|
McLaren Animation 3. Reviewed by Elf.
This, the last in three screenings in Edinburgh of new British animation, is engaging from beginning to end. The McLaren Award competition, with a cash prize of £1000 for the filmmaker whose work is voted best by festival audiences, takes in an eclectic mix in terms of both media and content.
That means dialogue-free, yet evocative films such as Blood Flower, by Peter Traynor, Impressions Of A Coat, by Anna Douglas, which takes its starting point from a snow imprint and extrapolates from that the events which led up to the mark being made, and Anwyn Beier's vibrant Nightwindows, which allows the audience a fleeting, voyeuristic glimpse of what lies behind the windows of a city by night.
Intermingled with these more esoteric offerings is a range of funny, thoughtful dialogue films. In the funny corner is the hilarious Little Bo Poop, who, in a variation on the nursery rhyme, heads off to the city in search of her woolly friends, aided by some helpful sheep droppings. It displays a wide range of animation media techniques, including claymation and some lovely travel scenes, using chalk and a blackboard.
The Dark, by Gareth Love, is another beautifully crafted, amusing tale of the plight of a bogeyman, who is having trouble with modern technology - and we thought it was only us!
A mention must be made of the colourful and witty Novelty, by Lee Hodgkinson, about a girl growing up with a strange pair of slippers that have a secret life only she knows about, and the Terry Gilliamesque Little Big Man, by Jo Neave, recounting the seven-day creation of a bodybuilder.
And if Neave's frenetic animation leaves you gasping for breath, unable to take in all the detail, then Lucy Hudson's Silver Thread should be the perfect counterpoint. Telling the tale of a woman who lives by the sea, it shows how she is linked to others by simple silver threads - a story of longing and loss.
Overall, this is well worthwhile, ably demonstrating the wealth and breadth of talent amongst British animators.
McLaren Animation 2. Reviewed by Nic O
A diverse selection of the best new animation with this second selection including a generous helping from students of the very local Edinburgh College of Art.
Control is an inspired little film from Matt Rochester. He builds an entirely new universe with strict rules and patterns, only to tear it apart before our eyes and subvert the story. It brings together a unique animation style with original ideas.
Also from the college is Roots, a magically odd film reminiscent of those Playschool factory visits with Cameron Duguid, creates Busby Berkley-style choreography for items making up the various stages of the manufacture of a child's toy. Slightly bizarre but strangely satisfying.
Suitcase McKenzie uses a traditional animation style owing more to Tom & Jerry than the wackier stuff you expect and usually do find in these programmes. It's a pulp detective story where the detective is a suitcase with attitude. Reasonably self-assured animation from Cormac O'Kane keeps this moving nicely and the scripts pretty good fun too.
In complete contrast Salt Blizzard is a rather odd film in icy conditions about divers, bears and lovely lasses. Deeply melancholic and a little odd Robert Jefferson's film also boasts a wonderfully old-fashioned silent movie quality.
The Affectionate Punch is an interesting lesson in all that's good and bad about computer animation. Thor Adam Goodall starts by creating a weather sepia tinted hellish night in a big house, but many a shot lingers too long on the pretty pixels giving a dizzy steady-cam weariness to portions of the film. Well-executed though, and with a few nice references to dark/horror films.
Also in the grizzly netherworld of grim animated realities is Dog Suzie Templeton's film made with some of the most visceral mannequins around. Loosely the story involves a man, his son and his dog, all of whom are coming to terms with the death of the matriarch. It's depressing, unpleasant stuff to watch but again very well done. The models are eerie with their transparent porcelain skin and are rendered creepier by their voices. Definitely not my favourite of the bunch (I think Control wins that tiny accolade!) regardless of the animation skills here, as the script is surely trying too hard to be intriguing and dark.
Dick is more like Carry-On-Animating as it tells, in gloriously silly style (complete with Blackadder style closing song), the story of Dick Turpin. Nicely stylised animation from Richard James helps add comedy to the mix, especially in the relationship between Dick and his horse! Light and memorably done.
Which is more than can be said for Paul Basset Davies' How Do You Feel? which in fact feels more like a questionable installation piece than an entertaining piece of animation with it's mix of styles and techniques.
Metalstasis is yet another imaginative work here using good computer animation from Matthew Hood to create a sympathy grabbing robot with problems. By turns tragic and funny as both the ageing process and the problems of being a machine are considered. Equally original but not nearly as much fun to look at after the detail of animation on Metalstasis is Mr Kalkoen a bizarre animation from Sam Cundall with some lovely music from both filmmaker and his mates accompanying an odd story played out with effective characters occasionally with a look of Monty Python or Pigeon Street about them.
Postcards of Belief is guaranteed to make you feel uncomfortable in your seat as Harriet Walter details pain and ageing in the soundtrack to another visceral experience. Bodies fade in and out with medical detail largely ignored in favour of instinctive depictions of how pain feels on your body. Not a film for hypochondriacs!
McLaren Animation 1. Reviewed by Elf
This the first hour-plus-long McLaren Animation screening reflects a spectrum of work being produced by up-and-coming animators in Britain. The showcase
features 14 pieces in practically every animated style imaginable.
I found the beautifully rendered watercolour short, The Emperor,
by Scot, Elizabeth Hobbs, which tells of a soldier's quest to
rescue Napoleon Bonaparte from exile, particularly engaging, as
were Rachel Everitt's Lunar jig, the tale of a nighttime soiree
of creepy crawly folk, and Bill Elliot's claymation Donor Card,
tracing attempts to create a monster bride.
As with any showcase of this type, it won't please everyone all
of the time, though, if you find a particular piece is dragging,
you can rest assured it won't last long. Overall, this is a reasonably
enjoyable look at the up-and-coming talent, but perhaps
best recommended to fans only.
Oh, and a word of warning, the penultimate piece, Riccardo Iacono's
Letters, was very 'strobey' in nature and might cause problems
for people sensitive to that kind of effect.
|
