Potlatch

Potlatch is a short film by Tom Mathieson, a recent graduate of Design and Visual Arts at Stockport College. We asked Tom a few questions about his short film…

Who?

A great sound designer Tom O’Sullivan created the sound for the piece, whilst I worked on the rest.

What?

A bear and a Kid meet at the same spot every night to stargaze together. Every time the kid try’s his hardest to scare the bear, with no luck. Maybe with the help of one of his tribe’s masks, he’ll finally scare his friend!

Why?

I like to question what we believe in. In our society we think of death as a negative and it was interesting to read about other cultures views on death. I was drawn to the Native Americans because their stories about death can be lighthearted, funny and just getting across the idea that death isn’t the end.

How?
It was frame-by-frame animation created in flash, then coloured in Photoshop and composited in After Effects. All the backgrounds were done in Photoshop. I wanted it to look like it was a story passed down through Native American tribes, the texture helped out with that, by making it look less clean and well used.

Next Project?

I’ve started doing some freelance work at the moment. But also, because I really enjoy working on the design of animation and creating unique styles, I’ve started doing real short animation to get myself creating different environments and characters. I’m doing it to gain more experience and to get better at what I do. Hopefully it will enhance whatever project I take on next.

Which animated film would you like to have made?

Hmmmm, Tough one. I’d have to say Iron Giant, still enjoy watching that film and its characters.