Monday, April 16, 2007

The animation What I'm into like...


Run Wrake’s short animation ‘rabbit’ is an example of how a myriad of tools and sources can be used to create a world that is familiar but brand new, exciting and scary. It was made two years ago and It won (and still is winning) a series of awards as it travels around the globe including best short film at the British Animation awards, the Audience award in San Francisco and was even nominated for a BAFTA.

‘rabbit’ is a film aimed at adults that uses 1950’s children’s educational illustrations (R is for rabbit) to build the entire world on top of a backdrop of a 3D grassy plain and speeded up real footage of turbulent clouds. The mix of 2D, 3D and real footage builds a strange atmosphere and is aided by very real sound; the wind blowing, a fly buzzing. The sounds are crisp and immaculate and in stark contrast to the eerie music and the fact that none of the characters speak. The land created by the 3D plain and the movement of the camera feels immediately like a children’s TV show – the Telly Tubbys perhaps – which further aids the strange atmosphere.

The story follows two main characters – possibly brother and sister – whose quick but devious minds are revealed when they trap and kill a rabbit for its fur. When a strange creature pops out from the body of the dead rabbit, and reveals magic jewel making powers, the boy and girl devise a plan to use the creature for their own ends – namely to become rich and powerful.

This is a film about the loss of innocence and the exploitation of the natural world as Wrake points out at http://www.runwrake.com/ and I think is wonderfully done because he hasn’t fallen into the trap of the default look that the animation tools will imprint into most films.

This “default look” is something I am discussing further in my SPP essay.

SEE rabbit HERE

1 comment:

Matt Choules said...

I know i've said this before, but i still think the whole office scene looks Scandiavian!
Its the brown and red... And the girls general millaise.
Anyway, good effort. I liked the floor shot with her foot (not that i'm into feet, just liked the simplicity) and the rabbit is too cute!