Within the world of animation, most experimentation occurs within short-format productions, whether they are high-budgeted commercials, low-budgeted independent shorts or something in between. The growing number of short film festivals around the world attests to the vitality of these works, but there are few other venues for their exhibition, nor are they often reviewed. As a result, distribution tends to be difficult and irregular. On a regular basis, Animation World Magazine will highlight some of the most interesting of these films.

This month:
Keith Reynolds Can't Make It Tonight (2007), 6 min., 2 sec., directed by Felix Massie (U.K.). Contact: Arthur Cox Ltd. [T] +44 (0) 117 953 9788 [W] www.worldofarthurcox.com; Felix Massie [W] http://www.BalancedThere.com [E] felixMassie@gmail.com

Shaman (2008), 11 min. 11 sec, directed by Luc Perez (Denmark/France). Contact: Dansk Tegnefilm 2 ApS & 24 Images, Suomisvej 2, 2, DK-1927 Frederiksberg C; Marie Bro [T] +45 33 93 09 88 [F] +45 33 93 09 89 [E] marie@tegnefilm.com

Sweet Dreams (2008), 9 min., 56 sec., directed by Kirsten Lepore (U.S.). Contact: Kirsten Lepore [E] kirsten@kirstenlepore.com [W] http://www.kirstenlepore.com

Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008), 29 min., directed by Nick Park (U.K.).

The design is flat and simple in Keith Reynolds Can't Make It Tonight, with modified stick figures moving between floors of a spartan, geometric office building. © Arthur Cox Ltd.

Keith Reynolds Can't Make It Tonight

"This is Keith Reynolds and today is promotion day. Having worked at the company eight years he's the most senior junior business analyst in the building. He's been waiting for this day for a very long time. When he gets his promotion, he'll finally be a successful businessman. This is important because it means Sarah will like him."

That's the opening of Keith Reynolds Can't Make It Tonight, a dark, funny piece of animation by British director Felix Massie that explores just how quickly a bad day can spiral out of control and become the worst day of your entire life. Needless to say, Reynolds doesn't receive his expected promotion, which ruins his chances with Sarah, which leads to a fateful confrontation with the man who did get his promotion, and then...

To go into any more detail would spoil the fun of watching this short, but it's a great way to spend six minutes. The design is flat and simple, with modified stick figures moving between floors of a spartan, geometric office building. Given the bizarre series of events that unfolds over the course of the film, however, it's probably for the best that the characters aren't depicted in any great detail.

Massie animated the film in Flash, and composed the soundtrack using a program called Fruity Loops. He decided that an American was necessary for the narration, and he tapped voice actor Scott Johnson for the job after Massie discovered him on YouTube. Johnson recorded his part in the U.S., and Massie directed him from the U.K. via e-mail, and managed to get a great performance out of him despite this obstacle.

As for the story, Massie claims it was inspired mostly by American Dream and Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe detective stories. The inspiration for the artwork comes from Massie's animations that he created in his younger days—and you can see those works at his website, http://www.icantcolourin.co.uk. Keith Reynolds Can't Make It isn't quite as visceral and spontaneous as those earlier works, but Massie has taken very well to the longer format, and his characters show a surprising amount of depth for two-dimensional stick figures.

One of the goals with Shaman, which relied on paintings on paper manipulated by After Effects and Photoshop, is to provide an accurate look back at an endangered aspect of Inuit culture. © Lupe Films.

Shaman
Memory is a powerful thing. One minute, you're sitting at a bus stop in Denmark, the next a bird catches your eye and you're experiencing a vivid flashback from a life and death struggle from your younger days. Luc Perez's film Shaman, explores this relationship between past and present as Utaaq, an old Inuit man, reflects on his turbulent youth and the experiences that shaped him.

Utaaq's flashback blends fantasy and reality as his younger self suffers a near-death experience at the hands of a mountain wanderer and the sinister Tupilak that obeys his every command. This horrific beast drives Utaaq away, and the experience leads him to become a powerful shaman, with abilities to match the wanderer and his creature.

Perez spent a great deal of time studying Greenland's Inuit culture, paying special attention to the contrast of the old ways and the new, and the battle between the past and the future. The shaman's culture is fading, and is in danger of extinction, and one of Perez's goals with this film is to provide an accurate look back at this endangered aspect of Inuit culture.

The film itself was created with a minimal amount of technology, relying on paintings on paper manipulated by After Effects and Photoshop. The medium suits the story well, as Perez's paintings perfectly capture the surreal transitions between time periods. There's a real sense of cold and fear in the flashback sequences, and a sense of magic and mysticism as well. Perez may not be able to stop the old ways from fading into oblivion, but he makes an admirable attempt to preserve their memory.