The Short

Timmy, a young boy preparing for a big school dance, is forced to deal with his first pimple problem—and what a problem it is! Every attempt he makes to rid himself of the ever-growing dilemma only succeeds in making the situation worse. Timmy hatches an ingenious plan to rectify his situation but can't anticipate the surprising consequences of his actions. Neither will the audience.

Filmmaker Bio

Mike Blum

Mike Blum is director of Baxter & McGuire, a series of eight two-to-three-minute CG animated shorts for Comedy Central's broadband "Motherload" Web site.

From August 2004 through March 2006, Mike served as technical supervisor for Toy Story 3, where he oversaw and coordinated all aspects of information technology development and technical process management for the show. Prior to that, he served for ten years as software supervisor for internal tool development at Walt Disney Feature Animation where he oversaw design and deployment of numerous animator-friendly tools used in more than a dozen films ranging from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Dinosaur to Chicken Little. He earned his Master's degree in computer science from the University of Utah where he designed animation tools for long form productions, and his B.S. in computer engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

In 1998, Blum took the leap from the technical to creative ranks by producing, directing and animating Salad Bowl...A Carrot's Tale, an after-hours film project completed at Disney. His second directorial effort, Oil & Vinegar, qualified for consideration for an Academy Award, has received international acclaim at festivals and is currently being distributed around the world. In 2004, Blum produced his first live-action film, Blessing. Still playing the festival circuit, the 15-minute, 35mm film attracted some of the top talent in Hollywood including famed casting director Mali Finn (Titanic, L.A. Confidential, The Matrix Trilogy, 8 Mile); Emmy award-winning editor Scott Gamzon (Party Monster, The Apprentice) and actor Omar Miller (8 Mile, Shall We Dance?).

Since premiering in March 2005, THE ZIT has screened at over 100 festivals worldwide, received a dozen international awards and won accolades from the likes of Bill Plympton (Oscar nominated animator/director) who raved, "THE ZIT is an over-the-top, hilarious film—I wish I'd done it."

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