Ballard girl wins for 3-minute claymation

Loyal Heights Elementary student, Ellie Dynes is one of 11 winners of the 2011 Seattle Times / Seattle International Film Festival “3 Minute Masterpiece contest.” Times editors and SIFF staffers watched nearly 100 productions before narrowing down to the winning selections.

Dynes piece is a claymation short called “Piggiepalooza.” Here is a little about the film:

Five guinea pigs compete in a talent show in this Claymation short by Loyal Heights Elementary School student Ellie Dynes. Who wins? You have to watch to find out, but here’s a hint: “I wanted to make an underdog story,” said Dynes. She and her mother’s friend, Stacey Ringo, painstakingly moved the characters no more than a centimeter or so between every shot; the film consists of 356 shots overall. Dynes has this tip for budding Claymation artists: “You want your characters to have flat bottoms, because otherwise you have to move their legs in every shot, and that’s a lot of work.”

All the winning entries can be seen here. They’ll also be shown on the big screen at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21, at SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center, when the grand-prize winner will be announced. The screening is free, but tickets are required: 206-324-9996.