Oscar-Nominated Short Film Painted Frame by Frame on Glass
The Bird & the Whale, a six-minute animated short directed by Carol Freeman of Paper Panther, an award-winning Irish animation studio, earned an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Shorts category. The film uses the labor-intensive technique of oil painting on glass: each frame is painted with slow-drying oil paint, filmed with a vertical camera in controlled light, then the paint is removed and the next frame is repainted almost entirely from scratch. This process destroys the previous frame, allowing no room for error. Five people painted 4,500 glass plates over 14 months to complete the film. The original score is by Chris McLoughlin. The full film is available on Vimeo for a limited time.
Key facts
- The film is titled The Bird & the Whale.
- It was directed by Carol Freeman of Paper Panther.
- Paper Panther is an award-winning Irish animation studio.
- The film was nominated for an Oscar in Best Animated Shorts.
- It uses oil painting on glass, a nearly obsolete technique.
- Each frame is painted, filmed, then destroyed to create the next.
- 4500 glass plates were painted by five people over 14 months.
- The original score is by Chris McLoughlin.
- The film is six minutes long.
- It is available on Vimeo for a limited time.
Entities
Artists
- Carol Freeman
- Chris McLoughlin
Institutions
- Paper Panther
- Vimeo
Locations
- Ireland