The Japanese model of using beautiful artwork to get away with fairly limited animation served Alex Ferrari well for his new short film, Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of Violence. The anime style also suited the theme of this adult-oriented film about a 12-year-old girl who discovers a bloody tome that leads her on a quest for vengeance. Ferrari intends to make a feature film based on the seven-minute short, which has been submitted to a number of festivals and should be making the rounds soon.
Starring the voice of Paula Garces (Harold and Kumar 1 & 2, The Shield), Red Princess marks the directorial debut of Dan Cregan, creative director at visual effects house Numb Robot (www.numbrobot.com). Cregan had been working with Ferrari on live-action projects for a few years and mentioned he wanted to get his feet wet by directing an animated short since he’s comfortable with the medium, having made toon shorts in grad school.
‘I created all the animation and I’d probably say that I was responsible for about 90% of the visuals on screen,’ Cregan says of Red Princess. ‘I had about three other really great 3D artists that helped with modeling and texturing. Of course, I couldn’t have done it without Alex, our amazing actors or the incredible sound design by Mark Roumelis of Cmpozr Inc.’
The film was mostly hand-drawn with a few shoots aided by 3D software. Cregan spent about six month on it while juggling other projects. He says the choice to use an anime style came from his love of the genre and shows he grew up with, especially Speed Racer, Starblazers and Robotech. The style also fit with the constraints of the production. ‘Obviously it would have been very difficult to create a Disney-level short in six months with just a few people,’ Cregan remarks. ‘We needed style to carry us and we needed to have a tight limit on the amount of movement present. In Anime series that have lower budgets these productions methods are ever present. That was our blueprint.’
For more information on Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of Violence, visit the official site www.redprincessblues.com. Check out the trailer on AniMagTV (www.animag.tv).
