Sunday, March 9, 2008

Ident ~ Aardman, 1989

This is a short film directed by Richard Goleszowski, and produced by Aardman Animation in 1989. It is remarkably different from other Aardman shorts, especially looking at it now.

I have been watching this short recently. I showed it to a friend, it was her first time seeing it, and it blew her away.

I love this short, and its a little hard to explain why. I think I just love the nonsensical nature of it. The gibberish and the actions are hysterical. It's a short film that works very well without a story. Pat Smith had a rant on his blog some time ago about how it is not always about story, but really the idea, or just the characters, or the visuals. In my opinion, there is no one source, it can be anything. It just depends on what comes first, and where that leads. Ident is a short that is very complete, and based solely on the idea and the visual.

Also, some exciting stuff over here. The Pratt Animation shows have been set up (a tremendous thanks to Fran Krause). We will have three showings, all in May. I will add more information if anyone out there is interested. Also, this coming week are screenings for the ASIFA-East festival this year. As a member, I have the privilege of casting my vote in the screening. I hope to have something to report on.

3 comments:

Elliot Cowan said...

"This is a short film directed by Richard Goleszowski, and produced by Aardman Animation in 1989."

This is due very specifically to Richard's handiwork.

This features Rex The Runt - a character who garnered his own wonderful series several years ago.
If you've not seen it, look it up.

Bio said...

I don't think you're giving Richard Goleszowski's "Ident" enough credit in your description. I believe the animation is a very profound look at the daily interactions of people. It is more a performance than a film, reminiscent of Allan Kaprow's work, speaking on the falsehoods and guises we adopt in order to "succeed" in society.

I think when you say:

"Ident is a short that is very complete, and based solely on the idea and the visual."

You neglect to take into consideration very specific and creative sound design.

Emmett said...

I think the sound design is very impressive, and definitely believe to be vital to the overall piece. However, at the time I wrote this, I wasn't paying attention to the sound design in particular. Falsehoods and society is part of the idea as well, I'm not blind to that. At the time I wrote this, I was thinking about the process of the film, and how it related to the idea.