Story from North America on Vimeo

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22. Garden/Jumprope bumper for Whole Foods' Thrive Network

by Kirsten Lepore

6 months ago

21. Making of "Bottle" (in 1 minute)

by Kirsten Lepore

1 year ago

20. Bottle

by Kirsten Lepore

1 year ago

19. Booty Clap

by Kirsten Lepore

1 year ago

18. 2011 Reel

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

17. Mountain

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

16. KIRboard Cat

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

15. Dancey Dance

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

14. Artsy Fartsy

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

13. Star Wars Uncut - Scene 096

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

12. Making of "Nestle Drumstick" Stop-motion spot

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

11. Frederator Studios End Tag

by Kirsten Lepore

2 years ago

10. Reel bumper 2009

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

9. Story from North America

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

8. 30 Days of shooting v.2 (the linear edit)

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

7. Heinz' Poppers web ad

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

6. Craig & Walter (2005)

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

5. Guess Who

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

4. Dig (2006)

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

3. Sweet Dreams

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

2. Timelapse: Building set for "sweet dreams"

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

1. 30 Days of Shooting

by Kirsten Lepore

3 years ago

The full version of "Story from North America" (2007) by Garrett Davis and Kirsten Lepore.
Music written and performed by Garrett Davis
(garrettmdavis.googlepages.com)

Special thanks to Mylinh Chau, and the MICA animation dept.

Credits

1,350 Likes

heejin
2 days ago
Patrick Vollmer
4 days ago
Alexandr Nayaut
4 days ago
mushroom
5 days ago
camille goujon
1 week ago
hymn wong
1 week ago
Paul Pater
1 week ago
Guillermo Monje
2 weeks ago
Bird
2 weeks ago
Richard Edmunds
2 weeks ago

Tags

Brandon Bloch 3 years ago

Wow... so creepy. But in a good way ;-) Great style and animation. Go MICA! B'More represent.
Thomas Charbit 3 years ago

wow.... 4 min like this, i guess you guys made a loooot of drawings ;-)
that was awesome and very well done... How did u acheive such a good sound sync ?
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Yup, it was almost 40 lbs of drawings actually...as for the syncing, we just did a lot of planning and dope sheets beforehand.
Brett W. Thompson 2 years ago

Awesome, wonderful work!! We are so glad to be showing this at Animation Attack! this year, woo hoo! :) :)
Colin Wren 3 years ago

Thats was awesome, great song too :)
ljudbilden 3 years ago

i love it, all of it!
and the boy really deserved a spider-leg-poke-in-the-eye
SH S 3 years ago

it was so amazing, with very nice music :)
Joshua Zucker 3 years ago

I really liked the story that went with this, super cool, funny, entertaining.. "how would you feel if a giant hand came out of the sky and decided to crush you?" keep up the awesome work!
Tom Geraedts 3 years ago

This is insane! Really really good
MENGLISIS 3 years ago

haha love it!
Carly and Martin 3 years ago

This is one of the greatest things we've seen and heard all year! Just in time too... Otherwise we're sure it would have been one of the greatest things we'd have seen next year.

Love Sweet Dreams too.
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Thanks so much! :)
Reyer Kolle 3 years ago

This is so fucked up. I hope this isnt serious
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

hahaha
Shawn Kornhauser 3 years ago

Hi Garrett

Great work!
malcolm man 3 years ago

HOLY SHIT!

This is THE most amazing animation I've seen here on vimeo!!!!

I love this and shall spread it over the interwebz forever!!!

It must have taken a million years to complete!
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

haha! Thanks so much! Glad you like it!!!! 'Twas a very labor intensive piece indeed!
Sam Fuller 3 years ago

This is a really beautiful piece of work.

Thank you Garrett & Kirsten!
malcolm man 3 years ago

Just checked out everything else you've done.

You are now, officially, my favorite animator on Vimeo.
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Yey! Thanks so much!!! :)
Peter A. Cancilla 3 years ago

Woweee wow wow wow! VERY very nice. Not only is this a presentation of skilled, beautifully accomplished animation- but the discipline of a story, and a well performed story at that.

-I love the minstrel turning the page in his sheet music
-I've always suspected that's what pride looked like.
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

hehe, thanks! So glad you enjoyed it! Yea, the page turn is probably my favorite part, as well.
Terre Britton 3 years ago

Kristen, I agree with all the positive feedback... this was excellent in so many ways; technically, the voice-animation synching was remarkable! And Peter, your observation of 'pride' is a tickler!
Robert 3 years ago

Well done. I haven't felt that way about animation since the Animation Celibration I saw as a 3rd grader, with the original Ren&Stimpy, and stuff that played on MTV Liquid Television; "I married a Stranger" type raw cartoons. Lol about pride, and the dad/son character conceptions - rubble nipples, the back-and-forth, dad's persistence..
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Yea, I really love the aesthetic of those mtv and nickelodeon oldies. I'm glad you got that feel from it, that's what we were going for with this one -- just totally raw and anything goes.
Bryan 3 years ago

so great! the spider with the knife, hahah.
really so many things that could be mentioned.
fantastic job.
joe gray 3 years ago

haha, very cool. although this doesn't make me like spiders any more than I do now.
Leonard Thury 3 years ago

