Wild Summon: The meaning of a scene
The magical world of cinematic animation always gives us emotions and amazement, and this year is no exception. With the release of the list of animated shorts up for Oscars, we had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the creations of talented directors from around the world. Each director shared their favorite shot from their film and explained why that moment is so special to them.
Today we focus on “Wild Summon” by directors Karni Arieli and Saul Freed. This fantasy/nature short debuted at Cannes and competed at Annecy before winning Best Animated Short at Raindance and a Special Jury Award at the Animation is Film festival in Los Angeles.
“Wild Summon” follows the life cycle of salmon, with the twist that the fish in this film take on human form. The surrealist nature of “Wild Summon” is anchored by ultra-realistic visual effects and animation that lends credibility to the film, which dissolves only after the film is finished and the viewer is pleasantly reminded of the absurdity of what they have just seen .
Arieli and Freed share their favorite shot and explain its importance:
“This scene of our wild salmonella in its egg encapsulates the concept of the film in one moment. Viewers are exposed to the surreal and innovative idea behind the film: there is a human fetus in what looks like a fish egg underwater. And she's wearing a diving mask! It's a time when our viewers might wonder what they're watching. A science fiction film? A natural history documentary? We hear the voice of our amazing narrator, Marianne Faithful, tell us that this is a salmon, a fish, and that we see the next generation and hope for the entire species. The incredible journey of the wild salmon happens in its first moments.
The idea behind the newborn stage of our fish was to create an emotional bond with our viewers, to use our human instinct of knee-jerk reaction towards young babies, something few of us can resist, and to transform the journey of the fish on a human journey to create empathy and connection.
It is also one of the few shots that repeat in the film. In doing so, a perfect circle is closed as our hero returns to his native waterway and gives birth to the next generation.
Finally, what makes this one of our favorite shots is the hidden homage to the master of cinema, Stanley Kubrick, and his film “2001: A Space Odyssey”. We're forcing viewers to look inside themselves. The fetus is a universal and archetypal image of innocence and a symbol of our human future."
With these words, the directors take us inside their creative process and allow us to appreciate even more the beauty and depth of their work. We remain in suspense waiting to find out what other wonders the other directors on the list will have in store for us.
Source: www.cartoonbrew.com
