It's been quite a while since I've updated, but I'm back to the drawing board for my final film, my thesis film, at UCLA. I've already scrapped one idea -- kind of a film noir with mostly skeleton characters, and I'm probably on my way to scrapping this next one. I haven't quite gotten inspired just yet. Checking out Will Becher's stop motion work, though, has got me thinking that I should do something short, visual, and that reads like a gem:
Graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art in 2002, Will has been collaborating and working with Aardman (and others) for quite a few years now. The animation in Offbeat just screams out its expressions, not in an overbearing way, but you can tell every step of the way how the character feels...with subtlety. His Channel 4 bankrolled "The Weatherman" is more cartoony, but no less effective:
I especially appreciate the sound work on the film, and the point where the non-diegetic music cuts out. It works itself into the film as a narrative device, without actually being diegetic.
Finally, check out his 30-second advert for "Feel Good Drinks". It's a cute little thing that took quite a while to make, considering the "making-of" is 8 and 1/2 minutes:
