A Day's Journey

In this heartwarming short, animated film, a baby fox is separated from its mother and learns through its journey that it’s okay to ask for help.

Director Biography – Devin Rose Neiwert

Devin Neiwert is a stop motion and 2D animator with a focus on mixed-media filmmaking. He graduated from Pratt Institute’s 2D animation BFA program in May 2023, and is currently based in both New York City and his hometown of Seattle, Washington. Outside of work and school, Devin enjoys hiking, spending time with his friends and family, and playing with his cat, Jonesy.

Director Statement

I am a stop motion and 2D animator from Seattle, Washington, and I’ve wanted to work in animation since I was 14. I first became enamored with the process after watching the DVD extras of some of my favorite animated films, and getting to see animators and other artists at work immediately inspired me. I was lucky enough to graduate from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where I developed my multimedia animation practice and honed my skills across the spectrum of animation and production.

In my work, I enjoy playing with the union of stop motion and other forms of animation and media. I believe that stop motion puppets are immediately recognizable as tangible objects, and by adding elements of 2D animation or placing them in an environment that is incongruous to the style of the puppets, a unique feeling is given to the piece. In the process of creating A Day’s Journey, I explored the use of fully composited backgrounds with the sole stop motion elements being the puppets.

In this film, I want to honor and pay homage to the island I’ve called home in my time off school for the past few years– San Juan Island off the coast of Washington state. The backgrounds were created from photos I took on some of my favorite hikes there, and all of the characters are flora and fauna found on the island. My previous films have been more geared towards humor, and for more adult audiences, but I wanted A Day’s Journey to be something that I could show to all of my friends and family with no warnings or caveats. I also chose to have the dialogue in my film to be represented through sound and subtitles because I have a number of family members who are hard of hearing and had not previously been able to fully understand my films, so A Day’s Journey was made specifically to be accessible for the people I love. Moreover, I wanted to create a piece that felt loving, caring and had a softness that I had not previously explored in my work.