Ars Electronica Archive
Prix
Prix Map
Pictures
Videos
Publications
Special Projects
Women in Media Art
Prix
The Prix Ars Electronica Archive is a collection enabling search and viewing of all the submissions since 1987. The award-winning projects are documented with catalogue texts and audio-visual media. All other submissions can be searched by title/artist and displayed with year, category in list form. Please cite the credits (artwork name, artist and photographer) and only use the materials if your article is related to Ars Electronica.
One Rat Short
Alex Weil
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1 * 1px | 7.9 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1 * 1px | 11.9 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Video Still "One Rat Short" | 1920 * 1080px | 6.0 MB
Original: Storyboard drawing "One Rat Short" | 1000 * 726px | 2.1 MB
Original: Image of "One Rat Short" | 638 * 358px | 697.0 KB
Original: Storyboard drawing "One Rat Short" | 1356 * 763px | 3.0 MB
One Rat Short is a work of love created by Charlex Films. It began as part of the effort to grow the company’s commercial computer graphics department but eventually became much more than that. Originally, it was called labratz and, as the title might suggest, it mimicked the look and sensibility of work already pioneered by other studios. As it evolved, it took on a life of its own and became our “film”. From the start we decided not to use anthropomorphic animation.
We decided it would take place in two worlds: one so gritty, grimy and dark that the viewer needs to peer into the screen in order to make out the images, and the other a sterile, white world so brightly lit that you feel the need to turn your head away from the screen. It was also important to me to keep the film looking as real as possible. One of the techniques we used was to give a lot of the camera work a hand-held feel and to keep it a little behind the action so that the scenes didn’t seem staged. Lastly and most importantly, I kept the story simple and tried to give it heart. One of my favorite short films which I saw as a child was The Red Balloon. I think the melancholic and innocent spirit of that film inhabits One Rat Short.
We decided it would take place in two worlds: one so gritty, grimy and dark that the viewer needs to peer into the screen in order to make out the images, and the other a sterile, white world so brightly lit that you feel the need to turn your head away from the screen. It was also important to me to keep the film looking as real as possible. One of the techniques we used was to give a lot of the camera work a hand-held feel and to keep it a little behind the action so that the scenes didn’t seem staged. Lastly and most importantly, I kept the story simple and tried to give it heart. One of my favorite short films which I saw as a child was The Red Balloon. I think the melancholic and innocent spirit of that film inhabits One Rat Short.
Alex Weil (US) is the award-winning executive creative director and founder of the New York-based design and production studio Charlex. Weil has been honored with many prestigious advertising industry awards and his work is part of the permanent collection at MoMA.