Cameron Kletke
Animated Films
Cameron originally hails from Calgary but has most recently been living in Vancouver after graduating from Emily Carr University with a bachelor’s degree in 2D and Experimental Animation. Her films have screened across North America, as well as in France and New Zealand. Her film practice consists of many different physical materials, with a focus on 2D media on paper, including ink, pencil crayon and pastels.
CVCharacter Designer - Leslie Bishko - June 2020-August 2020
CO-OP Experimental Animator/Research Assistant - November 2020- June 2021
Animation Colourist/Clean-up Line Artist- Independent artist Joshua Ralph January 2021- April 2021
Research + Creation Assistant - Animate Materials Workshop- June 2022- November 2022
2D Animator + Rigging Artist - Narratic Labs- September 2022- April 2023
Animation Technician + After Effects Animator - Independent Contract for Elizabeth Mackenzie- June 2023-September 2023
Animation Apprenticeship - Lindsay Macintyre - July 2023- 2024
Animation Director - HOTHOUSE 14 NFB Apprenticeship - September 2023- December 2023
Stop-Motion Teacher - Wonderworks - March 2024 -May 2024
Animation + Illustration TA- Emily Carr University - July 2024Awards2018 Rutherford Scholarship ($2500)
2020 Christopher Foundation Scholarship ($1000)
2020 St. Catherine Memorial Scholarship ($1000)
2021 Simon Chang Award For Excellent Performance ($1000)
2023 Presidential Media Award of Excellence ($500)
2023 Best Experimental Animation at Emily Carr University
2023 Best Sound Design at Emily Carr University
2023 Ottawa Animation Festival for Best Student Animation NBC Award $5000Education
Bachelors of Media Arts- Major in 2D + Experimental Animation 2019-2023
demo reel 2024
between you and me (2023)
"Between you and me" was my senior film at Emily Carr University, using my old journals from 2018-now. Working chronologically, I started this film using replacement animation techniques, experimenting with patterns in text and dates throughout my journals, and expanded that into a more linear journey. The sound design was completed alongside the animation; and included mouth sounds, tapping noises, and a lot of asmr whispers of me reciting old entires.
I explored a variety of different mixed media within each page; on the left, these 'waves' for example, were created with smudging oil pastel and continuous layering.
For more elaborate animation, I would roughly map out my frames using Toon Boom Harmony, and then used a mini projector to project the image onto my sketchbook to trace. This was such a tedious process with the projector, so to save time I ended up just using an onion skin setting on DragonFrame and 'eyeballed' it and traced the onion skin on my sketchbook while looking at the screen. The kiss on the left was done using a projector, and the little egg man below was done using Dragon frame + onion skins.
In the end, I had about 2 thousand frames, and used hundreds of sketchbook/journal pages covered with this film.What was not included in the film: a scene where I set my sketchbook pages on fire (less delirious minds prevail), an elaborate cuddle sequence where two characters were mangled together (spent ages animating this to not include it in the film), and a flipthrough of 20 journals in 24fps which I had animated the summer prior, as well as hours of unused tests and experiments that didn't make the cut.
Screenings + AwardsPresident's Media Award (500$) Emily Carr University
Best Experimental Animation + Best Sound Design - Emily Carr University
Cannes World Film Festival - Semi-Finalist
VIFF Official Selection
OAIF Official Selection
Antimatter Official Selection
World Festival of Animated Film Varna Official Selection
Student World Impact Film Festival- Semi-Finalist
Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival Official Selection
Ottawa Animation Festival - Best Canadian Student Animation Award
Annecy - Official Selection Graduation Films
"you feel soft" 2022
"You feel soft" was created for Dr. Alla Gadassik's "Animate Material" workshop, in the timespan of 6 months. Using only graphite as a material for this film, I experimented with kneadable graphite, water soluble graphite, graphite powder, sticks, and regular old pencils. The inspiration for this film was born from the kinesthetic connection I had working with graphite, embracing the delicate yet versatile nature of its texture and substance, all intertwined with my personal journey in life + relationships. Frames from this film have secret messages written, or tiny people and faces that are hard to catch on first watch, which also inspired my latest film, "between you and me," which has many secrets on every frame.The music in this film was composed by my talented dad, Dave Kletke, who worked alongside me to effortlessly create a gorgeous melody that aligned with my animation and helped me shape the ending of this film.I had the privilege of premiering this film at the GIRAF 2022 festival in my hometown as part of a carefully curated program by Alla Gadassik titled "Graphite! Animated Traces." I also had the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session following the screening. This program also screened at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth (New Zealand) on December 2022.Earlier this year, I participated in another Q&A session and screening event, hosted at VIFF's Vancity Theatre. This was part of XINEMA's program, "The Framing of Perception," which was another great curated show. For more on this film, check out these links:[https://gadassik.com/2023/02/28/graphite-animated-]https://viff.org/whats-on/viff23-you-feel-soft/
Screenings + AwardsGIRAF (2022) Official Selection
Cannes shorts Official Selection + Best Experimental Short
FairyTales Film Festival Official Selection
Xinema Official Selection
AltFF Alternative Festival Official Selection + Nomination
Eyes Wide Open Experimental Film Festival Official Selection
VIFF (2023) Official Selection
Check out my other films below:
watch your step!
"watch your step" (2022) was a short experimental film exploring ink on acetate paper over a light table, using a macro-lens camera to capture very close-up images. The tiny people that appear intermittently throughout the film were created by scratching into acrylic paint on acetate paper with a tiny nail! This film was inspired by the hussle and bussle of morning transit in Vancouver, which also inspired the jazzy music for this piece.
For more sketchbook pages, visit my instagram:
HOTHOUSE 14 APPRENTICESHIP
"Not Enough Womb for the Two of Us"
An in uteroskirmish between twins, employing watercolours and pastel to plunge us into an intimate watery universe where the umbilical cord becomes a prop in a comic battle of wills.This film was produced using Dragon Frame, Toon Boom Harmony, After Effects, and Da Vinci Resolve.
Press ReleasesNFB Release:UK Publication- Skwigly:Otakuno Culture Hothouse Review:Le Petit Septieme - French Critic:
Credits
Written, Directed and Animated by
Cameron KletkeMentoring Director
Andrea DorfmanEditing
Jesse RiviereSound Design
Vid CousinsMusic
Martin CesarTechnical Direction
Mathieu Tremblay
Vincent McCurleyTechnical Animation Support
Alexandre Roy
Johanne Ste-MarieAnimation Assistance
Mia MilardoTechnical Coordination
Luc BinetteOnline Editing
Serge VerreaultFoley
Karla BaumgardnerRecording and Mix
Geoffrey MitchellStudio Operations Manager
Camille FillionTextStudio Administration
Victoria AngellProduction Coordination
Dominique Forget
Omorose Osagie
Lucia CorakMarketing
Geneviève Bérard
Judith Lessard-Bérubé
Jolène LessardPublicist
Nadine ViauAssociate Producer
Anne KoizumiProducer
Maral MohammadianExecutive Producer
Robert McLaughlinThanks
My Family
The Hothouse 14 Filmmakers
NFB Vancouver Studio
24 Hour Film Competition
In November of 2022 my friends and I participated in a "24 Hour Animation Contest for Students" to create a 30-second film based on the theme- 'what will the world look like in 100 years.' Using under the camera techniques and collage, we created a really fun experimental piece revolving around a cockroach and the end of the world.Groupmates:Dex Giese
Andy Gomez
Dylan Campbell
Nico Kershaw
Behind the scenes: