What images make the best GIFS?

Anything! I mean, really anything that you want to make move, add a twinkle, change for comic relief…right now I’m into making subtle gifs that don’t do much, the images just shiver…. GIFS to me are like whispering sweet nothings in your eyes.

Do you find horror and comedy can be separate genres in the post-postmodern age?

Slasher films make me laugh and comedies are horrific. The last time my hair stood on end is when I turned on the news.

Is a return to repetitive action in animation a la Gertie the Dinosaur going to be the next big thing?

I have no idea what the next big thing is anymore. There’s so much going whose keeping track? By the time trends get big its just a count down until its over anyways. In terms of animation, I feel like the door was never closed on Gertie and his predecessors, they are very much alive on TV and on the Internet… because of the web it feels like there’s room for everyone, which is a gift and a curse I guess… I love 3D animation and really wish I had studied it in school, that field fascinates me because it’s progressing so quickly in the mainstream with blinders on. Does anyone else find it bizarre that there are so many computer-animated films about bugs and birds and fish?! It just like, the possibilities are endless of where you can take that technology…. I’m excited to see where some freakier minds take this medium.

Is there any actually new idea–or just old ones recycled endlessly?

They say every 4.3 seconds a new idea is born, it may be premature, or die at the birth.. it’s all a part of evolution. Obviously our generation has been plagued with a sickness of nostalgia for the past decade; the way I see it is, we’re currently in the early 2000’s style wise, so we’re just about to catch up to ourselves. I mean unless we go into some apocalyptic caveman trend and start back at the beginning (which is pretty probable) we’ve got to move forward. But seriously, ever since the end of 2009 I feel like things have started to progress (not in an Obama way)… we have so much exposure to things of the past, it’s not about regurgitating the concepts, its about creating ways to evolve what we already know, that leads us to discovery.

How long does it take to make a GIF?

Including opening the program, making the gif, and saving for web? At least 7 seconds until whenever it feels done (could be days).

Your tumblr is a hard find, is that purposeful?

Well actually, I don’t have a tumblr, my blog is run off of wordpress and I started it in November 2009, to document research surrounding my senior thesis on “Instant” Culture… which resulted in a few cool projects including a zine called, “Textbook” which anonymously documented 7 different people’s text message conversations over the same month… it sort of ended up being a like a tabloid, it was pretty juicy. I think I’ll put it on the blog soon. Since then it has become a home for flyers I design (I am also a DJ), and gifs I make for fun… I usually attach a song to the gifs I make, intending for people to listen to the song while they look at the image. I probably should change over to tumblr, the community is so strong, there’s lots a feedback, which makes putting your work out there worth it.

Is there such a thing as sensory overload?

Hallucinogenics in public places.

You can view Haley here.