Artist Research ‐ Fons Schiedon

Fons Scheidon

Fons Schiedon is a dutch filmmaker probably best known for his animations and short films, some of which are winners of numerous awards.

In a Forest

In a Forest is a short animation which follows a rabbit through dark, foggy woods as he runs from a dark beast. As the animation progresses, more and more of the illusion is stripped back, revealing a CGI motion capture setup in which neither the rabbit or the beast are in any danger.

The way that the animations cameras move is basically the same way that cameras are used to create tension and atmosphere in horror films such as extreme close ups, first person views and high speed tracking shots during the chase. The way that trees bur and obscure the camera during the moving shots helps add a sense of depth, speed and intensity to the animation. I find that by using depth of field, the animation seems a lot more alive and coupled with flashing first person shots, helps break the fourth wall significantly.

The whole animation appears to have been created in a 3D program even through the transition to the simulated motion capture section of the animation. The characters involved are very basic and cartoon like but subtle effects such as texture use and choice lighting help the characters remain somewhere in between realistic and cartoon stylings. This I feel utilizes the 3D animation to the original concept.

The fog particle effects which disappear towards the end of the animation are very clear and coupled with the dramatic lighting, help make the scene more intense. With the lack of color in the forest section, the use of lighting and particle effects are reminiscent of black and white Film Noir films which used lighting to compensate for the lack of color.

Timing the animation appears difficult due to the varying pace of the film. Scenes such as when the beast is swiping at the rabbit and barely missing use basic film principles  such as forced perspective to make the chase more exciting and to keep with the cartoon like concept and this illustrates Fons Schiedons familiarity with tradition film making.

As with most horror films, there is a lot of the animation which uses anticipation to build up to the chase when the pace of the animation and action quickens.

By using the familiar genre of Horror, Fons Schiedon uses a cliche narrative and standard horror codes and conventions to build up to the twist at the end. This helps to keep the change to the motion capture section unexpected and helps enhance the narrative of the animation.