Within the world of animation, most experimentation occurs within short format productions, whether they be high-budgeted commercials, low-budgeted independent shorts or something in between. The growing number of short film festivals around the world attest to the vitality of these works, but there are few other venues for exhibition of them or even written reviews. As a result, distribution tends to be difficult and irregular. On a regular basis, Animation World Magazine will highlight some of the most interesting with short, descriptive overviews.

If you have the QuickTime plug-in, you can view a clip from each film by simply clicking the image.

This Month:

Originated by Descent (2001), 5.5 min., directed by Jung Eun Lee, Korea/USA. Info: Jung Eun Lee, Seungdong-gu, Hangdang2-dong, Sindonga Apt. 3-1305, Seoul, Korea 133-776. Tel.: 82-2-6453-0909. Email: yijungeun@hotmail.com.

Shaved Monkey (2002), 1.5 min., directed by Thor Adam Goodall, England. Info: Thor Adam Goodall, The Art of Darkness Studios, 2 The Haven, Newton Road, Castle Acre, King’s Lynn PE32 2AZ. Tel.: 44 (0) 1760-755386. Fax: 44 (0) 1760-755660. Email: thor.goodall@btopenworld.com.

7 Cats (2003), 1 min., directed by Laura di Trapani, USA. Info: Laura di Trapani, 11055 NW Cornell, Portland, OR 97229. Fax: 503-294-7170. Email: laura@ditrapani.com. Web: www.ditrapani.com.

Cameras Take Five (2003), 3 min., directed by Steven Woloshen, Canada. Info: Steven Woloshen, 3900 Place Guay, Apt. A, Montreal, Quebec H4C 1G3. Tel.: 514-931-6294. Email: swoloshen@hotmail.com.

Ananda (2003), 5 min., directed by Mike Smith, USA. Info: Kathy Radcliffe, Vinton Studios, 1400 NW 22nd Ave., Portland, OR 97210. Tel.: 503-276-0141. Fax: 503-226-3746. Email: kathyr@vinton.com. Web: www.vinton.com.

Life: rock on! Originated by Descent © 2001 Jung Eun Lee.

Originated by Descent
Percussion music accompanies the viewer’s multiplane, watercolored descent into a cavernous cave. We see ancient rock paintings of animals on its walls. The paintings come alive as horses and deer transform into clouds, reflected in a pool of water. We descend into the watery depths and find schools of fish. The fish become fossilized, seemingly painted, into the walls of rock and their bones transform into the branches of a tree, in the open air again, among the chirping birds and passing clouds. The clouds take shape into the earlier, animated rock paintings. The branches of the tree slowly turn into the pulsing, ramifying veins of a heart, which itself forms into a fertility statue among other petroglyphs.

The beating heart of life is seen as the process of the earth itself. The relationship of living beings with the natural flow of the environment is captured in the gesture and memory of our human art, carrying us forward into the present. Director Jung Eun Lee explains that his intent was to see through the “historical spaces” (the remains and relics) of the “accumulated times” around us — to “feel the energy, force and inner rhythm underlying existence.”

The work was created as a 2D computer animation, using Adobe Photoshop, Painter, Premiere and After Effects. It has played at the Foyle Film Festival (U.K.); Wissembourg Animation Festival (France); 42nd International Film Festival for Children and Youth (Czech Republic); Kalamazoo Animation Festival and VC Film Festival (USA). Originated by Descent won the award for Best Animation at the Semana International Film Festival (Spain).