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The Art of
by Anej Golčar
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About the Director
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About the Director Anej GolÄ?ar (1999, Maribor, Slovenia) is a visual artist and film-maker based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He is currently in his third year of animation studies at Willem de Kooning Academy. Thus far, he has been working on a diverse range of individual and group projects, ranging from sculpture, dynamic installations, theory-fictional texts to moving images, and sonic fiction. His approach is eclectic, often exploring, learning, and combining new media to convey ideas. Recently he started gaining expertise in the field of stop-motion animation, with Hear Us Out being his first finished work of this sort. Because of the limited collaboration possibilities during the covid pandemic, he took up the challenge to work on all the steps of the production, from concept development to post-production, on his own.
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Production Details
Title Hear Us Out (Usliši nas) Log line A short visual poem about miscommunication between human and nature. Synopsis A short visual poem dealing with the problem of miscommunication between human and nature. Told from the perspective of an old tree that has witnessed a long-lasting human-induced chain reaction that ultimately led to the destruction of the ecosystem. General info Year of production Runtime Aspect ratio Format and resolution Language Subtitles Genre Technique
2020 2’ 10’’ (WIP) 2:1 H.265 UHD 4K Slovenian English Visual poem Mixed media: Live action and stop motion animation
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Pre-production
Storyboard
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Storyboard
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Storyboard
Storyboard
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Storyboard
Storyboard
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Poem
Poem Naša zgodba je dolga in pusta. Tvoj čas izmuzljiv. Tvoje življenje je bežno in bežna je tvoja pozornost.
Our story is long and dull. Your time evasive Your life is fleeting, and fleeting is your heed.
Zakaj bi nas poslušal?
Why would you listen to us?
Nismo pomembna in nismo privlačna, saj nisi neumen, od zgodb ne boš sit. Zbudi se, dnevni opravki kličejo.
We’re not significant and we’re not attractive, You’re no fool, fables won’t feed your hunger! Wake up, daily errands won’t wait!
Maščuj se, mašuj! Bistrejši si od njih. Bistrejši si od vseh nas.
Revenge, revenge! You’re brighter than them, you’re brighter than us all!
Nisi kriv. Kriv si. Nisi kriv. Kriv si. Nisi kriv, ker ne razumeš. Kriv si, si domišljaš, da razumeš.
You’re not guilty. You’re guilty. You’re not guilty. You’re guilty. We don’t blame you because you don’t comprehend. We blame you because you’d like to think you comprehend.
Vsemogočni človek!
Human almighty!
Praviš, da si bog, Bogovi prisluhnejo.
You tell you are god, Gods listen.
Rotimo počasi, kričimo neslišno. Prosim, usliši nas.
Inaudibly we scream, slowly beseech; Please, hear us!
Zate oddaljen krik. Nem. Nebogljen. Prosim, usliši nas.
A cry, faraway. Mute, helpless. Please, hear us!
Videla smo, ko niste vedeli, da gledamo. Slišala, ko vas ni skrbelo, da poslušamo. In tudi govorila smo, ko niste imeli časa, da bi razumeli.
We saw when you didn’t know we were looking. We heard when you didn’t know we were listening. And we spoke too when you didn’t have time to understand.
Ločena, izvzeta. Smrtna kot ti.
Parted, excluded. As mortal as you.
Oster veter šelesti skozi naše krošnje. Naše veje trohnijo. Stoletje nas je sonce hranilo s svojimi žarki Sedaj umikamo svoje sence, da jih damo naslednjim.
Sharp wind is rustling through our foliage. Our branches decay. For a century sun has fed us with its beams. Now we thin our dense shadows to hand it over to the next.
Naša pripoved je mrka in utrudljiva. Nerazločen in nepoznan naš jezik. Star boš in grbav, ko jo boš lahko razumel. Slaboten kot mi, ko bo postala zanimiva. Nam boš takrat prisluhnil?
Dour and tiring is our story. Illegible and unfamiliar our speech. Old and humpbacked you’ll be when you’ll grasp it! Feebler than us when it gets intriguing. Will you hear us then?
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Production
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Stills
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Stills
Stills
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Stills
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Behind the Scenes & In the Workshop
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Trees before the final layer of needles
Production
Production
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Each branch is made out of wire and inserted into the trunk
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Background trees were made out of coconut fibre
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Production
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After and before adding the needles
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Production
A realistic foliage was achieved by glueing tiny pieces of green foam onto the fibre from FPP2 masks
Production
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Trunks were scratched with a steel brush to achieve realistic texture
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A nail was attached to each trunk, so that it could be easily attached to the ground
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Production
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Production
Production
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Some trees consisted out of real tiny branches
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Buildings were made out of wooden spoons
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Production
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Before weathering I applied an initial coat of brown paint
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Roof is made out of combed aluminium foil glued onto the pieces of cardboard
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Production
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Weathering the roof
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The terrain is constructed out of polystyrene
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Production
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First I painted the ground using acrylic paint
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Then the initial layer of sifted dirt was glued onto the surface
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Production
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More layers of different materials were sprinkled over to achieve a realistic forest ground
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Trees had to be carefully screwed into place
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Production
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Shaping the fence out of soft balsa wood
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Weathering the wood using the disinfectant and ink solution
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Production
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Additional elements
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Production
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A finished sheep and the armature
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Human armature
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Production
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Wolf armature
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Needle felting the wolf
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Production
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Wolves in different stages
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Custom support wire
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Production
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Supports were later removed in post-production
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Improvised home studio
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Production
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The initial plan for the fence had to be carefully measured, as the construction happens live during the animation
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Final fence
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Production
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Some real-life props were used in the background
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Production
Production
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Wiring for the lights was inserted into the ground and covered with more material
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An Arduino controlled the lights and assured that the power was constant
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Production
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I used a custom-made tool attached to a normal tripod to make the panning shots
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Zoom positions were marked on the lens using masking tape
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Production
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Human figure setup - I only needed the shadow
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Production
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The drop of blood was made out of red clay and fake blood
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In total I used almost 2 L of paint and 1 L of spray glue
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Production
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Production
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Production
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On the set of the live-action scene, using a gimbal for the very first time
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Distribution
Poster
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A VISUAL POEM BY ANEJ GOLÄŒAR
December 2020 - Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Poster
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A VISUAL POEM BY ANEJ GOLÄŒAR
December 2020 - Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Poster - alternative version 1
Poster
Poster
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December 2020 - Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Poster - alternative version 2
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