Bradford Animation Festival 2010

November last year (2010) I went to the Bradford Animation Festival at the National Media Museum. This was quite an experience for me as I didn't have much knowledge on Animation and its different forms, uses and diversity. This experience opened my eyes up very widely, gave me inspiration and a whole new level of excitement for animation in general. I had done some casual research on animation before this on the web but didn't get very far and was very disappointed with how little I found out, most probably because I didn't have much of a starting point other than the word 'Animation'. This was a great way to expand on my knowledge and help me get a good starting point for research on animation and to give me some sort of direction.

These are the many things that I saw and my opinions on them...

Wednesday 10th November 2010

Professional 1

Big Bang Big Boom 

Dir. Blu / Italy / 2010 / 9 mins 55 secs

Big Bang Big Boom by BLU was an excellent example of imagination and creativity. It was an animation of which showed the story of evolution with BLU's own twists in it. The technique that the used was stop motion but it was done by painting on buildings, paths, walls etc...and I'm not talking small, these paintings were humongous! What I loved the most about this animation was that the painted characters interacted with 3D objects laying around on the ground etc.  I loved this animation as it was very exciting and the technique was outstanding! 

A Lost and Found Box Of Human  Sensation

Dirs. Martin Wallner, Stefan Leuchtenberg / Germany / 2010 / 14 mins 50 secs

This animation is about a boy that loses his dad unexpectedly and goes on a journey.  This didn't interest meas much as Big Bang Big Boom, at times I became very bored and sometimes frustrated.  The story didn't capture me either but there was a nice use of colours that reflected the mood and setting of the film nicely. 

The Twin Girls of Sunset Street

Dirs. Marc Riba & Anna Solanas / Spain / 2010 / 13 mins

The Twin Girls of Sunset Street was horrible and creepy and dark! But that's what it was supposed to do and it did it well! 'Ointments, elixirs and poultices. Enriqueta and Ramoneta will attend to your needs with discretion, reserve and pleasant manners at Sunset Street No. 17A, Barcelona. Not sold in drug stores or chemist shops.' I loved this animation however much it creeped me out! It was very well done and the emotions and fear were put across very effectively.

Pivot

Dir. Andre Bergs / Netherlands / 2009 / 5mins

Pivot is about a man that witnesses a murder and takes pictures with his camera and then is chased by the murderer, half way though the plot is turned round very cleverly and the murderer ends up being chased by the witness. This animation was very abstract and  easily understood however the chase scene in it did go on a bit too long making  quite boring in parts but the concept was very interesting.

The Name-Less

Dir. Violaine Lecuyer / France / 2010 / 12 mins 30 secs

'A young boy, the name-less, lives apart from the world, in a place he helped create, both protected and shut in. One day aroused by sounds and images from the outside, he decided to leave and explore the world.'

I was very bored at the beginning as I didn't understand what was going on at all, however I did start to understand it at the end. Even though I didn't understand and didn't enjoy the story I loved and enjoyed the animation aesthetically, I thought it was beautiful! 

The Eyes of the Lighthouse

Dir. Pedro Serrazina / Portugal / 2010 / 15 mins

'In a rocky island exposed to the elements, a lighthouse keeper live alone with his daughter . From the top of his tower, the father keeps vigil over the horizon and the safety of the passing boats. With no other company, the girl develops a unique complicity with the sea, which brings her toys in the shape of debris on the shore. Following the rhythm of the waves, these object will unveil precious events, memories that the tide cannot erase...'

Nexus Retrospective

'Nexus is an independent production company and animation studio based in London, with a worldwide reputation for creative storytelling across a range of media.' 

I gained quite a lot out of this as well as finding it really interesting. We got to see the work that they had produced and they spoke about their ideas, how they come up with them and how they then put that into being an animation. It was great to have current animation professional speak about their work and the current animation industry.

Music Videos and Short Shorts

This is a very large section and so I am going to start off with the Music Videos..

Gorillaz - 'Stylo'

Dir. Jamie Hewlett / UK / 2010 / 5 mins

The basic story of this music video was of a car chase. This film was a combination of live action and animation, I felt that this was beautifully done with some stunning shots and I personally couldn't telling if something had been animated or not, apart from the obvious Gorillaz characters!

Basement Jaxx - 'My Turn'

Dir. Tomek Ducki / UK / 2009 / 3 mins 32 secs

This was a very abstract animation  with great use of shapes, form and colour! I was very different to  'Stylo' and I very much preferred this one as it was a lot more creative. The timing of the movement of shapes was beautiful.

Volver - 'A Sorte'

Dir. Leonardo Domingo / Brazil / 2009 / 3 mins 48 secs

This music video was also quite abstract but in a different way to Basement Jaxx's one. I found this one quite boring and it didn't interest me at all...it may have been that I had trouble getting past the music which was pushing my attention away. However I did watch again after on youtube without the music and still found it really uninteresting. This is most probably because everything is moving so slowly and for most of it there isn't a lot happening. However  the concept and idea behind it was quite interesting...

