Behind The Scenes of Our #AIFF45 Creative!
An Interview with Artist, Animator, and AIFF Alumni Jenna Marks.
The 2025 Atlantic International Film Festival is upon us. Together with Jenna Marks (filmmaker, animator) and AIFF Creative Director Eric Miller (The Workshop Creative Studio), we’re celebrating our 45th anniversary with a nostalgic new look. Our festival poster and commercial sport a mosaic of items and memories from our history; featuring past program guides, mascots, passes, and more.
Today, we’re going behind the scenes with Jenna to talk about the ideas, methods, and technology behind this year’s creative vision.
Where did your instincts take you when you were creating the visuals for AIFF’s 45th Anniversary?
J: We had the idea of drawing inspiration from all five decades of the festival to create this trailer, and I immediately gravitated toward stop-motion. Stop-motion is a style and method of animating that’s still used today, but it was especially prominent in the 20th century, both in animated and live-action films. Before the rise of computer graphics, many film sets and strange creatures were built as miniatures and animated frame by frame—like the tauntauns from Star Wars, or “ED-209” (the robot) from RoboCop. It felt like a perfect throwback to handmade filmmaking, adding an extra layer of nostalgia to the piece.
How did the objects from AIFF’s past inspire your work?
J: Normally, I just draw or make whatever comes to mind, but this time I really had to let the objects lead the way. They’re solid, non-malleable pieces with their own unique design—I couldn’t change them, only respond to what they offered. I went through all the materials I had, looking for objects that might move in an interesting way or visually catch the eye. For example, the floppy disks reminded me of silhouetted figures, so I lined them up like an audience in a theatre and added little bags of popcorn to them. There was so much cool stuff that didn’t make it into the trailer—I honestly wish I could’ve made a longer piece. I could’ve made an entire short film with all the amazing things the festival gave me!
How do you think these visuals express the festival’s legacy?
J: Oh my gosh, there was so much material that showed just how impactful and community-oriented the festival has been from year to year. Honestly, it took me longer to go through everything than it did to animate the piece—which is not usually the case! I found it so interesting to look back at photos from the ’90s and recognize people who are still incredibly active in the local film industry. I also came across films and directors that had their debuts at AIFF in old programs and news articles—films that went on to define Atlantic Canadian cinema: Parsley Days, New Waterford Girl, Black Cop, Hobo with a Shotgun for instance. There were even early photos of Elliot Page and Jonathan Torrens as young actors. It was such an amazing experience to work not just as an animator on this, but also as a bit of an archivist!
What technology did you use to create the AIFF45 visuals?
J: I often move between different programs to get the best possible result. For this project, everything was physically animated using real objects placed under a camera on a white sheet of foam core. I used a program called Dragonframe, which connects directly to my DSLR camera, allowing me to capture each frame from my computer and watch the sequence playback in real time.
After capturing the scenes, I assembled them in Adobe After Effects, a compositing and effects program. This made it easy to transition between scenes and remove the white background to reveal the next shot—a technique I used frequently throughout the video.
What was the most rewarding or joyful moment for you while working on this project?
J: I really loved so many different aspects of working on this project. One of my favorite parts was getting to collaborate—something I don’t usually do, since animation is somewhat of a solitary art form. I got a lot of ideas and support from the AIFF team, especially from Eric Miller, who designs all the posters and visuals for the festival. He made the iconic red ruby rain boots from the 2015 marketing campaign, and even created a miniature pair for this PSA—they’re my favorite part of the whole piece! I also really enjoyed going through all the old photos of prominent figures in the local film scene. I wish I could’ve made a longer trailer just to include more of them.
If you could describe this visual in one word, what would it be?
J: Hm... I’d say it’s a chrono-plastic-rewind-o-rama, baby!
Credits:
Videography/Animation: Jenna Marks
Song: “FOCUS”
Performed by aRENYE and Nulo
Written by Tosan Arenyeka and Richard McNeil
Produced by Richard McNeil
Courtesy Million Vibes & Time Co. inc
Voiceover: Jenna Marks
Archival Voiceover: Lia Rinaldo
Archival newspaper visuals featured in this PSA are sourced from The Chronicle Herald and The Coast, used with appreciation as part of our celebration of Atlantic Canadian film history.