Marisabel Fernandez and Alexander Bernard: “Listen”

With their senior film “Listen,” recent Ringling College of Art and Design grads Marisabel Fernandez and Alexander Bernard take on the challenge of “envisioning a reality that we have never experienced,” interpreting the world of an autistic child through a fractured mix of abstract and illustrative animation.

“Creating this piece has been an incredible challenge both technically and personally. When we began the project, we found a lot of resistance from some faculty members that were concerned we wouldn’t be able to reflect realistically the world that these children experience.

“However, through much research and persistence we were able to fully backup our intentions and creative decisions despite the chance that we could have ultimately failed the project.

“One of the biggest fears we were faced with constantly was what the reaction of the Autistic community would be towards our piece and failing at creating something that everyone could feel they could identified with.

“After finally publishing our piece, we have received incredible feedback and reactions both from the Autism society, and the general public. It has been incredibly rewarding to see how this piece has touched so many, and are hoping will continue to reach as many people as possible.”

Watch the making of:
 


 
School: Ringling College of Art and Design
2D Animation: Alexander Bernard, Marisabel Fernandez
3D Animation: Alexander Bernard
Edit: Marisabel Fernandez
Design: Marisabel Fernandez
Live-Action Cinematography: Natasha Thornton
Sound Design: Jamie Vance

Therapist: Roberta Rosenthal
Voice Mother: Tammy Zeitler
Voice Child: Nicole Zeitler

Faculty Advisors: Ed Cheetham, Nora Gaffney, Ron Zeitler, Dante Rinaldi, Joey Korenman, Jill Taffet, Morgan Williams.
Special Thanks: Bonnie & Jack Harrison, Lolo Martinez, Jose & Andres Lange, David Lewandowski, friends and family

Immediate Byte