The first screening I saw on the third day of the festival was Panorama 1. I want to highlight Smith & Foulkes production, “This way up”, the 3D ups and downs of a couple of undertakers, father and son, transporting an old woman’s coffin. The designs, textures and movements were very well done, and the general colour of the short matched very well the black humour it used. The scene where they fall into a parade of coffins and sinister clowns reminded me of Tim Burton’s “The corpse bride” world of the dead, and also somehow of Walt Disney’s “Dumbo”, in the scene when he has hallucinations after drinking some champagne.

The other short I loved from that projection was “Tout ce qui brille” (“All that glitters”), by Rebecca Morse, from France. It’s about a grumpy gnome who finds a gold coin and a naughty magpie that tries to stole it from him. It’s done using traditional animation and After Effects. The beautiful backgrounds are done with watercolours, the characters design is simple and sweet and I really liked the transformations of the magpie into a little pixie. Their movements are nicely achieved, especially hers, and the shots are varied and well chosen.

Finally, that same day I saw “Hot dog” and “Idiots and angels”, by Bill Plympton. I had already seen some of his works and I admire his ability to draw human figures with his characteristic, somehow risky style. I mean his realistic designs don’t try to look pretty but tend to exaggerate the most unpleasant features of the character. I also like his use of camera movements and shots. I’m not so fond of his sense of humour, sometimes politically incorrect and disturbing, though I value his courage to make it. Neither his characters attitudes are idealized; they often reflect reprehensible aspects of society and the individual.