Bottom of the Well: A Touching Animated Story About a Mouse and Friendship

This is short but very sweet.  A young mouse, out on an expedition, falls down a well.  Now, that might not end well (ah!), but at the bottom, in despair, he meets a new friend who might be the key to his survival.  Yet, this involves sacrifice.  I won’t tell you anymore because spoilers, but give it a watch, particularly if you are feeling a little down in the dumps today.  The screenshot above might give you a small clue, but I have no doubt that Bottom of the Well will cheer you up!

This animated short was the thesis film for two young creatives at SVA (School of Visual Arts in New York).  Xinyu Shen directed and produced, created the story and worked on the animation and editing.  Meanwhile, Charlie Yuyung Luo was co-producer and contributed character modelling, look development and the 2D cutscene animation.  Together they have created something very sweet – and very special.  Have a watch below.

Custom Made

Everyone is nervous, at least to some extent, on their first day at a new job.  Yet spare a thought for young Pierre (as I have called him).  He is the only human living in a world of animals and even his recent couture diploma isn’t going to get him very far when it comes to competing with his colleague, whose eight legs put her at a distinct advantage to him when it comes to completing new dresses on time. So, his first day is going to be challenging, to say the least. Regardless, plucky Pierre decides to give it his best job, even if it comes to some unfortunate improvisation…

This charming animated short was directed by Léa Cousty, Chloé Astier, Hugo Bourriez, Victoire Le Dourner, Raphaël Guez, and Mélanie Fourgeaud during their studies at Rubika in Valenciennes, France.  Music is by Valentin Lafort and sound design by Henri Petitprez.  The French title Sur Mesure means Custom Made in English (I hope no one minds me using the translation as the title to this post!). This is an incredibly accomplished animation for a group of students (however talented).  It features a simple but very well-told plot, and is a visual treat for the eyes. I was particularly struck both by the character and background design.  Bravo to all involved.   

Sea of Leaves: A Stunning Animated Pirate Tale of Regret, Revenge and Redemption

 

A tale of regret and revenge – two great staples of a pirate adventure.  So, Sea of Leaves is not unusual in that respect.  What does make it different, however, is the setting.  The pirate ship, with the remnants of its crew = the captain Viktor and his first-mate Bill, glides through the air towards a huge, forested area – in which lurks their destiny.  For they have been there before and the captain, wracked with guilt because his avarice cost so many lives, is determined to get his revenge on the one thing he blames.  What that is and whether Victor gets his revenge is up to you to discover…

This hugely enjoyable animated short was created by students at ESMA in France as their graduation project. It was directed by Vincent Bohnert, Margaux Bontron, Anaë Duquenne, Juliette Gilles-Payart, Veronika Nikulina, Romain Paillet, Yoann Paquet, Quentin Thisse and Maxime Verclytte. The music was composed by Matei Pouzet, while the sound design was created by Mickaël Merrheim, José Vicente and Yoann Poncet. The voice cast features Mark Kaczmarek, Robert Laborde, Vincent Bohnert and Quentin Thisse.  Bravo to everyone involved in the making of this beautifully crafted short.

Alone - A Lonely Robot Finds a Friend

I enjoy a simple story, well told.  As such Alone fits into that category perfectly.  Set aboard a future spacecraft, it tells the story of a robot given the lonely job of cleaning, polishing and maintaining everything while the humans on board wait out the journey in suspended animation.  After a while, the robot becomes lonely and decides to take some action to remedy the situation.  Soon, there are two robots. However, every action has a reaction – and soon there are issues aboard the spaceship.  There are difficult choices ahead…

This animated short was created by students at the UTS Animal Logic Academy in Australia.  It’s not long, but it’s perfectly formed.  There is a dash of WALL-E, a slither of R2D2 and a dash of Silent Running in the design of the robots – but they come across very well as their own creations.  The list of names involved is far too long to include here, but I would like to say a thank you to everyone involved in this wonderful creation!

Rise Age Short Film - Mesmerising Animation About Environmental Collapse

It may take you a while to fully comprehend what the title of this intriguing animated short means – for me, it had to be made explicit at the end…  Yet there is something quite mesmerising about this animated short by Tatjana Theuer, who created this while doing her postgraduate course in Motion Design at the FilmakademieBaden-Württemberg.  As a “student film” this is astonishingly mature work.

It tells the story of a community of sea-slug type creatures, happy in their carefree crawliness which is orchestrated and coordinated from above by a choir.  Yet as they go about their daily lives, something invisible threatens their way of life – but even after one group after another disappears, nothing seems to stop them from going about their business. Still, one by one they disappear.  This is all accompanied by the mesmeric “song” of their leaders, that with only small pauses as the destruction overtakes them, carries on regardless.  It was only towards the end I realised that this was about our rising sea levels and how we have done little or nothing to prevent it – in fact, we are the cause.

Take a look at Rise Age, which has to be one of the more charismatic animated shorts presented by students this year  – it is as thought provoking as it is entertaining.

Apocalypse Dog

This animated short is a blast from start to finish… it could easily form the basis of an excellent video game.  It tells the story of Bob and Pasha (the apocalypse dog of the title), who go about their business scavenging a living, with everything they own tottering and teetering on top of their rusty, dilapidated old car.  Bob does, frankly, look a little too well-fed for someone living after the end of the world as we know it, but perhaps the wasteland is full of calories as well as dangers.  His companion Pasha, who I think might be a miniature Doberman (definitely as wilful as some I have met!), is the more gregarious of the two – and it is his inclination to go in search of the source of a tantalising aroma that causes a rift in their relationship… and exposes both to great danger.

Told at breakneck speed, Apocalypse Dog successfully uses a number of cunning structural devices to tell its story - right up to the end - as well as changes in animation style.  It’s a fantastic piece of animation from a group of students at Rubika (in Valenciennes, France) which would be great as a supporting feature at the movies.  I particularly like the facial expressions that both Bob and Pasha use to communicate their thoughts and feelings.  All told, this is an animated short brimming with vitality and humour.  It is quite amazing to think that this is an undergraduate project,  given the high quality of both the animation and storyline.

Apocalypse Dog was directed by Aziliz Le Clainche, Camille Nasarre, Jing Qian, Juliette Barraux, Emma Plumey, Lucile Arnaud and Solène Cauchie. The music was composed by Cyrille Marchesseau, with sound design by Valentin Petiteau, and features voice work from Michel Elias (shout out here – great emotional communication using little more than grunts!).

S.O.U.R.C.E. - Water Wars on Alien Worlds: The Final Mecha Duel for Humanity’s Last Oasis

In the far future, water has become scarce in the universe, leading inevitably to war.  On the planet Airon, a unit of mechas of the intergalactic corporation S.O.U.R.C.E. has been assigned to take over the last oasis, but met fierce resistance.  Finally, there are only two left – and this is their last battle. Whoever wins will gain the only remaining pure source of water in the galaxy…

This animated short by a group of ESMA students is, effectively, one long battle sequence and as such shows off their animation skills with panache. It’s breath-taking, non-stop and ingenious.  Yet there is also a poignant story at the heart of all this sound and fury, which you only appreciate right at the end.  Hats off to these students for telling this story – a visual metaphor for how our own planet is going frankly!

The short was directed by Alexandre André, Louis Bonnaud, Adrien Gouloubi, Mathieu Hebrard, Pierre Lopez, Anton Markov, Evana Mingsisouphanh, Maxence Porelli, and Ludovic Vacher with music by Seiji Champollion. Sound was by Guilhem Favard, José Vicente and Yoann Poncet with the voices provided by José Vicente.