The Tom Fun Orchestra - 'Bottom of the River'

Dirs. Alasdair Brotherston, Jock Mooney / UK / 2009 / 3 mins 6 secs

I loved this music  video as it was quite quirky and fun!   It was about rubbish bags that had been dumped in the river. It was very simple and I loved the style of it.  The different rubbish bag characters were also very fun!

Lone Wolf - 'Keep Your Eyes on the Road'

Dir. Ashley Dean / UK / 2010 / 4 mins 49 secs

This was my second favourite music video as it was very visually exciting with lots going on. The whole video was done using stop motion animation. Sometimes the mouth wasn't in sync with the lyrics but I can understand that that is quite a hard thing to do. Loved it.

And finally the Short Shorts!...

The Inkwell Shuffle

Dir. Christopher Diaz / Canada / 2010 / 2 mins 28 secs

'A playful musical romp is interrupted by an unwelcome guest in this homage to early 20th century animation.'

This animation was clever but I wouldn't say that it was brilliant. I found this animation quite boring and reminded me too much of mickey mouse....I didn't find the idea very original. 

Lucky

Dir. Trevor Hardy / UK / 2010 / 59 secs

This animation was about an old lady looking for her cat. I loved this film..it was brilliantly funny and very well timed! Quick, simple , effective and was very well thought about!  The quirkiness of the technique and style added to the humour!

Oil Story

Dir. Peter Bishop / UK / 2010 / 2 mins 30 secs

'A past, present, future glimpse into man's relationship with oil and his insatiable greed for more. Man never knows when to stop.' 

This animation annoyed and bored me and I didn't like the style.

Paper Plane

Dir. Margherita Premeroso / Italy / 2009 / 1 min 8 secs

'With his creativity Tim realizes his dream of fling in the starry night sky...The story is set in his secret tree house, where he feeds his imagination each night.' 

I loved this film, it was very simple and effective, the combination of CGI and the style reminded me of Pixar's work. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Pixels

Dir. Patrick Jean / France / 2010 / 2 mins 35 secs

'New York invasion by 8 bit creatures!' 

I loved this animation, it was amazing and very original! It had me transfixed through out the entire thing! The idea was excellent and the execution of the animation was brilliant. I would watch it over and over again if possible. This animation was created using CGI. 

Monster Auditions

Dir. Suren Perera / Australia / 2009 / 2 X 1 mins

'Everyone needs help sometimes. Monster auditions features Phil the swamp monster and Sam the vampire visiting a life coach.'

This animation was ok but it did have a nice sense of humour in it. The concept was good but I felt that it wasn't anything to shout about. The stlye was quite quirky which I felt matched the humour of the 2 characters well. 

Blind Date

Dir. Nigel Davies / UK / 2010 / 3 mins 35 secs

'Lucille, a lonely lighthouse keeper, surfs the net for company. Oblivious to the potential perils of internet dating, she prepares a romantic supper for two...'

I loved the style and technique used in this animation, the story line was good but wasn't most gripping thing I've seen. 

Fly

Dir. Alan Short / UK / 2010 / 2 mins 44 secs

'The eternal battle between man and fly  is played out with ever more comedic results to the final pay off. As the drama escalates the man and his dog find themselves making increasingly extreme attempts to rid  themselves of the fly.'

This animation was brilliant! It has such a simple idea but has been made to be very funny and is something everyone can relate to. I wasn't too keen on the whole style and aesthetics of the animation  but it definitely had that cartoon humour to  it that added to the effect of the story, or rather sequence of events! 

Bric-a-Brac

Dir. Aaron Wendel / USA / 2009 / 2 mins

'A collection of keys, coins, and other junk- drawer objects, rendered by crayon rubbings to form a cast of characters.'

What characters?! I didn't pick up that these were characters at all....I found it really boring and didn't do anything for me. The only thing I did like was the idea of using rubbings and animating them. 

A TV Movie

Dir. Daniel Faigle / Germany / 2009 / 1 min 40 secs

'Bored? Watch TV, of course! But that's not so easy if you are a TV set.'

I liked this idea and I loved the way that they used stop motion to make this animation. It had some very nice and interesting shots 

Dry Fish

Dir. Andy Martin / UK / 2010 / 2 mins

'Sometimes you find yourself in a place you just can't explain and quite often it can be a little worrying. This animated short tells of one such occasion as our hero tries to express his feelings in the only way he can...via the medium of song.'

I loved this animation. Loads of different characters had different part of the songs that they seemed to 'control' by repeating certain actions. This animation was visually very exciting with lots going on. The idea  was put across really well and the message is shown to the audience very clearly. I really enjoyed this one.

Vovo

Dir. Luiz Lafayette Stockler / Uk / 2010 / 2 mins 34 secs

'He was bald with some liver spots on his head.'

Simple line drawn animation that was made really nicely. The story was good and  I felt the animation was strong, I really enjoyed it.

Human Beings

Dir. Mashaallah Mohammadi / Iran / 2009 / 3 mins 10 secs

'A man cuts and piece of earth and another man....' 

This animation was very simple but put the message across very well. I understood it easily and didn't get bored watching it. The style and sensitivity of the animation put across the message and idea really nicely. I enjoyed this one.

