“Mad River Rising” premiered to a packed house of students and faculty in Dana Auditorium on March 1, 2012. The director, Daniel Houghton, introduced the film and explained how the project came together. He showed the rough sketch from the first meeting, introduced the student-animators in the audience, and revealed that he taught them just two basic facts about animation. “The rest was just a swamp of personal discovery for them,” he said, as the lights dimmed and the film came up on the big screen.

The production schedule for a 13-minute animated film was ambitious; some might have even called it grueling. But there is no denying the emotional appeal of the finished product.

Read the full article, by Robert Keren, at the Middlebury Magazine.

Animation Team

Daniel Houghton
Dana Yeaton
Miles Abadilla
Krista Duke
Marcella Houghton
Norah Jones
Dylan Redford
Graciela Sarabia
David Seamans
Sam Tolzmann
Dan Whateley

Original Music

Michael Chorney
Anais Mitchell