Film Clip

In this scene, Donovan is a bit shook up from his near miss by a speeding car. Parker Vintalli is trying to convince him to cut ties with Kendall Blair. Also, Dino Vintalli flexes his gangster-like muscle at a popular music store. Meanwhile, Selena Mercedes struggles to be 'perfect.'

Battle Dancin'

In this scene Kendall Blair stops by Maybelle's Jazz On Cue barbecue eatery to try to work of some stress. Maybelle challenges him to try to dethrone her from her self-proclaimed "Dancin' Queen" status.

Writer's Thoughts: Tough Subjects

One of the things I knew from the start of the project was that I would not avoid the deep or tough subjects. But that they would always be handled with tact and taste. In this story, To Chase The Heart, the character Selena is dealing with the pressures of trying to look a certain way, buying into the belief that pencil-thin is beautiful.

As a writer, you look around at the world and certain things prick your heart, even if it's not something that you yourself have dealt with. That's the beauty of being in tune to what is moving you at the moment. Art becomes your platform, at times, to address things that are important to not only yourself, but hopefully others too-Writers Thoughts.

Writer's Thoughts: Character Relationships

What I love about doing a village story is the opportunity to take the snipets of conversations between people in relationships and put them in animation.

One of my favorite relationship stories in To Chase The Heart is that between Kendall Blair and Maybelle Wright. In Maybelle's eyes, she's quite fond of Kendall and often speaks to him like her son, Bobby...Kendall comes by to fill in for Bobby, who helps Maybelle run the Jazz On Cue.

Maybelle, being 'wise' is often guided into 'today's way of thinking' by the progressive Kendall Blair, proving that both young and old can learn from each other. Maybelle plays a vital role as a main character. So often, the aged are rarely placed in important roles.

Which is why I want to encourage new voices to enter animation, especially women. New voices mean new characters and stories that rarely get told. More on character relationships-Writer's Thoughts

Character Scenes Film Clip

To Chase The Heart Film Clip

A musical montage to a few updated scenes from "To Chase The Heart."

Writers Thoughts:Naming Characters

"Naming characters can be a lot of fun. Sometimes the names literally describe a character, but that's sort of rare in character naming these days, as it can give away too much information about the character. And, if, for example, a character with a 'bad name' like, 'Imma Roach,' goes through a transformation into a nicer character in the story, their name no longer fits.

In naming my characters, I went for an inner feel, a name that just fit the personality. I did take artistic license in the naming of Maybelle Wright. Taking into consideration she is a character with wisdom of years, I liked the sound of her name. Granted, through Maybelle's eyes, because of her experiences, she does feel like she's always right.

I think back to my grandmother and even when I disagreed with her, because, yes, she was wrong at times, I did not openly, say, in her face, that she was wrong. I bit my tongue and let her THINK that she was right. Even in walking away, I knew, do not mumble-cuz she could hear. Real good. "Don't you back talk me."

Sometimes characters have ways that remind a writer of someone. That's cool, too. Because it does help to bring more heart to the story. However, I do refrain from taking too many liberties with making characters out of people I know. Sometimes I create a character and later say, "Wow. They remind of..." Thats cool, too."-Writer's Thoughts