Mentorship Showcase: “Nai Nai” and J.P. Balmet

As part of our mentorship program, the SHM Film Collective paired another alumni with a current BFA film in production. “Nai Nai“, directed by Hsiu Hsiu and Minori Uemura, is a 3D animated short film about a Chinese grandma who faces her hatred towards the Japanese.

The team reached out to the Collective seeking a mentor to guide them in Visual Development, so we paired them with J.P. Balmet, SHM Film Collective board member and Art Director at Dreamworks TV Animation.

Bringing a lot of VisDev experience to the table, J.P. was able to offer the team some great advice.

“My experience as a mentor on Nai Nai has been really rewarding. I definitely feel more connected to SJSU and what’s happening with the program. As always, the passion of SHM filmmakers is strong, and it’s great to meet and discuss ideas and direction. I was able to assist with Art Direction advice in the form of character and environment art notes, discussion around mood and tone in the color key/lighting, and ways to get the most out of 3D assets to serve the intent of the design/story. The students have a vision for their project and it’s cool to see what they decide to take and discard as this really is about helping them to best achieve their personal filmmaking goals. I would do it again in a heartbeat!”.
-J.P. Balmet (SJSU Grad 2007)

We reached out to the Nai Nai team to share their experience working with J.P., and here’s what they had to say:

“JP has been an exceptional mentor to our BFA project, Nai Nai, especially to the vis dev team. He has taken the time to draw over our characters and paint over the colorscript as well as given some valuable advice on how to work as a team creatively and collaboratively. His willingness to share his artistic knowledge and industry experiences are valuable lessons that we’ve learned from. “
-Pearl Kaewpanya, VisDev Artist

“The SHM Film Collective has been super invaluable for us in achieving stylistic choices in our film. We were grateful to meet JP, who was our mentor for Visdev. Throughout the process, JP was accommodating and offered us insightful feedback on making appealing characters. (Most times, he would even walk us through draw-overs and paint-overs.) In addition to feedback for our characters, JP would take a look at our colorscripts and 2D stills and offer realistic approaches in creating a mood-setting believable environment. Having JP as our mentor has been super helpful in streamlining our visdev process during the fall semester. We’re currently in the animation pipeline and will, hopefully, will be finished with the film by the end of the semester!
-Hsiu Hsiu Lin, Producer and Animator