Thursday 10 Sep 2009 - 09:58
The 'official' directing debut of unsigned creative Nir Ben Jacob is an epic and rather beautiful fully-animated promo for On the Water, a track by The Walkmen.
The promo is a Watership Down-inspired tale of two rabbits fleeing a storm and finding a shotgun-wielding farmer. Without wanting to spoil the ending, things don't go well for the rabbits.
The animation style is gorgeous: the rabbits are sinuous, expressive forms outlined by the lightning so that at times they seem almost like brush-and-ink paintings. Nir Ben Jacobs explained how he went about creating the promo.
DA: It has been reported that you storyboarded the promo on spec -- is this correct? Have you been doing lots of speculative pitches to get you started, or was this song an isolated example?
NBJ: This was an isolated example. When I heard the album this song stood out immediately. It was the middle of night and I was listening to music instead of sleeping. When the song came on, the limited colour palette was one of the first things that came to mind.
I quickly developed the narrative in my head and proceeded to write/sketch it all down. I figured if the idea came so quickly and naturally, it had to mean something. It hadn't happened like that before.
DA: What were your initial concepts? Is the finished piece quite close to those concepts?
NBJ: The finished piece is frighteningly close to the original concept. The day after I developed the storyboard, I drew some concept art to help define the idea. Having the video take place in a cornfield just made sense to me. The pair of hares were also part of the original idea.
Some things, such as the windows glowing, were inspired by the lyrics. Others, such as the colour palette and birds, came from the feel the song evokes (although I'm pretty sure I hear birds in the recording). The beginning and underground scene were part of the original images. The confetti seemed like the perfect climax to the song and it was great to be able to tie in the colourful blood.
People have interpreted the video in many ways and have referenced Watership Down, which I think is great. After emailing the band and not hearing back, I sort of forgot about it. Half a year later, The Walkmen were having a show that my friends were going to attend.
I figured I'd revise the treatment, add some more concept art, and pass it on the them. It was during this revision that the I added detail to the original treatment. Still, the idea, colours, and narrative stayed the same. By pure serendipity, my friends spotted the guitarist while waiting in line. They handed him the treatment and the day after I
emailed their label and management again.
DA: Who/what inspired the look and feel of the piece?
NBJ: As far as the look of the video, I knew I wanted to go with a minimalistic approach. Not only because it's economical, but more importantly I wanted it to be very stylized. That being said, I was inspired by Shynola's Go With The Flow, which also relies on a limited palette and flat shading.
DA: What animation techniques did you use?
NBJ: I knew I would have to use 3D in order to get the shots I wanted. As far as animating, I watched a lot of hare reference videos and found a some great slow motion video or a dog running and bird in flight. For some of the hunter's movements, I videotaped myself as a reference. I didn't know what kind of face to give the hunter, as I
decided my own. In school we had our face scanned so I used that.
DA: What was the biggest challenge on the spot, and how did you overcome it?
NBJ: The biggest challenge to overcome was just everyday computer problems. Because the idea was so fleshed out and detailed, I could really rely on my vision. Rarely did I doubt myself. Throughout the process I was very sure about my vision and knew what I wanted to see.
I definitely learned the importance of anchoring your hand on CTRL+S!
Digital Arts staff
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