Flash video embed above, click "full" icon inside the player to view it large. You can download the MP4 here. Our YouTube channel is here, you can subscribe to our daily video podcast on iTunes here. Get Twitter updates every time there's a new ep by following @boingboingvideo, and here are the archives for Boing Boing Video.
Today's Boing Boing Video is an excerpt from a new work by the avant-garde animator David O'Reilly — a tale of love and domestic abuse involving a digital cat and mouse, set in the near future. We have featured David's work on Boing Boing before, and his innovative style is not easily described. What you see here is a brief snip of a longer, 10 minute short due to be released later today — the whole piece is amazing, and makes more sense as a narrative work in long form. But this clip will introduce you to the sometimes harsh, sometimes hypnotic alternate universe David has created with these characters, and this visual style. The complete version will be distributed exclusively by Future Shorts, subscribe to their youtube channel here. "Please Say Something" won the Golden Bear for best short film at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival.
Credits: Written and Directed by David OReilly, Sound design by David Kamp & Bram Meindersma.
Q&A WITH ANIMATOR DAVID O'REILLY
Xeni: When we previously ran your work on Boing Boing, I called it "vectorpunk," but you've since said you feel that wasn't the best word. How do you describe it? Is there a term or an explanation for your process and aesthetic approach?
David O'Reilly: Well, it's hard to pin down, but my way of working is like a path-of-least-resistance method, like when I'm building something in 3d, I just stop as soon as it looks like what it's supposed to. One of the reasons holding 3d back is that it takes so long to get anything done, I'm trying to reduce that as much as possible. With this film for instance I cut out the entire process of rendering and used previews, which take a fraction of the time to make.
Xeni: Can you tell us a little about this animation? The story, the inspiration, what you hope your audience will experience?
David: I just wanted to make something that would connect with an audience, it's a very simple story about a relationship that's hard to resolve. Underneath that I wanted to prove you could produce emotion and authenticity with something blatantly artificial and unrealistic. You can even do it without facial expressions.
Xeni: Where are you based these days? What are you up to, other than making totally mindblowingly awesome shorts like this?
David: Berlin is currently my adopted home, I want to set up a little studio here. I'm currently finishing off the opening animation for the Pictoplasma festival next month and a few other projects on the horizon. Keep checking the site!
Update: you can now watch the entire 10 minute piece here.
