RECAP #2 " ANIMADRID is huge!! "

this is the main festival venue - MIRA TEATRO, my film had a screening there on the 1 Oct at night at 7:00pm. This really is a huge exhibition space. It features a lot of exhibitions and one of them is a model exhibition featuring a Spanish claymator Pablo Llorens. As we progress in this blog, i will talk more about some big findings on claymation from me.

Back to this screening venue, it is around 20 minutes walk from my hotel, and there is also a free shuttle bus that go back and fourth to this venue. But it's really a nice walk....especially at night, not scary at all!

I didn't realize that it is such a big event in Madrid, they have festival cars to bring guest (me) to the screening venues.


and there are signs hanged all around the Ponzuelo area!


i just love to see my shadow in different parts of the world


this is my festival gear - a festival pass with my photo (right), a lot of complimentary tickets (left), a big festival catalogue (i got 3 of them, one for Rob, one for me and one for getting autographs from fellow animators!)

this is the dining room that we have our free dinner in the hotel, it was always empty....but it gets busier when a screening ends. I did meet a few good friends here! But when no one's around, it is a bit scary, if you have watched (the shining - dir: Stanley Kubrick) where they have this empty ball room in the hotel, well, i kinda feel like i am there~


foodwise, not that great...for a food picky freak like me....this garden salad is probably the most disgusting food i have ever had.

after i had my first dinner, i went back to the screening venue to watch some selected oscars shortfilm winners, here is the list of some of my all time favourites:

- the Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation [dir: J. Canemaker]
- Father and daughter [dir: M.Dudok de Wit]
- The ChubbChubbs [dir J. Barnbrook]
- Harvie Krumpet [dir A. Elliot]
- Ryan [dir C. Landreth]

i am very impressed with this line-up, most of the works i have seen it before on video / cinema, but its a different feeling when you watch them in another country, it's like meeting an old friend. As these films actually inspired my works a lot!~

RECAP #1 " DEPARTURE "

I went to the Hong Kong airport earlier than usual, as i have heard so much about extra security checks for all flights to London Heathrow. But turns out that it wan't that bad, i just can't bring my eyedrop. I ordered a noodle soup and enjoying the view of the airport and listening to 903

me looking at the BA 747 that's going to take me to London. This flight is so empty and I can even have my own row of seats and sleep in my so called "bed".

this is my room in Madrid, at Hotel Ponzuelo, a 4 star hotel, very nice. It took me 3 hours to get there. I didn't take a taxi, i took the train and a bus. It takes me quite some time to find out which line to take, how much are the tickets and where the platforms are.....you know, i 've never been to a place where English is no use at all~ So, one advice for you who wants to travel spain....learn a few lines of spanish!! Take my word for it.

safe flight back to Hong Kong

there are just so many museums in London, and I managed to visit one of them - The British museum

Big Ben

I was on my way to Manchester in a Train to visit an animator friend Liz Whitaker who directs Bob the Builder and Pingu~ It's a pretty cool ride actually!

one of my dreams was to go to SOHO and take a picture of all the post production companies that I like and RUSHES is one of them!! They even gave me a tour of the whole building and i get to see their motion control rig~

from now on, i will be regularly updating this blog on all the detail events happened during my trip! there will be more artcles and photos and i hope that you will enjoy them!!

last post

today, i had a very long day...

first..buckingham palace, then green park, hyde park, kensington palace, london bridge, just imagine...walking from 10 > 5pm really...didnt take a bus...it is actually really full on!!

and at night, went to meet a hk designer girl who was having her exibition over here in london - Gwen yip - http://www.gwenyip.com we had a nice chat and dinner and that ends my day nicely!

oh, and last night i had a technical nightmare, in which i was at ida's house trying to upload some photos, and their computer can only read the photos from my madrid trip and no pics from my london trip....i freaked out and wasnt in a good mood afterwards...i can't really sleep last night....worry about this problem.....

so, today, first thing that i do is to go to a photo place and try to transfer all the photos onto a CD, and it worked!! it was such a relieve really!! i think the next time, i should have multiple smart media, so in case one fucks up....i can still have my other backups.

ah well...today might be the last post for this trip, as i will be going back to hk tomorrow, my flight is at 9pm, so i have to be at the airport at 7pm, but i want to be there earlier to prepare for the crazy security check...so i might just be at the airport around....5ish just to be safe. so that means i have to start my heathrow trip 4ish....and that means i have to leave my hotel at around 3ish...not much time to have fun really.

one last thing that i am going to do is to send out all the postcards that i bought today!!

ah well....goodbye london, goodbye madrid...and all the nice memories in this trip

i will come back for sure!

some photos at last!!