Harold’s desire for living ended when his wife of 60 years passed. All that he is left with is a dusty old house and fading memories. Can a knock at the door from an unwelcome visitor turn things around in time?

poster_small‘Till Death Do Us Part (TDDUP) is a 12-minute CG animated short film that was completed in June of 2007. It was a pet project of mine that lasted more than 2 years of part-time and sometimes full-time work.  The film has finished its festival run and is currently being distributed by Ouat Media.

As you may have guessed, this short film is not a comedy. I wanted to pick a topic that was very emotional. I wanted to push myself beyond my usual work. I wanted the viewer to really feel some intense emotions. Hopefully I’ll be successful.

Previously, I had been keeping a production log that documented various aspects of the project. Rigging, Lighting, Animation, etc. That website is no longer being updated because of the software getting corrupted and no longer serviceable. All subsequent production log posts were put right here on this website.













Some data about the film

  • Render resolution: 1920×820
  • Number of shots: 112 (including credits)
  • Running time: 12 minutes and 17 seconds
  • Story development started: November, 2004
  • Short completed: June, 2007
  • Number of characters: 3 (one character is never seen as a CG model)
  • Number of “photos” drawn and spread around the house: 21
  • Average number of render layers per shot: 11
  • Average number of shots animated per day: 1
  • Average number of shots lit/comped per day: 1




Credit List

  • Created and Directed (all elements except for those listed below) By Rick May
  • Traditional “Photo” Artwork by Catherine Satrun and Sarah Satrun
  • Music performed and composed by Yiannis Kranidiotis
  • “Harold” character design by Seth Hippen
  • “Harold” CG head model by Ben Kilgore
  • Additional artwork help from Abel Salazar and Dylan Forman
  • Rendering assistance provided by RenderRocket

Thank you to all those that helped out, not only those listed above, but those that gave me moral support, answered questions, or just kept me motivated.