Characters dance while a bone motif whirls around a blazing sun in the skies overhead. Elvis is on the street corner. A boy flirts with a girl. OK, they're all dead, but you can't hold that against them. Won't we all be dead... eventually? These stiffs are far from stiff, and that can mean only one thing: it must be their day off.

One of the things that interested me about Day Off the Dead is that it was made by about a dozen different artists and animators working in their spare time at their own homes, communicating with directors Lee Lanier and Jeffrey Dates via the internet.

For free.

They made this film simply for the LOVE of it.

Now, you would think that the result you'd get from a working situation like this would be a scattered and rather disconnected product, at best. But you'd be wrong. It is a testament to the caliber of artists that formed the team, as well as the creative minds at the helm of this film, that the result holds together as a unified whole. And a good one at that.

The film is finished, and soon you should be able to get a copy of it in your hot little hands. Meanwhile, the Day Off the Dead website is open for business, so go have a look... and see below what Lee and Jeffrey have to say about their approach and the process of working remotely with a group of artists.

What do the dead do on their day off? This question gave birth to a 7-minute short and kept a dozen people busy for 2 and a half years.

I had been working as a professional animator since 1994, both at Walt Disney and Pacific Data Images, when Jeffrey Dates suggested we collaborate on a film. I had managed to direct and animate two very, very surreal shorts - "Millennium Bug" and "Mirror" - which Jeff had seen on the film festival circuit. His idea of bringing Mexican Day Of The Dead characters to life in one of my weird urban landscapes was a fantastic idea.

"We gathered together volunteer animators from every corner of North America..."      - Lee Lanier

We gathered together volunteer animators from every corner of North America, and went to work via the web. Ultimately, "Day Off The Dead" follows the comic exploits of Dead Guy and Dead Gal, who find themselves in Deadsville, which isn't exactly Hell, isn't exactly Purgatory, and definitely isn't Heaven."

      --Lee Lanier, August, 2003

As a creative, Day Off The Dead was a great project for me to cut my teeth on. It was the most ambitious personal project I've set out to accomplish thus far.

I approached Lee about a co-venture three years ago. His sensibility, and style are what attracted me to him immediately. After I laid out my B.S. he bought it all, hook line and sinker! It was all coming together.

"Our force of zombie animators were able to crank through the shots at a rate of 6 1/2 minutes in under three years!"      - Jeffrey Dates

Lee and I have very similar working styles but different strengths, which enabled us to combine forces. Dividing up the responsibilities we became: Mighty- Ultra- Super- Production- Team! Which we, with our combined powers, were able to brainwash many unsuspecting animators to join our cause.

Our force of zombie animators were able to crank through the shots at a rate of 6 1/2 minutes in under three years! The end result of this Mighty- Ultra- Super- Production- Team is apparent in its result. A wacky look at what awaits us all in the afterlife.

Oh and by the way, Elvis sends his regards!"

     --Jeffrey Dates, August, 2003