We met at SupInfoCom, one of the top animation schools in France with an emphasis on teaching CGI animation. There we collaborated on a five minute animated film that took 16 months to create. The simple scenario features two animated characters trying to meet against the wishes of a giant omnipotent human hand. There is no dialogue but the thoughts and expressions of the protagonists are written on their notepad faces. Using Maya, Photoshop, and After Effects, the 3D computer animation is made to look like realistic puppets made of clay and paper. It’s a reference to old stop-motion films. We also chose a 40’s jazz soundtrack (Django Reinhardt) and a black and white image to provide the film overall with the aesthetics of the classic films of Méliès, Trinka, Dudock de Wit, and Svankmayer. Romain came up with the original idea and I liked it so much I decided to work with him. During the third year, we worked on the screenplay and storyboards and during the last year we modeled the characters, animated them, rendered the movie with computers, added the sound, and then transferred it all to 35mm film. Tim Tom has played at several festivals in Europe and US, has received the LEAF award in London and the prix de la SCAM in France.

Romain Segaud (FR), born in 1980. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree, he attended the Supinfocom school in Valenciennes in northern France. After four years, he codirected his first film, Tim Tom, with Christel Pougeoise.

Christel Pougeoise (FR) first wanted to study cinema, but she was very attracted to animation as well, which is why she attended Supinfocom and began working with Romain Segaud. Tim Tom is her first film. Their inspiration for the film came from Georges Méliés, Svankmayer, Norman McLaren, and many others.