Though I call myself a “Motion Designer,” my passion lies in telling stories…
Regardless of the meduim.
Valley of Ghosts | experimental , Dreamy
What started as an experiment in 2D animation spiraled into a cozy, yet unsettling little film. The concept of being in a place of serenity, yet being haunted by ghoulish beings is a state not often explored.
I was inspired by Dante’s Inferno, as well as C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, both of which follow an inquisitive character from Hell on up (or down, ha!) to Heaven. The more influential of the two would be The Great Divorce. The illustration style is something I’ve been circling for a number of years, it’s inspired by Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Hergé (Adventures of Tin-Tin).
Animation and sound design by: Cailin Tamplin
music by: David decoste
An experimental animation exploring a world of serene wind and pits of deep horror.
Shop at the Edge of Town | Drama, Thriller
Trapped in eternal night, a lone shopkeeper attempts to close when a ghoulish harbinger enters.
I love the tone early Universal monster movies carry - the way those films were shot and how the characters move is otherworldly. I pushed to create that same feeling with this project without - directly exploiting or mimicking the classics. Characters and discomfort drive the horror of this project – the feeling of loneliness and the obscurity of the world call back to classic expressionist horror. It's the familiar "Twilight Zone" vibe in a modern package. I hope you enjoy your visit to the Shop at the Edge of Town!
Written and Directed by: Cailin Tamplin
Produced by: Tim Johns , Ezra Goldberg-Johns and Cailin Tamplin
PASSWORD: Badmoon
a weeping in the wood| Drama, horror
A distraught gas station attendant checks-in to a filthy motel and begins to hear whispers coming from behind the curtain.
A Weeping in the Woods is essentially a character piece, with the backdrop of classic atmospheric horror. It all started as a short story I'd written fresh out of college. I was confident in the story and wanted to produce it as a short film. This short film is intended to lead audiences into asking more questions than give answers. You follow Warren, the main character for the entire film because the story is his experience. If his perspective warps or he is fed lies, the audience will be just as convinced as Warren is that everything is not as it seems. I have greatly expounded on the short story and have a feature-length script in hopes of producing a feature.
Directed / Produced by: Cailin Tamplin
Director of Photography: Arturo Mendez
Econo-Bot| Drama, Scifi
This was my senior year film; and the first time i had ever animated a 3d character!
A robot, far past expiration, roams the rural countryside waiting for his battery to die. After miles on an old service road, he discovers an old country house, boarded up and full of secrets.
I created this short in a frenzy lasting about 6 months. I had just undergone a major surgery and was semi-immobile. I just hunkered down in my room and poured my frustrations into this project. Its Janky, it’s rough, but I am very proud of it.
Directed, Modeled, Textured, SFX, and Animated By: Cailin Tamplin
Music by: Quinn Jacobus
Broken Reflections| Drama, Scifi
A damaged android finds a relic of the past: enabling a new dimension of understanding.
This short started as a project for class, but I expanded on it and turned it into a thorough short film. The project took ~8 months to complete and was composed of 2,685 frames. This film is told completely visually. There is no dialogue, nor captions. I wanted to make the animation exploratory, meaning audiences are expected to hunt the backgrounds with their eyes for foreshadowing, world-building, and narrative clues.