That was awesome! The song is great but the animation is just unbelievable! =O
Myk Dawg 3 years ago

hahah!! this is so damn epic. i will never look at life the same now......
americanvirus 3 years ago

That was so fantastic and wonderful. I hope your blessed for the rest of your life. There. I said it.
Submarine Channel 3 years ago

The boy's voice sounds like Daniel Johnston
shane benton 3 years ago

Hey I loved the animation and such and really enjoyed it. You will go far. BUT lets not forget it is in the end it is just a spider. Then to add to that, lets not forget they have brains that are incredibly tiny even in proportion to their size. Hence they are incapable of our sort of thinking. Also even if they did have very large brains such as ours, they would unquestionably not be like us. Considering they are after all spiders. Now dont get me wrong I have nothing against spiders. That has nothing to do with it. But we all need to realize is the natural world is really not any better than the human world. You will find everything in the natural world as in ours. Racism, Sexism you name it. In all reality our world is better, as strange as that may seem, But in the end its true. For example the Young, Old, Weak and sick are always first to go. As opposed to us, where we will (Most of the time anyways) take care of the Sick, Old, Weak and Young first. As opposed to in nature 99% of the time its the strong and leaders that eat first. Now dont get me wrong a grudge against the natural world has NOTHING to do with it. But I believe you know what I may be getting at. Look at it this way the whole point of technology is because in all reality nature alone is not at all reliable, then why do we have technology. We would simply go WAY backwards and the Sick, Old, Weak and Young would suffer first and most. Infact Humanity as a whole would GREATLY SUFFER. Sorry about that rant. Anyways take care and respond soon.
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Haha, very good argument. You're preaching to the choir though. I don't care so much for spiders, and I love meat. I'd say I am a proud member of the top of the food chain.
In the animation, the lengths to which the Dad goes to protect the life of this spider is supposed to be absurd to comical effect...however, I always opt to "cup" bugs and put them outside rather than squish 'em.
Greg F. 3 years ago

Hahahaha!! Shane, I think you are reading way too far into this animation. At least in my opinion...

Awesome job Kirsten! I admire you for doing this. It must have taken hours and hours and hours.

Great Job! =D
Artem Kuznetsov 3 years ago

That is AWESOME...nothing more to say...
KAMP - Music & Sound Design 3 years ago

Hey Kirsten, that was fun to watch!
liked it a lot!
pizzaforeveryone 3 years ago

this is cool and now it's stuck in my head
Albert Legrand-Durien 3 years ago

Congratulations Kristen and Garrett, it's a nice and fabulous artwork.
I haven't seen it on Dailymotion, why ?
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

I'm uploading it now! :)
40 Watt Films 3 years ago

"ARACHNID!"

Quite brilliant. Has a ring of The Handsome Family about it.
BubbaMonkeyStudio 3 years ago

This is a great animation, tons of work! Keep up the awesome work!
Carlos A Zambrano  3 years ago

It's amazing work!!! congrats...
Daniel Cachinero 3 years ago

Sweet :)
Ian McGlynn 3 years ago

Tremendous! One of the best visuals I've seen in a very long time.
Rebecca Joelson 3 years ago

good stuff sister! you and garrett brought me one step closer to accepting these million legged creatures...i promise to tell the hubby to cup it instead of squish it next time. afterall, i don't ever squish em, just wake the mr. in the night to do my dirty work for me! ha. anyways...loved it!
Zach Marshall 3 years ago

simply incredible
Soapboxmedia.com 3 years ago

so so good!
LeslieMonk 3 years ago

Incredibly simple
marius venn 3 years ago

I wish I had the time to give you an in depth critique of why I think this is so good, because it really just works on all levels.

Very nice work!
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Thanks!!! :)
Anson Schall 3 years ago

Excellent.
Jordan Clarke 3 years ago

this is amazing
Alaric Holloway 3 years ago

One-of-a-kind story , unique style, and a highly original soundtrack combine for an awesome animation. Some of the facial animation is a throwback to the classic Hollywood style... great work!
Emily Barrera 3 years ago

'daddy+daddy+daddy'
hahha
this is great!
thnx for sharing!
NJ4X4 FEVER 3 years ago

A Beautiful Message In The Song and Animation, I will send this to all my friends, Thanks For Sharing, and great Job on this video!
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Yey! Thanks so much!
andré Catoto 3 years ago

beautiful ... allllllllllllllll
Soapboxmedia.com 3 years ago

Man, woman! I cant get enough of this. Saw it once and it was stuck in my head all day. Now I am sending it to everyone!
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Awesome! Thank you!
Pawlo 3 years ago

I love the animation
fredasterical 3 years ago

This is marvelous! In every way. I'm a fan.
Scott Gordon 3 years ago

yes!!!! i have been waiting for this. great job kirsten. i love all your animations!!!!
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Thanks so much, Scott!!!
Anthony Ferraro 3 years ago

Obviously a tremendous amount of hours went into this.
Which I applaud but the fact that you nailed it as well...
Bravo!

