Saturday, February 21, 2009

A Little Film: Oktapodi

I'm just going to take a minute to mention a little animated short that I'm really excited about. I work at Dreamworks Animation, and last year, they brought in ten or so guys from France to be trained for several months before moving to India to head up Dreamworks' studio there as animation supervisors. These little guys (little in age, as well as stature: they were just out of school, having graduated from Gobelins, a very prestigious animation school in Paris) with their backpacks, frequent cigarette breaks, and kisses on both cheeks, were an adorable addition to our campus.

Towards the end of their stint in LA, Dreamworks screened all of these kids' final project films from Gobelins. All of them were impressive, but one stood out. Oktapodi is a madcap 3-minute story about what happens when you separate two octopi in love on a Greek island. It's really wonderful: from the Greek music, to the lovable octopi themselves, the dreamy Mediterranean architecture, to the clever, fast-paced story. It was clear that it was well beyond a simple student film, and now it's nominated for an Oscar! How cool is that?!

Now, it probably won't win. Pixar has a contender in the Best Animated Short Film category, Presto, so there goes that. But, I think it's good to point out: while Presto had all the resources of the most renowned animation studio in the world behind it, Oktapodi was made by just six students. Pretty awesome.

I really liked Presto and a couple of the other nominees as well, but tomorrow I'll be rooting for our boy Julien and the other five, and their two lovelorn octopi.

You can watch the entire film (that's right, all three minutes of it), here.

4 comments:

  1. Just watched this, very cool film. Let me know about anything else worth watching... usually I can't get to the restaurants you talk about!

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  2. Hello!

    I found you using google. I don't know if I qualify as a spammer. But, I see you work for Dreamworks. You probably know where I'm going with this, but I have an Animated Screenplay that has ranked in several competitions.

    You can download it at my website: Furry Wars

    I don't know how to even begin to market it, hence my comment. I'm sorry if this was inappropriate. I just feel more comfortable having tried.

    Sincerely,

    Marcus Bass
    mbass2011@yahoo.com

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  3. OMG T that was hilarious! I was laughing out loud when the octopi started shooting ink in the dude's face. I wish I was a French animator working in India....

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  4. Ian Betts! So happy to see you here! In the world of short films, I will give you two quick recommendations: One is La Maison En Petites Cubes, the one which actually won the Oscar. It's sweet and a little sad, and you can actually watch it here.

    The other is called Plastic, and I just watched it today (and met the two lovely Aussie ladies who made the film!). I wasn't able to find it online, but it's worth seeking out! Another extremely impressive student film.

    Marcus, I'm afraid I have no idea how movies make their way into this place! Best of luck on your endeavor!

    And, Brad, I know! super funny!

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