Prairie Ridge grad's animated short film ending festival run

What creativity Olivia Jensen did not already possess through genetics, she likely picked up through osmosis.

Stephen Jensen, her father, is a graphic designer/photographer and former rock musician who designed guitars for the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott, of Pantera, as well as many other well-known rockers.

Sylvia Jensen, her mother, is a fashion designer who became a stylist for rock groups with whom Stephen worked, eventually leading to their business Wornstar Clothing Company in Crystal Lake. In nine-plus years, Wornstar has become highly popular with rock bands and professional wrestlers, as well as the fans of both groups.

Naturally, Olivia gravitated toward arts and finding her own creative side early in life by drawing, telling stories and, perhaps, paying closer attention than some children to Disney and Pixar animated movies.

“I’ve been an artist my entire life,” said Jensen, 24, a 2014 Prairie Ridge graduate. “I was always doing art and illustrations. When I got to high school, I started doing theater and film projects with my friends and I realized all of those things I was passionate about. I discovered my love for animation. It was just the most beautiful way to tell stories, but also in a visually beautiful way.”

Jensen graduated from DePaul in 2019, and her 3 1/2-minute animated film “Waiting by the Phone” is nearing the end of its run at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth and at the Detroit International Festival of Animation.

Jensen wrote and produced the film as one of the requirements for her Bachelor of Arts degree in animation from DePaul. She then spent time after graduation refining it so it could be seen at festivals.

“I wanted to take it farther,” she said. “I wanted to take it to festivals and inspire other people. I didn’t want to graduate and have that be that. I kept working on it, perfected it, got it to a place where I liked it and sent it to other places.”

Other than three voice actors who helped her, the production is mostly Jensen’s. She wrote and animated the film, which deals with loss and grief. The film keeps showing a young woman, Dani, in her apartment alone listening to a message left on her phone from her younger sister Emily.

The message keeps playing and Emily’s voice keeps saying the same message and viewers eventually realize this was the last message Dani heard before her sister died. She had gone out for an evening with friends and never returned.

Dani walks past the piano Emily used to play and presses a tape player that has a recording of her sister playing. Dani makes two cups of tea like she used to, but she is the only person there. As this goes on, viewers feel the hurt and despair Dani is experiencing over the loss of her sister.

Eventually, Dani’s co-worker Kellie calls and says she noticed Dani was sad, offers condolences over losing her sister and invites her out to talk. Dani accepts viewers feel like this is going to be a vital step toward overcoming her grief.

“I love stories that are raw and emotional,” Jensen said. “They have to deal with real human emotion, which is pretty uncommon in animation. When people think of animated films, they think of children’s media or something that’s funny. I wanted to do something a little heavier, but show it in a graceful, beautiful, visual way. I wanted to open up a conversation about grief and loss.”

Stephen Jensen said all four of their children enjoyed creative arts and entertainment. Olivia is the second-oldest, with one older brother (Nick), a younger brother (Brandon) and a younger sister (Amelia).

“I guess it’s a product of the environment,” Stephen Jensen said. “Since we worked from home, I hope they got some of that work ethic we have. Working at home is not the easiest thing when you have a family. It’s a lot of discipline..

“In grade school, (Olivia) was a really good creative writer and storyteller, which I think is still probably her strongest suit. The writing was as fulfilling to her as visual art. In high school, I noticed she really started developing her own visual style.”

Olivia Jensen is a full-time technical artist for Stern Pinball, where she does work with animation, motion graphics and story boards. She also will continue with film-making and illustration on her own time.

“I’m hoping people see it and it can open up conversations about what it’s about and also help other women in animation,” she said. “I try to involve as many female creators as I can in projects because I think it’s important while I’m working to make opportunities for other people. I hope I’m opening doors for other female creators as well.”

Stephen and Sylvia recently realized during some conversations with Olivia that they all had taken similar paths in high school and college.

“I wish I could take credit for it, but I really can’t,” Stephen Jensen said. “She’s kind of pushed on that all by herself. I couldn’t be more excited about it. When she was going to DePaul, and I’d see some of the finished stuff she would do, she was kind of following what I did when I was growing up, but in her own different direction and without me prodding her.”