An Oscar-nominated short on a student budget: How Siqi Song made Sister

At April’s Nicer Tuesdays, we welcomed animation director and animator Siqi Song to the online stage. Calling in from LA, Siqi treated the audience to a run-down of her most significant projects to date. The first details the graduate film she made at Cal Arts titled Sister. Backed by a graduation film fund, Siqi told us how she went about creating the beautiful short, which would go on to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short. Taking us through the technical steps as well as handy ways of saving precious budget, she also explained where the inspiration for Sister came from; an autobiographical tale taking us back to Siqi’s childhood set against the backdrop of China’s one child policy.

Peppering the audience with useful tips on animation-making along the way, Siqi went onto offer some wise words of wisdom likening the making of a film to running a small business, telling viewers: “take advantage of the medium you are using.” Moving on from Sister, Siqi went on to discuss her latest commission All in A Day’s Work. Taking us through the various steps of creative development from character design, prop making, shooting and editing, Siqi’s talk is a behind-the-scenes delight of two stellar creations.