Staff Pick Premiere: "O Black Hole!" by Renee Zhan |
Have you ever wondered the process by which a black hole gets born? This week's Staff Pick Premiere, "O Black Hole!" by Renee Zhan, is an epically huge and mind-bending musical that personifies one of the most mysterious creatures in our universe using clay, color, and song. The origin of a black holeand its end-of-life -- are created by Zhan in a world of astounding imagination and originality.
In an attempt to protect the beauty around her forever, a young Eve-like woman decides to eat everything she likes. Gobbling quickly and chaotically in a chaotic and fast-paced manner, the speed of her eating creates a swirling black hole from which there is no escape. The worm eats planets, seasons human beings, even the moon, trying to give the universe a life of infinite. Upon waking inside the cavernous black hole, the protagonist called the "Singularity" is confronted by beings who need her help. They beg her to ascend over the hole , and convince its creator to allow its prisoner's out their transient lives as they are meant to or the entire world would cease to exist.
"O Black Hole!" is a fable about not holding on to what you love overly. The vibrant clay illustrations and vivid painting create a variety of images about embracing the fleeting as well as accepting the immutability of death.
There's a lot about this movie craft story-wise; and we were able to talk to the animator and director, Renee Zhan, to break down the many questions we asked about the film. Read on for her answers:
On inspiration:
"A number of my films begin with 1 or 2 strong persistent images in my head. In the past, I was drawing this woman with the dark charcoal mark where her face should be. I spent many hours looking at this drawing and trying to figure out what she might be. Then, it became clear that her head was a black hole.
So the film became the story of a woman so worried about time passing that she sucks every thing and person she loves into her body in order to keep them safe forever.
She sucks in the entire universe , until she's just dancing in circles alone.
The black hole moves in counterclockwise circles because she is in opposition to Time Then after Singularity has saved the different inhabitants of the black hole, they begin to spin clockwise once more in the normal cycles of the universe. They restart."
On using 2D and 3D methods:
"I've always been a huge fan of mixed-media films and I enjoy using visceral effects and traditional mediums. I thought that the story of the black holes really suited these contrasting mediums of 2D and 3D.
The outer surface of the black hole, where time passes normally, is rendered in 2D by drawing with pencil and charcoal, as well as watercolors and oil paint, as it's fleeting and inexpensive. And the inside of the black space, the entire thing it has been able to absorb and make eternal, is 3D solid.
In the process of Singularity moves across the black hole up to the topof the black hole, the walls of the black hole start becoming more liquid because the black hole's grasp is more loose and looser. I really wanted all the mediums to flow through each the other and smoothly transition between 2D to 3D, and then back again.
I find it essential to allow room for exploration and have fun when I make films. We need to try to figure things out as we go along. Making the inside of a black space was an exciting idea because nobody has any idea what this would look like. The production designer Richard Henley and I had the freedom to be wildly inventive. It was an opportunity to create a visually unique and intriguing world. We came up with a series of dark twisted caves, like liquid that had solidified when the time had been frozen. ."
In her initial concept in contrast to. the final version:
"When we started the film I didn't know what the film would look like. I'd never worked on stop motion or made any film of this size.
In certain ways I was disappointed not have it look quite what I had in mind. I was of the opinion that my work wasn't quite good enough and it looked filthy and messy. It's strange because I love seeing this kind of roughness and imperfection in stop-motion films, but in my own I felt so annoyed over it.
In another way, I was thrilled by the work we came up with. The compositions of Harry Brokensha and epic sound design from Ed Rousseau were beyond what I ever could have imagined.
Lore Lixenberg's amazing voice as the Black Hole and Emmy the Great's unadulterated tones as Singularity contributed so much to the piece.
Most of the time, I'm happy with what we did together."
On themes of mythology and humanity in her writing:
"I'm really interested in the myths about the origin of the universe. They take existential human questions and attempt to address the questions by telling big, exciting stories about diving birds, eggs, or nature spirits. Mythology typically includes huge epic tales of heroic events and adventure and quests. It's just part of this human desire to understand the meaning of the world we live in.
It's possible that on a lower level, that's exactly what I try to do by making films. In my work, I'm frequently examining my own fears, insecurities, obsessions, fears. With 'O Black Hole! I thought of it as a modern-day myth of creation. I wanted to create an film that had some personal questions about philosophy, paired with the fun story of a film about a quest as well as a wacky operatic soundtrack ."
The challenges encountered during the films creation:
"This was the most challenging film I've ever made. A stop-motion/2D 16-minute musical featuring a lead character with stupid long curly hair (that was constantly melting halfway through!) made on a short deadline was a dark months. It's easy to go on about the challenges. It was a lot to pack into the time of a short film. It's true that I am happy to have had the opportunity to produce a film like this as well as to be part of an amazing team. I hope I will have more opportunities similar to this one in the near future and continue to make films with my fellow filmmakers !"
On the lesson of "O Black Hole!:
"The closing lines of the film are 'O black hole, don't lament, we're just fantasies that the universe has made. ...' The thesis of the film is the beauty of transience. The black hole woman sucks in the entire universe inside her due to her fear of the possibility of change. Singularity teaches it that the process of change brings new life and meaning to the present.
The film, I think, seeks to show that everything changes and die and new things come and flourish, and that's wonderful and okay. So I do hope that that's the message the audience takes away. To be honest, I'm trying for my self !"
Her tips (or absence of it) to filmmakers who are aspiring:
"Maybe you should listen to your parents, and then become Engineer instead. No, I'm kidding! Just kidding! I'm not sure, I feel like I'm still an aspiring filmmaker myself. In fact, I could be in need of some guidance and ."
On what's next:
"I'm working on a live-action/animation hybrid horror-comedy short film with BBC Films. The story is about a Chinese-born British violinist called Fei whose world turns upside down when she meets the arrival of a talented violinist called Mei.
In addition, I'm developing an idea for an animated feature film about a cult that worships the birds!"