Eyrie

Completed April 2011


Eyrie is the story of a young shepherd boy in the frontier American West who must learn to defend his dwindling flock from a ravenous eagle.
The animating was done in TVPaint using a Cintiq, the compositing in AfterEffects, and the editing in Final Cut Pro.

Credits:

  • A Film by: David Wolter
  • Music by: Steven Kai Van Betten
  • Sound by: Patrick Janssen
  • Effects Animation by: Nicole Josephian

Festivals and Awards:

  • CalArts Producer’s Show
  • Los Angeles Animation Film Festival
  • Student Academy Award National Finalist

KICKSTARTER Q&A

by , February 1, 2013

Kickstarter Q&A

Every Friday I answer questions about filmmaking, and today’s questions about my Eyrie DVD Kickstarter project come from Denny Chapin, who’s Kickstarting a documentary about a rising glass-blowing artist that’s worth a look. Have questions for a future Filmmaking Friday? Send ‘em over: david@davidwolter.com

1) Why Kickstarter? Read more…

Eyrie Inspiration: Film as Myth

by , June 14, 2012

Is film merely a blunt tool of amusement and diversion, or is it capable of more?  In this second essay on the inspiration behind Eyrie, I examine the idea of storytelling as a ritual with immense power and utility, and the way this informed my film. Read more…

From the Eyrie Vault #3

by , June 5, 2012


Getting into some production artwork now.  The top image is the character turnaround I had hanging above my desk during the filmmaking process, and the bottom is a simple head comparison.  The little thumbnail to the right explains a bit of my thinking:  I wanted the shapes of the characters to echo the animal they were to be identified with.  The grandfather and eagle were sharp and angular, the boy and the sheep were soft and round.

From the EYRIE vault #2

by , June 1, 2012


Another image I dug up – this time from 2008.  You can see the influence of the earlier idea:  both characters are winged humans.  The obvious differences here are the youth of the main character, and the introduction of a father figure.  This permutation of the story followed the boy through the growth of his wings (akward puberty metaphor?) and his search for his true father, whom he finds stealing sheep in the West. One thing I like about this image is that its a kind of evolutionary link between the comic book lineart I grew up on to the more cinematic approach I’m now favoring.

Is Eyrie a Western?

by , May 31, 2012

This was the question posed by the inimitable Gary Mairs at the conclusion to his “Special Topics: The Western” film class at Calarts.  The essay I wrote in response examines my film’s uneasy truce with that genre, as well as a kind of mea culpa on the handling of Native American elements in my film Read more…

From the EYRIE vault #1

by , May 30, 2012

A drawing I dug up from 2006!  In a way this was the forerunner of the main character from Eyrie.  I was planning a graphic novel at the time, and this guy was the personification of wind.

Eyrie Inspiration: “Place-ness”

by , May 29, 2012

A few people have asked me “What inspired Eyrie?”  My typical response is a blank stare that lasts ten seconds while I unsuccessfully attempt to corral the thoughts racing through my brain like antelope.  I thought it might be nice to write these things down, if for no other reason than to be able to replace my blank stare with “I’m glad you asked – I’ve written three short essays addressing just that question.”

What follows is the first of these essays:  “Placeness”   Read more…