White Tape

Dirs. Michal Kranot, Uri Kranot / Denmark / 2010 / 2 mins 5 secs

'White Tape explores  the theme of boundaries; the frame, space between brush strokes and the implications on occupation.'

This was beautifully animated through a lovely style and technique with some very interesting shots. The concept was fascinating and was very visually exciting. I really enjoyed it.

Student Films

Lumo

Dir. Antje Heyn / Germany / 2009 / 7 mins 29 secs

'Lumo is a film about interaction - between drawer and drawing, between two characters and between thinker and thoughts.'

This animation was really good but the idea was not original. I liked the way that the person interacted with the drawing. Was done really nicely and was very easy to understand.

Prayers for Peace

Dir. Dustin Grella / USA / 2009 / 7 mins 38 secs

'A narrative stop motion animation confronting the memory of the artists younger brother killed in the current conflict in Iraq. Drawn entirely with pastels on a slate chalkboard, the materials used to create the animation become a metaphor for the impermanence of life.'

This was beautifully done, I admired the skill more than the story though for some reason.

The Goat and the Well

Dir. Ben Cady / UK  / 2010 /  5 mis 17 secs

'A conflict between a determined goat and a short tempered woman.'

This animation was very funny although in the middle I got a little frustrated and bored, maybe it when on a little too long for me. The end was worth it though. It was a nice simple line drawn animation for a nice simple story. 

Stanley Pickle

Dir. Victoria Mather / UK / 2010 / 11 mins 20 secs

'Stanley never goes outside. He likes to play with his clockwork toys and every night his mother kisses him good night. Stanley is twenty. The trouble is that Stanley thinks that is all quite normal, until an encounter with a mysterious girls turns his world upside down....'

This film was beautifully done using stop motion and real people. I loved the style, the vibrance and vividness of this film, was very original.

Heartstrings

Dir. Rhiannon Evans / UK / 2009 / 2 mins 52 secs

'Falling in love only lasts as long as a piece of string.'

Heartstrings is a stop motion animation of two knitted characters. It is very simple but very effective. Emotion was put across very well and it made me feel for the character on the left of the screen. 

On The Water

Yi Zahao / Netherlands / 2010 / 8 mins 16 secs

'The film follows the life journey of a man on a stream of water. The man in an archetype of mankind, the tide on  which he reside is the symbol of the existent world. The beauty and hardship of being alive, the hope and frustration, the eternal fate of all mankind, are transformed and visualised in this symbolic world of water.'

A very original animation, I loved the style  and technique. This is a film that everyone can relate to. I  got lost inside of this film and really enjoyed it!

Mobile

Dir. Verena Fels / Germany / 2010 / 6 mins 24 secs 

'A cow tips the balance of destiny...'

This is the funniest animation I have seen, it had me in stitches. The shot were well thought of, it was very simple but again very effective. 

The Eagle Man Stag

Mikey Please / UK / 2010 / 8 mins 55 secs

'If you repeat the word 'fly' for long enough it sounds like you saying the word 'life'. This is of no help to Peter. His answers lie in the brain of the beetle.'

I didn't  understand most of this film and found it very confusing. The beginning was funny but a part from that it bored me. Stop motion was used to create this animation and the majority of it was completely white.

Out on the Tiles

Dir. Anna Pearson / UK / 2010 / 3 mins 11 secs

'An inebriated woman pays a visit to the ladies for a cheeky cigarette, but not everything goes quite to plan...'

Was created using stop motion. I didn't like the style but I feel that it fitted in with the story well. It was quite funny but very disgusting...I wouldn't watch it again. 

Thembi's Diary

Dir. Jisoo Kim / USA / 2010 / 6 mins 15 secs

'Thembi's Diary is an animation  made from a true audio documentary (NPR Radio diaries). It is recorded by Thembi a South African girl with Aids. Although her disease is harsh for a 17 year old , Thembi talks to her virus every morning. With a calm voice she says that as long as it leaves her alone she will do the same.'

This story was more powerful than the animation. This wasn't my favourite when rating the visuals but the style  depicted the African ethnic well.

Rubika

Dirs. Claire Baudean, Ludovic Habas, Mickeal Krebs, Julien Legay, Chao Ma, Florent Rousseau, Caroline Roux, Margaux Vaxelaire / France / 2010 / 3 mins 58 secs

'Welcome to Rubika, a planet with a fancy gravity.'

This was a CGI animation with a very original and imaginative idea, I loved it. 

Loom  

Dirs.Llija Brunck, Jan Bitzer, Csaba Letay / Germany/ 2010 / 5 mins 25 secs

'Loom tells the story of a successful catch. A moth being caught in a  spiders web. Struggling for an escape, the moths panic movements only result in less chance of survival. What follows is the type of causality everyone's expecting.'

This was my most favourite student film...it was absolutely breath taking! Done using CGI but was very detailed and the shots were beautiful and absolutely stunning! 

Overall on my first day of BAF I saw a massive amount of animations all very different and unique in their own way. I found the day very visually exciting and I really enjoyed it!