Pandadice
Tue, 04-19-2011, 02:20 PM
Here is a very interesting trailer (http://vimeo.com/21896700) for an animated feature film, Black Sunrise, which displays an incredible amount of potential. It is not anime, it is not Japanese, but it certainly looks interesting, and I would love to watch it.
The film in production is by Nick Cross, a one-man studio who's done a number of shorts, and has now decided to tackle a feature film. If you enjoyed the trailer (Or, even if you didn't), I recommend you watch his short films (Yellow Cake (http://vimeo.com/6898451), The Pig Farmer (http://vimeo.com/19113506) and The Waif of Persephone (http://vimeo.com/7965460)), to get an idea of what his stuff is like.
If you watched and enjoyed the trailer, or liked his shorts, I highly encourage you to donate here (http://www.indiegogo.com/Black-Sunrise-1) to his project. His end goal is $25,000, and he is asking for donations so that he can work on the feature full-time and not have to take on other projects to support himself. $25k might seem like a lot, but when you realize most feature length animated films usually have budgets upwards of $5 million (Toy Story 3 took 300 million iirc), $25k seems pretty small and very manageable.
I have no relation to Nick Cross at all. I'm just tired of seeing piss-poor corporate animation and entertainment. I want to see more intelligent animation, with a clear voice and purpose. I want to see animation that is not only breath-taking and beautiful, but also stimulates my mind and challenges me to think. And after watching his shorts, I have a great deal of faith in Nick and what he can do.
I want to see adult animation. Kids movies are good, and can be great fun, but I'm tired of how generic and throw-away most of it is becoming. I want something more. Yet at the same time, I'm sick of the "adult" animation that is produced relying on gratuitous violence or sexuality, lacking any thought and only eligible to be labeled "adult," not because it is mature and sophisticated, but because it contains content no parent would want their kid to see. Persepolis isn't adult because it contains a hardcore sex scene (which it doesn't), and sure kids can watch it, but it's "adult" because it's mature, and has a sense of depth and insight to it that no child could grasp.
Nick Cross' shorts (as well as this film, most likely) do contain sexual and excessively violent content. But at the same time they have a clear voice, a reason for being produced other than the shock value of seeing a cartoon bleed out it's eyes. These shorts contain important social commentary that is unseen in other animated properties. Sure, he balances it out, he gives you the bloodshed and sexual fanservice, but he doesn't let that distract from the purpose of the work.
His donations are off to a great start, nearly 1/5th of the way there. And if a dozen more people give a couple ($10? $25?) bucks here and there, then he'll reach the goal in no time. And, personally, I'd love to see this movie completed sooner than later.. I want to see an early 2012 release, not a projected release 3 years from now, you know?
Thanks for listening, I hope some of you guys will feel it's within your interests to support this awesome artist, and hopefully in the decently-near-future we can all watch it and talk about how awesome it is.
The film in production is by Nick Cross, a one-man studio who's done a number of shorts, and has now decided to tackle a feature film. If you enjoyed the trailer (Or, even if you didn't), I recommend you watch his short films (Yellow Cake (http://vimeo.com/6898451), The Pig Farmer (http://vimeo.com/19113506) and The Waif of Persephone (http://vimeo.com/7965460)), to get an idea of what his stuff is like.
If you watched and enjoyed the trailer, or liked his shorts, I highly encourage you to donate here (http://www.indiegogo.com/Black-Sunrise-1) to his project. His end goal is $25,000, and he is asking for donations so that he can work on the feature full-time and not have to take on other projects to support himself. $25k might seem like a lot, but when you realize most feature length animated films usually have budgets upwards of $5 million (Toy Story 3 took 300 million iirc), $25k seems pretty small and very manageable.
I have no relation to Nick Cross at all. I'm just tired of seeing piss-poor corporate animation and entertainment. I want to see more intelligent animation, with a clear voice and purpose. I want to see animation that is not only breath-taking and beautiful, but also stimulates my mind and challenges me to think. And after watching his shorts, I have a great deal of faith in Nick and what he can do.
I want to see adult animation. Kids movies are good, and can be great fun, but I'm tired of how generic and throw-away most of it is becoming. I want something more. Yet at the same time, I'm sick of the "adult" animation that is produced relying on gratuitous violence or sexuality, lacking any thought and only eligible to be labeled "adult," not because it is mature and sophisticated, but because it contains content no parent would want their kid to see. Persepolis isn't adult because it contains a hardcore sex scene (which it doesn't), and sure kids can watch it, but it's "adult" because it's mature, and has a sense of depth and insight to it that no child could grasp.
Nick Cross' shorts (as well as this film, most likely) do contain sexual and excessively violent content. But at the same time they have a clear voice, a reason for being produced other than the shock value of seeing a cartoon bleed out it's eyes. These shorts contain important social commentary that is unseen in other animated properties. Sure, he balances it out, he gives you the bloodshed and sexual fanservice, but he doesn't let that distract from the purpose of the work.
His donations are off to a great start, nearly 1/5th of the way there. And if a dozen more people give a couple ($10? $25?) bucks here and there, then he'll reach the goal in no time. And, personally, I'd love to see this movie completed sooner than later.. I want to see an early 2012 release, not a projected release 3 years from now, you know?
Thanks for listening, I hope some of you guys will feel it's within your interests to support this awesome artist, and hopefully in the decently-near-future we can all watch it and talk about how awesome it is.