Fantastic!
Lawrence Carroll 3 years ago

My girlfriend, Mary Ann: "Brilliant! . . . on so many levels. Thank you!"

Me: I concur.
Yonny Zafrani 3 years ago

amazing work kirsten! really enjoyed it.
Robert Bruce 3 years ago

Such a playful animation style! I love it!
Charles Pieper 3 years ago

Amazing. I do stop motion and hand drawn animations now and again, so I totally dig this and can see just how much work went into it. Also it's just flat out funny, which is always a plus!

-CAP
gino varisano 3 years ago

i dig this... very much...
Kymer Gryson 3 years ago

That was brilliant. I love the style of your characters and the overall absurdity :0 The animation was a bit too wobbly to my liking and it kinda lacks 'weight' but it was nonetheless very good. Nice arcs, drags n follow troughs and the lipsync was spot-on! Very awesome. :D
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Thanks! Yea, I know the animation's not super clean, but we were actually trying to preserve a sort of awkwardness in the motion and in the overall feel of the piece. Our attitude toward the whole thing was "no testing"...just animate! Even if something came out looking a bit odd, our policy was just to keep it and move forward, haha. That's probably why we were able to finish it in time!
Kymer Gryson 3 years ago

Haha I see. How long did it take to finish it? And have you studied animation or are you self-taught?
Karen Abad 3 years ago

Too cute. You guys are too talented. Thank you so much for sharing your work on here. <3 I really appreciate all your guys hard work. I'm no where near as in depth of an animator as you guys and I know how tedious it is. <3
McWilliams 3 years ago

That was one of the best things I've seen in a very long time.... Great work.... Great message too...
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

thanksss!
Jason Wild 3 years ago

extremely strange,
and exponentially entertaining.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. :)
Dutchie 3 years ago

Wow, I thought in the beginning of the video that it'd be really corny and cheesy, but it turned out to be great. Very original and I loved all the intricate details in the animation. Also lol@ 'Godspeed' at the end. Great work!
Mark Koenov 3 years ago

Damn Kirsten, this is amazing! I love animation like this. I tried it my self but couldn't stay motivated or consistent with my work so I gave up. I'm comfortable with 2d animation using After Effects.
Meagan Gartlan 3 years ago

I love this, I loveeeeee this. i will watch this everyday until i realize why i love this sooooo much. what is it?
Michael Pendergast 3 years ago

I'm not absolutely certain, but I'm pretty sure that's the best thing on the internet. I mean, I haven't checked the whole internet yet, I'm about halfway through, but so far... yeah, that's the best.
I'm gonna put a bookmark on it.
Littlepills 3 years ago

Ciao Kristen, complimenti!
i disegni sono molto belli e le voci sono tutte fortissime!
bravi!

(good work!)
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Grazie!
Spero avere l'occasione per lavorare con Garrett Davis ancora sull'altri progetti! (Lui e' fatto tutte le voci!!)
Littlepills 3 years ago

Garret Davis è ok!
;^)
johan sundell 3 years ago

i loves it like my mother loves me. happy ways both song and visuals. im from sweden
vincent young 3 years ago

very awesome whole thing well done!!
My Future Self 3 years ago

I love the entire video! And I especially like the "boil".
Calvin Waterman 3 years ago

it sounds like the Microphones, I seriously love this, creepy friendly greatness
Markus Haraldsson 3 years ago

This isnt really about spiders is it ? =)
I liked the symbolics.
Lucas Braga 3 years ago

I love it!
Congratulations, Kirsten!
antonio sorrentino 3 years ago

crazy stuff. great work.
Skizz Cyzyk 3 years ago

Very cool, Kirsten!
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Hey Skizz!!! Great to see you on Vimeo!
Axel redebo 3 years ago

Just cant hold back when the spider pokes the kid in the eye !
Charles Pieper 3 years ago

I just can't stop watching this! It is so good, so deep and yet so goofy! Ah, definitely my favorite animated thing on the internet right now!

-CAP
Kirsten Lepore 3 years ago

Yeyy! Thanks so much, Charles! :)
johnsadowskiii 3 years ago

Hilarious, disturbing, I love it, make it stop
Alexandra Dahlman 3 years ago

Best. Video. Ever.
Andrew Lim 3 years ago

Very nice.
Misha Polonsky 3 years ago

Awesome, hilarious piece of animation :) Nice job!
Andrew Muto 3 years ago

Holy god was that good!! Very fantastic! Thanks for letting us see it :)