Goodbye Blair Kitchen

I'm saddened to report that Canadian animation industry veteran Blair Kitchen passed away early this morning. Blair has been an inspirational and positive influence in my life. I met him in Artist Alley at Fan Expo where I bought some issues of his Possum comics. Later, I was privileged to have Blair as my Mentor at Sheridan College where he provided valuable feedback and guidance for the story and the making of Scrap Metal (he's right there in the credits) and continued to help me make contacts and get my own animation career off the ground. My condolences to Blair's family including Mike Kitchen who also gave advice in the making of Scrap Metal. I'll always be thankful to Blair and remember him for his whimsical artistry, generous nature and positive attitude.

There's a piece about him on Animation Magazine and be sure to check out his comics on Possum Press.

Blair Kitchen (left) and his brother Mike Kitchen (right) on their podcast Kitchen Bros.

Meet the Composer

Scrap Metal's musical composer Paul Emil Levasseur was featured today in an article on McNallyRobinson.com. Read the full article here.

Paul: “For me, art is about creativity, creation, and communication. Like watching the sun set, beauty is something that can be appreciated. Yet, not all art should be about beauty since oftentimes, other emotional, human, and otherworldly states need to explored. In a recent commission, I was charged with the task of creating a sacred work for solo cello for the international cello festival, something that was to be an expression of faith by both the composer and the performer. This begs the question: in lieu of text, what can make music sacred? Can art hold meaning, even if it is not absolute meaning? If the goal is to communicate, what can be communicated through music?

"As a composer, after studying an undergrad at U of Manitoba and a masters at UBC, I became very interested in this idea of communication. Rather than letting my creative process be dictated by boundaries of what should and should not be done, I decided to focus on writing without boundaries. We were taught to ‘think outside the box’ but I think it best to respond to this maxim by saying ‘what box?’ I believe musical expression can occur freely when any sort of artificial boundaries are crushed and the creative process can occur when, as creators, we draw upon the sum total of our musical experiences.”

Paul Levasseur is the mastermind behind the Scrap Metal soundtrack. I requested something very reminiscent of the old 50s monster flicks and he delivered a sound scape that payed homage yet also remains fresh an unique. There is no arguing that Paul's music truly ignites the images on screen.

Paul isn't limited to just monster music either, he has a wide range of music potential. Check out Ragen, where he crafts a score reminiscent of French cinema.

If you are interested in contacting Paul Levasseur, you can email him at <paulieparrot@hotmail.com>