Felix Massie's blog

e-mail: [email protected] www.FelixMassie.co.uk & www.icantcolourin.co.uk

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I made a new stick animation!

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The stickmen are coming back!

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I spent most of 2015 directing this 360 VR interactive short film, Rain or Shine, for Google Spotlight Stories and am happy to say it is finally out for the world to see!

The film is designed to work in the Spotlight Stories App (also available on Android) which reacts to the way you watch it. So while the story is always the same, you’ll notice lots of little changes each time you experience it!

If, like mine, your phone is a little too old to run the app, there is a non-interactive YouTube version available too.

I hope you enjoy! And thank you to everyone who worked so hard to get it made - especially Robin Davey for his beautiful, beautiful designs!

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I’m really proud to have done the writing for Emmanuelle Walker's new book that has been released this month; Dogs In Cars. It's a counting book with lots of different types of dogs, and a nice surprise at the end in case you're not a dog person...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dogs-Cars-Felix-Massie/dp/1909263877

Woof woof woof woof woof.

[felixmassie]

My second book, George Pearce and his huge massive ears, is out now from Quarto Publishing! Word on the street is, it’s re-ear-ly good.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/George-Pearce-Huge-Massive-Ears/dp/1847807941

It’s a book about a boy who has huge (massive) ears which mean he can hear everything everyone says - which can be fun for a while... the only trouble is, lots of people say lots of different things and sometimes it can be difficult to know exactly who you should be listening to...

You can order it from Amazon right now!

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I did an animation for Alain De Botton’s School of Life series.

We are so busy and so obsessed with our phones, we rarely take a break to do that vital and rather philosophical thing: stare out of the window. Looking to achieve a better state of calm?

It’s a beautiful day, so why not take out your phone and watch it now!

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I’ve just got back from Annecy where we showed off a WIP of our Google Spotlight Story project, Rain or Shine! Here is the trailer for the full 360 VR experience which will be out in... soon.

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The Nicolas-a-day project continues into it’s second page. A dwindling lack of interest consumes both Nicolas, and fans of the project - but it continues regardless.

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I’ve started drawing Nicolas Menard regularly. Here is page 1 of the Nicolas-a-day project.

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It was lunchtime and the crowd were going wild. Frank Preston, 11 years of age, only had to sink a single free-throw and the championship, along with $1,000,000 was his. He bounced, bounced again, crouched and launched the ball into the air. It was straight on target, sure, but agonisingly short so that it rolled around the rim. It teetered; the fate of thousands of Preston Panther fans literally hanging in the balance; before falling the wrong way...

Before the ball could hit the floor the referee blew his whistle and, in an unprecedented move, allowed Frank to try again - and this time it really was the final shot of the game. The crowd roared back into life.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the playground, bigger boys were stealing Frank’s school shoes.

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"Sometimes I worry that I worry too much" Nicolas replied, then immediately worried whether that was the right thing to say. So much so that he missed the next question entirely, “Sorry - could you say that again?”

“What’s your proudest achievement?” Sharon repeated, before taking another large gulp of wine.

This bothered Nicolas; was he on a date, or a at job interview? Not knowing how to  respond immediately, he stared down at his pint. About a year ago he had sold a Sega Megadrive on eBay for £30. Nothing too special about that you may think, but the thing was he had only bought it for £20. A £10 profit. If he’d sold 100,000 of them then that would have made him a millionaire (minus eBay fees, income tax, postage and any possible returned goods). Sadly he could tell from the brief 20 minutes he had spent with Sharon that, despite her alleged Maths degree from Cambridge (first class honours) that she wouldn’t understand the magnitude of this achievement. Instead he replied, "Well, I did tie my own shoelaces this morning!”

By the time this sentence left Nicolas’s lips, Sharon had finished her wine. She blinked, looked at her watch, and said she had to go, that it had been lovely meeting him, and well done with the laces. Nicolas watched her leave before smiling to himself; the joke was on her, he was wearing velcro shoes.

