Our Picks: The Seed in the Sky by Dave Kiehl

The Seed in the Sky by Dave Kiehl

Above a peaceful planet, untouched by human hands, a rumbling vessel drifts through the clouds. Deep within the belly of the lumbering craft mechanical gadgets of steam and fire shape and form the creatures of the idyllic world below. When a new specimen accidentally finds its way into this assembly line of life, there is no stopping, no alerts, and no interruption of the timeless process. Life starts anew. Life ends. And life goes on.

Directors Notes

I was really inspired by traditional cut out animation, but wanted to take it a step further with what I learned digital. The entire film is made up watercolor blended with macro photos of leaves. Each blend was then cutout, and blended again with shadows-sometimes cutout again to make the ‘paper.’ Once I had the paper, I cut out shapes for each and every creature/landscape/machine in the film.