The Lost Thing: Interview With Shaun Tan

First, a word about Shaun Tan. He is an amazing storyteller. His picture books are not only filled with rich, whimsical pictures, but also with stories that stay with you long after you finish reading the last page. Sometimes poignant, sometimes joyful, they are always elegantly pure and simple, yet in that simplicity lies their power. I am not sure if this is an accurate description, but I think his stories are special, because they reach that part of you that still believes in the goodness of other people, of this world, and of yourself.

The Lost Thing is one such story. (Trailer available on youtube, and on the official site). It is about a boy who stumbles upon a bizarre-looking creature, and “…having guessed that it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it or where it belongs, but the problem is met with indifference by everyone else, who barely notices its presence…”. It first came out as a picture book in 2000, and was made into a short animated film at Passion Pictures Australia. Andrew Ruhermann co-directed it with Shaun, and Sophie Byrne is at the helm as executive producer (full credits at the official site).

After touring the world, winning awards at Festivals like Palm Springs and Annecy, it finally became available on DVD late 2010– something which I have been eagerly waiting for. Pre-production began as early as 2001, and the film was finally completed in August 2009.

Myself and fellow author Jon Gorman both love the story, so we decided to catch up with Shaun to find out what took place in such a mammoth undertaking of turning this beloved fable into that award-winning short.

NOTE: A reader has emailed me with a very good question regarding voice talent. We don’t usually do this, but it was very relevant, so we reached out to Sophie and Shaun once more, and the answer to that (by Sophie Byrne), is now added to the interview below, right at the end.

Read the interview here

Buck for Google eBooks

After much speculations and rumours, Google launches its own eBookstore today. Lots of talk about its pros and cons, as well as discussions about whether this would turn people away from other paperless book formats, such as Kindle, and so on.

But luckily for us all, this is a Motion Design blog, so let’s get to the juicy bits–here’s the spot announcing the launch. Once again Google favours the hand-crafted aesthetic, which I personally think is a smart move. Not only it is in keeping with the rest of Google’s campaign (eg. Chrome), but it also somewhat appeals to consumers like me who prefer the paper to pixel. In addition to saving trees, (although I don’t claim to know the exact carbon-cost advantage of eBooks), this campaign may just be the final push I need to switch to this new way of reading.

Thanks for the tip, Mungo and for the research, Igor!

Tetro

I recently watched this film, and while I have mixed feelings about the film itself, the title blew me away. Made by SFAUSTINA Design last year, it’s a typographical feast for the eyes. Some of the type compositions are reminiscent of the golden era of Hollywood in the 1940s (see above, where director’s name, film title, and main actor’s name appear on the same screen). The animation of the type hints at the key visual device that runs throughout the film (lights and reflections), which in turn relates a key element in the story. Catch the full interview with Stephen Faustina and watch the titles in HD, here.

Cocoe : Fondo Del Agua (Water Fund)

What’s not to like about this? To me, anyway, this is another one of those ‘tick-all-the-right-boxes’ kind of spot. Cocoe, the Madrid-based multidisciplinary design studio, was commissioned by Shackleton, to create this spot for the Spanish government, which promotes:

“Fondo de cooperación para agua y saneamiento”- a public institution dealing with water supply and sanitation tasks- is a project that meets one of the “millennium goals”: reduce the proportion of  people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation by 2015.’

Just like the Story of Kakenya which was posted last week, pieces like this gives me hope, that as animators and designers, we can use our skills for the greater good! Keep ‘em coming, I’d say!

Red Medusa for Hrusteam Snacks

Now, a quick return to the lo-fi, funny, flash animation genre, Red Medusa made these 40 spots for Hrusteam snacks, a brand that’s apparently owned by Pepsi.
Here’s my favourite two, but do check the rest of them out, and pick your own favourites! Sure to make a dull day pass quicker…!
It’s a shame I don’t read Russian, I would love to explore the Red Medusa site and actually understand what I’m reading…

Thanks Igor for the help, and Ken McLean for the tip!

Credits

Eric Xu’s ‘Balloon’

Eric Xu’s graduation thesis piece from SVA features some nice art direction, lovely character design for the main little fella, and a dark twist at the end, which I really like. I wish he’d given it more time and nuance (the ending), shaving a couple of seconds from the start instead, but it’s worth a watch nevertheless…

Doug Appleton

Doug Appleton is about to graduate from NorthEastern in Boston MA, ladies and gents. He’s already done a few things for Buck, and his reel itself, is both strong and short. Which is the way reels should be.