One
of the more interesting films I saw at SIGGRAPH 2006 was
Andy Huang's "Doll Face". It's a very simple set,
only a few objects. But they are very well designed, modelled,
textured and lit, and the whole is much greater than the
sum of its parts. It takes a lot of talent to make something
so simple seem so believable.
But the real strength of "Doll Face" is in its
content. This is a film that speaks on many different levels
about the struggle between individuality and conformity
in response to external ideals. But I think it's also a
comment on reaching ever higher for physical perfection
in our image-obsessed society.
All that, in only 4 minutes. Nice.
My concept for 'Doll Face' stemmed from a series of drawings
and paintings I did in high school that focused on robotic
yet organic tree-like bodies. Some of my early artistic
influences include musicians Björk and Radiohead, as
well as artists and directors Chris Cunningham, Eiko Ishioka
and Jan Svankmajer. I loved watching music videos and films
that seamlessly fused actors with CG makeup/effects (for
instance Björk’s 'Hunter' video or the makeup effects
in The Cell) and I knew I wanted to direct a short
film that incorporated that same kind of CG interaction.
CLICK
HERE TO VISIT the DOLL FACE WEBSITE
Curious
to see how far I could run with the limited technology available
to me, 'Doll Face' was my attempt to take up this challenge.
Production involved one day of shooting during the summer
of 2004.
My good friend Christina Frenzel agreed to be the actress.
I filmed her in front of a bluescreen with a blue cloth
wrapped around her head. My old friend and mentor Ted Vegvari
runs a non-profit community technology center called Palos
Verdes on the Net and was kind of enough to lend me his
studio, lights and camera equipment. I shot my footage using
a Canon XL-1, and I used Maya 6.0 and Adobe After Effects
6.5 for all 3D and 2D effects. I had no access to motion
capture technology, so all of the match-move between the
actress’s head and the CG body had to be rotoscoped or clumsily
stitched together somehow. Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 was used
edit the film together and mix all of the sound.
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"I
had no access to motion capture technology, so all
of the match-move between the actress’s head and the
CG body had to be rotoscoped or clumsily stitched
together somehow."
- Andy Huang
|
I
also used Reason 3.0 to compose my own score. Composing
my own music was fun for me because I felt I had complete
control over the mood of the film through the ambient electronic
beats and chords. It gave me a chance to emulate Björk
and the other musical influences that informed the look
and feel of the film.
'Doll
Face' was completed in December 2005. It was a learning
experience both during and after production. Sometimes I
feel like the real work began was after the film was completed.
Since finishing the film I’ve been sending it out to festivals.
Learning how the festival circuit works and learning how
to market yourself is a real challenge. And I also feel
that I’ve been introduced to a political dimension to animation,
film and computer graphics when I consider all of the awards,
recognition, publicity and money that get passed around
the festival circuit. I’m very honored and happy that 'Doll
Face' has done well at festivals and that it’s been able
to show at Annecy and SIGGRAPH.
Despite all the attention paid to these festivals though,
I continue to look at animation and filmmaking as a very
personal endeavor. It’s a hard and tedious process, but
it’s a labor of love and I hope to make many more films
down the road.
--Andy
Huang, DEC 2006
