Staff Pick Premiere: "O Black Hole!" composed by Renee Zhan |

Mar 23, 2022

Have you ever wondered what happens when a black hole formed? This Week's Staff Pick Premiere, "O Black Hole!" written by Renee Zhan, is an incredible and mind-bending music that depicts one of the most intriguing creatures of the world, through clay, color and song. The question of the origin of the black hole, as well as its endis a work by Zhan during an era of astounding imagination and originality.

In order to preserve the beauty of her surroundings throughout time A young Eve-like creature is determined to devour every food item she loves. With a fast and furious manner in a chaotic rapid manner, the pace the character creates creates a black hole through that no escape is possible. The Singularity eats the seasons, planets humans, and even the moon trying to create endless energy. After waking up inside the black hole that is cavernous, one of the characters known as the "Singularity" encounters people who are in dire need of her assistance. They ask her to climb to the very top of the dark hole and convince the creator of it to let the prisoner's inside their way as they are meant to or the universe as we understand it would cease to exist.

"O The Black Hole!" is a fable about not letting go of what you love too tightly. The lively clay drawings as well as the vivid paintings add to a variety of illustrations on how important it is to embrace the temporary in addition to acceptance of the inevitability at the end of your life.

     There's so much to this film's art and story and we got to talk to the animator and director Renee Zhan, to break down the many questions we had about it. For the answers:

Inspiring:

     "A number of my films are based on the presence of one or two powerful constant images I've got in my head. Some time ago, I sketched this female using the dark charcoal mark where her face should be. I spent a long time looking over this drawing and trying to determine the person she really was. After a while, it was obvious that her head was dark.

The film then became one about a woman anxious about her time which is why she secures all the people she loves and all of her possessions inside her body to make sure they're secure for the rest the time.

     She is a sponge for the entire universe until eventually, she's just dancing about in circles with her own company.    

The black hole spins in circular counterclockwise directions because it's in opposition to Time After that, as Singularity saves the different inhabitants of the black hole, the black hole begins again to spin clockwise in the normal cycles of the universe. They restart. "

HTML1Utilizing 3D and 2D methods:

     "I've always been an avid big fan of films that incorporate mixed media and I love using visceral texture and traditional media. I thought that the story of the dark hole would be a great fit these contrasting mediums of 3D and 2D.

     The exterior of the black space, which is where it is normal to pass time can be rendered in 2D using pencils, charcoal, watercolors, and oil paint, because it's fleeting and ephemeral. The interior of the black hole, everything the black hole has been able to absorb and has created, is 3D is solid.

     If Singularity travels across the black hole until it reaches the top, those walls in the holes begin slowly turning into liquid since the grip of the black hole's is more loose in that area. I wanted every medium to flow in each other and smoothly transition from 2D to 3D before reversing to 2D.

     It's very important for me to allow room for exploration and play with when making films, and to work solutions to problems during the films we make. The idea of creating the interior of a black space was very appealing because no one has any idea how this could look. The production designer Richard Henley and I had the freedom to be wildly creative. This was an opportunity to design a visually distinctive as well as a fascinating and intriguing world. The result was an assortment of dark caves that twist and turn, reminding us of liquids which solidified when they were put into freezers. . "

Her original vision of the film in contrast with. Final version:

     "When we started to film I didn't know how the movie would turn out as. I'd never seen stop-motion before or produced anything that large.

In a certain way I was dismayed to not be able to see the animation exactly how I imagined. My impression was that my animation wasn't as polished which was also rough and dirty. Strange because I love to observe this type of imperfection and roughness in stop-motion films, but by myself I was so angry over the result.

     Other ways, I was also awed what we created. The songs composed by Harry Brokensha and epic sound design created by Ed Rousseau were beyond what I had ever dreamed of.

Lore Lixenberg's strong voice as Black Hole and Emmy the Great's unmistakable voice as Singularity contributed an immense amount of energy to the show.

Most of the time, I'm extremely proud of the things we accomplished as a unit. "

 The human as well as mythological themes the focus of her writing are:

"I'm fascinated by myths that tell the story of our world's creation. They ask existential questions of humans and attempt to address these questions with grand and thrilling tales of diving birds or eggs or natural spirits. Mythology often includes big epic tales of heroes in addition to adventure and hunts. It's part of our determination to know the purpose of our world.

There's a chance that at a lower level, that's the goal I strive to accomplish with my films. My films are always about my own anxieties and fears, as well as fascinations. In 'O Black Hole! I imagine it as a modern age myth of creation. I was intrigued by the idea of making a film featuring some questions I had about my own philosophy, and the fun adventures of making a film with a wacky operatic soundtrack ."

The difficulties encountered throughout the making of the film

     "This was the most demanding film I've ever made. A stop-motion/2D 16-minute musical that featured a person wearing a ridiculously long moving hair (that was melted mid-way throughout!) The filming schedule made for a challenging month. I could go on about the difficulties. The film is packed with a lot of information and was a full hour long film. In reality, I'm happy to have the chance to create a film like this and also being part of an amazing team. It is my hope that I'll have opportunities that are similar to this one in the near future and I will keep making films with my friends ! "

A lesson in 'O Black Hole! ':

"The closing lines of the film include 'O black hole, please don't be sad, because we're just dreams that the universe has dreamt. ...' The idea behind the film is that of the elegance of being transient. The black hole woman is awed by the entire world around her as she is afraid of changing. It teaches it that change brings new meaning and life for the current.

     The movie, in my opinion, attempts to convey the idea that all things are changing in the end, but the new ones emerge and flourish, and that's wonderful and acceptable. So, I truly believe that this is the message the audience gets. However, to be honest, I'm still trying to persuade my self ! "

 Her advice (or lack of it) for aspiring filmmakers:

     "Maybe you should listen to your parents, and become engineers instead. No, I'm kidding! Just kidding! I'm not certain, but I'm thinking I'm a filmmaker in the making. Therefore, I can be looking for some help too . "

What's next?

"I'm working on a live-action/animation hybrid horror-comedy short film with BBC Films. The story centers around an British Chinese violinist called Fei and the way his life is turned upside down when he meets the arrival of a talented violinist known as Mei.

In addition, I'm developing an idea for a feature film animated concerning a cult of bird worshippers! "

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