CBTV Student Fest 7: Always, Only, Ever

Always, Only, Ever was created by Barbara Benas at the Columbus College of Art and Design. There’s so much to like about the film including Benas’s expert handling of color, design, and storytelling, but what stood out above all else was the quality of her animation, both technically and emotionally. From the tender, drunken behavior of the main character to the exuberant choreography of the women, the animation in Always, Only, Ever carries us into a world that is both familiar and magical.

Barbara wrote the following about the making of the film:

My principle for making animation is to make stuff that I’d want to see, and to never be boring or too serious. For my thesis I wanted to push all of my skills farther than what I was comfortable with. I figured if it was going to be easy, then it wasn’t worth doing.

Coming up with the story was a process of figuring out the stuff I really wanted to animate and making it all fit together. Drunk, sad guys, saucy women and dancing were all on my list. My favorite things to animate are boisterous and lively things, so I made sure I had some of that in there so I wouldn’t get bored. Though I realized after I was finished that I had more fun doing the subtle stuff! There were also parts like cleanup and background design that I was dreading, and I ended up enjoying doing pretty much everything. Even with all of the pre-production work, I wasn’t sure exactly what the end result was going to look like. The whole process was full of unknowns for me, and it’s gratifying to find out that I can do it, and that it’s actually a lot of fun.

The film would have been nothing without the help of my two friends Michael Lovett and Tyler Mele. Michael composed the music for the film, and Tyler provided the voices.

Visit Barbara Benas’ website.