Down and Out (film) explained

Down and Out
Studio:Aardman Animations
BBC Bristol
Distributor:British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1977) (UK) (TV)
Runtime:5 min
Country:UK
Language:English

Down and Out is a 1977 short film created by Aardman Animations. It is part of the Animated Conversations series. In this short, creators David Sproxton and Peter Lord "applied the groundbreaking technique of using recorded conversations of real people as the basis for the script".[1]

History

David Sproxton said "That was the first film of five minutes we had ever made and the first we had ever done using found sound, produced by a big producer called Colin Thomas. We sent [ex-BBC producer Jeremy Isaacs] the small amount of work we had, which was basically Down and Out and some kids' stuff. And he called us up to the London office...and said 'I've seen that film Down and Out. We'd like ten of those for our first week's transmission.'"[2] These were the 5 shorts of Conversation Pieces, and later the five short of the Lip Synch series.[3]

According to Aardman Animation,

Production

This was the first film to use the technique developed by Sproxton and Lordan of "animating puppet characters to spontaneous, realistic conversations, rather than prepared scripts...It impressed producer Jeremy Isaacs, who commissioned five five-minute films [entitled [[Conversation Pieces]]] for the newly established Channel 4 in London.[4] Animated Documentary explains "Confessions of a Foyer Girl and Down and Out were based on eavesdropped conversations and pair documentary sound with stop motion animation of Plasticine figures.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: fly2help - Leading UK Aviation Charity - Lifting Horizons. fly2help.org. 2014-01-11. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110204735/http://www.fly2help.org/the-team/team-david-sproxton.htm. 10 January 2014. dmy-all.
  2. Web site: The Critical Eye – David Sproxton. 5x5media.com. 2014-01-11.
  3. Book: Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation - Susannah Shaw - Google Books. 2014-01-11. 9781136135095. 2012-09-10. Shaw. Susannah.
  4. Web site: Oscar Win Caps 25-Year Partnership : Animation: Aardman duo's groundbreaking works--including 'Creature Comforts'--highlight 'British Invasion.' - Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. 2014-01-11.
  5. Book: Animated Documentary - Annabelle Honess Roe - Google Books. 2014-01-11. 9781137017468. 2013-06-11. Roe. Annabelle Honess.