The haunting strains of New Order's "Elegia" begin
to play over the scene of children playing at a playground.
As the film progresses, it reveals a dark, grey world of
adults... we focus on an adult on a joyless busride to a
joyless job working in a joyless factory. No one plays,
no one smiles. There is no colour, no joy. Until...one day,
our hero has an idea...but will the idea lead to the utopia
he envisions? Or to a dark, soulless end?
I could write volumes about MORE. This animated short, more
than probably any other, has had a tremendous effect on
me. The very creation of AnimWatch itself, devoted to the
struggling Independent Animator, owes more than a passing
debt of gratitude to MORE for helping me see more clearly
what it means to be Independent.
Where to start?
I'm
sure most people can relate to this film for one reason
or another, and that's why it was nominated for an Academy
Award for Best Animated Short in 1998, and won Honours at
the Sundance Film Festival in 1999. But to me, it strikes
at the heart of what it means to be an artist, in contrast
to the need to make a living.
Director Mark Osborne said that MORE was his last-ditch
attempt to stay independent. With a child on the way, he
was staring down the decision all breadwinners with creative
drive must make -- craft, or responsibility. (Love or money?)
He had an opportunity to take a steady corporate job as
an animator. But he somehow was wise enough to know that,
had he taken the job, several years down the road that he
would be employed and comfortable, but ultimately creatively
frustrated. As he began making MORE, the theme of the piece
was not lost on him, and he saw working on this film as
a litmus test to ensure that he was making the film itself
for the right reasons.
But the beauty is that there are so many interpretations
for MORE. You can see it literally as the path a filmmaker
takes in making a film. You can see it more broadly as a
cautionary tale about struggling under the boot of an oppressive
job, getting out from under the heel by selling what made
you creative, and unintentionally going on to oppress others.
Or you can see it as a simple commentary on the parts of
ourselves we sometimes need to give away on the way to adulthood.
In any case, watching the film makes me have to go and hug
my kids.
MORE is simply created through animated lumps of clay and
other mixed media in traditional stop-motion technique.
But in addition, Osborne has employed gobs of ingenious
tricks to get some really slick effects in a pretty low-technology
setup. Some of those ingenious tricks are very simple (he
used cotton balls on sticks, embedded lights, and long exposures
between the frames of his animation to get those unique
glowing effects in the character's stomachs and goggles)
but I am sure that Mark will explain the making of his film,
much better than I could do here, in his director's comments
on his forthcoming DVD Special Edition, which should be
available NOV 2003.
"Why
did I make MORE? Well there are millions of reasons, but here
is some back story on the actual genesis.
In the summer of 1997 I was helping Mike Mitchell make his
live-action short film HERD and frankly, I wanted a new film
too. I hadn't made a film since finishing my CalArts student
film GREENER in 94. Oddly, at that same moment in time, a
teaching opportunity at CalArts fell into my lap. Returning
there provided the perfect setting to rediscover my creative
process that had gotten a little off track. The amazingly
talented and eager students there were a shot in the arm for
me and I was pushing myself pretty hard to come up with an
idea.
As I searched for inspiration, I found it in the birth of
my daughter who made me completely re-examine the world I
thought I understood. Seeing her come into the world totally
blew my mind. I knew I'd have to explain the entire mixed
up world to her, provide a stable life for her and be somebody
she could be proud of. I was desperately wanting to stay independent
and pave my own path instead of wait for others to give me
the chance to make movies. And so all of this began to feed
into an idea.
It began to describe itself visually to me one night driving
home from teaching as I listened to New Order's "Elegia"
on a mix tape. That song became the films backbone and I was
lucky enough to find the support and assistance to make the
film come together.
The film never would have happened if it wasn't for the amazing
team I had helping me. It's hard enough to make a low budget
stop-motion film, imagine making a low budget stop motion
film shot on the largest film format possible (70mm/15perf)
for a screen eight stories tall. It was a herculean task that
seemed at the same time futile and selfish and most days impossible.
I set out to make an art film, hoping to stay independent
and keep stop-motion alive in some small way. As the project
grew, I saw it blossom into a universal parable of innocence
lost, of mid-life crisis and of the potentially volatile consequences
of the pursuit of success (all things I was grappling in my
own life). Regardless of all this, the film means many things
to many different people. But in the end, the film continues
to make people think and ask questions. I couldn't have asked
for anything better.
To get the full story and see the complete archives of the
production, post-production and aftermath, stay tuned for
the upcoming MORE Special Edition DVD complete with a 40 min
documentary "MAKING MORE". Coming this December
to www.happyproduct.com"
