Just the Little Things - Dir. Maliheh Rahrovan
A sensory journey among the sights and sounds of the things we take for granted every day.
This animated short was a product of a program I was hired for at Rochester institute of technology celebrating the opening of magic spell studios in 2019. Several student groups were brought together in the new creative workspaces to showcase the capabilities of the facility - creating games, apps, and films over the course of a summer. Our team consisted of Maliheh, myself, Palwasha Azimi and Vahid Ghaderi. 'Just the Little Things' was nominated as one of a few finalists of the CDM Big Shoulders International Student Film Festival in 2020.
I worked as the sound designer on this short - my job mainly consisted of finding, recording and mixing ambiance and effects to the desire of the director during principal animation before finally merging the mix with the finished product.
the hardest part of this short production was the limited number of people. We worked both at home and at Magic spell studios, which made helped a lot - but there was still lots of work spread between only a few people, so our communication was our best friend.
Looking back, I would certainly critique myself in several areas. Mainly, I think the final mix came out more shallow than i would have liked. I regret not spending more time on layering during some scenes, because it left some emptiness that I think disrupted the immersion of the film. Secondly, I know for a fact I could have been more personable with my teammates - although I often prefer to mix on my home workstation, I realize now that the opportunity to be at Magic spell every day sitting next to my teammates was one that would have greatly improved our final product. Nothing can replace physically sharing a workspace with your collaborators, and I do regret not being more present.
I often remember this production fondly, as I am pround of myself to this day for jumping and reaching for the opportunity, and putting myself to the test on a real gig - but I keep my mistakes close in my memory as well, because I have and will continue to draw from them in the future.