Staff Pick Premiere: "O Black Hole!" written by Renee Zhan |
Have you ever thought about what happens when a black hole formed? The current Staff Pick Premiere, "O Black Hole!" by Renee Zhan is an epically massive and a reversal of core belief which embodies one of most mysterious beings in the universe using clay, color as well as song. The origin of the black hole- as well as its demise -- is imagined by Zhan in an era filled with imagination and creativity.
In an attempt to protect and preserve the beauty that surrounds her, a beautiful young Eve-like character makes the brash decision to eat everything she finds appealing. In a frenzied and fast-paced way in a chaotic and fast-paced manner, the speed of her eating creates a swirling black hole through which nothing can escape. The worm eats planets, seasons human beings, even moons, in an attempt to give an endless life. After waking up inside the cavernous black hole, the protagonist known as the "Singularity" is confronted by beings who need her help. They beg her to ascend up to the peak of the hole , and persuade its creator to let its prisoners live in the way they should, or even the whole world as they know it is going to end.
"O Black Hole!" is a fable about not letting go of the things you cherish overly. The vibrant clay illustrations and vivid painting create a variety of illustrations about the importance of embracing the temporary as well as accepting the immutability of death.
There's a lot to this film's craft and narratively; and we were able to talk to the director and animator, Renee Zhan, to break down every question we asked about the film. Check out the following for answers:
Inspiring:
"A majority of my movies begin with 1 or 2 strong persistent images in my head. In the past, I began drawing this lady with a dark charcoal smear where her face should be. I spent many hours exploring this image, and trying to figure out what she might be. Eventually, it seemed to me that she was nothing but a black hole.
The film was the story of a woman anxious about her time that she locks every thing and person she loves inside herself to keep them safe forever.
She sucks in the entire world until, eventually, she's dancing in her own company.
Black hole dances around in counterclockwise circles since it is against Time Then after Singularity has saved the different residents of this black hole start to move clockwise in the normal cycles that occur in our universe. They restart."
on using 2D and 3D techniques:
"I've always been a fan of films that mix media and I really like using visceral textures as well as traditional media. I felt that the tale of the black holes really was a good fit for these two different mediums: 2D as well as 3D.
The outer surface of the black space, where time passes normally, is rendered in 2D using pencils or charcoal, watercolors as well as oil paints, since it's fleeting and ephemeral. And the inside of the black hole the entire thing it has taken in and created permanent, is 3D and hard.
As Singularity moves from the bottom of the black hole, all the way towards the top, the walls of the black hole begin slowly turning liquid like the grip of the black hole has become looser in the top. I really wanted all the mediums to flow into each the other and smoothly transition between 2D to 3D before returning again.
I find it essential that I leave space to think and have fun when I make films, and to work the details out as we go along. The idea of creating the interior of a black space was an exciting idea because nobody is aware of what it looks like. Production designer Richard Henley and I had the liberty to be completely imaginative. It gave us the chance to design a visually distinctive and interesting world. We decided it would be a series of dark twisted caves that resembled liquid which had solidified after the time had been frozen. ."
In her initial concept vs. the final version:
"When we started the film I was unsure how it would turn out. I'd never done any stop motion or made something of this magnitude.
In certain ways I was disappointed not see it appear exactly how I imagined. I was of the opinion that my work wasn't good enough and that it was too filthy and messy. This is odd because I like seeing this kind of imperfection and roughness in stop-motion films, but with my own work, I was so upset over it.
In other ways I was also awed the work we came up with. The music by Harry Brokensha and epic sound design from Ed Rousseau were beyond what I had ever dreamed of.
Lore Lixenberg's powerful voice as the Black Hole and Emmy the Great's unadulterated tones as Singularity contributed an immense amount of energy to the show.
It's a fact that I'm very proud of what we've all done as a team."
The themes of mythology and humanity within her work:
"I'm fascinated by myths that tell the story of creation in the globe. They ask existential questions of humans and try to answer these questions with grand and thrilling stories of diving birds, eggs, or nature spirits. Mythology often includes big epic tales of heroism and adventures and quests. My opinion is that it's simply part of the human need to comprehend the nature of our world.
I guess on a much lower level, that's exactly the goal I strive to achieve with my film. My work is always examining my own anxieties, obsessions, fears. With 'O Black Hole!,' I thought of the film as a contemporary legend of the creation. I was really interested in making an film that had some personal philosophical questions, and an entertaining story of a film about a quest as well as a wacky operatic soundtrack ."
on the challenges that were faced throughout the film's creation
"This was the most challenging film I've ever made. The creation of a stop-motion/2D musical with a main character with stupid long wavy hair (that kept melting midway through!) shot on a tight deadline led to some very dark months. It's easy to go on about the struggles. The film was packed with a lot of information an hour-long film. Really, I'm just grateful to have had the opportunity to make such a short film, and work with an amazing team. I hope I will have more opportunities like this in the future and that I can continue making films with my fellow filmmakers !"
The lesson from 'O Black Hole!':
"The closing words of the film are "O black hole, don't lament, we're just dreams that the universe dreamt ...' The premise of the film is the beauty of transience. A woman who is a black hole takes in the entire universe inside her, because she is afraid of changing. Singularity teaches the black hole woman that changing is what gives new meaning and life to our time here.
I guess the film attempts to convey the idea that everything changes and go through a process of dying, and that new things appear and grow and that's beautiful and normal. That's why I really hope viewers get the message takes away. To be honest, I'm trying for my self !"
Her tips (or absence of it) to filmmakers who are aspiring:
"Maybe take advice from your parents and become engineers instead. No, I'm kidding! Just kidding! It's hard to say, but I'm feeling like I'm an aspiring filmmaker myself. So I could actually be in need of some guidance also ."
On what's next:
"I'm working on a live-action/animation hybrid horror-comedy short film with BBC Films. It's about a British Chinese violinist named Fei who's world is turned upside down at the arrival of another violinist who is equally talented named Mei.
In addition, I'm developing an animated feature film idea concerning a cult of worshipping birds!"