, listen to the audio drama and read the story here.

First college teaching experience

“The Specter of Ægir” by Tim Clavier

During the Spring 2021 semester, I teamed up with Professor Joshua Muntain of Villa Maria College in Buffalo, NY to develop a semester long project for his “Post Production” class. Working with a dozen students, I took on the role of “the client”, where I asked them to develop animations adapted from my audio dramatization and short story “The Specter of Ægir”. By simulating a client-creative professional working relationship, the students gained experience pitching animation concepts, adapting source material and refining their post-production workflow, all while regularly participating in reviews and receiving critique.

During pitch presentations, the students articulated why two selections from the story spoke to them the most and how they would channel visuals and animations that they loved into their own productions. Throughout the semester Joshua and I met with them to workshop their ideas, rough visuals, animatics, character and background designs. The students came with a myriad of artistic styles, choices and ideas, which kept us on our toes! We helped guide the students to find ways to pull off their vision by furthering their understanding of storytelling and how to channel the projects they love while challenging them to clarify their ideas so they would land.

For their final assignment, they presented their two animated moments – which I’m happy to share stills of here. It was incredible to see the students pour their personalities and ideas from their own lives into their pieces, which transformed the story into reimaginings that radiated their own voices. Being on the other side of the classroom has been an eye opening experience in so many ways. I’m beyond fortunate to have had this experience and hope to be in front of a class again in the near future!

Jordan

Still from animations (below) created by Tim Clavier, Mika Ervin, Brianna Scutt, Aurora Mill, Shalayah Smith and Xzavyer Barker.

Listen to the audio dramatization and read the story: www.jordanbianchi.com/the-specter-of-aegir

"The Specter of Ægir" audio dramatization is live!

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Design by Alain Pierre-Lys.

The Specter of Ægir is a flash fiction ghost story that I penned about a diver who helps his wife, the newest director of Ægir’s Aquarium, in the wake of their boss’s sudden demise. As her first day unfolds, an uncanny guest lurks, seeking vengeance.

After I finished writing, my training in film kept pulling me in the direction of adapting this material into some form of production. Writing alone couldn’t be the end of the journey…I needed to hear the narrator’s voice and the sounds of the environments I’d dreamt up, but I wasn’t sure what to do.

Eventually, it dawned on me to make something new.

With a team of highly skilled artists that I’ve assembled, we’ve created an audio dramatization for Ægir, a sort of radio drama for you to listen to! We’ve found such freedom in this medium, not needing to worry about budgets in the way filmmaking demands, which has allowed our creativity to blossom in new ways.

I was thrilled to be able to work with many of my long time friends and collaborators.  Keith Gallucci, a powerhouse Los Angeles based actor and musician, lended his voice to the narrator with passion and care through the process of workshopping different character voices, tones and pacing.  After hearing Gallucci’s voice, composer Eddie Irvin took to the piano to create a score with a spectrum that understood both tranquility and terror. His songs, delicately performed, reflect the wondrous, whimsical energy of an aquarium, yet also hone in our sense of dread when the time was needed. Alain Pierre-Lys lended his talents of translating written words into visuals by crafting the manifestation of a spectral presence in Ægir’s Aquarium through a digital collage that blends surrealism with raw authenticity. The goal was to create an image that could live entirely outside of the story while simultaneously complimenting it when set side by side.  And of course, this story would not exist without the refinements and suggestions by my editor, writer Amanda  Bintz, particularly on how to trim my ideas and sentences to keep the telling precise and impactful. 

Listen to the audio dramatization and read the story: www.jordanbianchi.com/the-specter-of-aegir

Starring Keith Gallucci (@andkeithgallucci) as the Narrator

Produced, written and mixed by Jordan Bianchi (@jordanbianchifilms)

Music by Eddie Irvin (@goodshivers)

Graphic Design created by Alain Pierre-Lys (@captainreality)

Story edited by Amanda Bintz (@amandabintz)

Two teaser photos for my upcoming project

Hey folks!

While I can’t say much about a major project I’ll be releasing information about in the coming months, I’d like to share two images with you. Shot on a Nikon FM2 with Portra 400, these film photographs are from a winter photoshoot that are inspired by the source material my writing team have been working on. My cousin, Lydia, and I took these back in the woods behind my house, the day after a classic Buffalo blizzard. I live for these moments – throwing on winter gear, adventuring into the forest and being creative.

I’m so excited to share this project with you all. I’ve never worked on something quite like this before and am so proud of everyone’s work.

Jordan

#filmisnotdead

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New flash fiction story "The Specter of Ægir"

I’m happy to release a new short story of mine, "The Specter of Ægir". This piece, written for NYC Midnight’s flash fiction competition, is told in less than 1,000 words!

Synopsis: A diver helps his wife, the newest director of Ægir’s Aquarium, in the wake of their boss’s sudden demise. As her first day unfolds, an uncanny guest lurks, seeking vengeance.

An excerpt:

“Under the murky sky I fled. I flew down a curving stretch, the lone driver on a highway that seemed as though it was paved solely for my vehicle. The engine was the only producer of noise. 

I had finally escaped from the funeral parlor. I know I was far too unemotional, a response my wife commented on, before she left. Cars had pulled into the parking lot for hours. My colleagues, oceanographers and marine biologists, gathered to pay their respects to our boss, Dr. Harper. The doctors proclaimed her heart had given out on her. It was sudden. Her people were shocked. But as the tides pull ships, they too would drift away, back to their studies. Would one more leaving be missed? Absolutely not. Funerals bring families and friends together more than any other event – people obsess over death. An open parking spot would be welcomed.

I smelled the river before I saw it. The air that snuck in through my sunroof had a vitalized nuance to it. It supplied the aquarium we worked at with fresh water, pumped inside by the filtration units. They hummed as cargo ships’ lights blinked across the bay… ”

Continue reading "The Specter of Ægir" online today!

Enjoy!

Jordan