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My book is out! Thank you to Frances Lincoln (especially Jenny!) for publishing it! You can find him in Foyles, Blackwells, Amazon, and more.

You can read some lovely reviews (didn’t even bribe them) from Booktrust, Adventures In Homeschool, and Magpie That. If you have any children, nephews, nieces, cousins, little brothers, little sisters, a low reading level, or even just a table that needs levelling then please look out for Terry Perkins and his Upside Down Frown.

This hilarious, warm-hearted read-aloud story of friendship and courage celebrates the importance of being comfortable in your own shoes – even when they are up in the air!

Terry Perkins is a normal, happy boy. That is, until he opens his mouth. When he does, nobody can understand the words he says because everything comes out upside down.

When a trip to the doctor turns Terry’s life – and his smile – on its head, his frown looks set to stay… Is there anyone who can help him to see things from a different point of view?

This hilarious, warm-hearted read-aloud story of friendship and courage celebrates the importance of being comfortable in your own shoes – even when they are up in the air!

Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books (6 Aug. 2015) ISBN-10: 1847806201 ISBN-13: 978-1847806208

amazon.co.uk/Terry-Perkins-Upside-Down-Frown/dp/1847806201

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I have a book called, ‘Terry Perkins and His Upside Down Frown’ coming out on the 6th of August! It’s already ranked 1,609,183 in the Amazon bestseller’s list so if you know any little people, please help me get it to 1,609,182: pre-order a copy here!

Terry Perkins is a normal, happy boy. That is, until he opens his mouth. When he does, nobody can understand the words he says because everything comes out upside down.

When a trip to the doctor turns Terry’s life – and his smile – on its head, his frown looks set to stay... Is there anyone who can help him to see things from a different point of view?

This hilarious, warm-hearted read-aloud story of friendship and courage celebrates the importance of being comfortable in your own shoes – even when they are up in the air!

Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books (6 Aug. 2015) ISBN-10: 1847806201 ISBN-13: 978-1847806208

amazon.co.uk/Terry-Perkins-Upside-Down-Frown/dp/1847806201

Thanks to Joe Paine for the music!

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Jack's glare moved from the broken pieces of plastic in the corner of the room to his laptop screen still lying on the bed. He read the words again, "Netflix is not available" - which could only mean one thing: "House Of Cards season 3 is not available". It was February; the time of year where good things happening are few and far between and so this particular bit of bad luck had really hit home. Slapping his fingers on his MacBook trackpad had taken out some of the aggression, and ripping the router from the wall had felt surprisingly therapeutic. But it wasn't until he had raised it above his head, eyes wide, and flung it to the wall that he finally felt anything that even remotely resembled closure. Breathing heavily he turned to an imaginary camera, and in his best Frank Underwood/Kevin Spacey impression exclaimed,

"I cannot abide incompetence"

then went to Wetherspoons to use their free wifi.

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'In the Air Is Christopher Gray' is now online! A big thank you to all of the festivals who have shown it over the last year or so and to everybody who helped work on it! Here they all are if you'd like to say hi!

CREDITS

Written, Directed & Animated by Felix Massie Narrated by Andy London Starring Peter Ahern, Justin Cassano, Carolyn London, Ian Miller and Erica Perez. Soundtrack by Joe Paine Sound Design and Mix by Marty O’Brien Audio Post Production Facility: Fonic Executive Producer: Christopher O’Reilly Produced at Nexus Productions

SYNOPSIS

Christopher Gray has been in love with Stacey for quite some time, and no amount of lemonade can cool his desire. Meanwhile, Barry Flint has just bought his son a five-foot python from the pet store.

Enjoy!

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I spent a couple of months animating on this lovely film for Johnny Kelly last year. Turned out lovely!

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Here's some animation I did for Johnny Kelly for his SHAPE film (released online this week I think!)

makeshapechange!