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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.
Contraption
Stephen Weston
"Contraption" is a thirty second piece directed by Stephen Weston that grabs your attention from the very first frame.
Animation House Bermuda Shorts was approached by the London Advertising Agency Kelly Weedon as they were looking for something different and striking to bring to life an idea they had for one of their clients "Fisherman's Friend". Their clever idea was to write the commercial around what some would see as the negative side of the product, a very strong throat sweet that is a little unpleasant on the first tasting.
And so the idea came about that the commercial would include a character who goes through all extremes of painful pleasure, one of these is the Fisherman's Friend lozenge, but however tortuous these moments are, he is very happy to do it again.
Stephen and Bermuda Shorts were keen to do something different with the script. Stephen wanted to create a room inside the computer that confused the viewer about its nature, using just three colours, black, white, and red, and a graphic black outline, the set took on a cartoon mood reminiscent of the oldest 2D animation tradition. Stephen then added a crazy checkerboard floor and unusual character, both of which were designed by the stop frame Director Boris Koshmehl.
To match the unusual look of the piece, Stephen looked to his 2D animation training for the storyboard and timing of the action. Rather like those old Tex Avery classics, no scene is longer than a few seconds and the viewer is carried along with the character as he is pulled and hoisted by the "Contraption" as it manhandles our character along a conveyor belt of experiences.
The final touch was a very interesting sound dub where the grunts and shouts of the character were added to the picture along with numerous sound effects, to bring the machine to life.
Animation House Bermuda Shorts was approached by the London Advertising Agency Kelly Weedon as they were looking for something different and striking to bring to life an idea they had for one of their clients "Fisherman's Friend". Their clever idea was to write the commercial around what some would see as the negative side of the product, a very strong throat sweet that is a little unpleasant on the first tasting.
And so the idea came about that the commercial would include a character who goes through all extremes of painful pleasure, one of these is the Fisherman's Friend lozenge, but however tortuous these moments are, he is very happy to do it again.
Stephen and Bermuda Shorts were keen to do something different with the script. Stephen wanted to create a room inside the computer that confused the viewer about its nature, using just three colours, black, white, and red, and a graphic black outline, the set took on a cartoon mood reminiscent of the oldest 2D animation tradition. Stephen then added a crazy checkerboard floor and unusual character, both of which were designed by the stop frame Director Boris Koshmehl.
To match the unusual look of the piece, Stephen looked to his 2D animation training for the storyboard and timing of the action. Rather like those old Tex Avery classics, no scene is longer than a few seconds and the viewer is carried along with the character as he is pulled and hoisted by the "Contraption" as it manhandles our character along a conveyor belt of experiences.
The final touch was a very interesting sound dub where the grunts and shouts of the character were added to the picture along with numerous sound effects, to bring the machine to life.
Stephen Weston (CDN) graduated in dassical drawn animation from Sheridan College in Canada. He contributed drawn animation sequences to several films, title sequences and commercials in Canada and Great Britain. Recently he became Director of CGI elements in a 26 part series for children.